Thursday 12 June 2014

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Pepper Winters "Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark # 3)."

The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog are pleased to be a part of the Blog Tour and Giveaway for Pepper Winters "Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark # 3)."

Amazon UK:   http://amzn.to/1oQFuQJ
Amazon.com:  http://amzn.to/1pO02Xl


Synopsis:

“After battling through hell, I brought my esclave back from the brink of ruin. I sacrificed everything—my heart, my mind, my very desires to bring her back to life. And for a while, I thought it broke me, that I’d never be the same. But slowly the beast is growing bolder, and it’s finally time to show Tess how beautiful the dark can be.” 

Q gave everything to bring Tess back. In return, he expects nothing less. Tess may have leashed and tamed him, but he’s still a monster inside. 

After surviving the darkness, a new dawn has begun. Twisted Together wades through black to grey, chasing the light of true love to banish the shadows forever. 

Pain is a requirement, connection a necessity. But ultimately Q and Tess must face their demons, before they can embrace their future.

Blog Tour Review: Surj Harvey

Going into this final book in the "Monsters in the Dark" trilogy, I have to say, I did have some reservations. Don't get me wrong, I was excited about getting more Q and Tess, but it was the final book. This couple had already been through so much, they'd been to hell and back on more than one occasion and with "Quintessentially Q" ending the way it did, what else could possibly happen to draw me into their world again and hold my attention for the duration of what was going to be a very loooong book. You see, I have a fear of reading lengthy books ... I tend to get bored or lose interest and I really didn't want that with "Twisted Together." I wanted my time with this amazing couple to end on a high note. I didn't want to feel that the author had drawn out their story for the sake of one final book. 

The blackness tried to swallow us whole, kill us, ruin us, capture our soul.

So Pepper Winters.... what's my verdict? HOLY CRAP, YOU FREAKIN' DID IT AGAIN!!!! You gave me a story I honestly wasn't expecting. You moved things up a gear when I didn't think there was anywhere else for you to go. You pushed the boundaries at every turn, made me question my sanity, turned me on when really I should have been mortified and gave me the dark, twisted, angst filled read that I'd been craving since finishing "Quintessentially Q." Was I bored? Did I lose interest? Not a chance in hell because with every turn of every page, there was something that made my heart drop, made my breath hitch, made my pulse sore, made the butterflies dance in my belly!!!! Crazy I know but I loved everything about this book.... Every. Single. Thing. 

For the first time in my life, I'm vulnerable, all because I fell in love. 

"Twisted Together" took me on quite the journey with Tess and Q and hearts and flowers it most definitely wasn't.... not even whips and chains if that's what you're thinking. Time and time again Tess and Q were pushed to their limits (both as individuals and as a couple) and I felt devastated for them. Why did I expect anything less from the queen of darkness? Why did I make the assumption she might go gentle on my heart just this once? She didn't. Pepper toyed with my emotions once again, leaving an ache in my chest that just wouldn't go away. Even when things looked like they were on the up, I knew it was too good to last... the hints dropped told me I needed brace myself for the next bout of pain she was about to inflict on me. It was brutal, horrific, torturous reading, my nerves hanging on for dear life but I was addicted to the story and I wasn't about to stop reading until I got a HEA (stamps foot!!!)

I've loved watching Tess and Q grow and develop over the course of the three books but it was "Twisted Together" that would really put each of them to test. As the past collided with the present and every skeleton that had been locked away came out to play, I saw both characters hit an all time low. I witnessed a very broken Tess and a very lost Q try to make sense of their lives and come to terms with the hand of cards each had been dealt. They'd changed... how could they not with everything they'd been through... the question was: would their relationship survive it? 

"I feel like I know everything about you- the fundamental parts of you. You're like me in 
so many ways, but really,... I don't know you at all. Not anymore. Not after they stole you."

Chapters told from alternate POV only intensified my reading experience of "Twisted Together." I got inside both Q and Tess's head and to say it was heart breaking is an understatement. What it did do was help me understand what each character was going through, the depths of despair they felt, the raw emotions radiating off the pages. Don't worry though, it wasn't all doom and gloom, I did get to see a kick ass Tess too and I did get to see Q as the hot, lustful, sexy as sin monster that he truly was and I loved it. Yes the cat o nine tail came out to play as did a kitchen whisk and several other household implements... what this couple shared was intense, it pushed limits, it left them exposed but it's who they were and it felt right... so very right. Crazy huh!!! 

The agony faded, inch by inch, ache by ache, until I felt nothing. 
Nothing but weightlessness…nothingness. Sounds faded. … Life tiptoed away from me, 
taking with it any promise of happiness I might’ve found by marrying my soul-mate.

I couldn't have predicted some of the curve balls that were thrown in to this story and even when I did guess what was to come, it was the outcome that would leave me gob smacked. Not once did it feel forced... not at all. Instead looking back, it was all inevitable, helping to tie up the story nicely, giving the reader the perfect conclusion to Tess and Q's story. And yes, you will get the answers to all the questions you may have had since book #1... no stone was left unturned. 

In terms of the writing, I don't even know how to describe it. Pepper has a way of making you feel everything the characters are going through. Her words pulling you into the story line, digging their claws into your heart, holding you hostage until the book is finished. Be prepared to feel happiness, sadness, anger and frustration like never and be prepared for this story to play out like a movie in your mind... that's one thing I loved about this whole series... I could see it all unravel clear as day ... pure genius!!! 

You are my savior. My salvation. My Together. My absolution. 
My treasure. The crown to my thrown. YOU ARE MY HOME. 

"Tears of Tess" was my first introduction to a "dark" read and I haven't looked back since. I've absolutely loved my time with Tess and Q and I'm so not ready to say goodbye to them. On top of that, I've gotten to know the secondary characters really well (Suzette, Franco, Frederick, Angelique) all played such big parts in their story and it pains me to know there will be no more.... Hey Pepper, how about a story about a baby Q or Tess... or Franco and Suzette's story.... or how about the story of how Frederick and Angelique got together.... or ... oh I don't know... just anything to buy me some more time.... anything.... something.... please?????

Pepper Winters, you are a true master in your art and I couldn't give "Twisted Together" anything less than a gut wrenching, heart breaking, soul destroying, angst ridden 5 Hearts from me. 

Excerpt:

Q no longer looked devilish but royal. 

My heart flew free, fluttering to the ceiling. 

“Donne-moi tes mains.” Give me your hands. The order whispered through the golden light, quintessentially him. His raspy, melodic voice had a power over me he wasn’t aware of. I instantly locked my wrists together, jutting them toward him. 

Q didn’t say a word as he accepted my gift, wrapping soft, black fabric around me. The silk looked like morbid blood, as if I’d slashed my wrists in a fit of insanity. 

The moment he’d restrained me, Q tugged the cord, making me stretch even further across the table, securing it somehow. Once tied, he strolled back toward me, setting my heart jumping and body dissolving under his intense stare.

My back was icy cold while my front was toasty warm. The two sensations, coupled with my lack of mobility, made my lungs suck in air as if oxygen was about to go extinct. The closer Q came, the more lightheaded and woozy I was.

I flinched as he cupped my ass. 

“What are you going to do?” I didn’t bother testing the binds. I knew Q—he had a way with ropes—there would be no chance of escape. 

“Sometimes, the only way to make your dreams come true is to shatter them,” he said, circling me like a predator. “Sometimes, the only way to make your nightmares disappear is by facing them.”

Author Bio: 

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero the better and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex. She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby (who speaks French—hot!) who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends. She loves to hear from her readers so hit her up at pepperwinters@gmail.com

Author Social links: 


Giveaway: Pepper is offering up the prizes below for grabs:

1 x Signed set of Monsters in the Dark series 
3 x Swag Packs 
2 x Signed bookplates & stickers 
2 x Ribbon bookmarks 
5 x eBook copy of any Pepper Winter's title (winner's choice) 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

  1. Can't wait to read this series! thanks for the giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have been looking forward to reading this series since it came out, but I tend to hold off until the series is complete. I can't wait to jump into it.

    ReplyDelete