Thursday, January 2, 2014

Review and Giveaway: Return to Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia




Beckett Taylor is a murderer. His calling, his craft are destruction and intimidation—whether he wants it that way now or not. He left Poughkeepsie to keep his brothers safe, to keep Eve safe. Set up with happy lives to live, they’re better off without him, right?

But all his willpower crumbles when he hears his brother Blake’s frantic voice on the phone. An unknown enemy has moved in on his old territory, and Livia’s been taken. In an instant, Beckett knows it will take an attack only he and Eve can execute to bring her back. All his self-imposed embargoes are torn to shreds, perhaps along with the new man he’s struggled to become.

“Brother, call Eve. I’ll be there soon.” 

In this emotional and action-packed sequel to Poughkeepsie, Debra Anastasia conjures a tale of love at its most raw and ragged. With Beckett and Eve, how could we expect anything less? But even when it’s messy, not magical, true love perseveres. Real love finds a way—for better or for worse until death does part.





Jamie says...


This book was amazing! Definitely a 5 Star!  This is the second book in the poughkeepsie series....You definitely need to read the first before reading this one, I have to be honest when I read the first one I wasn't sure how I felt about it until I was about half way through and realized hot damn this book is awesome!  This series isn't your typical love story, its about 3 "brothers" that try to find there way through life, they met in a foster home and kept in touch because they deemed themselves the only family they would ever have.  There is Blake, Cole, and Beckett--- and let me tell you they all have a hot men factor playing for them but all in different ways.  One of the things I absolutely love about this book is you get all the POV's of all the characters, this book is like having 3 love stories in one story.  

 In the first book you see how Blake learns to live with being homeless and the fear he has of being in the sun, but he meets Livia one day at a train station and she changes his whole world and she helps him become a better man by loving him and showing him that the sun can be safe.  Livia is your typical college student who thought she was in love until she realized the man she was in love with wasn't meant for her, but the sexy man that lives in the train station brings life to her.

You have Cole the man who wanted to be a priest because he felt like that was his calling in life, well until he meets Kyle (Livia's sister) and she changes him and they fall in love the first time they meet . She shows him that he can be loved and he does the same in return.  Kyle is a woman who just has sex to fill a void and tries to figure out if she can be with Cole because he is saint practically in her eyes and how could he love someone like her when she has slept with half the town.

Then you have Beckett, AHHH he is my favorite male character in this book he is a bad boy to the tee!  He is a criminal with lots of power and would kill anyone that stands in his way especially if they mess with his family. He has a trashy mouth and he can kill a man with one hand and he practically runs the town of Poughkeepsie.  Then he meets Eve, well she is by far my favorite female lead in a book. She is a bad ass and also can kill any man that stands in her way and she was set out to kill Beckett because he destroyed her normal life and made her the killer she is today. But that doesn't happen because they have the most chemistry I have ever seen with 2 characters and its literally explosive!

At the end of the first book Beckett goes into hiding because he killed Livia's ex bf because he tried to kill Blake, oh did I mention Livia's dad is the police captain! So the second book picks up where the first left off showing how Beckett is trying to become a better man but no matter what he does his past kicks him in the ass.  There is a lot that happens in this book and I don't want to spoil it for anyone but you learn more about all there lives and meet tons of new characters. Ryan being the new hot man on the scene! He is a police officer and he is out for blood with Beckett because of personal reasons.  

There are so many twists and turns in this book that it made my head spin.  Will Beckett's past destroy his whole family?? Will he and Eve end up together or does sexy Ryan steal Eve's heart away?  Blake and Livia have a huge role in this book and have there own struggles.  Cole and Kyle also have a huge role in this book and face a very devastating loss will they be able to pick up the pieces and move forward??  All of these struggles in some way have to do with Beckett.  But in the end will he have to jump back into his killer/criminal ways to save his family from a very bad mob family and join forces with the very man (Ryan) and the police captain who wants him dead also.  HMMM all these questions-- yes you need to get this book it was one of my favorite stories of the year and guess what?! Yes there is a third book!  I wasn't happy with the ending because it was a little bit of a cliff hanger but the story that was portrayed made up for the end!  This will be the story I will be waiting for in 2014!  Not quite sure when its coming out but god willing I hope its soon!!! 

