Fading by E.K. Blair ~ Blog Tour and Giveaway

Synopsis

Can a guilty conscience keep wounds from healing?

Fine arts major, Candace Parker, grew up with a mother who thinks image is everything, and her daughter’s perfection will never be good enough. About to graduate college and pursue her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, Candace decides it’s time to let go and have a little fun. But fun is short-lived when a brutal attack leaves her completely shattered.

The memories that consume and torment Candace are starting to destroy her when she meets Ryan Campbell, a successful bar owner. He feels instantly connected and tries to show her that hope is worth fighting for. But is Ryan harboring his own demons? As walls slowly begin to chip away, the secrets that are held within start to become painful burdens.

At what point do secrets become lies?

(17+) This book contains mature subject matter that is not suitable for those under the age of 17.

Jack and Candace at Remedy:
Jack’s POV

When I make my way through the crowded club and back to the bar, I spot her sitting there with some dude. I don’t know who he is, but I stake my claim when I creep up behind her and slide my arms around her waist, tugging her back into me. She turns around and says, “Hey, Jack,” as she practically stumbles out of her seat to stand up.
            Catching her, I say, “Whoa, you okay?”
            “Yeah, just stood up too fast.”
            She quickly introduces me to the guy she’s sitting with, not that I really give a shit. We sit down, and I order a round of beers for us, even though I can tell she has already had a few too many.
            “So, what did you do today?” I ask her.
            “I spent the morning at the dance studio to get in some practice. Then I came home and took it easy for the rest of the day. You?”
            “Been harassing the new pledges at the frat house,” I say with a laugh. Some of those bastards are pathetic and will do just about anything I ask.
            She turns to her friend, and I take the opportunity to check out her legs. She’s wearing short white shorts and her legs are insane. Every inch of her tan skin is defined to fuckin’ perfection. I don’t want to sit here and bullshit; I just want to get my hands on her tight body for a while. I lean into her ear and whisper, “You wanna dance?”
            I take her hand and she follows me out to the packed dance floor. She seemed so uptight when I met her at the country club, but by the way she is moving in front of me, I can only assume what she’s really like. Standing behind her, I move my body with hers as I wrap my arms around her and slide my hand under her shirt and along her stomach.
            Yeah, I’m pretty confident that this chick has just been putting on a good-girl act with me when she reaches her arm up and wraps it around my neck, tugging me down to her.  I don’t think twice when I graze my chin along her neck then take a bite. I know she likes it when she turns around in my arms and stares up at me with a slight grin. She grabs my hair, and I jerk her body tight against mine and kiss her. She doesn’t even hesitate. Yeah, I’ll play her little game for now.


Review

This is one of the best books I have read in quite some time. Keep in mind, there is a brutal attack it the beginning of this book that the author does not gloss over, so if you do not think you can stomach that this book is not for you. Fading is one battered and broken woman's journey to surviving the tragedy that rocked her worked, learning to stand on her own to feet, overcoming the self-blame and what if's, and learning to become FIERCE. 5 stars.

Candace Parker is striving toward her dreams of becoming a professional dancer despite her non-support from her uptight parents who don't think that dancing is a real career. Her mother encourages her to date Jake who is in a fraternity at the college Candace attends, and one of the county club boys her mom finds acceptable. After Candace survives a brutal attack (which will leave you reeling with so many gut-wrenching emotions) Candace struggles everyday to put the pieces of her life back together and discover the girl that she once was. Problem is that girl no longer exists......she is Fading. Candace slowly begins to pick up the pieces of her life with the help of her best-friend Jase and his boyfriend Mark but she is far from fine, even her dancing is suffering and always excelled at dancing. When Candace meets Ryan, who happens to be friends with Jase and Mark, she is attracted to him but obviously is scared to pursue a relationship due to what happened to her. They gradually form a friendship and a relationship progresses but Ryan has secrets and demons that he is also struggle with and when those come to light plus and earth shattering secret, can Candace's and Ryan's relationship survive?

E.K. Blair is an amazing writer! I hope we get more of Candace and Ryan. Fading was soul-shattering, captivating, inspiring, gripping, a book that will stay with you for a long time.....just flat-out phenomenal!



“And though she be but little, she is fierce.” - William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
*Review by Brandi





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