Hi, everyone!
I am BURSTING to share this Feature Post and Book Review for Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s DIRTY LETTERS. This is one of my favorite standalone romance reads of the year and Griffin definitely made my BBF list!
Below you will find an excerpt from the title, my book review, a book summary the author’s bios and social media links and the link to the Rafflecopter giveaway for a $100 Amazon Gift Card giveaway!
I highly recommend this romance and good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
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EXCERPT:
The small dining room table had a pile of mail. I’d had Dad’s mail forwarded to my house, so mostly it was just catalogs and junk. Once a month, Mrs. Cascio sent me everything that arrived, even though I’d told her it wasn’t necessary. I mindlessly fingered through the pile, not expecting to see anything worth keeping. But I stopped at an envelope addressed to me—well, not me, but Luca Ryan. That was a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. In second grade, my teacher, Mrs. Ryan, started a pen pal writing program with a small town in England. We weren’t allowed to use our real last names for safety reasons, so the entire class used her last name—hence I was Luca Ryan. I checked out the return address for the sender’s name.
G. Quinn
Wow, really? It couldn’t be.
I squinted at the postmark. It was from a PO box in California, not England, but I didn’t know any other Quinn other than Griffin. And the handwriting did look pretty familiar. But it had been close to eight years since we’d exchanged letters. Why would he write now? Curious, I ripped it open and scanned right to the bottom of the letter for the name. Sure enough, it was from Griffin. I started at the beginning.
Dear Luca,
Do you like scotch? I remember you said you didn’t like the taste of beer. But we never did get around to comparing our taste in hard liquor. Why is that, you might ask? Let me remind you—because you stopped answering my letters eight damn years ago. I wanted to let you know, I’m still pissed off about that. My mum used to say I hold grudges. But I prefer to think of it as I remember the facts. And the fact of the matter is, you suck. There, I’ve said it. I’ve been holding that shit in for a long time. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not obsessive or anything. I don’t sit in my house thinking about you all day long. In fact, there have been months that go by when thoughts of you don’t even enter my brain. But then some random thing will pop into my head out of the blue. Like I’ll see some kid in a pram eating black licorice, and I’ll think of you. Side note—I’ve tried it again as an adult, and I still think it tastes like the bottom of my shoe, so perhaps it’s that you just have no taste. You probably don’t even like scotch. Anyway, I’m sure this letter won’t find its way to you. Or if by some miracle it does, you won’t answer. But if you’re reading this, you should know two things.
1. The Macallan 1926 is worth the extra cash. Goes down smooth.
2. You SUCK.
Later, traitor, Griffin
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
DIRTY LETTERS by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward is one of the best contemporary romances I have read this year! This romance has a swoon worthy rockstar hero and a heroine who is battling severe anxiety after a life altering event eight years ago.
Luca and Griffin became pen pals from the age of seven when Luca’s teacher set her class up to write to children in England. Luca’s life in New York could not have been more different than Griffin’s life in England, but they became best friends. They told each other their deepest fears and secrets and formed a bond that lasted over years, until Luca stopped answering Griffin’s letters.
Out of the blue, eight years later, Luca finds a letter from Griffin as she is cleaning out her deceased father’s apartment. His letter is full of anger over her breaking their connection.
Luca reconnects by letter with Griffin, who now lives in California. Luca explains to Griffin the reason for her discontinued writing and when he learns the cause he forgives her. The spark and deep connection is still there and soon the letters go from the flirty childhood connection they had, to an adult connection full of their wildest sexual fantasies.
Luca wants to meet in person, but Griffin is afraid that when Luca meets him, everything will change. Neither go by their real last names in their correspondence or professional lives. Luca is willing to take a huge leap and go find her friend, but what she finds is not what she expected. Can two such different people find a way to be together forever?
This is one of those romances that pull you in and when you reach “The End”, you do not feel any time has passed and you do not want to leave Luca and Griffin’s world. I had all my emotions yanked, tossed and pulled and believe me, you better have tissues for the last few chapters, some for sad tears and ultimately for happy tears. The parts of the story told in written letters between the H/h had me laughing out loud, squirming in my seat (explicit and sexy hot) and crying like a baby. There is just something so much more in a written letter than today’s emails, texts and phone calls. Griffin definitely made it to my book boyfriend list. Luca is written with empathy and is a wonderful portrayal of living through the good and bad days with an emotional anxiety disorder.
This is one of the most emotional, heartfelt and just plain romantic books I have read this year. Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward have “knocked it out of the park” with this collaboration! I highly recommend this romance!
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About the Book
Title: Dirty Letters
Authors: Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Publisher: Montlake
Summary
She had yet to meet him but had never forgotten the British boy who’d warmed her heart.
As childhood pen pals, Griffin Quinn and Luca Vinetti couldn’t have been more
different. Over the years, through hundreds of letters, they became best
friends, sharing their deepest, darkest secrets.
Until one day it ended.
Griffin never understood why Luca disappeared. She was special. She knew the
real him like no one else. He writes her a drunken letter, an angry one, never
expecting her to write back.
Before they know it, they’re right where they left off. This time with heat.
But as playing catch-up goes from fun to flirty to downright dirty, Luca wants more. She wants Griffin in the flesh. That’s where it gets risky. Because when they meet, the mystery will be over. And once they really get to know each other, there’ll be no going back.
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Author Biographies
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared on more than one hundred bestseller lists and are currently translated into twenty-six languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children, where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than twenty novels. A former television news anchor, Penelope has sold more than two million books and has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list twenty-one times. She resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
Together, Vi and Penelope are the authors of Dirty Letters, Hate Notes, and the Rush Series. For more information about them, visit www.vikeeland.com and www.penelopewardauthor.com.
Social Media Links
Vi Keeland Website: https://www.vikeeland.com
Vi Keeland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorViKeeland
Vi Keeland Twitter: https://twitter.com/vikeeland
Penelope Ward Website: https://penelopewardauthor.com
Penelope Ward Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor
Penelope Ward Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor
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Rafflecopter Giveaway
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