Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, you may experience a little deja vu because we're featuring a title that I might have shined the spotlight on just a few days ago (search for #OMCreadalong on this site and social media to participate!), but it's definitely worth another look and this time, we're diving deeper! The title at hand is The Last Charm by Ella Allbright and it's a doozy! Your heart will be all over the place with this one, trust me...and by book's end, you'll have scraped your soul back off the floor enough times that you'll be more than happy to settle in that place of contentment between a HEA and well, the opposite. But first, introductions...
The Last Charm
by
Ella Allbright
One More Chapter
About the book...
A moving and heartwarming love story perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day in December…
Leila’s charm bracelet tells a story of love, a story of loss, a story of hope. This is the story of her … and the story of Jake.
When Leila Jones loses her precious charm bracelet and a stranger finds it, she has to tell the story of how she got the charms to prove she’s the owner. Each and every one is a precious memory of her life with Jake.
So Leila starts at the beginning, recounting the charms and experiences that have led her to the present. A present she never could have expected when she met Jake nearly twenty years ago…
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The Last Charm – Exclusive Extract
Thank you so much for featuring my new release on your blog
This scene is a pivotal one for Leila and Jake, the two main characters, in a chapter titled, ‘The Puppy Charm.’ They see each other at an end of school beach party and Leila ends up saving Jake’s life…
Salty water is splashing in my face and stinging my eyes. I can hardly see. I try hooking my right arm around their chest so I can get them to lie on their back and tow them in, but they – he, I realise from the width of his shoulders and shape of his skull – is dipping down below the water again. He can’t kick properly for some reason. There’s a current beneath us trying to pull us out to dangerous depths, but I resist it. Not today, I think fiercely, and not like this.
Thankfully he quietens, and I hook my arm around under his armpit across to his opposite shoulder so he’s floating in front of me, both of us on our backs. I draw him closer, noticing his right leg is dead straight, toes curled over tight. His chest is solid and broad beneath my hand, and I try to ignore the feeling of my boobs squashed against his back, working on keeping our lower bodies apart so our legs don’t tangle. Apart from the play-fighting with Shaun, this is the closest I’ve ever been to a guy. Nearly sweet sixteen and never been kissed, I think regretfully.
Shaking off the thought, I set out for the beach in a slow but steady back-crawl, using my left arm, tilting my head back in the sea and gazing up at the darkened sky as I swim. My long, pale hair floats to the top of the water, fanning out around our heads. The only sounds audible with my ears beneath the surface are the stones shifting against each other, as if in a sigh. Night’s fallen during the last few minutes, and sparkling stars have appeared in the velvet sky looking like there are a thousand at least, twinkling and saying hello. Telling us they’re here and that they see us too.
There’s something magical about the moment despite the circumstances, and I can’t help but take in the view. The starry sky stretches above us, no end in sight. It’s like this boy and I are the only two people in the world. There’s just us, in the water. Everyone else has faded away and been forgotten. But strangely that’s okay. It’s comfortable. Right.
The moment lingers. ‘Beautiful,’ I whisper, tilting my head to see more stars.
‘Yeah,’ echoes back, and I know I’ve spoken in his ear again.
‘Jake!’ I recognise his voice, and for a brief pause I stop swimming. Even though I’m in chilly water, the warmth of embarrassment creeps over my skin. I wince. This isn’t how I’d imagined seeing him again, especially after earlier. Talk about awkward.
He doesn’t reply, but I hear him mutter shit under his breath as I resume swimming.
Before I’m ready for it, I feel smooth hard points beneath my legs and realise I’ve swum us all the way to shore with barely any effort. Planting my feet on the bottom, I stand up, helping him wade in. The water comes up to my hips and his thighs. It’s so dark the night air is like a blanket, and the fire is too far away to let me see his expression.
Bending over at the waist, he coughs a few times and inhales sharply before stumbling to the water’s edge. I follow him, hovering uncertainly and watching as he collapses in a heap, straightening his leg out before grabbing his foot and pulling his toes up toward his body. Muttering some swear words under his breath that would make even Grandad with his Navy background flinch, he massages the arch of his foot with a groan. The longer he works on it, the more it returns to its normal shape. His thick black hair is plastered to his head, and he rakes both hands through it, leaving it stuck up in damp tufts. At last, he looks up at me. One of the clouds covering the moon passes, and it shines down on us, painting his face a ghostly white.
Nb. This excerpt is protected by copyright.
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About the author...
A self-confessed reading addict, Ella Allbright writes commercial women’s fiction set in her beautiful home county of Dorset. Her first novel in this genre, The Charm Bracelet will be published in August 2020 by One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins, and she’s currently hard at work on her next book. Ella is represented by agent Hattie Grünewald at The Blair Partnership, who represent J.K. Rowling.
Ella also writes as Nikki Moore, the author of the popular #LoveLondon romance series. A number of the novellas featured in the Top 100 short story charts on Kobo and the Top 20 in the Amazon UK bestsellers Holiday chart, and in 2018 the collection was released in Italy. Her first published work was the short story A Night to Remember in the best selling Mills & Boon / RNA anthology Truly, Madly, Deeply. Her debut romance Crazy, Undercover, Love was shortlisted for the RNA Joan Hessayon Award 2015.
When not writing or reading, she can be found working in her HR day job, walking the family’s cute beagle puppy or watching a Netflix series! She also vlogs about how to get published as ‘Author By The Sea’ on her YouTube channel!
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YOUR CHANCE TO WIN...
Dorset and Reading themed goodies to celebrate The Last Charm by Ella Allbright
(UK Only)
Dorset and Reading themed goodies to celebrate The Last Charm by Ella Allbright
(UK Only)
First Prize
Books Make Me Happy/TLC Branded Mug
Keepsake Bracelet for Readers
Lulworth Chocolate Bar
Mermaid metal bookmark
TLC Postcards
PLUS mystery prize
Second Prize
Lulworth Chocolate Bar
I love Durdle Door chocolate lollipop
Sunshine metal bookmark
TLC Postcards
PLUS mystery prize
Third Prize
Lulworth Chocolate Bar
I love Lulworth chocolate lollipop
Starry Sky metal bookmark
TLC Postcards
PLUS mystery prize
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check out the rest of tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
Thanks so much for featuring The Last Charm on the blog - I really appreciate it. Take care and stay safe. Ella / Nikki x
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