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Breaking Faith by Joy Eileen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Killer Characterization
I met author Joy Eileen on Twitter, where she seems fun and passionate. I’m not surprised her debut novel shares the same qualities.
Faith attends college and works at a coffee shop on campus when she meets hunky Jason, her “knight in coffee justice”. Despite the niggling discomfort she feels in Jason’s presence, they end up moving in together, and his control over her becomes complete. She tiptoes around trying to avoid his wrath, but he is the one responsible for cutting her down with his words and fists.
When she can’t take it anymore, she escapes to meet her friends at a bar where a local band, The Jackholes, plays. Faith feels drawn the the lead singer, Killian. She jumps into help the harried waitress, in the process revealing her bruised arms (to her friends’ horror). Kill gets Faith a job as server and a home at his place, to keep her safe from Jason.
Most of the time I dislike scruffy, tatted heroes, but Kill is a dream man. He’s not a boorish alpha by any means. His reputation as a man ho goes out the window once he meets Faith. Faith can’t deny her attraction to him, but is wary of getting hurt again. He had a sweet, vulnerable side to him he kept hidden. It was because of that side, I needed to avoid him. I already determined he would break my heart if I didn’t stay away.
Their banter is hilarious.
We walked to a huge monstrous black truck. I had to practically pole vault into the cab. “Nice truck. Overcompensating?” I asked, glancing at the juncture between his legs.
Kill’s laugh was amazing. The rumbling in his chest made my traitorous nipples harden.
Kill is spot on when he tells Faith:
“As your friend I have to say you have an uncanny knack for attracting the biggest poseurs, douche bags, and tools. You’re like a beacon.” Kill looked up to the ceiling as if he was praying for patience. “You know you look hot. It’s like you added an extra strength light bulb to your douche beacon. Every douche for miles will be lined up.”
The unresolved sexual tension between Faith and Kill about killed me. I grew to care about Faith and want good things for her.
I did have some quibbles about this book. It needs tightening of the plot and exposition. For how long it is, I expected more resolution of major plot lines. I don’t mind cliffhangers but I think it would work better to include the excerpt of the next book as the ending of this one, to give readers some relief from the UST.
A fun, readable debut romance!
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Check out the Facebook release party–giveaways close August 21.
Grab your copy here:
Time for August’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Writers, learn more HERE and join us.
5) Character Development. Therapy is a wonderful vehicle to develop your characters. Is your hero funny? Write dialogue for him that makes the therapist crack up. Does your heroine try to mother everyone? Perhaps she brings tea for the therapist, or knits the therapist a hat in the winter. Character interpersonal dynamics will unfold in the therapy relationship just like any other relationship, inserting some fun into the drama.
Have you ever tried to write a therapy scene? Hopefully these tips will help.
Today I’m over at Liberty Falls Down talking about why I love college romance. Check it out HERE.
On July 18, 2015 I had the pleasure of signing books at an event in my town, Columbus, Ohio.
Time for the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop hosted by Bookhounds and I Am a Reader.
*sings* I’m free, to read what I want, any old time.
I’m giving away an ebook of my patriotic college volleyball romance BLOCKED (featuring presidential candidates’ offspring) and a $10 Amazon gift card.
BLOCKED now features an excerpt from the sequel ACED, which will launch in late 2015. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Please check out all these other freedom lovers:
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It’s July already and the rain won’t stop in Ohio, waah. How can I train for swimming in a triathlon relay when thunder closes my outdoor pool? Time for July’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group, the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. Join us HERE.
Last week I delivered a presentation to swim campers about ways to build their confidence. I mentioned the technique “fake it till you make it”. In other words, if you don’t feel confident, sometimes acting confident on the outside can boost confidence on the inside. Head up, shoulders back, add a smile or serene facial expression, and you’re good to go.
Then I heard about a TED talk by social psychologist Amy Cuddy that takes confident body language a step further. According to Dr. Cuddy, our nonverbals affect how others see us. But can nonverbals affect how we see ourselves?
Since I know you’re busy and may not have time to watch the 21 minute video (it’s worth it if you do have the time), I’ll summarize her research.
Holding “power poses” for just two minutes can significantly increase testosterone (feelings of power) and decrease cortisol (feelings of stress).
What are power poses? Here’s one:
Here are two more:
Are you mired in insecurity when writing? Knees knocking before pitching to a publisher? Try a power pose for two minutes and you’ll feel more assertive, confident, and optimistic!
My book club chose a wonderful read for June: The Rosie Project. Here’s my review:
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Man with Asperger’s Delightful Journey to Love
Books like these make me appreciate my book club even more because I probably wouldn’t have tried it without my friend Colby picking it this month.
Don Tillman is a 39-year-old genetics professor in Australia who knows he is socially inept but doesn’t know he has a raging case of Autism Spectrum Disorder. He would like to date but his difficulties with emotions and subtleties of interactions have made that difficult. Being the scientist he is, he decides to write a questionnaire for potential partners he dubs “The Wife Project”. He believes his data driven approach will weed out unsuitable candidates.
He’s friends with a married psychologist couple, Gene and Claudia, and they try to help him sort out these puzzling social interactions. Sadly, Gene and Claudia are his only friends.
When Don attends a dating event, his unique perceptions of the world are hilarious.
Olivia resumed talking to me while the others engaged in small talk — an extraordinary waste of time when a major life decision was at stake. On Claudia’s advice, I had memorized the questionnaire. She thought that asking questions directly from the forms could create the wrong “dynamic” and that I should attempt to incorporate them subtly into conversation, Subtlety, I had reminded her, is not my strength. She suggested that I not ask about sexually transmitted diseases and that I make my own estimates of weight, height, and body mass index. I estimated Olivia’s BMI at nineteen; slim, but no signs of anorexia.
Every time Don meets someone new, he mentally calculates their BMI. BA HA HA! I’ve met quite a few characters through dating but I’ve never had one come out and ask me my BMI–Don would totally do that if not for Claudia’s advice.
Don’s friend Gene sets him up with Rosie, a “barmaid”. Rosie comes over for dinner prepared by the excellent cook Don.
I commenced retrieval of vegetables and herbs from the refrigerator. “Let me help,” Rosie said. “I can chop or something.” The implication was that chopping could be done by an inexperienced person unfamiliar with the recipe. After her comment that she was unable to cook even in a life-threatening situation, I had visions of huge chunks of leek and fragments of herbs too fine to sieve out.
Once Don discovers Rosie smokes and runs late, he automatically discards her as a candidate for The Wife Project. But when Rosie tells him she’s trying to discover the identity of her biological father, geneticist Don is suddenly all in to helping her with The Father Project.
They narrow down potential fathers based on her mother’s medical school class, and proceed to obtain DNA samples from over fifty men in a madcap manner.
Don eventually learns that Rosie is a doctoral psychology student who’s smarter than she seems. Don and Rosie test a sample from one probable father.
“But I’ve never consciously thought of him as my father.”
“He’s not,” I said.
The results had come up on the computer screen. Job complete. I began packing up.
“Wow,” said Rosie. “Ever thought of being a grief counselor?”
“No. I considered a number of careers, but all in the sciences. My interpersonal skills are not strong.”
Rosie burst out laughing.
Don is just so damn endearing! The funniest scene is when Don and Rosie pose as bartenders at a medical school reunion in order to swab cocktail glasses. Memorizing orders and drink recipes is where computer-mind Don excels, and he performs so well that the bar owner wants to go into business with him.
Equally funny is when Don wants to woo a ballroom dancing champion, so he practices his dance moves with a skeleton from a nearby lab. When he tests out his dance moves in front of a crowd, he learns Unfortunately, this requires cooperation on the part of the partner, particularly if she is heavier than a skeleton.
When Don decides he would like to have sex with Rosie, he talks it over with Gene:
“So why the stress?” said Gene. “You have had sex before?”
“Of course,” I said. “It’s just that adding a second person makes it more complicated.”
“Naturally, said Gene. “I should have thought of that. Why not get a book?”
So Don buys a book and memorizes all the sexual positions. Naturally, he brings out the skeleton again for practice, and naturally, the dean walks into his office while Don is getting into compromising positions on the floor with the skeleton. *laughs*
In addition to the charming humor, there’s some depth to this story about love and growth. I definitely want to read the sequel. Highly recommended.
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