Cover Reveal: Slave to the Rhythm by Jane Harvey-Berrick

We are delighted to bring you the cover of Jane Harvey-Berrick’s newest novel.

♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪  ♫  ♫ ♪  ♫  ♫ ♪♫♪

Dance like the world is watching…

Dance. Guns.

Music. Bullets.

Rhythm. Pain.

Music in my head, dance in my body, the rhythm of my heart.

How far can you fall in just one month? How quickly can the human spirit be broken? Where does evil hide in plain sight?

Ash wants to dance. Needs it. To leave behind a life of expectation and duty, to set his soul free.

But life is never that simple. Every step is a journey on a new road.

For every action, there is a reaction.

Every choice has a consequence.

And when you meet the wrong person, all bets are off.

Laney tolerates her limitations, pushing quietly at boundaries. But when Ash crashes into her world through rage and violence, it sets off a chain reaction that neither of them expected.

♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪  ♫  ♫ ♪  ♫  ♫ ♪♫♪

Amazon US  Amazon UK  Amazon CA Nook  Kobo

♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪  ♫  ♫ ♪  ♫  ♫ ♪♫♪

Laney POV

“Hi, I’m Ash. Are you by yourself?”

It was hard to be sure over the pounding music, but it sounded as if he had an accent. Something Eastern European, perhaps Russian? Polish?

I gave him a polite but closed smile, a cool smile that hid all warmth, a smile for slow servers and rude cab drivers. A smile for men I didn’t trust.

“No. I’m here with my friends.”

The man looked around him, then shrugged theatrically. “I don’t see them. Would you like to dance?”

And he held out his hand, obviously assuming that I would say yes.

I laughed.

“No, I’m not dancing.”

He frowned, his hand still suspended between us. “But you like to dance?”

I stopped laughing and stared, my gaze sinking into his, puzzled, annoyed.

“What makes you think I like to dance?”

He shrugged again and his hand fell to his side.

“You’re in a nightclub, and you’re not drinking. So you must be here to dance. Please, dance with me.”

He held out his hand again, but I shook my head impatiently. “Then go find someone who will dance with you.”

His eyes widened with surprise, and then he grinned as he leaned on the table, his perfect face inches from mine. “Maybe I want to dance with you.”

“Then you’ll be waiting a long time.”

He cocked his head to one side and I noticed a small beauty spot, shaped like a teardrop beneath his left eye—a perfect imperfection. Up close I could see that he was younger than I’d thought, younger than me perhaps, maybe early twenties. My eyes dropped to his lips and then to his throat. I could see a thin silver chain around his neck.

“I’m a good dancer,” he said, looking almost wounded at my continued refusal.

He wasn’t lying, but my anger, smoldering beneath the surface, ignited.

“I’m not dancing!”

“But everyone comes here to dance,” he insisted, his intense dark eyes so focused, it was unnerving.

“Not me,” I insisted.

He was making me anxious now and I glanced around for my friends.

“You’ll have a good time.”

“I don’t doubt it,” I snapped, losing patience. “Your last friend seemed to enjoy herself immensely.”

A dull red flooded his cheeks and he looked away.

His reaction surprised me. I’d hurt his feelings, but I wasn’t sure why.

“Maybe I’d like to dance with a pretty girl for a change,” he said softly, glancing up at me from beneath long dark lashes.

♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪  ♫  ♫ ♪  ♫  ♫ ♪♫♪

“What it would be like to dance with him like that, to be swept away, to float, to glide, to caress his skin, to move with him through the music, the music that enslaved him”

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to write. Perhaps it was growing up in a village well known for its mystery and folklore, which sparked my imagination as a child.

I enjoy writing in several different genres, and I've just published my first romcom, 'Dazzled'.

All my books have a little me in them, and I'm inspired by the personal stories of those around me. It's often from a simple discussion overheard in the train ('Exposure'), in a café, or in the street, where ideas for characters or scenes come to me.

I fell in love with both Sam ('The New Samurai') and the eponymous Sebastian in 'The Education of Sebastian' and the sequel 'The Education of Caroline', and missed them desperately once I'd finished their stories. I love writing dialogue and always try to include touches of humour in the most poignant stories.

