A Bookish Escape: Book Tour & Review: RoomHate by Penelope Ward

RoomHate
By:
Penelope Ward

Published:
Feb. 15, 2016

Add to
Goodreads

Source:
eARC from the author in exchange for a honest review

Book Summary:
From New York Times Bestselling Author, Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

Sharing a summer house with a hot-as-hell roommate should be a dream come true, right?

Not when it’s Justin…the only person I’d ever loved…who now hates me.

When my grandmother died and left me half of the house on Aquidneck Island, there was a catch: the other half would go to the boy she helped raise.

The same boy who turned into the teenager whose heart I broke years ago. The same teenager who’s now a man with a hard body and a hardass personality to match.

I hadn’t seen him in years, and now we’re living together because neither one of us is willing to give up the house.

The worst part? He didn’t come alone.

I’d soon realize there’s a thin line between love and hate. I could see through that smug smile. Beneath it all…the boy is still there. So is our connection.

The problem is…now that I can’t have Justin, I’ve never wanted him more.

Author's note – RoomHate is a full-length standalone novel. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

Lindy's Thoughts:

Who would like to meet my newest book boyfriend!!!? Well, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Justin Banks! I'm in love! I literally read RoomHate cover to cover in one sitting, and savored every single moment. Justin made my ovaries quiver, and didn't give the butterflies in my stomach a break.

RoomHate took me on a passionate and emotional journey. It was an epic love story about the one who got away, and the romantic in me loves the second chance at love book trope. I also appreciated a surprising twist halfway through the book, and the fact that this story didn't play out in the way that I expected it to. It was so much more! In case you can't tell, I loved RoomHate by Penelope Ward and highly recommend it.

Amelia Payne met Justin Banks at the tender age of ten. She lived with her mother, whom she didn't get along with, and Justin came from a dysfunctional family. When Justin moved to Newport, Amelia's Nana started babysitting him, and grew to love him like a grandson. From that point on, Amelia and Justin became best friends and were inseparable.

As they started getting older, they both had their first crushes on one another, but didn't tell each other. When Amelia was fifteen she discovered a secret that Justin had been hiding from her, and she felt betrayed. Her relationship with her mother was horrible, and with her anger and hurt towards Justin; Amelia decided to move out of state to live with her father.

Nine years later, when Nana dies, she leaves the beach house in Newport to both Amelia and Justin. They become room mates, and will be forced to deal with unresolved feelings from the past, as well as the tension in the present. Amelia is sharing the beach house for the summer with Justin and his girlfriend, Jade. Battling anger, hurt, rejection, attraction, and temptation will make for a summer to remember....

Room Hate was an intense read. The love-hate dynamic at the beginning of the story reminded me of Bully by Penelope Douglas. The way that there was an undercurrent of so much emotion and feeling between Amelia and Justin reminded me of my favorite movie, The Notebook. I longed for Amelia and Justin to find their way back to one another. While Justin drove me crazy at times with the way he would lash out in anger, and say hateful and disrespectful things to Amelia at the beginning of the story, by the end, he had me wrapped around his finger. His actions spoke loudly of an unconditional love, where words were not needed.

\

My Rating:

I give, Room Hate, by Penelope Ward, 5 First Love, Passionate Fireworks, Ovaries Combusting, Blind Faith, Soul Mate Filled Stars! This story was beautifully executed. It hooked me and held me captive until the very last page.

Mikki's Review:

Oh.my.world!!!!

I'm so in love with Amelia and Justin's beautiful love story. RoomHate was on my list of most anticipated books of 2016. I really love Penelope Ward's writing style. She has the power to captivate me from beginning to end. She always delivers a memorable reading escape that leaves me breathless.

Two childhood friends.

One unforgettable summer.

An intense and passionate love story that was always meant to be.

Sharing Nana's house with her childhood best friend was the last thing that Amelia expected. The last time she saw Justin Banks, she ran far away with a broken heart. Nine years have passed and their paths are about to cross again. From the moment Justin comes back into her life, he's mean and he has no intention of making her life easy. As days go by, they are forced to live in the house as roommates. Tensions run high between them. Their confrontation about the past is an explosive one, but it opens the door to their friendship again. Amelia and Justin grow closer, but what will happen when summer comes to an end and they go their separate ways? Will they remain friends or become something more?

Bookworms from all over the world ... Prepare to meet the new prince charming in book town. Justin Banks is EVERYTHING!!!!!! Gah!!! I still have butterflies in my stomach. He's such a wonderful, passionate, intense and unforgettable hero. He will not only melt your heart, but your panties as well. Oh yeah! Justin is a fineeeeeeee dirty talker! *Fans Self*

Amelia is the kind of heroine I love to cheer for. Even when Justin was mean to her she was kind. She was strong and confident on her quest to become friends with Justin again. She had a lot of growing up to do in her journey and I am so proud of her.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Amelia and Justin. OMG!! You could feel the sexual tension between them when they were in the same room. Justin is a big tease and he left our girl Amelia breathless more than once. The author did a fantastic job at bringing this story alive. Amelia and Justin's love story is one that I will never forget. It was filled with twists and turns I did not expect and that made my reading journey even more interesting.

I loved the way they became friends again. You could feel how mad Justin was and it took him time to want to be friends with Amelia again. Amelia and Justin opened up about what happened in the past and that was a step that they needed to take together. Once they both explained themselves about their actions, they started with a clean slate. Each moment that they shared together, and apart, was important in their journey. It not only made them grow as individuals, but as a couple as well.

I read this book in one sitting and only was able to sleep four hours before leaving for work. I would lose sleep all over again to read RoomHate again. It was everything I was expecting and more. I highly recommend Amelia and Justin's intense and powerful love story.

My Rating:

I give, RoomHate, by Penelope Ward, 5 passionate, heartfelt, exceptional, all-consuming stars!

Book Teasers:

His eyes darted to the side, and he noticed me standing there. We just stared at each other. It was ironic, but the only times I could ever feel the remnants of our old connection were in fleeting moments of silent eye contact. Sometimes moments of silence spoke the loudest.

I left him alone again, making my way back down the hall and into the restaurant to tend to the customers I’d been ignoring.

Things really started to get busy. Without Jade working tonight, we were short-staffed, and I was having a hard time keeping up with the orders. Sandy’s had indoor and outdoor seating. Normally, I would only be working one section, but tonight I was going back and forth between the two.

It was nice out, so I knew they would have Justin performing outside. I kept glancing over to the small stage to see if he was there. It was past eight, and he hadn’t made an appearance yet.

Sometime close to eight-thirty, I was in the middle of serving a large party of ten when I first heard it: the chilling sound of a soulful voice that was not familiar in the least. He gave no introduction. No warning. He just started to sing out the first few words, followed by the strum of his guitar. The song that Justin had chosen to start with was a cover of Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers.

The entire room soon quieted down, and all eyes were on the stunning blond male specimen with the spotlight shining down on him. Despite the fact that I was carrying a large round tray of dirty dishes, I couldn’t move. The vibration of his thick, smoky singing voice had completely paralyzed me, penetrating my body and soul.

Aside from the lone teardrop that fell the night he lost it on me during steak dinner, I hadn’t shed any more tears—until now. It was all too much. Hearing how different his voice sounded, how he’d trained it over the years, was a wake-up call as to how much I had missed. All of the hours of practice that must have gone into honing that beautiful voice, and I wasn’t there for any of it. The guilt, the emotions, the reality of a decade gone…everything started to pummel me at once. Not to mention the song—about a girl leaving. It probably had nothing to do with me, but in my mind, it sure as hell felt like it did.

Purchase At:

AmazonUS | AmazonUK | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

About Penelope Ward:

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.

Giveaway:
$1oo Gift Card (Winner's Choice of Retailer)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Hosted By:
TRSOR Promotions

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Book Tour & Review: RoomHate by Penelope Ward

1 comment:

Stats Since Jan 14, 2013

Copyright