Giveaway ~ i have people ~ Review & Prologue

Posted: April 16, 2013 in Blog Tour, giveaways, Mystery, reviews, Romance
Tags: , , , ,
13
Feeling forgetful? Can’t remember where the heck you set down your keys? Your glasses?
 
We’ve all been there.
 
But . . . what if you forgot your life?
 
What if that life wasn’t worth remembering?
 
In spite of the happy cover, I HAVE PEOPLE deals with the sensitive issue of domestic abuse. It is about learning to recognize a good man versus a bad one. It’s about second chances and finding love, real love. 
 
The overpowering message behind I HAVE PEOPLE is that verbal, mental, and physical abuse is NOT OKAY! EVER!
 
Read along and learn Holly’s story. It will change your life.

The Book:

23349309I Have People

by Taylor Dean

Paperback, 366 pages

Published September 19th 2012 by Create Space



Premise:

Missing any memories? 

Holly Sinclair is happily married to the love of her life, Gabriel. Young and in love, Holly hopes to have their first child soon. Of course, Gabriel wants to wait till Holly’s health is restored, much to Holly’s dismay. She feels perfectly fine. So what if she just woke up from an eight-month coma? So what if some of her memories are missing? She remembers Gabe and that’s all that matters, right?

That is, until HE enters her life again . . . she forgot about HIM.

The Prologue to I Have People 


When I write, I like to catch the attention of the reader immediately. Hopefully the prologue to I Have People does just that. The prologue begs several questions:

“Who is HE?”

“What happened between HIM and Holly?”

“Why is there a restraining order?”

“Who is the HE who should be there by now?”

“What is it that the perpetrator ‘never meant’ to do?”


Image courtesy of [digitalart] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One short prologue = five questions–and I’m sure you could come up with even more! With any luck, it’s exactly what’s needed to reach out and grasp the reader’s attention! The greatest compliment an author can receive is when a reader says, ‘I couldn’t put the book down.” Love that!

Below is the prologue to I Have People. Tell me what you think–does it whet your appetite and make you want to read more? Love to hear from readers!

 
A knock on the door startled Holly. He was
early. She smiled to herself, then ran to the door as the knocking became
insistent. Maybe he couldn’t wait to see her, maybe he was just as excited
about tonight as she was. Maybe. She opened the door eagerly, a mid-October
chill meeting her skin.
Her smile died on her face. It wasn’t who
she was expecting. In her excitement, she’d let her guard down.
“Hello, Holly Noel.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Aw, c’mon, I just want to see you, baby.”
“It’s over and you know it. Please leave.”
Fear trickled down her spine. How far would he go this time? Holly began to
slam the door shut, to close him out of her life, to remove him from sight, to
push him into non-existence. If only it could be so. The edge of the door
bounced against his foot and slammed backwards, hitting her directly in the
face. She felt her lip swell as blood trickled down her chin.
Oddly, she thought about the mess it would
make on the carpet.
“See what you made me do? If you wouldn’t
be so unreasonable, these things wouldn’t happen.”
“Please leave. You’re violating the
restraining order. I’ll call the police.”
“You and I both know you won’t do that. You
love me, I know you do.” He pushed his way into the apartment. She didn’t
follow. “I don’t want to fight with you, baby. Why do you always have to make
things difficult?”
Holly knew she was in trouble. She’d known
it since the moment she’d stupidly opened the door without checking to see who
it was. It wasn’t a luxury she could afford. Ever.
 “Don’t do this, it will only make things
worse. If you leave now, I won’t press charges. Just leave, peacefully and
quietly . . . please,” she begged.
His lips formed a wicked leer as he
scoffed. “You’ll always be mine, Holly. Why can’t you see that?”
Holly stepped outside the apartment door
and he followed, standing too close. If she made a mad dash for the stairs,
could she escape him? She wasn’t sure, but she doubted it.
“Stay back! It’s over. I want nothing to do
with you. Just let it go.” Where is he?
He should be here by now.
The expression on his face turned stricken.
“How can you say that? After all we meant to each other. I know you don’t mean
it.”
“I mean it. I hate you. I want you out of
my life,” she told him with steely determination.
“Don’t say that.”
“I hate you! Leave me alone!” she said,
this time louder, hoping to attract attention.
He walked closer and shoved her, making her
stumble. “Stop it,” she warned. They were making a scene on the landing of her
second story apartment and she knew he was very aware of the neighbors opening
their doors and peeking out with curiosity.
A mask of twisted rage contorted his
features. She knew that look all too well.
“I can’t believe you would say that,” he
said through gritted teeth, his face red with anger.
He shoved her again, but she maintained her
footing. “It’s over,” she reiterated bravely. “Leave me alone.”
Another shove, this time hard. Her back hit
the railing with surprising force. Holly knew in that moment he’d finally done
it.
He’d finally killed her.
She felt the railing give way and knew she
was going down and there was nothing to stop her fall.  Even though a blood curdling scream rent the
air, even though her hands flailed wildly in an attempt to grab hold of
anything that might save her from this outcome, a strange feeling of peace
washed over her. In that moment, time stood still. She seemed to fall in slow
motion as her life passed before her eyes.
This wasn’t her fate. It couldn’t be. Where is he?
“Holly!” he screamed when he realized what
was happening. His remorse over his actions always came too late. The damage
was done. And this time it was irreparable. Really, it always had been. He
attempted to catch her, desperately groping the air for any piece of her that
might stop her descent.
It was too late.
He didn’t mean to do it.
He never meant to do it.
~
My Review
From the synopsis and the prologue you get what this book is about, or do you?
Yes, it’s about domestic abuse, about spousal abuse. A tough subject to write about.
Taylor does it as gently as she can. You read about the abuse Holly suffers at her husband’s beefy fists. The physical and emotional terror he inflicts.
You also read about Holly’s courage, her spirit that rises up when she’s had enough.
She awakens from a coma 8 months later and the first thing she says is “Gabriel.”
Where is her angel, her husband.
This is where you discover you don’t quite know where the story is going.
There is a mystery to be delved into. One that Holly’s husband , Gabriel, and her best friend, Angela are keeping hidden from her.
On several occasions, Holly catches them whispering when she enters the room.
I was waiting for her to get mad, to finally yell at them to tell her what they were hiding from her.
She knows they won’t tell her. Insisting she must remember on her own, when her mind is ready.
At first I thought she gave in too easily. But the more I thought about, I could see where she was probably terrified to remember. She knew it would be painful.
One scene I really liked was where Holly was explaining about her imagination and how it worked.
“Well it goes something like this. I’m in the elevator, staring at the back of a woman’s red coat, and I begin to think that maybe I should paint my living room wall red which leads to thinking that I really need to vacuum the living room, which leads to wondering what I’ll do this weekend…….” I’m just like that! My mother always told me, I think too much.
I adore Gabriel. He really is the boy scout Angela accuses him of being.
And who wouldn’t want a friend like Angela. She’s sweet and funny and a loyal friend. I’d like to read her story. And I’d like to get to know her pack of brothers too, especially Dimitri.
Maybe we’ll here from these characters again.
Until then, I urge you to read i have people. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you’ll want to kick someone, but most importantly, you’ll want to hug someone.
You’ll want to hug “your people.”
 5 Stars for i have people
While I received this book to review, I went ahead and bought it so I could read it on my kindle. I have most of Taylor Dean’s books as paperbacks and will soon be adding this one to my bookshelf. Her covers are beautiful and when I love a book I have to be able to hold it. I’ll be adding more of Taylor’s books to my shelves as she releases them. Each and every one:)

The Tour:

8 –  Launch!
9 – Snuggling on the Sofa – Review; Amnesia
–          Sylv Jenkins – The Cover of I Have People
10 – PauseTime – Review; The Music that Inspired I Have People
11 – TheBroke Book Bank – Ten Things You Don’t Know About I Have People
12 – Mel’sShelves – Review; The Worth of a Soul
14 – TheReaddicts – Review; Two Kinds of Love
15 – Paulette’sPapers – A Gentleman Who Says “Gosh”
–          Christy’s Cozy Corner – Review; The Inspiration behind I Have People
16 – fuonlyknew – The Prologue to I Have People
17 – Tressa’sWishful Endings – Review; The Locations Featured in I Have People
18 – LiteraryWinner – Review
19 – GettingYour Read On – Review; Soooo Cliche!
21 – That Girl Reads – Review; Two Kinds of Men
22 –  A Tiffyfit’s Reading Corner – My Favorite Character in I Have People – Beck Valley Books – The Title of I Have People
23 – Deco MyHeart – Review
–          Mrs. Mommy Booknerds Book Reviews – Review
24 – GreenMountain Couple – Review
25 – icultgen – Friendship
  – I Am a Reader, Not a Writer  – When is it Abuse

26 – Grand Finale Blast!

 

The Author:


Taylor Dean lives in Texas and is the mother of four grown children. Upon finding herself with an empty nest, she began to write the stories that were always wandering around in her head, quickly finding that she had a passion for writing, specifically romance. Whether it’s paranormal, contemporary, or suspense-you’ll find all sub-genres of romance in her line-up. 

The Giveaways:

5 prize packs to US winners: 1 signed paperback, 1 tote bag, 2 bookmarks, 1 “I Have People” pencil, and 1 “I Have People” pink dog tag necklace.
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10 ebooks to US or International winners

Open only to those who can legally enter. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced on Rafflecopter and Grand Finale posts as well as emailed and the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Burgandy Ice @ Colorimetry and Prism Book Tours and sponsored by Taylor Dean. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Thank you for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck ya’ll!

Comments
  1. sherry fundin (@sherryfundin) says:
    April 16, 2013 at 12:50 pm

    Excellent review Laura. I always enjoy seeing the contrasts and similairities in our approaches to reviews. Well done.

    Reply
  2. Megan Hand says:
    April 16, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    Aww, this sounds so sad yet good. I have not heard of this one. Thank you for sharing and great reivew! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Taylor Dean says:
    April 16, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    Hi Laura! I greatly enjoyed your review! Very insightful! You point out things no one else has touched on in reviews, like Holly’s wandering thoughts and Angela’s pack of brothers! I love hearing how you feel about these elements. So rewarding. It gets me all excited and makes me want to go back and read my own book again! And that’s saying a lot since I’ve read it at least a hundred times during the editing process!
    Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed I Have People. And thanks for being a part of the book tour too. Much appreciated. You and your sister both have been a huge support to me as an author and it does not go unnoticed by me! THANK YOU!

    Reply
    • fuonlyknew says:
      April 16, 2013 at 8:58 pm

      I had such a wonderful time reading i have people. I feel that way about all of your books.
      Can’t wait until next week when I review Lancaster House and The Middle Aisle. Long overdue on them!

      Reply
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