CRAVE : Part 1 (Crave Duet #1) by E.K. Blair-Review and Book Tour

CRAVE Part 1
The Crave Duet #1
by E.K. Blair
Release Date: August 14, 2017
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / ibooks

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 14, 2017

Kason and Adaline.

From the moment they met, they started to fall. Neither of them predicted just how far the drop would be, though.

Loving Adaline was all Kason had ever wanted to do. But layer by layer, he started to unravel, forcing Adaline to face an addiction she never could’ve imagined.

This is what happens when one person loves beyond the craving and the other craves beyond the loving.

••••••••••

REVIEW: CRAVE Part 1 is the first installment in E.K. Blair’s contemporary, young adult/new adult CRAVE DUET romance series focusing on seventeen year olds Kason and Adaline, high school students whose lives will spiral out of control when demons from the past control action of the present. I will be honest up front and say that I wasn’t initially aware the Crave Duet was a YA/NA story line but I was pleasantly surprised that the author stayed clear of most of the annoying (in my opinion) YA tropes.

Told from dual first person points of view (Adaline and Kason) CRAVE Part 1 follows the building relationship between Adaline and Kason. Adaline is the new girl at school who quickly finds herself part of the popular crowd, a popularity that is marked by jealousy and rumors about our story line heroine. Meeting Kason the first day of school alleviates many of Adaline’s fears but falling in love with Kason is unexpected and real.

CRAVE Part 1 follows a year in the life of two high school teenagers – a year that reveals family secrets, broken souls, and unimaginable guilt and shame. Adaline is an innocent; a sweet, naïve young woman who has yet to experience first love, $ex or too much drama in her life. Kason is a young man struggling to keep up appearances in the face of the truth-a truth that if revealed could destroy his relationship with the young woman he loves. Kason’s silence hides a multitude of secrets and sins but will Adaline’s love be enough to help him heal?

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Adaline’s friend from back home Molly, and Kason’s buds Micah, Trent and Rhett, as well as the introduction of Kason and Adaline’s mothers-two woman whose lives have gone in opposite directions.

CRAVE Part 1 is a simple read; most of the teens are typical, nothing too rebellious or over the top but our story line hero struggles with a past mired in dark secrets and shame. Unlike most YA story lines there is no love triangle (thank goodness), and the parental units are more or less respectable, understanding and normal-the relationship between Adaline and her father is tense and stressful but not unlike many relationships between parent and child in situations of divorce or second families.

CRAVE Part 1 is an emotional story line with plenty of ups and downs, twists, and revelations. Friendships will be made and lost; love with falter in the face of betrayal and lies. The premise is engaging and edgy; the characters are colorful, dynamic and charismatic; the romance is sweet; the $ex scenes are intimate, mostly implied or fade to black, without the use of sexually graphic, over the top language and text but saying that there are some issues between our story line couple that are addressed with honesty and clarity.

E.K. Blair touches on a potentially controversial subject-a subject many people do not completely understand. The author, as well as the leading couple, handle the sensitivity with maturity and grace with the understanding that not all is well in the young hero’s life.

CRAVE Part 1 ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

PreOrder CRAVE Part 2 -Available October 16, 2017:

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /B&N / KOBO / ibooks /

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

E.K. Blair, takes her readers on an emotional roller coaster with her dynamic and intense writing style. Noted for her ability to create fleshed-out characters that will evoke a realm of reactions, you can be assured that her stories will linger with you far beyond the last word.

A former first grade teacher with an imagination that runs wild. Daydreaming and zoning out is how she was often found in high school. Blair tends to drift towards everything dark and moody. Give her a character and she will take pleasure in breaking them down, digging into their core to find what lies underneath.

Aside from writing, E.K. Blair finds pleasure in music, drinking her Starbucks in peace, and spending time with her friends. She’s a thinker, an artist, a wife, a mom, and everything in between.

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