The Unofficial Book Blitz: Redeeming Lainey by Kaitlyn Hoyt

Redeeming Lainey

by Kaitlyn Hoyt

Release Date: 07/18/14

Synopsis:

When Lainey left the little farming town in Iowa on her eighteenth birthday, she thought she was finally free. She didn’t have to live in fear anymore wondering which day was going to be her last. For those two years, she was able to live in peace. She’d made a new friend, was going to a school she loved, and was setting the path for her future career.

That all changed with one phone call from her mother.

With the push of her best friend, Randi, Lainey goes back into the town she once promised was forever in her rear-view mirror. The dark memories of her past loom around every corner, and Lainey can’t seem to conquer the demons inside of her in order to fully move on.

Bryce, on the other hand, had moved on. During middle school and high school, Lainey was his best friend, and it tore him apart when she left with only a note. A simple note saying good-bye and have a great life.

Without his best friend around, Bryce’s life quickly spiraled out of control. He got into drugs, had some trouble with the law, and found himself partying a little too hard. Sweet Annabeth brought him out of that stage in his life, and ultimately saved his life.

With Lainey back in town, Bryce is at a loss at what do. She wants nothing to do with him or the town, but he is the only person who knows her full history and may be able to help her. Knowing that Lainey’s a flight risk, and with one wrong move, she’d pack everything up and leave again, Bryce steps out to help her find the one thing she doesn’t know she needs.

Redemption.

Redeeming Lainey

by Kaitlyn Hoyt

Part of the prologue

Bryce Aarons

I look down at the paper and see my name written in her perfect handwriting. My heart plummets into my stomach, because without even opening the note, I know what it’s going to say.

I drop the flowers on the porch and turn around. I can’t read this here. Not caring who sees me, I run to our spot. Cutting through yards and parking lots, I take the shortcut through the field and stop when I reach the county line edge. Lainey loves sitting beneath the tree at the back of the field—the large one at the entry line of the woods. The woods scare her, but for some reason she always loved sitting at this tree. As years passed, it sort of became our spot.

I stop beneath it and try to catch my breath. Leaning against the tree, I look down at my name on the paper.

Lainey left. I just know it.

Taking one deep breath, I unfold the paper and start reading.

Bryce,

I’m sorry I have to tell you this in a note. If I could do it any other way, I would. I couldn’t risk you talking me out of this. I need to do this. I need to get away. I can’t take it here anymore. I’m scared all the time. I’m afraid Gregg is going to get so drunk one night that he’s not going to know what he’s doing. I’m afraid he’s going to hit me in just the right spot and I’ll never wake up from it. I don’t want the last thing I remember to be his fist coming toward me. I’ve been beaten too many times by him. I cannot take it anymore.

I want to be set free. I want to spread my wings and fly away from this hellhole. I want to find my own little piece of heaven in an otherwise dark world, and I know I can’t find that here.

We had all these plans we were going to do—all these dreams we were going to accomplish together—and I’m sorry I’m ruining everything, but I have no other choice.

Thank you for being my best friend when no one else would. Thank you for staying by my side even after you found out the truth. You’ve always been there for me. You never left, and I can’t pay you back for that. I’m so, so sorry.

I don’t know where I’m going to go, but I’m eighteen and they no longer have any control over me. They can’t tell me what to do, and I’m not going to let him hurt me anymore. I feel horrible about leaving my mom, because I know she’s just as much of a victim as I am, but I have to. I have to, Bryce. Please understand that.

Someday I might come back, but please don’t count on it. Move on. Forget I exist. You are destined for big things, Bryce Aarons. Despite the joking and hassles I always give you, I do see a successful career for you with a beautiful wife and two kids. You’re going to make it. You have it in you. Don’t stop fighting because of me.

I won’t stop either.

You were my guardian angel. I don’t know how you did it, but you brought me out from under my dark cloud. You made me stop cutting, which probably saved my life. When I was around you, I felt alive. I didn’t get that feeling anywhere else.

You’re my best friend, and I’m sorry this is how we end. I wish things were different, but as I’ve learned over the years, wishing is pointless. Some things in life can’t be changed. The only way to create change is to do it yourself, and that’s what I’m doing now.

Go to college and get an education. I seriously do believe you have greatness ahead of you.

Lainey.

P.S. Please keep an eye out for my mom. Though I’m not there, I don’t want anything to happen to her.

Currently a student at Ball State University, Kaitlyn Hoyt is pursuing her passion for writing while working towards a Wildlife Biology and Conservation degree. Vegetarian. Proud tree-hugger. Lover of comic book movies. Avid Reader. She has an unhealthy obsession for the soothing music of Josh Groban. She discovered her love for writing during the summer of 2012 and hasn’t stopped writing since!

