Title: Still Life
Author: A.M. Johnson
Release Date: April 13, 2015
Book Tour: April 20 – May 1
Hosted by: SBB Promotions
Loss… a word Elizabeth Haddington knows only too well. Despite the tragedies she’s endured, she’s been able to rise from the adversity she’s faced and begin her life again. Being a self-assured and strong woman, she knows she doesn’t need anyone to make her whole.
HHate, pain, and twisted memories are all Sawyer Bryant’s ever known. He’d slowly lost who he was and what he should’ve become. His only escape was the military… Eight years later, as an ex-Navy SEAL, he’s forced to confront his father and their disturbed and violent past.
Then one day, his life is turned upside down, when he glimpses a woman singing in her car at a set of traffic lights. Thinking he’d never see her again, amazingly he finds her performing with her band at the local bar. This chance encounter brings these two lost souls together. Once Sawyer gets a taste of her melodic voice, there’s no turning back.
For Elizabeth, when she meets Sawyer… she realizes she’s fallen hard. But is this really love she’s feeling or does love build slowly over time?
What happens when fate turns things around on you, creates flashes you can’t turn from… moments that will shape your life?
They are faced with the choice of darkness surrounding them or to rid themselves of the guilt and pain and move toward the light.
This story is about life’s moments. How they can make you or break you, and one man’s hope that… Love, won’t judge him.
4 out of 5 stars
Elizabeth and Sawyer are two characters who have infiltrated by mind. I find myself hoping that they are doing well and wondering what kind of trouble they are finding. Sawyer had had a very bad home life and joined the military to escape it. Elizabeth had lost her parents when she was young and lived with her best friend’s family after that. They both had scars, but they both wanted to heal.
Sawyer knew the first time he saw Liz at a stoplight that she was special. Liz felt an early attraction, too. The fact that Sawyer’s roommate was Liz’s best friend, Todd, who felt a sort of ownership of her created a little drama to go along with all the romance. However, the line that made me believe in their love and the relationship they were going to get to was this one from Liz POV:
Looking at his gorgeous ecstatic smile, I knew I’d never feel alone, that I’d always be cherished. My heart knew his heart from the first moment words were ever spoken between us. I knew that because of him, I’d never be stuck standing still, posing for a caricature of a life. I was a full-blown Technicolor canvas and with him I was alive.
The ups and downs of the relationship in this book and the way that both Liz and Sawyer handled the hardships really made me want them to work out. I felt like they really deserved each other and I was so happy that they were both stronger than they thought.
The support characters were also ones that made me want to be their friends. Sawyer’s former girlfriend (now the wife of his best friend), Mack made me laugh all the time, but I think her best line in the whole book was this one:
“Get showered, pull out your man-tampon and figure out this head case thing”
How can you read that and not just want to bust a gut -- which is just what Sawyer did when he heard her say it. I love when characters in a book have lasting relationships and show their feelings for more than just one other character. I think Ms Johnson did a wonderful job of creating a whole story and making me desire much more from these people.
I definitely give Still Life 4 out of 5 stars and recommend anyone that is interested in reading a romance with just enough drama one click now!
It was unseasonably warm for late September, with the windows down in my car I enjoyed the dry breeze as I pulled up to the traffic lights. My eyes were drawn to the car next to me. She was enjoying the warm spell too. Her windows were down and she was blaring some unknown music from her stereo. The side of my mouth pulled into a grin as I watched. She didn’t notice me watching at first. She sang freely, her voice strong and beautiful. The song was feminine and the guitars were light. She had long very dark hair pulled into a high ponytail. I was transfixed.
Suddenly, she started and bit her bottom lip. Her once tall posture and confidence waned. Slowly, she glanced over to look at me, chagrin written all over her face. I couldn’t tell, was she blushing? She was embarrassed to have been caught that’s for sure, her solo concert abruptly ended. I gave her a huge smile. She just bit her lip again and looked forward, sinking into her seat. I watched as she fidgeted uncomfortably, waiting for the light to change. She was so pretty. No, not pretty, but plainly beautiful. I suddenly had a crazy urge to call out to her, ask her name when she sped off. The car behind me honked their car horn and I was sharply pushed from my reverie.
I pulled into my apartment complex. I felt dejected. I wanted to see that girl again.
I focused on that memory while I looked down at her in that hospital bed. I tried to stop the bleeding, she’d lost so much blood. She was here now, eyes closed, her silky hair ran through my fingers. This small touch caused shivers to run up my spine. I placed a small kiss on her cool cheek. Resting my forehead against hers, her breathing light and steady, blew against my lips. We’d get through this. We had to, there was no other choice…
Amanda Marie Johnson was born and raised in Valrico, Florida. She’s now surrounded by mountains with her husband and three children in Ogden, Utah. She attended Weber State University and graduated with her A.S.N. She is a full-time registered nurse and works on the mother/newborn unit. Reading and writing have always been something she is passionate about. She loves to write about the human experience, love and happily ever afters. Still Life is her debut novel.
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