REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: "If You Leave" by Courtney Cole

Hello my Crazy Little Book Fiends! I am excited to introduce you all to one of my new reviewers Shannon D. This is Shannon's inaugural review for the blog... 

Below you will find all the book info, blurb, author info and review for "If You Leave" by Courtney Cole. Be sure to enter our rafflecopter for your chance at winning one of three (3) eBook copies of "If You Leave". Good Luck & Happy Reading!

Title: If You Leave
Author: Courtney Cole
Release: August 6, 2013 by Forever


Rating: 5 Star ****


Blurb:

26-year old Gabriel Vincent is a badass hero. Or he used to be, anyway. As an ex-Army Ranger, Gabe never thought he needed anyone. But after one horrible night in Afghanistan scars him in a way that he can't get past, he needs someone who can help him heal...even if he doesn't realize it.

25-year old Madison Hill doesn't need anybody...or so she thinks. She grew up watching her parents' messed-up abusive relationship and she knows there's no way in hell that she's ever letting that happen to her.

They don't know it in the beginning, but Gabriel and Madison will soon develop a weakness: Each other.

But Gabriel's got a secret, a hidden monster that he's afraid Maddy could never overcome... And Maddy's got issues that she's afraid Gabe will never understand. They quickly realize that they need each other to be whole, but at the same time they know that they've got demons to fight.

And the problem with demons is that they never die quietly.


Review:

IS EVERYONE BROKEN? Madison wonders this after a chance encounter with Gabe which starts in an alley way and ends with an epic and explosive cab ride.

We met Maddie in If You Stay and we knew she had an interesting story and some issues she was dealing with on her own, aside from her sister, Mila. In If You Leave, we get to know the issues and what all she went through after her parents were killed – taking on her sister and a restaurant and house – two out of the three, she didn’t want. She hasn’t lived the life she wanted to live. She feels as though she stepped in and is living her parents’ life. She’s ready for her own but is she ready for a relationship? She’s afraid of relationships, what they require, what they can become. She has to fight to make herself trust and love, she has to fight to see the good, she has to fight through her issues and come out on top. She wanted all of this and she fought for it - she did fight to love, trust, and believe in Gabe. Their love wasn’t an easy one to accept because of all the demons and doubts but she did it, Maddie did it!

Gabe is a sexy, troubled, guilt ridden ex US Army Ranger. He’s seen and done things that are only imaginable to you and me. One night in particular haunts his very existence – one night in which he blames himself – not the US Army, not the Taliban, not the insurgence – just himself and he doesn’t know how to deal with all the trauma so he’s pushed it down and it seeps back into his life via his nightmares. He’s a fighter to the heart – he loves fiercely and deeply – and will have to battle – just like when he was on the front lines if he wants to have a relationship with Maddie, if he wants to love her because he doesn’t feel as though he’s worthy of anyone’s love. It’s going to be his hardest battle ever – he’s battling his past, his guilt, his fear, to rid himself of the nightmares and the guilt to make his life better, for him and for Maddie.

You never expect the 2nd book of the series to be better than the first but in this case – If You Leave – by far was the best so far. We still have Jacey’s (Maddie’s employee and Gabe’s sister) book yet to come but I honestly don’t know if Courtney Cole can out do herself again. This book had everything you could want in a book – I cried, I laughed, I got mad, and I got happy. There have been a couple of books that I’ve read where the lead guy has PTSD but I’m telling you now – I think IYL touched on it in a real life way. There were times in there that I actually had an ugly snot face cry going during the PTSD treatment and when Gabe received some of the results of the PTSD treatment; it touched my soul and broke my heart. All in all, this book deserves the 5 stars I’ve given it, plus some. It completely bowled me over. It is absolutely one of the best of 2013.

~ Shannon D.


Favorite Quotes:

“It’s like I’m not whole when I’m not with you,” I tell her simply. “You’re a piece of me. A big piece of me. And when you’re gone, I can’t function right. I’m only half a person. I’m so sorry. I know I f**ked up. I acted with dishonor. I left you. But I did what I had to do to try and keep you safe.” Kindle location 4381.

“Is everyone in the world broken, Gabriel?” Even to my own ears, my whisper itself sounds broken in the velvety night. I can feel the weight of Gabriel’s gaze as he stares down at me in the dark. “I think so,” he finally answers. “In their own way.” Kindle location2347.


About The Author:

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. 

She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. 

Every Last Kiss is her debut novel and she followed it with the rest of The Bloodstone Saga (Every Last Kiss, Fated, With My Last Breath and My Tattered Bonds). 

Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo. 

Learn more about Courtney and her books at www.courtneycolewrites.com 

Find her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/courtneyc...


Links:

Add to your TBR:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17454088-if-you-leave?ac=1

Buy on Amazon:

Giveaway:

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