Blog Tour and Giveaway: The Spiral Down: Aly Martinez

by - Wednesday, May 18, 2016


The Spiral Down FOR WEB.jpgThe Spiral Down
Aly Martinez
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I was afraid to fly.

He made me soar.

After years of climbing the ladder of success in the music industry, I finally had everything I could want.

Yet I still found myself wandering through life alone.

Captain Evan Roth was the one man I never saw coming.

Tall, dark, mysterious… Straight.

We were both damaged beyond repair and searching for something so elusive we weren’t sure it even existed.

But, when two broken souls collide in midair, falling is a given.

I just never expected to crave the spiral down.


the spiral down excerpt 4.jpg
Henry Alexander has it all--fame, money, talent, and friends. But he seeks true unconditional love, or at least says that is what he wants. He's a gay man who seems to thrill in the chase and surrender of straight men. He's not afraid to go after what he wants. But it is all just temporary and he is left when all is said and done.

Evan Roth has been struggling with his career and a recent break up. He has a scarred and guarded heart and just could not seem to reciprocate his ex's feelings. He is terrified of getting too close and getting hurt. 


Henry and Evan start out with a bad first impression, but Evan becomes a calming influence on the panicked man. But then he also becomes more attractive. Henry is gay. Evan lives a straight life. But what is really going on between them?

It's a game of cat and mouse with building desires, personal rules, and barriers. There is sizzling, sexual tension and chemistry between them. Evan has walls in place for self protection, but Henry is a force that keeps breaking them down piece by piece.

Henry comes along with his famous lifestyle and his own issues. Henry longs to be accepted, loved, and to be special to someone. But he has deep seated fears and insecurities and tends to sabotage himself. And he is afraid of pushing Evan too hard and too fast and scaring him away. While Evan has his own demons holding him back. It's a battle between what they want and self preservation. Long distance adds extra complications. They are both terrified to be vulnerable and risk rejection. They break each other down then piece each other back together. But their communication issues and lack of full disclosure threaten to tear them apart.

I was attached to Henry already after meeting him in The Fall Up and I continued to like him. He was a star, but down to Earth. He was definitely dramatic and comical. But he certainly had some issues and flawed logic. His tendency to chase straight men for the thrill of it could be a trigger or an issue for some readers. But I  could see it as one more layer of self protection.

I loved Evan especially when he would show his vulnerability and open up. He could really be passionate, honest, and swoonworthy. He brought balance. But he could also be evasive and his full personal story was kept secret for most of the book, but we knew he had lasting effects from it.

At times these two are a hot mess due to their confusion. I did get frustrated by their tendency to avoid, run, and not effectively communicate. There were times I wanted to smack sense into both of them. There was some definite angst, drama, and some twists.

There were things I really liked and some things I was not so sure of. I had some issues with some minor plot stuff, sometimes keeping track of which point of view I was reading, and some of the angst. I liked the humor, banter, camaraderie of their friends. This can be read as a stand alone, but it was fun getting more with Levee and Sam from The Fall Up. And I enjoyed Henry's bodyguard, Carter, and his best friend, Scott. I could see them becoming heroes if the series continues. Another female character, Robin also added some more mystery and drama.

The characters were generally likable, quirky, and flawed. It was sweet, emotional, humorous, and dealt with issues of self worth and acceptance. These two men were both definitely in need of a true connection, were plagued by fears, and had a hard time taking a leap of faith, but it was an interesting journey along the way. 


