SOMETHING REAL
by
Allegra Johnson
SYNOPSIS
Never say never.
For Taylyn, life has been a series of disappointments and heartache. Every relationship she’s had has ended in tears … and the occasional restraining order. Swearing to never get into another relationship, Taylyn is prepared to live the single life. So why is she drawn to the hometown hero who already hurt her once?
Wishful thinking.
Declan was destined for the NFL until a dirty hit took him out of the game for good. Before leaving for college, Declan shared one amazing kiss with the girl he always wanted but could never have. Now he’s back in Silverton rebuilding his life without football, and she’s single. This time he’s going to get the girl. He just needs to convince her he’s not like all the others.
Can Taylyn allow herself to believe in love again? Can Declan prove he’s the one made to love her? Will they find a love that is Something Real?
** Something Real, Silverton Series 1, contains subject matter that may be uncomfortable for some readers. Those subjects include mental illness, suicide, alcoholism through self-medication, sexual assault, and emotional abuse. **
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYDP1YN/
ABOUT ALLEGRA
After a lifetime of sharing headspace with an ever-growing cast of characters, Allegra threw caution to the wind and wrote a story. Since that day she’s been living her crazy author life writing love stories and happy endings. Originally from Massachusetts Allegra now resides in Southern California. When Allegra is not busy at work in her writing cave she enjoys spending time with her family, connection with her readers, procrastinating, and napping. You can usually find Allegra fluttering around Romancelandia trying to stay out of trouble while figuring out this author thing, one book at a time.
Social Media Links:
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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/allegra-johnson
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15276339.Allegra_Johnson
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AllegraJohnson
Email: authorallegrajohnson@gmail.com
REVIEW
With her first full-length novel, Allegra Johnson tells an emotional story of a woman’s journey to self-acceptance and allowing love into her life. It’s a story of found family and true friendship.
While Something Real is categorized as a romance, it’s main focus is Taylyn, the female lead character. On one hand, her rash actions and defeatist thoughts make it difficult to like her; on another hand, the very same things make it easy to sympathize with her, especially after her horrific past is revealed. My heart ached for her the entire time I was reading the book and that’s a testament of how well Allegra wrote her character. Damaged and suffering from crippling mental health issues, Taylyn comes across as a real person, one who needs love, support, and understanding. I love that in this book there are people who provide exactly what she needs — her found family consisting of MacKenzie, Ella, and Autumn.
I also love that Declan was all-in right from the start and he never wavered in his determination to be part of Taylyn’s life. I only wish he has a bigger role in Taylyn’s path to sobriety although I recognize how that would be tough considering his ownership of a bar. Ultimately, it’s Taylyn’s resolve that has to manifest for such a transformation to happen.
Because of the dark themes, this book might not be for everyone. That’s a pity because Something Real is a darn good read.
Packed with deep emotions and filled with important life lessons, A Glitter of Gold tells a compelling story about finding treasures of grace, forgiveness, and love after being battered by storms, both natural and man-made.
From Bethany Turner, a fresh new voice in Christian Romance, comes Wooing Cadie McCaffrey — a Pop-tastic, sometimes frustrating, many times hilarious, incredibly quotable, and altogether, super fun read.
But, Bethany also got me frustrated for the better part of the book because of the unfinished sentences, the lack of meaningful conversations between the two protagonists, Cadie’s over-reactions, Will’s indecisiveness, and the too-large roles of Cadie’s parents in their daughter’s love life. Eventually, I got over it because that’s the whole point of the book. Cadie and Will have to go through the miscommunications, the tests and trials, and the doubts before they can get their happily-ever-after. I’m just so glad they have amazing support system in their respective friends because I don’t think they would have a happy ending if left on their own. I kid. Of course, they’ll make it. This is romance, after all.
Bethany has a distinctive style of writing with her differing voices for the main characters’ points-of view (first for Cadie, third for Will) and the back-and-forth between past and present. It was effective here, but it took some getting used to. For future books, I’d like to see more of the characters’ faith play a more central part in building the relationship. Here, it was not as enhanced as it should be. Fear of God’s disappointment because they gave in to carnal temptations led to Cadie and Will’s break-up, but the acceptance of His forgiveness played only a minor role in the restoration of their love.
Bethany Turner is the award-winning author of The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, which was a Christy Award finalist. When she’s not writing (and even when she is), she serves as the director of administration for Rock Springs Church in Southwest Colorado. She lives with her husband and their two sons in Colorado, where she writes for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight.
With millions of books in print, Jodi Thomas is both a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 45 novels and 14 short story collections. Her stories travel through the past and present days of Texas and draw readers from around the world.
I hardly ever see myself represented in romantic fiction (which is why I write them myself), so I can’t help but gush whenever I read one that has someone like me as a main character.
Maida Malby 
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