Wednesday 13 November 2013

Blog Tour and giveaway - Have I Told You by FL Jacob




 

Synopsis


Caston Black has it all, according to the outside world. The owner of the best-selling gentlemens magazine, Black Hollywood, has good looks, fame, fortune, and a reputation that precedes him. He can have any woman he wants, as long as he doesnt keep them. Caston sets his sights on Sabrina for his next Hollywood Sweetheart. Little does he know he will find the woman to share his life, the one he is meant to keep forever.

Sabrina Bennett has been in a mentally and physically abusive relationship that has destroyed the beautiful, confident dancer who arrived at college three years ago. She thinks the only good thing left in her life is her abusive boyfriend. Keeping her boyfriend happy is her number one priority, no matter how impossible. Shes been broken and molded into a frightened, unsure girl desperate to be worthy of love. 

Meeting by chance one evening, sparks fly between Caston and Sabrina. Neither expected the feelings they bring out in each other. Trying to have a normal relationship in their abnormal world is almost impossible, happiness is a new way of life for the lovers. They want to move forward, but the past wont let go. 

Can Caston help Sabrina heal from her past abuse? Can Sabrina show Caston he is as strong as he appears to be? When is the price of love too much? What do you do when the biggest threat to the person you love is you? 



Review by Janeane  - ARC received for honest review

**Warning  this book does contain a rape scene**



I very much liked the premise of  Have I Told You - men's mag entrepreneur and millionaire meets abused college student with the self esteem beaten out of her.

Having said that, there was as much that I liked about the book as I didn't so much.

Caston "Cass" is super rich, super hot, super available - for a short time.  Sabrina "Bre" has been in an abusive relationship for the past 3 years and needs a way out.

Their first "meeting" was very knight in shining armour, I will come to your rescue-ish, but when we find out how he has kept tabs on her, it felt very stalkerish?

The characters feel a bit confused to me.  At first Caston is uber-alpha male.  Me Tarzan, you Jane, me protect you kinda guy.  But as the book moved on he started to feel a bit whiney to me, and the co-dependency he has with Sabrina a bit too much.

Sabrina is all "I am never going to let a man rule me again" but caves in with just a look from Caston.  I know she is a bit confused, but this was definitely not the way to grow!

The sex.  Yes, there is sex. A lot of it.  And yes, it is hot.  But waaaaay too much (and I love my lady porn as much as the next girl!).  At times it felt like *wake up - good morning - have sex - let's have breakfast, no wait, let's have sex.  I felt that it detracted from the story, as we did not get to learn about Caston and Sabrina, other than that they are multi-orgasmic.   It felt at times they did not have a full conversation at all.

 
 And that was the other thing that got to me.  There is a lack of contraction of words, especially from Caston, that at times made the conversations very stilted and felt very formal.  But it wasn't consistent, there would be contracted and non-contracted words in the same sentences.  This did seem to get a bit better later in the book.  There are also a few typo/grammatical errors but not too many.

There was some super hot m/f/f/m scenes and one hot hot hot f/f scene (which I am not usually a fan of, but hooey am still fanning myself).

There are some horrible horrible secondary characters in this book that go back into Caston and Sabrina's pasts.  They have quite a major part to play in the way the plot goes


Teaser

Sabrina’s legs gave out from under her. I sunk to the floor with her, cradling her to my chest.  All the commotion had made people on the dance floor and the music come to a halt. Everyone was staring up here.  Sara, thankfully, was right there to draw the curtains to shut us off from the rest of the club.  

“Sabrina, please settle down.  Shhh, baby, please.”  I stroked her head, trying to calm my hysterical girl.  

Sara fetched a glass of water and knelt down to hand it to her.  She laid her hand on Sabrinas shoulder and kissed her ivory skin.  

Sara looked up and caught my eye.  Her look was pure resentment.  She had almost the same experience with me and Beverly.  

“You have to get her out of here, Cass,” Sara spoke in a hushed tone.

“I know.” I mouthed back.  Tears were burning my eyes, but I couldnt let them fall.  I had to be strong for her.


At times Have I Told You felt a bit rushed.  They went from strangers to I love you's quicker than I could make a sandwich!  But this is what fairy tales are all about isn't it.

Have I told you does end on a cliffhanger, but I have become invested in Cass and Bre, so I know I will be reading more of their story when it comes out.

This is FL Jacob's first novel, and she has done a good job with Have I Told You. 



Author Bio

I am a mommy of two, wife to an amazing man, and full time employee. Life is crazy and my love for reading had fizzled over the years but thanks to a wonderful group of ladies that I met last year I started reading again. Their love for books turned me on to many great writers who I would have never discovered if I hadn't started reading again! 

I started writing for them. They brought out my love for writing that I haven
t seen in years. Starting this process was tedious and nerve wrecking, but my lovely ladies and my fabulous husband have inspired me to take my love for writing to the next step.


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