Giveaway + Book Review [Shine Not Burn] by Elle Casey

6 Shining and Spoiler Free Stars!!!!

Shine Not Burn will have you shinning from head to toe with pure joy, excitement, smiles and belly full of laughter.  You do not need to think about your next read because Shine Not Burn NEEDS to be it … like NOW!

All I wanted was one night of reckless abandon so I could get all this craziness out of my system and go home with a clean slate, ready to kick ass, take names, and get on with my life.

[Intro]

Andrea (Andie) has her life planned out for her.  She calls it “Andie’s Life Plan”, which involves making junior partner, getting married and having 2.5 kids.  BUT for just one night, she goes against better judgment and takes a trip to Las Vegas with her girlfriends, where she meets Mack.  Mack is sexy, swoon-worthly-panty-dropping -country cowboy who happens to be very intrigued with city slick Andie when they meet.

Oh GOD WHERE DO I BEGIN?!

[Andie + Mack]

I LOVED Andie.  I thought she was Fantastic. Witty. Funny. Adorable. and Lovable.  I want to be best friends with Andie, heck I want to be Andie!  Andie is your typical goal-oriented city lawyer.  She wants to be successful and have the typical life she has been planning since she was little, despite her friend’s wishes and pleas to get her to become looser.

Mack…OH.MY.  Let me just say this, yes I am from Texas, yes husband is southern and actually grew up on a farm, BUT I never really had a cowboy thing.  But sheesh, after reading Shine Not Burn, I’m making husband but on his Levis and cowboy boots.  I LOVED Mack.  He will be your next book boyfriend. He is so freaking sweet, yet strong, aggressive, dominate and very smart. … oh and he’s lickable too.

Sexy. Handsome. Smart. Sexy. Magnetizing. Compelling. Muscles. Good family. Confident. Polite. Sexy

[Overall]

When Andie goes to Las Vegas and meets Mack, Oh god, if there was ever a meet-cute, they had it.  She doesn’t wear heels, but her friends make her wear five inch stilettos and the poor girl trips, spills her drink on Mack. Sure, that’s cute right? So Andie is mortified and starts to wipe Mack’s pants, but he starts to get excited… you know that kind. Oh come on, isn’t that funny?! I found it freaking hilarious.

I could rip his clothes off and be wild and crazy slut.  I was so ready to be a prostitute right now. Twelve hundred bucks was definitely going to buy him a blow job.

Andie and Mack both have a grand-o time in Vegas and the next day, they both part ways.  Its two years later and Andie is planning her wedding with now fiancé Bradley but she gets a call from the court house, saying that she is already married…. to Mack. **GASP**

Andie goes to the country and tries to convince Mack to sign the divorce papers, but not being in her own element and Mack’s family can be a little bit distracting, makes it difficult for Andie to achieve her goal.  The whole read is just hilarious, I can’t express to you how funny it is.  The jokes that come out of Andie’s mouth are top notch, you just want to write them down and re-quote them (which I did).

I was like a dog getting distracted by a small animal running by. Squirrel! Fine ass!

I had zero fear of Mack being the wrong kind of guy to invite up to my room. He totally didn’t come off as rapist material. Me, on the other hand, I wasn’t so sure about.

I one-hundred percent LOVED LOVED LOVED every single side character.   From man-bear-pig/wookie, to lovable Mack’s Mom and don’t even get me started on Andie’s best friend Candice!  If I can’t be Andie, I would gladly be Candice.

I lost my brain about an hour and three margaritas ago.

You’re going with your heart and you vagina instead of your head for a change!

Oh and the title reference!  If you know me, I ALWAYS look for the title reference and when you get to it in Shine Not Burn, you are like Shit, that Elle Casey is a fucking genius! 

It feels like shinning to me, not burning

And do not be fooled by all the humor, Shine Not Burn is steamy!  I know, how can a read have everything? Well, it simply just does.

Shine Not Burn has a perfect Herione and Hero, wonderful side-characters, witty story line and one-of- kind dialogue with just the right amount of steam.  If you are looking for that light-hearted, fun-filled, laughable read, then Shine Not Burn is it. You will (as I have) “laugh out loud” many many many many times.

He swung so easily between strong, sexy cowboy and soft-hearted lover boy, he was making me dizzy with it.  Maybe even a little love-drunk

Dumbass jerk butthead cowboy redneck sexy person. God, why does he have to be so sexy

He likes me! A lot! He really likes me! And he’s hung like a horse!

[Rating]

6 Stars times a million

Shine Not Burn is Simply Perfection by ten folds times infinity. 

[Interview with Elle]
1.) Why did you become a writer? and Who/What inspires you to write?  
I've been told since I was a young girl I should write books, first by my Grandmother who I exchanged letters with over many years and then by others who received letters or emails from me.  It made me feel great when people told me they loved my stories and how the way I described situations made them laugh.

But I knew I could never handle that process of sending in manuscripts to agents and getting ignored or told flat-out that I suck and to find another job.  I took the short cut and just found the other job! (Many jobs, actually.) But then the Kindle came along and Amazon letting people publish right to readers. I read a news article first about Amanda Hocking and then Darci Chan - that was back in October or November of 2011.  After I read their stories, I thought I'd just give it a shot.

I had a ton of stories just waiting to be told floating around in my head and I'd always wanted to see if I could do it.  I started with the one that had the loudest characters and just continued on.  Many of my books started out as either stand-alone novels or short series, but I had so many readers asking for more, I just gave them more.  Now I have lots of series and lots of YA books.  :)

To answer your question about who or what inspires me to write… now that I've learned I can write engaging stories people like to read, it's my readers.  I read reviews that make my heart nearly explode with happiness.  It's for them I write.  I'm very highly addicted to reader love.

2.) You have written YA reads, anywhere from urban fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian and action-adventure, what inspired you to write a New Adult read?  Especially, a country cowboy themed one? 
First, I'm a big fan of the romance genre, and right now the best place to be for New Adult is romance.  I love to read the stuff!  I've been reading romances since I was 8 or 9.  Seriously.  My mom didn't care what I was reading, so long as I was reading!  She and my Grandma pretty much mainlined Harlequin romances, so those are the books that were lying around our house.  I've read hundreds of romances in all the sub-genres.

I decided to take my love for the genre and add it to my desire to branch out and find new readers. Romance is the biggest group of readers, they're voracious, and they talk to each other online. I knew it would be so much easier to build my reader base if there was a bigger, very connected group of people to write for.  And last, I just wanted to try and write something different.

Why a cowboy?  I have no freaking idea.  Andie jumped into my head one day and she dragged Mack in with her.  All the other characters introduced themselves as the story unfolded.  I'm a panster, meaning I write without an outline.  I meet my characters as they appear on the page.

3.) Are you really a comedian on the side? Shine Not Burn kept me laughing from start to finish.  How did you come up with so many witty lines?  
I write comedy sketches in my head all the time.  Maybe some day I'll try that career too.  :)  I really have no idea how I do it.  I let my characters tell the story, and because they feel like real people to me with their own personalities and pasts, their humor comes through clearly.  Plus I like to hang out with funny, smart people, so maybe it rubs off on my characters. :)

4.) I LOVED Andie and Mack, how did you come up with the characters?  Andie is so funny and Mack is so alpha-male tough.
I wish I knew.  They conjure themselves out of the ether while I sleep, maybe.  I'll tell you that in my last life, I was a lawyer in West Palm Beach.  So that made Andie's life very easy to envision.  Ruby is patterned after Loretta Devine of Eli Stone.  She was the very best actress as a legal secretary I've ever seen.  I love that woman.  She's brilliant.  Mack?  Well, I was married to a cowboy from Baker City, Oregon, but he was nothing like Mack (hence the divorce … lol).  But my cowboy made beautiful children with me, so I can't really complain much. Mack is my ideal cowboy, I guess.  I've always been a sucker for the strong, silent type (hence my second, very happy marriage … lol)

5.) Will you extend Shine Not Burn into a series?  Maybe write book 2 about Ian or Candice?
I've been asked for a book 2 about Ian, and I'm also curious about Hannah Banana and Candice and even Bradley, so we'll see.  If I get enough reader requests, I'll do it. I always like to make my readers happy.

6.) What is your favorite author and read?
That's tough.  I have so many I love.  I read romances every once in a while for an escape into love.  I read a lot of urban fantasy like the Sookie Stackhouse series, Twilight (Team Edward), and the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.  Then there are all these amazing indie authors like Hugh Howey, Dannika Dark, HM Ward, Mimi Strong, Cassia Leo, Catou Martine, CM Stunich, Kelly Harper, Kelly Walker … I could go on and on!  I mostly read indie books now.  I like to support the careers of people like me.  If we support indie authors as readers, we're going to be rewarded with more great books at lower prices, so it's a no brainer for me.

7.) I don't want to give anything away, but there is a part in the read where there is a lost night, would you write a novella or companion piece to retell those events?
I would strongly consider it.  I think it's a great idea.  Thank you for coming up with it!  :)

[About Elle]

Elle Casey is a full-time writer of New Adult and Young Adult titles in several genres, including romance, urban fantasy, sci-fi dystopian, and action-adventure. She's an American girl who's been living in southern France with her husband and three children since 2010. She loves chatting with her readers, so feel free to drop her a line.

[Purchase Links]

US - AMAZON - B&N - KOBO

Canada - AMAZON - UK - AMAZON - Deutschland - AMAZON - France - AMAZON

Espana - AMAZON - Italia - AMAZON

[Giveaway]

1 ecopy of Shine Not Burn and 1 signed swag, Postcard from France (where Elle lives) :D

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