The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog are pleased to be a part of the Release Blitz and Review for A. Meredith Walters "Follow me Back (Twisted Love #2)."
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1cvy01t
Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1LV5PVC
Synopsis:
The sequel to Lead Me Not, this dangerously sexy second installment in the Twisted Love series continues Aubrey and Maxx’s love story, from New York Times bestselling author A. Meredith Walters—who “writes the most beautifully flawed characters that still have you swooning” (Sawyer Bennett, USA Today bestselling author of the Off series).
Aubrey Duncan has loved…and lost. Should she follow a heart that’s betrayed her or a head that tells her to let go?
Maxx Demelo’s addiction almost destroyed him. It ruined his life and, most importantly, his relationship with the only girl he ever loved.
He has vowed to become the man Aubrey Duncan deserves. Even if he has to tear himself apart to do it. So he enters rehab, trying to fix the parts of him that are shattered as he longs to be healthy and whole.
Aubrey lost everything because she chose to listen to her heart. Now she has sworn to put herself first, to heal in the only way that she can…far away from Maxx and his demons.
But just as Aubrey is starting over, Maxx is released from rehab and thrust back into her world, determined to prove how much they still need each other. And the chaos that had defined them threatens to unleash once again…
But a heart, no matter how broken, is impossible to ignore.
Review: Surj
** "Follow me Back" is the sequel to "lead me Not" so in order to follow the story, this series will need to be read in order **
For those of you who read "Lead me Not," you'll know that it wasn't a particularly easy book to read... but then a book that centres around addiction and the destruction it can bring never is. But if you think the conclusion to Maxx and Aubrey's story entitled "Follow me Back" would go any easier on your emotions, then think again. My feelings were once again left battered, bruised and conflicted as I watched two characters who had quite literally hit rock bottom try to come up for air. Theirs had been a love that was unhealthy. It was dysfunctional and destructive but they had been so caught up in a whirlwind, so lost in one another, that they hadn't noticed the downward spiral that had become their lives until it was too late. Now, having lost everything they held dear... a promising future, friends, family and each other, it was time to wake up, smell the coffee and try to put together the broken pieces of themselves. And that... well that was easier said then done.
Reading about Maxx's addiction in book one had been hard. Reading about Aubrey, max and their corrosive relationship as a result of said addiction had been harder but nothing compared to the road each of these characters had to travel in this conclusion to their story. Once again my heart and head did battle and once again I was left torn between right and wrong. Did this couple belong together? Did love really conquer all? Could someone really overcome an addiction? I wasn't so sure. What I did know was that both Maxx and Aubrey had a long way to go with the mother of uphill struggles awaiting them. Time and time again I questioned whether would they be strong enough fight or whether they would take the easy route and fall back into their old ways.
A Meredith Walters once again gave me an honest and very realistic account of addiction, the consequences and the rehabilitation process. It wasn't pretty and it definitely wasn't hearts and flowers. It was gut wrenching and soul destroying and more often than not left me angry, frustrated, conflicted and saddened. I wanted to scream at Aubrey and Maxx. I wanted to push them down a different path but I couldn't. I had to wait it out. Wait for each of them to make their choices, hoping that they would be the right ones for the people they had become.
Aubrey and Maxx were not conventional characters... not by a long shot. Each had their own demons they were battling and each had their flaws. I guess that's what made them so true to life. They made mistakes, they took one step forward and two steps back, they buried their heads in the sand and they turned a blind eye but there was something about them that tugged at me. I didn't hate them although I know that would be quite easy if I took them at face value. But by getting chapters from each of their POV, I was really able to understand the battles each of them fought, the turmoil they faced and the inner conflict that tugged at them and I think it was this that really ensured I got a better understanding of what each of them was going through and trust me... it was tough... really tough.
The "Twisted Love series" is one that will stay with me for a long time. It was a book that was gutsy, frank, brutal and honest and took the theme of love and addiction in a direction most authors tend to shy away from. With no sugar coating and romanticising the themes within the pages, this will not be everyone's cup of tea but it was definitely mine. the The writing (as always) was impeccable, really drawing me into the darkness that surrounded this subject matter and as for the characters, I loved the realistic portrayal of everything they went through.
If you're looking for something a little different, something to challenge you a little, then i would highly recommend this series. The conclusion to Aubrey and Maxx's story got ❤️❤️❤️❤️ from me.
Love was ruthless. Love was pitiless. Love was cruel. Love fucking sucked.
