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Finding Me #1
Rising Up
Alternate Cover Edition for ASIN: B00W4D1SJ8
***This is a newly revised and heavily re-edited version***
Rising Up. A romantic second chance novel
Book 1 in the Finding Me Series
Looking at myself in the mirror, trying to clean my broken skin, I realize I no longer recognize myself. What happened to me, when did I become this battered and bruised wreck?’
Heidi has to change not only her name but the country she lives in to survive, with the help of her best friend they flee. As Imogen, she tries to start her life again, away from the constant abuse that had become her life. She takes her first steps as a new woman and when, after a year she stumbles on a man that has the power to heal her. Who can help her overcome the horrors of her past her, Imogen question’s is she brave enough to let him?
After catching his girlfriend cheating on him Mason hides away to lick his wounds and injured pride.
I reflect back on the wasted years and reiterate to myself ‘No more women'.
Until an unnerving feeling to get out again overwhelms him, so for the first time in six weeks enters his local bar and watches as two girls walk in for the first time.
The connection that flows between Imogen and Mason is physical as well as emotional. So as their bodies called out to each other, she hesitates. Has the violence from her past taken away her ability to trust and to desire again? Or can this handsome stranger reawaken her dormant passion?
‘How can my body react to somebody like this? I don't even know him, but hell my skin feels like it's singing out to him.'
‘I notice two girls walk in, and just like that the twitchy feeling in my gut is back and a shiver runs down my spine.’
As they embark on their new relationship Imogen begins to feel free of her past demons and embraces feelings she thought lost as Mason explores her body.
Then when her past catches up with her, Imogen and Mason have to find out if is she strong enough to not only face her old demons but be brave enough to fight for her new life.
Is she tough enough to rise up from her past and follow her heart to a new brighter future? Will the man sent to save her wait while she finds her strength again?
“How can I be a part of you when I can’t even find any part of me?”
This is a contemporary new romance novel, please be aware this story is not always a pretty one. It involves violence and scenes of non-consensual sex that may act as a trigger. Therefore, is recommended for readers aged 18 and over.
***This is a newly revised and heavily re-edited version***
Rising Up. A romantic second chance novel
Book 1 in the Finding Me Series
Looking at myself in the mirror, trying to clean my broken skin, I realize I no longer recognize myself. What happened to me, when did I become this battered and bruised wreck?’
Heidi has to change not only her name but the country she lives in to survive, with the help of her best friend they flee. As Imogen, she tries to start her life again, away from the constant abuse that had become her life. She takes her first steps as a new woman and when, after a year she stumbles on a man that has the power to heal her. Who can help her overcome the horrors of her past her, Imogen question’s is she brave enough to let him?
After catching his girlfriend cheating on him Mason hides away to lick his wounds and injured pride.
I reflect back on the wasted years and reiterate to myself ‘No more women'.
Until an unnerving feeling to get out again overwhelms him, so for the first time in six weeks enters his local bar and watches as two girls walk in for the first time.
The connection that flows between Imogen and Mason is physical as well as emotional. So as their bodies called out to each other, she hesitates. Has the violence from her past taken away her ability to trust and to desire again? Or can this handsome stranger reawaken her dormant passion?
‘How can my body react to somebody like this? I don't even know him, but hell my skin feels like it's singing out to him.'
‘I notice two girls walk in, and just like that the twitchy feeling in my gut is back and a shiver runs down my spine.’
As they embark on their new relationship Imogen begins to feel free of her past demons and embraces feelings she thought lost as Mason explores her body.
Then when her past catches up with her, Imogen and Mason have to find out if is she strong enough to not only face her old demons but be brave enough to fight for her new life.
Is she tough enough to rise up from her past and follow her heart to a new brighter future? Will the man sent to save her wait while she finds her strength again?
“How can I be a part of you when I can’t even find any part of me?”
This is a contemporary new romance novel, please be aware this story is not always a pretty one. It involves violence and scenes of non-consensual sex that may act as a trigger. Therefore, is recommended for readers aged 18 and over.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 4, 2015
12 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
J.J. Harper
51 books580 followersHiding behind a quiet unassuming facade J J reads and writes hot sexy stories. Stories of men loving men as well as women loving men.
What would the neighbors think!!
As long as the men are hot alpha's and the women are strong in their own right then they have a place in J J's books.
JJ also has a kinkier side and writes under the name of AG Silver. So, make sure you look out for those books too.
Catch her on:
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/findingme.se...
Twitter
https://twitter.com/jessjhoney
Sign up for a newsletter and receive teasers and upcoming releases :
http://eepurl.com/bSKDrL
What would the neighbors think!!
As long as the men are hot alpha's and the women are strong in their own right then they have a place in J J's books.
JJ also has a kinkier side and writes under the name of AG Silver. So, make sure you look out for those books too.
Catch her on:
https://www.facebook.com/findingme.se...
https://twitter.com/jessjhoney
Sign up for a newsletter and receive teasers and upcoming releases :
http://eepurl.com/bSKDrL
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 19, 2015
Okay, for the record, I think new authors are awesome. And the fact that you have the courage to write a book and put yourself out there is brave and great. However, not every book will work for every reader. And saying this book didn't work for me is an understatement. I really, really, really disliked these characters.
TONS of SPOILERS ahead. TONS. So read with caution.
The beginning kinda blew my mind. That level of violence and rape were a little shocking. I guess I didn't expect it, so it was kinda crazy. That said, maybe I missed it, but the timeline for this book seemed to be rather quick. Soooooo, explain to me how being in a two and a half year abusive relationship (really it must be said, she gets drugged and gang raped, recorded, and beaten severely- requiring surgery to fix both her vagina and anus), how is it possible immediately (days) after her escape, she's ready to jump back in the sack with a random dude she feels drawn to--- at a bar no less? At a later point in the book it was thrown out there that she had therapy so she's okay now (wait,... what? when?). And how does it only take DAYS to be okay with that shit?
Past that unbelievable mess, we also have to just go with the fact that NO ONE (seriously) calls the cops. Not the h, not her best friend, not her doctor, not her new boyfriend, for a REALLY REALLY REALLY (yes, this also requires three really's) long time. Even though she had proof. LOTS of proof. Her medical records, the VIDEO recordings, and photos. She also knew all of her attackers names. Their professions. Basically everything tied up in a neat little bow ready to take the sick bastards down, yet she doesn't. Because ignorance is bliss. Even though it eventually leads to her psycho exboyfriend KILLING A TEENAGER. All because, what the fuck, lets go dancing?
Are you all following me so far? Because it got worse. Hard to believe I know. Its why I couldn't put the book down. I HAD to finish. I mean a train wreck of this magnitude HAD to had something redeemable, right? Hahaha. Yeah, no, not really.
So psycho stalker exboyfriend finds out where she now lives and works. Sends a message that he will find/hurt her. Then her new love of her life's car gets trashed by yet another psycho. Soooo, what do they do? Go dancing. At a club. No joke. Who needs to be cautious with psychos coming out of the wood work? Fuck it, lets dance. Believable right?
Now lets bring in more bad guys, because a gang bang, psycho exgirlfriend/exboyfriend, and a disgruntled former employee are JUST NOT ENOUGH. So we find out that the h's parents are involved with the whole exboyfriend mess by basically selling her as his sex slave. Which is totally cool, because hey, she signed an NDA... and mom and dad love money. And selling college girls. Also her BFF (who was a TERRIBLE friend, stupid and selfish in the extreme) was having sex with her dad (the bad guy) because she had daddy issues and he paid for her college (not the h's college, however, she had to get a job). Its cool though, because after that nugget gets dropped, they hug it out like real besties and move on. Throw in a missing older brother for the h, who may or may not be another bad guy (who the fuck cares at this point?) and this book basically just self explodes.
Honestly, I just cannot believe I wasted so much time with this. It was painful. And awful. And soooooo unbelievable. So readers beware. If you are looking for a book that has disjointed writing (pick a tense, the sentence shouldn't be in past and present), NO editing, terrible characters, horrible plot lines, and just an overall sense of fuckery. This book is for you. If not, avoid this one. Its not for you.
TONS of SPOILERS ahead. TONS. So read with caution.
The beginning kinda blew my mind. That level of violence and rape were a little shocking. I guess I didn't expect it, so it was kinda crazy. That said, maybe I missed it, but the timeline for this book seemed to be rather quick. Soooooo, explain to me how being in a two and a half year abusive relationship (really it must be said, she gets drugged and gang raped, recorded, and beaten severely- requiring surgery to fix both her vagina and anus), how is it possible immediately (days) after her escape, she's ready to jump back in the sack with a random dude she feels drawn to--- at a bar no less? At a later point in the book it was thrown out there that she had therapy so she's okay now (wait,... what? when?). And how does it only take DAYS to be okay with that shit?
Past that unbelievable mess, we also have to just go with the fact that NO ONE (seriously) calls the cops. Not the h, not her best friend, not her doctor, not her new boyfriend, for a REALLY REALLY REALLY (yes, this also requires three really's) long time. Even though she had proof. LOTS of proof. Her medical records, the VIDEO recordings, and photos. She also knew all of her attackers names. Their professions. Basically everything tied up in a neat little bow ready to take the sick bastards down, yet she doesn't. Because ignorance is bliss. Even though it eventually leads to her psycho exboyfriend KILLING A TEENAGER. All because, what the fuck, lets go dancing?
Are you all following me so far? Because it got worse. Hard to believe I know. Its why I couldn't put the book down. I HAD to finish. I mean a train wreck of this magnitude HAD to had something redeemable, right? Hahaha. Yeah, no, not really.
So psycho stalker exboyfriend finds out where she now lives and works. Sends a message that he will find/hurt her. Then her new love of her life's car gets trashed by yet another psycho. Soooo, what do they do? Go dancing. At a club. No joke. Who needs to be cautious with psychos coming out of the wood work? Fuck it, lets dance. Believable right?
Now lets bring in more bad guys, because a gang bang, psycho exgirlfriend/exboyfriend, and a disgruntled former employee are JUST NOT ENOUGH. So we find out that the h's parents are involved with the whole exboyfriend mess by basically selling her as his sex slave. Which is totally cool, because hey, she signed an NDA... and mom and dad love money. And selling college girls. Also her BFF (who was a TERRIBLE friend, stupid and selfish in the extreme) was having sex with her dad (the bad guy) because she had daddy issues and he paid for her college (not the h's college, however, she had to get a job). Its cool though, because after that nugget gets dropped, they hug it out like real besties and move on. Throw in a missing older brother for the h, who may or may not be another bad guy (who the fuck cares at this point?) and this book basically just self explodes.
Honestly, I just cannot believe I wasted so much time with this. It was painful. And awful. And soooooo unbelievable. So readers beware. If you are looking for a book that has disjointed writing (pick a tense, the sentence shouldn't be in past and present), NO editing, terrible characters, horrible plot lines, and just an overall sense of fuckery. This book is for you. If not, avoid this one. Its not for you.
August 16, 2015
An enjoyable if not sometimes a traumatic story.
Imogen and Mason meet after she has finally managed to carve out a new life for herself....instant connection but confusing feelings for both her and Mason who has also been hurt but in an entirely different way.
The book quickly progresses and we soon get to meet all the other characters which despite being quite a few they added to the story in good ways.
Mason was a truly good guy who loved with everything he had and together him & Ginny had a great bond, but life has a way of catching up with you and when it does can they withstand the fallout?
The side story of Lake & Maddie was great and am looking forward to see what happens next.
All in all a great debut...now for the next
Imogen and Mason meet after she has finally managed to carve out a new life for herself....instant connection but confusing feelings for both her and Mason who has also been hurt but in an entirely different way.
The book quickly progresses and we soon get to meet all the other characters which despite being quite a few they added to the story in good ways.
Mason was a truly good guy who loved with everything he had and together him & Ginny had a great bond, but life has a way of catching up with you and when it does can they withstand the fallout?
The side story of Lake & Maddie was great and am looking forward to see what happens next.
All in all a great debut...now for the next
May 16, 2015
I was so disappointed with this book, the blurb sounded so good but there was so many things wrong with it that I couldn't even finish it. It felt like it was written by a thirteen year old, very immature and with countless grammar and spelling errors. The story was very weak, the main character Mason was so put off of women and supposedly hated them after catching his girlfriend in bed with another guy and yet as soon as he meets Imogen it's suddenly love at first sight and crap about 'feeling' each other in the same room. Having escaped and moved to a different country from a very abusive partner you would think Imogen would be very wary of meeting other guys but oh no she falls deep in love with Mason as soon as they meet, can't imagine life without him and insists with the cringe worthy name calling ('sweetie'). Urgh total corny fairy tale rubbish.
July 25, 2015
What first caught my eye was the GREAT cover!! (Come on, don't judge me....y'all know it caught you too). I was about 4 pages into the book when I realized I was hooked and that this would be an "all nighter"....a "just one more chapter". I've now lost count as to the number of times I've read it. Each time, I ind a missing detail or perspective I missed. I can't recommend this and My Turn (the other book in the Finding Me series) enough. I'm on the edge of my seat just waiting for her next release!!!
October 25, 2015
This book was amazing, but intense at times. Kept you on the edge of your seat. The loyalty & love Mason shows Imogene through out this book is amazing considering what he finds out about her past , and what he & her have to continue to go through to get to their future. It's a harsh reality that's ends with a true love story that's melts your heart.
August 15, 2015
This was a brilliant book for a debut writer. I really enjoyed Imogen and Mason's story and loved the chemistry they both had. My heart broke for what happened to Imogen at the hands of the people she thought loved her but luckily she found Mason who fixed her.
April 8, 2015
They story line was good. I feel like emotions of a rape victim was not real I didn't feel her hurt. The sex parts seems to fake and corny.
November 12, 2015
Great story of Imogene making a new life and meeting Mason. W ever to watch their love grow.
July 25, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. Love how Mason never gave up on Imogen and loved her even after what happened to her. Imogen is a strong woman to go through all that she had a still find love.
December 13, 2017
I recieved this book as a gift. Wow what a great novel. Loved the storyline. I felt the story flowed wonderfully and was full of drama, love and even had me laughing and crying in parts. I have read a LOT of stories over the years and this book is up there with the greats!. I would be happy to recommend this book to anyone. Well done JJ Harper, I will be looking into more of your work.
October 31, 2015
5 *!
I dont quite know where to start! Again, this is a book that has been sat in my tbr collection on my kindle.......I am steadily working my way throughout it, whilst trying not to add any more.......at the moment! This blew me away, I don't know what I was expecting but I got everything, in a totally good way. Imogen and Mason's connection to each other is instant but enduring! The things she has been through and continued to go through is enough to test any relationship but Mason is there, through everything, her shining light, her soulmate. The secondary characters weren't secondary characters to me and I look forward to catching up with Maddie and then Lucas too
I dont quite know where to start! Again, this is a book that has been sat in my tbr collection on my kindle.......I am steadily working my way throughout it, whilst trying not to add any more.......at the moment! This blew me away, I don't know what I was expecting but I got everything, in a totally good way. Imogen and Mason's connection to each other is instant but enduring! The things she has been through and continued to go through is enough to test any relationship but Mason is there, through everything, her shining light, her soulmate. The secondary characters weren't secondary characters to me and I look forward to catching up with Maddie and then Lucas too
February 19, 2016
I am in aww of Imogen, that one person had to endure so much pain, and from the people who were suppose to love her. She is strong and brave. And thank God she connected with Mason!!! Their connection can only be described as one you read about in fairy tales. There were times I had to put the book down, and find my bearings, it was to much. But this book also has truth in it. Shit that goes on in the real world, hard facts about what goes on!!! But the beauty of this story is the unconditional love that Imogen found with Mason.
I would have loved it even more,if we had some insight with Mason being a father, and we missed out on a wedding, that sucked big time!!!!
I would have loved it even more,if we had some insight with Mason being a father, and we missed out on a wedding, that sucked big time!!!!
October 5, 2016
This was a tough read for me because of the spelling errors and poor grammar. Normally a little in a books doesn't bother me but there was a lot. This needs a re-edit. Also Imogen meets Mason and within hours of meeting him they are confessing their love for each other. A little fast there and then the story gets boring. Plus another issue i had was the girls were from the UK they move to the US and meets guy's but the author has the American guys using UK words. It didn't make sense and got confusing. This was only a 3 star read for me and because of that I will not be reading any more books in this series.
