{"id":59341,"date":"2021-05-21T08:47:27","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T12:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=59341"},"modified":"2025-08-29T00:52:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T04:52:17","slug":"blog-tour-excerpt-arc-review-falling-for-you-berkeley-hills-2-by-stacy-travis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=59341","title":{"rendered":"Blog Tour, Excerpt & ARC Review: Falling For You (Berkeley Hills, #2) by Stacy Travis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it a mistake? Yes.<\/strong><\/em>
\nDo I regret it? Maybe.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

Falling for You, an all-new friends-to-lovers romance that delivers all-the-feels from Stacy Travis is available now!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon Worldwide<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When brilliant, logical Owen Miller walks into my bakery and witnesses the worst break-up in the history of public, mortifying break-ups, I can only think of one thing to do\u2026 so I kiss him.<\/p>\n

Is it a mistake? Yes.
\nDo I regret it? Maybe.<\/p>\n

Friends aren\u2019t supposed to kiss\u2014or have red-hot moments next to the bread oven. And respected bakers with designs on a San Francisco bread empire aren\u2019t supposed to manhandle their customers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a rebound, pure and simple. We both admit it. I don\u2019t have time for anything more, especially when I\u2019m on the cusp of achieving my dream\u2014expanding my business into hand-picked, perfect locations.<\/p>\n

But Owen is a savvy hotel owner who knows a thing or two about business. So when location scouting leads to wine tasting, long leisurely drives, and a hands-on meeting in a wine cave, I decide mixing business and pleasure with the smoking-hot charmer might be the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n

Until an anonymous competitor seems determined to sink everything I\u2019ve put my heart and soul into. Maybe it\u2019s time to end our friends with benefits arrangement before I lose everything.<\/p>\n

But what if losing Owen is losing everything? What if I\u2019m falling for my rebound guy?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Add to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

4 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

A sweet and fun chemistry-filled friends-to-lovers story, with the most gorgeous hero, this is a great read, and I loved it!<\/p>\n

This is the second book in the Berkeley Hills<\/i> series, and is the story of Isla, sister of Becca, from Second Chance at Us<\/a>\u00a0(which I adored). There is some character crossover, but this book can absolutely standalone.<\/p>\n

Isla is a successful bakery owner, and one of the best bread makers in San Francisco. But her personal life implodes when her millionaire boyfriend is caught cheating on her by the paparazzi. She\u2019s not devastated, since she had been looking for a way to end the relationship, but she\u2019s embarrassed and furious at the betrayal. To add to her mortification, she has a complete meltdown in front of her most loyal customer, and kisses him in a moment of hot chemistry and not a lot of forethought. But it\u2019s a spark which changes everything between them, and I was right on board for what was to come.<\/p>\n

Right then I knew three things.
\nShe was going to kill me with those lips, I was going to fall madly for her, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Owen is a hotel owner who has built his business in to a bit of an empire. But even though he\u2019s a busy man, he still manages to visit Isla\u2019s bakery every morning, coming in before opening time and watching her at work before leaving with his hot loaf of bread. She thinks he\u2019s there because he\u2019s a bread lover, and while that is true, he\u2019s also biding his time until he can make his move on the beautiful bakery owner. And as soon as they share that kiss, it\u2019s all on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs everything okay? I mean, is it still cool that I stop in early or did me kissing you make it awkward?\u201d Might as well own it. If she was going to be weird with me or kick me out of the place, I\u2019d just as soon know about it.
\nShe smiled. \u201cI thought I kissed you.\u201d
\n\u201cOh … you kissed me good.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isla and Owen have fantastic chemistry, but from her perspective, the timing is all wrong. She is just getting out of an unsatisfying relationship and trying to find her way back to herself, and she doesn\u2019t want Owen to just be a rebound. And not only does her business keep her busy, but her plans for expansion are under threat from a secret competitor and she is distracted trying to figure out who has it in for. So Owen comes board to help her save her business, and they become friends\u2026 who kiss\u2026 and who eventually have hot and steamy sex that is all kinds of sizzling.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fun, sexy, natural, and so, so easy. The relationship between Isla and Owen is effortless, and over coffee, dinners, roadtrips and more, they slip into becoming a key part of each other\u2019s lives. But while Owen is all in, Isla is determined to keep them as friends with benefits, even though she\u2019s falling for him just as hard as he has already fallen for her.<\/p>\n

Walking around every day with my heart in my throat, cringing every time she called me a friend\u2026I couldn\u2019t take it when she\u2019d yet to give me a sign she felt a fraction of what I\u2019d been feeling for her since the first moment our lips connected.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I adored Owen. He\u2019s sweet, fun, funny and caring, and he wears his heart on his sleeve for Isla. She is confident yet stubborn, which does create some issues for them, but Owen\u2019s persistence in being there for her and proving how amazing they are together kept me fully invested in their story.<\/p>\n

We were so good together, it was hard to imagine a future with anyone but her.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is some drama as they figure themselves out, and there are some angsty and frustrating moments, but of course, true love wins, and there\u2019s a gorgeously happy ending and an epilogue which finishes the story off beautifully.<\/p>\n

Isla\u2019s large family are a part of the story, and the dynamics between her and her siblings are so much fun \u2013 especially when Owen is invited into the fold. I loved seeing the group together, and I\u2019m excited to read more about them, with Sara\u2019s book up next.<\/p>\n

I really enjoyed this book. It\u2019s just the kind of easy and natural chemistry-filled romance that I love, and I loved watching these two find their HEA.<\/p>\n

4 stars.<\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

Berkeley Hills<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Second Chance At Us (#1)<\/strong> (Blake & Becca)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Falling For You (#2)<\/strong> (Owen & Isla)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Spark Between Us (#3)<\/strong> (Braden & Sarah)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Playing For You (#4)<\/strong> (Donovan & Tatum)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

No Match For Her (#5)<\/strong>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

\u201cSo . . . I\u2019m going to hope the third ask is the charm here. Can I buy you some dinner? Or even a snack? There\u2019s a CVS down the block. How about a Twix bar? Lays chips?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was like he was speaking a foreign language. After getting used to Tom\u2019s big fancy dinner invitations to private tastings at Michelin-starred restaurants, I\u2019d forgotten what it felt like when someone suggested grabbing food because it was dinnertime and I might be hungry.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d I said, nodding at him, still a bit dazed. \u201cYes, okay. Except for Lays. I don\u2019t like them. I need a thicker chip, like kettle baked or Ruffles.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded slowly. \u201cNoted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I like sour gummy worms, not that you asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

I knew I sounded like a loon, but it felt important that he knew I wasn\u2019t going to be satisfied with any old snack.<\/p>\n

There were standards.<\/p>\n

Plus, he\u2019d thrown me off and I was having trouble recovering.<\/p>\n

The one thing I knew for sure was I wanted to get out of the bakery and have dinner with him. It didn\u2019t matter if he wanted to go to KFC or make me a peanut butter sandwich on the hood of his car. I was hungry.<\/p>\n

We were standing in the middle of the bakery floor with the only light coming from the Edison bulbs hanging from two industrial chandeliers overhead. The night beyond him outside the door to the shop was dusky and I could hear the occasional voices of people walking past on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

Watching me with his placid blue eyes, he waited for me to work out the questions that were still coursing through my brain. He seemed unhurried and I wasn\u2019t used to people like that in my life. My sisters were all crazy and my best hires tended to sprint around like caffeinated bunnies.<\/p>\n

I had so many questions, namely why he, of all people, had chosen to show up here.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just\u2026\u201d I didn\u2019t know what.<\/p>\n

He waited patiently to find out.<\/p>\n

My bakers had watched my meltdown after seeing the pictures of Tom and none of them had asked me to dinner. They\u2019d taken off as soon as their shifts were over, mostly without saying goodbye as though they didn\u2019t want to disturb the crazy person who might bite their heads off or cry. For the record, I was planning to do neither.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d called my middle sister, Becca, and the next-youngest sister, Cherry, and vented at them for twenty minutes apiece, but they hadn\u2019t shown up to make sure I remained well-fed.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s with this guy?<\/p>\n

Maybe it was gratitude mixed with curiosity or maybe it was that I\u2019d just noticed his lips looked particularly pink and plush, but I reached for his face and ran my fingertips over his cheek and over to his lips, which were just as soft as they looked.<\/p>\n

His eyes clouded a little when I touched him and he stood frozen, as if waiting to see what else the crazy baker lady planned to do.<\/p>\n

What I planned to do was kiss him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

About Stacy Travis<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"It\u2019s a rough world out there, and we all sometimes need a good, romantic beach read, even if we can\u2019t make it to the beach. I\u2019ve spent many lazy days walking the streets of Paris and other gorgeous European cities, and if I\u2019m doing it right, I\u2019m bringing you a\u00a0dash of romance and a vacay fantasy.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t sit still, so when I\u2019m not hiking, biking or running, I\u2019m playing a very average game of tennis. Background music for writing undoubtedly features some U2, Lizzo, Billy Joel, Pink, Taylor Swift, and Led Zeppelin. Not necessarily in that order. And if I could only eat one food group, it would be cheese. Or wine. Or bread. Are those food\u00a0groups? Whatever.<\/p>\n

Connect with Stacy<\/p>\n

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

Stay up to date with Stacy by joining her mailing list<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/stacytravis.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is it a mistake? Yes. Do I regret it? Maybe. Falling for You, an all-new friends-to-lovers romance that delivers all-the-feels from Stacy Travis is available now!   Amazon\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon Worldwide   Blurb When brilliant, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58967,"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":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,9,29],"tags":[59,1248,48,1247],"class_list":["post-59341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-friends-to-lovers","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-berkeley-hills","tag-review","tag-stacy-travis"],"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\/2021\/04\/Falling-For-You.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-fr7","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59341","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=59341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}