Happy Saturday y'all and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Alison G. Bailey's Present Perfect. My stop includes my review, an alternate POV from the book, and TWO giveaways!
Alison is offering a spectacular tour wide giveaway. To enter, just fill out the rafflecopter below.
I'm thrilled to be able to offer an ecopy of Present Perfect to one lucky commenter, courtesy of Ms. Bailey. To enter my giveaway, simply leave a comment about this post. This contest of open internationally and ends August 13th. The winner will be chosen randomly.
This blog tour is presented by Literary Mania Reviews.
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Present Perfect by Alison G. Bailey
Release Date: August 6, 2013
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Amazing Book Cover by artist Robin Harper of Wicked by Design
Synopsis:
I’ve been unsure about many things in my life except for one thing, that I have always loved him. Every single minute of every single day that I have been on this earth, my heart has belonged to him. It has never been a question, never a doubt. The love had taken on many different forms over the years, but it had always been a constant.
Everyone has their definition of love. There have been countless songs sung about it. A gazillion books, articles, and poems written about it. There are experts on love who will tell you how to get it, keep it, and get over it.
We’re led to believe love is complicated. It’s not the love that’s complicated. It’s all the crap that we attach to it and put in front of it that makes it difficult. If you’re smart, you’ll realize this before it’s too late and simplify.
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Amanda Kelly spent her entire life trying to control every aspect of it, while striving for perfection. Her obsession with being perfect, along with her feelings of worthlessness, consumed her. The one thing she thought was perfect in her life was the bond she shared with her best friend, Noah.
Everything was going according to her life plan until she woke up one day and realized she had fallen in love with him. The one thing she couldn’t control was the affect he had on her. Noah had the power to give her one hundred lifetimes of happiness, which also gave him the power to completely devastate her. He was the one thing in her life that was perfect, but she couldn't allow herself to have him.
Her life begins to unravel. Events take over and force her to let go of her dreams and desires. She needs to realize that a person cannot control the events in their life, only their reaction to them...but will it be too late for her to save her relationship with her best friend?
Present Perfect is a story of how past events have present consequences and how perfect your present could be if you stopped fighting and just allowed it to happen.
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Alternate POV ~ Noah
Talk with Tweet About Brittani
Tweet had been acting weird ever since the end of lunch period today. When she got to Algebra class she wouldn’t even look at me. Afterwards, I asked her if anything was wrong. She said no, but I had a feeling something had happened. We had been in my room listening to music for the past half hour and I still hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask her what she thought about Brittani. Who was I kidding? I had a pretty good idea what she thought.
Brittani had surprised me at my locker at the end of school. I was getting my books out and felt a body standing very close behind me, not touching me, but almost. I thought it was Tweet. I turned around to give her a kiss on the cheek hoping it would put her in a better mood.
Flirting with Tweet had become my favorite pastime. I loved seeing the way her cheeks became flushed with pink and the way she would glance away and then back with a shy smirk across her full pink lips. I had kissed her on the cheek and forehead a bunch of times, but ever since I found out what real kissing was, I wanted to really kiss her. I just hadn’t figured out how to make that happen without Tweet freaking out. When I turned around, my chest ran smack into Brittani’s chest, taking me by surprise. Brittani was pretty, but in a fake way. She had a lot of shit painted on her face and her hair was a weird yellow. However, it you could get past the war paint, the hair, and the annoying whiny voice, she did have quite a body. Her boobs were bigger than any of the other girls at school, even the older ones. When I first saw them at lunch I wondered if they were fake. I’d heard of girls my age asking for boob jobs for their birthdays. Fake or not, boobs were boobs, and I was definitely a boob man. When she asked me to go bowling I didn’t think it was a big deal. She said there would be other kids there from school, so I didn’t think of it as a date until I saw Tweet come around the corner. I immediately felt like I had one something wrong and all I wanted to do was get away from Brittani.
I was sitting at my desk while Tweet laid on my bed, her feet propped up on the headboard, her eyes closed. When I swiveled my chair around to look at her I had to smile. Her foot was in the air, tapping to the beat of the music while she played air guitar. God, I loved watching her listen to music. She had caught me a couple of times staring, but I don’t think she felt it had reached creep level yet. I needed to go ahead and ask her about Brittani now before Mom came to get me for my dentist appointment.
I rolled my chair over to turn the music down and then closer to the bed. Clearing my throat I said, “Tweet.”
“Yep.”
“You know that girl who sat at lunch with us today, Brittani Monroe?”
“Yep,” I already knew she was not going to like talking about Brittani. Her answers were very clipped.
“What do you think about her?” I asked, bracing myself for her answer.
“She's a slut with a stripper name.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her. “Tell me how you really feel. Don't hold back.”
She lowered her legs and swung them over the side of the bed. Leaning back on her arms, she propped herself up, causing her chest to stick out. Tweet’s chest was awesome. Her boobs were just the right size. Perfect.
I was so caught up in my thoughts of Tweet’s chest that I almost missed it when she asked, “Why are you asking me about her?” She tried to sound casual, somewhat disinterested, but I knew better. I knew Tweet better than she knew herself. The writer in her made her curiosity peek.
“She asked me out,” I said. I couldn’t wait to hear her response.
She shot straight up. “On a date?!” She said shocked. I had to admit I loved her reaction.
“Yeah, I guess.” She didn’t need to know there would be a group of us going. I was having too much fun watching her get jealous.
“That’s crazy talk!” Her nose crinkled up and her eyebrows knitted together in disbelief.
“What's so crazy about it?”
She glanced up at me and caught me smiling at her. She was so damn adorable.
“Um…well, number one, we're only fourteen and not allowed to date until we're sixteen.
Number two...”
“I can date now,” I said.
Folding her arms across her perfect chest, she narrowed her eyes at me and said, “You’re kidding?”
“My parents said it was okay.”
“How are you going to get to the date? You don’t even have your driver’s permit yet. I'm pretty sure your handlebars aren't wide enough for her to sit on. I mean, have you seen the ass on that girl?”
“I've noticed her ass,” I said, giving her a big smirk. By the look on her face I could tell she did not like my answer. She was jealous and I loved it.
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My Review
**Tissue Alert ~ You may need more than one box...
This book tore my heart out and ripped it to shreds. Then took my guts out and stomped all over them for good measure. It was an intense, emotionally draining read and I loved it! Y'all know if a book evokes an emotional response from me, it's a good read. This one wrung emotion from me - it's exceptional.
Amanda 'Tweet' Kelly has always felt she didn't quite measure up. She's grown up in the shadow of her 'perfect' older sister and hearing comments such as "Why can't you be more like your sister?" her whole life. She's aspired to perfection, even though she knows (in her mind) she'll never attain it. The one place she's always felt like she was ahead of the game is her best friend, Noah Stewart. Being born hours apart and growing up together, they have always shared a special bond. At some point though, both she and Noah start to see one another differently. However, Tweet likes to keep things compartmentalized and controlled. Since she believes not only that she's not good enough for Noah but also that if they were to ever be more than friends, she'd do something wrong and lose him completely. And that's not something she's willing to risk despite Noah desperately wanting to take the relationship past friendship.
Noah is not a saint, but he seems to have endless patience where Tweet is concerned. He's kind, smart, talented and knows when to bring a girl some chocolate cake. He is certain of one thing...that Tweet must be in his life. He tries his damnedest to get Tweet to understand that she's everything to him, but he can't get through to her. So he keeps her close, even if only has friends.
The story is told through a series of journal entries. But instead of covering days at a time, we get glimpses of entire years. We meet Amanda, soon to be dubbed Tweet by Noah, at the age of 6. We watch Tweet and Amanda grow up as well as how their love for one another changes over time.
Tweet is a character that I really identified with. Her insecurities were relatable and something I empathized with. There were times when I was very frustrated by her decisions based on those insecurities, but still I understood. I admired Noah's patience and loyalty to Tweet. Although I admit to getting irritated with Noah at times as well. Some of the things he did or said to Tweet were hurtful but he was always there when she needed him.
I really couldn't see where Ms. Bailey was going to take the story. Then she dropped a bombshell. I actually had to put my ereader for for awhile so I could get my emotions under control. I'm not going to say anything spoiler-y but this event brings Tweet and Noah together even more strongly (as well as Tweet and her family) and most importantly, it enables Tweet to change her perspective on life and perfection. And that you can't control life - but letting go, taking a risk and allowing things to just happen can bring great rewards.
This book has made such an impact on me. Days later, I'm still thinking about it. I adore Ms. Bailey's writing and Tweet and Noah's story. It was heartbreaking and captivating. I felt such a connection to Tweet, as I'm sure many people would. Ms. Bailey's writing is eloquent, gripping and thought provoking. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. Present Perfect got into my head and possibly my soul. It is extremely emotional, gut wrenching at times. I loved it. And when I read the last few pages, I was saying "thank you, thank you, thank you, Ms. Bailey, for this story and this ending."
Favorite Quotes
"Noah had always been my best friend, my partner in crime, my protector, my soul mate, the love of my life. My everything." -Tweet
"Cause chocolate cake takes the hurt away and makes everything better." -Noah to Tweet
"You're the first girl I've ever noticed and the last girl I'll ever notice. My first kiss was the greatest first kiss in the history of first kisses because it was with you. I can't stop thinking about you." -Noah to Tweet
"I would never love anyone except Noah. He was the love of my life, my soul mate. No one would ever replace him." -Tweet
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**On a side note, one of the side characters we get to know most, Brad, is getting his own story. Past Imperfect is slated for release later this year. And I can't wait!
**I received an ecopy of this book, as part of the tour, in exchange for an honest review. However, I loved it so much, I bought myself a copy as well. ;)
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
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About Alison
Alison was born and raised in Charleston, SC. As a child she used her imagination to write additional scenes to TV shows and movies that she watched. She attended Winthrop University and graduating with a BA in Theater. While at Winthrop she began writing one act plays which she later produced. Throughout the years she continued writing and producing several one act plays, but then life got in the way and she hung up her pen for a while. On the advice of a friend, she started writing again. In January 2013, Alison sat down at her computer and began writing her first novel, Present Perfect.
Alison lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, Jef, and their two furry children (dogs). She’s addicted to Diet Pepsi and anything with sugar.
