RELEASE BLITZ + REVIEW & GIVEAWAY : TOO HARD TO FORGET (Romancing the Clarksons #3) by Tessa Bailey

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TOO HARD TO FORGET

Series: Romancing The Clarksons #3

Author: Tessa Bailey

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 25th, 2016

Publisher: Forever

Mass Market: $7.99 USD

eBook: $5.99 USD

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The third book in New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey’s Romancing the Clarksons series about four siblings on a cross-country road trip, perfect for fans of Gena Showalter and Julie James!

 

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Synopsis

This time, she’s calling the shots.

Peggy Clarkson is returning to her alma mater with one goal in mind: confront Elliott Brooks, the man who ruined her for all others, and remind him of what he’s been missing. Even after three years, seeing him again is like a punch in the gut, but Peggy’s determined to stick to her plan. Maybe then, once she has the upper hand, she’ll finally be able to move on.

In the years since Peggy left Cincinnati, Elliott has kept his focus on football. No distractions and no complications. But when Peggy walks back onto his practice field and into his life, he knows she could unravel everything in his carefully controlled world. Because the girl who was hard to forget is now a woman impossible to resist.

Excerpt

“I don’t know, Peggy.” He whirled on her, closing in until she was forced back onto the desk. “I had an All-American on my squad this morning and now I don’t. That’s all I know.” He pointed a finger toward the window. “I solve problems down on the field. Saving people isn’t my job.”

Saving people. God, there was such a wealth of regret and pain in those two words. But he couldn’t hear it and she couldn’t address it. Letting him know she saw right through his façade to the hurt beneath might force Elliott to close himself off. “You didn’t always limit yourself. Why are you doing it now?”

“Accepting things that can’t be changed isn’t a limitation. It’s realistic.”

“But how will you know if something can’t be changed unless you try?”

“When it comes to certain things, Peggy, trying leads to losing.” He was in her face now, the mint from his toothpaste familiar and inviting where it slid over her lips. “And I don’t lose.”

No one ever stood up this man but her, and she wouldn’t be cowed now. “No? You’re out a receiver.” She hitched herself up on his desk. “I’d call that a loss.”

The tips of his shoes met Peggy’s, his hands gripping the furniture on either side of her hips. “Who do you think you are, little girl? Coming into my office and telling me what I’ve done wrong?” His eyes were brilliant in their vexation, the attraction he was trying so hard to fight. “Where do you get the goddamn bravery?”

“The bravery is what you liked best about me,” she breathed, heat sizzling in a downward V toward her thighs. “Isn’t it?”

“No. That bravery is what almost led to my downfall.” His hands found her bottom, jerking her to the edge of the desk. “I resented it. Still do.”

“Liar,” Peggy whispered, easing her thighs wider. “You’re dying for an excuse to head for another downfall.” When her legs were as open as she could spread them, she leaned up to Elliott’s ear and let her breath shake loose. “One thrust.”

Elliott’s right hand came up out of nowhere, molding over Peggy’s mouth as his hips crowded into the notch of her legs. With a quick maneuver to recline her halfway back, Elliott’s erection found the apex of her thighs, delivering an aggressive pump against her underwear that sent a scream climbing up Peggy’s throat, only to be trapped by his hand. Knees jerking up out of reflex over the rush of sensation, an orgasm almost—almost— broke past the surface, sending her waters rippling out on all sides. Her legs wanted to hug Elliott’s waist, her voice wanted to beg for one more, one more, one more, but he shook his head, denying her, even though his gaze was hot, a low groan issuing from his harshly masculine mouth.

He leaned in and nipped the lobe of her ear. “Next time, ask for two.”

 

Header Too Hard To Forget

Boy, oh boy, Tessa Bailey sure created a challenging and surprising read in Too Hard To Forget, guaranteed to touch some readers’ hard limits but SO worth the risk!

For those of you that, like me, know and love the Clarkson family from the previous installments, Peggy is the baby sister. The apparently bubbly, confident, sassy and so full of life, young woman, is the living proof that appearances aren’t always what they seem, but even her own distant mother knew her daughter’s contrasting personality facets hid a immense pain and hurt that went beyond their family issues.

Peggy the bombshell. Peggy the liar. Peggy the mediator. Peggy the grief-stricken. The angel. The devil. The baby. The old soul.

And right she was, because Peggy hid a great secret, one that cause her pain like no other – a secret relationship, three years prior, and a shattered heart by the only men she ever loved, Elliott – so that she was decided, in this trip, to solve that, once and for all, so that she could hope to truly move on and find a her happy ending.

Love, or even the illusion of it, wouldn’t be happening anytime soon, though. Not until she accomplished her mission in Cincinnati.

Peggy was then a woman on a mission. One she would achieve no matter what.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans! LOL! Yes, she had a good game plan, but she forgot to account for their insane chemistry and her body and hearts’ pull to Elliott.

Her libido was just confused. That had to be all.
If nothing else, that confusion was another reminder that she’d come to Cincinnati to steal back the love she’d given Elliott. To bury the past and move on with a clear mind and heart.

Denial sure is a powerful thing! Rest assured because Elliott’s tops hers off by a mile. Coming from an extremely religious background, Elliott was already leaving with a huge amount of guilt and remorse due to his wife’s recent death, so when Peggy, a young and beautiful college student crosses his path and creates in him a world of feelings he never before felt – want, lust and even love – and to a level he could never foresee or deal with. So, when at a crossroad presented itself, he chose to hurt Peggy in such a way, that would drive her away from his life forever. Thinking it was for her best, he had no idea that Peggy never moved on and was so stuck in the past that she would do anything to get rid of the strings that attached her heart to Elliott’s.

“Did you come back here to make my life hell, Peggy?” he growled. “Answer me honestly. Because you’re succeeding.”
“You always did equate me with hell, didn’t you?” she said, almost to herself, before she seemed to snap back to the here and now. “You’re tripping if you think I would drive all the way from California just to bother you, Elliott.”

Things didn’t quite go as expected, for either of the parts, when Peggy came back into Elliott’s life. Old feelings are brought to light, old wounds reopened and new ones created. Add a teenage daughter to the mix, a brother and best friend living in a denial of their own, and their scorching attraction, Too Hard To Forget was a rollercoaster ride! 

“Bet you love knowing that sliver of stomach you showed me today in the car made it necessary to jerk off in my office with the door locked.”

Peggy’s return really was a two edged sword, he both loved and hated what they had, and had to face that he needed to come to peace with his guilt and past. That proved to be a long and hard task, but Elliott overcame it, and realized his failures and that he needed Peggy, she was not his downfall but his lifeline.

“Done. It’s mine now, Peggy. I made us go without one another for three years and these failures are mine. They were mine when they happened. And they’re mine now.”

Obviously, because Tessa always gives us the good stuff – aka – HEA -, eventually they both cleared out their pain, and made peace with their decision, but in the meanwhile we got so smoking HOT, off-the-charts, tension filled, sex scenes, that caught even yours truly – and considering I’m the farthest from prude – of guard and even a bit irked. I know, I know, I never thought I would say this because come on, Tessa is the Queen of Dirty Talk, and I love every single word coming out of her heroes mouth, but in Elliot she took it to a whole new level, and there was one single element  – which I will not describe, so that I don’t spoil it for any of you – in their sex scenes that didn’t sit quite well with me. Don’t get me wrong, I still devoured them, like the pervy I confess to be, but if that hadn’t been there it would have been perfect for me.
Too Hard Too Forget really was an incredible, refreshing and surprising second chance romance story. True to Tessa’s books, it was beautifully written, deep character development, and ALL the feels!!! And dear Lord, I CAN’T wait for Belmont and Sage’s story! I’m almost sure he will go straight to my all time best boyfriend list! Anxiously counting down the days here!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

“A fool is the kind of man who pushes away someone who makes him laugh. Makes him think. Makes him want to try harder and love harder and live harder. Live at all. That’s what Peggy Clarkson did for me. Twice in my life. Twice more than I earned. And this heart she woke up inside me loves her. It’ll beat for her until it stops altogether.”

ARC kindly provided by the author via publisher, Forever, for an honest review

 

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In the Series

 

Romancing the Clarksons Series

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TOO HOT TO HANDLE (Romancing The Clarksons #1)

26247873
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TOO WILD TO TAME (Romancing The Clarksons #2)

29414944
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Coming Soon

 

TOO CLOSE TO CALL (Romancing The Clarksons #3.5)

31421288

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TOO BEAUTIFUL TO BREAK (Romancing The Clarksons #4)

33818837

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Giveaway

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

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Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eight years and four-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

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