Tag / J.T. Geissinger

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Ache for You by J.T. Geissinger

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Slow Burn, #3
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Matteo Moretti
Heroine: Kimber DiSanto
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: November 06, 2018
Started On: November 11, 2025
Finished On: November 15, 2025

Ache for You is yet another reminder of how versatile and wildly entertaining J.T. Geissinger can be as a storyteller. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Florence, this romance takes the familiar “fiery enemies to reluctant lovers” trope and dresses it up in couture-level drama, humor, and sexual tension.

Kimber DiSanto’s life is an absolute mess when we meet her; dumped at the altar by a senator’s son, her face plastered all over the media, her business literally burned to the ground, and her father on his deathbed while she was millions of miles away. With her pride bruised and her future hanging by a thread, she heads to Italy to salvage what is left of her father’s dress shop. What she does not expect is to walk straight into the orbit of Matteo Moretti; Italian fashion royalty, certified god of seduction, and the man who makes her blood pressure spike in more ways than one.

Kimber is a hurricane of sharp edges, sass, and unchecked emotional volatility. She is funny, irreverent, passionate to a fault, and often absolutely exhausting. But she is also vulnerable in ways that give her character weight, especially when the story digs deeper into her fears of betrayal and abandonment.

Matteo, on the other hand, is a glorious contradiction. For all the swagger the hero of a Geissinger novel usually possesses, Matteo surprises in the best ways: he is sexy without being sleazy, tender without being soft, and deeply sincere despite his arrogance. From the moment he meets Kimber at an airport lounge (why these things can’t happen to us, I would never know), it is clear he is a different breed of romance hero. Their chemistry is instant, electric, and impossible to ignore.

What follows is a series of blisteringly tense encounters where Matteo, patient, persistent, and devastatingly alluring, tries to win over a woman who refuses to give him even an inch. Kimber’s deep-seated mistrust makes her combative at every turn, and while this generates delicious friction in the early chapters, the pattern begins to weigh the story down later on.

Matteo is giving, open, and steadfast, while Kimber clings to her resentment and keeps shifting the finish line. Her lingering wounds from her past explain her reluctance, but her inability to extend Matteo the benefit of the doubt becomes grating, especially as the sexual tension ratchets up, every aching kiss by kiss. Kimber it feels, makes even Jeissinger try too hard, and that is saying something.

Still, the charm of this book lies in Geissinger’s sharp writing, flawless comedic timing, and her signature brand of sensuality. The buildup between Kimber and Matteo is long, very long (God help us all), and though at times it feels like the novel is drowning in foreplay, the eventual payoff is undeniably sexy and sweet. Matteo shines as the kind of hero who does not just want the heroine; he sees her, champions her, and cherishes every flaw she tries so hard to hide. And even when the plot loses some momentum, it is Matteo that keeps the pages turning.

By the final chapter, everything resolves in a way that feels more practical than romantic, but still satisfying. Kimber’s growth finally catches up with her stubbornness, Matteo remains the luminous heart of the book, and the epilogue gives us the soft landing these two chaotic creatures deserve. Even in its messy moments, this was a highly readable and enjoyable ride, because even Geissinger’s more problematic books are stronger than most.

Recommended for: Readers who enjoy snarky heroines who are nothing but sass, saintly-but-sexy Italian heroes, travel romances with flair, and enemies-to-lovers tension dialed all the way up.

Final Verdict: A chaotic, funny, slow-burn romp through Florence with a decadent Italian hero and a heroine who tests every limit. Exhausting at times, but irresistibly readable.

Favorite Quotes

“What are you in the mood for?”
I want to be furious. I want to be outraged. I want to slap him across the face. However, a thermonuclear blast has detonated between my legs, so all I can do is stare at him for a moment as a scalding wave of heat envelops me, and my nipples start to tingle.
Finally, when his full, sculpted lips lift into a carnal smile—because he obviously sees the effect he’s having on me—the anger I’d hoped for makes an appearance.
Holding his gaze, I say through gritted teeth, “You arrogant, stuck-up, cocky, self-important, sexist peacock. You wanna know what I’m in the mood for?” I lean closer to him. “Murder.”
If I hoped that psychotic little speech would turn him off, I’m wrong. His eyes flare, his carnal smile turns absolutely filthy, and he produces another chuckle that makes the bartender, who’s arrived with my espresso, emit a tiny gurgle of lust.
Staring intently into my eyes, he says softly, “Yes, bella. I want you, too.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Melt for You by J.T. Geissinger

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Slow Burn, #2
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Cameron Christopher McGregor
Heroine: Joellen Bixby
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: May 15, 2018
Started On: November 09, 2025
Finished On: November 11, 2025

There’s his Wikipedia page, his social media feeds, countless news articles, interviews, and photos. It’s jarring seeing the photos of him in action on the rugby field because he looks nothing like the man I’ve come to know.
He looks feral. Ferocious. Frightening. Like he’s released from a maximum security prison on short-term leave only for his games. There isn’t a single photograph of him smiling.

