Tuesday 17 May 2016

Blog Tour, Excerpt, Review & Giveaway ~ The Spiral Down (The Fall Up #2) by Aly Martinez

 

Henry Alexander's story in The Spiral Down by Aly Martinez is NOW LIVE!


Book Description:

I was afraid to fly.

He made me soar.

After years of climbing the ladder of success in the music industry, I finally had everything I could want. 

Yet I still found myself wandering through life alone.

Captain Evan Roth was the one man I never saw coming. 

Tall, dark, mysterious… Straight. 

We were both damaged beyond repair and searching for something so elusive we weren’t sure it even existed.

But, when two broken souls collide in midair, falling is a given.

I just never expected to crave the spiral down.


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Our Review:

Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***



“And then to find that my broken pieces actually made him whole? Well, that was nothing short of perfection.”


It is no secret, I love my M/M, the only trouble being is once I read one, I binge read a few, one is never enough and I don’t have time this week to binge, it is torture! There is something about a well written M/M that touches my soul and pulls at every heart string. That deep emotional connection, fighting the fears, the prejudices and all that goes on in between. Bearing in mind this was Aly Martinez’s first foray into M/M she really hit the spot, she nailed it. With alternating POV’s we are treated to the thoughts and feelings of both these extremely lovable men and it is this that really hammers home that intense character connection that I crave.

I adored these characters, like truly, madly, deeply adored them and while their journey is fraught with insecurities and issues in the first instance, from their first meeting and that first flicker of lust and interest I was completely sold and my championing for Henry and Evan never waned.

Henry Alexander first appeared in The Fall Up, he was Levee’s gay BBF and also a music superstar too. While on the outside he had his superstar façade, underneath that cocky, arrogant persona was a man that had a heart of gold, an intense fear of flying and a man that just wanted to be loved. Henry did little to enable himself to find true love, it was as if he was misguidedly protecting himself by going into relationships that never had the potential to stand the test of time, it was like he knew he was going to fail so found someone he knew would fail him…he thought he had found that again with Evan, but little did Henry know, Evan would be way more than that, would his brain overrule his heart?


“Those forbidden encounters were a drug. And I was a junkie. The hunt of finding that perfect blend of brute masculinity and subtle curiosity…that was the high. But it was always followed by the crash.”


Evan was a man who had his own issues too, his heart had been broken once before and so he had sworn off men, instead diverting his attention to the female of the species. Evan was a pilot, flying was in his blood and for his age he was extremely accomplished. His father was a pilot and so he had been in the air and at the controls since a young age, a stint as a military pilot honed his skills even further and now having left the service he was a part time pilot at an airfield. It is here that he is first thrust into Henry Alexanders life…little did he know his life would never be the same again.


“Evan Roth had just become my favorite drug of all and I hadn’t even tasted him yet.”


Aly Martinez had me in hysterics throughout this book as well as in tears. The banter in this book is some of the best I have read in a long time and Henry was totally endearing when he wasn’t spouting crap to maintain his superstar persona. His fear of flying was hilarious…while in real life it is nothing to laugh at, the way that Aly Martinez wrote those scenes was perfection. You couldn’t help but laugh as this huge mountain of a man becomes a bumbling idiot with panic attacks, a few gin and tonics and his head between his legs. Classic!

I loved these two characters together, that push and pull, those conflicted emotions, the chemistry…whoa THE CHEMISTRY!!! Seriously, Aly Martinez nailed it and when these two weren’t rucking they were…errr rucking in more ways than one. Henry was the light to Evan’s dark. While Henry was the lovable clown, always making a joke out of everything, Evan was more the deep thinker, the dark brooder and it was this that made these two complement the other in the best possible way. Evan was calm and confident and could talk Henry down from any ledge and it is this calm, soothing demeanour that really catches Henry’s attention in the first instance. Gah, I absolutely adored these two. Sometimes when you start reading about two characters you just know that they are so well suited, you champion them along like a raving lunatic and when they hurt, you hurt, when they love, you love and that was exactly what Aly Martinez delivered.


“Slowly, my head and my body returned to me as I came down, but there was a piece of me that would never re-emerge. Because, no matter how hard I’d tried to fight, that piece now belonged to Henry.”


This was not a smooth journey for these two, they both have a 747 full of issues they need to sort out, but once these two sort their heads out, the sparks fly and it was truly beautiful to read. Aly Martinez never fails to capture my attention with her characters, she always manages to embed them into my heart and soul and I never want them to leave. I loved catching up with Sam and Levee and their appearances in this book only made me want to go back and read their story. Henry’s bond with Levee is fantastic and just gets stronger and stronger and his relationship with Sam has me in hysterics too. Who knew fanny pics could be so entertaining…send them to a gay guy!


