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Title: Keeping Secrets
Author: Kitten K. Jackson
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publication date: December 17, 2012
Length: 320 pages
Synopsis:
Due to graphic sexual content, this book is recommended for adult readers only.
Sparks fly when Greg returns to Pensacola to be with Abbie. When she realizes who he is, she must decide whether to take a chance with the now attractive and charming man who raped her years ago, or to trust her instincts...and the police. Has he changed, or is he guilty of a double murder? Abbie's heart says, "Go for it," but her gut says, "Run!"
A tormented man, Greg Parker, is obsessed with a woman he raped 16 years ago, but hasn't seen since then. Over the years, he transforms himself from Johnny Moretti, the skinny geek and rapist, into a very attractive and manipulative man, not even recognizable to himself.
The woman, Abbie Kolbeck, is haunted by the memory of her rapist, someone she trusted. When he contacts her after all those years, she is passionately drawn to him, believing the familiar feeling between them means their union is fate. She has no idea she's falling for her rapist.
After a whirlwind romance, Abbie finds that Greg is being investigated for the murder of his best friend and the friend's girlfriend. And after a not-so-gentle session in bed, she realizes that he's the man she forgave for raping her so long ago.
Abbie desperately wants to believe his denials, but she's torn between her feelings for him, and her desire to protect her daughter and herself from a man the police are telling her is a murderer.
Sparks fly when Greg returns to Pensacola to be with Abbie. When she realizes who he is, she must decide whether to take a chance with the now attractive and charming man who raped her years ago, or to trust her instincts...and the police. Has he changed, or is he guilty of a double murder? Abbie's heart says, "Go for it," but her gut says, "Run!"
A tormented man, Greg Parker, is obsessed with a woman he raped 16 years ago, but hasn't seen since then. Over the years, he transforms himself from Johnny Moretti, the skinny geek and rapist, into a very attractive and manipulative man, not even recognizable to himself.
The woman, Abbie Kolbeck, is haunted by the memory of her rapist, someone she trusted. When he contacts her after all those years, she is passionately drawn to him, believing the familiar feeling between them means their union is fate. She has no idea she's falling for her rapist.
After a whirlwind romance, Abbie finds that Greg is being investigated for the murder of his best friend and the friend's girlfriend. And after a not-so-gentle session in bed, she realizes that he's the man she forgave for raping her so long ago.
Abbie desperately wants to believe his denials, but she's torn between her feelings for him, and her desire to protect her daughter and herself from a man the police are telling her is a murderer.
Buy Your Copy:
Excerpt:
Abbie took out her phone and called Angela.
“Hey, woman. What’s up?”
“Ang, I need to ask you something.”
“Somethin’ wrong?”
“No. I, um…you remember that guy I told you about? The Facebook guy from New York?”
“Yeah. Are you still hearin’ from him?”
“I took him to the airport this morning.”
“What?”
“He came down, and we went out a couple of times. Then he had to leave for a business thing, but he came back. Then he heard that his best friend had been murdered, so he left to go back to New York for the funeral.”
“Murdered?”
“Yeah. He’s pretty torn up.”
“I’m sure. That’s horrible.”
“Well, the thing is, remember I told you he said he met me a couple of years ago?”
“I guess.”
“When I asked him about it, he said that I was out with some girls, and we were at a restaurant, and we were sitting at the bar, and I was seriously impaired.”
“We never sit at the bar.”
“I told him that.”
“And you always drive, so you never get drunk.”
“I told him that, too. He said that maybe we weren’t actually at the bar—that maybe we were sitting at a table close to the bar. Oh, and he mentioned something about margaritas, and when I told him I hadn’t been a margarita girl since college, he said it was a figure of speech, or something like that.”
“Sounds like a crock o’ s**t to me.”
“So you don’t remember meeting him?”
“Well, I don’t know, but what you told me doesn’t add up. You know that.”
“I know. But I really like him, and I don’t want to think that he’s lying to me.”
“Girl, you don’t have to think he’s lyin’ to you. You know he’s lyin’ to you.”
“But everybody lies, right? I mean, I’ve even heard Dr. Phil say that, I think. God knows, I’ve lied. I don’t make a habit of it, but I’ve done it. And so what, if he lied to get me to meet him, right?”
“You’re makin’ excuses for him. How did he even find you on Facebook?”
“He said he remembered my name from meeting me at that restaurant, and searched me on there.”
“Well, you know that’s a lie.”
“If you’re curious, you can see him on my page. His name is Greg Parker.”
“Oh, I saw him in your friends list when you mentioned him that night we went out. I went on there to see what he looked like, and he is pretty cute. But there’s somethin’ about him that looks familiar.”
“Really? I can’t think of anyone he looks like, but he does seem really familiar.”
“His story is very fishy. I don’t buy it for a second. But I do think I’ve seen him before. Doesn’t all this worry you?”
“A little, I guess. That’s why I wanted to ask you about it. I mean, it’s weird. I feel like I know him, ya know? He feels familiar to me, so it makes sense that I would’ve met him before. Know what I mean?”
“I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe you met him before, but you know it’s not the way he said, and that makes me wonder why he lied about it. Have you confronted him on it?”
“No. And since he literally lost his best friend, I don’t think this would be a good time to accuse him of lying to me. I don’t want to do anything to make him feel uncomfortable because he’s such a sweet, caring guy.”
“How do you know he’s a sweet, caring guy? He could be a child molester!”
“Well, he stayed at my house last night, and I got drunk and threw myself at him, and he put me to bed and didn’t screw me because, and I quote, I didn’t want you to do something you might regret. I think that gets him ‘sweet, caring guy’ points, don’t you?”
“Awesome! Way to go, Abs! I’m sure he wants you to be the mother of his children now!”
“No. It’s not like that at all. He says he really cares about me, and that’s why he didn’t want me to do something I might regret. I believe him, Ang, and you would, too, if you knew him.”
“Abbie, you don’t know him!”
“I know, but I feel like I do. And I feel like I have to follow my heart. Aren’t you always saying you have to follow your heart?”
“Yeah, but you shouldn’t follow it off a freakin’ cliff! You know what they say. ‘If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.’”
“First of all, who is ‘they’?”
“Oh, shut up.”
“I know you’re right, and if the tables were turned, and it were you telling me all this, I’d be saying exactly the same things you’re saying. But Ang, he’s so sweet. He’s kind and considerate, he’s sexy, he’s good looking, and he’s got a body that…oh, my God!”
“And don’t forget that he’s a liar, he makes up stories about how he met you, he’s comin’ down here from New York to see someone he doesn’t even know, and coincidentally, his best friend gets murdered at the same time…”
“Angela! Okay, so he lied about meeting me. But now, you think he killed his best friend? Come on!”
“I didn’t say that. I’m just sayin’…it’s weird, ya know?”
“Yeah, I guess it is kinda weird. But you know how co-dependent I am. I’ll find a way to justify it all.”
My Review:
If you are looking for flowers, romance, hearts, and candy believe me this isn't the book for you. This isn't a romance novel and it's not for everyone. Even after just finishing book 1 I had to sit for a whole scratching my head thinking to myself did that seriously just happen??? There are very rarely for me books that I just cannot put down. This was one such book, I head this book until I could no longer see straight trying to figure out what was going to come next through the twists and turns that occur in this book. Think you know what's going to happen? Don't assume that you know because believe me you don't see some of the things in this book coming. Kitten is an excellent author who has a real gift for making every moment in a book jaw dropping and keeps you compelled to keep reading right towards the end.
So now I find myself trying to review this book without giving away too much which is hard for me because I have tendency to give too much away but here goes nothing...
