A Bookish Escape: Blog Tour & Giveaway : Keep Me Still by Caisey Quinn

Keep Me Still
by Caisey Quinn

Release Date:
November 11th, 2013

Purchase At:
Amazon | B & N | Kobo

eArc received for Review

Synopsis:

Layla Flaherty had the perfect life, or close to it. Until a stranger gunned her parents down right in front of her, leaving her with seizure inducing PTSD. After years of trying to pass as normal and failing miserably, she resigns herself to being invisible. But new to town Landen O’Brien sees her, and he likes what he sees. Much to Layla’s surprise, he doesn’t freak out when she has a seizure in front of him. He does the exact opposite, calming her until the tremors subside. But Landen has secrets of his own. Secrets that both bind them together and tear them apart.

Scarred by loss, Layla leaves her hometown of Hope Springs, Georgia, hoping to put her painful past behind her and start over in college in California. When she runs into Landen at freshmen orientation, she has a choice to make. Reinforce those steel walls she's built up around herself or give the only boy who can keep her still a second chance.

Landen’s more than ready to tear down those walls but this time when they come crashing down, they might bury her.

My Review:

Wow!

Keep Me Still by Caisey Quinn is one of the most emotional, intense, passionate story that I have EVER read! This is my first time reading a book from this author. I know! I know! Crazy, right? I'm knocking my head on the table for not reading some of her work sooner. I marked TO READ every single book that she has on Goodreads. I will be following her closely because I ABSOLUTELY fell in love with her writing. The story is written in dual POV, which I LOVEEEEEEE!!! This book made me swoon, laugh and cry. The love that Layla and Landen share is POWERFUL! It was heartbreaking to see all the obstacles that these two characters had to fight against. Their love has no limit. I am completely blown away by the outcome of this story. From the first page to the last, my emotions were all over the place. God! I'm typing this review and I'm still crying! That's how much I connected with Layla and Landen. These are two of the most well developed characters I've ever read about. I could feel their pain and fears. I cheered for them in moments of happiness and melted when they shared moments of passion. OMG! What Landen does with a milkshake and a cherry *panties melting* When I started reading the story, I did not think that sweet Layla had this inner goddess that was waiting to come out. Woweeee! The chemistry that Layla and Landen share is HOT!!!! Not only is Landen a sweetheart, but he's also a little dirty talker. Yup! I had a few *fan self* moments.

Layla's lives her life in a state of numbness. Her parents got killed when she was thirteen and since then she's been suffering from seizure disorder. In school, students make fun of her. She has no friends until Landen O'Brien walks into her life. From the moment Landen meets Layla, he knows without any doubt that this blond angel will steal his heart. Layla is scared to get too close to Landen because she thinks that once he knows about her disorder he will walk away like everybody else. The more time they spend together the more they fall for one another. When some unexpected news comes along, their relationship is put to the test. What follows is a journey filled with ups and downs that will make them realize how strong their love is.

I can't say it enough ... I love Layla & Landen!!! Their story will be hard to forget. It felt so real to me. I don't cry easily, but I found myself crying at different parts of this story. Without giving anything out, I want to mention two scenes that made me ugly cry. Layla goes out to college and she meets Corin who ends up becoming her roommate. Corin is such a good friend to Layla. Every girl dreams of having a BFF like Corin. I can still hear Corin telling Layla to fight for what she wants with all that she's got. Her speech was so intense that it got me all chocked up. The other ugly cry moment came with Landen's letter at the end of the book ... Eeeeeep! Don't even get me started!!! The way he speaks about the love of his life. What she means to him. It's insanely beautiful and heartwarming.

This story is all about second chances, hope and love. Layla & Landen are both broken in their own way. It's inspirational to see them forgive, trust and love each other.

**Special Request to Caisey Quinn**

Will you write a story about Corin and Skylar? I love them too! They are so funny! Pretty please with a cherry on top! ;)

My Rating:

I give Keep Me Still by Caisey Quinn 5, heart-warming, tear-jerking, sexy, romantic, thrilling, fantastic stars! This book is going on my to reread list. Add this book to your TBR list. You won't be disappointed!

Pictures/Teasers:

Guest Post:

Six Social Media Miracles That Happened to Me

People often ask how I use social media to promote my books and author platform. When they ask this, I almost laugh out loud. If it weren’t for social media, I don’t know that anyone, anywhere would have ever even heard of my books.

When I first began this journey as an author, I was headed in a much more traditional route. Or I hoped I was at the time because I didn’t know there were other options. And then circumstances beyond my control delayed the publishing process and I had a choice to make. Self-publish Girl with Guitar while the ABC show Nashville was creating a trend for it, or wait and hope the trend lasted long enough to where people would still read it a year from now or whenever it finally got published.

So I did what I always do in a crisis. I Tweeted Emily Tippetts. Which brings us to Miracle #1.

Because Emily is the helpful, wonderful, insightful individual that she is, she held my hand and told me what I needed to know about getting started in self-publishing. When I was done crying in the corner from the overwhelming amount of information, we buckled down and did what needed to be done to get the book ready. (I say we because I literally could not have done it without her. Bless her.)

Once I had an ARC, I started author-specific Facebook, GoodReads, and Twitter accounts. Which is where Miracle #2 occurred. People Followed me. (Sorry to sound like a cult leader, but you know what I mean). They liked my page and began messaging me about the book.

After a few ARCs were out, Miracle #3 occurred. I was welcomed into a precious group of ladies that wanted to chat about books, boots, boys, and all the things I was interested in. They still beta read for me and I’ve even written a book with one of them!

Miracle #4 occurred when other authors, such as Rachel Harris, found me online and said “Hey, that sounds like a cool book. Can I read it?” Miracle #5 was that they didn’t hate it. Just kidding, well, not really. But Miracle #5 was actually that I got to chat and Tweet and Facebook and GoodReads message with readers as the book was released. One precious reader/blogger who is now an author herself offered to do a blog tour for me. I never could have afforded to do that back then, so it was a huge deal to me for someone just to volunteer out of the kindness of her heart. And then another blogger turned friend, who is also now an author, put together a release day blitz for Girl with Guitar. I didn’t even know what that was at the time. They were just super precious ladies who’d chatted with me on Twitter and volunteered to help me out. Like I said, miracles.

And then Miracle #6 was that a very special group of ladies were willing to join a street team/crazy Facebook group called the Backwoods Belles that exists specifically to help me (and author Elizabeth Leeßthat lady I mentioned chatting online with and then writing a book with) promote our books. They are all so very special to me and I can’t imagine continuing to do this without their enthusiasm and support.

So, while I know social media has its negatives, and I myself have to be careful not to let it suck me in and keep me from writing/editing/etc., I am so very thankful for it. For the people I’ve met through it on this amazing journey and for everyone who continues to chat with me online.

Thank you so much for having me!

Wonderful people I referred to in this post (that I may or may not have named above):

Emily Tippetts, Elizabeth Lee, Erica, Ashley, Tessa, Taryn, Casey Peeler, Rachel Harris, Rachel Brooks, and each and every single Backwoods Belle. (There are 50 of them so I won’t name them, but if you come across one you will probably know because they are just that fantastic.)

About the Author

Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places.

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