Hello dear readers! Today there is a great giveaway as a part of the tour! Don't forget to hit each blog each day for extra entries by searching for the bold term and entering it in the rafflecopter! Here is the link to all the blogs on the scavenger hunt: http://wp.me/p2u7Qf-mo
*Note: My word will NOT be in a title or a header as those are already bolded. This will be a word in either the review or the extras. Happy Hunting! If you are having trouble finding the word email me and I will give you a hint!
Love Exactly
(Sticks & Stones Series)
by Cassandra Giovanni
Published: June 20, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Format Reviewed: eBook ARC from author
*Mild sexual content
Book Blurb:
Emma Walker was a writer who'd lost herself to someone else's anger--who had given up on ever feeling like herself again.
Evan Levesque was a rock-god--the one all the woman wanted, but he'd never gotten used to the loneliness between the stage and real life.
With just one cup of coffee they'll begin a journey of self-discovery at each others sides, but can Emma handle Evan's fame while dealing with her own demons?
Emma's checkered personal past, a bad relationship that haunts the edges of her memories, threatens to make everything implode on them when Evan takes matters into his own hands.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they'll destroy my soul--Can Emma handle being put back together and facing who she's become because of it?eBooks:Paperbacks:
Emma is a normal girl working as a journalist, living under her parent's house in a basement apartment, but has a past that haunts her every day. When she was a junior in high school, her boyfriend abused her - both physically and emotionally. Though the bruises may have healed, the words, the taunts, the scars that are seared into the mind and soul have yet to heal. And after five years of living in a shell of a body that neither she nor her parent recognize, something changes.
Evan Levesque, a rock star - no, a "Rock God" - bumps into Emma and spills her coffee. He asks her to reimburse her for the cup and takes her to a nearby coffee place and introduces her not only to a Caramel Macchiato, but to a person that may be able to help heal her soul. But he has his issues too. No one is perfect and though he may try, he has to come to terms with the fact that there are things he can't fix.
Ms. Giovanni is an exemplary writer. I knew from the very first exchanges that I was going to love Emma and Evan. Their relationship is not normal; he must go away for long periods of time to tour and record leaving little time for personal relationships. But Emma waits and they savor each and every minute they get to have together. And it is not perfect either. Evan also has a past; a bad boy with the conquests and groupies to match. And when it comes to protecting Emma he gets a little too enthusiastic with the punches. I love that the author does not gloss over the hard parts of life and love. The emotional struggles, the jealousies and the pain that comes with learning to love: To find out what is love exactly.
True to the New Adult genre, there is some sexual content, but unlike some NA books nothing is erotic or even described beyond slight inferences. I like that the author is able to portray real love and even some lust without having to become something that would be described as MA only. Love Exactly is a beautiful love story that illustrates the growth and healing of two people that were not whole until they found each other. I recommend this book to everyone who has had hurt in their lives and lived through it. I also recommend this book to those people who love a good love story with real life drama.
FTC Advisory: I was given a copy of this book from the author for an honest review. No backroom deals or whispered promises were made.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes and excerpts from Love Exactly!"Sticks andstones may break my bones, but words... they'll destroy my soul.""If this was all I ever got from him--if this was the only moment I would ever have with him--I would memorize it.""Bruises fade, but the words... they continue to sting long after their mark has left. Sometimes the words creep in and they are so much worse than the memories of the fists. I could battle through that physical pain - I could even fight back, but the words... those are what decimated me.""I try to memorize every song you sing me... but now I don't think I can. There's too many of them.""I was quiet as I thought back to what happened over five years ago. It had been so long ago, but I'd blocked it out so well I could barely see past the vapors of pain that remained. I liked it that way, but I felt the fear building that with one misstep I could have all those memories back; that those demons would begin to haunt me again. I'd never dealt with them, and I knew demons unexorcized would always remain."
Cassandra doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. In 2012 she became a published Young Adult author, releasing In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1) and Walking in the Shadows. In 2013 she branched out by using her artistic illustrating talents to publish her first Children's novel, The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tales of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1). Cassandra will also release her first New Adult novel, Just One Cup, in the Spring of 2013.
Cassandra is a freelance professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is the owner of Gio Design Studios, a photography and publication marketing company that designs covers and marketing materials for authors utilizing the company's photography. She is currently studying to receive her associates degree in Marketing. Cassandra is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with the other loves of her life their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.
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