Friday Favorites: A Flashback – 3/3/23

For this week’s Friday Favorites Flashback I’m highlighting a book by another author I haven’t read a lot of yet. Jamie K. Schmidt fell off my radar for a bit and I think it’s because, unfortunately, the last couple of books I read by her didn’t do it for me. One was the polar opposite of the books I had read previously that I loved and ended up a disappointment. I need to put her back into my rotation because other than the last two books I read, I had a lot of fun with her stories.

You can find my original post from July 24, 2017 here. Posted below is the same review with edits for spelling, grammar, and formatting only. As usual, it’s been too long since I read this book so cannot give adequate content warnings so precede with caution. Also, I noticed this book was re-released a couple years ago under the title Extra Whip and I’ve included a picture of that cover after the review.

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Stud
by Jamie K. Schmidt
Release Date:  July 25, 2017
Publisher:  Loveswept
Number of pages:  203
Source: ARC from NetGalley
Contemporary Romance
Ages 17 and up
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Terri Cooke wishes she could give Mick Wentworth a piece of her mind. The infuriating stud muffin walks into her coffee shop every morning expecting his regular order at 8:57 on the dot, without ever acknowledging Terri’s presence—except for staring at her cleavage. And yet she can’t deny that Mick Wentworth has an animal magnetism that’s stronger and richer than any espresso . . . which explains why Terri says yes when he suddenly, inexplicably asks her out.

After the morning coffee run, Mick’s day is all downhill from there. His family’s marketing firm is dysfunctional in more ways than one, so to save the business, Mick desperately needs to impress their newest client. When he learns that Terri’s a fan of their trendy product, he tries to get inside her head. It doesn’t hurt that she’s the barista he’s been lusting after for the past five months. But as things heat up with Terri, Mick finds that a little steam is just the jolt he needs to turn his whole life around.

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I’m finding that I really love this author.  I’ve read all of the books she’s written in the Sentinels of Babylon series so far and enjoyed both immensely.  This story sucked me in right away and I didn’t want to put it down.  I was surprised because the title and cover were not my cup of tea.  I asked for an ARC of the book based solely on my prior experience with this author.  (FYI: I ended up liking the title by the end of the book…there’s a reason.)

Just like Mick was intrigued by Terri’s sass, so was I.  She kept him on his toes and challenged him and I enjoyed reading that.  Especially about a guy who is rich and good-looking so is not lacking for females throwing themselves at his feet.  And then Terri shocked me even more the first time she was in a car with Mick.  Whoa!  The girl knows what she wants and isn’t going to pussyfoot around.  I honestly don’t know if I’ve read such a scene before.  While it startled me, it really did a great job of helping flesh out Terri’s personality.  She is no shrinking violet!

Mick is also a take-charge type of personality, but somehow it works with the two of them.  It’s like he innately knew when to be commanding and when to be softer.  Mick likes to come across as a hardass…it’s the nature of his position in his family and his company.  But he’s not as hard-hearted as he thinks he is, especially when it comes to those less fortunate.  I’m sure he’d like to keep it a secret but he’s really got a soft center.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this story is the unpredictability.  Nothing really shocked me or blindsided me, but I would be convinced I knew something was going to happen and then it wouldn’t.  Or something similar would happen to what I thought would happen, but not exactly how I thought it would play out.  So it kept me on my toes a little bit.

I never seem to be at a lack for books to read, but I think I need to start seeking out some of this author’s earlier books.  I really have enjoyed all that I’ve read so far.

4.5 stars

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

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Terri Cooke gave up her fast track job as a marketing assistant to care for her twin brother, Michael, who is rapidly declining from a neurological disorder. Working as a barista to try to pay some bills, the last thing she needs is to have some jerk snap his fingers at her for his morning coffee: large iced decaf, soymilk & sugar with extra whip.

Really bro?

Mick Wentworth doesn’t have time to be nice. He put his own father in jail for embezzlement, his secretary is pregnant and everyone thinks he knocked her up, and now he’s trying to save the ad agency that his grandfather devoted his entire life to. The last thing he needs is an uppity waitress who wants to make small talk, even if she’s got flashing dark eyes, a mouth made for sin, and a distracting rack.

Extra whip—and make it snappy, Sugar.

This book was originally published as STUD by Random House. It was a finalist in 2018 for a Romance Writer’s of America Rita award in erotica. Extra Whip was been revamped and re-edited with a few new scenes added in.