Title: You Loved Me At My Darkest
Series: You Loved Me #1
Author: Evie Harper
Series: You Loved Me #1
Author: Evie Harper
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Host by: Book Empire Promotions
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22351239-you-loved-me-at-my-darkest
SYNOPSIS
Lily
Ripped from Heaven, Burned in Hell.
Caught and caged in beauty.
Beauty comes at a cost.
One man holds the key to our survival, to our freedom.
Find out how I lived and lost the greatest thing on earth.
Love.
Jake
I didn't see her coming and that will be my downfall.
She will ruin me, take everything from me, and give me everything I can't have.
I can't help her. I won't.
She is innocence. She is strength.
She is my piece of heaven in hell.
I’m not letting her go.
PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON US I AMAZON UK I AMAZON AUS I AMAZON CA I BARNES & NOBLE I ITUNES I KOBO
REVIEW
5 - stars
First off let me start by saying I love a good dark read. Love it - maybe I'm just twisted like that - who knows. I loved this book. While not as dark as some I've read it still has some of those same elements.
The Prologue reeled me in for one painfully beautiful journey - see below. When we meet Sasha and Lily they're setting out in their own journey. They've lost their parents in a horrific accident, they've maintained their families farm, and decided together it's time for them to see the world. First stop New York City.
Jake had been working for Marco for 4 long years. He knows the kind of beauty and appeal to look for in his mark for Marco's collection. She should be alone, no family to search for her, beautiful, exotic, and foreign. Jake's found the perfect "piece" but does he really want to force his world upon her? But that decision is taken out of his hands.
Thrown into the world of human trafficking Lily finds strength and hope within herself and in a most unlikely place. Her guard, Jake. While he admires her tenacity, grit, and strength he quickly tells her there is no escape for her, there's no hope, all the while he's slowly falling for her and showing a side of himself that's not tolerated by Marco. But, alas, he has his eye on another prize and can't take any chances on something or someone getting in his way.
Through this whole book I was intrigued, hopeful, doubtful, angry, and on the edge of my kindle. I didn't want to put it down. For a debut novel, this is a home run. I can't wait to read You Loved Me At My Weakest and You Loved Me At My Ugliest. No, there's not a cliffie - just more wonderful storytelling to be told.
First off let me start by saying I love a good dark read. Love it - maybe I'm just twisted like that - who knows. I loved this book. While not as dark as some I've read it still has some of those same elements.
The Prologue reeled me in for one painfully beautiful journey - see below. When we meet Sasha and Lily they're setting out in their own journey. They've lost their parents in a horrific accident, they've maintained their families farm, and decided together it's time for them to see the world. First stop New York City.
Jake had been working for Marco for 4 long years. He knows the kind of beauty and appeal to look for in his mark for Marco's collection. She should be alone, no family to search for her, beautiful, exotic, and foreign. Jake's found the perfect "piece" but does he really want to force his world upon her? But that decision is taken out of his hands.
Thrown into the world of human trafficking Lily finds strength and hope within herself and in a most unlikely place. Her guard, Jake. While he admires her tenacity, grit, and strength he quickly tells her there is no escape for her, there's no hope, all the while he's slowly falling for her and showing a side of himself that's not tolerated by Marco. But, alas, he has his eye on another prize and can't take any chances on something or someone getting in his way.
Through this whole book I was intrigued, hopeful, doubtful, angry, and on the edge of my kindle. I didn't want to put it down. For a debut novel, this is a home run. I can't wait to read You Loved Me At My Weakest and You Loved Me At My Ugliest. No, there's not a cliffie - just more wonderful storytelling to be told.
~~Shannon~~
PROLOGUE
Hopelessness wraps around my body like a tight cord. Alone and beaten, each breath comes quicker. My eyes are almost swollen shut, with only tiny slivers of light shining through to let me know it’s daytime. Thick, rough rope scrapes harshly against my wrists. A dirty
white dress, held up on my shoulders by thin straps, covers my shaking body.
What have I done? I failed in my escape,
caught in the grasp of evil again. Have I failed Lily too? Will I die down
here—never being able to let my sister know how thankful I am that she did
everything she possibly could do to save me? I would give up anything in this
world to tell her how much I love her, and to tell her to keep fighting.
So many hits to the head has left it pounding like it never has before. I've vomited twice already. I dread more may be coming up. My lip quivers and my chest expands heavily. Tears squeeze
through my swollen eyes and spill down my face.
I hear the door opening, and I sense movement near my body. Hot breath heats my cheek letting me know someone’s there. "Sasha, you need to reveal to us who helped you, or things are only
going to get a lot worse for you." A gruff voice I know all too well
causes bile to rise and threatens to empty again.
I turn my head away and say, “I will never give up who helped me.” Only my words come out all wrong and slurred. What's wrong with my speech?
He sighs. "Fine then, the hard way it is." I laugh in my mind. Given what I have
already been through, I thought that already was the hard way.
I'm pulled upwards by the ropes around my
wrists, and he begins walking. I fall to my knees as soon as I try to take my
first step.
"Get up," he growls.
My hands are yanked up, and my shoulders
scream from the pain. A whimper tries to escape but can't get past the lump in
my throat. He grips my elbow and pulls me along with him.
Light explodes between the tiny cracks in
my swollen eyes and heat from the sunshine hits my skin. I realise I’m outside.
I smell the salty ocean air and feel the chilly breeze. He continues to walk me
for a moment, and then stops. I'm pushed to my knees, and then my hands are
lifted above my head and tied to something round. I feel it with my fingertips;
it’s hard and rough, and feels like a wooden pole.
"Now, boys, watch and learn. This is
what we do to slave girls who try to escape and protect traitors." I can
hear the sick excitement in his voice. He has been gunning for me ever since I
arrived.
My head is still thumping painfully, and
my chest is rising and falling fast, waiting for the first punch to come. Trying
to predict from which angle, so I can brace for the pain, I feel it.
A scream is ripped from my throat as a searing sensation runs down my back. I arch in response to the blistering pain.
I sob when I realise he's whipping me. I try to move forward to get away. When I
feel it again, I scream. My back forces itself forward, trying uselessly to get
away from the attacking whip.
Trying to force my hands out of the ropes
to defend myself has caused my wrists to throb with pain. I want to crawl into
a ball and try to protect what piece of untouched flesh I have left.
I scream again as the whip slashes through my thin dress and skin. The pungent smell of metallic fills my nose. The sliminess of my blood as the whip flicks down my back, seeps downward. The
pounding in my head is growing. My eyes are begging me to open them to see, to
escape. My body arches again along with a piercing scream from another strike.
Tears overflowing through my swollen eyes, I can taste the saltiness on my lips. My head sags to my chest, my breathing heavy. I sense my body going faint. I'm so tired. The promise of
unconsciousness whispers on the edges of my mind. Darkness begins to envelope me.
All of a sudden, I hear screaming in the distance. I recognise that voice. It's Lily. She's getting closer. Oh, thank God, I can tell her how much I love her. How much she has been the best big
sister anyone could ever ask for, and demand that she keeps fighting.
Suddenly, I'm turned over. I hear her sweet voice talking to me; she's crying. Lil's arms feel so warm around my body. Home. I'm finally home. I love you,Lil. I try to say except my mouth won't move. I scream it in my mind to her. I love you, Lily! These are my last thoughts as darkness surrounds me and the light drifts away.
ABOUT EVIE HARPER
Evie Harper is an Aussie author who releases her debut novel, You Loved Me At My Darkest on the 28th of August 2014.
Book #1 will be followed by You Loved Me At My Weakest releasing Nov 2014 and, You Loved Me At My Ugliest releasing February 2015.
Evie is a bookaholic and is never found without her kindle, if by chance she doesn’t have it, she has severe separation anxiety. When Evie isn’t writing or reading, most of the time you can find her playing Uno, Trouble or Monopoly with her husband and two children.
Links -
Facebook: https://twitter.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Pinterest: http://www.
GIVEAWAY
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33951d4532
Thank You! <3
ReplyDelete