Blog Tour, Review, & Excerpt! Regretfully by Leighton Riley

Title: Regretfully

Author: Leighton Riley

Release Date: Oct 16, 2014

How do you heal after everything has been ripped away from you?
Completely devastated and alone, Tristen cannot fathom life after losing Cami and his unborn child. He attempts to find normality in his broken world but everything seems wrong.
Aria is compelled to help Tristen and cannot escape the undeniable connection she feels for him, even though Cami was one of her closest friends. She tries to help him move forward by befriending him but quickly realizes that there is more.
Tristen and Aria are both struggling to deal with these confusing emotions. Can they find happiness even when they feel utterly broken?

Amazon

Review- 4.5 Stars

Stop what you're doing! Go one click Regretfully right now. It's a damn good book and definitely worth your time. 

I'm kind of a harsh reader. I'm extremely picky and have a hard time finishing a book if I don't like it. With regretfully, by Leighton Riley, I was sucked in instantly. There was no need to force myself to read it. There wasn't a 'ugh when is this going to be over' moment. The entire book was compelling and kept me interested the whole time.
I'm not sure that I could even start to describe what happens in this book without getting carried away and giving out spoilers so instead I'll just rave about the wonderful things I loved about it, starting with the characters. Can I just say, I adore the way Leighton Riley developed them? They seemed real and were relatable even though the situations the characters were going through wasn't something I had experienced. Tristen happened to be my absolute favorite. Instead of there being this unrealistically perfect male lead there was Tristen. Someone I could imagine in my real life, and coincidentally, reminded me of someone I knew. All the sweetness and the sexiness mixed together made for an unforgettable book boyfriend. He was just perfect and definitely one of my favorite things about the book. And oddly enough another one of my favorite characters was the 'bad guy' Zander. It wasn't because I liked him it had everything to do with the way she developed him. He was this guy you didn't think would be as bad a she was. It was interesting to see how it unfolded between him and Cami. I was thoroughly impressed by all of the characters.
But to be completely honest the characters could have been mediocre and I still would have enjoyed the book because of the plot. It's not one I had read before which was entirely refreshing. The themes, the situations involving each individual character, we're so unique I couldn't help but want to read more.
The only thing I would have liked to change would be the amount that the character aria was in it. I absolutely loved her and really wanted to read more about her in this particular story. Overall this book was fantastic and one to remember.

Review written by Books Need TLC reviewer- Danielle Middleton

“I don’t- I’ve always been the sister-type, never like this.  Do you really want this?  I don’t expect anything afterwards, but are you really attracted to me like that?”  She murmured, so unsure of herself.  Her hands landed on my bare chest and glided over my nipple piercings.  The sensitivity was there and I briefly thought about what it would feel like having her luscious lips wrapped around them. 
“Listen to me.  Listen very carefully because you should already know this.  You’re gorgeous, inside and out.  We never saw you as our sister, we all respected you though.  You were the one everyone wanted but never had a chance with.  I could call up any of our surfing friends and they’d agree.  Hell, the girls knew it too.  When one of the guys started working up the nerve to ask you on a date, the others would warn about what would happen if he hurt you.  I guess we all kinda cock blocked you.”  I rub my neck, realizing how we were back then.  “I’m sorry for that.”

- The birth date on the gravestone is my actual date of birth ;)
- I try to include names from my street team and readers in my books. (Rebecca, Elixix, Tami, Cassia were all from them in Regretfully)
- Tristen got his name from a good friend of mine. She was with me in the beginning of my writing process and her boyfriend’s name was Tristen and I fell in love with the name. 
- I saw Cirque Du Soleil’s Zumanity and one of the performers had his nipples pierced. I was sold and knew Tristen would be getting them. :D
- I was able to relate to Tristen in some ways regarding Cami’s death. A boyfriend of mine was taken from this world too soon and I drew from those memories. 
- Gloria’s is my favorite Latin restaurant and I had to include it in the book. The one I go to is in Dallas though. 
- Aria’s flashback (you’ll know which one I’m talking about, hint- alcohol) was tough for me to write. I spent weeks on it, making sure it was accurate and written in a respectable manner. That’s one scene I don’t go back and reread very much, but it’s often on my mind.

Texas born and raised, I found my love for dirty books rather recently.  I work in real estate for my day job and I write contemporary romance with a twist of suspense and erotica.  Sinfully, Regretfully, and Deceitfully can be read in order or as standalones.  Sinfully and Regretfully take place around the same time frame and can even be read in reverse order (will give more background on Payton and Ryder’s story).  Tate’s story, Deceitfully, will finish off the series and will be out in spring of 2015.

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