Cover Reveal: For the Summer by Shey Stahl

Release Date: August 2013

Freckled cheeks, sunburns, a river bankyoung, wild, and brave. Sophie Kaden falls in love with the
smartmouthed boy she can't seem to forget. She's looking to fit in for the summer; he's just hopeless.
She's afraid to let go; he won't let her.

Cover Design: Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations (www.okaycreations.com)


Author Bio:

Shey Stahl is the USA Today and Amazon BestSelling author of Delayed Penalty; the Racing on the Edge Series: Happy Hour, Black Flag, Trading Paint, The Champion and The Legend; Waiting for You; and Everything Changes. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and daughter.

Website: www.sheystahl.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shey.stahl.9
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sheystahl
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6430657.Shey_Stahl


Excerpt:

No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it
forever. -Francois Muriac

The sun set. Just past the dock you could see the boats lining up and smoke billowing as the party started near the clearing. Country music drowned out the party not more than twenty feet from us, but it was him I saw. Only him.

I thought—hoped—that my feelings would have changed. But they haven’t, and in that moment I realized they probably never would.

I wasn’t sure I would ever see him again. And I’d certainly never wanted to after what I knew now. But part of me, the part that still held on to those eyes and that smartmouthed southern drawl, was waiting for him to at least acknowledge me, tell me everything that happened wasn’t my imagination.
I’d gone over it in my head, what I’d say to him—the words, the expression, the tone. All of it. This, right now, wasn’t how I envisioned this would happen.

Barefoot, covered in thick Georgia mud, a beer in hand, and scars on my heart wasn’t how I planned it.  “You don’t remember me, do you?” I spat, regretting the words immediately. After last night, I said I’d let this go. But … I couldn’t. The liquid courage in my hand made sure of that.

I expected him to say something—anything—but there was only silence, the awkward kind before his eyes deceived him and he looked at me, briefly.

That expression, that one right there, told me what I needed without any words being spoken. He
remembered but wouldn’t admit it because who wanted to admit they purposely broke someone’s heart?

He crumbled me with that look—the only look I’d gotten since he’d been back.

Bensen, though a complete asshole at times, didn’t want to break my heart. “No,” he said, his eyes on the lake avoiding any reaction I might have. He took that old worn baseball cap from his head with his right hand and ran his fingers through his mop of dusty brown hair before replacing it, agitated and aware.

But the thing was, all these years, all those summers of writing in that damn journal had led me here,
remembering and regretting the things I couldn’t let go of.

“Well,” I said, shifting my weight from one foot to the other—my journal, my life, my tears, and my dreams clenched in my sweaty palm. My eyes drifted to his; he stared at my feet, wishing they’d move, wishing all of me would move away from him, but I couldn’t.

Feeling the sudden panic rise, my hand and heart trembled as I decided what I would do next.
I’d had enough remembering, and certainly enough regretting, so I did what I never planned to do when I opened that leather bound notebook all those years ago. Inside that book was a love bound by blue gray and sealed by the thick Georgia mud around us. It was pages and pages of nights I didn’t regret; it was memories of legs on the dash while singing Marshall Tucker and his arm around my shoulder, swimming after the sun went down and anything else those summers brought with it. Everything was in that book.

Unfortunately, my anger got the best of me. Searching for the moment, the lie I knew he’d been keeping, I wiped the tears from my heated cheeks, squaring my shoulders, before I threw the notebook at him. “Maybe this will help you remember.”

Not that I expected anything less, given his behavior the last week, but the notebook fell at his feet, his eyes never moving as I walked past him.

“Read that, and tell me you don’t remember.” I didn’t turn around, nor could I. I had just handed him my heart, as if he hadn’t already had it. Only now, nothing was hidden.

Suddenly, I’m thirteen again, living for the summer. The sun glowing, the days long and hot, sticky and heavy, everything his memory was.

Review: Delayed Penalty by Shey Stahl

★One Glorious Pucking Star!★ (Pun intended.)








...You know those times when you're reading a book and you're so utterly bored out of you mind that by the time you actually finish the story, you don't even know what it was even really about nor did you even care to know anyway? That pretty much sums up my feelings for this book.

Oh yeah, and this...

I'm actually incredibly surprised to be writing such a negative review because I'm a big fan of the author Shey Stahl. Her Racing On The Edge series ROCKED and is still a favorite of mine to this day. I had no hesitations going into this story what-so-ever because of that reason alone, but sadly that was one dumb-ass decision on my part.

For starters, the characters in this book lacked some major depth. There were so many references to hockey players it was almost as if we, as readers, should understand how they are as a character based on that fact alone. For example:

"Fuck me the way a hockey player would." ~Ami 

...Umm, say what? I guess the million dollar question here would be how does a hockey player get it on exactly? Do they take classes for that kind of shit or something? ...Because I obviously missed the memo here.

All this "hockey player" talk leads me to my next topic... The hero, Mase. His character acted like more of a hormonal woman than a "bad-ass" hockey player. The dude cried more for Ami in regards to her brutal attack than the girl cried for herself- And last I checked, she was the one who was man-handled. I mean, for God's sake! ...And don't even get me started on his bedroom skills...

"I wanted her to come but knew that wasn't happening. For one, she was probably in too much pain. And two, I wasn't lasting long enough for that. Maybe next time." ~Mase 

Oh, how nice of him. If that's the mentality a hockey player has in regards to how he treats his woman in the bedroom then I think I'll pass, thanks. As for the heroine Ami, there was absolutely nothing memorable about her. She survived a brutal attack which I commend her for but she had no other impressive qualities... And that's all I have to say. That's it... That's all I've got. I'm not even going to bother going into any other detail when it comes to her character because I honest to God have nothing of importance to add. She was just there; Nothing set her apart from any other character that was introduced in the book so there's really no point in making an effort to discuss her.

And speaking of things that aren't important...

All of the detailed descriptions revolving around the constant play-by-play of the hockey games really bugged the shit out of me. It all felt like a filler... A Constant. Boring. Filler.

Boom.
Done.

Needless to say, this book did absolutely nothing for me. Aside from the dramatic event in the beginning, everything else was just extremely slow and torturous to get through. It was highly repetitive, lacked major character development and bored me to tears. Shey Stahl has always been an automatic auto-buy for me and while this story didn't change my feelings about that, I definitely won't go into another book of hers with such high expectations again.

Jerk of My Dreams #5

Jerk. Asshole. Douchenozzle. Admit it- you hate to love the jerks. That alpha male character who is so arrogant and rude but sexy as hell. That foul mouthed douche bag of a man who rocks your traitorous heart. We've all read them and we've all liked them to some extent. In real life you wouldn't touch the man with a ten foot pole. But in the fictional world? Nothing can stand in the way! Everyone would be lying to themselves if they didn't admit that the meaner the man, the further we run... Towards them! *sigh*

That's what this weekly meme is about- those jerky delicious men! Each Friday this meme will go up, and you can share your jerk anyway you want: review, interview, lines and quotes, giveaway of a book. However you want! All you have to do is sign up and follow the linky. Any time you comment on someones post, leave your link so that person can comment back.

I’m officially in love. With the Riley family… With Jameson… With racing… With this book... With this entire freaking series in general, if I’m being completely honest here. The first book in this series had me hooked… The second book had me begging for more… But this baby… There are no words. This series so far has went WAY BEYOND anything I ever thought it would be- I honestly can’t recall the last time it was that I was so emotionally invested in a series like this. These books are so much more than your average romance novel… Each and every character involved in these books steals your heart in some kind of way. I’ve never read a series that literally takes you from the beginning of a romance blossoming between two people, to the point where Jameson and Sway had reached at the end of this book… And to think that I’m not even finished with the series yet!

The Champion takes you through eighteen years of Jameson and Sway’s marriage. Yep, you heard that right… Eighteen. Years. Yet, never once throughout this entire book did I feel that the story was rushed nor did it drag on in any kind of way- That takes talent ladies and gentleman. In this story, you’ll get to experience season after season of the same rival drivers… The birth of children… Marriage issues… Doubts… Life changes… And loss. I was so emotionally invested in this story, and Shey Stahl did a fantastic job pulling everything together so perfectly.

Jameson and Sway are probably my favorite couple to date- They have such an unbelievably strong bond and committed relationship that truly surpasses even the happiest fairytale. I’ve loved them from the beginning when their relationship first initially took off… But nothing compares to the two of them as loving and devoted parents years down the road. It’s the thing that I enjoyed the absolute most about this book- You literally get to be front and center in the life of racing and all that it entails- And believe me… It isn’t all flowers and rainbows.

I need to just go ahead and give credit where credit is due here… Sway Reins… You are one heck of a woman.

Living the life of a racer’s wife would most definitely be a tough life to live… Unless you had the patience of a saint, unwavering confidence in yourself and your relationship, complete and total trust, and Jameson Riley as your husband. Sway is a one-of-a-kind character… Her strength and trust in Jameson is such a huge admirable quality- I don’t think any woman in their right mind would be able to see first-hand, naked women throwing themselves at their husband yet never once doubt his faithfulness and trust. She was so confident in her love for Jameson and his love for her, that it completely overshadowed just about any obstacle thrown their way. I have an even bigger respect for her character after reading this book and getting a good look at what it really takes to marry into the life of racing.

