Release date: Nov 20 (Will be part of Kindle Unlimited)
Rating: 4 Stars
Told in the first person. Alternating persons.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for review from Forever Love Publishing and the author. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".
He’s on the hunt for a fresh start. She’s trapped in a nightmare she can’t escape. Can love help them make a break for freedom?
Michael:
The money was supposed to save me...until it got me shot. You don’t steal from Marlo Sloan.
But it led me to her.
Annie’s kind. She’s fierce. She’s making me want to be the man my grandpa believed I could be. A Barrett - strong, dependable. A hero.
Danger is coming. It’s inevitable.
I should split before it catches up with me.
But how can I leave Annie and her little brother with their psycho father?
I want to steal her away from this nightmare. Take her to the ranch where I know she’d be safe. But I’m a runaway thief, and the ranch is no doubt a desolate wreck.
She deserves better than that.
I have to tell her the truth. Which means she’ll never look at me the same again. I could lose her over this, when all I want to do is keep her safe.
Grandpa always said, “Barrett boys do the right thing. They don’t cut and run. They stand. They fight to protect the ones they love.”
I was raised to be a Barrett boy.
It’s time I start acting like one.
The Runaway is the first book in a thrilling YA romance series. If you like fast-paced action, redeemable bad boys and romance that will steal your heart, then you’ll love Jordan Ford’s compelling novel.
Buy The Runaway for a dramatic escape to freedom today!
Amazon link: https://readerlinks.com/l/1361723/bb
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53319720-the-runaway
Teasers:
MICHAEL:
“I can tell you like my sister. But don’t go there, okay?”
My eyebrows dip together, silently asking why.
“She has enough to deal with already. She doesn’t need anyone else hurting her.”
I frown and lean forward. “Who’s hurt her before?”
“Jackson, let’s go!” Annie calls from the bottom of the stairs.
He doesn’t answer my question with words, but the look he gives me tells me that the hurting might not be past tense.
I’ve seen that look before.
I know it.
I used to stare at it in the mirror sometimes.
Jackson’s shoes thump away from me and the stairs ping back into place with a snap. I keep gazing at the spot Jackson just stood.
Maybe leaving tonight isn’t in the best interests of everybody.
Maybe I’ve been brought to this town the same way Grandpa was brought to Florida.
He knew what he was walking into, but I’ve got a gut feeling that maybe I do too. That one look, that whispered warning… how can I turn my back on that?
ANNIE:
Talking to Michael last night was unnerving.
It took me forever to get to sleep. His softest touch does thing to my heart that I can’t even explain.
But that knowing look in his eyes when he was trying to fish for the truth about Dean… I didn’t like it.
I don’t want him to know.
It’s not like he can fix it for me. And I don’t want his pity either.
Hearing him talk about his dad, though. I swear I could taste the fear in his voice. He must have lived through hell a few times in his life. Plus losing his mama.
I get it.
We speak the same language.
Maybe it would be safe to let him in.
MICHAEL:
“If I find you…” Dean’s slurred shouts trail off. “Or maybe I should go wake up your brother. He could use a good pounding. I warned you! I told you what would happen!”
Jackson starts to cry, but then the sound gets muffled. He must be bawling into Annie’s chest or something.
“I’m not gonna let him touch you,” she whispers, her voice fierce and unwavering. “He’s never gonna touch you.”
I love her.
The emotion swells so big inside of me, I nearly can’t speak.
Brushing my lips across her forehead, I lean my cheek against her and promise the same. “I’m not gonna let him touch you either. Never again.”
Her head shifts against mine and I can sense her staring at me. Although we can’t see each other very clearly, I can tell we’re looking into each other’s eyes.
“You believe me?” I whisper.
She doesn’t answer right away, but then her soft voice does me in, filling me with a protective energy that I have never felt so strongly before. “Yes. I believe you.”
ANNIE:
“You’re lookin’ a little loved up there, Annie Bird.”
I try to squash my grin, but it doesn’t work.
Franks giggles and nudges my shoulder, tipping me over.
I right myself with a giggle.
“Well, are you?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I mean, I’m still getting to know him. When did you know you were in love with Billy?”
“By our second date.”
“Your second date?” My voice pitches with surprise. “But that’s so fast.”
“I didn’t tell him right away. I just knew it in my heart. And then he just kept proving himself over and over again. He fills in all my spaces, Annie.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Do I even want to know what that means?”
She laughs and shuffles around on the blanket so she can face me.
“You know what I think when I see you two?” She grabs another three grapes, playing with them in her hand.
Sucking the sweetness out of my apple, I look at her, wondering if I even want to ask.
But her big eyes are begging me, and so I say, “What?”
“He’s dusk. You’re dawn.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, you know. He’s quiet and brooding like a night sky, and you’re a ray of sunshine, lighting up the day.”
My gut sinks and I toss my apple into the bush behind us. “So, you’re saying we’re opposites. We shouldn’t be together?”
“Uh, no! Of course you should be together. Don’t you get it? You’re a circle. Dusk til dawn, dawn til dusk. The day can’t function any other way. All the things he doesn’t have, you’ve got and vice versa. You make a whole. A complete circle. Together.” She drops the grapes in her lap and threads her fingers to make a ball with her hands. “He fills in all your spaces. See what I mean?”
Michael isn’t a fan of his job anymore. Annie isn’t happy with her current situation. These are two people who are so different but are going through things that are similar. Even though this may be a work of fiction theirs is a tale where situations could actually be true.
As I got to know these two, I found myself asking the same question “what is he/she going to do?” You will find no choice but to feel sorry for them but for different reasons. Then you begin to wonder how we are going to go from shocking and sad to happy – this is supposed to be a romance after all. Their life is rough and finding a way to change something that you think is impossible to change can be a hard thing to do.
If you’re always on the lookout for a new author’s work then you might want to check out this new series. Maybe you like a book where it’s going to pull at your heartstrings. You’ll see that there’s a sense of hope that starts to peek out as these two spend more time together. The author has told this story in the first person which allows the reader to be an observer instead of a narrator telling us what’s going on. We’ll get to see what their world is like through their eyes. You’ll be able to tell that the author’s not done with us yet by the way things were left. I’m interested to see which brother is next.
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