A Little Too Much by Lisa DesRochers

A Little Too Much by Lisa DesRochers
Release Date: November 12, 2013
Publisher: William Morrow Impulse
Pages: 416
Series: A Little Too... #2
Review Source: Edelweiss

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

My Thoughts:
This review contains spoilers for A Little Too Far, so if you want to keep that book a total secret, don’t read on! But be sure to check out my review of the first book.

A Little Too Much is only the second book I've read from Lisa DesRochers, but I already know that I can count on her to write characters and situations that impact me emotionally. The tough past of these main characters seemed real. They had a shared history, being surrounded by a bad situation, and you could really see the effect that had on both main characters.

I loved reading about Hilary in the New York theatre world. I also loved seeing Alessandro again, this time dealing with his decision to leave the church. I loved the scenes with Hilary and Alessandro together getting to know New York City and rediscovering each other. While I guessed Hilary’s big secret right from the beginning it was still an emotional journey to see her admit it on the page and see her deal with it, which I think was kind of the point. You can figure out what happened, but you’re waiting to see the exact specifics, when it will actually be addressed, and what the repercussions will be.

While I didn't love this second book in the series *quite* as much as A Little Too Far (equaling that would be tough, because I completely adored it), I still really enjoyed it and I devoured it almost as quickly. Lisa DesRochers has such an easy writing style that envelops you in the story, making you a part of the characters and their world. If you’re looking for New Adult books which have that sexy romance that you might expect from the category, but are also looking for well developed characters with true emotional impact, and a life outside of their romantic partner, then be sure to check out this series.

The Cover:
The only thing I don't like about these books are the covers.

Rating:
[4/5]

Purchase Links:
Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Fighting for the Edge (Book Blast & Giveaway)

Fighting for the Edge by Jennifer Comeaux

Two friends. Two dreams. One night that changes everything…

Ice dancer Aubrey London scoffs at romance. She’s focused on winning a medal at the upcoming Olympics and uses that as her excuse to avoid serious relationships. But when she and longtime friend Chris Grayden are thrown together by unforeseen circumstances, Aubrey finds herself questioning everything she's ever known about love, complicating her life both on and off the ice.

Pairs skater Emily Petrov embraces romance. She and her husband Sergei still act like honeymooners two years after their wedding. As Emily’s coach, Sergei provides constant support while she prepares to challenge for gold at the Olympics. But Sergei’s support might not be enough to help Emily overcome the one challenge she never saw coming.

With the Games only weeks away, Emily and Aubrey are on the verge of realizing their dreams. But one snowy, stormy night sets in motion a series of events that will test them in ways they never imagined, giving them more to fight for than Olympic medals.

Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Praise for Fighting for the Edge:

"Emily and Aubrey's final challenge is Jennifer Comeaux's greatest victory. Both touching and suspenseful, Fighting for the Edge is a game changer that will have fans of the series giving both the characters and the author a standing ovation once they've turned the last page. If I could pass out medals, Jennifer would earn gold for writing my favorite romance of all time." - Jenna at Jenna Does Books

"Jennifer Comeaux puts you in the action, makes you smell the ice and hear the roar of the crowd during the nail-biting competitions, and she's a master at creating first love jitters in your stomach from the steamy scenes that are so hot without being explicit." - Christina Jean Michaels, author of Epiphany



Life on the Edge (Book 1)

Nineteen-year-old Emily is new to pairs skating, but she and her partner Chris have a big dream–to be the first American team to win Olympic gold. Their young coach Sergei, who left Russia after a mysterious end to his skating career, believes they can break through and make history.

Emily and Chris are on track to be top contenders at the 2002 Winter Games. But when forbidden feelings spark between Emily and Sergei, broken trust and an unexpected enemy threaten to derail Emily’s dreams of gold.

Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Edge of the Past (Book 2)

Emily's skating career and personal life have never been more golden. She and her partner Chris have won every competition they've entered this season, and she's found the man of her dreams in her coach Sergei. But when one of the biggest competitions of the year takes Emily and Sergei to Russia, Sergei's past explodes into the present and makes Emily doubt everything in their future.

Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Jennifer:
Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren't any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she's a diehard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating. One of her favorite pastimes is travelling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing.

