Book Review: The Love Trials by Audrey Anna Garrett

The Love Trials

Author: Audrey Anna Garrett

Published November 22, 2013

Pages: 143 

Review By: Sandra Long

The Love Trials struck me as a textbook for a college class I once took in psychology.  Then, as I began to read the pages, I saw how much wisdom this young writer had compiled for the reader's benefit. I recognized truths from my past and from the pasts of friends and acquaintances I have known over a longer lifetime than this young lady has yet to live.

She has gathered truths about love,life and relationships, that,  if read and understood correctly, could serve as a handbook for the young and unlearned lover. This is a book I could see myself giving to my teenage daughter ( or son ) after they had gone through the agony of puberty and were embarking on a time of seeking that one true love that would last them a lifetime.

We all dream of the perfect love, the everlasting romance that will carry us through our lives. But at the beginning of that journey we suffer from unrealistic dreams, fantasies of what that true love will be like and how easily it will be found and cherished. Older people know we are going to meet a lot of frogs before we find our prince ( and the reverse for guys).  But our youth do not know this at the beginning of the journey to finding true love. Therefore, I have decided that this textbook--and to me that is how it seems--is the perfect handbook to give to our youth to help them travel the road to finding their true love, their soul mate, with a reference guide always with them to guide their steps and give them the encouragement they need, to let them know that the path to true, lasting love, is never easy and we have all been there, so they never need to feel alone or feel that they have failed.  They are just following in the footsteps of their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, all of us older folks would have gone down this path before and found that the journey may be long and sometimes painful but the blessings at the end of the journey make the entire trip worthwhile.

The Love Trials explores relationships in stages that allows you to be able to identify true love. This is based off of a post written on my blog as an excerpt from the post explains here:

"In order to be able to effectively recognize and grow in love one must experience a series of trials and learning experiences in the form of lovers. Some people are just capable of accepting, delivering and recognizing love once. They have to discipline to stay and work on perfecting it. Others, like myself, learn from doing. The more experienced, the more learned and with that the love timeline is developed." ~Audreyanna Garrett

​

~Literature Excerpt~

"So many people long for the ability to endure love at first sight. When most think of a first love that is what is thought of. Someone they immediately locked eyes with and just knew they would love and be in love with that individual for the rest of their life. And even if longevity is uncertain, they still believed that he/she would remain their first love.

Everyone wishes that they could identify the individual that makes their heart skip a beat or an individual that ignites butterflies in every encounter. Unfortunately, even if able to identify the affects of love initially, we have a hard time deciphering love from lust. There is a challenge with deciphering the reality of love from the idea of love." 

Book Review: Healing Wounds by Kirby Elaine

Healing Wounds

Author: Kirby Elaine

Pages: 186

Published: August 31st, 2013

Review by: Heidi

Besides being a book ho I'm also a cover addict! LOL :) The cover is awesome ! Now for the content id cover ♥

Liam ~ I immediately felt a connection to him because of the loss of his mum and the effect it has on him afterwards :( He's rather easy on the eye ... hell who am I kidding ?! He's delicious !!!!!

Jayda~ She has a real ass wipe for a boyfriend! After a rather unpleasant surprise she finds herself left needing and in a rather sad position. Pulling up her big girl panties she heads off for a job interview and this is where it all starts ...

Michael~ A client at Liam's firm and he also has eyes set on the gorgeous Jayda ! Damn this girl is a hot commodity :) Jayda and Liam have become friends sharing almost anything but he's concerned that Michael has a hidden agenda . I smell a love triangle coming !

I like a relationship that starts off as friendship first because there's no pretense , a friend sees you at your best and your worst and you tend to tell a friend more so when and if the friendship develops into more you're already comfortable with one another :)

Ok so I was right about the triangle but its got a twist !

All in all I enjoyed "Healing Wounds" and I'm reminded again about the 

importance of family and friends and how more often than not they're our crutch that we lean on for support in times of trauma , drama , heartache etc.

Looking forward to see what happens in "Secrets Kept" I'm curious about Michael and I'd like to know more about him.

