Monday 27 July 2015

Release Blitz & Review: Karina Halle's "Racing the Sun."

Release Blitz & Review: Karina Halle's "Racing the Sun."

Amazon.com:    http://amzn.to/1D4TFtC
Amazon UK:     http://amzn.to/1SJjGkd

Synopsis:

rom the USA TODAY bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Sky comes a new adult novel about a young woman who becomes a nanny in Capri and falls for her charges’ bad-boy brother.

It’s time for twenty-four-year-old Amber MacLean to face the music. After a frivolous six months of backpacking through New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia, she finds herself broke on the Mediterranean without enough money for a plane ticket home to California. There are worse places to be stuck than the gorgeous coastline of southern Italy, but the only job she manages to secure involves teaching English to two of the brattiest children she’s ever met.

It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, Italian ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, Derio tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.

But when her position as teacher turns into one as full-time nanny at the crumbling old villa, Amber finds herself growing closer to the enigmatic recluse and soon has to choose between the safety of her life back in the States and the uncertainty of Derio’s closely guarded heart.

Review: Surj

Aww Karina Halle, she's gone and done it again. My heart is a big pile of mushy goo having just turned the last page of her latest novel "Racing the Sun." If you loved "Love, in English," "Love, in Spanish" and "Where Sea meets Sky," you will not want to miss out on this latest addition to the series (but not a series as such)... lol. There's just something magical about these books, something wonderful about Karina's writing style that ensures you not only read her stories but you experience them. I have travelled far and wide with this author and I couldn't wait to see where she would be transporting me next. Well holy moly, I was not disappointed. I went to Italy... more importantly to the beautiful Island of Capri. Wow, this place was absolutely stunning, the writing so perfectly descriptive, so beautifully visual that I could see, smell and taste everything. I was there with Amber on her travels, almost like an invisible friend getting to experience everything she did (OK well maybe not quite everything (fans self) but almost. And the characters... she got them down to a T... I could hear Derio with his broken English clear as day as he spoken and it sounded so authentic against Amber's very American accent. And the smells... those lemon trees and that amazing cooking... god it made me hungry just thinking about it. Like I said.. so realistic, so believable, so perfect. 

When I’m travelling, I feel like the secret to my life, to myself, to really becoming, 
is one step ahead. It’s in the next destination, the next town I get lost in, 
the next stranger I talk to. It’s always next but never here…
I like having hope. And I hope I find what I’m looking for before I have to leave.


"Racing the Sun" told the story of Amber and Derio, two people who were (metaphorically) a bit lost and were trying desperately to find their fit in the world. Amber had moved out of the clutches of her overbearing family in America and decided to see the world (much to the disappointment of her nearest and dearest who saw it as nothing more than another step towards her failure). And as for Derio, his world was turned upside down not by one but by two tragic events that saw him let go of everything he held important in order to take on a role he had never asked for nor wanted. He had become a mean and moody (but rather hot) Italian who piqued my interest from the minute I was introduced to him. I wanted to get under his skin and into his mind and have a good rummage around. Other than the obvious, there was something else gnawing at this man and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately, he spent much of his time locked away in his office doing god knows what other than drinking himself into a stupor. Broken... that was the first thing that came to mind... he was broken and all of a sudden I wanted desperately to fix him (and it looks like I wasn't the only one):


And of course this whole moody, reclusive, damaged side to him is putting my feminine
instincts into overdrive. I want him to overcome his issues, his dark demons, 
and of courseI would foolishly hope that I could help him do that. 
Isn't that what every woman wants? To heal the bad boy? 

Amber's character was one I warmed to very quickly. She was so thoughtful and giving, always thinking of others before herself. However, that often meant people took advantage... maybe not intentionally or consciously but it happened and I saw it first hand. Amber was just too kind and too generous with her time to say anything, always putting the needs of others before her own. Unfortunately, that meant her wants, needs and dreams often got put on the back burner. 

Amber and Derio were two characters thrown together by circumstance... he needed an English teacher for his younger siblings and Amber desperately needed the cash because she was flat out broke. Was was this a perfect match or was it a recipe for disaster? Only time would tell but very early on, things looked promising, the butterflies in my belly going crazy at all the possibilities.  Despite Amber and Derio's relationship starting off a bit strained, I absolutely adored how it developed. It was definitely a slow build but worth every second of the wait. What this couple ended up sharing with so beautiful and heart warming, their connection was one that most could only wish for. Derio ended up being such a thoughtful, loving man who appeared to put Amber above all else. I could feel the love he had for this woman and it was definitely the real deal. And Amber... had she finally found what she'd been looking for? Had she finally found home with this man and his siblings or was it all too good to be true? 


A broken heart is a sad, angry, powerful thing that shakes you by the collar and 
demands your respect, and it's pummelling me into the mattress, shattering me to pieces. 

With two people chasing very different dreams, I started seeing the cracks appear and suddenly, a feeling I didn't particularly like settled in the pit of my stomach. This was all going to end in tears. i could sense it with every ounce of my being. The question was... would love be enough to see them through? I wasn't so sure. 

There were moments I thought "Racing the Sun" was going to be a little predictable. Don't get me wrong, Derio and Amber's story was definitely unique and very much their own but if the previous books were anything to go by, there was a particular formula that ensured certain things would happen. Nope, I got it sooooo wrong!!! Thank you Karina Halle for that mother of curve balls that threw all my theories upon the air,  leaving my heart in my mouth. A perfect play by this author although I'm not sure my nerves would agree. 

"Racing the Sun" was about chasing dreams and overcoming fears. It was about making sacrifices and finding love. I loved Derio and Amber's journey. It was filled with love, laughter, happiness and an edge mystery, suspense and angst that ensured I couldn't put their book down. I really hope this isn't the end of the road for this set of companion novels. I really hope there is more because no one writes a book like Karina Halle. Like I said, you don't just read it, you experience it, your senses coming alive with every word you read. 


"Did you feel anything?"
"No," he murmurs. "I felt everything."

I rated "Racing the Sun" ❤️❤️❤️❤️ to ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


ABOUT KARINA HALLE

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term "Hybrid Author." Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she's a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA...whenever possible.

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup.






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