The Innocent Liar by Elizabeth Finn ~ #bookreview

The Innocent Liar

by Elizabeth Finn (Goodreads Author)

A woman hiding from her past, a man lost in his own…

Fiona was desperate to find a life in Jackson, Wyoming, but when a job interview that was supposed to be a sure thing turns ugly, she doubts there’s much hope of it. Eli sees through her lies, and regardless of the favor his father has asked of him, he’s just too stubborn to hire a woman who refuses to even give him her real name.

But there is a reason for everything, and he finds out soon enough her deceptions have a purpose too.

Secrets and lies are nothing to build a relationship on, but their attraction to one another is too intense to ignore. They’re simply magnets pulled together in a situation that should be driving them apart, but Eli has his own ghosts to contend with, and his past leaves him incapable of trusting a woman he can never fully know.

How can they move beyond her lies when the truth is what Eli really needs, and when her past threatens to destroy her, can he rise above his own needs to protect her — his innocent liar?

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BUY: AMAZON (Kindle) 

 

Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy from Author

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

My The Innocent Liar Review ...

Another Elizabeth Finn hit.  Damn that woman knows how to write a good story.

Here we have Eli whom has a past but the one thing his past has taught him is to hate liars.  His past has also taught him to be gruff and a little rough around the edges.  When Fiona comes into his shop for an interview all he wants is her name.  When he doesn't get it he flips, but he is strong armed into hiring her anyways.  The more Fiona infiltrates his world the more intrigued he is with her and the more her presence starts to soften him.

"There's nothing better, than you, baby.  It doesn't mean I'm not terrified all the time I'm going to hurt you, but I'm not worried in the least I'll cheat on you or betray you for another woman. Not in the least.  That's just not who I am.  It's my mouth and shitty attitude that'll get me in trouble with you."

Even though Fiona still has secrets he starts to trust her and let her in which causes him to finally give in to their sexual attraction to one another.  Their chemistry is instant and emotions get involved quickly but their pasts are getting in the way.  

"Eli, you don't know this girl's story."

"Isn't that kind of the problem?"

"That's your problem, and it has to do with your own personal hang-ups, not her."

 As Eli start to unburden his demons, their pasts crash into them causing him to reevaluate the reality of their relationship.

"Fine.  All I'm saying is that it's not surprising that her secrecy is so hard on you.  You maintain a very tight hold on your life.  It's how you've always coped.  You control, you own, you make sure no one has the power to hurt you.  She does have that power, or she did, and you decided you weren't ready for her to.  ..." 

I loved the softening of Eli and the growth of their relationship.  This book had such a great balance of suspense, drama, angst, growth  and love. It had me ensnared from the beginning to end.  Gah! I adore Elizabeth Finn and her ability to write such great stories.

4 Not so Innocent Thumbs up!

 

Lauren

BUY: AMAZON (Kindle) 

Guns N' Boys Book 1 Part 1 by K.A. Merikan ~ #bookreview, #MM

Guns n' Boys: Book 1, Part 1 (Guns n' Boys #1.1)

by K.A. Merikan (Goodreads Author)

--- Love is sour like a Sicilian lemon. ---

The Family is always right.
The Family doesn’t forget.
The Family pays for blood in blood.

Domenico Acerbi grew up in the shade of Sicilian lemon trees ready to give his life for the Family. Ready to follow orders and exceed expectations. A proud man of honor.
When Seth, the younger son of the Don is kidnapped, it’s Domenico who is sent to get him back. The man he finds though, is not the boy he knew all those years ago. Lazy, annoying, spoiled, and as hot as a Sicilian summer.

Seth Villani wants nothing to do with the mafia. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a say when the Family pulls him right back into its fold after his mother’s death. Thrown into a den of serpents otherwise known as the Villani Family, Seth has to find a way to navigate in the maze of lies. But when Domenico Acerbi, the most vicious snake of them all, sinks his fangs into Seth, the venom changes into an aphrodisiac that courses through Seth’s veins.

