The life that mattered: Review + Blog Tour (EN)

The life that mattered

The Life That Mattered, an all-new emotional romantic suspense novel from Jewel E. Ann, is available now! 

This is book 1 of the duet "The life series", book 2 releases February 20th

SYNOPSIS

Sex isn’t love.

Love isn’t sex.

And friendship is neither.

The son of a French Olympic skier and a Malaysian fashion designer, Ronin Alexander has lived the life of a nomad, traveling the world to find his next adventure.

Life takes a dramatic turn when he meets Evelyn, a beautiful scientist who owns a bath shop in Aspen, Colorado. They defy all the rules of relationships, falling hard and quickly in love.

Their world intertwines with Evelyn’s two best friends, the Governor and his soon-to-be wife. The four become close—very close.

When tragedy strikes, things from their pasts are unveiled—unimaginable truths and the grim realization that life will never be the same.

Jewel E. Ann steps into another dimension with this mind-bending thriller, a provocative story that pushes boundaries and tests the true meaning of love.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Buy links: Amazon | Amazon Worldwide | Amazon Paperback

MY REVIEW

'The life that was real' would also be a great form of describing this book. Real. You know that sometimes while reading a romance you feel like the characters are too much, maybe not believable to be real outside of a book? Well this it not it. What I love the most about this story is how Jewel made their characters as people in real life, with their ups and downs, flaws and qualities, good and bad moments. She was able to tell a moving journey without writing unnecessary drama. Does that mean that there's no angst here? Abso-fucking-lutely not. There's lot of angst here but it's the same angst you can find in life as one grows up, things change and we try to grieve all that while continuing to find reasons to be alive and grateful. And that's what bought me, real life 'drama', real issues, real lessons. The author needn't to add couple drama to make their path believable. She actually told a perfect love story between them (won't specify more here not to spoil anyone but I'll make sense once you read it) without the usual fights and problems a couple of a romantic story has before they get together. I could feel myself falling in love for them as they fell for each other.

"Life was about breaths and heartbeats. A smile. A wink. The squeeze of a hand. Sunrises and sunsets. The rest... it was all extra."

The story flowed as well as the writing, the more you read the more you wanted. There's was a point in which I couldn't put it down until I finished it. This author doesn't fail to make you crave her words.

"I'd rather be emotionally invested to the point of stepping out of bounds than emotionally dead."

As the trama develops and you fall in love for the characters you also start getting nervous about them, your suspicions begins to take place and while you try to figure out how something so beautiful could turn into the mess that was slightly presented to you at the epilogue you also start to pray for a HEA that you now need to happen, because these characters find their way to you and they get into your emotions as if their feelings where also yours... Or maybe this is the author wanting us to be as empathetic as Ronin (our male protagonist) is *wink wink* 😉...

"After years of lost wavering faith, I didn't feel confident that if there was a god, she would listen to my prayers."

A god woman? We don't know about that though I'd luuuuv the concept to actually be real in this story, but we do know there is something that we can't yet explain that is messing around with our heads and their lives. So I really can't wait for the second part of this duet to take me out of this cliffhanger that I was left in because I seriously crave for the story to continue and I'm crossing fingers for a HEA of some sorts.

"I promise to find you in every life... in every universe."

Narrated with multiple voices and from various time lines, The life that mattered is a story that will make you want to believe in soulmates and everything that can guarantee an everlasting love like Evie and Roe have 😍💫✨

"Evelyn made me feel more vulnerable than I ever thought humanly possible. She was the beginning and the end... my absolute favorite... everything."

I could tell you more about the characters or their path but I believe that is a journey you need to make. I'm just here to show you how it made me feel and hope you can also read this and share your feelings afterwards.

Thank you, Jewel, for this story, for making me emotionally vulnerable again, and for the honour to read an ARC of your beautiful work. Just thank you.

"New romance was the best drug, and my addiction felt incurable." 💞

EXCERPT

I wasn’t opposed to the occasional drunken one-night stand, but not with Evelyn. We weren’t drunk, and I wasn’t okay with an arbitrary time in the future that I may or may not see her again. “I’ll walk you to your door,” Evelyn said as she turned off her Jeep. “God …” I laughed, shaking my head. “That’s messed up. Now I feel a huge urgency to get my own vehicle. I think I’ll go tomorrow to buy one just so you don’t ever have to walk me to my door again.” She climbed out. “I don’t have to stop at your door. We don’t have to play by the rules of dating. I think we’re past that age. How old are you?” I found her hand and led her to the front door. “Thirty-five.” “I’m thirty-four. Have you ever been married?” We stopped at my door and faced each other. “No. You?” She shook her head. “The rules don’t apply once you’re past thirty.” “The rules?” Evelyn grinned. “The courting shit. The baseball game.” “The baseball game?” My head canted to the side. “Yeah. The sexual bases? First base is kissing. Second base is—” “Yes.” I fished my keys from my pocket. “I’m familiar with the bases.” “Well, I don’t know if you’re a fan of baseball or not, but I am.” I unlocked my door and motioned for her to go inside. She wet her lips and stepped into my condo without an ounce of hesitation. “You’re inviting me in. So you are a fan of baseball.” Not so much. Skiing, football (soccer), rugby, cycling, tennis … but not baseball. However, something told me Evelyn might make me a baseball fan. “Are you sure you’re living here?” She glanced around at the sparse furnishings of my two-bedroom condo. “I never stay in one place long. No need to own much. It’s just that much more to sell or move.” Books. I owned books and a place to sit and read them. My parents didn’t believe in letting Julien and I watch television while we were growing up. Julien embraced art. I embraced fiction—mysteries and sci-fi. “What do you consider not long?” She ran her fingers along the back of my leather recliner before dropping her bag to the floor and slipping off her jacket.“Three to five years is a nice stay.” I tossed my coat onto one of two barstools at my kitchen counter.“Okay. So our marriage will be short.” Her teeth trapped her full bottom lip. “Probably.” I’d dated enough women to know there existed a sequence of events that took place way before the M word should ever be discussed. I’d never reached the point of discussing the M word. Not even with my longest relationship, which lasted two years. Two years and we didn’t talk about marriage. I was out of my realm of experience with Evelyn. We joked about marriage, but who joked about that? Then there was a baseball discussion happening, and I didn’t even like baseball, but I waited with restless anticipation for Evelyn to make her point. Something told me it could be brilliant. “Kenny was a guy I dated my first year in college. He played baseball.” I could not have cared less about this Kenny guy, but he brought her back to the baseball talk, so I folded my arms over my chest, leaned against the counter, and gave her my full attention as she walked in slow circles around my furniture. A predator with calculated moves. Who was I to judge? I walked into her shop that day and basically said we needed to expedite our dating status—laid out my plans to eat dinner with her, close down bars, and sip hot chocolate. “He was a solid hitter. Always got on base, but he never hit a home run. I honestly think he lacked the confidence to go for it. His coaches told him to just get on base, so that’s what he did because that’s what you do when you’re young like that. You spend a lot of time on the bases.” Were we still talking about baseball in the literal sense? “I think once you hit your thirties, no one should judge if you just hit it out of the park your first time up to bat.” Her lips twisted as she stopped in front of me. “The goal is to hit it home. If you can do that, then why the hell not, right?” I thought I understood the metaphor. But if I was wrong, I could get thrown out of the game. “Can I get you a drink?” Evelyn shook her head. My eyes narrowed, studying her for a few seconds. “First base is fine.” She shrugged. Fuck me …

“The wildly talented Jewel E. Ann consistency finds a way to level up. Every book she writes leaves me desperate for more! The Life That Mattered is a must-read." - Ella James, USA Today bestselling author

THE LIFE YOU STOLE

Sex. Lies. Revenge.

On the heels of a devastating loss, Evelyn fights to put her life back together.

Only … part of her husband belongs to another woman, and the devil owns her soul.

“If you tell her the lie, I will tell her the truth.”

When her best friend goes to great lengths to protect Evelyn from destruction and devastation, mistakes are made, lines are crossed, and all trust is shattered.

“We weren’t unbreakable.

I just needed to believe we weren’t unrepairable.”

Don’t miss the explosive conclusion to this unforgettable thriller by Jewel E. Ann, bestselling author of The Transcend Series.



Pre-order The Life You Stole, releasing February 20th, now!
Amazon | Amazon Worldwide

About Jewel

Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor. With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business. After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing. When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.

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