Book Tour: The Fall Up By

I wanted to jump.

He made me fall.

As a celebrity, I lived in the public eye, but somewhere along the way, I’d lost myself in the spotlight.

Until he found me.

Sam Rivers was a gorgeous, tattooed stranger who saved my life with nothing more than a simple conversation.

But we were both standing on that bridge for a reason the night we met. The secrets of our pasts brought us together—and then tore us apart.

Could we find a reason to hold on as life constantly pulled us down?

Or maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock bottom—up.

Maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall

in love at rock bottom—up.

It is an amazing thing when you can connect not only with a book, but with a character on a personal level.  I have shared some of my personal life in my reviews before and I am not ashamed that I have.  Sometimes seeing another person going through a situation can help another person.  Am I saying my reviews are life changing?  No I am not, but what I am saying is that sometimes you need that little bit of hope, that you aren’t alone, that someone can connect with you on a level that some of the people closest to you can’t. 

The Fall Up is one of the best books I have read this year.  I connected with this book because like Levee I have anxiety and depression.  Right before I started to type this review I got a phone call, I won’t say what it was about but I had been anxious all week, to the point of panic attacks and physically getting sick.  When the phone call came in it made all the anxiety intensify by one hundred and even as I write this I am fighting from letting my world, in my mind at least, just totally fall apart.  I have been where Levee was at and it is a scary place to be.  I have my own Sam, my husband who when I am down reminds me that the only way left to go is up. 
Levee and Sam heal each other.  Both are on that bridge for different reasons but they form a connection.  It is what they did with that connection that healed them both.  It wasn’t easy, hell if it was easy then I wouldn’t have loved this book like I do.  Life isn’t easy.  Life with a person with mental illness, whatever that illness may be, is harder.  It is the people like Sam who want to help and reach out that are the real heroes in life.

I understand this review was more of a personal nature and I apologize if that is something you didn’t appreciate.  This book hit home with me and I don’t know if I could do the book justice if I didn’t feel that connection and share with you why I have it.  I do want to say this.  There is no shame in asking for help, there is no shame in having anxiety or depression, and there is no shame in feeling like you r world is ending.  There is shame if people turn their backs on those silent cries for help, there is shame for those you judge others because they do not understand, and there is shame in ever not helping when someone does ask.  The Fall Up will stay in my heart not only for the connection I share but because it is beautifully written, emotional and reminds us to remember even the richest person or the funniest person could be hiding their pain from everyone.

NOW AVAILABLE!


“Thank fuck!” Sam said, swinging the door open before Devon even had the car in park.

“Oh, this isn’t my place. We’re just dropping Devon off. I’m about twenty minutes across town?” I tossed him a sugary smile then boldly shifted my hand into his lap, purposely brushing the bulge under his denim.

Grabbing my wrist, he narrowed his eyes and called out, “Devon, I’m gonna need to borrow a bedroom.”

I burst out laughing as Devon cursed loudly.

“Fine. This is my place. No smoking inside though,” I snipped as I climbed from the SUV.

“You better have some seriously exciting extracurricular activities to keep me distracted, then.”

“I have Ping-Pong!”

“Not exactly what I was thinking.” He mischievously cocked his head. “But I guess paddles and balls are as good a start as any.” Dipping down, he hoisted me over his shoulder. “Point me to the Ping-Pong table, my lady.”

I didn’t. I laughed hysterically as he carried me inside. Then I directed him to my bedroom instead.

I heard Devon locking up the house as Sam deposited me on the bed.

“Jesus. This view.” He pushed the curtains back. “Why the hell would you ever go up to the bridge when you have this here?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, pulling my earrings off and placing them on my nightstand.

Oh, but I knew. It might not have been what had originally sent me up that bridge, but it was why my feet carried me back every night. And that very reason was currently standing in front of me with entirely too much clothing on.

“You want a beer?” I asked, sliding my shoes off.

“Nah, I’m good.” He faced me, and I could tell something was off with his demeanor. He didn’t inch any closer. Instead, his lips were tight and his eyes uncomfortably flashed around the room.

It suddenly didn’t feel like Sam standing in front of me at all.

He felt like a stranger who had just come face-to-face with Levee Williams.

Damn it.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you about to freak out?” I whispered, nervously moistening my lips.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m not really sure yet. But I’m gonna need you to stop licking your lips long enough for me to figure it out.” His mouth cracked into a wide grin, and my shoulders relaxed.

Now that was a flash of my Sam.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s just… I think this is the first time I’ve realized that you’re some big-time celebrity. I might be in over my head here, Designer Shoes.”

“I just make music, Sam.” I returned his smile and very slowly prowled in his direction. “Imagine how I feel though. You’re Samuel Nathan Rivers. A tough, tattooed furniture designer who makes six figures a year but is too afraid to tell his mommy he votes democratic.” I giggled as he frowned humorously. Stopping in front of him, I dragged a fingernail down his chest then teased the waistband of his jeans. “Have you considered that maybe I’m the one who’s in over her head here?” I leaned forward to nip at his lips, but he spun us around.

“Excellent point. I’m going to need you to try really hard to keep it together, Levee. You haven’t even seen my six-pack and huge cock, yet.” He smirked and attempted to return my nip, but I stepped out of his reach.

“You brought beer and chicken?” I feigned excitement.

That one corny joke was all it took to bring my Sam back completely.

With a sexy smile and a coy shrug, he seductively backed me toward the bed. “What can I say? I like to be prepared.”

“Clearly,” I breathed.

He moved in close so his lips were only a centimeter away, but for as much as I wanted him, it was agonizing. “Clearly,” he repeated, his smoky yet sweet breath breezing across my mouth.

His strong arm looped around my waist, tugging me against his chest, while I stared into his hooded eyes, eagerly waiting for him to make a move.

Any move.

Every move.


Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.
After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

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Release Day Blitz: Monster Stepbrother By: Harlow Grace

His dark obsession runs deep.

How does a girl go from being her Daddy’s precious baby doll to feeling like a filthy whore?

Easy really. When my father remarries it changes the course of my life and everything becomes . . . complicated.

My new stepbrother is a monster who hates me. Unapologetic, controlling and brazen he’s intent on making my life a living hell. Blackmails me into doing things I never thought I’d do. Illicit things. 

Oliver King makes the rules. He f*cks me whenever he wants. How he wants. Where he wants.

My head screams this is wrong, yet I can’t resist giving in to forbidden desires.

I’m his possession, his toy — his ultimate pleasure.

He’s never letting me go. I’m his dark obsession.

My dirty addiction to my stepbrother grows to a dangerous level. Am I sick to crave more from the man who has made me his slut? Or should I escape and run as far away as possible? 

My name is Maya Childs and this is my story. 
 
Dark erotic novel that contains sensitive subject matter that may make readers uncomfortable. Not appropriate for readers under 18. Contains explicit language and descriptions of sexual situations and violence.

I will be the first to admit that I am hooked on this step-sibling love trend, maybe it is that people consider it taboo, or risky but I love it.  I also like reads that are a little darker so add the two together and I was like “Hell Yes sign my book loving ass up!” and I can say that Monster Stepbrother did not disappoint.  It has that angsty, emotional, keep you on the edge of your seat type of feel and not because you know it will be a sexy read, because it was, no it is because you don’t know what nasty comment that Oliver is going to say or what he is going to do next that keeps you on edge. 
Oliver King is best describes as one of the biggest assholes ever when it comes to not just how he treats his stepsister Maya but because of how he treats others as well.  He is angry, hurt and slowly, ever so slowly do you start to see that he doesn’t hate Maya like he seems.  Oh no, he wants his step-sister something fierce but you don’t see that it’s so much more than just wanting to get her on the closest flat surface and have his way with her.  It’s deeper.
Maya has tried to get Oliver to see her as more than just the whore he assumes that she is.  What he doesn’t know is that Maya wants him, even when he has broken her down to the point of no return, she still is in love with him.  Too bad he won’t look at her like anything more than what he has assumed.  My heart broke for her multiple times while reading this book.

I laughed, I cried, oh did I cry, I cursed Oliver one minute and smiled the next when he would do something to show he wasn’t the asshole he acted like.  This is a darker read, one that isn’t all sweet and happiness.  No there is verbal abuse, suicide, and heart break, but there is also healing, love and forgiveness.  Monster Stepbrother is one that I will not be forgetting any time soon and I suggest that if darker reads are your thing then add this one to your TBR lists.


Links to Buy
AMAZON US / UK

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Author Bio

Harlow Grace has tried many things in her life but writing has always been and still remains her passion.  She loves to create characters in need of redemption and her stories are mostly all dark romance but then again, she likes to mix things up so don’t be surprised if she publishes a sweet romance every now and then.  When she’s not writing or reading, Harlow is plotting and planning her next adventure or dreaming of lazy days in the sun with a good book in one hand and a cocktail in the other.
Author Links

Review: Holding Her In Madness By: Kimber S. Dawn

If you have not read A Woman Gone Mad, stop reading this review and read it first!

In A Woman Gone Madwe experienced Lil’s heart breaking and maddening pain.  In Holding Her In Madness, this is Leo’s story, his POV and his own pain and heart break brought on by the one woman who could bring him to his knees and how he feels while Lil has hit her lowest point.
Leo fell for Lil hard, obsessively can’t live without her hard.  She was his EVERYTHING.  He lived and breathed for her.  When he is forced away from her and threatened, it begins his own downward spiral of drugs, alcohol, heart break and pain. He goes to the edge, almost falls over but is saved.  He never thinks he will be able to live without Lil in his life, even if he has to stay away from her, she will always own his heart.  That is, until something happens that makes him forget Lil and move on with someone new.  He gets married and you think that he really had gotten past his feeling for Lil, but when you learn the truth you are surprised that he doesn’t hurt the person who deceived him and took Lil away for so long.
Leo is his own brand of fucked up, but luckily he is stronger than his demons and is able to pull himself from the depths of his own hell and heal.  When he has his second chance with Lil you think that finally Leo and Lil will have their chance at happiness but tragedy strikes and Leo is unable to pull Lil from her madness and gives up on her in a way.  He knows everything she is doing since they have been separated and while it is killing him he doesn’t know what to do to save her.
When Leo gets a call that changes the course of everything, he knows that he needs to be there and be Lil’s savior, rock and love.  He saves her from the brink of destruction just in time, his pain is just as powerful as Lil’s.  He is her knight in armor, it’s not shinning by any means but dinged, dented and well used but he will protect her with his life so he never loses her again.  Too much time and pain had come between them and he wasn’t going to let it happen again.

I loved this follow up to A Woman Gone Mad, I had wondered what had transpired in Leo’s life that he left Lil and didn’t look back.  These are not pretty stories, they are filled with pain and suffering and heart break.  Both books moved my emotions, that for days later I felt so emotional that I couldn’t explain it.  By now those of you have read my reviews I will tell you if a book or series is one that I feel you should pick up and give a chance.  Well, A Woman Gone Mad and Holding Her In Madness are two books that not only still have me emotionally fucked up but are two of the best books I have read so far in 2014 and need to be put on your TBR lists immediately if they are not already on there.  Just. Trust. Me.  Kimber S. Dawn, babe you have a fan for life in me, keep on writing these emotion engaging reads cause I will keep on reading them!

Review: A Woman Gone Mad By Kimber S. Dawn

How many times can one woman’s heart be broken before it can no longer be healed and she goes mad from the pain?  Love and happy endings are only true in fairy tales, love is destructive, painful and at times deadly.
Lil’s heart has been broken one too many times, it won’t heal.  Her pain has sent her into a downward spiral that is so heart wrenching that you feel the madness take you over as it does her.  Your heart breaks right along with Lil’s.  You feel each and every piece shatter into smaller pieces that can never be healed again.  Betrayal, the loss of a love so obsessive that it turns destructive, meaningless sex, the chance of true love and happiness only for it to be ripped right out of her hands, and a second chance at love has made her take a path down a destructive spiral that she may not be able to reverse.
Every time Lil would suffer I felt like a knife was stabbing me in my own heart.  Each piece of her heart and her sanity breaking made me feel her pain.  Beginning with her first heart break you see that Lil will not have a smooth road to happiness but one that is filled with so many twists, turns, pot holes and bumps that it is a miracle that she is able to maneuver her life through it.  Lil tries to put her heart back together after each heart break but it’s only being held together by the tiniest amount of glue that even a small tap will break the pieces again.
When her first true love leaves and shatters her world completely you never think that Lil will be able to bring herself out of the depth of despair that she is in.  You finally think that maybe, just maybe her knight in shining armor that could make her fairytale come true will be the one to save her comes in to her life and for a while Lil is happy once more, that is until he plunges his sword into her heart as well. 
When her first love, Leo, returns he helps bring the light back into her life and they begin their life together. But even the love of Leo can help her when she suffers a loss so heart breaking that she spirals out of control and pushes Leo away.  She hits such a low, one that has her ending her pain in a way that is final, you never think that she will be pulled from her madness, but the same love that has broken her heart and sanity is the one that pulls her from her madness and heals her heart and mind.
I can’t begin to tell you what this book made me feel, there is so much angst, heart break and pain that it is a total mind fuck.  I cried almost from the prologue alone and each time Lil’s heart broke I cried even more.  My emotions were on such a roller coaster that at times I had to let myself cry out the pain I felt.  To feel such despair and pain drained me both mentally and physically.  To feel such a low that the only choice you have is to end the pain is sadly for some the only way to make it end. 

Kimber S, Dawn has written such an emotional, angst filled story that shows that love is painful, heart breaking and sometimes maddening.  I have a feeling a lot of people will connect with Lil’s pain and have felt how she has at times, this reviewer being one of them.  This is a must read and one of the best books I have read this year so far.