I was lucky enough to have this fabulous book drop into my inbox earlier this week. Craving Candy is the next insallment in NJ’s Awakening Desires series and it releases from Ellora’s Cave December 27. This book came when I had to finish up two other projects but I found myself sneaking time to read it when I could, I was so addicted!

Here’s the blurb: Candy Logan loves her job as a publicist for TK Publishing, but her newest client is causing her problems. She is determined to meet the elusive Lucas Squires and get him to agree to publicize his upcoming book. She crashes a party that he is giving in hopes of cornering him.

Lucas wishes he’d never let his friend talk him into writing a cookbook. He had his hands full opening a new location of his café, Coffee Breaks. He forgets all about his business problems when a woman straight out of his dreams walks into his party. He knows he can’t let her leave without finding out who she is.

Sparks fly between the Candy and Lucas from the first moment they lay eyes on each other. The sexual attraction is immediate and consuming, but a case of mistaken identity gets their relationship off to a rocky start. Just when things start to smooth out between them, issues from each of their pasts threaten their budding relationship.

Can they overcome the seemingly insurmountable problems? Now that Lucas has had a taste of Candy, will he be able to live without her?

I loved this book. Well let me back up, I love NJ Walters. In the first place, she’s one of the nicest people around on top of being incredibly talented. I love the way she writes and I love the emotion in her books.

Craving Candy starts out on a taut note, lots of action and emotion in those first pages and it only keeps going. Lucas is an emotionally wounded man but he’s not an “Alpha” who’s really just a jerk with an alpha tag.

Candy is a layered heroine – she’s got her own issues in spades but like Lucas, she’s risen above them and has a successful career. Still, she’s wounded like he is.

Their chemistry is off the charts. I won’t give spoilers but NJ does something that I find rarely works in romantica and she does it well. Lucas is the kind of hero who can make you all hot just with a look. Oh and he bakes. Yes. And there’s this scene with chocolate and honey, whew, *fanning self* ANYWAY, I think I’ve given you the idea here – hot, hot, hot!

More than the chemistry though, NJ has written a book with depth and heart. The journey Candy and Lucas take toward understanding each other and themselves is beautiful and heartbreaking in places but ultimately rewarding.

In Craving Candy, NJ Walters has written another winner and a truly wonderful romance.