Blog Tour, Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: You Won’t Know I’m Gone by Kristen Orlando

Crushed on by , on January 12, 2018, in Blog Tour, Giveaways, Guest Post, New Releases, Reviews / 1 Comment

Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: You Won’t Know I’m Gone by Kristen Orlando

You Won’t Know I’m Gone by Kristen Orlando releases this Tuesday the 16th and we are so happy to be a part of the blog tour! In our post today you will find all the book information, a review, and a tour-wide giveaway! We also had the opportunity to talk with Kristen about how she puts the SWOON in a SPY story! Check it out!

 

You Won’t Know I’m Gone (The Black Angel Chronicles #2) by Kristen Orlando

Category: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller
Publication:January 16th, 2018; Swoon Reads
Purchase: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo

Reagan has to prove herself to an elite group of special agents—and avenge her mother’s death—in the second book in the Black Angel Chronicles from the author of You Don’t Know My Name.

Going rogue in an effort to rescue her kidnapped parents has cost Reagan Hillis her automatic ticket to the Training Academy. But becoming a Black Angel is the only way Reagan will be able to exact revenge on her mother’s merciless killer, Santino Torres.

When Reagan is given a chance to prove that she’s worthy of training to be a Black Angel, she also gets the first chance she’s ever had to be her true self. No aliases. No disguises.

But when her friend Luke joins her at the Black Angels training compound, Reagan finds herself once again torn between the person she was and the person she wants to be. Reagan has to prove that she’s as good as her parents trained her to be, because she’ll never find Torres without the Black Angels’ help.

 

Review:

[book rating=4/5]

Ever since finishing You Don’t Know My Name, I’ve been dying to dive back into the world of the Black Angels. That ending!

I was grateful to pick up nearly right after the events of book one. Reagan wants revenge for the death of her mother. Basically the only way to get that—become a Black Angel herself. Following her training and missions was exciting in itself. It becomes a struggle between following the rules and doing what she believes is right.

Luke comes back into the picture, and at times, I couldn’t help but be annoyed with him. However, I was annoyed with Reagan and her actions/mentality too. I know part was grief, but I still think she could’ve used that to grow as a character. And I actually think that’s the course we are heading. Her anguish and mental health are a huge part of this book. And I’m hoping in book 3 we will get to see the true Reagan.

There’s just as much intrigue and mystery as in book one. The pacing is just as perfect as book one, also. I love the idea of revenge, especially at the hands of a bad ass female teenager.

Once again, the last 15-20% are action-packed and fantastic. I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot since it’s still ongoing from the first book. But Torres is still at large. Still taunting Reagan. And she has new friends (and Luke) who want to help her.

A great continuation to an already good story, I cannot wait to see what Kristen has in store for book three!

 

Guest Post:

How I put the SWOON in a spy story?

Writing romance for me is a challenge! I can write a fight or action scene all day long, but the perfect kiss or describing that feeling that takes over your body when someone you love touches your hand, that can be incredibly hard for me.

I have always loved the best friends become love interest stories, so for Luke and Reagan, I wanted to show that progression throughout the books. In You Don’t Know My Name, their relationship is a slow but intense burn. I tried to show how these two just get each other. One of my favorite chapters to write was a scene in Luke’s bonus room where these two sang along to Doobie Brother’s records and talked into the wee hours of the morning. I wanted to show how Reagan is more herself with Luke than with anyone she’s ever known. The pretender fades away when he’s around and her true side shines. Luke shows Reagan a world she didn’t know could exist, a happiness outside of the Black Angels, and that both enlivened her and scared the crap out of her because it made her question the destiny that was laid out in front of her. Even though I find it difficult, I really enjoy writing the swoon-worthy moments between these two. The almost kisses and the way Reagan’s body just buzzes when he touches her. In You Won’t Know I’m Gone, there’s a scene where Reagan and Luke are working on Krav Maga takedowns and the chemistry that was between them in book one comes roaring back to life. Reagan’s own inner turmoil plus the Black Angel rule that trainees cannot date keeps them apart (I mean…you have to keep your main characters apart for awhile, right?!) but it was a lot of fun for these two to straddle that line. If you’re looking for heat in this book…just wait until you get to the airplane scene. Close quarters + whip cream fight = swoony moment.

To write a swoon-worthy scene, I will literally act it out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve yelled, “Honey! Can you come in the office and press your forehead against mine for a minute!” My husband has been such a good sport helping me so I can accurately describe just what it is you see or feel or smell or taste right before you kiss someone you truly love. So thanks, babe. You are the sweet and selfless Luke to my Reagan for sure.

 

Author Bio: Kristen Orlando

Writing is one of the great loves of Kristen Orlando’s life and she has been lucky enough to make it her living, first as a television producer, then as a marketer and now as a novelist. Kristen graduated with a B.A. in English literature from Kenyon College. She lives in Columbus, Ohio with the other great love of her life, Michael. You Don’t Know My Name is her debut novel.

Links:
Facebook ** Twitter ** Goodreads

 

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

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One response to “Blog Tour, Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: You Won’t Know I’m Gone by Kristen Orlando

  1. Savings InSeconds

    I have the first book but haven’t read it yet. I really enjoy secret ops type stories like this!
    Dianna