Striving For Normal by BL Mooney Blog Tour

The most intimate relationship Drew Clayborn had with a man in the last four years has been with her therapist. With a past that has left her broken and scarred, she tries to piece herself back together enough to make it through each day. Whether she’s ready or not, life brings her back among the living, and Drew needs to learn quickly how to deal with her troubled past. When the perfect opportunity presents itself to pursue her dream career, it also provides Drew her first encounter with a compelling man since her devastating breakup with the last one.

Carl Williamson is rich, powerful, and gorgeous. The desire she feels when he’s near makes it impossible not to melt into his arms. He wants Drew and will stop at nothing to have her. Carl promises to be her protector, but he brings familiar concerns to the surface.

Dennis Brooks is a nice guy her best friend thinks would be her perfect match. He’s strong, honest, and sexy as hell, and he makes her smile in a way no one else can. Drew feels safe and secure with him, but she isn’t certain he is strong enough to handle Drew and give her what she thinks she needs in a relationship.

When Drew’s demanding, controlling ex comes back to stake his claim on her, the carefully crafted world she built for herself is turned upside down. Does she need a powerful man like Carl to help her? Will Dennis step up and be the man she needs? Or does she finally become strong enough to deal with her past on her own? Who is the true hero in her quest of striving for normal?

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.

Facebook Page | Twitter | Goodreads Author

REVIEW:

REVIEW TIME!STRIVING FOR NORMAL
by BL Mooney
Review by Wendy
Shhh, Mommy's in the Bathroom.,.Reading
5 Stars

Drew Clayborn has done things she can't forgive herself for. She's spent the last four years with Joseph, her very calm, understanding, and compassionate therapist. She doesn't feel she deserves to be happy after the tragic events and choices she has made.
Her best friends Terri and Mark have taken Drew under their wings and think its time for her to move forward. And they know the prefect guy for her. Problem is Drew doesn't think she will or even deserves to move on.

Carl Williamson is rich, handsome, and a powerful Alpha male. Carl gets what he wants, who he wants, when he wants it. Carl does things to Drew, physically and mentally. He sets her on fire, but is this a temptation too great for her?

Dennis Brooks is the all around nice guy. He's strong and handsome and makes Drew laugh and smile. He's the safe option.

Drew is torn between two men, one she has an intense reaction to and one that she thinks isn't strong enough to handle the demons she hides. Or option number 3, just stay alone.

Until her past comes back to haunt her, she's just Striving for Normal...

I was first introduced to BL Mooney with Coming Home. I really like this book, so I was happy to review her next undertaking.
Can I say, "WOW!" She really outdid herself with this one. I was sucked in from the beginning. You really want to know what Drew did that was so horrible. Well, Drew definitely has some demons to overcome. My emotions really ran the gambit on this one, I laughed, I cried, I got very turned on, mad, angry, pissed, and even had to step away. I fell in love with these characters, and some I down right loathed. The characters are well developed and the story flowed. The story alternates between what's going on in the present and what happened in the past. I don't want to say too much for fear that I will give things away, but this is a must read roller-coaster of emotions. This is a definite READ ME in my book.

I cant wait to see what BL Mooney has in store for us next!
Favorite Quotes:
"What do you want, Drew? I need you to tell me."

"You, please, I need you." I squirmed, trying to get where I needed to be.

He placed his forehead against mine and whispered, "I need to be part of you, Drew. Tell me what you need."

I felt him press against my entrance. I started to move down, but he held my hips still. I groaned. "I need you..."
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"If I can't love me, how can I expect him to?"
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"I think that you do want to see and that you're striving for normal and don't know how to accomplish that."
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Links to BL Mooney:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBLMooney
Striving For Normal
http://www.amazon.com/Striving-Normal-ebook/dp/B00ENVYOFE/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1377361291

Coming Home (Stand alone)

http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Home-ebook/dp/B00BXDTZ4K/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377361323&sr=1-2

Release Day: August 23, 2013

 

September 9

Just Booked

My Fictional Boyfriend & Book Whore Page

Must Read Books or Die

September 10

Winding Stairs Book Blog

Shh, Mommy’s in the Bathroom Reading

Confessions From Romaholics

Whoyoucallinabookwhore

September 11

It Started with a Book Blog

Abigail Books Addiction

Love Drug Book Blog

Talkbooks

September 12

The Hopeless Romantics Blog

Dirty Girl Book Club

Love Between the Sheets

September 13

Chapter Break

Book Addict Mumma

Let Love In by Melissa Collins

Release date: May 10th

Synopsis:

What would happen if you lost everything? If the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally were no longer there for you, how would your world change?

That’s exactly what happened to Madeleine Becker when her parents died when she was ten years old. Ripped from her home and everything that she has ever loved, she is forced to start all over again. The only way for her to move on is to build walls around her heart and keep everyone at a safe distance. Her logic: she can't get hurt if she doesn't fall in love.

