Blog Tour- A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers

Order A Little Too Far from: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, iTunes, Kobo, and The Book Depository or just add it on Goodreads!

Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.

But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

My god, this book was sexy and steamy!! If you thought Desrochers' YA trilogy was steamy, this is way more so. Both guys in the book are very hot, and Desrochers does a fantastic job with the sex scenes. They're just the right amount of titillating without it being too graphic. At least, for me, but I read and write much more graphic sex scenes, so maybe my judgment is a bit skewed, lol.

Lexie is a good main character, though perhaps a bit whiny and indecisive at times. I did really enjoy her knowledge and insights into the art world, and it made for a fun side plot that not only brought her and Alessandro closer together, but also really gave her character more depth.

Personally, I didn't find her having sex with her step-brother weird at all (I mean, he's hot and they're not really related), but I'm sure some people might find it icky or wrong so that may deter you from reading and enjoying. But I'm really excited to read more in this series and follow these characters along; they're great fun.

Overall, a great, promising start to what I'm sure will be a very steamy, fun series.


and I have an interview with Lisa:

1) Your Personal Demons trilogy was pretty steamy, so was there much difference between writing that and this upcoming New Adult series?

The A Little Too Far series is steamier. New Adult is not just sexed up YA, as some people seem to think. It does, however, deal with some of the same self-discovery issues. But because it’s geared toward adults, there is no fade to black. Where sex is integral to the story or character arc, it’s pretty much spelled out. So, where it was often a struggle for me to work within the parameters of YA sensibilities, now I don’t have to worry about that.


2) What are you currently working on? Can you tell us anything about it? Will you be writing more YA in the future?

My deadline schedule for the A Little Too Far series has been pretty tight, so my focus has been there this year, but I will definitely write more YA. I actually wrote a YA I really love back in December, and in the two weeks it was out with my critique partner, I wrote A LITTLE TOO FAR. ALTF sold in March, so things got a little crazy and I haven’t had a chance to get back to the new YA. It’s a story that was inspired by some real life things that happened here in my little town. A LITTLE TOO MUCH (book two in the ALTF series), releases on Nov 12th. The protag in that one is probably the most complex character I’ve ever written, and it’s much darker than ALTF. And I just finished book three in the A Little Too Far series, which is titled A LITTLE TOO HOT and releases on Jan 21st. They are companion novels to A LITTLE TOO FAR, but they all stand alone.


3) Since I've already asked your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor, what's your favorite snack to have while writing, or as a reward for writing?

Albanese green apple gummi butterflies. (Confession: I bought 15 pounds of gummi butterflies for A LITTLE TOO MUCH promotional swag, and ate all of them while I was writing the book.) #truefax


4) What book(s) are you currently reading, or are about to start?

I have been in the middle of Easy by Tammara Webber for over a month because I was on deadline for A LITTLE TOO HOT and didn’t have time to finish it. I really like it so far and I’m hoping to finish soon =)


Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 2013, and the first companion, A LITTLE TOO MUCH , in Nov 2013. Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

You can find Lisa on her website, Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads!


Lisa is hosting a tour wide giveaway - Prizes include an iPod Mini, pendant, tote bags, temporary tattoos, and annotated chapters of A Little Too Far!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sad News

So if you've been on Twitter anytime in the last two weeks or so (and you follow me), you may have seen some of my tweets about something not so fun going on in my life. I've been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, though they still are not exactly sure what specifically it is that I have. I'm in the middle of going through a bunch of testing to figure it out. I'll hopefully know for sure next Friday, Oct 4 when I see my doctor again for results. But one thing is for sure: I will need chemotherapy. They just need to figure out how much and for how long.

I am pretty scared regarding what's coming up in the next few months, but I've already gotten a bunch of support on Twitter from the YA community and from my friends and co-workers that really boosts my spirit. I am very positive about this whole thing, and it is a very treatable cancer, so there's nothing too bad going on (i.e. I'm like 99% sure I won't die).

