Thursday, May 16, 2013

Blog Tour: Thursday Nights (Charistown #1) by Lisa N. Paul {Review + Giveaway}


Thank you for joining us on the blog today for our stop on the "Thursday Nights" blog tour hosted by Brandee's Book Endings. Be sure to scroll down for the Giveaway and click the banner above to check out the other stops along the way!


Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Publication Date: May 13th 2013
Format: Mobi/Kindle provided for tour



Pain can leave even the strongest of people weak and hollow. But when fate brings two weak souls together, will the love they find mend the fragments that are barely holding them together, or will the weight of their past finally cause them to crumble? Max DeLucca has spent seven years trying to forget the betrayal of his past. He lives his life from day to day never looking forward and never looking back. The walls around his heart keep anyone from getting too close and prevent him from feeling too much…until he meets her. Her entire life, Janie Silver searched for the kind of love that wouldn’t leave her broken and more importantly, wouldn't leave her behind. She longs for a love that can heal the wounds of her past and give her the future she knows she deserves. She thought she was looking for something that just didn’t exist…until she meets him. Danny’s on Main is where their story begins. A neighborhood bar where strangers become friends, friends become family and some … become lovers… it all started on Thursday Nights.



My Take:
Thursday Nights was about Max Delucca trying to overcome the pain of his past and moving on to find love again. He was married to a really terrible woman who cheated on him countless times and the day she finally left him for good she was killed in an accident. Max spends the next seven years keeping his heart dead and locked away so he doesn't have to ever experience what he did with his wife. It's not until a fateful Thursday Night that he meets Janie. A woman with equally disturbing issues in her past involving a a junkie for a mother and siblings who abandoned her. Janie can't find a decent guy to have a relationship with and when Max offers "Friends With Benefits" she gives in to her desire for him. They have an intense night of hot sex and in the morning Max freaks out when he overhears her talking about him to her friend. Janie has had feelings for Max their entire friendship but never thought she would have the chance to explore more with him. when Max starts to distance himself from Janie she starts dating a coworker who is interested in her. She has no idea that this new guy is the catalyst to Max' pain and when the truth comes out they both have to decide where to go from there.

This one was a mixed bag for me, there were some things I liked and some things I didn't. I will start with what I liked. I enjoyed the friendships between Janie, her best friend Lyla and the rest of the gang. They were all really close and treated each other like family, always meeting for dinner once a week and spending Thursday nights together. The relationships between them all felt real and honest amongst the group and that made me happy. I was really glad that Janie had a friend like Lyla who had similar issues growing up even though you didn't learn much about her in this book. Except for the fact that she has the hots for Gage, one of Max' best friends and a very sexy beast. I was completely intrigued by Lyla and Gage's story and I hope that they will be featured in the next book. As for Max and Janie, their relationship was a roller coaster ride. I liked Max with her at first but when he started to become a dick I started rooting for the guy she meets at work. The love scenes they shared were pretty hot and I actually loved Max during the hot scenes. He wasn't a dickhead when he was balls deep.

What I didn't like was that the story seemed like it was all over the place. I felt like a few scenes were rushed and at times were overly dramatic. Janie had a tendency to be a brat and Max as I have said could be a douche for no other reason except his past issues. Sometimes it was like what I would imagine Jersey Shore to be like (Very proud I have never watched that show) in that Janie and Max both acted childish to get under each others skin. These two didn't really make me fall in love with their story. I think maybe if we would have gotten a little more detail on their friendship before we meet up with them instead of just telling us they were friends maybe that would have helped me bond with them. I felt like some of the minor scenes involving Max' ex wife could have been used to detail Janie's and his friendship and ultimate attraction a little more.

Overall I enjoyed the supporting characters, the steamy romance and the ultimate outcome of a friendship turned more. This was a quick read that delivered on setting up the series pretty well despite a few bumpy spots. I absolutely enjoyed the supporting characters and found myself loving the setup for their turn in the series' spotlight. Between Ashley and Ryan with their "Are they Roommates or more" situation and crazy behavior to Lyla and Gage's smoking hot almost interactions my tongue was wagging for more of them all. I think the author did a great job with their parts in the story. Even though I didn't really get off on this one I would absolutely recommend it because the series looks promising and I am looking forward to what's next for this crazy, dramatic, lovable group of "Thursday Night Friends".



Quotes:

Babe, we’re just getting started. You have more than one orgasm in that sweet body of yours, and I want them all.” Loc. 570

“I’ve waited my whole life to feel worthy of love and affection. I never got it from my parents or my siblings, and I never found it from other lovers. Hell, I couldn’t even find it in myself. But I get it now. After all the times you and Lyla have told me that I’m worth more than the men I’ve dated…well, I finally believe you. I’m worth more than one fucking step, Max. I deserve at least halfway.” Loc. 2294


GIVEAWAY:



Author Bio:
Lisa Paul is a mother, daughter, sister, friend, reader, writer, blogger, and self-proclaimed comedian—just not always in that order. Ever since she was a little girl, she has devoured books. Falling in love with the Sweet Valley High series at a young age drew Lisa to series books and inspired her to write her own. Thursday Nights is the first book in her Charistown series. When not writing, Lisa can be found eating french fries and Godiva raspberry truffles, or hanging out with her husband and two sons. Visit her blog at WWW.LISAREADS.COM and her website, WWW.LISANPAUL.COM.

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2 comments:

  1. Sounds like an intriguing story that maybe just needed some tightening up, plot-wise.

    "He wasn't a dickhead when he was balls deep." <--- you have such a way with words. lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. "He wasn't a dickhead when he was balls deep."---I love you. YES for Lyla and Gage!

    ReplyDelete

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