Welcome to my stop on the Eden Butler Blog Tour!
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy my review of Chasing Serenity a much as I enjoyed reading it!
Synopsis:
Graduate student Autumn McShane has had her share of heartbreak. She’s been abandoned and betrayed and she lost her beloved mother in a tragic car accident five months ago. That loss damaged her body and fractured her spirit but she’s learning to recover, until her ex-boyfriend returns to town, intent on making her life miserable.
Declan Fraser hates her ex as much as Autumn does, but the last thing she needs is to put her trust in the hands of another man, especially one like Declan: his hard body and lulling Irish accent makes more than a few girls weak-kneed. The talented rugby player is rude and sarcastic, with tattooed, muscular arms and a cocky attitude, but he’s the only one who can help Autumn win an ill-advised bet that, if lost, could cost her more than she’s willing to pay. The reluctant alliance between Declan and Autumn stirs up cravings she doesn’t want to admit, but Declan is a hard man to resist.
Just when Autumn starts letting down her carefully constructed walls to the sexy bad boy, he betrays her when she needs him most. Autumn suspects Declan has secrets, and she is determined to uncover what drove him away from her, even if that means fraternizing with the enemy. But will the truth return Declan to her arms or add to the scars on her heart?
My review:
Chasing Serenity is the debut work from author Eden Butler and a debut that completely blew me away. I was drawn into this story from the very first few pages and loved every minute of this book.
Autumn McShane’s life was forever altered five months ago. Since that night, she has slowly been rebuilding herself since the tragic accident that took her mother’s life and almost took hers. Maybe it would have been easier to rebuild with the help of her family, but she didn’t have that. You see her father had left her and her mother years earlier and now that her mother was gone too, she only had her two close friends to rely on for the strength needed to rebuild. They had been there for her not just through the death of her mom and her rehabilitation but also through the devastating breakup with her boyfriend. Although boyfriend seemed to be a trivial term for what he had been to her. He was the rugby captain, gorgeous and pretty much consumed her. Autumn thought she would be with him forever. So, when you add all of the loss Autumn had experienced together, it’s a wonder she was able to get out of bed each day. But the things she loved managed to drive her. Her town, her home, her friends, her love for the game of rugby….they mattered. Imagine the crippling effect having her ex show up back into town was. Even more is that he seems hell-bent on making her life even more miserable when he tries teaching one of his new rugby teammates, Declan, a lesson in humility after he drunkenly groped her. Like she needed the headache of the tattooed, ill-mannered, ruggedly handsome rugby player. It’s a good thing she wasn’t attracted to him. Nope, not even a little bit. (Lie.) Between her ex trying to win her back and her unwelcome feelings toward Declan, Autumn sure has her hands full. The problem is, with each day that passes she becomes more lost to Declan….
Declan hasn’t found much to like since coming to this fecking school…except, of course, rugby. That will always be a bright spot no matter what the situation. Unexpectedly, the feisty red-head he groped while being three sheets to the wind turns out to be another bright spot. Even if she wants nothing to do with him and keeps pushing him away. He was never known for giving up on something he wants. And he wants her. The question is, is she worth all the heat he keeps taking from the rugby captain, aka her ex-boyfriend. Without question he knows….yes. Yes, she is.
Their relationship starts out with a one-two punch but what starts out as two people very much at odds with each other turns into so much more when they both acknowledge the magnetic ties that pull between them. And when they finally do acknowledge that pull? Oh my….
I get a lot of blog tour requests these days. I do as much as I can and if I can’t read the book that’s touring, I at least try to host some other sort of post. After all, it’s what I love doing! But every once in a while a book comes along that I just HAVE to read and review. I will rearrange my schedule and squeeze it in. This is one of those books. Oh man, I loved it. So much so that I ordered the paperback for my bookshelf. There is something about these characters that pulls you in from the very beginning and keeps you glued to the pages until the very end….and even after. Delcan is freaking insanely delicious. He’s kind of a jerk with a gruff exterior but you just can’t help but love him. His mannerisms are at odds with his prickly banter and good Lord I loved that about him. He was barely leashed at times and I so wanted to see him let go and devour Autumn with all of the intensity he felt for her. He’s sexy and brooding and tattooed and 100% alpha male but with a huge heart. The total package if you ask me! Autumn is one of the strongest heroines I’ve read. She has been through so much within the past year and I felt terribly for her at times but her spirit was so resilient. From the beginning, I knew no matter what she faced, she would overcome and she did…in spades. Now, there is quite a twist toward the end that I never saw coming and it had me a crying and worried mess. I won’t give anything away but remember my mantra: I won’t suggest a book that ends badly!
As I sit here and type this review I am missing Declan and stopping my typing from time to time to have a dreamy sigh moment. I hope that’s an indication as to how much I loved this book!
Thank you, Eden, for Chasing Serenity. I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us next!
Five Loves
Buy Links:
Chasing Serenity Amazon | Chasing Serenity Barnes and Noble
Behind the Pitch Amazon | Behind the Pitch Barnes and Noble
Giveaway:
About the author:
Eden Butler is an editor and writer of New Adult Romance and SciFi and Fantasy novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. Her debut novel, a New Adult, Contemporary (no cliffie) Romance, “Chasing Serenity” will launch October 2013.
When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.
Links:
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Author Goodreads | Chasing Serenity Goodreads | Behind the Pitch Goodreads