Krista's Dust Jacket: BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Unconditional (Beachwood Bay #3)

I LOVE Melody Grace's Beachwood Bay series! So, I'm thrilled to have a stop on the blog tour, organized by Inkslinger PR, for her latest addition to the series, UNCONDITIONAL. It's Garrett's story, and what a story it is! Read on for my review, enter the giveaway, then check out the other stops on the tour!

Unconditional (Beachwood Bay #3), by Melody Grace
To Be Published March 18, 2014
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-ARC provided by the author and Inkslinger PR
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: iTunes * Amazon

Rating: 5 STARS

(From Goodreads) "I’ve spent my whole life chasing perfection: perfect looks, perfect man, perfect home. But in one brutal moment, I realized it was all just a beautiful lie…"

Carina MacKenzie is fleeing from her past. Picking up the wreckage of her shattered dreams, she seeks comfort in the only place she’s ever felt safe: Beachwood Bay.

Garrett Sawyer isn’t looking to be anyone’s savior. Scarred by old betrayals, he’s sworn never to put his heart on the line again -- especially not for a damaged, high-maintenance girl like Carina. But passion knows no logic, and soon, their reckless chemistry is making him forget his bitter vows.

Two damaged hearts. The hope of true love. As their passion blazes out of control, Carina and Garrett struggle to escape their legacies of hurt. But can you ever outrun the past? And when everything is on the line, can they trust enough to build a love that's unconditional?

*This book contains adult situations and explicit content. 17+*

Only Melody Grace could cause me to love a character that I had previously vowed to hate forever. I'm a very character-driven reader. I need to love the characters in order to love the story. I must admit - I had a lot of hesitation before starting Unconditional. Carina seemed to be a vile human being in Unbroken. It was Garrett that caused me to initially want to read this book. He intrigued me and captivated me in Unafraid. I couldn't wait to find out what his story was.

Garrett has vowed to never get involved with a woman again after losing his heart and soul once. That was before Carina breaks into the house he's staying in. Although she's mean and abrasive, there's something about her that intrigues him. Carina is running away from the horrible men in her life. It doesn't take her long to realize that Garrett isn't one of them. Can he get over his past in order to face a potential future with someone who needs him as much as he needs her?

Right away, Melody Grace starts to paint a more human face on Carina. She is Juliet's awful sister, but we very quickly see that there are reasons for her behavior. Carina runs to Beachwood Bay to escape her abusive fiance, and literally falls into Garrett's path. Garrett owns the bar that he and Emerson had initially owned together, and now he's housesitting while Emerson and Juliet are trying to make a life in the city nearby.

Carina really has had a rough go of it. She's learned to put on a brave face and power through all the tough stuff. But, she's reached her breaking point and although it's hard at first, she is ready for something new and different for her life. This in and of itself endeared me to Carina more than I thought possible. It takes a lot of stuff for someone to pull up stakes and give up a life that has become known and comfortable for a life that is unknown. She heads to Beachwood Bay for some clarity and a break from her sad life. Instead, she becomes more confused.

She runs into Garrett right away, and he gives her a reason to stay. After a rough start, she ends up helping him with a problem at his bar. And, he helps her clear out the riff raff from her life. He ends up being the only person Carina has truly opened up to about her insecurities and mistakes. He helps her try to make amends. And, an unforeseen consequence is that she helps him come to grips with what happened in his past.

The thing is, Garrett wasn't ready for that, at all. When he runs from Carina, the real question now is whether she has found enough guts to go after him.

Unconditional was such an emotionally charged book - I loved that about it! The relationship between Garrett and Carina was slow to develop. They really didn't like each other very much in the beginning. Garrett is such an inherently good guy, though, that once he finds out Carina's in trouble, he does what he can to help her. It's almost like he can't help himself. I loved that guy so much.

And, Carina makes more than leaps and bounds. By the end of Unconditional, I loved her as much as Juliet. She had a lot of drama to wade though. She had to end things with her fiance, sever ties with her awful father, and try to make amends with her sister. There were plenty of heartbreaking moments and plenty of nailbiting moments as well. It's told in dual POV, so we get the benefit of both Garrett's and Carina's thoughts as they work through all their crap.

This entire series is so emotional and exciting and utterly romantic. I loved every minute of the time I spent with Garrett and Carina. And, I'm very much looking forward to spending more time in Beachwood Bay.

About the Author

Melody Grace is the USA Today bestselling author of UNBROKEN and UNTOUCHED. A small-town girl turned SoCal beach-lover, she spent years with her nose in a book before deciding it was time to write them for herself. She loves bad boys, good books, and pistachio-flavored ice-cream.

Learn more about Melody --> Website / Twitter / Facebook

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule:

March 13

Book Addict Mumma-Review
Book Bitches Blog-Playlist & Review

March 14

Forever Me Romance-Review
Paperbook Princess-Dreamcast & Review

March 16

Book Angel Booktopia-Guest Post & Review
Nerd Alert Book Love-Review

March 17

Lovin Los Libros-Guest Post & Review
Krista’s Dust Jacket-Review