Domenico knows his life is about to change when he gets the order to train Seth up to the role of future Don. Seth isn’t made for it. He isn’t even made. But a man Domenico knows he would never have to fear might just be someone he’s always needed.

If Seth is doomed to follow in his father's footsteps, he might as well enjoy himself—with the most intoxicating man he’s ever met. Maybe he can even fool himself into believing that Domenico isn’t a handsome sociopath who kills for a living.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

Themes: Enemies to lovers, mafia, homophobia, assassin, organized crime

Genre: Dark, twisted erotic romance / crime thriller

Erotic content: Explicit gay sex, coercion

Length: ~110,000 words

WARNING: Adult content. If you are easily offended, this book is not for you.
‘Guns n’ Boys’ is a gritty story of extreme violence, offensive language, abuse, and morally ambiguous protagonists. Behind the morbid facade, there is a splash of inappropriate dark humor, and a love story that will crawl under your skin.

ADD TO GOODREADS

BUY: AMAZON (Kindle)

Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy from Authors

Genre: Gay Dark erotica mm mafia romance thriller

Part 1 in an ongoing series

My Guns N' Boys Book 1 Part 1 Review ...

Oh! Boy I think this series is K.A. Merikan's best work to date. I loved it!!!!! 

Here we have Seth who is the son of the head of the Mafia but even though he is a bit of a big lug he also is a bit softer compared to the family.

 He should have been left where he was, among civilians.  You couldn't teach a kitten to be a wolf.

As Seth is kidnapped for being part of the family he's recused by his childhood nemesis Domenico who happened to grow up to a hottie and an assassin for the family.

"I do. I could have been a movie start if I weren't an assassin.  This shit requires a degree of anonymity." 

As Seth returns to his homeland he's notified that he will be next in line to lead the family which creates quite a stir because NO ONE thinks that Seth should be the new 'don'.  To become the new don Seth needs to train so he's forced to go away and train with Domenico.  Who quickly pounces on Seth and starts to confuse him since he was always a top and now Dom wants him to submit but with their past Dom makes Seth bottom and makes him feel like an idiot at the same time.  As the two explore each and train for the future they find out that not only are they attracted to one another which is a big no no in the mafioso but they are also half brothers.

They by-pass that stigma pretty quickly as they can't procreate anyways.  Dom and Seth's chemistry is through the roof and their bond is strong causing a great relationship between the two.

 "First a bit of church, then fresh air and exercise.  In the afternoon, a bit of incest and maybe a little kidnapping."

While Seth and Dom are investigating the mole within the family they get closer and closer but the reality of the expectations of Seth when they return are starting to weigh on them.  This book had so many layers and elements so you get immersed into this mafioso world and the growing bond of the forbidden love of Domenico and Seth.

4.5 Gah! I loved this book Thumbs up! 

. 5

Lauren

BUY: AMAZON (Kindle)

 

 

LEAVING AMARILLO by Caisey Quinn cover reveal weekend blitz ~ #leavingamarillo, #giveaway, & #excerpt

About the book:

Some promises are made to be broken...

Music is my everything.

After my parents died when I was a kid, moving into my grandparents’ ramshackle house on a dirt road in Amarillo seemed like a nightmare. Until I stumbled upon my grandfather’s shed full of instruments. My soul lives between the strings of Oz, my secondhand fiddle, and it soars when I play.

In Houston, I'm a typical college student on my way to becoming a classically trained violinist headed straight for the orchestra pit. But on the road with my band, Leaving Amarillo, I'm free.

 We have one shot to make it, and I have one shot to live the life I was meant to. Leaving Amarillo got into Austin Music Fest and everything is riding on this next week. This is our moment.

There’s only one problem. I have a secret...One that could destroy everyone I care about.

His name is Gavin Garrison and he's our drummer. He's also my brother's best friend, the one who promised he'd never lay a hand on me. He’s the one person I can’t have, and yet he’s the only one I want.

One week.

One hotel room.

I don't know if I can do this.

I just know that I have to.

