Thursday, December 4, 2014

Blog Tour: Fight Me by Lacey Black

Fight-Me-by-Lacey-Black-Medium-File


Fight Me Rivers Edge Book 2 By Lacey Black 
Release Date: December 4, 2014
 Cover by Gin’s Book Notes 

Jake Stevens has it made. A local police officer with an open invitation to any number of beds around town, Jake has no desire to settle down with any of the ladies he entertains by night. After watching his best friend fall in love with his little sister, Jake is certain that love and marriage just aren’t in his cards. Heck, he’s not even playing with the same deck. After Jake encounters a blast from the past one night, he finds himself swimming in uncharted waters. For the first time, Jake has found a woman he can’t get out of his mind. The kicker? The woman wants nothing to do with him. Erin Anderson returns to the small Missouri town of Rivers Edge for a job after a twenty year absence. Erin spent years loathing the memory of Jake Stevens for his cruelness back in seventh grade. Now, Jake appears to be the same self-centered player he was in junior high, and no one seems to be able to push her button the way the cocky, yet devastatingly handsome cop does. Between circumstances that keep thrusting them together and Jake’s persistence to annoy her, Erin struggles to fight her growing feelings for Jake. But, can Erin get past the hurt she felt all those years ago at the hands of a young Jake? Can Jake show Erin that what they have is worth fighting for?

 *This book is intended for an audience of 18 or older due to graphic sex scenes and language. **
Can be read as a standalone.

4 Stars 
Review by Lisa Kane

Lacey Black's first novel in the Rivers Edge Series, Trust Me, was Avery and Maddox's  story and I loved it! This one is about her brother Jake and Erin, the girl he briefly met and teased in 7th grade. Erin's parents moved around a lot and as an army brat, she never quite had a chance to have a stable childhood. But when she got to Rivers Edge, she hoped this time it would be different. A shy introvert, Erin recorded her deepest thoughts and desire in her journal, writing down all the hurts and wishes she had in her life.

Jake was the popular, bad boy. Erin secretly crushed on him, but knew someone like her could never attract someone like him. But Jake teased her constantly, always trying to get her attention. Like most immature boys, he teased her to get her to notice him. Did that work-no, but what 7th grade boy is smart enough to realize that? What he did do was to take her journal and pass it around so everyone knew her secrets. She was so humiliated and upset that she convinced her parents to send her to her grandmother's and she left.

Twenty years later, Erin returns to town to take over the position vacated by the retiring librarian. Other than a brief encounter in a grocery store, she has successfully avoided Jake. She may not have thought much of that encounter, but it has stayed with Jake.

Jake hasn't been able to get Erin out of his mind since he ran into her at the grocery store. She seemed to have so much hatred for him and he can't understand why. He also never knew why she suddenly left school all those years ago. Obviously, he didn't realize just how horrible his actions were and how badly Erin was hurt.

"I just needed to get away, Jake. The thought that everyone at school knew my secrets, my thoughts, hurt me. I wanted to be invisible and when you showed everyone my journal, you took that away from me. I was the girl who whined about her parents. The girl who cried herself to sleep at the thought of having to pick up and move one more time. The girl who had the biggest crush on the boy that every girl in school had a crush on. The girl who watched her entire life unravel before her eyes and couldn't do a thing to stop it."

Jake is a police officer and is a major player. His partner Maddox may be getting married to his sister, Avery, but there is no way he will follow suit. Hooking up with one night stands at Jack's Pub is more than enough for him. He loves his job and he is close to his family, especially Avery's daughter Brooklyn and his life is full.

But Jake is attracted to Erin and asks her out every chance he gets. Eventually he wears her down and they share a ton of chemistry.

Jake's tongue dives into my mouth, kissing me like he's a dying man and I am the only thing keeping him alive. His tongue duels my tongue, sliding against each other in the most delicious way. My entire body goes up in flames.

But Jake's job puts him in danger at any given moment and a domestic violence call will be the catalyst that Erin needed to admit that she has the same feelings for Jake that he has for her. Both of them have found the other half of themselves with each other that they didn't know they were missing.  Now if they could just stop fighting...

"Whatever, Jake. I'm done being humiliated by you. You just confirmed that you are the exact same person you were twenty years ago. A spoiled selfish boy who only cares about getting what he wants; be damned with everyone else."

There are a lot of siblings in the Stevens. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the Rivers Edge Series.



Librarian_TwoBookPushers
 
Excerpt
We don’t speak the entire ride back to my place. I still hold the melted bowl of ice cream in my hand when he pulls into my driveway and parks behind my Bug. I have no idea what he’s thinking. I’m sure he’s just dying to get this crazy, overly emotional girl out of his truck. “Well, thank you for the ice cream. I guess I’ll see you around,” I say as I turn towards the door to hop out. “Wait,” Jake says. The snow is coming down hard now and it’s hard to see my front steps. “Please don’t go.” Jake’s voice is raw with emotion. He sounds almost pained. I don’t want to turn and see his face. I know that if I turn around, I might actually believe whatever it is he is about to say. “Please look at me, Erin.” I take a deep breath and slowly turn around, steeling myself for the reaction I know is coming. When my eyes lock on his, I can’t fight the tears that spring in my eyes. His eyes are so full of pain and hurt. It’s too much. I need to get out of this truck. “I need to go inside.” “Erin, I’m…I’m so fucking sorry for what I did back then. I have no excuse for why I did it. I was just a stupid kid who was trying to get a rise out of you; trying to get you to notice me.” “Notice you? Why would you want me to notice you?” “I wasn’t lying at dinner that night when I told you I was trying to get your attention. I liked you.” “So you humiliated me and embarrassed me? Why? So I’d like you? Do you have any idea how messed up that is, Jake?” “I didn’t say it was logical. I was a kid. A kid who was used to getting exactly what he wanted, when he wanted it. I went about it the wrong way. I’m sorry.” “Well, you’re sorry. Great. Thank you.” I turn and open my door. “I’m going inside. Thank you for the ice cream, again. Have a great life.” “Wait!” he yells as he whips open his truck door and meets me around the front of the truck. “What, Jake? You’ve apologized. You don’t have to be nice to me anymore just to make yourself feel less guilt. I forgive you. You’re free.” I blink rapidly in the falling snow. It’s hitting and melting on my face, my hair, my coat. “Is that why you think I’ve been nice to you? I’ve been hanging out with you because I’ve felt guilty for what happened twenty years ago?” “Isn’t it?” I quip. “No!” I turn to walk towards my house, but Jake grabs my arm and spins me back around. My body crashes into his like it’s being slammed into a brick wall. He’s a foot taller than me so my face basically hits him straight in the pecs. “I’m tired, Jake. I don’t want to fight with you anymore.” “I don’t want to fight with you either, Erin.” Jake strokes his thumb up and down my numb cheeks. His fingers feel warm against the frostiness of my exposed skin. “Then what do you want?” I ask, my eyes pleading with him. For what, I’m not sure. “I want…I just want…you,” he whispers the last word as his full lips descend onto mine.


Jake_TwoBookPushers



Author Bio:
Lacey Black is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading, writing, and shopping. She carries her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two children, and a chocolate lab. Lacey loves watching NASCAR races and should only consume one mixed drink because she’s a lightweight.
Lacey welcomes the opportunity to chat with her fans.
Giveaway
$5 Amazon Gift Card
2 e-copies of Fight Me by Lacey Black

1 comment:

  1. Thank you SO much for your support and the 4-star review!! <3

    ReplyDelete

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