Wednesday, June 17, 2015

REVIEW + EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY: King by T.M. Frazier


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KING. IS. HERE!
NOW AVAILABLE
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Blurb
Homeless, hungry and desperate enough to steal, Doe has no memories of who she is or where she comes from.


A notorious career criminal just released from prison, King is someone you don’t want to cross unless you’re prepared to pay him back in blood, sweat, pu$$y or a combination of all three.


King’s future hangs in the balance. Doe’s is written in her past. When they come crashing together, they will have to learn that sometimes in order to hold on, you have to first let go.


Warning: This book contains graphic violence, consensual and nonconsensual sex, drug use, abuse, and other taboo subjects and adult subject matter. Although originally slated to be a standalone, KING is now a two part series.

Shel: Court and I were first introduced to T.M. Frazier when we read The Dark Light of  Day and just as that was grim and at times hard to read (because of the harshness of the situations), King also had its fair share of darkness and violence. If you haven't read her work before, take heed of the warning at the front of the book (and on this synopsis)--this novel isn't for those who like rainbows and light, though it definitely has moments of levity and sweetness. Court: Yes. That was a great place to start. And we are special little lovers of darkness and not altogether the sweetest and happy stories, so you'll have to forgive us if that isn't what you're into. We love all of the dark and twisty things, and aren't all that sweet and fluffy. King, like Shel said, is definitely NOT sweet and fluffy...yet like she also said...I found myself smiling at scenes that were sweet because the characters are so easy to like.

Shel: As you can see from the synopsis we're dealing with someone (Doe) who has no idea who she is or how she got there. She's living in terrible conditions before she meets King and the immediate aftermath isn't really great either--rape, violence, and misogyny seem to be common in the group that King runs in. While these things don't necessarily disappear as the novel progresses, the story becomes more focused on the hot and cold relationship of King + Doe, the back story of King + Preppy, and the reason why King is intent on making a ton of money fast, legalities be damned. Court: Wow. I don't know most of the time how to follow the things Shel said, but this paragraph right here...just I am in awe of how perfectly it describes all of the things that you will find in this story. I think that some of what drew us to King the character, is how unforgivingly relentless in his plight he is. I mean, the first time we meet him, he is in an unsavory situation doing yet another unsavory thing...and yet we like his alpha-ness enough to keep going. I found myself mouthing WTF, more than a few times! 

Shel: The warning at the beginning suggests not to read this if you hate cliffhangers and this couldn't be more true; the last 15% of this novel turns grim really quickly and then BOOM! Cliffhanger. If you aren't a fan, wait until the concluding book Tyrant comes out in August to start King...or just know that you'll have to wait a little while to find out how it all ends. Court: Holy cliffhanger, batman. However, I guess they don't bother us all that much because we keep doing it. I was glad to have the warning, but wouldn't per se have wanted to wait any longer to find out what happens after all of the reviews we've read...and how long we've waited! Thank you T.M. for sharing your words, and we will keep right on waiting patiently for more! 

Shel: So, why read this? Many of you will read this because you liked her other works. Some of you will find it appealing because of the warning or reviews about its darkness/grittiness. Also not to be overlooked is that this is a story of two people who fall in love despite the initial unwillingness to even like each other. Additionally, ther are these moments where he's soft and she's hard..moments of tenderness and love and let's not forget those moments of humor to take the edge off--all of these blend together and it just works. Court: Humor = Preppy...he is one of my absolutely favorite characters. Little guy is zany, and insane, and just overall brings an added element to an already full story. Doe has a lot going on in her life, and when you're just about to wonder if this girl can take any more from life, she gets hit with yet another thing. Having Preppy as her friend, and King at her back sure helps things, but also brings lot of new challenges! 

Shel: One thing I noticed is that our early copy was still in the editing stages and while I have no doubt the minor things were fixed, Court and I had some conversations about the hot/cold relationship between King and Doe+ general development --things that may have been tweaked in the process. Court: Right. Critically, the pacing was rough. I had a hard time figuring out how much time had passed, and then again, it is balls to the wall all of the time anyways...but I could've used a little more on that. As we did read an advanced copy, that may no longer be an issue, so I definitely think that this one is not to be missed because of the issue I had with that. Alpha male to the extreme, yo. And we love that. 