Purchase info:

http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062366818/leaving-amarillo

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Cover Reveal Weekend Blast Excerpt

For a long time I knew he only saw me as Dallas’s little sister. I used to have frizzy hair and knobby knees and a chest as flat as both boys. But somewhere along the way, I changed. I’m having a hard time convincing myself that he really sees me for who I am now. Maybe he still sees knobby knees, frizzy hair, and freckles on my shoulders.

His eyes narrow and he shakes his head. No. “Don’t. Don’t do that to me. I just told you. You know why.”

I frown involuntarily while swallowing the knot of emotion that’s rising steadily in my throat. “How could I possibly know? You treat me like we’re related most of the time. You put your hands on random waitresses right in front of me. You sleep with anything that moves. Except me. I tell you how I feel and you can’t get rid of me fast enough.”

Suddenly Gavin is a burning man, coming toward me with angry gleaming eyes. He steps into the room, forcing me back against the wall. The door slams heavily behind him, and he braces his arms on either side of my head. I’ve only seen him this worked up when playing his drums. My heart morphs into a hummingbird inside my ribcage. It’s trapped and wants to escape. Desperately.

His words come out with force that would shove me backward if there were anywhere for me to go. “As flattering as your honest opinion of me is, how about you just tell me what the hell you want from me so we can both get on with our lives. You want to hold hands and go steady, Bluebird? Because I gotta say, you’re not as smart as I thought you were if you’re looking for that from me.”

I jerk my chin upward, faking a confidence I don’t have but refusing to let him intimidate me. “Did you sleep with that waitress? I want to know.”

He snorts out a harsh humorless laugh. “No you don’t.”

“I do. Tell me the truth.” I look up into his eyes, praying the answer is no. Something about that specific waitress is really bothering me. Maybe because I saw their initial flirtation or maybe because of what she said to me in the ladies room. I don’t know. I’m well aware of the fact that he’s been with countless women, but somehow this one feels different. More personal. Because this time, he knew how I felt and if he slept with her anyways, then he actively chose her over me. “Please,” I add to my already pathetic plea.

He releases me from my forearm prison and throws both of his hands into his hair. I inhale a much-needed breath and relax just a little. Until he slams a palm against the wall. I flinch, only because it startled me, but I can see in his wounded expression that he believes he scared me. As if I could ever be afraid of him.

“No, okay? No I didn’t sleep with her. There, you happy now?”

“Well you’re obviously not. If you were going to be so upset about it, why didn’t you just go ahead and do her?”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” he says, raising his voice a few decibels shy of shouting. “Which is it? You want me to have screwed her or not?”

I’m all wound up, like the toys from my childhood. The ones with the knobs you turn and turn, winding so tight the spinny thing breaks and falls off. I’m confused and hurt and angry and turned the hell on in a way I can’t even process. The combination is more than I can handle rationally. I take a page from his broody book and let my palm smack the wall behind me. It stings so I clench it shut. The pain distracts me and I blurt out the truth.

“No, I don’t want you to have screwed her. I don’t want you to screw anyone!”

His reaction is wide-eyed shock and disbelief. “Anyone? Christ, you want me to be celibate? Do you hate me or something?”

Licking my lips, I take several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. It almost works. “I want you,” I begin slowly before taking another deep breath. “To not engage in foreplay in front of my face.”

He opens his mouth to respond—most likely to deny that he did that tonight—but I place my trembling fingers against his lips, firmly breaking our ten-year unspoken no-touching rule. I’d like to take a moment to enjoy the soft, full, sensuously masculine mouth of his, but there isn’t time. I need to focus all cylinders of my brain on what I’m trying to say.

“I told you how I feel, what I want. And I get it. You don’t feel the same way. Or you won’t act on your feelings. But that doesn’t mean I can switch mine right off for your convenience. And it doesn’t mean that I’m not jealous, not hurt, and that I don’t hate, hate, being in the presence of any woman who is going to have you in a way that I never will.”

I’m breathing hard, tasting his anxiety and frustration in the air between us. Removing my fingers from his mouth and placing them on mine, I watch him go to war with himself.

