Breaking Lauren Tour Stop

Today I am so excited to be able to feature an excerpt from Breaking Lauren as well as a giveaway! This is part of the blog tour brought to you by AToMR Blog Tours. To see all of the other stops on this tour click here.  First here's a little bit about the book:

Seventeen-year-old Danny Cummings' life is far from a fairytale, but that's okay since he doesn't believe in happy endings. After spending a year in juvenile hall for maliciously beating his sister's boyfriend, Danny embraces his badass image. Spending most nights drinking, fighting and collecting gambling debts for his Uncle, Danny's life is out of control. His addiction to the bad boy lifestyle won't let him do anything about it, even with his family begging him to go straight. But, when fifteen-year-old Lauren McIntosh stumbles into one of his nightly escapades, the self-proclaimed anti-romantic can't concentrate on anything except Lauren and the fact that she's on the same path his sister was on. Danny knows true love happening for the villain is as common as gamblers paying their debt on time, but he's never backed away from a challenge before and he hates the idea that history will repeat itself.

Growing old with the man she loves—in the small town where she was born—is the only dream Lauren McIntosh has ever had; that is until her family is practically run out of town amidst rumors of arson and adultery. So, when she meets Danny at her new school and hears the rumors about his activities from her new friends, she wants nothing to do with him or the gossip that seems to follow Danny everywhere. After a dangerous and ill-fated attempt at sneaking out, she develops unwelcomed feelings for Danny that he seems to reciprocate. But, Danny’s unrelenting pursuit makes Lauren nervous, especially since he's the only one that wants to know the secrets surrounding her family’s move. Lauren can't tell if Danny's intentions are true or if he has other plans for their newfound and unlikely friendship. The only way to figure out is to let him in and that could destroy everything, including the popularity and social acceptance she desperately seeks.

Danny:
Lauren is standing in the doorway of Jess’ bathroom. The clown make-up is completely gone and her hair’s pulled back into a high ponytail. She looks like fresh apple pie on a summer’s day. Her slightly pink cheeks accentuate her porcelain skin and her green eyes look like two precious emeralds in the dim light. She lets out a deep breath when I hold up the movies. “I’m not sure how long it’ll take for Ali to feel better; she just threw up again. Jeremy’s not back with the car yet, either. Do you want to watch a movie?” I try to keep my tone even, not anxious like I feel.

“Oh. Yeah, that’s cool.” She starts tugging at the end of her ponytail, twirling her raven hair up and over her index finger. Over and over and over—it’s hypnotizing and perfect, and a clear indicator I didn’t drink enough today because I actually feel something that’s eerily familiar, but has been absent for so long.

“You look like you’re feeling better.” I want to tell her she looks
beautiful because she does. But I don’t.

As part of the tour Jordan Deen is offering up two print copies of Breaking Lauren as well as some swag.  This is open to US only, just fill out the rafflecopter below to enter!
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Jordan's Website / Twitter / Facebook

I grew up in a small town 45 minutes outside of East St. Louis, Illinois. I discovered my talent for telling tall tales at the age of seven when my family home burnt down. Of course losing my family home wasn't exciting enough! So, aliens did it. The dogs wanted revenge against the cats because they could be inside... you get the idea.

At twelve, my family relocated to California and I've continued to concentrate on my love of all things reading, writing and story-telling.

My reading taste hovers towards the YA audience as there is just something authentic and magical about first loves and building friendships that will last a lifetime (or not).

Even though 'The Crescent' is a YA Urban Fantasy, I tend to write a bit of everything. I have a few edgy YA novels in process, a book about witches, a Sci-Fi novel and several others that I'm not sure where they are going yet. Again, I write what I feel, when I'm feeling it.

Writing is like the air I breathe, I'd die without it.