Monday, October 7, 2013

Blog Tour Stop + Giveaway: "Lovely" by Beth MIchele


















Synopsis:

A moment can change everything… 

Ashton Taylor. Six foot one, Dark hair, chiseled jaw, riveting hazel eyes, and a body cut in all the right places. He’s a natural. Things just come easy to him. He’s used to getting everything he wants, excelling at everything he does. The grades, the recognition, the beautiful women.
His path was set. A girl, a full scholarship to UCLA, and a bright future. To others, his life seemed perfect. But, things are never what they seem, and life, well, at any moment, something or someone can come along and turn it upside down. 
That something…the death of his father.
That someone… Cara Hayward. The girl with the hypnotic eyes, melodic voice, enchanting smile, and lips sent straight from heaven.
The girl who doesn’t want to be seen.
So what happens when a guy who everything comes easy to, meets a girl who doesn’t come easy? 
Can he crawl through all the broken glass to find her? Will the girl he discovers deep down be able to see past his perfect exterior?
Together, do they have the power to heal one another? Or, could the very thing that brings them together, be the one thing that tears them apart?

**Lovely is a New Adult Romance with strong language and mature sexual content.




 Review:
4.5 Stars

This is the first book that I have gotten to read that was in HIS POV as a first story. It was a different take for me and took me a minute to get used to. This book had some good highs and some good lows……yes, good lows. Ones that make your heart stop and ache, but ones that make you want to punch a certain someone or two.

I loved this book….it was “Lovely”. We followed the very perfect Ashton as he was living the life, going to college, getting the girls and taking care of his family. His family was everything to him and we saw this…he was very worthy of a good man. Taking care of his family after his father died left him somewhat defeated at times, but a stronger man because of it. He did play the cool card a lot….he let us know every chance he had how perfect he was. That was a little tiring at first, but he redeemed himself very much so. I know that I had to remember, I am reading this from his POV, so it’s going to be a different take….a different perspective. (Not too sure I would want to be compared to a gazelle dashing through the grass…..but he’s a guy, right?)

One day, Ash goes to the library to study and his life changes….he meets “her”. Cara worked in the library at the college. She was very quiet, but very beautiful and she hid behind glasses that were way too big. He finds himself visiting the library very often, after noticing her, and was very intrigued by her. Ash wanted to get to know her, but he did everything he could to tell himself that she was not his type…and fought himself the whole time. He couldn’t help but look into her eyes….be captivated by them.

"She slowly lifts her eyes to mine and any ideas I had in my head go right out the fucking window because those eyes that are peering up at me from behind the peculiar glasses, those globes of rich chocolate brown, well, they’re the most hypnotic pair of eyes I’ve ever seen. I could swim in those eyes. Those are the kind of eyes you get lost in, and right now, fuck if I don’t want to get all kinds of lost."

Finally, he decides that he wants to get to know Cara. Ash does everything he can, but she won’t go out with him. He tries repeatedly, and this is where it gets really cute and funny and the characters really come out. We start to see their personalities and I fell in love at this point. Ash was a man….and a swoon-worthy man at that. Eventually, Ash is rewarded……she gives in and decides to go out with him. The blossoming love between these two is so very beautiful. So very wonderful. I actually felt that Ash was falling in love…..and remember, I am reading this from his POV, so I wasn’t too sure if I would be able to actually “feel” the love….but I did. It was great writing from here on out. She was his beauty. She was so very loved by him….and he made sure she heard it every chance he got to tell her. The poetic way that he describes his love for her, the pull she has on him, it made me smile. It was very loving and pure. The book spent a majority of the time on their growing love and how wonderful they were with each other. I really did enjoy the love felt between the two. It didn’t get old….it wasn’t a worn out story. It was just a really well written story that made me smile and swoon as I read it.

"My heart’s rhythm picks up just thinking about her words and the way she looked at me….like she has a clear path to my soul."

This book dealt with some serious emotional pain and I actually cried during this book. I don’t cry when I read books. Lydia teases me that I am cold hearted even!! I just don’t cry. I may get a teary eye….but I don’t cry. Well, I did….and I need to say that this was so beautifully written. The emotion that poured out from the pages during the difficult times was very palpable. We get to meet Ash’s family and fall in love with Delilah and Colt, his sister and brother, and his mom. We learn about his father through flashbacks and the memories of the family life they had together. I enjoyed reading about the family and how much he was a part of their lives, still being the man of the house and still going to school. He really did mix ~family life with personal life with college life~ so well.

As in all fairy tales, something happens….a mistake is made, and it gets blown out of proportion and Cara’s feelings get hurt. BAD. I would like to punch a certain someone or two. Ash needs to redeem himself, and he certainly screwed up in a major way and has to do whatever he can to get back the love of his life…..’the light in his day’. The journey taken, the growing up of Ash’s persona, is very neat to watch. For someone that had basically everything at his fingertips, who never really had to work for anything….it always came so easily, we got to see him work and earn back her trust. I was smiling at the personalities and the banter between the two.

I laughed and cried during this book….such a rarity for me. I may have cursed Beth at one point during the book. (sorry!!) This was a great book from Beth Michele, and I truly look forward to reading more from her.

“You can’t help who you fall for,” she whispers.
I pull her face to mine and find her lips. “Or who captivates your heart.”

I give this book 4.5 lovely and poetic stars…..nicely written.

Love,
Bethany


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About the Author:
Beth Michele


I am a wife, a mom, an author, and a lover of all things chocolate, well, anything sweet really. While stuffing chocolate in my face, I enjoy reading young adult and new adult novels furiously, and spending time with my husband and two adorable children who keep me on my peppermint pink painted toes. Those same children who inspire me to tell silly stories that cause hysterical giggles to tumble from their bellies.
I love to laugh and love to have a good cry, especially after reading a novel that stretches my soul, one that makes me feel, and lingers in the corner of my heart.
I’m a hopeless romantic and a happily ever after fanatic, and I love to write about LOVE.

I began writing when I was in middle school, penning anything from short stories, to poetry, and then later moved on to write children’s books.  I have now endeavored into New Adult and Contemporary Romance novels and am loving every minute of it.  My first novel, Love Love, was released in May, 2013.    

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