Monday, 4 April 2016

Blog Tour, Excerpt & Scavenger Hunt ~ Heartfall by JB McGee


Heartfall by JB McGee is LIVE!!!!


Book Description:

Claire Ross has never been good enough. Not for the girls in the elite group of dancers in her class and certainly not for the approval of her ballet teacher, Mr. Robins. She definitely doesn’t like what she sees in the mirror. Simply put, she doesn’t love herself, so how could she possibly love someone else?

After twelve years of friendship, Sebastian Reyes’ adoring gaze holds more. They soon find themselves unable to control their feelings for one another.

When tragedy strikes, Claire finds herself in a very unlikely and unfavorable position. Regardless of the weight of the emotion, she must make difficult decisions that impact the rest of her life.

Will Claire see that her true love has been right in front of her? Happily ever after isn’t just for fairy tales. To get hers, all she has to do is trust, open her heart and fall.


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Excerpt:

“Do you want a funnel cake next? Or a sausage dog, corn dog, or a caramel apple?” He walks backward, and I grab his arm, steering his body left and right to dodge people.

“I shouldn’t eat anything else here as tempting as it is.”

“Ah. You should, though, because the fair is only here once a year. What if you die before next year’s and this is your last chance?”

“Then, I wouldn’t miss it because I’d be dead.” People holler about us watching where we’re going. It’s kind of fun to be silly and stupid without a care in the world. Except now I have one. A care. A worry. “The last thing I need is Robins on me more about my weight.”

“There’s not an ounce of fat on your body, Claire.”

Releasing him and pulling my shirt up a little, I pinch my side. “See this?”

He chuckles and nods. “Skin. Wanna try another body part?” He waggles his eyebrows. I give him a playful shrug.

I cross my arms over my chest, the heat of judgmental eyes searing me. If I had an extra pair of hands, I’d cover my ears. And when that didn’t work, I’d chase the voice down my ear canal with my fingers, but it’d only get louder until it was deafening.

A lady shoves a bite of sugar covered fried dough in her mouth, then, as if in slow motion, licks each of her fingers.

“You’re never going to be a good ballerina eating crap like that, Claire.”

“A ballerina doesn’t drink soda, Claire.”

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough food for the day, Claire?”

“Claire.” Sebastian shakes my shoulders.

“Huh?” He stares in my eyes for a second, never releasing me. I contemplate telling him to take me home. Who was I kidding? Audrina was right. I’m a nobody. A terrible dancer. Definitely not Sebastian girlfriend material. The red, white, and blue lights blink and flicker around us. Games buzz, kids laugh and scream. Cigarette smoke makes me want to gag, but then a whiff of a sausage dog makes me want to inhale the whole food truck, and the corners of Sebastian’s lips start to curve up as his green eyes dance like he knows exactly what I’m thinking, and it’s a little more than disconcerting. “If you’re hungry, you eat.”

“Forget the food. I’m not hungry. Let me go see if I can win you a giant teddy bear, or something.” He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the booths lining the edges of the paths. He stops. “A love meter.”

“A little early for that, don’t ya think? I mean, I don’t typically fall in love on first dates. And we’re a bit young.”

“I don’t think it measures if we’re in love. Isn’t it like a future predictor thing? Like what our future holds?” He glances back.

I shrug. “Do they give teddy bears?”

He closes his eyes as he gives a small laugh. “Maybe on the next one. Come here.”

He puts the money in, positions my hands over the cold metal, leans his front against my back, and wraps his arms around me so his hands are over mine.

“Wait. I think this is a one person thing. I think this measures an individual’s sex appeal.” I try to point to the top, but he has my hands trapped. “See.” I bob my head toward the sign.

He leans in to my ear. “Oops.” He lets his breath linger. My pulse accelerates as the meter climbs. “I wasted my money then because I already knew it was off the charts.” It dings at red hot, and that accurately describes every particle of my being. He lightly kisses the skin on the side of my neck. Who cares about teddy bears? I’ve won the only thing that matters—Sebastian Reyes.




Our Review:

Reviewed by Donna ~ 3 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***



“If you made me weak, I never want to be strong.”


I have to start by saying I am a huge JB McGee fan, I have loved her other books and she always manages to evoke every single emotion out of me without fail and this book was no different. At times I had tears rolling down my face, I was a mess, I was cursing the author because she had done it again but after putting me through the emotional wringer and while trying to mend my broken heart, for me this book lost its way. This is just my opinion, but for me it was a book of two halves and the first half was fantastic.

I was bullied at school, really badly to the point I was beaten up beyond recognition, there was always an excuse for them but for me, it was always why me? What had I ever done to them? Claire was the victim of bullying, for years she had put up and shut up and then one day, finally, she gets her knight in shining armour in the guise of Sebastian Reyes. He was the leading male dancer, he had the biggest heart of gold and wore it proudly but most of all, he had seen and heard enough, it had to stop.


“Because I think us dancing together is going to be what leads you from the darkness back into the light.”


Sebastian was wise beyond his years and sixteen-year-old Claire had been on his radar for years, he had admired her from afar but now he was stepping up to the plate, protecting her from the girls and finally had the guts to declare his feelings and intentions. The boy had it bad, but it was reciprocated, but these two had issues to overcome, mostly Claire’s insecurities and self-confidence.


“…And maybe one day, I’ll love me.”


Bullies don’t realise the damage they inflict, for them it is a casual comment, a stupid prank, or a little slap, something that they forget five seconds after the event. The person on the receiving end, each word, each prank, each slap…lasts a lifetime and JB McGee really brought this to the forefront. It resonated deep and brought back harsh memories, but most of all I empathised and I was willing Claire to see what she had in front of her. A boy that loved her implicitly, a boy that would do anything for her and a boy that loved her for who she was, inside and out. Sebastian and Claire were inseparable.


“Some people have to use small words to fill big insecurities.”


Part 2, yes this book literally is a book of two halves, here is where for me it just lost its way and I am being deliberately vague because I don’t want to spoil anything. My character connection was shot, I didn’t feel it, I didn’t believe it and for me that impacts my reading. I am an emotional reader, I have to live and breathe it and the first half, I had that in spades…emotional overload. JB McGee wrote the first half to perfection and I personally feel because she did such a fantastic job it made the second half lose its impact.  There was one plot device used as well that I personally felt wasn’t needed either, for me it was a tad unbelievable and just negated everything that had happened in the second half.

However, as I have said, I adored the first half, it ticked every single box I love and while the second half wasn’t my cup of tea I was still emotionally invested in Claire’s story. I wanted to see it to the end but most of all I wanted her to be happy. I loved the epilogue and was glad to see Claire’s story come full circle. She was stronger than she thought and while she had been through the mill to get there, sometimes fairy tales do come true, there is a prince out there for everyone, you just have to trust your heart to find them.


“I’ll love you a second past forever.”


About the Author:


J.B. McGee was born and raised in Aiken, South Carolina. She is the mother of two beautiful children and a stay at home mom/entrepreneur. She finished her Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina-Aiken in 2006. During her time studying children's literature, a professor encouraged her to become a writer.
In 2011, it was discovered that both her children, she, and her husband have Mitochondrial Disease, a disease that has no cure or treatments. Being a writer allows J.B. to remain close to her family, raise awareness for mito, and to lose herself in the stories that she creates for her readers.
J.B. McGee and her family now reside in Buford, Georgia. She is an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author of her debut series, the 'THIS' Series. 

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Website:  http://www.jbmcgee
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