Elect by Rachel Van Dyken will be available in Paperback!!!!!
Enter below for a chance to win a copy :)
Blurb:
Would you die for the one you love?
Nixon Abandonato made his choice. And now he has to pay the price. Tracey is the love of his life, but being with him has made her a target of his family's enemies. The only way to keep Trace alive is convince the world she means nothing to him.
Trace Rooks has fallen irrevocably in love with the son of her family's sworn rival, and she knows in her bones nothing can tear them apart. Until Nix suddenly pushes her away and into the arms of his best friend... But Trace isn't ready to give up on a future with Nix--and if he won't fight for them, she will.
In the end, a sacrifice must be made. A life for a life. For what better way to cover a multitude of sins than with the blood of a sinner . . .
Buy Links:
Excerpt:
“Let’s make
a pact.” Chase put his hand on my shoulder.
“A pact?” I sniffled and turned to him. “What kind of pact?”
“One that’s
forever. One that protects people rather than hurts them.”
“How do we do
that?” I was suddenly interested. What if I could make all the hurt
go away? What if I could save everyone!
“We do this.”
Chase pulled out his pocketknife and cut open his hand, then nodded
to me to do the same thing. Without pausing I cut open my hand and
handed back the knife. “Blood brothers. We’re never gonna hurt
each other and we’re gonna save those like your ma, Nixon. Ones who
can’t save themselves. We’re going to protect them.”
“How?” I
watched as the blood dripped from my open palm.
“Rules.”
Chase shrugged. “They keep people safe, right? At least that’s
what my mom says.” He smiled. “We make rules and we start our own
club. That way, we don’t have to listen to anyone but us.”
I liked it. I chewed on my lower
lip. “What do we call ourselves?”
“The chosen?”
Chase offered.
“No, that
sounds lame. We have to sound… more powerful than that.”
My eyes
flickered to the road, and a sign poked into the ground. It said
election. “Elect.” I pointed. “Let’s call ourselves The
Elect.” It made sense; after all, the president was elected, wasn’t
he? We weren’t exactly chosen, but we were making the choice, we
were electing ourselves protectors. That’s what we were.
“Who else can
join?” Chase asked.
“Tex and
Phoenix. They’ll want to.” A weight suddenly felt like it was
being lifted off my twelve-year-old shoulders. “Should we shake on
it?”
“Yeah.”
Chase smashed his hand against mine as our blood mixed. “No going
back, Nixon.”
“No.” I
shook my head. “No going back.”
I pressed my
fingers to my temples and watched, replaying that moment over and
over again in my head as the outline of Chase and Tracey flickered in
the moonlight. Would he really do this to me? After all the shit we’d
been through?
I gauged her
reaction, hoping that I would be wrong. Praying to God that Trace
would just this once listen to me. Her eyes flickered with interest
for a few brief seconds before she looked down at the ground.
“Shit.” I
waited in the shadows. A part of me knew this would happen. The part
that told me to damn my feelings to hell and ignore all the warning
signs that I’d been seeing. But now it seemed like it was too late.
I stayed, planted where I was, watching, waiting.
“Chase, you
can’t…” Trace shook her head. “You can’t be like this. We
can’t do this!”
“We aren’t
doing anything,” Chase said in low tones, reaching for Trace’s
hand. “Don’t you?” He looked directly at me, although all he
saw was a shadow. I knew I was well hidden. “Don’t you feel the
same way?”
Trace jerked her
hand away from Chase’s. “It doesn’t matter what I feel. It’s
not about me, Chase.”
“But it is.”
Chase reached for her again. This time her hand grasped his in such
an intimate embrace I thought I was going to vomit all over the
ground. The outside air was cold as hell as little pieces of ice
tried to find their way into my wool coat.
“It isn’t.”
Trace sighed. “It never was.”
Chase jerked her
toward him. She fell against his chest and looked up into his eyes.
“What are you doing?”
Chase sighed. “What
I should have done a long time ago.” He grabbed the back of her
head and pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips touched.
I had to look away.
The only sound in
the night was that of my soft footsteps as I walked away… leaving
my heart in broken pieces where I’d last stood. She was lost to me;
it wasn’t even the Sicilians that had taken her, but my best
friend.
A gunshot rang out
loud and clear in the night air. I turned back around just in time to
see Trace collapse into Chase’s arms.
My Review
Is there anything Rachel Van Dyken can't do?
I have enjoyed each and every book I have read by her. But this one comes close to being a favorite. I think it is because I love the characters so much.
TEAM NIXON. TEAM CHASE. <----- That seems to be the big question. As much as I love Nixon, my heart pulls towards Chase. But then I get yanked right back. Rinse and repeat, the cycle continues.
Even though everyone is of course on pins and needles to find out who she chooses,
¨Choose me. Because my heart? My soul? My damn existence? Has already spoken, and it wants you, and only you-forever.¨
There is a lot of secrets and discovery in Elect. Things begin to make some sense. But all these answers come at a price. In order to keep Trace safe, Nixon has to push her into Chase's arms. He knows Chase loves her, so he knows she will be safe from everyone else, except maybe Chase. Nixon wars with himself on keeping Trace safe and the possibility of losing her to his cousin, his best friend. Because as hard as Chase tries to fight it he falls deeper and deeper in love with Trace. A bullet to the head is all worth it, all worth having her love him the way he loves her.
¨All it takes is one kiss. One kiss can save you. One kiss can ruin you for life. And my kisses? They better ruin you, Trace.....Because my kisses are real- they mean a hell of a lot more than yours, and from here on out- I'm not holding back.¨
Up and down is the best way to describe this book. So many different emotions, being pulled so many different ways. Then hit with all the secrets. Elect is fast paced and a great follow up. I pretty much guessed who Trace would choose, but I was still surprised by how it all played out. Normally finding love like Trace has found only happens once, but both Nixon and Chase they both love her and would lay their lives down to save her. Her choice isn't an easy one and it comes with pain to all involved when she does choose. Because Trace is in love with them both.
¨You own my heart but... he owns my soul¨
The story is told in the POVs of Nixon, Chase, and Phoenix. It was actually nice to be in the minds of the three of these guys. I felt like it kept us out of the dark for the most part. We discovered things with them, even when the girls were not around. I hope the next book shows an insight to a few others as well. I also hope the one not chosen gets his happy ending. I really do love each an everyone of these characters. I can not wait to get my hands on the next book!
5 Stars!!!!
About the Author:
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching
The Bachelor. She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandyken.com
Social Media Links:
.jpg)
.jpg)
