Review: Fighting Silence by Aly Martinez

SYNOPSIS:

Sound is an abstract concept for most people. We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it's the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to?

I've always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn't a single night that I didn’t hear her voice.

You see, meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one.

They both happened anyway.

Now, I'm on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting for my career.
Fighting the impending silence.
Fighting for her.

Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her.

I think that's the sound I'll miss the most.

Each book in this series can be read as a standalone.

MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

I first became a fan of this author with her Wrecked and Ruined series and when I saw the sign ups for this book, I jumped on the chance to read it.  The books I have read (and reviewed) were all 5 star reads.  I loved the plots, the characters, the way the story flowed off the pages.  I had no doubt that I would enjoy Fighting Silence, but I had no idea that "enjoy" would be a total understatement.

Y'all...my love for this book knows no limits.

Let me put it to you this way...after I finished reading Fighting Silence, I proposed to Aly Martinez.  

She said yes.  And I have the tweets to prove it.

I'm not even sure where to start when it comes to Fighting Silence.   As I've said from the very beginning of my blogging days, I am an emotionally driven reader.  Aly has never let me down in that department, but what I got from Fighting Silence was so much more than I was expecting.  The vulnerability in her characters...it added a depth to this story that knocked my socks off.

Till and Eliza.  Maybe it was that their story starts when they are thirteen.  Maybe it is their "apartment".  Maybe it was the fact that they were friends first and foremost.  I don't know how to describe it, but I absolutely fell in love with them as individuals and as a couple.  They make sense, they complement each other, they just work in a way that I celebrated and cried and laughed and fist pumped and unf'd and felt all the feels for them.

I made a comment to another blogger today about how I wasn't sure how to write this review.  How to translate "puffy heart eyes and stupid grins" into coherent thoughts and reasons.  What I should have done was take live actions shots of my face as I read and posted them in chronological order because there were so many cheesy grins and flails and tears...and all of them were integral to the story.  There wasn't a single part of the story that didn't make sense.  It all worked.  It all fit together like this perfect emotional puzzle.

I cannot wait to see where she takes this series.  Till and Eliza...their story ends where it should and I'm content.  But Flint and Quarry - Till's brothers -- they have so much to give and I know Aly will do wonderful things.

I've struggled recently with this blog, not really wanting to read or write reviews and I have seriously considered riding off into the bookish sunset -- but Fighting Silence has reminded me just how much fun it is to get excited about a book and how much fun it is to talk about it.

Thank you, Aly.  I look forward to starting our life together :)
    

EXCERPT:

"That wasn't yours to take away," he exploded into the otherwise silent night. His words echoed off the surrounding buildings, each wave slicing me to the quick all over again. "That was our place. Not yours." His voice cracked right alongside my heart.

"Yeah, well, there was a lot of stuff that wasn't yours to take either." I held his gaze, desperately trying to be strong, but as his eyes grew wide, I whimpered.

His long legs strode forward, stopping only inches away from me. He was crowding me, but he still leaned in closer to my face. "There is nothing in this world that was ever more mine than you," he stated. Though it was the absolute truth, I wished with all my heart that it were a lie.

"Till," I cried, swiping the tears from my eyes.

"Why!" he shouted, causing his muscles to tense under the force. "Goddamn it! I needed that place."

Porch lights flashed on from the surrounding apartments, illuminating not only the dark but also my rage.

I shoved my hands into his chest. "What about what I needed? You left! I waited in that fucking apartment for weeks."

He didn't budge, but my bare feet slipped, sending me toward the ground. Impossibly fast, Till's hand snaked out and caught my arm. I didn't let his chivalrous gesture douse my fire. I had six months’ worth of words to say to the man I was irrevocably in love with.

"You took what you wanted. Then you left me."

"Doodle," he whispered.

I had been perilously close to the edge of insanity, and with one single word, he’d pushed me over.

I lost it completely.

Pounding my fists against his chest, I screamed at the top of my lungs, "It's Eliza! My name is fucking Eliza! Not Doodle!" I spun to march away, but Till's arms folded around me, lifting me off my feet to restrain me.

I was miniscule compared to him. There was no use in fighting, but I still kicked my legs, irrationally desperate to get away from him—but only because I knew I couldn't keep him for forever.

"Stop it!" he growled into my ear. "I know your Goddamn name—probably better than I know my own."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.  
After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Review: Broken Course by Aly Martinez

SYNOPSIS:

Seven years ago, my life changed forever. One accident and the person I saw in the mirror no longer resembled the woman I used to be. I was lost and confused inside my own body. I felt alone and disconnected from the world, carrying the incredible weight of guilt and loss that wasn't even mine to harbor.

Then fate led me to Leo James. He taught me that crazy could be perfectly normal and it shouldn't hurt to breathe. Don't get me wrong. Leo isn't perfect. He has his own cross to bear, and the truth is, that might be why I fell for him in the first place. But despite everything he does for me, learning to forgive myself is infinitely harder than overlooking the flaws of another.

Now, the secrets and lies of our past have begun to dictate our future—threatening to ruin us before we get the chance to try. Perhaps we were cursed from the start. Or maybe, just maybe, the remnants of our fractured lives will fit together to form one whole, where love isn’t questioned and being happy is…well, easy.

Can a second broken soul be enough to fill the voids of my own? Or will such scarred pasts prove too much for our love alone to overcome?

 
MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

Before I get officially started with my review, I need to put this out there:

Dear Aly Martinez...my birthday is in February and I want Leo.  Or Christmas.  Christmas would also work.  Or tomorrow.  I have no issue with tomorrow.  You just let me know when.
 

I'm not even joking.  It is like when you were creating Leo, you crawled inside my head and picked every single one of my weaknesses.  I'm pretty sure you have ruined me for any other contemporary romance heroes.  Dark, dirty and flawed...I mean, hellllllo Leo.

Ahem.  So back to the review of the story.

There MAY have been a bit of trepidation on my part going into this story...you see, I have a tendency to hold grudges longer than is probably healthy and I loathed Sarah in Changing Course.  And yes, I know that Stolen Course sheds light on her situation, but still.  I haven't hated a character like I hate Sarah since reading Gone Girl.  There may have been a few WTFs uttered when finishing Among the Echoes.  Okay, so maybe more than a few.

BUT...I love Aly and I have faith in Aly and then Celeste from The Book Hookup tweeted me about Leo and I knew I couldn't put it off any longer.

My plan was to simply pretend Sarah was somebody else.

Y'all...this may be my favorite book of the series.  If you haven't read the first books in this series, I'm not going to rehash what brings Sarah and Leo together, but once they are together their chemistry is undeniable.  But it isn't just the intense attaction between Sarah and Leo that makes their relationship work, it is the fact that they are both broken.  Yes, I say "are" because what the two of them had experienced in their separate lives are events nobody could ever let go.  The scars are long.  The scars are deep.  And the scars are permanent.

That being said, that doesn't mean that Sarah and Leo have to let the scars define them.

And I think that is what I love most about this book.  Aly Martinez doesn't write a story that erases the past simply because the future happens.  She writes a story that allows a future in that happens because of the past.  What Sarah did and what Leo experienced doesn't just go away because they are in love.  Actually, their emotions bring everything closer to the surface and it isn't sunshine and rainbows.

I loved this story.  It had everything I look for -- intensity, emotions, unf, humor and an ending that fits the characters.  This whole series and Beyond the Echoes have a permanent place on my Kindle because I know I will be rereading them...I refuse to say goodbye to these characters.  And I can't read what Aly Martinez gives us next.

Release Blitz: Broken Course by Aly Martinez

 

Title: Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined, #3)

Author: Aly Martinez

Release Date: November 10, 2014

Genre: Contemporary Romance

I had the chance to read this one over the weekend and I can not wait to get my review up in a few days! 

   

Seven years ago, my life changed forever. One accident and the person I saw in the mirror no longer resembled the woman I used to be. I was lost and confused inside my own body. I felt alone and disconnected from the world, carrying the incredible weight of guilt and loss that wasn't even mine to harbor.  

Then fate led me to Leo James. He taught me that crazy could be perfectly normal and it shouldn't hurt to breathe. Don't get me wrong. Leo isn't perfect. He has his own cross to bear, and the truth is, that might be why I fell for him in the first place. But despite everything he does for me, learning to forgive myself is infinitely harder than overlooking the flaws of another. 

Now, the secrets and lies of our past have begun to dictate our future—threatening to ruin us before we get the chance to try. Perhaps we were cursed from the start. Or maybe, just maybe, the remnants of our fractured lives will fit together to form one whole, where love isn’t questioned and being happy is…well, easy. Can a second broken soul be enough to fill the voids of my own? Or will such scarred pasts prove too much for our love alone to overcome?

