{"id":27770,"date":"2017-11-17T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=27770"},"modified":"2024-04-11T04:04:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T08:04:40","slug":"blog-tour-excerpt-arc-review-bad-at-love-by-karina-halle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=27770","title":{"rendered":"Blog Tour, Excerpt & ARC Review: Bad at Love by Karina Halle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bad at Love, an all-new contemporary STANDALONE by New York Times Bestselling author Karina Halle is LIVE!!!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Amazon US<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon UK<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

(Free in Kindle Unlimited)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Synopsis<\/strong><\/h4>\n

She’s bad at love, but he’s even worse…<\/p>\n

Marina is hot, blonde, and wickedly smart, but when it comes to men? She’s hopeless. Between her quirks and her lack of filter, there isn’t a man in Los Angeles that will stick around after the third date.<\/p>\n

Her handsome, charming friend Lazarus has the opposite problem. Everyone wants to be his girlfriend, but he gets bored and moves on quickly.<\/p>\n

There’s only one way to figure out why neither of them has cracked this love thing– they’ll date each other. On paper, it’s the perfect experiment. But in reality, things between Marina and Laz get complicated quickly.<\/p>\n

They might be bad at love, but they are even worse at being friends.<\/p>\n

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Add to GoodReads<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n

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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

4 \u201cI\u2019m your weirdo\u201d<\/i> stars<\/b><\/p>\n

I love this book! A fun, sexy, standalone friends-to-lovers romance with wonderfully quirky characters and a chemistry-filled, heartfelt love story. I laughed, I swooned, and I fanned myself at all of the hotness, and I had a great time reading this one.<\/p>\n

And before I start my review, take a moment to fawn all over that cover, because it\u2019s just perfect. It IS Laz and Marina, and it captures their spirits so beautifully *dreamy sigh*. Anyway, on to the good stuff.<\/p>\n

Laz and Marina are bad at love. Laz is a \u201cserial monogamist\u201d who bounces from girlfriend to girlfriend, never allowing himself to be single, but never fully investing in his relationships either. Whereas Marina can never get past the third date. When they meet, Marina is instantly attracted to sexy poet and rocker Laz, and his English accent, but of course he has a girlfriend, but there is an easiness between them which becomes a natural friendship. Four years later and they have become the best of friends, but they\u2019re still both bad at love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish it was as easy as this\u201d
\n\u201cAs what?\u201d
\n\u201cYou and me. Talking. I wish the guys I dated got me the same way that you get me.\u201d
\nHe grows silent for a moment and I look over at him. He\u2019s frowning, his attention focused on the road. \u201cMaybe you\u2019re just dating the wrong guys,\u201d he finally says.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When Laz finds himself single (for a change), he suggests to Marina that they \u2018date\u2019 each other. Going on real dates, acting as if they don\u2019t know each other and behave as they usually would on a date so they can give each other advice to get out of their dating ruts. And as they really start to open up, that\u2019s when things begin to get complicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to find a guy. I want to fall in love. I want a future with someone, maybe marriage and babies, maybe right now all I need is to have someone\u2019s arms around me as I fall asleep. I want <\/i>love. I feel its absence in my life, every day.\u201d
\n<\/i>You\u2019re breaking my heart, sweet girl.
\nHer words are gutting me right now. Here in my car, Marina is opening up her soul to me in ways she hasn\u2019t before and I\u2019m\u2026floored by it.
\nI want her to have all that. I want her to know that\u2026fuck. I love her. I care for her. As a friend though, and I know that\u2019s not what she\u2019s talking about.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Laz and Marina are fantastic together. They laugh, they joke, and they just get<\/i> each other. They both have their quirks, which make them incredibly endearing, and I love how they appreciate their \u2018weirdo-ness\u2019 and the things about each other that others find \u2018different\u2019. They are so much fun, and their banter and flirting is fantastic, and balances out the deep and meaningful moments really nicely. It\u2019s so easy between them and as they begin to spend time together in a way they haven\u2019t before, long-buried feelings start to emerge and everything begins to change.<\/p>\n

His body pressed against mine, our mouths joined, the heat we created, that felt right. That felt more than right. That\u2019s the us that should have always been.<\/i><\/p>\n

Marina.
\nHer eyes, her skin, her lips.
\nHer fucking soul, that pure light that comes from within her, shines through all that darkness that shrouds her. I feel like I\u2019m one step closer to possessing it, something I never knew I needed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Just writing this review I\u2019m reliving all of the chemistry all over again and it has me all tingly. I could feel everything<\/i> that was happening between these two. The feels are there, and the sexual tension is sensational as it builds to the inevitable and oh holy damn, it\u2019s hot! With all of that experience, Laz is a bit of a sex-god, and the sexy time is steaming!<\/p>\n

