Blurb
Can a guilty conscience keep
wounds from healing?
Fine arts major,
Candace Parker, grew up with a mother who thinks image is everything, and her
daughter’s perfection will never be good enough. About to graduate college and
pursue her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, Candace decides it’s
time to let go and have a little fun. But fun is short-lived when a brutal
attack leaves her completely shattered.
The memories that
consume and torment Candace are starting to destroy her when she meets Ryan
Campbell, a successful bar owner. He feels instantly connected and tries to
show her that hope is worth fighting for. But is Ryan harboring his own demons?
As walls slowly begin to chip away, the secrets that are held within start to
become painful burdens.
At what point do
secrets become lies?
Excerpt
I stare up at the
bright white light that is above me in the cab of the ambulance and focus on my
breathing.
What
just happened? Is this even real?
“Miss, how do you
feel? Can you tell me if anything hurts?” he asks.
How
do I feel? I
don’t know how I feel. I don’t even know what the hell just happened. I feel
scared and numb. I feel everything and nothing all at once. I feel like this is
a dream—a goddamn nightmare that I can’t wake up from. I don’t understand. I’m
so confused. Fear and misery rip through me and create a new emotion that I
can’t even begin to describe. My heated tears roll continuously down the side
of my face as I remain staring at the white light.
“Miss?”
“I don’t know,” is
all I can manage to say, my only attempt at a response to his very confusing
question.
I move my eyes
downward to look at my body, and I am covered in a grey wool blanket. Suddenly,
I remember that I am naked beneath this blanket. Embarrassment wells up inside
of me, and I begin to sob uncontrollably.
“I want to go home!”
Fading by E.K. Blair book trailer from
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Jenn's Review
I have just finished reading Fading and I had to
immediately start my review. This book was beyond great. Emotionally charged
and real. Fading is about healing, growing, forgiveness and acceptance. It
takes courage and strength for Candace to be able to do all those things.
Candace is getting ready for a date that she only said
yes to because her mother was standing there. She’s never had her parent’s
approval, ever. They tell her she is an embarrassment to the family and her
career choice of being a ballerina is a joke. Her family has no idea how good
of a dancer she is. This is her life and her passion. And, no one is going to
tell her she can’t follow her dream. She ends up having a pretty good time and
when asked, decides to do it again. However, at this point she’s just not
feeling a connection with Jack. He’s nice enough and the kisses are good but
she lets him know she isn’t interested for anything more. He doesn’t accept
that answer and decides to take what he wants anyway. Candace is left beaten, bloody
and broken. The only thing that saved her was an eyewitness that called 911 and
beat Jack until he ran away.
Her best friend Jase is called and comes to the hospital
to take her home. He tries to convince Candace to press charges but all she
wants to do is put it behind her. Jase’s boyfriend, Mark, is the only other
person that knows what happened and she plans to keep it that way. She hides
from her roommate and stays home from school and work until all evidence has
healed from her face. She kept to herself anyway but this makes her feel even
more alienated. Suffering from panic attacks makes it downright hard to go
anywhere. Her dancing begins to suffer, the light has left her eyes and she
thinks she’ll never be the same. I absolutely cannot imagine what this would be
like. Some would say that the bastard should pay for what he did. But when
faced with the reality of having to face it all over again, Candace is beyond
scared. Night terrors plague her sleep, leaving her having to take sleeping
pills.
Through it all, Jase and Mark have been there for her.
But now a new friend has started hanging with the guys. His name is Ryan and
she first saw him at the coffee shop where she works. Now she’s seeing him all
over and getting to know him is quite fun. She’s getting comfortable around him
and he makes her feel safe. He wants to protect her from her awful parents. He
wants her to run to him when she needs someone. Going home with him at
Christmas, so she wouldn’t have to be alone, only helped solidify her decision
that she wants to take a chance with him. His family is amazing and he always
seemed to know when she needed a minute alone, away from the chaos. It takes
her a while but she shares with Ryan what happened to her and all it does is
show him how strong and brave Candace is.
Candace has fallen love with Ryan and he feels the same.
She trusts him completely and for the first time in her life, loves freely. He
shows her everyday what she means to him and that will never change.
She has finally decided to call the detective she spoke
with from the night of her attack. When he calls her back, he answers her
questions of the eyewitness and Candace is shocked and speechless. She is lost
all over again. How can you begin again when you have nothing left?
I tried so hard to read this in one sitting. However,
sleep claimed me and I had to begin again in the morning. This book was very
well written and flowed wonderfully. I highly recommend Fading but be ready. It
is hard to read in places but it only adds to the book. I look forward to
reading more from e.k. blair. 5/5
Buy Links
Social Media:
Twitter: @EK_Blair_Author
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