Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: I Stand Before You – S. R. Grey

When it comes to tattooed bad boys, Chase Gartner is the real deal. Partying, engaging in meaningless sex, getting into fights—Chase indulges in it all during his late teen years, thus firmly solidifying his status as a heartbreakingly gorgeous but way-too-dangerous-to-trust guy in his hometown of Harmony Creek, Ohio. Then, following one fateful night of reckless decisions, Chase’s actions finally catch up to him and land him in prison.

Now, four years have passed and Chase finds himself a free man. He returns to Harmony Creek, ready to pick up the pieces and start rebuilding his shattered life.

Things are off to a promising start when he meets Kay Stanton, a young woman with a tragic past of her own. Despite a powerful attraction, Chase and Kay are naturally hesitant to become involved. That’s why friendship feels like the safest option. But when passions ignite and love blossoms, a relationship that is destined and meant to be can only be resisted for so long. When Chase and Kay finally succumb to their feelings they realize being together feels more right and true than anything they have ever experienced.

But their love is soon tested. Chase’s wild past still haunts and tempts him, and Kay is keeping a secret that could tear them apart.

I Stand Before You is a journey of hope and forgiveness, coming to terms with the past and moving forward. But mostly it’s a story of two damaged people who take a chance, open their hearts, and find true love.

Series:  Judge Me Not #1
Release Date: September 2013
Publisher: SR Grey
Source: AToMR Tours
Reviewer: Shannon
Rating:

Buy the book at:

Reviewer’s Thoughts

I really liked the story of Chase and Kay.  Both of them were essentially broken people who did their best to keep others away.  But fate managed to bring these two people, who were desperate to be accepted, into each others lives.

Kay has been living with tremendous guilt after the death of her much younger sister on her watch.  Being shunned from her parents and missing her sister, she remains in the small town where her sister dies living a partial existence.  While she doesn’t really admit to it, she’s also dealing with the abusive relationship she had with her high school boyfriend.  Because of everything, she shies away from people….despite being an elementary school teacher.

Chase has many things he feels guilty about, but falling into the abyss of drugs and alcohol to diminish the pain at the loss of his father is his greatest.  That fall lead to a four year stint in prison and for his relationship with his little brother to become broken.  When he returns to the farmhouse he inherited from his grandmother, Chase hopes that by working at the local church he can redeem himself.

When Kay and Chase meet, you get a sense for the chemistry immediately.  They try fighting their attraction and declare they’re only going to be friends.  It was noble, on their both their parts, to try and deny what was there while they both try to continue on with their lives.  But when they finally give in, it’s very hot and very clear these two would be able to help each other through just about anything (which they prove when Chase has a slight slip).

My only issue with the book was all the inner monologue when the story was being told in each of the different POVs.  I appreciate being privy to a character’s inner thoughts, but I don’t want that to overshadow actual dialogue.  At times, it felt like that monologue was used rather than letting the characters actually have the conversation.  I get summarizing a conversation here or there, but it happened a little too much for me.

A great read about starting over and forgiving yourself.  I can’t wait to see what happens next with Will and Cassie.

The author is sponsoring the following tour-wide giveaway:

(1) $50 Amazon Gift Card – International

(5) eBook copies of I Stand Before You (mobi and epub) – International

To enter, complete the Rafflecopter form below (if the form doesn’t appear, click the link to be taken to it).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

S.R. Grey is the author of Harbour Falls and Willow Point, first and second novels in A Harbour Falls Mystery series. She is also the author of I Stand Before You, first novel in the Judge Me Not series (New Adult/Contemporary Romance).

Ms. Grey resides in western Pennsylvania. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Robert Morris College, as well as an MBA from Duquesne University.

She is currently working on Wickingham Way, the third installment in A Harbour Falls Mystery series, to be released in January 2014, as well as Never Doubt Me, second novel in the Judge Me Not series.

Other interests include reading, traveling, running, and cheering for her hometown sports teams.

Author Social Media Links:

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6433082.S_R_Grey

Twitter – https://twitter.com/AuthorSRGrey

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/SR-Grey/361159217278943

Website – http://srgrey.webs.com/