The LUV'NV: Blog Tour {Review & Giveaway}

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Blog Tour {Review & Giveaway}—Tragic by J.A. Huss

Stopping by The LUV'NV today is the Tragic blog tour, organized by Xpresso Book Tours.
We have a review of this fabulous New Adult Contemporary Romance to share with you,
and you can enter to win a $25 gift card, a custom cherry necklace, and signed copy of Tragic, plus awesome swag!

Tragic

by J.A. Huss

Book #1 of Rook and Ronin series

Publication: May 15th 2013 by Science Future Press
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Book Depository Amazon B & N Goodreads

Rook Walsh is TRAGIC.

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky ...

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera.

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

Tragic was a pleasant surprise. From the book summary, I expected this would to be an angsty read, but it isn't, not really. Rook's past is certainly tragic. The exclusive media contract she lands is Tragic, and the reality of that world can definitely be tragic. But the story definitely wasn't. It subtlety bespoke of dreams and hope.

From her courage to leave a controlling, abusive relationship to her determination to succeed, to be independent and to face and embrace her situation, however bleak or temporarily fortunate, Rook was easy to like. I enjoyed her voice, how she thought, the realistic outlook and honesty in her looks and circumstances. Some of her choices might've been questionable, but her defiance was admirable and understandable.

Ronin, on the other hand, was tragic—tragically male yet endearingly so. His decisions and how he did certain things left something to be desired, but it was more of the "men are from mars, women are from venus" scenario, where he was eager to please and determined to have, as well as a little clueless since he was in new emotional territory. As a male and the one who took care of the models, he didn't understand how controlling certain aspects of Rook's life could be interpreted. His heart was always in the right place, but without communication or by just assuming he could do something for her, his actions were unsettling and suspicious for a young woman like Rook who craved and needed the simplest freedom of having a choice. There were parts of him that really surprised me though, and once his past came to light, he was even more lovable and sexy.

The two of them together was sexier. While I found some of their interactions on set a bit astonishing, especially considering they had an audience, it wasn't that hard to believe in a fashion and an end-result-driven setting, and the connection was visceral. I adored how their relationship and emotions coalesced with each photo shoot, how they can be sweet and funny, then sexy, and painful too. And I really appreciated the overall feeling of them coming together to work through a possible future together by the end, despite the fact not everything went according to their hopes and plans.

Tragic is a satisfying, fast yet well-paced New Adult Romance. With awesome writing and storytelling, J.A. Huss captured frames of thoroughly developed characters and a cast of very likable secondary ones (even the so-called villain!) while revealing the edges of the bigger picture. This is the first book I've read of hers. It won't be the last.

eARC provided by the author via Xpresso Books Tours. Thank you!

Favorite lines:

Touch me, I should've whispered. Kiss me. Because my whole body is thrumming with the realization that this how a man makes you feel when you actually like him. This is what girls mean they claim a man makes them feel weak. They don't picture fists hovering over them as they cower in the corner, hoping and praying that those hands never connect with their cheekbone.

J.A. Huss

Her Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really-Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master's degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.