Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts

Release Blitz & Review | Unintended, by Kyra Lennon

Hey guys!

Exciting day today, as Kyra Lennon's newest book, a heart-breaking contemporary romance about two lost souls finding each other, is released. 

Read on for the blurb and purchase links, as well as my reviews (spoilers: I gave it 5 stars).



 PURCHASE LINKS


BLURB

He’s too young. She’s too damaged. But since when has love played by the rules?

Evie
From the outside, it looks like I’ve got my life together. A place to live and a successful business sure can hide a lot, namely the scars that remain from everything I’ve lost.

The truth? I’m a shattered heart bundled up in a walking shell of anxiety.

Until him.

Ash
Abuse comes in many forms, but who would believe me if I told them I was suffering at the hands of the woman I love? I know I need to get out, but I just don’t have the strength.

Until her.

When two broken souls collide, can they help heal each other, or will their jagged edges only serve to make their wounds deeper? When all they’ve ever known is pain, will they finally find peace in a love so unintended?

--

Clare's Review

I love Kyra Lennon's books. I've been a fan of hers since before she published Game On, back when we were both newbie authors, beta reading for each other. In recent years, Kyra has really stepped up her writing game, and her Chaos and Consent series exemplifies this. Given how awesome, and heart-wrenching that series was, I should have been prepared for her latest offering, Unintended... I wasn't, and I was left pleasantly stunned.

Unintended is the story of two lost souls, Evie and Ash, who find each other at difficult moments in their life, and through their friendship, they start to heal from their past traumas.

That alone should tell you how heartbreaking this story is. Unintended deals with some tough topics, and Kyra does it with beauty and grace. The words flow, from her heart onto the page, and make you believe every emotion Evie and Ash go through. 

Kyra holds nothing back when exploring the traumas Evie and Ash go through, and it's written in such a way that you feel like it's two people telling you their life stories, not just a book. Kyra has always had the fantastic ability to make her characters seem very real, and that shines through in this story. Your heart will ache and you will shed tears for what Evie and Ash go through.

Of course, it's not all doom and gloom, there are some genuinely funny moments, and an example of strong female friendship between Evie and her BFF Keely. The secondary characters surrounding Evie and Ash really add depth to the story, and bring it alive, adding an extra level of realism. 

In true Kyra style, there are some twists you won't see coming, and even up to the very last chapter, you're left guessing how this story is going to end.

If I could, I would give this book more than 5-Stars. It deserves all the stars in the world, and I hope the world loves it as much as I did. Each time Kyra releases a book, I fast becomes my favourite read of the year, and Unintended is no different. This story is amazing!


AUGUST 2018 UPDATE: IS IT VACATION TIME YET?

We go on holiday (or vacation for those in America) on August 13 and I CANNOT WAIT! 

It's really hard to focus when you have little over a week until you'll be sat on a beach drinking Starbucks iced lattes. But focus I must, as I still have a week of work, so here's an update on life etc. this July... 

Writing 

July was CampNaNoWriMo again, and I set myself the target of adding 20k to my urban-fantasy Choosing Sides, which I'm happy to report I achieved. 

The story is now at 75k words, and I estimate I have between 15 - 20k remaining to write, in the form of 12 chapters!! I'm so excited to be almost finished with draft one of this story. 

As I've previously mentioned, Choosing Sides is actually a complete re-write of my 2011/12 novel Sibylline Nights. This is a story that's been in my head for years long before 2011, when I had the idea of magical triplets separated at birth. 

As well as the family aspect, one story that I've always wanted to tell with this novel was the oppression of witches. The idea was originally spawned by the events of video game Dragon Age 2, which focused on the oppression of mages. My love of the X-Men comics helped this idea grow, and then seeing real world oppression in the media every day added to that growth and desire. 

I hope what I have now is an urban-fantasy that will not only entertain, but make people question their actions towards those that are 'different', and encourage people to be more empathetic and understanding towards those who're not like them in some way. I'm taking a break from writing for August. 

As I mentioned above, we're going on holiday soon, so it's hard to focus, plus the kids are off. And, having just written 20k in a month, I feel the need for some down time to do fun non-writer activities. My aim is the add the final 15-20k in September, and then begin revisions, before sending it to beta readers at the end of the year. 


Reading

In addition to writing (and work), my productive time in July was spent beta reading two books, and I also found time to read a third just for the pleasure of it. 

 All three books were amazing in their own ways, though completely different from each other. I feel very fortunate to know such fantastic writers. 

The books I read were HEAR WHAT YOU WANT, by Kyra Lennon, a heart-breaking dual-POV romantic-suspense novel about a young woman who wakes up after a night out half-naked with her memories missing. You can check out my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2455499691 

The second book was a mind-blowing paranormal horror, DON'T EAT THE WAFFLES, by Scout Dawson, about a man who wakes up in a waffle barn themed afterlife, with no recollection of how he died, and begins experiencing distributing flashbacks of his life. You can read my review here: ​https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2481790119 

The final book I read was reverse-harem romance HARNESSING THE WINDS, by Morena Silver, a light, fun romp full of magic and pirates, about a sea captain must bind with the Four Winds to break a curse on her ship and crew, and you can check out my review here: ​https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2481802389 

That's All Folks

While I'll be taking it easy for August, I plan on refocusing come September when the school starts, so I can kick butt with writing, work, and general productivity. 

Until then, I hope y'all enjoy the rest of summer. I know I sure will ... now where are my sunglasses! ;)