Seven Nights to Surrender by Jeanette Grey (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: When the Stars Align, Eight Ways to Ecstasy, Let It Snow
Published by Grand Central Publishing on November 3rd 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Women, Erotica, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
"Jeanette Grey has become a must-read voice in romance. Seven Nights to Surrender is lyrical, stunningly sexy, and brings swoons for days."--- Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author By day, he'll show her a side of Paris not found in any guidebook. By night, he'll introduce her to a passion beyond her wildest dreams. In this sensuous story of indulgence and desire, Jeanette Grey delivers one of the most romantic reads of the year and proves why she is fast becoming a must-read star.SEVEN NIGHTS TO SURRENDERKate arrives in Paris hoping to find inspiration. Instead she finds Rylan. In a swirl of stolen kisses and hot, tangled sheets, Kate is quickly swept away by the sexy stranger, longing to surrender to his expert touch. With Rylan, nothing is forbidden-except the truth.An American ex-pat worth millions, Rylan never flaunts his fortune. Rather, he guards his identity from everyone, especially women. No strings, no commitments, no complications. But the second his lips taste Kate's soft, sweet skin, everything changes. For the first time, Rylan has found someone to share his every want and need. Yet he knows that secrets stand between them. To keep her, he'll need to confess the truth before it's too late . . . even if doing so could mean losing Kate forever.
Describe Seven Nights to Surrender in 5 words.
Artist meets billionaire in Paris.
I know why I love your characters, but why should other readers? What is it about them that you think people will connect with most?
I think the heroine of the story, Kate, is really relatable, in that she’s a young woman with these huge dreams and ambitions, but who has these insecurities and these people in her life that have made her doubt herself and what she can do—and what she deserves from her life and her relationships.
On the surface, Rylan is a little harder to relate to, in that he’s the rich heir a to corporate fortune, currently brooding his way across Europe after a family betrayal. But deep down, he’s also someone who’s trying to figure out what he wants from his life and what his purpose really is. What I hope people will fall in love with about him is the way he comes alive when he meets Kate, and the absolutely relentless way he approaches showing her exactly how well she deserves to be treated by the men in her life.
Paris and art are a big part of this story… the sights and scenes you include are lovely! Have you been to France and is art a big part of your real life?
I actually double-majored in art in college, so it’s been a huge part of my life. I never pursued it professionally, but it’s something I’ve always loved and tried to stay active with. This book is really my love song to art and all the ways it’s enriched my life.
Paris is one of my favorite places in the world. I spent an amazing week there in my twenties. When I decided to write this book about an art student, Paris and all its beauty and romance immediately came to mind as the perfect place to make this love story come to life.
What was the best piece of writing advice you ever received?
That there’s no one way to write. Everybody will tell you how they do it, and it’s always worth your while to listen and learn what you can. But in the end, your process is your process. Try everything, but if it doesn’t work for you, that’s okay. You’ll find the thing that will.
What inspires you? Sight? Sound? Scene?
Visuals probably stick with me the most – part of being an art person, perhaps. I’ll see scenes very clearly. And while music and scents help me stay in the right frame of mind for a book, it’s those visuals I usually end up coming back to.
How do you deal/solve writer’s block?
A careful combination of powering through and writing anyway, reading/watching things that remind me why I love story-telling, and judicious use of naps.
What was your favorite scene to write and why?
Definitely the scene where Kate sketches Rylan without his clothes on. I was aware that it’s sort of a cliché, but it was this huge moment for the two of them, very sensual, but very emotional, too. It was them at their most vulnerable to each other, and it was in my head from the very moment I started working on the book.
Did any of your characters surprise you by doing something you didn’t expect?
I’m a fairly loose plotter – I have a general idea of what’s going to happen, but a lot of stuff I make up on the fly, so my characters surprise me pretty regularly. I think what took me by surprise more than anything else was the depths of Rylan’s anger about what had happened with his family, and how that motivated him to take some actions I didn’t 100% see coming.
Do you have a dream cast, or did you have anyone in mind while writing?
Rylan Bellamy is absolutely, 100% played by Sebastian Stan. One of my critique partners sent me pictures of his face daily to help keep me motivated while I was in the end stages of writing, and they were invaluable.
What’s next for you? Are you working on anything right now that you can tell us about?
I’m currently finishing up a stand-alone adult contemporary romance I affectionately refer to as Curmudgeonly Hermit Widower, about a man who has completely shut himself off from the world in the wake of his wife’s death. But then he ends up on crutches and has to let someone help him for the first time in a very, very long time. It’ll be out Spring 2016. J
5 Favorites
Favorite Song (right now)– World Spins Madly On by The Weepies
Favorite Book (right now) – Lover Awakened by JR Ward
Favorite TV Show/Movie (right now) – Parks and Recreation / Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Favorite Word– Susurration
Favorite Snack – Peanut butter on crackers
Jaime’s Thoughts
I’m a huge fan of Jeanette Grey – I’ve always loved the way she creates such amazingly layered characters that you can’t help but want to know everything about.
In Seven Nights To Surrender, we meet Kate, an art student who is trying to decide on her life path, and is using a trip to Paris and her life savings to try and help make that decision. A chance pick-pocketing provides Rylan with an opportunity to charm her, hopefully off her feet and into his bed.
Rylan is nursing some major wounds inflicted by his family and he’s basically cut all ties with his family and the company that affords him the lifestyle he currently has. Hooking up with tourists is the ideal because there’s no commitment and no ties.
I love that Grey practically takes you to Paris with this book – the amazing art and architecture is all here and described so lovingly. She really makes it all a part of the story. As Rylan and Kate spend more time together, we find them both pushing the limits of comfort… Rylan emotionally, and Kate sexually.
Kate’s history with guys hasn’t been great, and Rylan has had more than his share of sex.
“You’ve been sleeping with idiots,” he repeated. He kissed the shell of her ear, wet and slow. “Here’s the trick. You can get a man to do all kinds of things. But you have to tell him what you want.”
And as Kate learns more and more to demand certain things, she and Rylan connect on a level that deepens each day they are together. Until something happens that has her questioning the connection she thought was growing between them.
I for one am seriously excited for the next book and can’t wait for more of Rylan and Kate. As a side note, I truly hope that Grey is going to possibly explore Rylan’s sister’s story… after meeting her here, I’d love to learn more about her!
If you’re looking for a deeply emotional story filled with steam and sensuality then this is the read for you. Kate and Rylan will have you turning pages as fast as you can just to see where their relationship might go.
Add this one to your TBR pile as soon as you can, and go read some of her other titles, I guarantee you’ll fall for her story-telling just like I have.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
We have a giveaway of one of her ARC copies! US ONLY
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