Shhh, Mommy's in the Bathroom.,.Reading: B.L. Mooney

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Monday, May 19, 2014

Abby's Survival by B.L. Mooney with Review

The sequel to Liv's Existence

Love and Loss.

Two tiny words, each with their own powerful impact. They can both happen at any given moment and both can forever change your soul. It’s how you allow it to change you that matters. The hard part is finding a balance when the loss gets overwhelming. How do you do that when everyone you thought you couldn’t live without leaves you?

Loss is inevitable. I’ve had enough in my life to know that much. Now I’ve just got to figure out how to survive it.

Ages 18+ due to adult situations and violence. Some situations may be difficult for some readers.

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Liv's Existence + Abby's Survival Bundle $3.99 through May ONLY

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John stepped in and closed the door. “That isn’t the reception I was hoping for.” He locked the door.

“And what reception was that? I couldn’t get the parade together for you since you never called to tell me you were ever coming back.” I never looked up while I talked, but I had heard him lock the door and my excitement grew. If I looked up, he would’ve known I wanted him—despite how indifferent I was trying to be.

I should’ve kept my eyes on him. He was next to me before I knew it, and he startled me as he twirled my chair around and knelt down in front of me. “I like you in skirts, Abs.” He slid his hand up my thigh.

“Jo–John.” I stopped his hand. “You don’t get to ignore me for ten days and then come waltzing into my office expecting me to drop my panties for you.” I turned back to my desk, proud that I had stood my ground. I hadn’t done that before.

John sighed and got up to go back to the chair in front of my desk. “I’m sorry, Abby. I’m a fool that had to figure out a few things, but I figured them out, and I’m here now.” He watched me work in silence for a few minutes. “When can you get out of here, so we can have a proper celebration?”

“And just what are we celebrating?”

“Us.”

I didn’t know if I had heard him right. I wanted to jump over the desk and onto his lap, but I was scared that I had misunderstood what he was saying. I swallowed. “Us? What do we have to celebrate?”

“Why don’t we talk about that over dinner? So, when can you go?”

“Why do you automatically assume I’m free for dinner—or anything else, for that matter?” I was still pissed he hadn’t called for ten days and came in as if nothing had happened.

“You’re pissed. I get it, and I deserve it. I’m in town for a few days, and if you change your mind, give me a call.” He was up and had the door open before he finished.

“Are you going to call me back this time?” I was still hurt, but didn’t want him to leave.

“No, I’m going to answer and not let it go to voicemail. I really am sorry, Abs. When you want me, call me, and we’ll talk over dinner.” He turned and walked out.

I stared at my phone. I wanted to call him back to the office desperately, but I didn’t want to seem too desperate. Who was I kidding? I picked up the phone.

He didn’t answer the phone, but stepped back into the doorway with a huge smile. “I thought you’d never call.” He locked the door again and was back by my side with just a few large steps. He lifted me out of my chair and put my arms around his neck. “This is the greeting you will greet me with from now on.” He slapped my ass and kissed me hard. “Understood?”

I grabbed the bulge in his jeans. “Keep ordering me around and slapping my ass like that, and I’ll never touch your little friend here again.” I squeezed. “Understood?”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Completely.”

I tried to not smile, but failed. “You just took that as a challenge.” I turned back to my desk.

John grabbed me and pulled me to him. I placed my hands on his chest to brace myself for impact before I slammed into him. “I’m not finished with you yet.” He cupped my face and brought it to his. He kissed me so softly and sweetly that I had trouble catching my breath. I was glad to finally have something good steal breath from me. I gripped his shirt, trying to pull him closer.

He stopped kissing me, but still held my face and looked in my eyes. He whispered, “I love you, Abigail Hughes.”

My eyes shot open wide as I tried to push on his chest. I needed to be out of his grip, but he wouldn’t let me go. “You can’t love me. I’m no good for you.”

He pulled me to him and wrapped his big arms around me. “It’s scary, isn’t it? To let yourself be this vulnerable with someone again takes a lot of trust—and I’m very happy and honored you decided to trust me.”

