Title: Redemption Red
Author: Delancey Stewart
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sub Genre: PTSD/ Family Relationships
Heat Level: Sensual
Amazon
Blurb:
When Audrey Montgomery’s carefully planned life collides with the self-destructive path Tyson Dawes is on, neither of them can predict what will happen next.
Audrey is a diligent and self-reliant culinary student at Portland’s prestigious Cordon Bleu. She has a clear picture of her future in mind, and it allows little room for the steely-eyed and tormented young man she bumps into by chance while wine tasting with friends.
Tyson Dawes had a perfect childhood, raised among the vines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. But even the most idyllic of upbringings couldn’t have prepared him for what he would face as a Marine. He returns to his childhood home angry and haunted by the storms of what he has faced and by those he has lost.
Do opposites truly attract? Can the lure of Audrey’s apparent clarity and innocence offer Tyson hope in the face of his emptiness?
Author Bio:
Delancey Stewart is the author of
the Wine Country Romance Series, featuring A
Rare Vintage and Redemption Red.
She is also writing the Girlfriends of Gotham series for Swoon Romance. The
first book in that series, Men and
Martinis, will publish in December 2013.
Stewart has lived on both coasts, in
big cities and small towns. She's been a pharmaceutical rep, a personal trainer
and a direct sales representative for a French wine importer.
A military
spouse and the mother of two small boys, her current job titles include pirate
captain, monster hunter, Lego assembler and story reader. She tackles all these
efforts at her current home near Washington D.C.
Author links:
Redemption Red
Excerpt #1:
THE WINDOWS OF the
restaurant were tinted to the point where Tyson couldn’t see more than a dark
shape approach as he stood outside the door waiting. He thought that the people
who’d started the place could’ve probably stretched a bit to come up with
something more original than “Fork,” but that’s what they’d gone with. He shook
his head, chuckling at the lack of irony in the name as the door swung open. On
the other side of the door, in the tall industrial space of one of the hottest
restaurants in Portland, was Audrey, the girl Tyson hadn’t been able to banish
from his mind since the day before.
Even though their
interaction hadn’t exactly been rewarding, Tyson found himself fantasizing
about the girl with the thick dark hair and coppery eyes almost constantly. He
wasn’t fantasizing anything particularly sexual, though his mind would have
gone there willingly if he’d let it. He just wanted to talk to her, be near her
for some reason.
“Tyson.” She said his
name simply, quietly, as if she’d fully expected that he would show up here.
Suddenly, he felt
uncertain of himself. The heavy bag of wines was pulling down on his shoulder,
making him feel lopsided and awkward. Anxiety began to claw its way up his
throat, and he felt his vision beginning to darken. He pushed the sensation
away.
“Audrey, right?” He
willed his body to stop shaking and focused on her amber eyes, feeling himself
calm.
“Right.”
“I had no idea you worked
here.”
“Of course not. There’s
no way you could have known.”
“So we’ve established
that I’m not stalking you.” He smiled.
She tilted her head, and
the thick hair fell away from her graceful neck on one side. Tyson fought back
an urge to run his hand along her delicate jawline. Something about her was a
contradiction. She appeared fragile and delicate, but there was such strength
in her eyes and attitude.
“Was there some question
that you might?” The half smile again. Tyson felt butterflies jump into action
in his gut. Why does this girl have such
an effect on me?
“Of course not,” Tyson
laughed easily then. He nodded down toward the cooler bag. “You didn’t really
get a chance to taste through the wines. Think we could try a…”
Just then a loud
squealing sound erupted from the street, followed by the sickening crunch of
metal. A Volvo SUV had just rear-ended a much smaller Kia, and the entire rear
end of the Kia was crumpled and smashed.
As the noise began, Tyson
felt his entire body start to vibrate. His heart exploded in his chest and
adrenaline flooded his body. Before he knew it, he had pushed Audrey inside the
restaurant, one hand on her chest, sending her flying inside where she landed
hard against the long table. He slammed the door shut behind himself and ended
up in a crouch behind it, hands frantically searching for his weapon. He peered
out the tinted window at the street, his hands still uselessly seeking anything
he could use to protect himself.
Inside the restaurant,
Florence and the Machine played loudly, and a longhaired skater guy was
jabbering away on the phone at the podium. Tyson glanced around to find another
woman, a redhead with a serious expression, sitting at the bar and staring at
him with her pen raised in mid-air, while Audrey had slipped down into a chair
at the table and was eyeing him with a mixture of fear and irritation.
His breathing slowly
returned to normal and he stood up, wishing he could just disappear. He
smoothed his clothing and eventually shoved his hands into his pockets where he
hoped they would stay still.
“Um…” he looked up at
Audrey.
She was rubbing her
shoulder.
Horror crept through him
as he started to remember exactly what had just happened. He’d shoved her.
Hard.
“Oh,
God,” he said, crossing the floor to where she sat, looking dazed. “Are you
hurt?”
My 5 Star Review
I received the book from the touring host for an honest review.
A beautiful love story, with enough drama to keep you guessing if the two main characters will come together in a happy ending. A real emotional rollercoaster as you are drawn into their daily lives. In Afrikaans I would have said "'n Regte tranetrekker."
Well written, fast paced with great characters you learn about the world of wine and restaurants as Audrey and Tyson met. Not in the best of ways mind you, but enough to make a lasting impression on both.
Audrey, a young woman still learning her culinary skills is filled with care and love, always to the rescue for those who wants to be saved. When she met Tyson she thought that he needs her as well, but at the end it turns out they needed each other. Working in a restaurant, going to school and caring for her ailing father was her priority, but once he made his appearance her focus shifted. At first the hand, she reached out was rejected, she was scared, not knowing if she makes the right decision.
Tyson was a troubled soul, an ex-marine who had to work through a lot of pain. Drowning it in the bottle, with no future plans. Living with his father on the wine farm, a wine maker, and a comatose mother he had no hope left to fight. That is until he met the petite little woman who became more important than the bottle.
Both needed restoration, their home lives sorely lacking, but standing at the bed of a dying father they realized what was important. With determination and strong will they both showed that they could overcome the obstacles in their lives. Working together to reach what they both craved. The romance breathtaking and beautiful as both learn to give and take in equal measures.
Each supporting character played their part beautifully in the story as it unfolds. Every character depositing a truth or a wake up call to them. Well layered the scenes were building the plot to its final page. For a few hours, you could get lost in the story and fall in love with the characters as they struggled with everyday problems, making it a believable and enjoyable read.
Stacy Bailey Darnell
Literary Mania Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment