Gabriel Carter is the biggest, cockiest asshole I’ve ever met. He’s six-foot-three inches of ex-baseball player—sexy muscles and smoldering looks that turn my body into a traitorous mess.Did I mention he’s also the reason business at my family’s hotel is quickly going down the drain?I shouldn’t want him, but try explaining that to my body. Especially after he proposes a business deal to me that … he proposes a business deal to me that will be mutually rewarding—both financially and sexually.
Sleep with the enemy?
Nah, I’ll just marry the bastard instead.
more
Standalone Novella.
Maggie Kinsella is retiring from active duty in the military. She’s coming home to help her aging parents with their failing inn. However, Gabriel Carter has opened a resort directly across from her parents’ inn, which severely decreased the inn’s reservations. When Maggie’s friend convinces her to go to a party in the enemy’s territory, Maggie sucks it up. Free booze, right? As Maggie enters the room, though, she spots her ex and panics. She grabs the first guy she sees and kisses him. Gabe is intrigued by her forwardness and decides he must have her. He introduces himself, but Maggie is so distracted she doesn’t even hear his first name. After she finds out who he is, Maggie is furious.
If you’re looking for a Hawaiian homecoming with an enemies-to-lovers, faux-marriage, this is the book for you!
AudiobookObsession
I have always enjoyed the enemies to lovers romances. I find the sarcasm, banter and opposition make the story funny at times. Thrust Under is right there. I loved the banter between Gabe and Maggie. The chemistry between them is obvious to the reader as they both try to fight it. Maggie and Gabe are truly opposites. Maggie is trying to care for her family and Gabe only cares about himself. It is fun to watch these two meet in the middle.
Meghan Kelly does a wonderful job narrating this story. She is able to keep the story easy to follow with her many different tones. Ms. Kelly brings out the best and the worst attributes of each character. I enjoyed listening to her narration and I will be looking for more books narrated by Meghan Kelly.
I absolutely loved the characters in this book! I loved how they met and the chemistry between them! Meghan Kelly did an excellent job narrating, so much so that after I fell in love with the characters I didn’t want her to stop talking. I wanted another book! Valentine and Snow made a great relationship and I want more. This book gave me a great feeling and a big smile. Look forward to listening to it again!
Sleeping with enemy takes on a whole new meaning. Gabe and Maggie are my introduction to another great author. Thrust Under is a tale built on heat, misunderstandings and heart. With characters as fiery as Maggie and Gabe, it’s only fitting that Meghan Kelly bring her spirited deliver on board for this sexy escapade. Valentine and Snow chose well and created a perfect fit.
“Gabriel Carter is undeniably trouble-the kind I wouldn’t mind going a round or two with. If he were anybody else.”
A fast, steamy, insta that had me hooked right away!! The tension, the reasons they shouldn’t pursue each other, the undeniable pull they had was addictive. Super hot, fun to read, and well written! I devoured it! I thank the Authors for providing a copy to review!!
~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog
Two amazing authors coming together for one fantastic story!
I love these two author but them writing together? WOW! This is quick but it’s worth every minute you spend reading it. Even though it’s a novella it makes every page count and doesn’t lack for anything.
Gabe is so sexy. His flirt game is strong and he brings it in every scene he is in. Maggie is a little hesitant and rightfully so but when she comes around these two have great chemistry.
If you like the quick but amazing stories then this one is for you. I hope these two work together again because this so good with this book.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
I enjoyed this short insta-lust, enemies-to-lovers, marriage of convenience story.
From the beginning it caught my attention and didn’t let it go.
The chemistry and slight angst made me keep listening and I loved it all.
Two fabulous authors come together and give you a great read….Thrust Under
Gabe and Maggie are a force once they connect .
Gabe is the epitome of trouble …ex-baseball player and now hotel entrepreneur.
Maggie ex military who now finds herself back home in Hawaii to help save the family business . An impromptu kiss instigated by Maggie to throw her ex boyfriend off her trail and now these two unlikely individuals are more than acquainted !
