Hi Brats :)

It's time for another Book Blitz & I'm excited that it's Drowning in You by Rebecca Berto :)

   About Drowning In You   Secretly crushing

Crushed by a tragedy
Charlee May’s been crushing on Dexter Hollingworth since she was fifteen. Five years later, a horrific skiing disaster at Mason’s Ski Lift Resort leaves her millionaire dad critically injured and her mom dead at the hands of Dexter operating the lifts. Charlee is suddenly the sole caretaker for her little brother while their world falls apart.

Dexter couldn’t be more different from Charlee. He’s tattooed, avoids exclusive relationships and his Dad has a fair share of illegal dealings. With Dexter’s reputation, almost everyone believes he planned the Mason’s skiing disaster.

And after all these years he’s still crushing on Charlee May, the girl who’s too good for him.

When this cruel twist of fate ties Charlee’s family and Dexter’s reputation together, Charlee and Dexter wonder if their feelings are reciprocated, while Dexter discovers his dad is trying to steal the May’s millionaire fortune.

But like an addiction, one look, one touch, one taste—they’re hooked no matter the consequences.  Charlee May is still grieving the death of her mother, who died in a fatal skiing accident, while her father fights to stay alive in the hospital. She has gone from a young care free woman to having to be the strong one, essentially becoming a mother to her younger brother.  Dexter Hollingsworth has become a social outcast since his friends and members of the community have shunned him, holding him responsible for the accident that took the life of Charlee's mom and critically injured her dad. He feels worthless and lost, blaming himself for what tore Charlees' happy family apart.  But to these two young people, that doesn't seem to be the worst part - to them the worst is the fact that they are so hopelessly in love and have been for almost 5 years. Charlee can't bring her self to get over the boy who "murdered her parents" and Dexter won't allow himself to love Charlee for the same reason. What they don't know is that there is a lot more to the events surrounding the ski accident and together discover the truth.  "I'm the worst kind of bad for you, Charz."
"Maybe I like bad, Dex." "Please me make unlove her because I can't love her with everything going on, and not being with her is hurting us both. And I wouldn't want her to get involved with a guy like me because Charz deserves to be treated like she's the only girl on the planet. " - Dexter


