Thursday, April 4, 2013

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway: Seeing Red by Sidney Halston

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Title: Seeing Red
Author: Sidney Halston
Pages: 397 pages
Format acquired: eBook (Kindle)
Publisher: Sidney Halston
Published on: January 31st 2013
Source: Received for blog tour (Thanks, AToMR Book Blog Tours and Sidney!)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble




A love triangle just wouldn't suffice; Jillian Stone had the 'misfortune' of getting herself into a love square-- with twins, nonetheless.

Alexander, Oliver, and Jillian were raised on a deserted island. For 12 years, all they knew were those that were marooned with them. A strong bond would link them forever. At 12 years old, they are all rescued and clairvoyant Jillian is immediately shipped off to boarding school. Ten years later, she is reunited with her twins at the funeral of Helen, the woman who “mothered” them while on the island. The innocent and childhood feelings they shared on the island...well, they aren’t so innocent anymore.  Her scrawny gangly twins are now grown men.  Oliver, the ever-loyal friend and Alexander the ultimate bad-boy, have her heart in a tug-a-war. 

Enter, mysteriously sexy Professor Paul Black. He’s Jillian’s law school professor and she has caught his attention, albeit inappropriate.  All the while, Jillian’s clairvoyance is wreaking havoc on her life as visions of a redheaded man are becoming all consuming. The dangerous man in her visions is searching for her and has a big secret to share with her about her time on the island as well as about her psychic abilities. Scared for her life, all three men try to protect her, but she must chose one in order to focus on the problem at hand—the redheaded man’s secret.

Seeing Red is a romance with some paranormal elements and some suspense and a lot of sexual tension.
(Image and summary provided by AToMR Book Blog Tours)

Review:

With the way Seeing Red started off, I really didn't think that I would enjoy it too much. I mean, reading a diary entry dated way, way back in a NA romance novel really wouldn't have caught anyone's interest but as I read on, I realized the significance of the entries and who Helen really was. I didn't think that this book was going be so intense. The main characters in this novel (Jillian, Alexander and Oliver) and other people were stuck in a deserted island for an indefinite number of years before they were saved by an incoming yacht. While it was a really cool backstory, it was definitely shocking. And I absolutely loved Helen's little sayings in every chapter. They were so cute and always gave me a sense of enlightenment.

Even though Jillian is introduced during one of her notorious visions, I wouldn't say that Seeing Red really focused on its paranormal aspect. Though I do agree that there is a lot of sexual tension in this book. Mostly between Jillian and Alexander because Oliver certainly knew what he wanted at the very beginning. And there's Jillian and Alexander's mysterious, semi-bi polar professor who just needed to be added to the already confused love triangle. I wondered what his deal was throughout most of the book but as I got to the latter part of the book, I finally got it. I can't tell you what his significance is but when I found out, I only disliked him even more... no matter how good looking he is.

I liked Jillian as a character because she's so spunky and sarcastic (in an appealing way) but she's definitely a confused person. Not just in her love life but life in general. The story really starts when she gets to college and she starts seeing this red-haired man in her peripheral vision but always ends up disappearing if she looks too closely. And to add to that, she gets a super creepy, albeit mysterious, note from maybe this said person. This is where I wanted to give her a hand and help her out because while the answer may seem a bit obvious to us, it clearly wasn't to her. Obviously choosing to wait for the brother far away as opposed to seeking help from the one really, really close by isn't the brightest idea. So what if he's kinda possessive? It just means he's more willing. But I guess I did understand why she chose to wait instead of turning to the nearer brother. Jillian's a very intelligent and independent girl and I'm pretty sure it was hard just asking for help in general.

Being a third-party observer with no hold in anyone's decision making whatsoever, I felt that everyone in this book (except Professor Sexy) needed a little nudge when it came to their love lives. It was pretty evident from the beginning that Alexander and Oliver were both in love with her and it crossed the border of mere sibling rivalry. While no one actually fought or got beaten up over Jillian, no one will be able to deny the obvious testosterone level increase in the air when it came to those two. The problem that I had with the romance aspect of this book is that no one was willing to take the first step forward.  Even though the two brothers (I didn't include the Naughty Professor because he really wasn't that important in the story) were both vying for Jillian's love, neither of them really fought that hard for her. I say that if you're in love with someone and you have a possible rival for his/her love, don't give Public Enemy No. 1 a chance to convince that he/she is the better lover. Just sayin'.

All in all, I really enjoyed Seeing Red. Probably because it was a pretty romance-y kind of book with a hint of the paranormal. It certainly doesn't hurt that I am a sucker for cliffhanger endings, I live for and die because of them. Seeing Red isn't just filled with a lot of sexual tension, but it also insanely steamy and really funny. I love the banter between the characters and that's never unwelcome. If you're looking for a kind of light read with a twist of the paranormal in it, then you'll enjoy Seeing Red. And if you love books that boasts a lot of sexy times, you love Seeing Red.

Rating:


This a US/CANADA only giveaway. But scroll on International peeps...


INTERNATIONAL giveaway for 1 of 8 eBooks!!


About the author:

Sidney Halston lives her life with one simple rule: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”–Mark Twain. Or even simpler, “Just Do It”—Nike.

And that’s exactly what she did. After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative romantic side and wrote Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing.

Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she’s not writing you can find her reading and reading and reading. She’s a reader first and a writer second.

When she's not writing or reading, her life is complete and utter chaos, trying to balance family life with work and writing (and reading.) But she won't have it any other way.

You can find her here:




6 comments:

  1. The book definitely doesn't sound like anything that I have ever read before. It seems heavy on the complicated romance though, and I think it's worth checking out. Great review, Louisse!

    - Ellie at The Selkie Reads Stories

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    Replies
    1. It IS heavy on the complicated romance. There was A LOT of drama. Thanks, Ellie! :)

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