The Harper Effect by Taryn Bashford (Excerpt & #Giveaway)

Wednesday, May 16, 2018 - Leave a Comment

Welcome to my tour stop! The author is sharing a sizzling scene from
her book that you can read, and there's a giveaway below as well...

The Harper Effect

By Taryn Bashford
YA Contemporary
Hardcover & ebook, 336 Pages
May 15th 2018 by Sky Pony Press

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Harper was once a rising star on the tennis court--until her coach dropped her for being "mentally weak." Without tennis, who is she? Her confidence at an all-time low, she secretly turns to her childhood friend, next-door neighbor Jacob--who also happens to be her sister's very recent ex-boyfriend. If her sister finds out, it will mean a family war.

But when Harper is taken on by a new coach who wants her to train with Colt, a cold, defensive, brooding young tennis phenom, she hits the court all the harder, if only to prove Colt wrong. But as the two learn to become a team, Harper gets glimpses of the vulnerable boy beneath the surface, the boy who was deeply scarred by his family's dark and scandalous past. The boy she could easily find herself falling for.

As she walks a fine line between Colt's secrets, her forbidden love, and a game that demands nothing but the best, Harper must decide between her past and her future and between two boys who send her head spinning. Is the cost of winning the game worth losing everything?

A sizzling tennis romance perfect for the summer months, The Harper Effect, will be a grand slam for fans of Kasie West, Miranda Kinneally and Simone Ekeles.

(Affiliate links included - I receive a small kickback if you make a purchase using my links.)

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Excerpt

Thank you for having me 😉 I chose this extract because I figured we needed a bit of sizzling romance on a site called Wishful Endings 😊 The question is, who is Harper kissing? Jacob or Colt?

I wobble on the branch. He cups my hips and I know he’s going to kiss me. The notion makes everything inside twist and spark. To have this jammed-shut man-boy being so intimate, so gentle – wanting to kiss me . . . The other times felt like sudden emotionally charged reflex reactions to the situation, but this time, the way he’s touching me –

But he doesn’t kiss me.

His nose almost brushing mine, his breath is on my open mouth, on my tongue. I sip in air, hold on to his ribcage to steady myself; his body hums beneath my palms. He bends to kiss my shoulder, making my limbs go pulpy, then pushes aside the thin strap of the tank top to kiss beneath. The sensation rocks me. I grasp his waist. He presses against me, nibbles the hollow of my neck, and all I can think is that if he ever gets to my lips I’m going to faint.

When our eyes next meet, they ransack each other. I tilt my face, giving the all-clear. He kisses the corners of my mouth, nudges my nose, his body heavy against my knees. I open my legs, pull his hips to me. His breath hitches. Hands sweep up my back, lips brushing mine, nipping my bottom lip until I want to scream, Kiss me. When he does, his tongue slipping between my teeth, I wilt into him, in the clutches of the most powerful warm bath effect.

He stops again, skims me with blazing eyes, checking in.

In reply I squeeze both legs around him. There’s a grumble in his throat and he gives me his open mouth, more urgent now, pressing into me, limitless shoulders hunched, a fortress around me.

Time takes an extremely long changeover break. As the minutes crumble away there’s a wisp of possibility he won’t abruptly stop and apologise and run away. He lifts me off the branch, my legs clamped around his waist, and leans against the trunk to settle us on the ground beneath the tree. He fists my hair, drawing my mouth to his.

He’s kissing me, slow but urgent. He’s not rushing. He’s not going anywhere.

About the Author

Taryn lives the typical writer’s life alongside supportive husband, teen children, and characters from her latest book insisting they help make dinner. This can be disconcerting as Jacob is always sticking his fingers in the cheese sauce and Harper can’t cook.

Taryn’s been an English Literature Honours student, an advertising sales rep and a CEO of an internet company, but writing is her first love. The Harper Effect is her debut novel.

Website│Twitter│Facebook│Goodreads│Instagram

Tour Schedule

Week One:

5/7/2018- Sophie Reads YA- Review

5/7/2018- YA Books Central- Interview

5/8/2018- To Be Read- Review

5/8/2018- Margie's Must Reads- Guest Post

5/9/2018- Portrait of a Book- Review

5/9/2018- Book Sniffers Anonymous- Excerpt

5/10/2018- Bri's Book Nook- Review

5/10/2018- Twirling Book Princess- Excerpt

5/11/2018- Firstbooklove- Review