 

**Each book in this series can be read as a stand alone.**

     

Wrecked and Ruined

Changing Course (Wrecked and Ruined, #1)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N

Stolen Course (Wrecked and Ruined, #2)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N

Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined, #3)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N  
  

About the Author

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Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in Chicago, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side. After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.  

Enter to win a $50.00 Amazon Gift Card or a Signed Paperback set!

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Cover Reveal: The Law of Moses by Amy Harmon

SYNOPSIS:

If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare.

Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start.

It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager.

And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away.

And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all...a love story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amy Harmon knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story.

Amy Harmon has been a motivational speaker, a grade school teacher, a junior high teacher, a home school mom, and a member of the Grammy Award winning Saints Unified Voices Choir, directed by Gladys Knight. She released a Christian Blues CD in 2007 called “What I Know” – also available on Amazon and wherever digital music is sold. She has written five novels, Running Barefoot, Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue, Making Faces and most recently, Infinity + One.

Her newest book, The Law of Moses releases November 27, 2014.

Website: http://www.authoramyharmon.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoramyharmon?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aharmon_author
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/authoramyharmon/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Harmon/e/B007V3HXUY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829056.Amy_Harmon

GIVEAWAY:

Amy is giving away a $100 Amazon gift card, this is an international giveaway.


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Review: Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

SYNOPSIS:

Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck.

The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy.

By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).

MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

23ish years ago, I sat in my 10th grade English class and listened to a friend read a story she had written for some assignment that I don't remember.  

Two thoughts ran through my mind that day.  First, that her story was really really good.  And second, that crap, I was going to go have to rewrite mine because my story really really wasn't.

Today, I'm reviewing her first book on my blog.  A concept that excites me now just as much as it terrified me at first -- because what if things didn't end well?  I mean, what if it wasn't good?  What if I didn't like it?  That might make things a bit awkward.  Keep in mind too, that there is a LOT of math in this book and I consider math to be the academic equivalent of Voldemort.  WHO WRITES A BOOK ABOUT MATH???

Still, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read her words and from the first page, it was quite obvious that I had made the right decision.   

I absolutely fell in love with this story.  


Charlie Hanson is my book soul mate.  Quirky and nerdy and obsessed with plans and rules...holy crow, I adore him.  I want him to be my best friend.  And Charlotte...she is who I want to be when I grow up.  Brave and ballsy and knowing exactly who she is.   Opposites on paper, together they make total sense and make my heart want to dance with happiness.  And laughter.  Y'all these characters are witty and snarky and so very funny.

Until.  And you know there is always an "until."

Yup, there I was floating along on a bliss cloud and BAM.  Things started to happen and though you probably know what they are, you also know I don't do spoilers -- you'll just have to be content with "things happen".  I emailed Shannon in tears and said "YOU DIDN'T WARN ME!"  Because I totally did cry.  

 A lot.

 
All that being said, you should know by now that I crave books that evoke intense feelings, so I didn't consider this to be a bad thing.  Not at all.  In fact, as a reader who reads for the emotional journey,  I quite often consider those books to be the best books.  

Here's the thing, though.  Yes, there were tears.  Lots of tears, actually.  But while sadness was definitely the obvious "in your face" emotion, it wasn't what stayed with me after I finished the book.  It was the light, the hope, that Charlotte brought to Charlie's life that still resonates with me today.  

Months after my first reading, weeks after the second...there are three words that stick with me.  Three words that I have highlighted on page 304 that Charlie says to Charlotte that go on the very top of my "if I ever get a tattoo" list.  I've wrapped them up so very tight and keep them close to me and think of them every day.  

Three words. 

So, yeah.   

I've been sitting here for a while now trying to figure out how to finish writing my review.  Do I pretend that I have some sort of well though out critical analysis of writing style and character development when that is not at all what I do? Ever.  Do I gush about how so very proud I am of my friend and how thankful I am that this book has brought us back together?  Do I talk about how I've been in a YA slump lately and how this book reminded me how much I love the genre?  Do I link you all to the picture she just put in a blog post of us from when we were 13?

Or do I just admit that nothing I can say about Love and Other Unknown Variables will sum up my thoughts in the way that I want to express them.  Just take my advice and let Charlie tell his story. 



**I have to confess that I had my original review ending with the words "absolute zero"...and I was all kinds of proud of myself.  Until I googled it just for confirmation and realized that it was a chemistry term and not a math term.  You can lead an English major to water, but you can't make her like math.  I'll leave the numbers to Charlie.     



