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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Release Day Blitz: The Singing River by R.K. Ryals


The Singing River

Release Date – August 4, 2013
NA Contemporary
By R.K. Ryals
Cover Design By Regina Wamba of Mae I Design and Photography



Synopsis:

In Mississippi, there's a legend about a Singing River, a tragic love story that ended with an entire Indian tribe singing a death chant as they marched stoically into the Pascagoula River to die ...

At eighteen, Haven Ambrose isn't just a high school graduate. In her head, she's an aspiring writer, a traveler, a chef, a slayer of injustice, an astronomer, an archaeologist, and the love child of a famous, rich musician. But reality is harsher. Reality is overdue bills, a crumbling trailer, an absent father, an old addiction, and a hot, crushing summer that may end in disappointment.

For twenty year-old River Brayden, life seems good, but appearances can be deceiving. The oldest son of a wealthy family, he has finished his first year at Harvard to return home for the summer only to discover his younger brother headed down an unforgiving road.

They will be drawn together by a song. For during the late summer, they say the Pascagoula death chant can still be heard near the Singing River. Its call is haunting, its chant a testament of love and sacrifice. It calls to some ... beckoning.

Add The Singing River To Your TBR List on Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18132842-the-singing-river
 

My review for: The Singing River by R.K. Ryals
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars (if I could give it more I would!)
Shanna Roberson



First let me say that it is no secret that I adore this writer. I can say without a doubt that she is my all-time favorite author, out of both big press and indie. Her ability to capture your full attention with uniqueness and never let go is a rarity in such a growing genre. With that said, The Singing River is her best work yet! It’s haunting, brutally honest and beautifully heartfelt. Being her debut in NA/Contemporary Romance genre, it is nothing short of brilliant.


Haven Ambrose has been her mother’s rock for as long as she could remember. Even at eighteen years old, she works hard to keep them both a float. When her dad left, she knew that there was a difference between her wants and their responsibilities. Craving something more, but knowing that would only come if she could make sure her mom would be okay without her around. This summer was going to either make her or break her…


River Brayden knows all about responsibilities. As the eldest son of a wealthy family, there are certain expectations of him. Even more so now that his father was brutally murdered. With only a year of Harvard under his belt, twenty year old, River is called home to try and reach his troubled younger brother before it is too late.


In the heat of summer, brought together by local folklore; a girl from the other side of the tracks, a boy with everything but what he truly wants and a legend of a tragic love that ended in the death of entire tribe…this summer would change everything. Because the death chant that is said to heard across the Singing River is more than just a legend. It will be their awakening…


The amount of emotion that this book wrenched from me is staggering. Ms. Ryals has this uncanny gift for making you fall madly in love with her characters. When they cried, I did too. There were actually times where I had to stop reading because the heartbreak was so real. She got a few ugly cries out of me with this one.  It’s hauntingly beautiful and real. It is easily one of my favorite reads this year. Bravo, R. K Ryals….you did it again. There isn’t a genre out there that you couldn’t write and write well.


Excerpt:


I stepped toward her. “You have a way of making people relate to you.”
She snorted. “I doubt that.”
I was in front of her now, my face peering down into hers. “Really, you do. A few hours of knowing you feels like days.”
“Sounds tiresome,” she teased.
“It’s a gift,” I countered.
There were sudden lines in her forehead, a troubled look in her eye. “Some might call it a curse,” she murmured. “By the end of this trip, you’ll want me gone.”
It was my turn to frown, my gaze studying her face. She had green eyes so dark they could be mistaken for brown and lashes so long they almost touched her brows. True, she was more willowy than curvy, but she was beautiful in an understated, elegant kind of way. The faint freckles on the bridge of her nose drove me crazy.
“Why do you think that?” I asked.
There was something stark and open about her eyes when she answered, “Because I am better at being abandoned than I am at keeping people.”



About The Author:

R. K. Ryals is a scatterbrained mother of three whose passion is reading whatever she can get her hands on. She makes her home in Mississippi with her husband, three daughters, a Shitzsu named Tinkerbell, and a coffeepot she couldn't live without.