Blog Tour: Excerpt and Review from Under the Mayhaw Tree by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Wow.  This book is nothing like I was expecting.  It blew me away and I have a feeling it'll blow you away too.

Under the Mayhaw Tree by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Keynote:

Living under a cloud of tragedy for which he’s assumed blame, Drew Dunne has known hell for the past sixteen years. Then he meets Allison Bennett. But in the small town of Colquitt, Georgia, evil lurks around every corner and capturing happiness has an incredibly high price.

Synopsis:

SWEET VICTORY

Small-town football star Drew Dunne sacrificed everything for friendship and guilt. He’s spent most of his life unloved and unwanted. A kind touch, a gentle smile, an encouraging word are all wisps of memory from before the accident. For him there is only family, duty, loyalty. And longing. Until he meets Allison.

When Allison Bennett looks in the mirror, she sees a woman whose life has gone from bad to worse. At the mercy of an abusive husband, sweet tenderness is something she can only dream about…until she finds it in the arms of Drew Dunne.

Not every sacrifice is worthwhile, not every promise is worth keeping, and events in a small Georgia town will test this pair to the very depths of their souls, but at the end of the journey is the truth that—if you’re willing to pay the price—true love can conquer all. Drew Dunne will finally be with the woman he loves. Or die trying.

Purchase Links:

AMAZON * B&N *  BOROUGHS PUBLISHING GROUP

Excerpt:

As she took off her clothes he put his hands behind his head and watched her every movement. Each one was poetry in motion to his way of thinking. To him, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. He loved her so deeply he felt it in his soul. She was everything to him and he wanted to be everything to her. His heart was filled with such peace, his body with such longing, he could barely contain the feelings.

The last piece of clothing she removed was her panties and when she turned to the bed, he whistled in appreciation. As he had at the two motels they’d stayed at on the way to the cabin, he pretended not to notice the healing bruises covering her sweet body.

“Will you get under the covers?” she asked. She sat on the mattress, then stuck her legs under the sheet.

“Hey. You can leave your socks on but you took mine off?” he challenged. “You think that’s fair?”

“I have poor circulation in my feet,” she said. “Believe me. You don’t want my cold toesies rubbing along your calf in the middle of the night.”

“I believe you should pay a toll for being allowed to wear socks to bed when I can’t,” he told her as he joined her under the covers.

“What kind of toll?” she asked.

“The kind that is exacting,” he said. He slid down in the bed—disappearing beneath the covers—and slid on top of her. 

Review

 ★★★★★ stars

One of the biggest questions running through my head after I finished reading this book was, "Why have I not read anything by Charlotte Boyett-Compo before? How is this just the first book?" This book was often painful and hard to read, but it was exciting and impossible to put down.  It's amazing how much hope there was to be found in a story that seemed to only give Drew and Allison pain. 

My interest was captured from the very first page and stayed that way through the last page. I don't even know where to start when it comes to talking about Drew and Allison.  Their situations were interminable and unbearable. I wanted to reach into the screen of my e-reader and liberate them from their tormentors or throw it in a fit of anger for all that happened to them. Luckily, I persevered as did they.

Charlotte Boyell-Compo did a fantastic job at making certain tough moral issues easy to overlook.  It just made it that much easier to be sympathetic towards Drew and Allison. For those readers who have trigger warnings, there are going to be a lot of moments in this book when you'll feel sick. I know I did.  I don't condone violence however I was surprised to see how blood thirsty I was when it came time for Drew to finally have the upper hand. I found it very easy to forgive him for the sins he committed while finding it impossible to forgive others who had committed the same or even worse sins. I loved Allison.  She faced so much but was so strong. I admired her for the strength she had.  I really do wish she'd taken action sooner.

I'm trying very hard to convey how amazing this book was and I feel like I'm failing at it horribly. Truly this is a book that needs to be read in order to understand the magnitude of how amazing this story is.  The lows are unbelievably low and you can't help but be astounded by them.  The only aspect of the story that was unclear was the time period.  I can't help but think this could only happen in an era long gone, because this happening in today's world seems impossible.  Now that I know of Charlotte Boyett-Compo and I've had my mind blown by one of her books, I will certainly check out her previously published back list of over 100 books.

*Thank you to the publicist for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*

Author Bio:

Charlotte Boyett-Compo (her friends call her Charlee) is a multi-published author of all sub-genres of Romance fiction. Under the Mayhaw Tree is her 100th book. Over the years, her novels have won many awards. When asked why she writes, she's said, "I write because the urge is there and it's like an itch you can not ignore. Sometimes, I think if I don't get my thoughts down on paper, I'll go insane. It is a craving, an addiction, that unless you experience it, you can't quite explain to 'normal' people."

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