{"id":20406,"date":"2018-02-06T09:30:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T15:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/?p=20406"},"modified":"2018-02-04T20:37:01","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T02:37:01","slug":"newcover-darker-water-by-lauren-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/?p=20406","title":{"rendered":"#NewCover – Darker Water by Lauren Stewart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Title:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Darker Water<\/strong><\/p>\n

Series:\u00a0\u00a0 Once and Forever #1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: Lauren Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Contemporary Romance\/New Adult<\/strong><\/p>\n

Release Date: Oct 3, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Word Count: 94,000<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After another painful breakup, Laney finally understands that love is a fairytale and sex rarely comes with a happy ending. She\u2019s too busy for it right now anyway\u2014she has a business to run, art to create, and candy to crush. Eventually she\u2019ll be ready to switch from a plastic-or-silicon lover to a flesh-and-blood one. But before that happens, she needs to be sure she won\u2019t feel any of those annoying emotions that make her heart do things it wasn\u2019t meant to do…<\/p>\n

Like break<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson is completely upfront about what he wants, and it has nothing to do with Laney\u2019s heart. Her lips? Hell yeah. Other parts of her body? You better f*cking believe it. But her heart? Nope, not even a little. Until it does<\/em>\u2026a lot. But having feelings for someone isn\u2019t allowed. It\u2019s the kind of thing you\u2019re supposed to push down deep and cover up with one-night stands, sarcasm, and booze…<\/p>\n

\u00a0Like secrets<\/em><\/p>\n

Two people want the same thing\u2014a commitment to nothing more than great sex in a bunch of different positions. Simple. Enjoyable. A win-win. Problem is, those two people have families and fears and pain that spill into every moment of their lives, control what they do and who they are. And if either Carson or Laney can\u2019t free themselves from the past, they\u2019ll both be pulled under by it.<\/p>\n

*** Darker Water is a stand-alone contemporary romance that does not end in a cliffhanger.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Email: ReadLaurenS@gmail.com<\/p>\n

Website: www.ReadLaurenS.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FB Author Page: www.facebook.com\/LaurenStewartAuthor<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter: @ReadLaurenS<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Amazon: http:\/\/amzn.com\/B00N1X6ZDE<\/a><\/p>\n

iBooks: https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/book\/darker-water\/id914060185?mt=11<\/a><\/p>\n

B&N: http:\/\/bit.ly\/1qFaGU9<\/a><\/p>\n

Kobo: http:\/\/bit.ly\/YQEUrj<\/a><\/p>\n

Google Play: https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Lauren_Stewart_Darker_Water?id=ZNTxBwAAQBAJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

Goodreads<\/a><\/p>\n

Lauren Stewart\u2019s other work<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Virtually Impossible <\/em>(Once and Forever #2)<\/p>\n

Deeper Water <\/em>(Once and Forever #3)<\/p>\n

Unseen <\/em>(The Heights Vol. 1)<\/p>\n

Unearthed (The Heights Vol 2)<\/p>\n

Hyde, an Urban Fantasy<\/em> (Hyde, Book I)<\/p>\n

Jekyll<\/em> (Hyde, Book II)<\/p>\n

Strange Case<\/em> (Hyde, Book III)<\/p>\n

No Experience Required<\/em> (a Summer Rains novel #1)<\/p>\n

Second Bite<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lauren Stewart lives in Northern California with one teenager, one almost-teenager, a mellow cat, and an incredibly high maintenance puppy. \u00a0On the nights when Lauren doesn\u2019t pass out from exhaustion, she reads almost every genre so, naturally, her writing reflects that. With every book, every story, you’ll find elements of other genres–fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense, YA, women’s literature, all with a touch of humor.<\/p>\n

Because what doesn’t kill us should make us laugh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What Inspired This Book?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>It began on a dare\u2014that I wouldn\u2019t be able to write a standalone novel that ended in a happy ending (until then, I\u2019d always written series where one couple takes a few novels to reach their happy ending).<\/p>\n

Darker Water<\/em> is a twist on The Frog Prince, with the heroine believing she has the metaphorical power to turn good men\u2014princes\u2014into assholes\u2014frogs. Because all the men she\u2019d fallen for had seemed perfect right up until she found out they were total pricks. So what does she need to make her believe in love again? A frog, of course. An asshole who, because of her love, finally shows us that he\u2019s been an amazing man all along.<\/p>\n

The fairytale at the beginning of the book came to me as soon as I started typing. It was incredible and set up the entire framework for the story. The second part of Laney and Carson\u2019s fairytale, at the end, encapsulates what they\u2019ve learned and where they\u2019re headed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I took one of the comfy chairs in the corner, put my coffee and my feet up on the large ottoman in front of me, and opened the Angry Birds app on my phone. About fifteen minutes later, I saw jean-clad legs in my peripheral vision. His shoes were pointed towards me, but he didn\u2019t say anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re a wonderful person, but I need to focus.\u201d I pointed to my phone without raising my head. \u201cOr I\u2019m going to break my winning streak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure if you know this\u201d\u2014the legs moved a step closer\u2014\u201cbut when you win, you don\u2019t actually get any candy. Yeah,\u201d he grumbled. \u201cThe day I found that out was one of the worst days of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

I wiped my mouth to cover my smile\u2014he\u2019d probably take it as a sign I wanted to keep talking to him. \u201cAs much as I appreciate the tip, I\u2019m not interested.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe neither. Wait, what aren\u2019t we interested in again? Oh, did you mean you and me\u2026being interesting together<\/em>? Then yeah, actually, I am<\/em> interested in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked up at him briefly. Well, no one could ever mistake him for average looking, that was for sure. Full lips that looked very comfortable wearing a smirk. The tattoos covering most of both forearms would\u2019ve made my mom shake her head and say something witty like, Maybe his parents didn\u2019t give him enough coloring books when he was little<\/em>. Light-brown hair tossed in a hot, I-have-more-important-things-to-take-care-of-than-my-hair way. One of those more important things might be his body. If I wasn\u2019t completely cured of men, I\u2019d thank him for making it a priority. Not that I didn\u2019t find men attractive anymore\u2014I couldn\u2019t control that. And sure, I\u2019d love to take a few more looks at the guy. But that wouldn\u2019t bring me anything but frustration. And frustration didn\u2019t bring me anything but the need for more batteries.<\/p>\n

Three months ago, I would\u2019ve been blushing, stuttering, making a fool of myself, and planning our wedding. Now I had more important things to take care of, like my sanity. And some very unhappy birds.<\/p>\n

So I slumped into the chair and went back to my game. \u201cTrust me, you don\u2019t want me to get to know you, not if you like who you are right now. I\u2019m cursed. I could turn you into a frog with barely any effort at all. Go find someone else to pretend to be in love with. I wish you luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

He picked up my coffee from the ottoman and sat down. \u201cCongratulations. You\u2019ve just made yourself twice as intriguing. You have to know that all men enjoy a good chase every once in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not running\u2014I\u2019m telling you<\/em> to run. Go hunt down someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Carson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, go hunt down someone else, Carson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe three times as intriguing.\u201d After a second, he stood. \u201cNice to meet you, Lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Laney, but how did you\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

He glanced down at my coffee cup, which he was still holding. My name was written in big letters on the side, the \u2018Y\u2019 an illegible scribble. I should\u2019ve gone the more environmentally friendly route and skipped the paper cup. But not a big deal. All he knew was most of my name and my drink order. Thankfully they didn\u2019t write my phone number on there, too. Not that he would remember it three minutes from now, because frankly, I\u2019m not worth that much of his effort.<\/p>\n

He handed my coffee back but didn\u2019t go away, seemingly content to keep staring at me with a cocky grin. Okay, he was really far from average looking. But guaranteed, he was as much a liar as they all are. Maybe worse because the more attractive a guy is, the more he thinks he can get away with. I take that back\u2014the more he can<\/em> get away with. Because women are idiots.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me guess,\u201d I said. \u201cYou\u2019re different from every other guy, searching for the one woman who will complete you. You\u2019re considerate, caring, and really want a chance to know who I truly am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all,\u201d he said, ticking the points off with his fingers and grimacing. \u201cDefinitely not. Dear god no. That\u2019s not even close<\/em> to what I want from you. And\u2026was that all of them? I got distracted by your breasts for a little while there, so I may have missed one.\u201d<\/p>\n

I coughed, covering my mouth before I spit my coffee out. \u201cSeriously?\u201d In the last few months I\u2019d had a lot of similar conversations with moderately similar guys. But not a single one had an answer even remotely like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously. I\u2019m a complete asshole who only cares about what he can get from someone. Take you, for example. I saw you sitting here alone, no ring, great body. And thought, \u2018I want to fuck her.\u2019 And yeah, those were the exact words that went through my head. On the way over here I tried to figure out the fastest and most efficient way to get you into my bed\u2014which isn\u2019t far from here by the way\u2014hoping you weren\u2019t the type who needed a couple dinners out first. So, Lane\u201d\u2014he popped an eyebrow\u2014\u201care you?\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know how to respond. Was I? I used to be. Except it had taken more than a couple<\/em> dinners before I slept with someone. It had taken a commitment of some kind. And now? Even though I was done with relationships and love, I didn\u2019t want to be celibate for the rest of my life. I wasn\u2019t sure I was ready, but there was only one way to find out. And, as far as guinea pigs went, I couldn\u2019t have found a more attractive one. So\u2026<\/p>\n

Fuck it. For some unknown reason, I\u2019d shaved my legs this morning. Maybe it was a sign from the universe that today was the day to do some experimenting.<\/p>\n

Oh my god, I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m about to do this.<\/em> I stood, grabbed my bag, and pushed past him on my way to the door. Then I turned around. \u201cI think that was an exceptionally efficient way to get me into your bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Short Quotes<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fairytale Ending<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Once upon a time, there was a woman who, though not stunningly beautiful, thought herself to be. Because she was in love with a man who made her feel that way.<\/p>\n

Laney<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

How fucking ironic\u2014I\u2019d been looking for love for the last eight years. And when I finally stopped wanting and believing in it, it found me. I didn\u2019t have feelings for Carson\u2014I was in love with him.<\/p>\n

\u2019You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince.’ My mother\u2019s favorite expression was completely fucking wrong. If you kiss a lot of frogs, all you end up with is sore lips and a bunch of frogs. And if you kiss a lot of princes, hoping at least one of them will stay that way, all you get is a horrific amount of disappointment and even more frogs<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t have feelings for Carson\u2014I was in love with him. And what\u2019s worse than falling in love when you don\u2019t want to? Falling in love with someone who can\u2019t love you back.<\/p>\n

Carson<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf it could be anyone,\u201d he whispered, \u201cit would be you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLife\u2019s too fucking short to spend any of it embarrassed or guilty. If you\u2019re going to learn how to put yourself first, you can\u2019t keep being controlled by what other people do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously. I\u2019m a complete asshole who only cares about what he can get from someone. Take you, for example. I saw you sitting here alone, no ring, great body. And thought, \u2018I want to fuck her.\u2019 And yeah, those were the exact words that went through my head. On the way over here I tried to figure out the fastest and most efficient way to get you into my bed\u2014which isn\u2019t far from here, by the way\u2014hoping you weren\u2019t the type who needed a couple dinners out first. So, Lane\u201d\u2014he popped an eyebrow\u2014\u201care you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Title:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Darker Water Series:\u00a0\u00a0 Once and Forever #1 Author: Lauren Stewart Genre:\u00a0\u00a0 Contemporary Romance\/New Adult Release Date: Oct 3, 2014 Word Count: 94,000 \u00a0 After another painful breakup, Laney finally understands that love is a fairytale and sex rarely comes with a happy ending. She\u2019s too busy for it right now anyway\u2014she has a business … Continue reading #NewCover – Darker Water by Lauren Stewart<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24],"tags":[118],"class_list":["post-20406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cover-reveal","tag-lauren-stewart"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paSW8H-5j8","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20408,"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20406\/revisions\/20408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twinsietalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}