★★★★

This is the first installment of "A Scott/Price Family Drama" series; the second and third books, Secrets Kept and All I Ever Wanted is available now! 

Liam Scott is a successful, wealthy, and handsome business man. But he still battles with the depression the death of his mother triggered twenty years ago. That and an equally as old secret keeps his feelings for his co-worker and best friend Jayda Price at bay. 

Jayda Price is never afraid to work for what she wants. After a family tragedy Jayda has left Baltimore for a life in D.C. Hit by hardships, she finds herself interviewing for Scott & Helm, an event coordinating firm headed by the very handsome Liam Scott. Five years later and Jayda may be ready to pursue her heart's greatest desire. 

Neither of them could anticipate the trials life would throw their way. Their only saving grace may be the fact that love does indeed heal all wounds. 

Healing Wounds is a family drama with adult themes and some intimate sexual scenes. 

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Book Review: War Eagle Women by Tina Coleman Bausinger

War Eagle Women

By: Tina Coleman Bausinger

Reviewed by: Sandra Long

War Eagle Women is a fairly short novel but it is a very interesting, refreshing look at family problems, as seen and told through the eyes of three women from different generations of the same family. These women have a rich Cherokee Indian heritage as well as Irish. Born and raised in the same small mountain town of War Eagle, Elizabeth is the great-grandmother, Eden is her granddaughter that she raised from her early teen years because Eden’s mother, who was Elizabeth’s daughter, died. She was a drug and alcohol addicted whore who brought an almost continuous stream of men into their home, making Eden’s life one of shame and exposure to many things that were not appropriate for a child to see. Eden and Elizabeth both re-live their pasts as they sit at the bedside of Eden’s teenage daughter, Samantha ( Sam ) who has been critically injured in a car accident and is in a coma. We also get to look 

into Sam’s mind as her great-grandmother sits by her hospital bed and tells her about her life. 

As Elizabeth talks about her young years Sam’s dreams seem to be taken over by these stories and they play in her mind like a giant movie screen. She feels like the things she is hearing are actually happening now. Eden also starts thinking about her life and all the things that had happened to her over her lifetime. We learn about her deliberate seduction and having sex with her best friend’s step-dad while she is staying with them, waiting for her mother to get out of the hospital. The hospital feels her mother’s death is imminent so their social worker begins to track down a suitable relative who is willing to take teenage Eden into their home. She locates the maternal grandparents and that is when Eden goes to live with her grandmother Elizabeth and her grandfather and she finally gets to see what a happy marriage and normal home life are all about. She goes on to finish high school and nursing school 

and marries her high school sweetheart a month after their graduation. He attends college on a full scholarship but his real burning desire is to be an artist and after one of his paintings sells, he decides to become a full time artist and quits school and his job immediately. With two young daughters to feed and clothe and needing money for household expenses and monthly utility bills, Eden works hard and begins to suspect her husband is bi-polar. The marriage eventually falls apart as Eden has to work more and more in nursing to support her family. After Sam is injured the ex starts coming around and wants to reconcile. She has found herself attracted to Sam’s neurosurgeon who has worked with her for years and is now divorced also. 

He has asked her for a date but backs off after seeing her and her ex kissing 

outside Sam’s hospital room. Eventually Sam comes out of her coma when she meets her grandmother as a young woman in a wedding dress who tells Sam that it is her time to go on and Sam must return, then grandmother Elizabeth the bride rushes into the open arms of her young husband and they walk away into the light. Sam learns of her pregnancy after she wakes up and that everyone believes the father is the boy who was killed in the wreck with her. She does not tell them any different. She expresses her intent to abort the baby but learns she has been in a coma so long that she is too far along for an abortion. She then plans to give it up for adoption but after a confrontation with the boy’s mother, who states her intentions of taking the baby, Sam decides she loves this baby girl and wants to keep her. Her mom supports her decision and after several weeks of intense physical therapy she can walk with a walker and has improved enough to go home. Her dad announces his intentions of moving back home to. Eden is very tempted because she still has feelings for him but after thinking it over she 

realizes it would only turn out the same as before and turns him down. Sam and Eden both really miss grandma Elizabeth, her wisdom and her stories regarding their heritage, and they both have a lot of important decisions to make regarding their futures, but thanks to the wisdom and strength they have inherited from grandma Elizabeth and a long line of War Eagle female ancestors, they are going to get on with their lives and trust themselves enough to make the right decisions. This is a very good book, very well written, and being told from the memories of three different generations adds a lot to the interesting storyline.

 I would definitely recommend this book to readers of historical romance and to women who need encouragement in dealing with generational issues that most mothers and daughters 

deal with in the difficult years of becoming a woman.

Samantha has a secret, and it's killing her.

In the sleepy town of War Eagle, Arkansas, a tiny place steeped in Indian legend, a tragic car accident sends 17-year-old Samantha to the surgical ICU. Samantha, who harbors a dark secret, hovers between life and death, and her mother, Eden, worries that ghosts from the past have come calling for retribution in the form of her daughter’s life. Great-grandmother Elizabeth resolves to camp out at the hospital and tell Samantha all of her own hidden stories in the hopes that she will find the strength to come back to the land of the living and reveal her secret as well. Deep in the recesses of Sam’s psyche, she hears the legends of the War Eagle Women and experiences a journey of her own where she finds her own identity within the old tales.

Featured Author Dawn Kopman Whidden - Stolen Book Review

Stolen

By Dawn Kopman Whidden

5 Stars

Review by Rene

In the mood for a GREAT Psychological thriller? Then this is the story for you!! This story grabs a hold of you from the turn of the first page and continues to grip you through out the entire story!

Jean, Marty and Hope are back, along with a few of the other characters, to solve what turns out to be a 25 year old mystery.

The story starts off with a murder, the way all great thrillers should start!!

A string of 911 calls were received by a group of local hunters in the woods. They recently witnessed a small child, shirtless and shoe-less, running and screaming through the woods, multiple gunshots fired, a cabin with a gunshot victim, and another victim who is deceased.

When police arrived they found another young child, a girl around the age of 4 or five, Michaelah, in the small cabin in a back room. This poor child has was quivering on a bloody mattress in a room with a video camera on a tripod. What went on this room could only be described as horrific!

The body of the deceased man was later identified as Archie Blakely, convicted of molestation of a seven year old boy and served 1 year in prison, a few years later he was accused of trying to abduct a neighbors 7 year old son and was acquitted, solicitation , misdemeanors, traffic infractions and a domestic dispute. This guy was seriously bad news!! There was another gunshot victim and he was identified as Troy Blakley, Archie's son. Now, who was the shooter? Is there a third party? Where is the weapon? Who ever shot these men, is still out there.

Marty quickly identified the young girl as Michaela Sandberg, she was abducted a few months ago. After a few weeks of searching for her, law enforcement had stopped their search, claiming that they could no longer afford to spend the funds and personnel to continue a search and rescue because at this point it would be considered a recovery mission. Her parents never gave up the search or hope, in hopes that their baby girl would return to them. Law inforcement  knew that if a child was not found within the first 48 hours, the chances were that she wouldn't be found alive. These parents were extremely lucky, their baby will be returned.

Back at the station, Jean has been looking through the system for missing kids to see if any of them fit the description of the young boy, Tristen, but nothing has come up. Neither child has spoken to anyone at this point, and with their only other lead witness in critical condition, these two small children are the only ones who knew exactly what went on in that cabin.

This story suddenly takes a turn when Marty receives a call from Lieutenant Sanders of the HITS division of the Oregon State Police. Marty and Sanders talked about the Archie case and Sanders filled him in on some very insightful information. 

Curious? Of course you are, unfortunately this is all your going to get from me! hahahahaah.....you need to read this book!!! Twists and turns do not eve begin to describe the plots in this book. This book is such a captivated read, it is filled with such excitement and suspense. I cannot wait to see what Dawn has in store for us next!!!

Will detective Marty Keal and Jean Whitley be able to find out the identity of a little boy before it’s too late?

In the riveting mystery novel Stolen, detective Marty Keal is on leave handling personal business when he is drawn back into a case with all of the makings of a sinister event. His partner, detective Jean Whitley, is first on the scene of a horrible crime that took place in a cabin in the woods. She arrives to find an older man dead, a younger man seriously wounded and a half naked child in the back of the cabin who’s apparently been missing for 3 months. Then, the detective finds a little boy running through the woods with little clothes and barely able to communicate. The police have a lot on their plate as they race to find out who the nameless men in the cabin are, who is the distressed little boy and what is the possibly frightening connection between them all?

Highly reviewed author Dawn Kopman Whidden has penned yet another disturbingly memorable mystery that lovers of Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson will be clamoring to read. From beginning to end, Stolen is a fast paced murder mystery with a twist around every turn!

Stolen is a standalone novel that features two intriguing detectives from Dawn Kopman Whidden’s previous mystery novels A Child Torn & Faceless: A Mystery.

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Featured Author Dawn Kopman Whidden: Faceless - Book Review

Faceless

By Dawn Kopman Whidden

5 Stars

Review by Rene

In the mood for a GREAT Psychological thriller? Then this is the story for you!! This story grabs a hold of you from the turn of the first page and continues to grip you through out the entire story!

Faceless starts about two years after A Child is Torn ends. Jean, Marty and Hope are back, along with a few of the other characters, to solve a horrific crime. 

It all started when Marty receives a call and is to report to the scene of the crime. About 10 minutes after the call, he arrives at the crime scene and was not prepared for was the sight that was right on front of him. He could not make out who the victim was that lies before him, the small body is naked from the waist up; at first he thought she was wearing a mask but the closer he looked he found that someone has burned her face right off."There was no mask and there was no blanket; whoever this was no longer had a face. Instead, there was just a charcoal mass of melted skin and muscle tissue"  Marty was determined to find the killer and solve the case, this was his first major case and it would make or break his reputation as a Homicide Detective. The victim was i.d.'d as Jamie Camp age 16. Jamie was found in the woods by a group of her friends, they heard screams and came running. The girls were taken to the police station for questioning, one of the main questions were "What were you all doing in the woods in the middle of the night?" Each girl was questioned, and unfortunately they're answers were all very bleak. The one thing that they all had in common was that they all attended the youth group at the same church, St. Mary's.  

Two of the girls were not your average teenagers, they were born into wealth and were very privileged. Katie Hepburn, her step-father is the Mayor, Tiffany Bennett, her father is a Defense Attorney. Lisa Padilla was also a part of the group, she now lives with her grandparents when the Department of Children and Families stepped in and removed her from her parents due to neglect and abuse.

This case becomes more interesting as the pages turn, there is another victim, Kimberly Weston age 16, she also went to the same youth group at St. Mary's with the other girls. Kimmie and Jamie have been long time rivals and were both running for prom queen.

This story has many more twists and turns that I cannot reveal without giving something away, you're just going to have to read it to find out!! But trust me when I say, Dawn does not disappoint!!!!



"The world had changed since I was a child. I was brought up in a world where sad and ugly things were whispered about behind closed doors. I was led to believe there were very few dark and horrific things that happened, unless it was in the make-believe world of cinema and the arts. It was there, of course, but not quite as abundant as it is today, and was definitely not available for children to witness or hear.
My children, on the other hand, were brought up in a world where they watched on a continuous loop the death and destruction of thousands of innocent men, women and children by madmen on that fatal September 11, 2001 morning. My children were raised thinking that a child’s picture on a milk carton was as normal as their class pictures, and that Amber Alerts were part of the landscape of a normal day.
When I grew up, a crime spree consisted of the boys in the neighborhood taking joyrides with someone else’s Schwinn or scrawling graffiti in the bathroom stalls in school. A bully would call you a name and you would retaliate by calling them one back. Talking back to a parent would result in a mouthful of Ivory Soap, or a good whipping.
Today, children were slaughtering their classmates and then killing themselves in order to escape punishment. They had no coping skills whatsoever. Parents today were constrained from employing punishments that once were accepted as part of normal disciplinary actions. We received corporal punishments that, in hindsight, I realize were probably well deserved."

"Was it their personalities that got them killed, or their looks? Or,was I totally off base, and was there some stranger lurking in the woods? 
Could they both simply have had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Somehow, I doubted it. I had a gut instinct that both these girls were lured to their deaths by someone they knew well.

The big question... who?"

"Although we all try to hide our feelings sometimes, our body language betrays us, and we cannot conceal our emotions."

A pretty teenage girl is found dead in the woods, her face horribly mutilated. A few days later, a second girl, also strikingly beautiful, is attacked in a similar fashion.

Who would do such a brutal thing—and why?

Is there some sort of psychopathic monster lurking out there, preying upon vulnerable females? Or were the victims targeted for some reason by someone they knew?

It’s up to two of Fallsburg’s finest, Detective Jean Whitley and her new partner, Marty Keal, to find out who’s responsible for the grisly crimes.

When she starts digging up clues, Jean is startled to learn that the crime has hit uncomfortably close to home. The victims—and many of the potential suspects—are classmates of Jean’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Bethany.

To make matters worse, Bethany’s behavior has drastically changed. Jean’s sweet, loving child has become a sullen, secretive stranger.

How much does Bethany really know about the victims—and the crimes that have taken place? Did Bethany’s hunky new heartthrob have anything to do with the crimes? And why does the mounting evidence keep pointing to a popular parish priest?

Dawn Kopman Whidden’s newest book, Faceless, returns readers to the town of Fallsburg, New York, as seen through the eyes of Detective Jean Whitley, two years after the events of Whidden’s previous book, A Child is Torn.

Suddenly deprived of her longtime police detective mentor and friend, Jean is forced to take the lead in this latest investigation, while breaking in a new partner.

As they dig deeper into the case, Jean encounters threats to her career, her family relationships, and possibly even to her own daughter’s life.

Through it all, Jean and Marty must unravel a multi-layered mystery and put a face on the unseen villain, before anyone else ends up dead…and faceless.

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Book Review: Manataka by Ella J. Phoenix

Manataka by Ella J. Phoenix 

216 Pages

Published February 16th 2013

Book Description:

Since she was a child, Chloe has endured horrible nightmares about a Native American prince living in a time long forgotten. She never understood why, until she finds a stone that matches the one in her dreams. It has unimaginable powers, powers Chloe doesn’t understand. Fueled by memories of someone else’s past, she sets off on a wild quest for the stone’s birth place, hoping to also find answers to her foreboding dreams. 

Our Review:

On the outside, Mason Green looks like a hard working, self-made millionaire, with too busy a life for romance. Very few people know the real reason for his self-imposed seclusion. It’s safer that way. But when a sexy historian shows him a supernatural stone from a forgotten tribe, Mason is intrigued - maybe the relic is the salvation he’s been waiting for. Ignoring the irrational attraction that threatens to crack the cask around his heart, Mason agrees to help Chloe. 

I appreciate the dedication to author's mother, husband and friend . It always interests me to whom authors dedicate their books and who inspire them ♥

Let me start off by saying Ella J Phoenix can put a feather in her hat!  Loved this book and I really enjoyed and appreciated was the glossary of terms which was used in the book it made the read so much more fun and informative so thank you Ella! !

Mason, has lets say, lived many lives, seen many things, visited many places so nothing is new to him.He lives a pretty solitary life, goes to work as an antiques dealer, gets  take out for dinner, goes home and listens to jazz :O His only "friend " is Malcolm Green, who happens to be his private investigator as well.

Mason's path crosses with Chloe, who works at the Smithsonian Institute,  a real nerdgirl with a binding stone,  an ancient Indian relic, which some believe to be just an urban legend and bam! He comes alive,  he  feels emotions long forgotten and his loins are awakened as well  ! He's so attracted to this plain nerdgirl and he's so protective ♥

Don't underestimate our reading lady though, she's no damsel in distress and can throw a punch!  She reminds me of Temperance Brennan from 'Bones' ! 

Both of them have secrets which adds to the legend of Manataka. Chloe had haunting dreams and Madonna had his "noo-hi" .Together they give Udall an entertain read filled with action, suspense, drama, romance, myth and legend! 

Manataka had me wondering what my "noo-hi" is, a noo-hi is your inner spirit, your animal spirit. The Indians have a rich culture filled with many traditions, myths and legends. I found myself yearning to be around the campfire listening to tales from the tribe members.

Thank you for a wonderful read,  looking forward to more of your work Ella J Phoenix! 

About Ella J Phoenix:

I discovered I was additcted to the paranormal when I was quite young - I blame it on the super heroes. Damn you, Wonder Woman! That passion led me to a number of amateur theatre productions in my home town, then ultimately to a bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts.
It wasn't very cool to spend five years working my ass off for no money. But, I have to say, it was then that I made my first attempts into the literary world. The first ones were writing children’s plays for my family’s language school. After a couple of blunders, I decided to translate Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream into a dancing and kicking play. It was so much fun that after that, let’s just say that I caught the bug.

Review by Heidi S.

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Book Review: Safe & Sound by T.S. Krupa

Safe & Sound
By TS Krupa
Published December 31,st 2013

Pages 313
Review by Rene

I could not put this book down! I was hooked after the first few pages. My eyes burned from trying to stay up all hours just to read it. Through the tears I pushed myself to continue to read it. 

Jill and Jay were meant to spend their entire life together, then tragically Jay was taken from her. This is an amazing written story on her journey after his death. How does one survive after loosing the man of your dreams so horrifically? Where do you find the strength to get out of bed in the morning? Where do you find the desire to move on? 

This story is not only about a loss of a loved one, its about a person overcoming grief and finding herself. Learning that letting your heart heal will open doors to new love. You will fall in love with Jill, she will become a friend to you, and you will go through every experience side by side. What is a good book with out a little thrill....do not miss out on this amazing story filled with so many emotions: sadness, anger, anxiety, fear, obsession, and love. 

When Jill met Jay Greenfield she knew she had found her forever love. She was a kindergarten teacher, he was a high-powered attorney and their lives were perfect. But when a tragic accident takes Jay’s life, this young bride is left to pick up the pieces. 

Jill finds herself a young widow facing multiple decisions she thought she had a lifetime to decide. With support from her childhood best friends, Lanie and Stella, Jill attempts to piece her life back together. With nightmares plaguing her dreams and the struggles of constant grief over Jay’s passing, Stella and Lanie keep near constant vigilance over her. 

In the process of settling the estate, Jill learns that her husband was not quite the man she thought he was. She finds herself transported to the small beach town of Oak Island, North Carolina. But the fairy tale ending she envisioned no longer exists. She must face the reality that Jay is gone as she finds herself having a chance at love one more time. 

Safe and Sound follows a yearlong journey of love, loss, friendship, and conquering the unexpected

"Peace my love," I whispered and tilted the canister into the wind, which wisked around and carried the ashes over the water.

"How do you pick up the pieces when your future was stolen from you but you still have your whole life ahead of you?"

"One year ago today was the worst day of my entire life. I lost my best friend and the man I loved, the man I promised to love until death. It shattered me. I wasn't able to cope and I carried that with me for a year. But I am a stronger person today than I was then, and I'm finding a way to move on."

T.S. Krupa was born in New Haven, CT. She was raised in a blended Polish-American household. She has one younger sister who currently lives abroad with her husband and daughter. T.S. Krupa earned her Bachelor's degree at Franklin Pierce University, Master's at Texas Tech University and will earn her Doctorate of Education from North Carolina State University in 2014. She played field hockey at Franklin Pierce University for four years and is in her sixth year of coaching a local club team. She currently resides in North Carolina with her husband and dog.

