Book Review
of Shallow: Going Under
Series, Book 2
Sponsored by Bewitching Book Tours
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Shallow
Going Under Series Book 2
By Georgia Cates
Genre:
Young Adult Contemporary
Formats
available: ebook
Cover
Artist: Georgia Cates
Blurb
:
Nick
Hawke likes his car fast and his girls even faster. He blows through females
quicker than his muscle car races down the drag strip in Collinsville and he
wouldn’t have it any other way. Determined to avoid the devastation he has
watched his father endure in the aftermath of his mother leaving, he believes
there is no room in his life or his heart for a relationship lasting more than
one night. He seeks happiness in things that won’t let him down...fast cars,
parties and one night stands. To his absolute dismay, all of that changes when
he unexpectedly runs into an old friend and is introduced to Payton Archer, the
first girl he ever wanted for more than one night. There’s only one catch...she
is completely immune to him and his smooth talking ways.
Payton Archer is looking for what Claire
has with Jessie, but she has given up on finding it...at least until she leaves
for college in the Fall because she is certain that is where she will find the
perfect guy to fit into her perfect world. She plans on Summer being nothing
but three uneventful months of fun, but it turns out to be anything but ordinary
when Payton is introduced to Nick Hawke, one of Jessie’s old Collinsville
friends. She is shocked by her immediate and intense attraction for “Hawke”
because nothing about him is what Payton is looking for. Sure, he’s hot and
sexy but he comes from Collinsville and that is definitely not on her list of
prerequisites. Everything about him makes Payton’s heart speed because he is
exciting and dangerous, but his fast car and the dangerous chances he takes
isn’t what scares Payton the most...it’s the way Nick Hawke makes her feel
every time he looks at her. Can Payton find that moment of total fearlessness
and make the decision to leave the safe, shallow end of love to risk going
under completely?
About the
Author:
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Georgia
resides in rural Mississippi with her wonderful husband, Jeff, and their two
beautiful daughters. She spent fourteen years as a labor and delivery nurse
before she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an author.
Blood of
Anteros, Book One in The Vampire Agápe Series, was her first novel and it was
released in September 2011. She decided to briefly step away from the
paranormal genre to try her hand at a young adult contemporary romance when she
wrote Going Under, but returned to the paranormal romance platform to complete
the second book in The Vampire Agápe Series, Blood Jewel.
Her current works in progress are
Shallow (A Going Under Novel) which will release on September 27th and Blood
Doll (The Vampire Agápe Series #3), to be released in January 2013.
Contacts:
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
Sex Tricks Jedi
Payton
Why the hell was I driving to Collinsville to watch
Dane Wickam race? And better yet, how had I let him talk me into making a
two-hundred dollar bet that he would win? I didn’t know jack about racing and
if I had to guess, Dane didn’t either. Sure, his parents bought him a fast, new
Porsche for graduation, but that didn’t mean he knew how to race it.
I came to a stop at a red light just before we
entered Collinsville, Jessie’s old stomping ground, and looked up in my rearview
mirror at him sitting in my backseat. “Hey, Jessie, do you know this guy Dane
is going to race?”
“Yeah, I went to school with Hawke at Collinsville.
We were in the same class.”
“Hawke?” I laughed and the only thing I could
picture was some guy with a big hooked nose like a bad cartoon. “What kind of
name is Hawke? His mom is wrong for doing that to him.”
“His name is Nick Hawke, but everyone calls him
Hawke and the name suits him pretty well. He’s well known as somewhat of a
predator.”
That didn’t sound like a compliment. “A predator?
You mean like a hunter?”
I watched Jessie laughing in my mirror. “No, girls
are his chosen prey.”
Claire turned around in her seat to look at Jessie.
“That’s funny because I was under the impression that the Collinsville ladies’
man left when you came to East Franklin.”
“No, Hawke was always the favorite among the chicks.
They love his pretty face. I swear he can sweet talk himself into any girl’s
pants, so I want you to keep your distance from him. I don’t want you falling for
any of his Jedi sex tricks.”
What tha’? I spun around to look at Jessie sitting
in the backseat behind Claire. “Did you just say Jedi sex tricks?”
Somehow in the midst of turning to look at Jessie, I
forgot I was the one in the driver’s seat and my foot accidentally slipped off
the brake and pounded onto the accelerator.
“Payton, look out!” Claire squealed just before I
rammed into the back of the car stopped in front of us.
The whole thing happened in a split second. Shit.
My parents were going to kill me. I didn’t have the best driving record ever,
but at least I’d never gotten into an accident. So much for my clean
accident-free driving history.
Jessie leaned toward me in the driver’s seat. “Yes,
I said Jedi sex tricks.”
“Shut up,” I barked as I looked at the car in front
of us to assess the damage but I couldn’t tell anything from inside the car. I
watched the driver sling his door open and get out to look at the back of his
car before he turned and stared at me with narrowed eyes.
Oh. My. Gosh. I just mated my Lexus with a P.O.S.
