The Temptation of Lila and Ethan by Jessica Sorensen ~ Launch Day Blitz

Excerpt:

“Why is this bothering you so much?”
“It’s not,” she snaps, turning her back to me. “I was just wondering why. That’s all.”
I stare at the back of her head as she rests her chin on her knees, staring out at the desert land. “It seems like you’re bothered,” I point out.
Her shoulders lift and descend as she shrugs. “If you leave, then I’ll be alone.” She mutters it so quietly I can barely hear her.
I’m silent for a while, unsure what to say or if there’s anything I can say—want to say. “You can come with me.” It slips out and I want to smack myself on the head. Taking her with me would defeat the purpose of escaping the noise and people, yet at the same time I know I’d miss her if I left her behind.
She glances over her shoulder with skepticism on her face. “Could you imagine me living in your truck, because I sure as heck can’t.”
“Why not?” Again, what the hell is wrong with my mouth? Why can’t I just let it go? She’s giving me such an easy out to a huge commitment I shouldn't be taking.
“Because.”

“That’s the silliest reason I’ve ever heard.”
“Because I don’t understand why anyone would want to take off from a city where you have everything at hand and live in a truck where you have nothing but a backseat. It’s pretty much like being homeless.”
I kneel behind her, inching close to her, then hesitantly place my hand on her shoulder. “Shut your eyes.”
She leans away, like I’m scaring her. “Why? ”
“Because I’m going to prove what’s so awesome about my idea.” I wait for her to do what I ask and she stubbornly drags it on for longer than necessary, then finally surrenders and turns around.
“Fine.” Her voice softens a little. “Show me what’s so great about a backseat.”
“There’s a lot of great things about a backseat,” I joke in a low voice, and then dip my lips toward her ear and whisper, “Now shut your eyes.”
I expect her to argue, but she very willingly obeys, shutting her eyes the second I utter the words. I shut mine, too, but only because being so close to her, breathing in her scent, feeling the warmth emitting from her body is driving my body into a frenzy.
“Now picture nothing but mountains,” I say softly, picturing it myself. “No city. No noise. No crazy-ass parents who act like children and treat their children like shit. No nothing. Just the quiet.”
“It seems like an awfully lonely place, if you ask me,” she tells me. “Just me and the dirt and the quiet. Although I wouldn’t mind the being without the parents part.”
“You wouldn’t be completely alone.” I sweep her head to the side and rest my chin on her shoulder. “You’d be with me.”
She pauses for an eternity and her breathing is ragged. Or maybe it’s mine. “What would we do at this mountain place together?” she says.
“Anything we wanted.”
“Hike?” There’s disdain in her voice.
“Maybe,” I say. “Or maybe we’d just sit and enjoy each other’s company in the quiet.” She shifts her weight and situates her hands underneath her legs, leaning back against my chest. “That kind of sounds nice.” “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
As strange as it is, and as much of a pain in the ass as Lila can be, I can actually picture us sitting together up on the mountains in the noiselessness, living in my truck, driving anywhere and everywhere. Together. And the comfort in the idea is kind of frightening because it means I’m thinking about our future. Together. Shit.

I think about moving away from her, putting a little space between us because obviously I’m heading down a road I shouldn’t be headed down. The dream of living on the road has always been one I’d planned to live out alone and now suddenly I’m telling Lila she should come with me. God knows what would happen between us if we lived in a truck with one another. We’d either grow really close or end up hating each other. Or maybe both. But I can’t bring myself to move and break the peaceful moment. So instead I sit down and wrap my legs and arms around her and we just sit there in the sun, enjoying each other in the quiet.

THE TEMPTATION OF LILA AND ETHAN by Jessica Sorensen (May 6, 2014; Forever Trade Paperback; $12.00)

On the surface, Lila Summers is flawless: good looks, expensive clothes, and a big, beautiful smile. But a dark past and even darker secrets are threatening to bubble over her perfect façade. She'll do anything to keep the emptiness inside hidden—which leads her into situations that always end badly. Whenever she hits bottom, there's only one person who's there to pull her out: Ethan Gregory.

Ethan set the rules a long time ago: he and Lila are just friends. He doesn't do relationships. Although his tattooed, bad boy exterior is a far cry from Lila's pretty princess image, Ethan can't deny they have a deeper connection than he's used to. If he's not careful, he could be in serious danger of becoming attached-and he's learned the hard way that attachment only leads to heartbreak.

When Lila falls farther than she ever has before, can Ethan continue to help as a friend? Or is he also getting close to falling . . . for her?

About Jessica Sorensen:
Jessica Sorensen is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives with her husband and three kids in Idaho. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

Social Media Links:
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Review: The Redemption of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Publish Date: July 30, 2013
Trade Paperback {p.375}
Genre: New Adult
Series:  The Coincidence #2
Source: Personal Library
Callie Lawrence, Kayden Owens

The dark secret Kayden has kept hidden for years is out. Worse, he's facing charges for battery. The only way he stands a chance against the charges is if Callie speaks up, something he'll never ask her to do.

Callie knows Kayden is going back to his dark place and desperately wants to save him. But saving him means admitting her secrets aloud. Callie and Kayden are stronger than they think, especially when they're together. Together they move forward, face their demons, and finally start to heal from their traumatic pasts.

I didn't enjoy The Redemption as much as I enjoyed The Coincidence. For one, The Redemption seemed to drag on and on about nothing until the last four to five chapters where it was rushed to wrap it all up. I just kept wanting the author to get to the secret reveal, and when she did, it fell kind of flat for me. I did suspect that her dad would be the one she would go to about it because her mother and brother were both too far up the enemy's a** in this book and the previous one.

Also, I didn't like Seth so much in this one. In The Coincidence he was among my favorites of the supporting characters, but this time he just seemed way too pushy for me. Luke was still his strange self, but he grew on me more in this installment.

Kayden started to irritate me a bit with the back forth he was doing with Callie. One minute he was all over her and the next he just wanted them to be friends. I just wanted him to pick a side and stick.

I just started losing interest in them and their situations. Nothing was being resolved and no one was paying for their acts. Nothing just stood out and made this a fantastic read for me. I will most likely continue forward with Luke's story at some point, but I'm in no big rush to do so.

Review: The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Publish Date: December 13, 2012
Trade Paperback {p.353}
Genre: New Adult
Series:  The Coincidence #1
Source: Personal Library
Callie Lawrence, Kayden Owens

For Kayden, suffering in silence was the only way to survive. If he was lucky, he could keep his head down, do as he was told, and make it through the day. But one night it seemed like his luck-and his life-might finally end... until an angel named Callie appeared just in time to rescue him.

Callie has never believed in luck. Not since her twelfth birthday when everything was taken from her. After the worst was over, she locked up her feelings and vowed never to tell anyone what happened. Now, six years later, she continues to struggle with the painful secret that threatens to consume her.

When fate lands Kayden and Callie at the same college, Kayden is determined to get to know the beautiful girl who changed his destiny. Quiet and reserved, Callie still fears letting anyone else into her world. But Kayden is certain that Callie has come back into his life for a reason. And the more he tries to be a part of her life, the more he realizes that, this time, it's Callie who needs to be saved...

Callie's dark secret was something that I quickly figured out and the cause of it. I spent a lot of the book upset with her family, but mostly her mother and brother. And when Kayden enters the picture, of course his secret is also immediately made aware during the circumstance in which they truly meet.

Both of them are well written, dark characters. At times there were some scenes of Callie alone that were pretty tough to handle, that I found myself wanting to skip them. I so wanted her to overcome this aspect of her secret.

The supporting characters, Seth and Luke, were great as well. Although I spent most of the book feeling as though Seth was the only one without major issues. But reading the story, you know that he does indeed have his own problems but I guess he was the most together of all of them. Or he was hiding his very well.

Kayden I absolutely adored. He too had issues I hoped he'd overcome. I just wanted him to stand up for himself and take his life back. Callie seemed to give him reason to just that.

This was not my typical read in the fact that it was more dark than I'm used to. With that said, I do want to continue with the next installment to see becomes of these two. I want both Callie and Kayden's dark secrets to be exposed in an effort to provide them with healing. I want Callie's mom to pull her head out of the sand and realize that bad things happen and by not watching the nightly news doesn't change that fact. And for her brother to stop blaming Callie for her behavior and her mother's ways of handling Callie's behavior.

