The Rest of Forever by Carrie Pulkinen - Book Tour - Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Carrie Pulkinen and her new book, “The Rest of Forever”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Carrie and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

The Rest of Forever

by Carrie Pulkinen

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GENRE: Paranormal Romance

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BLURB:

A guardian angel who’d rather die than fall for a human must come to terms with his tragic past when he learns his Charge is more than she seems.

April Carter is a high school history teacher who dreams of finding the perfect man to whisk her away from her small-town life. She wants it all—the husband, the house, the kids, the car. But her dreams of living the perfect life are shattered during a school shooting. Now she must learn to accept her fate if she's ever going to find the life she loves.

Damian Perkins is April's Guardian Angel, though no one would guess that based on his attitude. A tragic event in his past has left him bitter and resentful, and he won’t let anyone get close enough to care about him. He's tried to make April hate him, but she sees through his abrasive exterior and awakens a part of his soul he thought had burned out long ago. Damian must let go of his past and accept his responsibilities or he'll spend the rest of his existence alone and miserable.

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EXCERPT TWO:

Before she could even open her eyes, he smacked into her, and they both toppled to the floor. She landed flat on her back with Damian on top of her.

“For Heaven’s sake, April! You don’t Jump into someone’s home.”

“Sorry.”

He rose up on his hands, but he didn’t get up. He just looked at her. His steely gaze softened and traveled from her eyes, down to her mouth, and back up again. His hazel eyes held hers, and he looked at her like she was a lost treasure he’d finally found. She tried to convince herself the spark she felt, the heat radiating from his body, was pity. That he felt sorry for her. But she felt his arousal growing, pressing into her hip, and she couldn’t deny the hunger in his eyes.

Heat rose in her body, and just as she thought she’d be consumed by the flames, he hopped off her, pulling her to her feet. He dropped her hand and cleared his throat.

“It’s okay. I’m uh...glad you’re back.” He adjusted his pants and ran his hand through his hair. He looked at her again, his gaze traveling up and down the length of her body, and he blushed.

If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he was embarrassed. Of course, she was too, and she had to tear her gaze away from him. She looked around the room—everywhere but at him.

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REVIEW:

This book is a paranormal love story that focuses on the relationship between the two main characters, April and Damian.  Although, their relationship is platonic at first, there is definitely chemistry between these two characters.

April is a high school history teacher.  She is kind, sweet, intelligent, cleaver, and determined.  She has big dreams about family life – wanting it all – the house, husband, kids, car, etc.  However, at the beginning of the book, I thought she came off a bit foolish.  April is with a loser boyfriend who is rude, selfish, and disrespectful.  But April is willing to overlook those awful qualities because she really wants to get married and start a family.

Damian is April’s Guardian Angel.  He has watched over April her entire life.  He is a fellow teacher at the same school as April.  He is bitter, resentful, indecisive, and a bit standoffish.  Although this attitude is the result of his painful past, he still comes off a bit coarse.  His main Angel job is to keep April safe until her 30^th birthday.

However, with a school shooting in play things are about to drastically change for both characters.  This change is challenging, unplanned, and brings April’s big dreams crashing down.  It will cause April and Damian to make difficult choices that will impact and define their relationship by either bringing them together or ending their relationship forever.

I liked the writing style as Miss Pulkinen uses great descriptive detail which allows for many of the scenes to be easily envisioned.  However, I found the book to have several dragging parts that seemed to really slow down the story.  There would be a few exciting chapters that I was like glued to the book, then it seemed to ramble and I had a hard time staying interested in the story.  I set the book down a few times, ran some errands or housework, and then would come back to it.

I liked April, but didn’t get too much out of Damian’s character.  I felt bad for the characters as they were dealing with intense and painful situations.  However, I just didn’t really connect with these characters.  Towards the end of the book I was a little more won over by Damian, but it took a while to get there.

Both characters struggle with their own baggage.  In addition, they both have to make some big decisions that may have uncomfortable results.

There are many themes in this book such as love, denial, guilt, grief, anger, depression, resistance, resentment, heartache, despair, sacrifice, compromise, trust, and mortality.

There is a lot of back and forth between these characters.  I understand why Damian was scared to get close to April as he had suffered from a difficult past.  But it would get somewhat annoying at times.

I did like the ending and I’m glad I stuck with it so I could enjoy a happy, tidy ending.

This book was an enjoyable read, but it sadly wasn’t able to keep me hanging on every word and it was a book that I was able to and actually did put down.

I would still recommend this book as I did find it interesting and I think other readers; especially paranormal fans would enjoy this book too, if not even more.

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

Did you find this review helpful?

If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/RGE6BAUI9I44Y

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AUTHOR BIO:

Carrie Pulkinen is a paranormal romance author who has always been fascinated with things that go bump in the night. Of course, when you grow up next door to a cemetery, the dead (and the undead) are hard to ignore. Whether it's angels, demons, werewolves, ghosts, or vampires, Carrie finds all supernatural beings intriguing. Pair that with her passion for writing and her hopelessly romantic heart, and you've got the perfect recipe for an exciting storyteller.

Carrie spent the first part of her professional life as a high school journalism and yearbook teacher. She loves red wine and chocolate, and in her free time, she likes to read, take pictures, and spend time with her family.

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CONNECT WITH CARRIE:

Website:

http://www.CarriePulkinen.com

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/CarriePulkinen

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/CarriePulkinen

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4569077.Carrie_Pulkinen

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33972197-the-rest-of-forever

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Carrie-Pulkinen/e/B004XSXTGW

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

http://amzn.to/2nrew6S

Amazon Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2n7QlXJ

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rest-of-forever-carrie-pulkinen/1125680100

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Carrie will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.