Giveaway, Review & Blog Hop: Summer Rush by Ashley Wilcox

Review

Giodreads Summary

Hope Taylor is a smart Southern girl with a good head on her shoulders and a positive outlook on life. Even though things are simple and predictable, Hope is happy and content. 

Her boyfriend is tall, handsome and hardworking. Trent is everything a girl could want in a man and life is going according to plan, until she meets Joey Puccino.

Although Joey is arrogant and gets under her skin, Hope is still drawn to him and her body craves him like a bad drug. Even though she knows it is wrong, the attraction Hope feels is undeniable. 

Will Hope choose her simple, yet comfortable life with Trent? Or will she give in to the desire and pull she feels for Joey?

My Thoughts

**Please note, this review may contain some spoilers.**

*ARC provided by author for honest review*

Hope's life is going pretty good. She is enrolled in college and taking classes online. She has a job she really likes waitressing and has a great boyfriend, Trent. But all that changes when Joey walks in the restaurant she works at. She feels an instant attraction to him. Joey is so different than Trent in every way. He looks like he should be a cast member on the Jersey Shore. And his behavior is not what she is used to, with his crude statements. Despite all that,  she can not get him out of her head or her dreams.  But Hope has always been one to do the right thing and acting on her feelings for this stranger is not definitely not right. She has Trent after all and she is happy with him, right?

After that first encounter, Joey returns the restaurant again and this time he expresses his interest in her but she informs him that she has a boyfriend. The summer is almost over and she expects to never see joey again anyway. Fast forward one year and who should walk into the restaurant but Joey. But this time there is something different about him. He seems like a changed man. Needless to say, it only serves to increase Hope's attraction and interest in Joey. But she is still with Trent, even though their relationship has been slowly disintegrating for months. Joey is still interested in her though, so what is a girl to do? Stay with the guy who is the best fit or take a chance on the unknown?

I had some issues with a few things in this book. Such as the reason for Joey's sudden change. He eluded to it numerous times but each time, Hope would say the past doesn't matter. I find it hard to believe a woman would not want to know more about the man she supposedly cares about. Especially after him stating that these actions caused a visit to the local jail and community service time!! One would think she would question that a but more.

Which leads me to Hope's reaction when she does find out. Her actions from that moment on are confusing. While I can understand her being upset, it does not excuse her behavior. 

And the ending left me kind of scratching my head with a stupid look on my face. After all that, she suddenly forgives him and once again is unwilling to talk about it and Then THE END?! I know there is a second book but my understanding is that it is Trent's story. So, that would mean this one didn't end with a cliff hanger but it felt like it to me.

Bottom line is no relationship can exist without communication and that was the main ingredient missing in this book. You can not gloss over the bad parts and only give us the good things. As a reader, I want it all the good, the bad and the ugly. Without it, I feel like I am only getting part of the story.

About the Author



Some may consider me a jack of all trades, but I consider myself well rounded.

I’ve waitressed, styled hair, answered phones and, most recently, worked full time as mom to my two beautiful little boys.

Then there was this book…

Everyone and their brother started talking about this book series titled Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James.  I didn’t really pay attention to the craze at first, since I wasn’t a big reader- okay, I didn’t read at all.  But curiosity got the best of me, so I downloaded it to my kindle.

 I was immediately hooked. I read the whole series in three days.  Yes, three books in three days.

 I kept finding all these great books that I HAD to read (just ask my credit card!).

  Then I started hearing voices. Voices that turned into stories; stories that were begging to get out of my head. 

I started writing them down on scraps of paper. Then I transferred them to my computer. Before I knew it, PLANNING ON FOREVER was born.

The voices in my head are still talking, so I’m still writing.

For more information about me, and what I’m working on please follow me on:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Ashley-Wilcox-Author/534100859949004

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6564533.Ashley_Wilcox

https://twitter.com/ashleywilcox55

http://www.ashleywilcoxauthor.com/

ashleywilcoxauthor@hotmail.com

After high school I decided to give college a whirl, but found myself living back home after my first year.  I waitressed for a while then decided I wanted to try my hand at hairdressing. After graduating from cosmetology school, I worked in a salon for a couple of years.

I found myself hating the crazy salon hours so I quit hairdressing and started working in the medical field, answering phones.  Although working the nine to five thing gave me more of a social life, sitting at a desk answering phones was not my cup of tea.

Then came my husband, and the idea of going back to school.  That didn’t last long because I didn’t even finish a full semester.  Luckily, my husband works for a great company that I was able to get a job at, answering phones again. Not my career of choice, but it was a fun working environment.

This time instead of being bored with my career, I got pregnant, and leaving my precious bundle of joy home while I went to work was not going to happen, which leads me to today where I am a stay at home mom with two beautiful little boys.

2 GIVEAWAYS!!!!

1) 1 eBook of Summer Rush

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2)  Grand Prize:  2 winners will receive Signed Paperbacks of Summer Rush!

Schedule- 

February 4th Whirlwind Books, My Secret Romance

February 5th Lori's Book Blog, Swept Away By Romance

February 6th Lisa's Book Reviews, Three Chicks and Their Books, Angie's Dreamy Reads

February 7th Reality Bites! Let's Get Lost, Miss Vain's Paranormal Romance, First Class Books

February 8th Book Bitches, Sugar and Spice Book Reviews, Talk Supe

February 11th Autumn Review, Madison Says, I Read Indie

February 12th Queen of the Night Reviews, Stuck In YA