BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY ~The 27 Club by Kim Karr~

Title: The 27 Club

Author: Kim Karr

Release Date: March 3, 2015

My Rating:  5+ Stars

You don’t know when…

You don’t get to choose if…

When it’s time to join…you’ll know.

You might think you want to be a member—but trust me this is one club you don’t want to join. It’s not a place where people go to live out their deepest, darkest sexual desires—there are no handcuffs or blindfolds.

The 27 Club only admits those who die young and tragically. My brother was recently bestowed membership and joined many of our ancestors before him. I know I’m next. This is my destiny, and I was ready to yield.

But then I met Nate. He awakened a sensuality in me that had never been explored, never satisfied. I knew then I could no longer accept my destiny. Nate’s presence controls me. I’m overwhelmed by his touch, his words; my every thought is consumed by desire. I believe he was brought into my life for a reason.

Nate doesn’t believe in destiny.

But I do.

And if there’s a way to cheat it—I must.

My jaw practically hits the table.

The chocolate crêpe!

I can’t believe it.

Harnessing all of my willpower, I fight the sudden inclination I have to leap around the table and jump onto his lap. I always tell people I prefer dessert before a meal, but never has anyone taken me seriously.

Never.

Tension coils deep in my belly. Lust flows through my veins running faster and faster with each passing second. I look over at him and as soon as I see his face, I can feel myself coming unhinged. Urges I can’t deny surface. The need to know the taste of his lips, to feel his hard body,

to be able to lick the chocolate he just ordered off his chest, and to slide my tongue down his stomach so I can taste him.

Looking thoughtful, his return gaze slowly changes to one of concern. “Have you stopped planning for your future because you don’t think you have one?” he asks softly.

Remnants of our conversation must have been lingering in his mind. Slamming my eyes shut, all of the erotic images I had conjured up immediately disappear as I fight to breathe.

Suddenly the air becomes thick in my lungs and I can’t get it out. I take deep calming breaths. As the haze around me dissipates and I fight off the panic attack, I hear a fumbling in front of me. I force myself to lift my lids. Nate is attempting to open my clutch. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get you your inhaler.” Panic seems to drown out the deep green of his eyes.

I push to my feet and give him a disbelieving look. “I’m not having an asthma attack.”

“You’re not?” He sounds uncertain.

Shaking my head, I set my napkin on the table. “Excuse me, I have to use the ladies room.” I walk inside the restaurant, realizing I have no idea where I’m going. Looking around, I find the bathrooms immediately.

Just as I pull the door open, a hand covers mine. “You’re upset.”

I drop my head. “No, I’m fine.”

Fierceness grips his voice. “You’re lying.”

Summoning all of my willpower, I raise my eyes.

Nate lifts my chin. “You didn’t let me finish. I’m trying to understand you. I want to know why, if you believe in destiny, you’d change your path. Why wouldn’t you do what you had always planned on doing? Why change your course? Personally, I think destiny is bullshit. I also think not pursuing your dream is bullshit too.”

Caged by his body, his scent, his presence, I look up into his burning eyes and I can see compassion there. I believe he wants what’s best for me. If I think I know him through my brother, he thinks he knows me through my brother as well. And Zach wanted me to continue my education. His dream was that someday I’d be Dr. Zoey Flowers. Nate knows this.

“Zoey?” Nate’s voice is questioning. Low. Maybe even slightly fearful.

“Nate”—I press my finger to his lips—“I think I need to tell you something about myself.”

“What?” he asks.

In all our e-mails after my brother’s death, I never mentioned the real reason for my delay in coming to Miami. I keep my eyes open even though I want to close them. “I had a breakdown shortly after Zach died. I took a leave from my job. I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t plan one day, let alone the next. And somewhere during that time, I let any plans I had for the future fall to the wayside. I don’t know what I want anymore.”

Shock appears on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me in any of our e-mails?”

The truth is hard to admit. “I actually looked forward to your weekly e-mails. But I did lie to you. It wasn’t work that kept me from coming to get my brother’s things. It was me and my inability to cope.”

Nate stares down at me.

My entire focus is on him. “Don’t think I’m crazy. I’m not. Really, I’m not.”

His gaze continues to pin me in a way that makes me think he understands me.

It holds me in place. Keeps me calm.

“Zoey, God, I don’t think that at all,” he breathes. “I can understand how that would happen.

With everything coming at you at once, and the shock of Z’s death, coupled with the revelations about your family, it was just too much. I get it.”

I just stare at his lips, longing to kiss him. My body is filled with so many wants and needs, and all these new urges I’ve never felt before.

And all I want is just for him to set me free.

I'll be completely honest, I was both terrified of this book and elated about it. From the get go there's a mystery laden theme to it. Is it paranormal, contemporary. Something very key was strategically missing from the information about The 27 Club. This book is both nothing that I thought it was going to be and everything I needed for a wonderfully enthralling read. Zoey and Nate give forbidden love a lustful, and sinful name. Yet, mixed in with the eroticism this novel offers is the ultimate test of facing one's fears. For Zoey it's the fear of coming to the same  fate her brother did, and also fear of what his life was like before he met that evil fate. For Nate, it's about the ghosts of his pasts, never being good enough for anyone and fearing the emotions the Zoey evokes in him.

Together they fight the undeniable passion burning between them. Fight it because their fears are making them doubt themselves and a future they are both sure cannot exist with one another. But when Zoey makes a startling discovery about the life her brother was leading... well it may just bring to life all the wicked, sexy thoughts she'd like to indulge in with Nate that she'd been keeping at bay. Secret after secret unfolds, and Zoey takes the queue of her brother and starts living her life with the help of Nate. And along the way she forces Nate to face his fears as well. When they've finally become more to once another than either ever intended is destiny just cruel enough to rip it all away?
You simply cannot miss out on this book. Like I said before, I was wary, but knowing how much I am addicted to the Connected series I knew I couldn't pass up a Kim Karr novel. She is by far one of the most talented writers I've read. To weave a plot as intricate as this one, much like the webs of her previous series, and capture my heart for the characters within SENTENCES of being introduced to them.... that's a pure, unadulterated gift. The 27 Club is one of those books that made my heart lurch, my gut wrench, and my mind boggle. It's impossible to compare this to another book, because no way in hell is it any kind of cookie cutter. It's unique, flawless, and breathtaking. The premise is outstanding, albeit heartbreaking, the different plots that flow seamlessly into one another had me grasping for more. Pure and simple, this is a must read.

Happy Reading!
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

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Meet Kim:

I live in Florida with my husband and four kids. I've always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, I wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. I went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise my family. I currently work part-time with my husband and full-time embracing one of my biggest passions—writing. 

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