Saturday, May 11, 2013

[Kame's Review]: "A Prior Engagement"

 
A Prior Engagment by S.L. Scott
Publication Date: April 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Living in a world built on pretenses, Everleigh Wright discovers how carefully orchestrated her Upper East Side life has been. Trapped in an arrangement for social prestige and financial gain, she finds life is not as idyllic as she once thought.


William Ryder leads a life rich in family support and endless determination. While attending university in Manhattan, he becomes enamored with a classic beauty who holds many secrets beneath her quiet propriety. William falls head over heels crazy for her, and she falls for him and his unfaltering optimism and kindness.




William and Everleigh may come from different worlds, but their attraction is instant and their love undeniable. Hoping love conquers all, they will find out if their love is unstoppable when faced with the consequences of breaking a prior engagement.




“Right here, right now is all that matters.”








Where to Buy*:
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Kame's Review:

“I…I don’t remember the last time I felt rain. I wanted to feel the rain again. That’s all.”



Everleigh Wright has the weight of her family’s future on her shoulders.  She must marry the man her parents chose for her years ago so that their families can forge a stronger hold in society. She once loved this man, but as the years have passed he has shown his true colors and she knows he is not her true love.  Is there a true love for her, and where will she find him, and if she does will she be strong enough to leave the responsibilities to her family behind - no SL Scott has not written a period romance, this is a contemporary romance set in Manhattan. 


“It’s five carats in exchange for power and ownership. It’s an unfair exchange in a sane person’s view, but it’s his claim on her for the world to see.”



Everleigh has resigned herself to a future of playing the role of a good wife and doing what is expected, then she finds a friend, William. William Ryder is a fellow college classmate, and lover of literature.  He has noticed Everleigh all term but it isn’t until she sits at his favorite table in his favorite coffee shop that he gets the courage to speak to her.  Everleigh moves forward with a friendship with William, one that gives her courage – courage to dream.


“I’m not letting you make decisions for us all by yourself anymore and you can’t change my mind… ever, my love. I will never stop loving you and I will never stop fighting for you.”



I enjoyed this book immensely. One thing about SL Scott’s writing there are no frivolous characters; from the three main characters of Everleigh, William and Tom; to Walter the doorman, each is created with clear definition – you could almost walk down a street in Manhattan and pick them out of a crowd. Dialog rang true to the situation for me, and sometimes the most poignant dialog is delivered by the most abstract character – such as when a waitress tells Everleigh a quote that has always meant something to her. There are no quick fixes to the conflict, so much so a HEA sometimes was in doubt. Characters fought for an HEA, and at times characters gave up on one too.  And when they gave up – SL Scott made it believable and I found myself resigned with the character to their fate – a sign of writing that absorbs you into the story.


“I’m proud of you, proud of everything you do, you will do, and who you are, but mainly, I’m the most proud of your inner strength, and I’m in love with you wholly and unconditionally.”


I had been reading many romantic suspense novels lately and found I needed a change of scenery in my brain – so I picked up the ARC SL Scott so kindly gave me in exchange for my honest review. I found myself finding little snippets of time to read a scene or two – at one point finding a couch in a shoe store to read while my mother shopped!  Pick up A Prior Engagement, SL Scott has a unique voice, packs fantastic detail in every chapter, and drops a thought provoking line or two (blue vs black ink).  This read did not disappoint, I hope sometime in the future she creates a series so I am able to spend ample time with these characters she so wonderfully sculpts.








5 STARS!





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Kame received this e-ARC in exchange for her honest review.
*Note: Quote used belongs to S.L. Scott; Kame and TBQ's Book Palace do not claim it*
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Meet Kame:

Kame is part of a family of readers; one day she picked up the Nook she purchased for her husband and discovered her love of e-books. A few months later he purchased one for her so he could have his back! Kame’s Nook is never far, and she is hard pressed to pick a favorite book, genre or author. As long as there are characters that make her want to sit down and have a chat and a plot keeps the pages turning, she’ll read it.

Kame's GoodReads 
 



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 Thanks for the review, Kame! Don't you love when it's not just the story and characters, but the author's talent at writing that pulls you in? Always a sign of a keeper! I'll be putting this one on my list!

Have you read S.L. Scott before?




Enjoy!



Until Next Time,
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*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

2 comments :

Pat Egan Fordyce said...

Wow! That is quite a review!!!! The book sounds very intriguing! Will have to pick it up. Great job Kame!

Kame said...

Pat you will really enjoy it...it was hard to write the review as there is so many things I didn't want to spoil! A complex book - check it out!