Release Day Launch and Giveaway: Saving Quinton: Jessica Sorensen

by - Tuesday, February 04, 2014



Saving Quinton (Nova #2)
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From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Breaking Nova comes a gripping story about what it takes to save the one you love . . .

Nova Reed can't forget him-Quinton Carter, the boy with the honey-brown eyes who made her realize she deserved more than an empty life. His pain was so similar to her own. But Nova has been coming to terms with her past and healing, while Quinton is out there somewhere, sinking deeper. She's determined to find him and help him . . . before it's too late.

Nova has haunted his dreams for nearly a year-but Quinton never thought a sweet, kind person like her would care enough about a person like him. To Quinton, a dark, dangerous life is exactly what he deserves. And Nova has no place in it. But Nova has followed him to Las Vegas, and now he must do whatever it takes to keep her away, to maintain his self-imposed punishment for the unforgivable things he's done. But there's one flaw in his plan: Nova isn't going anywhere . . .






I suddenly realize that I’m in my room. Awake. And Nova’s here. With me. My thoughts start racing as I try to recollect what happened. I was planning on those guys beating me to death. Why didn’t that happen? Because it was too easy? Do I deserve not to be let off so easy—do I deserve worse than death? But if that’s true then why’s Nova here?
“What are you doing here?” It’s painful to talk, but I force the words to leave my mouth. “Or am I dreaming?”
She repositions her hand on my cheek, but doesn’t pull away, the startled look in her eyes diminishing. “You’re not dreaming…you were unconscious but…are you okay?” She seems nervous and it reminds me of how innocent and good she is, and how she shouldn’t be here in the crack house that I call home.
“Why are you here?” I ask, my voice feeble as I try to sit up, but my arms aren’t working and I fall right back down on the mattress.
“I came here to see you,” she replies, absent-mindedly touching her lips, and I wonder if I really kissed her or if I was imagining it.
She stares at me with her fingers on her lips and it’s uncomfortable because she’s really looking at me. I’ve been so used to people looking through me, as if I were a ghost, seeing the drugs, the person that I am now, the worthlessness all over me, instead of who I used to be. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be really looked at and for a split second I enjoy it. Then she looks away and I feel like I’m dying, my brain registering the pain in my legs, arms, chest—everywhere. And I’m crashing. Badly. My hands start to shake, my heart rate picking up as soon as I realize this.
“Go put some ice in a plastic bag,” she says, snapping her fingers at someone.
I hear a mutter and then Tristan steps into my view. He glances down at me and the haziness in his eyes lets me know he’s high on something, but I’m glad he’s at least here and it doesn’t look like he’s been beaten up. “Dude, you look like shit,” he tells me with a dopey-ass grin.
“I feel like shit,” I mutter, managing to get my hand up to my face to rub my eyes. “You look like you got away.”
“I did, and you should have run with me, you dumbass…I thought you were for a while until I realized I was alone.” Tristan chuckles under his breath. “Wait until you see yourself in a mirror.”
His amusement seems to piss Nova off and she gets to her feet, tugging the bottoms of her shorts down, fury burning in her eyes. “Go get a fucking bag to put the ice in,” she says, not yelling, but her tone is cold, abrupt, harsh, and she sort of shoves him. This isn’t the Nova I remember at all and she kind of scares me.
She seems to scare Tristan, too, who surrenders with his hands in front of him and backs toward the doorway. “Fine. Jesus, Nova. You don’t have to get crazy about it.”
“You haven’t even begun to see me get crazy,” she snaps, pointing at the door. “Now go get a damn bag.”
After Tristan leaves, she turns to the doorway and says, “What am I going to do?”
I can’t see who she’s talking to and it makes me wonder who the hell is in here. Delilah? I doubt it, since I don’t think she’d be asking Delilah that question.
“I don’t know,” someone replies. I still can’t see who it is, but I can tell the voice belongs to a female and I hate how excited I get over the fact that Nova’s not here with a guy.
Suddenly a girl with black hair and big blue eyes steps in. “He looks…” She assesses me, then looks at Nova. “He looks like he needs to go to a hospital.”
“No hospitals,” I croak. “I don’t have the cash to pay for that.” And I don’t deserve to heal so easily. I should suffer for getting up and running away from my death.
Nova stares down at me with reluctance. “Quinton, I really think you need to go to a hospital.” She kneels back down on the mattress, sweeping her long brown hair to the side as she leans over me. Her fingers gently enfold my wrist and, moving slowly, she bends my arm so I can get a good view of my hand. It’s twice the size it normally is and my skin is purple and blue. Even where her fingers are, the skin is swollen and raw, and it seems like her touch should hurt, but all I can feel is heat—her heat. God, I’ve missed her heat. I’ve spent the last year wrapped up in coldness, feeling the numbness of drugs and sex with random women and now she’s here and I feel like I’m burning up.
“It’s just a bruise,” I say, not looking at my hand, but at her. I want to hold her, hug her, kiss her, touch her, but I also want her to go away. Stay. Leave. Right. Wrong. Lexi. Nova. Guilt.
Guilt.
Guilt.
Guilt.
It was all your fault.



Nova and Quinton had a challenging beginning and both have many issues past and present (Breaking Nova). Their time spent together the past summer opened the door to a connection that was unexpected, significant, erratic, and overwhelming. And it left a mark on both on them. It all came to a breaking point and they parted. Nova has worked hard to break free from her past, get healthy, and try to move on. But she cannot shake the fact that she left Quinton behind in a bad situation.

And in her absence, Quinton has sunk into a downward spiral that he cannot seem to recover from...a haze of drugs, depression, meaningless encounters, and no direction. He is on a path of destruction and embracing the peace of dying sooner rather than later. He does not care. He does not want to feel anything. But unfortunately he does feel feel negative things...terrible loss, guilt, hopelessness, and unworthiness. 

It is up to Nova to chase him down and make him face his demons and fight for him even when he does not want to fight for himself. But he is barricaded behind near impenetrable walls of his own making. He is numbing his pain to keep it buried. He has a death wish. He feels unworthy. He does not feel like he deserves, happiness, Nova, or a good life due to his past mistakes. 

But Nova was not able to save her boyfriend, Landon and she is determined that she is not giving up until she saves Quinton. She is a girl on a mission...a dangerous, scary, and frequently disappointing one. She is persistent, fearless, pushy and provides Quinton a sliver of hope. Although Quinton does not want to admit or truly embrace it. My heart broke again for Quinton. The man who feels such guilt and loss for his past actions that he can barely face living and has walls up protecting him from feeling anything good. 

It is dark, depressing, out of control and seems hopeless. There is danger swirling around and drugs to try to numb the pain. Not only is Quinton sinking lower and lower, but so are Tristan, Delilah, and Dylan. Noah wants to save Quinton, but can she if he does not want to be saved? And he's not the only one that needs saving. During this whole ordeal can a fragile Nova keep herself together or will she be destroyed again  by loss and guilt?

This first book Breaking Nova was truly Nova's journey towards healing and facing her past. She really has come a long way from the girl we met in the first book that was barely holding herself together and was in the same hopeless darkness of loss, pain, and guilt. This book is Quinton's difficult and painful journey to break free of the past, bad habits, and find something to want to live for. But getting to him is not simple or easy. He is a young man that has been through so much and is so damaged that he sees no escape. In his own way, he tries to protect Nova as well because he thinks he is not good for her either. There are small glimpses into a boy who had potential, but one mistake sent him spiraling so off course that he has never been able to recover.

I was hoping to get to see more healing and light in this one, but we are not there yet. And Quinton's story is not done. Their story is not complete. Hopefully the third book Nova and Quinton: No Regrets will finally give them the full healing they both desperately need, but at times do not think they deserve. I was also interested in his cousin Tristan's story during this book. He was really struggling through this story as well. This was a very raw, gritty, emotionally dark book. It was not pretty, happy, sappy, or romantic. It drags you right into all of the darkness and pain. It was raw, depressing, frustrating, disappointing, but also had shreds of hope, inspiration, love, and redemption. But through the turmoil, these characters grew on me more during this installment, and I cannot wait to read the conclusion to their story.

Thanks to Jessica Sorensen for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. 


Breaking Nova
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Nova Reed used to have dreams-of becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?

Jessica Sorensen 
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The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jessica Sorensen, lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.






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