On the outside, Liberty Davis
appeared to have it all…a loving family, a tight knit circle of friends, and a
bright future ahead of her. Everything was perfect. That is until her brother
tragically took his own life, turning her whole world upside down.
Left to pick up the pieces of her
broken family, Liberty is faced with focusing all of her attention on helping
her parents cope with the loss of their son, while putting her own life on the
back burner. But what no one seems to realize is that she is just as broken
inside.
Now, four years later, twenty
year old Liberty is taking back the reins of her life. She leaves behind
everything she’s ever known, hoping to make a fresh start…one where she isn’t
faced with the constant reminder that her brother is nothing more than faded
memory. What she didn’t expect to find along the way was Shayne.
Tall, dark and tattooed, Shayne
Thompson has developed quite a reputation for being a player. Despite
everyone’s negative perception, Liberty still finds herself drawn to him. When
she learns that Shayne knows all too well what it feels like to lose someone
you love, she finds that they have a lot more in common than just a physical
attraction.
When Liberty discovers a secret
from Shayne’s past that threatens to tear them apart, she begins to question
everything she’s ever felt for him. Will Liberty choose to follow her heart or
will she give up the one person who finally made her feel whole again?
**This story contains language
and sexual scenes, some of which may be unsuitable for younger readers.**
Exclusive Excerpt:
“You
made dessert, too?” He even thought of dessert. Seriously, could this man be any more perfect?
“Sort
of…you’ll see.” Ughhh, that smile! He
was beaming with a playful boyish grin, showing off that dimple I was beginning
to love so much.
When
we finished eating (and might I add, I practically licked the plate clean…it
was that good), he cleared up all of our dishes and headed back towards the
house. I waited on the blanket, watching the flicker of the tiki torches
reflect against the waves. Shayne had set up a small bonfire on the beach that
was now crackling to life; the night air had a bit of a chill, and I was
grateful for the radiating warmth. I barely heard Shayne’s footsteps as he
approached, and I noticed his hands were hiding something behind his back.
“What
do you have there?”
His
lips curled up into a sneaky grin as his arms came out from behind him. He was
holding marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey bars… Oh, he knew the way straight to my heart!
“How
did you know I love s’mores?”
“Who
doesn’t love s’mores?” Good answer.
Shayne
only had one stick to roast the marshmallows, so he took the honors of going
first. As soon as the marshmallow was aflame, he blew it out and assembled his
s’more. I was about to grab the stick to make my own, when he held his s’more
about an inch away from my lips.
“Take
a bite, sweetheart. I need to make sure my culinary skills are still up to
par.” It was kind of hard to mess up s’mores, but I obliged his request.
I
leaned forward and took a huge bite, leaving a trail of marshmallow across my
mouth.
“Mmm,
thish ish so gooood!” I moaned with my mouth full of the gooey concoction.
Maybe
I should have held back on the moaning because when I looked over at Shayne
next to the fire, his face radiated with pure lust. I had never seen his
beautiful emerald eyes burn with so much passion before, and I was afraid to
imagine what sinful thoughts were going through his head.
Shayne’s
hand reached forward, wiping the excess marshmallow from my mouth. His thumb
spread the sticky melted sugar across my lips before he placed it in his mouth,
sucking off the remnants.
“Your
right, this is pretty damn good, but I think I missed some.”
He
repositioned himself so that he was mere inches from my face. His hand reached
up to cup my cheek as he stared into my eyes, and all I could see was my face
reflecting in his gaze. I kept my eyes open right until the very last second
before he pressed his soft lips against mine, at which point I completely lost
all inhibitions. His tongue slipped past his lips to lick the marshmallow from
mine. I let a small moan escape, and he took that as invitation part my lips
with his greedy tongue.
His
kiss was different from anything I had ever experienced. Our mouths moved
together in unison, and when his velvety tongue swirled with mine in some sort
of sensual tango, I finally understood what it meant to feel completely
consumed by someone. I’m not sure if it was the wine or my hormones going into
overdrive, but soon I was feeling an uncontrollable desire to take charge.
Without
breaking our kiss, I pushed Shayne over on the blanket so he was lying on his
back. I used the momentum to straddle him before I could change my mind. His
mouth moved against mine with more intensity, and warmth began to pool in my
belly, moving further south. I could feel his arousal grow beneath me as his
erection pressed against my mound. I was surprised to find him just as turned
on as I was. Taking the initiative to go further, I slowly rolled my hips back
and forth against him. I thought I heard a low growl slip past his lips as he
reciprocated my thrusts. He buried his hand in the tangles of my hair, while
the other rested near the dimples of my lower back pulling me in closer. I
couldn’t get enough of him, and I was quickly losing control.
Something
building up inside of me was on the verge of bursting. The intense sensations
grew higher and higher until I couldn’t hold back anymore. My release resulted
in me shouting Shayne’s name loud enough for anyone that might be out on the
beach to hear. When the tremors coursing through my body finally subsided, I
opened my eyes to find Shayne staring back at me petrified. Oh God, what have I done? Clearly I had
caused the look of horror on his face.
