Release Day Blitz: Tyler (Brotherhood #2 ) by Jo Raven

TYLER (Inked Brotherhood, #2)

RELEASE PARTY AND GIVEAWAY!

  WELCOME to the Launch Party for TYLER (Inked Brotherhood, #2)!!! TYLER is a New Adult contemporary (erotic) romance by author Jo Raven. It’s book #2 in the Inked Brotherhood series (coming right after ASHER) – but can be read as a stand-alone title, as well. We’re celebrating the release with giveaways of ebooks and gift cards on Jo Raven’s author page! We’ll be celebrating all day, so join us to read steamy excerpts and teasers from TYLER and for the chance to win electronic copies of Tyler, Asher and others!

SYNOPSIS

Four years have passed since I left home, my parents, and my brother Asher behind – since I shut out my past. And Erin. Four years since I last saw her, since I heard her voice and held her in my arms. I've spent my time forging a path from woman to woman, from bed to bed; trying to find an answer. But I think I've lost my way. There’s no light at the end of the dark. No big surprise. I carry the dark inside me. I’m a bastard – branded as such from the start. I never give my phone number and address; I take my pleasure and don’t come back for seconds. No commitments; no promises and no happy endings. Yeah, I’m a bastard down to the bone and I don’t give a damn. But now I’m back in my birth town, the town I fled at eighteen – back to make amends to the brother I abandoned and watch from afar the only girl I've ever wanted. Hope isn't a currency I can afford; I learned that lesson long ago. Yet when she looks at me and says my name, I can’t help but hope. This is book 2 in the Inked Brotherhood series which started with Asher. It is a stand-alone work. No cliffhanger. The expected publication date is end July 2014, on all of your favorite e-book websites.  

 

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 EXCERPT

“Why?” I blurt out, to break the spell. “Why what?” his voice rumbles, low and deep, sending shivers skittering over my skin. I can’t let his face, his scent, his body take away my reason. I came here to talk. “Why did you leave four years ago?” His mouth flattens and he shoves his fingers through his unruly hair. Those broad shoulders roll in a shrug. That’s it? He thinks he’s off the hook that easily? No way. I push off the counter and get into his face—well, I crane my neck and almost rise on tiptoe, but it’ll have to do—and grab a fistful of his T-shirt. “Why didn't you tell me you were going? Why didn't you ever call? Where were you, for chrissakes?” “What do you care?” he says, so quietly I’m only sure he spoke because I’m looking right at his beautiful mouth. My grip on his T-shirt tightens. “Are you seriously asking me this?” “You told me I should go and never come back.” His eyes close briefly, and a pang goes through my chest. “That I was a bastard and an asshole and wasn't worth the trouble.” I let go of him and take a faltering step back. I did say those things, didn't I? “I’m sorry.” My hormones played havoc with my feelings back then, intensifying every feeling. “What about you? Why did you leave instead of talking this out? I never got a chance to tell you I’m sorry, you just…” I bite my lip and let out a long breath, but it catches in my throat. Maybe he hears it because he reaches for me and trails his thumb down the line of my jaw. The gesture stills me completely as his dark eyes nail me. I see sadness there, and fear. What is he afraid of? “I had to go,” he whispers and his hand drops away. “You left town, Tyler. Left everyone and everything and nobody knew where you were. God, I was so worried.” My throat constricts; I can barely swallow. “You were?” There’s a hitch in his voice, as if he doesn't believe it. “Yes, I was.” I've been so afraid for him for so long, I can hardly believe he’s here, alive and well. I reach up and slide my hand over his chest. It’s hard; solid. “Why, Tyler? Tell me why you left.” “I don’t wanna talk about it,” he grinds out. I want to bang my fist on his chest and slap his face. My fingers curl against the soft fabric of his T-shirt, and I feel his muscles clench underneath. “Screw you,” I whisper and I hope my voice won’t break and betray me. “That’s all you have to say to me? I’m not going to—” “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers. Shocked into silence, I stare at him. His gaze is moving over my body, a hot, silky glide that steals my breath. His pupils are dilated, making his eyes look black. I try again. “After all this time, I just want to know—” His hand hooks around my back, pressing me to his body and he bends his head toward me, dark hair falling in his eyes. His mouth descends on mine, sealing the words inside. The world falls away with a murmur as he kisses me. I gasp and his tongue pushes inside, tangling with mine. He licks at my mouth, and he tastes so good—like dark chocolate and pepper. Familiar. Thrilling. Sexy. I want more. I slide my arms around his hips and kiss him back. His chest vibrates against me as he moans and then he drags me closer, until my breasts are crushed against his firm abs. A tiny voice at the back of my mind is screeching in protest—this shouldn't be happening, we should be talking, explaining, finishing this off—but it’s drowned in the rushing of blood in my ears, the thundering beat of my heart. His smell, his taste, the feel of his muscular body, it sends waves of scalding heat over my skin, through me, tightening the tips of my breasts, starting a pulse between my legs. I cling to him as I burn from the inside out; I desperately need him—need to feel him around me, against me, inside me. Everywhere where he’s been missing for so long.  

