Blog Tour + Giveaway: Promise Me This (Between Breaths #4) by Christina Lee

I am happy to be joining Christina Lee and InterMix in their blog tour for the next in the Between Breaths series, PROMISE ME THIS. Be sure to check out the giveaway InterMix is providing!

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: October 6, 2014

Publisher: InterMix

A new love will test the boundaries of passion between a privileged boy next door and the tattooed, blue-haired girl who helps him embrace his wild side...

Nate has developed quite a playboy reputation around campus. It's not that he doesn't respect or trust women; he doesn't trust himself. The men in Nate’s family are prone to abusive behavior—a dirty secret that Nate’s been running from his entire life—so Nate doesn't do relationships. But he can’t help himself around one girl…

Jessie is strong, independent, and works at a tattoo parlor. Nate can’t resist getting close to her, even if it’s strictly a friendship. But it doesn't take long for Nate to admit that what he wants with Jessie is more than just friendly.

With Jessie, he can be himself and explore what he’s always felt was a terrifying darkness inside him. Even when Nate begins to crave her in a way that both shocks and horrifies him, Jessie still wants to know every part of him. Testing their boundaries together will take a trust that could render them inseparable… or tear them apart.

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Thanks to the lovely ladies at InterMix for offering the first two books in this series in paperback for 10 lucky winners. Must have a valid US address to win.

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I’ve found that I go up and down with Christina Lee and this series, but overall, it is a very steady series. Promise Me This is the fourth in the Between Breaths series and the couple in the spotlight here are Nate and Jessie. Nate is a love ‘em and leave ‘em type. He doesn’t do relationships and he’s built quite the reputation, but he doesn’t care. As long as he doesn’t get too attached he can’t hurt anyone and if he never hurts anyone, he’ll never become his father. So when he realizes he has certain feelings for his friend Jessie, he pushes them down as deep as they can go.

Jessie knows Nate’s reputation. They’ve been friends for a while and she’s seen him go through women. It’s never bothered her before, not until she walks in one Nate and another girl. The power she sees in Nate at that moment sparks something inside of her, but it’s something she knows she can never act on. 

Lee touches on some serious topics here including abuse. I liked watching Nate as he learned how to separate his desires from his fears. He grew up in a household where women weren’t respected and although he doesn’t share the same beliefs as his father and brother, the dominance that comes out of him in the bedroom frightened him. Jessie was the first girl who didn’t shy away from his control and actually helped him balance out his emotions. 

I also really liked Nate and Jessie’s friendship. This wasn’t a book about instalove relationship that most books are fond of. The two here have known each other and already have a baseline of comfort and trust. When their friendship escalates, it’s believable. When they have the thoughts of how a relationship could hurt their friendship, it’s realistic. They both are careful and overthink everything. 

What I wasn’t a huge fan of was Nate’s constant “I’m a horrible person” “I’m not worthy” and all of the other ways he put himself down. He spent a majority of the book running from everything on his mind. And honestly, I find it a little hard to believe that a college guy didn’t realize that guys had feelings of dominance in the bedroom and that there are girls who like it. While his fears were real, his naivety wasn’t.

Overall, it was a very easy and quick read. Not my favorite of the series, but not my least favorite either. 

Thanks to InterMix and Christina Lee for allowing me to participate in this blog tour and for providing me an e-copy of the novel in exchange for a review.

ARC Review: Sacrifice (Elemental #5) by Brigid Kemmerer

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: September 30, 2014
Publisher: Kensington Teen
324 Pages

Earth. Fire. Air. Water.

One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.

Michael Merrick understands pressure. He's the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental Guide has it in for his family, and he's all that stands in the way.

His girlfriend, Hannah, understands pressure too. She's got a child of her own, and a job as a firefighter that could put her life in danger at any moment.

But there are people who have had enough of Michael's defiance, his family's 'bad luck'. Before he knows it, Michael's enemies have turned into the Merricks' enemies, and they're armed for war.

They're not interested in surrender. But Michael isn't the white flag type anyway. Everything is set for the final showdown.

Four elements, one family. Will they hold together, or be torn apart?

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Sacrifice: - an animal, person, or object offered

     -an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something       else regarded as more important or worthy

Not going to lie, based on those definitions I had a pretty clear idea of what was going to happen in this book. The book is called Sacrifice for Pete’s sakes! So, I was scared. I just knew in my heart that we were going to lose someone that I came to love. What I didn’t expect was the action packed rollercoaster that had the pages turning on their own (and truthfully, I should have expected that).

 Michael has always been the aloof brother for me. He’s there in every book almost in the background – offering advice, discipline, playing the dual role of father and brother. We never really got to see how it affected him, we only saw him through the eyes of the boys. So by the time I started reading Sacrifice I was ready to know Michael Merrick. 

Oh how this book pulled on my heart strings. From the first chapter until the end, the action is non-stop and so is the heartache. Michaels brothers and Hunter all think that Michael has everything put together, everything figured out, but inside he’s fighting this war with himself. He doesn’t know what he’s doing and all these new problems that are being thrown at him are pushing him to the breaking point. 

Michael broke me. I felt for him. Everything he does, he does for his brothers. There is not one selfish bone in his body and when the boys are blaming him for everything going wrong, I just want to hide him away and give him cuddles. Kemmerer writes loss of hope and feelings of failure so realistic that I felt as if I was going through the motions with Michael. 

My only issue with the book was the love story. I wasn’t a huge fan of Hannah. Her relationship with Irish in the beginning had me fuming and I was like she better not be another person to screw over Michael. I admit that I grew more warm toward her as the book went on and she explained herself better, but she was never the one for Michael – at least not to me. 

The action, the drama, the emotions – all of it just led up to that insane and gut-wrenching finale. One full of twists and surprises that kept me awake to finish this book in one sitting. And who would have thought I would like Tyler? (This actually started in the last book and held over through this one.)

But honestly, these books are driven by the relationships between the boys. That’s the reason I read them and that’s what keeps me hanging on. I know this is listed as the final Elemental book but I can’t help wanting more! Brigid Kemmerer, I adore you and thank you for creating these boys. You have a solid fan in me and I will read anything you put out there.

I received a copy of this book via the publisher in return for an honest review.