Blurb:

How do you keep going when you feel like your life is over?

Maggie never thought she’d see Clay again. So, she attempts to put her life back together after her heart has been shattered to pieces. Moving on and moving forward, just as Clay wanted her to.

Clay never stopped thinking of Maggie. Even after ripping their lives apart and leaving her behind to get the help he so desperately needed. He is healing...slowly. But his heart still belongs to the girl who tried to save him.

When a sudden tragedy brings Maggie and Clay face to face again, nothing is the same. Yet some things never change. Can the darkness that threatened to consume them be transformed into something else and finally give them what they always wanted? And can two people who fought so hard to be together, finally find their happiness? Or will their demons and fear drive them apart for good?

The thing about love, is even when it destroys you, it has a way of mending what is broken. And in the shadows, you can still see the light.

"I'm not going anywhere. Because no on is abandoning you. People can move on and live their lives but that doesn't mean you're not apart of it anymore. I love you, Clay. Ruby loves you. Because you, Clay, are worthy of that love. You deserve it. All of it. And Ruby and I just want you to find the place where you'll be okay and healthy. You can get angry with me, tell me to leave. But not once have I ever turned my back on you and I won't start now," she told me, putting her hands on me for the first time.

Her fingers gripped my chin and pulled my face around to her. The sight of her in my confused state of mind was like striking a match. And I lost it. I just fucking lost it. I started to sob and I couldn't stop. I don't know exactly what I was crying for, except that everything that had been dammed up inside of me was pouring out.

I had always believed I was irredeembable. That I couldn't expect others to love me when I didn't even love myself. But Maggie's words hit me at a moment when I so desperately needed to hear them. I needed to believe that she was right, that I was worthy.

Bleed- Hot Chelle Rae: You Tube | Itunes | Amazon

After Clay writes Maggie the letter. His struggles with his love for her while in treatment.

In the Sun- Joseph Arthur: You Tube | Itunes | Amazon

After the phone call to Maggie on Clay's birthday. He thinks of all the things he'd say to her.

Walking Dream- Natalie Walker: You Tube | Amazon

The aftermath of Lisa's death for Clay. His conflicted emotions about seeing Maggie again intertwined with his grief.

Shattered-Trading Yesterday: You Tube | Itunes | Amazon

This is Maggie after seeing Clay again. The words are so perfect.

Begin Again-Measure: You Tube | Itunes | Amazon

After Clay decides to stay in Davidson and to try and live his life by his terms.

All About Us: You Tube| Itunes | Amazon

He is We- a sweet love song that perfectly describes the way Maggie and Clay are together. This fits wonderfully as a song when they decide to be together again.

Holes Inside- Joe Brooks: You Tube | Itunes | Amazon

Clay's fears that he will fall apart again, that he isn't ready to have the future he wants. His final realization that he can't hold it all together.

Holding on or Letting Go-Ross Copperman: You Tube | Itunes | Amazon

When Clay decides to go back to treatment and asks Maggie to wait for him.

Near or Far- Carissa Rae: You Tube | Itunes | Amazon

Maggie and Clay's long distance relationship. They are separated by distance but not emotion.

Perfect for Me- Ron Pope: You Tube | Itunes | Amazon

This has always been Clay and Maggie's Happily Ever After song.

The New York Times bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance including Find You in the Dark, Cloud Walking and Bad Rep.

A. Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing.

A. Meredith recently moved to England and is trying to get used to driving on the other side of the road, eating fish and chips and all things British.

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An Epic Rock Star Novel

What if you discover the man you want is toxic?

She tasted a little bit of heaven with him, and now they’ve gone through hell and back, but can their relationship take anymore?

Valerie Quinn is a naïve college freshman when she meets on-the-rise rock star Ethan Richards. He’s an idealistic, handsome, reckless young man, but he’s captured her heart. She doesn’t give up on him and eventually his walls crumble down. By the time Valerie has given herself to him completely, she discovers he’s damaged and may be beyond help. Can she save Ethan and their relationship before he implodes, or will he self-destruct and take her with him?

Once he sat down next to me, he started laughing again, this time uncontrollably.  I couldn’t figure out what was so funny, but his laughter was infectious.  Soon I started giggling at him, and I didn’t finish until my stomach ached.

