Title: In Harmony
Author: Emma Scott
Release Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Tagline: “The root of all madness is an unbearable truth...”
In Harmony Blurb
The root of all madness is an unbearable truth…
At seventeen, Willow Holloway’s life was torn apart. The happy, driven girl is gone, and she is left wracked by post-traumatic stress her body remembers even if she does not. When her father suddenly uproots the family from their posh penthouse in New York City to the tiny town of Harmony, Indiana, Willow becomes more untethered and lost under the weight of her secret. On a whim, she auditions for a part in the community theater’s production of Hamlet and unexpectedly wins the role of Ophelia—the girl who is undone by madness, and her love of Hamlet…
Isaac Pierce is from the ‘wrong side of the tracks.’ The town bad boy. Girls pine for his attention and guys are in awe of him. That he’s an acting prodigy only adds to his charisma. Isaac utterly disappears into his characters; the stage is the only place he feels safe from his own traumatic home life. He wants nothing more than to escape to Broadway or Hollywood, and leave Harmony behind for good.
No one can play Hamlet but Isaac, and when the director pairs him with Willow in acting class, they clash again and again—neither willing to open their hearts to anyone. But clashing leads to breaking, breaking leads to the spilling of terrible secrets, and soon Isaac and Willow find Shakespeare’s words mirroring their lives. When they are cruelly torn apart, neither know how this play will end—with madness and heartache? Or healing, love, and the discovery of who they are truly meant to be.
In Harmony is a standalone NEW ADULT love story, and is intended for readers 18 and up. PLEASE NOTE, this book contains sensitive material such as physical abuse, and the aftermath of sexual assault (off the page). Reader discretion is advised.
At seventeen, Willow Holloway’s life was torn apart. The happy, driven girl is gone, and she is left wracked by post-traumatic stress her body remembers even if she does not. When her father suddenly uproots the family from their posh penthouse in New York City to the tiny town of Harmony, Indiana, Willow becomes more untethered and lost under the weight of her secret. On a whim, she auditions for a part in the community theater’s production of Hamlet and unexpectedly wins the role of Ophelia—the girl who is undone by madness, and her love of Hamlet…
Isaac Pierce is from the ‘wrong side of the tracks.’ The town bad boy. Girls pine for his attention and guys are in awe of him. That he’s an acting prodigy only adds to his charisma. Isaac utterly disappears into his characters; the stage is the only place he feels safe from his own traumatic home life. He wants nothing more than to escape to Broadway or Hollywood, and leave Harmony behind for good.
No one can play Hamlet but Isaac, and when the director pairs him with Willow in acting class, they clash again and again—neither willing to open their hearts to anyone. But clashing leads to breaking, breaking leads to the spilling of terrible secrets, and soon Isaac and Willow find Shakespeare’s words mirroring their lives. When they are cruelly torn apart, neither know how this play will end—with madness and heartache? Or healing, love, and the discovery of who they are truly meant to be.
In Harmony is a standalone NEW ADULT love story, and is intended for readers 18 and up. PLEASE NOTE, this book contains sensitive material such as physical abuse, and the aftermath of sexual assault (off the page). Reader discretion is advised.
5 Stars
Review by Jen Skewes
I loved this book. I am not sure I can even put into words how
much or the emotions that went through me while reading it. In true Emma Scott fashion this book will tug
on your heartstrings, pull out every emotion, and make you fall in love with
Willow and Isaac. I could not put this one down. In Harmony is a story about
two people who are so broken and because of this have constructed a brick wall
round them, making it hard for anyone to break down. He wants to get out of the small town that he
grew grew up in and she wants to stay, to start over and find her true self
again. Together they slowly knock down each other's walls. It will break you at times but these two very
beautifully broken people will completely capture your heart. Watching their story unfold as they slowly
break down each other’s walls, as they both begin to find themselves, as they
fall in love and find solace in each other is so breathtakingly beautiful and
heartbreaking all in one.
Willow was your normal teenage girl, popular,
friendly, and happy until one day it was all taken away. Since that day she has just been living, and
nothing more. That day has left her with
nothing, it has X’d out everything in her life that once mattered. She is set to move from New York to the small
town of Harmony due to her father’s job.
Once in Harmony she finds a new friend, meets a boy with a James Dean
quality to him and most importantly she finds the theater and acting. Her role in the play Hamlet has become everything
to her. She needs this play, it’s the
one thing that she does not want to lose.
It becomes her salvation, her way of coping. And in some weird life it begins to resemble
everything that is her life right now.
Isaac Pearce is in his own way broken, losing
his mother at a young age, and a drunk for a father he has had to fend for
himself. He has a bad reputation at
school, and since losing his mother has not really spoken to anyone. He finds his words in his acting. When he is on stage you can see and feel every
emotion he has pouring out of him. This
is his ticket out of the hell that is his life.
