Friday, August 2, 2013

Blog Tour: Impossible by Laurel Ulen Curtis




Title: Impossible
Author:  Laurel Ulen Curtis
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication Date:  June 24, 2013
Event organized by: Literati Author Services

Synopsis

One Accident. Two losses. Three years.

Veronica Russo chases storms, but runs from her past by staying firmly in the present. Unwilling to consider the possibility of a future, she’s checked out of life by using solitude and standoffishness as her armor and a sharp tongue and quick wit as her weapons.

Coleman Cade is a walking contradiction- just like his mismatched eyes. A rough and manly bull rider with a playful side. A ladies man with thousands of willing victims, but what he really wants is one woman. The right woman.

Will Roni be able to let go, move on, and find a way to fulfill her dream of having everything? Or will unsubstantiated choices and unresolved demons stand in the way of their happily ever after?

In order to overcome past tragedies and find true happiness- in order to have Everything- Roni needs to do one thing. Find the impossible.

*Explicit Language and Sexual Content*


Bonus scene: Coleman POV- Roni and Debbie

Jenelle brought out our meatloaf sandwiches and sweet tea, and for the most part, we talked  about the practice we had gone to this morning. We both obviously had thoughts to share about the little pistol at the table next door, but we weren’t going to talk to about her while she sat there.

CJ was excited and talking about the bull he had ridden that morning, FlameThrower. “He dropped me into my hand so fast, I’ve never felt anything like it.”

I nodded and smiled a wide smile of my own. Hearing him talk about something with such passion an excitement was one of the many blessings of having him as my kid.

“I don’t know, Dad. There’s just something about a rank bull like that,” CJ continued, his eyes alight with remembered adrenaline.

Thinking of the woman next to us, my smile broadened as I agreed, “The rank ones are special. It’s the challenge that makes it fun.”

Taking it a step further, I leaned forward just slightly, lowered my voice a notch deeper, and continued, “Finding the right woman is a lot like ridin’ a bull. You’ll know in a little over eight seconds whether they’re worth a second ride or not. And, as you know, the best ones usually buck you off a few times before givin’ you the ride of your life.”

CJ’s eyes flashed, and I knew he understood me perfectly. The feel of a bull underneath you who’s your match in every way. Who fights you with everything they have, even bests you a few times, but in the end, you ride that bull, and the reward that comes with it is just that much sweeter.

They have a fighter’s spirit.

Roni jumped up rather suddenly, threw some money on the table, and took off with one destination in mind- “the hell out of here”.

CJ saw it at the same time that I did and reached a hand out for hers as she walked by.

A bold move, and a sure sign that my son had some real balls.

She was going to be pissed.

Confirming my thoughts, she forcibly removed her hand from his and shot him one of her nastiest glares.

CJ stood strong in the face of her fury, though, telling her, “I’m ridin’ tomorrow in the local rodeo. If you’re gonna be around, you should come check it out.”

It seemed like she didn’t know what to do with his invitation at first, but then she cast her eyes toward me, her nerves manifested clearly in their green depths.

Ah, so she was more scared of me than him.

Okay, no problem. She could get to know CJ first. Maybe it would ease her into me, as I would no doubt be a little more aggressive.

Besides, I wasn’t going to be there anyway. Letting her off the hook I told her, “I won’t be there. Gotta be in Denver.”

Un-fucking-fortunately. I hated missing all of CJ’s rodeos. 

She didn’t say anything for a minute, the look on her face that of someone trying to work out some complex mathematical equation in their head.

We both kept out eyes on her, the intensity of our stares pretty damn near palpable in the air.

“I don’t know, CJ. I doubt I’ll be in the area,” she said with forced casualness.

CJ didn’t hide his disappointment, and I felt my chest get tight.

Jesus, sometimes I hated my lifestyle. Especially what it meant for my son.

A few awkward seconds passed before, out of nowhere, Roni cleared her throat and completely changed her mind. “I’ll try to be there.”

Holy Fuck. Really?

CJ’s face lit up accordingly, and I realized I was going to have to brace him for the possibility that she may not show up.

By the sick look on her face, I’d say the very good possibility.

Her body took on the lines of a person ready to make flight, so I threw out a goodbye while I still had time.

“Be careful out there, Roni.”

I wasn’t sure when I would see her again.

And that was a real fucking shame.

Her body locked up and took on its most defensive position. I had apparently touched a nerve.

“How do you even know what I do or that I need to be careful?” she asked in a carefully callous voice.

The intensity of her anger took me a little off guard, and my own anger made a small appearance at the provocation. “I actually don’t have a clue what you do, not that I wouldn’t like to know. But I do know you’ve got a gash on your fuckin’ forehead, so there’s obviously somethin’ out there you should be careful of.”

