Selena Robins, Author

A few weeks ago, Heidi Wiley (friend, avid reader and reviewer) recommended the book CAN’T GO HOME by Angelisa Stone.

I love getting recommendations from friends and readers, as I feel it’s a great way to discover new-to-me-authors.

I read this book (the first in Angelisa’s Oasis Waterfall Series) and fell in love with her voice, humor, and style of writing.

I immediately bought the second book in the series, CAN’T GO WITHOUT and devoured that book as well, and surprised myself, but I don’t want to tell you why, because I wouldn’t want to spoil the book for you.

I am pleased to introduce you to Angelisa Stone.

Angelisa has generously offered to give away SIX E-BOOKS to SIX lucky winners. (Contest details below.)

Selena: Angelisa, welcome to the blog.

Angelisa: Thank you for having me on your blog and taking pity on me. 

Selena: LOL! I didn’t take pity on you, well maybe for a few seconds after finishing Can’t Go Home and learning that Tristan was the hero of Can’t Go Without, I may have felt sorry for the fact that I was going to send you a W.T.F. are you thinking? But I didn’t, and you turned me around, which shows how skilled a storyteller you are.

Angelisa: Thank you. 🙂  It’s readers and writers and bloggers who make this world possible and they’re something that I truly CAN’T GO WITHOUT! 

Selena: Totally agree. Love readers, bloggers and fellow authors. We all share the same passion for books and romance. Speaking of romance—what are four words that you find romantic.

Angelisa: “I’ll do the laundry.”

Selena: That’s hot verbal foreplay. Do you hear that, guys? It’s not that hard to get your gal all ready to jiggy. 😉

If you were to design a warning label for yourself, what would it say?

Angelisa: STEER CLEAR:  Vulgarity or heartfelt emotion could spew at any minute.  

Selena: People can’t say you didn’t warn them. What is your Cocktail Waitress name and what would you wear?

Angelisa:Savannah. I’d wear a cowboy hat and cowboy books with Daisy Duke shorts and my shirt tied up. 

Selena: Okay, Savannah (aka Angelisa) from Cocktail Server to Mixologist; what kind of martini would you create for Dre and Katherine (from Can’t Go Home)?

Angelisa: Well, considering where Dre lived in the first book, and I know nothing about MARTINIS, I think they’d both like a little  “Sex on the Beach” with a “Slow Comfortable Screw” as a chaser.

Selena: Yes, those drinks are perfect for those two. Now for the star couple in Can’t Go Without; Tristan…oh, Tristan (once readers read this book, they will understand why I say…Oh, Tristan 🙂 ) He loves to do shots with Leah, so something that would match their personality.

Angelisa: Tristan’s a JAKE DANIELS man through and through.  Leah likes to sabotage everything good in her life, so she’s a Kamikaze shot for sure.

Selena:  You nailed the drinks as well with these two. Leah certainly didn’t get a lot of good guidance in the dating department. What’s the worse piece of dating advice you ever received?

Angelisa: Never received any advice, but one time this SENIOR guy showed up at my house when I was a FRESHMAN and asked me to go get pizza with him.  My mom insisted that I go with him.  I barely knew him. Then when we got back to the house, she WENT TO BED.  She left me up and alone with this 18-year-old guy who was all over me.  I kicked him out and called my friend.  She said he was at her house the night before.  He was going through all the freshman girls until “he got some.”  I was FIFTH on the damn list!

Selena: He sounds like a mult-tasker; charm the mom’s and then play the girls. You can always write him in a book; you know, short, bald and no personality 🙂   As a writer, I know you hear voices in your head, which one is the loudest and what does he/she sound like?

Angelisa: Much like my warning label, I have two voices.  I hard-core swearing sailor who wants to nail some tail, and a raw emotional therapist who wants to save the world.  They start battling it out like the Hatfields and the McCoys—-neither one ever wins, which is why my writing is emotional and profound one second and hardcore vulgar and funny the next. 

