September 18, 2015

{^} Blog Tour & Dual Review {^} Complicate Me By M. Robinson

BLOG TOUR
Title: Complicate Me (The Good Ol’ Boys)
Author: Best Selling Author M. ROBINSON
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Day: September 14th
Cover Design: Rebecca Marie at The Final Wrap


It was complicated, it was also just the beginning.
A decision.
A simple choice.
There is always that one moment in life where things could have been different. That one moment where you could have chosen a path that would lead you down a certain road.
A different life.
It was easier to pretend that we were still best friends, and that she was my girl and I was her boy.
Pretending was better than knowing the truth...
I. Ruined. Us.
I had her.
I lost her.
I love her.
All I did was complicate us. 


This book…. oh my goodness the feels!!
I have read M. Robinson’s other books and I love the dark and twisty nature of them, and I can say that Complicate Me definitely does not disappoint!
I’m going to keep this short and sweet because I don’t want to drop any spoilers. This is a second chance romance and wow did it stir up the feelings!
We meet Alex and Lucas, two friends since childhood and the only girl surrounded by a close knit group of boys. Alex has always been a complete tomboy she knows how to hold her own with the guys. Lucas always just looked at her as a buddy until one day he realized he was deeply attracted to the girl she had grown into. Mistakes happen, hearts are pushed to their breaking points, will what you think should happen between them become a reality or will they move on? You are going to have to go and grab a copy of this book, and fast!!!

The story bounces between childhood and adulthood and is flawlessly written. The characters and storyline flow smoothly and are so likeable. There is plenty of angst and frustration as we watch the highs and lows in Alex and Lucas’ relationship, At times I wanted to slap Lucas silly and I found myself yelling at my kindle at one point. Unexpected surprises await you and there is no need to worry it doesn’t end in a cliffy! I loved this story and can’t wait for the next book in the series which I will no doubt be scarfing up as soon as I can. 





 Amazon
(Nook Coming Soon)



My brown eyed girl sat on our blankets with her arms wrapped around her knees, hiding her face. The tiny frame that I adored so much shook uncontrollably, only heightening the deepest sobbing that escalated with each passing second. It was such an intimate moment, not to be shared with anyone, especially me. Alex didn’t cry. I watched her bawl for the first time in my life. I had never seen anyone cry like that before, and it shook me to my core, slicing me whole, and making me feel like I was dying. Carving a memory that I would take to my grave. 
There was no going back…
No erasing.
No do overs.
No deleting.
What I witnessed tonight would be my purgatory; I would now close my eyes and forever see her falling apart in front of me. Shattering before my very own eyes and I found it hard to breathe.
Hard to move.
My feet were glued to the goddamn floor as she continued to weep, sob, bawl, violently sucking in air that wasn’t available. I accepted it all; each tear that fell from her face becoming pieces of me. Circulating through my veins and blood, it flowed endlessly, a river of her sadness and sorrow and of my broken promises. No beginning or ending to her cries, just an infinite current, flooding the hole where my heart should be. The shadow of her trembling petite body reflected off the walls, leaving a trail of regrets in its wake.
Mine.
Hers.
Ours.
Growing up in a small town you overheard a lot of things. People talking, stories told, town gossip. You listened a lot. You learned a lot. Tourists, townies, friends, and especially family all shared wisdom and advice that you think you will never need.
Bunch of bullshit.
They say you have that one moment in life where things could have been different, that one moment that changes the course of your life or the direction you could have taken. That one moment that could forever change you and everything you wanted to be true, everything you wanted to believe.
One simple decision could alter your entire future.
My entire world.
I would forever remember this moment for the rest of my life. This is the moment that changed everything. This is the moment where I took another direction, another road that led me to my own demise.
My own regrets. 
I should have walked in there. I should have apologized. I should have begged for her forgiveness. I should have promised that I would never hurt her again. I should have done whatever it took to make her look at me the way she had our entire lives.
But I didn’t…
I did none of those things…
Not one.
Nothing was said between us.
No words.
No actions.
I was a coward and couldn’t do it. I couldn’t see her like that. I couldn’t look into her eyes and know that I had hurt her. That I had disappointed her. That I ruined her love and lost her respect for me.
The boy who promised he would never hurt her.
The boy who swore he would always protect her.
The boy who vowed he would never let anything happen to her.
That same boy was me.
I was the reason she was bawling.
I was the reason she was hurt.
I was the reason she was broken.
She knew the truth. It had finally caught up to me… I shattered her illusion that I was hers. I ruined the one good thing I had in my life. The girl that owned my heart was bleeding out for me in a way that I had never seen before. The house was no longer our safe place.
I had brought my hurricane with me…
I couldn’t risk the possibility of losing her permanently if I walked in there and admitted my truths. She wouldn’t love me anymore, she wouldn’t look at me the same anymore, and she wouldn’t be mine anymore.
My brown eyed girl.
The girl that I had loved all of my life.
The same girl that I would love for the rest of my life.
Alexandra.
I gave her the only comfort I could in her moment of despair. I turned around and left. I walked down the stairs and got into my truck. I turned the engine on and drove my sorry ass home. I took a shower and never once looked at myself in the mirror. I pretended that nothing changed. That I didn’t cause her pain, and that she didn’t know the truth. That I didn’t see her sobbing and that she wasn’t even bawling to begin with. That we were still just best friends, and that she was my girl and I was her boy.
My Half-Pint and her Bo.
It was better than knowing…
I ruined us.


    Wild! I was just on an epic journey and I don’t even think anyone has even noticed how my heart is racing, or my hands are sweaty; I am a torn happy bundle of nerves. Yes I know, ‘torn happy’ can be considered an oxymoron, but I’m like a pendulum swinging from one extreme to the next. I really am completely surprised how this story has unfolded. I enjoyed every moment. Every joy, every sorrow. Every Kiss.
    Bo and Half-pint are my new favorite couple. And really they are a package deal, you can’t love one without the other, or be mad at one without the other. I will be honest there were times where I wanted to strangle them both. The passion they have for each other quickly diminished those thoughts just as quick as I had them.
THE PASSION.
WOW.
    Bordering on being compulsive the feelings of complete adoration between all the characters is what will make you fall in love with this book. Complicate me is a journey, a passage of life between 5 kids; 4 boys and 1 girl, who experience everything together, Their individual firsts becoming another bond that holds them together, whether it be wonder or lust, death, rip your heart out love, or just plain ol’ growing up, these good ol’ boys and Alex will sink their claws into you and bring you with them through the swirls and spray of life. M. Robinson makes you have All.Those.Feels. without apology or reservation. She wrote this life tale making me at one point not like her very much because I couldn’t handle where she was taking me. It’s ok. I’ve made peace with her J How could I not? Complicate Me is simply, beautiful. This story makes you realize what you have or what you could have from the things you never knew you wanted. I have two favorite quotes, and from the moment I read them at two very different stages of the story they jump out at me completely encompassing the soul of the story:

“Surfing, the boys, and Alex. That was my life.”

“I didn’t need to embrace her for her to feel me; she held my entire world in her arms.” ~~ Lucas POV

    If you’re looking for that epic tale of friendships and love with every emotion and experience in between, Complicate Me is that story for you. The first book in The Good Ol’ Boys Series, I am excited that we will soon have the second book that tells the story of forbidden love.
***I was given an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest experience. 



Best Selling Author M. Robinson loves to read. She favors anything that has angst, romance, triangles, cheating, love, and of course sex! She has been reading since the Babysitters Club and R.L. Stein.

She was born in New Jersey but was raised in Tampa Fl. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D in psychology, with two years left.

She is married to an amazing man who she loves to pieces. They have two German Shepherd mixes and a Tabby cat.  


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{*}Blog Tour & Review{*} Dirty Promises by Karina Halle



 Dirty Promises

By Karina Halle

RELEASE DAY: Sept 15
 
Blood. Sex. Revenge.
Being king comes at a brutal price.

Drug lord Javier Bernal has sliced and diced his way to the top of the Mexican drug trade, presiding over the country's largest cartel. But his rise to power comes at a brutal price: the death of his sister, Alana. Devastated and wracked with guilt, he turns away from his new wife, Luisa, forcing their marriage into a steady decline. But it isn't until she's pushed into the waiting arms of Esteban Mendoza, his right-hand man, that Javier realizes everything he's lost.

And it isn't until he learns the truth about Alana, that he realizes everything there is to gain.

Blood will spill.

Cities will burn.

Heads will roll.

Because Javier will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.

And what he wants is raw, ruthless revenge.



**Dirty Promises is the third and final book in the Dirty Angels Trilogy. While the other two books - Dirty Angels and Dirty Deeds - can be read as standalones, it is recommended you read at least Dirty Angels before reading Dirty Promises.
 



  
All my life, I thought I could operate under my own code of morals and ideals. It was no different than most, I supposed. The cop who has to shoot someone in self-defense. The soldiers that go to war and raid villages in the name of freedom. Everyone makes excuses for what they do, because they believe in it. Because they believe they are in the right.

I had always thought of myself as a somewhat civilized, almost classy, narco. I at least wanted to bring purpose and grace to what I did. I didn’t believe in killing mercilessly. I believed in mercy, in forgiveness, in giving people second chances. I believed in letting people go after I got what I wanted from them.

I believed that to snitch was an outrage, that even though we were dealing and fighting and killing to be in a billion dollar industry. I believed that religious celebrations were to be respected. I believed that family came first. I believed that women and children would not be harmed.

For a moment, I thought that perhaps I had lost my mind. Never mind the needless, senseless deaths that were already at my hands over the last few months. Never mind that I had broken promises to others, to myself. Dirty, filthy promises. It was then and only then that I knew I had lost who I was. That every moral fibre that I based myself on was threadbare and I was close, oh so close, to losing all sense of myself forever.

It scared me. I watched Luisa leave the room and though I was reeling from her own words, the callous ones that reached deep inside me and left a scar, I knew I might have damaged her beyond repair. I could heal myself in time, but could she? Would we?

I didn’t think so.
 
Before picking up the Dirty Angels Trilogy, I hadn’t read anything dark from Karina.  Only her contemporary romances.  These books literally blew me away.  I might be a little late to the table with this one, considering everyone has been telling me to start these books for a long time!

From the first book I read from Karina, I knew she had a gift of writing and it is very, very clear that is not just one genre.  It moves across multiple ones.  She captivates from the very start, and it has you flipping the pages until the very end.

So in Dirty Promises, which is the last installment of the Dirty Angels Trilogy, we see Javier and Luisa ruling the most powerful Cartel in Mexico.  He is slowly unraveling, distracted, racked with guilt, and a lot of pain.  This is causing a strain on his relationship with Luisa.

While he’s busy not paying the attention to his ‘dynasty’ something is happening and someone is going to try to make a play for Javier’s position.
Just when you think you know the depths of depravity these characters will go to, you will be completely surprised that it doesn’t stop there.  This book was very dark and twisted, and might not be for everyone, BUT I loved it.  You will not find hearts and flowers in this book, you will find cruelty, brutality, and LOYALTY. 


So where are all of my dark romance lovers at?  This series is for you.  You will not be disappointed!



 
 


Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Sky, Racing the Sun, The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

Halle is represented by the Waxman Leavell Agency and is both self-published and published by Atria Books/Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle , on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.com  and sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more.
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