For those of you who read "Lead me Not," you'll know that it wasn't a particularly easy book to read... but then a book that centres around addiction and the destruction it can bring never is. But if you think the conclusion to Maxx and Aubrey's story entitled "Follow me Back" would go any easier on your emotions, then think again. My feelings were once again left battered, bruised and conflicted as I watched two characters who had quite literally hit rock bottom try to come up for air. Theirs had been a love that was unhealthy. It was dysfunctional and destructive but they had been so caught up in a whirlwind, so lost in one another, that they hadn't noticed the downward spiral that had become their lives until it was too late. Now, having lost everything they held dear... a promising future, friends, family and each other, it was time to wake up, smell the coffee and try to put together the broken pieces of themselves. And that... well that was easier said then done.
If losing Aubrey had almost destroyed me, then losing my drugs damn near ripped me apart.
Not having that piece of my heart anymore had taken away the person I spent years
becoming. Without drugs, without the club, who the fuck was I?
Reading about Maxx's addiction in book one had been hard. Reading about Aubrey, max and their corrosive relationship as a result of said addiction had been harder but nothing compared to the road each of these characters had to travel in this conclusion to their story. Once again my heart and head did battle and once again I was left torn between right and wrong. Did this couple belong together? Did love really conquer all? Could someone really overcome an addiction? I wasn't so sure. What I did know was that both Maxx and Aubrey had a long way to go with the mother of uphill struggles awaiting them. Time and time again I questioned whether would they be strong enough fight or whether they would take the easy route and fall back into their old ways.
A Meredith Walters once again gave me an honest and very realistic account of addiction, the consequences and the rehabilitation process. It wasn't pretty and it definitely wasn't hearts and flowers. It was gut wrenching and soul destroying and more often than not left me angry, frustrated, conflicted and saddened. I wanted to scream at Aubrey and Maxx. I wanted to push them down a different path but I couldn't. I had to wait it out. Wait for each of them to make their choices, hoping that they would be the right ones for the people they had become.
It was a deep-in-my-bones, drowning-in-it sort of love. It was desperate.
It was obliteration. It was total anarchy in my heart.
It was mine. It was all that I had.
Aubrey and Maxx were not conventional characters... not by a long shot. Each had their own demons they were battling and each had their flaws. I guess that's what made them so true to life. They made mistakes, they took one step forward and two steps back, they buried their heads in the sand and they turned a blind eye but there was something about them that tugged at me. I didn't hate them although I know that would be quite easy if I took them at face value. But by getting chapters from each of their POV, I was really able to understand the battles each of them fought, the turmoil they faced and the inner conflict that tugged at them and I think it was this that really ensured I got a better understanding of what each of them was going through and trust me... it was tough... really tough.
"You can't control addiction. it controls you. The minute you forget that, you've lost."
The "Twisted Love series" is one that will stay with me for a long time. It was a book that was gutsy, frank, brutal and honest and took the theme of love and addiction in a direction most authors tend to shy away from. With no sugar coating and romanticising the themes within the pages, this will not be everyone's cup of tea but it was definitely mine. the The writing (as always) was impeccable, really drawing me into the darkness that surrounded this subject matter and as for the characters, I loved the realistic portrayal of everything they went through.
If you're looking for something a little different, something to challenge you a little, then i would highly recommend this series. The conclusion to Aubrey and Maxx's story got ❤️❤️❤️❤️ from me.
Hitting rock bottom was easy. It was climbing back up
that I was finding to be near on impossible.
Excerpt:
"Hello?" I said, sounding a little out of breath. There was an endless moment in which no one said anything and I wondered whether I was right and it was a wrong number.
And then person spoke and I wished like hell I had never picked up the damn phone in the first place. Followed by the inevitable self-loathing for thinking that at all.
"Hey, Aubrey," Maxx said quietly, though I could hear him as clearly as if he were standing next to me.
I didn't say anything.
I couldn't say anything.
I wanted to ask him where he was. To demand answers to the questions that had been plaguing me. I wanted to yell at him, to know why he was ruining the first night in forever where I was actually feeling normal. A thousand uncontrollable emotions flashed their way through my mind, flittering in and out before I could figure out what I was actually feeling. Though I recognized homicidal rage and bone-deep desire mixed up with the rest.
"Are you there?" Maxx asked, sounding small and unsure. I leaned against the wall, needing it to hold me up before I fell.
"I'm here," I answered. The weight of those words was not lost on me. Nor how much of a lie they really were.
About The Author:
The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance including The Find You in the Dark and Bad Rep series as well as the upcoming stand alone romance, Reclaiming the Sand, and a dark new adult series for Gallery Books.
A. Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing.
When not writing (or being tortured with all manner of beauty products at the hand of her very imaginative and extremely girly daughter), she is eating chocolate, watching reality television that could rot your brain and reading a smutty novel or two.
A. Meredith is represented by Michelle Johnson with the Inklings Literary Agency.
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