Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Blog Tour and Giveaway: After the Storm by M. Stratton




Synopsis

Alexia “Lexi” Hanson moved across the country to rebuild her life after the attack that almost destroyed her. She enjoys the simple things in her beach cottage. Life is finally complete.

Noah Matthews is Rock & Roll’s hottest star and on top of the world. After years without a break he finds the solitude he craves at his beach house. Enjoying his early morning coffee, Noah is surprised to see his neighbour sneak into his garden and crawl around.

They never saw that fateful morning coming. Someone was watching them. Someone who thought Lexi belonged to him and would stop at nothing to have her.

Lives are changed forever when they meet amongst the blooms in his garden. Even when things seem darkest, there is always light After the Storm.

Add After the storm to your TBR list



Lyndsie says...

*Warning this book does have some disturbing scenes that made me shiver and might cause me some nightmares.  Granted I am a wuss when it comes to stuff like this but still I want to throw that out there*

Where to begin, where to begin.  When I started this book I really didn’t know what I was jumping into.  After the prologue I thought WTH did I say yes to???

Noah Matthews is a rock star who has been going hard since the day his band was discovered.  He’s been on the road the majority of that time living the single life.  While he’s been single his band mates have settled down and gotten married, some have even had kids.  After the guys pushed him a little bit to slow down he thought his perfect vacation would be to head to his beach house.

Alexia “Lexi” Hansen is a photographer looking to start her life over, far away from La Jolla, CA where she was brutally attacked seven years ago.  Her grandmother had a beautiful beach house, which Lexi inherited after she passed away four prior.  She knew it was the place she wanted to live and decides now is the time to make that dream come true.  She adopts a wonderful golden retriever named Pepper from a shelter and is finally able to feel security in her life.  She loves her next-door neighbors, Sam and Martha, who are live-in caretakers for Noah.  Lexi has never met Noah, since he’s never there.  Sam allows Lexi access to Noah's garden to take photographs and that is how they meet one morning as she's rolling around the garden unaware that he's home.

After the two get to know each other a little better they can sense they have a special connection.  Noah decides he needs to be around her more and starts showing up wherever she is.  Lexi really doesn’t mind and they fall into an easy relationship.  Everything seems great.  Lexi feels she’s finally become herself again, even though some things seem off.  So consumed in Noah and the upcoming Talent Show at the senior center that she is putting on, Lexi brushes off any uneasy feelings she has.  Noah is wonderful, he has the strong urge to take care of Lexi even though she is stubborn and thinks she has everything under control.  He’s starting to get feelings for her and is thinking she could be who he wants to finally settle down with.

After a long day, Lexi is heading home, when out in the middle of basically nowhere, her car breaks down. She just had her car looked at so could this really be car trouble or is a force at work?  As she waits for Noah to come to get her she sees someone in the middle of the woods watching her.  Could it be him, her attacker?  He’s in jail in California… right?  She contacts the police in San Diego and they confirm that he has been released but assure her an ankle bracelet is monitoring him…it is all in her imagination. As Lexi and Noah grow closer, it feeds an evil that is watching them, stalking them and ultimately makes it’s self known in a show down that will twist you up.
 
Aside from Lexi & Noah we are introduced to the “Troublesome Trio”; these ladies are Lexi's grandmother's best friends.  When she was alive they called themselves the "Fearsome Foursome".  OMG they are HILIARIOUS!  Every time they were up to something I couldn’t stop laughing.  The Talent Show was awesome, couldn’t have picked a better act for them to do.  I truly hope my friends and I are just like that when we hit their age.  I mean you only live once right?!  Lexi’s best friend Evie is also mentioned throughout the book.  She’s been by Lexi’s side through everything that has happened to her.  She is a very strong character and I am happy to see that book two looks to be about her.  We also get to meet all Noah’s band mates and their families.  I loved how they were very warm and honest with Lexi, it was refreshing.

This story was addicting, I couldn’t didn’t put it down.  I only stopped to try to wrap my head around the creepy things that were laid out in front of me.  I seriously felt like I was reading scenes from America’s Most Wanted and it made my stomach turn.  I honestly wouldn’t take it out of the book.  M. Stratton can do the creepy factor, I will say that.  Beyond the creepiness there was a truly beautiful love story going on.  With Lexi’s past and Noah’s non-stop life it was amazing to see them grow together and watch how their future could pan out.  I loved how protective Noah was of Lexi and how he was always there for her when she seemed to need it most.

This story was different from anything I’ve read lately and I think that is why it pulled me in so much.  I got to the end thinking NOOOO its ending like this?!  I am VERY happy book 2 will be out in February since I need it like right now!  I can’t wait to see where this heads next!




ABOUT M. STRATTON


M. Stratton is a wife and mother who grew up in a small town north of Chicago before moving to Arizona. She is currently working in accounting for a plumbing company.

M. Stratton has spent years telling herself stories to fall asleep at night before deciding it was time to get them down on paper for the world to see. She currently has eight different stories fighting to be told. Like everyon
e else she was afraid to put the stories down and send to publishing companies. With today’s Indie market she decided now is the time.




 Things you don’t know about M. Stratton:


 1. She loves the movie Twister… she can say all the lines along with the actors. She will also use those lines in real life as often as possible.
2. Halloween is her favorite holiday. She starts planning months in advance. She has more Halloween decorations than Christmas.
3. She once made up a monologue about her love of chocolate chip cookie dough for her high school drama class.
4. There are times she thinks she is so funny she has tears running down her face while laughing at herself.
5. She is a smart ass and very sarcastic.
6. Cary Grant is her favorite actor.
7. Reading has always been an escape for her. She can devour a book in hours. When she moved in with her husband she literally donated over 1,000 books and saved over 1,000 for herself. She can reread books over and over again if she loves them. There are some that she has reread about once a year for the past 20 years.
8. She eloped after knowing her husband for only two months in 2006. They are still married, almost seven years later.



FOLLOW HER



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After the Storm!!

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