Member Reviews
Lips Close to Mine is just absolutely amazing and phenomenal. It's Levi and Harper story and really good. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't put it down.
Highly Recommend it to all readers.
a 4.5 stars story to be read!
After one amazing night Harper said goodbye to Levi. Just one night because more is a risk to have her heart broken. But that really was an amazing night (not only the sex but also the talking) and Levi doesn't understand why she's so cold with him now.
With time we learn what happened to her, why she doesn't open her heart to men. Levi has also good reasons not to want a serious relationship but he fights his demons quicklier than her.
They both help each other , they both heal each other. Even if things are complicated, even if they have some communication issues,even if they both have fears, even when an ex comes back, even with the nightmares...
I love this couple : they laugh, they tease, they understand, they love, they give trust and strength to the other.
Harper has been deeply hurt, The author found the perfect words to make us understand her. She's amazingly strong and generous and Levi gives her exactly what she needs : self esteem and love. He makes her live again.
Levi is everything we want in our heroes: hot yes but also sweet and funny and understanding and patient... He takes his time to know her, her body and her soul.
A really beautiful story, well written. You'll be touched by Harper and Levi will make you swoon.
Lips Close To Mine had a little bit of everything: Levi and Harper have known each other since they were in diapers, there was an insane attraction between them, friends with benefits, a girl who experienced so much heartbreak she doesn't want to open herself up again, witty dialog and funny banter between the main characters, enjoyable secondary characters... and a bet gone wrong.
No matter how badly Harper wanted to hate Levi, she just couldn't. He kept showing her over and over again just how great of a guy he was -- living up to his "Pants Charming" nickname and more. Both Levi and Harper have some major relationship baggage, but he seems to be more willing to move on with "Ham" than she is with him. I love how determined he is, how Levi just ignores all the pushing away she does. Although, at times, I kinda wanted to throttle her for not seeing what a great guy she had right in front of her!
Lips Close To Mine is a standalone second book in a series about a group of friends; I have not yet read Talk British To Me (Mateo and Teague's story), but I didn't feel like I was missing out either, even though Levi and Harper's connection began in that previous book.
Overall, a solid, romcom. I can't wait to see what comes next for this group of friends. I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
4.5 "Pants Charming" Stars!!!
Lips Close to Mine was a slice of cheesecake I couldn't get enough of. From the very first words I was hooked. A lighthearted story filled with just enough angst. It had me laughing and all-around giddy. The two main characters were so refreshing and I instantly gravitated towards them. It had me prolonging the end and only wanting and needing more. An overall a very enjoyable read.
Harper was a character that had to overcome many obstacles. Swimming is her passion, but it also reminds her of a very difficult time in her life. Though through swimming she's trying to make a difference and also heal. And without knowing that in one of her assignments she'd be working alongside the one person that she hasn't stopped thinking about since their first encounter. And also, he might be the person who can help her and tear down the walls she's built around her heart.
Levi! Levi was also dealing with problems of his own. Especially with one crazy ex-girlfriend. She scarred him in such a profound way. It's taken Levi time to put his hurtful past behind him. Harper enters his life in a much needed time. And even though he wasn't expecting to fall for Harper, it happened and there's nothing he can do about it.
Harper and Levi were the freaking sweetest. Any more of those two I was sure to get a cavity. Levi was such a sweetheart and so patient with Harper. They both helped each other in ways neither of them thought possible. They had me smiling so big my cheeks hurt. I couldn't get enough of these two lovebirds.
"He fills the spaces inside me I don’t give anyone access to. And if I’m not careful, he’ll figure out how important he is to me."
Lips Close To Mine by Robin Bielman was a great read and second instalment in the Wherever You Go series.
Levi and Harper are two characters who fit fabulously together. They had this undeniable connection and chemistry that will make readers fall in love. I loved how caring and "there for" Harper, Levi was. Going through the novel, you truly get to see how Levi wanted to be with Harper. He wanted her to share her feelings and love with him, and constantly was there to support her through the motions.
Another element of this novel that truly stood out to me was the emotions. Harper has such a challenging past, and has gone through so many heartbreaking moments, that you can't help but feel her pain. There was one particular heartbreaking moment, where you find out the whole story of her past, and it was in that moment, that my heart split in two for her. I loved that Harper was able to use her past experiences as a way to move forward and do something and make something good from the bad.
Overall, this was a great read. Not only will you connect with the story, and characters, but also the emotions. I definitely recommend this series to everyone.
4/5 Stars!
There were so many sweet moments in this book. Harper is trying really hard to resist Levi's charms, and she just can't. She thinks she needs to punish herself over something that happened in her past and has been purposely avoiding relationships for quite a while. When Harper and Levi get paired up for a work project that is important to both their careers, sparks between them continue to fly. It was fun to watch Harper grow stronger and more confident and to see how being vulnerable with Levi ultimately brought out the best in her. And it was really sweet to see Levi try to demonstrate how he felt without scaring her off.
This review is of an ARC provided by Entangled Publishing.
Lips Close To Mine is the second book in Robin Bielman’s ‘Wherever You Go’ series. This can be considered a standalone with Mateo and Teague making an appearance from Talk British To Me (reading this first isn’t necessary to this story.) LCTM revolves around Levi and Harper. Robin writes an exquisitely beautiful story full of angst, romance, humor and, of course, sexiness. The banter between the them is hilarious!
Levi is another book boyfriend for 2017. He is a sweet soul with manners, wears his heart truly on his sleeve, despite being afraid of being hurt again.
puppies GIF
Harper is a well-loved former swimmer who does things to protect herself. She is close to her family and friends, but is leery of a relationship. She is a feisty person who is good at concealing her emotions.
“Levi Pierce is impossible to forget. He’s also maddening, infuriating, irritating and the reason my body hums even when he’s not near.”
Both Levi and Harper have experienced severe emotional trauma with lingering heartbreak. They both handle these issues in different ways. Harper is very closed off to anything emotional regarding love. She will not allow herself to get close to anyone of the male persuasion. Levi, on the other hand, has big trust issues, however, he has always felt something for Harper, but just doesn’t understand why she pushes him away. Can these two get it together and make it work? Will Levi’s past stay in his past? Will Harper learn how to let go and love again?
“Your heart is your friend, not your enemy”.
Harper is a swim instructor with a traumatic experience in her past that haunts her several years later. Levi is a videographer who is slow to trust after getting his heart stomped on and then some by his ex. They knew one another as kids, then happened to meet again years later in a bar. They enjoy a passionate tryst and part ways. The two are forced to reconnect when Harper becomes a spokesperson for PSAs that Levi is filming, as if it weren't hard enough sharing close friends.
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I thought it was really cute the way they were childhood friends who happened to bump into each other years later. The way their romance played out, and the way that they couldn't fight how they felt really made this a great read!
Levi and Harper's story was everything I'd hoped it would be when we got glimpses of it in Talk British to Me and more! (No worries, though--it does work as a standalone, but if you've read the other book and needed to know what was going on with those two, your wait is finally over!)
I'll admit there were times I wanted to smack Harper upside the head for how she was letting fear run her life, but at the same time it was 100% believable that she did, and so I stuck with her--as did Levi, and I think it's safe to say we're both glad we did! Their journey to HEA had a whole lot of fun mixed in with the angst, and it was really easy to want these two to get to the ending they did.
Bring on more of this series--I'm ready!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
I adored Talk British to Me so I was stoked when I heard Levi and Harper were getting their own book. And I was not disappointed. While this book was a bit angstier than I was anticipating, it was still fun and flirty and super sexy.
I love Levi. He’s so sexy and super swoony and funny and charming. The nickname Harper gives him is spot on! I hate his ex with a passion. Ugh. Yuck to her. LOL!
Harper made me rage at times but I still loved her. I love her passion. She’s also funny and charming.
Overall, a great read full of laughter and a few tears. This is a stand-alone, but I really think you’ll enjoy the story better if you read Talk British to Me first. I can’t wait to see what Robin brings to us next with these characters.
I would call this a friends to lovers story, but also a second chance story. Harper and Levi were best friends and inseparable since they were babies until they were six years old. Then they were changed to different schools and lost touch. Now Levi’s best friend is going out with Harper’s best friend, so they were thrown together, and had a one-night stand. At least, for Harper. She recognized that Pants Charming could charm her pants off very easily so she’s veering out of his way. She’s very susceptible to Levi’s smile. Fast forward several months to where the action starts in this book.
Seven years ago, someone important to Harper drowned and she still hasn’t overcome that loss. She was training for the Olympics swim team and the incident broke her will to continue with her goals. For a while she hardly lived, and it took getting acquainted again with swimming, by way of giving lessons, that brought her back. So she doesn’t want to get involved with anyone, even Levi who bewitched her with his smiles. She doesn’t want to feel that pain ever again.
Levi himself is still overcoming the betrayal of an ex-girlfriend who messed up his mind. Until recently, she was still stalking and messaging him, but she cheated on Levi with another guy and got pregnant. Levi was still reeling from the betrayal, so he only wanted a fling, no serious relation.
Their attraction was too strong to resist. The connection they had from when they were kids caused that they had an easy going connection, and they could chat and joke for hours, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. Each one brought a relief and relaxation to the other that no-one else could. Since Harper had a cousin’s wedding where she was a bridesmaid, Levi was a convenient escort, so that ensured they were together a lot.
So there you have it, sexual fun and reluctance to get involved. And Levi had a bet with one of his besties, Neil, that he could get Harper to bed a second time. As Levi’s feelings for Harper intensified, the bet was a bad idea that he tried to nix but Elliot didn’t let him. Another conflict for them.
The past in the form of the psycho ex-girlfriend came to complicate matters, their work was also an issue since they worked together in a Public Service Announcement. They both had goals and Levi was very supportive of Harper’s goals and helped her choose her direction.
I liked the story and liked both characters, but there were a couple of things that threw me off. One was the constant innuendos of sex, in conversations, in gestures, in their thoughts. They really felt insatiable and for me, it retracted from the story. At one point I considered not reading any more because it was getting a little too much. Later on, things got better and the author got more invested in the story and I liked it much more. Then Harper got too stubborn in her refusal to date Levi and ran scared several times, to the point I wanted to swat her. I loved one scene where she went to Levi’s house and there was a pretty woman just leaving and kissed Levi goodbye. Harper was devastated and was about to run away until Levi told her it was his sister. Serves her right for being so stubborn!
The reading was light-hearted except for a couple angsty moments and was an entertaining read. I liked the author’s writing style because there’s no excessive prose and she combines humor and with some angst and lots of family time, the excess sexy times at the beginning notwithstanding.
I loved Robin Bielman's first book - Talk British to Me in this series so when Levi and Harper's book came out I knew I would love it and I wasn't disappointed. Ms Bielman took 2 broken characters and turned their past heartbreak into a way to find love again.
Levi and Harper have chemistry, a lot of chemistry something that scares both of them. When Harper needs a date to her cousin's wedding Levi is the last man she wanted to take but when they are forced to spend time together for work they realize they can't keep denying it. If they can just get over their respective pasts.
I loved both Harper and Levi's back stories, they both have been hurt but how the deal with their pain is what I loved. The story is told in dual POVs which is perfect for the readers to understand where they are coming from. We get to see the characters we met in the first book again and I loved getting a glimpse of Elliot who's book I am looking forward to. That being said this is Levi and Harper's story through and through.
Lips Close to Mine is book 2 in the Wherever You Go series and is a perfect follow up to Talk British to Me. There is humor, sizzling chemistry, angst, steamy times, and great characters that are the perfect ingredients for a romance novel.