In this book we meet Greg Parker he's calm, cool, and collected and what's that he gets off on raping women? To be more exact role playing which involves him raping women of course it's consensual but most of these women do it repeatedly hoping that Greg will magically fall in love with them but when that doesn't happen they take off and no matter how many times Greg has sex with women he just can't get one woman out of his mind, Abbie Kolbeck. While in a bar drinking his night away Greg confesses his secrets to his best friend Mark sixteen years ago his name was Johnny Moretti and he raped his friend Abbie in college after she hurt his feelings and he was drunk. Hurt and ashamed for what he had done, Johnny went to his stepmother demanded money and took off without ever looking back. Now known as Greg Parker he is not the same geek and average looking guy he was in college he's tall and he's strikingly good looking, he says that he's now a changed man and found Abbie on Facebook and made friends with her and wants to go down to Florida to see her. Of course Mark doesn't like the idea of Greg going to see her especially if Abbie finds out who raped her.
Abbie suspect who raped her all those years ago, but she never reported it to the police. Abbie has done surprisingly well for herself, one would think that the rape would have broken her but Abbie pulled through and is a strong independent woman. Abbie has plenty of her own problems even before Greg enters the picture having a psycho ex-boyfriend named Tim who stalks Abbie on a daily basis trying to get back at her even going as far as to steal her panties out of her drawer. When Greg contacts Abbie on Facebook she can't believe her luck that such a handsome man made friends with her and even sent her a message that says he would love to connect with her again, problem is Abbie doesn't remember ever meeting Greg.
Greg comes down to Florida to see Abbie and even against her better judgement she begins seeing Greg and their relationship is going so well he's so sweet and loving and kind and you do really start to believe that he is a changed man from the one he was all those years ago. But looks can be deceiving... When finally Abbie and Greg have sex, Abbie discovers that the man she has been seeing is the one and only guy that raped her in college her friend Johnny, couple that with Greg's best friend Mark and his girlfriend Vickie's murders and Abbie begins to question everything as show knows about Greg and starts to question her sanity. And who is Taylor and her role in all of this? You'll just have to read to find out. It was amazing and I am STILL thinking about this story, 5 AMAZING STARS!!!
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Title: Keeping Secrets II: No More Skeletons
Author: Kitten K. Jackson
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publication date: May 8, 2013
Synopsis:
Due to graphic sexual content, this book is recommended for adult readers only.
“Abbie, I’ll never stop loving you. And I’ll never let you go. You know that, don’t you?”
When he said it, he meant it. That’s right—Greg is back. Abbie hopes her promise not to tell the police about the murders, as long as Greg stays away, will keep her and her family safe. But not even his fear of going to prison for murder could keep Greg away from Abbie. This time, however, it’s not just Abbie that he wants. He’s determined to make sure Taylor knows their secret.
After a visit with Ellen, who allowed him to be brutalized as a child, Greg comes undone. His obsession drives him to abduct Abbie and Taylor, taking them on a five-state crime spree, desperate to flee from multiple law enforcement agencies.
As Abbie struggles with her convictions, her emotions, and her overwhelming need to protect Taylor, the body count rises.
What will Abbie do when the opportunity to escape presents itself? And what will Greg do when faced with the choice of saving Abbie’s life, or his own?
When it’s all said and done, the secrets will be exposed, and there will be no more skeletons in their closets!
“Abbie, I’ll never stop loving you. And I’ll never let you go. You know that, don’t you?”
When he said it, he meant it. That’s right—Greg is back. Abbie hopes her promise not to tell the police about the murders, as long as Greg stays away, will keep her and her family safe. But not even his fear of going to prison for murder could keep Greg away from Abbie. This time, however, it’s not just Abbie that he wants. He’s determined to make sure Taylor knows their secret.
After a visit with Ellen, who allowed him to be brutalized as a child, Greg comes undone. His obsession drives him to abduct Abbie and Taylor, taking them on a five-state crime spree, desperate to flee from multiple law enforcement agencies.
As Abbie struggles with her convictions, her emotions, and her overwhelming need to protect Taylor, the body count rises.
