I am so. in. loooove with Krista & Becca Ritchie’s books!!! They are one of the few authors I can trust – they can literally write anything and I will not hesitate to read it. Their Addicted series is one of my TOP favorite series in the whole wide world, so of course I had to read their standalone!

Amour Amour was SO MUCH FUN to read!!!! It was an exhilarating, unique, inspiring, sexy book that I couldn’t put down! I fell in love with the characters and their stories. I honestly wished it would never end, and I’m a bit sad that it’s a standalone. It ends fantastically but… I wanted more!!!

“You have one year left at college,” he says, “and you’re going to throw it all away?”
I shake my head. “It’s the opposite,” I tell him. “My life is just beginning.”

Our heroine, Thora James, gives up everything to move to Las Vegas for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She wants to audition for a role as an acrobat in the show Amour, but it is NOT easy. First, she has to deal with the fallout of leaving college, her family, and her best friend to take a chance at something she could absolutely fail at. I, for one, was so impressed with Thora. If I were in her shoes, I sure as hell wouldn’t have the guts to go through what she did.

Lucky for her, on the first day of Thora’s move to Vegas, she meets the leading performer of Amour, Nikolai Kotova, at his after-show. He offers to train Thora, and Thora now has to endure grueling, exhausting practices with the sexiest man she’s ever met. Nikolai six feet five inches of raw, masculine power. In Thora’s own words:

He is power. Man. And strength. He is charm and desire and indestructible things.

I adooored Nikolai!! He’s a bit standoffish in the beginning, but when he and Thora keep up with training and spend more time in and out of practices, they warm up to each other. Their romance is fairly slow paced, but it’s genuine and there is a wicked hot chemistry between them. I loved the dynamics between Thora and Nikolai when they were together. They’re funny, tender, sexy, and they felt so real to me that I wished they existed in real life! I loved how Nikolai is so supportive of Thora and her dreams. He definitely stole my heart.

“The things greater than us, Thora, they’re not impossible. It’s just fear talking, telling you that you can’t when you can. I know you can.”

The most fascinating part of Amour Amour is definitely the world of the circus. I was utterly immersed in the circus life, and I applaud the authors for doing such an incredible job of introducing something that I knew nothing about and not letting it be too overwhelming. The circus came to life in this book, and I was riveted the entire time.

The Kotovas, Nikolai’s family, also make up a large part of the story. Timo, Katya, and Luka are Nikolai’s younger siblings who are also part of the circus life. They’re so full of life and character, and it’s so easy to be charmed by them, as Thora was. Thora came to Vegas completely alone, but now, with the Kotovas, she’s created a new family.

It’s tough going for Thora as she continues on with auditions, and my heart was aching with her mounting frustrations. If she fails, she’ll have given up everything with nothing to show for it. But if she succeeds and lands a role, she’ll have to leave Nikolai. But can she leave Nikolai if she’s fallen in love with him?

“Don’t love me more than your dreams, myshka. Because I love you too much to let you give them up for me.”

I loved this book. It’s a fantastic read about chasing your dreams and never giving up on them. The writing is impeccable and the story had me hooked. It did take me a while to warm up to all the characters, but once I did, I fell in love with each one of them. Krista & Becca Ritchie’s characters all take a life of their own and manage to steal my heart. I highly recommend Amour Amour – the story and characters will sweep you away!

4.5 hearts – nearly perfect!

Check out the interview I had with Krista & Becca for the Amour Amour blog tour!