Review of The Truth About Unspeakable Things by Emily A. Myers

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Welcome to the book tour for The Truth About Unspeakable Things by Emily A. Myers. It's an intense story. And trigger warning: sexual assault and fallout. But I was intrigued by this story and am sharing my thoughts below. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour as well for excerpts and other people's thoughts. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

The Truth About Unspeakable Things

By Emily A. Myers

Women's Fiction

Paperback & ebook, 284 Pages

April 2, 2021

“He did more than break your heart, didn’t he?”

Emma Marshall is haunted by memories of a horrific attack she can’t bury deep enough. Most of all, Emma is haunted by fear — fear that she will never be free of her abusive ex’s control, fear she will never be able to trust another man again.

No one knows the unspeakable truth of what happened between Emma and her ex-fiancé Beaux. It’s a secret Emma plans to carry to the grave, until Julian Cole, a music executive with a dark past of his own, moves in next door and opens Emma’s mind and heart to the possibility of love after a violent betrayal. As the reporter and music executive grow closer in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, Emma realizes she must face her past in order to heal and move forward with Julian. But Emma soon learns Beaux will do anything to keep his sins a secret.

Emma must risk everything to protect her newfound happiness and Julian from Beaux’s threats. Putting her investigative skills to good use, Emma embarks on a dangerous journey to gather evidence and bring Beaux to justice. But the deeper Emma gets into Beaux’s wicked world, the more complicated things become. How far will Beaux go to keep his secrets? How far will Emma go to protect the ones she loves? Find out in this women’s empowerment thriller about life and love after abuse.

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**My thoughts**

This story is intense. Emma endures horrific abuse from her ex-fiance, which is slowly revealed throughout the course of the novel. If you're sensitive to sexual abuse, then this will not be the book for you. To me, what is almost as horrifying is the fact that Emma never reported it and holds this secret deep within her. She's suffering terribly from the after-effects, and has actually forgotten some of the details. As often happens, they do later bubble up, making it all worse. It's absolutely heartbreaking.

Thank goodness for her new neighbor, Julian. He has plenty of his own secrets and problems, but gets her on a level that no one else does. While there are moments where he is her knight in shining armor, more importantly, he inspires her to take charge of her life and take it back.

There's plenty of action and drama to keep you glued to the pages. I can see this one playing out on the screen, most likely in a miniseries format. It's jam-packed with emotion as well. And I think it has some lessons for readers and could provide some great conversations. Not everyone is going to be able to take matters in their own hands in the same way that Emma does, of course, but in general, she is inspiring.

I received a requested review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Emily A. Myers is a Women’s Fiction author based in Louisiana. Her debut novel, The Truth About Unspeakable Things, sets the tone for Emily’s future works as it follows a young woman’s journey through the dangerous pitfalls of adult relationships and the complexities of growing up. In addition to writing fiction, Emily also dedicates time to her blog, which helps other aspiring authors turn their passion into their profession, and her Facebook community for women in which she posts exclusive interviews with inspiring women from all areas of life. Learn more about Emily at emilyamyers.com Follow her on Facebook and Instagram @emilymyersauthor for real-time updates.

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Tour Schedule

Tour Giveaway

Three winners will each receive a print copy of The Truth About Unspeakable Things (US only)

Ends June 30, 2021

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Review of No Angels for Christmas by Petie McCarty

Welcome to the review tour for No Angels for Christmas by Petie McCarty! This story is one that is going to capture all of your emotions along the ride. Please enjoy my review and then follow the tour to read what other people have to say. You can also leave questions and comments for the author along the way, which gives you bonus chances to enter the great giveaway!

No Angels for Christmas

No Angels for Christmas . . . a cozy romantic mystery with suspense from The Mystery Angel Romances series. An angel hidden in every book waiting for you to figure who . . .

Child psychologist Rachel Kelly isn't quite sure how to handle the situation with her newest client -- a six-year-old boy who says he can talk to angels and one is coming to help Rachel. She already has her hands full of trouble this Christmas season, and things quickly take a turn for the worse when a stalker crashes Rachel's Christmas party and takes her young clients hostage.

Police negotiator, Lt. Jake Dillon, walked away from his fiancée Rachel when she suddenly balked at having kids. His kids. Yet when the hostage crisis erupts, Rachel calls Jake first. Now he has a choice to make -- stand back and wait for the cavalry to save Rachel or step in and try to save her himself. Time is running out, and Jake may be their only chance for rescue.

