Hey peeps, today we have Jacob Z. Flores with his brand new release Being True, Jacob lets us have a peek at an excerpt and he has a fantastic giveaway where you could win a Sony Nook! I will leave you to enjoy the post and Tams review, just remember to click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~

Being True

by

Jacob Z. Flores

Truman L. Cobbler has not had an easy life. It’s bad enough people say he looks like Donkey from Shrek, but he’s also suffered the death of his policeman father and his mother’s remarriage to a professional swindler, who cost them everything. Now dirt poor, they live in the barrio of San Antonio, Texas. When Tru transfers to an inner-city high school halfway through his senior year, he meets Javi Castillo, a popular and hot high school jock. Javi takes an immediate liking to Tru, and the two become friends. The odd pairing, however, rocks the school and sets the cliquish social circles askew. No one knows how to act or what to think when Mr. Popular takes a stand for Mr. Donkey. Will the cliques rise up to maintain status quo and lead Tru and Javi to heartbreak and disaster or will being true to who they are rule the day?

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5440

Excerpt

Much to my surprise, most of my day had gone pretty much without incident and played out how my first days at a new school usually did. I ate lunch by myself in the outside quad on a bench far away from everyone else. I shuffled from one class to the next, where I was either scowled at or ignored. Most of the negativity came from the Jock Brigade and Mr. Badass, who had been in every class I had except physics and English.

Who exactly had I pissed off in an earlier life to be that unlucky?

I tried my best to be as invisible as possible, to lessen the serious hate-on they’d had for me since precalc. I didn’t answer questions when called on. I didn’t talk to other students. Hell, I didn’t get up to go to the restroom even though I’d had to pee since fourth-period US History.

My efforts had all been in vain.

Nothing seemed to stop the relentless piercing stare Mr. Badass shot at me every minute of every class, or every time we passed each other in the hall. My standard demeanor of head down and averted eyes hadn’t done its usual trick.

It only seemed to infuriate him more.

By the time sixth period rolled around, which was the only class I had actually looked forward to, I had become a bundle of nervous energy. The hairs on the back of my neck refused to go down, and I was about ready to jump out of my skin.

Only thinking about Javi Castillo settled my nerves.

Whenever I wanted to bolt from the classroom, I’d remember how warmly he greeted me. The memory of his friendly gaze and electric touch kept me from the agitated twitches that occasionally took control of my body in times of high stress.

The only negative side effect had been the never-ending wood I had to conceal.

My attraction to Javi wasn’t a big revelation that I was gay or anything. Hell, I’d known I liked boys since Carl Delacruz kissed me in second grade. After that, it was pretty clear where my preference lay. Besides, it wasn’t like I was a typical boy who ran like a battering ram through life.

I was always more delicate. More sensitive.

My parents had always suspected I was gay. At least that was what my mom told me when I came out to her a couple of years ago. She hadn’t been surprised, and she didn’t really care either. She said my father had asked her if I might be gay when I was, like, four or five. And when I say father, I mean Alexander Cobbler, my real dad, not the jerkhole, Bart.

Apparently, I used to put string on my head and pretend I was a girl with long hair. And I’d begged for a tea set and an Easy-Bake Oven one Christmas. My dad had been taken aback by it, but according to Mom, it hadn’t mattered. I was his son.

Somehow, knowing that, knowing I had my parents’ support—even my dad’s from the great beyond—made being who I was a lot easier to bear.

About Jacob

Jacob Z. Flores lives a double life. During the day, he is a respected college English professor and mid-level administrator. At night and during his summer vacation, he loosens the tie and tosses aside the trendy sports coat to write man on man fiction, where the hard ass assessor of freshmen level composition turns his attention to the firm posteriors and other rigid appendages of the characters in his fictional world.

Summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts, provide Jacob with inspiration for his fiction. The abundance of barely clothed man flesh and daily debauchery stimulates his personal muse. When he isn’t stroking the keyboard, Jacob spends time with his husband, Bruce, their three children, and two dogs, who represent a bright blue blip in an otherwise predominantly red swath in south Texas.

