Tuesday 1 October 2013

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Deanna Roy's "Forever Innocent."

@DeannaRoy
The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog are pleased to be a part of the Blog Tour for "Forever Innocent."
(Giveaway at bottom of post: open internationally)

Amazon UK:     http://amzn.to/1785ixI
Amazon.com:    http://amzn.to/16PaZNB

Synopsis:

"Our baby died on prom night, and nothing was ever the same again."

Corabelle doesn’t feel like any of the other college girls. On what should have been one of the happiest nights of her life, she and her boyfriend Gavin watched a nurse disconnect the ventilator from their seven-day-old baby. During the funeral two days later, Gavin walked out and never returned.

Since then, her life has been a spiral of disasters. The only thing that has helped is her ability to black out whenever the pain gets too hard to bear, a habit that has become an addiction.

When Gavin shows up in her astronomy class four years later, he is hell-bent on getting her back, insisting she forgive him. Corabelle knows she can’t resist the touch that fills the empty ache that has haunted her since he left. But if he learns what she has done, if he follows the trail back through her past, her secrets will destroy their love completely. And once again, she’ll lose the only person who always believed she was innocent.

Blog Tour Review: Surj Harvey

I loved this book even though it completely broke my heart. The writing, the characters and the story all had me hooked from the first chapter and this was one of those books that I literally couldn't put down. 

Gavin and Corabelle's story was tragic, they had been best friends as kids and that friendship had turned into so much more when they hit their teenage years. These two were meant to be together and with the support of their family and friends, their future was full of promise. Even an unplanned pregnancy couldn't rain on their parade, in fact it was the icing on the cake that sealed their love and their future. Unfortunately, as quickly as they became parents, parenthood was snatched away from them when baby Fin died at seven days old, leaving bot Gavin and Corabelle devastated. 

"Our baby died on prom night, and nothing was ever the same again."

On the day of the funeral, when Corabelle had needed Gavin the most, he had left her, not a word or explanation, he vanished. This man had been her rock and without him, she crumbled. 

Four years on and miles from where they had both lived, Gavin and Corabelle were thrown together again when their paths crossed at college:

Whatever whim or fate had blasted us apart four years ago
 apparently felt we should not be apart now.

Any form of reconciliation between these two was never going to be easy. As I progressed through chapters  told from both Corabelle and Gavin's POV and as they re-lived past events, I was able to bridge the gaps and fill in the missing pieces and the four years apart had most definitely not been a fairytale for either of them. There was so much hurt, resentment, regret and guilt on both sides and as this surfaced, I wondered whether these two would ever find that peace they desperately needed.  

Both Gavin and Corabelle chose very different methods to cope with the loss of the their son and the direction their lives had taken:

For a few minutes, I always felt like I knew what it had been like for baby Finn, 
after the ventilator went off, and his little chest stopped stopped moving up and down.
I didn't know any other way to cope. 

Corabelle chose to blackout when the pain got too much and Gavin... well let's just say his choices were a little more unconventional. Under normal circumstances I might have frowned upon some of the things he did but I couldn't help but hurt for him. One decision he did make left me devastated for him though because it was life changing and he couldn't take it back. It was this decision that would eat away at him and as his relationship with Corbelle progressed, I could see the regret creep in.


I should have lived my life differently. I should have accounted for the possibility 
of a second chance. All my mistakes lined up in front of me and no matter 
how I pummeled them, they didn't fall. 

Despite his choices though, I couldn't help but love Gavin. He was sweet, romantic and some of the things he did for Corbelle were just so heart felt. The butterflies... such a beautiful sentiment he knew would mean the world to her. And when he saw the lines on her stomach... be prepared to feel overrun with emotion: 

"I never knew about these," he said. "They showed up later." I tried to cover them, 
but he pushed my hands away. "They're beautiful." He began kissing each pale line, 
hip to stomach and back down again. "It's proof that Finn was once here."

Corabelle was someone I was desperate to wrap up in cotton wool. She was so fragile and broken, a shell of her former self. But the minute Gavin walked back into her life, I saw a spark. The feelings were still there but she was going to fight them with everything she had:


God. I would not cry. Would. Not. I was strong. I was a survivor. 
I had gone four years without him, and I could go plenty more. 

There was an inner strength I saw resurface, a determination but she too had her own demons and these demons had haunted her since the day Fin was born. She had never shared her secret with anyone but this secret had the potential of destroying any possibility of a future with Gavin. 

The writing in "Forever Innocent" was just beautiful and it was heart felt, emotions just jumping from the pages. There were chapters that left me in floods of tears, where moments from the past were relived, where my heart took a severe beating with every word I read.  The emotions so raw, the reality of the situation so cruel, I could do nothing but sob my heart out for this couple. Deanna Roy wrote this book from the heart and having read a little about this author at the start of the book, I knew that she would do nothing but give a very honest and realistic account of the subject matters covered.

Corabelle and Gavin's story does have an ending. It's  not all hearts and flowers but its as good as it can be considering the circumstances. I can't wait to read the sequel. This is one couple I'm desperate to see come out of the darkness. They truly deserve to with everything they've been through. Unfortunately, I know it's not going to be plain sailing but here's to hoping the love they share will see them through. 

"Life is short. Go after what you love and ride it as hard as you can."

I rated "Forever Innocent" 4.5 Hearts

Author Bio:

Deanna Roy is a sucker for romance and drama and dumps hefty amounts of both in her novels. She is also a powerful advocate for baby loss moms and has founded multiple support groups for women, from teens on up, who endure this impossible heartache. Her other novels include Baby Dust and Stella & Dane: A Honky Tonk Romance.

Author links:

Website: http://deannaroy.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4999150.Deanna_Roy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foreverinnocentbook

Twitter: https://twitter.com/deannaroy

Giveaway:  (open internationally)

$50 gift card to any store and a lovely butterfly necklace with a USB loaded with Forever Innocent.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

6 comments:

  1. So happy you loved it! It sounds so sad and emotional! I think I'd need to mentally prepare myself before I read this one! Great review!!

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  2. I loved the book! Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did!

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  3. Second chance at love? Oh no. I wouldn't want one with my recent ex or other exes for that matter. HAHAHAHAHAHA

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  4. No second chance of love for me! :)
    This book sounds amazing, I can't wait to read it!

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  5. no! but this book sounds great :D

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