No Rings Attached | Author Interview | Pride Month

It’s June and that means it’s time for another year of Pride Month spotlights! I’m so excited to spotlight No Rings Attached by Rachel Lacey and share the interview with the author!

INTERVIEW

Welcome Rachel! Thank you for allowing me to interview you! Can you start off by introducing yourself?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m the author of more than twenty contemporary romance books. I’ve written both m/f and f/f romance pairings, but for the last three years or so, I’ve been exclusively writing sapphic romance, which makes my queer heart so happy! I’m also a lifelong animal lover and fangirl. I live in North Carolina with my family and two very spoiled rescue cats.

How would you describe No Rings Attached in one sentence?

Lia needs a date to her brother’s London wedding, and the last person she wants to take is the elusive friend-of-a-friend who bails on literally everything, but since Grace is her last viable option, Lia takes a chance…and gets a lot more than she bargained for!

Can you introduce us to the main character(s) of No Rings Attached?

Lia Harris is a Brit living in New York, managing her best friend’s bookstore. She loves tea, museums, and her friends, and she’s more than ready for her own “happily ever after.” Lia is also a big believer in talking things through, both with her friends and her lovers.

Grace Poston is an American living in London. She works as a translator for a fashion magazine, translating articles from English to Spanish. Grace is always up for a good time, but she doesn’t want anything to do with love—or even relationships—and has a tendency to run from her problems rather than deal with them.

What representation will readers find in No Rings Attached?

Lia is bisexual, and Grace is a demisexual lesbian.

Do you know from the beginning how your books will end or do you let your characters decide their journey?

I do know how they will end! I don’t always know exactly how I’m going to get there, but I usually know exactly how that last scene will go before I start writing.

Do you have a favorite scene, moment, or quote from the book?

I think my favorite scene is when Grace and Lia are sharing a bed at Lia’s parents’ house. Grace has just shared something really personal with Lia in the middle of the night, and then they hug, and that hug becomes a MOMENT. They have several epic (and sexy) hugs over the course of the book, but this one is the first, and I just love it.

“Thank you.” Grace rolled toward her, wrapping her arms around Lia for a hug, but in her impulsiveness, she’d forgotten that they were in bed together and that she was only wearing skimpy pajamas. Suddenly, her body was pressed against Lia’s, her hands fisted in the back of that Taylor Swift T-shirt, her nose buried in the rose-scented depths of Lia’s hair.

The first thing she felt was warmth. Lia was so warm against her, their bare legs threaded in a way that was entirely too intimate for the situation. Grace’s heart was pounding, and not just that . . . Lia’s was beating just as hard against Grace’s breast. Arousal licked through her, hot and fast, something she hadn’t felt for another person in years.

Her friends had teased her relentlessly when she’d given up dating, but it truly hadn’t been a hardship. Grace needed to know someone and feel comfortable with them before she developed any sort of attraction. She’d tried a few one-night stands, but they’d left her cold. They were awkward and uncomfortable, but she didn’t want the emotional baggage that came with a relationship.

It had been easy to keep herself clear of entanglements this way. She hadn’t been tempted to break her rules since she’d quit dating almost five years ago. Until tonight, this moment, right now, with Lia’s hands in her hair, Lia’s breasts pressed against hers, Lia’s knee resting against her bare thigh.

Grace felt a dizzying swoop in her stomach, like sparklers were going off inside her, turning her warm and tingly, and oh, she’d forgotten this feeling. Her skin flushed, and her heart sped, and an insistent ache built between her thighs. And this hug had gotten really long.

She pulled back, breathing hard, her mind spinning in a hundred directions, because that wasn’t all her. Lia felt it, too, or at least Grace was pretty sure she did. There’d been a moment on the dance floor earlier when Grace had thought Lia wanted to kiss her, but there was just no way it would be a good idea. Grace was the very definition of commitment-phobic, and Lia wanted to settle down and get married.

“Still thinking so hard over there I can hear it,” Lia said softly into the darkness.

“Sorry,” Grace breathed. Everything about this moment felt too intimate now—the darkened bedroom, the late hour, her skimpy attire, and the shared bed.

What is something readers will find in No Rings Attached that they may not realize based on the synopsis?

A road trip! After Grace poses as Lia’s girlfriend for her brother’s wedding, Lia returns the favor by helping Grace with a family problem of her own, which leads them on a very unexpected adventure together.

What’s something you hope readers will take away from No Rings Attached?

I hope readers will take away the joy of finding that one person who truly “gets” you and loves you for exactly who you are, the person who supports you unconditionally and will be there for you no matter what, even if they aren’t the person you imagined falling in love with. Lia and Grace have a connection right from the start that goes so much deeper than physical attraction. They are each other’s “person,” no matter how hard Grace tries to deny it – ha!

What are three books you would recommend if someone enjoyed No Rings Attached?

Recommending sapphic books is one of my favorite things! If you picked up No Rings Attached because of the fake dating, then I have to start by recommending two amazing fake dating books. The first is Breaking Character by Lee Winter, which is a celebrity fauxmance, and you’ll even get another Brit/American pairing! The second is Who’d Have Thought by G. Benson, which is a marriage of convenience book that just nails the fauxmance to perfection.

If you enjoyed the Manhattan-based friends group in No Rings Attached, then I highly recommend Melissa Brayden’s SoHo Loft series, starting with Kiss the Girl. It’s a rivals-to-lovers story and one of my all-time favorites!

What’s next for you? Anything you can share?

The fourth book in my Midnight in Manhattan series will be out in October. It’s called She’ll Steal Your Heart, and it’s an age gap, online friends to lovers story set in a cat café. I’m so excited to share more information about it soon!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:

From award-winning author Rachel Lacey comes the second installment in the Ms. Right series: a captivating romance about a reluctant bookseller finding love in unexpected places.

Lia Harris is tired of being the odd one out. She’s never quite fit in with her uptight family, and now that her roommates have all found love, she’s starting to feel like a third wheel in her own apartment. Fed up with her mother’s constant meddling in her love life, Lia drops hints about a girlfriend she doesn’t have. But with her brother’s London nuptials approaching, she needs to find a date to save face. Lia turns to her best friend, Rosie, for help, and Rosie delivers—with the fun, gorgeous Grace Poston.

Grace loves to have a good time, hiding her insecurities behind a sunny smile. Her recent move to London has provided her with a much-needed fresh start. Grace isn’t looking for love, and she hates weddings, having weathered more than her fair share of heartache. Friendships are different, though, so for Rosie’s sake, she reluctantly agrees to pose as Lia’s adoring girlfriend for the wedding festivities.

Both Grace and Lia are prepared for an awkward weekend, complete with prying family members and a guest room with only one bed. As it turns out, they get along well—spectacularly, in fact. Before they know it, the chemistry they’re faking feels all too real. But is their wedding weekend a fleeting performance or the rehearsal for a love that’s meant to last? 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR