Book Tour for A Moment by Marie Hall (Review & GIVEAWAY)

Today I bring you a book that is gritty in its realism yet utterly satisfying.  Keep reading to learn more about A Moment by Marie Hall through my review and leave a comment for your chance to win some great prizes.

Ryan Cosgrove and Liliana Delgado are on a collision course with destiny. They don't know it yet, but before the night is over their lives will be forever changed.

Spending Valentine's Day at a burlesque bar, hadn't been Liliana's ideal way of spending a Friday night. She'd much rather be back at campus, doing homework... until she meets Ryan. Tall, athletic, and gorgeous, Lili can't keep her eyes off him, and despite his gruff manners and drunken disposition she's intrigued.

Ryan's got demons, and they're deep, dark, and eating him alive. Regardless of his attraction to the petite brunette he's tired of fighting, of pretending the last fifteen years haven't been a daily struggle just to get out of bed every morning. That night he decides to end his pain, to leave it all behind and float away into the blessed darkness of oblivion. But fate has other plans for him, Lily finds and rescues Ryan, determined she'll not only save his body, but his soul too.

This is their moment...

EXCERPT:

“He likes you.”
His voice is smooth. Rolling over my body like silk, reminding me of a good malt whiskey. Clearing my throat, I shift in my seat. “It’s not like that.”
“Funny,” he narrows his eyes, “that’s the same thing he said about you.”
He’s had a lot of vodka, I’m not sure how much, but it was enough-- enough to know that he sounds way too sober for someone so drunk.
I shrug. “Your point?”
Bringing the glass up to his full lips, it hovers along the bottom edge of it, making my pulse tremble in my throat. “Call it an observation.”
It’s weird. A part of me wants to keep talking to him, wants to learn more about him, another part is screaming at me to get up, run away, and never look back. Tapping my fingers on the table, I thin my lips.
I stay seated.
“What’s your name?” I finally ask, it’s been bothering me all night.
He smiles and I’m surprised to note he actually has a nice one. Not as open as Alex’s, or as pretty, but way more fascinating. His front teeth are slightly chipped and the action doesn’t seem like one he’s comfortable doing. There’s a hardness around his eyes that I wish I understood. But he has a wicked dimple and I’ve always been a sucker for those.
“Ryan.”
“That’s it, just Ryan?”
Staring at me, as if considering whether to take this further, he finally says, “Cosgrove.”

BUY LINKS:   AMAZON   |   BN   |   KOBO   |   SMASHWORDS

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Marie Hall's A Moment is a profoundly emotional read that is still on my mind days after I finished it.  Ms. Hall has dealt with some very heavy issues in a sensitive yet touching way that had me hurting alongside her characters as they struggle to find moments of happiness amongst all the darkness they deal with.  What makes this story even more heartbreaking is that the characters are immensely likable and easy to relate to in the way they deal with their lives.

Lili's life has been full of one bad thing after another ever since the day she found out she was pregnant at the age of fourteen.  The disappointment led to her father leaving just as her mother was diagnosed with MS.  The final blow was her son being diagnosed autistic which leaves her as his only parent.  Lili is a strong woman as glimpsed when dealing with all of these issues at once.  She has an inner-strength that keeps her moving forward, very rarely dwelling on the past.  She doesn't break down very often but when she does it's for a legitimate reason.  She tries to be a good person, a good daughter, and a good mother and criticizes herself for not living up to how she feels she should be.  She's her own worst critic and I hated to see her judge herself so harshly.  She's devoted herself completely to her family to the exclusion of living her life and I desperately kept waiting for a knight in shining armor to rescue her.  She's not a weak-willed heroine by any means but rather a heroine you admire.  She wants to fix what's wrong and this partially fuels her attraction to Ryan as she senses his darkness and wants him to confide so she can help ease the pain.  Getting him to open up is a battle worth undertaking though as he's a kind-hearted person betrayed by someone close to him.  If anyone can bring him back from the abyss it's Lili.

Ryan had a rough childhood too as his parents never really loved him and when he needed them the most they pushed him away.  Ryan was hurt in the worst possible way by someone close to him and no matter how far and how long he's run, the pain and darkness is still with him.  The only time he feels is through self-injury and when he reaches an all-time low on the incident's anniversary he becomes bonded to Lili in a completely unexpected way as he forevermore sees her as his Angel.  She's seen him at one of his worst moments and shows him the love that no one else in his life has shown him before.  He's instantly attracted to her and a relationship slowly progresses over the next few months as he makes a place in her life, almost like a member of her family.  The sexual tension is constantly there but they take their time to reach that level as it's a profound moment for them both and not to be taken lightly.  His pain never truly vanishes though and as the anniversary rolls around again he'll come to realize that only he can heal himself and heart's will be broken before the immensely satisfying conclusion is reached.

Along with two remarkable main characters comes a delightful cast of secondary characters that left their mark on my heart as well.  Ryan's cousin Alex especially left me heartbroken as he's struggling with what happened to Ryan just as much as Ryan himself.  He hides his pain behind a facade of fun and flirtiness and I desperately hope to see his story told as he too deserves a HEA.  Lili's autistic son Javier is also well flushed-out and I was touched by Ryan's interactions with him that showed a man worthy of love and family.  This story is told from both Ryan and Lili's perspectives which allow a deep understanding of their hearts and minds.  This style of storytelling fully immersed me in their lives and kept me on an emotional roller coaster that led to an ultimately richly rewarding story.  I was left in awe of the gritty and heartwrencing, yet uplifting, feel of this book and greatly anticipate the next book from Ms. Hall.

My rating for this is an A.

*I received this book from the author in exchange for my opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Marie Hall has always had a dangerous fascination for creatures that go bump in the night. And mermaids. And of course fairies. Trolls. Unicorns. Shapeshifters. Vampires. Scottish brogues. Kilts. Beefy arms. Ummm... Bad boys! Especially the sexy ones. Which is probably why she married one.
On top of that she's a confirmed foodie, she nearly went to culinary school and then figured out she could save a ton of money if she just watched food shows religiously! She's a self-proclaimed master chef, certified deep sea dolphin trainer, finder of leprechaun's gold at the end of the rainbow, and rumor has it she keeps the Troll King locked away in her basement. All of which is untrue, however, she does have an incredibly active imagination and loves to share her crazy thoughts with the world!
If you want to see what new creations she's got up her sleeves check out her blog:
www.MarieHallWrites.blogspot.com and sign up for her newsletter! :D

**********GIVEAWAY**********

Marie will be awarding at every stop an Ebook from her fairy tales series to a randomly drawn commenter, and a Grand Prize of a $50.00 Amazon or Barnes & Noble GC (Winner's Choice) to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

-To be entered, leave a comment, along with your email addy.

-Winners will be chosen randomly from all comments made throughout the tour, so the more you comment the greater your chances of winning.  A list of all participating blogs can be found here.

-Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST on 7/19.