Review - Clarity - Gabbie S. Duran - Rebecca

Title: Clarity

Author: Gabbie S. Duran

Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 11, 2015

Her world was shattered and broken. 

Damaged ... is how she viewed herself. 

Untrustworthy … is how she viewed men. 

Taylor never expected to open her heart to anyone. Nick is a player, in every sense of the word, but finds himself doing anything to earn her trust — including fighting the demons she harbors inside. 

Is he the clarity she’s been seeking, or will her past push him away?

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4.5 stars

★★★★★

Oh, Gabbie.  Gabbie, Gabbie, FREAKING GABBIE!! 

I love Gabbie S. Duran.  There's no lie in that statement.  I love her beyond as a person (as she's one of the sweetest people I know) - I love the heck out of her as a writer!  She knows how to pull emotions from me -- even when I don't want to let her pull emotions from me. Romance novels sometimes make me "meh", but every one Gabbie writes has the ability to pull me over to the more romance side, yet include enough angst to keep me glued to the story.  

Nick is totally freaking swoon-worthy. Even when Taylor is being so determined to not let him in he's got all the right things going on and you can only fall harder for him (and wonder what the heck she's doing at times!)  There are parts where I wanted to hate her for pushing him, but at the same time I could relate so much!  She has all the right reasons for being scared... She's had some horrid things happen and it's completely understandable to lock down, but Nick... Now he's just all sorts of perfection all around and I love how things ended up developing!  

There is great character development - both on their own and in relation to each other.  All around this is a well-weaved together story.  I could've gone for a bit more towards the end, but I completely understand why it was written the way it was after asking the author.  It makes sense, it really does. 

If you're ready to find your next fave book bf this is the book for you!

Tears are cascading down my cheeks now. The pain and sorrow of speaking about it has taken over. Admitting I want nothing more than to forget should have me feeling shameful for giving up, but instead the admission has me feeling some sense of relief for standing up for myself. It’s all I ever wanted from the moment I left that small town. To forget and never look back.
“So he just wins?”
“He only wins if I let the action of what he did to me rule my life.”
“It should have never happened,” Nick repeats.
“This is why you need to walk away, Nick.”
We both remain silent after I state the words. A grim atmosphere overtakes the entire room for the next several minutes. My heart has always been broken, but knowing Nick may heed my words and walk away has me dreadfully holding my breath, preparing myself for the heartache to come.
“Is he why you’ve been pushing me away? Because you think that way of yourself?”
“Yes,” I rasp out. “Trust is still the hardest thing for me to do. It’s easier to not trust, than to have it broken,” I announce to him, trying to swallow the lump that is sitting in my throat.
“That’s all you’ve ever expected from me, isn’t it? For me to break your trust?”
Closing my eyes, I laugh humorlessly. “You’ve already done it several times.” He seems puzzled as he takes in my answer. “You don’t take orders very well,” I remind him.
He grins, the simple turn of his lips lightening the despair surrounding us.
“That was before I realized just how important you are.” His confession has the dark walls surrounding my heart slowly shattering. “I’m a determined man, Taylor, and I’m determined to earn your trust,” he declares.
“Why?”
Placing his hand on my cheek, he says, “I can’t explain it, Taylor, but since the day I met you I knew you were different. You were someone I knew I couldn’t let go of.”
My once shattered heart is slowly mending. The sympathy he was giving is replaced with affection, and suddenly I want to fight to hold onto it.
“All I ask is that you give me a chance to earn your trust, Taylor.”

Gabbie is a Southern California native, who lives with her wonderful husband, two amazing kids and a senior citizen kitty. When she’s not writing you can find her reading or sneaking off for a run. Some might say it’s a crazy life, but she wouldn’t change anything about it.

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Cover Reveal - Clarity - Gabbie S. Duran - Rebecca

Clarity

Genre: Coming of age

Release date: TBD

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Blurb:

Her world was shattered and broken. Damaged ... is how she viewed herself. Untrustworthy … is how she viewed men. Taylor never expected to open her heart to anyone. Nick is a player, in every sense of the word, but finds himself doing anything to earn her trust — including fighting the demons she harbors inside. Is he the clarity she’s been seeking, or will her past push him away?  

  Excerpt: My mother’s footsteps can be heard as she makes her way towards my bedroom, stumbling into the wall along the way, reminding me of how I was not so long ago—another reminder of why I should feel ashamed. The door opens and her arched eyebrows are high as she stares at me. “What’s up with you?” she slurs, looking me up and down, her eyes stopping at my legs. “Did you finally get some?” she says, a wide grin spreading across her face, pissing me off that she can’t even act like a real mother when I need one. “Get the fuck out and leave me alone,” I snap at her because she’s the only one here that I can take my anger out on. She shrugs her shoulders before saying, “Hopefully you’ll end up pregnant. It’d be one good thing for you. Easy money.” I didn’t think anyone could disgust me more than Josh had tonight, but I’m proven wrong. “Get. The. Fuck. Out!” This time my angry outburst works and she turns to walk away. Slamming the door behind her, the tears finally fall as I ponder both their hurtful words as they keep repeating over and over again in my mind. The stabbing pain of the realization that Josh may be right about me always being a nobody brews in my head. Up until the day he acknowledged me, nobody cared who I was. The day he asked me to help tutor him for science was the day I began to exist in the social world of our high school. Before that, I pretty much kept to myself, not really fitting in anywhere. I didn’t have a stable family. The only thing I had was enough brains to get me through my classes without failing. Now with school over, I’m back to where I started, a nobody in the small town where I grew up. I have a worthless mother, no family, or friends. I don’t even have money. But that doesn’t mean I’m stuck in this town forever. No. The minute I can get out of here, I will, and I’m never looking back.

Author bio: Gabbie is a Southern California native, who lives with her wonderful husband, two amazing kids and a senior citizen kitty. When she’s not writing you can find her reading or sneaking off for a run. Some might say it’s a crazy life, but she wouldn’t change anything about it.

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