06 November 2015

Blog Tour Review - Hard Beat (Driven #7) By: K. Bromberg + A GIVEAWAY!!!

Title: Hard Beat (Driven #7)
Author: K. Bromberg
Publisher: Signet, 400 Pages (November 3rd, 2015)
From: the Publisher
Format: eARC
Add to: Goodreads
Order a copy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK, Kobo, iBooks

NOTE: This is a "Adult/New Adult" novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 18+

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Ache comes a blistering new novel filled with danger, secrecy, and a desire that can’t be sated…

Foreign war correspondent Tanner Thomas is addicted to living on the edge. Needing the adrenaline rush of his job to help him cope with a personal loss, he throws himself back into the game, concentrating all his energy on getting the next big story.

But when he meets his new photojournalist, Beaux Croslyn, he can’t help but feel like he’s losing his focus—and maybe risking more…

With secrets she won’t address, Beaux is far from your ordinary woman. Determined to keep her distance, she’s willing to pull Tanner in closer and hide behind the sparks flying between them. But as Beaux’s past begins to put their relationship—and their lives—at risk, Tanner’s determination to find the truth puts them both in jeopardy.

He's ready to chase her to the ends of the earth to find out if what they had was real, or if the danger surrounding them was just an exquisite heat fated to burn out…

Review: 3.5 Star - Hard Beat is the seventh book in author K. Brombergs Driven series. And while this might be part of a series this title can without a doubt be read as a standalone. So, if you haven’t read any of the previous books in the series, you are not only missing out, but have no fear, you can start here! (Rhyming in this review was just an added bonus!)

When I first started reading this series I couldn’t get enough. It’s a fact that still remains. However I find myself looking more and more for Colton and Rylee. I miss those two, so when they pop up here and there throughout the books it’s like a little hidden Easter egg. And Bromberg didn’t let me down in that respect one bit.

As I’ve read the previous books there have been certain characters who have intrigued me and one happens to be Rylee’s brother Tanner. He’s talked about and doesn’t often make an appearance in pervious installments, however when I learned what his “job” was I wanted to hear his story. When I found out Hard Beat was all about the Foreign war correspondent I couldn’t wait to find out what makes him tick.

Tanner himself is an adrenaline junkie of sorts. He likes to live as close to the edge as possible and in ways that makes him the perfect person to be in the thick of a war zone to report it. He’s not ready to give it up and settle down. He wants that rush he feels when he gets a call that something big is about to happen in the middle of the war torn desert.

It’s not until something happens to someone he loves that his life changes and makes him question things. He knows he needs to get back out there and to push through if he’s going to make a difference and make up for what he believes he failed in.

So when Beaux walks into his life there’s more than just fireworks, there’s stress, worry and disaster written all over it. However, there’s no turning back when the cards are all on the table.

Their story was kind of slow. It had great parts to it that simmered, yet this one wasn’t my favorite of all the books so far. I wanted to love it and it just kind of… felt a bit idle. Both of these characters are dealing with things they can’t or don’t want to face or talk about so the secrets are steady. It’s because of these that make the book feel like there’s a storm brewing just under the surface.

I grew frustrated beyond words with Beaux. She asked so much and gave so little. She pried and had Tanner opening up to her and then… nothing was reciprocated. I wanted there to be some kind of explanation to what the hell was going on and it wasn’t until so much later in the book that… WOW. Some shocking things came out.

And shocked I was. I couldn’t believe what I was reading and it wasn’t until almost the end of the book that I loved it. It did make up for the middle so much that… I’m still shocked what happened. Then what happened after that and then even after that I don’t think my jaw came up off of the floor for the last hour or so of the book. I haven’t had such a shock like this in a book in awhile so I have to applaud Bromberg for doing just that. WOW.

Yeah, the ending more than made the book for me. I was the book for me. It’s emotional, surprising, maddening and shocking all over again. I felt so many emotions during that last part Tanner and Beaux’s.

While this might not have been my favorite of this series, it won’t stop me from reading any future titles because there’s just so much I love about these characters and their lives. If you haven’t read any of these books yet, you should give one or all a try. If I was going to suggest where to start, I’d say at the beginning where it all started with Colton and Rylee. Enjoy!

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines and damaged heroes who we love to hate and hate to love.

She’s a mixture of most of her female characters: sassy, intelligent, stubborn, reserved, outgoing, driven, emotional, strong, and wears her heart on her sleeve. All of which she displays daily with her husband and three children where they live in Southern California.

On a whim, K. Bromberg decided to try her hand at this writing thing. Since then she has written The Driven Series (Driven, Fueled, Crashed, Raced, Aced (releasing 1/11/16)), the standalone Driven Novels (Slow Burn, Sweet Ache, Hard Beat (releasing 11/3/15), and a short story titled UnRaveled. She is currently working on new projects and a few surprises for her readers.

She loves to hear from her readers so make sure you check her out on social media.