Release Blitz: With My Whole Heart by MariaLisa deMora
Title: With My Whole Heart
Author: MariaLisa deMora
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 20, 2017
With My Whole Heart is a
complicated story about family.
Jaime’s a young, single
mother who is trying to make ends meet, feeling like she's always
waging an uphill battle to make sure she and her son are housed, fed,
and healthy. Connor’s designed his life to stay too busy for
relationships.
How complicated is it?
She’s his big
brother's surrogate, and he’s the sperm donor. How in the hell
would this ever work? Connor didn't know, but he was determined to
convince the feisty little blonde to take a chance on him. What he
didn't realize was it meant taking a chance on himself,
too.
Caution: This isn't an MC story. If you're looking for
grit, you'll need to get your hard on somewhere else. No one gets
kidnapped or assaulted in this one. Or even runs around without
underwear on, I mean ... the hero wears boxers at one point. Come on!
It's like I don't know the me who wrote it. Plus it's super sappy in
places, and an unusual story setup. It's not a feckin' unicorn, but
it'll do.
“This book has a special place in my
heart. I was pulled in from the first words to the last. I love when
a story calls to my heart, when you can honestly relate to the
characters.” - Shay from Mommys a Book Whore
“This author's writing is just so
sublime - the hard edges of the brittle life she depicted through
clipped dialogue and terse prose in Bones being smoothed out and
rounded eloquently into this intimate romance, centred as it is
around warm, loving people who care so deeply for one another.” -
Carcoura LaRomantique, Goodreads review
“This book is epically brilliant.
Between her genius little boy and her tough backbone, you can't help
but admire Jaime.” - Angela, Goodreads review
“I finished reading with a smile on
my face and joyful heart.
I recommend to all who want a story full
of emotions and good feelings.” - Lu Bielefeld *Book Whore Brazil*
From Chapter 6
Connor
Standing just around the corner from
the living room, Connor was glad no one had heard him come in the
front door.
Marie and Cooper both knew where he
stood on this meeting, and it wasn’t in favor of it at all. If
they’d seen him, they would have clammed up, afraid to set him off.
He was excited about them having another baby, knew it was something
Marie had dreamed of nearly since Sam was put in her arms.
With a gestational carrier, he had no
worries there. There was absolutely nothing to tie the baby back to
the womb that nurtured during the pregnancy. Needing an egg donor,
well, he got that it took two to tango, and with Marie’s eggs not
an option, a donor was necessary. But he’d urged them to do a blind
donation, not someone you had to look in the face for nine months.
Sperm donor, also a necessity, and one he was honored his brother had
asked him to do again.
Connor didn’t get confused, though,
didn’t have any issues with Sam calling him Uncle Con. Never
thought of the boy as his child. Sam was Cooper’s kid, end of
story. This, though? Having the egg donor and carrier in one person
and then getting to know that person intimately? Mistake.
That was how he’d felt until five
minutes ago, at least.
Hearing this woman express sorrow at
the death of someone she never knew shocked him, but her sincerity
couldn’t be questioned. She sounded like she knew how it felt, and
the genuine sadness in her voice picked at the scar he carried inside
him.
When Cole had died, he’d known it.
The minute it happened, he’d felt it. That damn psychic tie so many
twins had that he and science couldn’t explain. The echo that had
been so strong between them, always. Bicycle wrecks and broken
hearts, everything had been shared between the two of them.
It meant the very instant his brother
was no longer breathing on this earth had branded in his brain.
Connor had been on the basketball court, taking a class of freshmen
through a new set of drills when it felt like his heart exploded.
He’d fallen to his knees, hands clutching his chest, silent in the
face of an overwhelming pain. Scared the fuck out of the kids. They’d
thought Coach was having a heart attack, and two of them had dialed
911, calling the sheriff to the school before he could stop them,
leaving Connor to have to try and explain something he couldn’t
even put words to.
Four days later, when the same sheriff
came visiting they’d shared a knowing look. It wasn’t news to
Connor that Cole was gone. Not to him. The silence in his head was
enough proof for him.
If I’d gone in the military with him,
I would have been there. Could have saved him. That was the only
thing he and his twin had ever really argued about, and in the end,
Cole’s driven need to protect and serve had won out, separating the
two men for the first time in their lives.
Connor hadn’t felt the same calling,
though. Cole had enlisted and headed to boot camp, and Connor had
gone to college instead.
He listened to the murmur of voices
grow softer, more distant and knew Cooper, Marie, and the woman had
gone into the kitchen. Connor had been supposed to meet her, not
understanding why Cooper wanted him to have a face to go with the
carrier’s name, Jaime Grimes, but he’d been willing to go along
with it. He’d laughed and told his brother, “Least I can do.”
Connor lifted a hand, knuckles grinding
roughly across his sternum, accepting the pain as his due.
Knowing this woman standing in his big
brother’s kitchen understood about loss, too, he couldn’t go in
there. Couldn’t face her, afraid she’d see the guilt he tried to
keep buried. If I’d been there.
Turning on his heel, he stalked to the
door and went out, closing it soundlessly behind him.
Rebel Wayfarers MC series
Series Reading Order & Series Buy Links
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Kobo • iTunes
Occupy
Yourself Band series
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Kobo • iTunes
Neither
This, Nor That MC series
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Kobo • iTunes
Raised in the south, MariaLisa learned
about the magic of books at an early age. Every summer, she would
spend hours in the local library, devouring books of every genre.
Self-described as a book-a-holic, she says “I’ve always loved to
read, but then I discovered writing, and found I adored that, too.
For reading … if nothing else is available, I’ve been known to
read the back of the cereal box.”
A hockey fan, hiker, gamer, and single
mom of a special needs son, she embraces her inner geek and has been
working in the tech field for a publishing company for a couple
decades.
Music is a driving passion, and she
says, “I love music of nearly any genre — jazz, country, rock,
alt rock, metal, classical, bluegrass, rap, hip hop … you name it,
I listen to it. I can often be seen dancing through the house
in the early mornings. But I really, REALLY love live music. My
favorite thing with music is seeing bands in small, dive bars [read:
small, intimate venues]. If said bar [venue] has a good selection of
premium tequila, then that’s a plus!”
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