Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Twosome Twosday: Who I Am by Shanora Williams

Synopsis:
Some stories aren’t easy to tell.

Some situations aren’t easy to relive.

But I was raised to be strong—to hold my own. Because of it, I was hurt, torn down, beaten and even had my heart snatched right out of my chest.

But I’m ready now. It’s time for me to speak up. You want to know what really goes on inside my head, well I’m right here.

Real. Raw. Intense.

This is all me. Roy Sykes. This is my story, and trust me… its far from pretty.


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Heather's Review:
4.5 "She's who I am" smooches!

Who I am is book three of the Fire Nine Series and Roy Sykes book.  It is a book that has become close to my heart.  I had the privilege of beta reading for Shanora and what an experience it has been.  When I read the first draft it was good… but there were things that didn’t work for me and when I gave her my feedback, Shanora took it all to heart and completely revamped her book.  I read it again and it was SO much better.  I would have given that version 4 stars.  Then Shanora made some more changes on her own and sent us the final version and WOW!  Shanora has put SO much work into this book and it shows.  I am so proud of the finished product and so proud of her!  4.5 SMOOCHES!!!

Roy had an air of mystery surrounding him throughout the first 2 books.  I honestly did not like him at all.  He was very stand-offish and rude.  In Who I am, we find out why Roy is so different.  His life has not been easy.  He has a very troubled home-life and has had to take care of himself and his mother for a very long time.  Apart from the band and his mom… Roy has nothing but problems.

The book begins with Roy’s past.  It goes over all of his troubles but mostly focuses on his relationship with Rose. At the time she appears to be exactly what he needs in his life.  She is there for him when he desperately needed someone.  They both have different issues and find escape in each other.  But, things aren’t all that they seem and she hurts Roy badly.  Their relationship has a lot of ups and downs and in the end he is left bitter and broken-hearted.

 Love.  Love is what fucked me up.  Love is what literally twisted me up, tossed me around, spat me out, and destroyed me.
Jump ahead to the present.  After years of loneliness, Roy has finally opened his heart to Kelsey.  They are HOT together.  *fans self*  She is getting him to face his past and to open up to people.  While they haven’t been together all that long, they appear to be perfect for each other.  And just when things seem to be going right for Roy…

His past comes storming back into his life in the form of Rose…  Hello past… meet present.  What do you do when the girl you thought was the love of your life comes waltzing back after years of wondering what could have been?  Why, you screw everything up of course!

 She’s my queen.  My soul mate.  I screwed up… and what sucks is I’ll have to see her fall apart when I tell her what just happened.
Oh Roy!  Things become a mess.  Roy has to sort his feelings and figure out where his heart truly belongs.  Does he go back to his once great love or move forward with this new relationship and see where that road leads?

I can’t get enough.  I love her…
She is the love of my life.
She is my hope and faith.
She is my motivation.
She is my diary.
She is my world.
She is the joy I never thought I could have again.
She is my restoration.
She is who I am.
Get ready for an emotionally charged read.  Who I Am deals with some serious issues and lots of heartache and heartbreak.  It is not light.  It is deep and heartfelt and another great read by Ms. Shanora Williams! 




Selene's Review
4 "Roy Sykes I *heart* You" Smooches

Who I Am is the third book in the FireNine Series.  The book’s focus is the band’s mysterious guitarist Roy Sykes.   We don’t hear much from Roy or learn much about him in the first two books of the series (Who He Is and Who We Are) … Roy’s focus is his music – not the partying, not the groupies.  There are hints made at a painful past that has made him the way he is.  Who I Am is Roy’s story.

Who I Am can almost be divided into two different books … the past and the present.   Roy is doing an interview, opening up to his fans about his past.  The first half of Who I Am is just that …. Roy telling his story.  He looks back eight years to when FireNine is a struggling local band, hoping to make it big one day.  Roy is living with his mom, who is battling a terminal illness.  He loves and adores his mother and he will do just about anything to take care of her and help make ends meet.  And by anything I mean working for a local drug dealing thug who does horrible things to Roy throughout the story.

And then he meets Rosemarie.  Roy has no idea she’s a mob boss’ daughter until he makes a delivery to her house.  Even though it should, it doesn’t stop him from falling for her.  She’s sweet and beautiful and seems to be crazy about Roy. 

I was getting myself into something new.
Something different.
Something dangerous.
But at this moment, as I held her in my embrace and she held me back, I knew what I’d gotten myself into would be worth it…

Oh Roy …. If only you knew just how wrong you are!  Their relationship seems too good to be true and, well, it is.   Rosemarie is just a major bitch and breaks Roy’s heart … just when he needs her the most.

I just… sat there and blended in with the darkness, wondering how the hell I was going to get myself out of this one.  This was my heart.  This was me.  And she fucked it all up.  She… destroyed me.

After reading the first half of Who I Am, I felt such a connection to Roy.  My heart broke for him, all that he endured and went through, especially with his mom. 

Roy meets Kelsey in Who We Are and something comes alive in him that had been dead for a long, long time. 

I never thought I’d see that part of me again – the part where I was alive, energetic… happy …. But I was wrong.  Kelsey Prior showed up, and she took over every single part of me.

Kelsey is sweet and beautiful and she genuinely loves Roy …. not the musician or the fame but him.  She gets him, she sees into his soul.  And as much as I adore Roy, I was so mad at him when he screwed it all up.  After his interview aired, someone decided to crawl out from under the rock she’d been hiding under for eight years.  Yes, Rosemarie returns and Roy, despite his best intentions, makes a series of bad choices and leaves Kelsey with no choice but to kick him to the curb.

Where is Roy’s heart though?  Is it in the past with Rosemarie or with Kelsey?

I know I lied to you and I promised you I never would, but if you think for a second that I won’t fight my hardest to win you back and make you mine all over again, you’re wrong. 

Who’s trying to win who back?  Has Rosemarie really changed?  Can Roy leave his past where it belongs or does first love run too deep to walk away from it when it returns?  In the end, Roy gets the girl but I'm not saying which one!

I can’t get enough.  I love her.  I’m in complete love with her.  I’ll never let something this good to me go.  Not again.  Not ever.
She is the love of my life.
She is my hope and faith.
She is my motivation.
She is my diary.
She is my world. 
She is the joy I never thought I could have again.
She is my restoration.

She is who I am.

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