Saturday, May 2, 2015

Review: The Silver Lining by Jennifer Raygoza





The media spread my face nationwide on every newspaper known to man when the story first broke. It read- James King. son of wealthy, ambitious hotel owner, Victoria King, busted for cocaine possession.
Let’s be honest. I’ve always been a rebel, a little rough around the edges. The black sheep of the family. The outcast. No one ever thought twice about me, not even when I was arrested. The only thing was, I didn’t really do it, but I served time for the crime.
Today my freedom was granted to me. I was permitted to leave this prison that I had lived in for the last sixteen months. The guards opened my cell, grinned and told me I could finally go back home. Home? See, it wouldn’t be my home. It would be her home. I had no home of my own anymore. Funny thing about being locked up, was that you lose everything, including yourself. You no longer exist to the outside world. You’re transparent, at least that’s how I felt until I met Emily. She was kind, and in my world people like her were far and few between. I was drawn to her like a magnet. I wanted her, but I’d kill myself trying to get her because she was damaged. I just didn’t know it yet.
 



4.5 Star Review by Jennifer Skewes

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I loved it.  It is a quick read that is packed with plenty of drama.  It was one of those books that I read in one sitting because I just did not want to put it down. Reading as fast as I could and at times unsure of what would happen next or how it would even end. 

James King is the son of Victoria King, a very wealthy hotel owner.  When we first meet James he is being released from prison for a crime that he did not commit. For most people being released from prison means you are now free.  But for James King it just means that he is going back to his own hell, living with his bitch of a mother. And honestly bitch is probably too nice of a word to describe her.  James is one of two sons in the King family.  But he is the one that has always been looked down up on by his mother, he was never good enough for her and she has never had an issue with letting him know just how much of a disappointment he really is. He wants nothing to do with his mother or her money.  And then he meets Emily who is everything that his family is not and exactly what he needs and wants. 

Emily is kind and sweet and struggling to make ends meet.  She has her own family issues that she is dealing with and trying to work her ass off to help them. Emily and James may come from completely different worlds but they have this odd connection.  Emily does things to James and makes him feel things that he cannot explain or even understand.  He just knows that he wants her in his life.  But he also knows that there’s something holding her back.  Emily is attracted to James but in her mind she knows his type and she is so afraid of giving her heart to someone only to get it broken.  And she is sure that James King will hurt her.  James may be rich but he is also so far from the man that you may think he is.  He wants nothing to do with his family’s money and wants to be as far away from his mother as possible.  And he also wants Emily.  He will do anything to protect her and make her happy, but is that enough?  Can Emily and James overcome all of the obstacles that they are faced with and find a happily ever after?  Or will Emily’s past and James evil bitch of a mother get in the way?

I really loved this book.  It was a short read but yet gave me everything I love in a book.  A great love story filled with drama and angst and one swoon worthy hero that I fell for.  This story is told from James’ point of view and I have to tell you Ms. Raygoza knows how to write in a male’s point of view.  It just flowed perfectly and I loved being inside his head.  James was one of those heroes that you will just fall for.  He may have been the black sheep of the family or considered a bad boy but to me he was perfection.  He knew from the moment he met Emily that she was special.  He couldn’t understand why he felt the way he did after only knowing her for a short period of time but he couldn’t control his feelings regardless of the time.   You felt the connection that these two had. I wanted nothing more than for the two of them to get together.  And there were times where I honestly wasn’t sure how this story was going to go. How it was going to work out. Because no matter what was going on between them or how they felt there was something that would get in between them.

I loved Emily and honestly felt bad for her at times. she was struggling so much with trying to help her family plus the fact that she had her own demons from her past that she was still fighting.  And those demons held her back from finding love.  she liked James and you could feel it but her fear and insecurities held her back.  

This book may be a short red but here was a lot of drama that unfolded in the form of one mother who is as selfish as they come.  She really was just pure evil in the way she treated her son.  Money and her image was all that mattered to her.  His mother's selfish ways made for great drama and angst between Emily and James.  Throw in an ex girlfriend and a haunted past and you have a roller coaster ride of emotions that is so worth taking in the end.  I loved this book and look forward to reading more from this author.  




Excerpt

“Excuse me. My name is Mary Riverton. I’m head of the Neighborhood Watch, and I should let you know that whatever you’re selling we don’t need it on this street. There is absolutely no solicitation allowed here.” I tried to cut her off to say that I wasn’t a salesman, but she wouldn’t let me. “Don’t even think about breaking in around here either. I have the police on speed dial, and I’m very close friends with the chief. So, no funny business, understand?”
 “You must be new around here.” I crossed my arms and stared at her.
“Pardon me,” She puckered her big, red lips at me, and pulled her dog closer to her chest.
“My name is James King. I’m Victoria’s other son. I just got back into town. I live right here.” I threw my thumb over my shoulder. 
“Oh my goodness. I thought you were a crazy hoodlum casing out our street.”
“What would give you that impression, Mary?”
“Well…you just…you look…I thought…Oh never mind.”
I squinted my eyes at her, and rubbed my chin.

“First impressions are rough, right? I almost thought you were propositioning me for sex when you walked over. Silly me. It must have been that low cut top, and those hooker shoes you have on. The red hair alone screams escort to be honest.”

About me: Jennifer Raygoza also known as the rebel of writing, burst through the writing scene in 2012 with a vampire series called, The Guardians. It was a story originally written just for fun, but ended up being self-published out of curiosity. Little did she know the series would be strongly embraced by vampire reader’s. Since then this down to earth, California girl has been picked up by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. She has recently released two short stories and a poetry book that includes work from her youth. 
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU READ HER BOOKS?
She break hearts, kills bad guys and gives you characters that make you fall in love. This writer will have you turning pages and thirsting for more.

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