Jameson… *sigh* …Where do I even begin? He’s definitely my new favorite book boyfriend- He’s still the same ol’ Rowdy Riley we all fell in love with, but growing up and becoming a husband and father helped to tame him… A tiny bit. He was a man who put everything he had into every lap he made and every race or championship he won- And that included his time away from his wife and kids. But for him, racing wasn’t selfish- It was just him being himself… And everyone who really knew Jameson, understood that racing was a part of who he was.

I won’t go into much more detail in this review, because I honestly don’t want to spoil it for anyone- I went into each and every one of these books having no idea what each story entailed and I truly felt like it gave me an even better reading experience, if that's even possible. The thing I appreciated most in these books, (especially this one) was the amount of depth and character/story development involved- When tragedy strikes, the Riley family pull together in such a way that you can literally feel the love and togetherness of all of the characters- Everything about these books just seem so real. If this is a series you’re contemplating, please do yourselves a favor and don’t miss out. Not many books make it to my “favorites” shelf but without a doubt, I’ll forever be the biggest fan of this series.

★ PS: I definitely wouldn't recommend any of these books as a stand-alone. In order to really understand all of the characters, relationships, and circumstances involved, it's an absolute must to read these books in order.

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Shey Stahl

 



 "There are times when no words need to be spoken. It’s a time when you just remember. You remember that life has a way of rearranging and changing everything you have ever known. You don’t know why or even how, but it happened.”

I’ve finally come to an end with Sway and Jameson’s story, and I’d be lying to you all if I didn’t admit that a little piece of me died inside along with the end of this series. I truly couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion. It’s always fun reading about the Riley family… Lord knows, entertainment definitely isn’t lacking when they’re around! Each book in this series had its focus on the Riley family and friends but more specifically, Jameson and Sway’s relationship. The great thing about this novel was that it allowed all of the characters we’ve grown to love to come to terms with not only incidents that happened in the past, but more heartache and tragic times that were brought on them as well.

Jameson is the epitome of perfection, and I have the perfect picture to prove it... ♥

His love for Sway knows no bounds- It doesn’t matter what life throws their way or what obstacle it is that they have to overcome, nothing and no one stands in the way of how these two feel about each other. ...I’m in love with the way they loved each other, and Shey Stahl truly has a way of making her readers feel emotionally connected with these two characters.

"I’ll never let you go. You are where my heart belongs.” –Jameson

I don’t want to give anything away in this review, so I won’t go into too much detail- I will say this though: Prepare yourselves for the ride of your life on an emotional rollercoaster before diving into this story! Some parts were extremely emotional and brought more than a few tears to my eyes. Yet, the humor that’s ever present in all of the other books in this series is still there as well… After-all, I think we’d all feel a little empty inside if we weren’t able to experience more of those impressive pranks the Riley family is so good at pulling off!

I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better ending to this series- Shey Stahl is an unbelievably gifted author and her talent truly shines in this series! …And while I’m sad to see Mama Wizard and her Dirty Heathen’s story end, I’m definitely looking forward to more from this family in the future.


★ PS: As I’ve said before in my previous reviews from the other books in this series, I definitely wouldn't recommend any of these novels as a stand-alone. In order to really understand all of the characters, relationships, and circumstances involved, it's an absolute must to read these books in order.

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Shey's blog site- http://sheystahl.blogspot.com

Shey has graciously offered to give away a signed copy of BLACK FLAG and HAPPY HOUR. WOW! Please leave a comment below WITH your email address to be entered in the contest. Two winners will be chosen Wednesday next week. Thank you and good luck!

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Review: Happy Hour by Shey Stahl

HOLY.
MOTHER.
OF.
AMAZINGNESS.

This book was everything I look for in a romance novel, and I’m proud to say that this one has officially made it to my “favorites” shelf! Not many books leave me with the craving for more, but I just couldn’t get enough of this story and the characters. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of racing- Not for any particular reason other than the fact that it’s never really struck my interest… Until now. I think it’s official: I want to marry a race car driver- Heck, I’d settle for just being a pit lizard… Whatever I can get, I’ll take. This story was race oriented in such a realistic way and so much more unique than anything I’ve read recently, which was really refreshing.

