Blog Tour Stop including Excerpt, Review, Author Interview & Giveaway – Reckless Hope by j. leigh bailey

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Author Name: j. leigh bailey

Book Name: Reckless Hope

Part of a series? If yes, can this book be read as a standalone? Yes, but can be read as a standalone

If a series, what is the series title? Letting Go

If series, what number is this book? Book2

Release Date: August 24, 2015

Blurb(s):
What’s life without a little risk?

Or a lot of risk, if you’re Sebastian Carlisle. He’ll never live up to the legacy of his dead brother, so why try? Being the wild child in a family of stuck-up rich snobs suits him just fine.

Until he meets Micah Burke, and everything changes.

Micah’s got too much going on for a relationship. Even if he could trust Sebastian, a distraction—a sexy, reckless distraction with a death wish—would only derail his carefully scheduled life. If it were just Micah, maybe that would be fine, but his mother and sister depend on him, and he can’t let them down. Or at least that’s what he tells himself.

A hot moment leads to a hot night leads to a connection neither of them are ready for. And when a crisis hits Micah’s family hard, Sebastian will have to shed his bad-boy image and decide whether he can be the man Micah needs—and Micah needs to decide whether he’ll let him.

Book two of Letting Go

Pages or Words: 67,000

Categories: M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

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Excerpt:

“I thought I knew what kind of person you were.”

“Yeah, you made that pretty clear.”

Micah cringed, but kept going. “You take for granted everything I work my ass off to achieve. It’s easy for you. And now I know there’s more to you than that. I don’t understand your choices, or the need for an adrenaline rush you seem to have.” He held up a hand to keep Sebastian from saying anything. He scooted up, resting his back against the handlebars. “I don’t have to understand. It’s part of who you are.”

“Somehow I don’t think this discussion is heading in a direction I’m going to like.” Sebastian drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

“The thing is, you’re a bad influence on me.”

“I don’t—”

“You don’t even have to do anything. Take tonight, for instance.”

“Tonight?”

“I have a midterm tomorrow. I should be studying. Or even sleeping. Instead I’m here. I never have trouble doing what I’m supposed to do. Setting aside my ‘want tos’ to do my ‘have tos.’ Except around you.”

“I’m not trying to make your life harder. I’m just trying to be part of it.”

“That’s what I don’t get. You could have almost anyone. You could find someone a hell of a lot less complicated than me.”

“You may not believe it, but I don’t mind complications.”

 

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BFD_review
Reckless Hope (Letting Go, #2)Reckless Hope by J. Leigh Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

this was my first read in this series – i didn’t realize it was a book 2, but it can be read as a stand alone.

micah has been dealt a pretty crappy hand in life and he’s starting to buckle under the pressure. he had to be an adult at a very young age and therefore comes across as an uptight, fuddy duddy. he works very hard all the time and really is just trying to survive. buried underneath all the crap is a pretty decent person even though the way he repeatedly mistreats sebastian is an area of contention for me. sebastian is an amazing young man that completely hides his real self behind the ‘life of the party’ facade. while he does like to have fun and enjoys living, deep down he’s hurting. and he’s so grateful to finally find someone who sees the real him but even though micah does see him, he hurts him several times before giving him a real chance which really bothered me. micah has every reason to be angry at the world but he doesn’t give sebastian the chance he deserves for a long time. thankfully, he eventually comes around and give sebastian the credit he deserves. while both of these men do mature quite a bit in this story, they both are older than their years.

the cast of supporting characters is pretty great – sebastian’s grandfather and the folks at the gardens especially.

definitely a good read overall and i’d love to read more by this author.

View all my reviews

 

About the author:

j. leigh bailey is an office drone by day and the author of New Adult and Young Adult LGBT Romance by night. She can usually be found with her nose in a book or pressed up against her computer monitor. A book-a-day reading habit sometimes gets in the way of… well, everything…but some habits aren’t worth breaking. She’s been reading romance novels since she was ten years old. The last twenty years or so have not changed her voracious appetite for stories of romance, relationships and achieving that vitally important Happy Ever After. She’s a firm believer that everyone, no matter their gender, age, sexual orientation or paranormal affiliation deserves a happy ending.

She wrote her first story at seven, which was, unbeknownst to her at the time, a charming piece of fan-fiction in which Superman battled (and defeated, of course) the nefarious X Luther. She was quite put out to be told, years later, that the character’s name was actually Lex. Her second masterpiece should have been a best-seller, but the action-packed tale of rescuing her little brother from an alligator attack in the marshes of Florida collected dust for years under the bed instead of gaining critical acclaim.

Now she writes New Adult and Young Adult LGBT Romance novels about boys traversing the crazy world of love, relationships and acceptance.

faq_questionmarkToday I’m very lucky to be interviewing j. leigh bailey, author of Reckless Hope.

Hi, j. leigh, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

I’m an office drone by day in the Chicagoland area, and by night I’m the author of New Adult and Young Adult LGBTQ romance. RECKLESS HOPE is the second book in my Letting Go series, and is an opposites attract story centered around two characters who have to overcome the stresses and disappointments of their past to build a happy relationship together. And, while doing this, they have to figure out who they are and, ultimately, what they want for their future.

Q:  Tell us something about your character’s friends.

A:  In RECKLESS HOPE, there are two friends who make an appearance. Jace is Micah’s best friend and is a perfect foil for him. While Micah believes himself to be boring and practical, Jace is flamboyant and energetic. He speaks in exclamations and sarcasm. Micah needs this balance to keep from taking things too seriously, and Jace helps push Micah outside his comfort zone.