My Review

~~I received this in exchange for an honest review~~

I have never read Jo Raven before, and I am sad that I haven't. Tyler is the second book in the brotherhood series. This follows the life of Tyler Devlin, and how he deals with the pain and suffering that his father had put him through. We see Tyler go through panic attacks, and ticks that he has developed over the years. We also see an OCD that he has developed as a way to cope with panic attacks. He has to go back to the town where he grew up to make sure that his little brother is OK. He also wants to find out about his long lost love Erin. 

I am use to reading books that are all about sex and finding the perfect man. This book is completely different from any of those styles of books. This book is about surviving. Surviving a life changing event, or surviving life in general. We see how Tyler grows in this book and we learn to love him and all of his baggage. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because I felt that the ending was super rushed. I'm not going to give away the ending, however, I would have reacted differently than Tyler did in that situation. I felt that there should have been an adjustment period or freaking out or something along those lines, not just OK that's cool, let's go home type of reaction. 

I want to read more of Jo's work because it is a nice change of pace. I love reading different things so I can broaden my genre's in reading. These book are just that! They change the pace and break the monotony of the same style.

Purchase Links

Amazon com| Amazon UK| Barnes and Noble 

 

AUTHOR BIO

Jo Raven writes New Adult erotic contemporary romance. She loves sexy bad boys and strong-willed heroines, and divides her time between writing and reading. When not cooking up plots, she putters in her cluttered kitchen and dreams of traveling to India and Japan.  

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Blog Tour: Aqua Alaskan Nights by Amanda S. Jones

After losing her job, Hayley struggles to make ends meet and allows her career status to define her. She finds inspiration in successful photographer Trevor Tott, but their professional aspirations clash when she experiences his questionable ethics along with unwanted advances from her overbearing boss. With the help of the ship's crew, stunning Alaskan backdrops and a leap of faith, they might find business can be mixed with pleasure. 
With cameos from favourite Aqua characters Harry and Casey, Amanda Jones weaves a plot that keeps the pages turning. 
Love happens on The Aqua… 
Have you jumped in yet? The Aqua series is the ongoing story of the cruise ship Aqua, where crew members such as Chef Amber and Captain Hallmann appear frequently, and other favourites, such as Harry and Casey, make cameo appearances. With each book in the series, the familiar characters and their stories grow and weave cleverly together. You’ll meet Hayley and Trevor again in books for the upcoming Alaskan and Caribbean series as well. Read along the entire series to get to know and understand the cruise ship, its passengers and regular crew members.

Excerpt:

HAYLEY CAUGHT her hat as a strong breeze blew onto the deck. She shoved the brim in her pocket, pulled her red curls into a ponytail and kept her eye on the camera screen as an iceberg floated down the glacier-carved fjord. The sun bounced off the blue glass as it bobbed in the sea, the summer light shimmering as if the water was a celestial globe. She pressed the shutter release but by the time the camera processed the picture and took the photo, the image was blurry. Why did she ever think of doing this?

Minutes earlier the glacier had released the clear blue ice with a sound louder than a cannon blast. She had watched in awe as it calved and cascaded into the thin arm of the bay, pushing water onto the glacial plateau, rocking the smaller ice pieces around it. An iceberg had been born before her eyes.

Hayley looked toward the maze of islands and coves that stretched along the Inside Passage. These were the moments she lived for - the raw beauty of the wilderness stirred a longing deep inside of her each time she stood in its midst. To her, nature was a kindred spirit and since she was a teen, she’d lived to protect it, from picketing at zoos to chaining herself to trees to protest against clear-cuts. That passion had led her to investigative reporting and she had covered the environment beat ever since.

She turned back to her camera. She had been in such awe of the moment, that she missed taking a photo and now struggled to capture the iceberg in some fashion. Words were her ability, to describe a moment rather than take a static image, but her prose wasn’t valued anymore. In the last round of cuts at the newspaper, her job landed on the chopping block. They no longer needed an environmental reporter - the stories from the wire were good enough.

To her dismay, the only job she could land was in public relations - she had crossed to the other side. And of all things, she was assigned a cruise ship company. Not only had she left her meaningful beat behind, she was now covering luxury travel, far from the world she had vowed to protect. Hayley spent years journeying to destinations, uncovering a story, or highlighting an area with natural heritage features, but in her new PR position she had an endless laundry list of tasks: photograph daily scenic shots, attend the workshops, interview the crew, plan the media trip with the photo workshop leader.

While her client was dining with the captain, she was running all over the ship to deliver the requested photos on time. And worse was, she didn’t have a creative eye. Some people could write music, others could dance to any beat, and photographers could capture a moment in one single image. She never could and always relied on publicity photos for her articles.

Yet she needed the job. She had a mortgage, car payments and college debt to pay. She had to hold onto the position at least until she found something better.

What made it worse was the client. Blake Harrison. The name already sounded harsh. He made it seem as if the free cruise was a big perk, yet with the workload she wouldn’t get much time to relax. On top of it, he didn’t cover any expenses and only dangled the carrot of a one-year contract if the cruise went well. She had to cobble together the money for the plane ticket to Vancouver and didn’t have much left over for a good camera. She had bought a cheap digital hoping it would do the job. She spent the first few days learning how to use it and then realized its deficiencies. It was slow in capturing images no matter what speed she set it for - how would she ever get the wildlife pictures she needed? And she never knew she had a shaky hand - all the years she wrote for the paper, if she used a camera, it was their top of the line models that had an image stabilization feature.

She looked over to the man on her right. He had more than one camera body, a large format camera in his hand and then a Nikon with a telephoto slung over his shoulder. After so many years of holding down a steady job, one in which she won awards, it was hard to believe that she was starting over. Her life had been set, and then the entire global economy got turned on its side and her industry took the biggest fall. At times it seemed her life was coming apart and there was no way she could hold it together. It was at moments like this that she felt tears building up, and she pressed her lips together to fight them off. It was so unprofessional, in the middle of strangers on the deck of a ship, on a work assignment, but lately she couldn’t control her emotions. She had dipped into her savings and was at the brink of financial collapse, not knowing where she would live or get health insurance from. The pressure month after month had become too much and she worried how she would cobble her life together.

She looked back to the sea, where the iceberg had turned exposing a large gap in the shape of a heart. Two thin arms of ice reached out to form an arch above the turquoise water. She felt small in the presence of these large cities of ice, these mountains that folded into the distance. It made her life and her problems seem inconsequential in the grander scheme of things.

The glacier was built one snowflake at a time, over thousands of years and it had now come to the end of its lifecycle, gracefully floating to whatever awaited it. Mammoth next to the ship, but the size of an ice cube when it reached the open ocean, it was changing, sliding to the edge, holding on, and then breaking, tumbling into the sea, sloshing about till it found solid footing in a new environment.

How unlike this piece of ice she herself was. It might float for years, enduring elements as it traveled along the coastline. It would eventually melt, bit by bit, erode and be forgotten. Would her life be much different? In time, her work would be cast aside, buried in cyberspace, nullified among more timely articles. Nor did her life matter to anyone but herself and her cat. She would be forgotten.

This is why she found solace in nature. It talked to her without a word. Thoughts slipped into her mind and found a home, made sense. There were times, in fact, that she found she was more interconnected with nature than people.

Hayley dropped her chin into the wide collar on her jacket and turned back to her camera bag. She pulled out an old tripod and started extending the legs. It was the one good thing about this cruise - when she was out in nature, she forgot the rest of her life. Even if she was stuck behind a camera lens for some of the next two weeks, she was still close to the one element that soothed her.

“Don’t bother setting up your tripod.”

The voice pulled Hayley out of her thoughts and she looked toward the man with broad shoulders and a pointy face. “I always use one.”

“You’ve never shot on a ship before.”

“Of course I have,” she lied, fumbling with the tripod legs splayed on the deck. She was in a time crunch to get a shot of the ice slab before the ship turned.