I will keep all of you posted on my Facebook (personal one, if you're friends with me) and Twitter as I go through this. If any of you can help, I've added a Paypal donation button if you want to help out with my mounting medical bills, other bills and getting the new Cher and Lady Gaga CDs.

No one probably cares about this blog after that news, but I have a bunch of scheduled posts through the beginning of December, with more being added before chemo even starts so you'll still get to read reviews and maybe an interview here and there.

If there are any questions, leave them in the comments and I'll get around to them when I can. Hopefully over the next few days.

Blog Tour- Just Between Us by J.H. Trumble

Title: JUST BETWEEN US
Author: J.H. Trumble
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
Pages: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Find it: B&N | INDIEBOUND | Amazon
| Goodreads
Genre: Fiction | Romance | Contemporary

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Luke Chesser is trying to forget his spectacular failure of a love life. He practices marching band moves for hours in the hot Texas sun, deals with his disapproving father, and slyly checks out the new band field tech, Curtis Cameron. Before long, Luke is falling harder than he knew he could. And, this time, he intends to play it right.

Since testing positive for HIV, Curtis has careened between numbness and fear. Too ashamed to tell anyone, Curtis cannot possibly act on his feelings. And, Luke—impulsive, funny, and more tempting than he realizes—won’t take a hint. Even when Curtis distances himself it backfires, leaving him with no idea how to protect Luke from the truth.

Confronting a sensitive topic with candor and aplomb, acclaimed author J. H. Trumble renders a modern love story as sweet, sharp, and messy as the real thing, where easy answers are elusive, and sometimes the only impossible thing is to walk away.

I absolutely loved Trumble's debut (and I have a blurb from that review listed in this book and her previous one, Where You Are, under GuysLitWire) and was excited to be a part of this blog tour so I could fit reading this into my schedule. So many books, so little time! I still haven't gotten around to reading her second book, Where You Are.

To start off, I'd like to say that if you haven't read any of Trumble's books yet, read them in order. They're all separate stories, but there are characters that make appearances in each book. One of her guest blogs on this tour mentions each of the gay characters in each book. I'd completely forgotten that both Luke and Curtis, the main characters of this book, make an appearance in Don't Let Me Go (and in Where You Are). Then there was the inclusion of Robert, who had his own story in Where You Are, and it just makes me want to re-read her debut and read the second book to see all these connections.

Anyway, this was another wonderful story from Trumble, tackling the HIV issue so gracefully. I'm dealing with my own medical issues currently (not HIV) and reading Curtis' chapters after getting his prognosis felt extremely similar to how I currently feel about my diagnosis. It really affected me in a big way, and his reaction is so realistic and the reader really feels for him. Luke was also a wonderful character and it's nice to learn more about him and the way his mind works in this book.

Trumble just has such a way with character interactions. They're so believable and there's so many different relationships going on, as there's a lot of characters and they're all talking to each other. She makes each character believable and a fully realized individual. I particularly liked Luke's little brother Matt, Curtis' twin sister Corinne, and Curtis' roommate Jaleel (who wasn't around too much, but I liked their scenes together).

Overall, just another awesome book from Trumble. I'm even more excited to read Where You Are now, and am looking forward to more books from her. It's great to see an author writing these wonderful, poignant gay romance novels. Fan for life here!

Find J.H. Trumble:
Facebook | Website | Twitter | Goodreads
J.H. Trumble is a Texas native and graduate of Sam Houston State University. You can visit the author online at http://www.jhtrumble.com as well as on Facebook and Twitter.


Also, along with the Rafflecopter contest below, each blog on the tour is giving away a copy of Just Between Us to a lucky commenter! US residents only. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Monday, Sept 30 at 9pm and you'll be entered! Good luck to all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Amazon link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartzler

Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartzler
"Aaron Hartzler grew up in a home where he was taught that at any moment Jesus might come down in the twinkling of an eye, and scoop his whole family up to Heaven. As a kid, Aaron was thrilled by the idea that each day might be his last one on planet Earth. He couldn't wait to blastoff and join Jesus in the sky!

But as he turns sixteen, Aaron finds himself more and more attached to his life on Earth, and curious about all the things his family forsakes for the Lord. He begins to realize he doesn't want the Rapture to happen, just yet; not before he sees his first movie, stars in the school play, or has his first kiss. Before long, Aaron makes the plunge from conflicted do-gooder to full-fledged teen rebel.

Whether he's sneaking out, making out, or at the piano playing hymns with a hangover, Aaron learns a few lessons that can't be found in the Bible. He discovers the best friends aren't always the ones your mom and dad approve of, and the tricky part about believing is that no one can do it for you.

In this funny and heartfelt coming of age memoir, debut author Aaron Hartzler recalls his teenage journey to find the person he is without losing the family who loves him. It's a story about losing your faith, finding your place, and learning your very own truth--which is always stranger than fiction."-summary from Amazon

This book is a little different from what I normally review, as it's a Young Adult memoir, but the synopsis really pulled me in. I'm fascinated by this particular brand of religion, so it was interesting to read someone's account of it who was now an adult and away from that belief system.

Hartzler did a wonderful job talking about his childhood and fleshing it out. I mean, the whole book is just about his childhood and teen years, so there's a LOT there. He also does a good job of making these people fully fleshed out when it could be so easy to just focus on the "fire and brimstone" aspect and make them hate-filled and evil with no redeeming values. He talks about the good times and the bad times, showing that these people were just caring for him in the way they thought was right. There's no judgment necessarily in the way Hartzler writes, and that makes the book better. I don't think I could write that balanced.

It hurt me reading about how his parents treated him for doing minor things or for not doing anything at all (like seeing a movie, or buying a music CD). I felt terrible, and I know that people treat their children like this out in the world and it really saddens me. How anyone can treat their child like this is beyond me. How some "Christians" act and interpret the Bible is unbelievable and, in my opinion, is very close to emotional and psychological abuse. That may be taking it a bit too far, but that's how I feel. I don't want to get into a huge rant so I'll just stop here (on this point; the review goes on).

I was a bit disappointed on the lack of gay stuff. In the summary, Hartzler promises kissing and there's barely any! Not until like the very end, and it's not exactly what I was expecting. That was sad for me. I thought the "growing up gay in that environment" aspect would have more of a role in the book, but it wasn't so. Not to say that the book is bad, but it was something I was disappointed about because I was interested mostly in that.

Regardless, Hartzler's book is very worthwhile and I do highly recommend it.


FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Exile by Rebecca Lim

Exile by Rebecca Lim
"Mercy is an angel in exile and is doomed to return repeatedly to Earth, taking on a new human form each time she does. Now she "wakes" as unhappy teen Lela, a girl caring for her dying mother but never herself.

As Mercy's shattered memory begins to return, she remembers Ryan, the boy she fell in love with in another life, and Luc, the angel haunting her dreams. Will Mercy risk Lela's life to be reunited with her heart's true desire?"- summary from Amazon

I read the first book Mercy two years ago (even though the whole quartet finished overseas in 2012, it still took two years for Hyperion to release the second book) and so was a bit wary about going into this sequel. I barely remembered anything from the first book, except that it was similar in concept to Every Day by David Levithan but with a bit more magic and backstory involved. So it took me a while to get into it and get caught back up into the storyline.

Mercy was a bit of an okay read for me- it wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good either. It intrigued me enough that when the e-galley got put up, I requested it but I came out of reading Exile feeling exactly the same way. It's an okay read, but nothing terribly special. I also felt like the story didn't have to be a quartet; it could've easily been a stand-alone. I just felt like not enough happened in either book, yet it just kept going on and on for 300 pages.

Overall, if I have the time, I'll probably continue the series (hopefully they'll release the final two books faster). It's a good read to pass the time but nothing to really go out and buy right away.

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.