Sebastian’s friend Paul, on the other hand, represents the image and expectations others have for Sebastian. He’s entitled and a little reckless. In some ways, he’s a bad influence on Sebastian, as he enable Sebastian’s own reckless behavior. Paul is always there for him, though, and his unquestioning support is something Sebastian needs.

Q:  What are your ambitions for your writing career?

A:  Like any author, I’d love to be able to ditch the day job and write full time. That’s thinking long-term. For the shorter term, I have a couple of other things I’d like to accomplish. First, I’d love to earn enough money in my writing to allow me to attend different author/reader events and conferences without dipping into my personal savings. You know, let the writing pay for the writing-related things. That’s the practical stuff. In a different vein, I can’t wait for my Young Adult books to be released. The first, GUYLINER, comes out in November, but I’d like to write more. I think it’s hugely important for LGBTQ kids to have affirming books about “them,” and books that show them things really can work out. I look forward to exploring different avenue of kids’ experiences and, hopefully, impacting someone’s life for the better. We all need to see some version of ourselves gaining his or her Happily Ever After. Or at least the knowledge that things really can get better.

Q:  How many published books do you have? Can you tell us something about them?

A:  Nobody’s Hero (Purchase Link:  http://amzn.to/1IjYj2H) was my first published novel, and it came out in April. It is the first of the Letting Go series. Bradley Greene is a repressed guy, recently graduated from the military school his parents sent him to “to straighten” him out. Danny Ortega is the outgoing, openly-gay son of Bradley’s new boss. Brad’s running from his oppressive family, and is practically adopted by the Ortegas who show him that family doesn’t have to mean blood relation. Things don’t go smooth, of course, but if they did, it would be a boring book.

Reckless Hope is my second novel, and the second in the Letting Go series. Looking forward, the third book in the Letting Go series, Fight to Forgive, comes out next March. I’m really looking forward to Fight to Forgive because it’s my modern day, New Adult, male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Or, at least it’s inspired by Persuasion. It’s a second chance at first love story that takes place in Door County, Wisconsin, and stars a confrontation-averse graduate student of romantic literature and a Navy special forces man. They were best friends, first loves, first heartbreaks, and will have to see if they can finally work things out between them.

I also have a Young Adult novel, Guyliner (Purchase Link: http://amzn.to/1K83OZK) coming out in November. I’m super-excited about this one because it’s the first novel I wrote and the first to sell. It’s got a hard-working, blue-collar baseball player coming to terms with his sexuality and an eyeliner-wearing soccer phenom from the big city.

Q:  Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?

A:  My main character is Micah Burke, who was a responsible adult long before he should have been. His parents were irresponsible and reckless, leaving him to take care of himself and his younger sister while he was still young enough to need a babysitter himself. His father died in a drinking and driving car accident, and his mother paralyzed, which left him acting as With all of this, Micah works two jobs and goes to school part time.

He’s a total nurturer. He takes care of everyone and everything around him. And his life is organized and as efficient as possible. Which makes Sebastian Carlisle the absolutely wrong (or very, very right) guy for him. Sebastian is an adrenaline junkie, party boy, out to have a good time. He doesn’t seem to take anything seriously.

Like any good opposites attract story, they’re actually perfect for each other. Assuming Micah can learn to relax and trust someone else, and assuming Sebastian can prove he’s someone who can be counted on to get things done.

Q:  What are you working on at the moment? What’s it about?

A:  Right now I’m working on my second Young Adult novel, polishing it up so I can give it to my agent and start submitting it around. It’s got more of an action/adventure feel to it than the primarily romance-focus of my other books. It takes place in Cameroon, Africa, and has two boys (a missionary and a missionary’s son) travelling across the country who get kidnapped and held hostage by mercenaries who traffic in chemical weapons and profit from civil wars. Oh, and the main character is diabetic and doesn’t have access to his insulin, which brings on ketoacidosis, which will kill him if they don’t get medical attention ASPA. There’s also poisonous snakes, adorable monkeys, big-ass spiders, and hippos in tutus. Okay, the hippos are actually illustrations, but still….

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.bailey.39948

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/JLeighBailey

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/JenniWrites

Goodreads Links: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4384864.J_Leigh_Bailey

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25548671-reckless-hope

Publisher: Carina Press

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Tour Dates & Stops:

24-Aug

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Velvet Panic, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My

25-Aug

Hearts on Fire, Havan Fellows

26-Aug

Amanda C. Stone, Divine Magazine

27-Aug

V’s Reads, Boys on the Brink Reviews, BFD Book Blog

28-Aug

EE Montgomery, Bayou Book Junkie

31-Aug

Happily Ever Chapter, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat

1-Sep

MM Good Book Reviews, Cathy Brockman Romances, Jessie G. Books

2-Sep

Dawn’s Reading Nook, Book Reviews and More by Kathy, Hearts on Fire

3-Sep

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads

4-Sep

Just Love Romance, Molly Lolly

 

Final (3)

Rafflecopter Prize: An eBook copy of Nobody’s Hero (Letting Go book 1) and an eBook copy of Reckless Hope

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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One Response to Blog Tour Stop including Excerpt, Review, Author Interview & Giveaway – Reckless Hope by j. leigh bailey

  1. Thank you so much for having me today! And a extra thanks for taking the time to read and review Reckless Hope.