He neck loosens, allowing his head to fall forward. Remaining completely still while he inhales the length of my neck, I swallow hard.

“Tell me I’ll never have you that way. Tell me to move on and let this go,” I whisper, needing to hear him say it and terrified that he actually will in equal measure.

“You’re my best friend. Growing up, you were my safe place,” he tells me on a ragged breath that seems to pull the life completely out of both of us. “I don’t want to ruin you, Bluebird.”

  

Unforgiven (Unforgiven #1) by Elizabeth Finn ~ #bookreview

Unforgiven (Unforgiven #1)

by Elizabeth Finn (Goodreads Author)

A mistake made long ago…

Pain buried so deep…

When Bailey Trent returns home to her small little Ozark mountain town after being away for nearly six years, she knows she’ll face the ghosts of her past. It does not mean she’s prepared to come face to face with the cruelest of those memories.

Darren Cory’s life is a shell of what it once was, and when he’s forced to endure the cause of his agony, hatred abounds quickly. But hating Bailey destroys him too.

Can Darren find a way to move past the pain and forgive the woman he once cared so much for before his anger consumes them both? Or will he drag them into the hell of an unforgiven past.

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BUY: AMAZON (Kindle)

Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy from Author

Genre: Adult Contemporary

My Unforgiven Review ...

Gah! This book broke my heart.  You could just feel their pain and torment.  Darren has always loved Bailey and vice versa but fate made it not meant to be for these star crossed lovers causing so much pain and anguish for these two.  

Six Years later Darren still hates Bailey after the unthinkable situation but accidents happen. However Darren isn't able to forgive nor forget what happened.  One thing for sure is he never stopped loving Bailey which is causing him so much inner conflict with himself which in turn is hurting Bailey who already hates herself.

Even though she may hate herself for making one bad mistake she has never stopped loving Darren but there's no chance they can be together with all their baggage.  Even though they shouldn't be together according to society standards they are so drawn to one another and can't let the other go causing so much more heart ache and pain for each of them.

Ah!!!! Elizabeth Finn is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and yet to date has she ever disappointed me.  Warning ~ when reading this book you may need wine and tissues.  The book sucks you in then takes you on a very emotional roller coaster.  It was beautifully written and well thought out and able to capture so much pain and torment through the words on the page.  I can NOT wait for November 6/14 to get here so we can read Unforgettable and find out what happens to Darren and Bailey. 

5 Heartbreaking Beautiful Thumbs up!!!

 

Lauren

BUY: AMAZON (Kindle)

PRE-ORDER Unforgettable (Unforgiven #2) : AMAZON (Kindle)

Here With Me by Heidi McLaughlin Release Day Blitz!!!! ~ #giveaway, #HEREWITHME

 

 

Today we are celebrating the release of HERE WITH ME, a contemporary romance title by New York Times Bestselling author Heidi McLaughlin. This is the first book in The Archer Brothers series. Be sure to check out the teasers and contest below!

 

    

Here With Me Synopsis: 
 
Ryley Clarke has grown up with the military in her blood, with both parents serving their country. Ryley knows the risks of being married to the military. But when the unthinkable happens, and her future husband is killed in action, Ryley can barely survive... until Evan's twin brother, Nate, helps her pick up the pieces. After serving on a special mission with the military for six years, Evan Archer returns home to find the unthinkable - the love of his life, Ryley Clarke - engaged to his brother, Nate. With Nate on deployment, Evan needs to figure out what happened in his absence, and more importantly, how to win Ryley back from the man he once considered his best friend, but now thinks of as his rival.

 

 

BUY LINK:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/10kWXHn

 

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Heidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell and two Parakeets.

During the day Heidi is behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she's writing one of the many stories planned for release or sitting court-side during either daughter's basketball games.

    Author Links: 

Website: http://heidimclaughlin.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeidiMcLaughlinAuthor 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeidiJoVT 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6568302.Heidi_McLaughlin

Lessons Learned by Sydney Logan Blog Tour - #bookreview, #giveaway, #Q&A & #excerpt

Title: Lessons Learned

Author: Sydney Logan

Date of Publication: October 17th 2014

 

About Lessons Learned:

A young girl needs to spread her wings, but a young woman needs roots.

English teacher Sarah Bray never thought she’d return to Sycamore Falls, but a traumatic event at her inner-city school leaves her desperate for the sanctuary of home. By returning to her roots, an older and wiser Sarah hopes to deal with the demons of her present and confront the ghosts of her past.

She discovers a kindred spirit in Lucas Miller, a teacher from New York with demons of his own. As the newest faculty members at Sycamore High School, they quickly become friends – bonding through Lucas’s culture shock and their mutual desire to build new lives. When they open their wounded hearts to each other, their friendship effortlessly evolves into romance.

Their love is put to the test when Matt, the quarterback of the football team, shares his deepest secret with Sarah. When the conservative community finds out, Sarah and Lucas – along with the town of Sycamore Falls – are schooled in the lessons of acceptance, tolerance, and love.

NOTE: Sydney will be donating 10% of all sales during the month of October to http://www.pacer.org/bullying/ in honor of October's Bullying Awareness month. In LESSONS LEARNED a secret of the quarterback of the football team sends a small conservative community reeling. Bullying can take on all forms and Sydney would like to give back to this worthy cause.

BUY LINKS: 

B & N 

Amazon

Q/A with Sydney Logan

 How did you come up with the idea for this story?  

They say to write what you know, so for Lessons Learned, I knew I wanted to write about teaching since that’s my “day job.” Thankfully, I haven’t had to deal with the traumas my main character faces. I also knew I wanted to write a love story with a message, and bullying is such an epidemic in our society that I wanted to highlight that in this book.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?  

The most challenging thing is balancing writing and promotion. I’m not very good at it. It was easier when I only had one book, but the more I write, the harder it gets to juggle it all. I’m not complaining, because I love it, but that’s the biggest challenge for me.

What are your current projects?

 I’m getting ready to release a holiday collection of short stories titled Once Upon a December. It will include two previously published Kindle short stories along with a new short story. It will release on November 28. I’m also working on my fourth novel.    

Excerpt:

Chapter 1

The piercing chime of my phone jerked me awake. Disoriented and shaking, I grabbed my cell and struggled to focus on the screen.  

Congratulations, Sarah. You slept a whole three hours.

Falling asleep had been difficult. My restlessness could easily be blamed on yesterday’s long drive or spending the night in a new place, but I hadn’t slept well in months, so my fitful sleep wasn’t all that surprising.

However, I could do without the nightmares.

It was nearly three in the morning when I’d finally arrived in Sycamore Falls. Exhausted from the drive, I’d collapsed on the couch, but sleeping proved impossible. It was just too quiet. I’d grown accustomed to noisy neighbors and blasting car horns.

A change of scenery could be exactly what I need, my therapist had told me.

Sycamore Falls was definitely a change in scenery.

Stiff and sore from the uncomfortable couch, I groaned as I struggled to sit up. My body trembled when my bare feet hit the hardwood floor. I’d forgotten how cold this house could be, even in the summer, but anything with long sleeves would be in a box, and all the boxes were arranged in a chaotic mess in my living room.  

Maybe some sunshine will warm me up.

I wrapped my blanket around me and circled the maze of boxes before shuffling toward the kitchen. It was neat and tidy as ever, with its faded yellow wallpaper. Grandma Grace had always loved wildflowers, and I smiled as I gazed at the collection of daisy canisters lining the wall next to the sink. Mom had been a terrible cook, so grandma had taken it upon herself to teach me. Baking was my favorite, and we’d spent countless nights in this kitchen with my apron covered in flour. Grandma had been fine with making a mess—as long as I cleaned it up—and that freedom had led to many honest discussions throughout the years.

 “Sycamore Falls has its issues,” Grandma had told me one autumn day while teaching me how to make fried apple pies. “We’re too sheltered from the rest of the world. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes it isn’t. The world can be a scary place. It’s good to know you have a safe place to come home to when the world gets a little crazy. You’re one of the lucky ones, Sarah. You will always have a home here. Remember that.”  

I remember.

I opened the front door and was instantly greeted with cool morning air. Eager to see the house in the daylight, I gingerly walked down the steps and onto the sidewalk. Thankfully, Mr. Johnson had hired someone to mow the grass before I arrived, which allowed me to mark one thing off my to-do list.

As I gazed up at the house, I could see my list would be long.

Growing up, I’d thought my grandmother’s home was the most beautiful in Sycamore Falls. Majestic and blue with its white shutters and wrap-around porch, it was the place I’d always felt the most comfortable and safe.

Time hadn’t been kind to the house, and that was my fault. Mr. Johnson had done his best, but a house needs tender loving care, and its last two years without an occupant had been rough on the place. The chipped siding needed a coat of paint, the flowerbeds resembled a jungle, and some of the shingles needed to be replaced, but none of that mattered.

I felt a small sense of satisfaction and breathed a sigh of relief.

I was safe.

I was home.    

About Sydney Logan: 

  

Amazon bestselling author Sydney Logan holds a Master's degree in Elementary Education. She is the author of three novels - Lessons Learned, Mountain Charm, and Soldier On. Sydney has also penned four short stories and is a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul. A native of East Tennessee, Sydney enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her porch with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House (Originally) and Rockstar PR via Netgalley 

Genre: Adult Contemporary

Stand Alone Novel

My Lesson Learned Review ...

I when I first started to review and blog I had requested this book and I never got a chance to read it so when I got the chance to review it again I jumped at it.  This book was very sweet and pretty wholesome.  It had great life lessons and a heartbreaking story but ... the love story part was almost too sweet and perfect which made it lack some edge for this couple.

I also have to admit that when it comes to religion and homosexuality it is tough line.  I personally don't feel they have anything to do with one another but others feel differently.  In this book it had a lot of baptist values where homosexuality was frowned upon.  Thankfully the two main characters didn't judge homosexuality but they also didn't agree with it.  Since my beliefs are different and I'm much more open minded at times it was hard to read through those parts.

However, with the main part of the book you get the positives and negatives of small town mentality.  With how people's choices are not their own when people can't mind their business and are the judge, jury and executioner when it comes to choices people disagree with.

Sarah has lived through a horrible trauma and is an emotional basket case.  So for her she runs home to her small town where she grew up.  There is some comfort of the small town but also negative aspects as well.  For Lucas he too is escaping his past by going to a small town away from NYC.

Sarah and Lucas aren't looking for a relationship but quickly meet and then have a very sweet relationship. Lucas is Sarah's rock, which helps her to deal with her past and her present.  It seems that Sarah didn't learn all her lessons in the past when she is forced to go through a very similar situation to learn the lesson again.  This time though has a better outcome.

I did like many aspects of the book and it had me at times on an emotional roller coaster but when romance is too sweet it loses some of the essence of the book for me.

3.5 Very Sweet Thumbs up!
. 5 
Lauren


 

You Turn by Marion Croslydon Blog Tour ~ #bookreview & #giveaway

Adult Contemporary Romance

Second Chances Series

Release: October 6, 2014

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

"I was the little girl who loved you from afar. I was the woman who gave herself away for you and ended up losing a lot of who she was."

"Then allow me to give back some of what I stole."

After being dumped by her fiancé, Eleanor Carrington flees to Paris to stay with her self-medicated mother. While keeping her mom from popping pills like gummy bears, Eleanor launches a new, no-strings-attached life plan with absolutely NO falling in love whatsoever. On her part at least, because her self-esteem could do with one or two Frenchmen going un peu crazy for her.

What she doesn’t need is for her first Grand Amour to burst back into her life. What she doesn’t need is all-American Zachary Murdoch—or a more mature and sensitive version of him—to schmooze his way into her heart again. She grew up loving the/this/that man until he dumped her five summers ago. Whatever shit-show/life drama she’s just been through was a stroll. What Zach put her though was a climb up Mount Everest. Barefoot. In a bikini.

