Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Double Blog Tour ~ Roadhouse Reds and Spider Webs & Cover Art by Layla Dorine ~ (Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Double Blog Tour ~ Roadhouse Reds and Spider Webs & Cover Art by Layla Dorine ~ (Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)

ROADHOUSE REDS
Born moments before his parents crashed landed on Earth, Jason was raised in foster care. As soon as he was old enough, he packed his backpack and hit the road. Just him and his bike.
Now a jaded young man, living above a roadhouse diner and bar with several other misfits, he struggles to understand friendships, relationships, and the bonds of family.
Unbeknownst to Jason, other refugees from the planet Altiss also made it safely to Earth. After discovering Jason living as a human, they seek to safeguard him and his fledgling abilities.
As Jason’s powers begin to manifest, his mate arrives on earth looking to claim him. Ano ki stalks Jason, seeking to gain his trust, and his proximity only intensifies Jason’s burgeoning magic..
Fearing they will be dragged back to the planet they fled, the refugees prepare to do battle. In Jason, they believe they may have what is needed to tip the scales in their favor.
Left with no choice but to accept his heritage and learn to fight, Jason struggles with some harsh lessons about love and trust amidst a backdrop of battle and betrayal.


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Book Trailer
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8PGj9Q-DGs


***A copy of this book was provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for an honest and fair review***
Jason spent his childhood being passed from foster home to foster home before finally running away at the age of 16.  On the road, traveling from State to State, City to City, never staying in one place long enough to form any kind of relationships, he's grown jaded and hard. Unable to trust that there are people out there that are kind and caring who don’t have any hidden motives, Jason pushes away those who attempt to get close to him. Why would anyone actually want him when his own  parents abandoned him at a firehouse when he was an infant? The past 6 months he’s been living above a roadhouse diner and bar, home to an eclectic group of misfits and struggles to understand why for the first time he may actually want to stick around for a while.

 When what Jason believes is a meteor crashes to the ground destroying a neighboring farmer's field, Jason’s life becomes a complicated mess. A mysterious man with fire in his eyes as well as his touch, claims to be Jason’s mate from the planet Altiss.  After this, Jason begins to manifest powers he has no idea how to control.  His best friend Tarijan wants more from their friend-with-benefits arrangement and Jason can’t seem to figure out why he’s so attracted to a fellow border Clyde.

Jason soon learns that there are other refugees from Altiss who have also made it safely to Earth and they know the truth about his parents. Vowing to safeguard Jason and help him deal with his emerging powers, they agree to whatever it takes to keep Jason’s mate, Ano ki away from him.

They believe that Jason is who is needed to tip the scales in their favor and battle those intent on dragging them back to their planet.

Jason will have to learn not only how to use his powers to fight, but most importantly how to trust. He quickly learns the meaning of friendship, family and love.

  3.5 Stars!
First I have to admit, I wanted to love this story, I truly did. The beginning was pretty good and I was extremely engrossed in what was going on, however, somewhere around 60%, it started to lose me. There are so many characters in this book and we seem to get all of their POVs. While I was able to finally keep the who was who straight, it was difficult at first. I don't generally mind alternating POVs between the MCs but we had 7 or 8 throughout Roadhouse Reds.

As for the romantic element, I was disappointed. Jason has quite a few options of who his love interest will be. We have Tarijan, his best friend/sex buddy. Clyde, a resident of the roadhouse who is very interested in Jason, but keeps getting the cold shoulder. Ano ki, Jason’s mate and finally, Bakari, another refugee from Altiss helping Jason.  Jason ends up sleeping with one of the characters throughout most of the book while we only get 1 or 2 scenes in which he is intimate with who he ends up with.  I really found this frustrating and wanted more scenes with his actual love interest.

On a positive note, the writing was good and I can tell the author spent quite a bit of time creating such a unique world and colorful characters. For those who enjoy Sci Fi, this is a good book to pick up. Layla Dorine definitely has a talent for drawing a reader in and keeping them entertained.  However if it's a romance you're looking for, be warned, this is not the fluffy romantic books we generally see when we read about mates.

SPIDER WEBS & COVER ART
Losing his brother leaves rocker Jace Christenson struggling to understand how it happened, and what he can do to open the door to conversation about suicide and mental illness. 

Losing his brother leaves rocker Jace Christenson struggling to understand how it happened, and what he can do to open the door to a conversation about suicide and mental illness. A trip to visit an old friend who runs the tattoo parlor where he got his first tattoo soon nets him a conversation piece, in the form of a semi-colon tattoo, but the pain of grief is still overwhelming. Reconnecting with his band is an obstacle he's not sure he can overcome. It takes some time away with best friend and fellow bandmate Troy Paulus to finally get him to open up and accept that the things he's feeling are normal parts of the healing process. And if along the way, the two grow even closer, than that's just a bonus right? 

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***A copy of this book was provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for an honest and fair review***

Rock Star Jace Christenson is back in his hometown struggling with the death of his younger brother who recently committed suicide. He wants to know why he did it? Was there anything he could have done to prevent it? But those questions may never be answered.

With a unique design idea and a visit to his old friend and tattoo artist, Jace makes the first step to start healing. This comes in the form of a semi-colon tattoo, a great conversation starter about mental illness and suicide. Through a discussion about his brother and their lives he realizes he needs help dealing with his grief.

He reaches out to his bandmates which is difficult for him, but with his best friend and guitarist, Troy, pulls him back from his despair. Now with his determination to heal and live his life he and Troy grow closer and Jace begins to speak up about his tattoo and what it means.
  
3.5 Stars!

What I Loved: The message of this story is one that is dear to my heart. Mental illness is such an important topic and it's great that we are getting to see more and more books that discuss it and the impact it has on everyone. It brought tears to my eyes when Jace discussed his brother and wondered why?

What I liked: I truly loved the idea of the tattoo and that Jace as a person in the spotlight wanted something that would be a conversation starter about suicide and mental illness.

What I didn't like: It's hard to say this because like I said I love the idea of the story. Truth be told I was not a fan of the actual dialogue. I felt that at times it read as more of PSA (public service announcement) than a real conversation.  While the information was great, it would have been nice if it had flowed more naturally.

All in all, Spider Webs and Cover Art is a quick read with a great message!
Giveaway
Prize: $10 WIP Gift Card
a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the author
LAYLA DORINE lives among the sprawling prairies of Midwestern America, in a house with more cats than people. She loves hiking, fishing, swimming, martial arts, camping out, photography, cooking, and dabbling with several artistic mediums. In addition, she loves to travel and visit museums, historic, and haunted places.
Layla got hooked on writing as a child, starting with poetry and then branching out, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Hard times, troubled times, the lives of her characters are never easy, but then what life is? The story is in the struggle, the journey, the triumphs and the falls. She writes about artists, musicians, loners, drifters, dreamers, hippies, bikers, truckers, hunters and all the other folks that she’s met and fallen in love with over the years. Sometimes she writes urban romance and sometimes its aliens crash landing near a roadside bar. When she isn’t writing, or wandering somewhere outdoors, she can often be found curled up with a good book and a kitty on her lap.
Layla Dorine can be found at:
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3 comments:

  1. Layla DorineJuly 20, 2016 at 7:08 AM

    Thank you so much for hosting me and for such wonderfully thoughtful reviews.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Book FanaticJuly 20, 2016 at 10:53 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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