Jessica’s Review:
I
am sitting here struggling with this review, not really sure where to start. I
read the synopsis, saw the cover and thought YES! this book looks and sounds
amazing. Did I enjoy reading it...yes.
Was I let down a little...yes.
The
book starts off with Liberty driving to Savannah to start over and live her
life for her instead of acting as the parent to her parents four years after
her brother takes his own life. The first day in Savannah she meets
Brett...sounds promising right? They immediately hit it off. When she meets
Brett's sister Maddie they quickly form their own little family. Then she meets
Shayne, bad boy image, hottie and tattoos; not someone she would typically go
for. There is something about him that she is drawn to. I loved that she is a
northern girl falling for a southern boy. The bantering in the beginning was
great!
Where
I struggled with the book was staying drawn in because for me it went really
slow until about halfway through. I kept waiting for something to happen.
FINALLY Liberty starts to let Shayne in and they start dating. I was still
waiting on the excitement. With any book nothing is ever perfect right? So here
comes the twist, and yup it was predictable. And like with any other female she
flips out and takes off running...straight into Brett's arms. Honestly, I
expected another twist to follow but it didn't happen. Then it was like ok lets
wrap it up, smooth things out and here is the end.
I
loved the development of Shayne and Brett's characters. I got hooked on them
quick, but who doesn't love the southern boy charm? Liberty is who I had a hard
time with. She says: "I never allowed myself to get close enough to anyone
because honestly, what was the point? I knew they'd eventually leave me and
just the thought of having to say goodbye tore me up inside", yet she wore
her heart on her sleeve and immediately got attached to everyone.
I
don't want it to sound like this is a bad book because it's not. The story line
is great. To me it seems like it could have moved faster in the beginning and
not wrapped up so much in the end. I saw so many possibilities while reading
it. I know writing isn't an easy thing and that is why I leave that up to the
authors, but this book just wasn't for me. And it surprising because I love the
country boys. Definitely give it a shot and see how you feel about it. I know
Tabby enjoyed it and loved torturing me when I asked questions as I read it.
Favorite Quote: "Did you seriously just say that? Don't
give me that Yankee-Confederate bullshit. It's 2013! Get the fuck over it
already!"
Tabby’s
Review:
There is so much I can say about
Relinquishing Liberty but I can’t without spoiling the story. My heart got
ripped out in the first chapter, put back together only to be ripped out again.
This book was a roller coaster of emotions, twisting and turning my stomach
into a knot. The characters were very well written, so well that I could feel
their emotions. When Liberty cried, when she hurt, I cried right along with
her, I felt her pain. She became an extension of me. The guys don’t get me
started on the guys…hotness overload to say the least. Shayne turned me into a
Tabby puddle, and Brett is the sexy knight in shining armor that all women dream
of.
I admire Liberty, she grew so much in
such a short time, she went from avoiding getting close to anyone to avoid
being left behind to letting her walls down and letting people in. She was
damaged yet still strong and feisty at the same time. She is stronger than I
because at one point in the book I would have turned around, regardless of the
pain I was feeling. Yes, I know you have no idea what I am talking about, but I
cannot give you more details without ruining it for you.
Maureen, you have gained a fan/friend for
life with me. You listened to me talk about the book incessantly, even at one
point saying you were going to make me read another book. Well, that is what
you get for writing such a great book. I have read reviews where people
complain it is too sappy, ummmm hello people, it’s a romance novel. What did
you expect blood and guts? Yes, I will admit, parts of it were predictable, but
it had a major WTF!!! moment, where I had to think back to see what I missed. I
cannot wait for Unforseen Heartbeat to come out, then I can pester you some more.
Favorite
quotes:
“I’m
not sure it’s the chicken that is making your mouth water, sweetheart”-Shayne
Shayne
knew exactly what he was doing, and I had the panty puddles to prove it.
“Once
I knew I loved you, everything else fell into place. I knew I had finally found
my other half, my better half… my missing puzzle piece.” –Shayne
Links-
Amazon
(paperback):
http://www.amazon.com/Relinquishing-Liberty-Second-Chances-Volume/dp/1492101400/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377465730&sr=8-1&keywords=relinquishing+liberty+by+maureen+mayer
Createspace
(paperback):https://www.createspace.com/4393520
Barnes
& Noble- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/relinquishing-liberty-maureen-mayer/1116750676?ean=2940148637905&itm=1&usri=2940148637905
Maureen
Mayer was born, raised and currently resides in Buffalo, NY with her loving and
supportive family and boyfriend of 8+ years. She’s always had a love for the
outdoors, and when the city isn’t buried under snow, she can be found hiking,
fishing, camping or lying on the beach. She’s a sucker for off-color humor, but
holds a sweet spot for sick and twisted horror films.
Thanks to
authors like J. K. Rawling, Stephanie Meyer and E. L. James, Maureen has
rediscovered her love for reading. When she’s not writing, you can find her
curled up in bed with her kindle, diving into a steamy romance novel. She is
currently working on her first new adult novel and hopes to self-publish it
late this summer.
Links:
Twitter- https://twitter.com/AuthorMoMayer
Facebook Events:
Book
Blast- https://www.facebook.com/events/192368674269086/
Thanks for the giveaway!
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