BLOG TOUR STOP: REVIEW, EXCERPT, TEASERS, AND GIVEAWAY: Give Me Grace by Kate McCarthy

Casey Daniels has a past forged in Hell. Despite the friends, the endless supply of women, and the muscle car he spent years restoring, it still eats away at him.

Grace Paterson is in Sydney as a temporary bassist for Jamieson, the band Casey handles security for. She’s also infuriating, off-limits, and completely irresistible.

A deal is struck, and despite their intense and powerful connection, both think it will be easy to walk away. But life can be more ruthless than either of them ever imagined. Not only does Grace have a secret she’s desperate to keep, Casey has questions from his past that he’s willing to do anything to get answers for.

It’s not until someone wants one of them dead that Casey realises his love for Grace is the one thing he could never walk away from.

In a story of revenge, betrayal, secrets, and love, Casey will need to reconcile his past with his present, before the future he never knew he wanted is snatched away.

GOODREADS LINK:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18169153-give-me-grace

Kate McCarthy is my go to author for strong characters and suspenseful plots. Her Give Me series is jammed packed with twists and turns that readers don’t usually see coming, and every scene grabs our attention regardless of what’s happening. You can’t help but be seduced by her Aussie heroes and jealous of the strong women who have their hearts. This is a definite must read series!

Give Me Grace is the third book in the series, and it’s Casey’s story. On the outside, Casey’s a suave and sexy hero who fights to protect those who can’t protect themselves, but on the inside, his demons torment him, leaving him desperate for answers and eager to numb the pain by any means necessary. He uses women for the release he needs, but he doesn’t allow anything more than a few nights in his bed. The wall that he’s put up allows him to get through each day, even when he doesn’t feel like he can. His friends do everything they can to keep him steady, but they worry about him, and even though Casey made a promise to Travis awhile back that saved his life, he still takes unnecessary risks that could end up hurting him in the long run. Casey doesn’t think he needs anyone, but when Grace Paterson enters his life, the little firecracker gives him a run for his money, and he loves every minute of it and doesn’t want to give her up.

Grace is Henry’s younger sister, and when his band Jamieson needs a bassist to step in, Henry convinces Grace to come to Sydney and help him out. Grace sees it as an 8 week vacation away from the world she’s only in as a necessity not because she loves it. Grace is feisty, witty, intelligent, and beautiful, both inside and out, and when she first meets Casey, she doesn’t back down from him even when he acts like a douche. She gives it right back, wearing her no bullshit armor. Grace has her own set of struggles that she hides away so no one can see what’s really happening behind the act she puts on for everyone around her. But she didn’t count on Casey getting under her skin or worming his way into heart.

It’s only supposed to be eight weeks, and then they walk away from each other, but with the kind of chemistry they have and the need they feel for one another, how are they supposed to just give it up? If Casey has anything to say about it, he’s not letting her go, but he’s going to have to fight more than just Grace to make that happen.

Casey and Grace’s story is one of betrayal, secrets, heartbreak, sacrifice, and love. It’s emotional, sexy, and extremely entertaining. The banter between Casey and Grace as well as all of their friends makes it even better. There’s no lull in the dialogue or the storyline. All details are necessary and the words flow flawlessly as readers get deeper into the plot. Casey’s the damaged hero that readers can’t help but love and Grace is the strong beauty who gives him what he needs to heal and let go of a past that haunts him every day. Together, they’re a strong and dynamic pair; apart, their struggles consume them, and so even when they act as if nothing bothers them, deep down, they’re drowning.

Give Me Grace is a phenomenal book that I didn’t want to end. It has every component a suspense romance needs to make an impact on its readers. The group of characters that Kate McCarthy created for the Give Me series is fantastic, and being able to catch up with all of them in each book only adds to the series’ awesomeness. I will be impatiently waiting for Mackenzie and Jake’s book because with the bomb that’s dropped at the end of Give Me Grace who knows how crazy their text is going to be!

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

5 poison apples

I slipped out the front door, letting it softly click shut behind me. Casey was sitting in his car, staring straight ahead as I walked down the drive. Opening the car door, I slid inside and shut it. He didn’t acknowledge my presence, or even look at me at all. He simply shifted gears, and with a quick glance in his rearview mirror, pulled out onto the road.

I clicked my seat belt into place. “Casey?”

With a hard swallow, he shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road as we drove. Despite his controlled composure, his face was pale and tension surrounded him like an aura.

“Casey, you’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry.” Our eyes met for a brief moment, the connection intense. Raw pain flickered in his eyes before it was quickly banked. “That’s the last thing I want to do.”

His palm slid over my bare thigh, riding upwards as he continued to drive. The touch sent arousal spiking through me, but not enough to override the concern.

“Where are we going?”

He shook his head as if he had no clue. After a moment, he replied, “I want to drive, but I don’t want to be alone. I want to be with you.”

My eyes fixed on his profile as he drove. The knuckles of his right hand were white on the steering wheel and his jaw tight. Something wasn’t right. In fact, something was very wrong. I slid my hand over his, my pulse racing when he flipped his palm over and grabbed hold.

“Casey?”

He glanced over at me.

“I want to be with you too.”

His answer was a squeeze of my hand before letting go.

We sat in silence as he drove. I stared at the dashboard, having no idea what to do or say or how to fix what was wrong.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Sure.” A smile came to his lips. It was forced because it never reached his eyes. “Just a bad day at work, you know?”

“No, I don’t know. Maybe you should tell me.”

The roads were eerily quiet when he pulled to a stop at a red light. “I don’t want to talk right now.” His hand fell on my thigh again, the calloused palm scraping my skin as it slipped upwards. Reaching between my thighs, he dragged my panties to the side and slipped his fingers inside, gently massaging my clit and dragging a moan from my throat. He leaned over, putting his mouth on my ear, his breathing coming harder and heavier.

“I want to fuck you, Grace. Not just tonight, but every night,” he professed, his fingers working me expertly. The red light turned green, but with no cars around, Casey ignored it. “Hard enough for it to hurt, so that when you leave, me fucking you is the only thing you can think about.”

I closed my eyes, my head falling back against the headrest. I wanted him to fuck me that hard. I wanted to feel him inside me even when he wasn’t there, but not like this. Not when he was using sex to mask a hurt so painful and deep I could feel the ache of it surrounding me until I felt suffocated.

“No,” I gasped.

He froze at the single word, his hand stilling instantly.

“There’s something wrong, Casey. I can feel it.”

His hand slipped out of my panties and I mourned the loss. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he snapped.

Tension bled into the car as he put it in gear and accelerated swiftly. My eyes burned. When we were good, it was wild and intense and consuming, but we always spiralled into such a hot mess. I wasn’t sure if Casey and I would ever find a happy medium.

Drawing a deep breath, I forced calm. “Maybe you should take me home.”

“No.”

My brows flew up. “No?”

“No.” He shook his head, his tone cold and harsh. “This was your deal, and now you want to turn it into some kind of relationship? That’s not what this is. This is about you and me and sex. So maybe you should spread your legs so we can both get what we want.”