I really enjoyed this story and the way that Levi wasn't giving up no matter what Harper said. He always let her snark roll right off of him and he seemed to enjoy it. Harper wasn't interested in more than a one night stand so seeing Levi all of the time makes that complicated for her. I loved the banter between these two! I can't wait to see where this series will go next.
I read Talk British to Me which was Mateo and Teagan’s story, who are the best friends of Levi and Harper. I loved that book, so I knew I would love this one. I was absolutely correct. I fell in love with the characters and the story. Levi and Harper were friends when they were children, but life took them in different directions. The two not only meet again but also share an incredible night of passion that neither one of them can forget even though they try. So, they brilliantly come up with a plan to just have sex and no feelings involved. Yeah…this plan is going to work!
I thought the way the book was written was brilliant. It was told from both of their POVs. But, some things stood out to me, such as Levi’s letters to Harper and Harper’s Positivity Journal. So much of who these characters were and their feelings and emotions were in those little golden nuggets. It made me feel like I was a good friend to both of them which truly pulled at my heartstrings. In addition, I loved the flashbacks each had of their childhood. They really liked one another even when they were in lust and falling in love.
Not only was this a romantic comedy, but some heavier emotions were involved as well. In the beginning, it appeared that these two were just into each other physically. Neither wanted to be emotionally involved. Both suffered losses that affected them, in different ways, but the hurt was still there.
“Liking someone engages more brain cells. It changes your beats per minute and leaves you vulnerable, and I never want to feel that open to heartache again.” ~Harper
I could see their tough exteriors eroding even if they couldn’t, and I thought they were perfect for one another. As with the first book, I loved the additional secondary characters, and I’m glad I got to catch up with Mateo and Teague. I’m also hoping we will get Elliot’s story soon!
I didn’t think Robin Beilman could top Talk British to Me, but she blew me away with Lips Close to Mine. I love a book about not only getting to know someone else, but I also like a book in which the characters also learn something about themselves when they are falling in love. Levi and Harper definitely learned important lessons and healed their broken hearts as they fell for one another. This is definitely one of my top reads of 2017! It’s the perfect combination of romance, steam, and emotion!
***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***
I loved the first book in this series so I knew I had to read about the next couple. I am so glad I did. This book definitely swept me off my feet. It was swoony and romantic and had tons of emotions that I was not expecting. It was also fun though as well. I really enjoyed reading this story and I am so ready to read more about these characters and more from Robin.
https://www.amazon.com/review/R3BTOT00U40KZR/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
It's a great book, I loved the story and characters alike. I loved both Levi and Harper. Their story is sweet with just the right amount of romance, emotions, and angst. I just adore Robin Bielman's characters, they are always so interesting and relatable. I strongly recommend this book to all romance fans.
Harper doesn't do relationships. So when her one night stand, Lavi, turn out to be a friend of friend she is confused. She's definitely attracted to him and its hard for her to resist his charm. But she also wants to avoid messy entanglements and thus ends up treating him very poorly. What more now she has to work with him too. Will she be able to avoid falling in love or is she in for a surprise?
Levi likes Harper but mostly he is curious as to why she treats him the way she does. After all he didn't do anything wrong. Then he decides to make her like him. She is beautiful and amazing woman and he wants to see if there can be anything worthwhile between them...
It's a well-written romantic novel with a touch of humor and angst. I loved reading it and hope others do too. :)
“Your heart is your friend, not your enemy. Listen to it.”
Sage words that Harper McKinney and Levi Pierce in Robin Bielman’s newest release, Lips Close to Mine, are hesitant to heed due to their respective pasts, but nowhere in that advice does it say a little ‘naked fun’ can’t be had because as much as Harper attempts to counteract her attraction to ‘Pants Charming’ with glacial glares and the cold shoulder, their chemistry is too much to deny, leading them to turn their brains off while they get lost in the pleasure of each other’s bodies.
But a physical only relationship when deeper feelings are evident is just not doable, which means that no matter how hard Harper tries to not fall for Levi, there’s no stopping the heart when it wants someone, which brings Harper to a bit of a crossroads, deciding if she’ll continue to runaway and hold herself back from any romantic emotional ties or if she’ll finally be able to let go of what she lost and move forward with a sexy man who makes Harper feel more alive than she’s felt since she was a teenager.