"But I hate the way I love him." - Charlee
"Before Dex, I didn't know the feeling of "intense". - Charlee "My Charz is drowning in hurt, and no amount of swimming records or money will save her. And I'll do anything to stop her from hurting. Maybe that's what I'm doing, trying to save her from drowning in her misplaced guilt and feelings." - Dexter
You spend a great deal of the book inside the heads of the characters, which works quite well with alternating points of view. Rebecca created a continuous flow of tension and one moment you're thinking "Oh my God," while the next you're thinking "JUST KISS HER ALREADY!". It was incredibly well written, with a well developed story line. Rebecca spent a great deal of time 'developing' her characters and did a fantastic job of portraying who they are throughout the book. I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to see what else Rebecca gives us :)
4 Stars **Highly Recommended**  (I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 because I was hoping for a little more sexy ;) Purchase: Amazon paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Drowning-You-Re...
Amazon Kindle:http://www.amazon.com/Drowning-in-You-ebook/dp/B00C83XWN4/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/302783
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Drowning-in-You/book-M3hQgv8Al0mA7rZ-wyjJPg/page1.html   Excerpt... Dexter Mom’s still working at the hospital so my only choice is to walk. Twenty seconds into my escape, the first raindrop splatters on my eyelid. I shake it off and tip my head to the sky. Bloated, gray clouds hog the space above. I can’t remember it being blue in so long. This Melbourne winter isn’t much better than when I was a kid in Chicago. But we don’t even get snow here. It’s just freezing. Freezing. The word escapes and I feel it. My bones are rattling. Looking down, I remember I put on my holey jeans and my black shirt with the rolled sleeves at my elbows. If I could do over my pitiful walk out of Dad’s and my argument, I would have grabbed my hoodie. And that’s when everything gets fucked up. I give myself a handshake, tap my cheeks. Nope, I’m hot still. Not cold at all. Which means…I don’t want it to be true but— I’m holding my fingers in front of my face. I stop at the corner of our street, a car vrooming past, another coming up, but I don’t hear them because it’s become quiet in my world. I feel my fingers trembling before I see them quiver and blur as my vision falters. This is karma, I bet. I’m having a hypo attack ‘cause I’m diabetic, by which I’m essentially…what’s the word… What am I…? My mind is looping already. It’s bad, I know. I was so wrung up arguing with Dad I didn’t notice it, but now I do. Trembling when his face came near had nothing to do with being scared. I need sugar quick, like I do with every hypo. I pat my pockets down but I only feel my leg through the material, because, of course, I hate carrying my candy on me in case someone sees and asks what it is for. Fuck my diabetes. I’m my own worst enemy. My body can’t even sustain itself. My blood sugar level is dropping, and it’s making my steps wobbly. One of the cars approaching slows. Noises come from chatter inside. I refuse to look and give those shitheads the time of day since I know exactly what they’re looking for. But when I hear a snicker I start. I swear I know that voice. If I had to guess, I’d say it belongs to Robby. I haven’t seen him since before the Mason’s ski accident mess when he used to talk and hang with me in the group. Lucky I decide to turn after all because an egg, followed by another, tumbles in the air in a direct line for me. I duck and they sail just over my hairline. When another car slows, I’m ready to fucking lose it, even if it only backs up my new reputation as a killer. But my words are stumbling, smooshed, and not coming out of my mouth right thanks to my severely depleted blood-sugar level and the fact that my body’s in survival mode. Then out of the window pops Darcy May’s head. I know that kid. He’s Charlee’s little bro. Just my luck. That her mom was the only one to die at Mason’s. I’ve been wanting to kiss this girl since before I got my first tattoo, or my eyebrow ring. Before seeing her at the opposite end of the occasional party. All things considered, a rich, beautiful, kind-looking girl like Charlee would never bring home a guy like me. I’ve never spoken to her the way I want to. Why take the risk of getting rejected by the only girl I’ve ever really wanted? And even if she did want me, would she see me or me as the person as what I’ve done to her parents? I know Charlee’s read the papers; she couldn’t have missed it. Dexter Hollingworth was on shift as a lift operator when the overhead wires snapped on one of the lifts at Mason’s Ski Resort. No charges have been laid. Charlee’s Audi hatchback stops beside me. Darcy pops his head back in and chucks a thumb at me then turns to whisper something to Charlee. I take these rare moments when I still see her around to imagine her letting her blonde hair down and shaking it out across her face. About getting a hand into that hair and holding her to my chest with the other. I want to know what she smells like. It’s as close as I deserve to get. Seriously.... What would a Book Blitz be without a Guest Post? Rebecca Berto took some time to talk to TheSecretBookBrat.... :)     Best New Adult fiction  It’s a given. I guestimate that New Adult novels take up over 50% of my reading and being the New Adult junkie I am, I wrote a little book called Drowning in You. I remember what made me write it: Beautiful Disaster and Easy. New Adult has a special place with me. When I wrote the first draft of Drowning in You, I was 21. I’m now 22 and these characters in these sorts of books are around my age and though I’m more of a mature, old woman inside than some part-animal freak, they’re going through a similar stage of life as I was at that stage: discovering love, life, careers—what is my purpose?  