What will Abbie do when the opportunity to escape presents itself? And what will Greg do when faced with the choice of saving Abbie’s life, or his own?
When it’s all said and done, the secrets will be exposed, and there will be no more skeletons in their closets!
Buy Your Copy:
Excerpt:
“Please don’t make me go back!”
“You have to, babe,” Greg said.
“Dad, I’m never gonna see you again, am I?”
“Baby, I don’t know. I sure hope so. I’m so glad we got to spend some time together, and—”
“This is not fair!” Taylor screamed, tears pouring.
“Baby, life is not fair. Nothing is fair,” Greg said.
Taylor sobbed, leaning into Abbie’s shoulder, her young heart breaking at the thought of never seeing either of her newly-found parents again. She tried, every few seconds, to suck air in through her nose, making a gurgling sound, as the mucus was sucked in with the air. Abbie looked around and found a sock in a bag, and told Taylor to blow her nose on it. Taylor blew, but didn’t stop crying.
Abbie searched for words to comfort Taylor, but none would come. Abbie felt her own pain, but that was nothing, compared to the pain she felt for Taylor. Her eyes, throat, and chest ached as she tried to hold back the sobs that were trying desperately to escape. She wished she could take Taylor’s and Greg’s pain all on herself, but she had more than she could handle already.
Taylor’ll never make it through this if I fall apart. God, please help me hold myself together until we get our baby to safety.
Greg looked at them in the rear view mirror. His eye lids stung as tears came forth, but he wiped them away before they showed. He couldn’t understand how he could feel so much for a girl he had only met a short time ago. He hoped his eyes and his hair were the only things she inherited from him.
“Greg, I’m not gonna leave her somewhere in the middle of the night.”
“It’s safer this way. In the morning, people will be more likely to recognize us.”
“My own family wouldn’t recognize me right now!”
“I need to get some razors, and shave my head. I’m sure that chick at the convenience store back there has told them about my yellow hair, so I need to lose it.”
“Maybe you should lose the piercings, too,” Abbie said.
“I’m all for that!”
“Maybe you should take yours out, too, Taylor,” Abbie said.
“No,” she said, pulling away from Abbie, trying to regain her composure. She wiped her eyes and nose on the sock, still sucking in and swallowing large wads of mucus.
Abbie took the studs and loops out of the new holes in her own face. She unbuckled her seatbelt, reached up front, and grabbed her purse. She buckled up again, took a tissue out, and tried to rub the black and purple makeup off her eyes. The color didn’t budge, so she took out some hand lotion, and put it around her eyes. She rubbed off the lotion, and the makeup came off with it. She removed the rubber bands, and whined as they ripped out strands of hair.
“Oh, man, my scalp is sore!” She looked up at Greg. “Do you want me to take your earrings out, Greg?”
“Do you think you can?”
“Yeah. Well, I can get most of ‘em. Not sure about the nose, but I’ll try.”
Abbie reached around the seat, and removed the loops from Greg’s ears. One by one, she removed the loops and studs from his face as he continued to drive.
“F**k!” he yelled as Abbie tugged at the ring in his nose.
Abbie and Taylor giggled. “Sorry. Ya want me to stop?”
“Yeah. I’ll get that one. D**n, that’s sore!”
“Crybaby,” Taylor teased.
Greg looked at her in the mirror and winked. He wondered how many more times he would get to look at Abbie’s and Taylor’s beautiful faces. A feeling of foreboding was getting stronger as the miles crawled under the Jeep.
By the time the sun began to creep out from behind the trees, becoming visible to Greg in the rear view mirror, they were somewhere between Brookhaven and Meadville, Mississippi. Abbie and Taylor were asleep in the back seat, Taylor leaning against the window, and Abbie leaning on Taylor.
“Hey, girls. Wake up.”
“What’s wrong?” Taylor asked.
“Chill out. It’s okay,” Greg said.
“Where are we?” Abbie asked.
“Mississippi. Not sure exactly where.”
