Blessed Tragedy blog tour: review & giveaway

Maddie Neumann died the day she pulled away from her parents' house determined to make her dreams come true. She wasn't the perfect little princess she'd been raised to be, all she wanted to do was rock. Everything Maddie was tucked away in a box to allow for her re-birth as Rain Maxwell; a badass rocker who answered to no one and lived by her own set of rules.

Rain's world is shattered with one phone call from her estranged family. No sooner does she get home than everything she thought she knew about her life starts changing.

Colton Bradford knew there was something special about Rain the moment they first met. Unfortunately, she had a hard and fast rule about dating a bandmate so he was stuck in the friends zone. When Rain is going through her own personal hell, will Colton finally be able to make her see how he feels and convince her to take a chance on love?

Available on Amazon  

Some writers can tell you what book piqued their interest in writing a book of their own. I can’t. Other authors tell you the name of a teacher who influenced and encouraged them to write. The only English teacher I can remember probably does deserve some of the credit for my success because she was one of the hardest teachers I ever had. Honestly, I don’t know why I write; all I know is it’s one of two things I can do that makes me feel completely free.

The first “official” writing I did was as a fifteen year old high school sophomore. My dad was part of an APAzine and, for whatever reason, I started guest writing on his zine. That led to me getting a zine of my own in the Turbo Charged Party Animal APA. Rope the Moon (named after the John Michael Montgomery song and a nod to my dad’s influence on me) was the ramblings of a child in a world of adults.

I was held to a high standard because most of the contributors were my dad’s age. They were somewhat hesitant to allow a kid in, but they voted me in after those guest contributions. To this day, I feel blessed to consider some of those members friends.

Sometime after high school, life got in the way of my dreams. They keyboard was dusty. Looking back, that’s also when I felt my most restless. After my daughter was born, I started my first blog, More Than Mom, as a way to vent about my struggle to hold onto the identity I’d owned for 27 years.

In 2006, I heard about NaNoWriMo for the first time. I jumped in with the enthusiasm of anyone who’s never tried to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. It was a damn good story. Did I mention I’d never written anything of that length before? Yeah, that’s important because it means I never lost a work in progress of that length before. It was November 14th and I was over 24,000 words when my hard drive failed. And with the loss of my manuscript, I lost the drive to write for a while.

In 2012, I attempted NaNoWriMo again, this time saving in so many places I’m sure I’ll be finding partial copies of Bent everywhere until the day I die. The thing they don’t tell you with NaNo? When you hit 50,000 words, that doesn’t mean you’re done writing! So, I kept writing until I was done. And then I edited. And edited some more. Deleted a bunch of scenes, added others in. Had some trusted friends and mentors read it and then tweaked it some more.

In January 2013, I made the single scariest click of my mouse that I will ever make. I published Bent. It’s been a whirlwind year and it keeps picking up pace but I’ve never before felt so blessed to be where I am!

I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at hbheinzer@gmail.com with questions, comments or even a good joke!

Website † Facebook † Twitter † GoodReads

When I need a break from paranormal and fantasy, I check out contemporary romances (YA, NA or adult). One of my absolute favorite type of romance features musicians so when I read the synopsis for Blessed Tragedy, I knew it would be my kind of story. It was.

Rain aka Maddie has escaped her mundane life for something more fulfilling and exciting--to live her dream. She's the lead singer of a rock band and the only girl. Pretty sweet gig. Colton is a guitarist (along with his band mates Jon and Travis) and he's had a thing for Rain ever since she joined the band five years ago. When Rain learns her mother has passed away, she heads home with mixed feelings. Her family (now just her dad and three older brothers) hasn't supported her career decision since she took off. At home, she discovers no one called her as her mother lay dying. Can she forgive her family for that?

Going home is a common theme in movies and books. In Blessed Tragedy, going home is the start of an avalanche for Rain, a twenty five year old successful rocker. Lack of communication, distrust, acceptance--they all play a role in her story. Dealing with leaks to the press, an old boyfriend, brothers she didn't really know, and her own lack of understanding she can't do it all on her own are just some of the revelations she endures. Besides her real family, Rain also has to contend with her band family and their rigorous traveling schedule. She's fighting feelings for Colton, jealousy of their manager Tanya's relationship with the dreamy guitarist, wanting to become more productive in the songwriting, while coping with the lose of her mother proves to be too much for her. 

