RELEASE DAY NOVELLA REVIEW: Keeping Her (Losing It #1.5)

I'm so excited to help the amazing Cora Carmack announce the release of her Losing It novella, KEEPING HER (Losing It #1.5), featuring my favorite college professor, Garrick Taylor. I may be a little biased, since I was an enthusiastic member of the Team Garrick Street Team during the NA Crush Tourney last month, but I've never seen so much awesomeness packed into so few pages. Read on for my full review and an INCREDIBLE giveaway! This release day launch was organized by Inkslinger PR.

Keeping Her (Losing It #1.5), by Cora Carmack
Published August 13, 2013
Publisher:  William-Morrow
Format: e-galley, provided by Edelweiss
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Garrick Taylor and Bliss Edwards managed to find their happily-ever-after despite a rather . . . ahem . . . complicated start. By comparison, meeting the parents should be an absolute breeze, right?

But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law-to-be, more than one (mostly) minor mishap, and the realization that perhaps they aren't quite as ready for their future as they thought.

As it turns out, the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it.

I didn't think it was possible for me to love Garrick Taylor any more than I did at the end of Losing It. I was wrong. 

Keeping Her is told in both Bliss's and Garrick's POVs. Getting inside Garrick's head was the absolute best part of this novella. The worst part - it was way too short. But, if I'm going to be honest with myself, a full length book from both Garrick's and Bliss's POV wouldn't be long enough. I just love getting inside that beautiful man's head. 

In Keeping Her, Bliss and Garrick journey to England so she can meet his family before they get married. Bliss is a mess - she's terrified of Garrick's mother. She's heard that she's a difficult woman, and Bliss wants to make a good impression. Meanwhile, Garrick is equally as terrified. Not of his mother and whether she'll approve or not - that doesn't matter to him. He's worried that Bliss will turn tail and run if she thinks she's not worthy of him. 

Hearing Garrick's thoughts as he worries about Bliss and her reactions to his less-than-loving family was so endearing and sweet. He loves this woman so much that he's willing to give them all up - give up everything - for her. 

I loved meeting Garrick's mates in Keeping Her. His relationship with them is so unlike any relationship he had with anyone in Losing It. He's kinda goofy and jokey with them - not all buttoned up and Mr. I-Need-To-Do-The-Right-Thing. They all four stop in a bar after Bliss and Garrick arrive in England and proceed to get wasted, and it's hysterical! It's a completely different side of Garrick, and I loved that. 

Although Bliss is still her insecure self, she's come a long way. She finds it within herself to stand up to Garrick's mom. And later when a difficult situation presents itself, she doesn't completely internalize it like most typical NA female characters do. She has her private freak out moment, then does the mature and rational thing and talks to Garrick. I know! Communication! In a new adult book! It's practically unheard of. 

After all this, I'm hoping against all hope that we get to see Bliss's and Garrick's wedding in Finding It (Losing It #3), due out in October. I want to see these two find their final HEA. They deserve it. 

About the Author

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Cora Carmack is planning to donate 20% of all her royalties from this book to the charity Planting Peace for the life of the book. You can find out more about Planting Peace here:  http://www.plantingpeace.org/. Planting Peace is a progressive nonprofit organization founded for the purpose of spreading peace in a hurting world. Although the organization operates on a global level, they emphasize the power of one; the ability that each person possesses to make a difference in the world.

Learn more about Cora Carmack here --> Website * Facebook * Twitter

Giveaway

Fill out the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win one of two crazy awesome prizes! There will be two winners. One will win a set of signed copies of LOSING IT and FAKING IT and the other will win their name as a character in an upcoming novella by Cora Carmack scheduled to release in early 2014! This is an International giveaway! 

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