October 22, 2016
I enjoyed this book. Yes, there is still some editing that needs to be done, but believe me, if I could overlook them and enjoy this book then anyone can.
Jake is a very easy character to hate, and everyone loves someone to hate. On the plus side, Mason is very easy to adore. Along with his cousins, Lake and Lucas, they form a great team who set out to protect Imogen. There's a lot of that 'family feel' about this book and sometimes that's exactly what I need. But don't be fooled, this book contains some dark scenes (including rape and abuse) that were enough to satisfy my need for dark.
Overall a very enjoyable book.
Jake is a very easy character to hate, and everyone loves someone to hate. On the plus side, Mason is very easy to adore. Along with his cousins, Lake and Lucas, they form a great team who set out to protect Imogen. There's a lot of that 'family feel' about this book and sometimes that's exactly what I need. But don't be fooled, this book contains some dark scenes (including rape and abuse) that were enough to satisfy my need for dark.
Overall a very enjoyable book.
June 8, 2015
So awful. So unbelievably awful.
Can I give it less than one star? The writing in the book was atrocious. Did the author pass English class? The story itself was ridiculous. There were so many holes in the storyline I wanted to pull my hair out. Let's not forget the boring repetitive sex scenes. If this book hadn't been free I would be returning it for a refund instead of just deleting it from my library. Don't waste your time. Save yourself the frustration. Buy a different book. Any book is bound to be better than this one. Ugh.
Can I give it less than one star? The writing in the book was atrocious. Did the author pass English class? The story itself was ridiculous. There were so many holes in the storyline I wanted to pull my hair out. Let's not forget the boring repetitive sex scenes. If this book hadn't been free I would be returning it for a refund instead of just deleting it from my library. Don't waste your time. Save yourself the frustration. Buy a different book. Any book is bound to be better than this one. Ugh.
March 30, 2015
This book had a lot of grammatical errors and mistakes which I'm not a fan of. I also felt that half the book was nothing but sex scenes, I didn't think it was necessary to write down every time Ginny and Mason had sex. Apart from that I really enjoyed this book and the characters. Ginny's story was heartbreaking and horrific. I definitely feel that there are more stories to be told from Maddie's and from Tammy's perspectives and I hope that they get told in the near future.
June 27, 2015
OMG i loved this book, it had me crying and laughing sometimes both at the same time. Its been a long time since i have read a book that i can truly relate to and also that is current and happens in today's society. J J Harper, in my opinion has out done herself with this book. A true heart warming love story and even though they seem to be constantly having sex, understand this all has happened in a short period of time so yeas they are still in the honeymoon period.
May 22, 2015
Good story
I really enjoyed this story. It had a good flow and held my interest. The only thing is I could tell the author was from the UK because the American characters used terms like zipps instead of zippers and mate, not that there is anything ring with that still a very enjoyable book that I would recommend to friends.
I really enjoyed this story. It had a good flow and held my interest. The only thing is I could tell the author was from the UK because the American characters used terms like zipps instead of zippers and mate, not that there is anything ring with that still a very enjoyable book that I would recommend to friends.
June 20, 2015
A little long
This book had so much potential...there was too many grammatical errors and at one point I didn't know who's POV it was. It was a good story of survival and love. The sex scenes where hot but I did skip over a few of them because it was too much...This is a 3.5 rating
This book had so much potential...there was too many grammatical errors and at one point I didn't know who's POV it was. It was a good story of survival and love. The sex scenes where hot but I did skip over a few of them because it was too much...This is a 3.5 rating
June 25, 2015
Dnf. I don't usually give up on a book so quickly, at 37%, but dang. I mean if I was "gang" raped I wouldn't 6 weeks later be ok having hardcore sex again and also when things go bad they just act like nothing happened. Couldn't do it anymore.
Read
April 5, 2015Too many grammar issues.
May 26, 2015
Decent storyline
I did enjoy the storyline and the characters. My only major issue with the book is the editing errors. It needs to be reedited.
I did enjoy the storyline and the characters. My only major issue with the book is the editing errors. It needs to be reedited.
May 31, 2015
DNF.....
October 10, 2015
awesome story.....I loved this book....Cannot wait for more!!!
October 21, 2015
I liked this book but I just couldn't connect with the characters.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews