Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews: Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts by Charlie Cochet - Blog Tour with Author Post, Review and Giveaway

Title: Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts

Author: Charlie Cochet

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Anne Cain

Length: 86 Pages

Release Date: August 19, 2015

Blurb:

Julian “Quinn” Quinetro, a gruff, tough Miami SWAT officer, has been injured on the job, and all he’s looking for is a little peace and quiet to recover—difficult to achieve with his large Cuban family. An adventure in picking up his prescriptions puts him in the path of his geeky, brownie-baking neighbor, Spencer Morgan. Spencer sweeps into Quinn’s life like a tropical storm of sunshine and rainbows. Not surprisingly, it’s chaos at first sight. Quinn’s in need of a little tender loving care, and Spencer decides he’s just the man for the job. Their very different lives might clash, but they might also find some common ground—and maybe more.

“This is sad, man. What is it with you and brownies?”

“These aren’t just any brownies,” Spencer stated proudly as he removed his latest batch of baked chocolate decadence from the oven. “These are Nutella caramel brownies with nuts, made from scratch. These are orgasm-in-your-mouth brownies.”

“Not really sure what to think about that,” Danny muttered, eyeing the brownies dubiously. “Seriously, dude. The only orgasm you should be chasing is the one waiting next door. This is your perfect chance! He’s defenseless.” Danny reached for a brownie, but Spencer slapped his hand away before he could pilfer one.

“I have to spread the Nutella and top them with walnuts. Also, I don’t know what I find more disturbing: that you think I should take advantage of the poor guy in his defenseless state, or that you believe the only way I’ve got a shot is to take advantage of him in his defenseless state.” He stopped and turned to his pouting best friend. “And FYI, defenseless is what babies and puppies are, not huge-ass mountain men in possession of heavy artillery. I ran into him once, literally, and it’s like he’s made out of fucking granite. He’s got an eight-pack. An eight-pack.”

Spencer had never seen an eight-pack outside of cyberspace. Until his sexy neighbor, he’d questioned their existence, much like Bigfoot. The sighting had taken place one morning on his way to get groceries. Quinn had been on his way to their gated community’s pool, sporting nothing but low-riding swim trunks and flip-flops. He’d stepped into the elevator next to Spencer, and the heat outside had nothing on the heat that had spread through Spencer’s body. Luckily Quinn had been too busy texting to notice Spencer’s Human Torch impression.

“I have… I don’t even know what this is.” Spencer lifted up the hem of his apron and the Hulk T-shirt underneath with a frown. He ran his finger down a groove along his torso as he sucked his stomach in. “Does this look like muscle definition to you?”

Danny reached over to pat Spencer’s pale belly. “Looks like you need to stop baking brownies. And get some sun, man. Look at you. You’re not even white. You’re like, transparent.”

“That’s harsh.” Spencer lowered his clothes. “I don’t tan like you. I burn. You couldn’t lie to me? Besides, what am I supposed to say to him? ‘Hi, remember me? I’m the guy who’s been living next door to you for the past year. We pass each other in the hall every day, take the elevator together, have parking spaces next to each other, have mailboxes next to each other, do laundry in the same room together, and shop at the same supermarket. No? That’s okay. Excuse me while I die of embarrassment.’” Spencer walked around the kitchen counter and flopped down into a chair, waiting for the brownies to cool. “The guy doesn’t know I exist. He’s freakin’ Miami SWAT. He’s probably an overbearing, misogynistic asshole with a giant ego, anyway.”

Danny took a seat next to him, his expression filled with concern. “You don’t know that. Besides, since when do you judge people?”

Spencer narrowed his eyes at his friend. “No one likes a smartass.”

“Says the guy who got a ticket for mouthing off to a police officer.”

“I wasn’t mouthing off. I was being witty and adorable. The guy just had no sense of humor. Besides, I was nowhere near that fire hydrant. He was clearly behind on his quota. Bet that wouldn’t have happened to Quinn.” Was he pouting? Oh God, he was. Danny was right; he was sad.

“Probably because he’s SWAT and can park his ginormous truck wherever the hell he wants.” Danny went to the glass doors of the balcony overlooking the parking spaces and started laughing.

“What?”

“You know how they say dogs look like their owners? I wonder if the same applies to

Spencer joined Danny at the window, letting out a low groan. His tiny yellow Fiat gleamed cheerfully beside Quinn’s monster black Chevy Silverado. “It looks like a sunspot.”

4.5 out of 5 stars

Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts is an adorkably cute, funny, sweet, and even a bit smexy hot romance between the geek next door and his hot SWAT neighbor.

The characters in this story from Quinn and Spence, on down to various family members and friends are well written, and also a big part of the story around our MCs. Especially Quinn's family, who will make you wince, grimace, and laugh uproariously because they are just so real... you can "see" Quinn's Mom giving him the lecture while she feeds him.

I couldn't help but fall in love with Spence, because just like him I'm an awkward turtle when I get nervous or am in a new social situation. So I can totally sympathize with the graceless entrance, or the drop everything you touch thing he did in front of Quinn. Spence is just one of those characters that you'll immediately want to love and hug.

Now that doesn't mean Quinn isn't lovable, he is completely lovable. I just have a soft spot for those slightly awkward characters that just don't always fit in. Those that are square pegs in round hole kind of characters, like Spence. The relationship as it grows between Quinn and Spence is very believable. There are some situations that will make you laugh so hard you snort and others where you want to wrap Spence up tight.

All in all this was just another wonderfully written story by Charlie Cochet that you'll want to read again and again.

Dreamspinner Press (eBook)

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Hello all! Thank you so much for joining me on my blog tour as I celebrate the release of Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts! Food and drink features a lot in my little romantic contemporary, both from Spencer’s side and Quinn’s. Spencer is self-taught. He’s great cook and baker. Over the years it’s become a hobby for him, something that helps him relax. Also, he just loves good food.

Quinn also loves good food, and he eats a lot. As a SWAT officer for Miami, he spends a good deal of time training and working out, so staying fit and healthy is important. Unfortunately, Quinn’s cooking skills are limited to whatever he can stick in a toaster and even then the outcome is questionable. Now if you’re looking for a mean Cortadito with espuma on top, he’s your guy. What is a Cortadito with espuma? It’s a Cuban espresso with a thin layer of creamy foam.

Like most coffees, there are many approaches to making Cortaditos. Some add milk, some evaporated milk, so don’t add any milk. Personally, I don’t add milk, unless I’m making a Café con Leche which is something else. The key to an awesome Cortadito lies in the espuma, which is a little tricky.

Here’s a fabulous and super easy to follow tutorial on making Cuban coffee with espuma.

Link: https://youtu.be/gkNSTxPZDvg

If you don’t like your coffee strong, I would definitely recommend adding a little water to it. I’ve had Cuban coffee since I can remember. I have it every morning with milk, so Café con Leche. And it keeps me awake until well after lunch time when I have a cappuccino or latte. This stuff is potent. If I really need to wake up, I’ll have a Cortadito. This kept me up two days straight without sleep during finals at college. If you enjoy coffee and haven’t had the pleasure of trying Cuban coffee, I highly recommend it. Thank you so much for joining me today!

Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters, to society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.