Rain lashes out, over indulges, runs her mouth and makes for an intriguing if frustrating character. It took time for me to like her. At twenty five I expected her to be mature. I did understand where she was coming from and soon found myself in her corner. She has fought to keep the real her (Maddie) from the celebrity her (Rain) for so long that she lost who she is. This story is her journey.

There's music, family drama, band drama, couple drama, and much more. There were times the pacing slowed down due to too much exposition over Rain's emotional outbursts or thoughts. There were aspects of the story I wanted to see and not be told about (like how she joined the group). Also, for a story about musicians, I would have loved to have seen some lyrics and more of the songwriting at Colton's house. The concerts seemed glossed over instead of really digging in to convey the excitement and adrenaline of a live performance. What did Rain and Colton sing about in their acoustic song? I thought some parts seemed repetitive (thoughts repeated) and a few sentences sounded awkward, taking me out of the moment so I could reread it. 

As for the character, Rain grew on me as did Colton and the rest of his band. Rain's hotheadedness landed her in many situations and I was glad to see her actually begin to learn from her mistakes. Her transformation from a splintered personality into acceptance that it's okay to keep some of her old self as her career takes off was insightful. There are plenty of others to blame for some of her problems and they do step up to the plate over time. Over all, I enjoyed Blessed Tragedy and look forward to reading Colton's story in Blessed Fate.

Rating: 3.5

Cover comment:

I like it.

Book source:

I received a promotional copy in return for my honest review.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Find the complete list here

Keep up with the tour and you could win! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Requiem for Blood blog tour: excerpt & giveaway

Requiem for Blood by Alexandra Hope

Publication: February 7th 2013 

Genre: Upper YA Paranormal/Dark Fantasy

PURCHASE: Amazon

Marrying East Asian mythology with Western folklore, this novel has a surprising twist for fans of the paranormal genre!

Seventeen year old Olivia Cohen has also had an appetite for blood and an aversion to the sun as a human and when she is killed by a mysterious young woman, she finds her appetite has heightened and her skin is now burned by the sun. Living her life in a colony with other people who live a "vampire-like" lifestyle, she has grown up hunting humans and believing there is a blood so powerful it will turn them from vampire-like into true vampires. On one of Olivia's final nights as a human she meets eighteen year old Troy Evans and is immediately drawn to the unique scent of his blood. Now as an actual vampire, she must learn how to suppress her need to hunt and kill for his sake and decide if his unique blood is worth saving from those who seek it.

16+ for dark themes.

AUTHOR BIO

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Alexandra Hope was born in New York, raised in Atlanta and has lived in Germany for the past three years. She writes pretty much whatever she feels like and for her debut novel she chose ninja-like vampires. She's a (Linguistic) Anthropology major, language lover, vocalist in a Japanese band and part-time bad fanfic writer.

Excerpt:

“I know hiding is prey mentality but come on,” Felicity whined, feigning disappointment.

“I'm not hiding,” said Olivia as she stepped from behind the tree and showed herself. Felicity threw two shuriken as soon as she revealed herself, their sharpened blades just missing Olivia's arm and embedding themselves into a tree. A blur before her eyes, Olivia was gone and replaced by leaves and dirt stirring in the air.

“What the hell....” her voice trailed. She tucked her head into her shoulder and put her arm up to shield her eyes from the dirt.

When the dirt and leaves had settled she turned and saw Olivia had ran off. She took a machete to a tree, only managing a dent to its massive bark. “This is hardly fair Olivia,” she yelled.

She pulled out a third weapon from her jacket pocket before whispering, “It's a good thing that I don't fight fair.”

Felicity shrugged the jacket off, tossing it to the ground and walked through the forest, alert. At every slight movement she threw shuriken and always just missed Olivia who scrambled behind trees and further into the forest. Olivia thought of the many times she was forced to play predator in these woods and how her heart raced with each close call. She imagined if her heart could beat at that moment it would pump itself right out of her chest. When she had gotten far enough away from Felicity she lay quietly onto her back, her arms sprawled out to the side. A branch rattled above her, leaves falling down and as she looked up a bird spread it's red wings and flew into the night sky.

