BLOG TOUR - REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins

Stir Me Up

by Sabrina Elkins

Release Date: October 1st 2013

Harlequin Teen

Cami Broussard has her future all figured out. She'll finish her senior year of high school, then go to work full-time as an apprentice chef in her father's French restaurant, alongside her boyfriend, Luke. But then twenty-year-old ex-Marine Julian Wyatt comes to live with Cami's family while recovering from serious injuries. And suddenly Cami finds herself questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Julian's all attitude, challenges and intense green-brown eyes. But beneath that abrasive exterior is a man who just might be as lost as Cami's starting to feel. And Cami can't stop thinking about him. Talking to him. Wanting to kiss him. He's got her seriously stirred up. Her senior year has just gotten a lot more complicated….

Praise for Stir Me Up:

"Fun, steamy, and leaves you hungry for more. Sabrina Elkins nails the vulnerability of becoming an adult and the choices that come with growing up." —Katie McGarry, author of Dare You To

"Cami's slow burn for a wounded hero will rivet readers. I seriously loved this book." —Jennifer Echols, author of Dirty Little Secret

"This book is one of my favorite young adult contemporaries. Not only does it feature a hot romance, it's also very meaningful and well, you just have to read it and see." —#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

My Thoughts:

“Julian, I need you. Not in ways you can see. But in ways that I feel. If I’m your life raft, we’re in trouble—because you’re mine.” 

Stir Me Up was a book that on the surface could be considered a sweet, Young Adult/New Adult romance. But take a deeper look and you quickly come to realise that it has so much more depth and so many layers to it, whilst still maintaining such a sense of fun.

When we first meet seventeen year old Cami, she is in a nice stable relationship with her boyfriend Luke. She works in her father's restaurant doing what she loves. Things are good. But where Luke wants things to go to the next level between them, Cami always pulls back. Despite how comfortable she is with him and how loving he is, she knows she's not ready to go further. Her father wants her to go to college to have something as a backup to being a chef. But Cami knows she doesn't want that. She just has to figure out exactly what it is she does want.

When Marine Julian moves into her families home to recover from injuries sustained in Afghanistan, the fireworks explode between him and Cami. It's instant and it's volatile. Julian seems to hate Cami on site. He is rude, unfriendly and argumentative. My first thought with Julian was, oh, I'm not going to like him. And for me that's almost the deal breaker with a book. But here's the thing... I love a guy who is dealing with stuff. A guy who is more than that gorgeous outer package. And that's what Julian is. He is trying to deal with so much. So much heartbreak and guilt. This poor man is carrying around this huge burden of emotional weight. But under it all he has this beautiful heart. And that's what I fell in love with.

"Nothing affects me or seems real. It's like I'm numb. Except for with you. With you, I feel too much almost."

The romance between Cami and Julian developed at such a nice pace. Definitely no instant love here. Friendship, compassion, vulnerability, attraction, care, and love made their relationship very real. The love they shared was both special and deep.

One of the stand out things throughout this book was the food. A lot of time is spent in the restaurant or at home cooking. I loved the spectacular successes and I laughed at the deemed disasters. I could relate!! I'm sure we've all had a few of those. And it was those things that made the characters seem so real to me.

Stir Me Up was a quick read that I read in one sitting. It's characters and the situations they found themselves in were believable and incredibly easy to relate to. The writing was free flowing and smooth the whole way through. Stir Me Up is a fantastic debut for Sabrina Elkins. I can't wait to read what she releases next.

4.5/5 Julian Wyatt Stars

About the Author:

I am a former journalist who worked for the Los Angeles Daily Newsand other newspapers in the greater Los Angeles area. Prior to this I worked in advertising, writing ad copy for corporate travel accounts and major motion pictures. My first job out of college was as an administrative assistant to an executive chef and a food & beverage director at a Four Seasons hotel. I also spent some time working as a prep cook for Spago in Beverly Hills.

I received my Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California. While in graduate school, I had the privilege of studying fiction writing under renowned author Hubert Selby, Jr., and comedy writing under famed comedian Shelley Berman. I am a past participant of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers Summer Writing Workshop.

Raised in the woods of Vermont, I now live in the greater Los Angeles area with my husband and three children. STIR ME UP is my first novel.

Author Links:

Website l Goodreads l Twitter l Facebook

***GIVEAWAY***

WIN 1 OF 3 STIR ME UP FUN FOODIE GIFT PACKS! COOKBOOKS-CHOCOLATES-MAGNETS

  

Cami’s Cookbook Pack 

Le Petit Paris: French Finger Food by Nathalie Benezet

500 Soups by Susannah Blake

Godiva chocolate bar

Stir Me Up magnet  

Julian’s Late-Night Pack 

George Noory’s Late-Night Snacks by George Noory

Dinner and a Movie by Katherine Bebo

Godiva chocolate bar

Stir Me Up magnet  

Sweet Desserts Pack 

Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor

Cutie Pies by Dani Cone

Godiva chocolate bar

Stir Me Up magnet

 RULES AND RESTRICTIONS: 

Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 18 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond  or another winner’s name will be selected. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.

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