A Stone's Throw: Release Day Blitz - LOW OVER HIGH by J.A. DeRouen

Low Over High (The Over Duet #1)

Cover Design: DCP Designs

Release Date: November 14, 2016

Synopsis

I fancy myself a purveyor of truth, a sifter of lies, a cutter of bullshit. It’s not a gift, but rather, all skill, honed to a razor’s edge after one too many trips down the rabbit hole. Some may dismiss my talent as misplaced and misguided cynicism, but they’d be wrong. Cliches about hope and faith in mankind are concocted unicorn farts, an effort to keep the dreamers dreaming. Experiences don’t lie—people do. While I’m not proud of the circumstances that led me to this way of thinking, I respect the journey. The road to enlightenment can be dark and foreboding, but the destination makes it all worthwhile. But funny thing about the past—it’s a defiant child refusing to stay in time out. No matter how deeply buried, it can always pop up when least expected, and sink its fucking claws into the flesh of your heart. No, not my heart—I no longer have one. I foolishly gave it away years ago, but I still feel the ripping in my chest as I fist the crumpled note left on my porch. I’ve avoided this day, ran from it, for the past eight years. And still we meet again. But to truly understand … to feel my dread and fear my future as I do, it’s important to know what happened in my past. Or who… My name is Marlo Rivers, and this is my story of corrupted love.

Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2fWZYdH

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2eZuZsn

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2fiTh3z

Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2fInplJ

Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt

Kissing Ever is like breaking the surface of the ocean. Legs kicking, arms flailing, and then that precious moment when air rushes into your lungs, giving you the one thing you need the most. Yeah, kissing Ever is just like that. When his teeth lightly tug on my bottom lip, he owns me. I swear, my shirt almost flies off of its own accord. Of course, I keep my cool despite his lovely lips … sort of. His tongue slides gently against mine, and I inch closer to him. He pulls away to taste my upper lip, and I grip his shirt with both hands. Maybe my hands slide under the shirt to touch his hot skin, but only an inch or two. When he lets out a long sigh, and his fingers brush the sides of my cheeks just so, I slide my legs between his. I want to pull his ribs loose and burrow deep inside of him, and even then, I’m not sure if it’s close enough. He slows the kiss, still tasting me, sucking my lips, teasing me with his tongue. When I open my eyes, he’s right there with me, hazy eyes and parted lips. I run a hesitant finger over the freckles on his nose, and he runs his thumb across my swollen mouth. I finger his hair, tugging playfully, and he kisses my dimple, poking me with his tongue. We explore each other slowly, thoroughly, and my thumb runs over his stomach to the thin line of hair trailing below his belly button. He shivers, and I swear the bulge pushing into the back of my thigh isn’t a banana in his pocket. It makes me feel powerful—that I can turn him on that way. This is the first time I can remember wanting that power. Boy’s erections were always a nuisance to me in the past. He doesn’t expect me to do something with that, does he? Nuh-uh. Let me be clear, those are not the thoughts running through my mind as I bend my knee and push my thigh more firmly into Ever’s hard-on. Not even close. His hips raise to my pressure, and he drops his forehead to mine with a long sigh. “I knew kissing you would be good, Low, but that was … I don’t know what that was,” he says with a chuckle, stealing another kiss. “We should try it again. You know, figure it out.” And we do.

Playlist

This is my first book by J.A. DeRouen and it definitely won’t be the last. I was intrigued from beginning to end, but I must say that I had no idea where this story was leading. But the more I read, the more I was hooked. One thing I liked about this book is it isn’t an insta-love type of book. They were enemies to friends to lovers and I really appreciated that.

Marlow “Low” is moving to Louisiana from Texas for her senior year of high school. She has a chance to have a relationship with her mom who left her when she was a child. It seems her mom has decided she wants to ‘get to know’ her daughter and immediately, I became so leery of this woman. I didn’t know whether to love or hate her at the beginning.

Once arriving in New Orleans, she is immediately drawn to the culture, and I must say so was I. I have never been, but I felt like I was there because everything was so descriptive. I felt like I could close my eyes and I was seeing it all through Low’s eyes, and that’s one thing I love in a book. I like to feel like I am there and enjoying it along with the characters and not many authors can give you that type of book.

When Low unexpectedly meets the bad boy Everett “Ever”, her life is forever changed in so many ways. She experiences love, happiness, and so many emotions in between, including heartbreak. Low and Ever have this intense relationship that kept making me want to turn the page. We soon find out that Ever has been carrying the whole world on his shoulders, and my heart just broke for this guy.

As tragedy strikes, it changes their entire world. Ever isn’t the same guy she met and even though he disappointed me so much, you could tell he was hurting. The more I read, the more intense it became. As I got to the end, I was thinking WTH did I just read!! I didn’t want it to end! It ends with quite a cliffhanger, and it left me with a huge hangover that stayed on my mind for days! The sequel is coming in January and I can’t wait to see what J.A. comes up with after reading and devouring this 4 star book.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000039_00002]

About the Author

J.A. DeRouen lives in South Louisiana with her husband, son (aptly named "The Professor), and her furry friend, Scout. She holds bachelor's degrees in psychology and nursing.

When she's not writing or inhaling romance novels by the stack, she works as a women's health nurse. She's been an avid reader and daydreamer since childhood, and she's never stopped turning the page to get to the next happily ever after.