First up, Jessica Rodriguez Brooks' Pity Isn't An Option.
Jessica says, "Jonas and Hattie don’t exactly have a specific “romance” in Pity Isn’t An Option, mainly because Jonas is still waiting for just the right moment to tell her how he feels and there is so much going on in the lack-of-hope area that it’s just never the right time. That doesn’t stop him from appreciating everything about her, however."
Here’s an excerpt from a scene where they’ve traveled far in search of her father, Heath, in hopes they can convince the Union to let them bring him back home:
Sometimes I wonder how a dream can be
so real, that the deep, terribly panic-stricken sense of urgency is still there
when you wake.
I hate when that happens.
I hate it enough in real life—last
thing I need is to have the same problems in my sleep.
So the kite, with its pointy wings and
red eyes, woke me up from outside. Probably telling its fowl friends where to
find mice—there’s a large clearing of grassland slightly west from the trees in
the backyard.
I could almost hear them as I lay,
sweating, on the floor. Run away! The
mice chattered. A kite is near!
I thought the sweat was from the
terrible dream of words that wouldn’t do what I tried, but when I opened my
eyes and looked down, Hattie was by my side. I was surprised to see her lying
so close to me—and pleasantly surprised by her skin on my skin, her warmth melting
into the space of my warmth.
If we hadn’t been in an empty house on
a freezing cold November on the way to find her missing dad, I don’t know what
would have happened. I might have blurted out exactly how I feel.
I lay there for a moment, breathing
softly, and soaked it all in. Her blonde eyelashes, her perfect complexion, the
trail of freckles across the bridge of her nose. I watched as the blanket rose
and fell with each breath she took and said a prayer over her—something I never
do, for anyone—that if there was a point in all of this and/or a solution to
what we were going through, it would make itself evident very soon.
You can purchase the book here now. Why wait 'til Valentine's Day?
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Adrianne James' LIFE ON LOAN is about Paige, a homeless young woman struggling on her own to survive, until she meets Noah:
As the sun started to set I was frantic with worry. My eyes stung from the traitorous tears that refused to stop when I realized Noah may have been identified and that I may have lost him too. I shivered when the wind blew past me and pulled out the warn blanket and wrapped it around myself. Then I just sat there and waited. The street lights clicked on and the sounds of families died down as everyone returned home for their holiday meals until it was just me, sitting there in the darkness.
One of the other homeless men had walked up and sat down beside me. I had never talked to the man before, because frankly, he scared me. He was one of the men who gave us all a bad name. He was a drunk and was mean to everyone who walked by him. I glanced over at him and saw that he was staring at me. I could let him know how much he truly did frighten me, so I addressed him.
“Hello, Merry Christmas.” He simply looked at me some more. “Did you need something?” the sooner he got to the point of this little impromptu visit the better.
“I saw them take your boy this morning, Wasn’t too long ago they took Dani, too. You some kinda bad luck charm?” He had scooted closer to me while speaking and I hugged my bag to my chest and rested my head on top of it as if I wasn’t holding on for dear life, but simply using it as a resting place.
“Nah, She isn’t a bad luck charm. Paige is the best thing that has happened to me since I got to the street.” Noah’s voice came from behind us and I jumped up, letting the blanket fall and rushed to him. Wrapping my arms around him and held on tightly.
“They let you go! Oh I have never been so worried.” I said into his chest, which I am sure came out mumbled because I didn’t pull away at all before speaking. His arms just held me close. After a few minutes I pulled back and looked up into his brown eyes and smiled. My eyes began to scan his face, as if I were checking for any bruises or marks that weren’t there this morning. I couldn’t help it, I had heard horrible things about the local lock ups. When my eyes landed on his beautiful full lips, I just stared at them, wondering if they were as soft as they looked. His tongue darted out licking them and I raised my gaze back to his. His hand moved from my waist and brushed the hair that had fallen in my face back behind my ear. Only this time, he didn’t pull his hand back. He left it cupping my face and he leaned in slowly then I felt his lips brush mine. I was shocked and just stood there, trying to grasp the fact that Noah was kissing me.
He pulled away quickly, with an ashamed look on his face. But the minute his lips were gone, I felt the longing to reconnect with them. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. My heart began to race as our lips melded together. It felt so right, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Noah wrapped his arms back around my waist and pulled me closer to him. We only pulled apart due to lack of breath.
“Do you know how long I have wanted to do that?” he asked, smiling down at me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how much I wanted that until today.” I rested my head against his chest, feeling the warmth.
If you want to feel more of that warmth (and who doesn't?) check out the book here on Amazon.
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And Prom and Prejudice, the final installment of my YA spin on Pride and Prejudice, comes out in May.
I don't think I'll be giving away too much of a spoiler when I say that Georgia and Michael FINALLY figure out how they feel about each other, but since this is Georgia and Michael we're talking about, they don't do so easily. Here's a little tease (and my first attempt at making my own little promo blurb). When Georgia discovers that he's not dating someone else, she can't wait to find me, and tracks him down on a cross-country trail.
If you want to catch up on what leads a snarky vegan girl to chase an uptight preppie through the woods, check out Snark and Circumstance (enovella #1 in the series), Charm and Consequence (#2), and Pride and Prep School (#3).
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone, and happy reading!
