Review:Absolution Road by Rachel Blaufeld

For Jake Wrigley, the future is bleak. Some people are survivors, but he’s getting by on his bad-boy looks and charming smile. He owns a gym, gets into bar fights, and wrestles his demons with rough workouts—both in and out of the bedroom.

For Alyson Road, the future is bright. Life can only improve from where she grew up. She graduated at the top of her law class, cares for her ailing mom, and in her job, she defends those who can’t afford anyone else. Her work is thankless but honest.

Jake’s twin brother has been covering his ass for as long as they’ve been alive, but that all changes when Jake finds himself in front of the fiery public defender, his future in her hands. For the first time ever, he doesn’t want to involve his brother, finally realizing he needs to stand alone, be his own man.

Even if Jake’s never absolved of his past wrongdoings or his heart is never scrubbed of the blackness that resides there, he can do one good deed—protect the beautiful lawyer who touched his soul—until helping her nearly becomes his own undoing.

Release Date: September 28, 2015

Series: Crossroads, Book 2

Genre: Contemporary Romance

 

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What I thought about Absolution Road

 

Jake Wrigley has some issues.  Well, lots of issues.  He's got a dark past and lots of guilt.  He thinks he's only good for one night stands and no relationships beyond his twin brother and his sister-in-law.  Even though he's got a successful chain of fitness centers, and it looks like he's got everything going for him, he doesn't believe it.

 

Alyson Road is a public defender that meets Jake on Christmas Eve. Her perfect exterior hides some of her own issues.  But there's a spark between these two from the start, and after a few more chance meetings, Jake eventually wears Alyson down and they start dating.

 

When Alyson gets involved with a legal case with a connection to Jake, things get very serious for Alyson, and their happily ever after is threatened.

 

This book started out a bit slow for me.  The "Alyson Road" bit was a bit hokey and Jake's insta-erection reaction to Alyson and his internal narration about her was a bit off-putting. But not having read the first book in the series, I was curious about Jake's past and where this story was going to go.

 

The story picked up somewhat toward the middle and when Alyson gets herself into some trouble, there's some nice tension to the story. But overall, I thought the writing could be better.  There was a lot of telling and awkward-type sentences, the kind that jump out and make you take notice. I liked the story and the characters, but I thought there was untapped potential for making this much better. 

ARC provided for review. 

 

About the Author

 

 

 

Rachel Blaufeld is a social worker/entrepreneur/blogger turned author. Fearless about sharing her opinion, Rachel captured the ear of stay-at-home and working moms on her blog, BacknGrooveMom, chronicling her adventures in parenting tweens and inventing a product, often at the same time. She has also blogged for The Huffington Post, Modern Mom, and StartupNation.

Turning her focus on her sometimes wild-and-crazy creative side, it only took Rachel two decades to do exactly what she wanted to do—write a fiction novel. Now she spends way too many hours in local coffee shops plotting her ideas. Her tales may all come with a side of angst and naughtiness, but end lusciously.
Rachel lives around the corner from her childhood home in Pennsylvania with her family and two dogs. Her obsessions include running, coffee, icing-filled doughnuts, antiheroes, and mighty fine epilogues.

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Review, Excerpt, and Giveaway: Beyond What is Given by Rebecca Yarros

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(US & INT)

BEYOND WHAT IS GIVEN

Flight & Glory #3

Rebecca Yarros

Releasing Sept 28th, 2015

Entangled Embrace

Lt. Grayson Masters is focused on graduating the Apache helicopter course, and the last thing he needs is his gorgeous new roommate Samantha Fitzgerald distracting him. While her smart mouth and free spirit are irresistibly irritating, he can’t deny their off-the-charts chemistry, no matter how hard he tries.

Having just been expelled from college, Sam has no business digging for Grayson’s secrets while she’s hiding her own, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to tear down his walls. Each barrier she busts through drops one of her own, though, and she’s not prepared for the truth: another woman laid claim to Grayson’s heart long ago.

Falling in love is something neither Grayson nor Sam can afford, and when that line is crossed and secrets are exposed, they’ll learn that sometimes it’s the answered prayers that will put you through hell.

