THE LIVING CANVAS by Pepper Winters-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

THE LIVING CANVAS (Master of Trickery #2) by Pepper Winters-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

THE LIVING CANVAS
Master of Trickery #2
by Pepper Winters
Genre: adult, contemporary, dark, romance
Release Date: October 15, 2019

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play / itunes/

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 15, 2019

“Must be brave, stubborn, and impervious to the tempers of loved ones.”

The first line hissed with history.

“Hours are endless, pay is non-existence, quitting absolutely forbidden.”

The second line ached with truth.

“Able to function on no sleep, refrain from running when times get hard, and be more than just a living canvas but a lover.”

The third thrummed with honesty.

“Other attributes required: forgiving, opinionated, and not afraid to tell me when I’m wrong. Must also enjoy being touched and kissed at any time of my choosing.”

The fourth glowed with promise.

“Call or email ‘YOUR HEART, HIS SOUL’ if interested in applying.”

The final made my future unfold.

The advert was so similar to one I should never have applied for.
A twist of fate that brought two destined people back together.
A job I would take in a heartbeat if the employer could offer such terms.
But I wasn’t free.
Neither was Gil.
Therefore, my interview could never happen.

•••••••••

REVIEW: THE LIVING CANVAS is the second instalment in Pepper Winters’ contemporary, adult MASTER OF TRICKERY dark, romance duology focusing on body painter Gilbert ‘Gil’ Clark, and Olin Moss. THE LIVING CANVAS should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book one THE BODY PAINTER.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line content, there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Gil and Olin) THE LIVING CANVAS continues to focus on the fractured relationship between high school friends, body painter Gilbert ‘Gil’ Clark, and Olin Moss, but not all is right in Gilbert Clark’s world, and Olin will discover she is about to become collateral damage. Having replied to an ad to become a living canvas, Olin realized that the painter is the boy she once loved, a boy who destroyed all of her hopes and dreams. Shattered beyond repair, and desperate to save someone he loves, Gilbert will sabotage any chance at happiness by offering up one soul for another but in doing so will lose much more than he could have ever imagined.

THE LIVING CANVAS is a psychological tale of what ifs. How far would you go to protect someone you love? Who would you sacrifice to save someone else? Pepper Winters weaves a story of lost love and lost innocence; of fractured lives and broken promises; of a dark past, a dangerous life, and a damaged soul beyond repair. THE LIVING CANVAS is a raw, real, gritty and impassioned story of the ultimate betrayal and flawed nature of the human soul.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one THE BODY PAINTER

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

“GIL…DON’T.”
He gritted his teeth, wrapping the rope tighter around my wrists.
“Stop it.” I wriggled and squirmed, trying to be free of him.
“Don’t make this any harder than it is,” he breathed, tying a knot and jerking me forward.
I fought against him, bracing against his pull.
His hand slipped on the rope, giving me a fraction of a second.
I spun and bolted.
I managed a few terrified strides before his boots thudded behind me.
He caught me so easily.
He spun me around, picked me up, and carried me to the podium. Big fat tears rolled down my cheeks, unable to believe what he’d done. In all the times he’d ever touched me, he’d restrained the power and violence he wielded so effortlessly now. He had a strength that controlled me with barely any effort whatsoever.
That alone sent my heart galloping uselessly in my chest. My back prickled with nervous sweat. My chest fluttered with anxious breath. And I moaned in disbelief as he plopped me onto the stage and kicked out my legs, forcing me to sit on the edge.
I sat with a jar, my teeth clacking together as I dared look up at the kidnapper I should’ve been afraid of but never suspected.*************************************

Tears beyond my control rained heavy and hard down my cheeks. I was allowed to hate him. I was meant to curse his very existence. I had no trust where he was concerned. No obligation in any form.
Yet, I cried for him and for me.
I cried for both of us because it wasn’t fake breakups, molesting teachers, or blackmailing murderers who’d broken us.
It’d been the lies.
The tricks.
The shadows that’d always surrounded Gilbert Clark and the ones he retreated to rather than staying in the light with me.
No matter what happened.
No matter if I died tonight, he died, we all died, this had died.
Us.
There is no more us.
His arms wrapped me in a cage, his love imprisoning me.
I tried to stop crying. To put aside my grief and wake up.
But slowly, stealthily, finality crept over me.
My eyelids no longer opened.
My brain no longer operated.
My head lay on Gil’s shoulder, needing support.
He clutched me closer as the final dregs of energy siphoned out of me. He stroked my hair and kissed my ear as I gave in to the cloud of unconsciousness. “Hopefully, by the time you wake up…this will all be over. You’ll be free. You’ll never have to see me again.” He angled my chin, his lips claiming mine.
I tried to pull back, to stop the kiss, to study his godforsaken eyes, but he caged me closer. He pulled heat and hunger from deep within, sending me into lullabies with his taste on my lips and his grief on my tongue. “I’m so sorry, O. So sorry for ever thinking I could make you happy. You deserve so much more. I love you. I love you with every fucking part of me, but I can’t stop this. At least sleep is a gift I can give you. The only thing I can give you.”
Voices were far away and not of my dream world as he lowered me down until I lay on the stage. My eyelids fluttered as he turned on the air compressor and the first lick of unwanted paint landed upon my skin.
But I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t fight.
Gil was an artist.
Art was his drug.
The creation of beauty helped him cope in the depths of his despair. He needed art to function, to survive.
And with his talent, he stole my function.
Brush by brush, he destroyed me.
Colour by colour, he sentenced me to die.
He snuffed out my survival.
He’d poisoned me so I’d sleep.
So I wouldn’t be awake when my purpose as his masterpiece was over.

 


 

Pepper Winters is a multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller.

After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. With 19 books currently published, she has hit the bestseller charts twenty-six times in three years.

Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette.

Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available in 2017.

STALK Pepper: Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

 

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour provider.

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The Body Painter by Pepper Winters-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

The Body Painter (Master of Trickery 1) by Pepper Winters-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 17, 2019

“Must be slim, able to stand for long periods of time, and be impervious to the cold.”

The headline caught my attention.

“Hours are negotiable, pay is minimal, clothing absolutely forbidden.”

The second line piqued my curiosity.

“Able to hold your bladder and tongue, refrain from opinions or suggestions, and be the perfect living canvas.”

The third made me scowl.

“Other attributes required: non-ticklish, contortionist, and obedient. Must also enjoy being studied while naked in a crowd.”

The fourth made me shudder.

“Call or email ‘YOUR SKIN, HIS CANVAS’ if interested in applying.”

The final made my heart race.

I should’ve kept scrolling past the advertisement.

I should’ve applied for the boring receptionist job at minimum wage.

I should’ve clicked on any other job where I got to keep my clothes on.

But I didn’t.

I applied.

My interview is tomorrow

•••••••••••

REVIEW: THE BODY PAINTER is the first instalment in Pepper Winters’ contemporary, adult MASTER OF TRICKERY erotic, dark, romantic thriller focusing on body painter Gilbert ‘Gil’ Clark, and Olin Moss.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line content, there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Gil and Olin), using present day and memories from the past, THE BODY PAINTER follows the rekindling relationship between high school friends Gilbert ‘Gil’ Clark, and Olin Moss. Gil Clark was a loner; a young man whose life was spiralling out of control and the only bright light in his otherwise dark work was classmate Olin Moss. Olin knew something wasn’t right at home where is concerned Gil Clark but her heart wanted more for the young man whose aura screamed heart break and pain. But one night would change everything pushing Olin Moss out of Gil Clark’s life, a night that would control Gil’s future, and all that he touched.

Gil Clark’s life has never been easy, and discovering his new ‘canvas’ was the girl he had always loved found Gil caught between head and heart in order to protect the people he loved. As Gil’s life continues to circle the proverbial drain, Olin will be pulled into a nightmare not of her making.

THE BODY PAINTER is an emotional, dark, raw and heart breaking story of one man’s battle to survive in a world that is continuously threatening to take him down. A history tormented by betrayal and abuse, Gil is unable to let go of the chains that bind him to the sins of the past. A bit of a Pollyanna, Olin is desperate to save the boy/man that she never stopped loving but saving herself should be her first priority. Pepper Winter’s writes a gritty, abrasive and tragic tale about an ill-fated friendship with disturbing consequences. THE BODY PAINTER ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

 

“Um, hi? I’m…eh, here for the interview?” I stepped warily toward the noise.
Another curse followed by a loud thump.
“I heard you the first time.” A man appeared from the darkness.
A man with shaggy dark hair, five o’clock shadow, and eyes so maliciously green they masqueraded as body parts but were really well-honed weapons.
A man who was bleeding from his temple, limping, and holding his elbow as if it needed reattaching.
“Sorry, I didn’t know if—” I gulped as something long ago tugged in remembrance.
No.
It can’t be…
Recognition slammed into me as forcibly as it slammed into him.
I stumbled under the weight.
Punched by the unbelievable.
“Gil? Oh, my God. Gil!”
Older.
Darker.
More gorgeous than he’d ever been.
I fought every instinct to go to him.
Did my best not to grab him, kiss him, shake him, slap him.
A gust of air blasted through the warehouse as if the winds of fate woke up, felt a tug on whatever linked us together, and clapped its hands in glee, saying, ‘Yes, this will be fun. Let’s put these two back together again.’
“Olin? Fuck…it’s you.” His gaze tore over me as hungrily as mine tore over him.
Time stood still. It reversed. It plopped us right back in the past where this boy had held my heart, and I’d captured his, and together we knew it would always be about us.
Us.
There is no more us.
I stumbled toward him, desperate to be nearer despite so much pain. “I can’t believe this. What are you doing here?”
“What am I? What are you?” He tripped in my direction, his face etched with lines I hadn’t seen in his youth, his body all angles and threats. As fast as he’d headed toward me, he halted as if yanked back by a rope. His face fell. His shock at seeing me morphed into hardness.
I didn’t understand how he could change so much in a few short seconds.
Goosebumps decorated me as coldness settled like a cloak around his shoulders.
“I’ve been back in Birmingham two years. I—” I stopped talking, unable to share the secrets that followed such a statement. “I…”
He closed his eyes, shutting me out as if battling something deep within him. Deliberately, he took a step back, his chin coming up, his coldness settling into ice.
The silence that’d chased us in our fledgling romance returned, thick and heavy.
My back prickled. My mouth turned dry.
Too much distance existed between us, swelling with memory of how things had ended, why we were strangers now, and just how much heartbreak had been left behind.
Along with silence came shadows, creeping over Gil’s expression, shutting down any remaining signs of his shock and gratefulness at seeing me. Heartbeat by heartbeat, he hid any sign that my visit was a welcome one.
I struggled, not knowing what to say.
His gaze no longer held happiness, just aching emptiness and suspicion. “How did you find me?” He didn’t give me chance to reply. “You can’t be here, Olin. You need to leave. I don’t want you anywhere near me.”


 

Pepper Winters is a multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller.

After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. With 19 books currently published, she has hit the bestseller charts twenty-six times in three years.

Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette.

Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available in 2017.

STALK Pepper: Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour promoter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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