“It’s a moving platform.”

“I’ve got lots of space,” she said curtly. She looked beyond him, toward the fjord that stretched into the distance, then at his long lens and bulky camera bag. Perhaps he did know something.

“True but you’ll be buffeted from the wind.” He pointed his chin toward the fast-moving clouds, his windbreaker billowing from the breeze. “It will be useless.”

“I have an anchor,” she said sharply and hung her bag to the center post. She walked toward the other end of the deck to scout a scenic shot.

“Don’t leave your camera unattended.”

She didn’t have time to be interrupted - she had to get a good image and deliver it to her client in an hour. She threw her arms out toward the water surrounding them. “What? Someone’s going to run off with it?”

“I never leave my camera unattended.” He wrapped his long fingers around the body of his camera. “It’s too expensive.”

“Never say never.”

He paused for a moment. At the top of his head, a small patch of bald skin glistened in the afternoon sun that poured over the mountainous coast. “I never leave my camera.”

She rolled her green eyes. The man irritated her but the scenery was so beautiful that she didn’t want to leave the deck and miss something.

He walked toward her, then dug around in his bag and handed her a camera. “I used to shoot with this.”

“It’s old.”

“But good quality.”

He pushed his sunglasses onto his forehead, and showed her the camera settings. He had soft blue eyes, the color of the ice floating past them, and his long face led to a warm smile. Then he handed the camera to her. “Go get that iceberg.”

HAYLEY’S PONYTAIL bobbed from side to side as she walked toward the bow. Trevor watched her kneel next to her backpack and remove a filter. Even though she was tiny, her fiery curls gave her away from across the boat.

She rested her elbows on the railing and took a photo, then checked it in the viewfinder. A smile spread across her face and she turned to him with a thumbs-up. She walked further down the deck and took more pictures.

He knew the pressure of getting a good photo and could sense it a mile away. Besides, he had watched her for a while that afternoon. She seemed to be a perfectionist, muttering to herself and criticizing each shot she took. In time, she had stressed herself so much that it seemed nothing was working.

And then, the iceberg drifted by and she lowered her camera in awe. He heard her talk to it as if it were a human, and then she murmured over and over, “Stay strong,” and, as she did, her shoulders dropped. Trevor edged closer to her, drawn to the exclamation and the wonder in her expressions. She wasn’t the only one susceptible to the iceberg - the lower deck was crowded the moment the iceberg calved with a loud boom, and when he looked down all he witnessed was a maze of hands pointing, and then the gasps and shouts. But among that chaos there was a sense of peace with this woman, as if she had stepped into a bubble of calm. She said, “Stay strong” one more time and at that moment, he felt a warmth spread through the palm of his hand. The unthinkable had happened to Trevor. The entire time the iceberg had drifted by, he hadn’t taken one photo. Not one.

It seemed she had come to the realization at the same moment and fumbled with her camera. He focused his zoom lens and took a few photos, then turned back to her. It was then that he mentioned the tripod, and in doing so, seemed to pop her out of the magical bubble she was in. It didn’t surprise him when she got defensive - perfectionists always did.

Trevor looked back toward the woman who now leaned her chin on the far railing, watching. He zipped up his bag and jotted down a note, then speared it on the hook of her tripod’s center post. It read: “Play with the camera this afternoon. I’ll see you around. -T”

He hadn’t signed his name - he wanted to leave her with an air of mystery.

My Review:

~~I received this book in exchange for an honest review~~

Going on a cruise in Alaska is every ones dream. But when you work on the ship, can it really be a dream come true, or is it a disaster waiting to happen?

Hailey is the PR person for the Aqua II. The boss is a super jerk. He wants customers, and he is willing to do ANYTHING to get them on board, that is why Blake Harrison has Hailey as the PR rep. 

For Hailey, this is just a job. Not what she really wants to be doing, but something that will pay her bills and get her cat some food. But on a huge cruise ship and a very handsome man that has been hired to do a photography class, can she do her job, and keep her ethics in line?

I totally want to read the other books by Amanda! She gives you a very vivid picture of where the setting is. I pictured that I was on the ship sailing around Alaska and seeing the calving of glaciers, and the wildlife of Alaska. It makes me want to go on an Alaskan cruise like right now! Love the writing, the only thing I wasn't keen on was the back and forth that Hailey was doing to her self. In the end everything works out, but she was very I can't and I shouldn't but I'm gonna!

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AMAZON BOOK LINK FOR ALASKAN NIGHTS:

Aqua Alaskan Nights

Author Bio:

Romance author, Amanda S. Jones, loves travel, chocolate and red wine. You'll find all of these elements in the books she writes! Her first romance series, “Aqua” takes place on the cruise ship, Aqua, a slow-burning pleasure dome of food and attraction that spurs the reader's imagination. Each book has exotic locations, sumptuous foods, seduction, enticement and true love, so open the pages and step aboard to see what's in store for characters with the help of the ship's crew, a romantic destination and a leap of faith.

If you're interested in updates on Amanda and her book series, sign up for the Aqua Club newsletter on her website!

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Blog: http://amandasjones.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7453935.Amanda_S_Jones

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandasjones

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amanda-S-Jones/100006740383911

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ajones1029/boards/

Google +: https://plus.google.com/114026149107028910525/posts

AMAZON BOOK LINK FOR OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

Aqua - Christmas in New York City 

Aqua - Mediterranean Nights   

Aqua - Venetian Nights

July 7 – Every Free Chance Book Reviews – Q&A & Excerpt

July 8 – Storm Goddess Book Reviews – Review & Q&A

July 8 – Chick Lit Club Connect – Guest Post

July 9 – Brooke Blogs – Excerpt

July 11 – Jersey Girl  Book Reviews – Review, Guest Post & Excerpt

July 14 – Book Suburbia – Excerpt

July 16 – Samantha March – Q&A & Excerpt

July 18 – Ski-Wee’s Book Corner – Guest Post & Excerpt

July 21 – Chicks That Read – Review

July 23 – Chick Lit Plus – Review

July 24 – Two Children and a Migraine – Review, Guest Post & Excerpt

July 25 – Reading in Black and White – Review & Excerpt

July 28 – All About a Book – Review

Re-release blitz: Surrender to Me by Monica James

Synopsis

Ava Thompson left her one true love, Jasper White, to unearth her destiny. It was the only way for Ava to grow into the woman she’s always wanted to become. 

Sadly, that destiny has led her back to the place that broke her … Singapore.

And more importantly, it has led her back to the man who broke her … Harper.

Ava is no longer the scared, lost girl she once was. She is stronger and determined to accomplish her dreams in order to find happiness. Hopefully, at the end of it all, she will return into the loving arms of Jasper White. 

Six months later, Ava travels back to Los Angeles for an event that embraces the true meaning of love. Sadly for Ava, her meaning of true love has been lost. 

Los Angeles is not how Ava left it. Things have changed. People have changed. She has changed. However, what has remained untouched is her passionate love for Jasper White. 

But does Jasper feel the same?

EXCERPT

He inches his face towards mine, and I too edge forward, so not in control of my actions right now, because kissing him is the only thing I can think of. But then I remember he’s drunk, and this kiss will be meaningless in the morning.

Pulling back and shaking my head, in hopes of knocking some sense into my lust-filled brain, I whisper, “You’re drunk, Jasper.”

Jasper smiles, but it’s a sad smile.

His eyes focus on mine as he confesses, “I’m drunk on you. You’re my poison, Ava, and I don’t know how to stop consuming you.”

A breath catches in my throat as words that should be interpreted harshly, aren’t at all perceived that way. I don’t know how to reply, so I don’t. I close my eyes and take five steadying breaths.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Reopening my eyes, I see that I’m alone.

Peering up at Jasper’s house, I witness him turning back towards my car from his front door. The porch light reflects off his beautiful face, and his expression is mirroring mine. And that expression is one I have been trying so hard to keep at bay, but sadly have been failing at.

That expression is one of submission and surrender.

We both surrender.

And that fact scares the living shit out of me.

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Author Bio

Monica James spent her youth devouring the works of Anne Rice, William Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson. When she is not writing, Monica is busy running her own business, but she always finds a balance between the two.  She enjoys writing honest, heartfelt and turbulent stories, hoping to leave an imprint on her readers, and her inspiration comes from every day life. She is an Amazon best selling author in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Monica James resides in Melbourne, Australia, with her wonderful family, and menagerie of animals.  She is slightly obsessed with cats, chucks and lip gloss, and secretly wishes she was a ninja on the weekends.

Contact Monica

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Website ~ Pinterest

Other Books by Monica James

Synopsis: 

Singapore has stolen a piece of Ava Thompson.

It took one life shattering moment for her to realize her ex-boyfriend is not the man she believed him to be. Returning home to Los Angeles was never going to be easy for Ava, as her heart has been shattered to smithereens and she’s convinced it’ll never heal. Or, so she thought.

Enter Jasper White.

Unbeknown to Ava, he will change her life forever.

The attraction is instantaneous, which troubles Ava, who has sworn off men indefinitely. Yet, she is finding resisting Jasper—with his tousled bedroom hair and piercing cerulean eyes—harder than she ever imagined. That’s because Jasper knows what he wants … and he wants her.

Can Ava surrender to her feelings for the one man who compels her to love again? What happens if love isn’t enough?

AMAZON US ~ AMAZON UK ~ AMAZON CA ~ AMAZON AU

Synopsis:

Mia Lee has a secret… 

A secret she’s kept hidden since she was eight years old, however, Mia will no longer allow that secret to define her. 

An irrevocable decision has left Mia Lee a fugitive and on the run—a circumstance that should leave her weak and scared, yet Mia has never felt so alive.

Under the pseudonym of Paige Cassidy, Mia is ready to live the life she’s never had, and she’s determined not to allow her tainted past dictate her promising future. 

Paige is on a Greyhound bus heading from L.A. to South Boston, Virginia, to start a new life. A life that includes finding her mother, who abandoned her at age three. But what she finds, is four people, who will change her life forever.

Yet no one can outrun their past…

Especially one filled with bitter memories, which refuse to remain hidden.

AMAZON US ~ AMAZON UK ~ AMAZON CA ~ AMAZON AU

Blog Tour: Seven Weeks to Forever by Jennifer Farwell

Cassidy Jordan knows she'll die a few weeks after her eighteenth birthday, and she can't wait. This is her second time here, and she knows what's waiting for her in The Life-After — the place most mistakenly call "the afterlife." Getting back there is supposed to be easy: she just has to find nineteen-year-old Riley Davis and help him get his life on track. But doing that isn't easy at all. 
By the time Cassidy finds Riley, she has only seven weeks to help him before her time is up. Riley will die too young if she fails, and she'll never see The Life-After or have another chance at life again. But no one told her helping Riley would mean dating him; she hasn't dated anyone since the love of her first life caused her death the last time she turned eighteen. And no one warned her she'd cross paths with Selena Jensen, her ex-best-friend who hasn't forgotten why their friendship ended and is protective of Riley. Then there's Cassidy's family, who thinks she's a normal girl headed to Harvard in the fall. When her aunt discovers that's not the plan, she shows up to try and drag Cassidy from L.A. to Boston. 
Helping Riley is already hard with her aunt and Selena in the way. It's almost impossible when Cassidy realizes she's falling for him and is faced with a choice: give Riley the life he's meant for and leave when it's time, or give up eternity for the true love she's never had, knowing Riley will die the same way she did in her first life and that her entire existence could end at any time.

Excerpt:

From Chapter 3:

I gently lift his fingers from my shoulder, leaving him with a polite smile. I get only two steps away before I find myself being spun around. I wince as the guy wrenches my arm.

“No need to be so rude, darlin’. Stay and talk a while.”

“I’m meeting someone,” I tell him, trying to free myself again. He leers at me, digging his fingers deeper into my skin. My arm will probably bruise, but that’s nothing compared with what I could do to him if I wanted to. Energy can be a powerful thing. There are other people watching, though, and I can’t risk one of them figuring out that there’s something different about me. I have a feeling that would be breaking one of the rules.

I open my mouth to speak instead, fighting against what I really want to tell this guy. Running my mouth will only make this get ugly, and fast. Before I can say anything, though, someone else beats me to it.

“She’s with me.”

I turn my head in the direction of the voice at the same time my friend with the iron grip does. He looks annoyed, but it’s all I can do to keep my jaw in place. Riley Davis, it seems, shows up in the strangest places.

The guy holding my arm releases me and takes a step back. “You should teach your girlfriend some manners,” he mutters.

Riley raises an eyebrow at him, but he doesn’t respond. I look at the guys still standing by the apartment building, wondering if Riley just got us into more trouble than what I was in on my own. They stay where they are, though, and the guy who grabbed my arm takes another few steps away from me.

Riley grabs my hand and pulls me in the other direction without saying a word. A surge of energy shoots through me, and I fight to keep my balance. It’s almost impossible to hold my hand steady in his. A tingling feeling spreads through my body, making it hard for me to think.

This has to be an energy drain, somehow caused by the guy who grabbed hold of my arm. I tried hard not to let our energy connect, though, and that doesn’t explain why this is happening now that I’m holding Riley’s hand. I doubt his energy is at rock bottom like the other guy’s is.

I take a few breaths, trying to clear my mind. We walk for three blocks in silence before I get my bearings and finally find my voice.

“Thank you,” I tell him. I swear I hear him snort.

“Yeah, no problem.” He sounds put-out and doesn’t even try to hide it. If he recognizes me from the concert last night, his face doesn’t show it.

We walk a few more steps and then he stops so abruptly that I almost plow into him. He drops my hand.

“Do your parents know you’re out roaming the city in the middle of the night?”

His jaw is set, and I’m pretty sure that’s irritation I see on his face. Well, that’s interesting. I wonder if getting mad at strangers is something he does a lot.

“My parents died when I was six.” I regret my words the instant they leave my mouth. Surprise replaces the irritation in his eyes, and then I see exactly what I didn’t want to see. He’s uncomfortable now. Talking about death seems to do that to people. Discomfort isn’t exactly what I was going for, but maybe I shouldn’t care. It’s better than being lectured.

“I’m sorry.” His eyes drop to the sidewalk and stay there.

“Don’t be.” I start walking again.

“Do you make a habit of walking alone down dark streets at night, this close to bars and people drunk out of their minds?” he calls after me.

Oh, joy. Here we go again.

I stop and turn around. He sounds angry, and a quick check of his energy shows me little red sparks shooting everywhere. Yup, that’s definitely the color of anger.

“I got to town a week ago. What am I supposed to do, leave a breadcrumb trail to my house and stay there until new friends magically show up at my door?” I stop talking when something occurs to me. He’s out here alone, too. I put my hands on my hips and glare at him. “Why are you giving me a hard time, anyway? I don’t see you working the buddy system for safety.”

He narrows his eyes. It’s completely the wrong time for me to notice that they’re this incredible shade of deep brown, lit up with little golden flecks here and there. I didn’t notice his eyes last night, but they sure have my attention now.

Stop staring, I tell myself. Easier thought than done.

“I’m a little bigger than you,” he tells me. I think he’s noticed me staring, because he’s staring right back. I feel warmth run through me and am about to check my energy when I realize energy has nothing to do with it. The heat is in my cheeks. Curse him, I’m blushing.

My Review: 

~~I received this in exchange for an honest review~~

This is a great book. After I finished reading this book, I was in a book hangover. I haven't read a book in a long time that had that effect on me. I laughed and cried in this book. My heart was aching for Cassidy because of the decisions that she had to make in her life. She has to save another person for her to be free of her life, the kicker is, she only has 7 weeks to accomplish this.

I read this book quickly. I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen and what decisions Cassidy was going to make. This book makes you look at everything that you have in your life. Whether it is good for you or if that one fight you had with your best friend was really worth losing them over.

I love the writing that Jennifer does with this book. She steps out of the normal style and uses that to her advantage. She uses death as a coping mechanism, and a way to get everything in order. I am a fan of hers and can't wait to read what she writes next!

Author  Bio:

Jennifer Farwell has been writing since the day she picked up a navy blue Crayola as a toddler and began scribbling on her parents' freshly painted white walls. She's the author of SEVEN WEEKS TO FOREVER (her most recent novel), as well as ROCK STAR'S GIRL and its forthcoming sequel, HIDING OUT IN HOLLYWOOD (2015). When not writing novels, she can often be found at a Kundalini yoga class, cheering on the L.A. Kings during hockey season, or curled up with a good book. She grew up in Thunder Bay, Canada, and now lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Pico.

Connect with me:

Website: http://www.jenniferfarwell.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jennfarwell

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jfkristin

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jenniferfarwell

Authorgraph: https://www.authorgraph.com/authors/jennfarwell


Book links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JQUD69M/

iBooks at iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seven-weeks-to-forever/id866155086?mt=11

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seven-weeks-to-forever-jennifer-farwell/1119288767?ean=2940045840170

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/seven-weeks-to-forever

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