Title: Scarred Love
Author:
M.S. Brannon
Genere:
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Synopsis
Darcie Claiborne spent
several years of her young life living with a monster, always fearing what he
would do next. Clasping onto her last ounce of hope, Darcie releases a scream.
It’s her final attempt to live; to survive the villain of her reality. Sweeping
her up in his arms, Darcie’s knight in shining armor rescues her from the hell
she’s been living; from the stepfather she's feared for all those years.
Reggie Evans has been forced to grow up before he’s ready when his mother dies of an overdose, leaving him responsible to raise his younger brothers. One fateful night, Reggie jogs by an old, run down house and discovers a young girl clinging to life as she screams for help.
Three years later, Darcie is healing and always protected by the man who saved her, but now she's fighting with something she isn't prepared to face. The growing love for the man who saved her life three years ago, the same man who’s nine years older. All the while, Reggie fights to protect Darcie from the demons of her past and new ones of her present.
Excerpt
As soon as the thoughts
of survival cross my mind, a frantic sound rips from my mouth. It starts out
meek and then instantly escalates to pleading. I scream. I scream with the only
fight I have left. I scream in hopes someone will finally come to my rescue. I
scream because I am a fighter and I truly want to live. I can’t exist in this
hell any longer, so I scream. I’m hoarse with desperation, but I continue to
cry for help.
Then I hear it. My death is coming with the sound of a
door slamming against a wall and feet traveling up the stairs. The fast
plodding of footsteps gets louder with every second and I prepare myself for
his wrath. I release a sob from my throat, knowing my fight is over. My
stepfather will kill me and I welcome it. I’ve thrown in the towel. I’m done.
As the door to the bedroom flies open I continue to
scream. Instead of pain, I feel comforting hands slide down my arms and the
blindfold is tugged from my eyes. I’m too scared to open them. If this is a dream,
I don’t want to wake up. Yet, as an unknown smell passes through my nose— a
smell of a men’s cologne and the sweetness of sweat—I know instantly this is
not him, this is not my stepfather. This is the smell of salvation. After
months of darkness, my eyes focus on the only color in the room, aqua blue.
Suddenly, I am lost in an ocean blue pool. I hear the key unlock the handcuffs
and my arms and feet are finally free, but I keep my focus on his blue irises.
The small pang of relief subsides as I look at this stranger and I know in this
moment he’s my protector. The one person who would keep me safe from the hell
that exists in this world. Weakly, I pull myself to my elbows and whisper, “Are
you…my knight in shining armor?”
Before I get started with my thought on Scarred Love, I will
let you know this story is not for the faint of heart. It deals with tough
issues and is downright ugly at times. That is not to say I didn’t enjoy the
story, because I did. But it is a story of one girl’s survival, and how she
pulled though the darkest times in her life.
A little about the story:
Darcie is being severely abused by her step-father. He’s
been this way for years and since her mother died and he blames Darcie, she is
the only target of the abuse. She has been chained up and left for days. No
food, covered in filth and he threatens that when he gets home she will start
doing “wifely duties.” Here’s the thing…she’s 14!!! The only thing she knows to
do is scream. She screams as though her life depends on it and well, it does!
This is where Reggie comes in. Luckily for Darcie, Reggie
heard the screams and the only thing he can do is get her out of there. And
this all happens in just the prologue!!
Chapter one begins 3 years later and Darcie and 2 of her “brothers”
are seniors in high school. Darcie was fortunate when Reggie found her. She not
only has him as a protector but 3 other boys as well. They are her family and
her friends. They will do anything for each other and it’s proven in the story
several times over.
What’s scary though, her step-father knows where she is and
he is using a secret on Reggie to get payments from him. And like I said, they
will do anything to protect each other. Even paying the S.O.B. money to keep
her safe. But with people like that, are you ever really safe? Reggie loves
Darcie and he will do what’s necessary to keep her unharmed. Sometimes it’s out
of our hands though. Sometimes evil has an extra card to play and that messes
up everything!
Darcie is a hot-headed girl and has a lot of anger for what
was done to her for so many years. But when she finds out someone else is in
trouble, just as she was, she will do what she can to try and save her friend.
There is a lot that happens in this book! I only touched on
a few parts but I didn’t want to give anything away!! I enjoyed this story very
much. I love it when I can see the victim become strong and whole. I also loved
the fact that Darcie knows that the word family has nothing to do with blood
and everything to do with the people surrounding her. If this sounds good to
you, go read it and then let me know what you think!! I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!
About the Author
M.S. Brannon was born and raised in the Midwest. She still resides there today with her wonderful husband and son. When she is not writing or reading, M.S. Brannon spends time with her family, watching movies, and discovering new music. She writes romance because she believes love and heartache is the rawest emotion one can experience.
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