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Grayson’s choices were so calculated, so deliberate, I doubted he’d ever so much as been late for a class.

“Samantha?” His eyes softened, revealing the give in him, and it cracked my own defenses.

“Have you ever made a mistake, Grayson? And I don’t mean the kind that costs you an apology. I mean one that destroys you? Where you lie awake at night, unable to sleep, because you’re terrified of what’s going to happen the next day, and the one after that? Where you’d give anything, and I do mean anything to go back and make a different choice? Where you’re sick all the time at the thought of what you’ve done? Because I have. I’ve crumbled my entire future, shredded any hope of finishing college, and killed off who I used to be. And I don’t...I don’t know how to come back from something like that.”

“You don’t.”
I jerked back, but he held me immobile against him. “Stop, and listen to me. I’m not going to belittle you by saying nothing is that bad, because some things are. Things happen that change who we are, and what we’re capable of. So you’re not going to ‘come back’ from that any more than you’re going to erase whatever you did. You have to decide if you’re going to try to keep patching yourself up or if you’re going to tear down and rebuild.”

“I don’t know how to do that.”

“You wade through the pain, and the guilt, and the excuses you make to yourself. Stop drowning in alcohol to numb the fear, and suck up the bitter taste of accountability.

You move on with who you are now. It’s not easy. If you think you screwed up that badly, then maybe you did, but you also have to leave room for the chance that you didn’t. Have you talked about it?”

I shook my head. There were two of us who knew the whole truth, and that circle was big enough. “I’m not sure I’m ready to let go of everyone’s vision of who I am. It’s so much prettier than the truth.”

“Not even Ember?”

“Definitely not think-through-everything-twice Ember. She wouldn’t understand, and I’m not sure I could handle her reaction.”

He swallowed and broke our stare like it had become too much because we both knew the truth—it had. “That’s the hardest part, letting someone see who you really are— scars and all. I’m...” He cleared his throat. “You need to trust someone enough to tell them the truth. Make peace with it before it eats you alive. I listen really well if you don’t have anyone else.”

I scrambled to throw up a wall between us. It was safer when he was hurling snotty comments at me. That, I knew how to handle. But this Grayson? The one holding me carefully, keeping me warm while the storm raged outside, offering to help carry the crippling weight destroying me? I didn’t know what the hell to do with that one.

What I thought about Beyond What Is Given

The last thing Grayson wants or needs is to get involved with someone.  He's super-focused on his career as an Apache pilot and his secret obligations at home. But when Sam(antha) ends up renting a room in the house he shares with Josh and Jagger, he can't resist her as much as he tries.

Sam is running from an incident at her old college, and when she can't get accepted anywhere else, she ends up taking Jagger's invitation to rent a room.  She's not looking for romance either, but neither Grayson or Sam can stop the attraction between them.

I love it when the main characters can't fight off their attraction, and as a reader of this series I've been waiting to find out  Grayson's secret.  It's a serious situation he's in, and his behavior shows incredibly strong character.  But he's also a bit wishy-washy when he has to make a choice between Sam and his past, and I was pleasantly surprised to read that it's Sam that helps him see the light, although some of those moments were painful and might require a quick dab of a tissue.  I loved that she's the one that says and does the hard stuff in this story, because it's true that behind every strong man stands a strong woman.

Sam also manages to put herself first, even though it's clear that she loves Grayson deeply.  That took some sacrifice, and I felt her pain right along with her. 

I really love this series.  There's a lot said about strong personal character and doing the right thing, even though it may be painful. These stories are such an ode to the military man and their women that it just fills my heart with a wonderful feeling and respect for our armed forces.  I hope that someday we'll get a story about a woman pilot from this author. 

While Beyond What is Given didn't have quite the level of drama and tears as the previous two books in the series, it's still a great read. And there are some great scenes with Josh and Jagger too.  So overall, another winner from Rebecca Yarros!  I'll be waiting patiently (maybe) for her next installment in the series.

ARC provided for review.

 

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Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and lover of all things chocolate, coffee, and Paleo. In addition to being a mom, military wife, and blogger, she can never choose between Young Adult and New Adult fiction, so she writes both. She's a graduate of Troy University, where she studied European history and English, but still holds out hope for an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Her blog, The Only Girl Among Boys, has been voted the Top Military Mom Blog the last two years, and celebrates the complex issues surrounding the military life she adores.