I wasn’t too sure how I would feel about Harper when I began Lips Close to Mine; she seemed too standoffish and guarded and I didn’t know if her personality would frustrate me too much. But, Robin Bielman develops Harper’s character beautifully, illustrating the true woman beneath her hardened exterior when it comes to her no-relationship policy. A tragic event can categorically change everything someone once held dear, leaving all feelings of love, happiness, and hope behind, and those scars are evident with Harper’s hesitant actions and the amount of overthinking she does when it has anything to do with one Pants Charming. Harper’s head and heart can’t seem to get on the same page and that constant battle will either make her stronger for putting her heart on the line again or it will prevent her from acting on her feelings and leave her stuck in the past and alone.
It’s easy to see why Harper finds it difficult to keep Levi and his charming ways at a distance. He seems to be the complete package, and even after he’s had his heart ripped out by his ex, he’s still willing to try again and give everything to the woman who was only supposed to be a one-night stand…the same woman who takes up way too much of his head space and makes him want to things he never thought he would want again, especially with someone so adamant to keep him out of her heart.
I really enjoyed Harper and Levi’s story. It has the perfect blend of angst and humor and the steamy scenes between the hero and heroine illustrate just how good they are together. Harper’s issues with relationships is definitely realistic given what she went through as a teen, and while her fears and her loneliness leave her drowning at times, Levi’s the perfect man to pull her out of her darkness and show her that sometimes playing it safe is the worst option to take. Harper and Levi have many shared childhood memories and they now have the opportunity to make new ones as adults - ones that provide them both with a chance to share their life and their hearts with someone who will most definitely handle it with care.
4 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)
LIPS CLOSE TO MINE is the second instalment in Robin Bielman’s contemporary, adult WHEREVER YOU GO erotic, romance series. This is photographer and cameraman Levi Pierce, and twenty three year old Harper McKinney’s story line. LIPS CLOSE TO MINE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Levi and Harper) LIPS CLOSE TO MINE follows the building relationship between photographer and cameraman Levi Pierce, and Harper McKinney, a woman struggling with ghosts from the past. Harper and Levi were childhood friends but somewhere along the way, the grew up and went in opposite directions. Several months earlier Harper and Levi reconnected for a sexy one-night stand, a night neither one is willing to forget…but Harper doesn’t do relationships, and Levi’s heart was destroyed by a previous love. A chance to work together brings Levi and Harper back into one another’s radar, and the proverbial sparks continue to fly. What ensues is the rebuilding friendship and relationship between Levi and Harper, and the potential fall out when Levi’s past comes looking for a second chance, and Harper’s darkened memories continue to plague her days and nights.
Harper McKinney struggles with a direction in life. An Olympic swimming career that was sidelined by an accident and loss finds our heroine aimlessly searching for that one thing to bring her back on line. Levi Pierce battles between his head and his heart-a heart that begins to beat for our story line heroine but a heart destroyed by a previous love.
The relationship between Harper and Levi is one of second chances, of a sort between childhood friends who reconnect following a one-night stand; whose best roommates, best friends and siblings are all interconnected making for some uneasy moments in the palpable sexual attraction between our story line couple. The $ex scenes are intimate, seductive and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Mateo and Teague (Talk British to Me #1), as well as a large number of acquaintances, friends and family-extended or otherwise, Harper’s old swim coach Brad Halloran, and Levi’s roommate Elliott.
LIPS CLOSE TO MINE is a story of friendship and love; memories and loss; forgiveness and moving forward with moments of humor and fun, conflict and tears. The premise is sexy, edgy and impassioned; the characters are colorful and charismatic; the romance is heartwarming and emotional. LIPS CLOSE TO MINE reveals the tortured secrets of two people who have loved and loss but are willing to take a second chance on love-once again.
Copy supplied by the publisher
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