Title:
Discovering
April
Author: Sheena Hutchinson
Release Date: May 27th
Publisher: SL Hutchinson
Publishing
Genre: New Adult
Romance
April Landau thinks she has everything she’s ever wanted.
Her high school sweetheart, a house she can’t afford, her bipolar tabby cat, and she’s all set
to begin her Junior year of college. Just when she least expects it, her life gets thrown for a
loop. When things between her and her long time boyfriend unravel, she becomes stuck in a
downward spiral of emotion. Finally, opening her eyes to the fact that she may have given up
more than she ever could have imagined in this relationship. She finds herself struggling to
keep her head above water.
Enter April’s
next door neighbor— Jared Hoffman. He’s her complete opposite. A high
school drop out who was forced to take over his parent’s business after their untimely death.
It’s no surprise this tragedy affected him greatly, causing him to recede almost completely
from society.
But he has
one secret. A secret he’s been carrying around for years.
What
happens when their worlds collide? Can an old friendship be the one thing that brings these
two back to life?
A new adult love story filled with drama, sex,
death and the complications of all of the above.
Long Excerpt:
My head is still pounding when my eyes flutter open the
next day. My brain is throbbing inside my skull and I punch the pillow underneath me,
scaring Jinx out of his slumber. He meows in protest before hopping off the bed. Looking
around, I’m in my bed. How did I get here? I groan in pain as I prop my pillows up and lean
my head back against them. It’s then that I feel the eyes on me. Tilting my head straight
again, I glance out my window. My eyes lock with those big brown eyes of Jared’s across the
way. He looks down to his phone and back up again. My phone chimes with an incoming
text.
“UGHHH!” I moan, blindly reaching for it. It slips a few times
before I grasp it between my fingers and look down to read.
How are you feeling?
Closing one eye, I text back, Like
someone ran over me with a truck, then backed up and ran me
over again.
Lowering my phone, I watch as he smiles from my text and
disappears from view. I’m trying to piece last night back together; it’s like a fragmented
mirror that has shattered all over the corners of my mind. I remember laughing with Ro about
her sexual conquests and then I remember red and blue lights and… Jared. Starting to feel
hot, I throw the covers off of me and lay like a starfish, trying to get my mind to focus.
Glancing down, I notice I’m wearing my pajamas. Before I can process any further, the door
to my room creaks open. Jared walks in with a cup of water and a closed fist.
“How did you get in?!” I yelp, trying to sit up in bed, and pulling the covers
back over my braless tank top.
“I left the back door open when I left last night,” he informs
me as he opens his fist to show me he brought a hand full of Advil.
“You brought me home last night?” I rub my head before
reaching for the pills and water.
“Yup, after you called me to pick you up from the police
station.”
“I WAS WHERE?!” I scream as water comes spraying out of my mouth.
“Police station. Apparently, you popped a guy in the face.”
He smirks.
I squint my eyes, vaguely remembering the heavyset guy
that tried grabbing my ass in front of the bar.
“Whoa!” I have to lean my head back against my pillows
when the information begins to become too much for me. “If you took me home, how did I
get into pajamas?!”
The smile that crosses Jared’s face is a mixture of a blush
and a sly smirk that makes my insides twist with anticipation and excitement. “Jared…”
“That… you did on your own. I had nothing to do with that!”
He holds his hands up in surrender.
“What? I just stripped in front of you!”
“Well, once you got your shirt off, there was really no
stopping you…” he teases and my eyes widen in embarrassment.
“Oh my God!” I slump down, pulling the covers back up to
my face. “Did we… ya know…” I mutter,
completely mortified now.
“Uh, that would be a no.”
“Oh, thank God!” I sigh.
“Thanks a lot!” He comes to his feet now, turning to look out
the window.
“Not like that, it’s just … I don’t like to do things I’m not
conscious for.”
“Yea, completely plastered girls that get arrested and throw
up in bushes are really sexy!” His voice drips with sarcasm.
“I threw up?!” This just gets better and better.
“Twice.”
“Twice?” I’m mortified, staring at his amused face.
“Well, after the first time I thought maybe you needed
something to eat.”
“Oh no…”
“Yeah… I’ve never seen someone eat a Big Mac that fast
before…” He stares at the wall as if remembering my weak moment.
“Oh my God!” I groan, throwing the covers over my entire
body. I curl up in a fetal position, planning to never come out again. The room grows silent.
It’s starting to get hard to breathe under the sheets when I feel the mattress by my feet cave
slightly.
“Come on, it’s not that bad. We all have our moments.” He
pats my feet through the sheets.
“Just when I think I’ve reached rock bottom, things just
seem to drops out from under me and I’m at an all new low!” I roll over, trying to pull the
covers with me, but Jared’s weight prevents it. My head comes peeking out as I roll over,
facing away from him.
