Blog Tour When I Break and Cover Reveal When I Surrender: Kendall Ryan
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Release Date February 24, 2014
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Knox Bauer's life has unraveled to the point of no return. Fighting to
fill the emptiness inside himself, he seeks solace in unfamiliar beds with
unfamiliar women. As guardian to his three younger brothers, he can't seem to do
a thing right. But this can't go on...they look up to him in every way and all
he’s done lately is prove how messed up he really is. Needing a change, he
attends a local Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting, where he finds himself tempted by
the alluring instructor, McKenna.
Twenty-one year old McKenna is trying
to make amends. After losing her parents in a horrific accident, she knows if
she can just be good enough, maybe she can forgive herself for what happened.
With her newly acquired degree in counseling, she begins leading a sex addicts
group where she meets the troubled Knox and her life takes on complications she
never bargained for. She doesn't have time for a bad boy who only wants to take
her to bed, even if her body disagrees. The fixer in her wants to help, but
trusting Knox's true motivations might take more courage than she
has.
Warning:
Contains a stubborn alpha male with addiction issues and loads of sexual tension
between two damaged characters. Read at your own risk. Due to mature
content, it is recommended for 17+.
See the author's Dream Cast on pinterest
“What’s
on your mind?” I asked, wiping my mouth on the napkin.
Pretty
blue eyes pierced mine as she hesitated to answer.
“Say
it, angel.”
“When
I met you…I don’t know. I could feel your pain and knew you’d experienced more
than your fair share of trauma too. I felt connected to you.”
I
knew what she meant, but that didn’t mean I wanted to encourage her attachment
to me. I would only end up hurting and disappointing her. Even if I did
everything in my power not to, that was my track record with women.
“McKenna,
I’m not going to deny that we have a connection. We do.”
“But?”
she supplied, a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
“But…I
fuck random girls. I use them for sex. I’m not a good guy. You shouldn’t be so
nice to me.”
“You’ve
made bad choices. You’ve messed up. But you’re not a bad guy. I see the way you
are with your brothers, and attending group, that’s your way of trying to get
better. You’re not going to scare me off so easily, Knox.”
My participation in her little meetings was practically
court-mandated, and honestly, the only reason I’d continued going was because
of my attraction to her, but I didn't correct her, wouldn't scare her off until
she was ready to go.
Come
a Little Closer – Cage the Elephant
Heart
on Fire by Scars on 45
Love
Don’t Die – The Fray
Teardrop
- Massive Attack
Fragments
– Thievery Corporation
Letters
from the Sky – The Civil Wars
Forced to go to therapy and into a sex addiction group, he meets McKenna...the addiction counselor for his group. She is smart, reserved, unsure, and inexperienced. The complete opposite of Knox's usual female companions. He does not like group therapy, but finds it not so difficult to talk to McKenna. She has her own past pain and feelings of guilt and loss. She feels isolated. She has a friend Brian who at times is too supportive and stifling. She helps others in an attempt to cope, fill the void, and make herself feel better.
She made me feel aware and alive in a way I hadn't felt before, challenged things I thought I knew.
They know they are off limits to each other, but that does not stop their attraction or chemistry.
Knox isn't even sure he really has a problem is not really ready to admit it. But once he starts spending a little bit of time with McKenna, it starts becoming more obvious to him that he doesn't share connections with women. Knox is quite charismatic and a bit of an enigma. The man that has issues seems in contrast to the man he is at home. And Knox and McKenna's personalities are very different as well. Where he is strong, alpha, and dominant, she is more quiet, insecure, and sweet. But slowly we see them gravitate toward each other and start to open up. They both have their pain in the past and their losses and that ties in together in some ways.
I wondered if my attraction to him was that our souls shared the same pain and loss. they could feel each other. When we were together, I didn't feel any pain or guilt. I wondered if it was the same for him.
She's lonely and doesn't have family so his family feels a void in her as well. I loved his brothers Tucker, Luke, and Jaxon. They definitely added some comic relief and sweetness. There is confusion, jealousy, and some drama. Knox and McKenna dance around a relationship that really should not happen due to their circumstances, but it is something they cannot seem to avoid because they cannot stop the pull towards each other. But Knox is in therapy for a reason. And just finding someone new to interest him is not going to fix that problem. And he's going to make mistakes in judgment especially since they're trying to deny what they're really feeling.
"I fuck up everything I touch. If you're smart, you'll leave."
"I must not be very smart then."
But can McKenna find it in herself to be understanding enough to forgive him when he does mess up? And will she continue to walk the line between professional and unprofessional?
It was full of tension, sexual and otherwise. I enjoyed the characters and the plot line. It was told in both points of view so we got to see their true thoughts, struggles, and vulnerabilities. This is going to be part of the series so it was a shorter read and it did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but as far as cliffhangers go it was not that bad. I am looking forward to more of their story and I really did like this couple. Even though Knox made some decisions that made me want to strangle him, I also fell for the sweet, caring man under the rough, dominant, and damaged facade. He definitely is a dual personality between who is at home and who he is when he is out trying to numb the pain and cope with life. And if McKenna can tap into that part of him and hold onto it, I think that they will be really good together. She might be the more stable one but she also really needs to have someone to be her "person" and he comes with a set of three other little persons that have already melted her heart. So I look forward to more of Knox, McKenna, and the boys in When I Surrender coming in May 2014.
Thanks to Kendall Ryan for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
When I Surrender
When I Break #2
Expected May 26, 2014
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Undaunted by Knox’s complicated history with sexual addiction, McKenna pushes forward in her relationship with this deliciously flawed man. She experiences the highest highs as they discover each other, along with the lowest lows, and worries that his past may not be entirely behind him.
But when a complication from her own past demands attention, she's forced to decide where their relationship is headed, and everything she thought she knew is questioned.
When I Surrender is book 2 in the WHEN I BREAK series by New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Kendall Ryan.
She's a sassy, yet polite Midwestern gal with a deep love of books, and a slight addiction to lipgloss.
Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest books news.
Kendall is giving away:
Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest books news.
·
Three $10 Amazon Gift Cards
·
One signed copy of Working It (US ONLY)
·
One signed copy of When I Break (US ONLY)
· 2 ebook copies of When I Break
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