Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Amy Gregory - "Racing to Love" Virtual Book Tour Review/Excerpt/Guest Post/Giveaway (Ends 8/19) WW

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Contemporary Romance
Title: Racing to Love
Author: Amy Gregory
Date Published: 6/7/2012
Synopsis: 
From the outside, Molly West had everything, beauty, brains, and a career she’d retired from not once, but twice.  Being in the limelight and in a sport that was male driven, she was often surrounded by men.  She ignored first the boys, and as she got older, the men.  Her cold shoulder and patented not a chance in hell look were usually enough to get her point across.  Molly had no plans in changing what was a perfectly good system. That is until she walked into the pits.  
Carter Sterling had traveled the racing circuit since he was a boy.  He’d heard all the old standbys, She’s out there somewhere, love comes along when you least expect it.  Good things come to those that… Yeah, he’d heard them all.  The last place he expected to meet the love of his life was on a pro track.  All she did was smile, and he knew, looking into her sapphire blue eyes, Molly West was his.  Forever.  
If it was only that easy.  From the moment he laid eyes on her, he had a gripping feeling in him.  An overwhelming need to protect her—a girl he’d just met.  Carter had learned a long time ago that gut feelings are almost never wrong.  Molly now held his heart in her hands, but it was going to take a lot more than just love to protect her from the past she thought she’d buried a long time ago.

Excerpt

 They continued to walk back toward the pits, but he stopped when they were in the darkened hallway, just before they would have rounded the corner and been seen.
Molly’s heart sped.
He was still holding her hand, but turned to face her as he placed his other hand on her waist. She sucked in a breath when he stepped forward. Her first instinct was to be anxious, to cower back, but something in those ice blue eyes told her she didn’t have to be afraid.
When he had leaned in to kiss her when they were sitting on the track, she’d panicked. And then when he had started to move away, she’d panicked again—for a different reason entirely.
Those flip-flopping emotions were about to drive her crazy.
Now, in the dimmed corridor, Molly closed her eyes to catch her breath and to search for a decision. He’d been rubbing his thumb on her waist, but his movements stopped when her eyes dropped closed. The soothing strokes didn’t continue until she finally reopened her eyes and dragged her attention up his chest and past his Adam’s apple. She continued up until she locked her gaze with his. When she offered him a hesitant smile, he began stroking her again with a warm smile on his lips.
Staring down at her, he let go of her hand and skimmed the back of his over her cheek. She felt her heart thundering, her pulse racing when she ran her hands up his chest, feeling each and every rippled muscle. She’d never purposely touched a man like this before. Sure, she’d felt Brody’s muscles when she’d smacked him for one reason or another. Or when trying to push him off of her after he’d wrestled her to the ground being an ornery brother and all. But this? This was foreign.
Her eyes were back on her own fingers, taking everything in. She stopped at his heart and could feel it pounding hard beneath the soft cotton t-shirt.
“Just so you know…” he started in his slow, sexy voice.
She could tell he was waiting for eye contact again before continuing. “Yeah?” she whispered.
“I’m going to fall in love with you.”

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Fun, light, romantic, and short.  These adjectives sum up the book pretty well.  When I began the book, I was not too keen, but by the end, Any Gregory halfway won me over.  The characters were fine, and about halfway through the book, Molly kind of won me over.  I rather liked Carter from the beginning.  Their interactions were rather engaging to read.

This does have profanity and some bedroom scenes.  I will admit that I could have done without either of them, but they did not harm the book overall.  I have no interest in racing or motorcycles, so this portion of the book was somewhat lost on me.  And Brody seemed a little over the top to me.

The defining moment in this book was when Molly opened up to Carter.  As she told her story, I began to feel compassion for the character.  I wish that Ms. Gregory had made me feel compassion earlier, but since this is a debut novel, it is possible that she is still defining her writing style.  Adding the hint of unexpected mystery also intrigued me.  Maybe it was a little far-fetched, but then again, perhaps in light of today's society, it was not.

The strength of this book is its brevity.  I say that because it is just long enough to keep your attention.  If it had been any longer, I do believe that I would have lost interest.  In fact, I began to lose a little bit of focus right towards the end, but I persevered to the end.

In conclusion, this book is a perfect book for the end of the summer romantic.  Pick it up in the morning, read for a couple of hours, and you will get your romance fix.  Perhaps it was not my particular cup of tea, but that is just my opinion.  It does not keep me from seeing the value in it.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are 100 percent mine, and I was not financially compensated.




Author Bio
Amy Gregory leads an incredibly active lifestyle in Kansas City with her husband and their three fantastic kids who keep them running in three very different directions.  When she’s not rushing her oldest daughter to tumbling, her youngest daughter to music lessons, or sitting track-side watching her son practice motocross, she’s taking the few minutes in between to scribble the next pages in her Racing to Love series. 
When asked, “When do you have time to write?” Amy Gregory giggles.  “In bits and pieces,” she says.  
Amy is known for her snarky, off the cuff sense of humor, which you’ll find shining through in the characters she’s created.  Her debut novel, Racing to Love, Carter’s Treasure, is set for release June 7, 2012.
I’ve spent my whole life trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and now I’ve finally found it. – Amy Gregory 

Twitter - @AmyGregory548
Links to Buy

Guest Post (by the Author)

My 10 Favorite Authors & Why …
This is going to be so difficult!  I started reading young adult romances when I was probably younger than I should have been.  The Sweet Dreams series hooked me and I’ve been a fan of the romance genre ever since. 
In my early teens I found Danielle Steel.  Again, probably younger than I should’ve been, but I devoured her books faster than they were published, re-reading several of them multiple times.
A few years ago I picked up a Nora Roberts book, Irish Dreams.  Instantly I was drawn to her.  I can’t read or watch anything suspenseful at all, so I shy away from her JD Robb books, but the others…I’ve read them all.  I’m drawn to books involving dance or Ireland and she has both.  Those books on my shelf are so worn, I couldn’t even tell you how many times I’ve read them.
Then I found Susan Mallery and Carly Phillips and my world was rocked again.  Their writing styles are similar to my own.  I love how Nora, Susan and Carly write in a series.  I always feel like when the last page is turned, I’m a little let down because the story is so good I want to know more.  I’ve become attached to the characters and I want their stories to continue, you can do that in a series.  I love hot romance combined with great dialogue.  These women have that and more.
My best friend is an avid reader as well, she raved about this author she had found.  Following her advice I fell in love with Something Borrowed and its sequel Something Blue by Emily Griffin.  I think I’ve now read them both roughly five times a piece!
When I began my journey into the writing industry I knew no one, had no contacts, and basically had no idea of what to do next  after the stories were written.  With the help of the Twitter world, I became friends with some ladies who, not only do I adore their work and devour their books the instant they hit the stands, but they’ve become treasured friends.  Keri Ford, Renee Vincent, KE Saxon, Mari Carr and Jan Romes—these women are amazing.  I think that has made them such special authors in my book.  (No pun intended!)  I can’t even count the number of times I’ve recommended their names to my friends.  Now that I’m an author as well, it seems like even people I don’t know ask me all the time who I’d recommend.  Especially in the erotic romance genre.  That usually turns into a lengthy conversation as there are so many authors I adore in both the contemporary and erotic genres.  I prefer stories that are fun, sassy and in the end the girl gets the guy.  With these gals, I know I can trust I’ll be smiling when the last page is turned.
Don’t tell anyone, but I’m going to sneak in an eleventh author to my list.  This woman is a very dear friend and has done more for me and my career than I can ever repay her for.  A.L. Jackson.  On top of being an amazing friend and person, her books are spectacular!  Gripping, moving and at times heart-wrenching, and in the end you feel like you’ve ridden a roller-coaster along with the characters.

There will be a giveaway for an e-copy of Racing to Love.  Please enter on the rafflecopter below by August 19.  The giveaway is open worldwide.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


To follow the entire tour, please click here.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for your support :) I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment also! Have a great week...

    ReplyDelete

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