Camaro being driven by quite possibly the hottest guy I’d ever seen. The
problem, other than the obvious? He was pissed about it...like really pissed
and he was staring at me like he could strangle me.
“Uh, I don’t think you should get out of the car. He
looks really mad. Maybe we should just call in the accident and wait on the
police to come,” Claire suggested.
“Nah, I’ve got this.” Jessie opened the door and was
out of my car before Claire could object. He was Claire’s knight in shining
armor and because I was the bestie without a boyfriend, he took it upon himself
to be my protector as well. That was just Jessie.
I cracked my window as he walked by. “Hey, Kimosabe,
do you think you can manage to not take a gunshot wound or knife to the gut?
You know you don’t have a really great track record with confrontation.”
Without looking back, he flipped me off over his
shoulder and I turned to Claire. “You really need to teach your boyfriend some
manners.”
She rolled her eyes as she shook her head.
“Apparently I’m not very successful at that. I haven’t managed to teach you any
over the years.”
“I have manners, but you know my motto. Why be
difficult, when with only a little bit of effort, you can be impossible?”
Claire shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she
watched Jessie put his hands on his hips and turn back to look at us in the
car. “There are a lot of other things you could excel at besides being a smart
ass,” she argued.
“I'm sorry you find my normal behavior to be highly
inappropriate, Princess.”
“Nope, you know that you don’t get to call me that,”
Claire protested. “Jessie is the only one with that privilege.”
Jessie turned from talking with ‘hot guy I just
slammed into’ and walked around to Claire’s side of the car. She rolled down
her window and Jessie leaned in with his arms resting on top of my car and
looked at Claire. “Warning...This is going to go over like a turd in the
punchbowl.”
I leaned around Claire to see Jessie. “What’s that
supposed to mean?”
“He says that he won’t sue if you’ll go out with
him.” He was laughing as he said it.
I looked at Jessie and waited for the punchline.
“You need to stop trying to be a clown because there’s not a circus in town.”
He held his hands up like he was an innocent party,
but he was still laughing. “That’s what he said.”
“Oh, hell to the naw,” I announced as I waved my
finger in the pattern of an imaginary zig zag. I slung my car door open and
said, “I only need a minute to take care of this.”
“Be nice, Payton. You did just run into the back of
his car,” Claire reminded me.
I slung my car door shut and straightened my short
skirt before I walked toward Mr.
Prince of Nothing Charming in my four inch
wedge heels. This was going to be the most fun I would have all night so I
better take advantage of it.
Damn.
The closer I got, the more I realized how great looking this jerk was. His hair
was dark and longer than I liked, but it fit him so perfectly the way the
untamed tendrils curled and stuck to the perspiration along his hairline. He reached
to shove a lock out of his face and his chocolate brown eyes pierced mine as
though he saw straight through to my soul. My own heart betrayed me as it began
to race without my permission and my breath was held hostage in the back of my
throat as I wondered what his slightly scruffy face would feel like against my
jaw.
Snap out of it, Dummy! I reminded myself that this
guy was actually trying to blackmail me into a date.
Cars crept by and the occupants rubbernecked in our
direction hoping to see something exciting. I stopped in front of him, crossed
my arms and got down to business. “So, I have to go out with you if I don’t
want to get sued, huh? Are you kiddin’ me, dude? That’s called blackmail.”
He gave me a big lopsided seductive grin and I was
certain it wasn’t the first time he had used it to get what he wanted. “Some
might call it extortion, but yeah...I think a date would be adequate
compensation for any damage that may have occurred.”
I turned to look at the back of his car and saw that
neither of our vehicles had suffered any damage during my unfortunate Jedi sex
trick mishap. I could have argued that there was nothing to be compensated for,
but I felt like having a little fun with this guy. “Do you have something I
could use to write my contact information on?”
His lopsided grin oozed with satisfaction and turned
up on both sides to reveal two of the cutest dimples I had ever seen. He
reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. “Don’t need it. I’ll put you
in my phone,” he said as he stood there waiting to hear my digits.
He was going to add me in his cell phone, today’s
version of the Little Black
Book. He didn’t see the smirk on my
face because he was busy looking at his phone while I called off,
“5-5-5-3-9-8-5. Vivian Archer, Attorney at Law. She’s my mother and your
attorney may contact her so they may discuss the conditions of your claim
against me.”
Okay, that was a little bit of a lie. My mother had
not practiced law in years, but he didn’t have to know that. His sexy little
grin faded and mine spread bigger as I said, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have
money riding on a race and I’d like to be there to collect my winnings.”
Then his lopsided grin returned. “A race, huh? I
heard about that. I hope you bet on Hawke instead of that spoiled rich kid from
East Franklin or you can expect to kiss your money good-bye.”
So, he was a ‘know it all’ also. “As a matter of
fact, I did not bet on anyone named after a bird. My money is
riding on the brand new Porsche.”
In his fitted black T-shirt and dark washed jeans,
he stepped back and leaned against his old black Camaro. He crossed his arms
and I suspected he did so to call attention to his muscular, tanned biceps.
Mission accomplished.
