Release Blitz: Jennifer L Allen’s Hearts Hearts in the Sand (JACT 2)

*****BLOGGER’S NOTE***** First, and foremost, congratulations to Jennifer L Allen on the release of your third book, and the second in the JACT series.  I absolutely adore this book and series for a number of reasons.  I was lucky enough to stumble on Our Moon, her first book, and the first in the JACT series.  I could rave about Our Moon again, but since I have already done that on this blog, you can read about it by clicking the neat little link here :  Blog Tour: Our Moon by Jennifer L. Allen 

But today we are here to celebrate, explore and rave about Our Moon’s big brother.  Hearts in the Sand is Trevor’s story, Ally and Alex’s big brother.   I will let you browse through the release blitz post, and then I will expond further on my feelings about this book.  (Although I must profusely apologize to both Jennifer and my readers that I have not yet completed my full review, and unfortunately, am not in the propper head space to do so this morning.  it is at the top of my to-do list, and I will add it ASAP. I do not hesitate in the slightest though to say it is a 5 Guitar Read just like its little sister, without a doubt.) ******

Hearts In The Sand

(JACT Book 2)

by

Jennifer L. Allen

 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

The last several years of Trevor Monroe’s life have been quite a rollercoaster. He has always been the responsible and dependable one, the one friends and siblings look to for advice, or help bailing themselves out of whatever mess they’ve gotten into. He has certainly earned a month-long vacation to North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Sara Sands loves her life on the Outer Banks. Sure, the road to where she is today hasn’t always been smooth, but she is the proud owner of a successful company, Sand Tours, doing what she loves, and she couldn’t love her niece and nephew more if they were her own. Life is good.

Fate brings Trevor and Sara together and the chemistry between the two kindred spirits cannot be denied. Against both of their natures, they decide to just enjoy the month they have together before Trevor returns home with his family to record their next album and Sara will return to her normal routine of work and family.

 

Sparks fly and their bond grows overwhelmingly stronger, will they be able to part ways with their hearts intact when the month ends?

 

EXCERPT

 

Just as Alex and Joey step out of the building, a muddy Jeep Wrangler comes rushing into the lot and jerks into a parking space, barking its tires. Muttered curse words in the most angelic of tones float across the parking lot and I can’t tear my eyes, or ears, away from the spectacle if I tried.

The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen gets out of said Jeep, slams the door, and kicks it for good measure. She tips her head back and closes her eyes, her full lips moving but I can’t hear what she’s saying. I wish I could hear what she was saying.

I take a moment to completely check her out: long, tan legs, denim short-shorts, white tank top with pink bikini straps peeking out around her neck. She’s barefoot, and something about that is sexy as hell. Her long, brown hair is in a thick braid down her back.

“Holy hot chick,” Alex says, not quietly, beside me.

 

Holy Hot Chick straightens herself out, her eyes zero in on our group—all staring in wonder now—probably wondering who had called her “hot chick”, then after staring at us—at me—for a good thirty seconds, huffs and storms into the building.

“Bitches be crazy,” Alex says with a shrug, then hops in the back and begins arguing with Joey about who gets to sit across from Max. “Sit across from your wife…Max wants to sit across from his favorite uncle. Don’t ya buddy?”

“Unca! Unca!”

“Told you!” Alex laughs maniacally. I shake my head; the antics never seem to end.

The side door of the building pops open and the beautiful brunette from the Jeep appears. Smiling and confident, she walks right up to me and sticks her hand out.

“You must be Mr. Monroe. I’m Sara, I’ll be your driver today.”

I’m not entirely sure, but I think my jaw drops for a second before I take her hand and shake. What I’d really like to do is bring her hand up to my lips and kiss it like the goddess I’m positive she must be.

“Trevor. Please, call me Trevor. Mr. Monroe was my dad.” I smile, slightly stumbling over my words.

“This is gonna be epic,” I hear Alex say in a stage whisper behind me. Sad thing is, he probably thought he was actually whispering.

“Sorry about him,” I say, still shaking her hand. “Sorry,’ I grimace, dropping her hand.

“It’s okay,” she smiles. “I guess you’re riding with me?” she asks, raising her brow and drawing my attention from her mouth to the most amazing blue eyes I’ve ever seen.

“Yeah, I’m riding you. With you. I’m riding with you. Shit.” I tip my head back and close my eyes, very similar to how I just saw her a few minutes ago. “I’m sorry,” I say, but I’m not sure she can hear me over Alex and Joey’s uproarious laughter from the back of the truck. I finally open my eyes and chance a look at her and see that she’s laughing a little, too.

“You’ll have to take me to dinner first,” she winks. “As for the tour, why don’t you get in the front seat while I check to make sure everyone’s seat belts are secure?”

“Can you secure my seat belt for me?” Alex asks. “Ow, what the hel—heck did you do that for?” Alex glares at Ally.

“Behave yourself!” she growls.

“Chase, control your woman! Ow! Son of a—! Switch with me Joe, sit across from your kid. Come on.”

“You think my wife won’t kick you?”

“Trev, I’ll sit up front,” Alex says, making a move to rise.

“Sorry,” Sara says, patting Alex on the shoulder. “Trevor’s too tall to sit back here. It’s in the rule book.”

“But I was born a rule breaker, baby.” Alex says, waggling his eyebrows and giving his best grin.

“You were not,” Ally interjects. “If anyone was born a rule breaker, it was me.”

“You were slow. That hardly makes you a rule breaker.”

“I was supposed to be first.”

“And that just means you’ve been failing to meet expectations since birth. Not that you’re a rule breaker.”

Ally glares at Alex, then looks at Chase expectantly. He rolls his eyes, but still elbows Alex in the side.

“Ow, what was that for?”

“Stop disrespecting your sister. You’re being an ass.”

“Language,” Evie calls out.

“Sorry,” Chase says.

“She started it,” Alex complains. “I only said I was born a rule breaker, she’s the one who started arguing with me.”

“Are they always like this?” Sara asks me as we both take a seat in the cab.

“Yes. At least once a day, every day.”

“Brother and sister?” she asks.

“Twins.” I answer as I buckle my seat belt.

Her eyes dart up to mine with genuine interest, “Really?”

“Yep.”

“That’s so cool. My niece and nephew are fraternal twins.” She smiles that heart-stopping smile again and I swear my ability to form a sentence goes straight out the window. “Ever since they were born I’ve been intrigued by research on twins and twin studies. Interesting stuff.”

“Well, you don’t want to research these twins. Trust me.”

She laughs, and if her smile hadn’t already knocked me on my ass, her laugh would have. It was ethereal, it suited her other angelic qualities…like her voice and her eyes and her smile…

“I sense there is a definite warning there,” she says, still laughing.

“Yes. It says ‘Proceed With Caution.’”

“You’re funny, Trevor Monroe.” I love the way my full name rolls off her tongue. Sara puts the key in the ignition and turns on the truck. The rumble of the engine cuts off conversation in the back. She grabs a small, black, wireless device from the dash and clips it to the strap of her tank top. I’m completely mesmerized by her simple movements.

Sara taps the roof of the truck through her open window, pops it into gear, and we’re off. She presses a button on the steering wheel and a red light blinks on the wireless device. When she speaks, her voice comes through the speakers.

“Hey everyone, thanks for choosing Sand Tours. I’m Sara Sands, and I’ll be your guide today.”

 BUY LINKS

Hearts In The Sand (JACT 2)

Amazon 

Our Moon (JACT 1)

Just $0.99!

Amazon

 OTHER BOOK BY THE AUTHOR

 

Change of Heart

Just $0.99!

Amazon 

AUTHOR BIO

 

Jennifer lives in South Carolina with her husband and their three
fur-kids. She is in grad school, pursuing a Masters in Psychology for
Clinical Counseling. When she is not at work or taking classes, she is
either reading or writing. Books have always been her passion. She also
enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to new places, and
music.

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******Okay, now that you have a bit of a feel for the book, let me share some of my thoughts on it.  I adore Jennifer, both as an author and a person.  She is as sweet and inspiring as her stories, and I am proud to call her friend after the fan girl in me sought her out after reading Our Moon.  Hearts in the Sand is special to me for reasons beyond the simple fact that it is a great story.  I am honored to be one of Jennifer’s beta readers, and was thrilled and flattered when she asked me to be her alpha reader on this one.  Unfortunately circumstances in my life only allowed me to fulfill the role for the first 8 or so chapters,  but I can’t even describe the feeling of watching the process of bringing a book together, and offer feedback.  I sincerely hope to have another chance in the future when things settle down a bit for my family.

Trevor intrigued me in Our Moon.  He handled the tragic circumstances stoicly, and did an amazing job of carrying so many burdens on his shoulders.  If anyone deserves some fun, and an epic it romance, it is this man, forced to grow up so much so quickly, with never a complaint.

I have had the pleasure of visiting North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and it is the perfect setting for both the fun and the romance.  (Quick side note that I don’t think Jennifer will mind me mentioning, another author who has a lot in common with Jennifer, both as a person and an author, Maria Bernard, also has a sweet rockstar romance set  on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.  If you enjoy Hearts in the Sand, I recommend checking out Ms. Bernard’s Wherever Girl while you wait (impatiently I am sure) for JACT 3.)

Sara is such a great heroine to match with Trevor.  I loved her within the first few sentences involving her character.  She has a spunk I love, she is fun and funny, and she is so loving and protective.  She has more responsibilities than she should rightly have (hmmmm…..who else does that sound like?)  She has done a fantastic job of running the business she has put her heart and soul into and has great business acumen.  As each layer is pulled back, I fell a bit more in love with her.  How could Trevor not?

The dramas are heart wrenching, the laughs are the belly aching kind, the romance is sweet and sexy, and the sense of family, in all the different forms it takes on in this book are inspiring.  A must read, from an up and coming author I will be proud to say I knew her when.  I can’t wait for whatever she brings us next.  She is one of few authors that I don’t need a blurb or hint as to what the story will be – I will eagerly read it.******