BLURB:
When
I was nineteen years old, I lived for sex, drugs and a good party. I
had it all - good looks, a fast car and a hot girlfriend. Nothing in
life was more important.
That was, until I met Ellison James….
Since the moment I first saw her she was a raging bull; tackling me in the mud and throwing out insults as fast as her tongue could form the sound.
She was snarky
She was rude
And she pissed me off like no other woman could.
I lived beside her for a summer and in the three months that I walked by her side...
She opened my eyes
She changed my life
And she made me a better man
That was, until I met Ellison James….
Since the moment I first saw her she was a raging bull; tackling me in the mud and throwing out insults as fast as her tongue could form the sound.
She was snarky
She was rude
And she pissed me off like no other woman could.
I lived beside her for a summer and in the three months that I walked by her side...
She opened my eyes
She changed my life
And she made me a better man
Excerpt #1:
“Why do you keep chasing after me,
Hunter?” I could tell how raw her throat must have been by the
scratch in her voice. I was thrown off by her question and it took
me a minute to formulate a response.
I didn’t answer her immediately
because I felt like everything, all the times we’d spent together,
all the smiles we’d shared and the tears that had fallen, and all
the years I wanted to share those types of moments with her in the
future hinged on my response. Why did I keep chasing after her? To
most, she was just another girl in small town who was struggling like
the rest of us in an attempt to find a place where she belonged in
this world. Most of those people weren’t lucky enough to know her
like I’d known her – they hadn’t talked to her, hadn’t been
shown the depths that existed within her. Much like the moon and
stars that hung above us tonight, Ellison was a light that wasn’t
easily contained. She burned bright enough to break through the
dense fog I’d walked in my entire life. Because of her, I’d
opened my eyes when I hadn’t even been aware they’d been closed –
and for that, I’d chase her forever.
Clearing my throat, I reached up and
pulled her hand from my cheek when I turned to look her in the eyes.
Speaking quietly, I confessed, “Because
you are a dream and someone once told me that if I had a dream, I
should chase it.” It was a simple explanation, but somehow I knew
Ellison would understand the honest weight of what I’d said.
Her eyes blinked slowly as she studied
my face and as usual, she did something unexpected. She laughed.
The corners of my lips turned up when I tried to suppress my grin.
Her laughter sounded fragile, as if something so tiny could come
along and break it apart - but it was there and my heart raced
against my chest to hear it.
“That is probably the strangest thing
I’ve heard you say yet.”
Excerpt #2:
Those must have been fighting words,
because the next thing she did was slam her hands against me with
such force it almost knocked the air out of my chest. I tried to
hold on, but when she took both my nipples between her fingers and
twisted, I released her in response to the pain.
“Fuck! Ellison, that shit hurt!”
“I know it did, that’s why I did
it. And you can expect that reaction from me every time you think
you’re going to overpower and force me to stay still when I don’t
want to!”
“Well, then fine!” I shoved my
chest out at her and held my arms out to my sides. “Go ahead and
rip them off then, El, because you can expect that I’m going to
hold you every day until you stop breathing!”
She looked at me like I was nuts. Her
voice was a whisper when she asked, “Why can’t you just go home?”
We stood staring at each other for a
few seconds. It was eerily quiet where we stood, almost as if the
birds and bugs had stopped to watch, curious to find out what would
happen between us.
We locked eyes and I walked up to her.
Grabbing her by her chin, I tilted her angry face up in my direction
and held on when she tried to pull away.
“I am home. Why can’t you just
accept it?”
BUY LINKS:
My Review:
** Bookends received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review **
*5 Stars AND THEN SOME!!!*
I absolutely loved Because of Ellison. True to form, M.S. Willis wrote a prologue that hooked me from the very beginning. If there were an award for best prologues ever written she would win it, hands down.
"Her name was Ellison James...and she was the biggest bitch I'd ever met in my life."
Because of Ellison is so different from any of the other books I've read by M.S. Willis, and I've read a fair few. She really stepped out of her comfort zone when she wrote this one and I applaud her for that because it shows that when you're a great writer, you can write anything and people will not only want to read it but they will actually enjoy it, no matter what genre it fits in to.
This book was beautifully written. It reminded me of a modern day "The Notebook". I didn't want to put it down but I forced myself to just so I could prolong it ending. The characters are well written and extremely likeable. From Henry James to Tiffany and all of them in between. Also, be prepared for a feelings fest. Know what I mean? There is a wide range of emotion playing out with every turn of the page. You will laugh, cry, and want to throat punch something in rapid succession. And last but certainly not least, the ending was epic. You couldn't ask for more than what this book delivers. There are no stones left unturned in Because of Ellison. With all of the series floating around these days, I thought it was nice to have everything wrapped up in a nice, neat package at the end.
M.S. Willis has made a fan of me quickly and completely. She could write the phone book and I would read it! Because of Ellison was a thoroughly satisfying, heart-breaking, hope inspiring, life lesson learning novel that I will read again and again.
Author Bio:
M.S.
Willis is a romance novelist whose debut novel, Control, was released
in 2013. Although currently writing in the romance genre,
Willis has plans to expand her literary pursuits into multiple genres
and has no fear conquering difficult subject matters in her writing.
Willis is a native Floridian who is also a photographer and
musician. When not absorbing herself in written, visual or
musical expression, Willis is an adrenaline junkie, a ‘closet’
video game enthusiast, and an avid outdoors person and nature lover.
Visit
M.S. Willis on her author page: www.facebook.com/mswillisbooks
Follow on Twitter: @mswillisbooks
Mailing List: http://mswillisbooks.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=e23eb93c7056b1b15c0c35ba4&id=3506e32acb
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