Kimerin's Confessions of a Bibliophile

Title: Broken Truth

Author: Beth Ashworth

Genre: Contemporary Adult Romance

Publication Date: November 15th, 2013

Tour Host: Dreams Come True Promotions

Life for Charlotte (Charlie) Harris couldn’t be any better at this moment in time. She has her dream job, she has the extremely wealthy knight in shining armour and she has the best friends a girl could ever ask for. On paper, the beautiful world unfolding at her feet almost appears too good to be true for a working class girl from Manchester right?

But what happens when you gloss over the statistics and realise that the happy bubble you have been living in for the past fifteen months has all been a twisted, torturous path of lies? What if you realised that the person you loved wasn’t who they claimed to be any longer?

With the once sacred and happy memories now turned into hatred and despair, Charlie must now follow her instincts to either forget her past and move on or force the hand that holds the cards to her life to reshuffle the deck before it leads onto the twisted future that lies in store.

What will she choose?

Can she forgive and forget for the only man her heart has ever loved?

Beth Ashworth was born in Manchester in 1990, but shortly moved to the modest city of Coventry where she was raised and still resides now.

As a vivid reader from a very early age, Beth has always been keen to put her words onto paper. As a child she was always found with either a book in her hand, a pen and notepad or a computer games controller.

Starting off by initially writing alternate endings to her favourite Jacqueline Wilson books from around the age of ten, Beth has continued to grow and love her passion for books.

Eventually, after many unfinished books and short stories, she finally decided to follow her passion and write books that she hopes people will love.

When she isn't reading or writing, Beth loves to spend time with her husband and friends

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/17Me0oq

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GoodReads Page for Book: http://bit.ly/Ithi3B

Amazon - Amazon UK

Our Review

Our blog received an ARC of Broken Truth for participating in the Blog Tour.

Wow, is all I can say about Broken Truth. I really enjoyed the story a lot.
I like all of the characters as well, which is not very common. The only character I had issues with was Claire. I couldn't stand Claire from the moment I met her, but if you read this story you will understand that, that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Okay, now on to the story. Broken Truth starts out a Charlie being a waitress struggling to make ends meet to pay off her debt with she is working as an apprentice at her dream job. One late night Callum comes strolling into the restaurant. Callum's mere presence affects Charlie and she does not like it. She makes an extra attempt to avoid him the rest of her shift. When Charlie is leaving for the night she is startled to find Callum outside waiting for her. He makes his move, and the story fast forwards to 13 months later.

Charlie couldn't be any happier with her life especially since she is spending it with the man of her dreams. Her forever, so to speak. What she did not predict is that all things are not always as they seem. After a spontaneous trip to go surprise her man causes her whole world to come crashing down. Charlie is devastated because she soon learns that the past 15 months of her life has been nothing but a lie. One day she has everything and the next instant the rug is swooped from under her. Charlie vows that she will move on and start her life fresh even though she is suffering from a broken heart. Callum on the other hand has plans of his own and he is not ready to let Charlie go. Can Charlie handle the truth and what Callum is hiding from her? Can true love overcome all obstacles or will fate part their paths for good? All I know is that I highly recommend that you read Broken Truth to find out their fate. It is a plot twisting thrill ride.

Excerpt One

“I know you’re watching me, Baby.” The groggy sound of his voice startled her somewhat.

Composing herself, Charlie smiled. “No, I’m not.”

He grinned sleepily before brilliant blue eyes opened and met her stare. “I think you are,” he murmured.

Her heart began to flutter repeatedly as their eyes continued to stare at one another. It was always like this between them, this playful yet sizzling chemistry that Charlie hoped they would never lose. “So what are you going to do about it then?” she challenged with a smirk.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, he gave her a look that practically melted her insides to a puddle of goo. Licking her lips seductively, Charlie continued tracing her fingers across his stomach, enjoying the feel of his skin blazing beneath her touch.

“Are you teasing me, Baby?” he asked with a hint of amusement. Lifting both of his arms to rest behind his head, Charlie watched as he tensed the muscles in his abdomen, defining the already ridged muscles further.

She knew he was playing dirty, but she also knew that she could play dirtier. It was definitely time for her to up her game she decided as she removed her hand from his body and placed it on her left thigh. Very gently, she ran her fingertips from the top of her leg to the bottom. His eyes widened as he watched her fingers pursue an unrelenting path over her soft skin until she stopped at the juncture of her thighs.

Excerpt Two

The apartment’s intercom system buzzed noisily, jolting Charlie from her thoughts. Jumping up from her position at the breakfast bar, she hurried towards the intercom phone on the opposite side of the kitchen.

