For the first time in her life, 25-year-old Josephine Geroux
has a future worth looking forward to. She has her beloved bookstore, she has
all the comforts that money can buy, she has found the love of her life, and
most importantly, she has found hope where there was none for 16 long years.
After the tragic deaths of her parents and her troubled life
as an orphan, she met Damon Cole, a man who has everything to do with it all.
He’s part of the reason for her wrecked life, but he’s also the reason that her
heart has been restored. He’s her future and the exact reason that she’s so
willing to fight the demons from his past that threaten the very future that
she so desperately seeks.
In the final book of the Wrecked series, Jo is confronted
with a turbulent history that has her negotiating the twists and turns that end
up being far more difficult to handle than she ever could have anticipated.
Jo’s relationship with enigmatic Damon is delicate at best, especially after
she inadvertently discovers details about his life that may have been better
left buried.
Since Damon’s dark past has remained hidden for so long,
Jo’s investigation puts her dangerously close to jeopardizing her already
fragile relationship with the man she loves.
Jo has a promising future at her fingertips; she must decide
if revealing the truth to Damon is a gamble she’s willing to take. With so much
at stake, acceptance proves to be Jo’s greatest battle to date.
4 Star Review by Jen Hagen
Damon and Josephine have definitely not had an easy road
to their happiness. They have been
riddled with their tragic pasts putting a shadow on their future together. Damon’s father continues to be a source of
hostility, and Josephine has recently discovered Damon’s birth mother and how
they are all intertwined. Damon is still
reeling from an emotional breakdown that sent him into a dark despair that
Josephine was barely able to bring him back from. Josephine knows that she needs to handle this
new development with his birth mother with a gentle touch for fear any more
emotional baggage will send Damon back into zombie mode.
I’m no idiot. I know that when he finds out he’ll be
angry. I just hope he isn’t as mad as I
think he’ll be.
Considering that I’m just a bystander in their
relationship, I can say I understand Damon and his personality and even I know
that when he finds out he is going to be livid.
We’re talking about Damon…alpha-male Damon…Damon who can send a person
reeling backwards with the wrath in his eyes or the blankness that overtakes
his eyes. You can read Damon like a book
through his eyes. Exposing Josephine’s
recent discovery sends his eyes through a gamut of emotions, with the end
result being those that will watch you walk away.
I’ve seen him angry
before, but I’ve never seen him quite this pissed. There’s far more than anger flashing in his
eyes though. I see that he’s hurt,
devastated.
Just as quickly as
the kiss began, it ends. He breaks away
from me and I see that his eyes have gone icy, stilling the heart in my chest.
Josephine’s allies include everybody that is close to
Damon and she has nobody of her own to confide in. The only person she can
consider hers and hers alone is Handy Andy.
Andy and Josephine have developed a nice friendship with most
conversations occurring on the sidewalk near both of their apartments. Josephine can divulge her personal secrets to
Andy and not run the risk of Andy hightailing it to Damon to blab. Damon knows everything though because he is
alpha Damon and keeps track of Josephine in everything she does.
“How could
you?” He looks defeated. All anger has evaporated and the man before
me is beside himself. He looks close to
tears.
The drama is far from over in Damon and Josephine’s lives. In fact, they seem to be caught on a
treadmill working to free themselves from it but still standing in one spot
tired from the exertion they have put forth.
People they trust are the source of betrayal.
“You!” I
accuse. He shrugs casually. “Me,” he
supplies with a wink.
This is a fast-paced tale of love, power and deceit. Lies are told and the truth is revealed, but
at what cost and is it too late?
I look up into
those warm eyes that have entranced me since the first time I saw him. His tears glisten in the sunlight. It’s so hard to see him this way.
This is a short installment to the series, and for some
that may be disappointing. This is the
final installment in Josephine and Damon’s lives, but secondary characters will
be brought out in a future release.
