BLOG TOUR STOP: REVIEW, EXCERPT, TEASERS, AND GIVEAWAY: Finding Us by S.K. Hartley

I’m loud, I’m proud, and I like to bust balls in my spare time. At least, that’s what Low Parker would do. But, she is just a mask, one that I have perfected over years of running. I am Willow Knoxx. Master of deception, secrets, and lies. I am the girl your mother told you to stay away from, and the girl your father fantasized about. I have been running for years, always looking over my shoulder. Now, the mask that I have perfected is about to disappear, and everything I have done to keep myself hidden is about to be revealed.

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Low Parker, in S.K. Hartley’s Finding Us, epitomizes the idea that looks can be deceiving. On the outside, Low is a confident, outgoing young woman who is perfectly put together. But Low Parker isn’t real; she’s a façade created to conceal a past filled with scars and imperfections. For the past six years, Low has been running from a life she never wanted but couldn’t escape. Even after leaving her own personal hell, she knows it’s not over; no one walks away from the life she led, and it’s only a matter of time before it catches up with her. Low is playing a dangerous game of hide and seek, and unfortunately for her, she’s about to be found.

Run away or fight back? That’s the position that Low finds herself in after she’s told “they’re coming.” After all of the lies and the constant battle between her head and her heart, her past and her present are about to collide and the collateral damage that could be caused by it is something she’s unwilling to face. But what she doesn’t factor in is the fact that even though she hasn’t allowed herself to truly “feel” for the time she’s been on the run, Tate has, and he won’t let her fight this battle alone.

As Willow, she had no control of her life; everything that she witnessed and even participated in were forced upon her; as Low, she understands that choices have consequences and that despite a perfect mask, secrets and lies have a way of being revealed, so if she wants to take the control back, she needs to let herself feel every emotion and fight to protect her family – the one she chooses not the one that she was born into.

S.K. Hartley has created one hell of a roller coaster ride in Finding Us. S.K. builds the suspense by slowly revealing Low’s past and everything that she’s running from. By creating an alter ego for Willow, S.K. clearly illustrates the contrasts between her life six years ago and her life now. The life that was once dark, dangerous, and dramatic is now light and full of happiness and love, but until the past is dealt with, Low will always have one foot in both lives, and she will never be able to truly move forward, which is demonstrated amazingly well in the mask that Low chooses to wear.

Low is a kickass heroine who is so much stronger that she thinks she is. She has done what’s she needed to do to survive and now she’s doing what needs to be done to perhaps have a chance at a normal life. Low deserves a life filled with love; she deserves to feel, and she deserves Tate, and Tate deserves the girl who has stolen his heart.

Finding Us is the third book in the Bad Boys series, but it’s actually by first book by S.K. Hartley, and it’s phenomenal. Low is an extremely well developed character whose complex personality shines through as she tells her story. The supporting characters are an awesome group of friends who have already been through a lot with Logan and Neva, but they continue to stand by each other despite the complications. The complexity of the storyline is so well delivered that I never questioned what was happening; all pieces of the puzzle are put together by the end of the story, which is all a reader can ask for in a text.

Now that I’ve read Low’s story, I’m going to go back and see what happened with Logan and Neva, which I already know is going to be a crazy journey just by some of the information given in this book, and I’m going to love every minute of itJ

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

5 poison apples

“Enough room?” He growled, his brow arching at my comment. “Baby, I don’t think you get it yet. I want to consume your every thought, every movement, every desire.”

His hands suddenly cupped my face as he leaned in close, his breath caressing my lips like soft silk. My pulse skyrocketed at his closeness, as it did every time he was near, sending me dizzy with lust. I could feel the vulnerability snaking its way through my body, latching onto my crimson blood as it slowly seeped through my skin. I could physically smell my vulnerability as it permeated the air around us. I could smell it, taste it, see it.

“Okay,” I squeaked, the fear of my secrets dripping from my soft voice.

“Listen, and listen good, Low. I will consume every part of you. I will consume every thought, every movement, every desire. You won’t be able to breathe without thinking of me, feeling me, wanting only me. Am I clear?”

Oh dear god.

I could feel the lump in my throat forming, choking me with every second that passed, seconds that felt like torturous hours.

“Yes,” I replied on a shaky breath.

Words had yet again failed me. I was sprouting one word answers because Tate did something to me that no man had ever accomplished. He made me feel.

His lips suddenly crashed against my own, the power he held over me pushing boundaries I didn’t know were there. His teeth scraped against my bottom lip, pulling and tugging as if pleading for entry. My head screamed, begged, and bartered, yelling at me to stop, to push back and leave. But his lips and teeth held me captive, my heart jumping at the chance to finally overpower my head, all too willing to be his victim.