Book Review: Lying in Your Arms by Leslie Kelly

Madison Reid's engagement is a sham. Her movie-star fiance  is actually her childhood friend who's gay. When he decides he can't keep living a lie, Madison ends things by leaking a salacious story about a hot if fictional affair. Now surrounded by swarms of news-hungry paparazzi, Madison escapes to the beauty of Costa Rica until things cool down.

Firefighter Leo Santori is on his honeymoon.  Alone.   Still torn up about losing his fiance to another guy, Leo isn't expecting anything from Costa Rica. That is, until Madison steps into his world, rocks it and then lights it on fire. The heat between them is undeniable and irresistible. But when Madison's scandalous past catches up with them, will it extinguish the flames or will they both end up burned?N

If you like hot sensual contemporary romance, I'm not sure it gets any better than Leslie Kelly.  Several years ago I read one of her books and the gritty writing style, the overt sexuality and sensuality of her characters along with an irrepressible sense of humor served to "hook" me for the foreseeable future.   Now we meet two more of her fun and entertaining characters, both of whom find themselves in unusual circumstances and both of whom are "running away" in a sense from the realities of normal life.  To be sure, Madison's relationship with her longtime best friend under the guise of an engagement is anything but normal.  But in the Hollywood world of "normal" it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.  Yet her life is being blitzed by the media and Costa Rica seems a good alternative.  For Leo it is also a haven as he deals with the betrayal of the woman he fully expected to marry.   Their resulting affair really lights up the pages in the way that only Leslie Kelly seems to be able to do.  It is one of the reasons that I have always like her writing:  she just tells it like it is.

This is a short novel that will engage you with its sharp and edgy writing, with characters who are different than often appear in novels, with Ms Kelly's appealing blend of sensuality and humor.  (Through the years and reading a number of her stories she has written some of the funniest conversations I have ever read).   All in all, it is a fun and entertaining read and one that is balanced between fun and deep emotion as readers deal with Leo's broken heart and Madison's fears for the future.  It's not a book that will take up immense amounts of time.  It will be a nice read to turn to when you don't particularly want to delve into something that is a much heavier reading effort.  Do yourself a favor:  enjoy this one and I hope it is as nice an experience for you as it was for me.  I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.