Promo Spotlight & Review: Lead Me Not (Twisted Love, #1) by A. Meredith Walters

Lead Me Not

Twisted Love #1

By:

A. Meredith Walters

Published:

August 5, 2014

Publisher:

Gallery Books

Add to Goodreads

Source:
Finished Copy from publisher for a honest review

Book Summary:

In this dangerously sexy novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Find You in the Dark, a straight-laced college student meets a handsome but enigmatic stranger who lures her into an underground club scene, where she finds it difficult to resist temptation 

Aubrey Duncan understands loss. She knows what rock bottom looks like, and she is determined to crawl back up to the top after the sudden death of her younger sister. She blames herself for her part in the tragedy, convinced that she could have done something, anything, to help her.

In her effort to gain redemption, Aubrey starts fresh at Longwood University and facilitates an addiction support group, hoping she can support someone else in the way she failed her sister. But what she doesn’t count on is an all-consuming fascination with group member Maxx Demelo, a gorgeous, blond, blue-eyed enigma who hides dark secrets behind a carefully constructed mask. He only reveals what he wants others to see. But Aubrey glimpses another Maxx hidden below the surface—a Maxx who is drowning in his own personal hell.

As Aubrey and Maxx develop an attraction too intense to ignore, he pulls her into the dark underbelly of the city club scene, where she is torn by her desire to save him and an inexplicable urge to join him in his downward spiral. Worst of all, she is beginning to love everything she should run away from—a man who threatens to ignite in her a fire that could burn her alive…

  AMAZON   B&N    iTUNES

Promo Spotlight Hosted by:

InkSlingerPR

My Thoughts:

Lead Me Not is the first book in the Twisted Love Series.  I hadn't read anything prior to this story by Ms. Walters.  Lead Me Not is a story that takes readers in to the dark abyss that is drug addiction.  This story is filled with angst, obsession, co-dependency, and makes the reader feel a vast array of emotions.

In Lead Me Not, we meet Aubrey Duncan and Maxx Demelo.  Aubrey lost her younger sister to a heroin addiction three years ago.  She blames herself for not being there to save her sister.  Due to this tragic loss in her life, she has decided to become a drug counselor.  While in her third year of college, she is given a position as a co-facilitator for the addiction support group on campus.

Maxx Demelo is forced to attend the support group as part of his probation agreement.  When he meets Aubrey, he can't help but feel that she see's through his carefully constructed facade in to the person he really is.  Maxx can't stay away from Aubrey, and soon his persistence, charisma, and charming persona win her over.  Aubrey attempts to resist the magnetic pull and attraction that she feels towards Maxx, but is unable to resist him.  Unfortunately, Max has a very strong drug addiction to Oxycontin.  With every decision Aubrey and Maxx make, there are heavy consequences.  Where will their decisions lead them?

Lead Me Not was a dark and realistic portrayal of the underground club scene, drug addiction, and unhealthy relationships.  It was a story that moved me.  The author completely drew me in with her vivid descriptions, and three-dimensional main characters.  The plot had a few twists, and was pretty intense.  This story was raw, and powerful.  It did not sugarcoat anything.  Ms. Walters showed us the ugly truth, when it comes to the desperation a drug addict feels, and what lengths they're willing to go through to get their next high.

Neither Aubrey, nor Maxx made good decisions.  However, it was easy to see that Aubrey came from a place where she was desperate to be needed, and wanted to save Maxx, as she was unable to save her sister.  Maxx may have loved Aubrey in his own way, but his "love" for drugs, and need to escape life's pressures outweighed everything else in his life. 

Aubrey and Maxx had a passionate, and intense love affair; I would say to the point where it bordered on obsession, and addiction towards one another.  This story ends as a to be continued, and the next book in the series, Follow Me Back, comes out June 2, 2015. 

My Rating:

I give, Lead Me Not, by A. Meredith Walters, 4 Dark, Twisted Addiction, Obsessive Love, Angst Filled Stars!  Fans of Jessica Sorensen's Nova Series, will enjoy this story!

Excerpt:

I stared harder at the picture, uncomfortable with the odd sense of familiarity I felt. Looking at the woman's graceful yet agonized form, I felt as though I should recognize her.

Bothered by my increasing disquiet, I stood up and walked closer. This was not your typical campus painting of daffodils and laughing students. I had seen this particular kind of art several times before. I leaned in to try to see the details in the poor lighting. And there it was- the tiny patterns on the woman's dress composed of dozens of Xs.

I didn't notice any numbers or words in this picture, though, so I didn't understand what its intent was. It was my understanding that X's paintings held the clues to the location of the club, Compulsion. But this picture seemed to have nothing to do with that.

This was a painting created for some other purpose.

"So what do you think?"

I looked over my shoulder to find Maxx standing behind me. I turned back to the picture, not bothering to answer him. The truth was, my outburst in the group had left me feeling raw and vulnerable, and seeing him so soon after making a gigantic ass of myself was embarrassing.

As he came up beside me, the sleeves of our jackets brushed against each other. Maxx inclined his head toward the painting and asked me again, "Well, what do you think of it?"

I shrugged, not really in the mood for small talk. My pounding head couldn't handle a go-around with the group Romeo. I started to walk away from him when he grabbed hold of my arm.

"Wait, Aubrey. Please." It was that word that did it. Please. It was uttered softly and sincerely. And it held me as fast and surely as if he had put his arms around me.

About the Author:

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance including The Find You in the Dark and Bad Rep series as well as the upcoming stand alone romance, Reclaiming the Sand, and a dark new adult series for Gallery Books.

A. Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing.

When not writing (or being tortured with all manner of beauty products at the hand of her very imaginative and extremely girly daughter), she is eating chocolate, watching reality television that could rot your brain and reading a smutty novel or two.

A. Meredith is represented by Michelle Johnson with the Inklings Literary Agency.

FACEBOOK  |   TWITTER  |   GOODREADS   

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE