This is my first post for 2017. What a better way to start the year with a blog tour.
Happy New Year to us all! May this year bring forth more opportunities and blessings. May our hearts' desires and dreams be fulfilled this year.
Title: Brake Failure
By: Alison Brodie
Publication Date: January 9, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Brake Failure is a contemporary romance with a kick-ass heroine. The story is set in one of the most fascinating periods of America's history: the months leading up to Y2K "melt-down."
"Is it too late to tell him you love him when you're looking down the barrel of his gun?"
Ruby Mortimer-Smyth is an English debutante, destined for Lady’s Day at Ascot and taking tea at The Savoy. She knows the etiquette for every occasion and her soufflés NEVER collapse.
She is in control of her life, tightly in control. Until fate dumps her down in … Kansas.
Ruby believes that life is like a car; common-sense keeps it on the road, passion sends it into a ditch. What she doesn't know is, she's on a collision course with Sheriff Hank Gephart.
Sheriff Hank Gephart can judge a person. Miss Mortimer-Smyth might act like the Duchess of England but just under the surface there's something bubbling, ready to explode. She's reckless, and she's heading for brake failure. And he's not thinking about her car.
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Brake Failure is a story of a woman who had been repressed of expressing her true self. In her earnest desire to be appreciated and loved, she has denied herself of true self-expression. She just allowed herself to be molded into someone she's not, in the hope of getting the affection she most craves. Thinking that if she is obedient and submissive, she will be worthy of the love of a parent.
I pity Ruby. She only got to know herself when she was transplanted to a place miles away from her comfort zone. A place where she is forced to reveal and be her true self. She was forced to be her own woman and in turn, became what she had wanted all along. She came out of her shell and she discovered her strengths with the help of some peculiar personalities that became her friends who just wanted her to be what she is.
I liked how the story ended. It was not morally desirable but I think it was perfect. Those women, including Ruby, deserved a good life to make up for the lost times and years they had been deprived. High five on the bit for women empowerment! Anyone deserves a second chance and those women had made good of that opportunity though it was the worse possible way to get out from their individual situations. Nevertheless, it was so admirable because they made the most out of it.
There were some parts in the book when I sort of started making a face. Somehow the story slowed and became less interesting. I was almost tempted to give it up. Good thing, the ending saved it. And the title was explained which was what I had been asking all along. The last third of the book was the most valuable chunk of the story. I also liked the style it was written. The author backtracked. It started with the last event and went back about a week or two each chapter to narrate what happened that lead to the current situation. This was very unique and I think it was awesome.
I gave the book 3/5 police cars. Somewhere in the middle of the story, it became a bit slow for me. The story picked up in the last part which was what I liked most. It somehow gave the story a fitting and satisfying ending. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It somehow made up for some parts that had not been engrossing. I just wished that the whole book captivated me the whole time. I believe the author can write really good mystery and suspense stories. This book promises to be one with a minor hiccup somewhere in the middle of the story.
Pollyana is someone in denial, someone who don't expect nothin' bad to happen.
- Alison Brodie, Brake Failure -
Alison Brodie is a Scot, with French Huguenot ancestors on her mother’s side of the family. Alison was a photographic model, modelling for a wide range of products, including Ducatti motorbikes and 7Up. She was also the vampire in the Schweppes commercial.
A disastrous modelling assignment in the Scottish Highlands gave Alison an idea for a story, which was to become Face to Face. She wrote Face to Face as a hobby and then decided to send it off to see what would happen. It was snapped up by Dinah Wiener, the first agent Alison sent it to. Three weeks later, Alison signed a two-book deal with Hodder & Stoughton. Subsequently, Face to Face was published in Germany and Holland. It was widely reviewed, ie:“Vain, but wildly funny leading lady.” -Scottish Daily Mail. It was also chosen as Good Housekeeping’s “Pick of the Paperbacks.”
Unfortunately, Alison then suffered from Second-Book Syndrome. The publisher’s deadline loomed and she was terrified because she didn’t have an idea for a story! She found the whole experience a nightmare; and this is why she cautions first-time authors to write more than one book before approaching an agent. She managed to finish the book – Sweet Talk – but it bombed.
While writing Sweet Talk, she moved to Kansas and lived there for two years. She loved the people, their friendliness, their free-and-easy way of life, the history and the BBQs! Sadly, her visa ran out and she had to come back to the UK – although her dream is to one day live permanently in America. Now, Alison lives in Biarritz, France.
Alison has taken the exhilarating steps to becoming an indie author. Her second ebook, THE DOUBLE, is out on Amazon Kindle with some great reviews. “Excellent.” –San Francisco Book Review.
Alison writes contemporary romance. She aims for a strong plot line, set against the background of a world-changing event, coupled with touches of humour, sexual tension and character transformation.
She loves to hear from her readers.
Thank you again, Promo Stars and Starangels Reviews and Alison Brodie for the review copy.
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