Title: Wild Chase, Book #1 in the Vengeful Honor Series
Author: L.A. Bressett
Release Date: September 14, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
“Music is a Moral Law, It Gives Soul to the Universe”- Plato
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how long you know a person. The effect they can have on you can happen after four seconds or four years.
In Chase Taylor’s case – it’s both.
Avery McGuire doesn’t just flip on a light inside of her – he sets a blaze to everything holding her back. After only a week together, he has to leave, but he strikes a match before walking away that won’t easily burn out.
Four years later, Chase finds herself face to face with the boy -now rock star – who changed everything. The same one she still can’t admit to falling head over heels in love with. She has no idea that her world is about to get rocked, in more ways than one.
Want an Exclusive Avery Alternate POV? It’s from the kitchen scene in Chapter 12… 🙂
Fuck me running!
Did it have to be itty-bitty, short-shorts? I mean, I didn’t expect to wake up and find her out here in the first place, let alone half naked and making breakfast.
That kind of sight will do things to a man.
Trust me.
I watch as she moves around the kitchen, and though she looks tired, she’s as strikingly beautiful as ever. It’s hard to take my eyes off of her.
You’d think it would be easy to just forget a girl you’ve only known for a week, but something about Chase has stayed with me all these years—truth be told, I’m not being completely honest about my feelings towards her, but for the sake of what’s best for everyone, those feelings have buried deep beneath the surface. It’s just, with every inch of her body I start to remember, the more that surface starts to crack.
I can’t even stop myself from slowly making my way closer to her until I’m right at the edge of the kitchen, leaning against the refrigerator—glued to her every move. She puts some dirty dishes into the sink and rocks her head back and forth, probably to the beat of some song stuck in her head. I can’t help but smile at a faded memory.
Suddenly, she turns around and stops abruptly when her eyes fall upon me as her audience.
I yawn, trying to play off getting caught watching her.
Chase’s wide eyes survey me, her gaze rolling up and down the length of my body—more than a few times. Her teeth begin to cut into her full, pierced bottom lip.
Christ.
“Good morning,” I say, trying to pull her out of the same fog I was trapped in moments ago watching her.
She smiles shyly, blushing.
“Hey.”
I pull up a stool at their kitchen bar, trying to put some space between us seems like a good idea. She turns her focus back to cooking.
So this is where we stand? Fucking Limbo? Awkward words and longing gazes?
A few more moments of silence pass and I can’t stand it. Not with her.
“Smells incredible,” I tell her, hoping to break the tension somehow.
Chase turns to look at me from over her shoulder and smiles.
Fuck, she’s gorgeous. I don’t even hear half of what she says because I’m so distracted by the way she’s grown up and transformed into nothing short of a goddess.
“You knew she would, dumbass—that’s part of why you left,” I silently scold myself.
We exchange a few pleasantries, and then another long pause separates us.
I clench my eyes shut and sigh, hearing her do the same thing.
“So, uh, thanks. For last night, I mean. The game and all. I don’t know what my problem was—” she stutters out, unable to complete her thoughts with sadness weighing down her voice.
I immediately stand up and walk over to her, feeling responsible for the way she reacted last night and especially for the way she can’t even look at me.
“It’s ok. You don’t have to say anything else,” I start, and as the memories of her and I invade my stream of thoughts yet again, I look away, taking a spatula from the counter and aimlessly start stirring one of the many pans on the stove. I want her to know she isn’t the only one that still has that night engrained in their mind, so I grind out the courage to admit it to her.
“But you know, I do remember.”
I look back down at Chase, her light blue eyes sparkling in the morning sunshine and I find myself holding my breath. The admission surprises her and a light shade of pink starts to grace her cheeks. She looks on at me exactly like she did on that dance floor, picnic, bedroom, and rooftop all over again, until she snaps out of it and starts shoving pancakes in my mouth.
I can’t help but laugh.
Still so innocent and adorable. It makes me want her all over again.
It doesn’t help that the food tastes like Martha Stuart stopped by.
“Those were delicious, but that is not how you do it,” I say, taking the fork from her soft hand.
I know this is going to cross a line, but my hard drive is shorting out the more and more I look down at her garter tattoos showing just beneath the edge of her shorts.
I feed her a small bite, slowly, our eyes boring holes into each other, the heat between us growing palpable.
She licks her lips and in my head I picture myself grabbing her around the nape and pressing her up against the refrigerator and kissing her until the kitchen burns to the ground around us.
Leaning in closer, I pretend to wipe away something just to have an excuse to touch her.
Too close.
“We can do this, right?” I ask, resisting the growing urge to kiss her.
“Do what?” she asks, sounding as ready to give in as I am.
And hell, I want to give in to so badly. I want to rip those damn teeny-tiny shorts right off of her and wake the rest of the house up while she screams out my name.
Of course, before I realize it’s happening, the thought of Olivia sleeping twenty feet away rears its head, toning down my racing pulse instantly.
I smile and step back, remembering just how much I have to lose. I want Chase, more than anything, but I made other choices and I have to live with them.
…But I also want Chase to be a part of my life- whether I can have her or not. Call me selfish, but I can’t walk away from her again.
So I open my mouth and shoot myself in the heart.
“The whole friend thing.”
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*
4 ‘butterflies’ Kisses
I originally found Wild Chase on FictionPress about a year ago and completely fell in love with Chase and Avery’s story. It was so unexpected, the way it was told was so different from what had been used to, the tone and writing was such a unique style, I just really fell into everything about it. But…I never read the end. Now that I’ve read the polished up new version I couldn’t be any more satisfied with every aspect about this story.
Chase Melanie Taylor…I. Love. This. Girl. Everything about her screams genuine and authentic and real. She has passion and talent and so much desire in her that it just oozes out. I loved her from start to finish. At the beginning…my heart broke for her…she’s completely smothered, controlled by possibly the most harsh and strict parents on the face of the planet…no freedom whatsoever. It’s just a horribly depressing way to live – don’t get me wrong, I’m sure many others have it worse, but she’s got such a creative, free spirit and it’s drowned out by these overbearing jerks. Then after one night with one boy and one week of seeing what life can really be like, everything changes and four years later we see the real Chase…and she’s beautiful. And that damn gorgeous boy comes back…
‘“You’re exactly the kind of girl I want you to be,” Avery spoke softly, rubbing the back of my palm with his thumb.
I’m pretty sure my heart melted on the spot.’
Avery Nickolas McGuire…tall, blond and talented…he has a good heart, puts everybody before himself, has more talent in his little finger and just melts me in a puddle of goo. Shaggy blond hair, stormy grey eyes, sultry voice – he can sing…Yummm! Why did I love Avery? Remember that good heart and putting everybody before himself I mentioned? You have no idea how frustrating and yet achingly admirable those qualities are. There is and was never any doubt for me about his feelings for Chase. Regardless of the circumstances or situations there is one thing that is crystal clear from the time they meet until the end…he. Loves. Her. The end. All the rest of the stuff…yeah it is what it is, they try and make the best of the situation (I’m being vague to avoid spoilers) but trust me when I tell you this boy is a-freaking-mazing when it comes to that girl.
‘“Well, it’s true what they say. Everything’s better in Texas. Pretty sure the south has ruined me for all other places,” he said softly, his normal, flirtatious tone of voice practically nonexistent.’
So this is another one of those stories where I can’t really go into the plot too much because it gives away a lot of key pieces of the story…but there is something that I do have to talk about…the unexpected love triangle! So didn’t see that coming…at all, but I loved it. Jesse Morgan, another man I will profess my love for. Jesse…brings a smile to my face, he warms my heart…he’s a flirt, he’s so freaking cute and with those gorgeous blue eyes and black hair I just wanna hug him and hump him at the same time. Does what happens as far as Jesse concerns suck? Yeah…pretty much. But…it is done with purpose and leads into the second book of the Vengeful Honor series, which is Jesse’s book. (Yes…I said series! SQUEE!!!).
‘“Love sucks,” I confess, losing myself in his ocean blue eyes.
He nods, holding my gaze, “Love blows.”
“Love bites.”
With a wicked gleam in his eyes, he leans in within an inch of my ear and whispers, “So do I.”
Sweet. Baby. Jesus.’
Who else did I love in this book? Umm…that would be Victoria Pierce. Vic is Chase’s best friend/roommate and their dynamic is A-maze-ing! Phenomenal chemistry, the banter and dialogue is freaking hilarious and classic – SO similar to the way I am with my BFF…I freaking loved it. Vic is the only one that understands Chase and their bond is exactly what Chase needs to get her through everything with her parents and Avery and…pretty much life! And there are little hints here and there because there is a connection with Vic and another one of the band members…Kennedy Graham…*cough cough*cannot WAIT for their book*cough cough* And last but definitely not least is the final band member…Adam Stone. Oh my gawd…this boy cracked me up. Favorite Adam line… ”Nothing, I’ve just never had thoughts about doin unnatural things to a woman with breakfast food until just now.” Really?? Just…flat out love that boy. There wasn’t a whole lot I didn’t thoroughly enjoy…I mean the editing wasn’t perfect…but it wasn’t enough to completely distract me from enjoying myself.
“I fought for so long, telling myself that I didn’t love you, that I was too young to know what that meant. You know what it means, Avery? It means meeting someone and instantly knowing that you want to spend every single day looking into their eyes for the rest of your life. It means that you spend every day thinking about them…even when you try not to. It means never feeling anything for anyone else no matter how hard you try. It means having your heart smashed when you realize that they moved on and never felt any of the shit you’ve held onto for four damn years!”
Love is a perfect description of how I feel about every one of the characters. They are not without flaws or imperfections, but they are all so uniquely different. It’s not your classic rock band type, at least it wasn’t for me. I can’t really quite put my finger on what specifically makes them so original but the whole dynamic mixed with their personalities just completely rocked my face off. And like I said…it’s a Series!!!! My bread and butter…the thing I love the most and that always makes me SQUEE!!! And my poor, sweet, broken Jesse is up next…and man does he deserve an HEA badly. Wild Chase was a surprisingly awesome kick off to a great new series that I cannot wait to devour!
Click here for the Rafflecopter giveaway
L.A. Bressett is a simple, city-country girl that loves chocolate chip cookies, Erik Northman, and laughing until her stomach hurts. Her love for books began in diapers and has only grown over the years. She spends her days listening to music, watching her two kiddos grow up way to fast, and watching an obscene amount of TV with her main man. You can catch her on Facebook, avoiding her household chores, anytime.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I can’t pick a favorite! It depends on my mood 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
I love almost any type of music my favorite at the moment is twenty one pilots
My favorite is between alternative and country . And thanks for the giveaway
I like Rammstein,Billy Idol,Unheilig,Eisbrecher
I love Country Music!!!!!!