Sunday, April 13, 2014

Author Spotlight, Review, and Giveaway of Against All Odds by Angie McKeon @Angie_McKeon



Title: Against All Odds
Author: Angie McKeon
Release Date: April, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Goodreads Link:


Blurb:

Our lives shattered... Our hearts broken... Our souls torn to pieces...

He was my world, my whole life. My reason for breathing. I had a perfect marriage, a baby on the way, and I felt fulfilled—almost invincible.

Until the day life hit, leaving me broken, vulnerable, and alone.

She was my life. My ray of hope on the cloudiest day. With her, I thought I had the ultimate safety. A love that would never hurt or betray me. I gave her my heart, my body, and my soul.

Until she broke me, destroying every dream and illusion I had about life, love, and marriage.

In our grief, we made a mistake. A mistake I'm not sure we can come back from.


Review:

Rating 4 1/2 cry-enducing, heart-clenching, smiling stars!!!!!!!!!!!
 
It's been quite a while since I've read a book that brought forth so many emotions.  The prologue itself was heart-wrenching to read. 
 
This story is about Kylie and Cooper who suffer the worst kind of lose expecting parents can with the lose of their child.  This is a story of forgiveness, grief and healing.  This book at times was very painful to read.  I'm a wife and a mother so it definitely hit me right in my heart. 
 
The first half of the book is from Kylie's POV and the second is Cooper's.  I really enjoyed getting both of their POV's.  At the beginning of the story you immediately see that these are two seriously broken people.  Their grief and how they dealt with it almost destroyed their marriage
 
    "We share a reckless, toxic love that feeds the brokenness in me, in us. Our love is an addiction. A love that I won't consider living without."
 
As much, as they screwed up they still loved each other.  During the first part there are lost of flashbacks, showing before and after their loss.  My heart literally felt like it was going to explode in my chest from the pain.  You want to slap and shake them both so many times, but when they have a breakthrough you slowly see their relationship repair itself and can't help but cheer them on.
 
    "I was made to love her. She's mine, and I am hers."
 
This was such an excellant-realistic tale of two people who lost something so precious and how it almost destroyed their marriage but how they both fought and fought hard they did to get it back.  I do have to say poor Grayson (love him) but he's getting his own book.  Unforunately through Cooper and Kylie repairing their marriage it screwed up a life long friendship.  Grayson appears to be a very broken man. I'll be curious to see what type of woman is going to help him heal and move on.
 
Such an excellant debut novel.  A must read for sure.  Just make sure you have tissues, my poor husband kept getting hugs while I cried reading this and I kept making him hold me. :)

-Rachel

Author Info:


A multi-tasker from birth—and now proudly able to add 'writer' to my resume—I'm a mother, wife and blogger. I love to read, write and drink copious amounts of iced coffee.

All three aforementioned addictions are detrimental to my sanity.

I have a voracious appetite for dark, painful and twisted reads. I'm enamored with the concept of love and heart break. I believe life is a journey, a tale in its own for each of us. The road to happiness is sometimes paved with stones from hell, or glitters of satisfaction graced from the heavens above.

In my upcoming debut novel, 'Against All Odds,' I strive to make you feel. I believe any emotion—whether painful or happy—is good. To me, the key to living is to go through life feeling its ups and downs. Love is dark and it can be painful but, at the end of the day, it can save the most lost of souls and the most broken of hearts


Author Links:




EXCERPT #2
I step back and release a shaky breath. “I don’t know what to say. You know that we...” I flick my eyes to the other side of the room to collect my scattered thoughts.
Erasing the distance I just tried to put between us, he lifts my face to his. Our eyes connect, and my pulse—already wild—intensifies.
He looks straight through to the heart of me. “You don’t have to say anything right now. You don’t have to say anything ever. Just think about what I’m saying.” Gaze locked on mine, he places a tender kiss on my lips.
 When he pulls back, he clears his throat and pulls out his phone. “All right, get packed. I’ll call the pilot and let him know we’re ready to leave.”
I nod numbly as he walks out of the room. I want to go home to my empty house. My empty bed. My empty life. I need some time away from everyone. I need to figure out what’s wrong with me. What happened to the girl with morals?
I close my eyes as all energy drains from my body. I slip to the ground, hugging my knees. I miss my life before Kayla died. Before all I felt was pain and hopelessness. Before all I saw was a nightmare. Before I shut down and started doing stupid things.
I need to find the girl I used to be, but I’m not sure she’s in there anymore. I’m not sure she’s strong enough to come back. Because coming back means feeling the loss of her baby and confronting the problems in her marriage. It means facing pain, fear, and guilt. That is so terrifying that living in a state of numbness and denial might just be easier.

All rights reserved. Against All Odds © 2014 Copyright, Angie McKeon.


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