I loved their banter and sexual energy. Maggie is sassy, strong and does let’s you know that she does not need a man to get things done! Gabe our handsome player has a soft side under all those muscles and he has never wanted to much to take care of another person!
A sexy, sassy, romantic, quick read!
~~Michele McMullen ~~
This author duo did a fantastic job with this book. The characters were fantastic and the story was steamy, romantic, and downright addicting; I didn’t want it to end.
A different story than what I’ve read lately and although sometimes it was predictable, I definitely enjoyed Maggie and Gabe’s story. A fun light read that will still have you swooning after 🙂
After being away for years when she caught her boyfriend cheating on her, Maggie comes back to her hometown. When she’s here she finds out her parents are struggling to keep the business afloat since the resort next door is doing very well and keeping some of their customers away. When she meets Gabe she doesn’t know he’s the new business owner but the instant attraction between them is evident but she does whatever she can to stay away from him but when he makes her a ‘business’ proposition, will she be able to resist?… Will they find something more in each other?..
Thrust Under was a quick little enemies to lovers romance from 2 authors that I love to read!
Five years ago, Maggie fled Oahu and joined the military after catching the boyfriend she thought she would marry screwing her cousin in the backseat of a car. Now her tour of duty and her time serving has come to an end, and she returns home to face her family and her ex for the first time. After being away for so long, Maggie had no idea how deeply her parents had fallen into financial trouble or how badly their hotel had fallen into disrepair after an outsider bought and renovated the property next door into a beautiful resort. Lani manages to convince Maggie to go to a party at that resort to enjoy the free food and alcohol for one night and let the worries wait one more day. She reluctantly agrees but when she sees her ex making his way toward her, she impulsively grabs the first guy she sees and lays a hot kiss on him.
Maggie isn’t exactly paying attention to detail and doesn’t immediately realize the man she decided to grab is none other than Gabe Carter, the owner of the resort she is at and public enemy #1 in her eyes for the damage his property has done to her family’s business and legacy. When reality sinks in, she lashes out like a wet cat – and yes, Gabe could have a field day with that comment with his cocky attitude and dirty mouth, especially after their most recent activities in the shadows!
As a former professional athlete with a well deserved bad reputation, Gabe is no stranger to women throwing themselves at him but he knows Maggie is different. He desperately wants his business venture to be a success but his investors are all too aware of some of his more cringeworthy moments in the media during his days playing, so he comes up with a plan he believes will work for him on both a personal and professional level: he will ask Maggie to marry him. That will give him the appearance of stability to his investors while giving him access to the woman who has haunted his dreams since he met her and allowing her family the financial means to make the needed updates and repairs to their property.
Sparks fly between Maggie and Gabe, and those sparks alternate between anger and lust! She is outraged at first by his business proposition, but the more she thinks about it the more she realizes it may be the only way to help her parents. Little by little, Maggie feels her resistance giving way when it comes to this man, and she is surprised to discover a real human being beneath the cocky a-hole exterior as she spends more time with him.
Of course there have to be some drama llama moments before all is said and done involving her ex and her cousin, and Gabe’s own past presents a bit of a momentary challenge as well, but it is all good in the end. I loved the little nods to Michelle’s Black Falcon series and Emily’s prior release Tidal too! Well done on your first collaboration ladies, I hope it is just the first of many!
Loved the challenge that Maggie was for Gabe. Maggie is a strong woman and a veteran which I appreciated in this story. She returns home to find that her parents Hawaiian resort isn’t doing so well but the neighbors is booming. Boy is she shocked when the man she grabs to ward off her evil ex turns out to be the owner, Gabe. Gabe loves Maggie’s fire and spirit. He is determined that they will get together. The beauty to this story is the connection they build and how Gabe shows that you truly can’t judge a book by it’s cover or by the rumors on the web. I had fun reading this story which had some unexpected twists that surprised me and made me appreciate this romance as it built. Truly a fabulously sexy escape.
THRUST UNDER co-authored by Michelle A Valentine and Emily Snow is a stand alone, contemporary adult erotic, romance story line focusing on former professional baseball player and hotelier Gabriel Carter, and US soldier Maggie Kinsella.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Maggie and Gabriel) THRUST UNDER follows the building relationship between hotelier Gabriel Carter, and Maggie Kinsella, a US soldier returning home from her last deployment, and a woman whose family’s Hawaiian hotel is struggling to survive. Gabriel Carter’s reputation as a bad boy and manwh*re during his baseball playing days has followed our hero into the business world and his venture into owning a hotel. At the suggestion of his lawyer Gabriel is desperate to find a woman who is willing to play his fiancée and wife in order to present a unified front for his next financial transactions. Enter Maggie Kinsella, retired US soldier, and the woman with whom Gabriel will fall in love. What ensues are Gabriel’s offer to help Maggie’s parent’s business in exchange for Maggie accepting Gabriel’s proposal of marriage and a happily ever after.
Maggie’s parents small family owned hotel is in desperate need of remodelling and repairs but their finances are in ruins, and they are months if not weeks away from permanent closure. When the beautifully handsome but overly cocky Gabriel offers an independent and strong-willed Maggie a solution to her parent’s problems, Maggie must consider the ramifications of the secrets and lies she of which she is about to embark. When Maggie’s ex-boyfriend comes looking for a second chance, Gabriel sees red and misunderstands Maggie’s reactions to the man that had previously destroyed her heart.
The relationship between Maggie and Gabriel is one of immediate attraction until Maggie discovers Gabriel’s owns the successful hotel next door, a hotel owner Maggie blames for the imminent downfall of her parent’s Hawaiian resort. In the early stages of their relationship Maggie struggles with her attraction to our story line hero, an attraction that she continues to deny. The $ex scenes are erotic, seductive and intense.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Maggie’s parents Lia and Henry Kinsella; Maggie’s ex-boyfriend Ryan; her best friend Lani; and Gabriel’s former teammate Killian Reynolds; and reporter Vivi Hamilton. There is a slight cross-over with Valentine’s Black Falcon Rock series, and the mention of Riff and ‘Ball Busting B*tch’.
The world building follows the frenemies to lovers relationship between Gabriel and Maggie; and the struggle for one family to make in the competitive world of high-end hotels.
THRUST UNDER is a sexy, sassy and flirty story line. The romance is captivating, hot and steamy; the characters are colorful, passionate and charismatic.
This was such a great collaboration between these two amazing authors! It is a super fun, sexy and quick read that will leave you smiling ear to ear for sure. Maggie and Gabe are both awesome characters that are just so likable. Their initial meeting was incredibly hot and steamy, until it wasn’t, when Maggie realized who he was. It was at this time I was just a little annoyed with her because he definitely told her his full name, she just didn’t hear it. But in her defense she was a little distracted by his all consuming hotness. Love the plan he comes up with to help them both just as I love the back and forth between Maggie & Gabe throughout. They just have so much undeniable chemistry, there is no way they can get around it. Gabe is certainly so much more than Maggie first thinks he is. The story line was very good as well as being flowy and easy and I just really enjoyed it! And as a fan, of course I adored the shout out in Chapter 6!! I certainly hope we get more awesomeness from these two authors!
Gabe needed to change his image so his investors would give him the money to make his dream come true. Maggie needed money so her family wouldn’t lose their dream. Gabe’s idea of a “partnership” started as something fake but developed into real feelings. Everyone saw him as a playboy, sleeping with all kinds of women. They were single. married, divorced, he didn’t care. Always drunk and not caring. But sometimes you have to look deeper into someone. I always believe you can’t judge a book but its cover.
Maggie only saw him as a threat to her family’s hotel. Until she got to know him. Underneath that rough exterior was a man with a heart. A caring man, someone who wanted to help others. He treated his employees well. At first she agreed to his idea because it would save her family but the more time she spent with him she saw him for the man he was. His investors only saw the “playboy” but never the man, not until Maggie. Maggie also made Gabe see the man he truly is because of her. Could they actually pull off this idea and get the backing from the investors and make his dream a reality. Also could it make this fake relationship into a real lifelong one.
Once again Michelle Valentine and Emily Snow deliver a 5 star story you will not be able to put down.