RELEASE DAY BLITZ: REVIEW AND EXCERPT: Afraid To Fly by S.L. Jennings

Afraid To Fly

The Fearless Series: Book Two

Synopsis

I’d like to tell you that I’m ok.

That the meaningless sex with countless women has somehow numbed the pain. That it’s deciphered the constant confusion in my head. Eased the self-hatred that sinks into my gut every time I look in the mirror.

I’d like to tell you that time heals all wounds.

That we evolve and grow into well-adjusted, stable adults, set on a path to right the world’s wrongs. That we are not our past…we are not our pain.

I want to tell you all those things. Hell, I want to believe all those things. But I’d be lying. I’m good at that. Living a lie is the only way I truly know how to survive.
But the day I saw her, I stopped surviving. I stopped existing. And for the first time in 24 years, I started living.

She brought me back to life. Set me free and sent my soul soaring. Made this useless shell of a man feel like…something. Something whole and real and good.

She saved me.
Although she believes I wasn’t even worth saving.

BN: http://bit.ly/AfraidToFly_BN

Kobo: http://bit.ly/AfraidToFly_Kobo

Amazon: http://bit.ly/AfraidToFly_AMZ

Review

“What was wrong cannot be made right. What was broken cannot be fixed. What was dirty cannot be erased.”

These are Dominic Trevino’s truths – an understanding that has seeped into his pores and consumed his soul ever since his innocence was stripped from him as a child, and those certainties prevent him from soaring…from rising above the guilt, the shame, the disgust of what he’s done and who he is.

Dominic’s a man whose quest for acceptance, a connection of any kind forces him to pursue any form of solace he can find. His need for love…his need to be wanted, desired, needed is what he lives for because that’s what he has yearned for ever since he was little.

But Dominic is NOT his past or the monsters that lurk there. He’s more than his hook ups…more than the broken boy inside…he’s simply MORE.

S.L. Jennings does a tremendous job of getting inside Dom’s head and allowing readers to understand why he makes the choices that he does because it actually isn’t a choice…it’s a matter of survival for him…coping with the heinous acts done to him. He’s been the savior for his friends and the kids he works with, but he needs someone to save him, and he needs to be willing to allow that person to accept everything that Dom is and still want him despite his past…despite his pain. And Raven West wants that job…but they both have to be willing to move forward and overcome the obstacles that are in their way, which are mostly their own insecurities and pasts.

Dom’s journey to fly is filled with pain, heartbreak, and shame. It’s not an easy read because of his past and the self-deprecation he puts himself through regardless of how much his friends try to prove who he really is and why they love him deeply. It’s a slow process with numerous ups and downs, which reinforces the reality of Dominic’s situation and his constant struggles to be more than his nickname.

Cami and Angel play an integral part in Dom’s self-discovery, which makes the story that much better because readers get to see Kami and Blaine’s relationship grow and hopefully, Jennings will give readers Angel’s story, and she’ll find the love that she deserves

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

4.5 poison apples

Excerpt

It was if my body had known what my soul needed to mend itself from the verbal assault that had left me open and bleeding. Sex was that healing balm for me. And this was exactly the place where I could find it.

None of the dancers here were prostitutes, and I never paid to get laid. Ever. They fucked me because they wanted me. And I fucked them because I needed them. It was an even trade.

Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t stick my dick in just anything, and other than Cherri, had only been intimate with two other girls there: Skylar, a hot sophomore at UNC Charlotte, stripping her way through college, and Velvet, a tattooed, purple-haired vixen from England who fucked like a porn star and cursed like a sailor.

Right now, I needed Velvet. If anyone could make me forget the last twenty minutes, Raven’s razor-sharp words and myself, it was her.

My legs carried me inside, despite the numbness I felt. I didn’t want to be here, but I needed to be. And once I had the soft silkiness and warmth of a woman’s skin against me, I’d feel a helluva lot better. Luckily, Velvet was there for a day shift, working the lunch crowd in her usual getup of velvet and chains. Today she wore a cut-out thonged romper that left little to the imagination. And that was fine by me. I was tired of thinking anyway.

“Hey love,” she smiled as I approached. Her lips were painted a deep, dark eggplant purple that almost looked black. I’d have the color smeared all over me within the hour, most of it in places invisible to the public.

I didn’t waste any time. I didn’t have it in me to go through the motions and pretend I was here for anything other than sex. I leaned in close to her ear, letting my lips brush her earlobe in that sensual way I knew would get her hot, and whispered, “Back room in 10.” Then I quickly made my way to the bar to slam a shot of tequila.

She was there when I arrived, lounging on a plush loveseat with her heeled boots propped up on the arm. She looked at me with sin gleaming in her heavily lined eyes and gave me a slow, Cheshire grin. “Someone’s awfully anxious today.”

I was already loosening my tie as I stalked towards her and said, “Clothes off, boots on and get on your knees.”

 

Fear Of Falling

The Fearless Series: Book One

S.L. Jennings

I can’t remember the last time I felt completely safe. Security seemed more like a luxury to me, reserved for those who were fortunate enough to have picture perfect childhoods. For those who didn’t bear the ugly scars that keep me bound in constant, debilitating fear. I’ve run from that fear my entire life. But when I met him, for once, I couldn’t run anymore.

He scared the hell out of me in a way that excited every fiber of my being. It wasn’t the tattoos or the piercings. It wasn’t the warmth that seemed to radiate from his frame and blanket me whenever he was near. It was just…him. The scary beautiful man that threatened to alter 23 years of routine and rituals, and make me face my crippling fear.

My name is Kami and I am constantly afraid. And the thing that scares me the most is the very thing I want.

“Don’t worry,” he smiled, pulling me into the hard warmth of his chest. “I’ve got you. I’ll always catch you when you fall.”

And just like that, Blaine had staked his claim on the untouched part of me that no living soul had ever moved. He had captured every fear, every reservation, and crushed them in the palm of his inked hand.

Amazon: http://bit.ly/FearOfFalling

About the Author

S.L. Jennings is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance, reality TV junkie, obsessive coffee drinker and collector of crazy.

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