Southern Embrace Blog Tour - Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Hi everyone! Today I have a stop on the Southern Embrace blog tour. There is an excerpt, review and giveaway.

Southern Embrace

By: Tamaria Soana

Genre(s): Erotic Contemporary Romance

Digital ISBN: 9781937325602

Length: Short

Publication Date: April 15, 2013

Blurb

Can a long lost love mend a grieving heart?

Widowed at twenty-three, Savannah Grant is devastated and consumed with grief, a grief that she can't seem to move past. When her high school sweetheart, Lance Peterson, re-enters her life, Savannah struggles with the feeling that she would be betraying her deceased husband by moving on. Plus, she can't forget the way Lance broke her heart all those years ago. 

Lance never stopped loving Savannah. He wants a second chance, and he's willing to do anything it takes to convince her to give him one. Will she give in and let Lance love her, showing her a passion beyond anything she thought possible?

Content Warning: adult language, explicit sexual situations, anal play

My Review

Savannah had her heart broken as a teen when her high school boyfriend cut all ties with her and moved away. It took time and she recovered finding a new love. Her world was shattered once again as at twenty-three she becomes a widow. As she just wants to give up on her life her ex Lance shows back up wanting a second chance. At first her anger towards him gives her a drive to live again but she feels guilty for thinking of moving on. Lance has to help her see he is there for her and still loves her. Can she get over the past to have a future?

Savannah or Van as she is called has been dealt a bad hand in life. At times reading this I thought she was going to give up on life. It is very hard to see her struggle. Lance I thought I would not like but getting to see him try and help Van changed my mind. He is a great guy after all and one thing that he does really got me to like him. He just lets Van talk about her feelings. There is plenty of upbeat scenes so don't think it is l sad. Lance really brings out some sexy moves to make some hot scenes. I liked the storyline and enjoyed the characters. I think if the author ever wanted to expand this book it would be a wonderful one. For a quick story full of goodness that will pull at your heart strings give this one a try. I loved the ending and the cover fits the book great!

3 out of 5 Stars

Excerpt

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. Van grabbed her purse and headed out to the mall. Nikki's shower was the following weekend, and Nikki had been on her to get a new dress for days, threatening to drag her shopping kicking and screaming if she didn't go herself.

Once at the mall, Van picked up some last minute gifts for Nikki. After trying on a few dresses, she found a knee-length, strapless coral dress. She purchased it and was off in search of a pair of shoes. When she found the perfect pair of coral and silver heels, Van concluded the trip to the mall a complete success.

Her cellphone rang as she was leaving the shoe store. She dug around in her bag to find it. With her head down and her steps brisk, she ran right into someone.

"I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz," she said as she looked up into the brown eyes of her first love. She gasped and took a step back, surveying him. His light brown hair was a little shorter and he was built like a man now, not the boy she used to know. She stood frozen in place, staring at him. This can't be happening. A tidal wave of emotions rushed through her at once. Anger, resentment, hatred, but mainly pain…so much pain.

"Van."

"Lance? Oh my God!" She took another step back. "How?"

"I-I talked to Nikki. She told me you would be here. I needed to see you. When I heard what happened…" He paused. "I knew I couldn't stay away any longer. I'm so sorry."

The more he talked, the more Van's anger flared. Who does he think he is? He left me! Turned his back on me when he cut all ties!

"What exactly are you sorry for, Lance? That my husband died or that you broke my heart all those years ago?" The words she spoke were full of acid. "You have a lot of nerve just showing up here like nothing ever happened. Go away." She turned to leave.

"Please, Van, just talk to me. Give me a chance to explain," he begged as he reached for her hand.

"Don't you dare touch me," she said through gritted teeth, yanking her hand away. "What do you want from me?" She stared at him while plotting all the ways she was going to torture Nikki for her betrayal.

She seethed as he looked around. "Calm down, Van. People are starting to stare. Please, can we go somewhere more private and talk? There is so much I need to tell you."

"What could you possibly have to say to me that would make up for what you did? I mean, I know you had to move, but you cut all ties with me. Like the three years we spent together meant nothing to you, like I meant nothing to you. Damn you, Lance, you didn't even try to make it work."

"Please, Savannah. Give me a chance to explain."

"Give me one reason why I should."

"Because I still love you. I. Never. Stopped. I cut all ties with you because I had to. Long distance relationships never work out. I was afraid you would wake up one day and resent me. Being apart from you was killing me. I thought this way we would both be able to move on. But I was wrong, I never was able to move on. I let the love I have for you consume me. I wanted to come back sooner, but then I heard you'd gotten married. When I found out what had happened, I wanted to rush here and be by your side, but I figured you would need some time."

His words shocked and confused her. After she took a few moments to process everything, she shook her head. "I can't do this." She turned and walked away, then stopped. "Go back to wherever it was you came from and leave me alone."

"I won't give up on you. I won't stop trying, and I most definitely won't ever leave you again."

"Just go away, Lance. You're good at that," she snarled before she walked away. She didn't dare turn around because looking at him as he begged her to give him a chance to explain would certainly weaken her. Van needed to focus on how she was going to kill her so-called best friend.

Buy Links

Beachwalk Press - http://beachwalkpress.com/southern-embrace/

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Embrace-ebook/dp/B00CC6C5P8/ref=la_B0078PWO22_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1365944140&sr=1-9

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/southern-embrace-tamaria-soana/1115115408?ean=2940016517254

ARe - https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-southernembrace-1162568-149.html

Author Info

Tamaria Soana is middle-aged but feels like her life has just begun. She writes contemporary romance stories with a high heat level that always end with a 'happily ever after'. Growing up, she loved to read and make up new places in her head to escape to. In her late teens she began writing short stories and poetry. It wasn't until her late thirties before she began to spin a full story. 

She's married and a stay-at-home mom of two beautiful young girls. They reside in Western New York. Cuddling up with a good book under an electric throw is her way to escape the cold Buffalo nights. 

Besides writing, she co-owns Shades of Rose Marketing and Shades of Rose YA Marketing, and she also hosts a talk show on Talkshoe called Live with Tamaria ~ Giving Authors a Voice. 

Author Links

Twitter - http://twitter.com/Tamaria_Soana

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/tamaria.soana

Site: http://tamariasoana.blogspot.com/

Southern Embrace Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldGs8NbtigQ

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link to the rest of the tour.

http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/05/now-booking-tasty-review-tour-for_6607.html