BLOG TOUR: REVIEW, EXCERPT, AND TEASERS: Love Survives by Jennifer Foor

Release Date: March 7th

Love Survives

Imagine being in love with the same girl since you were ten years old, only to have her fall for your twin instead. This story is rocky.

It will rip you apart and possibly put you back together again.

I know this because it’s my story.

The pain and anguish experienced in this is what it was like to hold onto hope that some day we’d find each other again. I won’t sugar coat the details of what I went through to have her, nor will I apologize for any actions that led me right back into her life.

Sometimes love isn’t enough.

Sometimes it takes a little fate.

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23529221-love-survives

Amazon
http://amzn.com/B00UCK4R2A

Barnes and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121346906…

Kobo
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/love-survives

Review

Love hurts, but it survives as long as there’s faith, hope, and steadfast commitment. But, sometimes, regardless of how much effort is put into making a relationship work, fate steps in and plays its role – a role that can destroy as well as heal…imprison as well as free.

Love Hurts, book one in Jennifer Foor’s Love’s Suicide series, teaches readers that true love never really dies…it just has to find the perfect time to LIVE! That message is illustrated even further in Love Survives, Brooks Valentine’s point of view, as we are given insight into his true thoughts and feelings as he stands on the sideline and watches his brother with the woman he loves, as he endures years of fighting in a war that almost destroys him both physically and mentally, and as he works to claim the woman who has always been his and fights to put the past behind them and make up for the years of miscommunication and lies.

I didn’t know what to expect from Brooks’ side of the story. I knew it would be more than a simple retelling of the events that tore him and Katy apart and brought them back together. With the amount of time spent apart, there was a significant gap to fill in, and this is where Jennifer Foor delivers such a poignant and heartbreaking story, even more so than his turmoil experienced with Katy. Through Foor’s words and her ability to portray the debilitating effects of the war on Brooks’ mental state, readers understand the sacrifices of a solider and the demons that can drag him into a darkness that threatens on a daily basis. Brooks’ feelings of pain, anguish, and defeat permeate from the pages and overwhelm the readers as we witness Brooks almost give up by withdrawing and falling apart.

My feelings for Katy in book two fluctuate between frustration and anger, which is interesting to me because I don’t remember having those thoughts about her when I read her point of view, which shows the power of varying perspectives. Both Brooks and Katy have made their fair share of mistakes and shared the consequences due to those choices; both don’t fight hard enough to be with the person they truly want and both allow miscommunication to alienate them from those they love, but for some reason, Brooks’ self-less actions and protective instincts do such a number of him that it’s hard to not blame the woman who forced him into some of those situations.

In my opinion, Love Survives is Brooks’ reflective response to all of the torment and heartbreak he experienced in his life; it’s also, in a way, a love letter to Katy – a way to express everything he never felt strong enough to say out loud. Brooks waited his entire life for Katy – over twenty years of watching her with the wrong brother and away from her while he was at war, thinking of her constantly and hoping for a way for them to be together.

And, somehow through it all, Katy and Brooks’ love survived and even though fate made their path to each other difficult; ultimately, they made it through despite the distance, time, and pain they caused one another.

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

4 poison apples

Excerpt

Dear Mom and Dad,

I wanted you to know that I’ve arrived overseas, and have settled in the best I’m able to. I owe you both an apology. Never in a million years did I see things playing out the way they have. I didn’t show up at the wedding to ruin everyone’s lives. The truth is that I couldn’t help myself. I had to pursue her, because I’ve loved that girl since we were children. She’s everything to me.

I know I made a mess of things. I screwed up and embarrassed you. I ruined my relationship with Branch, but I think you deserve to know why. All this time, all the years since they started dating, he’d been feeding Kat and I lies, keeping us apart. From the age of twelve he told me Kat wasn’t interested. I trusted him.

Apparently he was doing the same to Kat, telling her that I didn’t like her that way. All this time we could have been together, but instead he weaseled his way into her heart, making her feel bad for ever having feelings for me.

I’m not saying that what I did wasn’t wrong. I know right from wrong. Two people went into my hotel room that night, and what happened was mutual. We knew the risks, but took them anyway. I honestly couldn’t stop myself. Once the truth was revealed nothing could have kept me from her.

I snapped.

You may never be able to understand what it’s been like for me, watching her with him, year after year, as if I was a punching bag. I’ve got thick skin, but even the toughest person would have broken down at some point. I’ve been trained to replace pain with power, but this doesn’t apply. I’m on a path of destruction, because I simply don’t care anymore. Branch ruined my life. He was the reason I had to get away. Joining the military was my way out. I knew it would keep me from coming home, and bearing the burden of watching them happy. I punished myself for loving her, and attempted to move on with no result. No matter how hard I try I can’t stop loving her, and that’s why I know I can’t come home. There’s nothing left there for me except pain. I’ll never regret being able to live under the same roof as my two best friends, but I will hate myself for not going after what I wanted sooner. I could have prevented all of this. We could be sharing our lives together, having children, and waking up to knowing nothing will tear us apart. Instead I’m on the other side of the world, throwing myself into defending my country, because it’s the only thing keeping me going.

I can’t promise that I’ll write back all the time. It’s hard for me to sit down and put my feelings on paper. I’ve already been warned that what I’m about to see over here will haunt me forever. I’m used to living in hell, so I’ve got every reason to believe that I’ll get through it. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I was such a disappointment. I was acting out, because I couldn’t have what I wanted. Jealousy took control, forcing my hand to make irrational decisions. At the end of the day I deserve to be here, in the middle of this battle zone. If something happens to me and I don’t return please don’t dwell on my death. Just know I’m no longer in any pain. Nothing will ever hurt me again.

Thank you for bringing me up right, and teaching me what was love was. As much as it hurts, I don’t regret experiencing it. How I feel about Kat is something special. Not everyone finds their true love so early in life. Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t keep her. Maybe I had enough time with her when we were younger. No matter the case, I’m appreciative.

Take care of her and Branch. Help them to make amends. We’ll always be family.

Until next time with love,

Brooks

Love’s Suicide

My heart belonged to Branch and Brooks Valentine since we were children, when we were all too naïve to know what that even meant. We didn’t understand that when we became adults, love would change us. I had to make a choice and when I did, it ripped our bond apart. Brooks left town, and he took half of my heart with him. It was difficult, but I coped and planned my future with Branch. I thought I’d made the right decision. I loved him and I always had.

Brooks showed up to be our best man the night before our nuptials. After drinks and too much reminiscing, I ended up in bed with the wrong brother. To avoid the humiliation and the fact that I’d ruined all of our lives, I left Branch and the only family I’d ever known.

That’s where my story should have ended.

Two years, one beautiful little girl and an abusive marriage later, I was standing there staring at the man that would always hold my heart.

The only question was…

Would I give it to him

I’m Katy Michaels and this is my story.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20932673-love-s-suicide?from_search=true

AMAZON: http://amzn.com/B00IODNJRG

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/loves-suicide-jennifer-foor/1118748091?ean=2940149563340&itm=1&usri=loves+suicide

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/loves-suicide/id829667656?mt=11