Hi peeps, we have Indra Vaughn popping in with the tour for her new release Patchwork Paradise, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Aerin’s review so enjoy the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

Patchwork Paradise

Indra Vaughn

Oliver and Samuel’s relationship is fairy-tale perfect. They share a gorgeous house in Antwerp, go out with their friends every weekend, and count down the days to their dream wedding. But their happy ending is shattered one late night, and just like that, Ollie is left bereft and alone.

The months that follow are long and dark, but slowly Ollie emerges from his grief. He even braves the waters of online dating, though deep down he doesn’t believe he can find that connection again. He doesn’t think to look for love right in front of him: his bisexual friend Thomas, the gentle giant with a kind heart and sad eyes who’s wanted him all along.

When Thomas suddenly discovers he has a son who needs him, he’s ill prepared. Ollie opens up his house—Sam’s house—and lets them in. Ollie doesn’t know what scares him more: the responsibility of caring for a baby, or the way Thomas is steadily winning his heart. It will take all the courage he has to discover whether or not fairy tales can happen for real.

Excerpt

Around three in the morning, the music slowed a little and Imran came to steal Cleo away. Right behind him was Samuel, and we slipped into a slow dance as if we’d rehearsed it. He didn’t say much and neither did I, but I felt the moment deeply, like a comforting weight in the center of my soul, grounding me to earth. I closed my eyes and smiled as I laid my head on his shoulder.

“Can we go soon?” he asked me when the song ended. “It’s been a long day, and I’m tired.”

“Yes,” I said. “Of course. Let me just go grab a glass of water. I’m parched.”

“Sure. I’ll be waiting in the courtyard. I need some air. Thomas said we can take his car.” He held out a bunch of keys, and I was relieved we wouldn’t have to walk home.

The place was still busy but not packed anymore, and I got my water pretty quickly. Cleo and Imran were snuggled up in the corner, so I just gave them a little wave. When I saw Thomas standing all by himself, I went to go say hi.

“What’s up?” I asked. “Where’s your girl?”

“Her name’s Liesbeth. And she’s in the bathroom,” he said. A strand of his long brown hair had gotten stuck between his lips. He’d pulled it back in a bun, but a lot of it had come undone and clung to his neck in sweaty peaks. I plucked the hair out of his mouth.

“So you won’t need our couch?” Thomas lived outside of Antwerp in a small village by the Schelde. He always talked about moving to the city so he wouldn’t have to deal with traffic on the E17 anymore. So far he hadn’t made real plans yet.

His gaze trailed to the bathroom, and I followed it, seeing the girl emerge. She waved, and we both waved back. He smirked at me. “Doubtful, but I’ll call if I do.”

“I’ll leave you to it. Good luck.” We hugged quickly, and he rubbed my back.

“Take care,” he said.

I nodded and walked away.

Samuel was waiting for me by the big wooden door that led to the street. “Ready to go?” he asked as he held up his arm. I walked underneath it and snuggled close.

“Yes. Did you have a good time?”

He smiled down at me. “I had a great time. You know I love watching you have fun.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to sit through these evenings because you have to.”

“No, I had a good time talking to Imran. His hospital stories are always incredible.”

Thomas had left his car by the docks. We crossed the Ernest Van Dijckkaai, a wide road that hugged the water. The night smelled of the sea air the river brought with it. A cool wind had picked up and made me shiver, and Samuel hugged me tighter.

Little light covered the parking lots, and we fell quiet as we hurried along. Samuel held Thomas’s key out, and in the distance a car beeped once as its indicators flashed.

We walked toward it, and a chill ran down my spine. Every single hair on the back of my neck rose. Either my eyes were playing tricks or the world was turning darker. The foreboding hung so thick I could taste it. “Sam,” I whispered.

“I know.” He grabbed my hand, squeezed it, then tugged me forward. We half ran toward the car. I’d never figure out why, but I understood something terrible was about to happen. My heart tried to claw its way out of my throat.

“Sam,” I said again, and a dark figure stepped out from behind a van. “Oh no.”

“Your wallet,” the man said. His eyes were wide and his gaze kept darting from me to Sam to the street behind us. It was hard to see his face, but every now and again the dim light caught the sweat on his forehead or the brown of his rotting teeth. “Both of you. Car keys, phones, watches. All of it.”

“Oh God.” I began to tremble, and Samuel took a careful step away from me. The mugger’s frantic eyes followed him, which must have been Sam’s intention, but I didn’t like it one bit.

“Do what he says,” he told me calmly. “It’ll be okay.”

I nodded and tried to keep a hold of myself as I undid the watch on my wrist. It had been a gift from my dad, but in that moment it could’ve been a gift from the king and I wouldn’t have cared.

By the time I managed to take my phone and wallet out of my pockets, I was trembling so hard I fumbled and dropped them. Then it all happened at once.

“Oh God,” I said again, bending to pick them up.

The guy yelled, “Stay where you are!” and Samuel stepped between us.

I heard the guy swear, ripping something from Samuel’s hands. Samuel turned around, his eyes wide.

“It’s okay,” he said.

“Yeah, we can get new wallets.” I tried to laugh, but my eyes were wet and my voice was hoarse. I looked up to see the man running away. “He’s gone. Should I call the police?”

“I think you need to call an ambulance,” Samuel whispered. He was clutching at me, dragging me down with him. I didn’t understand.

“Sam? Sammy? Oh my God. Oh my God.” I tried to ease him down slowly, but he was so heavy we both fell. The gravel bit painfully into my knee, and his head lolled to the side.

