NOW A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER! From #1 New York Times Bestseller Vi Keeland, comes a new, sexy standalone novel.My relationship with Hunter Delucia started backwards.We met at a wedding–him sitting on the groom’s side, me sitting on the bride’s. Stealing glances at each other throughout the night, there was no denying an intense, mutual attraction.I caught … Stealing glances at each other throughout the night, there was no denying an intense, mutual attraction.
I caught the bouquet; he caught the garter. Hunter held me tightly while we danced and suggested we explore the chemistry sparking between us. His blunt, dirty mouth should’ve turned me off. But for some crazy reason, it had the opposite effect on me.
We ended up back in my hotel room. The next morning, I headed home to New York leaving him behind in California with the wrong number.
I thought about him often, but after my last relationship, I’d sworn off of charming, cocky, gorgeous-as-sin men. A year later, Hunter and I met again at the birth of our friends’ baby. Our attraction hadn’t dulled one bit. After a whirlwind trip, he demanded a real phone number this time. So I left him with my mother’s–she could scare away any man with her talks of babies and marriage–and flew back home.
I’d thought it was funny, until the following week when he rang the bell at Mom’s house for Sunday night dinner. The crazy, gorgeous man had won over my mother and taken an eight-week assignment in my city. He proposed we spend that time screwing each other out of our systems.
Eight weeks of mind-blowing sex with no strings attached? What did I have to lose?
Nothing, I thought.
It’s just sex, not love.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans…more
6 Hearts
Sex, Not Love is Vi Keeland’s newest masterpiece. I can’t even express how in love with this book I am. It’s perfection. It’s my favorite book of hers and I’m not sure I’m ever going to recover from Hunter Delucia. I mean, seriously. He’s Italian. He’s sexy. He has a filthy mouth. He’s sweet. And underneath the arrogant exterior is the man with a heart of gold. He says all the right things with sincerity. And when he set his sights on Natalia, he’s not going to give up until she’s his. Nat knows men like Hunter, or so she thinks. She deflects his advances by walking away, giving him the wrong number and just being unavailable. Until he decides he going to put himself in her space until she gives in. Poor Natalia. She never had a chance! She’s been hurt before so she’s not looking for long term, so being with Hunter might be just the thing she needs. Her body has wanted him since first sight, it’s her head that’s getting in the way. When she decides she can’t say no anymore, it’s on. Oh man, is it on! Can Hunter and Natalia really do sex, not love? What happens when their hearts want in on the action? I loved this book. So. Much. I. Can’t. Even. Hunter is everything. Sexy, pushy, funny, sweet and dirty. Natalia is gorgeous, hilarious, also Italian :), and such a good mom. I loved all the secondary characters especially Izzy. She was so great! I laughed until I snorted, cried until tears were streaming down my face and have never been more relieved in my life. I quickly became attached to these characters and I’m already planning a re-read. Overall, it’s my first 6 heart read of the year and I’m not sure if anything will top it!
The basis of this story is one I have read many times and when it’s done right it never fails to be a great read for me.
The title of the book pretty much tells us the basic premise of the story. Basically two people, in this case Hunter and Natalia meet start a sexual relationship with no intention of it ever becoming more.
Vi, once again provides us with characters that you can’t help but love. The way she builds the story had me hooked from the very beginning.
Hunter was just sexy, funny, sweet and an all round amazing leading man and Natalia was sassy, fiercely independent. And what I loved was that the couples chemistry just sizzled right from the pages. I loved the way Hunter relentlessly persued Natalia despite them being dead set against anything more than a sexual relationship.
Now for the most part this was a very witty, hot read, but there was some deeply moving moments that I couldn’t help be affected by.
Once again Vi has produced an amazing read.
Sex, Not Love.
Hunter is that guy. He doesn’t want to commit to anyone.
“Either he’s a fisherman, a milkman, or a priest.”
Kind of like the old saying that all the good guys are either married, gay, or in love with their Moms. This was perfect! I read it over a few times and chuckled at how on point it was.
There is something about the flow to Vi’s books that has me fall in love with her every time. Every story, every character, every word. I fall for them.
Hunter has some great, sassy lines, but this one was by far my favorite.
“What do you want to eat? Because if you let me decide, I’m buying you a hot dog to watch you eat it.”
If you love a smart ass, love a good slab of steam drizzled in angst and a great story that will pull you in and entertain your pants off, then consider this sex WITH love because you will in fact, love it.
Sex, Not Love….with a title like that you know where this is going! Natalia Rossi and Hunter Delucia….opposites in so many ways but so perfect for one another. From the moment they meet you can feel the attraction and the resistance at the same time. Hunter and Natalia are both persistent….he is set on fucking her and she is set on resisting him <—— Let the games begin!! “We might kill each other, but fucking to death is the way I want to go.” So you might think you know where this is going. Hunter must be this playboy who just sleeps around from woman to woman. Setting his sights on a new conquest and not resting until he gets her. Well….you are right, but oh so wrong! The connection between these two was intense. Never a boring moment, lack of conversation wasn’t an issue, attraction was never a problem. Hunter is a man of many layers…I enjoyed peeling them away like the layers of his clothing that I wanted to rip off. (I mean honestly – Vi created him so you know he’s going to be your new obsession!) Natalia is a strong woman, in more ways than one. She is young but has been through so much recently and it has put her in a situation that she probably never thought she would see. But, she does what she has to do to make things work and isn’t going to let anyone, especially Hunter, mess with that. She tries to stay away, hell there are 3,000 miles between them so it should be easy right?! I laughed from the get go because there was NO WAY she was going to be able to ignore him, not think about him, stay away….reality check people, it’s going to happen. Just make sure all you give him his your ass, Nat. Not your heart. ^^Good luck with that one Natalia What I loved about these two was how easy everything appeared on the surface. There were no games begin played, they were both consenting adults, they knew what they were in for. Did they really though?? NOPE and neither will you. One line caught my eye while I was reading… “You look in the rearview mirror too often, sometimes you miss what’s in front of you.” When you dwell on the past, things that have happened already this is very true. The past keeps us from repeating mistakes, reliving nightmares…it makes you cautious. However, the same can be said for looking too far into the future in Hunter’s case. What is in the future that scares him so much….think about that while you read. I wanted to pick his brain so many times and try to figure him out. What is shown on the surface is not always what is hidden deep down. Natalia seemed to take everything in stride, as best as she could anyway. She was a character that I could relate to and be proud of. Standing her ground, even if it meant hiding her real emotions, she does what she needs to do to stay on top and have the upper hand. Nat tried to figure Hunter out…she could read him like a book one moment and then have the cover slammed shut in her face the next. Hunter was just naturally a for better or for worse type of man which made it that much more difficult to see him as sex only. Will there be hurt for both of them? Of course. Will there be healing times as well? Yes. The flow back and forth between the hurt and the healing is what makes this story so good. You will get what I like to call “Vi Breadcrumbs”…little trails to the backstory. Piecing it together is all a part of reading her books making for a unique experience each and every time. I wanted to get up an hour earlier each day so I had sixty minutes more to spend with her. ^^and SWOON!!!!
4.25 stars- SEX, NOT LOVE by Vi Keeland is a contemporary, adult, erotic romance story in the author’s Best Laid Plans series of novels. This is thirty year old architectural engineer Hunter Delucia, and twenty nine year old behavioral therapist Natalia Rossi’s story line.
Told from dual first person perspectives-Natalia in the present, Hunter in the past- SEX, NOT LOVE follows the building relationship between Natalia Rossi, and Hunter Delucia who met several months earlier at a mutual friends’ wedding- Anna and Derek Weiner. The smooth but dirty talking Hunter Delucia was quickly shut down by our story line heroine. Fast forward seven months wherein a persistent Hunter would push himself back into Natalia’s life with the impending birth of their friends’ new arrival. What ensues is the much more than ‘friends with benefits’ relationship between Hunter and Natalia, a ‘sex, not love’ relationship with an expiry date, and a heroine who has fallen in love with a man whose secrets are destroying any chance at his own happily ever after.
