Everlasting (Everlasting Trilogy #1)
L.K. Kuhl
Published by: Clean Reads
Publication date: February 18th 2016
Genres: Young Adult Paranormal
Seventeen-year-old Sophia Bandell is scared of boys, and her biggest fear is dying. Boys make her uncomfortable and itchy and dying is …well …dying. She is ecstatic when her long lost friend calls her, inviting her to spend the summer with her on the beach at Charleston, South Carolina.
When a plastic saucer hits her in the head as she’s sunbathing, Sophia has no idea it will forever change the course of her life. It is there she comes face to face with the impressive Tate Forester.
She is scared and …itchy, but he’s gorgeous and she can’t shake him from her mind. They begin dating and Sophia soon knows he’s the one.
But things turn dark when she learns Tate isn’t the person she thinks he is, and the real reason her friend has brought her to the beach will teach her about life after death.
This everlasting summer on the beach gives Sophia a sweet taste of first love—the happiness as well as the heartbreak.
It is not every day that I get asked to review a book by a writer directly, so as my first one, I was so excited to do so and I couldn’t wait to plunge into Everlasting. In fact, I told myself I was going to start reading it the next and day and yet again I ended up pulling an all nighter! I didn’t stop until I had the last page down at around 4am.
Would you believe me if I told you that I actually read it without checking out the synopsis first? Yup, well that was a first for me as I usually have a quick read through in the iBook store or the back cover if it is an actual physical book. This time I went blind my friends and had no clue what so ever at what was going to come my way!
I thought the cover was lovely but did not give away much, since there was a mention of death on the cover, I thought maybe vampires would be involved but nope… no vampires anywhere!
I am trying here to avoid giving you too many spoilers, or let them slip after all you want to discover the story the way I did and I have to sum it up in one word: Wonderful!
Sad and heartbreaking too… I might want to say infuriating at times too! (Here I said it!!!!)
I think all of the characters were nicely written and I really like Tate quite a lot (he is my favorite), though in the beginning I was not too certain about him, but he grows on you and as the story went I could not but feel more for him. In a way he reminded me of my reaction to Jamie Lannister (Game of Thrones), hated him at first in the books and then I changed my mind by the 3rd book… I digress…
That says a lot about a story and the author’s writing when you become emotionally involved with the characters and especially when it is one you are loving to hate so bad! Not a common occurrence for me, but there must have been a growl or 2 involved.
There is a part of me who sorta kinda wanted for Sophie to have more spine, or even maybe gain it as we went along in the book. It felt at times it was happening, but it wasn’t there entirely. I think based on where the story is going and I am not telling you where she still has plenty of room to do so in the following books. There is I believe a big life changing decision coming her way and for that she will need some backbone. Am I way too hard on her? I don’t know… am I?
On the other end of the spectrum there is Aaron, and I hated him from the second he opened his mouth! You know what I mean and I can promise you that he did nothing to change my mind and by the end of the book I was all for a major ass kickin’. Again, it is hard cause I do not want to give it away, but I need to tell you my dear Mrs. Kuhl that I have questions about him. I am thinking that you and I need a good cuppa tea or coffee and discuss Aaron. I don’t usually go out of my way to love hating a character…. but him yes! Hatred at first line!
I am delighted to say that this is the first book of a new series, now I do not know if we are getting our usual trilogy or not, but as soon as I know so will you my dears! But I cannot wait for the next volume so that I know what happened next!
Pretty please don’t make me wait too long…
Author Bio:
L.K. Kuhl lives in Nebraska with her husband Gene of twenty-nine years, young son, Nathan, and Greg, their Black Lab dog. She has two older daughters, Morgan and Brittani and son-in-law, Trevor. L.K. has been writing for over twenty years.
She first began writing children’s books and poetry, moved on to writing music, and is now writing Young Adult and Adult novels. She loves spending time with her family, vacationing, writing, reading, and taking long walks. It’s the characters who write their own stories in her novels, and she is just their messenger, sharing it with the world.
Get The Book:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks
Excerpt:
We stood there and looked around, an awkward silence playing between us. Then he stepped closer and took my hand in his, sending a bolt of staggering electricity zipping through my chest. “Her hand fits perfectly in mine.” He whispered this, as if confirming it with someone. His gaze locked on it, analyzing, then with a shake of his head, he spoke louder. “Sophia, I’m sorry. I …I lied to you.”
I looked at him—bewilderment crinkling my face—and tried to understand. “Lied?” My voice broke. “I don’t get it.”
“I wasn’t sick that day. Well, in a way I was, I guess. The truth is, I was gut-sick. That guy …he was sitting by you the whole day …and …and he never left your side. I’d check throughout the day, but he was still there. I couldn’t help it. I was insanely jealous.” He looked down, his tone deepening as he flexed his fingers that were still laced through mine.
“What?” His words astounded me. I swiped my brow with my free hand. “You were jealous …of me?”
He released my hand and paced back and forth, the nervousness seeping through as he wrung his hands. “I know it’s stupid, but I couldn’t help myself. I love the way you laugh and …I like you, Sophia …a lot, and it hurt me to see you with someone else.”
He lifted his hair off his forehead, pushing it up. His eyes locked on mine again, captivating me. I couldn’t look away. My self-consciousness took over—heckling me. The way I looked right now—with my hair a matted mess from the mist, and no makeup on—must look ridiculous. I drew away, making myself smaller.
I laughed my nervous laugh and kicked the sand with my shoe. “Who, him? You mean …Brian?” My words wobbled, but I giggled, unable to believe that Brian talking to me could make anyone jealous.
Questions and Answers:
1: Where did you get the idea for Everlasting?
I got the idea for Everlasting basically from a dream, where my brother-in-law who had recently passed away came to me in my dream and I was able to ask him questions about life after death. The dream was so real and life-like, I felt he was right there with me. Everlasting took me six months to write and three to four rounds of edits.
2: What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on the second book in the Everlasting Trilogy Series. This book is called, The One, and I am halfway through. It is getting very exciting!
3. How do you deal with writer’s block?
Chocolate and Wine…just kidding, but they do give me a nice boost. When I get writer’s block, I try to keep writing, even if it’s silly, goofy stuff. A lot of times this brings out the good stuff and I can go on from there. If not, I take a walk or exercise, just getting out and moving around gets the creative juices flowing.
4. What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
Never give up! If I can do it, anyone can! It took me over two years of countless rejections, but I persevered and kept plugging away. Don’t let the rejections get you down and fold you, you can do it! Even the best of the best had rejections. There were days when I wanted to give up, but kept on. And besides, who else will catch your dreams if you don’t? You create your own destiny. Live it to your fullest!
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