Just You: romance with an edge + giveaway

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I'm quite a fun of interracial romance though I haven't encountered too many stories that appealed to this particular taste. This tour gave me the chance to enhance my experience in the subject. In addition, I could also read the first book in the series which I really appreciated in order to understand where all was stemming from.

My opinion of I FOUND YOU and JUST YOU

The author's writing style feels very natural. Intimate, too, as we hear the main characters' inner voice and get to know their thoughts, their reactions and how their relationship slowly evolves from absolute strangers to unusual match. Opposites attract, they say, but I think it's more like complementing each other. What one lacks, the other might arouse.

From the mysterious, emotionally dark first pages throughout the honest initial stages of the relationship up to the exhilarating first time together as a couple, the whole reading experience was great. The romance between Rachel and Jason is not the typical fairy tale. He's the perfect good guy, though drags along a relationship from his youth that hasn't been working for years. Even though his actions are a bit reprehensible towards his girlfriend, I could easily understand why he makes such drastic decision. Freedom is seldom free.

On the other hand, Rachel is like a bad penny. Tossed around by bad men and an even worse sense of self-worth, she's made her life a real hell. When she hits rock bottom, a knight in shining armour and running shoes might save her from herself. Though her bad habits are going to quickly catch up with her.

It was beautiful to be there to witness this couple's blossoming love, but nothing is that perfect. All Rachel's bad decisions come tumbling on top of them and put their feelings to the test. She has a lot of baggage. While trying to prove his family that he's serious with Rachel, he flaunts her in front of people who's already condemning them. That was painful to see, but also felt raw and honest and very real.

Reflecting on Rachel's life, I can muster a lot of compassion for her. After all, she was neglected as a child. Everything she did as an adult reflected how sad and lonely she really felt inside. Before knowing the real scope of her problems, one could assume that she could have tried to do something for herself and find goals in life instead of constantly seeking the wrong company.

Further into the story, I got to my favourite part that took place in Las Vegas. There, Rachel spilled one of her last secrets. The last part of the story turned to be very intense and emotionally charged. This is a rushed, dramatic, wonderfully crazy love story that comes across a little bit naive at times but also hopelessly romantic.

**

I really enjoyed this novella. It's pretty long and perfectly balanced. Sexy, sweet and alarmingly addictive. Starting on New Year's Eve, at the party where an important event in I Found You took place, it zeroes in on a new couple. We briefly met them in the previous novel as Portia and Justin. Now, we can really learn about their impossibly antagonistic backgrounds and seemingly incompatible personalities.

Looks are deceiving, though. They shared an awkward, drunken but erotic moment in a pool. Portia is a rich white girl, Justin is a ghetto boy. Crash and burn? It could have been like that, but no. Though they're going to burn a little with hot intimacy. I loved the fact that they both have a depth that their carefree or haughty attitudes had belied.

Justin cared for this brothers and loved his hardworking mum, while Portia suffered from emotional abandon from her uppity relatives. This relationship is not going to be easy. Not only do they have to fight against social pressure because of their colliding backgrounds and skin colour, but also their own issues. They both carry heavy burdens from their past. It was so frustrating to see them go through their mistakes and fears, but so rewarding when they overcame them.

In an honest, very close-up voice, the author balances romance with family issues and how they affect people on so many levels. The love story itself progresses thanks to how well or badly the characters react to those issues. And the last part gets really intense as Justin's dangerous neighbourhood pounces on his little brothers. It's full of emotional and beautiful romance. If you're looking for a romantic fairytale with grit in the modern world, you might have found it in Jane Lark.

Just You by Jane Lark 

(Starting Out #2) 

Published by: Harper Impulse

Publication date: May 2014

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

The morning after the New Year’s Eve before…

Waking up to a new year with a killer hangover and hazy memories of a seriously hot hook-up the night before leaves Portia in an awkward situation… Did I, or didn’t I? The only way she’s going to find out is by standing up to the guy in question.

With no regrets, Justin is willing to play the gentleman and save Portia her embarrassment. Only then he gets a text saying, come over… and he’s not gonna lie – this is friends with a lot of benefits!

But no matter how good the sex is, there’s one thing Justin’s not down with: being this shallow rich girl’s dirty little secret…

Goodreads - Amazon - B&N

About the author...

Jane is a writer of authentic, passionate and emotional Historical and New Adult romance and author of a No.1 bestselling Historical Novel,'The Illicit Love of a Courtesan, as well as a Kindle overall Top 25, bestselling author.

She began her first historical novel at sixteen, but a life full of adversity derailed her as she lives with the restrictions of Ankylosing Spondylitis.

When she finally completed a novel it was because she was determined not to reach forty still saying, I want to write.

Now Jane is writing a Regency series as well as contemporary, new adult, stories and she is thrilled to be giving her characters life in others' imaginations at last.

You might think that Jane was inspired to write by Jane Austen, especially as she lives near Bath in the United Kingdom, but you would be wrong. Jane's favourite author is Anya Seton, and the book which drew her into the bliss of falling into historical imagination was 'Katherine' a story crafted from reality.

Jane has drawn on this inspiration to discover other real-life love stories, reading memoirs and letters to capture elements of the past, and she uses these to create more realistic plots.

'Basically I love history and I am sucker for a love story. I love the feeling of falling in love; it's wonderful being able to do it time and time again in fiction.'

Jane is also a Chartered Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development in the United Kingdom, and uses this specialist understanding of people to bring her characters to life.

Author links: 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6884602.Jane_Lark

http://www.janelark.co.uk/

http://www.janelark.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/JaneLark

Giveaway Time

Tour wide giveaway

Open internationally

$50 or £40 Amazon voucher
I Found You Backpack
A signed copy of I Found You
and some fun stationary

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck with the giveaway, book buddies. And are your a fan of interracial romance too?