REDEMPTION (Forgiven Series
Book #2)
Synopsis:
I am not what I have done. I am what I have
overcome. And once I have faced my problems, only then will I find redemption.
Josh Walker and Lauren Pierce are opposites in every way. While Lauren is a committed student and girlfriend, Josh is a player with a very twisted moral compass…
Or is he?
Growing up with an addict for a father, Josh experienced disappointment from an early age. He puts on a front, shielding himself from everyone. Until he meets Lauren.
Lauren has it all. An accomplished softball player she maintains good grades, has great friends, and is in love with her dedicated boyfriend. Her life is pretty much perfect…until it’s not.
When two bruised souls collide can they help each other overcome their problems? Or are some souls just destined to be lost?
Josh Walker and Lauren Pierce are opposites in every way. While Lauren is a committed student and girlfriend, Josh is a player with a very twisted moral compass…
Or is he?
Growing up with an addict for a father, Josh experienced disappointment from an early age. He puts on a front, shielding himself from everyone. Until he meets Lauren.
Lauren has it all. An accomplished softball player she maintains good grades, has great friends, and is in love with her dedicated boyfriend. Her life is pretty much perfect…until it’s not.
When two bruised souls collide can they help each other overcome their problems? Or are some souls just destined to be lost?
REVIEW
Josh Walker is a ladies man. He wasn't one for relationships. Josh didn't lead the ladies on, they knew exactly what he wanted...sex, nothing more, nothing less. That was until he laid eyes on a gorgeous girl at his best friend, Angie's surprise 21st birthday party. The moment he laid eyes on her, he needed to introduce himself to her.
While Lauren was mingling among friends, she couldn't help but stare at the six foot two drop dead gorgeous guy across the room from her. It seems like they were both playing a game of cat and mouse with each other all night. They couldn't seem to keep their eyes off of each other. After being introduced to Josh, the two of them seemed to enjoy each others company. After the party a few of them went to a local bar. Josh was warned by Angie and Emily not to hurt Lauren, that she had been through enough lately. Josh was known for whoring around and Angie and Emily told him that Lauren deserved better, that she was not the type of girl that did a one night stand. The two of them hit it off, and talked the entire night. It was evident that there was sexual chemistry between the two. They couldn't seem to keep their hands to themselves.
Things between Josh and Lauren get hot real quick. Lauren is embarrassed about what happened between them and is trying to avoid Josh at all costs. Josh on the other hand, wants to get to know Lauren more and is determined to make that happen. Josh has never had these feeling before, but Lauren is different than the other girls. Josh's reputation is well known and Lauren has heard her fare share of stories that include the infamous Josh Walker. Lauren has been through enough lately with her ex-boyfriend, that she doesn't want to get involved with Josh. Josh vows to get Lauren to give him a chance and he won't take no for an answer. After spending time with Josh, Lauren begins to see that he is a great guy, fun to be around, and she wants to get to know him more.
"I was going to give Josh what he wanted. A chance - a real chance." ~ Lauren
An incident occurs and Lauren is injured. When what Lauren loves most is taken from her, she doesn't know how to cope. Lauren withdraws from her friends, and from Josh. Josh needs to remind Lauren that she doesn't have to go through this alone. He will always be there for her, that is, until she does the one thing that he will not stand for. Lauren's world begins to crumble around her, and her life is spiraling out of control. Josh is not strong enough to go down that path again, even if it is with Lauren.
"Remember, Lauren gave you a chance to redeem yourself about your sleeping around. Someday, you may need to do the same for her." ~ Caleb
Could Lauren redeem herself? Did she have a chance to be the person that she was before her injury happened? Could Lauren be the person that helped Josh redeem himself? Could the two of them get through this together. Would Josh give Lauren a chance to redeem herself? Was their relationship strong enough to get through this? Was Josh willing to walk away from Lauren?
"You leaving again was like a good cold, hard does of reality. If I wanted to get through this, I was going to have to redeem myself." ~ Lauren
I love this group of characters. I love how Josh played a role in getting Angie and Caleb together, and when the opportunity of love came around for Josh, Caleb and Angie did the same for Josh. Caleb and Angie knew that Josh was not happy whoring around with a different girl every night of the week. Angie and Caleb knew that Josh was putting on a facade. They knew Josh wanted to find the same kind of love they had.
I loved the story line and felt a connection to the characters. I am a believer in second chances, so I was routing for Josh and Lauren the entire time. The only bad thing I can say about Redemption is there were a lot of typos and grammatical errors in the book. However, with that being said, the editing issues didn't take away from the story itself. I am hoping this series continues and we get more of Angie, Caleb, Josh, Lauren, Emily and her fiance Andrew.
This review was prepared by Heather. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
EXCERPT:
This time it was
Angie's turn to laugh. She turned to me her eyes alight with mischief.
"So, Josh, how was your night?"
Damn. I knew at
some point she was going to bring it up. Not knowing how much Lauren had told
her, I figured deflection was the way to go. I smiled, hoping that it didn't
look fake. "It was an awesome party. Did you have fun?" I asked.
Unfortunately,
Angie knew me way too well. "I had a fantastic time, but stop trying to
change the subject. I saw you dancing with Lauren," she said with a smirk.
She was never
going to give up. I needed to play this off. Angie didn't need any more
encouragement in her quest to find me someone. "Yeah, she's pretty
cool," I offered, shrugging my shoulders. "She hit the bar with us
after the party."
I saw Caleb
watching me out of the corner of my eye. He knew something was up—he always
could see right through me. He knew there was more to the story and he was just
waiting for a better time to ask.
Angie, on the
other hand, looked disappointed. Huh? After all of the threats from Emily, she
looked like she was hoping for more. Then again, I doubt Angie had been rooting
for me to have a one-night stand with Lauren.
"Josh,"
she whined. "We have to find you someone."
I sighed.
"I'm happy with my life."
She turned her
nose up at me. Guess that was the wrong thing to say. "Oh, so you're happy
sleeping with a new girl every weekend?" she argued.
"You make
it sound like a bad thing?"
I watched the
anger flash in her eyes. Oops, definitely the wrong thing to say. She stood up
and stepped towards me, forcing me to look up at her. "You're an ass. With
an attitude like that, you deserve to be alone," she snarled before
storming off to their room and slamming the door.
"Angie,"
I yelled. Getting up, I walked down and knocked on the door. Even though we
disagreed, I still cared about her and didn't want her to think I was a
complete jerk. "Angie, I'm sorry. Please come back out."
The lack of
response spoke volumes. Turning back to the living room, I went and sat back
down on the couch. I looked up to see Caleb glaring at me.
"Did you
need to be such an asshole?"
"Dude, I
wasn't trying to be a dick. I just don't get why she’s so determined to set me
up."
Caleb shook his
head at me. "Is it really so bad? Angie just wants to see you happy."
"I don't need a girl in my life to make me happy. Why is that so hard for you two to understand?" I asked, exasperated.
Caleb leaned
forward to rest his forearms on his thighs and clasped his hands together. He
took a deep breath before beginning. "Josh, I've known you for three years
and I know for a fact you're not happy, and lately it's been getting
worse."
He stopped to
look down and when he looked back up again I could see the annoyance in his
eyes. "Since you haven't seen your dad lately, that's not the reason. And
it's total bullshit that you're happy screwing a different girl every
night."
That sweeping
assumption was like gas to a flame. Who was Caleb to determine what made me
happy?
"What gives
you the right to tell me what I want? I'm not you, Caleb. If there was someone
I really wanted, I’d go after them, not run away. There just isn't one that
fits that category." I turned to head back to my bedroom when Caleb's
voice stopped me.
"I know
something happened between you and Lauren last night."
A thousand
different explanations raced through my mind but before I could say anything he
put his hand up to stop me. "Don't even try to deny it. It’s written all
over your face. I'm not sure exactly what happened, nor do I want to know, but
if you're gonna keep sleeping with anything that breathes, please stay away
from Angie's friends." Avoiding my gaze he looked down to the floor,
rubbing the back of his neck in a way that made me think I wouldn’t like what
he was going to say. "I wouldn't want to have to choose between you and
her," he said sadly.
FORGIVEN (Forgiven Series
Book #1)
Synopsis:
What happens when one moment changes the course
of your entire life? Do you sit back and accept it, or fight to live the life
you choose? Caleb Jacobs has a past that has haunted him for two years. Knowing
he can never forgive himself for the events that led to his departure, Caleb
chooses to live a quiet life—concentrating on school, sports, and shots. But
when he is paired with Angie for a history project he realizes that no matter
how much you try to hide from your past, one way or another it will find you.
Angelina Powers knows what she wants from life. Growing up with only an alcoholic father for company, Angie learned early on in life that you can only count on yourself. But that doesn’t stop her wishing for her white knight. She’s confident, happy and focused…until she meets Caleb. So how will she feel when her potential white knight turns out to be more of a black shadow?
Angelina Powers knows what she wants from life. Growing up with only an alcoholic father for company, Angie learned early on in life that you can only count on yourself. But that doesn’t stop her wishing for her white knight. She’s confident, happy and focused…until she meets Caleb. So how will she feel when her potential white knight turns out to be more of a black shadow?
Author Bio:
Rebecca Brooke grew up in the shore towns of South Jersey.
She loves to hit the beach, but always with her kindle on hand. She is married
to the most wonderful man, who puts up with all of her craziness. Together they
have two beautiful children who keep her on her toes. When she isn’t writing or
reading (which is very rarely) she loves watch SOA, TrueBlood, and The Walking
Dead.
Stay in touch with Rebecca Brooke
I have not read it yet, but it sounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteI own it but also haven't read it yet I can't wait to start it though!
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