The Romance Reviews

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Release Day Blitz: Decide: Declan Reede The Untold Story 0.5 by Michelle Irwin

DECIDE


 Declan Reede: The Untold Story
Strap in, get ready to start your engines and see where it all began.

 From an early age, Declan Reede’s only goal was to race in the ProV8 Championship Series. One thing he couldn’t anticipate was that a blistering kiss shared with his best friend, Alyssa Dawson, might derail his plans.

While he knows things between them will never be the same, it’s impossible to predict just where the road will take them, or how rocky it might get.

Will he decide to fight for love or follow his dreams?

 Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

 Release Date: 27th August 2015

 Cover Artist: Soxsationalcoverart

 Principal photography by: NSP Studios 

 Cover models: Ashleigh Johnson and Jarah Armstrong.



 Pre-order the introduction novella now for the special price of 99c 
Add to your Goodreads want to read list here: 



TEASERS




  






EXCERPT

Once we were alone on our way to school, she glanced down at our joined hands and then back up at me. Her wide smile and bright eyes told me she was feeling the same warm feelings I was.
“Hey, boyfriend,” she said as she gave my hand a squeeze.
The shit-eating grin lifted my cheeks again. “Hi yourself, girlfriend.”
“We probably shouldn’t play hooky today, should we?” Without releasing my hand, she sped up a little before turning to walk backwards so that she could meet my eyes.
I thought about the day we could have if we did and ached to say yes. “We probably shouldn’t. It’s probably a better idea to prove we’re going to be responsible even if we’re a couple.”
“Hmm, couple. I like the sound of it.” She turned around again, resting her head against my arm as we walked.
I dropped her hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
“Maybe we can still be responsible if we’re a little late though?” she asked.
“Maybe.
Why? What do you have in mind?”
She dragged me in the direction of the park where we’d played cards the day before—the park which had been “ours” for as long as I could remember and where everything had changed.
“Well, our first date was cut a little short, don’t you think?”
The ghost of her lips tracing over mine filled my mind, together with the memory of her tongue tangling with my own.
“Definitely,”
I said, unable to keep the lust and desire from my voice.
We walked in silence until we arrived at our park. Without any verbal agreement, we made our way toward the table, we’d claimed as our spot years earlier.
Alyssa sat on the bench and I took my usual place perched behind her on the table. I placed my legs on either side of her body and leaned my chin on the top of her head. It was a position we’d sat in hundreds of times before as we chatted
about anything and everything. Only, this time it was different. Neither of us spoke, which had never really happened before. The silence around us was almost maddening; the only sound, our matching breaths.
“So—” we both said at the same time, before stopping at the same time.
“You go—” Again, our voices were almost perfectly in sync.
I chuckled as she turned around and knelt on the bench to look at me. I helped her up onto the table beside me and just looked at her for a moment. Her lips called to me, and I wanted to kiss her, longed to with every part of me, but I didn’t know if I should. I didn’t want kissing to be the only thing we had.
There was so much more that I liked about her and none of those things had changed. Yet it was still different. Everything was different.
“Don’t hate me for asking, but is this weird as hell for you too?” she asked.
My relief that I wasn’t the only one who was feeling the new, odd atmosphere surrounding us escaped in a quiet laugh. “So weird.”
“It shouldn’t be though, should it?”
“No. I mean, we’re still us, right?”
She practically leapt in place. “Right!”
“We’re still friends,” I added. “We always will be.”
“Exactly.
We’re just friends that kiss now.”
As she said the words, my gaze was drawn to her bright pink lip gloss. I licked my lips. “Friends that kiss a lot?”
“If you’re lucky.”
I trailed my hands into her hair, drawing her face slowly closer to mine. “Am I?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. Her lips were so close to mine that I could feel her breath on my skin. “I’m starting to think that maybe I’m the lucky one.”


REVIEW

5 Racing Stars

Declan Reede has been best friends with Alyssa Dawson for as long as he can remember. Lately there are two things he dreams about kissing his best friend and getting to race in the ProV8 Championship Series. When both of those dreams come true Declan is overjoyed at his good fortune. Until those two dreams collide and he has to make a decision between the only girl he thought he would ever love or a future in the sport he has wanted to be a part of since he was little. 

As their relationship changes from friendship to romance Declan knows life will never be same. But he could not have imaged it would be so hard to juggle his dream of racing and the love of his life.

Can he make the choice that will change his life forever? Why can’t he have both?

I really like this novella. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review by the author. When I read the synopsis it sounded nice enough. I figured I would give it a read see where the story was going to go. I am so glad I did. When I first started reading I thought I would be lost since the setting is Australia, where they use slang that even this New Yorker can’t understand. However, the author gives a list of definitions at the beginning of the book which I thought was a great idea. I also loved how the story was told from Declan’s point of view starting at age fifteen and ending at age eighteen. 

Declan has big dreams of racing in the ProV8 but he also has big dreams of a future with Alyssa. He is elated when they finally kiss for real and their young love blossoms quickly. As with any teenage relationship there is lots of drama and misunderstandings. Declan and Alyssa spend much of the book feeling their way around trying to get to a good place in their new found relationship. Jealousy rears its ugly head a few times breaking the couple up. I liked Declan a lot he was a great character and such a hopeless romantic sweetie. He loved Alyssa more than anything but being young and not sure how to handle an adult relationship, try as he might Declan makes some stupid moves as well. Alyssa acts like your typical teenage girl she wants one thing but then asks for another. As you would expect she makes poor Declan crazy. The teenage angst was very well written and the relationships the h/H share with other characters like their parents help to build a really strong story. I was invested from chapter one. 

Though Alyssa loves Declan, she doesn’t support his dreams of racing and wants him to go to university with her and then plan a life of marriage and kids. I found her to be a bit pushy and a little immature when it came to relationships. Again teenage love totally expected, but frustration for me and Declan. She wanted Declan to abandon his dreams for her own, which is a very childish request. Loving someone means supporting them even when it might cause you a little heartache. I thought the author did a great job conveying the troubled young love.
When they lose their virginity to each other it was both sweet and sad, and so incredibly well written. 

This is the introduction to Decline book one in the series, which features Declan as an adult and living his dreams. Until Alyssa shows back up and then everything goes to hell for Declan when he can’t get the girl who got away out of his heart. I am looking forward to finding out the aftermath of his decisions. 

The story is about young love, young heartbreak and learning to make adult decisions, even if it means ruining one dream to capture another. Highly recommend.

RECEIVED AN ARC IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.



GIVEAWAY AND PARTY


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AUTHOR BIO

Michelle Irwin has been many things in her life: a hobbit taking a precious item to a fiery mountain; a young child stepping through the back of a wardrobe into another land; the last human stranded not-quite-alone in space three million years in the future; a young girl willing to fight for the love of a vampire; and a time-travelling madman in a box. She achieved all of these feats and many more through her voracious reading habit. Eventually, so much reading had to have an effect and the cast of characters inside her mind took over and spilled out onto the page.
Michelle lives in sunny Queensland in the land down under with her surprisingly patient husband and ever-intriguing daughter, carving out precious moments of writing and reading time around her accounts-based day job. A lover of love and overcoming the odds, she primarily writes paranormal and fantasy romance.



You can find Michelle here: 
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