Tuesday, September 24, 2013

A Little Too Far Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway


I'm really excited today to be a part of the promotional blog tour hosted by A Life Bound by Books for A Little Too Far, a contemporary new adult release from Lisa Desrochers. This book was the first NA book I picked up after an extended and much needed break from the genre as a whole, and it brilliantly reminded me why I was such a big fan of it before I had to take a step back for a while. You can read my full review below, and then don't forget to check out the bottom of the post for a tour wide giveaway hosted by Lisa herself!

A Little Too Far #1
Lisa Desrochers
Contemporary New Adult
336 pages
HarperCollins
Available Now
Source: e-ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.

But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.


MY THOUGHTS
A Little Too Far is a story we enter into with some trepidation, the premise causing us to wonder if this is going to be the type of new adult read that sprints up to the line separating drama from melodrama and takes a flying leap over to land with a flair on the other side, or if it's going to be the type that creates drama without the heavy dose of angst and the over the top emotional reactions. Luckily for us Lexie's journey to find love is the latter, giving us tension that causes a tightening in our chests rather than a roll of our eyes, and Ms. Desrochers does a beautiful job of writing a romance with three players that never once feels like a triangle. Instead were treated to the delightfully terrifying mess that is falling in love; all the tears and laughter, the restless nights and the comforting smiles, and the relief and pain detailed for us as they’re splashed across the page, leaving us sympathizing and aching for Lexie, Trent and Alessandro when they’re forced to ask themselves questions the answers to which scare them to their cores.

Lexie, despite a less-than impressive introduction wherein she considers caving to a cheating ex simply because he tells her the other girls didn't matter and then falls into bed quickly with her stepbrother, grows throughout the book into a young woman of strength who has a healthy dose of self-respect. She throws herself wholeheartedly into her time and studies in Rome, never once trying to drown out memories of Trent by partying or hooking up with other people, instead she finds a career path she hadn't considered before and milks everything from the experience she can. She doesn't handle every situation with Trent perfectly, a lack of communication between them the reason for the extent of their shared pain, but there's no drawn out series of misunderstandings or miscommunications to set our teeth on edge, rather there's simply the paralyzing fear that opening her mouth will irreparably damage something vital that keeps her from speaking her heart.

The situation is much the same with Alessandro, hindsight giving Lexie a clarity that has her wishing she'd dealt with certain things differently, but in the moment her reactions seem realistic and we can't help but admit our behavior would likely mirror hers were we in her shoes. The handling of both romances is expertly done, Ms. Desrochers creating such palpable pain between Lexie and Trent that it's impossible to forget him for even a moment despite the fact that Alessandro is far more present in the story, and the slow evolution of her friendship with Alessandro to something more manages–in the context of the story–to not necessarily feel like the betrayal of Trent we assume it will from the synopsis. There's no waffling on Lexie's part and no pitting the two of them against one another or forcing them to wait while she sorts herself out, there's just a fear so thick we can practically taste it and the understandable need to attempt to move past something that she thinks can never be hers.

Overall, A Little Too Far is an extremely steamy new adult read with a complex group of characters all searching for the people they both want to be and want to be with, and it's a pleasure to follow along as they stumble, fall, and then get up once again.

Rating: 4/5
 
Buy A Little Too Far:


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LISA DESROCHERS


Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 2013, and the first companion, A LITTLE TOO MUCH , in Nov 2013. Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan). 


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GIVEAWAY

Lisa is hosting a tour wide giveaway! Prizes include an iPod Mini, pendant, tote bags, temporary tattoos, and annotated chapters of A Little Too Far. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

32 comments:

  1. Have I ever gone too far? Eh...sort of, not really. This sounds great and reminds me that I still need to finish the last book in Lisa's angel series.

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    1. Haha I haven't ever really gone too far either. I'm pretty epic at toeing the line:)

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  2. Honestly, the description doesn't scream 'complex characters' to me, but I'm glad I'm wrong about that one. This isn't really for me, I'm a one guy/book boyfriend/love interest kinda gal and having her choose between the two of them or just be with the two of them regardless of the time interval, is too much for me.

    But as far as NA goes, this sounds slightly different than the rest, which is definitely a plus.
    And dear God, woman, you can write. You just blow me away every time.

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    1. It didn't to me either and I was thrilled to be mistaken. I was also thrilled that the romance was never a true triangle, but I understand wanting a single romance when you read, no matter how much time passes between one guy and the next.

      And you're making me blush, thank you, thank you, thank you:)

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  3. I'm not a huge fan of the fact that there are two potential love interests in this one, so I doubt I'll be picking this up, but I'm glad to see that the characters contain engaging story arcs with growth. Plus, I really love NA novels that feature a protagonist dealing with life issues such as career and classes, so that's a definite plus point to this one too. Lovely review, Jenny!(:

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    1. I loved how focused Lexie was on making the most of her time in Rome. She didn't blow it the experience off, she tried to absorb every moment and I could have hugged her for that:) The romance(s) won't be for everyone, but given how much I despise more than one potential love interest, I was surprised when I couldn't help but root for each of them at different times in the book!

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  4. Yay! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this book as much as I did, Jenny. I had so much fun reading it myself and I was happy that the focus was not on the romance itself but on Lexie's growth. I have to say that I preferred Alessandro more than Trent, but I think that's because we never got to know Trent like we got to know Alessandro. Needless to say, I'm excited for the next book.
    Great review! :)

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    1. I thought it was fantastic Nick! I love how after the initial chapters the focus moved away from sex on onto Lexie and the person she is. Really well done I thought:)

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  5. Despite your positive review, I'm still not sure about this one. Actually, I'm kind of meh about the NA sub-genre as a whole. I do like that she's exploring her sexuality without slut-shaming, however. Good for her!

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    1. I completely understand Mary. I was really hesitant as well but wanted to try NA again, and I'm so glad I did. It was a challenging setup, but I think Lisa made it all work beautifully.

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  6. NA hasn't captured me yet (kind of what Mary is saying, too), but I do think your positive review makes this sound pretty darn good. I'm intrigued by the depth of the relationship between the characters because that is just so dang hard to master, and if it's done well, you'd better believe I want to read it! :)

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    1. I liked that this book was such a challenge on both romantic fronts, and I just think she did such a good job being upfront about those challenges and showing the struggles they all go through without there being so much drama that I wanted shake them all.

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  7. I love those reads that make us remember why we love the genre to begin with. Great review!!

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    1. YES! I have a few more NA books lined up for review, so this was definitely a great way to get back into the genre:)

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  8. I've been looking forward to this one. I read a first chapter sneak peek and was pretty much hooked! Can't wait to read the rest! NA is hit and miss for me but it is kind of a guilty pleasure. :)

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    1. Agreed. I would encourage you to give this one a try Leanna, I was impressed:)

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  9. I will admit I was worried about it as well Aman, but I was really impressed with how everything is handled. Lexie of course isn't perfect and makes mistakes, but how boring would it be to read about someone absolutely flawless? I'm excited to see what you think!

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  10. I could use a fan for sure. Or a cold shower. Whichever.

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  11. Awesome review Jenny! As you know I'm into new adult so I will definitely give this book a try. And thanks for the great giveaway.

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  12. To be honest with you, I'm drawn to the NA genre just yet because of the large doses of melodrama and angst like you mentioned in your review but I might reconsider. I'm curious as to how Lexi grows as a character because you're right her intro is less than stellar. Cheating really bothers me, regardless if it's justifiable or not.

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  13. I honestly first felt that A Little Too Far wouldn't be my sort of read, but once again you have convinced me that I need to give this book a try! I like it when you've not been having much luck with a particular genre, but then a book comes along and makes you want to re-consider the genre all over! Fab review!

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  14. We talked about this break from NA and I'm so excited to hear that you loved it so much! I will so so going to read it now! And.. I love complex characters!
    and holy cow, what a Giveaway:))

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  15. Beautiful review, and I am glad the three characters worked without feeling like a triangle. Adding to my list :)

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  16. I had to be honest, after reading the blurb I wasn't so sure I wanted to read it... but after your review? Hell ya! I was thinking it was one of those where the girl just doesn't learn, but I see all that growth and I love that in a book. Yep, you are dangerous with your reviews! :)

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  17. OK as per usual, I keep seeing this one and thinking it looks interesting, but then I realize it's a triangle and get scared away. However, I like that you say that it reads realistically and that you admired Lexie despite her complicated situation. I love travel books, especially to Rome! And it means a lot that this was a positive read for you. I'm still no the fence - because I have a lot of trouble transitioning from one guy to another, but pretty curious about how I'd react. You've given me a lot to think about! Great review.

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  18. I think I could handle this one, It doesn't seem like it is overly dramatic and I always enjoy books that show character growth. Killer giveaway as well!

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  19. Well, that totally depends what we consider *too far* ;) wink wink, but no, seriously, I am a good girl, so I don't think I'd ever do anything that would be considered going too far. Except maybe for that one time when I kissed a guy at my cousins wedding and then it turned out it was another cousin of mine who I didn't know before.. Does that count? :)

    Great review, sweetie :) This book sounds pretty good and I'm so glad to see it's getting good reviews from blogging starts such as yourself :D Definitely makes me want to read it even more!

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  20. I have been hearing good things about this but I'm of the similar mind as you when it comes to NA. All that drama and angst is just too much for me. But since this wasn't like that, and it was already one I was thinking I wanted to try, it sounds like I really *must* read it! Plus, it takes place in ROME! WIN!

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  21. This is the second review I've read for this story and now I WANT!! I love a steamy read without too much angst! What an awesome giveaway as well! Thank you, ladies! This is going in the TBR! :)

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  22. Define a little too far...LOL. This book was a fantastic read. I had so many feeling regarding this book when I finished.

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