Review: Amour Amour by Krista & Becca Ritchie

Title: Amour Amour

Authors: Krista & Becca Ritchie

Publication Date: December 12, 2014

Standalone
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Love is a circus

"Every day," he says lowly, "I hold a person's life in my hands. The circus is based one-hundred percent off trust. I give it all to someone, and they give it all to me."

The best aerial technique won't land 21-year-old Thora James her dream role in Amour—a sexy new acrobatic show on the Vegas strip. Thora knows she's out of her element the second she meets Amour's leading performer. Confident, charming and devilishly captivating, 26-year-old Nikolai Kotova lives up to his nickname as the "God of Russia".

When Thora unknowingly walks into the crosshairs of Nikolai's after-show, her audition process begins way too soon. Unprofessional. That's what Nik calls their "non-existent" relationship. It's not like Thora can avoid him. For one, they may be partners in the future—acrobatic partners, that is. But getting closer to Nik means diving deeper into sin city and into his dizzying world.

Thora wants to perform with him, but when someone like Nikolai attracts the spotlight wherever he goes—Thora fears that she's destined to be just background to his spellbinding show.

This sexy and exhilarating New Adult Romance can be best be described as Cirque du Soleil meets the steamy, athletic romance of Center Stage.

*standalone & no love triangles--recommended for readers 18+ for mature content*

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"Don't count your losses before you see the scoreboard."

I love Cirque du Soleil. So when Krista and Becca Ritchie announced that their next book would have an acrobatic circus setting, I was dancing on tables. Amour Amour was fun, unique and captivating. This spectacular writing duo can do no wrong in my book. They excel at writing family dynamics and the Kotovas stole the show in my opinion. My heart went all warm and fluttery whenever they were all together, especially that Thanksgiving scene *wipes tear*. If you haven't read the Addicted series yet (which I highly recommend that you do), Amour Amour would be a great book to read for a feel of their writing style. The Addicted series references in this book though, my goodness, made me a very happy camper. This was my first 'circus' themed book and it was incredibly entertaining!

Amour Amour tells the story of Thora James who drops everything to move to Las Vegas and chase her dreams of becoming an acrobat. An acrobat in Aerial Ethereal's new show called 'Amour' to be specific. It took me a bit to warm up to Thora's character. She put herself down a lot but I was glad that she never actually gave up. She had fierce determination and I loved that she was a lover of  paranormal romance books haa. She also made a lot of tv show references that made me smile! You can't help but root for her to succeed even when her family and friend back home didn't think she could do it.

Nikolai was an extremely swoon-worthy guy. He exuded confidence and skill. I loved how he and Thora met! That scene was so enjoyable (and shocking in the "did that really just happen?!?" kind of way). Nikolai was the male lead in 'Amour' and it was obvious how passionate he was of his work. Even with his tough exterior, there was also a gentle side to him. Besides one scene at The Red Death where he did something that made my alarms go off, he had me gushing to no end. I understood why he did what he did but still, gah. I LOVED THE KOTOVA CLAN. Their dynamic is definitely one of my top-favs ever.

"Life is a rollercoaster with no volunteers. We're all forced to take a seat and ride it out."

This book was filled to the brim with amazing secondary characters—John being my king. I loved how each character stood out from the crowd with their distinct personalities. They made me laugh and cry. The relationships in this book were heart-warming. You know you have a winner when the secondaries make you feel all the feels as well, rather than just being there. I loved Thora and Nikolai but there was another pairing in this book that had me flailing so bad!! I NEED MORE OF THEM. If some miracle should occur and they had their own book, I'd be all over that in a flash.

I loved the acrobatic circus element. Just reading about some of the tricks they performed had my heart racing. I also watched countless videos online to see these moves and boy did that add to my reading experience. I really liked the concept behind 'Amour', I mean, a performance depicting the different kinds of love? Genius. I would go see that. Amour Amour was a feel good story of family, aspirations and love. It's the kind of book that makes you realize how you've got to take the initiative to create your own opportunities. How persistence and hard work pay off. How some risks are worth taking. It's also amusing and light on the angst. I would recommend this book to any NA lovers!    

"Every day is hard. But the things we love—the people we love—

give us reason to keep living. To keep trying"

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You had me

"I chose to be here, with the three of you. I don't regret that decision."
THIS SCENE WAS EVERYTHING.
And the fact that they brought back slices of their homemade pie for Thora...
my heart burst seeing them accept her as family.

Extras: Character Casting, Thora James edit