When she's not writing, she's tying on hockey skates for her kids, or sneaking in some guitar time. She is madly in love with her army-aviator husband of eleven years, and they're currently stationed in Upstate NY with their gaggle of rambunctious kiddos and snoring English Bulldog, but she would always rather be home in Colorado.

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ARC Review:All I Want by Jill Shalvis

Summary

Pilot-for-hire Zoe Stone is happy to call Sunshine, Idaho, her home base. But her quiet life is thrown for a loop when her brother’s friend Parker comes to stay with her for a week. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent is a handsome flirt with a gift for getting under her skin. And the situation only escalates when Parker hires her to fly him around the area while he collects evidence on a suspected smuggler.

Now she has to live and work with the guy. But when they’re in the air, she sees another side of him. He’s driven, focused, and sharp. And while he enjoys giving commentary on her blind dates, she quickly realizes with a shock that it’s Parker who gets her engines going…

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What I thought about All I Want 

Zoe is the older sister of Darcy and Wyatt, characters introduced previously in this series.  She's single, dating and maybe ready to let someone in her life after taking care of her siblings for years. She can be a little prickly too, and I totally fell in love with her when one of her suitors tells her: "... you wear a sign on your forehead that says back the fuck off."  I got her. She's serious about what she wants. She's strong and smart and a natural born caregiver.

Parker shares some of these traits with Zoe and when they meet, well, it's pretty much a done deal between these two. Parker is a friend of Zoe's brother Wyatt, and he's staying a few weeks staying with Zoe while he's on "vacation" in Idaho. There's tons of chemistry between these two and it soon becomes clear that things are getting more serious than either one of them anticipate.  But Parker's vacation is really just a front for his real reason to be in Idaho, and that's to pursue an accomplished poacher and criminal, Tripp Carver. 

But when Parker's case comes to a close and he returns to his job, both Zoe and Parker have to deal with their emotional state. It' not pretty.  They both had to decide what it is they really want. 

I loved everything about this story -- the romance between Zoe and Parker, the commentary from Zoe's family, the criminal subplot and especially Parker's sister Amory. Oh, and I can't for Oreo, Bonnie and Clyde cause I loved them too!  The story moves right along and I found I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end.

This book works very well as a standalone, so if you are not reading this series or author, I recommend this very sweet contemporary romance.

ARC provided for review.

 

Flash Giveaway


I've got two copies to gift away, randomly selected from the comments on this post! Just leave a comment letting me know you'd like to read this title. Giveaway ends 10/2/15. 

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s sexy contemporary and award-winning books wherever romances are sold and click on the blog button above for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

http://jillshalvis.com/

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Release Week Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway: Forever With You by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

We are so excited to bring you the
Release Week Blitz for
Jennifer L. Armentrout's
FOREVER WITH YOU! 

FOREVER WITH YOU
is a standalone
New Adult contemporary romance
being released on September 29^th,
and is the fifth book in the Wait For You Series,
published by Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Grab your copy of this incredible addition to Jennifer's Wait For You Series and see what everyone is talking about!

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Praise for FOREVER WITH YOU: 

“Armentrout packs a powerful emotional punch in her fifth Wait for You new adult contemporary (after Fall with Me)... Armentrout tugs at the heartstrings while delivering an intense, gripping tale.” –Publishers Weekly

“Armentrout presents an emotional installment in her Wait for You series…[she] does it again, presenting a fast-paced tearjerker that fans will devour.”–Booklist

   

  FOREVER WITH YOU Synopsis:

In the irresistibly sexy series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout, two free spirits find their lives changed by a one-night stand… 

Some things you just believe in, even if you've never experienced them. For Stephanie, that list includes love. It's out there. Somewhere. Eventually. Meanwhile she's got her job at the mixed martial arts training center and hot flings with gorgeous, temporary guys like Nick. Then a secret brings them closer, opening Steph's eyes to a future she never knew she wanted—until tragedy rips it away. Nick's self-assured surface shields a past no one needs to know about. His mind-blowing connection with Steph changes all that. As fast as he's knocking down the walls that have kept him commitment-free, she's building them up again, determined to keep the hurt—and Nick—out. But he can't walk away. Not when she's the only one who's ever made him wish for forever . . .     