“April, I think I just determined your major.”
“What?” I curiously twist to look at him again.
“Drama. You’re such an actress. Now, put your big girl
panties on and get up!”
I stare at him for a second; did he just say what I think he
said? He waits about two seconds before getting up and opening a drawer to my dresser.
“Are they in here? Nope!” He closes it and opens another.
“STOP!” I scream, stumbling out of bed, horrified.
“How ‘bout this one?”
“Okay! Okay! I’m up!” I slam the drawer closed just in time
to save myself further embarrassment when Jared eyes my plain old undergarments. I sigh
when the pounding in my head launches my stomach into action and I collapse onto the
corner of the bed.
“You okay?”
“I refuse to puke again!” I respond, taking another deep
breath. “Jared…”
“Yea…”
“I could use some donuts.”
“Okay.” He pauses for a few seconds, looking down at his
feet before adding, “I’ll be outside then.”
And he leaves me alone in my room.
Short Steamy Excerpt:
“Why, Jared Hoffman, do you not want this?” I tease, slowly
unbuttoning his shirt.
He smiles, his hands bracing themselves on the bed at
either side of my head. “I didn’t say that... it’s just I don’t want to rush anything.”
Jared’s shirt falls open when I finally reach the last button.
His perfect abs are shadowed and defined by the moonlight. My eyes start up his chest.
“Rush?” I whisper softly as my hands graze their way up his biceps that frame my face.
“Jare… this has been seven long years
in the making. I think we’ve waited long enough.”
He pauses for a second. I hear his breath hitch in his throat
as his dark eyes study my face. For some reason, I’m surprised when I feel Jared’s lips on
mine. The passion between us is renewed at my admission. It’s my turn to moan against his
lips. My legs automatically slide up and down his, causing my dress to hike up slightly before
my legs wrap themselves around his waist. His hands make their way up my side slowly as if
ingraining into memory the curve of my body. My hands have automatically found their way
to his belt. I slip my fingers through it and release the hook, swinging it open. Before I know
it, I’m unbuttoning his jeans. That’s when I feel his hands squeeze me tight. His lips leave
mine for the first time since I spoke, and I feel them slowly trace their way down my neck. My
fists clench against the skin on his waist.
“Oh, Jared,” I groan.
His body freezes above me for a fraction of a second. His
head lifts out of the crook of my neck to meet my eyes again.
“Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you call my
name like that?” he whispers.
My hands find their way to his face and mingle with his hair.
“There’s more where that came from.” I shoot him a sexy smirk before pulling his lips back to
mine.
Sheena is a born and raised New Yorker, even her writing can't seem to
hide her hard sarcasm. She claims destiny has lead her back to her true passion for writing.
She
constantly strives to be a positive role model and writes stories that empower and inspire.
Sheena always roots for the underdog, believes in love at first sight, and that everyone
should have their happily ever after.
While God is
currently still writing her love story, she continues to put all her effort into her writing as she
is constantly getting new inspiration.
My Review
WOW! All I can say is this book was an emotional rollercoaster. The first few chapters had me in tears. April is a college student in love with Hunter. Things are not going well with their relationship. The struggles she endures is gut wrenching. I could so relate with this character and understand her feelings and the utter despair she felt. For April the worse thing was that she lost herself. Jared her childhood friend and next door neighbor is the one to show her who she use to be. Jared will help April find and rediscover who she once was. Before Hunter changed and destroyed her. This book had me laughing in so many different parts and it had me angry. I love it when I am able to lose myself in a book and get so wrapped up in a variety of emotions. This book is one I would highly recommend to family and friends. It's got a little bit of everything and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I give this a 5 star rating.
A murderer’s child…A foster child…A troubled teen…Gabriel ‘The Saint’ Vega has never had an easy life. Being shuffled from one foster home to another after his father murdered his mother, he found himself in and out of trouble with the law. Never giving a damn about himself, let alone anyone else, his life was spiraling out of control; fast. Until one man and one sport changed everything.
Frankie Carbone taught Saint how to handle his anger and rejection; by fighting it out in the ring. On his way to stardom, Saint finds himself pushed into the spotlight and into the arms of more women than he can ever imagine; he’s completely content with one night stands and random sex.
Then Salem Harris comes walking into his life and changes his game plan. Saint finds himself wanting Salem in all the ways that scare him. She is off limits; taken. But that doesn’t stop Saint from going after what he wants, and he wants her.
Frankie showed Saint a new way of life with Boxing, but will Salem give him the one thing he's never known – love? Will Saint find himself fighting for the one thing he thinks he doesn't deserve or will Salem end up breaking his heart? Gabriel ‘The Saint’ Vega has had to fight for every good thing he's gotten in his life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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