So, I wanted to share my favorite New Adult literature. Some are wildly popular, selling 500,000+ copies and some are lesser known, but after reading them, all deeply touched me. All 5+ stars in my eyes.  And, no. I won’t do a ten to one countdown because I can’t order my favorites. Sheesh!  Here are my equal favs:  Beautiful Disaster, Jamie McGuire This book was loved or hated because of Travis’ bad ways and Abby’s acceptance of him. For me, when I still have a book hangover nine months after reading said book, I know it’s a special one. I loved Travis as per so many others in the female population.  Easy, Tammara Webber One of the first ever New Adult books I read, and what an introduction to the genre! Lucas is one of my top book boyfriends, and I so adore the mixture of not only sexual chemistry between Lucas and Jacqueline, but also the emotional punch this story delivers and the serious message behind it all.   [Anything by Colleen Hoover], Colleen Hoover Need I explain myself? All three of Colleen’s novels—Slammed, Point of Retreat and Hopeless—are standouts in fiction. I find myself saying “butterflying” and “I live you” in my life when non-book-junkies think I’m simply crazy. Colleen has wormed in her way as part of my life.   The Edge of Never, J.A. Redmerski Part of the wonder of this book is the slow, creeping-up-on-you romance. It changes from contemporary to romance to almost erotic to break-your-heart and by the end, author Jessica had drained all my emotions. I was so connected to Andrew and Cam’s story.   Ten Tiny Breaths, K.A. Tucker What a creeper! I put off this book for no reason for almost half a year. God, I wasted so much time! *sulks* Author Kathleen has a way of writing some serious punch across many platforms. I laughed (even snorted), cried, and had to turn on my fan for many of hot, hot scenes.   (Thompson Sisters series), Charles Sheehan-Miles This man can write like a woman. Better than most women! It’s strange, in retrospect, that I realized two of the strongest female characters I’ve ever read are written by a male author in both his books in the series, Just Remember to Breathe and A Song for Julia. Lovee.             The Sea of Tranquility, Katja Millay Blew me away. I couldn’t think straight for days? Weeks? I pre-ordered the paperback, like, 130 days before publication. Josh and Nastya are two of my favorite characters both separately and together. TSoT made me ugly cry and after much torture, awwww.   The Enchanted Orchards, Kristin Maddock I found this little book on a random Amazon search for a romantic literary novel. Like I do with Hopeless, I can’t help but rant and suggest (force) my bookish friends read this. It’s told in a direct style and a poetic voice that had me in love with it from the prologue.   (The Dark Duet series), C.J. Roberts What a cruel human being. I am disgusted in myself since becoming a C.J. Roberts fan. I love Caleb, the torturer. I like the hot, erotic scenes with him and the beautiful, Olivia. I love everything, which hurts a damn lot considering C.J. loves to torture her readers. Gawd! Just wow.  Charade, Nyrae Dawn Did NOT expect to cry and fall in love with this book in any way as significantly as I did. Chey and Colt turn out to be such an amazing couple from what started out as lies. It turns from fun, to heart-breaking and romantic and definitely gave me a similar OMG-I-adore feeling as The Edge of Never did. ***  If I may be so bold, I’d recommend Drowning in You for fans of Hopeless and Charade, as it gave me a similar feeling when I wrote it. :) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  GIVEAWAYS Grand prize giveaway Here is the Rafflecopter code for the blitz grand prize giveaway if you wish to share it on your post (by copy/pasting the embed code in your posts' HTML) It's open internationally for 5 chances to win an ebook copy.   <a id="rc-d04251127" class="rafl" href="http://www.thesecretbookbrat.com/2013...http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d04251127/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a> <script src="http://www.thesecretbookbrat.com//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script> _________ AUTHOR BIO Rebecca Berto is the author or the dark contemporary/literary novella, PRECISE and the upcoming new adult contemporary romance novel, DROWNING IN YOU. She is also a freelance editor.

She writes stories that are a bit sexy, and straddle the line between Literary and Tear Your Heart Out. She gets a thrill when her readers are emotional reading her stories, and gets even more of a kick when they tell her so. She’s strangely imaginative, spends too much time on her computer, and is certifiably crazy when she works on her fiction.

Rebecca Berto lives in Melbourne, Australia with her boyfriend and their doggy.   Author Links: Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter