Dare to Love by S.B. Alexander ~ #bookreview #releaseday #teasers

S.B. Alexander bringing romance, drama to new heights with Dare to Love

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Since the release of her first New Adult novel in 2014, S.B. Alexander has weaved a web of powerful drama and romance that has left her loyal readers wanting more with every page. The saga will continue on Feb. 16, 2016, when Alexander releases her most breathtaking story yet in Dare to Love.

 

A sexy, confident, college playboy, Kelton Maxwell has his future right in the palm of his hands. Women want him. Guys want to be him. And he’s got one foot in the door at Harvard Law. All he needs now is just one prestigious internship at a highfalutin law firm to seal the deal. Nothing can stand in his way.

That is, until a blast from the past smacks him right in the face, bringing back memories he tried to forget. Kelton swore he’d never go back – never put himself through that again. He’d rather pledge his allegiance to the devil himself before he drops to his knees to worship a woman — especially her.

He won’t dare to get close. Won’t dare to let her in. Can’t dare to love.

“The story developed from a personal experience when I was a child,” Alexander said. “And from that experience the story came to life. The message in the story: Love is a remedy for those who are broken inside. “Embrace all the feelings that come with loving a person. Sure, love can hurt, test one’s resolve, and challenge every part of a person. But love can also be inspirational, cathartic and overwhelming. In the end, love does heal.

Dare to Love is the third book in The Maxwell Series. The first book, Dare to Kiss, claimed the #1 bestseller spot in Amazon UK’s sports fiction category. The second novel, Dare to Dream, was released in 2015. Alexander has also written a thrilling young adult series, Vampire SEALS, which has drawn praise from fans across the world. Alexander is a former navy veteran, high school math teacher and college professor. She currently works as a corporate sales manager, but is always looking for her next story, character or scenery.

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Meet S.B. Alexander

S.B. Alexander’s passion for writing began when she read her first Stephen King novel, The Shining. Over the years she kept telling family and friends she was going to write a book. Fifteen years later, on the advice of a friend, she sat down and wrote her first novel. Two years later, she has published five novels with more to come. Her books are targeted toward the young adult and new adult markets.

Her young adult series, Vampire SEALS, includes three books, On the Edge of Humanity, On the Edge of Eternity, and On the Edge of Destiny, which have garnered high praise from readers. Dare to Kiss was the first book in her new adult series. The follow up, Dare to Dream, was released in 2015. Up next will be Dare to Love, releasing Feb. 16, 2016.

Alexander’s career has been colorful—a former navy veteran, high school math teacher and college professor, sales consultant, coach, and manager. She loves baseball, especially the Boston Red Sox. She enjoys playing golf, is moved by music and great stories, and will go out of her way to help people.

Alexander currently works full time in corporate America and writes any chance she gets. She believes words are the key to opening the door to extraordinary places with amazing characters that tell a great story.

Previous Books in the Maxwell Series

DARE TO KISS (Book 1): When tragedy tears down everything she loves, his touch will give her a second chance.

Like most seventeen-year-old girls, Lacey Robinson loves her family. What makes her unique is her unmatched talent for baseball. With an unhittable fastball and a killer slider, it's no wonder Arizona State University wants to talk about a scholarship for its boys' team. She's living out her dream, until life throws a nasty and deadly curveball.

When she loses her mother and sister to a home invasion, baseball and her dreams die with them. Stricken with nightmares, panic attacks, and even blackouts, Lacey is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Upon recommendation from her psychiatrist, the former baseball phenom moves across the country and tries to pick up the pieces from her life.

Now, only two things matter to Lacey--overcoming her PTSD and making the Kensington High baseball team. When she meets the tall, sexy, and drool-worthy Kade Maxwell, his magical touch awakens her feminine side, and his kiss erases her nightmares. As her symptoms start to fade, her sports dreams take a turn for the worse, as baseball captain Aaron Seever doesn't want a girl on the team.

But when Kade's arch-nemesis returns to town to settle an old score, Lacey's PTSD comes back with a vengeance. She'll need to learn how to push her demons away or she'll lose everything good she has left.

DARE TO DREAM (Book 2): He'll do anything to protect his love, even if it means trading his life for hers...

Bad boy Kade Maxwell knows the pain of loss. His sister's death tore his family apart. His life seemed destined down a nightmarish path until he met Lacey Robinson, a light that cuts though his darkness. Despite her own tragedy, her beauty, determination, and dedication makes him believe he can dream again.

Lacey dreams of three things: a baseball scholarship with ASU, a future with Kade, and to find the person who killed her family. When a trip to California opens a door that could expose the killer, Kade and Lacey's paths begin to diverge.

Lacey vows to push through her demons and show Kade and her family that she has what it takes to rise above tragedy, even if she has to run into the arms of a killer to save a loved one.

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Author and JKS Communications

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Part 3 in an ongoing series 

My Dare to Love Review . . .

There's just something about these Maxwell boys that you can't help but fall for them.  I don't know if it's the height, dark hair and blue eyes.  Or their loyalty and love to their family and each other or the combination of both.   I'm so excited that we finally got Kelton's story.  I was so hoping that book 2 of this series was going to be his story so when it didn't happen I was bummed.  But thankfully it's come full circle and we get to find out more behind this living in the moment, fun loving but never falling in love Kelton is all about. 

~ I'd protected my heart for so long.  Maybe it was time to let fate take control.~

Kelton Maxwell's motto in life is enjoy each day but he doesn't do love.  The minute a girl falls for him, he's out of there.  What we didn't know was why Kelton had built such a wall around his heart.  Here we get to find out that when Kelton was a young boy he fell in love with his best friend, Lizzie Reardon.   Lizzie also was the sister to the girl who accidentally killed Karen, the Maxwell's little sister. 

With this tragedy the Reardon's moved from Texas and the Maxwell family.  However, that didn't mean that Kelton ever got over his first love.  Now many years later and both are still dealing with the aftermath.  For Kelton, he and his family are still walking on eggshells around their mom.  As well as he sees what love can do, so he chooses to stay away from that potential pain.  While Lizzie has so much more loss from than that fateful day.  She's now in Boston to get back what is rightfully hers but didn't expect to run into Kelton and the Maxwells since she last saw them in Texas. 

Lizzie has a chip on her shoulder and the both are protecting themselves, which cause a bit of a love hate reunion.  Lizzie has a plan to get back what she lost but doesn't know where Kelton fits into that plan.  She may have lost her blood family but this new development in her life causes her to gain a new extended family as well as reconnect with the Maxwells. 

I so liked this story but I have an aversion to heroines to run and yep, you guessed it Lacey was an extreme runner, which made it hard for me to like her at times.  Thankfully Kelton and the other Maxwell's made up for all her running. 

"Are you running?  Is that your MO these days?"

Don't get me wrong Kelton wasn't always the best at communicator as well,  but the constant running away. Argh!  I prefer characters that man or woman up and deal with their problems head on.

"I want to talk to you without you running away,"

Once they both start to let each other in, I fell more and more for these two and was rooting for them to find love.   It wasn't an easy journey because 1) they both aren't the best communicators and 2) there were are lot more variables to contend with. 

"You love seeing me act like a guy who just downed a bottle of estrogen, don't you?"

I absolutely love the Maxwell's and can't wait for Kross's and Kody's stories.  I think by the end of the series its going to be tough to pick a favorite Maxwell as they are all awesome on their own, but together they are fantastic.

4 Kelton Loving Thumbs up! 

 

Lauren

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Q&A with S.B. Alexander

How did the Maxwell Series begin?

The series was born out of my love for baseball, family and experiences in my life that have challenged me and shaped me into who I am today.

What will fans of Dare to Kiss and Dare to Dream like about Dare to Love?

Dare to Love is based on Kelton Maxwell, brother to Kade, Kross and Kody. Out of the four brothers Kelton is quite cocky, brash, infallible and doesn’t think before he acts. He’s funny, sexy and always keeps his family and his values in the forefront. Fans who’ve read the series so far have a love/hate relationship with Kelton, and they’ll love getting in his head and will be surprised at some of the choices he makes.

Dare to Love steps away from the lives of Kade Maxwell and Lacey Robinson, whose dramatic love story dominated the pages of Dare to Kiss and Dare to Dream. Was it your intention from the beginning to expand on the stories of other characters in the series?

 The series is all about family and growing from tragedy. The main characters in the series have all been affected by something heartbreaking. From that, I want to take readers on a journey into each of their lives to show how they change and grow, how they help others and at the same time, how they overcome their issues to set a path in life.

You inserted a piece of your personal life, your experience with PTSD, into Dare to Kiss and Dare to Dream.  Did any elements of your life sneak into Dare to Love?

The series itself has a lot of elements that I had and didn’t have growing up. And in Dare to Love, I didn’t have a cohesive family unit around me. I didn’t have parents who were open to love, which made it difficult for me to express emotions, and if I did, I always seemed to have gotten hurt by love.

After writing two Young Adult books, what inspired you to write New Adult fiction, and how was writing this genre different?

As a writer, when I’m drafting an outline for a story, I don’t think too much about the genre. I let the story unfold. But in both genres the characters are learning life in different states of their pre-teen, teenage or college age years. What I find different in one genre over the other is the character’s decision making. They might’ve learned from an experience in high school, but when faced with that same experience in college how will they react? Will they make the same decision or will they take a different path?

How do you balance your time between working full time and writing on the side?

I set a weekly goal for writing, and in between all the daily stuff I have going on, I write. I usually accomplish the goal I set, and if I don’t I make up for it somehow in the following week.

What’s next for you?

I still have planned three more books in the Maxwell Series, and the next one will be based on Kross Maxwell, the next triplet. However, I have a new series I’m outlining that will be based on a family that is not as cohesive as the Maxwell family. This new series will be a little darker and will have elements of mystery, romance and suspense. On top of that, I’m working on my fourth book in my vampire series.