Excerpt

I spotted Roxy and her blue glasses toward the back of the busy restaurant. The walkways between the booths were crowded with racing kids covered in sticky jelly and older people trying to rein them in as I made my way toward them.

            Roxy’s hair was pulled up in a messy bun and her eyes squinted as she glanced up at me. “You seriously went running before you came here. You weren’t lying.”

            “Nope. I try to run every day.” I sat beside Katie, who compared to Friday night was dressed down in a baby blue off-the-shoulder sweater that looked like sequins had thrown up on it. Her blond hair was pulled back in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. “I have to work out,” I explained, placing my purse between Katie and me. “I eat like five starving guys in college. It’s actually embarrassing how much food I can consume in one sitting.”

            Katie laughed. “I don’t have that problem. I can eat whatever I want and not gain a pound. Actually, I’d probably lose weight.” Her shoulders rose in a shrug. “Sucks to be you all.”     

Roxy scowled at her. “You don’t need to rub it in, you know.”

            “Don’t hate me because I was born this way.” Katie grinned when Roxy rolled her eyes. “Maybe it’s Maybelline. Maybe it’s Katie.”

            I giggle snorted.

            The waitress appeared at our table, clicking the pen she’d pulled out of the pocket of her apron. She took our drink order and then dashed off to fulfill it, her white sneakers squeaking across the floor.

            “I’m glad you came,” Roxy said, propping her elbows on the table. “I was worried I was going to have to search you down and force you to come eat with us.”

            I laughed again. “I’m pretty sure you’d have a hard time doing that.”

            “I’m scrappy.” Roxy grinned. “I could take you.”

            Thinking of the shiner I’d first seen her with, I decided she was probably telling the truth. “I’m glad you guys invited me.” I paused while the waitress returned with our drinks before disappearing again, then I said, “So, I know Roxy works at the bar, what about you, Katie?”

            “At the club across the street from Mona’s.” Katie dumped a packet of sugar into her coffee and then picked up five more, managing to rip the tops off in one impressive swipe. “It’s a strip club.”

            “Oh.” How had I not noticed a strip club across the street from Mona’s?

            Katie dumped the sugar in her coffee. “I strip. I don’t dance. I take my clothes off for a living and get paid damn good money for it, too.”

            I blinked. “That’s cool.”

            Her gaze turned shrewd. “You don’t have a problem with that?”

            “Um, not if you don’t.” I glanced at Roxy, who was busy cleaning her glasses, a small smile pulling at her face. I picked up my soda and took a deep drink.

            Katie tilted her head to the side, studying me. “Really?”

            I lifted a shoulder. “Nope. Honestly. I think it’s pretty cool you have the lady balls to do it.”

            A slow grin appeared. “You should do it. You’d make so much money. Hell, I’d pay to see you—” 

            “Katie,” sighed Roxy, resting her chin in her hand. “Stop trying to recruit rookie strippers. You do this every time you meet someone. No one has agreed yet.”

            I grinned as I pictured the odd blonde roaming the city, looking for women who wanted to take their clothes off. “I don’t think I could do it. I’d get up there and then forget how to take my clothes off.”     

“Taking your clothes off is the easiest part,” Katie replied seriously.

            Roxy looked doubtful. “Those spandex running pants leave very little to the imagination. If I had your body, I’d walk around naked all day.”

            “I have no problem getting naked when it’s—I don’t know, an intimate situation,” I announced, “but doing it in public is a different story.”           

 “That’s good to know,” the waitress said, pen in hand. “Do you guys know what you want to eat?”

            “Awkward,” I murmured under my breath as my eyes widened.

And don’t miss the previous titles in the Wait for You Series!

WAIT FOR YOU (Wait for You #1)

TRUST IN ME (Wait for You #1.5)

BE WITH ME (Wait for You #2)

STAY WITH ME (Wait for You #3)

FALL WITH ME (Wait for You #4)

DREAM OF YOU (Wait for You #4.5)

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About Jennifer L. Armentrout: # 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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