Monday 10 August 2015

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Leylah Attar's "The Paper Swan."

The Hopeless Romantics Book blog are pleased to be a part of the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Leylah Attar's "The Paper Swan."


Synopsis:

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit.
They lie.
For 21 days she held on.
But on Day 22, she would have given anything for the sweet slumber of death.
Because on Day 22, she realizes that her only way out means certain death for one of the two men she loves.

A haunting tale of passion, loss, and redemption, The Paper Swan is a darkly intense yet heartwarming love story, textured with grit, intrigue, and suspense. Please note: This is NOT a love triangle.

A full-length, standalone novel, intended for mature audiences due to violence, sex and language. Subject matter may be disturbing for some readers.

Review: Surj 

I love a synopsis that (in one breath) is so vague, it gives you no clue as to the direction the story could possibly take. But in the next breath, has you sucked in from reading a few simple words that seem to say very little but so much at the same time. Leylah Attar's "The Paper Swan" was that book for me. I mean did you read the blurb? How could you not want to find out more? Twenty one days... the sweet slumber of death, love, two men... what did it all mean? What were the links? I couldn't wait to find out and so the minute this baby landed on my kindle, I immersed myself into a world that would ultimately leave me shocked, devastated, scared, saddened and heart broken. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I turned the first page, but this was a surprise and  a surprise of the good sort. 

The truth doesn't always set you free. The truth can kill you,
slice open your innards and turn everything inside out. 

"The Paper Swan" was a book with layers... so many layers and with each layer came a story...a story from a different POV or from a different point in time. Each one adding a different dimension to an already tangled web. Nothing was quite as it seemed and with misunderstandings, betrayal, double crossings, truths, lies, vendettas and a desperate need for vengeance all rearing their ugly heads, it was no wonder this story had taken the turn it did. 

I would love to tell you more about this book... about Skye's journey to finding herself and finding some form of HEA but I won't because I'd be cheating you out of a fantastic story. This is one of the books you need to go into blind to fully appreciate the story that unfolds before your very eyes. Its not pretty, in fact at times it was damn right ugly but then there were those moments... those beautiful, heart warming moments that made it all worth while. 

When we love, we carry it on the inside, and we can turn on its light even 
in our darkest moments. The deeper we love, the brighter it shines. 

"The Paper Swan" started off pretty dark and gritty... and I mean stomach churningly so. In fact there were times I wondered how the hell a love story could possibly be born from what I was reading. But the more I read, the more clearer things became and before I knew it, my heart was a fluttering mess. This author had manage to weave the most heart felt of love stories amongst a sea of carnage but did it so seamlessly that it just fit and felt right. 

"We are a question that hasn't been answered yet, a hiding place 
that hasn't been found yet, a battle that hasn't been fought yet." 

And in terms of the characters, there were those that had meant well and then those that had meant harm. There were innocent victims and then there were the perpetrators but who was friend, who was foe and who had simply been a victim of circumstance? There were so many characters that had me questioning right and wrong and had me wondering what I would do in that situation. Was it black and white? Not in every case. 

The writing in this book was second to none. There are few authors that can pull off what Leylah Attar did... her words were like poetry, almost lyrical and the way she described feelings, emotions, sights, sounds, surroundings... I was there right alongside the characters, feeling everything they felt.  There was anger  confusion, hurt and fear but also love and hope. And the various settings.. I could feel the sun on my skin, the sand on my feet and the rain soaking my clothes. I could see the boat, the island, Casa Paloma clear as day in my mind. And for an author to be able to do all of that to a reader really says it all... impeccable writing. 

"Don't play with scorpions unless you intend to get stung. 
We're harsh and predatory and full of venom." 

This is my first experience of work by this author and it definitely won't be my last. I rated "The Paper Swan" ❤️❤️❤️❤️


Excerpt:

A distant whoomp-whoomp-whoomp mixed in with the music. I figured the song was transitioning into the next track, but the noise grew louder. It was coming from behind me now, close enough that I could recognize it. The whirring, sonic boom of helicopter blades.

Fuck.

I ran outside, barefoot in a t-shirt, knowing Damian had gone to get mangoes for me, like he did every morning. One helicopter was already on the ground, while a second was landing on the beach in a flurry of sand and grit. Armed men in camouflaged gear were everywhere, running towards the jungle.

“Miss? Miss Sedgewick?” One of the men pulled me back. “Are you all right?”

I tore free of him and ran towards the mangoes that were scattered in the shadows of the trees. They were covered in blood.

“Where is he?” I grabbed the man who was yelling something about getting me to safety. “Is he hurt? Take me to him!”

But he wouldn’t listen. He started dragging me back to one of the choppers. The sickening bratatat of machine guns came from the jungle. Another helicopter swept over us, scanning the ground below. A crackly voice issued rapid commands over the man’s radio device. The air was thick with the hunt for Damian—all these men tracking him down—but all I could see was the trail of blood that led from the mangoes.

Damian had been coming back to me when they’d ambushed him. I closed my eyes and lived the horror of it: a bullet ripping through him, mangoes rolling to the ground, his blood staining their spotted yellow-green skins; Damian picking himself up, stumbling into the trees for cover, while I poured myself a cup of coffee.

A cup of fucking coffee.

I knew exactly where to go. I knew where Damian was—holed up in the wooden shack, as they closed in on him, with nothing to protect himself, because I’d made him give up his gun.

Oh God. What I have done?

I broke free and ran into the trees, not caring about the bullets that were zinging past me and ricocheting off the trees in flying splinters of wood and bark.

“Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” someone screamed as I stormed into the shack. I knew they wouldn’t shoot as long as I was with Damian, as long as there was any chance I’d get caught in the crossfire.

I stood by the door, panting, as my eyes adjusted to the room.

He was propped up in the corner, like a trapped animal, gripping his thigh, his sweatpants soaked with blood.


Author Bio and Links

Leylah Attar writes stories about love - shaken, stirred and served with a twist. When she's not writing, she can be found pursuing her other passions: photography, food, family and travel. Sometimes she disappears into the black hole of the internet, but can usually be enticed out with chocolate.


Giveaway:  The author is giving away a signed paperback of The Paper Swan and a $25 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.

Leylah Attar's THE PAPER SWAN Release Week Giveaway

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