Unless Rachel's little angel-spying client is telling the truth…

Read an excerpt:

Jake whipped his BMW into the Azalea Center parking lot and switched off his headlights in one smooth motion. Guided by the light from the few streetlamps, he coasted to a silent stop next to Wally’s Jeep, though his emotions had urged him to come screeching around the corner like the cavalry. Common sense and the need for stealth won out. He couldn’t risk driving the trespasser underground only to have him surface later after Jake had gone.

Clicking off his interior lights, he drew his Sig Sauer from the glove compartment, then climbed out and pushed the car door in until the latch quietly held. He waited several seconds to let his eyes and ears take in the entire scene. Damn. All the landscaping crowded around the Center provided a multitude of places for a trespasser to hide.

He put a hand on the hood of Wally’s Jeep. Still warm, even in the cold night air. A brief stab of guilt hit him for dumping his team so abruptly in the Beef n’ Barrel. Couldn’t be helped.

He scanned the closest landscape beds for some sign of Wally. A stiff north breeze whipped across the parking area, stirring up leaves and debris. Barely visible through the treetops, the almost-full moon blazed bright.

He made his way past the large perimeter oaks to the interior sidewalk and began a slow circle of the building, checking sections of garden as he paced. All the offices on the west side of the building were unoccupied, and all windows were dark, a few with vestiges of their interior visible due to adjacent emergency lighting.

Rachel’s office just around the corner faced the back of the property. At this time of night, her office interior would be entirely visible with her lights on. Jake knew this because he’d snuck over here enough times in the last few months to observe her office from the garden. He was pathetic and every few weeks had needed a glimpse of her to get by. A wry smile twitched the edges of his mouth. He could’ve been called in as a trespasser on any one of those nights should someone have spotted him and cared enough to make the call.

Careful to remain off the sidewalk, he silently paced toward the back garden. If the trespasser was a stalker, then the perp probably knew the Center had no security guard and no security system. A fact that had always bothered Jake.

At the back corner of the property, he crossed the sidewalk to inspect the landscape areas adjacent to the building. With quick steps, he shifted from one landscape bed to another. Crouching as he left the larger camellias, he moved through the shorter azaleas and Indian hawthorn.

Clearing the corner, his position even with the back of the building, he paused to reconnoiter and stared at the faint pool of light cast by an overhead office. Rachel’s office.

As his gaze rose to the second-floor office, his eyes searched for the all-too-familiar figure. Without thinking, he straightened to his full height, clearly visible to anyone glancing out the window. Yet no one searched for a figure in the garden. All eyes in the office were busy.

Rachel stood with Olivia and her children on one side of the conference room. On the other side of the room, a man in a worn red jacket and baseball cap faced them—pointing a gun.

This was Jake’s horrible nightmare.

Available on Amazon

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**My thoughts**

Wow, this book was a lot more intense than I thought it was going to be! You have a lot of elements working together here. You have a broken relationship, sick children, abused children, the child who sees angels, and then a bit of suspense when Rachel and the kids are kidnapped. My heart truly hurt for these kids, and for Rachel who is trying to face life after some devastating news. I honestly kept a Kleenex nearby, because tears had a tendency to surface in many places. 

And then there is also the element of keeping the faith in life. Some characters are strong in their faith. Some are struggling. Some are finding it. But the most magical part of all is knowing there are angels among us.

This is not going to be one of your quick reads that you can easily breeze through. It definitely held my attention, but required a lot more digestion than a lot of romances and stories I have been reading as of late. The premise is an interesting one, and I may have to check out the other books in the series.

About Petie McCarty

Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—"The Most Magical Place on Earth"—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time. These days Petie spends her time writing sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and her cozy-mystery-with-romantic-suspense series, the Mystery Angel Romances.

Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and a noisy Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in No Angels for Christmas.

Visit Petie's web site online at http://www.petiemccarty.com or her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty.


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Petie McCarty will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC and 3 ebook copies of Duke Du Jour, book 1 of the Lords in Time series to 4 randomly drawn winners (one prize per winner) via rafflecopter during the tour.

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'Shatterproof (Dynamic Journey Book 1)' by Rianne Moss ~ #FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

Blurb:

20-year-old Natalie Meyers is a young woman whose trusting nature made her the victim of one of the most repugnant crimes imaginable--sexual abuse at the hands of her grandfather. This once happy girl now lives a life of addiction and hardship. Everything gets worse when Natalie’s father kicks her out of his house for stealing. She finds herself remorseful, alone, and completely abandoned. Natalie goes to live with Scott, her long-term boyfriend and fellow addict, in his parent’s basement. As obstacles continue to fall in her path, Natalie's life spins out of control. Will she overcome these trying times or will her life remain shattered?

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Review of 'Before He Was Famous (Starstruck Book 1)' by Becky Wicks

Before He Was Famous

by Becky Wicks

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Falling in love with your best friend isn’t always a great idea, especially when he’s Noah Lockton - the sexiest, most famous new talent on the planet. When 21-year-old small-town photographer Chloe Campbell is offered the chance of a lifetime – to join her celebrity childhood friend Noah on tour as an exclusive blogger for a New York magazine – she’s certain both have put what happened four years ago behind them. But his eyes still burn; his voice is still a jackhammer to her heartstrings; all his songs are about her. Is it possible that that night still haunts them both?

The music industry is a machine, spinning hype and rumors as much as his records. It’s not just Noah’s girlfriends who’ve got it in for Chloe (there’s no stopping the Twitter-obsessed, cat-loving pop-star Courtney Lentini for starters). Pretty soon, the jealousy and media frenzy surrounding these so-called-friends takes a life-changing turn and it seems making love means making enemies at every turn. When tragedy threatens to pull the final curtain on their relationship, both Chloe and Noah must make a choice. As much as this world leaves them starstruck, is living their dream really worth living without each other?

A story of lifelong friendships, love and hope, set in a world of celebrity, fame and social media gone very, very wrong.

Read an excerpt:

Noah. Chapter 31

The wind picks up and clutches at her dress. I reach out instinctively to her face, run a thumb along her cheek, swiping at raindrops. 'You're drunk,' I whisper, but even as she frowns and rolls her eyes at me I have to smile because I see her; the kid who held my hand when my dog died, who gave names to the snails in her yard, who made me jump about her bedroom carpet like it was an ocean full of islands.

I see the seventeen-year-old who clung to me when her dad died. The secrets we left in the branches; the way our desperate lips searched frantically for some modicum of sense as we let our minds go out the window and screwed with more passion, more heart than I've ever experienced with anyone else in my life; even if she was drunk, even if we were grieving. It doesn't change what it meant to me.

She's amazing. I love her. Why the hell did I let her go back to Cooper? Why the hell did I not just tell her sooner? Would it even have made a difference?

She's tugging on my arm and I realize I haven't spoken yet. 'Chloe...' I start. But the flash strikes us like lightning. I'd know it anywhere and it has nothing to do with the weather.

'Paparazzi,' we say in sync, and I grab her hand, pull her with me as we both break into a run.

**My thoughts**
Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes of those award shows? This book felt like one view of the craziness that ensues when someone goes from zero to superstardom in a matter of time. Social media is especially potent these days, adding fuel to the fire. And then what happens to everyone else in their lives?

I loved the relationship between Noah and Chloe. What's better than being in love with your best friend? Especially if he is a hottie rock star? Of course, there is plenty of heartbreak and you find yourself yelling at the Kindle from moment to moment. Noah is great. Chloe is also wonderful, but makes you crazy at times with her decisions! I also think I would love to have her job. I have had fantasies of following around my favorite musicians, as a friend, capturing the experience. It was definitely a roller coaster ride that I enjoyed, especially because I am a sucker for rock star romance stories of all kinds. 

This was another book that told the story from each character's point-of-view, helping you to really get to know them and their thoughts. I felt like their voices were true and that the situations were quite plausible. I would love to read more!

Available on Amazon

About the author:

Becky Wicks is a HarperCollins author going indie! Itchy feet has led her to live and work all over the world since leaving England at age 21, including NYC, Sydney, Bali, South America and Dubai. Right now she’s scribbling the second book in the HotFlush series in Vietnam, and will soon be in Vancouver if any hot Canadian men want to make her a cup of tea?

Becky has also written three funny travel books about her time in Dubai, Bali and South America (HarperCollins). Her first book, Burqalicious - The Dubai Diaries, her second book, Balilicious - The Bali Diaries and her third, Latinalicious -The South America Diaries are out now as ebooks.

Becky has also written a comedy romance with author Sarah Alderson under the name Lola Salt, called The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft (not Croft) which should raise a giggle or two... think Bridget Jones if Jackie Collins had written it!

Follow her on twitter at bex_wicks and her blog www.beckywicks.com

LINKS

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Becky-Wicks-Author/242645109127479?ref=hl

Twitter: bex_wicks

Blog: www.beckywicks.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21936562-before-he-was-famous

Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/+BeckyWicksauthor/posts

Becky will be awarding an eCopy of Before He Was Famous to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop during the tour, and a Grand Prize of an eCopy of Before He Was Famous , as well as a print copy of Latinalicious, Becky's last travel memoir (HarperCollins) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. (International winner)

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Meet the multi-talented Barbara Hall, author of 'Charisma'

Blurb:

In the aftermath of a violent incident and near death experience, Sarah Lange is plagued by heavenly voices and dogged by a desire to return ""home"". Frightened by her desire to terminate her existence on earth, she checks into a trauma center in Malibu, California and meets Dr. David Sutton, an intellectual, a scientist, a reductionist and someone who believes in nothing beyond his immediate experience. David’s world is as divorced from mystery and magic as Sarah’s is alive and animated by it. Their sessions open up a dialogue about the separation of worlds—one easily defined and explained and one unknowable and waiting on the other side of human experience. Even as his faith in his profession fades, David struggles to bring his disturbed patient back to the real world. In a desperate effort to define herself, Sarah ""escapes"" and David must decide how far he is willing to go to save a patient and ultimately himself.

Available on Amazon

With 15 5* reviews!

Other books by Barbara Hall on Amazon:

(Click on a cover for more information and to purchase.)

 

A Summons to New Orleans

 

 A Better Place

 

Close to Home

Barbara Hall is a musician based in Los Angeles who also works as a TV Producer and Published author of 11 novels. She's currently working with Morgan Freeman on a pilot of "Madame Secretary".

She may be better known as a 4-time Emmy-nominated writer & producer (Joan of Arcadia, Judging Amy, Homeland), but to avid readers she’s a novelist with 11 published works whose imagination has been honored by numerous institutions, including the American Library Association in both their Best Books and Notable Books categories.

Additionally, Barbara still manages to find time to independently write, record and release her original music. Her newest album "Bad Man" is available on CD Baby \ iTunes

Official Website for Barbara Hall: www.thehallmonitor.com

'Conflicting Hearts' by J.D. Burrows Book Blast & Giveaway

Rachel Hayward hoped to have a quiet thirtieth birthday alone. Instead, fate had different plans.

Caught in traffic and late for work, Rachel takes her eyes off the road to gawk at an accident and rear-ends the car in front of her. Sick over having ruined her day, she lowers her head and waits for the driver to begin a tirade over her stupidity. Instead, a kind man taps on her window showing genuine concern.

The brief colliding encounter suddenly starts a relationship between two strangers that takes off under odd circumstances. When intimacy begins, their relationship turns into a conflicting set of needs. Ian is tenderhearted and respectful, but Rachel desires aggressiveness from a man. The clash of desires threatens to tear them apart. As a result, she is faced with the decision to leave the man she loves or finally confront the painful secret of her childhood.

Author Notes:

Conflicting Hearts touches on a taboo subject, but one that is very real to many adult women in today's society. Statistically speaking, the shocking reality is that one out of every four girls will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. Though this is a fictional work, that actually documents a factual event in another person's life, it has the power to open the eyes of readers to better understand those who have suffered abuse as a child. Written with a sprinkle of humor, believable characters, brutal reality, and sizzling romance, it is a book that some claim should be read by every woman. In the end, healing and healthy relationships are possible for those victims who seek help.

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Author Bio

J. D. Burrows also writes under the name of Vicki Hopkins, who is an award winning and best selling author of historical romance. She started her writing career somewhat late in life, but can attest to the fact that it is never too late to follow your dreams. Her debut novel was released in 2009, and five books later, she doesn't think she will stop any time soon.

With Russian blood on her father's side and English on her mother's, she blames her ancestors for the lethal combination in her genes that influence her stories. She lives in the beautiful, but rainy, Pacific Northwest with a pesky cat who refuses to let her sleep in. Her hobbies include researching her English ancestry and plotting her next book.

Follow JD on FaceBook and Literary Addicts

 

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Cover Reveal! 'Blue Rose (a Flowering novel)' by Sarah Daltry

Blue Rose Packet

Cover Picture:

Book Info:

Title: Blue Rose, a Flowering novel

Author: Sarah Daltry

Release Date: 2/1/2014

Publisher: SDE Press

Cover Design: Shoutlines Design

 Blurb:

“Four. My life has been shaped by four people. Four men, to be more specific. My father, my stepfather, my best friend, and my boyfriend. The first two shaped it in horrible ways, but what I am, who I am, is all because of four men.”
Alana Reardon has secrets. Some of them are too dark to tell, but everyone already thinks they know anyhow. At 20, she takes too many pills, hides the parts of her that she hates, and willingly becomes the person that they think she is. A slut. A whore. Trash.

There have only been two guys who ever saw Alana as more: Jack, the guy she can’t get over, and Dave, the one who never got over her.

With the help of therapy, facing her past, and the inevitable ways that life changes without your permission, can Alana learn to stop blaming herself? Can she allow love into her life? Is she ready to move on?

Warning: This book deals with topics of abuse and may trigger reactions in people who have experienced those things in their own lives.

Excerpt:

Later that day, at lunch, I had just found a seat by the window when he sat across from me. I was used to sitting alone. He didn’t say anything, and he had nothing to eat. He looked up at me, though, after a few minutes, and his eyes did it again. I hated my body, hated the way I looked, hated that somehow I owed my body and my looks to everyone else. But when Jack looked at me, I wanted to let someone touch me. I wanted him to hold me. He felt like safety.

It didn’t even make sense. He was just a broken kid, like me. He always wore the same threadbare hoodie. Most days, it covered his head. He was cute, but awkward. His hair was too long and usually greasy. His Chucks were a little too big, so they looked a little like clown shoes. Yet those gorgeous eyes were all I cared about. I hadn’t considered guys at all. I didn’t find them attractive, and I certainly couldn’t see the appeal of sex or of intimacy. With Jack, though, the thought of him near me didn’t make me nauseous.

“Do you want my orange?” I asked him.

“Are you sure?”

It wasn’t a groundbreaking question. But it was how I knew that what I naturally felt for Jack was right. Because no one had ever asked me that. No one had asked if I minded, if I was sure, if something was okay. They just took things.

“Yeah.”

He took it and I handed him my knife. It was flimsy plastic and wouldn’t even pierce the rind, so I took the orange back and peeled it with my fingernails. Jack just watched me and, when I handed him the orange, now peeled, he smiled. His upper lip curled more than it should have and he looked silly, smiling at an orange. But he drew the same smile from me.

“Thank you,” he said, and he pulled two slices free from the whole and handed them back to me. I didn’t eat them right away. I just watched him eat his part. He was messy and he ended up covering himself in the juices. He unzipped his hoodie after the orange squirted down the front. Underneath, he was wearing a washed out blue T-shirt with a train on it. He looked ten.

“Nice shirt,” I teased.

He looked down. “I live with my grandmother. She has no concept of clothes.”

“It’s cute.”

He smiled again and it was less awkward this time. “Do you live with your grandmother, too?”

I was wearing a huge black sweater over baggy black pants. “No. I just… I don’t like people looking at me.”

“Yeah. I get that.”

He didn’t tell me that I was too pretty to dress the way I did; he didn’t say my body was too good to hide. He just went back to eating his orange, letting the juice spill all over the train shirt. We were fourteen, but I already knew Jack would always be the only thing that mattered in my future.

Buy Links:

Coming Soon

About The Author:

Sarah Daltry writes about the regular people who populate our lives. She's written works in various genres - romance, erotica, fantasy, horror. Genre isn't as important as telling a story about people and how their lives unfold. Sarah tends to focus on YA/NA characters but she's been known to shake it up. Most of her stories are about relationships - romantic, familial, friendly - because love and empathy are the foundation of life. It doesn't matter if the story is set in contemporary NY, historical Britain, or a fantasy world in the future - human beings are most interesting in the ways they interact with others. This is the principle behind all of Sarah's stories.

Sarah has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying art history and really anything because learning is fun.

When Sarah isn't writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.

Author Social Media Links:

Website: http://sarahdaltry.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahDaltryAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahDaltry
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sarahdaltry/boards/
Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/sarahdaltry

Playlist: 

Link:  http://hypster.com/hypsterPlayer/MPL?media_type=playlist&playlist_id=6787810&us_id=4993560

Trailer:

Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pScDX8_ANOg