Thursday, August 22, 2013

Blog Tour: Abel (5th Street #4) by Elizabeth Reyes {Review + Giveaway + Character Interview}

Hola! And Welcome to our stop on the Abel blog tour hosted by As The Pages Turn. I am excited to bring you my review for Abel, and a special character interview featuring Nellie Gamboa and Abel Ayala from the fourth installment in the 5th Street series! Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out the Giveaway below! 
- Hootie



Coming off the worst divorce in the history of marriages, Nellie Gamboa’s looking to let loose and make up for years of neglect. When months of building sexual tension between her and the young hot boxing stud, Abel Ayala, finally peak, she makes him an offer no man would refuse. No promises. No demands. Just pure unrestrained passion. Abel’s training for the biggest fight of his career. He has no time for a social life, much less a relationship. So this arrangement couldn't be more perfect. A beautiful woman asking him to help her alleviate her neglected desires—no strings attached. What more can he ask for? As the lines between lust and something much deeper, begin to blur, Abel finds himself in an even bigger fight. The fight to regain control of his now demanding heart.



My Take:
I have been waiting for Nellie and Abel's story since I finished Noah. I knew these two would make a fantastic pair and I think this one was the most intensely dramatic and emotionally endearing of the entire 5th St series. With Nellie still recovering from a brutal divorce caused by infidelity and Abel gearing up for the fight of his life neither person was looking for anything serious and both agreed on a no strings sex only relationship. This book left me speechless and became my top favorite out of the series.


Nellie Gamboa is my hero. Surviving divorce with just normal factors of growing apart and irreconcilable differences is hard enough but surviving when your husband cheats on you with your own sister, knocking her up and leaving you for her is a 1, 2 punch I wouldn't expect any human being to survive. But Nellie not only survived she thrived and came out of her situation a much stronger woman than she went in. It's probably obvious who my favorite female of the series is, there was something about Nellie that pulled my heart strings immediately in Noah's book. She's had it bad for the oldest Ayala boy for a while and when her idea to have a no strings hookup with Abel while on a family cruise turns to a continued hookup once they get back home things start to change between them. I was both nervous and scared for Nellie because I knew what she had been through and I didn't want Abel to hurt her. The surprising thing was they both ended up falling pretty hard and pretty fast for the other. 



Abel turned out to be my favorite 5th Street guy and brought out the big guns in this book. Being the quiet, extremely reserved  guy he is, even earning the nickname "Aweless Ayala" by the media, he doesn't want his rising celebrity to cause problems for not only himself but now that he's with Nellie he doesn't want to cause her issues either. It was extremely satisfying to watch this big fighter fall so hard for Nellie. I loved their chemistry and playfulness, and Abel certainly takes the sexiest guy award. He's got a lot going on in his life and doesn't have time for any emotional entanglements but he can't help himself when it comes to Nellie. These two had a lot to overcome in this book and there were several surprises that caught me off guard. Nellie and Abel manage to dance around their feelings with each other that causes several misunderstandings and ultimately leads to Nellie dating someone else. Of course with Abel being the ultimate Alpha male he doesn't like the idea of anyone getting close to what's his. It didn't take Abel as long as I thought it would to recognize his feelings and show Nellie exactly how he felt but sometimes unspoken affection can be misconstrued as is the case for these two.



I wasn't expecting all the drama that unfolded in this book. Between Abel's fight and Nellie dating another guy, not to mention more family drama for Nellie, my stomach was in knots the entire time. Of course we get lots of sexy time between these two. Hell the first half of the book is such a pantie soaker you'll have to stop for a break several times. Couch sex, Shower sex, wall sex? Yes Please! Abel sure knows how to please a woman and I was thankful he was so good to Nellie in that area after she went through a drought with her ex husband. I can absolutely relate to a woman in serious need of ending a sex drought and Nellie certainly had her thirst quenched. 



Nellie and Abel had a lot going against them throughout the entire book. The gap in their age, her divorce and his rising celebrity status all played factors into their relationship. One being Sam, the guy Nellie starts dating when she thinks Abel isn't interested in anything serious and she starts to try moving on from him. She unknowingly gets wrapped up in yet another dramatic scandal that almost rips these two apart indefinitely. The entire 5th St gang makes an appearance in this one and rallies around these two lovers during a serious health scare Nellie faces that left me in hysterics thinking Reyes would cut my heart out. Thankfully this author knows what she's doing and delivered a phenomenal love story with lots of emotion, drama, sex and romance!  Nobody does sexy Mexi-CUMS like Elizabeth Reyes and I can't recommend this group of hot guys enough. If you like hot Alphas with fierce loyalty to their women, hot tempers and big hearts then you can't put off reading The 5th Street series any longer!






Quotes:
She had no expectations of anything more than a physical relationship. Besides, it was what she needed right then: to be free to explore this and all the other sides of herself that had been dormant for years while her bastard cheating husband so often neglected her needs. She’d ride Abel literally and figuratively for all he was worth, and when it was over, there’d be no looking back. No regrets. Kindle Loc. 145

After sex with Abel, it’d be like indulging in a rich strawberry cheesecake dessert with loads of whip cream and the promise of no weight gain then giving it up for a rice cake with a dab of peanut butter. She’d never go back to that again. Kindle Loc. 222

Like a man on a mission, he yanked her shorts and panties right off, pulled her to the edge of the bed, and dropped to his knees. Sucking the inside of her soft thigh until he saw the pleasing hickey that would be there for days, he moved on to what he really wanted to suck. Opening her with two fingers, he went in for his prize. God damn it! He needed to make this his and only his. Kindle Loc. 3077

Mine,” he whispered forcefully into her ear as he pulled his zipper down. Her sudden gasp but zero resistance only made him more insane with urgency. “Now let’s make this official.” Kindle Loc. 3209


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Character Q&A with Nellie and Abel:
**Side note: interview was taken Before/during the writing process of the book**

1) Abel: Fans of the series haven't seen much of you yet, so what can we expect from your book? Haven't read it. Busy training right now but since I'm not in a relationship. I anticipated it would be mainly about my fight and my training/hype leading up  to it. From what I've heard, while there is a lot of that going on there was also some major drama going on about my personal life. Something I've very private about so  expect things to get tense. 


2) Nellie: After reading Noah's book I became one of your biggest fans and the drama you went through broke my heart, how is everything going for you now? Much better, thank you. I think what I went through made me a stronger person and I'm ready to live life to its fullest. Ready to just let loose.   


3) Abel/Nellie: I have noticed some obvious attraction between you two since the beginning of this series, so what is the sexiest thing about the other person to you?

They exchange nervous glances but Abel smirks.

Abel: I'm not gonna lie her business skirts suits are sexy as hell. But the way she wears them, so self assured, like she was born to wear them is uber sexy.

Nellie: *blushes nodding in apparent appreciation, then clears throat* Um.. What's not sexy about this guy? I mean look at him? Only for me it's far more than appearances. Something about the intensely quiet way he stays so private and in such a mysterious way has always intrigued me. The mystery is very sexy.          



4) Abel: Do you have any Pre-Fight rituals you go through or any superstitions you adhere to? Most important is staying focused. There is so much publicity and hype going on especially around a fight of this caliber it's easy to lose focus. That and about a week or two before the fight, lock it down. Straight training day and night, no interruptions, no distractions .Even the slightest deviation or losing focus for even a moment can cost you dearly in the ring.        


5) Nellie: Out of all the 5th St guys who would you say has the hottest abs? Best Skills in the ring? *Obviously avoiding looking in Abel's direction Nellie blushes even deeper than earlier.* Well I don't make it a habit of ogling my friends boyfriends or husbands so I really can't say I haven't had a chance to size them all up. (did she just do the shifty eyes?) But...uh the promotional photos for Abel's fights leave little to the imagination when it comes to his abs so  *shrugs* Obviously he's been working out pretty hard. I'd be lying if I said his abs weren't impressive. As for skills they've all had their moments though Abel is well known for his record knock outs.  




6) Abel: If you retired from fighting what would you like to do instead? 5th Street is a full time business so my time would be completely invested in running it and possibly doing some training.



7) Nellie: How often do you all (5th St guys and their families) get together to just hang out together? Very often. We really enjoy hanging out. We're all like family and... *glances at Abel with a small smile* it's also what Jack wanted.    



8) Nellie/Abel: If you both were stranded on a desert island what would you do until you were rescued? *Once again Nellie is blushing and Abel smirks* Work out. Abel answers for the both of them. A LOT. With her face now a deep crimson Abel glances at her before chuckling and looking away. 

*Mercifully we let Nellie off the hook and move on to our next question.*

9) Abel: In Gio's story he dealt with the death of a fighter at his hands, do you ever worry about that when you fight?

*Shakes head adamantly* I think about it yeah, but worry? No. Like I told Gio when that all went down, you can't worry about that stuff. Like in every sport you go in knowing the risks. Your best bet is to be prepared that's why training and focus is so crucial. 


10) Nellie/Abel: What is the one thing you haven't told each other that the other would be surprised to know?

*Seems we hit a spot since both begin to squirm in their seats and Abel actually rubs the back of his neck but has no words.

Finally Nellie takes the lead.*

"A lot probably. You see our relationship is mainly a professional one." They exchange glances and Abel looks away his jaw clenching. "So I'm sure that on a personal level there is plenty we don't know and might surprise each other with.     



Giveaway:
Elizabeth is offering up (10) winners, signed copies of their choice of book, from her backlist which includes Abel as well.  The giveaway is open internationally. Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST 08/25/2013.



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About The Author:


USA Today Bestselling Author, Elizabeth Reyes continues to answer to her calling on a daily basis. Since releasing her debut novel Forever Mine (Moreno Brothers #1) in 2010 she has now published 9 full length novels total and fast at work on the next. The excitement her Moreno Brothers, 5th Street, and Fate series have garnered has far exceeded her wildest dreams. It is with as much excitement that she'll continue to put out books related to these series as well as introduce brand new ones very soon. In 2014 she will take her next step in the exciting world of writing and publish her first traditionally published book with Simon & Schuster/Atria. But she will continue putting out self published books as well.




















4 comments:

  1. This book is without a doubt my favorite in the series! XXXABEL!!!!!! I love him so much! Nellie is a rad chick too. Love your review & Interview!

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  2. I skimmed over this b/c I still haven't started the series. I'm so looking forward to it, though, and love the quotes!

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  3. Mexi-CUMS?! ROFL only you babe!

    I have one of her books because another blogger recommended her. Supposedly she writes touching love stories. Obviously y'all are in agreement.

    Braine

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  4. I haven't read this series - would I like it Hootie? That one quote has me thinking I would! Love it when guys lay claim. ;)

    Valerie
    StuckInBooks.com

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