You can follow Jacob’s musings on his blog at http://jacobzflores.com or become a part of his social media network by visiting http://www.facebook.com/jacob.flores2, https://twitter.com/JacobZFlores, or http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5142501.Jacob_Z_Flores.

Giveaway!

Win a Sony Nook 

(Just click the link below)

Jacob Z. Flores Rafflecopter giveaway!

(Ends 16th October 2014)

Title: Being True

Author: Jacob Z. Flores

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Length: Novel (258 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (September 15th 2014)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Tams

Blurb: Truman L. Cobbler has not had an easy life. It’s bad enough people say he looks like Donkey from Shrek, but he’s also suffered the death of his policeman father and his mother’s remarriage to a professional swindler, who cost them everything. Now dirt poor, they live in the barrio of San Antonio, Texas. When Tru transfers to an inner-city high school halfway through his senior year, he meets Javi Castillo, a popular and hot high school jock. Javi takes an immediate liking to Tru, and the two become friends. The odd pairing, however, rocks the school and sets the cliquish social circles askew. No one knows how to act or what to think when Mr. Popular takes a stand for Mr. Donkey. Will the cliques rise up to maintain status quo and lead Tru and Javi to heartbreak and disaster? Or will being true to who they are rule the day?

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5440

Review: Truman Cobbler’s young life has held more misery than happiness to date. After being bullied severely at several schools, he is now at his sixth school hoping to go unnoticed and untouched. He doesn’t even make it through the first day. Even though this day starts out just like every other day, Tru being used as punching bag, but the day does end quite different than any other. He makes not one, but two new friends.

Javi Castillo is the type of guy that usually joins in the fun taunting Tru. He’s good looking, popular and a jock, and best friends with the guy that broke Tru’s face. But Javi is different. He’s kind, friendly and fiercely protective of Tru from the start. Their new friendship doesn’t go unnoticed either. The rumor mill is abuzz of talk of the friendship, especially since everyone suspects that Tru is gay.

They settle into a normal friendship at the start. Javi’s family accepts his new best friend with open arms, actually appreciates Tru’s respectful mannerisms. And while Tru’s mother can sense the growing attraction that Tru has for Javi and it worries her, she’s always civil to Javi. While the cliques at school sort of accept Tru into the fold as Javi’s friend, there are people that are still rude, crude and socially unacceptable, like Rance, the guy that tore into Tru on his first day at school. When the real reason why Rance went after Tru comes to light, the damage may be irreparable.

Being True is a love story at heart about a geeky gay kid who falls for his popular protector. Javi could be just another tormenting jock, but he is respectful and open hearted, unlike his friends up until now. I think that had a lot to do with how he was raised with positive influence and his personality. He has a very short fuse though, that sometimes gets him into trouble. Tru is polar opposite in just about every way. Blonde haired, blue eyed and fair skinned to Javi’s black hair, almost black eyes and olive skin. He’s socially introverted because of the abuse he’s suffered in his life and he’s not trusting at all. But Javi changes all that for him. They are yin and yang, they balance each other out.

But with the sweets, comes the sours. Set in their senior year of high school, Javi and Tru have to deal with homophobic classmates, hate, abuse and bullying. Tru much more than Javi, but true to form, some of Javi’s “friends” are not very accepting of their friendship, much less the relationship that grows from that friendship. There is the expected amount of angst with the age group, and though at times the subject matter is dark and painful, Flores managed to keep it to a minimum. For every bad thing that happened to Tru and Javi, there was usually something good to maintain the balance, and that was very refreshing.

I devoured this book in one setting, unable to put it down once I’d started reading. It was emotional, engaging, romantic and passionate. Seriously, if the title catches your attention then you’ll enjoy this read, because it’s all about being true to yourself. I highly recommend this one. I’ll probably read it again and again and again…