I am such a huge fan of author Talia Vance. I absolutely love her Bandia series and I am super excited to be able to be a part of the tour to celebrate the release of her book SPIES AND PREJUDICE.
If you think the book sounds awesome from having read the description, just wait until you read the dance scene from Tanner’s point of view that I have for my stop on the tour today. It will make you want to pick up the book so that you can meet Tanner and Berry. And it will make you want to read the scene from Berry’s POV to see just what she thought of their dance.
Of course reading the scene from Tanner’s perspective makes me want to read the entire book from his POV too….
Anyway… while I think I have the best stop on the tour, there are some other amazing stops you’ll definitely want check out – fab reviews and super fun guest posts including a dream cast, things a spy girl shouldn’t leave home without, character comparisons, a playlist and more.
The tour schedule is included at the bottom of this post with direct links to all the stops on the tour through today’s stop.
But before you head off to check those out, there is a giveaway for some awesome prizes that follows below the book’s description and places to find it online, the seriously amazing guest post and some information about the author and places to find her online.
Author Talia Vance is a fantastic writer who can make you swoon over her characters one moment and get all twisty-turny because of something that happened to them the next. And I’m so thrilled to have her on the blog today to share this scene that does just a little bit of both.
About the Book
About SPIES AND PREJUDICE
Fields’ Rule #1: Don’t fall for the enemy.
Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she’s sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.
So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her “nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time. She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s death.
But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?
With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide.
SPIES AND PREJUDICE released on June 11, 2013 and is available in hardcover and eBook formats.
GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | THE BOOK DEPOSITORY
Guest Post
The Dance Scene from Tanner’s Point of View
Five minutes. That’s how long it takes for Ryan to get Mary Chris on the dance floor and act like a complete fool, bumping and grinding like an idiot with a ridiculous smile on his face. I would drag him outside and knock some sense into him if I didn’t suspect that the girl next to me would tackle me to the ground before I got within three feet of Mary Chris. Even that dress wouldn’t stop Berry from protecting her friend.
That dress.
I steal another sideways glance.
Damn. It would be so worth getting tackled by her.
No. It would be a disaster.
I stare back out at Ryan and Mary Chris, doing my best to pull myself together. Is it hot in here? It’s definitely hot in here.
“Do you want to dance?” Berry asks.
She can’t be serious. There’s no way that Berry Fields actually wants to dance with me. Unless she’s somehow discovered that I suck at dancing and is hoping to embarrass me in front of half the school. I stare at the floor, because if I look at her, I might do something stupid. Like say yes. “I don’t dance.”
“It’s called the Homecoming Dance. Not the Homecoming hide-in-the-corner-and-brood.” She gestures toward Ryan and Mary Chris. “Must be a shock for you. All this merriment.”
Ryan spreads his fingers and drags his palms over his eyes in a poor imitation of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. I should put a stop to this whole thing while he still has a tiny piece of self-respect intact.
While I do.
“Why are you even here?” Berry’s eyes bore into me.
I let myself look at her, and instantly regret it. My mouth goes dry and I have to remember to breathe. Was she always so beautiful? It’s more than just the dress. I can’t look at her lips without remembering how they feel against mine. Without wanting to feel them again.
I step closer, backing her closer to the wall. “Maybe I like brooding in corners with pretty girls in fancy dresses who take my breath away.”
Her eyes widen and her lips part. For a second I think she might be thinking of kissing me too, but then she pushes past me. “You’ll have to brood alone for a while.” She stops a few feet away and glances over her shoulder. “I came here to dance.”
Damn it.
She did want to dance with me.
It shouldn’t matter. I should be over it already. How many times do I need to be insulted, brushed off or completely shot down?
At least one more apparently.
I push through the crowd, following the gold threads of her dress as they reflect off the lights overhead. I nearly knock over a couple making out in the middle of the dance floor, but I don’t lose sight of Berry as she retreats across the room.
She’s almost to the other side when I reach for her elbow. She spins around at the contact, her fists raised in a fighting stance that would be scary if it weren’t so damn sexy. “Are you following me again?”
“It appears that way.”
“Why?”
I inhale, sucking it up. “I changed my mind.” As bad ideas go, this is the worst. A slow song plays, and touching her is not going to help me get over this.
She drops her fists, but her eyes are still hard, untrusting. “You changed your mind?”
