Blog tour: Forever Innocent by Deanna Roy
It is Saturday and we are one of a handful of blogs hosting the Forever Innocent blog tour today. This is the final day of the tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. We are sharing our review along with this spotlight. There is a tour-wide giveaway as well. Follow the other tour stops here.
Forever Innocent by Deanna Roy
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback/eBook, 288 pages
Published September 26th 2013 by Casey Shay Press
“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.
About the author:
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.
When there's too much drama in a story without enough plot or a convincing story line, melodrama is often the end result. That is definitely not the case with this book. I can honestly say Deanna Roy's Forever Innocent is a heartbreaking drama about hope, loss, and the outcome of keeping secrets. I laughed, cried, sighed, smiled and fully believed in Corabelle and Gavin's story. All the way. Pure drama, tight writing, a steady pace, conflict galore and a strong plot convinced me I would pick up anything this author writes in the future.
From the very beginning, that opening scene, I was on board. Corabelle coming face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend, Gavin, in a college lecture hall after he abruptly left simply lured me into the novel. A myriad of emotions, an intense connection from their past childhood turning into a relationship in their teens, this couple sucked me in. Corabelle is a walking emotional disaster. She's trying to get on with her life but Gavin's abandonment at the funeral of their baby began to change her. Change is a huge theme.
Told in dual perspectives, we see the Corabelle and Gavin of today. Past events, revealed and not, have molded them into the damaged shells of their former selves. Corabelle is closed off, refusing to date, hooked on giving in to black-outs as a means of dealing with the pain. Gavin has become mean, employing a sharp tone to communicate, keeping to himself, the loner clad in black. Ever since he walked away, no, he ran away from Corabelle and facing the loss of their son, Finn, the weight of keeping things hidden inside has been taxing. Seeing Corabelle again opens up the wounds, but it also presents the awakening of lost feelings, of a timeless love. When Gavin decides to win her back and tell her why he left, I settled in for a tumultuous journey. What exactly are the secrets they have been keeping from each other? Can they forgive and find each other again?
Hmm, don't look here for the answers. I loved this couple! From their younger days. From the very first kiss they shared in Corabelle's closet. From the dream they shared of teaching by the sea, this is real romance, and drama, and messy life all under the same cover. Warning: when reading, keep tissues close by. The back story and past scenes, especially with the baby, will tear apart heartstrings. Forgiveness and understanding go hand-in-hand along with second chances and that is what this couple needs.
This week has been a great one for discovering new authors. Forever Innocent is a well-written testament to the horrors of life and the infinite power of love. Corabelle and Gavin's story turned me into Play-Doh, only to make me whole again by the end. They are easily one of my favorite couples of 2013.
Rating: 5
Cover comment:
I know so many New Adult covers feature the girl and guy in some sort of embrace on the cover so much it is becoming cliche. What? Romance can never be cliche! This cover works. The more I read, the more I was convinced this couple was Corabelle and Gavin.
Book source:
I received a promotional copy in return for my honest review during a blog tour.
Giveaway:
The tour-wide grand prize giveaway is a $50 gift card to any store and a lovely butterfly necklace with a USB loaded with Forever Innocent. This giveaway is open internationally.
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Wonderful review. Thanks for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteWow, your review made ME reach for tissues!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Deanna
Reviews like this make me excited as I'm just about to start this book, I have read previous books by Deanna Roy and enjoyed them, can't wait to read this one!
ReplyDeleteI just finished this book and my reaction to it as the same as yours. Loved it!
ReplyDeleteI read this book with a box of tissues in hand. :) Loved it!
ReplyDeleteBased on the positive reviews of this book, I went ahead and ordered this. Your review was the clincher!
ReplyDeleteTo everyone who commented: Thank you!
ReplyDelete