A Bookish Escape: Blog Tour: The Darkest Part (Living Heartwood #1 ) by Trisha Wolfe

Friday, September 27, 2013

Blog Tour: The Darkest Part (Living Heartwood #1 ) by Trisha Wolfe

The Darkest Part

(Living Heartwood )

Trisha Wolfe

Published August 6th 2013

by Author Self Pub

Summary from Goodreads:  Pressing the boundaries of both the psyche and the heart, Sam and Holden embark on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of love.

Sam Wintry’s life used to be almost perfect. She was engaged to her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart, Tyler Marks, planning an amazing cross-country honeymoon during her college break. But after a hit-and-run leaves her in ruin, she begins seeing Tyler’s fractured, ghostly presence, and her family believes she’s losing her mind. Not until she completes their journey, stopping along the way to scatter Tyler's remains, will Tyler be able cross over. Only...is Sam ready for him to leave her?

When the black sheep of the Marks' family, Holden Marks, returns to check on Tyler's case, Sam convinces him to give her his brother's ashes. Despite their shaky history, she needs him...plus, he owes it to Sam and his brother. What she doesn’t count on is Holden’s relentlessness to go on the trip.

On the road, Holden realizes just how unhinged Sam has become. Dealing with her psychosis forces him to confront his dark past, making it harder to keep secrets hidden that should remain buried. Especially from Sam, the only woman he’s ever loved. And as Sam starts to unravel the truth, she begins to question if the brother she's unwillingly falling for again is in an even darker place than her.

New Adult Contemporary coming this year.

Lindy's Thoughts

The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe was such a beautiful story about first love that is lost and then found, with heartbreak, secrets, finding yourself, and learning how to pick up the pieces when your life doesn't turn out the way you had always planned or thought it would. Ms. Wolfe writes the most beautiful prose. Her words have a poetic quality to them and painted beautiful pictures in my head. This story was difficult for me to read, because it was so realistic of life and the devastation of loss.

Sam was one of the lucky ones. She met, and fell in love with her best friend when she was young. They were going to get married, and had their lives planned out. Then, Tyler was killed in a hit and run, and Sam went into a deep, dark place that she couldn't get out of. She dropped out of college, and her life didn't make sense anymore without Tyler in it. She starts seeing Tyler and talking to his spirit, which causes her family to become concerned about her mental health. After Sam does research on spirits, she believes that the only way to set Tyler's spirit free is to take the road trip that her and Tyler had planned for their honeymoon, and spread his ashes along the way. Tyler's older brother Holden offers to steal Tyler's ashes, if she let's him go with her. As they take this road trip together, and Sam reads excerpts from Tyler's journal, she discovers that he kept secrets from her, that Holden has always been in love with her, and that in order to move on from her loss, she needs to be strong, and embark on her own spiritual journey.

The Darkest Part made me cry my eyes out for the loss and pain that Sam endured with both the death of Tyler, and the life of innocence that she lost. It made me swoon for Holden, who was selfless, compassionate, loyal, sexy, took on everyone else's pain, and sacrificed his own happiness for those he loved. Sam and Holden learned a lot on their road trip with one another. What makes this book so special is how authentic it is to real life. This story was fast paced, had amazing three-dimensional characters, gave us the dual perspectives of Sam and Holden, and had plot twists that not only held my attention throughout the entire story, but kept me guessing where the story would lead.

My Rating

I give The Darkest Part, by Trisha Wolfe, 4.5 Raw, Gritty, Deep, Poetic, and Passionate Stars! You will be able to connect with this story, as it relates to the harsh realities of life, loss, betrayal, and tragedy. However, you will also be able to relate to the beauty that life has to offer, such as friendship, love, passion, self discovery, strength, and self-actualization. The Darkest Part was such an honest, unique, beautiful, and memorable story.

My Favorite Quote

"I pull back just enough to whisper, I'm going to make love to you now. Her eyes flick to mine. I don't want sweet, Holden. That would be fake. I need to feel every emotion. Every raw, grating, painful emotion we've ever felt, and every bit of the desire and love we've denied ourselves." (eARC, Loc. 3191)
~Sam & Holden

The Way Ria Sees It

So I’ve kind of read most of Ms Wolfe’s books all but one...I’m working on it ;) I was a teensy tiny bit on the fence because I LOVE her Paranormal, her Steam punk, EVERYTHING!! Usually when you are SOO creative that you can create new worlds the contemporary falls a little flat or vise versa...

SO NOT THE CASE HERE!

Ms Wolfe is a GENIUS!!

Seriously I was sucked in and loved every minute of this ride!

T-yler, is gone and Sam is without her best friend.
H-olden, is back and looking for answers.
E-mbark, Sam has discovers the only way for Tyler to find his peace.

D-iscussion, the last person she can stand to be near is the only one that can help get what she needs.
A-fraid, Holden worries about the rumors he has heard but he won’t take them into consideration. He will not judge her.
R-isk, traveling together will be there undoing and Holden is knotted up inside with all of his secrets.
K-nowledge, Tyler kept his thoughts on paper slowly Sam will come to know everything one terrible revelation at a time.
E-scape, a night of dancing stirs up feelings Sam thought where long gone.
S-trength, Holder finds his in Sam he will fight what may but whatever the out come may be he will never walk away.
T-rust, after so many years of pain and lies Holder and Sam start finding their way.

P-owerful, the heart wants what the heart wants. Sam is not ready to let go of Tyler this trip if for him, she will see it through to the end.
A-nchor, a sacrifice and a promise. Tyler will always be a part of Sam. Holden will find a way to make that promise more beautiful.
R-esigned, to everything each other their love the journal the memories.
T-ruth, discovering their Darkest parts these two will walk hand and hand away. Together. The way they belong.

This was SUCH an amazing read it was so deep! I love that it shows us how strong the human heart is. We suffer yet we love. We lose and sometimes lose our selves, but with an open heart we can be found again. Holden and Sam were so amazing together! Ms Wolfe knows how to ramp up the STEAM!! Yowza those scenes where HAWT!
This one definitely needs to be added to all TBR’s all around the world! Put your hands up!

My Fav Quotes

“The way I see it, the heartwood is strong, beautiful and resilient. It can fight off any outside threat that tries to invade, and in rare cases...is alive. It may be the darkest part but a living heartwood is a force to be reckoned with.”
~Holden (Kindle LOC 1716)

“Something beautiful to cover something ugly. Something I wanted, loved, needed so badly...but had to settle for a memory.”
~Holden (Kindle LOC 3188)

My Rating

4.5 Broken Heart, Mended wounds, Road Trip, Biker Bar, Beale St, Juking Moves, Journal confession, Art Gallery, Heartwood, Tattoos, Love sacrificed filled stars...Seriously yall! Go buy this book STAT!

Purchase Through

Goodreads│Amazon│B&N│Kobo│iTunes

About the Author

Trisha Wolfe

I’m the author of the YA Steampunk DESTINY'S FIRE (Omnific Publishing), ASTARTE'S WRATH NA Historical/Supernatural, and the upcoming YA Utopian FIREBLOOD from Spencer Hill Press, October 2013. My NA Dark Fantasy OF SILVER AND BEASTS available May 2013.

I’m the creator of YA Bound, a promotional site for the Young Adult genre. Also a member of SCWW and The Apocalypsies.

A proud business owner, I'm partnered with my partner, my husband. When I’m not busy doing all of the above, I’m a wife and the mother of a gorgeous teen boy who's the sounding board for my male characters.