Nova and Quinton: No Regrets by Jessica Sorensen ~ Release Week Blitz

Excerpt:

Prologue

Nova

December 28, the day of the funeral

It’s a strange feeling, getting ready to watch someone get put under the ground into their final resting place. I’ve been to enough funerals to know that my senses always become hyper-aware of everything going on around me: the touch of the wind seems stronger, the sun a little more blinding, the smell of the leaves, grass, and fresh dirt overpowering. It’s like my mind is reaching out and trying to grasp each aspect of the moment, when part of me wants nothing more than to forget.

I’m actually at the church earlier than I’m supposed to be and I don’t even know why, other than that sitting home for a second longer just didn’t seem possible. So I left the house without telling anyone and got in my cherry-red Chevy Nova, the car my dad left to me when he died, and drove it to the church where my dad’s and Landon’s funeral took place. And in just a bit, I’ll say good-bye to another person I once knew and will never see again.

Now that I’m here, staring at the brick building with a white tower pointing to the sky, I’m not sure what I should do. I’m three hours early to a funeral, which might say a lot about me. A lot of people would likely show up late, wanting to avoid death for as long as possible, but I’ve become so familiar with it it’s unsettling.

After sitting in the car for about ten minutes, watching snowflakes fall from the sky and frost the grass and the windshield, I decide to take video instead. I didn’t bring the fancy camera my mom gave me, but the one on my phone works and honestly I use that one a lot more because it’s handy for sporadic recording, which seems to be my specialty.

I blow out a deep breath as I sit back in the seat, aim the camera at myself, and hit record. I have the screen flipped to me and my image immediately pops up. I look tired. The bags under my eyes are pretty obvious, even though I’ve tried to cover them up with makeup, and my brown hair wasn’t being cooperative so I ended up pulling it up into a ponytail. I’m wearing a black dress and earrings and the contrast with my fair skin makes me look pallid.

“It’s amazing how everything can seem so perfect one moment and then suddenly it’s not. How quickly perfection can evaporate… how rare it is.” I pause, gathering my thoughts. “I’ve seen a lot of death. More than the normal person, probably. I watched my father’s life vanish in front of me within minutes. Found my boyfriend’s body right after he took his own life. Too early. Too suddenly. Both of them. I never had time to prepare myself and I thought it was the worst feeling in the world. I always wondered how different it would be, if it ever happened again. If maybe the third or fourth time around, I wouldn’t hurt so badly. If it’d be easier letting someone go now that I’ve had so much practice.” I tuck a fallen strand of my bangs behind my ear and swallow the lump in my throat. “And maybe it has gotten easier… but it still hurts. I still shed tears… it’s still agonizing… painful…” I trail off as a few tears slip from my eyes and roll down my cheeks. “Even now, just thinking about some of the stuff I saw… I should have stopped it… should have done things differently…” I trail off, staring at the window. “But I didn’t… and now they’re gone forever.”

NOVA AND QUINTON: NO REGRETS by Jessica Sorensen (April 15, 2014; Forever E-Book; $4.99)

Today is the first day of Quinton Carter's new life. The toxic guilt of his past left him in pieces-but one girl unexpectedly put him back together. Thanks to Nova Reed, Quinton can finally see the world with clear eyes. She's the reason his heart is still kicking behind the jagged scar on his chest. And he would love to have her in his arms every minute of the day . . . but he's not ready yet.

Playing drums in a band and living with her best friends are just some of the highlights of Nova's life. But the best new development? Talking to Quinton on the phone each night. She wishes she could touch him, kiss him, though she knows he needs time to heal. Yet shocking news is on the way-a reminder of life's dark side-and Nova will need Quinton like he once needed her. Is he strong enough to take the final leap out of his broken past . . . and into Nova's heart?

About Jessica Sorensen:
Jessica Sorensen is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives with her husband and three kids in Idaho. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

Social Media Links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Buy Links:
Amazon
B&N
iTunes

Rafflecopter Giveaway: 
Because music plays such an important part in the Nova series, and all of Jessica's books, we're offering a $25 iTunes gift card plus a collection of Jessica's print titles with signed bookplates: THE SECRET OF ELLA AND MICHA, THE TEMPTATION OF LILA AND ETHAN, THE COINCIDENCE OF CALLIE AND KAYDEN, THE REDEMPTION OF CALLIE AND KAYDEN, and NOVA AND QUINTON: NO REGRETS. The mini grand prize winner will receive a $25 iTunes gift card and a special print copy of NOVA AND QUINTON: NO REGRETS, and an additional 10 winners will receive a special print copy of NOVA AND QUINTON: NO REGRETS.

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