Relieved, she closed her eyes and buried her head back into the damp ground. It was no more than a few seconds before they shot back open. Felicity's machete was coming down quickly but as she looked on, it felt like it was barely moving toward her. The blade was closer than it seemed when Olivia tried to roll to the side. Her shirt, soaked and dingy, was caught under Felicity's foot, forcing her to squirm out of it or fall prey to the blade. She was out of the shirt and back on her feet before Felicity could see anything. Though the night was cold and she was now only in a camisole, she felt no different as she sped through the forest. Her movements were fast and fluid like globs of light streaming passed Felicity forcing her to throw three more throwing stars with poor precision. She took a right to avoid the attack and grabbed onto a large tree.

Olivia was only a third of the way up the tree when she felt Felicity tug her leg. She kicked her leg back, striking Felicity at the jaw. Stumbling back, she spat red and her blue eyes had turned a piercing cold. Olivia was sitting on a branch when Felicity stuck her third weapon, a sai, into the trunk and used it to scale the tree, pulling it in and out as she went up. Olivia leaned backwards and her legs wrapped over the branch before she could plummet to her un-death. After hanging backwards and awaiting Felicity, she lifted her legs from the branch and fell gracelessly onto the ground. The landing was anything but soft, her body cut up and blood seeping out as she sprinted away. Within seconds the wounds closed up leaving only a dull pain as a reminder that she had been cut. Felicity slid down the tree and took in the scent of Olivia's blood, a smile creeping on her face. She followed Olivia’s scent but stopped when her foot came over something buried under the leaves. She picked up the hook sword and added it to her collection of unauthorized weapons then continued after her scent. When she heard rustling to her left, she stopped and pointed the hook sword in that direction with her last shuriken in her other hand. Olivia had been deliberately rustling leaves under her feet to beckon Felicity toward her, kunai in hand.

The final shuriken struck Olivia's arm and she cried out.

“First strike's mine,” Felicity declared as she appeared in front of her. Though Olivia had expected her to attack, even with her vampire senses, she couldn't detect the direction it was coming from. Olivia held tightly to her injured arm, the wound unable to regenerate as the weapon remained lodged in her. Felicity's eyes had warmed up unexpectedly when she saw Olivia clawing at her arm.

“Stop moving, I'll get it out,” she said. She fell beside Olivia and put her hand to her arm but was caught by Olivia. With the shuriken still stuck in her arm, she grabbed Felicity's wrist and held it tightly.

“I've finally gotten your last throwing star.”

“You wanted it to get lodged in your arm?” she sat back, bewildered.

“Surprised?” asked Olivia, her voice getting smaller but a faint smile on her face.

“At your stupidity? Yes.”

Olivia's grip was tighter on Felicity's arm, so much that she could feel the bones grinding beneath the skin. She winced at the pain, but tears did not well in her eyes. “Are you enacting your revenge? Quite the sore loser you've become,” Felicity commented through gritted teeth.

Olivia pulled out the kunai from her pocket.

“I never wanted to do this,” Olivia admitted.

“Do what?”

The kunai struck Felicity's jaw and blood spurted from the cut. She took her free hand to her face but still did not cry. Her eyes were bold. “You wanna kill me? Go on, do it. It's natural order....considering how many I've killed.”

“I would never kill you,” she confessed. “But I couldn't...”

The scent of Felicity's blood had stopped Olivia in her verbal tracks. Felicity smiled, a rather sweet smile.

“You smell it too? Something—”

“Shut up,” her voice was more pained than annoyed as she screamed at Felicity and then her eyes went dark.

Olivia pulled her head from Felicity's neck, her body languid and covered in blood.

No, she thought as she sank into the trunk of the tree.

“Olivia?”

Felicity's voice was a murmur as her name choked out of her month. She coughed. “You're a vampire...but how?”

She looked down at a bloody Felicity, her eyelids hanging over her blue eyes and threatening to close.

“I wish you didn't...”

“Didn't what?” she asked through coughs, her eyes studying Olivia's.

“I wish you didn't know that I was a vampire.”

Felicity's eyes shot open, her imposing blues bright on her face but without their usual iciness.

“I wish you would just forget...” Olivia's voice was almost a whisper as she stared at her.

“Forget what?” Felicity asked, her eyes blinking rapidly. She put her hand to her jaw then to her neck, pulling back a crimson stained palm. “What happened?”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz: Inspire by Heather Buchine

Inspire by Heather Buchine

Publication date: March 31st 2013

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Purchase: Amazon

18-year old Paige Rice, an exquisite beauty from East Hampton, NY, has just celebrated her high school graduation and is expecting to spend her summer living it up with all her socialite friends. But her parents have a different idea – she is being hauled away-literally- to the mountains of Vermont for the entire summer- in an RV! 

Assuming she will be an outcast amongst the other teens at the campground still does not prepare her for the treatment she receives, which is far worse than she imagined. She also isn’t prepared for Travis, the campground owner’s son and the “Sexiest” guy she has ever laid eyes on. Travis is the only one who shows any interest in getting to know Paige. The only problem is that they have to explore what lies between them in secret. But once all the secrets are stripped away, the truth may be crushing.

***Intended for mature audiences due to language and sexual content***

About the author:

Heather Buchine

Website | Goodreads | Facebook

By no surprise my favorite hobbies are reading and writing. But beyond escaping into the written fantasy world, I love experiencing new things. Surfing, motorcycle riding, snow blading, glass blowing, parasailing, SUP boarding are just a few that I have checked off my bucket list, but there is still so much more to explore. Right now, being a mom is my biggest adventure and the best by far!! In the quiet calm hours of the night though, I can usually be found typing away creating a world of romance where drama still exists but love (hopefully!!) always prevails.

1. Where did the idea for Inspire come from?

I was actually camping with my family when the idea for the story came to me.  We had just hiked through the woods down to a lake, and I was staring out at the boats when it hit me.  I spent the rest of the afternoon “daydreaming” away.

2. How did you come up with the name of the title?

My protagonist, Paige, has a tattoo that inspired the title “Inspire.” It’s also a key part of her character.

3.  What was the hardest part of writing Inspire? The easiest?

The hardest part of writing the book was writing the ending.  It took a couple of drafts before I was happy with the way I was leaving off.  (I’m trying not to give too much away, so I’ll leave it at that.) The easiest part was writing the dialogue between Paige and Travis, and the “LOVE” scenes. They were fun to write!!

4. Are you working on any other projects?

Yes. At least two of the other characters from this book are getting their own stories, and then there are a couple other projects in the works.  

5. Do you have a specific writing process?

I really consider myself a mix between a panster and a plotter. The first part of my process is visualizing the characters and the main scenes of the book.  My mind starts playing them out like a movie, and so I write it down exactly how I see it.  Then, I go back and fill in the story around those scenes until I have a book that I would like to jump into.  Although I outline my book ahead of time, things always change along the way as I get to know my characters better.  

6.  Do you have a certain time of day where you feel most creative?

Honestly, not really.  I usually always have a notebook nearby so that I can scribble down things as they come to me.  I could be in the shower, in the car, running through the check-out line, or making dinner and something may hit me.  

7. Do you have any favorite authors?

Yes, I have LOTS of favorite authors, but the two that stick out the most are: S.C. Stephens and Abbi Glines.  Their stories come to life for me, and I have a thing for their leading men!

8. What tips or advice do you have for other aspiring writers?

My first tip would be to write what you love! Second, edit, edit and edit some more. And third, if you’re a self-published author, let someone else do your formatting.  (Your time saved is so worth the money!)

Book Blast: Tragic by J.A. Huss

TRAGIC: Rook and Ronin, #1
By J. A. Huss
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Published May 15, 2013
Science Future Press

Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera.

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

New Adult Contemporary Romance *Mature Content* Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language usage

**Does contain strong language

I gather up all my clothes and stick them in the stackable washer in the closet just off the bedroom. The breeze caresses my naked limbs and gives me the chills, but I enjoy it. The goose bumps travel up my arms and spread out to my whole body. I shiver for a second and then head to the kitchen.

And stop dead in the living room.

Ronin fucking Flynn is sleeping on the couch.

What is he doing here? My eyes track to the front door and I suppose it's my fault, I left it open. There's nothing but a screen door between this apartment and the terrace. My gaze wanders back to the sleeping man. He's lying on his stomach, his one arm tucked underneath him, the other falling over the edge of the cushion, and he's shirtless.

And then I realize I'm naked.

"Shit!"

He stirs and I make a break for the bedroom. It's one thing to let him see me naked half hidden in darkness and quite another to be fully illuminated by the bright morning sunshine. I wrangle the sheet around my body and then head back to the living room, wistfully looking at the washer that contains every single article of clothing I own.

"Ronin!" I say loudly.

Nothing except a half-muffled snore from him. Lord, this man has the most perfectly chiseled and muscular back I've ever seen. Both hands pull up and go under his face, like he's blocking out the sunlight, and this gives me the perfect opportunity to study his flexing biceps. The muscles are thick and hard-looking near his shoulders. They curve down, dip into a little valley, and then climb once again.

I lean down and smell him.

"Why are you sniffing me?" he asks groggily.

"Uh—" Because you smell delicious, the inner Rook says. But luckily the outer Rook says, "I'm checking to see if you're drunk. Why are you sleeping on my couch?"

He peeks up, opening one eye in my direction, squints, and then croaks out some words. "I love your outfit." He grins, winks, and then drops his head back down into his arms.

"Are you leaving?" I ask, frustrated and confused at the same time. "I mean, why are you here?"

"I told you I'd come back with dinner. But when I got here, the lights were on and you were in bed. I only sat down for a second to think up a rational excuse to wake you up, but I guess I fell asleep." He raises his head again, grins sheepishly, and then rolls over on his back, tucks his hands behind his neck, and flashes his perfect body at me as he closes his eyes, probably confident that I'll be checking him out.

I do check him out. It's quite hard not to notice that he's got the perfect six-pack abs and that absolutely adorable fuzzy happy trail you see on a shirtless designer jeans model. Hmmmm… maybe he is that model? "You have no shirt on."

Yes, after all that gawking, I finally manage the obvious.

He opens the one eye to look at me again. "Neither do you."

Purchase your copy 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.

GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Circle Blog Tour: Tens list, excerpt & giveaway

 

Tour Schedule

The Circle Calum Ranson is sure of three things: his cousin Finley is alive, Calum will find him, and no one knows Calum and his family are Sidhe. No one until Laurel shows up at his mother's bookstore wearing a dark clan's mark. When Calum learns the details surrounding the disappearance of Laurel's brother, he suspects the evil Hobayeth clan. Calum and Laurel work together in the Realm of Man and the Otherworld to rescue her brother - revealing a connection between Calum and Laurel that may cost Finley his life. 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Goodreads

Excerpt:
Chapter Five
The Child Eating School ~ p.46 ~

“Did she just say Laurel has a crush on me?” Hagen whispered.

Calum felt that little ball of anger again. He tried to play it off, poking Hagen in the ribs with his elbow. “Don’t worry about it. I doubt Laurel has a crush on you.”
“Why not?” asked a defensive Hagen.

“She doesn’t think about us like that.” But Calum remembered the way she had sat so close to him at the movies that day. Or does she?

“She sure does stare at me a lot,” Hagen said grumpily.

“I don’t know,” said Calum. “Maybe she’s wondering why Tullia dresses you so funny.”

“Or maybe,” suggested Hagen, “she’s trying to figure out why someone as cool as I am hangs out with a dork like you.”

“Nah,” said Calum. “Must be she’s trying to find out where that smell’s coming from.”

“Good one,” said Hagen. They both roared with laughter. Their jokes continued, becoming more and more disgusting, until Tullia called Hagen to go home.

Calum’s anger faded. It was stupid to think Laurel liked either one of them. He decided to put away these thoughts and appreciate Laurel for who she was. A friend who just happened to be a girl. Besides, Calum had other things to worry about.

Ten Things to Know About Being A Sidhe

by Calum Ranson

1. Your entire clan is your family, so you have a HUGE family.

2. You get to travel to other clans' mounds. Each clan has a special talent, and special foods!

3. Other Sidhe can give you their "gifts," or talents so you can have lots of extra powers.

4. You get to go to Sidhe school and learn all about Sidhe history and Sidhe verse. I know, I know. School doesn't sound like it would be fun, but in the Otherworld, it is AWESOME!

5. You can communicate with other Sidhe by sharing thoughts.

6. Sidhe are especially atuned to nature, so we can read things in natural settings, like the way trees move in thebreeze, or how to find fresh water.

7. Duine Daonna (humans) who are mean or bullies can't hurt you. In fact, you can make them forget they even know you!

8. Sidhe have a natural musical ability so you easily learn pretty much any instrument you want to play.

9. Traveling between the realms is super easy. Just walk through the threshold and you're there!

10. And the best thing about being a Sidhe --- You have most of your powers by the time you're eleven. So you can pretty much do whatever you want!

Praise

"The Circle is full of magic and mystery. Readers will be engrossed in faerie realms, charming characters, and a state of wonder and imagination. The Circle is for those who delight in reading fantasy and exploring mystical worlds."

--Kathleen Fox, LibraryGames.com

Author Cindy Cipriano Cindy Cipriano lives in NC with her husband, son, and 27 pets. Okay, more like one cat, three dogs, and many, many fish. Cindy is an award winning science teacher, who this past August celebrated her 12th first day of sixth grade.

Website * Twitter

Tour Giveaway 

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 5/31/13 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friends & Lovers Trilogy: review and tour-wide giveaway

We have romance and more romance today as we are one of today's stops on the Friends & Lovers Trilogy Blog Tour hosted by AToMR. We have reviews of all three and there's a giveaway. Find the complete tour listing here.

Friends & Lovers Trilogy: Make it Last, I Choose You, Trust in Me 

by Bethany Lopez

New Adult Contemporary Romance – novella series 

Event organized by: AToMR Tours

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Make it Last (Friends & Lovers, Book 1): 

Paperback/eBook, 184 pages

Published November 17th 2012 by CreateSpace (first published November 3rd 2012)

In a small town, it's hard to recover from being dumped by your high school sweetheart. That's just what Briana has to do after Colin leaves her to follow his dreams. She focuses her energy into her friendships and the pursuit of her own goal of becoming a chef. Just when she finally feels like she's on the right path, he comes back to town.

Colin knew breaking up with Briana before leaving for college was the right thing to do. He was determined to leave small-town life behind forever, and that included his high school girlfriend. But when a sports injury puts him on the sidelines, he's forced to return home. Seeing Briana again brings back a lot of memories, and Colin wonders if he made the right decision. It doesn't take long for him to realize he wants her back, and this time, he wants to make it last. 

I Choose You  (Friends & Lovers, Book 1):  

Paperback/eBook, 202 pages

Published December 27th 2012 (first published December 22nd 2012)

Up until now, Nicole's life has been mapped out for her. She'd go to college, marry Jake and become the upstanding minister's wife. When she leaves that life to begin again in a small town in Texas, she finally has the freedom to live as she chooses. There, she meets Kent, a guy whose charm and passion make it hard to stick to her morals.

Dodging his father’s fists and protecting his twin sister made Kent into the man he is today. He learned by watching his mother stay by his father’s side that it’s better to keep relationships simple. Then he meets Nicole. Her sweet smile and genuine response to him land like punches to his resolve. After a lifetime of learning to protect his heart, can he finally let down his guard? 

Trust in Me: 

Paperback/eBook, 215 pages

Published February 28th 2013 (first published February 9th 2013)

Roni’s dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer were smashed under the brutal rage of her ex-husband's fists. Getting divorced and starting over at the age of twenty-two was never her plan, but maybe in Texas, she'll find her path. When the town's local player, Rich, opens a Rec Center, she sees a way to rekindle her dancing dreams...and maybe have a little fun with her sexy new boss.

Rich never expected to fulfill his dreams in the town he planned to leave behind, but that's just what he's doing. His reputation as a noncommittal ladies' man might make it challenging to earn respect in the business world, but he's willing to prove that he's serious. In fact, when it comes to pursuing Roni, he's more than willing. But she's taking a page out of his book, not wanting to risk another relationship. Can he convince her that his playboy days are over and that she can trust him with her heart?

About the Author 

Bethany Lopez

IAN | Webpage | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest 

Bethany Lopez was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Michigan and San Antonio, Texas. She went to High School at Dearborn High, in Dearborn, Michigan, which is where she has set her Young Adult series. She is married and has a blended family with five children. She is currently serving in the United States Air Force as a Recruiter in Los Angeles, California. She has always loved to read and write and has seen her dream realized by independently publishing her novels through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. 

Friends & Lovers Trilogy: Make it Last, I Choose You, Trust in Me is the complete trilogy of this series in one convenient volume. This volume also has special endings for each book which provides the readers with closure for each couple. 

Book one, Make It Last, quickly became my favorite of the trilogy. Why? I believe it's because Briana and Colin had a history. A high school couple with years of dating already provided a foundation for these two. When Colin announces he's breaking it off before he enters college to pursue his dream of being a football player, he leaves Briana to face her last year of high school with a broken heart. A strong and touching scene, their parting begins their story. Fast forward four years and Colin returns home, his dream shattered by injury. I liked how Briana kept telling herself it wouldn't matter if she saw him after all this time, she was stronger/had moved on. Nope. 

The author does a nice job of conveying both characters as they begin to run into each other in town. The tension is like rising dough as we await that 'special' moment/acknowledgment/reunion and Bethany Lopez delivers. Also my favorite scene! There are a few twists thrown in which only strengthen this couple's resolve and endeared Briana to me even more.

In I Choose You, we are privy to Nicole and Jake's relationship. I read this book first earlier (review). 

By the time I got to Trust in Me, I couldn't wait to see what happens with Roni and Rich. Roni has been such a support system for her girlfriends in the other stories and readers are well aware of her simmering attraction to playboy Rich. 

I have to applaud Bethany Lopez for putting the romance back in romantic New Adult for me. As much as I like reading the stories in this field, I've grown tired of some of the formulaic story lines and abusive relationships. I don't care what kind of upbringing any guy has had or how broken he is, that is simply not the excuse to treat any woman with such brutish caveman behavior  Abuse does not equal romance, no matter how hot the guy is. (Rant over.) Ms. Lopez has decent young hot guys who become respectable men (especially Rich). As a player, he never treats Roni with any disrespect or manhandles her. Yes, he views her as a typical guy but we know there's more to his attraction to Roni and he soon learns it as well.

Roni is one of my favorite female characters in this series. She has been married, is now divorced, and carries the memories of her abusive past. I would have liked to have seen more of her struggles and subsequent therapy as she begins to heal on the pages, especially after the thunderstorm scene. I really liked how she celebrated her divorce and that hot scene with Rich. 

Friends become lovers over the courses of these stories and each tale merely cements these characters in reader's minds. I like each girl and guy in this series and that's a telling admission. I don't always like the guys in some romance stories. Romantic yet spicy, moving yet still fun and enjoyable, Friends and Lovers Trilogy is a terrific summer read (and all year long too). The stories may seem light and the characters not as fully realized as in other books, but they do pack a lot of emotional depth in their shorter volumes. Bethany Lopez injects a tremendous amount of heart and spirit into this group. Having the three stories all together only provides the reader with a seamless reading experience. The special endings show us what happens after each original book's ending and gives us insight into each couple's HEA.

Ratings for all each individual story: 3

Rating for the Trilogy: 3.5

1/2

Cover comments:

As a trilogy, the covers work well together. I'm not crazy about the cover for the trilogy. There's nothing special in that photo.  

Book source:

I received promotional copies in return for my honest opinion in my review.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Spotlight: Karen Duvall

About the author: 

Karen Duvall

Website | Other blogs | Twitter | Facebook

Where to start… Bios are always difficult for me. I don't want to say too much and bore people, or not enough, which is almost as boring.

I was born in Hollywood, California. Sound glamorous? Maybe it might have turned out that way if my mother hadn't given me up for adoption. Or that's what I used to fantasize about when I was a child. Nevertheless, I was very fortunate to have had the best adoptive parents in the world. If you're curious to read more about this part of my life story, I wrote about it for my blog (post 1 & post 2). 

I've always been a writer, even before I knew how to make my letters. At the age of three, I used to tell stories to my mom so she could write them down and I could draw the pictures. I still draw pictures, however I've replaced the crayons in favor of computer graphics. I've been a professional graphic artist for over thirty years after graduating from the Art Institute of Colorado in 1978.