THE SON AND HIS HOPE (The Ribbon Duet #3) by Pepper Winters-Review and Excerpt Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 12, 2019
“Things you should know about me from the very beginning:
I was born to true love, witnessed the destruction it causes, and vowed never to let such agony happen to me. I am not a story-teller like my father. I am not a writer like my mother. I am just a son—their son.
I am happy being alone.
And that is all I ever want to be.”
JACOB
The day he was born, Jacob learned his hardest and longest lesson.
It wasn’t a lesson a boy should learn so young, but from his earliest memories he knew where happiness lives, so does tragedy. Where love exists, so does heartbreak. And where hope resides, so does sorrow.
That lesson carved him from the kid to the teen to the man.
And nothing and no one could change his mind.
HOPE
I first met him when he was fourteen at a movie premiere of all places. A movie based on his parent’s life.
He was stoic, strong, suspicious, and secretive.
I was only ten, but I felt something for him. A strange kind of sorrow that made me want to hug and heal him.
I was the daughter of the actor hired to play his father.
We shared similarities.
I recognised parts of him because they were parts of me.
But no matter how many times we met. No matter how many times I tried.
He stayed true to his vow to never fall.
•••••••••••
REVIEW: THE SON AND HIS HOPE is the third instalment in Pepper Winters’ contemporary, adult THE RIBBON DUET. This is rancher Jacob Wild, and actress/script writer Hope Murphy’s story line. THE SON AND HIS HOPE can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order as it picks up four years following the events of book two-THE GIRL AND HER REN.
NOTE: If you have not read The Ribbon Duet, there may be some spoilers in my review
Told from dual first person perspectives (Jacob and Hope) with a few introspective paragraphs from Della Wild, THE SON AND HIS HOPE follows approximately thirteen years in the life of Jacob Wild and Hope Murphy. At age fourteen, four years following the death the his beloved father, Jacob Wild would meet ten year old Hope Murphy at the world premiere of his parent’s story. Throughout the course of the next thirteen years Jacob struggles with what was, what is and what will never be, in an effort to live but barely to thrive. Angry, bitter, and broken Jacob is unable to get close to the people he loves including the woman that stole his heart, years before. As Hope continues to see through the dark and damaged persona of our story line hero, it is Hope’s heart that will inevitably be broken by the man that she loves.
THE SON AND HIS HOPE is an emotional, tragic and dramatic story line of conflict, struggle, acceptance and love. Jacob Wild is unable to move forward; time remains fixed for a young man lost in a world of hurt and hate, hatred he directs at an innocent young woman whose only sin is to fall in love with a broken young man.
Pepper Winters writes a beautiful, poignant and tormented tale of love, loss, grief and denial; a story about two people caught in a vortex of heartache and pain wherein words spoken in anger are more powerful and hurtful than the physical.
For a limited time get book 1-THE BOY AND HIS RIBBON for only 99¢
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Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Boy and His Ribbon
The Girl and Her Ren
The Son and His Hope
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
“I couldn’t sleep.” She blinked with eyes too hooded to be innocent. She spoke with a voice too rich and feminine to belong to the annoying Hope Jacinta Murphy.
My hands curled, fighting away sick appreciation. For years, I hadn’t bothered mingling with anyone other than family. Back when I’d attended school, the girls showed off their newly formed bodies and flaunted their sexual preference. Their obvious flirting turned me off rather than on. They all seemed so desperate to impress, so eager for a connection that would end up destroying them.
Hope, meanwhile, was none of those things.
She was shy beneath strength. Quiet beneath conversation. And when she’d hugged me?
God, she’d shown me pain had multiple levels.
A hug from family could sear and sting.
But a hug from her?
It drew blood.
“It isn’t safe to wander around this late on your own.” My hands balled, my voice thickened, and I did my best to keep my eyes on her face because there was no way I could look at her body. No way I could permit myself to see the change in her, the growth, the knowledge that she might drive me to rage and disturb my carefully perfected world, but she was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
Soft but sharp. Trusting but careful. Fragile but brave.
All the things that drew out the best and worst in me. I wanted to be kind, so she was happy. I wanted to be cruel, so she’d leave.
I didn’t have the strength to fight both instincts or convince myself I was content with being alone. My phobia of getting close to anyone ordered me to back up and point at Mom’s house. “Go back, Hope.”
She bit her lower lip, looking at where I pointed before capturing my stare again.
I didn’t stand a chance with the way she studied me. The same way she’d watched me as a child with a certainty and calmness that made me fidget and bristle. Only now, a deeper element was there too. A terrifying welcome. A petrifying invitation that had nothing to do with the years we’d danced around each other and everything to do with this new torturous existence.
“I don’t want to go back yet.” Her voice whispered through the grass, sounding part breeze, part shadow.
“What do you want?” My jaw clenched.
What the hell sort of question is that, and why did I ask it?
She cocked her head, hair tumbling, eyes searching. “To walk.” Taking a hesitant step toward me, she smiled softly. “Want to walk with me?”
“What I want is for you to get off my property.”
Her smile warmed instead of cooled. “Can I walk on it first? Then I’ll get off it.”
I couldn’t understand her. Was she joking with me? Teasing? Being plain exasperating? Crossing my arms, I raised my chin. “Walking it would take hours. It’s big.”
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
Wonderful review, Sandy. Looks like a very emotional story line.
great review, sandy. i like the sound of this book. thanks.
I love The Ribbon Duet. Can’t wait to read Jacob’s story. Thanks for the great review.
Looks amazing, thanks Sandy. Congrats to Pepper Winters.
Another great review and excerpt, thanks Sandy.
Wonderful review, great excerpt, thanks Sandy.
Terrific review, Sandy. Looks very interesting.
Another fantastic review and great excerpt.
How moving. Thanks for the review, TRC/Sandy!
Thanks for the wonderful review. I am a big fan of Pepper’s books and series.
great review sandy!! the excerpt was good too! shared on my socials!
Great review, Sandy. Sounds very good.