Blog Tour and Giveaway: Recovery: L.B.Simmons

by - Thursday, June 06, 2013

Recovery(Mending Hearts 1.5)
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Expected release date June 13, 2012

have the perfect life. 

I’ve finally found my happy ending. 

I fought through the loss of one husband, lucky enough to be given a second chance at a lifetime of happiness. Settling into our new lives, however, may not be as easy as it seems. 

What really happens after the fairytale ending? What happens after the prince rescues the princess? After he sweeps her off her feet and carries her off into the sunset? Do they truly live happily ever after?

Well…
This is our story.


Before reading Recovery, make sure to read...



Mending Hearts book 1:
Running on Empty


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I had the perfect life.

Beautiful and loving husband.Three gorgeous little girls.
Successful career.

The only thing missing was the white picket fence. I really wanted that fence.

Three years ago, I lost that life. I lost my husband. And I lost myself. But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness. I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world. I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse.

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.Absolutely no way.

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?


See Kim's review of Running on Empty


Coming Fall 2013:Mending Hearts book 2: 
Running In Place: Add to Goodreads
This will be Tatum's story



Recovery


"Our life. This is our life, Blake."

I love how L.B. Simmons gives us a slice of real life in her books along with the love story. In Running on Empty we got the story of a single mother of 3 young girls dealing with the loss of her husband coupled with the second chance fairytale. In Recovery, we get the big happy ever after moment and then are hit with what comes next...the REAL stuff. The merging of two households, parenting differences, unexpected changes, and just learning to be a couple and family under one roof. It is not always easy to fight the daily dramas and real life is not perfect. It is messy and frustrating as much as it is joyous and sweet. 

I adored Blake in the first book and that did not change...in fact I think I love him even more in this one. He is sweet, loving, invested, and tries to step into his new role of husband and father figure as best he can. He is so good with the girls that it  just made my heart melt. But he also needs to feel needed and sometimes Alex is so used to being in control that it is hard to take a helping hand. Alex is stubborn, used to doing things her own way, and being independent. And communication with new couples and families can be hard. So they struggle a bit to find their way in their new life together. But this couple has been through so much and waited so long that you cannot help but hope that they find their forever happy ending. 

The girls are adorable, hilarious, and full of mischief. And there is so much realism as to how life with kids really works. You never know when you are going to hear that yell for "Mommy" or have to break up a fight. Life is not always easy and you never know when something unexpected will happen that will shake things up and make you all pull together. 

This was a perfectly engaging, beautiful novella. Even thought it was shorter, it felt like a complete story. It had me immersed from the first page. L.B. Simmons has this easy flowing writing style that draws you in and makes you feel like you are there in the story. This book made me laugh, frustrated, tense, tearful, and literally sigh with contentment. I love how she brought in a major element from the first book and how it played out in this one. This story shows us how important it is to share your feelings, be patient, Pick your battles, and appreciate your  family. And has a recurring theme that everything happens for a reason and in it's own time.  I adore these characters, this family, and their extended family of their friends Harlow, Trace, and new addition Tatum. I am looking forward to Running in Place that will focus on Tatum who is already proving to be an interesting character. 

Thanks to LB Simmons for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
Excerpt from book one: Running On Empty:

The drive to Mr. and Mrs. Morgan’s house is a familiar one. And it’s a good thing it is, because I’m finding it extremely hard to concentrate on where I’m actually driving at the moment. I am, however, breaking down every possible scenario that could happen when I knock on that door. Good news is, as each and every scenario plays out in my head, they all end in one of two ways. He either speaks to me or he doesn’t. 

That’s a 50% success rate. Not bad when considering my actions last evening…that and those many years I spent dismissing Blake entirely.

Memories begin to flood my mind as I drive up to the red brick two story house I spent so much time at while growing up.

…Blake and I climbing the huge oak tree in the front of his house to get to the tree fort we built together when we were seven years old.

…Both of us playing hide-and-seek in the garden by the side of his house with me yelling at him for cheating...there’s no way he could count to one hundred that fast.

…The time we made a bike ramp and tried to jump the fence…definitely not one of our best moments. I find myself grinning widely at that memory. Mainly because Blake couldn’t make the jump, ruined his bike, and had to ride his sister’s very pink Barbie bike until he learned his lesson (as his parents put it). I tortured him with that one for years.

Parking my car in the drive, I look at the front door and breathe a heavy sigh. I glance down at my hands as I remove them from the steering wheel – they’re slightly trembling. I shake them in an effort to get rid of the obvious nervous energy and wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans. I run my hair over my ponytail to smooth any fly-aways and exit the car. Looking down while straightening my “Goonies Never Say Die” t-shirt, another memory surfaces.

Blake and I used to make homemade t-shirts all the time together. Mine were always way better than his, of course, but at least he tried. My favorite one of his was this army green, G.I Joe “Knowing is Half the Battle” t-shirt. He wore it all the time. So much so that the iron on letters started falling off and it eventually read “Koin is alf Bat.” God, I would laugh every time he would wear it. I think that’s why he wore it so much.

I look back at my hands. They are still shaking. It seems that even with the comfort of old memories running through my mind, I still can’t shake off my nerves. Making my way to the front door, I mentally chastise my anxiety. “This is ridiculous, Alex. You’re a grown woman. Act like it,” I mutter while walking up the porch steps. I note there’s only a motorcycle parked in the driveway, which bodes well in my favor. This is going to be difficult enough without having a parental audience.

Approaching the door, I raise my fist to knock, pausing for another second to take in a cleansing breath. Breathing out, I say a prayer and knock loudly.

I hear his heavy footsteps coming towards the door, followed by the sound of the deadbolt unlocking. I watch nervously as the handle turns, but when I look up, I’m completely unprepared for what is standing directly in front of my face.

As the door flies open, so does my mouth. Blake is standing in front of me, shirtless, wearing only his red and navy plaid pajama bottoms, bare feet on the floor. His light brown hair is all over the place, but incredibly sexy as it falls messily over his forehead and flips out from behind his ears. One look at this man’s stomach renders me momentarily speechless, and I have to fight to keep myself from running my hands over every single hardened ridge of his abs. So instead, I place my hands over my open mouth and start giggling like a ten year old little girl.

Mid-giggle, I notice the door starting to close. I quickly jump into action. I immediately put my foot in the doorjamb and my hands on the door, using all of my weight to keep him from being able to close it – a trick he taught me by the way.



Shaking his head at me through the opening that I’m desperately trying to maintain, Blake emphatically states, “Nope. Mmm-mm, Alex. It’s too early for this right now. Go home.”

L.B Simmons Facebook/website/Goodreads/Twitter

L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science. She has been a practicing Chemist for the last 11 years. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets.


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