Exclusive excerpt and review of 'Too Close' by Elizabeth Krall

Too Close

by Elizabeth Krall

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BLURB:

What rules would you break for the one you love? What lies would you tell?

Three weeks before their wedding day, Nicola and Greg discover that they may have the same mother.

They met when Greg joined the San Francisco newspaper where Nicola is the travel editor. After six months, eager to start a life together and raise a family, they decide to marry.

When Nicola finally meets his family in Seattle, and mentions the circumstances of her adoption, Greg’s horrified mother is forced to reveal the shameful secret she has kept for 36 years.

As they struggle to deal with her revelation, their relationship is challenged and strained. If his mother’s suspicions are true, they will be forced into a devastating choice: break all of society’s rules and fight for their love, or break their hearts and give each other up.

It will be the greatest test their newfound love has faced – and their love may not survive.

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Read an exclusive excerpt:

Scene: First kiss, at San Francisco’s zoo.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” she replied with a laugh, waving a hand in dismissal. “A woman told me we look like twins. She thought you were my brother.”

“You’re prettier than I am,” he joked. He put his hands on his hips, and looked at her. “Maybe. We both have dark hair, though yours is almost straight. Blue eyes, though a different shade of blue.” Greg ran a finger down her nose, making her laugh. “And your nose tilts up at the tip, delightfully. Mine doesn’t.”

Their eyes held, and a breathless, giddy feeling rose in her.

“I’m glad I’m not your brother,” he said softly.

“Any particular reason?”

“If I was your brother, I’d have to kiss you like this.” Greg deposited a chaste peck on her cheek. “Rather than like this.”

His lips against hers were soft, and his hands rested on her shoulders. It was a light kiss, one she could pull back from easily if that was what she wanted. Instead, Nicola slipped her arms around his waist. She felt his own arms go around her, pulling her to him, and his lips pressed more firmly.

Nicola had always dated men much taller than she was, and if anyone had asked she would have insisted that was important. However, the feel of Greg in her arms, his body hard and muscular but only three inches taller than her own, was strangely arousing in its novelty.

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**My thoughts**

The blurb alone is intriguing. I have often wondered what would happen if two people fell in love, only to find out that they were long lost siblings. I am sure that it has happened before. How could they turn off a sexual kind of love and turn it into a sibling kind of love? Would they ignore it? Would they pull a stunt like Cathy and Chris in Flowers in the Attic and move somewhere new, pretending to be a married couple and not siblings? What is the proper thing to do? What would I do in that situation?

Too Close gives you the opportunity to explore some of those questions as Nicola and Greg fall in love and then have the truth revealed to them. I was torn between feeling uncomfortable as their relationship developed, knowing that they could be related, and sharing in their joy in having found each other as a perfect match.

It's also difficult to decide whom you want to hurt. This couple is in a very messy situation. There is no way to avoid hurting someone. They can be hurt if they discover that they are actually brother and sister, because that means that they shouldn't (and legally can't) be together. Greg's mom gets hurt if they aren't siblings, because that means she still hasn't found her daughter, whom she gave up so many years ago. The decisions that Greg and Nicola may make depending on the results can hurt other friends and family members. Someone is going to disagree with their choices. Your heart really goes out to a lot of them

I found the conversations between the various characters to be interesting. I agreed with some of their opinions, and not so much with others. I found myself thinking hard about the situation, trying to see if I could agree with the differing opinions. Everyone tries to make a solid case for their beliefs. I think you may have an idea what you would do if you found yourself in this situation, but if it really happened, you may choose a different path.

This story was strange, yet intriguing. It seemed absolutely fantastic, yet completely plausible. It's a story that keeps you glued to the pages, until you find out all of the twists and turns that lead to its ending. And then you ask yourself if you agree or not. Fun read. 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Elizabeth Krall grew up in Canada and lived in London, England, for many years. She has now settled in Sydney, Australia.

Most of her career was spent as an editor, but now she works as a print and digital graphic designer. An unexpected side-effect of leaving editing was the resurgence of an interest in writing. Her first novel, Ship to Shore, was published in February 2012; her second, Too Close, in January 2013.

She is also the author of an occasional series of short stories themed around holidays, called Holiday Romances.

Elizabeth’s interests include travel, tall ship sailing and cocktails.

Links:

Website/blog -- http://elizabethkrallwriter.wordpress.com/

Pinterest -- http://pinterest.com/elizabethkrall2/

Elizabeth will be awarding an eBook version of EACH of her three short stories to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop, plus a grand prize of an eBook version of her first novel, Ship to Shore, will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. An eBook version of her first novel Ship to Shore will be awarded to a randomly drawn host. Follow the tour for more chances to win!