I want to feel him again, taste him again, hold him again. I want to see what he can do when we\u2019re both free of restraints, free of the lines we\u2019ve drawn up around each other but never dared to cross. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But as quickly as it all start to happen for them, it isn\u2019t a sudden thing. There has always been an attraction, but it\u2019s one that neither of them have acted on. Their fall is both surprising for them but absolutely natural, and I felt it every step of the way.<\/p>\n

This shift that grows bigger and bigger each day, like two fault-lines sliding against each other, inches at first until, over time, you can\u2019t bridge the gap. You can only fall into the void between the people you used to be to each other.
\nMarina will never stop being everything to me. She always was. But now\u2026she\u2019s becoming more. She\u2019s no longer a part of my life, she is my life. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But as good as things are between them, there are still demons that need to be wrestled. It\u2019s emotional and angsty and heartbreaking, but anything worth having is worth fighting for. Laz and Marina just need to figure that out.<\/p>\n

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun yet still with lots of heart, and the book had a great feel to it. That\u2019s because Karina Halle\u2019s books always have a unique feel to them that is something uniquely hers. In this case, I think Marina\u2019s quirkiness made this book something really special, especially when mixed with Laz\u2019s easygoing, accepting nature. They are so perfect together, and as their relationship changed, it all just felt right. There is some drama, which is tied in nicely, and it all finishes off beautiful with an epilogue that left me grinning like an idiot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you. I\u2019ve always loved you. And I am absolutely, brilliantly in love with you.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I loved it. 4 stars!<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Excerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The place is called Tanner Smiths and is one of those trendy bars with a prohibition theme. It\u2019s packed and dark and there\u2019s a small dancefloor by the door so that when you walk in, you\u2019re sucked into a group of people grooving all up in your space. Beyonce blares from the female DJ in the corner and everyone is drunk and
\nhappy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI approve of the vibe,\u201d I say to Laz.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d he yells back mockingly over the noise, cupping his ear. Then he leans in, close. Very close. \u201cWhat you havin\u2019 to drink, sweet girl?\u201d<\/p>\n

His breath is hot on my ear and I momentarily close my eyes, letting the feeling sink along my skin, down my back, all the way to my toes. \u201cAnything,\u201d I manage to say.<\/p>\n

I open my eyes and his face is still at my neck, lips at my ear. \u201cI had no idea you were so easy to please,\u201d he murmurs and I swear his lips are grazing my skin.\u00a0 Goosebumps spread and I\u2019m hot and cold all at once.<\/p>\n

My throat feels thick as I speak. \u201cOnly when it comes to drinks. Anything else, you might have to work at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that so?\u201d he says, pulling back enough to look me in the eye.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s fire inside him. God, how I want to burn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to see, won\u2019t we?\u201d I tell him.<\/p>\n

His languid gaze drops to my lips, his nostrils flaring with impatience.<\/p>\n

Fuck, do it, just fucking kiss me.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kiss me.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kiss me.<\/em><\/p>\n

He leans all the way back, gives my hand another squeeze before letting go.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you dare go anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBossy,\u201d I comment, my stomach summersaulting like crazy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have no idea,\u201d he says. Then he winks, a bit of a smile, and heads down to the bar to place the order.<\/p>\n

I watch him. I watch him and I watch the girls in the bar watching him and I know tonight, tonight he\u2019s mine. I have him.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never felt so alive before, a swarm of electricity underneath my skin, my heart happy, happy, happy with anticipation, knowing what might finally happen between us.<\/p>\n

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*oooooh… chills!*<\/p>\n

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Meet Karina<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.<\/p>\n

Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.<\/p>\n

Connect with Karina:<\/p>\n

Facebook\u00a0 <\/a>|\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0 <\/a>|\u00a0 Instagram <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Website\u00a0 <\/a>|\u00a0 Join her Reader Group<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Stay up to date with Karina by signing up for her newsletter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Check out our Karina Halle Author Spotlight<\/a> for more awesome reads<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bad at Love, an all-new contemporary STANDALONE by New York Times Bestselling author Karina Halle is LIVE!!!     Amazon US\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon UK\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback (Free in Kindle Unlimited) Synopsis She’s bad at love, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1548,25,94,9,29],"tags":[59,38,48,76],"class_list":["post-27770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-age-gap","category-friends-to-lovers","category-rockers","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-karina-halle","tag-review","tag-standalone"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Bad-at-Love.jpg?fit=150%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-7dU","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}