This Piece of My Soul by Robyn M. Ryan - Book Tour - Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Robyn M. Ryan and her new book, “This Piece of My Soul”!  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 $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Robyn and to increase your chances of winning!

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

This Piece of My Soul

by Robyn M. Ryan

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GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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BLURB:

They believe love conquers all.

One of pro-hockey’s golden couples, Andrew and Caryn Chadwick live in the limelight reserved for elite professional athletes. On their second anniversary, Andrew receives an unexpected contract offer to join the Tampa Suns. As they look forward to a new adventure, neither foresees an event that challenges their love and threatens their marriage.

Until it doesn’t.

A sudden and senseless accident threatens Andrew’s life and inexplicably drives a wedge between the couple. Shattered by the incident, paralyzed by fear that it could happen again, Caryn finds herself at odds with her husband and unable to provide the support he needs—at the time he is most vulnerable.

As their perfect world crumbles, each makes choices that take Andrew and Caryn further apart. Distrust, fears, and secrets construct walls. This Piece of My Soul follows the joint and separate paths the couple navigate as each hopes to rediscover the love that can conquer all.

(Although This Piece of My Soul is the second book in the Clearing the Ice Series, it can be read as a standalone novel.)

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EXCERPT ONE:

Caryn shut her eyes tightly and sighed as she picked his cell phone off the floor and set it on the table. Her first reaction when his phone vibrated had centered on the fear that something had happened to his parents—or his brother, Tom. From the few words he spoke, Caryn knew Andrew had received some news from his agent. Don was the only other person she could imagine calling this early…and it sounded like this was not their first conversation today. Drew obviously hadn’t expected whatever Don told him. Take it or leave? Contract issues? This early in the morning? Don knows we’re leaving today, but this early? Another trade? After his best season ever? Of course, that didn’t stop the Leafs from trading him to the Blues. I don’t like the uncertainty that hockey brings to our lives. But it’s part of the package I signed on for when he asked me to marry him. We’ll get through whatever it is…together.

Taking a deep breath, she headed toward the kitchen to begin preparing the “surprise” breakfast. Maybe this would help to restore the anticipation and excitement the day had promised.

She grabbed a bottle of water and set the table after placing his favorite blueberry muffins—his mom’s recipe—in the oven. Checking the time, Caryn decided to take a quick shower and dress. She had no clue what Andrew had planned for their trip. She’d packed for warm weather as he’d suggested, adding some “just-in-case” clothes for cooler evenings. Ten days somewhere just the two of them, totally off the grid—no iPads, laptops, texting, and phones turned off. Only Tom knew how to reach them in case of an emergency. Drew called those ten days a selfish gift to themselves, giving them time to just be together before training camp and the season to come, bringing with it the many days they’d spend apart…What if this…whatever it is…gets in the middle of our trip? Forces him to cancel? I know he has another year on this contract, but what if…?

Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, she focused instead on the day, the excitement that had rippled through her the moment she woke up. She couldn’t wait to learn his plans for this year…even if it did involve another incredibly long flight over water.

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BOOK TRAILER:

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REVIEW:

This book was a very interesting and intriguing read that kept me mostly fully captivated and entertained.

This book is book two in the Clearing the Ice book series.  Although this is the second book in the series it can be read on its own.  I had not read book one first, but I was able to easily follow and understand this book without getting lost or confused.

This book follows married couple Andrew and Caryn Chadwick, their life together, and the difficult challenges they face that may cause the end of their marriage.  Andrew is a professional hockey player for the Blues when he receives an unexpected but impressive contract offer from the Tampa Suns.  An offer too good to turn down they decide to accept it and move to Tampa.  Unfortunately, a life-threatening injury creates turmoil that has rippling effects across Andrew and Caryn’s relationship.  Their love and devotion is tested on many levels and may not be enough to overcome these complex and severe obstacles.

I really liked the main characters, Andrew and Caryn.  They were relatable, likeable, and enjoyable.  I found myself fully invested in their relationship and was constantly rooting for them.

I liked the storyline and I think Robyn did such a great job with the characters.  However, I found that the book pace seemed to drag a bit.  Something interesting would happen and I thought okay yea this is getting good, but then it seemed drawn out and took a while to get to the next event.  This happened a few times and I found myself getting bored and losing interest.  And I hate to say that, because it was an interesting story, and overall I enjoyed reading it; I just wish the pace moved a little faster.

The other big hangup I would say was the ending.  I was so invested in Andrew and Caryn’s story and then to be left without resolution and without closure it just felt, well, annoying lol.  I hate not knowing what happens and so I was disappointed to be left with more questions than answers at the end.

Besides the characters – which were great, I liked that this book was very realistic.  Life is messy and hard.  It’s not always rainbows and cotton candy.  I really liked that Robyn showed not only the ups, but also the downs of Andrew and Caryn’s relationship. It showed the real, not always glamourous side of life, marriage, and fame.  Andrew and Caryn’s struggles are real and relatable.  I enjoyed reading a book that addressed real life problems.

There are a lot of emotions flowing throughout this book that made me want to cry, scream, laugh, and smile!  It’s not often I find myself so emotional during a read and not one that has my emotions jumping all over the place.

This book touches on a lot of topics including love, romance, friendship, hope, regret, heartache, courage, healing, overcoming obstacles, second chances, and fresh starts.

I am a huge sports fan and follow hockey so I was excited to read this book about a pro-hockey player.  It is clear that Robyn is also a sports fan and knows her hockey!  I liked that she was able to convey hockey terms that were easy to understand for even a novice, but were not dumbed-down.  She kept the true essence of the sport in her writing.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in a good contemporary romance book.  However, please note that the ending isn’t tidy, so if you need a happy bow-tied ending, you won’t find it here.  Otherwise this book is very enjoyable and a book that should be added to your TBR List!

**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/RWEWSED4W4546

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AUTHOR BIO:

By the time she was an eight-year-old tomboy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Robyn M. Ryan definitely knew what she wanted to do when she grew up—play major league baseball or write. She wrote throughout elementary and high school, first composing novels featuring favorite TV and music personalities, and then venturing into sports writing.

Attending UGA’s journalism school launched her career in public relations, which included an internship with the Atlanta Flames NHL hockey team. With the encouragement of a writers group on twitter—WritersThatChat—This Piece of My Heart, a hockey romance, and the first book in Robyn’s series Clearing the Ice was published May 2016. The second book in the series, This Piece of My Soul, introduces the Tampa Suns professional hockey team.

Besides writing, Robyn’s passions include following the New York Rangers, NASCAR, and the Atlanta Braves; splitting time between homes in Atlanta and Palm Coast, and visiting Paris as often as possible. Two brilliant Westies rule both homes.

As do many writers, Robyn chooses to write using a pseudonym—hers is a combination of her sons’ names, a contribution from her youngest nephew.

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CONNECT WITH ROBYN:

Website:

http://www.chicksdigsportsromance.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRobynMRyan/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/RobynMRyan

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15071880.Robyn_M_Ryan

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30044763-this-piece-of-my-soul-tampa-suns-hockey

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Robyn-M.-Ryan/e/B01CR5DDKO

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

http://amzn.to/2rIwpRb

Amazon Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2rV83Vj

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/this-piece-of-my-soul-tampa-suns-hockey-robyn-m-ryan/1125532603

Kobo:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/this-piece-of-my-soul

Apple iBooks:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/this-piece-of-my-soul/id1107815208?ls=1&mt=11

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Robyn will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC 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.