Hurt by Lydia Michaels (Hurt #1) #bookreview #darkromance

Hurt

(Hurt #1)

by

Lydia Michaels (Goodreads Author)

Suspense | Thriller | Dark Romantic Thriller

Trigger Warnings | #Hurt

Award Winning Author Lydia Michaels enters the world of DARK ROMANCE with an unforgettably suspenseful psychological thriller!

IT'S GOING TO HURT...

Callan MacGregor might speak with the eloquence of a Scottish poet, but a hard life has turned him into a merciless killer. With a first-hand account of hell, he trusts nothing and no one but the hollow hurt tortured into his bones. Sacrificing all, he must escape Scotland to survive.

Emery Tanner is captivated—to the point of obsession—by the stunning Scotsman tending bar at the Imperial Hotel. With as many dark secrets as he has scars, she hungers to know every exquisite inch of him, but her shy nature leaves her tongue-tied. Despite her sense that innate kindness rests beneath his savage surface, Callan MacGregor is a man to approach with caution—if not fear.

When tragedy strikes and Emery’s world is shattered, she learns just how ruthless Callan can be. Violence has shaped his soul and love has always led to loss in both their broken lives. But as secrets are exposed, they find truth within the hurt and awaken a desire to become whole once more.

WARNING: HURT qualifies as a Dark Suspenseful Thriller and contains multiple scenes of graphic violence, non-consensual sex, and torture. It is also a love story.

BUY: AMAZON (US) | AMAZON (CAN)

Source:eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Author

Genre: Dark Romance

Part 1 of a new series

My Hurt Review . . .

I love Lydia Michael and all her stories.  She has taken us on so many journeys with her stories and this time around she takes us through the dark world of Hurt.

~The truth was in the hurt.~

This story starts with the back story of Callan MacGregor in Scotland and what he has to go through to take care of his family.  Then one bad decision sets off a world of hurt and the pain Callan goes through is crazy.  It's the dive into dark waters for Callan.

"How strong are you right now? Honestly."
Callan frowned.  "I think I Can tolerate more than a kitten lick, but if someone hit me I'd probably shite myself.  Why?"

Then the books jumps to a couple years later with Emery Tanner in New York, where Callan now works in a hotel with Emery.   It's not long into Emery's world when she too finds a pile of hurt and pain in her life.  Thankfully Callan understands this type of pain and is there to help Emery deal with it. 

"Ego's the heart of every man.  The nature of the beast.  But every man needs a friend."

Then the book goes back and forth of present and past, so we get more of the story about what happened to Callan.  We also get the current pain of how Emery is handling what happened to her as well as all the secrets and truths that are Callan.

He knew nothing about love but knew everything about pain.

 There is so much pain in this book and the non-consensual sex scenes were very well written that you felt all the pain with them as it was happening.    It is so crazy that it's so relevant and a hard reality for most people, especially woman.  We live in crazy times.

"One in four?"
"That's how many girls are sexually assaulted before they even reach eighteen.  And one out of every five woman will get raped in their lifetime."

Throughout the pain and darkness we were given bits of light where we could watch love bloom within the rubble of misery and hurt.

But hurt was different. Hurt lay beneath flesh and blood, within the hollow of the bone.  Hurt was dark and lonesome.  Hurt was the phantom slap of God that knocked a man to his knees when the rest of the world felt a breeze. 

I know this part of a new series so I'm so curious if its going to continue with Callan and Emery or if we get to see into the hurtful world of Innis and hopefully she too can find a sliver of light and hope. 

4 love for the win thumbs up

Lauren

BUY: AMAZON (US) | AMAZON (CAN) 
  

A Five-Minute Life by Emma Scott Blog Tour #bookreview #excerpt #teasers

A Five-Minute Life by Emma Scott

Release Date: May 16th, 2019

A Five-Minute Life, an all-new standalone new adult romance by International bestselling author Emma Scott.

Thea Hughes has five minutes to live.

A car accident stole her parents and left her with the second-worst documented case of amnesia in the world. She now has only minutes of experiences, of consciousness, of life…before her memory is wiped clean. The once effervescent artist with a promising future is reduced to scribbling with pens and paper, living an empty, quiet life, three hundred seconds at a time. 

