Thursday 18 May 2017

Blog Tour: Mariah Dietz's "Curve Ball."

The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog are pleased to be a part of the Blog Tour for Mariah Dietz's "Curve Ball."

Amazon.com:    http://amzn.to/2pYTyKM
Amazon UK:     http://amzn.to/2qyIIx2

Synopsis:

Shakespeare believed there was always humor in tragedy and tragedy in humor.

My life proved his theory as fact.


At eighteen I was a single parent moving to this small town to be with the man I loved. The one who was supposed to love and cherish me in return.

Finding out he had a wife was tragic.
Remaining in love with him in spite of her was more tragic.
My mom and best friend setting me up on a long string of blind dates was an ongoing tragedy.

Nine years later, I’ve learned to see the humor in most situations.

My mom and best friend setting me up on disastrous blind dates.
My son’s jokes.
The fire alarm going off each time I cook.

My constant bright spot always adding to the humor was my son, Hayden. But when Hayden had a life-threatening allergic reaction, the man who came to help my little boy became my own savior. His laugh, his smile, and the way his eyes lit up when he spoke to my son made him a beacon of light in both our lives.

But I wasn’t the only one who noticed him.
When I began having feelings for the man my best and only friend had fallen for, I knew following my heart would once again lead to a fresh round of heartbreak.

Love led me to this town.
Lies kept me there.

Would history repeat itself?
Or had life just thrown me another Curveball?

Review: Surj

This book right here, Mariah Dietz's "Curve Ball," this brilliant, heart felt story reminded me why I love romance novels so much. I started Ella and Coen's book with the intention of reading a couple of chapters before bed but discovered very early on that this was going to be a gem of a love story that I would struggle to put down until I got a HEA. I was so invested in this beautiful (and at times ugly) journey both Coen and Ella found themselves on but I rooted for them every step of the way, both as individuals and as a couple. 

“I want to know your secrets,” she whispers.
I place my hand over hers, keeping it firmly against my chest. “I want to know yours.”

"Curve Ball" was one of those books where right off the bat I flew the flag for the underdog. You know the one that's had a tough life but soldiers on regardless, taking each step forward despite the obstacles, despite the never ending shit storm and despite the onslaught of rumours, mud slinging and small mindedness. You know, that person who is so real and relatable and normal, you want nothing more than to have them as a friend so that you can protect and defend and fight for them? That person was Ella Chapman and I had so much respect for her. This brave, strong woman who had done nothing wrong but fall in love with the wrong person. How could my heart not go out to her. 

When you give your heart away there’s no way to fully get it back.
Pieces will be left behind, lies will drill holes, deceit will cause cracks, 
and the feeling of being unwanted will create a doubt your heart was ever whole. 

From the age of seventeen, Ella had tried to do the right thing but the right thing had lead to her being an outcast, a pariah in a town where your business was everyone's business and ten years later, nothing had changed. I loved what Ella had managed to achieve on her own. I was in awe of the success she had made of her career and at the same time, how she had managed to raise a child single handedly, a beautiful, polite, adorable child who was the centre of her life and whom she fiercely protected and always put first. Ella's character is one that I completely got. I understood why she did  what she did, why she behaved the way she did and how over the years she had managed to let others mould and manipulate her. I 100% got it and got her. Faults and all, Ella is definitely up there as one of my all time favourite heroines that's for sure and given the opportunity, I could gush about her all day!!! 

I close the space between us by wrapping my arms around him, knowing that as
I do it that I am choosing to do exactly what he proposed:
break every last rule, even the ones I know I won't ever be able to recover from. 

Someone else I could gush about all day was Coen, oh my wasn't he just the perfect dream boat of a man. He was just so easy going and laid back. He didn't try and rail road his way into Ella's life but gently eased his way in like the perfect gentleman. Coen would fight Ella's corner all day if he could but he knew that there were some battles Ella needed to fight on her own if she was to move on with her life. I loved how he tried to get Ella to stand up for herself, to put herself first, to get her to see that she was worth so much more that what others had lead her to believe she was worth. He was the support Ella didn't know she needed. He really was pure gold and is a hero I definitely won't be forgetting in a hurry. 

Sometimes you read a book where you just know straight away, two people belong together completely and wholly, come rain or shine, hell and high water, come mishaps and mayhem. Well for me, Ella and Coen were that couple. They were just perfect. I savoured every second of the slow building, beautiful friendship between the couple. It felt so fresh and new and so right. From the friendship came the lust and growing feelings of something more and then of course came love. God did these two give me butterflies. I prayed every step of the way that they would make it. 

"I've been looking at you like you're mine since I first saw you."

Mariah Dietz's "Curveball" had so many magical ingredients that made it such a good read. It was funny and sweet and sexy but it was also angsty, emotional and heart breaking too. For some reason I initially gave it 4.5 hearts but for the life of me, I don't know why I dropped the 1/2 because it really was a ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ read for me. A definite must read for all you hopeless romantics out there. 


Excerpt:

I stand on her doorstep and knock. The window into her house shows there’s a light on in the family room, so I know she’s awake. Ella’s head pops around the wall, her short hair pulled back at her neck. Even with her glasses on, I can tell she’s squinting, working to recognize me. I wave as if that will help her place me, but she doesn’t until she’s halfway to the door. Her shoulders fall, and a smile replaces her frown that had been created by concern.

“Hey,” she says, opening the door.

She’s wearing a pair of pajama shorts and an oversized sweatshirt and socks, and with her glasses on and her hair pulled back, she looks like she could pass for being in college, maybe even high school.

“Sorry, are your parents home?” I ask.

“Shut up,” she mumbles, tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear and taking a step back to invite me inside.

“Seriously though, how old are you?”

She eyes me, tilting her chin and narrowing her eyes like she does when she’s debating how to respond. “How old do you think I am?”

“I may not look very bright, but I do know better than to answer that question.”

“Are you sure?” she asks. “’Cause you did just ask me how old I am and I’m pretty certain there’s a golden rule about asking a woman that question.”

“Golden rule?”

“Unspoken rule. Common sense…”

“I’m thirty,” I volunteer.

“Twenty-seven,” she says.

“I bet you still get carded.”

“I bet you don’t.” Ella smiles as I cry out with feigned offense at her insult.

“What are you doing tonight?” I ask.

“Making a mess of my living room.” Ella’s shoulders sag with her response. She leads me into the family room where the built-in shelves that line each side of her fireplace are sitting bare, the contents scattered around her living room.

“You prefer that just-robbed look?”

“I was rearranging some things,” she says.

“Why? It looked good before.” I look around, realizing it wasn’t just those shelves she cleared. The couches have been moved, and the bookshelf on the far wall has been cleared. “If you were bored, you should have come over. I have lots of stuff that needs organized.”

She laughs. “That’s because you just moved. I was just tired of looking at the same stuff.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I’m tired of looking at boxes and random crap in my house since moving, but I can’t think of a time that I’ve gotten tired of looking at things when they’ve been put away.”

Ella laughs, but it’s too high, and her eyes flit across the space, revealing it isn’t genuine but out of nerves. “Sometimes I just need change,” she admits.

“What else do you get tired of?” I ask.

The same nervous laugh clears her lips before she licks them. “Everything … I guess…” She scoffs, shocked she just admitted this to me. “I mean, don’t you ever just get tired of people and things?”

I chuckle. “You get tired of people too?”

One brow goes up as she nods while releasing a deep breath. “I’m so difficult. You’ll learn this quickly, so I may as well tell you.” She flashes a smile that is so honest and genuine it knocks me off balance and rids every sarcastic remark I’d been thinking. “I once stopped eating waffles for three years because I was so tired of eating them,” she admits. “Sometimes I feel like if I had the opportunity to do that with some of my co-workers, I may not see them again for a decade…” This time both of her brows go up, and her head tilts with thought before she purses her lips. “Or maybe ever.” She looks at me as she admits this, and for some reason the level of honesty she’s sharing makes me like her even more. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Rachel. She’s the sister I never had, but sometimes I even need breaks from her.” She shrugs again. “It’s no one’s fault. It’s just how I’m wired, I guess. I’ve always been fairly independent, and then after Hayden was born, I was forced to be. Now I’m probably too independent. It used to drive my ex absolutely crazy.” Her gaze sweeps to the floor, making me question if she meant to bring up the topic or if it’s painful for her to.

“Being independent is a good thing,” I tell her. “And like you said, you’ve had to be. I can’t imagine what it takes to be a single parent. You probably fear nothing.”

Her blue eyes are narrowed with hesitancy as they meet mine, but she smiles, and I know it’s simply to appease me. “The opposite actually. I fear way more now that I’m a mom because I know what I could lose.”

Author Bio:

Mariah Dietz lives with her husband, two sons, and two four-legged children who are the axis of her crazy and wonderful world.

Mariah grew up in a tiny town outside of Portland, Oregon where she spent most of her time immersed in the pages of books that she both read and created.

She has a love for all things that include her family, good coffee, books, traveling, and dark chocolate. She’s also obsessed with Christmas ornaments and all things Disney.








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