I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Henry
“How about you and one of your girls come out to my show in L.A. next week? My treat. Dinner, drinks, the whole deal. Evan and I would love to take you two beautiful ladies out for an evening.”
“Excuse me?” he exclaimed, cocking his head to catch my gaze.
I leaned back into my seat and lifted a hand to massage his shoulder. I was barely able to suppress a moan when the angle of his firm trap muscle met my palm.
Fuck, this guy was built like a brick wall. And I was going to love every second of watching him crumble for me.
“Oh, come on, Evan. It’s the least we can do. Double date.” I winked at Jessica. “You can fly them out! My plane should be ready by then.”
Jessica’s eyes jumped to Evan’s. “You’re a pilot?” Her smile spread irritatingly wide.
Back off, Ginger Spice.
Snapping my fingers in her direction, I corrected, “He’s my pilot.”
Subtlety was not a virtue I possessed. Was subtlety a virtue at all?
“Your temporary pilot,” he amended before shaking his head and then tipping his beer to his lips for a long pull.
“Anyway. Do we have a date?” And, by date, I meant feeding her dinner while I attempted to work my way into Evan’s pants.
She pressed one finger to her lips and then nervously flashed her eyes around the cabin.
“Oops. Sorry.” I shrugged sheepishly. Lifting my drink to my mouth, I discreetly passed her my cocktail napkin and then not-so-discreetly brushed my forearm against Evan’s chest as I pulled away.
He offered her a tight smile just before she disappeared.
I grinned proudly.
“What the fucking hell was that?” he whisper-yelled at me.
“That was me getting a woman’s number.”
He arched an eyebrow. “A woman. Really?”
“What? Is that not allowed?” I feigned innocence.
He clenched his fist in his lap, and it made me suddenly aware that my own hands had stopped trembling—and in record time, I should note. Evan seemed to be quite useful in the art of distraction.
He leaned closer. “Don’t bullshit me. I looked you up. You’re…” He stopped, unwilling to say the big, bad “G” word.
“I’m what?” I taunted.
He rolled his eyes and chugged the rest of his beer.
We went back to silence until Jessica came back by with another drink, complete with her phone number written on the napkin.
“I’m not going on a double date,” Evan said as I tucked the napkin into my pocket. “You want me to fly them out? Not a problem. Schedule it with Jackson. But that’s the extent of my professional responsibilities. And, since I’m off the clock right now, I’d also like to mention that I think whatever play you’re planning to run on that woman is fucked up.”
My head snapped to his. “I’m sorry. Play?” I asked with more attitude than I had originally planned.
“Yes. Play,” he sneered.
I stirred my drink. “Let me get this straight. I’m offering to fly her out in a private jet, feed her dinner at one of the best restaurants in the city, and put her front row at a concert that has been sold out for over a year. That doesn’t seem like a play to me. It sounds like I’m trying to do something nice for a woman I was rude to earlier.” I casually leaned back in my seat. “My conscience doesn’t ‘play’ when it comes to apologies.”
“Right. Well, maybe you should have a chat with your conscience, because she looks like she just won the date of a lifetime. Meanwhile, you don’t even like women.” He stalled, no doubt looking for just the right word to express his disgust without sounding like a bigot. Judging by his gentleness when we’d taken off, he wasn’t the type of guy to go for the fag bomb.
I watched him intently, excited to see how he was going to handle this.
“You’re gay.”
I frowned at his lack of creativity. “Not that it’s any of your damn business. But I’ll have you know I love women.”
It wasn’t a lie. I adored women. Especially Levee and Robin.
I just didn’t like pussy. Meh. Semantics.
He gaped. “You’re bi?”
“And I’ll repeat: None of your damn business. But yeah. Do you have a problem with that?”
Again, it wasn’t necessarily a lie.
Was I bisexual? Fuck no. My cock was in no way an equal opportunity employer.
I was somewhat bilingual though. I knew how to ask for a blow job in English and Spanish. I pretended that was what he meant.
Chupame la verga.
the fall up cover ebook.jpgThe Fall Up
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Kim and Rachel's  4 to 4.5 star reviews


Maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall
in love at rock bottom—up.

I wanted to jump. 
He made me fall.

As a celebrity, I lived in the public eye, but somewhere along the way, I’d lost myself in the spotlight.

Until he found me.

Sam Rivers was a gorgeous, tattooed stranger who saved my life with nothing more than a simple conversation.

But we were both standing on that bridge for a reason the night we met. The secrets of our pasts brought us together—and then tore us apart.

Could we find a reason to hold on as life constantly pulled us down?

Or maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock bottom—up.
aly martineez.jpgAly Martinez
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Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

$50 Amazon Gift Card
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