Title: Stud
Author: Jamie K. Schmidt
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept
Date of publication: July 25th, 2017
Genre: Erotica, Romance
Number of pages: 220
POV: Alternating 1st person
Where you can find Stud: Barnes and Noble | Amazon
Book synopsis (from Goodreads):
Large. Hot. With a pump of sexual tension.
When the barista next door teams up with a slick ad executive in this sweet standalone novel from USA Today bestselling author Jamie K. Schmidt, they both get a taste of unexpected love.
Terri Cooke wishes she could give Mick Wentworth a piece of her mind. The infuriating stud muffin walks into her coffee shop every morning expecting his regular order at 8:57 on the dot, without ever acknowledging Terri’s presence—except for staring at her cleavage. And yet she can’t deny that Mick Wentworth has an animal magnetism that’s stronger and richer than any espresso . . . which explains why Terri says yes when he suddenly, inexplicably asks her out.
After the morning coffee run, Mick’s day is all downhill from there. His family’s marketing firm is dysfunctional in more ways than one, so to save the business, Mick desperately needs to impress their newest client. When he learns that Terri’s a fan of their trendy product, he tries to get inside her head. It doesn’t hurt that she’s the barista he’s been lusting after for the past five months. But as things heat up with Terri, Mick finds that a little steam is just the jolt he needs to turn his whole life around.
Trigger Warnings: Gambling
My review:
Stud is not what it seems. Do not let the blurb fool you because it definitely fooled me. I really thought that it was just going to be a girl meets boy, girl wants boy, boy wants girl and bam, sex for the rest of the book. Maybe a weak plotline is thrown in. I truly wasn’t expecting what I read. Sure there was sex, lots of it, but I wasn’t expecting the plotline to be as good as it was.
I really connected with Terri. She was as realistic as a fictional character could get. She was a nerd (played an online game that seemed like World of Warcraft except instead of dwarves/elves, the characters were Vikings) and she was working part-time at a coffee shop because she had an ill brother that needed taking care of. She also secretly lusted after Mick when he came into the coffee shop….even though she thought he was a jerk. All he did was stare at her boobs. So when Mick asked her out, I was just as surprised as she was.
Mick, I liked. He knew what he wanted when he wanted it and for how long. He was the epitome of an Alpha. I just felt bad that his family was such a mess. His parents were awful. I mean, who would threaten their own son like that? And don’t get me started on his brother. He was married but a serial cheater and knocked up his secretary….who Mick took on as his own once his brother ended the relationship. No wonder Mick was pretty surprised at how close Terri and her brother were. If my family was like his, I would have been too.
I loved the sexual tension that Mick and Terri had. Right from the first page, it was there and it kept building. So when they finally had sex, it was explosive. And they had sex everywhere. The car (well not actual intercourse but wow!!), the elevator, Mick’s office, the coffee shop where Terri worked, Terri’s house….basically everywhere. It was very steamy. Need a cold shower steamy. What I liked is that the author forced Mick and Terri to take a break when he became her boss. At that point, the sexual frustration came across the pages in waves. Which made for a uber hot sex scene when they finally gave in.
I know I mentioned it above but I thought the relationship between Mick and his parents was a truly horrible one, even if Mick’s father did try to make amends at the end. It just baffled me that they would play Mick and his brother off of each other and then try to cash in moneywise. I am still shaking my head over that.
The end of the book was very good. All of the storylines did get wrapped up and everyone got their version of a happy ending.
How many stars will I give Stud: 4
Why: Great plotline, great characters
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Sex and language
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