Jim Whelan is on autopilot.

A foster kid shuffled around the system since birth, he’s lived his entire life without knowing love…and it’s taken its toll—until he learned to fight back, carry his armor, and keep his head down.

Working as an orderly in the Blue Ridge Sanitarium, deep in Virginia countryside, Jim looked up…and found Thea.

When Thea has the chance to break free of her five-minute prison with a risky, experimental surgery, it could lead them both to an epic love they never thought possible… or one that could require the ultimate sacrifice.

A stand-alone, new adult romance.

Download your copy today or Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2EaBVBk

Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/AFiveMinuteLife

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2DlYSRY

Excerpt:


“Marc Antony,” I said and nodded at her drawing. “Part of your Egyptian studies?”
Thea leaned her cheek on her folded hands like she was warming herself before a fire. “Marc Antony is part of the romance. A love story with Cleopatra. He went to war for her. Died for her. When they told her he was dead, she put her hand in a basket with an asp. Can you imagine? Loving someone so much that the thought of life without them is too unbearable?”
“No,” I said. “I can’t.”
Her gaze dropped to my hand on the table and her fingers reached to trace the scars on my knuckles.
These tell a story, don’t they?” She traced one of the fine lines. “You put your hand in with the snakes, too.”
I nodded slowly, savoring the feel of her warm skin on mine. “So the bullies would leave me alone.”
“And did they?”
“Eventually.”
“I’m glad.” She put her hand in mine completely, her fingers wrapping around and holding tight. “I’m being too… something. Personal. Delia would throw a fit, but I feel like…”
“Like what, Thea?”
“Like I have to hold on to this moment, you know? Or you… I don’t even know you and yet I don’t want to stop talking to you.” Her hand squeezed mine. “I don’t care if you have a stutter, but please keep talking to me, Jimmy. Okay?”
My mouth went dry at the nameless desperation in her eyes.
Jesus, does she know she’s trapped? She can’t. Impossible…
“I won’t,” I said. “I’ll talk to you every day. I promise.”
Thea breathed a small sigh of relief and released my hand. “Thank you, Jimmy. That makes me feel better.”
With a final smile—a parting smile, I realized—she took up her pen and then froze.
She’s resetting.
Confusion passed over her features. She looked up at me, flinching a little to see a big man in close proximity. I instantly leaned back to give her space.

“How long has it been?” she asked.

“Two years,” I said, my voice hardly more than a whisper. “But the doctors are working on your case.”
“Yes, they are.” She smiled hesitantly and found my nametag. “I’m Thea Hughes.”
Seven. Seven times now.
“Jim Whelan,” I said.
She offered her hand. Again. I took it robotically, enduring her one-pump shake. Again. Her fingers didn’t linger in mine but released immediately, the way you do with a stranger. Again.
“Nice to meet you, Jim Whelan.”
Fuck. I can’t do this.
I rose to my feet. “I have to get to work.”
Her face fell. “Oh. Bummer. Will I see you again?”
I could promise her I would, but she wouldn’t remember. There was no promise. I could tell her the sky was falling or my name was Abraham Lincoln and she wouldn’t know the damn difference. It’d vanish, like every other word we’d ever spoken to each other. I vanished every time her reset hit and was recreated over again in Thea’s eyes. I could be whatever I wanted; whomever I wanted. And yet she was the one woman I might’ve had a chance to be myself with.
The terrible irony of it was like copper in my mouth.
“Sure, Miss Hughes,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Connect with Emma:

Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list:

http://bit.ly/2nTGLf6

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Author page: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaScottwri...

Reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/90674...

Source:eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Social Butterfly PR

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Standalone

My A Five-Minute Life  Review . . .

I just recently got on the Emma Scott band wagon and what a journey it has been so far.   So, when this opportunity came knocking I jumped at the chance. 

When I first started to read the story I was a bit frustrated as I thought I was basically reading the book version of fifty first dates.  However, I'm not a quitter so I was going to finish it, then all of a sudden my brain was fixated with this story and wouldn't let go.

