Mending Hearts Blog Tour

So the awesome thing about this tour is that I LOVE the author. I love her because she is amazing and wonderful and GORGEOUS. She is releasing a novella, which is the 1.5 in her Mending Hearts series. So I am going to share BOTH books with you and tell you how I felt. L.B you are super squiffy ❤ ❤ ❤

Running on Empty: (Book #1 Mending Hearts Series)

I had the perfect life.

Beautiful and loving husband.

Three gorgeous little girls.

Successful career.

The only thing missing was the white picket fence.  I really wanted that fence.

Three years ago, I lost that life.  I lost my husband.  And I lost myself.  But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness.  I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world.  I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse.

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.  Absolutely no way.

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

I sat here and tried to think of so many reasons why I loved this book. I tried to come up with a top ten list of why I loved this book. But I can not. I can not because it is freaking brilliant. I don’t think I have laughed so hard, cried so hard and hugged my kids so hard in the same reading session ever. This book is in my heart and my top ten books of all time that I have ever ever read. So let me tell you a little about it and then I have a super special surprise for you. So this book is about Alex a widowed mom of three very feisty little girls who is still dealing with her husband’s sudden death. She is holding her life together with the help of her best friend Harlow. 

Harlow and her run a business together and she is basically the glue holding Alex together. Until Blake comes back into her life. The motorcycle riding, best friend that Alex had as a kid before she met her late husband. Things are rocky, then they realize they were best friends and there’s a charm bracelet and its freakin heartwarming. Seriously I had to make pancakes afterwards…..Can their past be resolved? Is there love in the air? Can Alex let herself be happy again…for her girls?

As I said. The book had me in tears. Goosebumps. I love Blake. I love the girls. I kinda want to strangle Harlow. Honestly she was the only character I had an issue with but well, I understood why she was the way she was. So you need to read this book. And love on LB!!! 

Excerpt

The drive to Mr. and Mrs. Morgan’s house is a familiar one. And it’s a good thing it is, because I’m finding it extremely hard to concentrate on where I’m actually driving at the moment. I am, however, breaking down every possible scenario that could happen when I knock on that door. Good news is, as each and every scenario plays out in my head, they all end in one of two ways. He either speaks to me or he doesn’t.

That’s a 50% success rate. Not bad when considering my actions last evening…that and those many years I spent dismissing Blake entirely.

Memories begin to flood my mind as I drive up to the red brick two story house I spent so much time at while growing up.

…Blake and I climbing the huge oak tree in the front of his house to get to the tree fort we built together when we were seven years old.

…Both of us playing hide-and-seek in the garden by the side of his house with me yelling at him for cheating…there’s no way he could count to one hundred that fast.

…The time we made a bike ramp and tried to jump the fence…definitely not one of our best moments. I find myself grinning widely at that memory. Mainly because Blake couldn’t make the jump, ruined his bike, and had to ride his sister’s very pink Barbie bike until he learned his lesson (as his parents put it). I tortured him with that one for years.

Parking my car in the drive, I look at the front door and breathe a heavy sigh. I glance down at my hands as I remove them from the steering wheel – they’re slightly trembling. I shake them in an effort to get rid of the obvious nervous energy and wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans. I run my hair over my ponytail to smooth any fly-aways and exit the car. Looking down while straightening my “Goonies Never Say Die” t-shirt, another memory surfaces.

Blake and I used to make homemade t-shirts all the time together. Mine were always way better than his, of course, but at least he tried. My favorite one of his was this army green, G.I Joe “Knowing is Half the Battle” t-shirt. He wore it all the time. So much so that the iron on letters started falling off and it eventually read “Koin is alf Bat.” God, I would laugh every time he would wear it. I think that’s why he wore it so much.

I look back at my hands. They are still shaking. It seems that even with the comfort of old memories running through my mind, I still can’t shake off my nerves. Making my way to the front door, I mentally chastise my anxiety. “This is ridiculous, Alex. You’re a grown woman. Act like it,” I mutter while walking up the porch steps. I note there’s only a motorcycle parked in the driveway, which bodes well in my favor. This is going to be difficult enough without having a parental audience.

Approaching the door, I raise my fist to knock, pausing for another second to take in a cleansing breath. Breathing out, I say a prayer and knock loudly.

I hear his heavy footsteps coming towards the door, followed by the sound of the deadbolt unlocking. I watch nervously as the handle turns, but when I look up, I’m completely unprepared for what is standing directly in front of my face.

As the door flies open, so does my mouth. Blake is standing in front of me, shirtless, wearing only his red and navy plaid pajama bottoms, bare feet on the floor. His light brown hair is all over the place, but incredibly sexy as it falls messily over his forehead and flips out from behind his ears. One look at this man’s stomach renders me momentarily speechless, and I have to fight to keep myself from running my hands over every single hardened ridge of his abs. So instead, I place my hands over my open mouth and start giggling like a ten year old little girl.

Mid-giggle, I notice the door starting to close. I quickly jump into action. I immediately put my foot in the doorjamb and my hands on the door, using all of my weight to keep him from being able to close it – a trick he taught me by the way.

Shaking his head at me through the opening that I’m desperately trying to maintain, Blake emphatically states, “Nope. Mmm-mm, Alex. It’s too early for this right now. Go home.”

Recovery: (Book #1.5 Mending Hearts Series) – Novella (145 pages)

I have the perfect life.

I’ve finally found my happy ending. 

I fought through the loss of one husband, lucky enough to be given a second chance at a lifetime of happiness.  Settling into our new lives, however, may not be as easy as it seems. 

What really happens after the fairytale ending?  What happens after the prince rescues the princess?  After he sweeps her off her feet and carries her off into the sunset? Do they truly live happily ever after?

Well…

This is our story.

I can’t even begin to express the emotions I felt when I read this book. It wasn’t very long but it was once of the most emotional books I have read in a long time. All through the journey of Alex and Blake and the girls I felt myself grow more and more attached. I knew their story like it was my very own. I laughed and I cried and I wanted to reach through the book and run my fingers through their hair while they told me that life was going to turn out ok. But enough waxing poetic. I can’t really tell you what happens because that would tell you the whole story, I can tell you this though. The wedding it gorgeous, Harlow deserves a medal of honor (and I need to call my best friend and tell her that), Blake deserves a punch in the arm and a bear hug and Alex…Oh Alex. It’s like L.B. took my thoughts, words and sometimes actions and put them out in the world. I get it, I felt Alex, I knew what was going to happen and I wanted to tell her it was going to be alright. The world was going to heal. And then again, I think sometimes I need Alex to tell me that too. L.B, you out did yourself yet again. Thank you for this beautiful piece of the story and I look forward to reading the next one. Oh and you owe me a box of tissues ;^D

About the Author:

L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science.  She has been a practicing Chemist for the last 11 years.  She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets. 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads – Email lbsimmons33@gmail.com

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