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.
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.
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.
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!
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:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble:
Kobo:
Apple iBooks:
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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.
**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.
Robyn ~ It is great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I really enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reviewing This Piece of My Soul! I'm finding my way through the pros and pitfalls of writing a three-book series!! So I do take your comments to heart. It was actually written as one book (longer than War and Peace)... Promise, the third book wraps everything up nicely—and no more cliffhangers in the future! Thank you for your feedback and hosting This Piece of My Soul!
ReplyDelete~ Robyn
I look forward to reading this.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, I've enjoyed following the tour and reading all about This Piece of My Soul. I can't wait to check it out myself. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteWhat book are you looking to read in 2017. Thanks for the giveaway. I hope that I win. Bernie W BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read.
ReplyDelete