When not working or writing, she is an avid follower of the sport of figure skating, travelling to competitions around the country. Those experiences allow her to see another side of the sport and serve as an inspiration for her writing. Jennifer is blessed with a wonderful family and many friends who have encouraged her to pursue her dream of being a published author.

Where to find Jennifer:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

Tour Schedule

Book Blast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 11/28/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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K.K. Hendin "Picspiration" for Heart Breaths

Heart Breaths by K.K. Hendin

Synopsis:

After a tragedy nearly ripped 21 year old Madeline Darlington-Gray’s life in half, she's spent the past three years trying to put the pieces back together. But pieces never just fit back together, and when she's betrayed by those she trusts, everything crumbles. Shoving everything she owns into the trunk of her car, Maddie drives south, trying to run from her past.

Eno, North Carolina seems like the perfect place to hide. Working at a local café is light years from Maddie's Manhattan existence and for the first time in a while, she's finding her family. There's Grandma, the café owner; Samantha, the hairstylist next door with plans to make Maddie's life unsuck and Noie, the three year old girl who's stolen Maddie's heart.
And then there’s Gabriel Mendez, Noie’s single dad. He’s intrigued Maddie since the first time she met him, and while he has his own secrets, he wants more from her than just friendship. But the past never stays past, and all too soon, Maddie realizes she can't hide from hers. If she can't put the pieces of her shattered life together this time, she'll have no hope for a future.

A future she desperately wants.

Buy links:

Amazon | B&N (not live yet)

Heart Breaths in Pictures

A guest post from K.K. Hendin

I’ve mentioned this before, but the setting of HEART BREATHS was largely inspired by a road trip I took with my grandmother a couple of years ago. And yes, I do have the coolest grandma ever. Just in case you were wondering and such.

We drove through Virginia and North Carolina, and spent the majority of the week on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where HEART BREATHS takes place.

When I write, I need some sort of visual jolt of inspiration, and usually I have to troll through Pinterest to find it- but with HEART BREATHS, all I had to do was scroll through my pictures. All of the following pictures were taken in Virginia or North Carolina on that trip. And yes, it was rather cloudy while I was there.

Fun Fact: the original name for the main street in HEART BREATHS was going to be Ocean Lane, because Ocean Bay Blvd is an actual street, and Eno is a fictional town. One of my CPs pointed out that due to Neil Gaiman’s book, it might not be the best idea. So, it changed :)

Sunset in North Carolina by the beach… the picture almost looks fake.

Beach houses in North Carolina are all built with heavy supports on the bottom, due to the amount of hurricanes that sweep through. There were a lot of places that we drove through that were still damaged from the hurricanes. A lot of them are pretty garishly painted, which is all sorts of amusing, but this one, and this picture, really gives a good idea to what the weather was like when I was there. Since it was January when I was there, most of the beach houses were empty. And they all basically were rented by this one real estate agent. I don’t even know if there is more than one real estate agent on OBX.

Good fences make good neighbors… this is probably what the fences looked like during the time of the Lost Colony. This is actually a picture taken somewhere either in Virginia or North Carolina- I honestly can’t remember. I do remember feeling extreme envy at the amount of grass there. I live in NYC. My backyard doesn’t look ANYTHING like this :)

The roads twist through the Outer Banks, and sometimes you’re the only one driving there. It’s a wonderful place to hear yourself think.

There are lots of other pictures taken at that trip- including many at 7-Eleven, because 7-Eleven is basically one of the most magical places ever. The friendliness of Grandma Evelyn’s café is partially based on the lovely people at one of the 7-Elevens we ended up visiting a bunch of times, because, coffee. Writing HEART BREATHS was basically me scrolling through my pictures and pining for the Outer Banks again, which was fun, except I haven’t been back since. Maybe one day soon… *dreams*
And of course, it wouldn’t be one of my books if I didn’t have a Pinterest page where I wasted lots of time on :) http://www.pinterest.com/kkhendin/heart-breaths/

And looking through all these pictures has me pining again... Group road trip to OBX? Excellent :)

About the author:
KK Hendin's real life ambition is to become a pink fluffy unicorn who dances with rainbows. But the schooling for that is all sorts of complicated, so until that gets sorted out, she'll just write. Preferably things with angst and love. And things that require chocolate.
She spends way too much time on Twitter, and rambles on occasion over at kkhendinwrites.blogspot.com.

Where to find K.K.:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

GIVEAWAY:

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