Lea says...



Return to Poughkeepsie starts out about a year after the first book, Poughkeepsie, ended. Beckett is living on the lam, trying to stay away from his brothers and their women, and of course, Eve. He feels he is the only danger in their lives at this point, and in order to keep them safe, he must keep out of Poughkeepsie.

“His brothers. His brothers. Safe, happy. He’d expected to be dead when this time came. He’d expected to be on a spit roasting down in Hell.”

He finds that nearly impossible and breaks down, going to visit them. After an encounter with Eve, he decides that because he loves her so much, he needs to change his lifestyle and, really, himself. So, he sets out again, vowing to return only when he is good enough for her.

Fast-forward five years, and that is where the rest of this crazy story unravels.
Still no Beckett, and though Cole and Blake miss their brother everyone is doing his or her own thing, and life seems to be moving along fine, but not its perfect. Of course, that is when things start to happen, igniting the flame that has been simmering around their beloved city in Beckett’s absence.

Though this book is told in third person, with the perspective slanting towards different characters with each scene, I felt the main focus was on Beckett. And that made me ridiculously happy. I love that scary ass thug. He is so bad, has done so many horrible, horrendous things, but he has the biggest heart of any character I have ever read. His desire to be a better man, a good person, and his subsequent thoughts that he would never be good enough, had me near tears.

“His heart overflowed with good intentions but his fists felt best covered in blood.”

And then there is Eve, the mother of all bad-assery. She is so freaking formidable, and lethal…and just plain awesome. If ever you found the need to turn into a freaking weapon, you’d wish you could be just like her. She’s like what serial killers wanna be when they grow up. The feelings between these two are palpable, and the foreplay? Hide the weapons, and the fine china. And as usual, Beckett’s thoughts of Eve are part sentimental, part crazed, and always lustful.

“She had a corset on, goddamn it, and her tits were so distracting it was obscene. Across her chest hung rounds of ammo like she’d just won the beauty pageant of death….”

As I said, there are bits of everyone throughout the book, so we get to see what changes have come to Blake and Livia, Cole and Kyle. We get to experience some harrowing and heartbreaking ordeals right along with them. Just as in the first installment, the love is flowing and the connections intense.

I so freaking loved this book, just as I did the first. The story has absolutely everything—action, sex, sorrow, angst, violence, love, and above all, an admirable brotherly connection that cannot be broken. I gave Return to Poughkeepsie five stars and was thrilled it came out in time to be added to my Top 13 of 2013. 

Oh, and I cannot freaking wait for book three!





Debra Anastasia is busy, just like every other mom. There's dinner, the dogs, the two kids, and her violent IBS--which is under control thanks to medication except for occasional multi-tonal farts. Her first love and crowning achievement is her thriving career as the weirdest mom on the block.

Her writing started a decent handful of years ago when--along with the animals and humans in her house--the voices of characters started whispering stories in Debra's ear. Insomnia was the gateway to plots that wouldn't give up, wouldn't let go. Now they stalk her everywhere. Halfway through making lunches, a twist takes hold and--fingers full of peanut butter--she finds somewhere, anywhere to write it down.

She's eternally grateful to Omnific Publishing, which has now published four of her books: two in the Seraphim Series and two in the Poughkeepsie Brotherhood Series, as well as her novella, Late Night with Andres. That one is special because 100% of the proceeds go to breast cancer research. (So go get it right now, please!) She also very much appreciates her open-minded readers, who embrace everything she has to offer, with a focus on anti-heroes and bathroom humor.

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