INDIE PRICE POINT
When choosing a new read, many
people take a few things into consideration before one-clicking. Rating,
reviews, and price seem to be the three things readers rely on most to either
sway them to buy or move on to the next new release. I’m no different. I want
the most bang for my buck just like anyone else. Sometimes we see a book that
is 99 cents and we jump for joy over our little victory, but sometimes we see a
highly anticipated book with a less than desirable price point.
One thing I have always wanted
to do is step up on my social media soapbox and explain to readers and new
Indies what goes into choosing that magical number. I challenge anyone to work
on a project and then be prompted to denote a value in terms of a dollar
amount. Of course, we all think of our
time and effort as invaluable. It’s how we, as human beings, are wired, and
there’s nothing wrong with that. As far as I’m concerned, I believe we should
value ourselves more than we actually do. I don’t mean Indies, I mean women in
general. We often sell ourselves short. We are the binding that holds our
families together. “Mom” is the title that many of us use most. So, to give
readers a good perspective, I would say go about your daily activities, whether
you are a homemaker or a breadwinner or both, and assign a price to your time
and work. How much money is three loads of laundry, dinner, sweeping, mopping,
and raising children worth that one day? Tough task, right? In my mind, it’s no
different for an Indie.
I can’t articulate how difficult
it can be to label the price for a book. I take many things into account before
punching in those numbers. I think about my time, overhead expenses (graphics,
editor, formatter, etc.), anticipation by readers, price point of previous
works, and how much I value my own work .
I have to say, when I see readers post negative things about authors and the
cost of their books (traditional or indie), it is disheartening to say the
least. Seeing a nasty post made by some person from behind a computer screen is
the equivalent of telling that author that they aren’t worth less than a few
bucks. Readers have become a little spoiled thanks to the indie world. We get
to buy great books for less than (on average) what a Happy Meal costs.
We, as authors, also have to
contend with the highly controversial return policy. It’s frustrating (to say
the least) knowing that so many have the option to take freely from an author.
Who needs pirating when you can just do it the legal, albeit immoral, way? Many
readers one-click, read, then return. Simple as that. Do we get to go to the
movies, watch the flick, then demand our money back no questions asked? I think
not. Do we get to go eat a meal at a restaurant, clean the plate, then skip on
the bill? Not so much.
So much thought and calculating
goes into choosing a price for a book. It’s not something that I take lightly
and I think I can safely speak on behalf of all authors when I say it’s tough.
So many variables come into play and authors weigh each of them carefully. One
thing is for certain and that is, authors want nothing more than to please
their readers. No author wants to disappoint. So, the moral to the story is,
before thinking that $2.99 is too much, consider what message you send when you
return or complain that the price is too high. The cost of the emotional blow
that occurs when readers do this sort of thing is the only thing I consider to
be “too high.” Be good to each other.
Otherwise, this marble becomes a dismal place to live.[ER1]I
would maybe add the price of the other books in the series, if it’s a series
Author Bio
USA Today Best Selling Author,J.L. Mac is twenty-seven years
old and currently resides in El Paso, Texas, where she enjoys living near her
family. She was born and raised in Galveston, Texas. J.L. admittedly has had a
long and sordid love affair with the written word and has loved every minute of
it. She drinks too many glasses of wine on occasion,and says way too many swear
words to be considered “lady-like.” J.L. spends her free time reading, writing,
and playing with her children.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jlmacbooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JLMacbooks
Book Links
Wreck Me Links
Restore Me Links
Accept Me Links
i see this on http://www.threechicksandtheirbooks.com/ thanks denise smith
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I also liked JL Mac's article on price. It is always a challenge when to click and when not to click since bargain hunting is in my DNA.
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to read this series! I found the review and giveaway at Three Chicks and their Books (which is a new to me blog that I can already tell I'm going to get lost in for a while. LOVE IT!).
ReplyDeleteThree Chicks and Their Books sent me!
ReplyDelete