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A book blog dedicated to young adult and new adult novels

Review Tour: Only For You by Genna Rulon {Review+Giveaway}

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Welcome to my stop on the Only For You blog tour hosted by Literati Author Services, Inc!
Today I am excited to share my review as well as a giveaway with you all!


Only For You (For You #1)
   by: Genna Rulon

Publication Date: Sept. 24, 2013
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary
Age Group: New Adult
Source: ecopy provided by Literati Author Services, Inc in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 390 pages
Order Links: Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars


“In its purest form love is self-sacrificing, eternal, selfless, enduring, truthful, forgiving and indulgent. It also feels an awful lot like a kick to the stomach when you try to fight it!“

All Everleigh Carsen wanted to do was complete her final semester at Hensley University and begin the life she carefully planned.When a wave of violent crime seizes campus, Everleigh is persuaded to attend a school sponsored self-defense seminar by her best friend, where she meets volunteer instructor, Hunter Charles. After Everleigh’s biting sarcasm induces Hunter to eject her from class, a tempestuous relationship is born.

Everleigh is determined to forget the striking man, but fate–that fickle shrew–continuously intervenes. Unable to escape him, she declares Hunter an enemy combatant. The only complication… Hunter is resolutely pursuing vindication…by any means necessary. Verbal warfare ensues, and despite Everleigh’s ingenious efforts, in Hunter, she has finally found her equal.

Only For You is a compelling tale of friendship, desire, and redemption--brimming with intelligent characters, witty dialogue, unexpected twists, profound sorrow, unfettered hope, and love’s unassailable perseverance.

Note:  Although this is series, each novel can be read as a stand alone.
 
 
My Review:
 
I had not heard of this book until I saw a few of my fellow #GwB girls had received this for review from Genna. After hearing them rave about how much they liked it, I knew I had to give it a try! The opportunity presented itself a few days later when I saw Literati Author Services was doing a tour for it! I immediately jumped on board because I had to see for myself why my friends were going crazy over this book. I was immediately pulled into the story and I really like that it had a more serious undertone to it than most of the NA books I read.
 
This is so much more than a romance. In fact, Rulon has created a very scary, very realistic story that could potentially happen anywhere and that is what made it all the more chilling. I feel she did a very good job of blending the main character's romance with the mystery surrounding the attacks and assaults happening on the Hensley campus.
 
I liked our main character Everleigh. She is smart, has a good head on her shoulders, and a good friend to others. She is sarcastic and witty and her ongoing banter with her self-defense instructor/colleague Hunter Charles was one of my favorite parts to the story. Hunter and Ev do not start on the greatest of terms as she really lets her mouth run away from her in a serious environment. The danger to women at Hensley is very real and she knows that, but in trying to lighten the mood, she ends up on the receiving end of Hunter's no-nonsense attitude. I wasn't sure what to make of Hunter. He was a difficult character to get a read on. I liked him for the most part, but I didn't fall in love with him. I think part of it had to do with how Hunter came across, and while I understand why he came across as he did, it actually ended up dampening the flames for him.
 
I found myself frustrated with Hunter and Ev's relationship for the majority of the book. These two end up building a beautiful friendship that most people would die to have in their life, and I think that friendship was critical to the development of the story. However, as we are reading from Ev's point of view, it was frustrating because she clearly feels more for him than friendship. Some of the other characters noted that Hunter wanted her too, but I as a reader couldn't see that coming from him. I would have liked to have seen his POV thrown in to help me see that tension, that need for her from him. We do start to see his feelings change for her later on and he tries to impress upon her that nothing could happen between them at this time. However, he can't just let go of their friendship and keeping her safe is a huge priority for him. Even though Hunter was up front about his intentions, he still can't help but give in to temptation. I was proud of Everleigh for telling him what was up and that he couldn't continue to jerk her around.
 
We have some great secondary characters in this story as well. I loved Sam, Ev's best friend. She is a sweet, good friend and I love that their friendship has grown over the years. Sam undergoes ALOT in this book and I felt so much for her. I am really nervous to read the next book in the series, as it is about her and I know I am going to be an emotional wreck because of all that Sam endured in this one. Griffin is a bartender at the popular bar Sam, Ev, and crew hang out at, and he ends up being a real friend to Ev. He's really sweet and a good guy who would fight if a woman's honor is disrespected. He has a crush on Sam and while it doesn't escalate in this book, we will be seeing more of him in the next one.
 
I found myself completely engaged in the novel. I had my suspicions of who was behind the attacks, but Rulon still kept me interested and invested in what would happen to our main characters. Overall, this was a great read, despite a few minor issues with the characters and I did struggle a bit to get through some of the dialogue, as it could be overly descriptive at times. I do recommend this to my fellow NA lovers and I am excited to start Sam's story next!
 
 
 
 
About the Author:
 
Genna Rulon is an up and coming contemporary romance author.
During her 15 years in the corporate world, Genna, inspired by her love of reading, fantasized about penning her own stories. Encouraged by her favorite authors, many of whom are indie writers and self-published, she committed to pursuing her aspirations of writing her own novels.

Genna was raised in Long Island, New York, where she still resides, surrounded by the most amazing family and friends. Married to a wonderful man, who patiently tolerates her ramblings about whichever book she is currently working on, even feigning interest relatively convincingly! Genna is blessed with two little boys who do their best to thwart mommy’s writing time with their hilarious antics and charming extrapolations.
 

Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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10 comments

  1. Happy to see you finally got to read this one. My favorite thing about this book was the dialogue between Ev and Hunter. I loved the will they, won't they back and forth and constant teasing.

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    1. I loved their banter so much! It was so great!

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  2. Great review girl! I loved this one. I have to say though, I really did fall for Hunter :-) I loved their banter and their relationship. I can't wait to start Sam and Griffin's book.

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    1. Thanks chica! I have a feeling Griffin will completely steal my heart though.

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  3. I've been seeing good things about Only For You. Courtney is reviewing it for the blog, and I think she really liked it too.
    Great review!

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    1. Oh cool! I can't wait to read her review! It was a really good read and I'm glad I jumped at the chance to read it!

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  4. Oh this does sound like an interesting one. Idk how I feel about that romance, but I like the name Everleigh and I like the friendship thing w/Sam. Great review!

    Vi
    AKA Vi3tBabe
    Deity Island

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    1. I enjoyed this one, but I did feel the romance was a bit off for me. I also liked the name Everleigh! It's so pretty! And her friendship with Sam was amazing. I am excited to read about Sam's book next, because wow- she went through a really traumatic event and watching people heal from those types of things is really amazing for me.

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  5. Glad you liked it Jess. I really enjoyed it and like you am nervous about the next book as it will be very emotional.

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    1. Yay! I'm glad you guys told me about it! Otherwise I would have never known!

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