Tainted Love blog tour: review & giveaway

Welcome to our stop on the Tainted Love blog tour presented by AToMR Blog Tours. This book is the second book in the Sweetest Taboo series. Our review is below and there is a tour wide giveaway.

Tainted Love (Sweetest Taboo Book, #2) by Eva Marquez

New Adult contemporary*Paperback, 310 pages

Published March 5th 2013 by Terra-Mia Press

Isabel thought her life was on track – she was doing well in school, moving quickly toward her future, and deciding who she wanted to be. Best of all, she’d reunited with Tom, the love of her life. But it doesn’t take long for her history – and his – to start catching up with them, presenting a range of uncomfortable questions. Does he really love her? Are they meant to be together? And what exactly has he been doing in their time apart?

About the author:

Eva Márquez

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Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, daughter of European immigrants, Eva Márquez has spent most of her life outside of her home country. At the age of five, Eva accompanied her parents to the United States, where the family settled permanently. After graduating from university, she went on to complete graduate studies in International Relations in Spain. Eva received her Master of International Studies degree from the University of Sydney and went on to work in the global health field in Sub Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Eva currently resides in Southern Africa.

In Tainted Love, Isabel has left Hillside, CA, and Royal Oaks High behind to attend college in Washington, D.C. She has also left behind Tom, the swim coach she had an illicit affair with as a minor. Now an adult, Isabel still doesn't act wisely, she acts with her heart, and begins another affair with an older man, a professor. Through this relationship, she realizes how much she misses and loves Tom. What should she do?

Told from the perspectives of Isabel, her brother, and Tom, we understand what each continues to go through, especially Tom since Isabel left. There isn't much communication between them which kept them distant in my mind. What the author does well is present us with interesting characters and troublesome situations. This time Isabel can no longer be viewed as the innocent young girl. I've never really felt she was that naive from the get-go. In Sweetest Taboo (our review) she saw something she wanted and went after it. She is older now and still continues her immature behavior. Tom becomes the interesting character as we gain perspective into his actions and motives.  I may not connect with or feel compassion for these characters, but I do understand them.

Saying more would give too much away. Tainted Love continues the saga of Isabel and Tom. With the passage of time, are their past feelings a sign of something everlasting and exactly who is the predator and who is the prey? 

Rating: 3.5

1/2

Cover comment:

I can understand the need to connect both covers by using the same model and keeping them consistent but I'm not sure we need the pose to represent the young woman as someone precocious and innocent. Not this time.

Source:

I received a promotional copy in return for my honest review.

Giveaway:

There is a tour wide giveaway of Five (5) Print Copies of Tainted Love with Swag Packs – Open Internationally. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway