4 Hearts
I shut down."
This is Elise in a nutshell when we first meet her in this story. She is closed off and completely alone after her mother, father, and younger sister were brutally murdered. She is starting her first year of college, this is where she meets Braxton and he completely turns her world upside down.
Braxton is simply amazing. I completely fell in love with him almost immediately. Right away we find out that Brax is hiding something from Elise. Instead of being the student she believes him to be, he has actually been hired to look after her. As if this isn’t complicated enough, Brax is drawn to Elise like a moth to a flame. The moment he saw her photo he knew he just HAD TO be the one to protect her.
I have a feeling that as soon as I get close to Elise, I won’t be able to stay away. This problem, a conflict of interest if you will, but I can’t stop now. If she needs to be saved, even if it only from herself, I’ll be the one to do it.
And the intense feelings are definitely mutual.
There is something about him that makes my mind twist, my stomach turn, and my cheeks blush – all at the same time.
Up to this point, Elise (Elle) has been able to stay pretty invisible, but Brax is such a force and so full of life. He is able to bring her out of her shell and open her up to people and love. At first I thought it seemed a little unbelievable that Elle would open up and trust Brax so quickly, but then I thought about it… She hasn’t had anyone take an interest in her or push her to have a life again, I felt like Brax’s energy was contagious and she couldn’t help but feel safe and protected enough to live again. He is so beautifully protective, loving, and supportive of her and I absolutely loved him!
Damn that man. He has done something no one else has done for the past three years. He has made my heart beat again, made me feel something, and goddamn if I don’t want more of him.
Brax and Elle get pretty serious pretty damn fast. It didn’t feel like insta-love exactly but it was very intense from the beginning. Their chemistry is seriously on fire and the steamy/sexy scenes are fabulous (photo booth anyone? *smirks*)! There is a fair amount of lovey-dovey sappiness there too though. And while that could easily annoy me (and did at times), it was kind of okay because I could really feel their love and passion for each other.
Then there is the suspenseful side of the story. The whole reason that Brax is there as Elle’s “security” is because there is someone threatening her life. Why? We don’t really know that for sure, there could be a number of reasons. Her father left her as the majority shareholder in his multi-million (billion maybe?) dollar company. Also, her family’s killer was never found. There are a few sub plots with Brax, his employer and other things that add new twists and turns, one in particular was pretty freaking shocking to me!
I love romantic suspense stories, but I felt the execution could have been a little smoother here. Some things didn’t really make sense to me and the dialogue between Brax and Shay (Brax’s best friend and partner – who I love!) was a little hard to follow. Felt like an information dump at times and really messed with the flow for me. And as much as I love Brax, he came off as a little incompetent with his security skills at times. I would also have loved to see more action and big moves. Much of the story was hearing the internal emotional goings-on of Brax and Elle and their intense, deep, almost overwhelming devotion to each other. This kind of overshadowed the seriousness of Elle being in danger in my eyes.
This is part of a series and does leave many things hanging in the balance and questions unanswered. The prologue is a pretty good indicator of where the story is headed and it definitely peaked my interest right away. I am really looking forward to more in this series and I have high hopes for the suspense aspect of the story, since I already know B.J. Harvey has the love element down pat!
When you had no hope, then had hope reborn, and then all that hope disappears within a moment… where do you go?
BLURB:
In the three years after a horrible crime claimed her family,
Elise Halliwell has been alone, shut off from the world in a self-imposed
emotional exile. She goes through the motions, finishes high school and moves
across country to start college and begin the next step in her pre-destined
life.
But her exile is dramatically cut short by the entrance of a dark haired, blue-eyed, smirking man who shakes her to the core, achieving what everyone else before him has failed to do, he makes her feel again.
As much as he wishes it were different, fate has not brought Braxton James into Elise’s life, or has it. Brax has to keep her safe from people in her life who have ulterior motives and may want to hurt her.
Elise has no idea the threat she faces, and Brax wants to make sure it stays that way. But as Brax struggles with getting close to her, he begins to live a lie. Unable to resist the pull that is Elise’s bright green eyes, infectious giggle, and loving heart, he finds it impossible to stay away, so the double life of being Elise’s boyfriend and keeping her safe begins.
Full of twists and turns, danger and revelations that no-one could predict, you won’t be the only one lost in distraction.
But her exile is dramatically cut short by the entrance of a dark haired, blue-eyed, smirking man who shakes her to the core, achieving what everyone else before him has failed to do, he makes her feel again.
As much as he wishes it were different, fate has not brought Braxton James into Elise’s life, or has it. Brax has to keep her safe from people in her life who have ulterior motives and may want to hurt her.
Elise has no idea the threat she faces, and Brax wants to make sure it stays that way. But as Brax struggles with getting close to her, he begins to live a lie. Unable to resist the pull that is Elise’s bright green eyes, infectious giggle, and loving heart, he finds it impossible to stay away, so the double life of being Elise’s boyfriend and keeping her safe begins.
Full of twists and turns, danger and revelations that no-one could predict, you won’t be the only one lost in distraction.
Having always loved reading, and
having been befriended and inspired by some awesome self published authors and
book lovers alike, I decided to start writing my first novel, Lost in
Distraction in December 2012. It was a conscious decision that started with a
song, then the prologue and then catapulted from there. I love music too, like
REALLY love music, if there isn't music playing, something is wrong. Out and
Proud Vampire Diaries fan as well.
I'm also a wife, mother, full-time
university student and I do contract work for myself from home.
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