Sunday, December 29, 2013

Blog Tour: Return To Poughkeepsie (Poughkeepsie #2) by Debra Anastasia {Review + Giveaway}

I am extremely excited to be participating in the blog tour for Return To Poughkeepsie. These books are wonderful, amazing and get under your skin and bury themselves in the deepest parts of your soul. Join us in celebrating this fantastic series and be sure to enter the giveaway below! Thank you for stopping by! 
-Hootie 


Genre: Contemporary Romance
Expected Publication Date: December 30th 2013
Age Group: Adult
Series: Poughkeepsie #2
Pages: 395
Format: ARC
Source: Provided by author for tour





Beckett Taylor is a murderer. Destruction and intimidation are his calling, his craft —whether he wants it that way now or not. He left Poughkeepsie to keep his brothers safe, to keep Eve safe. Set up with happy lives to live, they’re better off without him, right? But all his willpower crumbles when he hears his brother Blake’s frantic voice on the phone. Mob forces have moved in on his old territory, and Livia’s been taken. In an instant, Beckett knows it will take an attack only he and Eve can execute to bring her back safely. All his self-imposed embargoes are torn to shreds, along with the new man he’s struggled to become. “Brother, call Eve. I’ll be there soon.” In this emotional and action-packed sequel to Poughkeepsie, Debra Anastasia conjures a tale of love at its most raw and ragged. With Beckett and Eve, how could we expect anything less? But even when it’s messy, not magical, true love perseveres. Real love finds a way—for better or worse until death does part.


My Review:

A year ago I read and fell in love Poughkeepsie. An amazing story about a young woman who befriends a homeless man who sits by the train tracks and counts her smiles.  Romantic and extremely emotionally endearing, Poughkeepsie delivered some of the most deep and fantastic characters I have ever read about. One in particular, Beckett Taylor. His story is heartbreaking and healing as he Returns To Poughkeepsie to help the ones he loves.

There is something incredibly special about Beckett Taylor. Be it his blunt and charming demeanor or his lightening quick tongue that can cut you down and build you up in one breath or maybe it's the fact that underneath his tough exterior he loves. FIERCELY and sometimes deadly but he loves. You wouldn't think a guy and deadly as he is wouldn have feelings but surprisingly he does. His family means everything to him and he will do anything to protect what he considers his. Return to Poughkeepsie was a book I waited a long time for and couldn't wait to get my hands on. After Beckett finds Eve in Poughkeepsie and the turmoil they went through I was excited to see what was in store for them. When the story opens Beckett is facing a tough decision for himself he feels will benefit his family in the long run. A last minute change of heart and a surprising discovery sends him away to try and change for the better. Leaving Eve behind is the hardest thing he has to do but in order to be what she needs he has to go. When a family crisis calls him back to Poughkeepsie he comes face to face with her again.


Eve Hart is and will remain my TOP favorite bad ass female character. Watching her kick ass in Poughkeepsie was a treat but seeing her grow and start to develop feelings and live again in this one after her tragic past was a gift in and of itself. She's smart, she's incredibly tough and intense and she doesn't take shit from anyone. Men or Women. She was the perfect match for a guy like Beckett even given their turbulent history together. After all they have been through I still love them as a couple and rooted for them just as hard in this one. Beckett's absence affects her on a deeply emotional level and seeing her try to move on was hard for me. She gets mixed up in some bad business with a somewhat powerful woman trying to take over the Poughkeepsie scene since Beckett has been gone. Eve enlists the help of a local cop, Ryan, and the two work closely to infiltrate this organization nobody knows anything about. I absolutely loved Ryan and while I didn't want Eve with him he was a well written supporting character that intrigued me enough to want him to have his own story. He's dealing with his own set of crazy circumstances that I found hilarious and insane but still added to the richness of the already full story.

I was taken a bit by surprise at the change in Beckett in this book. He has spent five years building a new life for himself away from everybody else and has managed to keep on the straight and narrow as much as possible. He was a lot more tame than I was expecting and while I like him regardless, I have to say I enjoy the old Beckett better. I did love seeing him interact with some of the supporting characters who are introduced in this book and the things he does to protect them while still maintaining his new self.  Everyone I loved from the first book has their own stories inside this one with Livia and Blake dealing with a kidnapping and Kyle and Cole having fertility issues that broke my heart to pieces. You know you are reading an amazing story when it's hard to detach yourself from the characters who feel like your own family and NOT get upset when they are. There was so much going on with everyone and the drama intensified throughout I was on  the edge of my seat the entire time. I love how smoothly this author can write her story and characters to flow flawlessly into the next scene with little effort. She knows how to transition you from a scene that is not as dramatic to the next more intense scene without it feeling choppy or jarring you from the zone. Return to Poughkeepsie was another wonderful addition to the series full of humor, heart, drama, sex and Love. There was so much to keep up with there wasn't ONE dull moment! Poughkeepsie is one of my all time favorite books and now it has a fantastic sequel you can't miss out on!




Quotes:

Instead of feeling cocky pride, he ached for her, for this peaceful Eve. A sight this fucking magnificent added to the world, gave it peace, made the sky more blue. ARC 5%

She touched his face and smiled. She didn't need to say it. It was all over her face: She loved him. he was her hero. ARC 61%

"I killed my way in here, motherfucker. The dude with the hand surgery? Gone. His smoking friends? Corpses. The pedophile with the eye scar? Spectacularly dead. You messed with my family. That's not allowed." ARC 72%

"I promised in my head to leave you be. And when I saw you...I was supposed to be man enough to turn you away. Fuck, I'm not a horny teenager. It's just you." He finally did stand. "You break me. You break everything I think I stand for." ARC 84%

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Trailer:




About The Author:
Debra Anastasia is busy, just like every other mom. There's dinner, the dogs, the kids, and their homework. The laundry pile turns into a big, heaping monster. When the clothes finally make it into the washer, it gets unbalanced and puts on an elaborate show before it cuts out. This crazy job that never ends is her first love and her crowning achievement. Her writing started a decent handful of years ago when along with the dogs, cat, kids, and husband, the voices of characters started whispering stories in Debra's ear. Insomnia was the gateway for the plots that wouldn't give up, wouldn't let go. In the shower, a twist would take hold and--dripping and frenzied--she'd find somewhere, anywhere to write it down. Debra grew up in New York and got a bachelor's degree in political science at SUNY New Paltz. At the start of her marriage, she moved to southern Maryland with her husband. She still doesn't trust crabs and all their legs, though everyone else in her family thinks they're delicious. Her favorite hobbies include knitting, painting furniture and wall murals, and slapping clowns.

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3 comments:

  1. This was pretty great, yeah? I think I loved Beckett's dialogue (internal and external) the most. What a badass. And Blake and Livia! Still the sweetest.

    Oh! I loved Ryan too! I didn't want to, but I did.

    Great review!

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  2. Thank you so much guys. I love your freaking header!!! XOXOXOX

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  3. I love the quotes you picked. This is a great one!

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