Sempre Redemption Blog Tour Stop

Book Synopsis:

In this thrilling and sexy follow-up to Sempre, two young lovers struggle to keep their relationship intact after they become deeply enmeshed in the dangerous mafia-run crime ring they once tried to overthrow.

Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco have been through a lot. Haven was taken in by Carmine’s father, and with his family’s help, she escaped a gruesome fate. However, saving Haven from the dark intentions of a mafia family cost Carmine a steep price: he was forced to swear loyalty to them.

Now, still passionately in love, Carmine and Haven must face the fall-out of Carmine’s forced service, as Haven discovers terrifying secrets about the family that enslaved both her and her mother—and why she matters so much in this intricate web of lies.

Christy's Review:

 3.5-4ish Stars

Sempre, the first book in this series, is one of the best books I read last year. It was captivating, heartbreaking, and it just blew me away. I would love to say that this book blew me away like the first, but it just missed the mark for me. 

Carmine and Haven come from two different worlds, but they have more in common then they ever thought possible. They are both tied to this world they don’t want to be a part of. 

Haven

Carmine

They are so in love. Things were perfect for them, then everything changed. Sacrifices were made. The life they never wanted is staring them both in the face. Haven’s not happy with some of the choices Carmine made. She doesn’t want that life for him, but she understands. She worries, but as long as she has him, she’ll be okay.

The love between Carmine and Haven is beautiful, true and real. Carmine see’s the real Haven. Something not many others have been able to see. 

“I just want people to see me,” she said. “I want to walk into a room and have them know I’m there. It doesn’t matter where it is, really. I just don't want to be invisible anymore.” Carmine ran the back of his hand along her warm cheek. She hummed contently, leaning into his touch. “I see you, hummingbird,” he whispered, a twinkle in his eyes. “I know you do.”

I love Carmine. I’ve always loved Carmine. I’m not saying I didn’t understand most of the choices he made. He really felt like he was doing the right thing, not for himself, but for his other half. For his Haven. He would do anything for her. Even if it means letting her live a real life, a full life, a life she deserves with or without him. He doesn’t want Haven to have to choose him over a real life. He doesn’t get it. She doesn’t want a real life without him. There has never been a choice in the matter. They belong together. 

“You’re not asking me to choose you. There’s no choice about it. It’s always been you. Your father once told me that we always have a choice, but I think he was wrong. I think sometimes things choose us. It’s like breathing. It’s natural. It’s a part of us. It just happens. We can hold our breaths and try not to breathe anymore, and it’ll work for a few minutes, but we’ll eventually pass out and nature takes over. We can’t just not breathe, just like I can’t just not love you.”

I just want to take a moment and talk about Corrado. Corrado stole the book for me, and my heart along the way. He seriously MADE this book. I hear that we are getting a Corrado book/prequel and this makes me very, very happy! He is such a badass, but can be swoony at the same time! 

"Bellissima, I'd stop time for you. I'd give you the moon and the stars; I'd learn to defy gravity. There's nothing I wouldn't do, nobody I wouldn't kill, if you asked me to. If you needed me to. Saving you from a fire would be nothing, purely instinct."

 Straight after fiinishing this book I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is going to be the hardest review to write.’ I’ve thought on it a few days and here are my thoughts... The first 70%, I was seriously convinced this would be lucky to get 3 stars. I was that frustrated with the way things were going.  Luckily, the last 25% was much better for me. I still hate that I can’t give this 5 stars. I loved Sempre so much, I was hoping for another 5 star read. Just didn’t happen for me. Obviously, I had some issues with the plot. There was a lot I loved (the very beginning and the last 25%) but there was A LOT that bothered me (most of 10-70%... yeah.) The title was accurate. Redemption was big theme in this book, along with independence, forgiveness, sacrifice, and love. Even though much of this book stressed me out, Carmine and Haven will always hold a special place in my book lover heart. J.M. Darhower’s writing is amazing and the epilogue made me happy. I’m sure a ton of people loved it, I also know quite a few that it didn’t work for at all. For me, it was just a good read, not great. I was disappointed with some things, but I’m still happy I read it. I wanted that closure and I’m glad things turned out the way they did. 

About the Author:

JM Darhower is the author of countless stories and poems, most of which only she has ever read. She lives in a tiny town in rural North Carolina, where she churns out more words than will ever see the light of day. She has a deep passion for politics and speaking out against human trafficking, and when she isn't writing (or fangirling about books) she's usually ranting about those things.

Chronic crimper with a vulgar mouth, she admits to having a Twitter addiction. You can usually always find her there.

 Excerpt:

Carmine sat in his usual chair in the library, casually strumming his guitar. A sliver of light filtered in from the large window, illuminating his somber expression in the darkness. She called his name but he remained still, continuing to pluck at the strings almost as if he hadn’t heard her. She took a step toward him and was about to say his name again when he let out a long, deep sigh. “I had a dream.”

“Another nightmare?” she asked, walking over to him. He glanced up at her as his fingers stilled, the music stopping, but Haven barely noticed. She couldn’t focus on anything but the green eyes boring into her. Once so alive with passion, she saw nothing but deep sadness marring the bright color.

Carmine set the guitar aside and moved his legs to make room, motioning for her to join him. She climbed into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Not a nightmare this time,” he said. “It was a good dream.”

“What was it about?”

“You,” he said quietly. “You made a painting—some abstract shit, I don’t know—but it was so good they hung it in a museum and raved about how talented you were. It was like you were the next fucking Picasso, tesoro.”

She laughed. “I don’t even know how to paint, Carmine.”

“You could learn,” he said. “Would you want to?”

“Maybe, but I don’t know how good I’d be.”

“Oh, you’d be good,” he said confidently. “You shouldn’t doubt yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to.”

“Except for play the piano,” she said playfully. “Or the guitar.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, for the sake of everyone’s ears, we ought to leave music to me, but the rest is all you. You can probably do all of that, you know. Draw, paint, sculpt shit into weird shapes and tell people it’s something it doesn’t look anything like. That takes talent.”

She smiled. “And you think I have that kind of talent?”

“Of course,” he said. “There’s gonna be no stopping you once you get started.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, a swell of emotion surging through her at his words. “It means a lot that you believe in me.”

“I’d be an idiot not to,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

Author's Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmdarhower

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Darhower/187907981297867?skip_nax_wizard=true

Website: http://www.jmdarhower.com/

Purchase Links:

S&S.com: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Sempre-Redemption/J-M-Darhower/9781476734200
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Sempre-Redemption-ebook/dp/B00EMDPZVK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781476734200
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sempre-jm-darhower/1116527231?ean=9781476734200