Title: Roustabout (The Traveling Series #3)
Author: Jane Harvey – Berrick
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 9, 2015
Blurb
Twelve years ago Tucker McCoy walked away from the hell that was his family with not much more than the shirt on his back. No regrets. Never once looking back.
Living his life as a roustabout turned stunt rider with a traveling carnival keeps a smile on his face. His new family are the people he’s chosen to be in his life, the people who travel his road. Kes, Zach and Zef don’t share his blood, but they share his hopes and dreams. Understand his fears and know what makes him tick. They’re his brothers, his real family.
If you keep moving, no one can catch you—it’s a simple rule. So when Tucker crosses paths with Tera Hawkins, he knows he should move on. There’s no woman that’s ever been worth breaking his rules for. Besides, she’s off limits, untouchable. He knows stronger men would walk away, but dammit, he’s always been weak.
All he can offer her is a night she’ll never forget, but will that one taste be enough?
Purchase Roustabout today!
Review
I love the world that Jane Harvey-Berrick creates in her Traveling series; she expertly brings to life the ins and outs of a traveling carnival and all that goes into its production and the behind the scenes’ dalliances. There’s quite the menagerie of personalities in Harvey-Berrick’s carnie world and each one is shown to be unique as she allows readers to see how they live and why they choose to do what they do. She also illustrates the camaraderie and family atmosphere that is created amongst the carnies – at its purest form, without prejudice or judgment, they are there for each other regardless of circumstance.
Tucker McCoy is a complex character who uses humor and sex to create the facade of a always happy guy, and most accept him like that because they aren’t willing to see below the surface – they see what they want to see in order to get what they want from him. He has a very specific set of rules for his life, which were established due to his past, but when Tera Hawkins enters his life, his game takes an interesting turn, and it seems he’s the one being played more than her – not in a bad way but just in a way that Tucker’s not used to and has spent years refusing to play.
There’s quite the discord between Tucker and Tera’s lifestyles, and Harvey-Berrick keeps that in the front of readers’ minds as Tucker and Tera try to work through those obstacles and actually try to be something more than a one night stand. But Tucker’s past holds him back from a lot of things, and when it enters his present, and he has to deal with more than he even thought he left behind, Tucker puts up as many walls as he can to prevent Tera from truly see how not together he is, which leads to bad decisions and quick tempers.
But it seems fate has always had a way with turning Tucker’s world upside down, and she continues to do so; he just doesn’t know if it’s going to work out for him in the end or set him up for more heartache and a new set of rules to live by.
I love the idea of a roustabout – someone who is a jack-of-all-trades…who plays many roles for different people. Tucker McCoy definitely epitomizes that concept but so does Tera – in her own ways, once she decides to control her own life by making her own decisions and that’s what draws Tucker to Tera and what keeps him coming back for more even when he knows he shouldn’t.
Jane Harvey-Berrick continues to lure readers into her sexy and dramatic stories through her meticulous and descriptive storytelling and her creation of dynamic characters who readers can’t help but want to know more about because Harvey-Berrick crafts them in such a way that they become lifelike and we need to understand what motivates them before the story ends.
I can’t wait to see what’s next!
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
4 Poison Apples
Excerpt
“My, it’s warm in here,” she said, holding the chilled bottle against her neck.
I was mesmerized as droplets of water rolled down her chest, disappearing into the deep vee of her t-shirt. And she knew it, the witch, a small, cat-like smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as I yanked my thoughts out of the gutter.
A minute later she was moaning and groaning again, rolling that damn bottle over her throat before taking a long swallow.
It was getting harder to remember why I couldn’t have this woman. Yeah, and that wasn’t the only thing that was getting hard.
“It’s late,” I said, nodding at the streetlights outside.
As if we needed them to know that twilight had come and gone, and stars were sparkling in the sky like fireflies.
“I’ll walk you back,” I said decisively, standing to make my point.
Tera grinned up at me, her eyes a little unfocused. “All the way across the parking lot? What a gentleman!”
Then she leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table, giving me the money-shot view down her t-shirt.
God had given her beautiful tits—she could make a sucker out of me any time.
My eyes darted up to hers when she spoke again.
Damn, she could make jogging a spectator sport.
“Tucker, I like you, and I can tell you like me. We’re both single. I’m not asking you for a commitment—let’s just see how this goes.”
I sat down heavily. She was so damn fearless—just like Kes.
“TC, it’s not a good idea.”
She rounded the table and sat next to me, her thigh pressed to mine, leaning her head against my shoulder so her silky hair tickled my cheek.
So damn soft.
I could feel the heat of her skin burning through my t-shirt and my dick swelled, trapped sideways, the seam pressing painfully. I’d had a chubbie all evening, but now it was trying to climb through the denim.
“I think it’s the best idea I’ve ever had,” she said, her voice quiet but clear.
“You didn’t think that at the bonfire last spring,” I reminded her. “You walked away from me then. Why aren’t you walking away from me now?”
“Because.”
I waited, but that seemed to be all the answer I was getting.
“Because what?” I prompted her.
“Because … because that’s what I’ve been taught to do. I’m supposed to wait for the right guy, then marry him and give up my career to make perfect little babies that my dad can kiss on his campaign trail.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad,” I hedged.
She shook her head fiercely.
“No, it doesn’t, but it’s not me either. I’ve met a lot of right men,” and she rolled her eyes, “but it seems as if it’s the wrong man that I’m attracted to. There’s something there, something between us.” Then she smiled brightly. “And I haven’t gotten laid in ages.”
My head dropped into my hands.
“You can’t say that to a guy!” I groaned.
Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling my head down with a fierceness that surprised me. Her pink lips flattened against mine, demanding, insisting, until her tongue was in my mouth.
Stronger men couldn’t have resisted her, and dammit, I’d always been weak.
The Traveling Man (Traveling Series, #1)
I was ordinary. Nice. He was extraordinary. And he wasn’t always nice.
Moody and difficult, brilliant and beautiful, Kes scared me and he protected me. He could be incredibly hurtful and incredibly thoughtful. He wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for me. He challenged me, he took me out of my safe little box and showed me the world could be magnificent. He was everything I wasn’t.
Aimee Anderson is ten when the traveling carnival first comes to her nice little town. She doesn’t expect her world to change so completely. But meeting Kestrel Donohue puts her life on a different path.
Even though she only sees him for the two weeks of the year when he passes through her home town, his friendship is the most important of her life. As a child’s friendship grows to adult love, the choices become harder, and both Kes and Aimee realize that two weeks a year will never be enough.
The Traveling Woman (Traveling Series, #2)
How many times do you gamble on love? When love has knocked you down, should you give it another chance? When does optimism become stupidity?
And what happens when the man you’re in love with is never still, always moving, always traveling? Do you say goodbye, or do you leave behind everything that you’ve worked for, everything that you’ve ever known? Can a traveling carnival be my home?
Oh. You thought I had the answers. No, sorry. No answers, just a lot of questions—and a heart that wants to rule my head.
Can one person be my home?
About the Author
I lived in London for over 10 years and have a love affair with New York. It’s only since I have moved to the countryside, that the words have really begun to flow.
I live in a small village by the ocean and walk my little dog, Pip, every day. It’s on those beachside walks that I have all my best ideas.
Writing has become a way of life – and one that I love to share.
Connect with Jane
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