 That theory is blown to pieces when she meets Reid Connely during her freshman year at college. He is gorgeous and darkly mysterious. He understands Maddy's pain all too well, but sharing his pain would mean breaking down the walls he put up around his own heart. Conflicted between loving Maddy and hiding his dark past, Reid starts to reevaluate his world. Maddy's inner strength, snarky personality and breath taking beauty help Reid to make peace with his past.

Together they find out what happens when they let love in.

REVIEW:

Wow. It has been a while since a book has grabbed me and not allowed me to let go. This was a touching and heart warming story of two people that were broken by the tragedies of their childhood. Maddy had to deal with a monumental lost at a very young age and never learned to cope with it, other than to never let anyone in, if you don't let them in then you can't be hurt. Reid had to learn to cope with a different kind of loss and a heavy guilt that he just can't let go of.

Maddy and Reid's connection is instant, it is like their souls can identify with hurt the other carries. The question remains, will they let love in?
This story flowed well, and you really got lost in the emotion of the characters.  It had well developed characters, and supporting characters that you can't help but love. You can see the scenes play out in your head so well.  This book also has an edge of hot and spicy that I was not really expecting, but it was totally welcomed.  Melissa Collins is a very talented author and I can not wait to see what she has in store for us next. This is a definite must read and one that is on my re-read list.

 

Author Bio:
I’ve always been an avid reader. Majoring in English Literature was a no brainer. Becoming a teacher and instilling my love for reading into my students was also a no brainer. I’ve spent the last ten years teaching and I’ve loved (mostly) every minute of it. When I was home on maternity leave for my third son, I discovered a new genre that sparked my creativity. My passion for writing sprang from my love of reading and once I knew I had a story to tell, I couldn’t wait to get it out there. I only hope that my readers enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Social Links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MelissaCollins.Author

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17684880-let-love-in

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MCollinsAuthor

Website: http://www.melissacollinsauthor.com

INSEPARABLE by Missy Johnson

 

Nineteen year old Lily is still struggling with the death of her identical twin, Abby, a year earlier when she moves away from home for college.
Following Abby’s death, Lily spent time in a psych facility after she was still seeing, hearing and speaking to Abby as though she was still alive. Now, ready to begin college, Abby only shows up in her dreams.

A chance encounter with Dane Hansen changes Lily’s life. Lily’s friends warn her off becoming involved with Dane. He’s bad news, according to the rumors, anyway..

Now, he’s back, nearly a year after he disappeared off the face of the earth weeks into his freshman year at college. But Dane is far from the popular, womanizing, athlete he once was.

Dane has experienced loss himself, after his six year old sister was abducted and murdered nearly ten years ago. He understands Lily, and the more time he spends with her, the harder he falls.

There is something he hasn’t told her though, something almost nobody knows, and it’s something that might stop Lily from feeling the same way.

  

 

 EXCERPT:

 

“What now?” He asked, chuckling.

“Nothing,” I mumbled, cursing myself. Yep, this was going awesomely. How could I not be expecting a second date? I sighed, “Okay yes, I’m slightly odd. Your leg touched me and I jumped and then I saw your hand and wanted to hold it,” I was rambling.

Oh. My. God. What the hell was I doing?

“Like this?” He reached, his fingers softly combing over my own, until his whole hand covered mine. I would’ve gasped, but I was forcing myself not to react. On the inside, my body was going mental. I was having hot and cold flushes, tingles and numbness all at the same time and all were fighting each other.

“You’ve got soft hands,” He chuckled, “I believe you that you’re a nut, but maybe I like nuts.”

He likes nuts? I giggled as his face went red.

“Not what I meant, Lily,” He muttered amused, running a hand through his hair, “I like you. I want to get to know you.

“Awesome,” I replied, a giddy smile on my face. I pulled my hand out from under his, resting mine on top, gently running my nails over his soft skin. Our fingers twirled together, when the sudden urge to beat him at a thumb war came over me. I slammed my thumb down over his.

“Yes!” I cheered.

“What the hell, Lil?” He chuckled, confused, “Did you just cheer because you beat me in a thumb war that I didn’t even know we were having?” I reddened. Well, when he put it like that, it didn’t sound nearly as impressive.

 

Author Bio

Missy lives in a small town in Central Victoria with her husband, and her confused pets (a dog who think she's a cat, a cat who thinks he's a dog...you get the picture).

When she's not writing, she can usually be found looking for something to read.

 

 

Author Links

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Missy-Johnson/618217221528253

Good Reads -http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6984258.Missy_Johnson

 

Book Links

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Inseparable-ebook/dp/B00CRLK3NO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368954012&sr=8-1&keywords=missy+johnson+-+inseparable

 

Kobo - http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Inseparable/book-SySYetKYdE2gbhmwD65OLg/page1.html?s=GkTMKQBeLEi6dKnvMYoI1w&r=1

 

Give-away

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MmQwODdmYzRlODgwZTg0NWEwMTc5NzIyMjMyNjU5OjE4/