Selena: Speaking of dysfunctional families like the Hatfields and McCoys; the O’Donnell family (Tristan and Dre’s parents and sister). Was this family inspired by people you have met? Known? Dreamt about?

Angelisa: Okay, I really WANT to answer this question.  It is so fascinating where CAN’T GO HOME came from. However, I don’t know how to answer it without giving away Dre’s secret from the first book.  These are the things I will say:

1.  My son plays basketball.

2.  His coach came out of NOWHERE last year.

3.  He was as hot as the summer sand on a hot July day on a South Carolina beach.

4.  He wore the same outfit every single time I saw him.

5.  Nobody knew anything about him….

He was my inspiration. 

Selena: That is so interesting. Once the readers read the first book in the series CAN’T GO HOME, they will understand your answer as well. That’s pretty freakin’ hot….summer on a South Caroline beach. What’s next in the Oasis Series? Are readers going to get a story about Piper (the O’Donnell sister) or a book about Ivy (Katherine’s best friend)?

Angelisa: I toyed with Can’t Go On, which would be Piper’s story and Can’t Go Back, which would be a novella about Ivy/Syd and Rory because those damn characters won’t leave me alone.  Piper is a youngest child; she usually get what she wants 🙂 

Selena: I hope you do write those two books, it would be great to catch up with her brothers and see what mischief Piper and Ivy/Syd will get into as well. Angelisa, thank you for coming on the blog and for your generous giveaway of three e-books. (Contest details below.)

CAN’T GO HOME

“A beautiful, steamy, love story that you think about for days after…wishing you could read it all over again for the first time. The kind of book that will make you want to finish in one sitting while it tugs at your heartstrings.”  Christine Zolendz (Author of Mad World Series)

“Angelisa Stone will bring you home with her quick humor, unforeseen twists and a sincerity that makes Can’t Go Home a top read.” Denise (Flirty and Dirty Book Blog)

Everyone has secrets; secrets meant to be kept—hidden away where nobody can discover the truth.  Adrian O’Donnell (aka: Dre Donley) is no exception.  Dre spins tales and half-truths like it’s his job, keeping the reality of his past buried deep within each lie he fabricates.  On the other hand, Kathryn Howell is the exception to the rule.  She’s a straight-shooter, a tell-it-like-it-is, no filter kind of girl.

Kathryn’s honesty and straightforwardness is the ultimate turn on for a guy like Dre.  He’s never met someone so sincere, so full of truth and innocence.  Their chemistry is unavoidable, their connection, magnetic.  When Dre sets out to make Kathryn fall for him, he doesn’t realize the grave mistake he’s making.  Kathryn’s strength and convictions do not falter, even for an irresistible man like Dre. When his past resurfaces, and the lies come tumbling forth, Kathryn must decide if his deceit and betrayal can be forgiven or if the damage is irreparable. Will the truth ultimately destroy the relationship that neither one of them could deny or even attempt to resist?

This novel is for mature readers only, due to language and sexual content.

Heidi Wiley’s Review of CAN’T GO HOME

After reading the synopsis, I decided to take a chance on this New to Me author and I’m so glad I did.

The first thing that took me by surprise was how much humor Angelisa Stone wove into this story. The banter between Dre and Kathryn is some of the best I have read and it’s not an easy task to make the hero as funny as the heroine. She was also able to create these characters multi-dimensional. Dre was confident without being arrogant and his secrets were far from predictable, Kathryn had some vulnerabilities but was beautiful, self-assured, funny and had a big heart. But this is not just a light sexy comedy, Can’t Go Home touches on social issues, the pain of rejection and what people will do to save their reputation in the superficial world we have all have become accustomed to. The sex scenes are smoking hot and I loved the secondary characters who all have a special place in the story.