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Blitz Organized by:

Book Blast: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

The Art of Lainey
by Paula Stokes
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 20th 2014

Synopsis:

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with, if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?

Paula Stokes is half writer, half RN, and totally thrilled to be part of the world of YA literature. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where she graduated from Washington University and the Goldfarb School of Nursing. When she's not writing, she's kayaking, hiking, reading, or seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. Paula loves interacting with readers! Find her online at www.authorpaulastokes.com or on twitter as @pstokesbooks.

Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter 

 2 Winners will receive a Copy of The Art of Lainey + Swag by Paula Stokes

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Release Day Launch: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

We are so excited to be working with Paula Stokes and Harper Collins on the release day launch of Paula's young adult contemporary romance!! This book is so much fun--and Paula has shared a really great excerpt from it! Check it out below!!

The Art of Lainey
by Paula Stokes
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 20th 2014

Synopsis:

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with, if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?

GOT HEART?

The music pitches and swells, violin and guitars, drumbeats and thudding bass. As I sway back and forth in front of the stage, it feels like being in the eye of a tornado, where it’s calm, but everything is going crazy whirling around me. I can’t stop looking at Micah, at the way the lights reflect off his mohawk, at the way he’s completely lost in the storm of overlapping chords.

I see every part of him, tiny pieces I never knew existed. The slight bend in his nose, the wedge-shaped scar on his right temple, the outline of his bicep hiding beneath the pyramid tattoo. His lips part, just barely, when he exhales. As I imagine the invisible mist of his breath hanging in the air, I inch closer to him. Here, in the strange blue light, while the bass pulses and pounds, all I can think about is touching him. Our fingertips brush. A shockwave courses through me. I want to grab him and pull him into my calm spot, closing my eyes and kissing him while the world spins topsy-turvy around us.

My thoughts feel hot inside my head, like they should be radiating a laser beam across the club, but Micah’s eyes are still closed, his body loose. He’s oblivious to the fact I’m thinking about kissing him. He has no idea my eyes are skimming their way down the lines of his body. His cheekbones. His beard stubble. The ridge of muscle connecting his jaw to the center of his chest. The faintest trace of sweat glistens where his neck meets his right shoulder. I want to touch my lips to it.

This is crazy. It’s Micah. I don’t like Micah. He doesn’t like me. We have about as much in common as, well, nothing. I sneak another glimpse at him. He’s still completely entranced by the song. He’s still completely kissable. It has to be the beer, or the music, the violins and guitars and electronic pulsing, the whole otherworldly quality to this song. Or maybe it’s just because I’m not myself here, and I don’t have to obey the rules of Lainey.

GOT GAME?

I sub back into the game a few minutes later and stay through the end of the half. It’s still 1-0. The Yellow Jackets tie it up on a breakaway goal in the second half. At this point I’m running from one end of the field to the other, playing more defense than any striker forward ought to be playing. I can’t help it. It feels so good to be in the game. 

Matt Clifton saves a shot on goal and drop-kicks the ball in my direction. I dribble up field, out maneuvering two of the other team’s defenders. I pass the ball to Jason who sends it across to our right wing forward. The defense kicks the ball out of bounds and we get a corner kick. Jason goes to take it. I position myself in front of the goal, dancing back and forth as I vie for position with one of the Yellow Jacket fullbacks. 

It’s a beautiful kick—high and strong, and it’s coming right at me. The other players, the shouting, the movement, they all fade into the background as I keep my eyes locked on the ball. Angling my body just slightly, I propel all five feet and eight inches of myself into the air at exactly the right moment—I think, I hope—and the crown of my head connects squarely with the ball. The players around me all turn to watch as it arcs through the air…

GOT LAINEY?

I flip on the radio as soon as Leo fires up the engine. I hit the tuning arrow up until it lands on the station Micah put on for the ride home from the baseball game. 

Leo looks over at me. “I didn’t know you liked this kind of music,” he says. 

Me neither, but I do. Kind of, anyway. “I’ve been branching out. Anything gets old if you listen to it twenty-four seven, you know?” 

“I hear you. I like new stuff too.” 

I don’t answer. If you asked me whether I was the type of person who liked trying new things or preferred sticking with what was familiar, I would have told you I’m the second girl. The if –it-aint-broke-don’t-fix-it girl. I also would have told you plays were lame. It suddenly occurs to me that I don’t seem to know very much about…me. It’s a weird feeling, like maybe a stranger is inhabiting my body. Or maybe a stranger was, and I kicked her out.

Paula Stokes is half writer, half RN, and totally thrilled to be part of the world of YA literature. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where she graduated from Washington University and the Goldfarb School of Nursing. When she's not writing, she's kayaking, hiking, reading, or seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. Paula loves interacting with readers! Find her online at www.authorpaulastokes.com or on twitter as @pstokesbooks.

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