“Henry,” he whispered.
“Henry,” he groaned.
“Henry,” he cursed.
“Henry,” he cried.
My name filled his every emotion. And that filled me in places I hadn’t known were empty.


I loved everything about this book, totally and utterly loved it.


Excerpt:

Henry
“How about you and one of your girls come out to my show in L.A. next week? My treat. Dinner, drinks, the whole deal. Evan and I would love to take you two beautiful ladies out for an evening.”
“Excuse me?” he exclaimed, cocking his head to catch my gaze.
I leaned back into my seat and lifted a hand to massage his shoulder. I was barely able to suppress a moan when the angle of his firm trap muscle met my palm.
Fuck, this guy was built like a brick wall. And I was going to love every second of watching him crumble for me.
“Oh, come on, Evan. It’s the least we can do. Double date.” I winked at Jessica. “You can fly them out! My plane should be ready by then.”
Jessica’s eyes jumped to Evan’s. “You’re a pilot?” Her smile spread irritatingly wide.
Back off, Ginger Spice.
Snapping my fingers in her direction, I corrected, “He’s my pilot.”
Subtlety was not a virtue I possessed. Was subtlety a virtue at all?
“Your temporary pilot,” he amended before shaking his head and then tipping his beer to his lips for a long pull.
“Anyway. Do we have a date?” And, by date, I meant feeding her dinner while I attempted to work my way into Evan’s pants.
She pressed one finger to her lips and then nervously flashed her eyes around the cabin.
“Oops. Sorry.” I shrugged sheepishly. Lifting my drink to my mouth, I discreetly passed her my cocktail napkin and then not-so-discreetly brushed my forearm against Evan’s chest as I pulled away.
He offered her a tight smile just before she disappeared.
I grinned proudly.
“What the fucking hell was that?” he whisper-yelled at me.
“That was me getting a woman’s number.”
He arched an eyebrow. “A woman. Really?”
“What? Is that not allowed?” I feigned innocence.
He clenched his fist in his lap, and it made me suddenly aware that my own hands had stopped trembling—and in record time, I should note. Evan seemed to be quite useful in the art of distraction.
He leaned closer. “Don’t bullshit me. I looked you up. You’re…” He stopped, unwilling to say the big, bad “G” word.
“I’m what?” I taunted.
He rolled his eyes and chugged the rest of his beer.
We went back to silence until Jessica came back by with another drink, complete with her phone number written on the napkin.
“I’m not going on a double date,” Evan said as I tucked the napkin into my pocket. “You want me to fly them out? Not a problem. Schedule it with Jackson. But that’s the extent of my professional responsibilities. And, since I’m off the clock right now, I’d also like to mention that I think whatever play you’re planning to run on that woman is fucked up.”
My head snapped to his. “I’m sorry. Play?” I asked with more attitude than I had originally planned.
“Yes. Play,” he sneered.
I stirred my drink. “Let me get this straight. I’m offering to fly her out in a private jet, feed her dinner at one of the best restaurants in the city, and put her front row at a concert that has been sold out for over a year. That doesn’t seem like a play to me. It sounds like I’m trying to do something nice for a woman I was rude to earlier.” I casually leaned back in my seat. “My conscience doesn’t ‘play’ when it comes to apologies.”
“Right. Well, maybe you should have a chat with your conscience, because she looks like she just won the date of a lifetime. Meanwhile, you don’t even like women.” He stalled, no doubt looking for just the right word to express his disgust without sounding like a bigot. Judging by his gentleness when we’d taken off, he wasn’t the type of guy to go for the fag bomb.
I watched him intently, excited to see how he was going to handle this.
“You’re gay.”
I frowned at his lack of creativity. “Not that it’s any of your damn business. But I’ll have you know I love women.”
It wasn’t a lie. I adored women. Especially Levee and Robin.
I just didn’t like pussy. Meh. Semantics.
He gaped. “You’re bi?”
“And I’ll repeat: None of your damn business. But yeah. Do you have a problem with that?”
Again, it wasn’t necessarily a lie.
Was I bisexual? Fuck no. My cock was in no way an equal opportunity employer.
I was somewhat bilingual though. I knew how to ask for a blow job in English and Spanish. I pretended that was what he meant.
Chupame la verga.


About the Author:


Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.



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