She sighed deep and heavy, the picture of a woman put out, and informed me, “I’m a storm chaser. And the gash is because I found myself in a bad spot, and I wasn’t the only one. An unprecedented moment of kindness came over me, and I went back to save an asshole. Debris got me in the head. End of story.”

I found every bit of that news interesting, but kept my response simple and teasing. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

I watched as she rolled her eyes a little and then huffed,  “God, you’re annoying.”

And she was fascinating to watch.

I smiled big and muttered, “Worse things I could be, I suppose.”

She was done, flicked her hand in a effortless wave, and grumbled, “Later.”

CJ said, “Bye, Roni,” at the same time that I murmured, “Lookin’ forward to next time, Banty baby.”

I knew that was going to get to her, not knowing what I was talking about, but that was the point. I wanted her curious about me.

“Assholes,” she muttered quickly under her breath, which quite frankly, was pretty predicable behavior.

CJ and I burst into laughter at the same time, and I knew he understood my Banty rooster reference. He had probably been thinking the same thing.

She turned and took off like lightening, practically running over anyone in her way, and I realized I had to go after her. I wanted her curious, maybe a little mad, but I didn’t want her embarrassed or upset.

Muttering a quick, “Be right back,” to CJ, I slid out of the booth and took off after her.

Turns out the woman could really move, and I only caught up to her right at the door of her Tahoe.

I reached out for her hip to get her attention, and she spun around in fight mode. I had startled her, and there was a good chance she was going to kick my ass.

Well, try to kick my ass.

I gave her my eyes, settled my hand back on her hip, and said only her name, trying to give her a little time to catch her breath and calm down.

Clearly impatient, she widened her eyes at me, a prompt that meant I should spit it out.

Speaking gently and with as much softness as I could muster, I told her, “We didn’t mean to upset you. The way you ran outta there, I figured we did just that. I just couldn’t let you leave thinkin’ we were laughin’ at you.”

She tried to cover, stating, “I’m fine. I’m just on a schedule, and I needed to get out of there.

I had been trying to say bye for a few minutes. It came time to just leave.”

She was full of shit, and we both knew it, so I lifted one eyebrow and said, “Roni.”

Sagging her shoulders in defeat, she gave in. “Alright, fine. I was tired of being laughed at.

And you weren’t making any sense anyway, so I left.”

“Just because I wasn’t makin’ sense to you, doesn’t mean I wasn’t makin’ sense,” I explained.

That just served to piss her off more.

“Didn’t you come out here to apologize? Because coming out here and making me feel like an idiot is a real shitty way to go about it.”

Conceding that I wasn’t really helping, I murmured, “Point taken, Banty baby.”

“See? That. Right there. What the hell are you calling me?” she asked.

Smirking and putting the smallest of pressures into my fingertips at her hip, I explained,

“You’re like a Banty Rooster, sweetheart. Tiny little thing, but you don’t hesitate to puff out your chest, lookin’ for a fight.”

Clenching her teeth into a fake smile, she said, “Great.”

“I like it,” I told her, and I did. I liked the fight in her and the mental acuity it brought with it.

“Why on earth would you like me being a bitch to you?” she asked, her voice laced heavily with disbelief.

I told her the truth.

“Because you’re only a bitch in the cute way, and even that seems like it’s not genuine. Not to mention, it’s not the normal reaction I’m used to, and it’s refreshing.”

At that moment, Debbie, a previous lay I couldn’t seem to get rid of, pulled into the parking lot in her convertible. I could sense her sauntering up to us, but I kept my eyes locked on Roni.

“Cade, baby. I didn’t know you were in town. You should have called me,” Debbie said in her most seductive voice. At least, what she thought was her most seductive voice.

Fuck. Fucking Debbie. This was definitely not good.

Hoping to end this swiftly, I turned my head to Debbie but kept my body pressed in tight to

Roni’s space. “I haven’t been in town long, Debbie. Spendin’ my time with CJ before I gotta take off again.”

Debbie, of course, never gave up easily, especially when there was another woman around to play with, so she stepped up into me, pressing her tits into my arm. She had nice tits, but the rest of her wasn’t worth the effort.

“That’s a real shame, handsome. We’ve had such a good time in the past, and I was really looking forward to giving you some good, new memories,” she said to me, but as a method to take a jab directly at Roni.

I turned to Roni just in time to see her eyes narrow and the Rooster come out.

“Awww, that’s sad Debbie. But clearly-” Roni said, reaching down and lacing our fingers together at her hip, and then finishing, “-he’s fucking busy.”

Holy Fuck. That was hilarious, and I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing. At the same time, it was so hot that I had to fight to stop myself from getting hard.

Debbie was pissed, but she left and went into the The Dip and Shake, which was what I wanted.

Unable to stop myself from teasing her about the turn of events, I murmured, “Well, well, well. That sure was interesting, Banty baby.”

