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Betrayed Trilogy #1
Pieces of You
Quinn Burnes's mother disappeared when he was only fifteen leaving him with a despondent father, a little sister who suffers panic attacks, and eight notebooks containing the truth about his mother. He guards this secret for eighteen years, until on an otherwise normal day, his mother re-enters his life, pleading for his help. She's in danger and the only thing that can save her is reclaiming the identity she shunned years ago.
Quinn is a master of emotional detachment, from his successful career as a personal injury attorney to his strings of meaningless relationships with beautiful women who possess uneasy temperaments; a sure formula to keep his heart safe and insure he's the first to walk away. Until he meets the mysterious 'Danielle' a woman with too many secrets who's on the run from the abusive, estranged husband she shot and may have killed. Danielle isn't like any woman he's ever met, but can he risk his heart for someone who's doing exactly what his mother did eighteen years ago? Someone who may ultimately leave him, just like his mother?
Quinn is a master of emotional detachment, from his successful career as a personal injury attorney to his strings of meaningless relationships with beautiful women who possess uneasy temperaments; a sure formula to keep his heart safe and insure he's the first to walk away. Until he meets the mysterious 'Danielle' a woman with too many secrets who's on the run from the abusive, estranged husband she shot and may have killed. Danielle isn't like any woman he's ever met, but can he risk his heart for someone who's doing exactly what his mother did eighteen years ago? Someone who may ultimately leave him, just like his mother?
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First published June 22, 2011
149 people are currently reading
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About the author
Mary Campisi
80 books419 followersMary Campisi is the author of over 40 emotion-packed novels that center around hope, redemption, and second chances.
Mary should have known she'd become a writer when at age thirteen she began changing the ending to all the books she read. It took several years and a number of jobs, including registered nurse, receptionist in a swanky hair salon, accounts payable clerk, and practice manager in an OB/GYN office, for her to rediscover writing. Enter a mouse-less computer, a floppy disk, and a dream large enough to fill a zip drive. The rest of the story lives on in every book she writes.
When she's not working on her craft or following the lives of five adult children, Mary's digging in the dirt with her flowers and herbs, cooking, reading, walking her rescue lab, Henry, or, on the perfect day, riding off into the sunset with her very own hero/husband on his Ultra Limited aka Harley.
If you would like to be notified when Mary has a new release, please sign up at http://www.marycampisi.com/book/book-...
website: marycampisi.com
e-mail: mary@marycampisi.com
blog: marycampisi.com/blog/
twitter: twitter.com/MaryCampisi
facebook: facebook.com/marycampisibooks
Instagram: instagram.com/marycampisiauthor/
Mary should have known she'd become a writer when at age thirteen she began changing the ending to all the books she read. It took several years and a number of jobs, including registered nurse, receptionist in a swanky hair salon, accounts payable clerk, and practice manager in an OB/GYN office, for her to rediscover writing. Enter a mouse-less computer, a floppy disk, and a dream large enough to fill a zip drive. The rest of the story lives on in every book she writes.
When she's not working on her craft or following the lives of five adult children, Mary's digging in the dirt with her flowers and herbs, cooking, reading, walking her rescue lab, Henry, or, on the perfect day, riding off into the sunset with her very own hero/husband on his Ultra Limited aka Harley.
If you would like to be notified when Mary has a new release, please sign up at http://www.marycampisi.com/book/book-...
website: marycampisi.com
e-mail: mary@marycampisi.com
blog: marycampisi.com/blog/
twitter: twitter.com/MaryCampisi
facebook: facebook.com/marycampisibooks
Instagram: instagram.com/marycampisiauthor/
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 15, 2011
This is a fast-paced story that drew me in from the beginning. It's a tale of second chances, healing, growth and forgiveness. And a little bit of suspense and bad guys thrown in. Quinn has had to carry around a lot of secrets and hurt for a long time. But when his mother comes back to town asking for his help, and a stranger on the run stumbles into his life, his world suddenly becomes very compicated but in the end, very healing.
April 30, 2012
Positives first.
The author can write and she writes well. I respect her ability with words. She is expressive and writes in such a way as to make the reader want to continue reading. The work, despite being offered for free on the Kindle is well edited. That shows that the author respects her work and her readers. She obviously cares about what she does.
Unfortunately, I was completely unable to connect with any of the characters, save Annie. She was the only likeable one. Granted, I only read up to chapter 8, but I really can't force myself to read anymore, despite the beauty of the prose.
Brief synopsis. Small town in PA, wife and mother of a 15 year old son and 10 year old daughter vanishes. 18 years later, the son is a lawyer for the people who spill coffee on themselves and sue the coffee provider for scads of money. He is filthy rich, but has no soul. He has huge abandonment and mommy issues, because as a child he found his mother's eight notebooks filled with her desire to leave town because she's being stifled, people don't know who she is, yadda yadda yadda.
He is devoted to his sister, Annie, who is in a relationship with a doctor. She thinks he's fantastic, but he is lying about not smoking, doing it behind her back. When cautioned not to lie to Annie, the boyfriend acts like it's no big deal and doesn't plan on stopping or being honest. What a wonderful man.
The mom, who has been out of the picture for 18 years comes back to ask her son for help. She took the identity of a woman who had died, who happened to be a bank robber, who's partner is out of jail now and thinks the mom is the partner. She wants her son to prove who she is, to save her life. If he won't agree, she will go to her daughter, who thinks she is dead, and do her best to ruin his relationship with Annie. What a wonderful mother.
Then on top of everything else, the lawyer meets a woman who claims to have shot her estranged husband in self defense, but she won't admit he was beating her and rather than deal with the police in San Fran, she fled to Philly because she was scared he would hurt her. She allegedly shot him in the stomach upon awaking and seeing an intruder in her bedroom. So instead of finishing the job, or calling 9-1-1, she flees. She also has the same name as his mom and is lying to him by not telling him all of her story. He's conflicted because he fell for her at first sight, but she reminds him of his mommy.
The people are all self-centered, except for Annie, the poor thing. Her brother lied to her for her own good about the mom, the mom wants to use her to get the lawyer to help her and her doctor boyfriend is lying to her about not smoking. Small thing to lie about, but if one is willing to lie about the small stuff, what else will he lie about?
I read to escape reality, not to wallow in it. I don't care if they get redeemed in the end. It's not worth reading the rest of it to get there. Also, this is the first of a trilogy, so I can only assume there is more of the same waiting if I were to read the entire thing.
I will read more by this author, she is an amazing writer, but will not read more of these characters. I just can't do that to myself.
The author can write and she writes well. I respect her ability with words. She is expressive and writes in such a way as to make the reader want to continue reading. The work, despite being offered for free on the Kindle is well edited. That shows that the author respects her work and her readers. She obviously cares about what she does.
Unfortunately, I was completely unable to connect with any of the characters, save Annie. She was the only likeable one. Granted, I only read up to chapter 8, but I really can't force myself to read anymore, despite the beauty of the prose.
Brief synopsis. Small town in PA, wife and mother of a 15 year old son and 10 year old daughter vanishes. 18 years later, the son is a lawyer for the people who spill coffee on themselves and sue the coffee provider for scads of money. He is filthy rich, but has no soul. He has huge abandonment and mommy issues, because as a child he found his mother's eight notebooks filled with her desire to leave town because she's being stifled, people don't know who she is, yadda yadda yadda.
He is devoted to his sister, Annie, who is in a relationship with a doctor. She thinks he's fantastic, but he is lying about not smoking, doing it behind her back. When cautioned not to lie to Annie, the boyfriend acts like it's no big deal and doesn't plan on stopping or being honest. What a wonderful man.
The mom, who has been out of the picture for 18 years comes back to ask her son for help. She took the identity of a woman who had died, who happened to be a bank robber, who's partner is out of jail now and thinks the mom is the partner. She wants her son to prove who she is, to save her life. If he won't agree, she will go to her daughter, who thinks she is dead, and do her best to ruin his relationship with Annie. What a wonderful mother.
Then on top of everything else, the lawyer meets a woman who claims to have shot her estranged husband in self defense, but she won't admit he was beating her and rather than deal with the police in San Fran, she fled to Philly because she was scared he would hurt her. She allegedly shot him in the stomach upon awaking and seeing an intruder in her bedroom. So instead of finishing the job, or calling 9-1-1, she flees. She also has the same name as his mom and is lying to him by not telling him all of her story. He's conflicted because he fell for her at first sight, but she reminds him of his mommy.
The people are all self-centered, except for Annie, the poor thing. Her brother lied to her for her own good about the mom, the mom wants to use her to get the lawyer to help her and her doctor boyfriend is lying to her about not smoking. Small thing to lie about, but if one is willing to lie about the small stuff, what else will he lie about?
I read to escape reality, not to wallow in it. I don't care if they get redeemed in the end. It's not worth reading the rest of it to get there. Also, this is the first of a trilogy, so I can only assume there is more of the same waiting if I were to read the entire thing.
I will read more by this author, she is an amazing writer, but will not read more of these characters. I just can't do that to myself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2013
this was the first book of Mary's that I have read and it won't be the last I enjoyed it very much. It was a great story about a family whose mother disappears and the scares that are left as they grow to adults. It is really worth your time and a good read
November 9, 2017
Cookie cutter
Sex and happily ever after. No real plot, just a medium to have you spend your money. Not worth the time. I used to tell my girls to dump the smut novels and read something real.
Sex and happily ever after. No real plot, just a medium to have you spend your money. Not worth the time. I used to tell my girls to dump the smut novels and read something real.
May 6, 2013
Well written story. I bought several more of her books soon after. The author knows how to tell a story.
August 6, 2022
Betrayal, abandonment, She didn’t mean to hurt them
Years past and Quinn and Annie have gone on with their lives without their mother. Quinn bitter,. Annie lost neither can completely let go of the past. Their father has gone on finally giving up hunting, hoping and just past away leaving them to carry on waiting. They have good careers and life is trying to complete the cycle. Till it crashes! The world falls in ! SHE IS BACK and their world falls apart
Years past and Quinn and Annie have gone on with their lives without their mother. Quinn bitter,. Annie lost neither can completely let go of the past. Their father has gone on finally giving up hunting, hoping and just past away leaving them to carry on waiting. They have good careers and life is trying to complete the cycle. Till it crashes! The world falls in ! SHE IS BACK and their world falls apart
November 13, 2024
I read it within a few hours when I couldn't sleep this early morning.
A mother who abandons her children and husband left a lasting impact. A young woman shoots her abusive husband, who is reported to have died from the wound. Yet, she's on the run. When the young woman meets the adult children of the mother who abandoned them, they form a bond that changes each of them.
The writing was fast-paced although the plot was cookie-cutter. I liked how Campisi told this story.
A mother who abandons her children and husband left a lasting impact. A young woman shoots her abusive husband, who is reported to have died from the wound. Yet, she's on the run. When the young woman meets the adult children of the mother who abandoned them, they form a bond that changes each of them.
The writing was fast-paced although the plot was cookie-cutter. I liked how Campisi told this story.
November 29, 2016
Really enjoyed this story. Another good one by Mary
January 4, 2019
Terribly predictable, plot holes, etc.
May 6, 2016
Great story as always
Enjoyed this book. I have read just about everything by this author and always love the story. This book was really well done the characters are realistic with some unique twists and turns. Relationships and family dynamics handled in real ways. Loved it.
Enjoyed this book. I have read just about everything by this author and always love the story. This book was really well done the characters are realistic with some unique twists and turns. Relationships and family dynamics handled in real ways. Loved it.
March 14, 2012
I wanted to like it, I really did... But, it was a fast read and I felt really lost in several places like we skipped crucial info. I even went back to see if I missed pages somewhere. The premise was good but the plot needs to be longer.
March 15, 2012
although the book started out slow, within the first 5 chapters I was hooked. Typical boy meets girl book with a bit of a twist. I would recomend this book to anyone that wants to escape and have a bit of fun.
June 19, 2012
OMG I hate the mother in this boook- Quinn is normal- shutting iff everything emotionally because his mother stuffed the whole famiy up when she just up and left one day. Found this one hard to read and just read bits over a month as I couldnt stand the mother and it didnt hold me that well!!
January 8, 2013
Couldn't put it down. It is fast paced but pulls you in and won't let go. Anticipating the sequel.
January 19, 2013
not as good as a family affair but enjoyable.
January 30, 2020
A very enjoyable read from start to finish.
Great read. I loved everything from beginning to end. I will definitely read the second and third books in the trilogy.
Great read. I loved everything from beginning to end. I will definitely read the second and third books in the trilogy.
January 31, 2013
Lovef this book from beginning to end!
October 3, 2017
Pieces of You
Very good read. Twists and turns. A couple of love stories, and lots of regret, mistakes and finding peace. Enjoy.
Very good read. Twists and turns. A couple of love stories, and lots of regret, mistakes and finding peace. Enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews