Thursday, June 9, 2016

Blog Tour: How to Save a Life by Andria Large (Excerpt, Review + Giveaway)

Title: How To Save A Life
Author: Andria Large
Genre: Adult, M/M Romance
Published: May 24, 2016


How do you save someone’s life?

There’s the obvious way of physically saving them from a tragic end.

Then there’s the more subtle way of saving someone who doesn’t know they need to be saved. Someone who is drowning emotionally and has no idea that they are slowing dying.

Ezra Whitmore is one of those people. After tragically losing his wife, he’s still going through the motions, but not really living. All he has now is his son, Spencer, and his career as a dentist. The life he thought he was going to have has been torn apart. The things he had once enjoyed no longer feel the same without the person he had shared everything with.

That is, until Ferris Jenkins crashes into his life. Not only does the lifeguard save his son from literally drowning in the ocean, but he also slowly starts to bring Ezra back to life.

As soon as Ferris lays eyes on Ezra, he can’t get the gorgeous dentist out of his head. He knows nothing will ever happen between them because…well, Ezra is straight and he’s gay. You can imagine Ferris’ surprise when Ezra gets drunk one night, kisses him, and admits that he’s always been attracted to guys. This gives Ferris hope that maybe, just maybe, he can land the man of his dreams.


Excerpt from How To Save A Life © Andria Large 2016

So, Ezra and I head for the dance floor. We find an open spot in the midst of the crowd that is mostly girls. I find out very quickly that Ezra is a really sexy dancer. Oh, what I would give to be all over that delicious body of his. He rolls his body like a goddamn male stripper. I’m mesmerized and completely turned the fuck on.
A young girl, probably in her mid-twenties, dances her way in front of Ezra. She puts her back to him and shoves her ass in his crotch. She’s a cute girl with a nice body. Ezra’s eyebrows shoot up and his wide eyes meet mine. He actually gives me a “Help me!” look. Apparently, he’s not ready to have a young girl bumping and grinding on him. It seems that even though my friend is lonely and could use some lovin’, it doesn’t look like he’s ready to have some chick he doesn’t know rubbing herself all over him.
Ferris to the rescue!
I step closer and grab Ezra’s hand, pulling him out from behind the girl and up against my side. I wrap my free arm around his waist and pull him in so that we are touching from chest to thigh. Ezra can no doubt feel my erection against his hip, but it can’t be helped.
“Hey!” the girl, who looks downright pissed, yells over the music. “I was dancing with him!”
“Sorry, hun, but he’s with me, and I’d appreciate it if you kept your skanky ass away from his cock,” I drawl, palming Ezra’s ass for effect.
I feel Ezra’s hand snake around my waist, causing goose bumps to pop up all over my skin. The girl rolls her eyes and mutters something about all of the hot ones being gay, before stomping off through the crowd. I smile my triumph and turn to look at Ezra, who is so close that our noses touch when I face him.
My breath catches as a wave of desire hits me hard. Shit, I would love to seal my lips over his right now. I swear that same look is in his eyes again; but this time, the lust has been cranked up a notch. He looks like he’s actually thinking about kissing me, too.
“You might want to dance with me if you don’t want to get hit on,” I murmur just loud enough for him to hear me.
Ezra licks his bottom lip and gives me a jerky nod. “Yeah, okay, we can dance.”
We slowly start swaying to the music. I turn slightly so that we are completely facing each other and slip my thigh in between his. The arm Ezra has around my waist tightens, pulling me closer. His nose brushing my cheek and ear, sending shivers down my spine. We grind against each other. I keep my hand on his ass for show...okay, that's a lie; I just want to touch his ass. It's a very nice ass - firm and round - and I'm fairly certain that what I'm feeling against my thigh is his erection. Fuck me, I'm in so much trouble with this guy. 

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***

Ezra lost his wife less than a year before and has been feeling lost ever since. It hasn't been easy balancing those feelings with his career as a dentist and being a single parent, despite his son, Spencer, being a very well-adjusted 14-year-old. He's not sure how to get past the grief and start living again. After a lifeguard saves Spencer from drowning in the ocean and meeting him again at an LGBT session, after finding out that his son is gay, Ezra finds himself wanting to explore a part of himself that he's hidden for a long time. 

The last thing Ferris expected was to feel such an instantaneous attraction for the father of the boy he'd saved, but when they meet again during a counselling session, he's unable to stop himself from pursuing at least a friendship with Ezra, even if he's certain the man is straight. As they become closer and they give in to their attraction, they'll have to fight against the ghosts of their pasts to see if they can manage to have a future.

I loved Ezra and Ferris, both on their own and together. They each went through so many things that marked them and made them who they were, but together, along with Spencer, they formed a cohesive unit, one that was damned near indestructible. Of course, it wasn't all happiness and puppies, but the obstacles in their path and how they worked through them just made the ending all the more sweet to me. 

Spencer was a very mature 14-year-old and just about as important a character as Ezra and Ferris, and I loved him with Jesse. I really hope Ms. Large writes more with all of these fantastic characters in the future, because that epilogue, while satisfying, just left me wanting more.

The secondary cast was great, for the most part, although I wanted to slap some sense into a couple of them several times. 

A very good read, well-written, emotional, hot, sweet and angsty, with some suspenseful moments (you're very evil, Ms. Large, and that's all I'm saying about it!), yet very worthwhile. Definitely a recommendable book, one that I'd read again! 

Rating: 4.5 Stars!!!


Andria is married and a stay at home mother with two crazy little girls and two psychotic cats. She doesn't go anywhere without her precious iPhone and a purse full of animal crackers. She used to be completely obsessed with the Backstreet Boys, but now is only mildly obsessed (still goes to every concert when they are in town). She loves cartoons and Disney movies, and can probably recite every line from Dumb and Dumber. Humor is a must in her life; otherwise, it would be completely boring. Pepsi is her weakness, along with anything chocolate. She can't sing to save her life, but she pretends she can when she is alone in her car with the music blasting so that she can't hear herself.

She loves to read Romance. Paranormal, Scottish, Military, Police, Firefighters, Athletes, Cowboys and M/M are her favorite. She is not so much a fan of YA, though. If you haven't been able to tell from reading her books, she likes - whether she is reading them or writing them - lots of hot steamy sex.

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