But then his face got serious again, and he stroked my cheek.  “Sorry about earlier.  I guess we put you in an uncomfortable position.  I didn’t know you didn’t smoke pot.”

“I was accused of being prude in high school more than once.”

He placed his hand on my thigh.  “Oh, I don’t think you’re prude, Val.  You just haven’t met your drug of choice, and you definitely haven’t met the right guy.”

His hand was warm.  I was staring at it and deciding if I wanted to push it off my leg or not.  As usual, though, I couldn’t resist Brad…flirting with him or anything else.  So I said, “Meaning you’re the wrong guy?”

He smirked at me, and I wished I could figure out what he was thinking.  “Yeah, I’m sure I’m the wrong guy, but I can feel like the right one if you let me try.”

I don’t know why, but his words were exactly what I needed to hear in that hazy state, and I felt like the most special girl in the world then.  Brad had that effect on me, and I think it’s because I’d never seen him with another female…ever.  It allowed me to believe him.  Someone like Ethan, though…it was evident that he loved women, but he loved allof them.  Whether Brad had designs on other girls or not, I didn’t know, because I’d never seen him hit on other girls when I was around.  It was like he only had eyes for me.  And I don’t have any idea why, because—even though that sexual attraction was there—I didn’t feel like I was encouraging him at all.  He knew I was hung up on Ethan.  He’d known that from the first day I’d met him.

“Did I tell you already how much I like this skirt?”

In spite of my muddled emotions (or because of them), I liked his hand on my thigh and a deep, dark part of me that I would never admit to thought I wouldn’t mind if he moved his hand even higher.  But I struggled to maintain control.  Still, I couldn’t stop myself from flirting.  “Your eyes did.”

He took his hand off my leg and placed it on the back of my neck while his lips touched mine.  The passion—yes, it was still there, murky and bottomless, threatening to consume us both, but somehow he had a grip on himself.  I didn’t know if it was the pot helping him to slow down, but this kiss was notlike the kisses we’d shared in the past, as few as they’d been.  This kiss felt like an exploration…not just of my mouth but of what was between us.  It was questioning, probing, moving slowly, hoping to find something.

And, yeah, whether I wanted to admit it or not, my judgment was impaired, although I don’t think Brad could have been considered a bad choice for anything.  But my code—the notion I had that I needed to love the man I lost my virginity to—was thrown out the window with the too hot air in his van.

And after luxuriating in his sweet kisses for several minutes, he kissed my neck, and those nerves must have been connected to my nipples and my pussy, because the sensations vibrated to those places and past them to my core.  Oh, God, I wanted Brad like I’d never wanted anyone else.  To hell with the code.  So when he said, “Come on up here,” and placed his hands under my arms to help lift me on his lap, I went with the flow.  My legs were bent at the knees as I positioned myself on top of him, straddling him.  Oh, it would be so easy, and I tingled all over in anticipation of what was sure to follow.

He started kissing me again and, in spite of my feeling of relaxation, I could feel my muscles respond to his touch over my entire body, and I could tell I was breathing heavier too.  I’d been running my fingers through his thick, soft hair, but now I decided to act with abandon.  I felt my way to the bottom of his shirt, but I wasn’t just going to be coy and run my hand on his skin underneath.  Oh, no.  I was going to take his shirt off.  I wanted to feel all of his skin.  I’d never done it, and I knew he had a firm body and just the slightest amount of hair on his skin to make him look deliciously masculine.  I’d seen it enough times that I wanted to touch it.  He leaned forward to help me and grabbed it too to help pull it off.  And then he thrust his fingers in my hair followed by his tongue in my mouth again, and I felt as though every nerve fiber in my body was ready to start singing.  So when I felt his hands on the bottom of my t-shirt, I just pulled my head away from him and lifted my arms.  He set my shirt on top of his on the seat beside us and placed his hands on my cheeks to pull my mouth to him again.

I think he knew I needed to move slowly, because he didn’t just grab my breasts even though they were right there, and I probably would have let him.  Instead, he moved his hands to the small of my back and, while still kissing me, moved them up, just feeling every square inch of bare skin below my bra strap.

Meanwhile, my hands were enjoying feeling his chest and abs.  His skin was smooth but firm underneath, and as I explored, I felt him growing hard underneath me.  Oh…that felt really nice, the feeling of his penis up against me, right where he belonged.  His jeans and my panties were all that separated that joining, because my skirt wasn’t impeding us at all.

       He moved his lips to my neck once again, and I heard a breath of air rush out of my mouth.  This time, though, he kept moving down and began kissing the tops of my breasts that weren’t covered by my bra.  Yeah, this felt way too good to stop.  I was unaware of everything else—of the almost uncomfortable, stifling warmth in the van, of the world around us.  It was just Brad and me.

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FULL CD:

 New American Gospel by Lamb of God

ITUNES | AMAZON

just because I’m a huge LoG fan!

Blood by In This Moment

ITUNES | AMAZON

This album is crucial for many reasons. First off, if the character of Val in full metal persona should remind you of anyone and she doesn’t remind you of Lita Ford, she should remind you of Maria Brink. More than that, though, there are two songs that I played a lot while writing particular scenes. The song “Burn” helped me when I wrote the scene where Val realizes who she really loves (“There was a song in my head that played, one that would never be written, one I’d never sing, but one that my soul was singing for him, crying for him, one that would never not need him”—chapter 36) and “Adrenalize,” for the HOT scenes before—chapters 35 and 36).

§ Shadows are Security-As I Lay Dying: In case you hadn’t already heard, former bassist for AILD, Clint Norris, was the inspiration for Jet’s look, so I had to channel that through the music, especially the songs where he sings clean vocals: “Through Struggle,” “Confined,” and “The Darkest Nights.”

 No Time to Bleed by Suicide

ITUNES | AMAZON

(fueled writing the scenes where Ethan and Val first meet). Also “…and Then She Bled”—the feel of that song goes well with the scene where Val was drugged (chapter 26).

The Black Crown by Suicide

ITUNES | AMAZON

Because I imagined Fully Automatic to sound a lot like Suicide Silence, I listened to all their music, especially when I wrote the scenes where Val first meets the band (honestly, I listened to all three CDs while writing the first five or six chapters of the book!)

The Cleansing by Suicide

ITUNES | AMAZON

SONGS:

§ “Tempest”-Deftones (various Brad and Val scenes, not to mention that this is one of my new fave songs!)

§ “Moon Baby”-Godsmack (Ethan on guitar having an alpha male moment when Val first meets the band)

§ “So Hott”-Kid Rock (Sweetheart Dance)

§ “Gone Sovereign/Absolute Zero”-Stone Sour (Another new fave song, and a little angry, good for channeling Ethan)

§ “Still Swingin” and “Where Did the Angels Go”-Papa Roach (more new favorites)

§ “Pleasure and Pain”-Gemini Syndrome (Good for channeling how Val feels about Ethan)

§ “Soldierhead”-Newsted (Another new favorite song!)

§ “Chalk Outline”-Three Days Grace (Fave)

§ “Forgive and Forget” and “Relentless Chaos” Miss May I (More for channeling the “feel” of Fully Automatic)

§ “Hollow”-Alice in Chains (Fave)

§ “Crewcabanger”-Chelsea Grin (Ethan and Val get NASTY in the hallway! Also reminiscent of Fully Automatic’s sound)

§ “94 Hours,” “Parallels,” and cover of Judas Priest’s “The Hellion/ Electric Eye”-As I Lay Dying (one of Val’s favorite bands, so I had to listen!!!) § “Open Your Eyes”-Guano Apes (Wake up, Valerie!!!)

I always play music when I write, and Bullet was no exception.  In this playlist, some of this music I was just listening to some of it was for inspiration (which I note below):

Jade C. Jamison was born and raised in Colorado, moved from one city/town to the next, and she’s decided she likes it so much she wants to stay…although travel is not out of the question. She lives in a big town in Colorado (not unlike Winchester!) with her husband and four children. She is working on becoming a crazy cat lady. Okay, so maybe not. 

Still want more? Jade has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Theater, a master’s degree in English, and a master of fine arts in Creative Writing. Obviously, she loves school and the student loan folks love her. She works in human services by day, teaches English and creative writing at night, and—in between playing soccer mom and community leader—writes like a fiend. Someday soon, she’ll narrow it down to just writing, but let’s get all those kids off to college first. 