J.T. Geissinger does it again. Melt for You is one of those rare contemporary romances that slips in quietly, makes you laugh out loud, makes your heart clench, and then when you least expect it, melts you into a puddle of goo. It is smart, tender, outrageously funny, and a masterclass in how to write a transformative slow burn with two characters who simply shine together.

Joellen Bixby has spent most of her thirty-six years blending into the wallpaper, a self-effacing copy editor who lives for routine, her Saturday nights with her cat, and her entirely unrequited ten-year crush on her too-perfect boss, Michael Maddox. Joellen’s upbringing has done a number on her: an ex-model mother, a glamorous sister, and years of subtle and not-so-subtle messaging that she is the odd one out. Her low self-esteem is bone-deep, and Geissinger paints it with painful accuracy, often softened with Joellen’s razor-sharp, hilarious inner monologues.

Enter Cameron McGregor: a tattooed, kilt-wearing Scottish rugby captain whose bad-boy image precedes him. He moves in next door, rocks Joellen’s carefully ordered world on day one, and never once apologizes for it. Cocky, provocative, physically unstoppable and yet so unexpectedly gentle, Cam sees Joellen in ways she has never been seen before. And even though the book is told entirely from Joellen’s point of view, it becomes obvious early on that Cam is a goner. His pursuit is not filled with grand gestures or declarations, but consistency, care, and a kind of stubborn devotion disguised as irritation.

As their friendship grows, so does the tension; beautifully paced, painfully slow, positively electric. Cam becomes Joellen’s personal trainer not to chisel her into someone else’s ideal, but to make her strong, healthy, and confident. Every interaction between them (even the bickering) is charged, layered, and purposeful. The “practice kissing” scenes are some of the sexiest, sweetest writing Geissinger has ever done, and when the story finally tips into full-blown intimacy, it is both tender and scorching, delivered with surprising softness for the notorious playboy Scot.

I loved Joellen’s relatability; her insecurities, her humor, her resilience. And Cam? He is the book boyfriend those of us who have had body image issues never knew we needed. His backstory adds emotional heft to why he champions Joellen so fiercely, and why her self-loathing wounds him in ways she does not understand. If anything, I only wished we had had even a little of his POV, because his quiet unraveling in the background is half the magic.

This is a story about seeing and being seen, about shedding years of internalized criticism, and about a love that was never about transforming Joellen into someone else, but about helping her become the version of herself she never believed she could be.

Recommended for: Readers who love slow burns, sunshine-meets-storm-cloud dynamics, body-positive arcs, grumpy-but-smitten heroes, laugh-out-loud banter, and kisses written like poetry.

Final Verdict: A tender, funny, deeply satisfying slow burn with a Scottish hero who redefines swoon. A heartfelt knockout.

Favorite Quotes

“Keep up!” Cam barks over his shoulder at me as I lag behind him on the sidewalk, breath steaming white from my nose and open mouth, sweat pouring into my eyes, my will to live quickly being extinguished.
“Must. Stop. Death. Imminent.” My wheezing and staggering frightens a flock of pigeons into screeching flight from their perch on the back of a bus bench.
Cam turns around and trots back to me. He hasn’t even broken a sweat, the heartless bastard. “Joellen,” he begins patiently. “We’re two blocks from the apartment.”

“Is it . . . okay?”
He swallows. His blink seems to last an unnaturally long time. He clears his throat and offers a curt, “Yup.”
“Yup? That’s it?” I look down at myself, regretting the heels. Maybe I look slutty. Maybe there’s too much boob showing. Oh God, maybe I was wrong about the color—
“Joellen.”
Cam’s sharp tone yanks me out of my head and back into reality. “Huh?” I stare at him, wringing my hands.
Slowly and softly, holding my gaze as he enunciates every word, he says, “You. Look. Sexy. As. Fuck.”

“Promise me something,” he whispers into my hair.
“What?”
“No matter what happens with Michael, we’ll still be friends.”
“I thought you didn’t want to be friends.”
His sigh is a big gust of air. “God, you’re an idiot.”

“You were in therapy? For years?”
“I worked on my head as hard as I worked on my body. Can’t say the effect was as successful, but yeah. Therapy. Seein’ how badly my mum was mind fucked by life, I’ve always been into self-improvement. I also read a lot. Everything, really, biographies to history to politics. I didn’t go to college—gettin’ through secondary school with a learnin’ disability was tough enough—but I do love to read.”
He’s all that he is, and he loves books. Why, universe? Why give me this with someone who has a life on the other side of the world? I snuggle closer to him, breathing in his wonderful, warm scent, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “You don’t seem particularly angry to me, prancer.”
He chuckles and nuzzles his nose into my hair. “Beauty tames the savage beast, I suppose.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Burn for You by J.T. Geissinger

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: First Person, Dual
Series: Slow Burn, #1
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Jackson Walker Boudreaux
Heroine: Bianca Hardwick
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 17, 2017
Started On: January 27, 2024
Finished On: February 04, 2024

The first thing Jackson Boudreaux said to me was, “I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

A modern-day take on Beauty and the Beast with a twist of The Princess and the Frog as well, Burn for You, the first book in the Slow Burn series by J.T. Geissinger delivers a gorgeously layered, emotionally charged slow-burn romance between a reclusive billionaire heir and a strong, no-nonsense chef trying to keep her world from falling apart.

30-year old Bianca Hardwick is focused, fiercely independent, and determined to keep her struggling restaurant afloat. Her personal life might be a disaster, but the one thing she has going for her is her beloved restaurant, which she will fight with everything she has to keep. The last thing she needs is the grumpy, rude, infuriatingly hot 35-year old Jackson Boudreaux walking into her kitchen and turning her world upside down.

Jackson—aka “The Beast”—is heir to a world-famous bourbon empire and desperate to gain control of his inheritance before his toxic family tears it all apart. Forced by his parents to get married or face the consequences, Jackson comes up with a foolproof plan (or so he thinks), and proposes to Bianca to become his wife, in name only.

When Bianca refuses his initial proposal, little does she know that her life would be turned upside down when her mother gets diagnosed with terminal cancer. With little in the way of finances to be able to afford life saving treatment for her mother, Bianca finally gives into Jackson’s proposition, all the while knowing that Jackson was a man who could destroy her in a way that her ex could not.

And thus begins the fake marriage between Bianca and Jackson, with both of them determined to ignore the gigantic elephant in the room—the awareness that sizzled to life between them from the start, growing in leaps and bounds with every subswuent encounter. Before they know it, their disdain and fascination with each other slowly morphs into something tender, painfully real, and oh-so-heartwrenchingly romantic.

Jackson is the kind of hero that romance readers live for. He is tortured with a capital T, rough-edged, aloof, and scarred in ways that go beyond the physical. He carries a heavy load of emotional trauma tied to his tragic past and complicated family dynamics, which makes him all the more endearing.

Jackson is drowning in guilt, grief, and deep-rooted self-loathing—and it is Bianca who throws him the lifeline that he has been seeking all along. Bianca, with her strength, fire, and honesty, is the balm to his bitterness. She sees him, calls him out, and stands her ground—but she also gives in when it matters the most.

Their chemistry is undeniably explosive, simmering beneath every interaction, and when it finally boils over, deeply satisfying and filled with eroticism of the kind that wreaks havoc on your senses. Being my first novel by Ms. Geissinger, I would say I was pleasantly surprised and definitely moved enough to dig up her backlist for books with my name written on them.

When all was said and done, what I felt that the story deeply lacked was an epilogue. After the emotional ride readers go through with these two, we need more than just a fiery grand gesture. I wanted to see them in the aftermath—thriving, teasing, loving—some glimpse of forever.

Even with that critical factor, this book was still a win in many ways. Gritty, tender, and gorgeously written, with a setting that pulsed with atmosphere and characters that stayed with me long after I finished the last page. If Jackson is the Beast, Bianca is the woman who tames him—not with submission, but with strength and honesty.

Recommended for: Fans of grumpy/reclusive heroes, strong-willed heroines, fake marriage tropes, emotionally charged backstories, and Beauty and the Beast retellings.

Final Verdict: A modern Beauty and the Beast with Southern bite—fiery, emotional, and beautifully written. Jackson is definitely bound to break your heart.

Favorite Quotes

I gestured to his arm. “Why do you have a semicolon tattooed on your wrist? I noticed it when we were in the kitchen.”
Jackson turned his left hand up and gazed down at the simple black tattoo on the inside of his wrist. He was silent for a long time, then looked up and met my eyes.
He said, “You’re an avid reader. You know the meaning of a semicolon.”
I frowned. “It’s when the author could have ended a sentence but chose not to.”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t understand.”
Jackson looked deep into my eyes. His smile might have been the saddest thing I’d ever seen. He said softly, “I’m the author, and the sentence is my life.”

Who was the real Jackson Boudreaux? The Beast that snarled and snapped? The suave sophisticate at ease in front of crowds? Or the sad, lonely man with a mysterious tattoo and eyes full of bad memories?

“All right, Bianca, since you asked—no, you don’t look wifely.”
I stared at him, strangely hurt.
His voice softer, he said, “I’ve never seen anyone’s wife who looks as good as you do. You’re a fucking wet dream. Now stop fishing for compliments and buckle your lap belt, we’re about to take off.”

He reared up on his hands, threw his head back, and roared my name at the ceiling.
So this is what all those stupid love songs are about, I thought, just before I went supernova and exploded in a white-hot ball of fire into space.

“You’ve ruined me for anyone else,” he whispered hoarsely, beginning to lose himself. “Bianca. I’m ruined.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple

For the way you changed my plans
For being the perfect distraction
For the way you took the idea that I have
Of everything that I wanted to have
And made me see there was something missing, oh yeah

For the ending of my first begin
(Ooh, yeah yeah, ooh, yeah yeah)
And for the rare and unexpected friend
(Ooh, yeah yeah, ooh, yeah yeah)
For the way you’re something that I’d never choose
But at the same time, something I don’t wanna lose
And never wanna be without ever again

You’re the best thing I never knew I needed
So when you were here I had no idea
You are the best thing I never knew I needed
So now it’s so clear, I need you here always