“You placed a bet on a car with no consideration for
the driver? That’s known as bad betting, Doll Face. I hope you didn’t wager a
lot of money because you are going to lose.”
I shifted my weight to one leg and kept my arms
crossed over my chest. “I have two Benjamins on the Porsche that is going to
win.”
He let out a high pitched whistle. “Wow, you seem
very confident in your car, so how would you feel about upping your ante since
you’re so positive the Porsche will leave Hawke in the dust?”
I wish I could, but I didn’t have cash on me and I
doubted this jerk took credit. “Sorry, no can do unless I can swipe my Visa up
your ass crack.”
He laughed as he said, “Wow, I didn’t expect
anything like that to come out of that beautiful little delicate mouth of
yours.”
His statement alone showed he didn’t know all he
thought he did because it was a rare occasion that anything delicate came out
of my mouth. “You’d be surprised.”
He cocked his head slightly and smiled, a sure sign
that he was intrigued by my less than ladylike statement. “I love surprises.”
I heard a car honk its horn in the distance. “In
case you forgot, we’re in the middle of the road holding up traffic,” I
reminded him.
He displayed his lack of concern with the traffic by
the wave of his hand in their direction. “They can wait. I have a proposal for
you.”
I suddenly thought of Demi Moore and Robert Redford
in Indecent Proposal. “A decent proposal, I hope.”
He smiled and I was pretty sure he understood my
reference to the movie.
“Don’t worry, Doll Face. It’s a decent proposal,” he
promised. “I’d like to make a side bet with you. If your car wins, I’ll give
you two-hundred bucks in addition to the winnings you’ll receive from the pot
on the bet you have already placed.”
Wait for it. Wait for it. Where was the catch? “I’m
listening, but I didn’t hear what you are proposing I wager?”
There was that seductive lopsided grin again. “I
only ask that you agree to one night with me.”
Was he kiddin’ me? There was no way that could be
considered a decent proposal. The way he said it was so seductive and I wasn’t
quite sure what he meant by ‘one night with him.’ I was speechless. I was
breathless. I was curious.
His expression became smug as he lifted one eyebrow
and said, “I guess you’re not as confident as you claim to be or this would be
a no-brainer.”
Shizzle, that eyebrow lift thing he did was sexy. I
mentally pimp slapped myself and doused my face with ice water. I managed to
gather some words but I wasn’t sure how convincing I sounded when I squeaked
out, “I’m very confident that my driver is going to win.”
“Okay, prove it then. Accept my bet,” he provoked.
There it was. He challenged me and totally got my
competitive juices flowing. I knew I shouldn’t agree to it because what would I
be proving? Nothing...but it sure would be funny to wipe that grin of his face
and it never hurt to make an extra two-hundred bucks. “I’m not afraid, so I’ll
take your challenge.”
He held his hand out to me and I looked at it like
it was a snake in the Garden of Eden. I reached to take it and asked, “Can I
safely assume that you will be at the race and that you won’t run off with my
money after Dane wins?”
He laughed at me and I might have been pissed about
it except I got to see his gorgeous dimples again. “There won’t be any running
off with your money, Doll Face. I’ll be looking for you so we can settle up on
our night together.”
His cockiness pissed me off so I was the one to pull
my hand free from his. “I think you’ve delighted me long enough with your trash
talk. I have a race to watch.”
“And I have a race to win,” he said before he got
into his car. He started the engine and it roared loudly, just like a race car.
I stood frozen in the middle of the road and watched him pull away as I
realized I never asked his name.
Shit!
Was that Nick Hawke and had I unknowingly been preyed upon by the Sex Tricks
Jedi? I did not want to admit it, but I think I had just been bested. I walked
with my tail tucked between my legs and got into the car.
“What’s wrong, Payton?” Claire asked when I didn’t
volunteer an explanation.
“Hell just froze over,” I said as I stared ahead at
the spot once occupied by a Camaro and its driver.
“Oh, shit!” I heard Jessie growl from the back seat.
“I know that look.”
I turned around and said, “That was him, wasn’t it?
Nick Hawke? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You didn’t give me a chance to tell you anything
before you hopped out of the car with promises of man handling him. You said
that you only needed a minute to straighten him out and I believed you,” Jessie
reminded me.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and Claire
recognized that as my signature move when I was stressed. “You’re pinching your
nose. What’s wrong? What did he say to you?”
I felt stupid and played and I wasn’t telling them
about my ignorant bet with Nick Hawke unless I had to...if I lost.
“Nothing, Claire. Let’s just go watch this race and
get it over with.” And hope Dane drove that Porsche like he stole it.
Book Review:
While this book has all the
components of a “typical” romance story, it’s the relationships between the
other characters that gives this book its heart. You have the bad boy gone good with the right
woman (this is why women think they can fix men… and maybe we can?!), the mandatory
misunderstanding (or two or three…), and the happy ending.
I loved how the other characters
brought dimension to the book. The best
friend, her overly protective boyfriend, the dysfunctional biatch of a
mother(s), these are what make this story so good.
I give this story 4 out of 5 clouds.
This
product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my
opinions or reviews.
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