Blog Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway: Bad at Love By Aimee Nicole Walker

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Bad at Love is a romance novel with a twist in the form of a crime-solving Marshal. Kendall knows that he is bad at love, especially after his most recent extremely volatile failed relationship. He just got used to being on his own but he does miss the comfort of being in a relationship. Ridge hasn’t been by himself, but he never felt like his most recent relationship was right for him. His fears were confirmed when he came home early one day to see his new fiancee in bed with much-older boss. Ridge was glad to be able to have a reason to get Todd out of his life now, but doesn’t feel confident as a boyfriend anymore. Todd may have been left behind by Ridge, but he left the poisonous barbs of his cruel words in Ridge’s mind. Neither are truly looking for love when they run into one another, but Cupid never gives anyone a real choice in the matter. Soon, Kendall has been swept back into family drama and Ridge into more precarious work cases, but their bond grows stronger and stronger. 

Let me just say, Kendall must be a walking ADONIS. I’ve seen people have more than one love interest in a romance story, but Kendall had at least 3 different people romantically interested in him at various points throughout the story. He had even more people flirting with him on a regular basis. This definitely isn’t a cheating story, but I just found myself in awe of how many people Kendall was pulling without even trying. Not a complaint by any means, but a humorous thing I noticed while enjoying this book. 

One important message this book got across well was that anyone could be harmed by an emotionally abusive and toxic person. He was the typically macho man masculine type at the first glance of characters in the book. He worked in law enforcement and was described as a large/muscular man. Nevertheless, his self-confidence was really damaged by the words of his ex-fiancee. It took him some time to be able to move past what he had experienced. Emotional abuse can happen to anyone, and this book shows that.  

The mystery side plots really drew me into the story! Ridge was more involved in FBI-style stings which were pretty high-stakes and had me on the edge of my seat. I would love to read more books about his coworkers!

This romance was a bit of a mixture of slow-burn and insta-love. Kendall and Ridge had STRONG chemistry from day 1, but they still took a while to actually act on their feelings. I enjoyed the pace of this. It wasn’t enemies-to-lovers, it wasn’t “move in with me” on the first night they met. The book had just enough chemistry between the characters to keep me interested and enjoying the story. 

This book is definitely one of the better romances I’ve read lately. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new adult romance novel to read. 

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review. 

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books. 

Excerpt:

The man continued to stare intently for a moment before speaking. “What are you doing?” Kendall returned his scrutiny, noticing the weariness creeping into the handsome guy’s expression. Shrugging, Kendall said, “Hell if I know.” His remark earned him a half smile. “What’s your name?” “Ridge.” Kendall quirked a brow. “What a unique name. I think that’s a character in the soap opera my elderly babysitter used to watch.” The comment triggered memories of the simpler times he longed for. Rather than wallow in sadness, Kendall turned all his attention to the handsome stranger mowing through another wing. “Is Ridge a nickname or short for something else?” Ridge dropped the cleaned bone onto his plate and took a napkin from the pile. He wiped his hands thoroughly but didn’t remove the smear of sauce from his face. “Nickname. My name is Kurt Dandridge, but my friends and family call me Ridge. It’s both a family joke and a shortened version of my last name.” Kendall planted his elbow on the table and dropped his chin onto his upturned palm. “I’m curious about the family joke part.” Ridge tilted his head to the side, then looked around the club. “Shouldn’t you be checking on patrons in your section?” “I’ve already clocked out, so I’m all yours.” A flash of heat washed over him at the montage of suggestions his libido wanted to make. All of them were dirty and delicious but entirely off the table. Damn it. He was about to clear the air in case Ridge thought Kendall had offered himself up as dessert, but Ridge smiled wickedly. “Good to know,” he said, dropping his gaze to the name tag Kendall still wore. “Sugar, huh?” Ridge picked up another wing and sank his teeth into it. Kendall couldn’t recall a time he’d been so turned on. He wanted the big bruiser to manhandle him like a chicken wing.

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