“Hi John, is he here?” she practically squealed, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Yes, Miss Harris. His electronic fob has just been used on the underground garage. He should be with you shortly,” he replied.

“Thanks John,” Charlie said as she disconnected the call and placed the phone back on to the wall receiver.

Knowing Callum was mere minutes away, she moved swiftly through the apartment to wait by the private penthouse lift. Fidgeting nervously with her hands, she watched as the numbers on the panel steadily increased through the floors of the building. Growing more and more impatient, she eventually heard the heart stopping ding of the doors opening and Callum’s smooth and sensual voice as it echoed across the marbled foyer.

“Damn, Baby,” he growled, running an appreciative eye over her body as he entered the foyer. “You look absolutely gorgeous.”

With a little squeal of excitement, Charlie found herself rushing straight into Callum’s open and waiting arms. His firm and strong grasp held her body tightly against his as his mouth dipped low to claim her lips in a ferocious and practically starved kiss.

She felt his hands slowly drift down the length of her back to cup her bottom, before he squeezed tightly to encourage her to wrap her legs around his waist. She complied silently, raising one leg to his hip so that Callum could lift her effortlessly against him.

Sliding her hands to lock around the nape of his neck for support, Charlie gasped at the feel of his erection straining against the material of his trousers.

Twenty Fun Facts about Beth Ashworth

1. My friends and work colleagues think that I am THE laziest person on the planet. Seriously... I don’t like to do anything.

2. I swear like an absolute trooper. Leave your politeness at the door in my house...

3. I carry my Kindle wherever I go. You never know when you are going to be delayed right?

4. I have a VERY sweet tooth. (Two root canals at 23... Ouch!)

5. I’m terrified of the dentist.

6. I’m also terrified of spiders.

7. Did I mention heights as well?

8. My now Husband and I had a long distance relationship for over a year before he finally moved in with me. (Five years together and still as strong as day one!)

9. It was always a dream of mine to own a pair of Christian Louboutins. Now I have had them over a year and I am too scared to wear them. The red is too pretty!

10. I am part of the most amazing group of girls. My Smut Sisters are my besties and I love them! Within the small group of us, we bring authors, readers and bloggers together. We talk, we laugh, we support, we beta read, we gossip and we watch porn together. (Seriously... we are now past the point of no return)

11. Video games are my obsession. I kick arse at Call of Duty... For real!

12. Justin Timberlake is my boo <3 span="">

13. As much as I love top 40 hits and big music artists, I am also a huge fan of K-POP. Girls’ Generation, SHINee, 2NE1, EXO, 2pm... Love! Love! Saranghae!

14. I had still have an unhealthy obsession with Christian Grey.

15. I have a twitter, but I’m not as hooked with it as I am Facebook.

16. Twinkies and Mountain Dew are craved daily.

17. I hate tea and coffee... bleh!

18. Self-publishing my first book was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.

19. I’m an only child.

20. I get over emotional at practically everything. Books, films and television programmes can have me in tears with the slightest of things. I need to learn to suck it up... I know.

Deleted Scene

So before I let you loose with a deleted scene from Broken Truth, there are a couple of things I wanted to mention to you first.

This scene will contain spoilers. If you haven’t yet finished the book then I wouldn’t recommend reading this scene until afterwards.
The ending to Broken Truth was completely changed following beta feedback. As you will understand from the below scene, things could have been very different for Charlie and Callum.

*Spoiler* - Now this is the opening to the old chapter thirty-one. It followed on from Marco’s introduction of the new International Operations Director at the very end of chapter thirty... It was Callum.

Deleted Scene from Broken Truth

As a chorus of claps and well wishes flooded around the room, Charlie remained frozen and silent in her seat. She couldn’t breathe as an unexpected force started to pound deep inside of her brain. It was fierce, threatening to push out of her ears at any moment. It was a feeling of being trapped. It was a feeling of pressure rushing into your ears after putting your head under water.

She felt as though she were drowning.

“This can’t be happening,” she eventually whispered into the room. She watched Callum step forward and close the door behind him. Charlie knew that she had to be dreaming. She couldn’t imagine for one second that Marco had just announced Callum as the new director of the company. It was impossible. She knew that he had obligations back home, so it couldn’t be true that he was now here.

“Fuck,” she heard Sophia curse loudly as the recognition of Callum’s name embedded and clicked in her mind. “I don’t even know what to say,” she said as she shook her head.

Charlie pressed her hand against her forehead and closed her eyes. The pounding was becoming more and more forceful the longer she looked at him. She hoped that if she closed her eyes she would rid herself of the nightmare she was currently in.

“Charlotte?” Charlie opened her eyes at the concern in Marco’s voice. “Are you alright? Would you like a glass of water?”

Realising that she had once again attracted the attention of the entire room, including Callum, Charlie blushed a furious shade of tomato. “I’m okay, thank you. I am just feeling a little warm,” she explained, picking up Sophia’s notepad. She started to fan her face in an attempt to calm her soaring body temperature.

Diverting her eyes to one spot in the corner of the room, Charlie heard a few background whispers before Callum’s deep, throaty chuckle reverberated off of the walls around them. The sound of his voice sent cold shivers instantly trickling along the length of her spine.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she had missed hearing his voice.

“He keeps staring at you,” she heard Sophia whisper discreetly her way. “And those eyes... Jesus, Charlie. I can practically see him undressing you from where he is stood.”

“Shush,” Charlie smirked, nudging Sophia slightly in the ribs.

“As much as I am on your side, those eyes are just so damn hypnotising,” she giggled quietly.

Charlie couldn’t resist the curiosity any longer. Slowly she lifted her eyes to where Callum stood with Marco. Within seconds, the usual physical chemistry between them burned hungrily in the air. He fixed his eyes firmly over Marco’s shoulder at her. The appetite within his stare was unnerving, yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

“I’m getting horny just watching you two,” Sophia whistled, flicking between both Charlie and Callum.

“Right, shall we get on with the meeting then?” Marco clapped his hands together eagerly and looked around the room. “Callum, if you’d like to take a seat then we will begin,” he said, gesturing towards the empty seat to Charlie’s left.

“Oh God,” she breathed as an award winning smirk appeared across Callum’s features. She knew this was going to be a bad idea. She was already second guessing the emotions flooding through her body, without the added worry of him being sat in such close proximity.

Trying to keep her cool, Charlie merely nodded as Callum took the empty chair beside her at the head of the table and opened up his laptop. After he had switched it on, she immediately caught sight of the wallpaper saved to his desktop background.

Her breath caught in the back of her throat as she took in the picture onscreen. Recognising it instantly, her memory flicked back to the night with ease. It was the Saturday evening after their first anniversary. They had decided to go out for dinner with their friends, which had then turned into a night out at Zachary’s. Drinks had been flowing for a few hours by the time the photos had started. In this particular picture, Callum had gripped hold of Charlie unexpectedly from behind and pulled her against the strain in his trousers. Whilst her face was a comical sight, Callum had managed to maintain his signature, seductive smile and usual pose without problem.

Charlie shook her head.

She needed to remember what this man had done to her and everything he had put her through.

“So Charlotte...”

Charlie jumped out of her seat a little and directed her attention towards Marco who was watching her movements carefully. “I do apologise, please could you repeat that?”

Marco narrowed his eyes. “I was just asking if you wouldn’t mind telling the team a little about yourself as an introduction.”

“Ummm-”

“Don’t be nervous,” Marco said as he took his seat. “We all work here as a family, so this is our getting to know you period.”

Placing her hands neatly on the table, Charlie looked around the room. “Hi, my name is Charlotte, but you can all call me Charlie. I have been in Milan a total of two days following a move from Manchester. I like to shop... quite a bit. And I hope we all get along great while I’m here.” She flushed a little at the end of her sentence realising that she sounded like a new member at her local self-help group.

“Thank you, Charlie,” Marco winked. “I’m sure we will all get along very well.”

Charlie saw Callum’s body language instantly stiffen at Marco’s words. She recognised this change in stance quite well and could tell that he was fighting the urge not to retort his comments.

“In fact, perhaps we should schedule an evening out to welcome our newest member of staff?” Marco suggested, his eyes practically gleaming with possibilities.

Hearing Callum suck in a sharp breath beside her as he tried to contain his growing protectiveness, Charlie decided to cross over the line that she had previously been happy to stay away from.

“That sounds great,” she replied happily as she gently brushed her bare leg against Callum’s trousers. She smiled at the sound of his gasp, the unexpected touch surprising him greatly.

She knew that she was playing a dangerous game here, but she wanted him to know that she was grateful for his protection, however difficult their situation was.

“Will you join us tonight, Mr Ellis?” Charlie turned towards Callum and cocked her head to the side.

His gaze intensified as he licked his lips. “I’ll be there,” he nodded.

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Monday, January 27, 2014

Cover Reveal for Lily Love by Author Maggi Myers!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Blog Tour & Giveaway for Broken Truth by Author Beth Ashworth!