*Grabby Hands* Blog Tour & Review - Acting On Impulse by Mia Sosa

Title: Acting on Impulse

(Love on Cue #1)

Author: Mia Sosa

Publisher: Avon Impulse

Release Date: September 19th, 2017

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

After a very public breakup with a media-hungry politician, fitness trainer Tori Alvarez escapes to Aruba for rest, relaxation, and copious amounts of sex on the beach—the cocktail, that is. She vows to keep her vacation a man-free zone… but when a cute guy is seated next to her on the plane, Tori can’t resist a little harmless flirting.

Hollywood heartthrob Carter Stone underwent a dramatic physical transformation for his latest role and it’s clear his stunning seat mate doesn’t recognize the man beneath the shaggy beard and extra lean frame. Now Carter needs help rebuilding his buff physique and Tori is perfect for the job. It doesn’t hurt that she makes his pulse pound in more ways than one.

Sparks are flying, until a pesky paparazzo reveals Carter’s identity. Tori is hurt and pissed. She wants nothing to do with another man in the limelight, but she’s still got to whip him into shape. Can Carter convince Tori he’s worth the threat to her privacy that comes with dating a famous actor, or will Tori chisel him down to nothing before he even gets the chance?

Grab the popcorn . . .

As I crawl into the tiny space—it’s been a while since I’ve traveled coach class—I catch a whiff of her scent and close my eyes. Not sure if it’s perfume, body wash, or what, but it smells like vanilla and reminds me of the candles my mother used to buy at the local craft store. That right there is a sign. My mother would most heartily approve of this woman.

Now to find out her name.

I turn in my seat, prepping myself for a short conversation—too much too soon isn’t part of the playbook—but then I realize she’s not next to me. I raise myself off the cushion and pretend to stretch as I turn my head to scan the back of the plane. She’s a few rows back, standing and chatting with a guy who doesn’t appear to have anyone sitting next to him.

Oh, hell no.

Do I have to go to the restroom? You bet.

Before I stand, a bell rings and a flight attendant announces that there will be a short delay while the ground crew clears debris from the runway. Perfect.

I rise and make my way through the aisle, pushing down the bill of my baseball cap so no one notices me. But, of course, someone does. For all the wrong reasons.

A little girl with huge brown eyes and a mop of bright red hair tugs on her mother’s shirt and says, “Mommy, that man looks like a bear.”

The cutie’s pronouncement is loud enough that several nearby passengers chuckle. Even the object of my fascination turns and laughs. I grin at the kid, and she growls in her best imitation of a bear. So freaking adorable, that girl. Enjoying her fascination with my beard, I channel my inner Leonardo DiCaprio and growl right back.

Now I’ve done it.

The little girl’s eyes go round, and her eyes water. Then she lets out a shriek like the hounds of hell are chasing her. Unfortunately, I’m the hounds, and everyone on the plane, including my future wife, knows it.

The girl’s mother tries to quiet her, rocking her and telling her everything will be okay. Their seatmate, meanwhile, throws daggers at me with his eyes.

“He’s so scary looking,” the little girl chants over and over into her mother’s chest.

“Sir,” the flight attendant says behind me, “we’re getting ready to take off soon. Could you please return to your seat?”

Bewildered by the past ten minutes of my life, I nod and amble back to my row. How the hell did things go south that quickly? Fantasy woman returns, and my stomach drops when I catch the look of sympathy on her face. I slide down into my seat, give her a pathetic smile, and cover my face with my baseball cap as though I’m settling in for a nap. I need to regroup before I can speak to her. And I refuse to listen to the preflight safety demonstration unless the attendant can teach me how to save me from myself.

So now I know another thing: Whatever I tell my kids about how I met their mother, it’s going to be a lie. A big, fat fucking lie.

4 “Take me to Aruba” Stars

ARC provided by the author

Thank you!!

Looking for a fun, sexy, refreshing read with a sassy Latina main character and a swoony Hollywood love interest? Then you got it. Even if you weren’t looking for exactly that, you still want to read Acting on Impulse. Trust me.

I read my first Mia Sosa book last year, and I truly enjoyed how she wrote what I called “realistic romances”. For me, those are stories you can see yourself or someone you know living. Instead of that big drama that I love in angst reads, in Mia Sosa’s books I always find relatable problems/situations that I believe most women can find themselves into. Even though Acting on Impulse featured a Hollywood star as the love interest, the way he met and fell in love with the main character was still fairly “normal” (not impossible to happen).

Honestly, I think there’s something special about authors who can write sexy, swoony romances that are still relatable.

And Acting on Impulse had all of that.

For me, the fun element was the one I noticed first. The first chapter is written from Hollywood heartthrob Carter Stone’s POV, and the voice was light, funny and sexy.

There was insta-lust when he first sees fitness trainer Tori Alvarez on the plane, but I didn’t mind it because it didn’t feel like he was taking it too seriously. The way he called her “his future” wife and kept thinking about how he’d tell this story to their grandchildren was sort of adorable, and a lot less creepy than one might think. The main reason it worked for me was because of the sweet and fun theme that followed the story from start to finish, and also because Carter was a real sweetheart and being inside his head was a pleasure.

Tori’s POV chapters were also extremely enjoyable. She was a smart, confident and funny woman, and she made me smile and laugh quite a lot. She was sassy in a non-annoying way, which, trust me, isn’t easy to pull off.

Another thing I enjoyed about Tori was how centered and matured she acted. When I thought she’d freak out over something, she found a composed and mature way to deal with it—be it her problems with her family, her relationship with Carter, her breakup with her ex or even the annoying reporters. It helped keep the story light, and it didn’t hurt the fun element, because the heart of the story wasn’t the drama, but the romance.

And I loved the romance. It was refreshing to see how it started—as two strangers forming some sort of heated friendship in a hot location. Side note: this story left me craving a visit to Aruba! It was even more refreshing to see how it developed. Everyone knows I’m a fan of slow burn, and this had a little bit of it. Even though Tori and Carter were dying to jump in bed, they kept their hands to each other for a while, and that only made me want to see them together more. A little torture is good for this romance-reader heart.

One last thing I want to say about this story is how the ending surprised me. I thought Carter’s movie plot was going to go one way, but it ended up being completely different from what I expected. He got his happy ending in all aspects of his life, obviously, but not in an obvious way.

Overall, Acting on Impulse was another win for me when it comes to Mia Sosa’s books, and I’m extremely happy I got the chance to read it.

Mia Sosa is an award-winning contemporary romance writer and 2015 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® Finalist. Her books have received praise and recognition from Library Journal, The Washington Post, Book Riot, Bustle, The Book List Reader, and more.

A former First Amendment and media lawyer, Mia practiced for more than a decade before trading her suits for loungewear (okay, okay, they’re sweatpants). Now she strives to write fun and flirty stories about imperfect characters finding their perfect match.

Mia lives in Maryland with her husband, their two daughters, and an adorable puppy who finally sleeps through the night. For more information about Mia and her books, visit www.miasosa.com