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Book Review: Stroke Of Fear by Alla Kar

Stroke Of Fear by Alla Kar

212 Pages
Published December 12th 2013

I was provided a copy of Stroke of Fear to review in favor of an honest review. Honestly....this story was  amazing. It pulled at my heart strings but also made my mad at times. This is a story of overcoming of overcoming your fears, healing and having the strength to move past them. 

Aubrey was a young girl who was turtured by her boyfriend. Left to die. He would stalk her, basically driver her insane. After he was behind bars, she tried to move on with her life. No one knew what she went through, she dealt with the voices in her dead all by her self. 

Aubrey got a great job over the summer at Camp Awesome with her best friend Cassie and her new boyfriend Jake. Jake was well....a jerk to say the least. A joke turned into something so beyond unacceptable to Aubrey and eventually they broke up. I severely disliked him. 

Tanner is a southern gentleman who moved to the west coast to live with his brother after being fired from his fathers business. Tanner was also broken, he lost his girlfriend after her car went off the road from texting and driving. A text that her had sent her.  

This is a great story about two people who find eachother and learn to heal by dealing with their secrets. They entrust each other with their secrets and find that they can heal eachother. 

Read the story. Enjoy the roller coaster. Feel the passion. You will not be sorry.

Book Description:

From the Amazon Best-Selling Author of the Forever series comes Stroke Of Fear. A novel about letting go of your fears and letting yourself love again.

Sometimes the things you love are the things you fear the most …

Aubrey Depp has already faced death and escaped it once. Now it's back to get her. Once a swimming champion at her high school, Aubrey’s life was taken away when a former swimmer and boyfriend tosses her over a bridge, leaving her for dead.

Now a senior in college, she takes a summer job as a camp counselor with her best friend Cassie and her it’s complicated boyfriend Jake. Then she meets southern heartthrob Tanner Young and her entire summer is flipped upside down. He’s damaged, has a sexy southern drawl and has his eyes set on Aubrey. 

She doesn’t mind.

Tanner is damaged, broken and for the first time in a year, feels like he can love again. Aubrey Depp is the one he wants, and he won’t stop until he gets her.

When Aubrey's past comes back to haunt her, Tanner vows to protect Aubrey. Showing her it’s okay to take that Stroke of Fear.

My favorite quotes:

"I wasn't always this way. Scared. Frightened. Timid. I used to live. In every way imaginable. Now, I am a shell of that person. I'm empty. The chill that's overtaking me is the chill that used to thrive in me."

"My wrists and ankles bound together in surrender and the cement blocks dragging me down to nothingness. I was dragged down to the depths of the river and no one would ever find me."

"To know you earned the calluses on your hands from a hard days work, there isn't another feeling like it in the world."

"Is this a southern thing? You try to be all macho and stuff? It's annoying."

"It's called being a gentleman. Obviously you aren't accustomed to that."

"Not a sound comes from his mouth. Or maybe it does, my entire vision is blackening out, slowly. I'm sure my face is redi hope no one can tell I'm completely turned on and the boy hasn't even put his hands on me...yet."

"Then he walks away, leaving me breathless with just one fucking look."

"He is soo...aggravating, but so sexy at the same time. It's driving me insane."

"You have to wake up. I don't think it a good idea to carry you into your cabin. They'll think you passed out just by looking at my sexy as he'll face."

"Country boys don't use gun to fight, they use their fists. They're not afraid to get dirty."

"I want to devour you."

"I feel so useless-ashamed that I've turned into this person. Someone full of demons, and let's someone else determine their fate."

"You don't have to be ashamed. We're here to help heal eachother. Heal one another."

"I'll never let go."

"The scary things in life are the ones worth keeping."

"You scare me, Tanner. In the most amazing way.you knew me without even being introduced to me. That's terrifying."

"He's going to rectify me, just like I'm going to heal him."

"Give grown men hatchets, knifes and bats and they think they're zombie hunters."

Book review by Rene

Alla's Website: http://allakarbooks.blogspot.com 

Twitter: allakar1 

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