“Whatever, Cade,” she snapped in response.

Obviously, she had figured out the name thing.

“What? So I like the way my given name sounds comin’ out of your mouth. Sue me. I figured once somebody told you, you’d call me Cade just like everybody else. I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted,” I defended.

She paused for a few brief seconds, and then spoke with purpose. “Goodbye...Cade.”

Apparently, the purpose had been to show me that she didn’t care what I wanted her to call me.

Because she wasn’t going to be calling me anything.

She practically pushed me out of the way, climbed in her Tahoe, backed out, and drove away.

And from the looks of it, I’d say she never looked back.

4 star review by Jen Skewes


Roni had the perfect life, a wonderful husband she loved and a baby on the way, until one day life took an ugly turn and she lost everything that mattered to her.  That day when her world came crashing down was the day she left her life and family behind and never looked back.   She was afraid of losing someone else she loved, so leaving them behind meant not having to feel. After Roni left she lived her life on the road chasing storms.  She loved the adventure and the challenge of it all and it took her mind off the fact that she is running from her feelings and reality.  Roni had no plans of opening her heart to love again, until one day she gets a flat tire on the side of the road and meets CJ Cade.  That one chance meeting will change her life in more ways than one.

"Maybe i just needed to ride the wave while it lasted. I was pretty sure that I couldn't maintain this forever without some sort of explosion of epic emotional proportions, but for now, if felt incredible. For now I could pretend this was the only thing going on in my life and just enjoy it.  Enjoy him."

CJ Cade is only 15 years old but for some reason there is a connection between him and Roni.  There is something about CJ that Roni likes and the two form an unlikely friendship.  Then she meets CJ's dad and everything changes.  Coleman Cade is a sexy, alpha male, and professional bull rider, who is totally swoon worthy.  When he first meets Ronni there is that instant chemistry between the two of them. Roni helps Cade out of an unwanted situation and at that moment Cade knows that he wants Roni to be his.  Cade is a famous bull rider and can have any woman he wants.   But when he meets the feisty, stubborn woman his world is turned upside down, in a good way. He has had many woman in his past, but he is willing to give up his days of being a playboy to be with Roni.  For the past three years Roni has buried the pain and hurt from her loss.  She has built up this wall around her heart that is so thick, no one can break through it.  But Cade sees the sadness that she carries and knows that she is hurting in some way. He will do what it takes to break down her walls and let him and his family into her life and her heart.  The question is will Roni be able to get over the pain of her past and let him in?

"I know you feel the same thing that I do, Roni.  We're gonna get there, I know we are.  But there's no way in hell I'm gonna go there before I know you won't regret it in the morning."

I loved this story and loved both Cade and Roni.  We first got a glimpse of Cade in The One Girl and all though it was a short one, I knew then, how much I would love him.  He is a complete alpha male with a big heart, and a sweet and caring side to him that will melt your heart.  Roni is feisty, and stubborn and independent, but has also been running from her past.  And there are times when she feels the need to run from her present as well.  She doesn't want to allow Cade in, but can't help the way she feels when she is around him.  She makes his quest to get to know her very challenging for Cade, which makes him want her even more.  I loved these two together, but it wasn't just about Cade and Ronni.  Cade's son CJ was a big part as well.  CJ and Roni had a very special relationship and when she allowed herself to feel again and open up to Cade she was also opening up herself to his son and his mother, Nan.  The Cade family is a close family that loves Roni and welcomes her into their lives.  They were honestly a wonderful addition to the cast of characters.

"I'll take whatever I can get baby.  Sweet Roni, Tough Roni, Vulnerable Roni, or my very own little Banty rooster.  As long as you're around to give me some versions of yourself, I'll be happy."

Impossible is a story about letting go of the hurt and the pain from your past and learning to love again.  It's about second chances at love and a happily ever after.  Laurel Curtis did a wonderful job with the story and the connection to the characters in the story. I didn't just fall in love with Cade and Roni but I fell in love with his family. It will make you laugh, cry, angry and frustrated at times.  There are a few twists and turns that you never saw coming.  Overall it is a wonderful read and one that I did not want to put down. Another fantastic job by Laurel Curtis.  I cannot wait for CJ's story.

About the author
Laurel Ulen Curtis is a 26 year old mother of one. She lives with her husband and son (and cat and two fish!) in New Jersey, but grew up all over the United States. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, and puts that to almost no use other than forecasting for her friends! She has a passion for her family, laughing, and reading and writing Romance novels.

Author links
Facebook
Goodreads






Buy Links
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Follow the rest of the tour Here


a Rafflecopter giveaway

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing the great excerpt and the giveaway. Sounds like a great book. evamllien at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete

How to Configure Numbered Page Navigation After installing, you might want to change these default settings: