*~*Rock’n Tapestries by Shari Copell Blog Tour – Deleted Scene, Review & Giveaway*~*

Title:    Rock’n Tapestries  (A Rock’n Tapestries Novel, #1)

Author:    Shari Copell

Genre:    Contemporary Romance

Release Date:    September 23, 2013

Tour Organized by:    As the Pages Turn

 

“Asher Pratt had been a drug for me, and I wasn’t sure I wasn’t still addicted.”

Chelsea Whitaker works as a waitress at Tapestries, a trendy Pittsburgh bar. She’s doing her best to avoid Asher Pratt, the Pittsburgh rock legend who shattered her heart years ago.

When he takes a job at Tapestries just to be near her, Chelsea has some decisions to make.

She soon discovers that some things never change. It’s all she can do to keep a tight hold on her heart as Asher takes her for another wild ride.

As she struggles to gain some perspective on their relationship, she learns that he’s never needed her more. She must put the past aside for the sake of the future.

Do not hesitate to one click this bad boy – I absolutely loved it!

Even Better News?!?  There’s a SECOND Book!  Coming 2014!  Make sure you add this to your TBR’s!

 

A young guitar prodigy trying to discover who she really is. A husband fighting to hold his family together.  A wife struggling with the feelings she has for a musician who’s been dead for nearly nineteen years.

 And a man who will battle from beyond the grave to protect his only child.

Nicks Sorenson, guitarist extraordinaire for the band Wild Angel, has a lot going on during her last year of high school. In fact, she sometimes wonders if someone has painted a bull’s eye on her forehead.

 Stone Jensen, lead guitarist for the band Heavy Remedy, shows up everywhere  she plays despite the bad blood between them.  The high school principal is targeting her with endless detentions for some reason. And she’s starting to think maybe her mother is losing her mind.

A dream seems to set inexplicable events in motion.  Things get even weirder when she learns the name of the man who willed her the four guitars she now owns.

Nicks Sorenson is about to find out what you don’t know can hurt you.

 

 

I told you—I’m the Queen of Broken Resolve.   Before I knew it, I’d thrown caution to the wind yet again. I was on my feet and in his arms. He stumbled back toward the couch, turning me at the same time. We landed with me on the bottom, his body pressed against me.

I pulled his mouth down to mine, more to shut him up than anything else.  I kissed him hard. I wanted to hurt him, to brand him as mine now and forever.  Some cobwebbed corner of my mind knew no one was ever going to claim this man.  But he was here in my apartment, and that meant I had a shot.

“Chelsea.” He breathed it into my mouth, a question.  The answer should’ve been no, but I couldn’t say it.

“Damn you, Asher. I want you so bad.”  I breathed it back to him.  My hands were fumbling with his zipper.

His hands didn’t seem to know what they wanted to do.  He was cupping, practically mauling, a breast with one, the other was rubbing hard against my clit with two fingers.  I arched my back into the friction, groaning.  Heat spread from my pelvis upward.  I was as wet as I’ve ever been.

When Asher touches me, it feels like I’ve grabbed onto a bare electric line.   I can’t explain it, but his hands and body complete some kind of circuit for me.

I had his cock in my hand.  Big, hard, heavy.  HOT.  I remembered. My pussy clenched in anticipation.

He yanked the rest of his T-shirt out of the waist of his skinny jeans and pulled it over his head.  He attacked the buttons on my blouse as though his life depended on it.

I tore my mouth away from his, gasping.  “You have a condom?”

“No.”

I froze, the mood ruined. I put the heel of my hand on his brow, lifted his head, and stared hard into his eyes.

“I’m not having sex with you unless you’re wearing a condom.  God only knows where you’ve stuck this thing in the last couple of years.”

He leapt off me, angry.   “For fucks sake, Chelsea, are we back to that now?”

“How often in the last four years have you had unprotected sex with some random groupie you picked up in a bar?”  The guilty look on his face said it all. “I’m not putting myself at risk like that, Asher.  And if you cared about me, you wouldn’t ask me to.”

Scowling, he snatched his shirt from the floor and had it on before I could blink.  He tucked it in and zipped his zipper.  He was frustrated, still hard, his mouth swollen from our kisses. It was hard to come to such an abrupt stop like that.  It was hard for me too.  My pussy was running like a waterfall.