Greg pulled in to a convenience store with gas pumps, and looked around. He only saw one car, which he figured belonged to the clerk. Abbie and Taylor sat in the back seat, silently looking around. The tension was palpable.
My Review:
***WARNING - If you have not read the first book you need to go back and read it. This isn't one of those series where you can read the second book without the first. In order to understand the story you need to go back and read it.***
HE'S BACK!!! Abbie told Greg to leave and to not come near her, their daughter, or her mother or she would tell the police about the murders. But Greg still loves Abbie so he cannot stay away for long. He returns and with him comes all his baggage from his past. Abbie thinks she is being followed, little does she know she's right but it's not Tim that's following her it's Greg. Greg left and went home to New York but has since returned to fight for Abbie. The bodies begin to pile up one right after the next, and before long Abbie finds herself at her sister's house staring into the faces of her sister and her husband tapped together and Taylor is missing. She goes to her mothers house and finds her mother and daughter taped up and Greg is standing there with a gun pointed at her. He tells her that Taylor and Abbie are leaving with him or he will kill her mother, and so now Abbie and Taylor are kidnapped by Greg.
Greg is smart I will give him that, he's not sloppy and every single thing he does and thinks is well thought out and planned. He changes his name again, sells his car, and rents a house taking Abbie and Taylor hostage. But as the day progresses and Taylor finds out not only what happened to Greg in his past but also that Abbie and Greg are her parents she begins to soften towards Greg and eventually so does Abbie. But when you are with a man that not only raped you but the bodies continue to stack up how much can you take before it's one body too many. Greg for me was a very confusing character one minute he's a coldhearted killer with only the need to survive and protect the loves of his life and the next he's the sweetest man ever. I didn't know whether to love or hate him but as you see more of the turmoil of what Greg endured in past because of his step-dad it begins to change the way you think of Greg and Abbie was confused as ever, she wanted to hate him but she loved him at the same time. That's all I will say, you HAVE to read this book I read it in one day is was such a great ride and just kept getting better and better. I give this book 5 stars and cannot wait for the third book!
About the Author:
Why the middle initial? Well, with a name like “Kitten,” I was hoping the middle initial would give it a more serious, “grown-up” sound. And no, I was never a stripper, contrary to what the name might convey! LOL! My dad started calling me Kitten when I was only days old, so there was no pole dancer connotation intended there!
I wrote both Keeping Secrets and Keeping Secrets II in 2012. I then went back and edited and published the first book in December, ‘12. Then I edited and published the sequel on Smashwords on May 5th and on Amazon on May 8th of this year.
I’m from Muscle Shoals, Alabama (Roll Tide!). I’m in Wilmington, North Carolina now, homesick for my daughter, the rest of my family, and sweet home Alabama. For those of you who don’t know, Muscle Shoals was “The Hit Recording Capital of the World” back in the late 60s, through the 70s. Everyone from The Rolling Stones to Aretha Franklin, and lots in between came to that tiny town on the Tennessee River to record hits such as Wild Horses, Brown Sugar, Mustang Sally, When a Man Loves a Woman, and many more. And I went to school with the sons (great guys) of the man who started it all at FAME Recording Studios—Rick Hall.
My best friend is my little black and tan doxie, Peej. “Peej?” you might ask. Peej is short for PJ. PJ is short for Precious Jackson. Peej was my dad’s baby. When he died in 2009, she became mine. When I would tell people her name was PJ, they would say, “He’s so cute.” So I started calling her Peej, which just confuses everyone, but it’s okay. It fits her.
Connect With Author:
Hey, Rose!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your awesome KEEPING SECRETS page! :) And thank you for all your work on the great reviews of both books, Keeping Secrets I & II! I'm so glad you liked them, and I look forward to getting the next book to you! You're such a sweetheart!
Hugs,
Kitten
It was a real pleasure! Thank you so allowing me to read your work it's because of authors like you that I work so hard! :) I also look forward to the next book I know it will be even better than the first two!
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