Blog Tour ~ Review, Excerpt & Giveaway ~ Two Roads by L.M. Augustine

Book Description:

 

The only person poetry-loving Cali Monroe hates more than herself is Logan Waters, the geeky kid who lives in the dorm building next to hers.

Ever since Cali's parents told her she would amount to nothing, she has felt entirely inadequate. Friendless and alone, she takes on the mean girl role in hopes it will make her feel better--and Logan serves as the perfect target. He infuriates her with his obnoxiously long lashes, his all too perfect dimpled smile, and his complete lack of personality outside of his intelligence. It doesn't hurt that he's part of the reason her brother is dead, either. So Cali hates him, and he returns the favor. Thus, their prank-filled, insult-driven rivalry is born, and torturing Logan quickly becomes the highlight of her life.

But when Cali's parents set them up on a blind date, she begins to realize Logan might not be as boring as she always thought. He shares her love of poetry, takes a sadistic pleasure in making fun of crepes, and he makes her blush when he calls her smile pretty.

And hey, maybe those long lashes of his aren't that obnoxious after all…

Two Roads is New Adult Romance about finding love, standing out, and learning to embrace who you are. It contains some language and mild sexual content.

Find it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18071872-two-roads

 

Our Review

 

**ARC received for honest review**

 

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 stars

 

“And that’s the thing about love: no matter how hard you search, no matter how hard you run, sometimes, just sometimes, true love is right in front of you all along.”

This was just the sweet read that I needed after a couple of hard hitting books. Although this book covers some harsh and emotional subjects it is beautifully written with a perfect mix of angst and humour that leaves you feeling a combination of happy and sad. As soon as the sad bits become too much the two protagonists pull a stunt or a crazy T-Shirt is worn and you are suddenly laughing your head off again. It was brilliantly put together. I must say that I would put this book as a YA rather than a NA. I do love my YA reads so I was not put off by the lack of steam, however it was implied even it was made up!! I will also mention that this was a bit “cheesy” in places…but I love cheese, I could see through the plot quite early on and I was right to a certain degree, although how it was twisted was very clever!!

Cali was struggling with a bereavement, even though it had happened 4 years ago, she had never been able to move on. This was mainly due to a misplaced sense of guilt for which she had nothing to feel guilty about and was just genuinely missing her brother. However, she was not going to shoulder this burden alone, as well as blaming her parents she also blamed his best friend Logan. The same Logan that she had been crushing on for years, the same Logan that left soon after her brother died, the same Logan that started at the same Uni as her 6 months ago and the same Logan that she has tortured ever since. They truly have a love/hate relationship, or should that be a love to hate relationship? There really is a fine line between the two, but even through the pranks and quick witted barbs that were tossed around every time they met, you sensed the underlying sexual tension and were just sitting back waiting for it to erupt.

Logan, he was totally and utterly adorable. Who can resist a smoking hot geek that wears t-shirts quoting “maths”…that doesn’t ruin his street cred… along the lines of…

“I’m not being obtuse, but you’re acute girl.”

He knew he was a geek, he knew he was good looking, but he also knew that his heart was taken years ago. He was beautiful on the inside as well as the outside and was extremely expressive and he laid himself bare, even though he never really dreamed that it would be read or acted upon, although he hoped that one day, maybe someday, he could crack the code of the enigma that was Cali and break through those walls.

 

“You stole my heart and now you won’t let me have yours.”

The pranks that these two did on each other were hilarious for the most part. There was one prank that I thought was completely heartless and didn’t really reflect the character at all and I will admit it had me in tears as did the ramifications, I just felt it was a bit OTT but as I said mostly they were funny and had me laughing. Who knew a crepe could be so offensive lol?

Cali’s parents didn’t help either, I must admit I was extremely annoyed with them. They knew who their daughter was and what she was pretending to be and did nothing to try and help. Not saying that Cali would have accepted it, but I just felt that they needed to try harder before it was too late. Cali had hidden behind her invented persona for too long and needed to be herself again before it was lost forever. Would Logan be the one to break through even though Cali “hated” him?

I loved the way that poetry was featured heavily throughout this book. Cali used poetry as her means of expression and it was her shoulder to cry on, it was her cathartic release and I was glad that these two had this in common. They really were perfect for each other, now it is up to them to realise that too.

A fab read, that was not only a beautiful romance story but was a book full of hidden meaning and depth. It dealt with grief, learning to live and love and learning to trust again. This was my first read by this author and he is one that I will picking up again in the future. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

“I’m in love with a boy.
I’m not afraid to be myself.
I have a best friend.
I mean, my life still sucks, but I like how it is…”

 

Excerpt:

 

“Then go to him,” I say quietly, and now I look up to meet her gaze. Her brown

eyes are hard and strong, watching me intently. “Go out with him,” I continue. “Or

don’t. But don’t let him go. Because if someone can be constantly on your mind

like that, if they can always make you smile, if they can cheer you up one way or

another, then you have to go to them. You have to tell them what they mean to

you and then you can go out with them or you can stay friends or you can barely

ever talk to them, but you enjoy yourself, you have fun, and then you hold fast to

them and never, ever let them go. Because if someone, just by their existence,

can brighten up your whole day, you have to try like hell to keep them in your

life.” I take a long breath as soon as the words finish tumbling out of my mouth, a

jumble of thoughts and feelings that, for me, couldn’t be more true. I don’t know

where they came from other than straight from that goddamn unpredictable heart

of mine, and as soon as the words leave my mouth, I know my subconscious has

been working on them for a long time.

 

Buy Links:

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/14TcnOo

Amazon.co.uk: amzn.to/1disQTB
B&N: http://bit.ly/1751nDh
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1bIl4TL
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1cbcbgs
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/14w42no

 

About the Author:

L.M. Augustine is a YA romance author who is obsessed with writing about dorky teenagers, love, and happy endings. He currently lives in New England, where he spends far too much time reading books and screaming at his computer, and he believes that the solution to the world’s problems can be found in chocolate cake.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAugustineYA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoraugustine
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6906110.L_M_Augustine
Blog: http://authoraugustine.blogspot.com/

Tour Giveaway:

Your chance to win:
-$10 Amazon Gift Card
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