Review: Project Lexi by Lisa Survillas

Title – Project Lexi
Series – The Lexi Series
Author – Lisa Survillas
Genre – NA/Contemporary Romance
Publisher – Lisa Survillas
Cover Artist – Cover design by Kimberly Knight
Photographs for cover by Geanette Trumbull of http://www.TLCbyG.com

 

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Lexi Crandall’s, world is turned upside down junior year of high school. Her confession tears her family apart and leaves them broken. Looking for escape, she heads out of town for college. Wracked with guilt and shame, she keeps to herself, befriending only her roommate, Paige.

Derek Fressen experiences one tragedy after another. After learning to cope with being raised by a single mom, he and his sister, Tiffany, become closer than ever. When Tiffany escapes Seattle for college, Derek takes the opportunity to leave his past behind as well.

San Francisco State University is where Lexi and Derek find themselves junior year, thrown into the most uncomfortable situation possible, a group project that requires each to open up about their past. Their grade depends upon the ability to prove to the professor through a class presentation that they truly learned about one another.

Painful memories and terrifying tests of courage propel Lexi to learn how to take baby steps in the healing process and give her hope of one day feeling normal. Although he feels he’s pretty well healed from the horrible events of his past, Derek is lonely and longing for a life of more. Will they be able to share enough of their lives with each other to pass this class? How much will Lexi let Derek help her in the process? Are their tragic pasts too much to overcome, or will love be in their future?

 

 

 

 

EXCERPT
I can’t get her to look at me, I think she’s ashamed that she has no experience to go with. When I’m finally begging, she looks up and I can’t help it. She looks so lost, so sad. I know that she just needs the courage, but how will she ever find it if she doesn’t know what the reward is like? So I lean over, I place my hand on her cheek, and my lips on hers. She doesn’t freak out, so I use my tongue to entice her. I run it along her lower lip. I feel her breathing pick up and I’m nervous she’ll push me away, but when she doesn’t I try to coax her lips apart so I can really kiss her. When she opens them, her tongue meets mine and I have to keep repeating to myself, “Slow, slow, slow,” or my body might take over and try to push her past her limits. She’s not ready for more than this.

I don’t let myself linger too long. I would love to kiss her all night, but she needs baby steps. I need to give her that or this won’t work. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself, but I should’ve made sure it was okay first.” I say it knowing that she needed the surprise of it or it would’ve never happened.

Her response takes me by surprise, “Don’t. Be. Sorry.” She is breathing hard and can’t form a sentence. I love it. That means she loved it. When she brings her hand up to touch her lips, I know I can make this better for her. I stop her hand with mine and leaving the other on her cheek, I lean back in for a deeper kiss. She responds immediately. I make this one longer, but not much. This time when I pull back, we are both panting for air.

“Wow.” A simple statement from her confirming that she liked it.

Lexi’s on her junior year of college and she is just barely getting by. The only friend and support she has is from her best friend and roommate Paige. Without Paige, Lexi wouldn’t have the strength or will to make it through the day. She tries to remain invisible in her classes as she fights overcoming the trauma from her past. Her therapist helps her through her problems but it’s not enough. In her Communications class she gets an unexpected project and is forced to work with someone. Worse yet, she has to open up about her past to them. This is a huge step for Lexi one she doesn’t know if she can handle.
Derek is focused on his classes just trying to get good grades and graduate. He moved away from home to escape his haunting past and start anew. Lexi and Derek are partnered together for this assignment and it’s going to be tough for both of them. Learning more about each other is just the first step. Talking about their past may be more healing then they thought. Maybe being paired together isn’t such a bad thing.

A sweet beautiful story filled with love and hope. This story made my heart soar and spirit dance. Derek was the sweetest guy ever. Even though he had a tragic past of his own he never faltered in his care for Lexi. He showed her kindness and understanding the likes of which are rare to find. Derek is every woman’s dream come true. Lexi is struggling to get by and deal with her past. She slowly becomes stronger throughout the novel. Trauma is hard to cope with but there is always hope and Derek shows her that. The story was a uplifting sweet read.
I recommend this to any contemporary romance fan looking for a beautiful hope-filled story. This is sure to make you smile and melt your heart.
I rate this 4 fangs.

http://www.amazon.com/review/RH2V59HJX2J1B/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00L4ULUEK

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1002287778?book_show_action=false

 

 

 

 

AUTHOR BIO:
I’m Lisa. I live in sunny southern California with my wonderful husband and two teenage children. Hubbyis a high school PE teacher and is the coach of three different high school sports. With two kids in high school and involved in activities both inside and outside of school, I have a lot to juggle. When home, I lock myself inside the office to write. I’ve always loved to write, but life always seemed to be too busy. When inspiration finally hit, I made the most of the time hubby and kids were busy and published my first book in February 2014. It’s a teen/young adult book and the first in a series. I’m currently working on a New Adult/Contemporary Romance series with the first book due out end of June 2014. Be on the look-out for more.

 

FOLLOW LINKS:

AMAZON  /  WEBSITE  /  FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  GOODREADS

 

 

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REVIEW: The Heart of War by Lisa Beth Darling

 

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2010

Sink more than just your teeth into a real paranormal sizzler.
Inside the Heart of every Warrior breathes the Soul of a Hero–even within The Heart of War. Meet Ares God of War, the greatest Warrior the world has ever known. He’s moody, grumpy, dominant, ravenously sexual, and above all, built like a Greek God.
Get lost in this sweeping dark saga of lust, rage, revenge, and redemption. Battle Ancient Gods while falling in love with Ares God of War and Alena MacLeod. They share a love that will rock the world from the heights of Olympus to the Celtic moors.

REVIEW:

I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review. I read this book description and thought to myself- what the hell? I am all over a book where the men are built like gods, likely to have some hot sexual encounters  and some love mixed in. We are first introduced to the characters in a way that makes you almost want to hate Ares- God of War. He is abrupt, crass and a sexual pig in a sense. Then you meet Maggie aka Alena who pulls at your heart strings for many different reasons. This book takes you on a journey through the lives of the ancient gods, celtic families, and throws in some interesting paranormal twists.

I am going to start discussing some of my dislikes of this book. There were times during this book that I really wanted to fast forward through because I did not know much about the “history” of the gods to know that they were somewhat disgusting in their sexual relationships. I did not expect to read so much of the incestuous history between brothers, sisters, fathers, grandfathers, daughters and such. I did not expect to read scenes of love making between relatives. I felt at times that the author threw in paranormal aspects to be able to code this book into the paranormal genre and I felt some of it was a bit hard to believe.
Now having said all that, I am able to over look a lot of the incest for the good of this book. The author was able to create great relationships that I loved to hate within Ares’ island and outside of it. I enjoyed watching the relationship progress between Alena and Ares and how their relationship affected the rest of the gods. I think this author put a great spin on the history of the gods to create an addictive story of love, hate, and remorse. All in all I do not feel that the book description above really tells you anything about what this book has to offer. I am interested to see where this story goes and am ready to jump into book 2.  I give it 4.5 stars, docking a half a star because of the incest in this book that made me nauseated at times. Review by Bonnie- Admin.

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