Thursday, September 12, 2013

BLOG TOUR - Picking up the Pieces (Picking up the Pieces #1)




 
 
 
BLURB: 

After having her heart broken by the only man she’s ever loved everything seemed to go downhill for Emerson Grace. It has taken eight years but Emmy is finally starting to pick up the pieces of her damaged life. But the man who destroyed it has returned bringing with him the pain of the past. Can she let go of the pain Luke caused and accept him back into her life or will the memories be too much for her to overcome?

Running from Emmy was the only way Lucas Allen knew he could protect her from the demons he carried with him. After spending one perfect night together Luke takes off, certain that he can’t possibly give Emmy everything she deserves. Now he’s made the decision to return to Cloverleaf and make things right. But is he prepared to truly face all o
f the damaged he has caused?

Will Luke and Emmy finally get their chance at love or will the secrets of the past stop them before they even get to begin?








REVIEW:

Picking Up The Pieces is absolutely AMAZING.  I LOVED it.  I am screaming from the roof top, ONE CLICK Picking Up The Pieces.  You will fall in love with the characters as well as the storyline. 

Emerson (Emmy) Grace and Lucas (Luke) Allen were inseparable growing up.  Emmy's  world was turned upside down when her best friend, Luke enlisted in the Marine Corps.  Emmy is angry with Luke for enlisting, but she wants to support his decision.  She needs to support him because they have ALWAYS been there for each other.  Things change one night between Emmy and Luke when years of untold feelings are finally revealed. 

"I feel like I'm losing a part of me, Luke.  I'm going to miss you so much."
I felt his breath shudder as if he was trying to hold back his own tears.  "I'm going to miss you too, baby girl.  More than you know.  But you aren't losing me.  You'll never lose me.  I promise."

When Emmy tries to get a hold of Luke the next day, she knows something is wrong when he doesn't answer her calls or texts.  When she went to Luke's house, what she saw, killed her; shattered her heart into a million pieces.  Luke shouldn't  make promises, he doesn't intend to keep. 

Luke grew up with an abusive father and a drunk of a mother, who did nothing to protect him from the beatings he endured from his father.  Growing up, Emmy was Luke's rock, she was always there for him.  Luke knew that Emmy would be going away to college at the end of the summer, and he would have nothing left in Cloverleaf to make his happy.  Luke needed an escape, so he enlisted in the Marine Corps.  After breaking Emmy's heart the night before he left, he never spoke to her again.  He never answered any calls or emails from Emmy or any of his other friends. Emmy wasn't the only one that Luke left behind.  He left behind all of his childhood friends.  Luke literally left his life behind in Cloverleaf. 

Emmy struggled for a very long time after Luke left.  Different events occurred which had changed her life forever.  Emmy didn't have Luke to help her when she needed him the most.  Emmy was consoled by her best friend Savannah.

Savannah, oh Savannah.  Savannah has stood by Emmy's side through thick and thin and hated Luke, more than Emmy, did for what he did to Emmy.  If someone hurt Emmy, they thereby hurt Savannah. However, Savannah was not one to forgive easily, if ever.  Savannah pulls no punches and says exactly what she feels.  For being only 5'2, everyone is afraid of her. When she is pissed, her temper is a raging inferno.  And for the past 8 years, Luke has been the fuel that just keeps her fire burning.

"If you don't let her go right fucking now, I'm going to beat the shit out of you!"  Savannah hollered.  "You might be a Marine, asshole but I've got a fucking black belt in kick-your-ass kwon do?  Don't test me." ~ Savannah


Emmy was just finally starting to pick up the pieces of her broken heart, and move on with her life, or so she thought, when Luke returns to their home town of Cloverleaf.  Once again, Emmy's life is turned upside down. When Luke left, in his head, he left with the best intentions.  Just because Luke left Emmy behind, that didn't mean that he stopped loving her. 

What does a girl do when the man that held her heart is the sole person who shattered her heart?   When Luke returned home, he had one goal, to earn Emmy's forgiveness, and earn her trust back.  Will Lucas be able to earn Emmy's trust again and earn her forgiveness?  Will Emmy be able to face Luke?  When Luke left, he shattered Emmy's heart into a million pieces.  By him returning to Cloverleaf, would he be able to "pick up the pieces" of Emmy's heart and mend it?  

The scenes between Luke and Emmy feel so REAL..  You can feel the anger that Emmy feels toward Lucas.  I wanted to kick Luke's ass myself.  Luke is a total alpha male, who won't take no for an answer. He screwed up once, and he vows to win Emmy's heart back.  He needs Emmy in his life.  She is the air that he needs to breath. 

"You're mine Emmy, and I'm not letting you go this time." ~ Luke

We learn why Luke did what he did to Emmy.  I'm not saying that I agree with what he did or why he did it, but I can see why he did what he did.  Luke wanted the best for Emmy, even if he didn't think he could provide it...  I think he could have gone about it totally differently, but he was a 20 year old man...  Should we expect more? 

If you are looking for a GREAT book that will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time, then Picking Up The Pieces is the book.  The story goes back and forth from past and present and you will get both Emmy's and Luke's POV.  Throughout this book, I was cracking up laughing one minute and the next I felt my heart was breaking for Emmy.  The chemistry between the characters was AMAZING!   Jessica knocked the ball out of the park with this book.  I was sucked in from the 1st page and could not put the book down. 

This review was prepared by Heather.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 


EXCERPT: 

“Please, just let me fix this. Let me fix us.”

I parted my lips on an inhale and that was all the invitation he needed. Before I knew what was happening, Luke had unbuckled my seat belt and pulled me into his lap. The instant his lips met mine I was lost.  This wasn’t a slow build-up type of kiss. The need inside both of us had clawed its way to the surface, and we were kissing each other like our lives depended on it. The feel of his hands on me was intoxicating. When he slid his hand under my shirt, along the waistband of my shorts, an uncontrollable chill went through my whole body.
The few brain cells I had left were screaming at me to stop.  I knew I shouldn’t be doing this, but when Luke trailed his lips down my neck and along my collar bone, all rational thought escaped me.  I let out a low moan from deep in my throat. Grabbing a hold on his silky black hair, I yanked his mouth to mine and dove back into that kiss. “God, I’ve missed you so much, baby girl,” he said against my lips.  I’d missed him too… so damn much. “I never should have left you the way I did.”



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I'm a wife, mother, wino, coffee addict and avid a lover of all types of books, but romances are my main favs. My husband likes to say reading is my obsession but I just say it's my passion... there's a difference. 

I've been writing since I was a little kid and I finally decided to take the leap and actually publish when Picking up the Pieces came to me. Now that I've been bitten by the writing bug I just can't seem to stop.
 





AUTHOR LINKS

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7044544.Jessica_Prince
https://twitter.com/JessPrince2013


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2 comments:

  1. My favorite book so far this year is Real by Katy Evans, but I'm looking for more books to be my favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  2. My favorite book so far this year has been hopeless but I have read many books that were just as good, I have many favorites. Great giveaway

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