But when he meets Willow, something inside of him changes. She is just as broken as he is but for
different reasons. But he can see it in
her eyes, in her emotions on stage. He
is drawn to her and for some reason finds comfort in her. He trusts her with his darkest secrets and he
knows that she is hiding her own as well.
Neither one of them wanted anything more than a friendship, but they
cannot help the magnetic pull that they have towards each other, both
physically and emotionally. Are they
both too broken to move on? Can they
both find what they need in Harmony and be happy?
Willow and Isaac both held my heart captive
from the moment I met them. Isaac is
this amazing and beautiful boy who has nothing to offer but will do his best to
give Willow everything she needs, and he is just the person that she needs to
be able to wash all those X’s away and find the light again. Willow is this beautiful young woman who has
been carrying around so much pain. She
has kept it all in, until she meets Isaac.
The moment when they both open up, especially Willow will just break
you.
I cannot express how much I loved this
book. Emma Scott has this amazing way
with words. With each books she writes
she continues to blow me away. With
every word written she manages to draw you in, make you feel with the
characters, never wanting to let go. And
In Harmony was no different. I swear
with every book she writes it becomes my new favorite of hers. Her writing is flawless. Her words will capture you and stay with
you.
In Harmony Excerpt
“I’m so…not into being with someone right now,” Willow said with a nervous lilt to her words. “Not for a while, anyway.”
I heard a whisper on the breeze, or ever again. A heaviness in her eyes hinted she had lost something and had almost given up trying to find it.
She hasn’t given up, I thought, a fierce admiration welling in me. That’s why she’s doing the play. To find it again.
In that moment, I vowed to try to cut out all the egotistical bullshit and jealousy over Justin. The dance was out of range now anyway. I couldn’t ask her to go even if I wanted to. Which I didn’t. My job was to help her find what she was looking for in Hamlet, however I could. Even as it dented my eagerness to get the hell out of Harmony.
Willow shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted at me. “So what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you like anyone?” she asked, her voice a half tone higher than usual. She laughed. “That’s such a high school thing to ask.”
“No,” I said. “If all goes to plan, I’m leaving Harmony, remember? Stupid to start something now.”
“Sure. Makes sense.”
A silence fell.
“Yeah, so I probably won’t go to the dance,” Willow said. “I’m not good in that kind of situation anymore.”
“What kind of situation?”
She shook her head. “Never mind. I should get back.”
Willow started to scoot down off the block. I held my hand out to her to help. She hesitated for a fraction of a second and then took it. I held my other hand out and she took that too. I steadied her as she hopped down and then we were standing face to face. Close enough I could see her pale blue eyes had lighter shards of blue in them, like a topaz. Close enough to smell the sweetness of her breath—coffee tinged with sugar. Close enough to dance if we wanted.
“Thanks,” Willow said, gazing up at me.
“Sure,” I said.
I still held her hands. She didn’t let go.
“So,” she breathed, still not moving.
“Yeah.”
I glanced down at our hands. I hadn’t touched something this soft and good in ages. The sleeve of her coat bunched up and I spied a black mark on the inside of her forearm, close to her wrist. Willow drew in a breath as I turned her hand over. An X, about the size of a quarter, was stark on her pale skin.
She tugged her hands away. “I really need to get back.”
Every instinct cried out to take her hand again, to ask her what the X meant. To lick my thumb and erase it off her skin. I didn’t know what it meant but the sight of it made my stomach feel heavy.
“Willow—”
“I doodle when I’m bored. I told you that.” Her voice was sharp but her smile wobbled. “Let’s go.”
We walked the short distance back to town wordlessly. Back in front of the theater, Willow shouldered her bag and glanced around. “Thanks for today. I think Martin would be happy with our progress.”
“I do too.”
God, would he, I thought.
“So, I guess I’ll see you Monday?” she said.
“You have a ride home?”
“Oh, uh…” She still wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I was thinking of walking.”
“To Emerson Hills?” I said. “That’s a mile and a half and it’s getting dark soon.”
She raised her brows. “I’m not allowed to walk in the dark?”
“You’re allowed,” I said, “but I don’t want you to.”
Author Bio
Emma Scott writes romances with flawed characters, characters with artistic hearts: builders, poets, and writers of various makes and models. And love always wins. Always.
Where to Find Emma:
Facebook: https://www.
Twitter: @EmmaS_writes
Instagram: @EmmaScottWrites
Amazon: http://bit.ly/
Twitter: @EmmaS_writes
Instagram: @EmmaScottWrites
Amazon: http://bit.ly/
Purchase Links
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2BvKuGq
Amazon Universal: myBook.to/InHarmony
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/
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