 



 

Release Day Event: Every Time I Think of You by Tracey Garvis-Graves

We're celebrating the release of Every Time I Think of You by best selling Author Tracey Garvis-Graves! Check out how Tracey came up with the idea for the book and take a peek at the excerpt below. Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Title: Every Time I Think of You

Author: Tracey Garvis-Graves

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Goodreads

Amazon US (e-book and paperback) | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia  | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:
Thirty-year-old Daisy DiStefano has two people she holds dear: the grandmother who raised her, and her three-year-old son, Elliott. But when Daisy’s grandmother is killed in a seemingly random act of violence, Daisy must take steps to protect herself and her child.

Despite a thriving career in San Francisco, thirty-six-year-old Brooks McClain has returned home to spend what little time his mother has left before she succumbs to the deadly disease that is ravaging her. The seasoned investigative reporter has taken a position with the local newspaper and been on the job less than twenty-four hours when he’s summoned to cover the death of Pauline Thorpe.

Brooks is all business, but the more time he spends with Daisy DiStefano, the more invested he becomes; there’s something about a single mother, a defenseless child, and an unsolved crime that has stirred Brooks’s protective instincts like nothing ever has before.

And when the unthinkable happens, Brooks will do whatever it takes to clear the name of the woman he’s fallen for and the child he’ll protect at any cost.

Romantic and suspenseful, Every Time I Think of You shows how far two people will go to fight for the ones they love, and the life they’ve always imagined.

An idea was born. 

One of the questions I’m often asked is, “How did you come up with the idea for this book?” My books are fairly plot-driven, and Every Time I Think of You was no different. I could see the opening scene in my head like a movie so I knew what the inciting incident – in other words, the event that would send the main characters’ lives in another direction – would be. But in this case, my opening scene was the result of not only plot, but also a character. I have wanted to write a book where the main character was a crime reporter for a while now. I tend to gravitate toward heroes who are regular guys, and I wanted to see what would happen when I put this particular hero into various situations (and a little hot water). What would he do? How would he react? What, exactly, was he made of?

However, if main character Brooks McClain was going to be a crime reporter, that meant I had to come up with a crime (which ultimately, I’d have to solve). I’ve never written a book with a mystery or suspense element before, but I wasn’t going to let a little thing like that get in the way of telling this story. I’ve said time and time again that I never want to be an author who writes the same book over and over, but with that motto comes challenges. I have to deal with the discomfort that comes from tackling something different than I’ve done before, and often this means learning new things.

I have a love/hate relationship with research. I keep telling myself I’m going to write a book that doesn’t require as much research, and then I write a book that requires extensive research. I should really start listening to myself! Some of the things I did in the name of research for Every Time I Think of You included taking a four-hour firearms safety course and learning how to load and shoot a gun, which was something I didn’t have any experience with.

I also studied ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, by reading memoirs and poring over countless websites dedicated to the disease. Although the timing of the recent ALS ice bucket challenge is merely a coincidence, it makes me happy to know that this devastating illness is receiving such an outpouring of support from the general public. 

I studied addiction, specifically methamphetamine addiction. What I learned was heart-wrenching, eye-opening, and often tragic. In total, I read six memoirs about addiction and read countless online articles. I watched a fascinating Frontline documentary from PBS about methamphetamine addiction and its effects on law enforcement and the community.    

I reached out to a criminal defense attorney in California so that I could gain an understanding of that state’s legal processes, and I spent several hours in person and on the phone with my cousin Jack, who is a detective with the Des Moines Police Department. Jack was instrumental in explaining the outcomes of all the different scenarios I proposed (naturally, I named the detective character after him). I interviewed three different crime reporters (who all told me slightly different things), and one of them saved me from a potentially embarrassing gaffe. In Every Time I Think of You, I include an actual newspaper article written by Brooks McClain. Newspaper reporters use the Associated Press Stylebook to ensure that their articles are written correctly whereas The Chicago Manual of Style is the go-to guide for fiction writers. The crime reporter who proofed my article had me make a small tweak so that it was correct in form.

I spoke to a nurse, to make sure I got the details of Daisy’s DiStefano’s work schedule correct. There were less significant things I needed the answers to, such as what kind of jewelry a nurse would be permitted to wear to work and what floor she might work on if she were involved with a particular patient. 

In addition to the factual research necessary to write this story, I also had to choose the path I’d take to solve the crime. I learned that there were a few different ways I could handle this: One, I could write the story in such a way that the reader would probably not know who committed the crime until the very end. Two, I could choose the slightly-less-suspenseful route and let the reader be privy to clues that would allow them to guess the identity of the perpetrator much earlier. That way, I could let the focus of the story rest on how the person would be brought to justice. I chose option two because I felt it would lend emotional resonance and depth to the story.

Now that I knew how I’d tell the story, I needed to concentrate on the characters. I usually have a pretty good outline in place before I sit down to start writing. This method doesn’t work for everyone, but for me it helps to have a roadmap of sorts so that I don’t waste too much time writing myself into corners. This is not a spoiler because you know from the blurb that the book deals with the aftermath of the death of Daisy’s beloved grandmother. However, once I was about a fourth of the way through the first draft, I realized that the character I’d chosen to commit the crime didn’t actually do it.

I fought it for a while, but the more I got to know these characters, the more I realized my inner muse was right. This person couldn’t have done it.
 

Delete, delete, delete, delete. Sigh.
 

The real perpetrator had a motive, but it was subtle and at first I couldn’t see it. And the person who I’d originally intended to commit the crime was actually somewhat responsible. But it will be up to the reader to draw their own conclusions about what transpired that evening in Daisy’s grandmother’s apartment, because the opening chapter of the book is narrated by Daisy’s three-year-old son, who has a very limited ability to explain it. I actually first wrote this opening chapter from the point-of-view of Daisy’s grandmother, Pauline. It gave the book a much darker tone than I wanted so I scrapped it and decided to let Elliott take the reins.

There is also one final plot thread that I chose not to tie up with a big red ribbon. Initially I wrote a paragraph that would have explained why a certain character made the choice that he did, but then I realized it wasn’t necessary. Readers are smart and book discussions are extra fun when there’s a bit of speculation involved.

I’m not an especially fast or prolific writer, and that’s fine with me. Between the research and the actual writing time, this book took fourteen months to complete, and there were times I wanted to pull my hair out. I’d told my husband there were a couple of twists I was hoping to pull off, but wasn’t sure I knew how to accomplish them. I told several people that writing this book made my brain hurt (but one of the readers who received an advance copy told me she kept saying to herself as she read it, “This book is so smart!”). When I hear feedback like that, it tells me that everything I did in the name of Every Time I Think of You was worth it.

I hope you enjoy Brooks and Daisy’s story. 

EXCERPT

I glanced at my watch. “I need to get going.” I stood and Daisy followed me toward the door. “Don’t hesitate to call the police for any reason. Pay close attention to your surroundings. Keep your door locked. Don’t ever open it without the chain on.” I paused, once again struck by how alone she seemed. Was anyone watching out for her? “Listen, I don’t mean for this to sound as sexist as it’s going to, but is there a guy around?” 

Rarely did I ask such a personal question, especially when the answer was absolutely none of my business.

And I’ll admit to being more than just professionally curious as I waited for her answer.

“There was, but not anymore,” she said. “It’s just Elliott and me. We’ll be okay. When someone knocks, I look through the peephole. If I don’t recognize the person, I leave the chain on when I open the door. I also bought a gun.”

She said that last part with such nonchalance that it took me a second to process it. 

“You what?” I probably said it with a little more force than I should have.  

She looked taken aback. “Shane helped me pick it out.” 

I was speechless. “I’m sorry, but you don’t—”

“Look like the type of person who would own a gun?”

It was hard to argue with that statement when it was exactly what I was going to say. “Yes.”

“I didn’t buy the gun because I wanted to. Frankly, I would rather not own one. They scare me,” she said. “But I bought one anyway because the thought of looking something evil right in the eye and knowing that I’m more than likely going to come out on the losing end of it terrifies me. The fear that I’ll be assaulted, or raped and left for dead, or worse yet, that someone will try to harm my child, is the reason I have this gun. That’s the type I am.”

I saw her then, really saw her. Five foot seven, maybe, but small-boned. She was wearing a fitted V-neck T-shirt that emphasized her slight build. I could see the prominent ridge of her collarbone and the deep hollow at the base of her throat that I suddenly couldn’t stop looking at. She’d be no match for anyone. If she wanted a gun, I was hardly in a position to tell her she couldn’t have one.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was out of line. It’s really none of my business what you do.”

“It’s okay. Pam reacted the same way you did. But I’m doing everything I can to be a responsible gun owner. I’ve signed up for the safety class so I can learn how to handle the gun. How to shoot it. I’ll apply for the permit as soon as I have my certificate. I’ll go to the shooting range, and I’ll practice.”  

Taking her to the shooting range was something I could do to help her. It would also give me a chance to spend time with her, which was something that was becoming more appealing by the minute. I could feel the boundary between witness and reporter starting to blur, but I really didn’t care. It had been a while since a woman had sparked my interest the way Daisy had. “You don’t have to justify anything to me. It sounds like you’re doing everything right,” I said. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything on the case.”

“I would really appreciate that.”

Elliott put down his coloring book and ambled across the room.

Daisy lifted him into her arms. “You look tired, buddy. Are you ready for your nap?”

“I’m not tired,” Elliott said, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, my mistake,” Daisy said, smiling at him. “I think we’ll try a nap anyway, just in case.” She looked at me. “Thanks for stopping by.”

“It was no problem. I’ll see you soon.”

As I stepped into the hallway she said, “Brooks?”

I turned around. “Yes?”

“Maybe I’m reading this wrong, but you seem to genuinely care about my safety, and I want you to know that I appreciate it. I need all the help I can get.”

I met her gaze and held it for a moment. “You aren’t reading it wrong at all. Take care, Daisy.”

She smiled and it illuminated her face, making every feature even prettier. She closed the door, and I made my way down the hall.

It was true that I cared about Daisy’s safety. Maybe Scott DiStefano had never abused or neglected Elliott, but Daisy’s decision to arm herself made me wonder what he’d done to her.

 

GIVEAWAY

ONE WINNER WILL RECEIVE (INT):

ONE signed copy of On the Island, Covet, and ETITOY. Also included, a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Also, the winner will receive an ARC of Tracey's next work-in-progress, The Girl He Used to Know (an adult contemporary second-chance romance novel). And finally, Tracey will either use the winner's name in The Girl He Used to Know (first name or last name only, or the actual real name if comfortable) OR the winner can suggest a name for a character.

**The restrictions to this are that it will not be the name of a main character. It will be a supporting or minor character. Also, this is a fictional character. It is not a character based on the winner. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NGE1MDEyNTkzNmEzMjcwYWY1N2NlODA1YWVlMmE3OjM5OA==/

About the Author:

Tracey Garvis Graves is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author.  Her debut novel, On the Island, spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into twenty-seven languages and is in development with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film.  She is also the author of Uncharted, Covet, Every Time I Think of You, and Cherish.  She is hard at work on her sixth book.

Tracey loves to interact with her readers and can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Review: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You 

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.

One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.

Annnnnd she does it again.

I've made no secret of my love of all things written by Jojo Moyes.  She is at the very top of my must-read-author list and I recommend her books every chance I get.  Her stories are well-written, her characters are magnetic, but I think one of my favorite things about Jojo Moyes is that all of her books are different.  Me Before You is nothing like The Girl You Left Behind which is different from The Last Letter From Your Lover which is different from One Plus One.

I had the opportunity to hear her speak at an author event back in September where she read from what was then her latest project, One Plus One.  Now, keep in mind that I had recently finished reading Me Before You and still reeling from that incredibly emotional ride, so I wasn't sure how I felt when she said that her newest title was going to be different.  Why mess with a good thing, right?  I think she had managed to read three or four paragraphs before I fell in love.  BOOM.  That fast.

Three or four paragraphs.  That was all it took for me to connect with Jess.  Now, Jess and I have very very few things in common.  I'm a happily married, college-educated, Volvo-driving SAHM living in NC.  Jess barely finished high school, has a deadbeat  absentee husband, works 2 low-paying jobs, and lives in a tiny coastal village in England.  But Jojo Moyes knew what she was doing when she was standing behind that podium reading...the passage she read took those differences and obliterated them and all I knew was that Jess and I were both mothers who would do anything for our children.  Even if the choice before us is a bit sketchy.

 I absolutely loved this book.  Loved it.  This book has everything I look for in a good read.  I laughed.  I got angry.  I sympathized.  I smiled.  I wanted go junk-punch Jess's husband and I wanted to hug Ed.  I wanted to take care of her two kids like they belonged to me.  I wanted to tell Jess that everything was going to be okay.  I wanted these characters to be real and when I turned the last page, I wanted more.  Not because I felt like the ending was missing something, but because I was just THAT connected.

Definitely add One Plus One to your to-read list if you haven't already.  You won't be disappointed.   

**Many many thanks to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for providing the arc of One Plus One in exchange for an honest review**