‘Home The Hard Way’ by @ZAMaxfield #BookTour #Review

Bethany reviews ‘Home The Hard Way’ by Z. A. Maxfield (Published by Riptide on July 28th 2014).  We were offered this book in exchange for a honest review.

Hello and thanks to Rainbow Gold Reviews for letting me be here today!

I’m Z.A. Maxfield, coming at you from lovely sunny southern California where I’m blogging about my latest release, Home The Hard Way.

***

I’m doing a giveaway and there are a couple different ways to win! At each tour stop, one lucky winner will get to choose any book from my backlist, so if you’re new to Z.A. Maxfield, this is a great way to find out if you want to dive in! At the end of the tour, I’ll be giving away a Riptide gift certificate, so you’re going to want to follow along the whole blog tour HERE for your best chance at a prize!

Here’s the blurb for Home the Hard Way:

Dare Buckley has come home—or at least, he’s come back to Palladian, the small town he left as a teenager. After a major lapse in judgment forced him to resign from the Seattle PD, Palladian is the only place that’ll hire him. There’s one benefit to hitting rock bottom, though: the chance to investigate the mystery of his father’s suicide.

Dare also gets to reacquaint himself with Finn Fowler, whose childhood hero worship ended in uncomfortable silence when Dare moved away. But Finn isn’t the same little kid Dare once protected. He’s grown into an attractive, enigmatic stranger who neither wants nor needs what Dare has to offer.

In fact, Dare soon realizes that Finn’s keeping secrets—his own and the town’s. And he doesn’t seem to care that Dare needs answers. The atmosphere in Palladian, like its namesake river, appears placid, but dark currents churn underneath. When danger closes in, Dare must pit his ingenuity against his heart, and find his way home the hard way.

This author is usually an autobuy for me so when I had the chance to read it for this tour I jumped at it.  Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.  From the very beginning till the very last page it was like a very awesome rollercoaster.  It is full of twist and turns, complete with “I did NOT see that coming.”  Many times reading a mystery novel I tend to figure out the ‘who done it’ part fairly early.  Well not with this one, it had me guessing till the very end.  Z.A. Maxfield writes in such a way that will have you wondering, thinking that you just know who did it only to have you changing your mind again and again.

I love Finn, from the very beginning he is one of those characters that you root for.  You can tell that he has gone through so much pain and hurt and has come out of it just a little worse for the wear.  He hears the horrible things the town has to say about him yet he lets it fall on deaf ears.  And just when you think you have him all figured out he shocks you, and I absolutely loved that.

Now Dare, he is our classic hero who has fallen from grace.  Oh and he is a hot cop, I mean YUM.  Coming back home is not something he thought he would ever have to do.  But now that he is back he wants to find the secrets that have been haunting him since he left all those years ago.  He also want the best friend he left behind.

I really enjoyed they dynamic between these two.  But Finn is keeping secrets that Dare is so desperately trying to find.  And this makes for a brilliant read.  It made me question Finn at times, then left me kicking myself for the doubt.  Dare and Finn together is not what I was expecting but oh how I loved it when they found their way to each other.

I highly enjoyed this book and if you are looking for a really stellar mystery this is what you need to read.  Most defiantly made my re-read shelf.

Read more about Home The Hard Way HERE

There’s two ways to win today! Comment below for a chance to win an ebook from my backlist AND you can also…

Enter the Giveaway! HERE

About the Author – Z. A. Maxfield started writing in 2007 on a dare from her children and never looked back.  Pathologically disorganized, and perennially optimistic, she writes as much as she can, reads as much as she dares, and enjoys her time with family and friends. Three things reverberate throughout all her stories: Unconditional love, redemption, and the belief that miracles happen when we least expect them.

If anyone asks her how a wife and mother of four can find time for a writing career, she’ll answer, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you give up housework.”

Readers can visit ZAM at her website, Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr.