EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
The Art of Hero Worship
by Mia Kerick
The Art of Hero Worship by Mia Kerick is currently on tour with YA Bound Book Tours. The tour stops here today for an excerpt and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
For more books by this author, please check out my blog post on The Weekend Bucket List, my blog post on My Crunchy Life, and my blog post on Love Spell.
Description
Saving the one who once saved me.
College junior Liam Norcross is a hero. He willingly, even eagerly, risks his life to save a stranger as a murderous, deranged shooter moves methodically through the darkened theater on the Batcheldor College campus, randomly killing innocent men, women, and children.
The stranger he saves is college freshman Jason Tripp. Jase loses everything in the shooting: his girlfriend, who dies on the floor beside him, and his grip on emotional security. He struggles to regain a sense of safety in the world, finally leaving college to seek refuge in his hometown.
An inexplicable bond forms between the two men in the chaos and horror of the theater, and Liam fights to bring Jase back to the world he ran away from. When Jase returns to school, they’re drawn together as soulmates, and soon Liam and Jase fall into a turbulent romantic relationship. However, the rocky path to love cannot be smoothed until Jase rescues his hero in return by delving into his shady past and solving the mystery of Liam’s compulsion to be everybody’s savior.
Excerpt
I have no doubt who’s on the phone when he allows his trademark sigh. “I’m, uh...just calling to...to...”
“To check in on me?”
“Well, yeah. I guess...something like that.”
“I’m still alive and kicking. And no crazed gunman has taken me out since we last saw each other.” I hope he can hear the smile in my voice, even if it’s fake.
“Well, that’s a step in the right direction.” I’m pretty sure he doesn’t buy my happy-go-lucky tone.
“I want to see you, Jase. And I’m going to Massachusetts on Friday, for a weekend on Cape Cod. I want you to come with me.”
Liam Norcross is the most direct reminder of the worst two nights of my life. “I...I’ve got to work.” It’s not easy to lie to him.
Silence.
“And I don’t think my mom is ready for me to go anywhere yet.”
“’Kay.”
“Plus, I...I don’t think I’d be too much fun to hang out with. I’m not exactly a barrel of laughs these days.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
I want to see him. I need to. I wish he’d plead with me, or insist that I go with him. Order me to do it, the way he did when he forced me to stay safe on the nights we were in so much danger.
“I need to see you, Jase. This...this visit is really more about me than you.” Again, he sighs, and it sounds more pained than I remember. “Will you come with me? Please.”
“When will you pick me up?” All I can see in my mind’s eye are Liam’s arms. So strong and protective and everything I needed...everything I need. For months, all I could see when I closed my eyes was Dom. And now I see Liam.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“… even though this was my first MM I didn't feel out of my comfort zone at all, it was so beautifully written, I might even go so far as to say that I'd read something else of this authors. Its emotionally raw, dark, gritty, and a book that will stay with me for a very long time.” ~ KAT, Kitty Kats Crazy About Books
“This is an emotional read and both characters have a lot to overcome. They need each other more than they realise.” ~ D.M.
“The writing made it easy to love the characters. Liam was the strongest one, always being there for Jason and others, while Jason purely adored the ground Liam walked on. […] Both characters take a journey in self-discovery and I simply loved how their story turned out. If you are a fan of the genre, then you will love this one. Do not miss it.” ~ Lina’s Reviews
“Mia Kerick is the Mistress of writing damaged characters who are faced with very real and very heartbreaking challenges. This book tackles the increasingly common occurrence of mass shootings in places we once thought we were safe and puts Jason, a young man paralyzed with fear, in the hands of one who has a bone-deep need to save.” ~ Jessie G.
“This is an excellent book that drew me in and didn't let up until the last page. Jason and Liam have a untraditional story where two straight men fall in love, it is also unique because they meet during chaos and tragedy while at a theater and a mass shooting takes place. […] I recommend this book highly and all of Mia Kerick's work - her books will take you beyond the typical m/m romance and broaden your understanding and appreciation for the concept of ‘love is love’.” ~ Jaime
About the Author
Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children - a daughter in law school, another a professional dancer, a third studying at Mia’s alma mater, Boston College, and her lone son off to Syracuse. She writes LGBTQ romance when not editing National Honor Society essays, offering opinions on college and law school applications, helping to create dance bios, and reviewing English papers. Her husband of twenty-four years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about this, as it is a sensitive subject.
Mia focuses her stories on emotional growth in turbulent relationships. As she has a great affinity for the tortured hero, there is, at minimum, one in each book. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with tales of said tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to her wonderful publishers for providing alternate places to stash her stories.
Her books have won a Best YA Lesbian Rainbow Award, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, an Indie Fab Award, and a Royal Dragonfly First Place Award for Cultural Diversity, a Story Monsters Purple Dragonfly First Place Award for YA Fiction, among others.
Mia is a Progressive, a little bit too obsessed by politics, and cheers for each and every victory in the name of human rights. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card.
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