Padme's Library: 02/23/14

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Review & Giveaway for Fix You by Carrie Elks

Summary:

"Richard, we had a baby."

31st December 1999. Seventeen-year-old Brit, Hanna Vincent, meets New Yorker, Richard Larsen; a Columbia student and step-son of scion Leon Maxwell. Divided by wealth, distance and a common language, an unconventional friendship grows between the two.

From London to New York, from 1999 to 2012, Fix You follows the story of quirky, music-loving Hanna and handsome, driven Richard as they fall in love and are torn apart. Their tempestuous relationship leads to an explosive revelation that threatens to destroy them both.

Emotional and touching, this is a story of second chances. Is their shattered love beyond repair?

Review:

First off, those new to my blog should know that you will get no spoilers from me other than what the author or publisher has authorized.
Obviously, this book entices you with the prologue dated May 12, 2012 with an interesting and to the point 5 word statement, "Richard, we had a baby." Than we jump back to the beginning, December 31, 1999. We than follow Hanna and Richard as they do a dance of back and forth, intersecting, wrong timing, and navigating the others around both of them as they try to figure life out. By the time the author has brought us back to 2012 where the prologue left us, you just want to hug both Richard and Hanna but I also wanted to just stand them side by side and whack their heads together.
This book certainly grabbed me from page one to the very last page, not really wanting it to ever have a last page. You want them to find love and happiness even if at times they almost seem to be their own worst enemy. You definitely need to add this to your list of books to read and authors to watch.

Rating:
5 Stars

Excerpt:

Richard couldn’t decide where to put his hands. Her waist seemed too familiar, too sexual. If he held on to her hips and felt her ass against him, he was pretty sure he would lose his mind. He settled on the relative safety of her upper arms, trying to keep the fabric of her t-shirt between his hands and her skin. But she was moving too much, grinding her body to the beat of the music. He took a half step backwards, removing his crotch from the danger zone. He didn’t want to be accused of liking the band that much.

Hanna turned her head and tried to shout something to him. The noise of the band, and the calls of the crowd, drowned her words out.

“What?” Two small lines formed between his eyebrows as he tried to concentrate on her mouth.

“I said this is my favorite song.”

“What’s it called?” They were still mouthing words at each other. To try and actually vocalize would have been futile.

“Last Nite.” She whipped her head around as the guitarists played the instrumental bridge, the discordant sound of the bassist’s chords jarring against the melodic notes of the lead guitar. The lead singer opened his mouth, his voice a deep echo as his lips moved closely against the microphone, his eyes closed as he sang the words.

The crowd was going absolutely wild, the fast tempo of the track leading them to jump up and down as one. Those unfortunate enough not to join in were starting to panic, feeling themselves being dragged under. Richard moved his arms until they were tightly clutching Hanna’s waist. He didn’t care about his reaction to her body, he just wanted to keep her safe.

Leaning back into him, her hands clutched his arms as they moved together, submitting themselves to the will of the crowd.

It was electrifying.

Author Bio:

Carrie Elks lives near London, England and writes contemporary romance with a dash of intrigue. At the age of twenty-one she left college with a political science degree, a healthy overdraft and a soon-to-be husband. She loves to travel and meet new people, and has lived in the USA and Switzerland as well as the UK.

An avid social networker, she tries to limit her Facebook and Twitter time to stolen moments between writing chapters. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can usually be found baking, drinking wine or working out how to combine the two.