Now a club-owner in Paris, Zach is intrigued by the troubled woman who was once the sweet girl he had to give up. Offering a shoulder for her to cry on is what he owes her. Loving her is what he lost the right to. Because there’s a reason he broke up with Lenor and that reason is why she’s in Paris.

But Paris is called the City of Love…

Will he be her turn at love?

*** You Turn is a contemporary adult romance and part of the Second Chances series. However, Lenor’s story can be read as a stand-alone novel. There is no cliffhanger. ***

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19493963-you-turn

Blog Tour Schedule : http://wp.me/p20ttU-3gX

About the Author

Marion loves to share happy vibes, talk book crush, fictional boyfriends and sexual chemistry with like-minded people. And because she spends most of her days on her own deep inside her writing cave—and under the grey London sky—, you are welcome to come and say ‘hello’ from time to time. Just to make sure she doesn’t sink into insanity. Her friends, family and arch-enemies (there are quite a few) will be forever grateful for your help.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

GIVEAWAY

The author is giving away (1) CHANEL Beauty Bag ($150 retail value, International), (1) Signed Copy of YOU TURN and (1) $20 Amazon Gift Card (International), and (1) Signed Copy of YOU TURN and (1) $10 Amazon Gift Card (International)!! You can enter on her Facebook page!

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy from Author and ATOMR Promotions

Genre: NA Contemporary

Spin Off Book but can be read as a standalone

My You Turn Review ...

When we first meet Eleanor in the Second Chance series I have to admit that I never really warmed up to her but everyone deserves their HEA so I was happy to read this story.   In here we get to see a different side of the ever perfect Lenor.

After being dumped by her ex so he can be with his wife and their baby she goes to Paris to help her manipulative cow of a mother.  Here she catches up with her first love.  Now she's forced to deal with her past so she can move forward and maybe finally have her turn at happiness.

"Lenor, sometimes our first love is also meant to be our last.  Mistakes are made, but we learn to grown from them, and then we do."

Lenor has loved Zach since they were kids.  For Zach once Lenor turned 18 he stared to think of her differently but while his own dysfunctional family was falling apart he started to lean on Lenor and develop feelings for her to only turn around and crush her heart later.

"This guy's hurt you, he knows that. He'll be a friend as long as you don't want him to be more.  So what do you really want?"  I shut my eyes even more tightly and rub my flat hands over my thighs. "I'm scared."  "I know you are sweetie, and he is too.  That's why it's worth taking the risk."

As Lenor is in Paris trying to find happiness she realizes that with her ex- Josh that she never let him all the way in because of Zach.   Zach has regretted many choices from his past and once he realized what he lost he cleans up his act and forever pines about the what if of what could have been with Eleanor.  Once Zach sees Lenor again he jumps at the opportunity for any form of a second chance with Lenor, even if it is only friends.  As Zach and Lenor wade through friends to lovers, Zach's past collides with his present and all hell breaks loose.

"Eleanor Carrington."  He seems to revel in the sound of my name like I have with his.  "I so wanted to be your turn at love.  It was my most fervent prayer."  He kisses the inside of my wrist.  "You are my wildest, sweetest dream and I'll keep dreaming about you because no one, no one, can ever take that dream away from me. Not even you."

The prologue alludes to the secrets and once they finally come out it is a hard pill to swallow when we think one thing (yuk) but thankfully as we read on we realize that we too jump to conclusions until we get to hear Zach's side of the story.  I was starting to really like Lenor until this part and then when she was being so stubborn and wouldn't listen to anyone she started to grate on me.  Thankfully she took this as an opportunity to move forward with her own life and not be anyone's puppet any more.  Don't get me wrong Zach's secret was a tough one to swallow for Lenor and myself. 

I love Marion Croslydon's second chance stories.  She has a knack at getting her characters to the root of the issue and then being able to forgive and move on happily.

3.75 Their Turn Thumbs up!

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Lauren