ARC Review: Temporary Bliss (Bliss, #1) by B.J. Harvey

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Review

4.5 stars!

I love this book! It’s funny, dirty and romantic with a confident, sassy heroine and four very fine guys to drool over. Are you hooked yet?

Makenna (Mac) hit rock bottom four years ago, escaping an abusive relationship, and made a vow to herself that she would live her own life. She would never let a man control her, and never get close enough to one for that to even become a possibility. She has three fuck buddies – each meeting a different need for her, and each very aware of the other and how things are, and totally accepting of that. It’s all very functional. Mac is comfortable with who she is, and she absolutely owns her “no strings slutdom”.

And then she meets Daniel – a “smoking hot volcano of fine”. Daniel unexpectedly comes into Mac’s life and completely turns it upside down. The two of them have some INSANE chemistry, and the smutty flirting flies thick and fast.

Holy smut, this book is smutty! The things that come out of their mouths had me blushing! And this is before they even get together! I love subtle banter, but these two are full on with the sexy talk! But it totally works for them, and builds the UST fabulously, and it turns out that their verbal smut is just a prelude to a whole lot of actual smut. Dayum!

And it’s not just Daniel-related smut. Mac also reminisces about her experiences with each of her ‘buddies’. While reading it, I thought it was a little weird to be reading a romance book and have the heroine reminiscing about her steamy encounters with her three fuck buddies – in detail. But it’s Mac, it’s who she is, and it gives the reader insight into why she lives the way she does. Plus, when she opens up to Daniel – “Shit! I need to tell him about the other penises in my life” – it gives him the opportunity to step up and be made of awesome and be everything he can be for her.

“But it has only been three weeks,” I whisper.
“Three fucking good weeks, gorgeous. Three weeks that make me want to see this through.”

“I will tell you this, Mac. I’m going to try and be everything you need me to be both in and out of the bedroom because I like seeing you smile. I like seeing you laugh, and I definitely like you when you’re underneath me calling out my name.”

And yep, Daniel is made of awesome! Seriously, the man is pretty much perfect. He is funny and charming, and completely accepting of Mac (I was actually surprised at how accepting he was, but it just goes to show how deeply he feels for her). And alongside the smut, smut, smutty, smut-smut, he is also a gentleman. He has genuine feelings for Mac, and he romances her, he is respectful, and he treats her like a lady for the first time in her life. And it terrifies her.

“Tell me you feel this, gorgeous? Tell me I’m not dreaming this,” he rasps against my temple.
“I’m feeling it, and it’s scaring the shit out of me,” I whisper.

And here comes the stupid. Yep, there has to be stupid. But with the way the story is set up, I was expecting it. Mac freaks out and runs, pushing Daniel away before she gets hurt, or worse, she hurts him. She’s got a whole lot of issues to sort through, and I thought this part of the book was handled really well. I loved watching Mac on her journey, and through it all, Daniel proves that he’s not the kind of man that gives up when he finds something he truly wants.

“Seriously, Mac, I’m in so deep, I’ll take you however I can have you. I’ll wait, however long it takes. If these last few months with you have shown me anything, it’s that you’re meant to be mine. I know that already, fuck, I’ve known it for a while now. I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up.”

What did I tell you? Perfect *dreamy sigh*.

I have to say, despite what you may think about her lifestyle choices, she is seriously lucky with the men she has in her life. Not only Daniel, but her three ‘buddies’, surgeon Noah (“the walking dildo”), Sean (sexy dom) and Zander (sexy stripper). They are all fabulous, caring, respectful guys who are happy with Mac, and honestly want the best for her. I kinda fell for them all. Which is good, considering this is the first book in the series, and I suspect (hope) that we will be seeing more of them in future books. The next book is Kate’s – Mac’s sassy, hilarious, unlucky in love BFF. There is a hint of something happening for her, and if my suspicions are right, I’m really excited to read her story.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a fast read, and the story moves quickly, and I found that it got better and better and I got more sucked into the story the further I got into it. Mac is a somewhat unique heroine, and while I may not have immediately warmed to her, once I got to know her and understand her more, she very quickly grew on me and I really loved her and her narration. And Daniel is just… *swoon*.

It’s funny, it’s hot, the drama is dealt with well, and the romance is gorgeous. With a few surprises thrown in along the way, an epilogue from Daniel’s POV, and a HEA that is satisfying but still leaving threads undone (to be resolved in the next book I’m sure), I finished this book with a huge grin on my face.

4.5 stars.

Thank you so much to B.J. Harvey, who provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Bliss series

     

Temporary Bliss (#1) (Mac & Daniel)
Review
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

True Bliss (#2) (Zander & Kate)
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

Blissful Surrender (#3) (Sean & Samantha)
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

Permanent Bliss (#3.5) (Mac & Daniel)
Buy:  Kindle Ebook Paperback

Finding Bliss (#4) (Noah & Zoe)
Buy:  Kindle Ebook Paperback

 

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