Posts Tagged Abuse
RELEASE BLITZ! SKIN DEEP by PAMELA SPARKMAN
Posted by The Literary Melting Pot in Book News, Reviews on July 20, 2015
Title: Skin Deep
Author: Pamela Sparkman
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 20, 2015
Cover Designer: Sarah Hansen with Okay Creations
Cover
Synopsis
She hates me.
I’m in love with her.
Her life is a masquerade.
Mine is cloaked in secrets.
She thinks I can’t see her.
But she’s the only thing I can see.
he thinks we have nothing in common.
We have everything in common.
And I’m done being patient.
I’m determined.
She’s stubborn.
You think you know us.
You don’t.
The things you know about us are only Skin Deep.
*Warning – This book contains instances of self harm in the form of an eating disorder and may be a trigger to some readers.*
Teasers
Excerpt
Beth had been good at pretending to be this happy carefree girl – bubbly and energetic. Looking at her now, I saw a girl who was anything but carefree. She obviously had demons that haunted her, and I knew from experience that fighting certain demons can be almost impossible.
I listened through the door, making sure Lily had gone. “This isn’t over. Me keeping your secret from Lily is not a sign I’m letting this go. It’s a sign that I’m going to be a thorn in your side until you let me help you.”
Beth prickled at my comment and unfurled herself from the protective ball she had curled into. “I don’t need your help!”
“Yes, you do.” I took another step towards her. Beth took a step back. “And the way I see it, you don’t have much of a choice.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you want Lily to know what you’ve been doing?”
Beth’s eyes pooled with unshed tears. She looked hurt by my words. “Please don’t tell Lily,” she pleaded in a whisper.
“I’ll tell her everything unless you let me help you.” The look of fear and disbelief on Beth’s face made me feel like a total jackass.
Her expression changed again. She glowered at me like she wanted to set me on fire. “I hate you so much right now.”
Her words, she meant them. And hearing her tell me she hated me… it hurt, because somewhere along the way I had fallen in love with her.
“I know you do. But I’d rather you hate me for the right reasons, than like me for the wrong ones. I guess we’ll both have to figure out how to fucking live with that.”
Review
I cried, I laughed, and I swooned!
This is not your average romance novel; it’s a thought-provoking, tear jerking, and profoundly emotional love story. Family values, love in its most rare form, and friendship are the core values Sparkman has exemplified with perfection.
The narration alternates between Hayden and Beth with acute precision, making the complexity of the story line flow naturally. Sparkman’s writing style made me ache for our hero and heroine as the intimate details of their lives unfolded. Their story is never rushed, which made the relationship more genuine, and completely addictive. Serious issues are dealt with tastefully, and the supporting characters make this novel complete.
I fell in love with this story almost immediately, and I highly recommend it to any lover of romance!
Purchase Links
Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | KOBO | iTunes
About This Literary Chef
I grew up in Alabama and have always been an avid reader. I had a stack of those Little Golden Books and I can remember reading Three Little Kittens over and over and over again. It was my favorite.
Fast forward and the older I got the more in love with books I became. So, I’m admitting that I am a huge nerd. The only reading I don’t like are those math word problems. And I’m okay with that because no one has ever asked me in real life… “If I give you two bananas and take away six apples, how long will it take the southbound train to collide with the northbound train if Johnny left his house at midnight?” It just doesn’t happen.
So, yeah, books are my thing.
Oh and music. All kinds. Love.It.
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BLOG TOUR STOP! Dark Incidence by A.G. Liam
Posted by The Literary Melting Pot in Book News, Reviews on April 17, 2014
Dani is determined to change. Trodden down by her abusive stepdad, neglectful mother, and nonexistent social life, Dani decides to leave it all behind—she flees into the night and finds herself in a dark, and strangely wondrous, new world. A world unknown to most humans.
However, destiny is an unpredictable force. Through a peculiar turn of events, she unknowingly gets entangled in a brutal war waging between two factions of vampires.
The Ruemisuds are a technologically advanced, elite vampire society that wants absolute control. They will stop at nothing to get it, including experimenting on unsuspecting humans and decimating the Rhowels, a clandestine, rebel clan of vampires. This clan possesses a key to survival that the Ruemisuds desperately want, and they will protect it until the bitter end.
Dani’s riveting journey has just begun in this beautiful tale of love, hate, betrayal, and, above all, survival. The war is escalating quickly and Dani is determined to survive. Who will help her? Who will win the war?
There were several distinctions that made this novel a very unique and enjoyable read.
I must first warn that this story is not for the timid, as there are quite a few gory scenes which involve abuse, suffering, torment, and blood, blood, blood! I loved it! The author depicts everything with a great amount of skill.
I was completely captivated by this story from the start. The change in narration kept the pace steady, and each was easy to follow. The characters are easily relatable, the story line gripping, and the romance is sizzling! While the Rhowels are talked about, we learn more about the Ruemisuds in this installment. The basis of war is explained, but I was left yearning for more.
With a heartbreaking tale that pulls you in, I can’t wait for the continuation!
A.G. grew up in a gloomy and quaint suburb near London, England, and now lives in sunny southern California with her family. She has been an avid horror and paranormal fan since she can remember, reading Goosebumps when she was a child, to watching twilight zone as a teenager with her grandpa.
She earned her B.A. in psychology, but decided to follow her passion of storytelling instead. Dark Incidence is her first full length novel, a unique vampire science fiction told through the eyes of two siblings. A.G. also has directed numerous shorts and written children’s books.
Her favorite pastime is watching paranormal and horror movies, painting landscapes and seascapes, and reading fiction novels. She can never turn down an invite to eat something home cooked.
April 14
Angie’s Reading Dungeon | Orchard Rook Club
April 15
Paranormal Romance and Authors that Rock | Deal Sharing Aunt | Trinas Tantilising Tidbits
April 16
Anny Books | Paranormal Tendencies | Penny For Them…
April 17
The Literary Melting Pot | WiLoveBooks | My Life, Loves and Passion
April 18
Book Worms | Island Lovelies Book Club | Dowie’s Place | Twin Opinions
BLOG TOUR STOP AND GIVEAWAY!!
Posted by The Literary Melting Pot in Reviews, YA Fiction on February 27, 2014
If you never speak of the past, can it be erased?
Lacey Edwards has a past.
A past which changed her life forever.
A past she is desperate to forget.
Lacey is quiet and reserved compared to her best friend Becca Fox. They became instant friends when Lacey moved to Maryland nine years ago. Becca helped pull Lacey out of her internal shell to experience life. By high school, Lacey was active in the club scene and would occasionally have to drag Becca with her. One night, Lacey realized she might be able to run from her past with the help of Becca and one steamy Caine Rogers.
Lacey didn’t know, until it was too late, how feelings, honesty, heartbreak and life altering events can change a person. Lacey has Becca’s support but will that be enough?
Will Lacey sacrifice her own happiness to do what is expected?
***WARNING***
Appropriate for readers 16 years and up. This novel contains heavy life issues that some might find offensive.
AMAZON / AMAZON CA / AMAZON UK
BARNES & NOBLE / SMASHWORDS / KOBO
If the decisions you make don’t define you, what price would you pay to change them?
“Close your eyes. This is the darkness I see, I feel, I live because of my choices.”
I spent my life running. Running from my past. A past that changed my life, robbed me of my childhood, and bound me for a life of silence. Silence protected me from further hurt. When I couldn’t control my life, I found reprieve in my silence. Dark, cold silence. I’m trapped, trying to find my way out, trying to make a stand, trying to finally live; but is it too late?
Lacey Edwards fought emotional turmoil most of her life. She made choices that unknowingly put her through more painstaking heartache. She found bits and pieces of happiness in all the wrong areas except for one. This one gave her hope for a fresh new life full of promises. Could she hold onto it, or would it slip through her fingertips?
***Warning*** Young Adult Edition. Appropriate for audiences 16 years and above. This novel contains heavy life and social issues that some might find difficult or offensive.
AMAZON / AMAZON CA / AMAZON UK / BARNES & NOBLE
Review
While I will make sure to submit separate reviews for these novels elsewhere, I felt entirely too in tuned with them to do so here.
L.U. Ann has touched on an incredibly sensitive subject with the integrity and skill of a master. In order to be a master in this case, however, you must first be subservient. My heart ached for Lacey as each novel shed light on her dark and troubled story. Her family and friends play a significant part to this heroine’s victories, but her determination is from pure grit, which reflects a beautiful ray of hope. There’s a great deal of emotion in this novel, which tends to lead our beautiful girl astray at times, but the realism makes it so hard to put down!
I must thank the author for beginning each novel with such an endearing note for our young men and women, and for giving information where those in need can find support; it’s beautiful. This is an incredibly touching series that will make you laugh, cry, and completely livid! A definite must read!
FACEBOOK / GOODREADS / AMAZON / WEBSITE
TWITTER /PINTEREST / INSTAGRAM / TUMBLR
Author L.U. Ann moved to Colorado from the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her husband and two children. Life in Colorado is so much different. In Maryland, you would find her in the garden tending to her vegetables and flowers, sea glass and shark tooth hunting once a week, and enjoying the kids swimming in the backyard. Her life took a drastic change when her family moved to their own “Little House on the Prairie” at an elevation of over 6,000 feet above sea level, and a semi-arid climate that makes it hard to grow anything. While barely anything can grow where she resides now, the wildlife makes up for it. Mountain Lions, and coyotes, and rattlesnakes, oh my!
She tries to spend a little time each day writing, but domestic chores around the house usually take precedence. She would much rather hide them from her husband. She tends to her loving four-legged children who at times become much too demanding when she locks herself in the office. This often results in MORE domestic work, and she finds herself cleaning up after their deviant behavior.
At night, you’ll find her begging the kids to go to bed so that she can catch up on the latest book before her sister can. Yes, she is an avid reader who escapes her chaotic but wonderful home to the feisty depths of romance land in search of her newest book boyfriend. Shh, don’t tell her husband!
She is an artist by the grace of God. She worked as a set designer for six years, helping establish a local children’s theatre where she was the scenery artist, set, and prop designer. Before that, you would find her covered in paint, so engrossed in painting a mural that time didn’t exist. Graphic design is her guilty pleasure.
Special Note From L.U. Ann
I created this Young Adult Edition to reach a wider audience. Lacey is nineteen years old and finishing high school. The issues she faces are the very issues a teenager could be facing right now, some possibly even younger.
This series deals with heavy life issues. Issues that are real. It may not be for everyone, but it’s a reality for so many. I hope you take some valuable information away from reading A Destructive Novel series. If anything, please read the resources found in the back of each book.
Thank you for the opportunity to tell Lacey’s story. My story.
L.U. Ann
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