100 Proof, an all-new taboo STANDALONE romance from Shanora Williams is available now!
100 Proof by Shanora Williams
Release Date: May 18th, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Book Description:
I was the low life.
The screw up.
The hopeless one with no future.
He was the rich guy. The smart one. The one who had it all.
My parents admired everything he did, while I was known for being their greatest disappointment. I didn't follow the path they paved for me.
I drank and partied and did whatever the hell I wanted. The buzz was something I couldn't live without - the fire that filled my veins after each sip always kept me running back for more.
But then I met her, and suddenly the drinks didn't matter. The parties weren't as fun. That fiery buzz came second for once.
I drowned only in her, wanting her more than I wanted to exist.
But even with her, I screwed things up.
Now, he's with the woman I love. And he may have her, but what he should know is that even with all of his money, that nice house, and his expensive cars, her mind, body, and soul will always belong to me.
And I'm not sorry about it, brother, 'cause she was mine first.
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Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“He could have everything else,
but he wasn’t keeping her.”
Shanora Williams delivers a heart-breaking yet heart-warming
second chance, forbidden romance with 100 Proof. Two people that loved hard but
broke apart even harder. My heart shattered multiple times for the hero in this
book and my character connection to him was 100 Proof. Our heroine delivers a
case of tough love when these two split after a three-year relationship, yes,
it was needed and yes it was warranted, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less.
“She was my kryptonite, but also
my strength. She gave my life meaning—for a while, anyway.”
Vinny was a character that lived up to the reputation he was
unfairly given. If you want me to be the black sheep, I will be the black sheep
and this was his way of acting out and rebelling against the people that should
have loved him the most. Vinny’s relationship with his mom was perfect, he was
the angel child but his father and brother despised him and made his life hell.
I must admit I was intrigued as to what went wrong between the males in this
family and I was glad that Shanora Williams slowly drip feed little snippets
and made us wait, because it added to the intrigue.
“And you are my world—have always
been mine, since the moment we met. Which is more important?”
Vinny had battled addiction, his method of forgetting was
whiskey and drugs, a cocktail that destroyed his relationship with Marley.
Three years Marley stood by his side, but even she had to admit defeat and put
herself first for once. The relationship that these two had was perfect, in the
flashbacks to the past you could see just how compatible they were, how much
they loved each other and how they made each other the better person, despite
the addiction. But when their paths cross two years later…all hell breaks
loose!!
“Addictions are bad habits that
are hard to let go of. That’s why you have to live without me, Vinny. I don’t
want to be the one to destroy you, and I can’t let you destroy me. Not again.”
Yes, this is the battle of the brothers, yes, Marley had no
idea they were related and that was all explained, yes, I hated the brother and
the more and more time Marley spent with him the more I began to despise her. I
did realise that Marley was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but come on…this
was brutal.
“This was a dangerous love, but
the risk thrilled me. It always had. This was a stupid kind of love, but it was
real. So, so real, and so, so bad.”
The back and forth and the not knowing of what the hell was
going to happen was infuriating, but was testament to this author’s writing
ability and her apparent knack of dangling the carrot while she pulls your
strings like a puppet master. Despite the length of this book this was a quick
read and one where I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough. The flashbacks to the
past were extremely welcome and gave the reader an insight into their back
story but I was still desperate to get back to the present because that was
where all the interesting stuff was happening.
“I missed his touch. I missed his
lips. I missed everything about him, and I hated myself for it.”
While I found the end result predictable, because I expected
it from the very beginning it didn’t matter, I was more interested in the how.
The back story on Vinny and his brother and father was what threw me for a
doozy and that part I never saw coming, especially “what happened.” This was a great
read, one that I thoroughly enjoyed and although I didn’t love Marley, I
appreciated the situation that she found herself in.
Excerpt:
Breakfast was supposed to be happening in less than thirty minutes. I couldn’t bail on Vin. He would have taken it personally. I figured filling him in in person would be okay.
I wouldn’t even eat with him. I’d let him know what was going on and tell him he should schedule a flight back home as soon as he wanted to.
I collected my keys and my clutch before I could process my thoughts, but as I climbed into my car and started it up, driving away from our two-story brick home, I realized I wasn’t doing this for Vin’s benefit.
I was doing it for mine.
I wanted to see him again.
I wanted to know what was really going on with him.
I wanted updates on him and Zay. About California, period. I wanted to see if he’d changed at all—or if he was just giving the impression of it to try and win me over again. Not that he could, but he would try.
I knew this was stupid. I should have cancelled, like Lloyd said. By going to meet him—<em>alone</em>—I was asking for something to happen. I was secretly hoping to feel a connection again, but in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t exactly sure what that something was.
I drove with racing thoughts, wondering what I’d say—what I’d do. Do I hug him when I first see him? Do I shake his hand and pretend to be formal? Do I treat him like my future brother-in-law or as my former love?
I had no clue, but, still, I didn’t stop. I kept going until I was pulling into the parking lot of the busy restaurant and parking the car.
I didn’t fully breathe as I climbed out, didn’t stop moving as I walked towards the entrance. I didn’t fill my lungs with air until I saw him standing in the waiting area, wearing a navy blue T-shirt that clung to his firm upper body, dark wash jeans sitting low and snug on his hips, and his hair a beautiful, chaotic mess. The veins bulged on his arms, the very ones I used to have no problem tracing with the tip of my tongue.
My pulse roared.
And then it hit me.
This was exactly what I wanted to feel.
The electricity between us—the fire that could torch anything that stood in its way. I wanted to witness his smoldering eyes drinking me in, like I was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Lloyd had never given me this look. He had never stared for so long, like he would tear my clothes off right where we stood, no matter who was watching.
My throat tightened.
My core clenched.
But I pretended none of it was happening to me as I walked forward to meet him.
About the Author:
Shanora Williams is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who loves writing about flawed heroes and resilient heroines. She is a believer that love outweighs all, but doesn’t have a problem making her characters fight for their happily ever after. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the mother of two amazing boys, has a fiercely devoted and supportive man, and is a sister to eleven. When she isn’t writing, she’s spending time with her family, binge reading, or running marathons on Netflix while scarfing down chocolate chip cookies.
Connect with Shanora:
Twitter: @shanorawilliams
Instagram @reallyshanora
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