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B.L. Mooney started writing when the voices and storylines in her head ran out of room. They were getting too cramped and neither B.L. nor the characters could take it anymore, so she did the only thing she could do--she made room. She always knew she wanted to write, but vowed to make time for it later. Now that she's made time for writing, most everything else falls to the wayside. That seems to suit the characters that keep popping up just fine.

B.L. lives in the Midwest and her other talents include in-demand cookies, a very dry sense of humor, and stealth eavesdropping. Some mannerisms, attitudes, or twists come from random sentences picked up while passing by strangers. So speak up the next time you have something to gossip about. You never know, it may just end up on the pages of the next book you read.

Abby’s Survival

By B.L. Mooney

Review by Christina

Four stars

In order to truly understand this book, you must read the first book in the series, Liv’s Existence. These are not standalone books by any means.

Abby’s Survival begins immediately where Liv’s Existence ends and chronicles the healing Liv has to do not only physically, but emotionally as well. Both Liv and Abby must come to grips with how their contact with Adam has forever changed not only their lives, but the way that interact with those around them. Can Liv’s newfound love with Kyle stand the test? Will Abby’s past come back to haunt her new relationship with John?

The entire cast has reassembled for this volume of the story. Unfortunately I can’t share a whole lot about the story without giving away some pretty major spoilers, but if you’ve read the first book, I’m sure you’ll understand the amount of emotion within the pages.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed with Abby’s Survival. In the first book, Ms. Mooney created two characters in Liv & Abby that were strong and willing to face their challenges head on, regardless of the level of challenge. In this book, it felt like there was a whole lot more angst and self-doubt. There seemed to be a whole lot more “he loves me, he loves me not”, “I don’t deserve him”, etc. than there needed to be in order for the story to progress. These are two characters that we know are broken and we know that they are each going to confront their demons in different ways, but in a lot of ways, they ended up the same whiny mess at one point.

While I was disappointed, that doesn’t mean that Abby’s Survival isn’t a good book, because it definitely is. Once again, Ms. Mooney has presented a well-written, emotionally heartbreaking tale. The characters feel genuine and the storyline kept me engaged. I just felt that given the age of the characters involved, as well as the gravity of storyline itself, the angst came off a little more NA than it needed to. I am completely satisfied with the ending and feel that fans of the series will be as well, knowing that for what Liv & Abby have endured they more than deserve their happily ever after. Four stars to Abby’s Survival and I’m looking forward to what Ms. Mooney has lined up for us next.

Christina Mock 5/18/14

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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Abby's Survival by B.L. Mooney

The sequel to Liv's Existence

Love and Loss.

Loss is inevitable. I’ve had enough in my life to know that much. Now I’ve just got to figure out how to survive it.

Ages 18+ due to adult situations and violence. Some situations may be difficult for some readers.

Releasing May 14, 2014

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Liv's Existence + Abby's Survival Bundle $3.99

Available May 14, 2014

After Hannah had finally left me alone, I took another nap. If all I was going to do was sleep, I could’ve done that at home. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I would’ve liked to stay awake for at least two hours once. Slowly opening my eyes to adjust to the sunlight, I saw someone I never expected to see: my father. “You have exactly two minutes, and don’t make me regret my generosity.”

“You’re beautiful. Travis said you were okay, but I had to see for myself.” He seemed to have tears in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, little girl.”

I cringed at the familiar nickname he called me when I used to be innocent in his eyes. I looked out the window. “I’m not a little girl anymore and certainly not yours.”

“You’re right, and I’m sorry, Abigail. I want to get to know you again.”

I looked back at him, giving him the coldest stare I could muster up. “You never really knew me at all, so ‘again’ isn’t really an option, is it?”

“Right again. I completely agree—I never knew you. I want to change that now. You’re my daughter, and I love you. I want very much to get to know you.”

“What about what I wanted? I needed supportive parents when I was growing up.”

“Your mother—”

“Don’t lay the blame all on her. You could’ve changed any number of things if you had wanted to—”

“I was wrong a lot. I want to make amends. It’s too late for me to make things right between your mother and you, but it isn’t too late for me. I’m still here.”

“Your two minutes are up, and frankly, I’ve heard nothing to make me want to extend the time.”

“I know you didn’t have relations with Steve.”

I closed my eyes as I heard it from the man himself that he finally believed I hadn’t slept with Steve, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I opened my eyes after a minute, when I was sure my composure was back, and I just looked at my father. “It’s a little late now, don’t you think?”

“I truly am sorry for not believing you. I’m sorry for whatever pain you’ve been through because of my ignorance. I’m proud of the woman you’ve become. Please, if you could find it in your heart to forgive a crazy old man—”

“You told me I left my heart under the bleachers. You told me I left everything good and pure under those goddamn bleachers!” I start yelling, not caring who could hear me. “You told me I would never find a man to love me, and you were wrong.” I took a deep breath to continue yelling. “What you don’t know is I never went under the fucking bleachers! And I do have a man who loves me. I have a man who has more man in his little pinky than you have in your entire body. That little girl you snubbed and kicked shit on was someone to be proud of, too. You don’t get to be a part of a life you had no interest in helping become the woman you are supposedly proud of today. Get out!” I pointed to the door.

My father looked older by the time I was done yelling at him. He walked over to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. Without turning back to me, he started talking. “I know you won’t believe me, but I love you very much. You will always be my little girl, and I hope you find it in your heart—that I know you do have—to forgive me. If you want to talk me, Travis knows how to get in touch.” He walked out.

I had just gotten up from a nap, and I wanted nothing more than to take another nap to forget my father was ever in that room. I wanted to forget the look on his face when I yelled at him, and I wanted to forget the old wounds he had just reopened. I heard the door open as I tried to quiet my sobs, but it was no use. Whoever had just walked in was going to have to wait until I was finished.

“Abby, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.” Travis put his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll never bring him around again.”

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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Abby's Survival by B.L. Mooney COVER REVEAL

The sequel to Liv's Existence

Love and Loss.

Two tiny words, each with their own powerful impact. They can both happen at any given moment and both can forever change your soul. It’s how you allow it to change you that matters. The hard part is finding a balance when the loss gets overwhelming. How do you do that when everyone you thought you couldn’t live without leaves you?

Loss is inevitable. I’ve had enough in my life to know that much. Now I’ve just got to figure out how to survive it.

Ages 18+ due to adult situations and violence. Some situations may be difficult for some readers.

I was so excited for Olivia and Kyle. I couldn’t wait to hear how her first weekend filled with sex was. It took time, but I knew it was worth the wait for both of them. She probably wouldn’t be as available since she finally let go with Kyle. Couldn’t say I blamed her, though. I wanted to be with John every chance I got. Just thinking about what he could do had me squeezing my legs together.

Pulling into Olivia’s apartment complex, I tried to get my thoughts back on her and Kyle. There was no way I could talk about John and me. This needed to be Olivia’s day and the attention needed to be on them. I just hoped Kyle didn’t insist on staying. It was really sweet of John to offer to come over and take Kyle out for a beer while Olivia and I talked. We just had to get Kyle to go.

Just as I started to enter Olivia’s building, emergency vehicles entered the parking lot. An ambulance, a fire truck, and several police vehicles—with full lights and sirens—screeched to a stop just feet from the door. I looked to my left as the building manager opened the door and shooed me out of the way. “I haven’t been up there yet, but I just saw her boyfriend. I tried to stop him, but he shoved me out of his way.” He stopped, and I could see on his face that it registered with him who I was. “You don’t want to go up there.”

“That’s fine, sir. We’ll handle it now.” Police and EMTs ran through the door and started up the stairs. One officer stayed down to talk to the manager, and I slipped through the door when he pointed out Olivia and Kyle’s cars.

My heart was beating fast. It had to be a mistake. There was no way they were talking about Olivia’s apartment. I reached Olivia’s floor and had just seen the last officer enter her apartment. I ran faster as I heard Kyle’s tortured voice at the end of the hall.

“Live, please, please live. I need you to live for me, for us. We can work through this. You just need to live, and I’ll do the rest.” Kyle was on the floor with her across his lap. He started sobbing as the medics tried to pry Olivia out of his arms.

