WRECKED by J.B. Salsbury-Review, Excerpt and Giveaway
WRECKED
by J. B. Salsbury
Release Date: July 18, 2017
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 18, 2017
When you can’t trust yourself, how can you ask anyone else to?
It’s been months since Aden Colt left the Army, and still the memories haunt him. When he moved into a boat off the California coast, he thought he’d found the perfect place to escape life.
Then Sawyer shows up, and turns his simple life upside down.
Beautiful and sophisticated, she seems out of place in this laid back beach town. Something is pushing her to experience everything she can—including Aden. But as much as he wants her, starting a relationship with Sawyer puts them both at risk.
For Aden, the past doesn’t stay there; it shows up unexpectedly, uncontrollably, and doesn’t care whose life it wrecks.
••••••••••
REVIEW: WRECKED by J.B. Salsbury is a stand alone, contemporary adult, romance story line focusing on twenty four year old Sawyer Forrester , and former US soldier /fisherman Aden Colt.
Told from dual first person points of view (Sawyer and Aden) WRECKED focuses on the building relationship between Sawyer Forrester and Aden Colt. Sawyer’s twin sister Celia is dying-a brain tumor is destroying her life-and she asks one thing of her sister before she dies. Sawyer must return to Celia’s home in San Diego to box up her life but in doing so must pretend to be Celia so as not to worry her neighbors and friends. Enter Aden Colt, the property’s new landlord, and the man with whom Sawyer will fall in love. What ensues is the building love between Sawyer and Aden, and Sawyer’s struggle to keep secret her sister’s dying wish in the face of too many secrets and lies.
WRECKED is a story of secrets, lies, heartbreak and betrayal. Pretending to be her sister Celia, Sawyer finds herself struggling with the truth, and falling in love with a man who believes she is someone else, goes against everything Sawyer believes and observes. Sawyer is the quiet, uptight twin; the one who is afraid to try something new, and lying about her true identity is a struggle for our story line heroine. Aden Colt is a broken man; a soldier who lost everything on his last deployment overseas, and in the ensuing months battles the demons that continue to destroy his mind. Meeting Sawyer (aka Celia) finds our hero accepting what was and what will never be but his PTSD, inability to trust, and growing anxiety threaten his relationship with the woman with whom he is falling in love- a relationship with an end date as Sawyer prepares to pack up and move back home. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
We are introduced to Sawyer’s twin sister Celia, their parents Tom and Darlene Forrester, Colt’s uncle Calvin Hurtado, and neighbor/ Vietnam war veteran Jenkins, as well as an assortment of friends and acquaintances of Celia Forrester.
WRECKED is an emotional and heartbreaking story line about one woman’s struggle to step out of her comfort zone as she embarks on her sister’s journey one last time, and one’s man battle with the ghosts from the past. The premise is energetic and moving; the characters are colorful, tragic and animated; the romance is fated and passionate. WRECKED is an intense and tearful story from the pen of author JB Salsbury.
Copy supplied by publisher
Reviewed by Sandy
NOTE: Excerpt intended for mature readers due to content and language
I thought he was kidding. I should’ve known better. Aden’s intentions with me since I stupidly boarded this boat have been my torment for his enjoyment. He loved watching me squirm over the bait tank and when I proved I wouldn’t shy away from a challenge, he pulled out the big guns. From his flirty smiles to his teasing touches, he’s discovered my weaknesses and is exploiting them for his own entertainment.
Now this? Raw fish probably still warm from fighting for its life.
And now I’m God knows how many feet above water sitting on a two-seater bench held up by rusty ladders and staring down a piece of glistening pink meat.
“You have to eat it, it’s a rite of passage.” He offers the meat to my lips and I quickly turn my face away.
“I’m really not hungry.” As if the idea isn’t enough to turn my stomach, watching him clean the fish before sectioning off enough for lunch wasn’t much of an appetite builder.
“Of course you are.” He brings the piece to his own mouth and takes a bite, closing his eyes with a moan as he chews.
I feel a rush of bile hit my throat, or maybe it’s beer, either way it’s warm and it burns. “That’s disgusting.”
“You’re telling me you don’t like sushi?”
My eyes widen. Sawyer would say she’s never had sushi. But Celia’s a different story. She ate a live cricket in the eighth grade on a dare. She didn’t even flinch. “I like sushi, just not directly from the…um…source.”
“Doesn’t get fresher than this.” He takes another bite and I can’t deny that his response to eating it does give it some appeal.
“I think I need soy sauce or that green stuff.” What’s it called?
“Just try it.”
“I really don’t want to.”
“Oh come on.” He smiles in that cute crooked way that makes my heart dip and dive. “Live a little.”
I chew the inside of my mouth debating the cost/benefit of taking a bite of this fresh-out-of-the-ocean fish. On one hand, I’ll impress Aden. That in and of itself is worth the ick factor. But what if I throw up all over his boat? Is the chance of impressing him worth totally humiliating myself? I groan when I realize what I’m doing, exactly what I swore I wouldn’t do. I’m making an internal pros and cons list. I close my eyes and steel my resolve and my spine. Don’t think, just decide. I pop open my eyes followed by my mouth.
“Yeah?” He stares at my parted lips.
I nod, hoping he’ll hurry before I change my mind.
Lifting the rose-colored flesh forward, he places it between my teeth. It’s a small bite so I close my lips around his fingers expecting him to pull away…but he doesn’t. For a moment I’m suspended in his gaze, totally stuck while his hot fingers rest between my lips. This should be grossing me out; after all, I watched him gut this fish with his bare hands and to wash off all the blood he merely dipped them into the ocean. But all the thoughts of raw fish and a stranger’s finger do nothing to stave off the warmth blooming in my belly. My tongue pulls the meat deeper into my mouth, brushing against the rough pad of his forefinger. He bites his lip but finally drops his hand.
He watches intently while I chew and swallow.
“How was it?” His voice is low and gruff.
Lost in the heated moment, I barely tasted it. “Good.”
His hand cups the back of my head and he pulls me toward him, stopping just short of our lips touching. “I can’t fucking take this anymore.” His breath is sawing in and out, bursting against my mouth with impatience. “Let me.” It’s a demand, not a question.
A kiss. I don’t need to channel Celia or flip a coin…I know what I want.
I lick my lips and close the slight distance between us.
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J.B. Salsbury is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and two kids.
Her love of good storytelling led her to earn a degree in Media Communications. With her journalistic background, writing has always been at the forefront, and her love of romance propelled her career as an author.
She spends the majority of her day behind the computer where a world of battling alphas, budding romance, and impossible obstacles claws away at her subconscious and begs to be released to the page.
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Excellent review. Looks like something I would want to read. JB is a new author for me
Wonderful review, Sandy. This really looks like an emotional and heartbreaking story line.
great review, sandy. sounds so good.
Love the review put this book on my wish list and thanks for the chance 🙂
Thanks for another great review Sandy. JB is a new author for me.
Terrific review, Sandy. Sounds like an awesome read.
ooh, this looks like a heart breaker !
Looks like an emotional story. Thanks for the wonderful review.
Great review, Sandy. Looks like a new author for me to try.
Thanks for the fantastic review Sandy. JB is a new author for me as well.
Great review, Sandy. Looks like a wonderful story.
Thanks for the wonderful review. Definitely looks like an emotional story.
Thanks to everyone for the great comments.