Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Blog Tour: Hopeful by Louise Bay




Guys like Joel Wentworth weren't supposed to fall in love with girls like me. He could have had his pick of the girls on campus, but somehow the laws of nature were defied and we fell crazy in love.
For a short time, I thought it would be for infinity.
On July 10, 2006, immediately after graduation, Joel left for New York. And, despite him wanting me to go with him, I'd refused, unwilling to disappoint my parents and risk the judgment of my friends. I hadn’t seen him again. Never even spoke to him.
I've spent the last eight years working hard to put my career front and center in my life, dodging any personal complications. I have a strict no-dating policy. I've managed to piece together a reality that works for me.
Until now.
Now, Joel's coming back to London.
And I need to get over him before he gets over here.
Hopeful is a stand alone novel.
***Not suitable for younger readers due to sexual content and language.***
Amazon
Nook
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KOBO

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/hopeful-1

Hopeful by Louise Bay is a love story that spans almost a decade, making you smile at the romanticism of it all and then frown when you heart breaks at what life was like for the couple once they separated.  This was a 3.5 star read for me and I would recommend it to those who enjoy a good love story where the main character has an inner battle of wills as well as the happily ever after that you yearn to read as you turn each page.

"It wasn't that I wasn't in love-I was.  It was just that my love just wasn't in my life. Love hadn't been enough"

Louise Bay weaves the story of Ava and Joel, college sweethearts who's tremendous love ends due to circumstance by going back and forth between the past and the present.  I loved the way the reader had a glimpse into their relationship when they were at University, to see how what occurred for them to be in a place that they hadn't talked or seen each other in 8 years.

Ava, a successful career driven lawyer, has the same close knit group of friends since her days at the University, that is minus one very important person, Joel.  It is when she finds out that Joel is returning to London permanently that her life goes into a tailspin, where she begins reminiscing of the past, wondering how it will be to see him again, and becomes desperate to have a man at her side while she does.

"Nothing worth having comes easy, Ava."

Ava and Joel became friends, while studying in the library after having met once or twice through her good friend Adam.  Ava is attracted to Joel first because of his good looks and the confidence that he exudes, but then because of his caring, and sweet personality.  Their relationship becomes extremely close until they begin dating.  But there is one other huge detail, none of their friends know that they are together, not even Adam.  Ava is worried about what other people will think, that she is pretty enough or smart enough to be with a guy like Joel and that worries her tremendously throughout their relationship.  Joel wants everyone to know that she is his girlfriend, but Ava begs him to keep it to himself, so that they can enjoy each other without outsiders interfering.  The closer they get, the more that Joel wants to let the cat out of the bag, and just when she convinces herself that she can handle whatever comes when her friends find out the unthinkable happens.  Hannah and Jules tell Ava that Joel is a womanizer, that he is using her and that she needs to be careful, why would he want to be with her when he could have any girl he wanted, once again cementing the fears and insecurities that Ava had.  It is upon graduation that Joel and Ava who are madly in love are torn apart, because instead of living for herself, Ava makes a decision for her life to make everyone happy, losing Joel in the process.

With Joel back in London, to say it is awkward is putting it mildly.  Louise Bay wrote those scenes so realistically, I was picturing it in my mind and totally relating to every feeling that Ava was going through in each moment.  Ava tries desperately to quickly move on from the feelings that she still carries for Joel all of the years later and starts internet dating.  She begins seeing Will, who appears to the reader to be utterly perfect in every way and you almost want to root for them to make it; almost but not quite.

Through a series of outings with their friends, Joel and Ava are drawn together more and more and her feelings for him grow stronger then they ever were, until one night when she finally brings Will out to meet her friends wearing the necklace that Joel gave her all those years before forces everything to come to a head.  Will Ava and Joel have their happily ever after?  You will just have to read to find out!

"For me, this...you...are everything."

I write sexy, romantic, contemporary novels - the kind I like to read!
Ruined by romantic mini-series of the seventies and eighties, I love all things romantic. There's not enough of it in real life so I'll settle for books and films.
I love the rain, the West Wing, London, days when you don't have to wear make-up, being alone, being with friends, elephants and champagne.

Thank you again for taking part in the Blog Tour of Hopeful. Please let me know if you have any questions.

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