When I started it, I should have finished the read in one sitting because I tried to go to bed one night after reading a chunk of the book and my brain wouldn't shut up thinking about the story and all the nuances to it.  It would have been better to finish reading then the restless sleep I had.   I had to get up early to finish the story and find out what happens with Thea and Jim.

Thea is an aspiring artist whom got in a car accident causing her brain damage and a wicked case of amnesia.   Jim Whelan has his own haunts with his past and a stutter, but when he starts to work at the home where Thea is a patient, everything changes.

Jim is captivated by Thea the moment he meets her but its killing him that she's a resident.  Thankfully Jim does pay attention to her, because he starts to see things that others have missed.  The moment he figures out the word chains is the moment I was hooked with the story as well.  It was such an intrinsic way of capturing the torture of her mind.

". . . The alone-ness.  It's not the same as loneliness.  Alone-ness is an abyss.  It's being alone even when you-re surrounded by people.  It's vast and empty and silent."

Every time Thea is present she's a breath of fresh air and always bringing the best out of people.

"Anyway, big deal, you have a stutter.  I have brain damage."
"Show off."
She slid her cheek along my sleeve to peer up at me.  "You're just jealous.  My pity parties are way more epic than yours."

I thought all the characters were great and your felt their compassion and pain.  Or in some cases vileness.  But the winners were Thea and Jim.   Jim's love was epic with his patience and commitment.

"I'm Jim.  This song is for Thea Huges-she's sitting right over there. She's the reason I'm sitting here. She's the reason for everything good in my life."

This book may have started a but rough for me but worth the ride in the end.  It was a beautifully told story with pain, hope and love.

4 Beautiful thumbs up!

Lauren

Standing Sideways by J. Lynn Bailey #bookreview

Standing Sideways

by

J. Lynn Bailey (Goodreads Author)

When Livia Stone suddenly loses her twin brother, Jasper, she must learn to navigate her new life alone. As she faces tragedy and starts down a road toward
self-destruction, Daniel enters Livia’s life—at a moment when she needs it most.

Standing Sideways is a poignant, relevant, and touching story of survival, courage, and compassion that will have readers crying, laughing, and most of all, debating the issues affecting the lives of parents and teens alike on a journey of hope and forgiveness.

Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Xpresso Book Tours

Genre: NA contemporary Romance

Standalone

My Standing Sideways Review . . .

" . . . But this is out of your control.  You won't feel less abandoned by seeking acceptance through another's affection." 

This book took me quite a bit to get into.  At first I thought it was the writing as Liv always talked about her parents by their given name instead of mom and dad, which threw me quite a bit.  But once Daniel makes an appearance in the book it slowly started to grow on me.

"I've never witness a heart break with my eyes, but I have now.  I want to put the pieces of you back together.  Build a mold around your heart.  Made of titanium and all matter indestructible, so it never gets broken again."

I thought the concept of addiction was well represented and so many youths don't realize they have a problem.  I thought this gave a good insight into it.  After losing her twin Livia (Liv) is BROKEN and the only relief she got was pills or alcohol.

Alcoholism is a disease of perception. 

Thankfully her best friend Cao was amazing.  We all need friends like that whom support and love us no matter what.

"And just because you've lost your way doesn't mean I won't help you find it because you don't give up on others.  It might be that you can't see the light right now, Liv, but I do.  I'll be your eyes until you can see the same person I see sitting in front of me." 

I liked the quirkiness of Liv and Daniel.  I was confused a bit about her behaviour with Simon (Jasper's best friend) but that all came out with the addiction and also with Jasper and Simon's secret. 

But, if we don't have forgiveness in our heart, the pain will take front seat, and it will eat us alive from the inside out. 

"You are worth fighting for, Livia, today and all the tomorrows.  I'm the man who is supposed to be your person until the rest of the tomorrows run out."

There were a few things that confused me like when did her parents get back together?  That felt out of no where.  Also what was said in the letter she received.  It felt like a big thing then there wasn't any references to it after.

All in all it was good but it was slow going for me.  However, it was a good topic of loss and addiction and I thought those two were captured well.  


3 Sideways thumbs up!

Lauren