Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Blog Tour and Review: The Perfect Emotion, by Melissa Rolka




Synopsis
The story of Kate, Kyle and Reed continues in this second novel of The Perfect Series. 

Kate (Katherine) Monroe is finally coming to heads with the decisions she’s made in the past to keep herself distracted at any cost. Learning to move on and forward with the conflicts in her life is harder than she expects though. With Kyle continuing to attempt reconciliation and Kate’s mom back at home, avoiding and running are no longer an option. 

All along Kate’s mind and heart are consumed with Reed, but she fights to push her feelings and desires to the side. Despite the obvious pull and connection she has with Reed she finds it difficult to let him in… and trust in herself. However, Reed’s perseverance and patience never wavers and eventually he uses the one thing that had always brought them together… tennis. 

As Reed and Kate begin to embark on a new relationship they face the past and the present head on. Along the way, new challenges and emotions arise testing the direction of their future together. 

Can Kate forgive herself and trust Reed in order to latch onto the one emotion she needs most… love? 


Excerpt
“Jesus, Katherine,” he mumbles as I kiss my way across his jaw and over to his ear.  “What are you doing to me?” 
“Kissing you,” I whisper in his ear and brush my lips against his ear lobe. 
“Mmmmm hmmmm.”  His hands move to my waist and guide me onto him.  I’m straddling his lap and his fingers dig into my hips.  I rush my hands into his hair and his head presses all the way against the couch, the leather giving in to my demands.  Our tongues clash against each other exploring as if it’s our first kiss, yet knowingly anticipating our next ridge or groove.  My heart races in ways I never knew possible.  My hands run down to the hem of his button down shirt and to the top of his pants.  I start to pull at his shirt to un-tuck it, but his hands come around and lock around my wrists restraining me from pulling anymore.  I whine into his mouth.
“Why?”  I mumble against the softness of his lips and smile.
“This is the first time I’m in your house and I just met your parents… maybe the second time,” he jokes and then nibbles on my bottom lip. 
“Grrrrr,” I grumble in his mouth.  “You are always being too good.”  His eyes narrow at me and he let’s out a rough chuckle.
“Katherine, I think you know that’s not true and I’ll show you just how bad I am when we are back up at school.”  His hands snake up to my shoulders wrapping around the back of my neck.  Pulling me towards him and his lips find mine again.  Softly he kisses me across my jaw to my ear.  “Patience,” he whispers. 
“I don’t want to be patient,” I pout as I push my body into him.  He laughs into me and un-straddles me from his lap.  We face each other and I smile shyly at him feeling a little funny by my boldness. 
“Stop,” he says, and his hand latches onto my pinky finger gently rubbing it.  “Don’t be embarrassed.  I don’t like you having to be patient either,” he says, just before he plants a firm kiss to my forehead.  I lean myself against him and rest my head on his chest.  His arms wrap around me tightly making my insecurities fade.  As I take in his familiar pine and masculine scent he shifts us back against the arm of the couch allowing me to snuggle myself even closer.  


Review
4.5 out of 5 stars

I've been looking forward to reading The Perfect Emotion long before Melissa Rolka even knew what she was going to call it!  Needless to say I was thrilled when the arc finally made it's way to my kindle. I desperately wanted more Reed and Kate, I was dying to know if they would find a way back to one another and if so what would transpire, would they get a happily ever after? 

The story begins several months post attack.  After taking some time off from school to re-group, heal and learn how to deal with life and emotions as they happen as opposed to pushing them to the back of her mind, favoring distractions instead, Kate finally feels strong enough to return to her studies.  Unfortunately, she still hasn't come to terms with her decision to leave Reed and while she cares for him she truly believes she doesn't deserve him.  After all, why would he want to be with someone who used him and then ran?

Reed has always been and still is drawn to Kate.  His feelings for her are unlike anything he has ever experienced before and he doesn't want to walk away.  Instead, he wants nothing more than to claim Kate as his own, but he's finally come to the realization it cannot be forced, she must come to him, trust him, choose him.  But how is that ever going to happen when she won't even look him in the face and avoids him at all costs.  He knows he needs to open up the lines of communication, but how?  One wordTennis.

This time around author Melissa Rolka takes Kate on an even deeper emotional journey, she forces her to deal with her emotions instead of avoiding them and it makes for an incredible journey.  She wants to be in control of her life.  She wants healing not only with herself but also in her relationship with her Mom and eventually with Reed.  She just needs to work through her feelings and find the strength to be honest, to voice her concerns, to confess her actions and the reasons behind them, to put trust in another person and eventually to open herself enough to allow love into her life.  I was constantly surprised with her character's maturity, especially in the way in which she handles past and new forces of drama.     

I enjoyed this second book tremendously, I loved watching Kate grow as a character and I absolutely loved getting to hear Reed's perspective.  I think his voice really added to the overall experience.  I respect his desire to always be honest, to never lie…and he never does!  Telling the truth isn't always an easy road and getting a first hand look into his fears of Kate's reactions as he answers her hard questions only makes his character seem even more "real."  This man loves Kate and his love for her is beautiful, pure, she makes him a better person, quite possibly it's making him into the man he was always meant to be.  In their bond with one another he is finding the strength to deal with issues in his life we never knew about in The Perfect Distraction.  I may have thought I knew Reed before but after reading this book I can tell you there is so much more to learn about him.    

Of course I was sad when the last page was turned and the story was over but only because I'm greedy and I wanted more!  You know...instant gratification and all!  But alas, I am just happy to know there will be more Reed and Kate in my future and I cannot wait for book #3 to release.  I appreciate that Melissa Rolka is taking her time with these two and letting their relationship progress at a natural, believable pace.  While it's obvious these two are going to have some hurdles in their future (yes, I'm referring to Reed's father, Jessica and Kyle) the foundation upon which they're building their relationship seems to be strong and I cannot wait to see how things progress.  


About Author Melissa Rolka
Melissa Rolka grew up in the Chicagoland area all of her childhood and has always had a love of writing. She started by keeping a journal at a young age and then in high school she started writing poetry. A couple poems were published anonymously. Then in college she majored in Philosophy, which required lots and lots of writing. After graduating from Marquette University she traveled west to Los Angeles. There she worked for the Writers Guild of America and found herself submerged in the writers world. She worked on small writings, but never pursued them. On the side she became involved with a small theater group. Eventually she made her way back to the Midwest, where her heart belongs, and worked in business for several years. She found love, got married and has two beautiful children. Being at home has allowed her to keep following her love of reading and writing.

The Perfect Distraction is her first full length novel. A second continuation of this story is in the works with hopes for a third. When Melissa is not writing she is caring for, playing with and loving her two kids. In between taking care of her family and writing she almost always has her nose buried in her Kindle.


The Perfect Distraction Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1404660043114790/


    
a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOOOO Melissa has a really cool idea!!  Wanna know what it is???  Well she is going to let you vote on who gets the novella in the series!!  YUP!!  The fans will pick which side character she will write about!!  All you gotta do is go click on the link below to participate!!
 


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