“This is stupid.” I wasn’t kidding when I said I don’t dance. “I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
“Are you asking me to dance? Cause here’s a tip. You might want to edit out the commentary about it being stupid.” She shakes her head, her blonde curls brushing her bare shoulders in a way that makes me wish I could follow suit.
I hold out my hand to her, ignoring her comment. If she dances with me, she’ll figure out exactly how stupid of an idea this is, but right now I don’t care. I just want to touch her.
She gives me her hand in silent answer to my prayer. “I thought you didn’t dance,” she says.
“I might be terrible.”
“Stop the presses. Tanner Halston is terrible at something?” Is she smiling?
“It happens.” More than I want to admit. Hell, Berry Fields is exhibit A in the case against me for all my failures.
I reach for her waist with my other hand, and pull her close enough that I can smell the strawberries in her hair. Her lips tasted like strawberries, and I can’t help but think that if I leaned forward and kissed the bare skin on her neck, that the rest of her would taste like strawberries too. I pull her against me, savoring the jolt of heat that fills me at the contact. Why did I ever think dancing sucked?
“You are kind of terrible,” she says. “Keep your feet still.”
Reality check. I freeze, afraid that one wrong move will send her scurrying away in horror. She doesn’t move either. We just stand in the middle of the dance floor, holding each other.
“This isn’t dancing,” I say. It’s a billion times better.
“We’ll get there. One thing at a time. Start with your hips.” She slides her hands along my waist, lower. “Here.” She presses her hips into mine, swaying to the side, urging me to move with her.
I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing about two sways ago, but I follow her lead, biting my lip to keep from gasping.
“Good,” she says, and I smile wildly at the compliment. “Now, step slowly. That’s it. And turn slightly as you step.”
I lift my foot and turn.
“Ow!” She pulls her foot out from underneath mine, but she’s laughing, and she keeps her hips pressed to me. “Okay, forget the stepping for now.” She brings both her hands to my shoulders, letting them slide behind my neck until my face is buried in her hair and my lips brush against her neck, the scent of strawberries tangling with something richer.
I can’t stop smiling. “I told you I didn’t dance.”
“You’re doing fine.”
I’m doing better than fine. That’s the problem. Touching her is addicting. She pulls me closer and my hands move from her waist to her back, to the smooth skin on her shoulders. I push a long strand of hair away from her neck and bring my lips closer, so tempted to see if she tastes as good as she smells.
The song ends before I’m ready, as if I ever could be, but Berry doesn’t pull away. If anything, she pulls me closer.
“Berry,” I say, my lips brushing softly against her neck. Damn. She does taste like strawberries.
“Hmm?”
It’s an effort to keep from kissing her right there in the middle of the dance floor.
“The song’s over.”
She opens her eyes and startles. Pushing me away from her, she stands up straight and brushes her skirt over her thighs with her hands. “This is the part where you’re supposed to thank me for the dance.”
“Thank you.” I can’t take my eyes off her.
Which is exactly why I need to get the hell out of here.
I turn around and walk away without looking back. This cannot be happening. It can’t happen.
I am so screwed.
About the Author
About TALIA VANCE
Talia Vance is a practicing litigation attorney living in Northern California with her real life love interest, two-point-five kids, and a needy Saint Bernard named Huckleberry. Talia has been writing since she could talk, making up stories for every doll, stuffed animal and action figure she could get her hands on. She grew up hoping to write the great American novel, but her life ran more along the lines of tortured romance and fast paced thrillers, so that’s what she writes.
TWITTER | WEBSITE | BLOG | GOODREADS
The Giveaway
There are some awesome prizes up for grabs on the SPIES AND PREJUDICE Blog Tour and there will be a total of FIVE (5) winners.
THREE (3) winners will receive a hardcover copy of SPIES AND PREJUDICE and a T-shirt
TWO (2) winners will receive a T-shirt
The giveaway is US only and open to anyone 13 or older.
Enter in the Rafflecopter below…
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Tour Schedule
June 4th – The YA Sisterhood – Review
June 4th – Page Turners Blog – Review
June 6th – The Reviews News – Guest Post
June 7th – Two Chicks on Books – Guest Post
June 8th – What the Cat Read – Guest Post
June 9th – I’m A Book Shark – Guest Post
June 10th – Debbie’s World of Books – Guest Post
June 11th – Magical Urban Fantasy Reads – Guest Post
June 12th – Tales of the Ravenous Reader – Guest Post
June 13th – Tater’s Tall Tails – Guest Post
June 14th – Fiktshun – Guest Post
June 17th – Literary Exploration – Review
Read More
