Wednesday 17 February 2016

Blog Tour & Review ~ RoomHate by Penelope Ward


Swoon-worthy Justin Banks is FINALLY HERE in

RoomHate by Penelope Ward!

Book Description:



From New York Times Bestselling Author, Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

Sharing a summer house with a hot-as-hell roommate should be a dream come true, right? 

Not when it’s Justin…the only person I’d ever loved…who now hates me.

When my grandmother died and left me half of the house on Aquidneck Island, there was a catch: the other half would go to the boy she helped raise.

The same boy who turned into the teenager whose heart I broke years ago.

The same teenager who’s now a man with a hard body and a hardass personality to match.

I hadn’t seen him in years, and now we’re living together because neither one of us is willing to give up the house.

The worst part? He didn’t come alone.

I’d soon realize there’s a thin line between love and hate. I could see through that smug smile. Beneath it all…the boy is still there. So is our connection. 

The problem is…now that I can’t have Justin, I’ve never wanted him more.

Author's note – RoomHate is a full-length standalone novel. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.


Buy Links:



Excerpt:


RoomHate Excerpt
Copyright © 2016 by Penelope Ward


His eyes darted to the side, and he noticed me standing there. We just stared at each other. It was ironic, but the only times I could ever feel the remnants of our old connection were in fleeting moments of silent eye contact. Sometimes moments of silence spoke the loudest.
I left him alone again, making my way back down the hall and into the restaurant to tend to the customers I’d been ignoring.
Things really started to get busy. Without Jade working tonight, we were short-staffed, and I was having a hard time keeping up with the orders. Sandy’s had indoor and outdoor seating. Normally, I would only be working one section, but tonight I was going back and forth between the two.
It was nice out, so I knew they would have Justin performing outside. I kept glancing over to the small stage to see if he was there. It was past eight, and he hadn’t made an appearance yet.
Sometime close to eight-thirty, I was in the middle of serving a large party of ten when I first heard it: the chilling sound of a soulful voice that was not familiar in the least. He gave no introduction. No warning. He just started to sing out the first few words, followed by the strum of his guitar. The song that Justin had chosen to start with was a cover of Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers.
The entire room soon quieted down, and all eyes were on the stunning blond male specimen with the spotlight shining down on him. Despite the fact that I was carrying a large round tray of dirty dishes, I couldn’t move. The vibration of his thick, smoky singing voice had completely paralyzed me, penetrating my body and soul.
Aside from the lone teardrop that fell the night he lost it on me during steak dinner, I hadn’t shed any more tears—until now. It was all too much. Hearing how different his voice sounded, how he’d trained it over the years, was a wake-up call as to how much I had missed. All of the hours of practice that must have gone into honing that beautiful voice, and I wasn’t there for any of it. The guilt, the emotions, the reality of a decade gone…everything started to pummel me at once. Not to mention the song—about a girl leaving. It probably had nothing to do with me, but in my mind, it sure as hell felt like it did.


Our Review:


Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 stars
(I did not receive an ARC of this book)


“How the fuck did you not know that?”


I do love a Penelope Ward book and RoomHate was no different. This was a book of two halves for me, the first half was a little slow and a little irritating at times but this was the big build up to the last half. I’m sure Penelope Ward sat at her computer saying to herself, I will royally piss them off in the beginning and then melt them into a puddle of goo in the second so they don’t hate me. Best friends and love/hate, two great plot devices that I love to read about and this was one of those reads that I couldn’t put down.

Justin and Amelia were childhood best friends, the kind of friends that were inseparable, knew each other inside out and were always there for one another. Amelia’s grandmother treated Justin as her own so these two really did grow up together. Life forces Amelia to flee, basically running away from her life and most importantly…Justin. Justin did not take Amelia’s desertion very well and soon that best friend love turns to best friend hate. He cannot believe she left him.


“When you left, it felt like my world ended. Besides your grandmother, you were the only one I could count on. You were always there…until you weren’t anymore.”


When Amelia’s grandmother passes some ten years later she finds out that her beach house has been left to her and to Justin. When Amelia goes to the house to sort things out Justin is there, but he isn’t alone. The teenager she had deserted has now turned into a gorgeous man, but a gorgeous man that cannot stand the sight of her, let along talk to her. However, we all know that there is a very fine line between love and hate. More often than not, hate is a mask for true feelings and none more so than for Justin and sometimes…sorry’s just don’t cut it.

In the beginning, I have to admit Justin was a bit of an ass and deep down he knew it. But don’t let this façade sway you from reading between the lines and seeing the man underneath. Justin is protecting his heart and self-preservation is at the top his thought process. Only one woman has the power to destroy him and she already did that ten years ago.


“The fact that you just squirmed in your seat is proof that you also have an illogical side. Maybe our illogical sides need to meet sometime.”


Amelia was a bit naïve if she thought that her and Justin would just go back to the way they were but nothing can prepare her for the disdain that Justin has towards her. She is hurt, she is confused, she is conflicted, but most of all she is jealous. Seeing Justin in a relationship really gives her a reality check and unearths feelings that she never really acknowledged existed. The summers were going to be extremely tough.

Penelope Ward really delivers a story that captures your heart and soul. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do and she captured this perfectly, all those conflicting emotions, the hurt, the pain, but most of all an all-encompassing love that never died despite best intentions to keep it dead and buried.


“Don’t ever forget that I respect the hell out of you…”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I am about to fuck you full of disrespect.”


Justin’s reticence to let Amelia back in was a turning point for him, miles and miles apart hate is easy to nurture and fester but face to face everything he thinks he feels dissipates much to his chagrin, I felt his confliction but deep down I knew that these two were meant to be together.

Penelope Ward delivers one huge plot twist that I never saw coming and this was really the turning point for both these characters. Justin finds himself when he least expects it and it was beautiful to read. I really cannot say anymore without spoiling it so I will quit while I’m ahead. So in summary while this was a tough read for a while, I had the warm and fuzzies by the end. Loved it.


“…thank you for teaching me that sometimes the thing we fear more than anything, is really what out soul craves the most.”


About the Author:



Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island. 





Other Books by Penelope Ward:

Sins of Sevin

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1FagE7Z
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1Kq8U0B
iBooks: http://apple.co/1K8mzGg
B&N: http://bit.ly/1hTKAKE
kobo: http://bit.ly/1OaGY3D


Cocky Bastard

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1DY7dHQ
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1NlqRQj
iBooks: http://apple.co/1J7vbN0
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1UxCSUO
B&N: http://bit.ly/1EjxNpY


Stepbrother Dearest

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1fFG6pz
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1WPyTnr
B&N: http://bit.ly/1taMFjG
iBooks: http://bit.ly/YER0mT
kobo: http://bit.ly/1fJaaBs


Gemini

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Py4vcQ
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1VuoWur
B&N: http://bit.ly/1KfmLHD
iBooks: http://apple.co/1QTaONj
kobo: http://bit.ly/1BGJ2wu


Jake Undone (Jake #1)

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1EjDkCn
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1PD1jeH
B&N: http://bit.ly/1obAwJ6
iBooks: http://apple.co/1fJayQ8
kobo: http://bit.ly/1SPKl0M


My Skylar

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1hFTYC2
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1SdyMDn
B&N: http://bit.ly/SLO1qi
iBooks: http://bit.ly/SLNOTR
kobo: http://bit.ly/1kNrtAB


Jake Understood (Jake #2)

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1heoqT9
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/207JPCl
B&N: http://bit.ly/1FwJC0z
iBooks: http://apple.co/1DQQwgC
kobo: http://bit.ly/1LQ7Fvk


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