One thing that really took me by surprise in this book was the amount of humor involved- I can’t even count the number of times that I busted out laughing! The conversations and inner monologue between all of the characters kept the hugest smile on my face- Everything just seemed so real. Never once did any conversation or scene feel stilted; It really is a true gift when an author can make every character involved in a story seem like you actually really know and care about them on such a personal level.

Now don’t get me wrong… Although this book was filled with humor throughout every turn of the page, it definitely didn’t lack angst or emotion. Both the hero and heroine faced their own personal trials and demons, but despite it all they were always there for each other, no matter what. The relationship between Jameson and Sway held so much depth and commitment- The feelings they had for each other were extremely strong and had always bordered that thin line between friendship and something more. They’ve always been best friends, but it eventually developed into something bigger than they ever expected...


Jameson… My God. The man was absolute P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N.

I don’t know what it is about a man that calls a woman "honey"or throws temper tantrums (or things) when he doesn’t get his way but when Jameson said and did these two things, it was nothing short of a turn on. I swear, I turned into a puddle of my own drool just by seeing his name on the page… I… am… pathetic. Jameson cared for Sway- That was evident. 

"How far would I go to protect her? The answer: I would do anything." -Jameson 

...However, he was so focused on his career that he just didn’t know how to balance both that and a relationship. He was incapable of offering Sway what she wanted and deserved, but he was man enough to admit that he was too selfish to let her go. On top of dealing with all of these new emotions for his best friend he also had to deal with a rival out for blood and vengeance, a psycho-stalker fan, and a jealous ex-girlfriend… Heck, it was no surprise that the man had a temper.

I absolutely loved loved loved Sway’s character! She was so down to earth and definitely not afraid to be herself… Or punch you in the face if you tick her off. She had a do-or-die attitude that I appreciated and adored- That’s not usually a quality that I like in my heroines but it worked for her in every way. She’s always felt more than friendship when it came to Jameson, so when he finally started to hint that he wanted to take their relationship to the next level, she jumped on the chance. She didn’t care if it turned out to be nothing more than friends-with-benefits… Her logic was to just put all emotions aside and go with it because she knew that she would never have another chance to be with him in the way that she had always dreamed.

The author really gives you a true racing experience by all of her detailed descriptions- The secondary characters were all wonderful as well- They were extremely supportive of one another and there’s such a sense of family and togetherness between most all of the characters involved, and they all really helped to add so much depth to the story. 

This may be my first book by Shey Stahl, but it most certainly won’t be my last. The only complaint I have is the amount of grammatical errors... I’m far from grammar Nazi material, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that all of the errors were a bit of a distraction for me. With that aside though, I honestly can’t say enough good things about Happy Hour. It was such a promising start to a series that I know I’ll love more and more the further along I get… Now, on to book two!

Review: Black Flag by Shey Stahl

★FYI: There are no spoilers in this review.★

Shey Stah has done it again! This series started off with a bang and it’s only getting better from here- I absolutely loved the first installment to this series and I’m so happy to say that the second one didn’t disappoint either. This story is a continuation of Jameson and Sway’s story and takes off right where Happy Hour ended. The thing I love so much about this series is that it’s so much more than racing. It’s about love… Commitment… Family… Dedication… And making your dreams a reality. Not to mention, both books were filled with so many memorable life quotes that I found truly inspiring…

"Happily-ever-after isn’t important. What’s in front of you is. Happy right now is what’s important."


...It’s not every day that you come across a book filled with so much hidden wisdom and this story definitely had it in spades. The thing I loved most about this story was the fact that Jameson and Sway’s relationship was so real and relatable. That’s really the best and most accurate way to describe it- You can literally feel their love and affection for each other radiating off of every page. ...And have I mentioned how incredible, flawless, protective, perfect Jameson is? *sigh* …There are no words. The man was the epitome of amazingness and he let nothing or no one get in the way of his dreams and the woman he loved.

"As a man nothing can threaten your family… Nothing."

Each and every person that’s a part of this crazy supporting cast is just so uniquely awesome- They take the story to a whole new level entirely, which made the book all the more personal for me. I won’t go into too much detail with this story because I don’t want to give anything away- I will say this though: The relationships between all of the characters in this story are so completely genuine. They all have such an unbreakable bond and that only grows stronger through every obstacle that’s thrown their way. This story is one that's jam-packed full of drama and laugh-out-loud humor! The Riley family may be all kinds of dysfunctional, but you only grow to love them more and more with each and every book in this series. …Now I'm off to read the next book!

PS: I definitely wouldn’t recommend reading this story as a stand-alone. …And trust me when I say this… You’ll want to read Happy Hour first anyhow!