“Sam!” I grabbed his face and righted it. He looked at me and mouthed something, but all that came out were bubbles of blood. “No. No no no, Samuel, oh please, God, no.” He was clutching his abdomen and I pried his fingers away. A thick pool of blood darkened his shirt. I made a hoarse noise. Pressing my hands over what must be a stab wound, I looked up and saw a couple walking. “Help me!” I yelled. I fumbled around for either of our phones, but my vision was cloudy with panic and tears, and I couldn’t find them. “Somebody help me!”

When I looked back down at Samuel, his eyes had filmed over.

I screamed as his blood seeped under my fingernails. And because grief is, intrinsically, a selfish emotion, all I felt was my own heart bleeding.

– Read more at: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/patchwork-paradise (Just click the excerpt tab)

About Indra

After living in Michigan, USA for seven wonderful years, Indra Vaughn returned back to her Belgian roots. There she will continue to consume herbal tea, do yoga wherever the mat fits, and devour books while single parenting a little boy and working as a nurse.

The stories of boys and their unrequited love will no doubt keep finding their way onto the page—and hopefully into readers hands—even if it takes a little more time.

And if she gleefully posts pictures of snow-free streets in winter, you’ll have to forgive her. Those Michigan blizzards won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

Connect with Indra:

• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/indra.vaughn.7
• Twitter https://twitter.com/VaughnIndra

Giveaway!

To celebrate, Indra is giving away an ebook from her backlist at EVERY BLOG STOP! She’ll also be giving out a grand prize of $25 in Riptide credit.

Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Review

Title: Patchwork Paradise

Author: Indra Vaughn

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (275pgs)

ISBN: 9781626493803

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (March 28th 2016)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Aerin

Blurb: Oliver and Samuel’s relationship is fairy-tale perfect. They share a gorgeous house in Antwerp, go out with their friends every weekend, and count down the days to their dream wedding. But their happy ending is shattered one late night, and just like that, Ollie is left bereft and alone.

The months that follow are long and dark, but slowly Ollie emerges from his grief. He even braves the waters of online dating, though deep down he doesn’t believe he can find that connection again. He doesn’t think to look for love right in front of him: his bisexual friend Thomas, the gentle giant with a kind heart and sad eyes who’s wanted him all along.

When Thomas suddenly discovers he has a son who needs him, he’s ill prepared. Ollie opens up his house—Sam’s house—and lets them in. Ollie doesn’t know what scares him more: the responsibility of caring for a baby, or the way Thomas is steadily winning his heart. It will take all the courage he has to discover whether or not fairy tales can happen for real.

Product Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/patchwork-paradise

Review: I have a hard time finding my words when it comes to writing a review for this one, and I had to wait a few days after finishing it, because I didn’t want any fucking tears on my laptop while writing the review.

This book is angst heavy people, really, really heartbreaking, and I wasn’t expecting it. I realized after reading the blurb that Oliver lost the love of his life (Sam) but never in a million years did I imagine I’d be crying my heart out while “living” through the whole series of events that led to Sam’s death.

I was hoping I didn’t get to meet Sam in this book, I thought for sure he would be already dead at the beginning, and once I realized that was not the case, I REALLY hoped I wouldn’t like him very much. WRONG!!! I LOVED HIM!!!…. for as little as I got to know him, I loved Sam and thought he was perfect for Oliver. There was lots of crying people, like “tear-your-heart-out” crying, because that’s what it felt like when Sam died and Oliver submerged into his grief.

When the period of grieving got a little easier to read through, I seriously doubted that I’d like Thomas and Oliver together. Sam was just too perfect for Oliver and I couldn’t imagine Thomas taking his place. I gotta give it to Indra, because she managed to make me love Thomas and accept him as a suitable replacement for Sam.

In fact, I really didn’t have to compare them to one another because to me, Thomas wasn’t any sloppy seconds. The dude is hot as fuck, and he’s been in love with Oliver for years,. Since the very first time they met. Thomas kept his feelings to himself because he realized what Sam and Oliver had was special,.  I can’t imagine how bad it hurt him to be close friends with them, watch them be so in love with each other, and know deep down that the only person he’s ever loved will never his.

And then…. there’s a baby! I’m telling you people, there’s nothing hotter than a half-naked Thomas holding a sleeping baby on his chest! Whew, be advised ladies, your hearts will melt and your panties will catch fire, because Thomas+baby is just that adorably hot! There was some humor after the baby came to live with Thomas and Oliver, because nasty baby diapers and projectile vomit on unsuspecting men is freaking hilarious, and after all that angst, the humor was more than welcome.

I love angst in my books, it’s usually a must for me, but this was a dash too much even for me. Or maybe not exactly too much angst, but not enough happy times to overcompensate for all the suffering I’ve done. My philosophy is if you’re going to make me bleed for your books (go ahead, I like it) give me at LEAST the same amount of happy, joyful, and don’t forget sexy times to make up for it. I didn’t feel like I got enough happy, and I definitely didn’t get enough sexy. I know Indra can write a sex scene hot enough to catch my IPad on fire, so I was disappointed we didn’t get more “set-the-sheets-on-fire” times.

Another thing that prevented me from giving this book 5 stars was Cleo, Imran, and all that drama that came from Thomas sleeping with Cleo (relax, it was before him and Oliver got together). This was an angst-heavy book to start with, so I felt that all the secondary characters’ drama was unnecessary and unwelcome. Please don’t think this is one of those dramatic books that make you role your eyes, because it’s really NOT, but even the realistic drama added too much heaviness to the book.

Overall this was a great book, nicely written, but don’t make the mistake of starting it without a ton of tissues handy. And yes, there’s a HEA (a beautiful one, full of smiles and warm feelings), so you won’t be suffering in vain.

Check out the other blogs on the blog tour