“This was a bad idea.  I should go,” he mumbled, turning away.

What could I say? I should’ve known better than to touch him. We could be friends (and even that was debatable) but we could never be physical.  Not without getting tangled up in each other again. It was too painful, and I wasn’t willing to be just a fuck buddy.

I hastily buttoned my blouse, zipped my jeans, and followed him to the door.

“Asher, that was a big mistake.  We shouldn’t…we shouldn’t ever.” I swallowed. “I’m sorry.  Thank you for everything you did for me tonight.  I sincerely appreciate it.”

He slipped his sneakers on and sighed so hard his shoulders sagged.  He lifted his gaze wearily to mine.  “If I would’ve had a condom…?”

I was instantly angry. The thrill of the chase, the satisfaction of conquest.  Same old, same old.

“It’s early yet.  I’m sure you can find some whore to fuck tonight who doesn’t care about a condom.” I choked on angry words I knew I shouldn’t say.  “I think you should leave now.”

“I agree.” And with that, Asher walked out the door, taking with him any illusions I might’ve had that this time would be different.

 

Rock’n Tapestries by Shari Copell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 ‘Paco Rabanne’ “hair of the dog” Kisses

OMG…I can’t. When I opened up Rock’n Tapestries I was all geared up for a kick ass rock star book. It has been quite a while since I’ve read a rock star book that really blew my socks off. This one blew them into another solar system. It had everything for me…awesome heroine, sarcasm, whit and humor, the sex appeal done just right, emotions OH the emotions!, enough angst to drive me crazy but not completely over the edge…and to top it all off the super sexy rock star that was the icing on my cake. I loved this book.

Chelsea Ellen Whitaker…I loved her from the prologue. That’s all it took. 4 paragraphs…9 sentences…and trust me, all you need to do is re-read it once you’ve finished reading the book for it to mean a million percent more then it does the first time around. Where’s my laundry list of things I loved about Chelsea…she’s an only child, sarcastic, stubborn, funny, strong willed, brave…another reason I loved Chelsea? She reminded me a lot of myself! I’m not trying to sound conceited but she’s one of the few characters that I’ve read that I truly related with…and call me crazy, but I think that’s awesome. Chelsea has been put through the ringer and lived to tell the tale…her past history with Asher Pratt is long, sordid and ugly…but she lived through it once and she will not let history repeat itself.

‘I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to say, I was swept up in Typhoon Asher, taken high into the sky in a delirious whirlwind of emotion and sexual bliss, a slammed hard to the ground after a ridiculously brief amount of time.…
It didn’t feel much like luck. In hindsight, it seemed as though I’d made the choice to commit slow suicide by falling in love with Asher Pratt.’

Asher Pratt…oh wow…what can I say about Asher. From his long-ish brown hair that I want to run my fingers through to his chocolaty-caramel eyes that I could get lost all day in…Asher is a fine specimen. But that is not all that makes up Asher Pratt. He’s more than just sex on a stick…he’s such a huge personality, he’s talented, he’s just a stubborn as Chelsea, he’s funny and sweet and kind…but he’s also holding back. He’s got secrets and that was a good part of the angst for me. I was cautious of him at first…I had to be, especially given Chelsea’s history with him, but it was so easy to forget the past and just swoon over him as we got to see all the ways he had changed – I mean, come on…it’s been 5 years. Of course we hear all of the bad stuff and all the reasons why Chelsea shouldn’t give him another chance, but it is clear from the beginning, things are different…he is different.

‘“God, you almost died. The planet almost had to spin without Chelsea Whitaker on it. That is just wrong on so many levels.” I could hear the catch in his voice, but I knew what a liar he was. I didn’t believe his concern was geuine.
“Asher.” I nodded. “I really appreciate what you did for me. Now get the hell out.”
“What ? Why?” He backed up a bit and stared at me.
My Asher-radar oned in on his mouth, then those sinfully gorgeous eyes. Goddamnit. I suddenly didn’t need the electric blankets anymore. I was pretty sure my core temp was near meltdown. Everything about this man pulled me to him. My moon, his pant. Fuckfuckfuck…’

I’m always careful about spoilers…and there are so many ways this book can be spoiled, so I’m going to be vague, but I could probably babble on and on about a million different things and never even touch on the spoilers – so here I go! This biggest thing about this book for me is how much I did not see the plot coming. At all. Maybe I was blinded by Asher or so in love with Chelsea…or blame it on the fact that I was so wrapped up in the two of them that I couldn’t have cared less where the plot was going. I loved Chelsea and Asher…loved seeing the two of them build this friendship that they could have and should have had five years ago, seeing the relationship take on this different chapter that never would have happened…honestly, never should have happened. I loved seeing Asher open up to her and I loved seeing Chelsea give him another chance, while still being smart and protecting her heart. Plain and simple…I loved them. Which is why I was so completely blindsided when everything flipped…and then flipped again and by that point I’m so sucked into the emotions I’m not sure what was going on…pain, love, anger, frustration, confusion…I had it all. And then some.

“Maybe so, but I’m young yet. I want the dream. I want a guy who thinks I hung the moon. I want someone to love me so hard he thinks he’ll die without me. I want a guy who thinks I’m the sexiest thing he’s ever seen and has eyes for only me.”

The secondary characters in this book were amazing too…Chelsea’s parents, her best friend Willow and the head bartender, Marybeth…they all played crucial roles in the flow of the story. They weren’t necessarily life shattering or major, but the key parts they played added to the story and made it that much more realistic for me. I can’t help but feel like Tapestries was almost like a character in the book…this bar where Chelsea has worked for years in a job she loves, that is basically the cause for the reason why she reunites with the only boy she’s ever loved…so many essential things that happen with Chelsea and Asher are partly due to the bar…and of course…Asher’s band playing in that bar, well that’s the best part of it all. And this might be spoiler-ish but I don’t care because it makes me love the title so, so, so much…it comes straight from Asher himself. *sigh*

“God, why can’t we…why can’t we just be? Why can’t you just love me?”
His voice had a catch in it. “I do love you, Chelsea. So much more than I ever thought possible.”

I haven’t even touched on the writing…holy banana’s! The words literally flew into my brain…I can’t even explain it, I just connected with it so much. It was easy to read (and I mean that as a compliment and in the best way possible), it was descriptive without being over the top and it flowed so well. I think the main reason why I connected to Chelsea so much was because of her personality…she’s hilarious. I was cracking up so much – a lot more than I expected to! I’m not a tough critic when it comes to humor, but it takes a little bit to make me laugh out loud at a book. Oh…I was totally laughing out loud – possibly because (like I said)…I could hear half of this stuff coming out mine or my friends mouth’s. My favorite…

’Jesus Fucking Christ on toast!’ or ’Jesus Fucking Christ on a pogo stick!’

Yes…I will be stealing those and incorporating them into my daily language. I’m sorry if that’s not your brand of humor but it is totally mine and I loved it. I loved Chelsea’s inner thoughts and those little pieces of humor were what kept this book from being pushed into the ‘too angsty’ zone. I love my angsty books, don’t get me wrong, but having that little bit of something else that cuts the drama and gives you a little reprieve…something other than sex (*gasp* yes…I know, blasphemy, how can I say such a thing – just go with me on this)…it just makes a character that much more real in my mind. Of course I love the sex and the passion and the chemistry, but adding in that sarcasm and extra layers…that’s just awesome to me.

‘Disastrous choices sometimes feels like a career to me. I am totally a “here-and-now, instant gratification” type of person. I want what I want when I want it. My mother always said, “Act in haste, repent in leisure”, and I swear to God I’m going to have that engraved on my tombstone.’

One of the key things for me as a reader is that I must have that emotional attachment. Ummmm….mission accomplished. Big. Time. I was completely immersed in this book emotionally and it wasn’t until 80%+ when I was bawling my eyes out that I finally realized how emotionally invested I was. This is not a spoiler, this is me trying to prepare you for something I never expected. I did not see this coming. If you would have told me at the beginning of this book that I was going to cry, I would have laughed at you and said yeah right. But I did. I ugly cried. Bad. Hard. I’ve cried while writing this review. There is your warning. But it was more than worth it. Every single tear.