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Excerpt (Not previously released)
“Hey there,” a deep voice rumbled against my ear.
When I turned around, I was eye level with a wall of leather with white patches sewn into it. One read VICE PRESIDENT and the other, BEACH BASTARDS. The man wearing the vest had long blonde hair that draped over to one side of his head, revealing the shaved area beneath. He had a beard, not stubble, a full-on beard that was a few inches long and very well groomed. He stood well over six feet, his frame lean yet very cut and muscular. I couldn’t tell what color his eyes were because his lids hung heavy and were slightly reddened. His entire neck was covered with colorful tattoos and when he went to light a cigarette I noticed that the backs of both of his hands and were covered in ink as well.
“Hey,” I answered back, trying to assert my newly found false confidence.
He was beyond attractive. He was gorgeous. If I had to end up in someone’s bed, I imagined that being in his wouldn’t be half-bad. He sniffled, drawing attention to the light dusting of white powder trapped in his nostrils.
“They call me Bear. You belong to anyone?” he asked seductively, leaning in toward me.
“Maybe…you?” I winced at my choice of words. Of all the fucking things I could have said, THAT was what came to mind? Stupid fucking mouth. Nikki was right. I spoke first and thought second.
Bear chuckled. “I’d love that, beautiful, but I got something else in mind.”
“Oh, yeah? What would that be?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light although my mind and heart were racing.
“This party? It’s for my buddy. And he was down here for a total of thirty minutes before he hightailed it upstairs to drown himself in a bottle of Jack. He’s like a cat in a tree, can’t seem to talk him down. It’s understandable, seeing as he’s been away a while, but I figure you can help me out.”
He hooked his finger into the front of my skirt and slowly dragged me toward him until my nipples were flush up against his chest. He pressed his fingers into the skin right above my public bone and I resisted the urge to jump back by biting down on my bottom lip.
“The BBB’s have never really been his thing.” He paused when he saw the confused look on my face at his abbreviation. “Beach Bastard Bitches.” He explained. “But you? You’re new. You’re different. You’ve got this cute little innocent thing going on, but I know you’re not or you wouldn’t be at this kind of party if that was your deal. I’m thinking he’ll like you.” Bear brushed his lips against the side of my neck. “So maybe you go up there. Make him happy for me. Make little him happy by wrapping those gorgeous lips around his cock for a while. Then when you’re done, bring him back down here to civilization. And maybe later, if you’re a good girl and do what you’re told, we can go back to the clubhouse and have some real fun.” He grazed his teeth along my earlobe. “Think you can you do that for me?”
“Yeah, yeah I can do that,” I said. My skin prickling from his touch. And I could do it.
I think.
“What’s your name anyway?” Bear’s hand slowly traveled up the back of my leg, pushing up my skirt, it came to rest on my ass cheek, which was then exposed to anyone who might have been looking in our direction.
“Doe. My name is Doe,” I breathed.
“Fitting.” He said with a chuckle. “Well, my innocent looking little Doe.” Bear leaned in close and surprised me by planting a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. His lips were soft, and he smelled like laundry detergent mixed with liquor and cigarettes. I was just beginning to think that the kiss meant that he’d changed his mind and didn’t want me to send me away to his friend, but no such luck. He pulled away abruptly and turned me around by my shoulders so that I was facing the stairs. He swatted me on my ass, propelling me forward. “Up the stairs you go, sweetheart. Last room at the end of the hallway. Be good to my boy, and me and you will get to play later.” He sealed his words with a wink and as I made my way up the stairs I turned back and flashed him a fake smile. I hoped the guy at the end of the hallway was like Bear, because then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Then a thought hit me that had me fighting back the tears that sprung from my eyes with a sudden force that almost took me to my knees.
I’d officially sold myself, and the price was far more than any dollar amount.


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About the Author:
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T.M. (Tracey Marie) Frazier resides in sunny Southwest Florida with her husband and three feisty fur kids.


She attended Florida Gulf Coast University where she specialized in public speaking. After years working in real estate and new home construction, she decided it was finally time to stop pushing her dreams to the back burner and pursue writing seriously.


In the third grade she wrote her very first story about a lost hamster. It earned rave reviews from both her teacher and her parents.


It only took her twenty years to start the next one.
It will not be about hamsters.


Stalk Her: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Goodreads.


GIVEAWAY

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