Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A Little Too Much (A Little Too Far #2) by Lisa Desrochers {Review + Giveaway}

Hello and welcome to the Mundie Girls Tours / Mundie Moms Blog Tours for Lisa Desrochers's newest release, A LITTLE TOO MUCH! Lisa Desrochers's new release is an adult title and will be featured on a variety of adult book review blogs through this week. Each stop on the tour will either feature a review of the book, host an author interview, excerpt from the book, and includes a giveaway! 

{Click the banner to follow the tour}



Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
 Publication Date: November 12th 2013
Series: A Little Too Far #2
Author: Lisa Desrochers
Format: ARC
Source: Provided by publisher for tour




There are ghosts in twenty-two-year-old Hilary McIntyre’s past that she’d just as soon forget. But life is finally starting to look up. She’s gotten herself straightened out and she’s daring to shoot for her childhood dream of becoming a Broadway actress. She’s got the voice, she’s got the looks, now all she needs is the in, and her boyfriend, who’s already scored a major support role, is going to be it. But unfortunately for Hilary, ghosts from your past don’t always stay dead. When Alessandro Moretti shows up on her doorstep, she knows he could ruin everything, but he’s got ghosts of his own, and apparently, she’s one of them. She hasn't seen him since they were teenagers in the group home, but a week hasn't gone by in the eight years since that she hasn't thought of him or his brother. Even so, there’s no way she’s going to let his reappearance throw her off her game. And she sure as hell isn't going to tell him her secret—even though there’s something about him that makes her want to. When she finds herself falling for him all over again, she has a decision to make. Her future or her past? The truth or the lie?



My Review:

While reading A Little Too Far I fell in love with not only the book but the sexy as hell almost priest Alessandro Moretti. Getting to know him in that story was only the tip of the iceberg and I couldn't wait to see the depth of his character in A Little Too Much. 

Going into this story I was under the assumption that it would be entirely about Alessandro and his journey to find himself after leaving the priesthood but what I found was a story about the young woman Alessandro knew when he was in a group home in New York as a young boy. Hilary was only briefly mentioned in A Little Too Far but from what he divulges it was clear that he had feelings for her and felt guilty for something that happened between them. It's been years since Hilary has seen Alessandro and she's no longer the broken girl he left behind when his family moved back to Italy. She's now an aspiring Broadway actress hoping for her big shot. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that the story wasn't being told from Alessandro's point of view.

 Hilary was a hard character to get attached to and understandably so, she's had a rough life. Her childhood was filled with turmoil between her alcoholic mother and her string of endless men, her sister getting thrown out of the house and ending up in a group home when her mom goes to jail. I could see where she had it rough and used her attitude as a shield but it took a while for her character to lighten up and become somewhat likable and it was only when Alessandro comes into the picture. She's been going through the motions in life barely living and keeping people at a distance until seeing him forces her to acknowledge her feelings, both old and new. 

Alessandro was the highlight of this book for me. He was just as sexy, sweet and lovable as he was in the first book. He didn't intend to come back and shake up Hilary's life, he just wanted to make sure she was OK. He's been dealing with his own struggles as far as she's concerned due to the rough introduction they had in the home they lived in. Alessandro is trying to cope with not only his grief over how he treated Hilary all those years ago but his brother Lorenzo's treatment of her and the guilt of both is weighing him down. There was never a point in either story where I didn't absolutely love Alessandro. His character was deep and emotional and the spiritual side of him makes him that much more endearing for me. After leaving the church he struggles with trying to find his purpose and seeing him flounder a bit was really tough to watch. Being able to finally understand what has made him so grief stricken and hard on himself was also tough and a little emotional watching him finally break down and get everything off his chest.

I wasn't completely thrilled with this book honestly. While I adore Alessandro, having to read about him through Hilary's eyes was difficult. He was just such a great character and having to see him in the way Hilary portrayed him didn't really do his character justice. She had a tendency to be annoying in her assessment of him. It was her attitude towards him throughout the book that turned me off of her altogether. I didn't hate her but I just didn't find anything special about her and I hate that I feel that way. I wanted to like her and seeing them rekindle their relationship and work to help each other was a really nice thing to witness but I failed to see the appeal he found in her honestly. I loved all the supporting cast and the background story of her Broadway ambition. Seeing Alessandro find his calling was a beautiful thing to watch him discover that ultimately helps him heal. 

Overall it was a good book that I did enjoy and it gave me what I was ultimately looking forward to, Alessandro. In my humble opinion it lacked the overall wow factor that A Little Too Far had that drew me in and kept me hooked until the last page. I did like how Desrochers brought everything full circle for this couple and I was satisfied with how it ended. Even though I didn't fall for this one I am really looking forward to the next in this series, A Little Too Hot. I do recommend this book for fans of the first book who fell in love with Alessandro and want to know what happened and don't let my review change your mind. Not everybody reads the same story and what didn't work for me might very well be what you love about it.



Quotes:

We stare at each other through the glass for another beat of my dying heart, then the train glides out of the station. As soon as it hits the tunnel, tears are tracking down my face, but I choke them back. This is how it has to happen. It's the only way to my secrets safe. ARC 55%

"I don't deserve to be this happy. not when I've hurt so many people. I don't even have names or faces for most of them. There's nothing I can do to atone for my sins. So they sit right here," he says, lifting a fist to his chest over his heart. "and they feed on my soul." ARC 84%

The Giveaway:

Thank you to Lisa, we have an awesome giveaway fans following the tour will want to enter to win! Two winners will get six signed NA or YA books plus swag, and two winners will get a silver butterfly pendant and swag. (4 winners total) Signed books by Katy Evans, K.A. Tucker, J. Lynn, Cora Carmack, Victoria Scott, Jay Crownover, Sophie Jordan and Lisa, herself.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



About The Author:
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).

Links:





3 comments:

  1. I'll read this one, but I'm not in a rush for it now. That makes me sad.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellrnt review! Mine hasn't posted yet, but yours was so much better. Maybe we had unrealistic expectations, but only b/c we loved Alessandro so much.

    ReplyDelete

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