Out of Love by Jewel E. Ann Blog Tour

Conspiracies. Corruption. Serial killers.

You name it—I'm fascinated by it. My mom always blamed my overly curious and highly suspicious mind on my dad.

My incredibly overbearing dad.

Mr. No One Is Good Enough For My Daughter has been terrifying my dates since I turned fifteen.

College is my chance to be free from his control and date any guy I want.

I'm absolutely certain he would hate Slade Wylder—almost as certain as I am that I do too.

Since when have I shied away from trouble?

Slade fascinates me. He lives in a house I'm certain is haunted. His dog is trained as well as any guard I've ever seen. Rumor on campus is that he deals drugs. It would explain a lot.

But it doesn't explain why he saves me from my darkest moment.

It doesn't explain why I can't stop thinking about him.

And the explanation I finally discover is far more dangerous than any rumor.

 

 

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After their kissy-huggy greeting ended, they walked toward the house with Jericho in tow. I waited for him to glance back at me. He saw me. There was no way he passed me a few seconds earlier on the street and didn’t see me. Yet, he made no attempt to acknowledge me.

Until…

My boy Jerry stopped abruptly and turned like he caught whiff of my scent. All the warm fuzzies filled my chest. A dog gave me more feels than any man had given me in a long time. Maybe ever.

Jericho liked me. Hell, maybe he loved me.

He protected me.

He smiled when he saw me—tongue out, tail in a low wag. I continued my way up the sidewalk, feigning surprise when he trotted toward me in spite of Slade barking his own command.

“Hey, Jerry.” I squatted down to give him double the love Miss Sophisticated gave him… and I had a treat in my pocket because part of me anticipated—hoped for—a chance encounter. “Oh, buddy… I love you too.” I closed my eyes and turned my face side to side while he showered me with kisses.

Slade cleared his throat.

I opened my eyes—noticing his friend must have gone inside. “Sorry.” I stood, sliding a treat into Jericho’s mouth along the way. “I know it’s hard for you to know he likes me more.” On a shrug, I bit my lips together to keep my shit-eating grin under control.

“Inside,” he said to Jericho while looking at me.

Jericho turned and headed to the back door.

“If you have a job to do… Jerry can hang with me tonight. I’m alone this evening.”

“Jericho. And he doesn’t need a babysitter.”

“Maybe I do.”

His brow tensed a fraction, contemplation settling into a slight frown for a few seconds, before he whistled and Jericho came running. “Send him home when your friends get back.”

Why was the only word that sat on the tip of my idle tongue? Why protect me?

“What are you going to do?” Okay, apparently “why” wasn’t the only word on the tip of my tongue after all. Six other words were in line first.

“Does it matter?”

Letting my gaze settle over his shoulder to the firehouse and images of Miss Sophisticated waiting for him, I lifted a single shoulder. “No. Just curious. Is she your girlfriend?”

“Does it matter?”

“I hate you.” I rolled my eyes. “Worst communication skills ever.”

“Good. Hate me. I prefer it.”

I recoiled. I didn’t really hate anyone. It wasn’t my personality to be hateful, vengeful, or hold grudges. Why did Slade Wylder want me to hate him? It was a joke. I hated his lack of sharing information.

“If you’re selling her some shit that will ruin her life, may I suggest you rethink that? Not cool, Wylder.”

“Noted.”

Tipping my chin up, I gave him several tiny nods. “Okay then. I’ll take Jerry to my house and spoil him. Maybe he comes back to you… maybe he doesn’t.”

Slade let his gaze slide down my body, a slow and easy trip. He didn’t do that when we met. Somewhere along the way, he decided it was okay. I wasn’t sure what reaction he desired from me.

Maybe nothing.

Maybe he did it out of pure selfish desire.

“I’m only allowing this because I love Jerry.”

Curious eyes met mine, slightly squinted.

I smirked. “Stripping me with those eyes of yours.”

Moments…

I collected moments in my mind, my heart, my soul, like Aubrey collected rare coins—my mom dying, my dad spending a few years thoroughly drunk. Mostly bad moments—permanent scars.

That moment I tucked into my memory forever as one of the first truly great moments.

Wylder…

The corners of his mouth quirked into pure sin. If Satan was hot as fuck, his name would have been Slade Wylder, and I would have been in a whole helluva lot of trouble.

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars

First things first, how does Out of Love connect to the Jack & Jill series?
Livy is Jackson and Ryn's daughter, acting like a perfect combination of her parents.

Secondly, should you read Jack & Jill first? Yes, because this story is one large spoiler, making it impossible to go back and read the series, because not only do you know the outcome of who ends up with whom, but also tragic scenarios along the way.

Livy is an overprotected daughter, fighting for her independence. What do you expect for the daughter of Jackson, right? She can barely take a breath without her father or aunt determining if she's breathing deeply enough.

This independent woman is striving to become a lawyer, her ultimate goal to enter politics. She doesn't party like the rest of her college classmates. Livy is into surfing and bad boys.

In walks in Slade, with his German Shepard, Jericho... and that's all I can tell you about him.

Out of Love was read in one sitting, cover to cover, as I had to know what happened next. Having been far too long since I read Jack & Jill, I struggled to place Livy in the family. But where it helped me is that I had forgotten the details that would have turned to clues in the mystery. Maybe if I reread, I still would have been taken by surprise. Slade was not in Livy's life for the reason I expected him to be, and I was giddy because I had no idea what was going on, thrilled to be surprised.

Why not 5 Stars?

The connection between Livy and Slade. It just wasn't there for me. Toward the end, I was invested. But where it suffered was due to Slade's lack of communication with Livy. While I fully understand why Slade didn't communicate, this took away the much-needed conversations for the reader to see Slade and Livy bonding, for the reader to understand them both together. Causing the story to not have much of an emotional gut-punch.

The only non-verbal character that made an impact on everyone around him was Jerry, aka Jericho. A simple growl told an entire story. The dog was the star of the novel.

Highly recommended to fans of the author and those who wish to continue on with the Jack & Jill series. I have a strong craving to binge a reread, as well as crossing my fingers we haven't heard from the last of this set of characters. One in particular, we need to know how his future played out.

 

 

 

 

JEWEL E. ANN is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author a with a quirky sense of humor. When she's not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romance.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Out of Love by Jewel E. Ann to read and review for this tour.