Today is my stop on the blog tour for Unconditional by Melody Grace. I love this series and I am excited to share my review and an excerpt with you. Check it out along with the giveaway below.
Unconditional
Beachwood
Bay #3
Author:
Melody Grace
Publication
Date: March 18, 2014
Genre:
New Adult/Contemporary
Source:
eARC via Inkslinger PR
~Synopsis~
"I’ve
spent my whole life chasing perfection: perfect looks, perfect man, perfect
home. But in one brutal moment, I realized it was all just a beautiful lie…"
Carina MacKenzie is fleeing from her past. Picking up the wreckage of her shattered dreams, she seeks comfort in the only place she’s ever felt safe: Beachwood Bay.
Garrett Sawyer isn’t looking to be anyone’s savior. Scarred by old betrayals, he’s sworn never to put his heart on the line again -- especially not for a damaged, high-maintenance girl like Carina. But passion knows no logic, and soon, their reckless chemistry is making him forget his bitter vows.
Two damaged hearts. The hope of true love. As their passion blazes out of control, Carina and Garrett struggle to escape their legacies of hurt. But can you ever outrun the past? And when everything is on the line, can they trust enough to build a love that's unconditional?
*This book contains adult situations and explicit content. 17+*
Carina MacKenzie is fleeing from her past. Picking up the wreckage of her shattered dreams, she seeks comfort in the only place she’s ever felt safe: Beachwood Bay.
Garrett Sawyer isn’t looking to be anyone’s savior. Scarred by old betrayals, he’s sworn never to put his heart on the line again -- especially not for a damaged, high-maintenance girl like Carina. But passion knows no logic, and soon, their reckless chemistry is making him forget his bitter vows.
Two damaged hearts. The hope of true love. As their passion blazes out of control, Carina and Garrett struggle to escape their legacies of hurt. But can you ever outrun the past? And when everything is on the line, can they trust enough to build a love that's unconditional?
*This book contains adult situations and explicit content. 17+*
~Review~
I am a Melody Grace fan for life and I
absolutely adore the Beachwood Bay series. I have to admit that I was a bit
skeptical of Unconditional when I found out that Carina was the heroine. I didn’t
care for her too much in Unbroken and I wasn’t sure how Melody could turn her
around. However, I somehow knew she’d end up making me love Carina and I was
right.
Carina definitely puts on a show and really
hides her true self. Deep inside, she is struggling with guilt and
self-loathing that causes her to come off as frigid and cold. She has used her
demeanor as a coping mechanism for so long that she doesn’t allow herself to
feel emotion. I really liked Carina’s growth and there is definitely so much
more to her than meets the eye. She doesn’t believe she deserves love and
kindness but when she opens up to Garrett, she sees a new life and a new start.
She works really hard to make amends and figure out who she is and what she
wants out of her life. I liked that she reached out to Juliet for forgiveness
and a second chance but respected her feelings and didn’t push her too hard.
I loved Garrett! He is such a sweet and
incredible man. He is perceived as a bad boy, man whore but the truth is, he
has really been hurt in the past and he is afraid to love again. I was
desperate to find out what had happened to him in the past and my heart truly
broke for him when it was revealed. I hated that Garrett blamed himself so much
for what happened and refused to let himself love again. I really liked the way
he supported and helped Carina. He saw through her façade and he opened his
heart to her. When he pushed her away, I wanted to punch him in the face
because I hated that he was always punishing himself.
Garrett and Carina had incredible chemistry and
the sexual tension was very palpable. They were definitely at each other’s
throats in the beginning and really out to frustrate one another but really
that was how they dealt with the burning desire they had for each other. I
liked the way Carina fought for Garrett. She wanted him and she didn’t back
down easy. She knew he wanted her too and she was determined to break him. I
liked that Garrett didn’t see Carina as another quick lay, but instead, really
felt something for her. They both deserve happiness and love and they
definitely found it in each other. It may have been a rocky road and taken them
both some time to admit their feelings but when they finally let all the fear
go, they created something really perfect.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a
fantastic addition to a wonderful series and once again I was enamored with the
characters, the writing, and the plot. What I loved the most was how Melody
took a less than favorable character from a previous book and developed her
into someone that I truly liked.
~Excerpt~
What the
hell are you thinking? Carina McKenzie is off-limits. I stride away from her
before she can see how rattled I am, waiting until I’m safe in the front seat
of my truck before I let out a breath of pure desire.
Damn.
I only meant to tease her, push her buttons
some more as payback for being such a judgmental bitch, but once I got close,
gazing into those bright blue eyes, I couldn’t stop myself reaching out for a
touch of her silken skin.
And then
it all went to hell.
Lust hit
me like a tire-iron, and suddenly, I didn’t care about her the girl I just
packed out the door only an hour before. I didn’t care about the stuffed-shirt
of a fiancé she’s got waiting back home. All I wanted was her. To capture those
perfect pink lips with my own, to taste her, tease her. Drive her so crazy with
desire she forgot this bitching, and all her stuck-up complaints. I wanted to
see her come undone, crying out, so caught up in ecstasy she forgot her own
name---
I slam the
steering wheel with a groan.
What the
hell is wrong with you? You can’t stand the girl, she’s nothing but a stuck up,
drama
queen bitch! I take a gulp of air, and turn my key in the ignition, backing out
of the driveway past her fancy new BMW. What she’s even doing in Beachwood Bay
is anyone’s guess. She’s the last person I expected to find showing up in the
middle of the night like that. She probably thought she’d find some chi-chi
beach hideaway to do her nails and catch up on fashion magazines. I’d bet a
hundred bucks, she won’t be there when I get back tonight. I wouldn’t blame
her. I replay the scene on the porch again as I drive through town, remembering
the dazed look of intoxicating desire on her face -- and then the flash of
anger when I turned the tables, and pretended like it was all just a game.
I feel a
stab of guilt. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone so far, but Carina finds a way to
push my buttons, she always does. That sniping about Lorna, and what a
man-whore I am -- it was just like the wedding. She acts like she’s so much
better than me, like I’m nothing to her, it just makes me want to show her how
wrong she is -- that this strange chemistry works both ways, and she wants me
just as much as I want her.
I don’t understand it. Girls like Carina have
never been my type. Sure, she’s beautiful, but that kind of beauty is all
make-up and fake smiles; it’s like they spend all their time pretending to be
someone else, there’s nothing left under the surface at all. They don’t know
how to feel, or know themselves, and once you get them in bed... Well, it’s all
fake porny moans and writhing, like they’re performing for someone who isn’t
even there. But Carina... I see a flash of those blue eyes, wide with lust; her
perfect pink lips parted, her breath coming fast. That girl’s a mystery, I just
can’t seem to figure out. One minute she’s playing the society bitch, sneering
down her nose at me, and the next, it’s like she’s someone else completely. The
mask slips, and suddenly, I see a different girl underneath it all: someone
raw, and fragile, and achingly real.
Which girl
is she? The one who sneers down her nose at me, or the girl who watches the shore
with shadows on her face, and demons hiding behind her smile. The girl who
can’t hide the desire that in her eyes when she looks at me. A glimpse of a passion
that could take my breath away. Forget it, I tell myself harshly. That girl is
none of your business. And even if she could be, it’s no use.
You swore,
you’d never try that again.
PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
ABOUT MELODY GRACE:
Melody Grace is the USA Today bestselling author of UNBROKEN and UNTOUCHED. A small-town girl turned SoCal beach-lover, she spent years with her nose in a book before deciding it was time to write them for herself. She loves bad boys, good books, and pistachio-flavored ice-cream.
LINKS:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/
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Blog Tour Schedule:
March 13
Book Addict Mumma-Review
Book Bitches Blog-Playlist & Review
Book Bitches Blog-Playlist & Review
March 14
Forever Me Romance-Review
Paperbook Princess-Dreamcast & Review
Paperbook Princess-Dreamcast & Review
March 16
Book Angel Booktopia-Guest Post & Review
Nerd Alert Book Love-Review
Nerd Alert Book Love-Review
March 17
Lovin Los Libros-Guest Post & Review
Krista’s Dust Jacket-Review
Krista’s Dust Jacket-Review
March 18
The Rock Stars of Romance-Excerpt
Bibliobelles-Review
Bibliobelles-Review
March 19
Book Lit Love-Author Interview & Review
March 20
Zili in the Sky-Review
BestSellers & BestStellars-Guest Post & Review
BestSellers & BestStellars-Guest Post & Review
March 21
Made For You Book Reviews-Review
Book Crazy-Review
Book Crazy-Review
March 23
The Secret Book Brat-Review
I Dare You to Read-Excerpt & Review
I Dare You to Read-Excerpt & Review
March 24
Starbucks N Books Obsession-Excerpt & Review
Stories & Swag-Review
Stories & Swag-Review
March 25
Vi3tibabe-Review
The Readiacs-Excerpt & Review
The Readiacs-Excerpt & Review
March 26
Wolfel’s World of Books-Character Interview & Review
Book Fixation-Review
Book Fixation-Review
March 27
Rumpled Sheets Blog-Guest Post & Review
Short & Sassy Book Blurbs-Review
Short & Sassy Book Blurbs-Review
March 28
Holly’s Red Hot Reviews-Graphic Post & Review
Above Average Below Special-Author Interview & Review
Above Average Below Special-Author Interview & Review
This is yet another series I need to get started on! I love the sound of it and it sounds like exactly my kind of read. Great review!
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