The relationship between Hunter and Natalia begins acrimoniously as our heroine refuses to fall for Hunter’s dirty talking attempts to flatter and flirt using sexual innuendo and outright, naughty suggestive ideas. Hunter Delucia doesn’t do relationships; in fact, his last long term relationship found our hero caught between family and love; betrayal and loss. Meeting Natalia Rossi throws Hunter for a loop but he steadfastly refuses to accept anything long term including the possibility of falling in love. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense but one again I have issues with the use of a certain four-letter word I feel is unnecessary in a romantic story line-of any genre type.
We are introduced to Natalia and Hunter’s best friends Anna and Derek Weiner; Natalia’s step-daughter Izzy, and ex-husband Garrett Lockwood; an assortment of ‘dates’ for our story line heroine; Hunter’s older brother Jayce, and ex-girlfriend Summer.
SEX, NOT LOVE is an emotional story line with a little bit of humor, fun, heartbreak and love. Hunter keeps secret a past shrouded in pain, remorse and devastating loss that affects his decision to never fall in love. The premise is energetic and captivating; the romance is passionate, provocative and intense; the characters are dynamic, spirited and playful. SEX, NOT LOVE is a engaging and lively look at one man who struggles with his past, present and future; and one woman who has fallen in love with a man who is unable to promise a happily ever after.
Ladies and gentlemen? I present my first FIVE STAR read of 2018. Amazing. Emotional. Gripping. Perfection. And just…wow.
No joke, you guys. I had visceral reactions to some parts of this book. I had to put it down and walk away. I was afraid to go back to it and then, once I picked it up again, I couldn’t put it down until I’d devoured the entire thing. I was gripped by the need to know what happens and the fear that it might break my heart.
And my heart? OH. My heart ACHED for Hunter and Natalia. I don’t remember the last time it felt so bruised and fragile and yet overflowing with happy feels all at the same time. Good gravy you guys it hurt so freaking good.
There’s a fair amount of angst here (thus all the aching) and, as I’ve come to expect from Ms. Keeland’s work, there’s a serious emotional storyline cleverly wrapped up in a story that feels light, fun, sweet and full of dopey smile inducing banter. The chemistry between Hunter and Natalia is completely on point. I was invested in them immediately, charmed by their interactions with each other, and rooting for them the entire way. I adored them both. I loved that they were richly layered characters with some unexpected surprises. I loved that even when I thought I knew how this book was going to play out, Ms. Keeland zigged when I expected her to zag and – the things that did to my heart. I can’t even. I can’t. It’s just…perfection. A beautifully written ball of laughter, tears, swoons, and heat – with some fairly hefty gut punches littered throughout. I feasted on it, and I’m left with this sort of spazzy flaily fangirl review, an overflowing heart, and an epic book hangover.
Do NOT miss this one.
But maybe…keep some chocolate nearby just in case you need it. Trust me on this.
Now, if you’ll excuse me – I have to go try to function in the real world with Hunter and Natalia nestled cozily in my heart.
Love. This. Book.
I feel like a broken record in my Vi reviews so I’m gonna keep it short (because, really, I can’t elaborate on how spectacular this book is), but every single book of hers is pure gold. The story is enthralling, the characters are smart and realistic, the chemistry and sexual tension are off the charts, and I’m always dying to read her next book.
This one had a couple of interesting elements in the form of a step-daughter and a mysterious event from the past, but I felt they added so much to the story. I just loved every word.
If you like contemporary romances, or if you’ve never read one, or if you’re looking for a new author to try, THIS is your book.
(I received a copy of this book in consideration of an honest review)
Sex not Love is a charming love story with plenty of witty banter, it’s a quick read that will captivate you and if you are anything like me you will not be able to put this book down.
Nat and Hunter are both part of their respective best friends wedding and they meet at the wedding rehearsal dinner there is an immediate attraction in fact sparks fly, what follows is a night of passion but that’s all it’s meant to be one night of fun but when Hunter wants Nat’s phone number she accidentally on purpose gives him her number with one digit wrong. The next time they meet is at the birth of their friends daughter and once again Nat gives Hunter a wrong number but this time she slips up and gives him her mother’s number. Hunter is a man who knows what he wants and he won’t give up without a fight so with his sights set on Nat he convinces her to have a no strings attached fling, the problem is feelings come into play for both of them and even though their heads say they don’t do relationships their hearts say they want one. Nat and Hunter are perfect for each other but will that be enough to get over their pasts.
This book will have you swooning, it will have you smiling and it will have you hoping and wishing that these two can get the HEA they deserve. Once again another great read from Vi Keeland
Sex, Not Love is a standalone sexy romance!
They met at a wedding for Natalia’s BFF. Hunter was BFF to the groom.
What happens is a lot of chemistry between the 2 of them.
Hunter is this dirty talking sexy hunk of a man! He asks for her number so they could get together. She gives him a number but, not her number. Then tells her friend she can’t give him the correct number. When they meet again 1 year later their friends are having a baby and they meet again. He demands her phone number and she gives him her mother’s number. Big mistake because he makes friends with her mother. Now he has her on his side.
I loved reading this story! They of course have some mindblowing sex. The chemistry between them is off the wall good!
I think there was a message in this sexy romance.
Don’t put off finding a diagnosis and not living life to the fullest because of this dread that you might have something. What if you have the disease? But, what if you don’t. Yes, I am being deliberately vague. Because I don’t want to give anything away.
The ending of this book brought on goosebumps. I loved this book!!!! I look forward to reading more books by Vi Keeland. I give Sex, Not Love. 5 stars.
The heart knows what the heart desires. No amount of fake numbers and miles between two souls will deter love from embedding in one’s heart. In Vi Keeland’s newest standalone, I couldn’t get enough of Sex, Not Love. We are blessed with this #1 NY Times bestseller author’s talented words and a story that will have you escaping reality for hours.
At a glance across the aisle at their friends wedding, an intense attraction pulls Natalia Rossi and Hunter Deluca together. Nat can spot a cocky, arrogant man and Hunter is a prime example of a sexy bad boy, but weddings are for hooking up and moving on, no strings… right?
“A guy like him was the last thing I needed.”
Hunter however, seemingly wants more and after countless times at playing hardball, he’s in town for work and has her back against the door. He’s only asking for Sex, Not Love; what’s the harm?
Hunter is one fine specimen! He was insanely hot and the way he pursued her was very attractive and possessive in a way. But when he opened his mouth to spout sinful words to Nat, I think the pages steamed and fanning myself wasn’t enough.
“Okay… and we’d spend time together outside of the bedroom, too?”
“Of course. I’ll always make sure you eat before I eat you.”
Vi Keeland’s writing is flawless, providing a beautiful story laid out before you and two characters who are so right for each other, becoming more than just friends, makes this a great weekend read. She always keeps me coming back for more. I can’t wait to see what is next from Vi.
5 Stars
I’m a little obsessed with Sex, Not Love by Vi Keeland. I know it’s only the beginning of the year, but I know this book will be on my best of 2018 list. Vi’s books always manage to make me laugh, steam up my e-reader and produce a lovable book boyfriend. That’s a given. Sex, Not Love did all of those things along with a big dose of the feels. I definitely felt a great emotional sucker punch. Hunter and Natalia’s relationship was not only sexy and sweet, but it really tugged at my heartstrings. I dare you not to laugh or get choked up. Reading books like Sex, Not Love made me remember all over again why I love to read and why I love this author.