There are scenes that not only made me smile but I actually ugly-laughed and parts that pulled at every one of my heartstrings. I will be looking forward to more from this author and I highly recommend Can’t Go Home and the next in the series Can’t Go Without.

 

CAN’T GO WITHOUT

“Emotional, dynamic, and wickedly sexy, Angelisa Stone weaves a captivating romance.”  (Skye Jordan New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author)

“Stone has a way of pulling you through a journey that is heartfelt, touching, and sexy.”  (Christine Zoledenz author of that Mad World Series and Beautiful Series.)

 “What’s the one thing you can’t go without?”

Tristan O’Donnell has money, women, and all the luxuries that cold hard cash can buy.  Tristan’s been sucking sunshine right from the monogrammed silver spoon his life was served up on since the day he was born.  And quite frankly, he wouldn’t want it any other way.  He’s his mother’s pride and joy, his father’s right-hand-man, and the envy of every guy around.  All Tristan has to do is flash his million dollar smile, give his trademark wink, and he gets what he wants, when he wants, anytime he wants.

Leah Franchetti grinds her fingers to the bone; sculpting, painting, recreating treasures from trash—the very sentiment that defines her life.  Her inventive, vindictive, lucrative, and seemingly unforgivable plan allowed her to shortcut her way into the life she always imagined, owning an art gallery, surrounding herself in the comfort of her passion and dreams.

When circumstances force Leah and Tristan to come face-to-face with the past and with Leah’s devious manipulation, truths come flooding forth, destroying those in the present and possibly jeopardizing both of their highly anticipated futures.

Can Tristan overcome Leah’s slander and deception—despite how dangerously close he comes to losing the one thing he can’t go without—money? Will Leah be forced to come clean, knowing she’ll have to live her life with the one thing she can’t go without—her dignity?

Selena’s Review of Can’t Go Without

The beauty of this story is Angelisa’s ability to take a character (Tristan) from the first book in the series, that the reader dislikes and develops him into a well-developed three-dimensional romance hero that the reader will fall in love with, want to jump in the book and hug him. Of course, the reader will want to smack him a few times, but that’s what makes him so endearing and interesting. The characters and their arcs are never predictable.

The circumstances of how Tristan and Leah met and how their love affair unfolded made me wonder how were these two ever going to get over such a huge conflict? Their goals, motivation and internal conflicts are well drawn out, and sprinkled throughout the story, so the reader has an excellent understanding of what motivates them both and their resolution not only makes a lot of sense, the reader will come to fully understand it as well.

I highly recommend this book. It will draw you in from page one and keep you rooted to the book until you finish it. The characters are addictive. The story is addictive. It’s one of those book where you have to read it to understand how flawed characters go through their journey, and endear themselves into your heart, and you root for them both.

Angelisa Stone writes this type of male, his point of view, his actions and dialogue extremely well. She has also crafted a story that will have you laughing and also you may shed a few tears.

The epilogue is one that I totally enjoyed and it stayed true to each character.

This book has a of elements that can be discussed with other readers.

 

The Giveaway

To be eligible to win one of  SIX e-books by Angelisa Stone, please leave a comment on this blog or ask Angelisa a question.

About the Author

Who is Angelisa Stone?

Angelisa Stone is a typical Midwestern wife and mom, frazzled by parenting and housework, and overwhelmed with sports schedules, doctor appointments, and three-dimensional creative projects due “tomorrow morning.”  Angelisa dreams of white sandy beaches, clear-blue waters, and Midori coladas in hand, but realizes that her loving husband and four not-so-perfect children are her real dreams-come-true.  Writing and reading are her passions, and she hopes (and prays with her fingers tightly crossed) that readers will find enjoyment and escape through her words and characters.

Email Angelisa for fun chatter and banter, giggles and chuckles:  angelisaauthor@gmail.com

Follow Angelisa on Twitter:  @Angelisaauthor

Find Angelisa on Facebook

Check out Angelisa’s profile on Goodreads