Today, I am pleased to be part of the cover reveal for Stacey Grice's new novel, Totaled.
Without further ado, I bring you the cover, which I think is rather stunning!:
Synopsis:
Bree Murphy is stuck. Forced to grow up too fast after the tragic death of her mother, she has little time for any sort of life for herself. Now in her early twenties, she is coming to the realization that she deserves to put herself first.
Drew Dougherty is also stuck, in a state of merely existing. Memories and secrets of the day he lost both of his parents haunt him, forcing him to cope the only way he knows how...by fighting.
When these two worlds collide, hidden truths are revealed and relationships are put to the ultimate test. At a crossroad in their lives, they must decide if taking a risk is worth everything.
Or will their love be…
Totaled.
Totaled is a full length, new adult contemporary romance novel.
Due to mature content, profane language, and sexual situations, this book is recommended for ages 18 and up.
Excerpt:
My heart raced, my palms grew sweaty, my skin
felt flushed, and my breathing sped up. I let my tongue graze over my lips to
wet them, and apparently that was invitation enough. His eyes immediately
dropped to my mouth. Drew started to slowly lean in towards me, closing the
distance between us, never releasing my face from his hold. Everything moved in
slow motion and I knew this was the moment of our first kiss.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the sky opened up and it started raining. Not raining, pouring! Everyone around us (who I’d been unaware of for the last hour) scattered like ants and we stood to run for cover with the rest of the crowd. People were frantic and crazy, squealing and sprinting for cover, bumping into us left and right. Drew grabbed my hand and pulled me with him, jogging away from the chaos in the rain. We were running in the street along the inter-coastal, in the direction of the gym a few blocks away. Already drenched, we laughed at each other, stepping in puddles and pulling each other back and forth to dodge others in our path. It felt like we were children, being playful and having fun with it, because what else could you do
at that point?
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the sky opened up and it started raining. Not raining, pouring! Everyone around us (who I’d been unaware of for the last hour) scattered like ants and we stood to run for cover with the rest of the crowd. People were frantic and crazy, squealing and sprinting for cover, bumping into us left and right. Drew grabbed my hand and pulled me with him, jogging away from the chaos in the rain. We were running in the street along the inter-coastal, in the direction of the gym a few blocks away. Already drenched, we laughed at each other, stepping in puddles and pulling each other back and forth to dodge others in our path. It felt like we were children, being playful and having fun with it, because what else could you do
at that point?
When the rain picked up, we were still a good
four blocks from the gym. Drew suddenly stopped jogging in front of me and
turned around to face me, a look of intensity and determination in his
expression. I almost couldn't stop in time and nearly crashed into his chest.
He grabbed my face with both of his strong, masculine hands and looked at me
like I was a giant piece of chocolate cake and he was starving. For two seconds
he stared at me. Four seconds. Six seconds. All the while standing in the
middle of the street in the pouring rain. And then his lips crashed into mine.
His lips were firm at first but immediately softened. He licked my lower lip,
tasting me, enticing me to open for him and I couldn't dream of doing anything
in that moment but exactly whatever he wanted me to do. I opened my lips slowly
to invite him in and our tongues touched each other, playfully at first and
then with purpose. They danced together in perfect synchronized harmony like a
beautiful Viennese waltz. The waltz turned into an angry paso doble, full of
passion and angst. His kissed me with urgency, like he couldn't get enough, but
not with haste. He was savoring me, cherishing me. My hair stuck to my face,
slick with wetness from the rain, my dress clinging to my body, soaked all the
way to my underwear, but I didn't want to move. Our hands were everywhere,
grabbing each other anywhere, everywhere. He held my face with one hand and
reached around to the small of my back to pull me in closer to him. The
substantial, hard bulge between us confirmed how much I was affecting him. I
felt my core twitch and throb with a need that I’d never felt before. My
romance novels were finally right about something—this aching and throbbing
stuff was legit. I didn't want to stop feeling it. I didn't ever want to stop.
Our mouths separated and I tried to take a
deep breath, but he moved his mouth down to my throat and neck, kissing and
licking, lapping up the raindrops from my skin, and I couldn't possibly catch
my breath with him doing that. I suddenly realized where we were still outside,
still in the wide open, still in the rain. He must’ve felt me stiffen, because
he brought his eyes up to mine and smiled.
"Let's
get you out of the rain," he said, and we started jogging towards the gym
again.
Author Bio:
I am a mother to a beautiful five
year old daughter and a wife to my best friend. Being a labor and delivery
nurse three nights a week pays the bills but I have recently decided to take my
hobby of writing to the next level. Living in Florida where I was born
and raised allows me to hear the waves and stick my toes in the sand whenever I
want, which is vital to my emotional well-being. Completely and absolutely
obsessed with good music, the lifeline to my creativity, I cannot and will not
write without it. Some things that I appreciate are honesty but not cruelty, an
unapologetic sense of humor, being able to make any situation fun, often
dancing like no one is watching, and a good cup of coffee with enough creamer
to make it blonde.
Being an astute people
watcher with a judgmental mind gives me constant inspiration for my stories. My
characters, like many authors, are conceived from a hodgepodge of actual people
in my life, unique personality traits, real world encounters, and conversations
that I have directly taken part in. Totaled is my debut novel with many more to
come.
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