BLOG TOUR: FINDERS KEEPERS (LOST AND FOUND #3) by NICOLE WILLIAMS, REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Today is my stop on the Finders Keepers Blog Tour! The tour is hosted by AToMR; go  to the tour homepage to find all the participating blogs. My stop includes a review and tour giveaway.

Series: Lost and Found #3
Category/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: 9/16/13
Format: eARC
Source: Received from author for review
Rating: 4 stars

There’s tortured. And there’s Garth Black.

His life has been a constant carousel of tragedy and disappointment, including his love life. Of course, applying the term “love” to Garth’s conquests is a gross misuse of the word. Some people were made to give and accept love, and others weren’t. Garth Black redefines the “others” category. He’s made a vow that the day he meets a woman who could sucker him into falling in love will be the day he runs away.

Garth’s plan has one flaw. What happens when he’s already fallen hard for a girl before the warning signs and red flags go up? What happens when the love he’s avoided his entire life brings him to his knees? What happens when Garth Black lets the dirtiest four letter word he’s ever known into his dark, lonely life?

This cowboy’s about to find out he can control some things, and he can’t control others. Number one on the what he can’t control list?

Love.

There's self-loathing yet lovable jerk. And then there's Garth Black.
 

It's no secret that I have major love for Jesse Walker and Rowen Sterling. Major love. But the Lost and Found series has a dark horse, and that stallion's name is Garth Black. I was lucky enough to meet author Nicole Williams the day after I read Lost and Found. The third thing I said to her, after "Hi, so nice to meet you" and "I loved Lost and Found so much" was "Will Garth Black get his own book?!" So needless to say, I was fairly freaking pleased when his book was announced. 

Finders Keepers was the book I hoped it would be. In it, we get Garth in all his self-destructive glory. It's not pretty, nor fun. But it was a well-told story of a boy who was born without love, lived his life believing he never deserved it, because, if your own parents don't love you, who will? The only love Garth has ever known was from his two best friends, Jesse and Josie. Garth isn't an easy person to love. Actually, that's not true. I love smart alecs, and Garth is world class in that department. He's just a person who incessantly pushes buttons. It's not too hard to see that it is all in the name of self-preservation. Only three people truly get to Garth: Jesse, Rowen (his female counterpart) and Josie. 

Now, about Josie. She was the sweet and thoughtful ex-girlfriend that Rowen wanted to hate. It's not possible to dislike Josie Gibson. It's just not. She's a sweet girl who made a mistake that cost her two best friends, but she never stopped loving them. Though she's made a mistake, it's clear that it really was for the best, on all accounts. Josie really has herself together, and that aspect made me happy. She's a strong girl, knows what she wants in life, and will not stop until it's hers. Once life, through terrible circumstance, puts Garth firmly back in her path, Josie just might find the opportunity to show Garth that he is worthy of love. He is loved. 

It's really hard for me to review Finders Keepers without going into the details of the story. Naturally, these details are better left to be read, so I won't do you the disservice of summarizing the story. What I will say is, Finders Keepers is a great addition to the series. If you loved Garth and Josie in the first two books, you'll love this book. If you love Nicole William's writing, you will love this book. And if you love a story of redemption and the unbelievable power of family, friends, and love, then you will undoubtedly enjoy Finders Keepers.

Favorite Quotes:

 

  I'd turned into a giant ball of questions and conflicts and desires. I'd pretty much become my biggest nightmare. I was a rougher version of Jesse Walker. But a better looking one. A far better looking one.    ~eARC, 43%

 

 

  Josie gave a small laugh as the anger drained from her face. From hot to cold, breathing fire to soft laughs in five seconds. We were so much alike I sometimes felt like I was dealing with a female me. And yes, I know that being hardcore attracted to someone I felt was me with tits and a vagina said a shitload about my psyche I didn't even want to skim the surface of.   ~eARC, 49%

 

  "My whole life, I let people tell me what I did and didn't deserve, and my whole life, I believed them. But here's what I learned from Jesse." I squeezed his shoulder again before letting go.
  "Who we choose to love, and who chooses to love us has nothing to do with being deserving or undeserving. It has to do with who you simple have to love and who simply has to love you. It took me years to realize that my two best friends didn't love me because I did or didn't deserve it or that I loved them because they did or didn't. We loved each other because we wanted to. We chose to." 
 

The Lost and Found Series
   
(click on cover for GoodReads page)


My Reviews:
Lost and Found  |  Near and Far

Purchase Near and Far

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

GIVEAWAY

• 2 Print copies of Finders Keepers - International
• $50 Gift Card from Amazon.com - International

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

I'm the New York Times and USATODAY bestselling author of the CRASH series (HarperTeen, S&S UK), LOST & FOUND series, UP IN FLAMES (S&S UK), The EDEN TRILOGY, and a handful of others. I write stories about everyday kinds of people who find themselves in extraordinary kinds of situations. I tell love stories with happy endings because I believe in making the world a better place, and that's one tiny way I can make it so. I'm one of those people who still believe in true love and soul mates, and would rather keep my head in the clouds any day over having my feet firmly on the ground.

Connect with Nicole:

Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook