Bayou Book Junkie: Release Day Review: Fast Forward by Xio Axelrod (Excerpt+Giveaway)

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Release Day Review: Fast Forward by Xio Axelrod (Excerpt+Giveaway)

Fast Forward

Author: Xio Axelrod

Release date: June 27^th, 2017

Publisher: Xio Axelrod LLC

ISBN: 9780998931616
Print ISBN: 9780998931523
ASIN: B072R5X1GL

Short Blurb ~

Ian Waters thought he’d finally quenched the seven-year torch he’d carried for Jessen Sørensen. Jessen is determined to prove him wrong.

Long Blurb ~

As a nineteen-year-old, wunderkind doctoral candidate, Ian Waters had little interest in social interaction. Books were his companions, and that had suited him just fine. Then a hurricane named Jessen Sørensen blew into his life, throwing Ian off his axis.

On the cusp of rock stardom, Jessen had burned brightly, and Ian had fallen heart-first under his spell. But Ian soon learned he was only a temptation, a pit stop on the road to the rocker’s dreams, and Jessen was gone as quickly as he’d come. Ian buried his heartache in academia, the only home he’d ever known.

When Ian encounters Jessen at a party, the seven-year separation seems insurmountable. There’s too much pain, too much distrust. But Jessen declares he has a new dream, and that’s a life with Ian.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35392066-fast-forward

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2s6iELM

iBooks: http://apple.co/2t86gcP

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2tt4thU

Nook: http://bit.ly/2sa5iQw

Audible: (coming soon)

Excerpt (PG-13: use of language)

“Aren’t you going to invite me in for a nightcap, or whatever?”

Ian arched his brows. “I wasn’t, actually. No.”

“Ouch.” Jessen flattened his hand over his heart as if mortally wounded. “I’m surprised by how rude you’ve become, Ian.”

Before he could react, Jessen slipped the keys out of Ian’s hand and jogged up to the door. He chose the right key on his first try, because of course he did, and strolled into Ian’s home like he belonged there.

Which he most certainly did not.

This was so fucked up, but Ian followed him inside and flicked on the lights.

Jessen whistled. “Fuck, Ian. This is beautiful!”

And it was. Ian had painted the walls of the main living space in Wedgewood blue, true to the period in which the house was built, and it set off the pristine, white wainscoting beautifully.

A large bay window let in plenty of light during the day and provided a comfortable reading spot at night. Oversized furniture in cream twill made up the bulk of the seating.

He’d transformed the formal dining room into a makeshift A-V suite, which housed his iMac and his Mac Pro, plus his other editing equipment. Unconventional, but it suited him.

“This is really nice, Ian,” Jessen murmured, turning to him. “I’m really happy for you.”

There was awe in his voice and reverence.

Ian suppressed the wave of pride that swept over him. Jessen was the only person he’d told about his tumultuous childhood, his deadbeat father, and disturbed mother. He was the only person he’d told about his dream of owning a beautiful home and planting roots in a

community.

Most people never asked about the family of a prodigy, as long as the prodigy kept producing. Siv knew a bit about his wrecked childhood, but only Jessen knew it all. Every dark and dirty detail.

Ian had told Jessen everything one night, overwhelmed by the emotions spilling over him after their first time having sex. Making love. They’d done a lot before then, just about everything, but it wasn’t until that night that they’d gone all the way.

Ian had given Jessen his all, every little bit of himself. Had spilled his heart and soul to the man who had cracked open his hard shell for the first time in his life.

And then he had woken up one morning to an empty space in the bed next to him, and a note on the floor.

I’m sorry.

He still had the note.

Those two words had splintered Ian into a million indiscernible pieces. Pieces he was still trying to fit back together.

And there stood Jessen Sørensen, in his fucking dining room, glowing like he kept his own personal sun somewhere behind his rib cage.

“Do you have any coffee?”

“Yes.”

“Could I possibly get a cup?” A smile danced at the edges of his sinful mouth.

“No.”

Jessen laughed. “Please?”

“There’s a Char-bucks on the corner if you want coffee. I am not making you coffee, Jess.”

“Aww,” he pouted prettily. “Why not?”

Why not.

“Why not?”

“Yeah.” Jessen was grinning. No, he was smirking.

The bubbling volcano in Ian’s belly erupted.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?”

The blonde’s eyes widened and the smirk melted away. “I…”

“Seven years, Jess. Seven. Fucking. Years. You walked out of my life in the middle of the goddamned night, no goodbye, nothing. Just ‘I’m sorry’ scratched on a piece of brown paper bag.”

“I know, and I…”

“Shut the fuck up.”

To his credit, Jessen did shut the fuck up.

To his credit, Ian wasn’t screaming. Yet.

He turned on his heel and stalked into the living room, throwing himself onto the couch. It was big and plush and the first piece of furniture he’d purchased for the house.

His house.

His.

He felt like his safe haven had been invaded by the enemy from his heartbroken past.

Ian’s chest heaved. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he’d bottled up and walled-off. And Jessen was right there. Right there.

The other man entered the room slowly, carefully. He sat on the coffee table across from Ian.

No one sat on the coffee table. It was an antique that had come with the house and Ian was proud of it. But he didn’t give a shit right then. Fuck the goddamn coffee table and the man sitting on it in his five-hundred-dollar skinny jeans.

He wanted Jessen gone, and yet he was terrified to let him go.

“What do you want me to do?”

Ian blinked up at him, confused by this all-too-sober sounding Jessen. “What do you mean?”

“If you want me to leave, I will leave. Right now, just say the word. If you want me to give you some time, I will.” His gaze softened. “If…if you want me to stay, I’ll stay.”

“What if I wanted you to leave Philly and never come back?” Ian eyed him carefully. “Would you do that?”

Jessen looked pained, but he nodded. “Eventually.”

“What if I wanted you to go back in time and fix what you broke, could you?”

“God, I wish.” He’d choked out the words.

Ian frowned. Studying Jessen, he noticed a slight hunch in his shoulders. There were dark circles under his eyes. He seemed smaller, dimmer. It was confusing, conflicting with the mental image he’d always carried.

“Why are you here?”

Jessen exhaled and rested his elbows on his knees. He knit his fingers together and faced Ian, his expression more serious than Ian had ever seen.

“I owe you an apology.”

Ian snorted, he couldn’t help it.

Jessen’s smile was slight. “I know, seven years too late, but…I hope…I was hoping…”

“What? Thought you’d pop back up, bat those pretty eyes of yours, and I’d bend over for you?”

“You still think my eyes are pretty?”

“That’s what you focus on?”

At least he had the grace to look contrite. “Sorry.”

“Are you?”

Jessen’s expression morphed into a mask of regret. “Yes, God. Yes. You have no idea how sorry I am. I ran away, Ian. I ran away from you, and I’ll never forgive myself. Even if you somehow find a way to forgive me, I’ll never forgive myself. I hurt you.”

“You hurt me?”

“I know I did.”

“No, Jess. You don’t know shit. You didn’t just hurt me, you broke me. You fucked up an already fucked-up kid.” Ian ran a rough hand through his overgrown hair. “I could barely function after you disappeared. I missed classes, had to postpone my exams, I was a total wreck when you fucked off and out of my life.”

Ian was shaking, his jaw trembling so hard his teeth chattered. And he was pissed because it shouldn’t affect him this much anymore, not so many years after the fact. He was beyond this pain.

“Fuck, Ian…I’m so…” Jessen reached out as if he were going to touch him and Ian pressed himself back into the cushions.

He could not let that happen.

“I’m so sorry. God, that sounds lame. Even to me.”

“Because it is lame. Sorry? Sorry was seven years ago. Six, maybe. I’d even give you five. But now?”

Jessen nodded. His gaze flicked toward the door, and Ian panicked.

The thought of letting him walk out in the middle of this long overdue conversation was almost paralyzing.

“Don’t go.”

Jessen’s gaze snapped back to his. “What? No, I…”

“You were thinking of leaving.”

He nodded. “Yes, but only to give you some space. I had no idea I’d cause…I didn’t think you’d…”

“You thought I was over you.”

Jessen’s jaw hung open, his eyes wide. For the first time since he’d first met him, Ian saw fear in Jessen’s eyes.

“Are you?”

Ian wanted to pretend. Wished he could. He wanted to lie, but even after so long he knew it was pointless. He was an open wound where Jessen Sørensen was concerned. He could never hide the bleeding from him.

“No, Jess. That’s the problem. I’ll never be over you.”

4.5 Stars!!!

The last thing Ian Waters expects when he goes to his friend's party is finding Jessen Sørensen, the man who left him 7 years before with just a note saying "I'm sorry" slipped under his door and who just about destroyed him. But there he is and he says he's back for good and wants Ian back and even if Ian hasn't been able to forget him all these years, he's not sure he can just forgive the callous way he left or believe he won't do it again.

I absolutely loved Ian, even if he was already 26, he had this ineffable quality, this naivete, a certain vulnerability, if you will, that he just couldn't hide. He'd gone through so much in his childhood, that he was actually thankful that his genius IQ opened up so many doors for him when he was so young, graduating high school at 13, then getting his bachelor by 17 and well on his way into his doctorate when he met Jessen at 19. He was so innocent, so sweet and so earnest, falling hard and fast for Jessen, putting all his trust in him only to have it all disappear as fast as it'd started. I could feel his hurt and his pain, but also his desperation, his loneliness and his desire to find a reason to believe again.

I wasn't too sure about Jessen at first and it actually took me a bit to warm up to him. It wasn't until I was almost halfway into the book that I actually felt he deserved a second chance. Jessen and Ian had amazing chemistry, they were sweet and Jessen was very patient with Ian back when they met the first time. And while yes, Jessen messed up big time and it took him a long time to get back to Ian, I could feel his regret for leaving like he did.

The book is told from Ian's POV, with the last chapter in Jessen's, which was a lovely touch. It was nice seeing things from his side and knowing him a little better. I also liked that Ms. Axelrod showed us Ian and Jessen's past, because it was important for their future. It was a very enjoyable, fast-paced, well-written book, that I'd gladly read again as soon as I have some free time.

Overall, this was a great MM debut for Xio Axelrod, she did justice to both the story and the characters, even if I'd wanted for the book to be longer, it felt complete and it was a fantastic start to her new series. I'm so excited that there'll be more of Jessen and Ian in the future!!!

Highly recommendable!!!

*** Copy provided to me for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

Author Bio:

Xio Axelrod is a USA Today Bestselling author of love stories, contemporary romance and (what she likes to call) strange, twisted tales. She also writes erotica as Xio Nin.

Xio grew up in the music industry and began recording at a young age. When she isn’t writing stories, she can be found in the studio, writing songs, or performing on international stages (under a different, not-so-secret name of course).

She lives in Philadelphia with one full-time husband and one part-time cat.