Wednesday, August 7, 2013

BLOG TOUR: UNBREAKABLE by REBECCA SHEA ~ REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY



Today is The Bookish Babe's stop on the Unbreakable Blog Tour. The tour was organized by Shh Moms Reading. My stop includes a review and tour giveaway.


Category/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: 7/30/13
Format: eARC
Source: Received from author for review
Rating: 5 stars

Jessica Harper is the epitome of perfection. She’s a good daughter, makes excellent grades, and always strays on the safe side of life. The last thing she thought would ever happen was falling in love with her best friend’s brother. But sometimes fate just has a way of bringing two people together.

Wide receiver for the University of Arizona, Gabe Garcia, seems to have it all. When his feelings for Jessica come to surface, Gabe will give up everything to be with her.

But what happens when a tragedy abruptly changes the course of your life? For Jessica and Gabe, everything they thought they knew about each other will be questioned. Sometimes, there are scars in life that are cut too deep to completely heal.

Will their love prove to be unbreakable, or will it shatter and prove fate is just another lie?

*This book contains mature subject matter and is not intended for those under 17 years of age.*



Wow. You know you have experienced a really great story when you finish at one o'clock in the morning, tears streaming down your cheeks and a smile on your face. I honestly can't say enough good things about Unbreakable. But I'll try...

Unbreakable is a story that I went into semi-blindly. I read the synopsis, but chose not to focus on it too hard because I wanted the story to reveal itself to me. And given that the title is Unbreakable, yeah, I should have known that the story would be emotionally heavy. Even so, I wasn't fully prepared for the tumultuous times and the emotionally tough story that is Unbreakable.

Unbreakable begins with a very, very sweet story. Jess and Gabe are lifelong friends, and have been fighting an attraction for most of that time. Once they decide to take a chance, their life turns into a beautiful love story. Gabe was simply perfect, but not annoyingly so. I loved how carefully and lovingly he treated Jess. I love that he knew what he wanted in his life, and took that chance whole-heartedly. Jess was also a very endearing character. She was intelligent and caring, and so open to love. I love books written with dual point-of-view, and how that allows me to feel safe in knowing where both characters are coming from. I was very surprised when a third point-of-view showed up. I can't say much about this mysterious addition, excerpt that at first I was really upset. But as it turns out, the author absolutely knew what she was doing, and that addition ended up being a big positive. I wish I could talk about this other "person" that I started out almost hating. It's not that he/she was bad, but I didn't want an interference in what I was hoping and needing to happen. I was completely shocked when I begrudgingly began to accept, then ended the story really liking and wanting more of that character.

Unbreakable takes a dramatic turn near the mid-point, and I have to say my heart felt so constricted at this point that I had to remind myself it was just a story. I'm an empathetic reader at heart, so much so that it's almost comical, and the author did a fabulous job at conveying the characters' emotions. There were moments that I was so upset, anxious, heartbroken that I wanted to cry, scream, and/or hit something. Now, I can't really go into the aspects of the story that caused these emotions, because there is something very delicate about Unbreakable and the way it was written, that makes me believe that it should be experienced, not summarized.

Unbreakable is Rebecca Shea's debut novel, and I am so impressed by what a great job she did. The writing had such a natural, even flow. The characters were so engaging, and I felt their pains and happiness along with them. The story went places I didn't expect and wasn't initially happy about, but such is life. Unbreakable was such an easy story to slip in to, and I was on the hook until the very end. Knowing what I know now, I am extremely excited about Undone, a companion to Unbreakable. Once you've read Unbreakable, you will be, too.



Favorite Quote:

  Every kiss, every touch damn near killed me. When you came to visit me in Arizona, I got to have just a little taste of you, not knowing if I'd every really have you, in the way I always wanted has been killing me. "   ~ eARC, 14%


  "Now what?" she laughs, dropping her head to my shoulder. I breathe her in and let the smell of coconut invade my nose.
  "This is just the beginning," I say to her, planting a kiss on her lips in between each word.
  "The beginning of what?"
  "Us."   ~eARC, 14%


  Grabbing my chin lightly, he turns my head back toward him. "All I have ever wanted was you and is still you. You are what I deserve," he whispers. Pressing his lips to mine, he offers me the softest, sweetest kiss. "Understand me?" he asks, still not releasing his grip on me. 
Character Inspiration


(These actors are the author's picks, but I want to add that I gasped a little when I saw Jay Hernandez as Gabe. I had literally been googling pictures of him earlier that very day, and was telling my husband that I will always love JH.)
Trailer




Purchase Unbreakable
(I receive no compensation for purchases.)
            
     

 
 


GIVEAWAY
 5 ebooks
10 signed paperbacks
· $25 gift card (Amazon or B&N)
· GRANDPRIZE is a Kindle Paperwhite


a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author
Rebecca SheaRebecca Shea lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her family and her first “kid” her beagle, Miles. From
the time Rebecca could read she has had a passion for reading and books. Rebecca spends her days
working full-time in the financial industry as a marketing manager. Born and raised in Minnesota,
Rebecca moved to Arizona in 1999 to escape the bitter winters. When not working or writing, she can
be found on the sidelines of her boys football games, or watching her daughter at ballet class. Rebecca
is fueled by insane amounts of coffee, margarita’s, Laffy Taffy (except the banana ones), and happily ever after’s.

Connect with Rebecca:



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20 comments:

  1. I get very invested in my stories and sometimes (often) it hits me in such way it's almost physically impossible to keep reading, but I can't stop either! And I love that there's something unexpected that's thrown in that really throws your emotions all over the place. YAY for a great debut!

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  2. The minute you said it was emotional, I knew I had to read it. This sounds amazing. Fantastic review Andrea!

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  3. I love emotional books!! This sounds like it's really great and like a book I would love. Great review hon!!

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  4. Perfectly said. I loved this book. I was on the tour anyway, but I'm glad you told me to read it asap!

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  5. Yep. I need to read this one!

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  6. I absolutely adore emotional reads, and this one sounds amazing! I have this on my TBR, but I wasn't sure if I was going to read it, but you have me convinced. The characters sound fantastic, and I love that as a reader you can feel the characters' emotions right with them. I can't wait to pick this up. I'm glad you enjoyed this, Andrea! Fantastic review! :D

    ~ Maida
    Literary Love Affair 

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  7. Love the sound of these engaging characters

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  8. I am not sure what blog i seen this on but im glad i did see it.

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  9. I didn't read your review, because I just finished this one and haven't written a review yet, but I'm glad you enjoyed this so much. I had a few tiny problems with it, but other than that, I enjoyed it, too:) The casting is gorgeous;) lol. No wonder the characters drooled over each other, heh:)

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  10. Love seeing what actors they author feels fit their characters!

    Lovely review, by the way. It does have an intense title, but I'm glad to hear it was worth reading! I do like emotional books.

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  11. Awesome review. I really want to read this one :)

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  12. Oh gosh, I am going to need chocolate and wine to read this, like you I become emotionally involved..and cry like a baby. Adding to my list, I love that the author twisted things and changed your opinions..lovely!

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  13. Love this review! I adored Gabe so much!

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  14. I saw this on Bloglovin'...what an emotional read!

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  15. Great review! I so want to read this. Thanks!

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  16. WoW! Beautiful Review Andrea! Your going to leave me broke if I buy every book you review! LOL I am an empathetic reader also, and I love stories that make me emotional. You have me curious about the dramatic turn.

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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  17. I've seen this on the bookish babe blog! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  18. Ok. So after reading that STELLAR review, I need this book. But I'm scared. Because after just reading Hopeless, I'm not sure my fragile heart can take another shattering right now. So I'm going to add this to my TBR and wait a few weeks. LOL. And that last quote! I'm dying here. Seriously. <3

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  19. I love stories that keep my tied up in knots, Andrea. This is a book I first read about here on your blog, I believe. I really liked the cover. Now I really can't wait to fall in love with the story. :)

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  20. Okay, your review has me really wanting to read this, but it sounds really emotional, and those kind of books take a lot out of me, so I am glad you prepared me going in.

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