The Reason Is You
Sharla Lovelace
“Sometimes falling into the past is the way forward.”
Genre: Paranormal Rovance
Publisher: Berkley
Available with New Mass Market cover May 7th
Anything but normal…
Dani Shane just wants her daughter to have what she never did—a normal life. But “normal” leaves the equation when sixteen-year old Riley is found talking to Dani’s only friend, Alex—who has been dead for forty years.
In the small river town of Bethany, Dani never fit in. Being different pushed her to the fringes of society, and even leaving town for two decades didn’t stop the talk. Now that she’s back, so is Alex. Mischievous and sexy and still hot enough to melt her shoes. Between his popping in at inopportune moments and her having to hide her daughter’s new talent, Dani fears that her plans for staying under the radar may be short-lived.
As Dani scrambles to get solid footing under her family, secrets buried for forty years begin to unearth themselves. She and Alex have always been connected, but he is hiding something. The computer is making her hear things. Weird memories that she doesn’t recognize keep popping up in her mind. Then there’s that little thing she hasn’t told her daughter yet—that some of the people she sees aren’t breathing.
Excerpt:
My head said to walk forward, but my feet went numb. Then he looked my direction, and suddenly I was head-to-toe buzz with blood rushing in my ears. I took a deep breath and attempted normal as I made it down the steps without tripping.Review:
Riley saw Alex. Riley wasn’t supposed to see people like Alex.
She had her usual folded-arms-with-one-hip-jutted stance, looking annoyed as hell, while Bojangles circled the yard in a frenzy with his nose to the ground. Alex slowly took off his glasses and locked his blue eyes in on mine with that arrogant little smile of his. I felt heat radiate from every pore.
“Dani,” he said, low and smooth, and all the breath left me. “My God, look at you.”
I opened my mouth to say the same thing, that after twenty-plus years he still looked exactly the same, hot enough to melt my shoes. But then the mommy gene stood up and waved and I remembered Riley was there.
He laughed, a deep throaty sound, as he pointed at Riley.
“I knew it had to be.”
A nervous noise squawked from my mouth. Nothing profound like I always imagined it would be.
“The eyes were the first clue,” he said with a wink.
Riley frowned, her expression a mix of disgust and wariness.
“God, you know this perv? He was here on the car watching me and won’t tell me who the hell he is.”
He smirked. “The sweet, gentle nature was the clincher.”
This book is a stand alone, not part of any series (that I know of). I will be honest and say that I signed up for this book tour and review because after reading the first chapter, I was excited and hooked. Add in the paranormal romance genre and I was soooo there. Now after reading the book, I feel exhausted, simply wasted emotionally. This book ran the gamut of emotions and took me on a roller coaster of highs and lows, moving from one extreme to another.
This is the story of 40 year old Danielle Shane. She is moving back to Bethany, Texas and her father's house with her 16 year old daughter Riley in tow. Dani has lost her job as a graphic designer in Texas and hasn't been able to find work. To keep a roof over her daughter's head and food on the table, the options are limited. She is just worried that her reputation as the "weird girl" will taint Riley. That is until she finds out that Riley has her same weird gift - the ability to see and talk to the dead. How does she explain this to Riley without sounding crazy?
On the job front, Dani manages to get a job working in the local Bait 'n Feed scheduling the fishing charters and selling bait. This is such a step down from what she was doing, she refuses to list her former job history on the application. But since she is a hometown girl, and her father is still a large part of the fishing community, she easily gets the job. Dani finds out that the Bait 'n Feed has a new owner, a smoking hot new member of the community, Jason Miller. Dani is introduced to him after she rear ends him on the way into work, and only later finds out that he is her boss. Watching Dani and Jason dance around each other, striking sparks and trying to figure each other out was a great part of the story.
Then there is Dani's relationship with her daughter Riley and her dad Nathaniel. Being a part of their interactions and dynamic gave some much needed comedic relief to some of the heaviest emotional parts of this book. I had figured out Dani's unique relationship with Alex before she did and I can understand why she was blind to the connection. What a massive discovery to make and have to deal with.
I spent quite a few sections of the book in tears. Typically I just don't read books that I know will make me cry. However, I quickly was invested in the story and just had to see it through. But this story also had me laughing and snickering out loud as well as repeating dialogue to myself. This is what I meant by the emotional roller coaster.
This book felt much more like contemporary romance or even chick lit than it did paranormal romance. Yes, there are definitely paranormal aspects and it's a romance, but it just didn't have the feel of other books in the genre. That is not necessarily a bad thing as other people may prefer chick lit to paranormal romance and this could be a nice bridge to the genre. It was a good book, with humor and great dialogue, but I am not sure if I like feeling this wrung out from reading the book. Although I am sure that will be just the thing that others love about this book. Bottom line, I am giving this book 3 stars on Goodreads and a suggestion to check it out for yourself.
Giveaway:
Sharla will be awarding a custom tote bag with book swag, a themed recipe card and $20 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. So make sure to visit the other stops on the tour and leave lots of love for the author!
Book Tour Info:
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Book Tour:
Storm Goddess Book Reviews and More
Read Your Writes Book Reviews
The Dan O'Brien Project
Cocktails and Books
Shelley's Book Case
United by Books
Simply Ali
The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object
Wicked Readings by Tawania
Love, Laughter, Friendship
Musings and Ramblings
Deal Sharing Aunt
Once Upon A Book
Book 'em North Carolina
Fic Talk
IndieWritersReview
Sugarbeat's Books
Brianna Lee Book Reviews
My Devotional Thoughts
Illustrious Illusions
Stitch Read Cook
As the Pages Turn
My Odd Little World
Queen of All She Reads
Long and Short Reviews
Welcome to My World of Dreams
Author Bio:
Sharla Lovelace is the National Bestselling Author of THE REASON IS YOU, BEFORE AND EVER SINCE, and the e-novella JUST ONE DAY. Being a Texas girl through and through, she’s proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her family, an old lady dog, and an aviary full of cockatiels.Sharla is available by Skype for book club meetings and chats, and loves connecting with her readers! See her website www.sharlalovelace.com for book discussion questions, events, and to sign up for her monthly newsletter.
To connect with the author online:
Thank you for the review, I think I will like the book.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Dani and all of her relationships sound well written.
ReplyDeleteBrandi
@ Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Oh, they were. All of the relationships were done very well.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good book. You should check it out. :)
ReplyDeleteI cannot say enough about these giveaways. I constantly find books and authors I want to read that I wouldn't have know about otherwise. Thank you for the giveaway, it is amazing.
ReplyDeleteMe too. That is why I have begun signing up for them. Plus they are just so much fun!
ReplyDelete