07 November 2012

Review: Christie A.C. Gucker's The Cliff

Hello, hello! Today, I'm hosting a review and spotlight for The Cliff by Christie A.C. Gucker. There's also a giveaway associated with this tour, and I've included the Rafflecopter code to enter with. Enjoy!

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As an aside, I've been trying to upload images and the uploader isn't working. (Thanks, Blogger.) I'll try to add them first chance I get!

Blurb:


Can a childhood pact affect the lives of three adults?

Love and betrayal surrounds the lives of lifelong friends Lanie Rhodes, Grant Bennett, and Dane Voight. Years ago, they made a pact to remain together as friends forever. The boys also made another secret pact that same day—to never vie for Lanie’s love.

Grant and Lanie have secretly been pining for one another since they were children.

Now grown up, they finally admit their feelings for each other and what ensues is a twisted tale of deception as Dane does everything he can to stop them.

The story weaves around this uneven love triangle. What will happen to the pact? Will friendships be destroyed? Will lovers emerge?


Review:

The Cliff is an erotic romance novel revolving around a woman named Lanie, her lover named Grant, and a third wheel named Dane.

I was impressed with the quality writing in this novel. The author was able to effectively portray the intense feelings of the situations, especially where the romance is involved. Her erotic scenes are poignant and original. One rather traumatizing scene was written exquisitely.

Following this scene, however, I fell out of love with the characters. Well, two of the main characters. I found the heroine to be rather weepy, and the hero to be...well, just not as Alpha as I like. That's on me, though. The villain, at least for a short while, captured my attention and I enjoyed his portrayal until he went soft on me. There is no short supply of drama with this one, and with episode after episode I grew tired of it quickly. The first main trauma could easily have carried the characters through the book, and with only a week or so of time covered it would have been more than enough.

I will say this, though: the writing is strong and the storyline is original and compelling. In spite of me wanting to strangle Lanie, I did feel for her struggles at some level. It may not be as deep as the author intended, but it did impact me. If you enjoy good erotic scenes and can ignore the weepy scenes, this book is a good read.

Excerpt:


“You go first,” I said.

“All right. I missed you so much these past six months,” he offered.

“I already know that; that doesn’t count.”

“But I don’t think you know the extent or how.”

“Okay . . . how then?”

“I don’t ever want you to be away again.”

“Grant, work will always cause one of us to travel for extended—” and he put a finger over my lips. I suddenly felt the urge to wrap my tongue around it.

“No, Lanie. I don’t ever want you to be away from me; never again. I missed you terribly.”

“Um, terribly?” God I was so lame. I stared into his eyes. The heat between us became intense. It was almost like electricity was crackling between us.

“Lanie, do I have to spell this out for you?”

“Yes, please. Spelling, definition, and then use it in a sentence.”

And then he  just kissed me. It was a soft, gentle kiss that sent a shock wave from my lips right to my girliest of girl parts. When he pulled away, not very far away, he just stared into my eyes with something that was not looking at me like a sister. What was he searching for?

“Could you please spell that again?” I murmured. He relaxed and laughed softly and kissed me again, this time allowing his tongue to brush across my bottom lip. I was melting.

It took everything not to pounce on him and do all the naughty things that were suddenly running through my head right there on my porch.

“Use it in a sentence, please.” I whispered with my eyes still closed, my head still tilted.

“Of course.” And he crushed his lips to mine, pulling my body against his. I was lost in him. His tongue began swirling with mine and my head began swirling, too. We remained in this sentence, which was slowly approaching a paragraph. I didn't care, I would have been happy kissing a novella with him.

When our lips finally parted, I wasn't sure what to do next. “Would you like to come in?” I sounded like a complete idiot.

“Lanie, I'm not sure this is right or wrong. I just know it's what I want. But I want to go very slowly. I don't ever want to hurt you or ruin things between us. Maybe not tonight. Promise you understand.”

I raised my right hand and stated, “I promise I understand.”

And then his lips were on mine again. I reached up and curled my fingers into his hair and drank him in. I wanted to pull him inside to see where this would go, but I had promised. So I released him.

About The Author:
Christie A. C. Gucker

Christie A.C. Gucker lives in NJ with her husband, two daughters and a menagerie of pets. Being a mother is one of the greatest joys of her life. She has worked in the advertising industry for over 20 years as a degreed artist, but also works in the fine arts, especially sculpting out of stone or snapping photographs. Christie is also a singer and musician, and can be found singing on a few CDs.
After the death of her father, Christie searched for something to fill her desire to make a mark in this world. Her love of the arts and creativity allowed her to search for a new medium, which she found with a pen instead of a brush. Being an avid reader her whole life, and with her family cheering her on, she decided to take her shot, and began writing.
Fascinated by the supernatural and sharks, Christie studies both avidly. You’ll be sure to find something spooky lurking somewhere in her stories. Her greatest joy is sitting on a beach with her family while surf fishing, flying kites or building sandcastles with her girls.

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