‘He let his breath out in a quivering sigh. “I forgot how damned beautiful you were. I feel like…this sounds so fucking stupid…but I feel like I’m in the presence of God or something. I shouldn’t be touching you like this.” He looked at me. “You should be in a museum.”
I laughed and reached up to touch his cheek. “Asher, that’s silly. I’m flattered that you feel that way, but I’m still just plain old Chelsea, same I was before…”
He shook his head and looked hurt. “You have never been plain old Chelsea…not to me. Damn you, I could never forget about you.”’

So after all that…why wouldn’t I rate it a 5+++++ book – by all accounts, it really is – there were two things that stopped me from taking it to that level…it wasn’t enough to completely ruin my feelings about the characters or the story, but…there is one character…Tage – I haven’t talked about him, for a lot of reasons….mainly because I don’t want to spoil things…but I needed more from him. I can’t go into too much detail…and I did loved Tage and his involvement and what he did…I loved him as a character, the role he played…everything he said, all his actions – he is a great guy…but I was missing just a little bit to make me as over the moon for him as I wanted to be. The other thing…and this is just one of my tiny pet peeves – little bit repetitive with some of the words. Obviously it wasn’t to the point that it took me out of the moment but it did catch my eye a few times.

“I forgive you, you son-of-a-bitch.” Smiling slightly, I put two fingers under his chin and tipped his head up until his eyes met mine. “And I will love you forever right down to the very bottom of my soul.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “I promise we’ll get it right next time, Chelsea.”

See? Told you I could babble and not even really talk about the plot…and I’m even leaving out some key characters that I loved so much…but to divulge them would be spoiling IMO! So…there’s another Rock’n Tapestries book…Wild Angel. I am excited beyond words! Rock’n Tapestries does end HEA…it does leave you with a positive vibe and I was happy, even with the tears…but the possibilities that now exist with this second book are SQUEEEEE inducing. Cannot wait!

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Though I write contemporary romance under the name Shari Copell, my real name is Sherry Jesberger.  I write a historical fantasy/paranormal romance series under the name S.L. Jesberger.

I am an eleventh generation native of Pennsylvania.  My husband Gordon and I raised three lovely daughters, one of whom designs my book covers. Another daughter drew the map in the front cover of my historical fantasy series.

I’ve always had stories swirling through my head. Crazy stuff, totally whack situations. I was a voracious reader as a child, choosing to escape into the world of books. I wrote stories when I was a teen, but quit as I grew up. (Keep in mind, there were no computers then. Writing a book or story consisted of a brand-new notebook and a ballpoint pen.) I found some of these early stories as I cleaned out my grandmother’s house after she passed. Unfortunately, I threw them away.

 I started writing again in 2012 after my husband lost his job. Aislin of Arianrhod was published in October of that year. I immediately began to work on the second book in the series, Winter’s Child.

Sometime in the middle of writing Winter’s Child, I had the inexplicable urge to swear like sailor, use modern vernacular, and write steamy sex scenes. I was amused and tried to push it aside. The language in a historical fantasy is obviously much different from a contemporary romance, so I had to behave myself.

 I finally just thought, fuck it. I’ll do it.  It was during that time that I started to write “Micah’s Island.” I simply needed to purge the wild story that had taken over my brain by then. It was so much fun to write.  What would happen if you met a man who had never seen a grown woman before?

I chose the pen name Shari Copell because Micah’s Island was so very different from the Àlainnshire series. Copella was my grandmother’s maiden name—I just dropped the A.

For the most part, people seemed to like Micah, though he was a man of few words.  I got some nice (and not so nice) emails about it, mostly from people wanting a better ending. I promptly wrote them one.

I wasn’t sure I would ever write another contemporary romance until Rock’n Tapestries dropped into my head, nearly complete from beginning to end (though I did run some things past Tara Chevrestt, who edits for me. Her suggestions were invaluable.)  You just have to indulge your muse when that happens, as it doesn’t happen often.

Though the names and situations have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent, some of the things in Rock’n Tapestries were things that actually happened to me.  My husband was wearing a bass guitar the first time I ever laid eyes on him. As Chelsea says of Tage, “ I think I might’ve had to scoop my jaw off the floor.”  He’s the skinny dude in the gray tank top and orange guitar on the far right in this video.

I hope you’ve enjoyed Rock’n Tapestries. I’m currently having a blast working on a book about Nicks Sorenson, Asher’s daughter. I love this girl! It should be out sometime in 2014.

In the meantime, rock on!