The Australian by Lesley Young Blog Tour

Title: The Australian (Crime Royalty Romance #2) 

Author: Lesley Young 

Synopsis:Charlie Sykes takes everything and everyone at face value—and believes life would be a lot easier if everyone else did, too. Aussie Jace Knight, international hotelier and purported playboy, has never met anyone like the absurdly literal and obliviously beautiful American who applies for his personal assistant position. The trouble is, how do you pursue a woman whose definition of flirting comes straight out of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary? That, and he’s not the only one after Charlie. Seems Mr. Knight might not be a reformed criminal after all. Soon, Charlie’s immersed in a whirlwind of international espionage that takes her from the hip streets of Sydney to the majestic Great Barrier Reef and the wild, desolate outback. A dangerous trap’s being set, but how will Charlie protect herself and prevent a tragic betrayal, when she can’t even sort out what her heart’s telling her?

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A contemporary romance playlist

Three songs that fueled the fast-paced romantic suspense novel The Australian by Lesley Young

The second book in my stand-alone Crime Royalty Romance series features a shorter playlist than the first book (The Frenchman). But the songs I did listen to while writing The Australian were so integral that I will never be able to hear them again without pivotal scenes playing out in my head.

Here are the three key moments in the book that wouldn’t have happened without music.

Jace Knight . . .vulnerable

For most of The Australian, Charlie Sykes not only keeps playboy and international hotelier Jace Knight on his toes, she throws him right off his game. He’s so into her, but because she establishes boundaries from day one, he’s torn because it’s not clear to him that she does want him. Due to complicated circumstances, she ends up loving and leaving Jace, which confuses the hell out of him.

A couple of songs really helped me to write Jace true—a very masculine Aussie wearing his heart on his sleeve. Makes sense that the songs are rock alternative, almost-ballads. When I hear these tunes I can smell the humidity and beach, hear the roar of Jace’s motorcycle and absorb the angst of a very proud man humbled by fast-budding love. They include If I Had My Way by Big Sugar, and Deny by Default.

Charlie Sykes . . .falling in love

When Charlie, who doesn’t understand or cope with feelings very well, realizes she is falling in love with Mr. Knight, it isn’t a warm-fuzzy moment. It’s the exact the opposite—she’s terrified because she believes there are circumstances that prevent her from being with him. But the truth is, and hopefully readers suspect this, she’s really terrified because she doesn’t yet understand the glory of love.

Instead, love, as she’s been taught in her limited life experience, is a burden, a heavy weight, and Jace is not unlike a drug she has no control over. When she stares out her high-rise condo window down at Sydney’s harbor, her heart aching and her eyes wide with fear, this song plays on repeat in my mind—Addicted To You by Avicii.

Epiphany . . . the cost of loving Jace Knight

There is an extremely shocking and dangerous development that happens in the wild, Aussie outback. I won’t say what, but an intense, violent drama plays out. And this a pivotal moment in the novel, not just because it is a plot advancement, but because it is when Charlie experiences firsthand the true cost of loving a man like Jace.

Deep down inside, she is forced to admit being with him is a high-stakes game, entailing a life full of risk, precisely what she moved to Australia to avoid. She realizes how much she doesn’t want this, and begins the heart-wrenching journey to decide whether she can bear the price of loving him. The moment this realization dawns—the red, dusty earth, the smell of guns firing and sweat, and the heat from Jace’s eyes asking her to be brave, in more ways than one—plays in my mind every time I hear Love Runs Out by OneRepublic.

Thank you so much for featuring me on your fabulous blog! The series is stand-alone so don’t worry about whether you read The Australian or The Frenchman first. Stay in the know about new releases and great deals at LesleyYoungBooks.com.

https://open.spotify.com/user/1143937416/playlist/5opc4ON2hp2xiCbOHxVFLH

 Lesley Young Biography

Lesley Young is a genre-defying author of unforgettable heroines who experience thrilling life- and love-altering journeys. Her debut novel was Sky's End; her most recent stand-alone series, Crime Royalty Romance, includes The Frenchman and The Australian. She loves to hear from readers. Follow her at Facebook.com/LesleyYoungBooks, @LesleyYoungBks and lesleyyoungbooks.com/blog.

Cover reveal: The Frenchman by Lesley Young

Title:The Frenchman ( Crime Royalty Romance #1) 

Author: Lesley Young 

Synopsis:Fleur Smithers rarely veers off the straight and (excruciatingly) narrow. So moving to the seaport town of Toulon to live with her newfound biological mother—an inspector with the French National Police—for one year is a pretty major detour. Son of France’s crime royalty family and international rugby star, Louis Messette, is devoted to his sport, famille and nothing else. But the saucy American he meets one night changes everything. She sparks a desire in him like no other. Possession takes root. She will do as he commands. Bit by bit Fleur slips into the Frenchman’s realm of wanton pleasure agreeing to his one condition: that she keep their affair secret. She serves up her heart without reservation in the hub of the glittering Côte d’Azur, and the along the soulful Seine in Paris, unaware of the danger she is in. For her new lover’s “family business” will pit her against her mother, the police woman sworn to bring down the Messettes. And by then, far more than Fleur’s heart will be on the line.

I was lucky enough to read an ARC of The Frenchman and all I have to say is that I loved it! The Crime Royalty Romance series is going to be one of the biggest hits of 2015 in the book world. Here is a teaser of my review, which I´ll be posting in January: 

"The Frenchman is a wickedly sexy story that brings a powerful rush of lust that will make you believe in real and raw love once again!"

About Lesley Young:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Lesley Young is an award-winning Canadian journalist by day, and obsessive novelist by night. Her debut novel, Sky’s End (Soulmate Publishing, 2013) hit #9 on Amazon’s sci-fi romance paid best-seller list in its first three months of release.

Not too long after that, she started dreaming up quirky heroines who lose their hearts to extremely powerful, flawed heroes, only to find out what love really is while on a dangerous adventure abroad. She called it the Crime Royalty Romance series, and landed herself a pretty big agent at Spencerhill Associates. Never one to take the obvious path, Lesley ultimately decided to self-publish. She’s never sure who or what will pop up in her imagination next. The Irishman? The Spaniard? The Hawaiian? Anything’s possible, and she loves suggestions (or recommendations of really hot, er, talented, actors to work as a muses).

Stay in touch with her and feel free to forward on decent options at Facebook.com/LesleyYoungBooks and @LesleyYoungBks (note: Charlie Hunnam’s already taken the lead role of The American—#3 Crime Royalty Romance...coming soon!).

EXCERPT:

After a moment, when I steeled my resolve, the door opened.

Not Louis.

A man with salt and pepper hair, a nasty scar above his lip and astute eyes, scanned me. “Oui?” he asked rudely.

I hesitated, but then thought, I’m all in.

“Je suis venue pour voir Louis.”

He scanned me much more carefully, and his dark eyes stopped at the cash in my hand. After his eyebrows rose, ever so slightly, his face relaxed and a side hitched up. He shrugged and opened the door wider.

I stepped into another foyer, encased in a marble, circular partition. With one last wave of jacked-up energy, I barreled around the wall, quickly scanning the, holy massive, space, hesitating only to admire the incredible view provided from floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere. Gorgeous kitchen, too. I sucked in a waft of cooked chicken. God I missed meat. Pausing to get my bearings—this was an extremely large suite—I followed the faint sound of the television sports game. There was the living room. I spotted a giant flat screen against a wall, blinds tugged down around it.

My heart was going a mile a minute, my hands shaking. I couldn’t turn back now. I stepped down the two stairs, powered across the empty dining room area, into the living room space, aiming straight for the middle, where . . . my eyes scanned quickly . . . there were others present, two, I think, standing behind one sectional.

Ah-ha!

There sat Louis, legs wide apart, on a giant leather sofa, a remote in one hand and an empty plate of chicken bones beside him. He was in a pair of track pants and nothing else. To say he was shocked, when he realized the girl standing in front of him was not a cute American announcer suddenly on his TV screen, was an understatement.

“Fleur,” he exclaimed sitting forward, absolutely no fat bunching at the waist.

“What the hell is this?!” I shouted at him, waving the cash.

I watched red sprout in his cheeks as he glanced around at the chilled room, and back on me. His eyes took in the money, and my other hand on my hip. He stood up to his full, mighty height, extra slow, his eyes steady on me.

But I wasn’t intimidated. Not in the least. He was way out of line.

“You know what? In America, you pay—” I shook the wad of cash at him “—after you’ve finished the transaction.” I threw the money at him but it didn’t get very far. It kind of fluttered to the floor.

Holy cow. Did I really just say that? That is not what I had meant to say. It just came out.

Waves of regret rippled through me as he pulled his head back, and his lips bunched up, contemptuous. Disgust spread on his face like ink.

And who could blame him? There I was, standing in his living room, lamenting the fact he had not bopped me. Oh sweet mercy.

Giveaway Info:

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