I gripped the doorway. “No! No! No!” The medics pumped oxygen into Olivia’s lungs with a bag over her mouth, as they were yelling vitals to each other. They ran out of the room, leaving Kyle and me alone with the blood on the floor and police looking around. Trying to get Kyle off the floor, I yelled at him, “Come on, Kyle. We need to go. She needs us.”

He just cried and painfully clutched my legs. “She’s gone. How can she leave me? She can’t leave me!”

I tried again to get him up. “You need to go tell her that! We both need to tell her. Let’s go, now!”

Kyle struggled to get up, but he did. We ran into John coming down the hall. “What happened?”

Seeing John broke down what little strength I had and the room started spinning. I only hoped I no longer had to be the strong one. I started sobbing. “I don’t know. Her face was so swollen and there’s so much blood.” I pointed to Olivia’s apartment. He looked in at the scene and gasped as he took a step back.

“We have questions we need answered.” One of the officers came out of Olivia’s apartment.

“They’re going to have to wait until later,” John said, turning back to Kyle and me to escort us out. “We need to be at the hospital. You can ask us there or wait until we’re ready to come in, but now we are going to the hospital,” he yelled over his shoulder.

“One of us will need to follow you there.”

John never turned around as we headed toward the stairs. “Do what you must, but we’re leaving.”

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Sunday, February 16, 2014

Liv’s Existence by B.L. Mooney with Reviews

Olivia

Ten years. Countless miles.

I thought I had run far enough away that he’d never find me. The man who destroyed my sense of safety and introduced me to the evils of the world came back looking for forgiveness. How can I forgive him when I haven’t forgiven myself? I look at his fiancée and wonder how she could love a man so cruel. However, the closer I look at her, the more I realize that maybe she doesn’t love him after all.

What has he done to her?

I have to find out.

Abigail

Many tears. Countless men.

I thought I’d found the one man who wouldn't break my heart. Two weeks before our wedding day, he came clean with his dirty past and shattered our future. He’s asking me to still love him, but how can I love a man so cruel? I look at the woman he destroyed, and I feel compelled to do everything I can to help her. I know what it’s like to be broken by this man.

Can I help her to live life again instead of just existing?

I have to find out.

STRIVING FOR NORMAL

by BL Mooney

Review by Wendy.
Shhh, Mommy's in the Bathroom.,.Reading

5 stars

Olivia has spent her adult life running, never staying in one place to long, and never letting anyone close to her. She stumbled into being a bridal consultant 3 years ago and this the closest she has come to having a resemblance of a life. I don't know if you could call what she's doing is having a life, but more like existing.
The most consistent thing in her life is her best friend and boss Kyle.
In the beginning of the story, Kyle catches Olivia before she does something she can't undo. From that moment on Kyle won't leave her side. Lucky for Olivia Kyle is by her side when her world is rocked upside down.

Abigail is on the verge of her wedding day to the man she loves and taught her how to enjoy life again, or so she thought. Two weeks before their wedding, her fiancé Adam has a deep dark secret that he needs to tell Abby before they start their lives together.
Adam did a terrible thing in his collage years and wants to make amends, clear the slate, and start clean with his new life with Abby.
Abby is horrified to learn what Adam has done and decides to make sure Olivia is doing OK.

First let me say I was lucky enough that author BL Mooney found me through my blog. This was a great day for me. Mrs Mooney is and author that just keeps getting better and better and keeps throwing curve balls at me.

The story is very well written and flows well. We have periods of present day events and flashbacks.
It's an emotional roller coaster of events. I felt Olivia's fear and panic of her old life coming back to haunt her. I felt for Abby being caught in this horrible predicament. I mean, everyone has a past and does things they regret. How do you know if they have changed and can you ever trust that person again, or will it always be in the back of your mind what they have done. I felt for Kyle, wanting to help this broken woman, but not knowing how. There is so much emotion and questioning events that you think you know what's going to happen, but you have no idea. BL Mooney threw some major curve balls that I don't think I ever could have guessed would happen. I was frequently trying figure out what these characters motives were, and how genuine their intentions are.

OK now for the bad news.......
This story ends on a cliffhanger!
A big one! Huge!

The good news.......
The second book in the series will be out this spring, so at least we don't have to wait a year!

If you haven't found this author, I recommend you start. She knows how to weave an intriguing story that you just can't put down.

Impatiently waiting for book 2, Abby's Survival.

Favorite quotes

“Do you know what my favorite memory is?” I leaned back just a little to look into his eyes. I started out with a whisper. “My favorite memory is when Ms. Young asked you to strip for her bachelorette party. The look on your face was priceless. Just. Like. Now.” I laughed hard at Kyle’s expression as he remembered the conversation he’d had to have with Ms. Young. He flung me away, as if he were disgusted with me, and it caused me to laugh even harder.”

“I’m not embarrassed about anything related to sex. Nothing bothers me. I’m too consumed by the naked bodies writhing together with pulses pounding and breaths racing trying to find that explosive release in each other to be embarrassed by sex.” He had me backed up against the counter and trapped with a hand on each side of me. He leaned down to my ear and asked, “Are you embarrassed or is that flush because you’re hot for me? Just . . . me.”

STRIVING FOR NORMAL

by BL Mooney

Review by Christina Mock
Shhh, Mommy's in the Bathroom.,.Reading

5 stars

Once again, B. L. Mooney has delivered an emotional rollercoaster of a novel. Much like the first book of Ms. Mooney’s I read, Striving For Normal, I had to sit and digest it for a couple of days before I felt I could comment on it. Liv’s Existence was even more so, as it ended on a stunning cliffhanger, which came out of left field.

Olivia, or Liv, even Livvie, is broken. It’s hard to call her a survivor, because it seems as though she’s doing very little to survive, but merely managing to exist. She’s considered suicide, but was stopped before she reached that point. She has developed nearly OCD-like rituals in order to get through everyday life. The washing herself, the door locking, the lack of contact with other people, all due to her past relationship and abuse from ex-boyfriend Adam.

Kyle, her boss and best friend, will do anything for Liv, absolutely anything. He loves her, much more than as a friend, but Liv is too broken to realize that and thinks that Kyle deserves better than her. Kyle is patient and kind and is helping Liv do just that…live.

Abby is the current fiancée of Adam, Liv’s abusive ex-boyfriend. Adam has come clean about his past to Abby, but before they walk down the aisle, Abby wants Adam to make amends for his past treatment of Liv. When the two walk into the bridal shop where Liv works, it is readily apparent by Liv’s reaction that there is far more to the story than Adam is letting on. Abby, starting to see similarities between her relationship with Adam and Liv’s relationship with Adam, decides to befriend Liv in order to get to the truth, but also to help Liv. What results is a tale of friendship and love, tempered with both physical and emotional abuse. Can Liv ever get past the blame she puts on herself for what happened between her and Adam? And can she ever truly be a friend to Abby, knowing that she is in love with Adam, the one person who hurt her the most in the world?

Ms. Mooney is a master at crafting intense, deep relationships between her characters. Her characters are so broken, it’s hard to imagine that they could ever be fixed, much less be able to engage in a healthy relationship with anyone else, but through lessons learned and exploring their inner selves, they evolve and gain strength to persevere. This is one of the reasons I really like Ms. Mooney’s characters, they show such a range of growth that it seems to draw you further into the drama, you really begin to care about them.

I especially loved the relationship between Liv and Abby. It makes you ask the question of “what can’t be forgiven?”. Abby, at first glance, would be public enemy number one, being the current fiancée of Liv’s ex, however the level of empathy and honesty shown towards Liv proves without a doubt that Abby has Liv’s best interest at heart. There are several times where you begin to question Abby’s motives, they do seem suspect, but I think it gets to the heart of the fact that Abby too is broken in some way. I’m sure we’ll learn more about that in the next book.

Liv’s Existence is a gut-wrenching, life-affirming, edge of seat sitting, five star read. This book is not for the faint of heart and I suffered from a couple of days of book hangover when I was done, but I would do it again in a heartbeat and am really looking forward to it when the next installment of this series, Abby’s Survival, comes out this spring. Ms. Mooney has quickly made herself a spot on my auto-buy list.

Christina Mock

2/15/14