A Bookish Escape: Promo Tour & Giveaway : Cement Heart by Beth Ehemann

CEMENT HEART

by Beth Ehemann

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Release Date: March 15th, 2015

Lawrence Finkle, known simply to his die-hard Minnesota Wild fans as Viper, isn’t used to hearing the word no. He lives his whole life just a little on the reckless side. After all, life is just one big game, right?

Wrong.

When what was supposed to be an innocent bet goes horribly wrong, he’s left to deal with the aftermath— and the guilt. In an effort to make things right the best way he can, he ends up falling for the one person on the planet he never should have.

The old saying goes that two wrongs don’t make a right . . . or do they?

Purchase links for Cement Heart:

Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

Promo Tour Hosted by:

The Book Avenue

eARC receive in exchange of honest review

I found a bench right outside the door at the very moment my legs decided to give out. Who knew a hard-ass concrete bench could be so comforting? I ran my hands through my hair and rested my elbows on my knees, staring at the concrete slab below me. An ant slowly walked up to my foot and stopped. I wondered what it was like to be an ant. Did they have friends and families? Did they accidentally hurt each other? Did they feel guilt? I’d fought like hell my whole life to keep my feelings in check and never let people see them, but the last two days were testing that more than any other time in my life. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it together.

Praying was something we never did in my house growing up, but at that moment I felt the overwhelming urge to talk out loud to . . . someone.

Looking around to make sure I was alone, I took a deep breath and puffed my cheeks out, exhaling slowly.

I glanced up at the sky for just a second, quickly deciding I probably looked like a moron and that whoever I was going to talk to would probably hear me no matter where I was looking.

“Hey, whoever’s up there. My name is Lawrence Finkle, but you probably know me as Viper. Anyway—” I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling very stupid that I was talking to myself, but so desperate I was willing to do anything. “—we’ve never had what I would call an active relationship, but right now I’m feeling pretty alone down here. I’ve fucked up a lot in my life, as you probably know, but I’ve always been able to talk myself out of any trouble I got into. Well, I’ve finally done something I can’t fix. It was an accident, but I still can’t fix it, and I could really use it at the moment. I don’t really know how this works, but I’m willing to bargain. I’ll do anything—go to church, donate time and money, stop fucking strangers. I mean it, anything . . . just please . . . save my best friend. He’s a good man with a wife and kids who need him. If you need to take someone, take me. No one gives a shit whether I’m here or not.” My eyes started to feel hot and sting as I took another shaky breath.

“Mr. Finkle?”

Startled at the sound of my name, I stood and turned as a camera flashed in my eyes. Squinting and holding my hand up, I tried to block out another flash. “What the fuck?” I growled.

“Hi, Mr. Finkle. I’m Warren Sanders with the Star Tribune here in Minneapolis.” He held his hand out for me to shake. I glared down at it and then back up at him without saying a word. He quickly pulled his hand back and continued, “We heard about what happened yesterday and we were just wondering if we could ask you a few questions. Like, maybe what exactly happened? What’s his current condition? Anything you’re willing to give us.” He held a microphone in my face as the cameraman lifted a different camera onto his shoulder to film me.

Rage shot through me like a bullet shoots out of a gun.

“You want anything I’m willing to give you?” I asked coldly. “Well, I’m going to give you ten seconds to get that motherfucking camera out of my face before I shove that mic up your ass.”

“Uh . . .” he stammered. “We won’t keep you for long. We just want a quick statement.”

Without hesitation, I took three steps and grabbed the camera from the guy behind him, lifted it above my head, and smashed it on the concrete. They both jumped back, their mouths hanging open as they stared at the ground.

“There!” I pointed to the shattered camera as I walked away. “There’s your fucking statement.”

Review:

I am a huge fan of The Cranberry Inn Series by Beth Ehemann. This series scored a place on my Top Reads of 2014. When I read Room for You for the first time I was blown away! I could not believe that it was Beth Ehemann’s debut novel. Amazing!!!! I fell in love big time with Kacie and Brody. Who I also fell for was Viper. Oh my God! I was crossing my fingers that he would get his own book. When I heard that the author was writing his book I was ecstatic!!!

I have to admit that I was left speechless with this book. When I read the blurb I kind of had an idea where this book was going. Holy Crapola! I got a virtual slap in the face my friends!!! The author twisted things up in such an unexpected way that I was like WTF!!!! I usually do a little recap of the book in my review, but with Cement Heart I won’t. If you are a fan of The Cranberry Inn series expect the unexpected. Beth Ehemann takes you on a roller coaster ride packed with emotional moments. The author exceeded all of the expectations that I had for this book. I was completely blown away! Here is just a little sneak peek at what I went through when I read the book…

Prologue-Holy freakin’ emotions! Let me go grab a box of tissues and chocolate. You never know when I’m going to need them.

Chapter 1-*Fans Self*
Holy steamy scene Batman! <---I was not expecting THAT!!!!

Chapters 2 to 37....

-Nooooo!!!!! I seriously can't read. Ugly crying is in full effect and I can't see the words on the pages. The only thing I feel is pain. *Grabs tissues and chocolate*

-Whoaaaaaa!!! What?!?!?!?! OMG!!! I did not see that one coming!!!!

-I feel my heart beating normally again. This new beginning is starting and it's going somewhere good.

- Eeeeep!!! All the feels!!!! *Swoon*

- *Grabs the last piece of chocolate that is left* Dammit!!!!! My heart hurts!!!

- Awwww!!! Tears of Joy are coming down my face :)

Epilogue- OMG!! My heart is bursting with happiness. I wish I could reread it all over again for the first time.

Book Hangover ---> ON!!!!

Lawrence ‘’Viper’’ Finkle was an interesting character to follow. I absolutely loved his role in the previous books. He’s a great teammate and friend. Viper is a fun, sexy, no worries kind of guy that indulges in a ridiculous amount of woman. He’s a successful hockey player with a manwhore reputation and he would not have it any other way. One-night stands with no strings attached . That’s what Viper wants. A Wife and kids? Nope! Not for this guy.

Like I mentioned before I won’t do a recap of this book. I highly recommend that you read this book and be prepared to get all the feels. This book made me laugh, swoon, scream at the author (I love you Beth Ehemann … lol) and it made me cry. The darkest moment of Viper’s life ended up changing him in such a way that it was heartbreaking and breathtaking at the same time. The Viper that we meet at the beginning of the book is not the real Viper. The real Viper does not have a cement heart. The real Viper has a heart of gold ! It just took the perfect woman to make it shine. It was beautiful to see him grow, heal and fall in love. He has the kind of love that you don’t chase. True love. No matter where you are it will find you when you least expect. Even if you fight against it.

I loved the connection between Viper and his leading lady. It was sincere, intense and beautiful. I was shocked at first about this pairing, but the more I read their story, the more I fell in love with them. They balanced each other perfectly.

The supporting cast of characters in this story was stellar! I loved to see old faces and catch-up with Kacie and Brody. These two are so freakin’ cute!! Don’t even get me started on Gam!!! She’s Viper’s grandmother. What an addictive character! I want to be like her when I grow up ... lol!!

I highly suggest that you have a box of tissues near by. And, it would not hurt to have chocolate as well. It saved me from a total meltdown in a couple of chapters. Be prepared for a major book hangover. This story will keep you smiling for days! Fantastic work by Beth Ehemann!

Rating:

I give, Cement Heart, by Beth Ehemann, 5 emotionally charged, beautiful, healing, romantic, swoony, pizza-and-root-beer-go-so-well-together stars!

Teasers:

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Beth Ehemann lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago with her husband and four children. When she's not sitting in front of her computer writing, or on Pinterest, she loves reading, photography, martinis and all things Chicago Cubs. She's represented by Jessica Watterson of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.