**Blog Tour & Giveaway ~ Locked ~ Maya Cross**

Hey y'all! I'm one of today's stops on the blog tour for Locked by Maya Cross. For a complete listing of all the participating blogs, you can click here. My stop includes a review of Locked and a giveaway for a digital copy of the book and a $40 Amazon gift card!

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Title: Locked
Series: The Alpha Group #1
Author: Maya Cross
Genre: Erotic Romance

Synopsis from GoodReads:
Who is Sebastian Lock?

The bar Sophia Pearce is in doesn’t look like much. The wine is bad and the decor worse. But when a sudden attack of curiosity leads her to sneak past security and into the back room, she discovers something unimaginable. The most lavish party she’s ever laid eyes on, in the most unlikely of places.

But that’s nothing compared to what comes next, to the man she meets back there. Sebastian Lock. Gorgeous, commanding, and radiating charm, he is exactly the sort of silver-tongued rake Sophia has sworn to avoid. Unfortunately, he doesn’t care much for her promises.

Every instinct tells her to run, but the chemistry between them is as inescapable as gravity. Soon, he’s opening her eyes to a whole new world of pleasures, pleasures she never thought she’d enjoy.

There’s just one problem. Sebastian is more than he seems. Between the famous company he keeps and the almost paranoid secrecy of his employers, he’s a puzzle Sophia can’t quite solve, and his insistence on keeping things casual forces her to confront the demons of her past.

Can she learn to trust again? Or will Sebastian’s privacy tear them apart?

**Contains light BDSM, including spanking, restraint, and anal play

Note: This book is the first part of a trilogy that is designed to be read together, much like The Blackstone Affair. Sebastian and Sophia will get their happily ever after, but not until the last book.

Lockout: The Alpha Group Book Two - Due May 2013

Unlocked: The Alpha Group Book Three - Due June/July 2013

Get Locked here:
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Add to GoodReads

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My Review
We've all read at least one...a book with an insanely gorgeous, total alpha-male, enigmatic millionaire with a penchant for a little kink. A book with a beautiful woman, who maybe lacks a bit of confidence, but who is inexplicably drawn to that alpha-male. Locked is one of those books. But while it appears formulaic on the surface, it never reads formulaic-ly. In fact, I think Locked is smartly written, with perfect pacing and likeable characters. I was immediately drawn in hook, line, and sinker! And I enjoyed the heck out of it!

Our beautiful heroine, Sophia Pearce, is a lawyer. She is intelligent and extremely driven. She has great friends but with her work load, she has little time for a social life. On a rare night out to celebrate a friend's engagement, Sophia stumbles upon a secret party area, in a hole-in-the-wall bar. And in her alcohol-induced state of curiosity, she meets Sebastian.

Sebastian Lock, our enigmatic hero, is just that. He works as a venture capitalist but other than that little tidbit, and the fact he's obviously loaded, we know little about him. Well, we DO know he definitely fills out a 3-piece suit and has a special talent with a paddle. ;)

When Sophia and Sebastian meet, there is instant chemistry. Sebastian is brash and very persistent in his pursuit of Sophia. Although Sophia knows she should be put off by his behavior, it serves only to intensify her attraction to him. The two finally agree to a casual affair because neither has the time to dedicate to a relationship. However, casual is a word interestingly defined in Sebastian's vocabulary. While he desires to expose Sophia to pleasures she never knew existed, he also seems to determined to keep Sophia at arm's length. Sophia isn't sure she likes this arrangement. And Sebastian has secrets - both personal and professional. Sophia isn't sure the intense chemistry between them is enough to compensate for a lack of trust.

I appreciate the strength and intelligence Sophia exudes. This girl can hold her own. She might be vulnerable where trust is concerned, but she's not fragile...she's no shrinking violet. Sebastian, well he's just yummy! ;) He's completely alpha-male and unapologetic about it. But I think he's met his match in Sophia.

I am completely enamored with these two characters as well as Ms. Cross' writing. In Locked, Ms. Cross gives us just enough to whet our appetite but leave us hungry for more. I'm very pleased that I won't have to wait long for the next books in the trilogy. I MUST know what Sebastian is hiding. And how he's going to work his way out of the pickle he's in at the end of Locked. 

Is Locked formulaic? Yes and no. But it's absolutely worth the read!

Favorite Quotes:

"In that kiss, I saw a prelude of what was to come. It was as strong and intoxicating as the man himself."

-Sophia 

"I didn't know exactly what I was committing to, but I wasn't sure I had a choice anymore. The strange hunger Sebastian has awakened inside me wasn't going away."

-Sophia

"'I'm yours,' I said, my voice quaking. There was a sense of finality about that statement that echoed within me long after the words were gone."

-Sophia

 

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Giveaway

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About the Author

Maya Cross is writer who enjoys making people blush. Growing up with a mother who worked in a book store, she read a lot from a very young age, and soon enough picked up a pen of her own. Her previous work spans many genres including horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and she has now started this pen name as an outlet for her spicier thoughts (they were starting to overflow). She likes her heroes strong but mysterious, her encounters sizzling, and her characters true to life.

She believes in writing familiar narratives told with a twist, so most of her stories will feel comfortable, but hopefully a little unique. Whatever genre she's writing, finding a fascinating concept is the first, and most important step.

The Alpha Group is her first foray into erotic romance, and she absolutely loved writing it.

When she's not writing, she's playing tennis, trawling her home town of Sydney for new inspiration, and drinking too much coffee.