Synopsis
Welcome to STARSTRUCK, a showplace for talent, a playground for love.
Welcome to STARSTRUCK, a showplace for talent, a playground for love.
A new contemporary continuity series by Beth
Ciotta, Cynthia Valero, and Elle J Rossi. Three authors. One world.
The hot nights continue with Valero’s emotional new-adult novella, Wrecked.
A Secret Crush…
A Secret Crush…
Talented songwriter, Sunny Burnett, shelves her dream of
Nashville when her older sister is killed in a car wreck and helps her mother
pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Two years later, her mother’s
still struggling and Sunny is desperate to help her. Dusting off her
guitar, penning a new song, and marshaling her courage, she
enters a duet contest, hoping to use the prize money to turn her mother's life
around. She’ll do anything to win. Even if it means partnering with the
last man she should ask—her sister’s ex-boyfriend, a gifted singer and Sunny’s
longtime secret crush.
A Clandestine Choice…
A Clandestine Choice…
Curtis Bliss blames himself for Tuesday Burnett’s death.
And so does her family. Haunted by regret, he forfeits his musical dreams
for years, until he’s challenged by an unexpected source—his ex’s younger
sister. Sunny Burnett blows him away by asking for his help and, in turn,
offering him a tentative forgiveness. Even more surprising is the burning
attraction that ignites and consumes them both.
Can the new lovers make their dreams come true after all? Or will the secrets they keep wreck them forever?
Can the new lovers make their dreams come true after all? Or will the secrets they keep wreck them forever?
Title: Wrecked (A Starstruck Novella)
Author: Cynthia Valero
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: April 20, 2015
Purchase Links:
Kobo
Excerpt
They stood facing each other, like desperadoes destined for showdown in a deserted alley. Her cowboy hat dangled from her fingers, her unshaded eyes zeroed right in on him. Bright blue to stop a train. And his heart felt like it indeed slammed to a halt and everything inside him collided forward, right toward her, just as it had yesterday. But those eyes didn’t swallow him whole, willingly and languorously, like her sister’s deep brown ones had. There was no refuge in Sunny’s gaze. They glinted and reflected everything right back to him. No more sixteen year old with thick glasses. No more curling around herself with awkwardness. No hiding behind the porch steps to watch him and Tuesdaysing, thinking he didn’t know she was there.
She didn’t move.
He didn’t move.
“You’re here,” she finally said. “Again.”
It was an accusation.
“It’s the last time.”
He tore his gaze from her. The unbound hair, thick and dark like Tuesday’s, flowing free around her shoulders, almost to the small of her back. He gripped the hand truck handles, his fingers desperate to touch that hair instead of the damned grass at Tuesday’s memorial every night. Just once, to feel it against his cheek, to—
He yanked the keg onto the service ramp.
“Wait.”
No. Everything inside him shouted no.
“Please.”
He stopped.
She tapped her knuckles against her mouth as though in thought. She smacked her hat against her thigh. After a few breaths, she eyed him from an angle, as though he were suddenly painful to look at. She sighed and it sounded just a little bit defeated. He knew the feeling.
She gripped her handbag with white-knuckled fingers and stalked toward him.
They stood facing each other, like desperadoes destined for showdown in a deserted alley. Her cowboy hat dangled from her fingers, her unshaded eyes zeroed right in on him. Bright blue to stop a train. And his heart felt like it indeed slammed to a halt and everything inside him collided forward, right toward her, just as it had yesterday. But those eyes didn’t swallow him whole, willingly and languorously, like her sister’s deep brown ones had. There was no refuge in Sunny’s gaze. They glinted and reflected everything right back to him. No more sixteen year old with thick glasses. No more curling around herself with awkwardness. No hiding behind the porch steps to watch him and Tuesdaysing, thinking he didn’t know she was there.
She didn’t move.
He didn’t move.
“You’re here,” she finally said. “Again.”
It was an accusation.
“It’s the last time.”
He tore his gaze from her. The unbound hair, thick and dark like Tuesday’s, flowing free around her shoulders, almost to the small of her back. He gripped the hand truck handles, his fingers desperate to touch that hair instead of the damned grass at Tuesday’s memorial every night. Just once, to feel it against his cheek, to—
He yanked the keg onto the service ramp.
“Wait.”
No. Everything inside him shouted no.
“Please.”
He stopped.
She tapped her knuckles against her mouth as though in thought. She smacked her hat against her thigh. After a few breaths, she eyed him from an angle, as though he were suddenly painful to look at. She sighed and it sounded just a little bit defeated. He knew the feeling.
She gripped her handbag with white-knuckled fingers and stalked toward him.
She was beautiful beyond any memory of her, and his gut
twisted.
Perhaps it was best to get this done. Perhaps it was what he should’ve done from the start because now that it was here, he was suddenly ready for it. He gripped the hand truck for support, ready to take whatever she could give, ready to take it and bear it because it was what he deserved. He was ready for her to hurt him. He wanted it.
Bring it.
Perhaps it was best to get this done. Perhaps it was what he should’ve done from the start because now that it was here, he was suddenly ready for it. He gripped the hand truck for support, ready to take whatever she could give, ready to take it and bear it because it was what he deserved. He was ready for her to hurt him. He wanted it.
Bring it.
Cynthia Valero is an award-winning author of two solo
novellas as well as three paranormal romance novels and two anthologies written
with Beth Ciotta as CB Scott. Her newest novella, Wrecked, is an emotional,
new-adult tale in the new contemporary continuity series, STARSTRUCK, which
also includes Beth Ciotta and Elle J Rossi. A student of Natalie Goldberg,
Zoetrope All-Story, and The Writers Studio, Cynthia is currently writing a
fantasy novel of forbidden love and deadly feuds set off the coast of early
America.
Cynthia lives in the northeastern United States, is a
student of kung fu and history, and believes that the rumble of a classic hot
rod is music. Her family will tell you that she is a grudging cook but a great
reader of bedtime stories.
My Thoughts:
Curtis is our hero and I really liked him. Sunny is the heroine. She was a wonderful character who's name was very fitting.
Wrecked was a fairly quick read that I finished in one sitting. This tale proves that what we think we know is not always the case, we should live life to the fullest, love is a gift, and forgiveness is golden.
This book had my emotions dancing and I was swooning to the crooning!
If you like music, a good dose of healing and a HEA, you should give this one a go.
I received an ecopy in exchange for my honest opinion.
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this one satrt sad but your review reassured me....with a hEA and so moving characters is definitively on my list
ReplyDeletethank you
I'm always happy to help you. :-)
DeleteThank you so much for reading Wrecked and taking the time to review and share my story! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it!!! I hope you enjoy it too, Miki!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome and I am sure she will.
DeleteI'm also sharing your review and link on FB pages!
ReplyDeleteI always have it on my Facebook page and my Twitter too!
DeleteThanks for the review, I like the book.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is gorgeous.Great review. This is definitely on my TBR and I can’t wait to read – Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnother one I'll have to add to my list. :)
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the name Sunny too.