Whether you like adult romance novels, new or young adult writing, thrillers, or fantasy, I hope you'll enjoy the journey through my stories.

Author Links

Web   Facebook  Twitter    Amazon Page   Goodreads  Instagram

Review: Lifers by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Lifers by Jane Harvey-BerrickPublished February 7th 2014 by Harvey Berrick Publishing

After eight years in prison, twenty-four year old Jordan Kane is the man everyone loves to hate.

Forced to return to his hometown while on parole, Jordan soon learns that this small town hasn't changed since he was carted off to juvie all those years ago. He is the local pariah, shunned by everyone, including his own parents. But their hatred of him doesn't even come close to the loathing he feels every time he looks in the mirror.

Working odd jobs for the preacher lady, Jordan bides his time before he can leave this backwards town. But can distance erase the memories that haunt him? Trapped in the prison of his own mind Jordan wonders if the pain of living will ever subside?

Torrey Delaney is new in town and certainly doesn't behave in a way the locals believe a preacher’s daughter should. Her reputation for casual hook-ups and meaningless sex is the talk of the town. Add that to her budding friendship with the hardened ex-con handyman, and the good Reverend is less than thrilled with her estranged daughter’s path.

As friendship forms, is it possible for two damaged people who are afraid to love take their relationship to the next level? Can Torrey live with Jordan’s demons, and can Jordan break through Torrey's walls? With the disapproval of a small town weighing heavily on them, will they find their place in the world? Can they struggle against the odds, or will their world be viciously shattered?

Is love a life sentence?

Due to scenes of a sexual nature, not recommended for under 18.

My Thoughts

Great story filled with lovable characters that captured my heart.

This isn’t the first time I’ve enjoyed a novel by Jane Harvey-Berrick, so I feel I can say this with confidence. There’s just something about Jane’s character casting where I’ve noticed she likes to pair strong female characters with young and in this case younger-like males. In this novel, Jordan and Torrey are both the same age, but the way Jordan carried himself at times compared to Torrey, she constantly felt like the more mature/older one in the relationship.

In Lifers, Jordan Kane returns to his small town Texas home after serving eight years in prison for the death of his brother. His welcome home is met with hostile townies that refuse to forget how Jordan stripped them of their golden boy. When he enters the local diner for a cup of coffee before heading to his parole assignment with the Reverend, he’s tossed out before he can even blink twice.

Jordan caught Torrey’s eye immediately when he walked into her diner, and she was absolutely shocked by how the patrons treated this guy. Being from out of town, and taking a dead end job in an effort to save up some money, she risks everything to befriend Jordan when everyone else seems to want to continue and punish him well after completing his sentence.

First off, I can see how Torrey Delaney can be a tough pill to swallow for some readers. She’s a fireball that’s in-your-face mouthy. However, when you pull back the layers of her strong personality, it wasn’t hard to miss the genuine, honest and caring character the lies beneath. As much as I didn’t like how she sometimes treated Jordan, I have to admit he needed a good shake-up everyone once in a while. Viewed individually, they are like night and day, but when these two come together they blend perfectly.

I struggled with a few of the characters, which was no surprise because of their choices and treatment toward Jordan, but I never wavered on how I felt about Torrey. I was glad Jordan was able to find a friend and protector in her and their relationship truly felt sincere.

The pacing of the novel seemed to have moments of small starts and stops, but overall I enjoyed my time with Jordan and Torrey. Jane Harvey-Berrick proves once again that she can pair up two unlikely people and make it work. Well done!

4 Suns

Cover Reveal: Lifers by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Lifers by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Expected publication: February 7th 2014
Cover designer & graphic artist: By Hang Le http://byhangle.com
Preorder: Amazon US / Amazon UK

About the book:Jordan Kane is the man everyone loves to hate.
Forced to return to his hometown while on parole, Jordan soon learns that this small town hasn’t changed since he was carted off to juvie all those years ago.  He is the local pariah, shunned by everyone, including his own parents.  But their hatred of him doesn’t even come close to the loathing he feels every time he looks in the mirror.
Working odd jobs for the preacher lady, Jordan bides his time before he can leave this backwards town.  But can distance erase the memories that haunt him?  Would living in another state free him from the prison of his mind?  Will the pain of living ever subside?
Torrey Delaney is new in town and certainly doesn’t behave in a way the locals believe a preacher’s daughter should.  Her reputation for casual hook-ups and meaningless sex quickly spreads around town.  And that’s on top of her budding friendship with the hardened ex-con handyman – the good Reverend is less than thrilled with her estranged daughter’s path.
As friendship forms, can two damaged people who are afraid to love take their relationship to the next level?  Can Torrey live with Jordan’s demons, and can Jordan break through Torrey’s walls?  With the disapproval of a small town weighing heavily on them, they struggle to find their place in the world.  Can they battle the odds, or will their world be viciously shattered?
Is love a life sentence?

Connect with the Author: Website / Facebook / Twitter

Cover Reveal: Dazzled by Jane Harvey-Berrick

 

Today I'm excited to be part of the Cover Reveal for Dazzled by Jane Harvey-Berrick because the synopsis sounds amazing!  I love best-friends-who-turn-into-more romances! I plan on reading this later in the month!

 

 

 

Dazzled by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Expected Publication Date: September 13th 2013 by Harvey-Berrick Publishing

e-Book via Amazon and Smashwords

ISBN: 9780955315091

 

Genre:

Adult romance with humour
Mature new adult, with scenes of a sexual nature

 

Tag line:

What price for fame?

 

Blurb:

When young British actor Miles Stephens wins a break-out role in an important Hollywood film, he finds that fame and fortune isn’t everything he’d dreamed about.

 

About the book:

Miles Stevens, young actor from London. Out of work, unemployable, fired from his last job he gets the chance to star in a film of the hit novel ‘Dazzled’.

The starring film role sees him playing an angel sent from heaven to help the town of Flatrock, northern California, become a friendlier place. He falls in love with a girl called Esther.

The book has sold millions around the world. Miles wins the audition but has to get in shape and have his light brown hair bleached. In fact, the film studio seem to want to change everything about him. He needs to be breathtakingly beautiful but also able to have fiery anger and appear in a blaze of glory. It’s against the rules for him to fall in love.

The film is a great success, propelling him to worldwide Hollywood fame. But fame and wealth is not all is cracked up to be – and the sharks start to circle.

Throughout, Miles is supported by his friend, Clare, the girl next door whom he grew up with – and who is secretly in love with him.

The story is mostly set in Hollywood, and is a picaresque journey through the weird and wonderful.

Who is Miles
A sensitive, easy-going 20 year old guy who happens to be gorgeous and talented. He’s also shy and insecure despite his ability as an actor and a musician (he plays the alto sax and loves jazz).

His beauty is almost otherworldly and he is truly beautiful, rather than handsome. He’s also slightly naïve and has to learn that hard way that not everyone is his friend.

He comes from a working class background and is hampered by dyslexia, which fuels his insecurity, becoming easily flustered. But he has a warmth and humour that draw people to him. His one blind spot is Clare – not realising that she is hopelessly in love with him – and always has been.


Who is Clare
Short, fiery, a little overweight – sees herself as the plain, girl next door. Fiercely loyal and good at cutting through the bullshit that surrounds Miles. She’s been in love with him forever but has had to learn with the fact that he never thinks of her as a girl, but his best friend.

She’s clever and not afraid to tell it like it is, but she feels like a mongrel in a pedigree world when she gets to Hollywood to help Miles.

It takes time, but eventually he realises that she is the girl for him.

Who is dazzled
The title is multi-layered. It refers to Miles being dazzled by the blinding light of Hollywood, fame and stardom; at times, he’s blinded to things that are important; he’s blinded to Clare’s love for him – and then dazzled by it. Clare is dazzled by Miles’ beauty, his stardom, and – eventually – his love for her.

‘Dazzled’ is also the title of the book and film mentioned in this story.


Although emotional at times, humour, love and romance are the touchstone words for this book.



About the Author:

I love to write.

Out of the crowd of voices in my head, I love to thread together their thoughts and tell the kind of stories that I want to read.

I’ve written my whole life, in one form or other, but it’s only since I started writing adult/new adult books that everything finally made sense.

I’ve lived in the metropolis and now I live in a small village by the sea. Inspiration comes from unexpected places and often when I’m walking my dog.

I hope my stories make you laugh and cry, and feel every emotion in between, because then I guess it’s job done.

Without you, there’s no me. Thanks for reading. jhb x

 

Connect with Jane Harvey-Berrick on her:

 

 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

 

Upcoming Release & Giveaway: Dangerous to Know & Love by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Waves of Fiction is excited to partner with More & More Creations to share Jane Harvey-Berrick's newest novel Dangerous to Know & Love. I was fortunate enough to be offered a review copy of her earlier novel The Education of Sebastian and The Education of Caroline, which I absolutely adored. So I can't wait to get my hands on this book. 

So check out the book details and be sure to enter for a chance to win this eBook! Excitement!

Dangerous to Know & Love by Jane Harvey-Berrick 

Expected Publication: May 17th 2013

About the book
Set in Georgia, modern day.
Nineteen year old Daniel Colton is the guy all the girls want to date, and the man all the guys want to be. Moody, with an explosive temper, closed off and sullen, he’s also beautiful, tatted in delicious ways, with a pierced eyebrow and spiky black hair. It’s rumoured he has piercings in other places, too. Is he really mad, bad and dangerous to know?

Daniel lives with his older brother, Zef, and their home is party central. You want drugs, a good time, liquor, no questions asked? Colton’s is the place to go.

When Daniel and good girl Lisanne Maclaine have to work together on an assignment, Lisanne finds there’s a lot more to the college’s bad boy than his reputation. He’s intelligent and funny and good company. And then she discovers his secret, why he’s so closed off to everyone, and determined to keep people at arms’ length. But being his secret-keeper is harder than she ever dreamed.

Who is Daniel? This is the journey and development of Daniel, a first year college undergraduate, majoring in business.
Both of Daniel’s parents died two years ago in a car wreck. Daniel has an older brother Zef who deals in drugs and the once typical, blue-collar American family home is now a trashed drug den because of Zef’s never ending revolving door of party goers and ‘clients’. If you want ‘it’ everyone knows you go to Zef’s place to get ‘it’.

Daniel keeps to himself. Everything about his behaviour is unwelcoming. Although beautiful, Daniel oozes arrogance: he’s tall and slim with spiky black hair, has a broad back and strong muscular arms complete with swirls of red, gold and black tattoos drifting down to his elbows, and matching nipple rings. He wears Ray Bans, a leather jacket, and has a silver ring piercing his left eyebrow, smokes cigarettes, drinks booze and drives around on a 1969 Harley Davidson. 

Daniel is the ‘hard’ boy; a player. Daniel is angry. Daniel has a secret. Daniel is deaf (this is a spoiler, please don't reveal – Daniel’s deafness is inferred from the very beginning but it is not fully revealed until the end of chapter two ). Music, once the centre of his life, is now lost to him.

Who is Lisanne? Lisanne is a first year college undergraduate, majoring in music (classical violin) with a minor in business. Lisanne also happens to be a great singer with a penchant for blues and indie rock, and becomes the lead of a local band. 

Lisanne comes from a ‘nice’ family complete with a mom and dad who are math teachers, a younger brother, and a typical ‘white picket fence’, middle class, American home, complete with a large peach tree in the front yard.

Lisanne is the ‘soft’ girl; an innocent girl, a 'library' girl.


This is a journey of two, in their young college years, opposites, who happen to fall in love.

What is Dangerous? ‘Dangerous’ has nothing to do with dark, evil or knives whatever… it’s about Daniel’s character.

He’s deaf and he maintains a persona to keep people away. He has this aura around him that’s supposed to elude his pursuer.

I’m don’t mean “pursuer” as in some stalker, I mean a “pursuer” as in just someone, anyone wanting to approach him just to say ‘hi’ or even a college student that needs to sit next to him because it’s the last seat in the lecture hall.

Daniel only let’s his brother into his world and because he has a hearing disability (shhhh, we don't dare use that word) he puts up all these walls to keep everyone away – he doesn’t want to let anyone get close to him, physically or emotionally, because he can’t cope with his own deafness let alone dealing with the pity of others when they find out his 'disability'.

Daniel is actually, by no means dangerous, he just has to be that way to protect himself from the possibility of hurt and ridicule.

But then… Daniel meets Lisanne.

More & More Creations was gracious enough to offer an eBook to one lucky Waves of Fiction follow. Simply fill out the rafflecopter and share a throughful comment about the book, author your anything bookish related. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Education of Caroline by Jane Harvey-Berric

The Education of Caroline (The Education of Sebastian #2) by Jane Harvey-Berrick
Published February 7th 2013 by Harvey Berrick Publishing

About the book
Ten years after their broken affair, Sebastian and Caroline meet again: this time in very different circumstances, against the background of the war in Afghanistan.

Now a successful journalist, Caroline meets Chief Sebastian Hunter, US Marine. Will this chance encounter rekindle the erotic madness of her passionate affair with a younger man?

My Thoughts

“Be happy, Caro, because that’s what you deserve. I love you, I have always loved you, and where I go after this world, I will always love you. Sempre e per sempre.” ~Sebastian

After finishing book one and having my heart beating bombastically with that tumultuous ending, there was no way I wasn’t going to immediately pick up the second book of Sebastian and Caroline. Their story was nowhere near complete and I simply wanted more. But first off, let me warn you… the events, description and continuation of The Education of Caroline is a spoiler for book one in and of itself. So if you haven’t read or finished The Education of Sebastian, stop here and trust me that this second book is a must read and a true gem. Adore!

Okay, now that I got that out of the way let me share with you… OH.MY.WORD!! WHAT.A.STORY!! This second installment was clearly needed as a continuation and it did not disappoint one bit. I loved every minute of The Education of Caroline which was filled with its own set of struggles wrapped around a very fierce love between these two characters.

In this book, Caroline has moved to the east coast after leaving a wake of destruction back in San Diego. Her marriage has ended and she’s picked up the pieces of her broken life. It’s been ten years since she’s had contact with Sebastian, and she hasn’t been able to completely move on from this love affair. Despite that, Carolina has built a life of her own and achieved successes she never dreamed possible. She’s assigned to write a series of news stories in the Middle East and is flown to Geneva for a mandatory “hostile environment training program for journalists.” There, she slams face first into Sebastian who is a language expert for the program. Their initial interaction is filled with anger, mistrust and tons of hurt to overcome, but as the days go by, their love sparks anew and it only proves to be even more fierce and volatile then their first encounter. During this time, they travel through Italy and re-familiarize themselves with one another. As their job eventually leads them to the warfront, they are once again faced with a multitude of challenges to overcome and hopefully achieve their second chance at love.

If I had to state one obvious fact in this story it’s that… Sebastian grew up… A LOT. However, not all in a good way. He definitely seemed stronger, edgier and most of all passionate. But there was so much volatility to his nature all due to having lost Caroline all those years ago. Gone is the sweet and sensitive seventeen year old boy that was faced with challenge after challenge of being with the one he loves. In this story, he creates his own barriers which he needs to face in order to achieve what he’s longed for most of his life.

“We wasted ten years and you're worried about a few thousand miles? Hell, we've got airplanes, we've got email, they've invented fucking cell phones. Jesus, if it comes down to it, I'll even write you a fucking letter.” ~Sebastian

Caroline did some growing up as well, and I really appreciated the self-confidence she achieved by way of finding a way to stand on her own. There were moments in the story where I sensed she was willing and able to walk away from Sebastian because she didn’t feel it was right for her anymore. Despite how much I wanted them to be together, I truly applauded her self-discovery and strength. It was great to witness the life she built for herself and it spoke volumes to her determination to survive.

“There were so many things Sebastian and I had to work out: we'd both been single for so long that blending our lives together wasn't going to be easy… I'd promised Sebastian we'd find a way. He deserved to be loved for everything he was. And for whatever crazy reason he had, he loved me, too.” ~Caroline

When Sebastian and Caroline collided it was truly explosive and captivating. As always, I loved the banter between these two characters, but most of all I adored their story. The final chapters were heartbreaking but in some sense leveling. When it was all said and done they each had their insecurities, but fought for a way to overcome them in order to be together.

The story of Sebastian and Caroline is a two book series. Both installments offered their own serving of passion, struggle and fulfillment in their own right. I loved the ending to the book and I’m sad to see my journey with these two characters end. But equally, it was such an adventure to witness their magic. Again I say… ADORE!

5 Suns

Review: The Education of Sebastian by Jane Harvey-Berrick

The Education of Sebastian (The Education of Sebastian #1) by Jane Harvey-Berrick
Published November 12th 2012 by Harvey Berrick Publishing

About the book
A friendship between the lost and lonely Caroline, and the unhappy Sebastian, leads to an illicit love that threatens them both.

Caroline Wilson is trapped in a cold and loveless marriage with an older man. When her husband finally wins a long sought-after promotion, Caroline feels she has little choice but to follow him to a new home in San Diego. There she meets Sebastian, a young man of 17.

For an all too brief summer, their happiness blooms.

But external pressures begin to bear down, not least from the overbearing David, and Sebastian’s parents begin to suspect that their son has a secret. Even Caroline’s new friend, Donna, realises that dark passions exist below the serene surface.

My Thoughts

“It's always been you, Caro. The first time I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful girl that I'd ever seen... It's only ever been you.” ~Sebastian

Love.love.love this book!! Despite the emotional turmoil it put me through, The Education of Sebastian was truly one of the best reading experiences I’ve had in quite some time. As of late, I’ve noticed it’s taking me days and days to finish a simple book, so when I opened this novel and found myself easily captivated and truly immersed in the ePages, I knew it had nothing to do with finally finding the time to read in my hectic life and everything to do with falling into a story that held me captive until I was done with both books in this series. That’s over 1000 ePages of reading in less than four days which is quite rare for me as of late. I was completely entranced in this illicit love story between Caroline and Sebastian. Again I say… LOVE!

In this book, Caroline who is caught in a loveless and thankless marriage finds comfort in the arms of Sebastian. Their romantic affair is pegged with many challenges and the most obvious being his age. They attempt but fail miserably at keeping their distance from each other and as they continue to steal moments of passion, it only fuels the love they develop for one another and the possibility to be caught with sever ramifications.

Sebastian captured my heart completely. Despite wishing he was only a few years older, I have to say his character came off extremely mature, sincere and adoringly loving. It broke my heart to read about his family situation and how he was clearly mistreated. From the moment he entered the scene, he commanded the stage with his near perfect portrayal of sensitivity, loyalty and fierce ability to love despite the challenges his choices posed.

Caroline won my loyalty, but not without a significant case of reprimand. Her initial romantic interaction with Sebastian included some very poor assumptions that only led her to immediately regret her decision. I do wish she would have waited the few months she promised and found some sort of way to leave the loveless marriage she was in prior to her indiscretion. However, that would only label this novel as a perfect story and it’s not... The Education of Sebastian is flawed in so many ways and the author doesn’t disguise it any other way. So that only left me to accept these characters’ choices and hope they didn’t fully destruct when the implosion occured.

I feel one of the many reasons I fell for Sebastian and Caroline’s tumultuous love story was because I despised Caroline’s husband David, as well as Sebastian’s parents. They were worthless and downright awful, so it was no surprise that these two very caring and brave souls fell into each other’s arms. It doesn’t make their choices right by any means, but it made them a bit more palatable for me regardless.

The ending of this book absolutely broke my heart and I was in near hysterics. So needless to say, I immediately downloaded the second book and continued this whirlwind of a story, completing something of this magnitude in record time. However, I must warn you to not make the same mistake I made. I was so distraught at one point in book one that I had to go looking for the sequel to have it at the ready. Well, I made the mistake of reading the description of book two and that screamed SPOILER! ~face palm~

Overall, The Education of Sebastian was a beautiful story about two broken souls who find solace in each other despite society, family and friends potential discrimination. Regardless of the challenges they face, they try to find a way to make it work and plan for a future they can only hope to achieve. This story grabbed my heart and spun my emotional compass in all sorts of directions. Well worth the time and emotion I vested in this reading experience.

5 Suns