New Adult
Date Published: February 2015
Tori
Albert is eighteen. Her confidence level is zero. A girl lost in the
shuffle, hiding in the shadows craving attention, but no one ever seems
to notice her. If only someone, anyone, would notice her, she’d be
happy.
Grant
Donavan is Tori’s older brother’s best friend. Suddenly he can’t stop
noticing Tori, but that is not a good thing. She’s young, inexperienced
and naïve. The best thing he could do is walk away. So why the hell is
he not walking away?
Tori’s
small boost of confidence gets torn down and she makes changes to build
it back up. But maybe her new confidence isn’t all it’s cracked up to
be. Unfortunately some things you just have to learn the hard way.
*Contains Mature Content
Date Published: February 2015
Grant Donavan is Tori’s older brother’s best friend. Suddenly he can’t stop noticing Tori, but that is not a good thing. She’s young, inexperienced and naïve. The best thing he could do is walk away. So why the hell is he not walking away?
Tori’s small boost of confidence gets torn down and she makes changes to build it back up. But maybe her new confidence isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Unfortunately some things you just have to learn the hard way.
*Contains Mature Content
Excerpt:
Prologue:
Grant
“Look
around the bar, Grant. Give us an idea of what your type is. We’ll
help hook you up with the perfect girl.” My sister’s friend,
Gabby, tossed a pretzel into her mouth, and chewed while talking.
I
scanned a few of the girls seated closest to us.
Fair
skin, red hair, casually sipping a beer and chatting with her
friends. She was pretty, but not for me. Moving
along.
Dark hair, exotic, confident, drinking a Martini. Her eyes connected
with mine and she rolled them uninterestedly. Not a problem, the
feeling was mutual. Next.
Ponytail
and glasses picking at the label on her bottle of beer. Cute, but
once again, I wasn’t interested.
“Doesn’t
look like you see anyone,” Gabby said, exchanging glances with my
sister, Julie.
I
gave another glance around the room at the pretty faces surrounding
us, but still no one held my attention. All of the girls were
attractive. Just none of them seemed to do it for me.
Not
like her.
The
dull ache forming in my chest stopped me from going down that road
again.
Crowds
and drinking were never my scene. I was eager to leave even though we
hadn’t been there very long. No matter what part of Jersey you were
in, the bars were always mobbed. I’d almost forgotten how crowded
it could get; it’d been so long since I was home. Not that Jersey
was my home anymore. We paid the tab and the three stools we vacated
were immediately snatched up in the packed bar.
As
we made our way through the hoard of people, my eyes fell on a girl
with the most unnatural looking blonde hair I’d ever seen. Platinum
locks so light her hair actually bordered on white and eyes an odd
shade of blue that just didn’t look right. Even in the poor
lighting of the bar, I could see her make-up was piled on thick. Her
jeans were tight and her blouse was low cut. The heels on her boots
were high and her boobs were…ginormous.
Way too large for her small frame. She stood in a circle of laughing
girls, but there was something familiar about the sweet sound of her
laugh that stood out.
After
passing the group of girls, I turned my head to catch one last
glimpse of the busty blonde before being tugged from the bar into the
fresh night air.
What
was it about that girl?
Did
I know her? What was on her wrist?
“No.
Way!” Julie and Gabby both stated dramatically in unison.
“No
way what?” I asked, turning to face them.
“There
is no way in hell we would ever let you go for a girl like that.”
Julie laughed, patting me on the back.
“Like
what?” I questioned, lifting my brow.
Gabby
shook her head giggling and Julie answered for both of them.
“A
desperate girl with big, fake boobs.”
Review by Tabitha
I
am normally not a huge fan of NA books, but I was told by a friend that
I really needed to read this one. I am so glad that I took that advice
because this book was really good. I loved that we get to see parts in
Tori's POV and then also in Grant's POV as well. It really puts you in
the minds of the characters and lets us see how each are feeling. Grant
being Tori's older brother's best friend is in her mind totally out of
reach for her. She sees herself as a ugly plain jane with nothing really
to offer, but nonetheless she falls for Grant. Now, Grant sees Tori,
really sees her for a beautiful and intelligent woman, but knows she is
off limits because of his BFF. I think every woman on the planet will
relate to Tori in some fashion. We all have insecurities some worse than
others. The author really brought to life what many young women
especially, but woman in generally, have felt and had to go through. I
think every woman (young, old, insecure or not) need to read this book.
The storyline was great, the plot was great. Overall, the author did a
fantastic job with writing this whole story and I really loved both main
characters. My only downfall was that while I loved getting to see into
both Tori and Grant's minds and see how they felt, I wish it was a
little more what they were thinking at the same time. As it is it jumps
from Tori graduating high school and thru college then when it changes
to Grant's POV it takes you back to the beginning only in his not hers.
And as I am typing that I am not sure that totally made sense, but once
you read it you will understand what I mean. Again, while I wish that
part was different that is only my opinion on it and I would still
recommend this book highly to others to read. This was a 4 AMAZEBALLS
stars read for me.
Excerpt:
Prologue:
Grant
“Look
around the bar, Grant. Give us an idea of what your type is. We’ll
help hook you up with the perfect girl.” My sister’s friend,
Gabby, tossed a pretzel into her mouth, and chewed while talking.
I
scanned a few of the girls seated closest to us.
Fair
skin, red hair, casually sipping a beer and chatting with her
friends. She was pretty, but not for me. Moving
along.
Dark hair, exotic, confident, drinking a Martini. Her eyes connected
with mine and she rolled them uninterestedly. Not a problem, the
feeling was mutual. Next.
Ponytail
and glasses picking at the label on her bottle of beer. Cute, but
once again, I wasn’t interested.
“Doesn’t
look like you see anyone,” Gabby said, exchanging glances with my
sister, Julie.
I
gave another glance around the room at the pretty faces surrounding
us, but still no one held my attention. All of the girls were
attractive. Just none of them seemed to do it for me.
Not
like her.
The
dull ache forming in my chest stopped me from going down that road
again.
Crowds
and drinking were never my scene. I was eager to leave even though we
hadn’t been there very long. No matter what part of Jersey you were
in, the bars were always mobbed. I’d almost forgotten how crowded
it could get; it’d been so long since I was home. Not that Jersey
was my home anymore. We paid the tab and the three stools we vacated
were immediately snatched up in the packed bar.
As
we made our way through the hoard of people, my eyes fell on a girl
with the most unnatural looking blonde hair I’d ever seen. Platinum
locks so light her hair actually bordered on white and eyes an odd
shade of blue that just didn’t look right. Even in the poor
lighting of the bar, I could see her make-up was piled on thick. Her
jeans were tight and her blouse was low cut. The heels on her boots
were high and her boobs were…ginormous.
Way too large for her small frame. She stood in a circle of laughing
girls, but there was something familiar about the sweet sound of her
laugh that stood out.
After
passing the group of girls, I turned my head to catch one last
glimpse of the busty blonde before being tugged from the bar into the
fresh night air.
What
was it about that girl?
Did
I know her? What was on her wrist?
“No.
Way!” Julie and Gabby both stated dramatically in unison.
“No
way what?” I asked, turning to face them.
“There
is no way in hell we would ever let you go for a girl like that.”
Julie laughed, patting me on the back.
“Like
what?” I questioned, lifting my brow.
Gabby
shook her head giggling and Julie answered for both of them.
“A
desperate girl with big, fake boobs.”
Review by Tabitha
I
am normally not a huge fan of NA books, but I was told by a friend that
I really needed to read this one. I am so glad that I took that advice
because this book was really good. I loved that we get to see parts in
Tori's POV and then also in Grant's POV as well. It really puts you in
the minds of the characters and lets us see how each are feeling. Grant
being Tori's older brother's best friend is in her mind totally out of
reach for her. She sees herself as a ugly plain jane with nothing really
to offer, but nonetheless she falls for Grant. Now, Grant sees Tori,
really sees her for a beautiful and intelligent woman, but knows she is
off limits because of his BFF. I think every woman on the planet will
relate to Tori in some fashion. We all have insecurities some worse than
others. The author really brought to life what many young women
especially, but woman in generally, have felt and had to go through. I
think every woman (young, old, insecure or not) need to read this book.
The storyline was great, the plot was great. Overall, the author did a
fantastic job with writing this whole story and I really loved both main
characters. My only downfall was that while I loved getting to see into
both Tori and Grant's minds and see how they felt, I wish it was a
little more what they were thinking at the same time. As it is it jumps
from Tori graduating high school and thru college then when it changes
to Grant's POV it takes you back to the beginning only in his not hers.
And as I am typing that I am not sure that totally made sense, but once
you read it you will understand what I mean. Again, while I wish that
part was different that is only my opinion on it and I would still
recommend this book highly to others to read. This was a 4 AMAZEBALLS
stars read for me.
Ryan Ringbloom
Ryan Ringbloom
Ryan Ringbloom is a YA/NA author who lives for anything
Romance. The passion, love, angst,
awkwardness… she loves all of it. When
Ryan needs a break from reality she sneaks off to read a romantic story or
write one of her own. Drinking coffee,
reading Tweets and hugs from her six year old are the best part of her day.
You can follow her on Twitter: @RyanRingbloom or visit her website
at www.RyanRingbloom.com . Feel free to contact her, she would love it!
Ryan Ringbloom is a YA/NA author who lives for anything
Romance. The passion, love, angst,
awkwardness… she loves all of it. When
Ryan needs a break from reality she sneaks off to read a romantic story or
write one of her own. Drinking coffee,
reading Tweets and hugs from her six year old are the best part of her day.
You can follow her on Twitter: @RyanRingbloom or visit her website
at www.RyanRingbloom.com . Feel free to contact her, she would love it!
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