Blog Tour and Giveaway: It's Not Over: A.L. Zaun

by - Tuesday, January 21, 2014


It's Not Over (book 2)
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“If I let go, will you catch me?”

He had wanted her to help him win his ex-girlfriend back. She had wanted to teach him a few lessons on how to treat a woman. Neither one had planned for the unexpected.

I couldn't stand by and watch. It hit too close to home. I had to run fast and far to get away and forget him. He weaseled his way into my life, making me question rules I lived by and turned my orderly life upside down. I'm falling apart and coming undone. I don't do that. I'm Madison Stuart. I live life by my rules. I won't be derailed by a man. I won't...I can't.

She's gone. I'm desperate and going insane. I'll do whatever it takes to find her. I don't know when it happened, but I won't let her go, not like this. What has she done to me? I'm Rick Marin for crying out loud. I don't chase women, but she's not just a woman. She's Maddy--my Maddy--and I need her.

Follow Rick and Madison’s story, The Do Over’s most notorious couple, as they learn that It’s Not Over.
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We hit a little turbulence, and reality set in at thirty thousand feet. I was on an airplane, holding Madison in my arms, on my way to New York City. I looked around, taking everything in, and I caught the flight attendant, sitting across from us, eye-fucking me. She smiled as she lowered her eyes to my dick. I wondered if she was imagining a threesome. What else could she be thinking, gawking at me, while I’m holding another woman? Somehow, I knew that my conclusion would land me in a new category of asshole. Surprisingly though, I wasn’t the least bit interested in even entertaining the fantasy. I want Madison exclusively.
My heart pounded faster, and my mouth went dry. I hadn’t admitted that to myself or any other living soul. I grabbed the bottled water and drank it in one gulp. I can’t stand her half the time. She drives me crazy. She infuriates me like no one else. But I felt something for her that I couldn’t describe. It was more than wanting to bury my dick in her and fuck her hard…I couldn’t live without her. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
She shifted against me, sliding her hand inside my jacket. Reclining my head back against the seat, thoughts of her flooded my mind. Somehow, along my quest to win Daniela back, Madison had become my best friend and something more.
Liam Lucas’s words hit me like a tsunami. Your friend is more than a friend. You don’t go up against your brother over a chick unless she’s under your skin, and if you aren’t sleeping with her, then you’ve got it bad.




I can't live with her, and I can't live without her. I'm officially straight jacket material. 

We met Rick Marin and Madison Stuart in The Do Over. Yes, I loved to hate him. He was an arrogant ass who dumped Dani, then tried to win her back when she found a nice guy who was interested in her. I was not sure how I really felt about Madison. 

Madison and Rick have had a love hate relationship and have since the moment they met. She took him on as a challenge and tried to help him reign in his inner asshole, change for the better, and prove himself to his former girlfriend. But along the way their twisted, challenging friendship took an unexpected turn. Rick thought he was doing the right thing for a change, but it turned out  he again miscalculated the situation and it was too little too late. Madison was not about to sit around and see how it all ended up and does what she does best...run....

But fate had brought Madison into my life, and she'd turned everything around for me. It had been a painful process--her castrating me on a daily basis for months, putting me through her ruthless boot camp of no bulls**t. Somewhere along the way though, I had fallen in love with her. Like the bubonic plague. I hadn't known what hit me, but now, I had it bad. 

They taunt, tease, argue, and generally piss each other off. They drive each other crazy and the sexual tension is heavy. But they make each other feel things that confuse and anger them at the same time. It's cat and mouse. Fight or flight. Destroy and conquer. They both need and love control. He is an a**hole. She is a b**ch. But underneath their armor they are damaged and in need of an anchor and love. They realize the other's personality issues, but are able to embrace the bad and questionable as well as the good in the other. He wants her to let go and to be the one to catch her. She wants to be able to trust but with her history it is hard. 

She helped him deal with his issues in the first part of their friendship. She stood by him as his unconventional best friend, trainer, confidante, cheer leader, and ass kicker. Now it is his turn to stand by her as her professional, personal, and family life become a problem. She has worked hard to be the tough business woman she was groomed to be, but when that is threatened, it makes her insecure and vulnerable. She needs Rick more than she though she ever would. 

Their interactions are feisty, witty, brutally honest, and sometimes even tortured. Their relationship continues to morph and change into more of a real emotional connection. But their inherent personalities. mood swings,  and spiciness do not change that much. Their fiery chemistry and strong reactions just spur them on into this crazy chaotic coupling. 

"You're an asshole."
"I'm your asshole."

"You drive me f***ing insane....But I'll take a day of crazy with you over a lifetime of sanity without you."

But their business and personal worlds are complicated and sometimes unforgiving. There are people out to bring them down and break them apart. There is intrigue, threats, secrets, and betrayal. There are situations that Rick and Maddy cannot agree on and cause tension. Their families are both strong and opinionated. 

Can they keep themselves together and still fulfill their plans and dreams? Or will they have to choose between love and success?

I got sucked back in quickly to Rick and Madison's story and found myself really liking them this time. They are so outspoken, strong, opinionated, and such control freaks. It was fun to see them struggle to come to terms with what they really wanted and how to balance the control. They are either a match made in Heaven or Hell...sometimes it is hard to tell and they keep each other on their toes. They ranged from explosive, sweet, humorous, and irrational together. They both showed personal growth and cracking of their walls. We got both points of view and  and it was interesting seeing deeper down into their minds and hearts. 

I realized as I got closer to the end that their story was not going to be complete in this installment. It did not leave on a horrible cliffhanger, but all of the issues swirling around them were not completely resolved. I am looking forward to more with them and would like to see more with Liam and Dani and Chris and Macy from the first book as well. 

Thanks to A.L. Zaun for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. 

Other books in this series:

The Do Over (book 1)
A.L. Zaun
Add to Goodreads    Buy Amazon/B&N
See Kim's 4.5 star review


Life doesn't look like it's supposed to for Dani Ruiz, a hopeless romantic. After a painful and sudden break-up with Rick Marin, Dani hides away from reality, retreating to a world of fiction where she prefers book boyfriends over the hassles of a relationship.

Almost two years later, Dani's friends are tired of watching her in a holding pattern, so they stage an intervention, forcing her back into the real world of dating.

Unexpectedly, Dani meets Liam Lucas, a down-to-earth firefighter. He might be the person to show her she's still worth something. Dani's hesitant to trust her heart with another man, but their instant and electric chemistry is something she can't deny.

As Dani starts to believe that she's found her real-life book boyfriend, Rick decides that he'll go to any lengths to get her back. Seeing Rick as a changed man makes Dani question everything.



A.L. Zaun Facebook/Website/Twitter/Google+/Goodreads

A.L. Zaun graduated from Florida International University with a degree in English Literature when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and cellphones were the size of a brick. Her impressive degree did absolutely nothing for her professional endeavors in health care management but did stir her imagination and opened up the world of books in a new way. 

Armed with a large bottle of Diet Pepsi and a multi-pack of Extra Sugar-Free gum, A.L. Zaun spends her evenings bringing to life the characters that dominate her thoughts and interrupt her sleep. 




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