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Julia Kline, known by her friends as Jules, had a rough time growing up with a dad that travelled constantly and a mom that was anything but a mother.

When she’s six she meets her new neighbor Noah Sinclair. The pair quickly become best friends. He looks after her and when they're teenagers their relationship turns romantic. They didn’t account for Jules’ malicious mother stepping in and tearing them apart. Leaving Jules broken hearted.

Present Day:
Jules is going for her master's degree and working as exotic dancer at a high-end gentleman’s club to pay for it. She lives with her best friend from boarding school Ellie, who’s also a dancer. When her boss informs them that the club has been rented out for a bachelor party she thinks it will be just like any other night until she walks out on stage and sees Noah Sinclair. The boy that broke his promises and her heart. To make things worse he’s the bachelor. He tries to get her to talk to him but she’s stronger now and blows him off. But he wants answers too. Throw in a crazy fiancé, a couple of hilarious best friends and enjoy the ride. Will Noah and Jules get their second chance or will the past decide the future?

Does love always deserve a second chance?

Jules and Noah’s story started when they were kids. They used to live next door to each other and Noah knew from the first time he laid his eyes on Jules that she was the one. They grew up together, became really good friends and eventually fell in love. 

Noah has always been her rock and hero. The one that she runs to whenever she’s in trouble with Abigail, her witch mom. Just when they thought that everything in their relationship is going smoothly, Jules’ wicked mother ripped them apart the moment she learned about their relationship. As selfish as she is, Abigail took the opportunity to take Jules away from the only person that she felt safe with.

They have lived their lives separately leaving Jules torned and broken. Noah promised to keep in touch; that they would never make distance a hindrance to their plans. But that never happened…

Until one day they meet again in a very unlikely situation that will suddenly push them to jolt back into each other’s touch.

Will this be a perfect opportunity for them to rekindle their old flame?

Or will this finally lead them to accept that they are not meant for each other?

"Noah, please don't make me fall for you if you don't plan on catching me."

"I want this to be our second chance Jules. I won't let anyone or anything stand in the way of that.

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Reluctant to read it first for some reasons that I thought it will just be my ordinary love story where girl meets boy, boy meets girl and they find their happy ending, this book however went off in a totally different direction.

Sophie Monroe’s Second Chance Romance stirs to unfold the reality of true love, plumbs the depth, it’s warmth and its meaning. Although there were some predictable moments, Sophie had a few surprises up her sleeve. A solidly written story about friendship, love lost and found again. Most of the parts are very relatable, which will make you drop a tear in one page and smile in another.

Despite issues concerning sequencing of events and formatting, I believe this book has great potential and the author did a very good job in developing the characters all through out the story. 

If you are a sucker for a love lost story with a very realistic ending, then this one is for you. This book is a great reminder of how beautiful it is to fall in love – even if it is for a second time around. 

4/5 Stars for me.

Everybody knows we love trailers and music. And while we read and make our reviews, we always make it a point to have music on the side that constantly reminds us about the characters' emotions and basically describes how the story unfolds.

So here's the list of songs I thought would be fitting for Jules and Noah's struggle for their Second Chance Romance...

(disclaimer: this is The Book Avenue Playlist)

BACK FOR GOOD by TAKE THAT

IT'S NOT OVER by DAUGHTRY

WAIT FOR YOU by ELLIOT YAMIN

TEARDROPS ON MY GUITAR by TAYLOR SWIFT

SECOND CHANCE by TRISHA YEARWOOD

About the Author: 

Sophie Monroe is a New Jersey native just starting out her writing adventure. She has always been a night owl with a creative side. Her books often reflect both her sense of humor and sarcasm.

She tries to communicate on the fact that "life's too short" in her stories. Bad things happen in life it's inevitable, but pick yourself up and dust yourself off and move forward. Nothing can hold you down, unless you choose to let it.

She also loves to incorporate meaningful quotes that she hopes will inspire her readers (or at least give them a good laugh.)

Find Sophie on: 
Website: http://www.sophiemonroe007.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sophiemonroewrites?fref=ts

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6581511.Sophie_Monroe

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sophie-Monroe/e/B00AY7W3YA/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1359306782&sr=8-1