Life in the Book Lane: RELEASE BLITZ - The Evolution of Us by D. Kelly

Wednesday, 11 October 2017

RELEASE BLITZ - The Evolution of Us by D. Kelly

Cover Design: Kassi Snider / KassiJean Formatting and Design

Release Date: October 11, 2017

Synopsis

They say most people meet the person they will marry while in high school. Balancing one another perfectly, Holly Ryan and Declan James were together through most of college—until their relationship blew up, leaving Declan with more questions than answers. For the past two years, Declan has tried everything he can think of to earn Holly’s forgiveness, but even if he manages to help her let go of the past and give them another chance at happiness, she still has a secret. Not to mention, she can’t get over the revolving door of women he seems to have coming in and out of his apartment. Declan is desperate to prove to Holly she’s the one for him and isn’t above using his celebrity status or enlisting the help of their friends to win her back. All’s fair in love and war, right?

Goodreads

My Review - 4 out of 5 stars

This is an unusual 'romance' book in that we didn't actually get any of the romance or falling in love part, other than in 'flashbacks' from the past. I quite liked this way of catching up on the past, as they weren't too long and moved on fairly rapidly. I did, however, totally buy into and believe in their love it shone in their words and actions throughout most of the book, and what an enjoyable book it is.

I'm going to start with what didn't work so well for me. I just found the whole reason for their split, and what happened in the following week, to be very disappointing. Dec blew the whole 'overheard' conversation out of proportion. OK he was drunk but when he'd sobered up did he at no point felt like speaking to the love at his life? And after a week he had moved on?

*** Holly's review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

raises a good point regarding this though, which is also why I didn't 'remove stars' for it.

I would have like to have felt/seen/heard Hollie softening towards Dec over at least a few weeks/months as her decision to date Dec again felt rushed. Her sudden forgiveness of him made her seem weak, although she did carry a lot of guilt. I would also have liked more scenes of them in the present, forgiving each other and moving on.

It now sounds like the book wasn't good, which couldn't be further from the truth. The banter between the four friends was amazing, with Bax and Sage being almost as important in the story as Dec and Holly were. We see 'DecnHolls' support each other, and their friends, through tough life events. The whole story is told with such warmth, humour and love that it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. There is some angst and negative emotion thrown into the mix to balance the humour, but thankfully not enough to make you ugly cry. Why thankfully? Well because to me this felt very much a second chance rom-com so it didn't need it.

As I've come to expect from D. Kelly the book is well written, with an easy to read, flowing style and a good pace to the story. The characters are all believable and rounded, as is the plot. The book kept me engaged from start to finish and I really enjoyed it.

Purchase Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2g2G4OX

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2xyx2QV

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2x2pYKY

iBooks: http://apple.co/2fkImFN

Giveaway

Signed Paperback of The Evolution of Us (1 winner) & $20 Amazon Gift Card (1 winner)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b1257f8d188/?

About the Author

D. Kelly, author of The Acceptance Series, The Illusion Series, and standalone companion novels Chasing Cassidy and Sharing Rylee, was born and raised in Southern California. She’s a wife, mom, dog lover, taxi, problem fixer, and extreme multi-tasker. She married her high school sweetheart and is her kids’ biggest fan. Kelly has been writing since she was young and took joy in spinning stories to her childhood friends. Margaritas and sarcasm make her smile, she loves the beach but hates the sand, and she believes Starbucks makes any day better. A contemporary romance writer, D. Kelly’s stories revolve around friendship and the bond it creates, strengthening the love of the people who share it.