Friday, January 10, 2014

Blog Tour: Come To Me Quietly by A.L. Jackson



Aleena “Aly” never thought that she would ever see Jared again.  He was her best friend growing up, the boy that held her heart, and the boy that broke it when he left town and never talked to her or her brother Christopher again.  When Christopher runs into Jared he offers him a place to stay with him and Aly.  Aly sees the boy she used to love, but he has changed, his heart is hardened and he tries not to let her close.

Jared let town after being released from being locked up and never planned on coming back.  When he winds up in his home town he doesn’t plan on connecting with his old friends Christopher and Aly.  His demons rule him, his addictions are always there and the memories that he can’t erase still haunt him.  Jared believes that he doesn’t deserve to be loved or to love, but when it comes to Aly, there is something about the girl he once knew that he can’t stay away from.

Jared’s life took a tragic turn when he was younger, he blames himself for what happened and begins a downward spiral that not only gets him in trouble but has him lose the two best friends he has.  Aly may have been younger than him and Christopher, but they have always had this connection, a friendship from the start that others can only wish for in their lifetime.  Aly wants to help Jared, but to him she is a trigger for his past, but he can’t seem to stay away from her. 

Aly has missed Jared so much.  Seeing how he has changed since he has been gone is breaking her heart but she wants to be friends with him again.  Slowly they begin to hang out and become friends again, but there is a pull towards each other that they can’t resist for long.  Aly wants to show Jared that he is worthy of being loved and she wants to save him from his demons.

The connection that Jared and Aly have is more than friendship, and it’s more than sex.  The fates have deemed that these two are the other half of their souls.  For Aly it has always been Jared.  Jared has always cared for and protected Aly. 

I was drawn into not only Jared’s pain but the feelings that Aly has had for him since she was a child.  My heart broke for Jared from the start.  When you learn about what has made him so broken, it breaks your heart because you can only imagine what he was feeling then and now all these years later.  Jared needed Aly just as much as she needed him and it’s not a needy kind of need, but one that heals the broken parts.

A.L. Jackson has written a beginning to a new series that has me enthralled.  I am always so drawn into her writing and the way she captivates your attention and how she can make you feel the heartbreak, love or happiness that each character is feeling.  Come To Me Quietly is different than her other books, you get to see the relationship between Jared and Aly grow from friendship into a relationship. 


Fans of A.L. Jackson’s previous books and those new to her writing need to have Come To Me Quietly on their TBR piles and it needs to be one of the next books you read because the story of Jared and Aly is just beginning and I can’t wait to see what emotional rollercoaster ride that A.L. Jackson is about to take us on.

Aly is a good girl who is seemingly emotionally detached at first glance. However, she and her brother are harboring a deep loss and pain that few realize. The source, and the solution, to their problems turns up in a bar that her brother Christopher frequents. Christopher is compelled to reach out to his old friend and offer him help, but unsure whether this is a good idea or not.

Jared is a troubled man with personal demons that have led him down a road of drug abuse and incarceration. Jared is riddled by guilt, fear, sadness, and anger. However, for someone trying so hard to keep light and happiness at bay, he will find that love has the most surprising way of sneaking back into your life. This dark and dangerous guy, that most will warn Aly to keep her distance from, is exactly what she has been silently longing for for years.

It should come as no surprise that A.L. Jackson delivers an emotionally haunting read with tangible characters that linger with you for quite sometime. You feel all of their pain, longing, and heartache.  Jackson’s writing and word choice is nothing short of beautiful and moving, poetic every time. The story unfolds through alternating P.O.V with flashback chapters to reveal their past. It is masterfully done and interwoven flawlessly. This story is like her others, a story of reunion, but the love story unfolds in real time before you. The love story has a slow build that leaves you longing for the couple to get together.

Jared’s personal pain is completely believable and relatable. Aly is playing a dangerous game of thinking she can fix or heal someone, but Jared is convinced that he has a penance to pay.  I get the extenuating circumstances keeping them apart. Never once does it feel silly or contrived. It is befitting the characters’ age, mindset, and setting of the story, making this book a compelling new adult read.

This story is a definite must read that will resonate and deliver. It is a heartbreaking love story that I fell deeply in love with. If you are looking for a bad boy who struggles with redemption and fights falling for a good girl, go and grab this book now. 

My song inspiration for this book is Unconditionally by Katy Perry 




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Come To Me Quietly Book Trailer
http://youtu.be/hqiqy3BkNpI

Excerpt
A few minutes later she returned. She’d changed out of her work clothes and into the same sleep shorts she chose to constantly taunt me with night after night.
God, the girl had the best legs I’d ever seen.
She was twisting her long hair up into a high ponytail as she walked barefoot into the kitchen. The mixture of her skin and the food she’d brought smelled like heaven.
She cracked open the fridge. “Either of you want another beer?” she asked as she bent down to dig through the fridge.
In my head I was screaming at myself to close my eyes or to look up or to look down or to just look the fuck away.
I didn’t.
Instead I watched.
A curl of lust twisted my stomach into the tightest knot, so tight I had to struggle to get a breath of air into my lungs. 
Christopher’s voice broke my trance. “Yeah, I’ll take one.”
I cut my attention in his direction, and eyes so much like Aly’s stared back at me.
I dropped my gaze and mumbled, “Sure, I could use another.” 
Aly stood and knocked the door closed with her hip. She had three beers woven between her  fingers, their caps pressed together. Maybe there was something inherently wrong with me, but I thought it had to be one of the sexiest moves I’d ever seen.
She set them down on the table. “One for you.” She passed one to Christopher, grinned as she slid one across the table to me. “And one for you.”
“Thanks,” I said. 
She twisted the cap off the third and plopped heavily into the chair as she tipped it to her mouth.
“Long day?” Christopher asked as he arched a brow at her.
“Oh, yeah.” She released a long breath. “It was super busy.” A little shrug lifted her shoulders. “Made good tips, but I couldn’t wait for my shift to end.” She began opening the take-out box lids. My mouth watered when I was hit with the heavy aroma of thick red meat sauce and pasta.
I stood. “Here, let me grab some plates and forks.”
She threw a soft smile up at me as I passed. “Thanks, Jared.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Even though it was only three feet away, I stumbled into the kitchen as if it were some kind of oasis in the desert. For a second, I dropped my head as I pressed my hands into the counter and filled my lungs with the deepest breath of air I could find.
Get a grip, Jared.

Be sure to enter the COME TO ME QUIETLY Blog Tour Giveaway!!

Grand Prize:  A.L. Jackson Complete Signed Paperback Collection (all six titles) + Come To Me Quietly Poster and swag

Second Prize:  Come To Me Quietly Collection, which includes a signed copy of Come To Me Quietly, a Come To Me Quietly poster, keychain, and custom bookmark

Third Prize:  A.L. Jackson Fun Pack stuffed full of A.L. Jackson book swag


Fourth Prize:  Audiobook Gift Set from Audible.com of The Regret Series (Lost To You, Take This Regret & If Forever Comes)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1 comment:

Unknown said...

thank you for the chance to win :)

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