Title: Discovering Stella
Author: K.M. Golland
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 24, 2015
Blurb
This book is for mature audiences 18+ It contains explicit language and sexual content.
Stella Walker is twenty-six years old and hiding from a past that haunts her on a daily basis. In a desperate attempt to escape the torment of her memories, she tries to rebuild her life and move on.
She seeks the seclusion of a rural town and tracks down a distant relative who Stella knows will give help, but who is unaware of the past she is trying to flee.
What Stella doesn’t anticipate, is meeting Lawson Drake.
Lawson Drake is twenty-nine years old, a mechanic who owns an auto service and smash repair shop. When he comes across a broken-down car by the side of the road, he is intrigued by its owner — a caramel-eyed brunette who clearly has a score to settle, not only with her defective vehicle, but with anyone who tries to get too close. The thing is, Lawson wants close. He wants more than close. He wants as close as he can possibly get.
Stella Walker is twenty-six years old and hiding from a past that haunts her on a daily basis. In a desperate attempt to escape the torment of her memories, she tries to rebuild her life and move on.
She seeks the seclusion of a rural town and tracks down a distant relative who Stella knows will give help, but who is unaware of the past she is trying to flee.
What Stella doesn’t anticipate, is meeting Lawson Drake.
Lawson Drake is twenty-nine years old, a mechanic who owns an auto service and smash repair shop. When he comes across a broken-down car by the side of the road, he is intrigued by its owner — a caramel-eyed brunette who clearly has a score to settle, not only with her defective vehicle, but with anyone who tries to get too close. The thing is, Lawson wants close. He wants more than close. He wants as close as he can possibly get.
Will Lawson discover who the real Stella is? Or will her defences prove to be too strong?
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Excerpt
Pain. Physical, or psychological ... which of the two hurts the most? Is it possible for one to hurt more than the other, or are both just as debilitating?
Physical pain is instant, brutal and uncamouflaged. It’s bold and undeniable, often leaving a visible scar of the damage caused. Psychological pain is one that festers within, unseen, yet just as potent. It is often a wolf in sheep’s clothing, slowly chipping away at a person’s soul, lacking visibility.
Both forms of pain have the capacity to bring a person to his or her knees, destroy their faith and render them useless. But when the two collide, merge, unite in a common cause, the effects can be catastrophic.
My body was currently experiencing both forms of pain as I took slow tedious steps across the lawn in the direction of what I had been evading, running from, for the past couple of years.
I knew this moment would come, at one point or another, for some things are just inescapable. Yet, regardless of the inevitability, that did not mean I wished to welcome it sooner rather than later. In fact, the longer I avoided it, the better. It meant I was able to bury it in an untouched grave, that grave’s location deep within my body.
The wind lashed my skin with each step I took, leaving an icy sting. And the leaves under my booted feet cried out when I pressed them into the earth. I couldn’t look up. I refused to, instead focussing on the black leather of my boots together with the grass and gravel that filled my vision. My nails dug into the palms of my hands as I clenched my fists, nerves and apprehension blanketing me. The pain of my biting fingernails was welcome, providing a microscopic distraction from what was to come in mere seconds. But it was microscopic — the pounding of my heart overpowering it and reminding me why I’d run, why I’d fled my previous life and why it was so difficult to return. Returning meant facing what had happened, what I’d done ... what I’d suffered.
Returning meant closure, which, up until six months ago, I’d never thought possible. Six months ago, I’d escaped and reinvented myself. I’d left my previous life and started a new one — one that, unintentionally, included Lawson Drake.
That man, that infuriating man, not only fixed my stupid car, he fixed my broken and tormented heart. He discovered my almost extinguished light.
He discovered Stella.
Physical pain is instant, brutal and uncamouflaged. It’s bold and undeniable, often leaving a visible scar of the damage caused. Psychological pain is one that festers within, unseen, yet just as potent. It is often a wolf in sheep’s clothing, slowly chipping away at a person’s soul, lacking visibility.
Both forms of pain have the capacity to bring a person to his or her knees, destroy their faith and render them useless. But when the two collide, merge, unite in a common cause, the effects can be catastrophic.
My body was currently experiencing both forms of pain as I took slow tedious steps across the lawn in the direction of what I had been evading, running from, for the past couple of years.
I knew this moment would come, at one point or another, for some things are just inescapable. Yet, regardless of the inevitability, that did not mean I wished to welcome it sooner rather than later. In fact, the longer I avoided it, the better. It meant I was able to bury it in an untouched grave, that grave’s location deep within my body.
The wind lashed my skin with each step I took, leaving an icy sting. And the leaves under my booted feet cried out when I pressed them into the earth. I couldn’t look up. I refused to, instead focussing on the black leather of my boots together with the grass and gravel that filled my vision. My nails dug into the palms of my hands as I clenched my fists, nerves and apprehension blanketing me. The pain of my biting fingernails was welcome, providing a microscopic distraction from what was to come in mere seconds. But it was microscopic — the pounding of my heart overpowering it and reminding me why I’d run, why I’d fled my previous life and why it was so difficult to return. Returning meant facing what had happened, what I’d done ... what I’d suffered.
Returning meant closure, which, up until six months ago, I’d never thought possible. Six months ago, I’d escaped and reinvented myself. I’d left my previous life and started a new one — one that, unintentionally, included Lawson Drake.
That man, that infuriating man, not only fixed my stupid car, he fixed my broken and tormented heart. He discovered my almost extinguished light.
He discovered Stella.
Review
Stella is on the run from her past and the demons that haunt her. Instead of facing her past, she tries to keep it a secret as she reinvents a new life for herself. As the book begins and continues, the author leaves you guessing as to what exactly the secret is that Stella is keeping and what she is hiding from.
Lawson Drake suddenly comes into Stella's life and helps her begin to forget about her past all while disturbing the denial she has lived in since she ran away. Lawson tries his hardest to make her happy and drop her guard so that he can help her face the past that she is running from but every time he gets close, Stella puts her walls back up and pushes Lawson away.
Discovering Stella is an emotional roller coaster. Stella's pain and struggle definitely broke my heart and I genuinely felt for her struggle. Lawson is a bad boy with a sweet side when it comes to Stella and I think he was the perfect person to deal with her and help her.
Discovering Stella is a very sweet book at the same time as it is emotional. I really enjoyed Golland's characters, plot, and writing style and felt myself drawn into this book with just the first few lines. With twists and turns, laughter and tears, Discovering Stella is an absolutely amazing book that I highly recommend.
★★★★★
Author Bio
“I'm an author. I am married. I am a mother of two adorable little people. I'm a bookworm, craftworm, movieworm, and sportsworm. I'm also a self confessed shop-aholic, tea-aholic, car-aholic, and choc-aholic.” Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, K.M. Golland studied law and worked as a conveyancer before putting her career on hold to raise her children. She then traded her legal work for her love of writing and found her dream career.
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