Blog Tour Stop: Keeping Secrets in Seattle by Brooke Moss: Review, Character Interview and Giveaways!

Hiya Muffins!

Welcome to my stop on the Keeping Secrets in Seattle Blog Tour hosted by Entangled Publishing

Today I'll be posting my review of Keeping Secrets in Seattle, plus KSiS characters, Violet and Gabe are dropping by for a grilling on the Book Me! couch, and you lucky kids will have a chance to win some super awesomesauce prizes!

  

KEEPING SECRETS IN SEATTLE

by Brooke Moss

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Out Now!
Review source: e-ARC recieved in exchange for an honest review as part of blog tour, with thanks!

Seattle hairstylist Violet Murphy always knew the day would come when her best friend Gabe Parker would want to settle down. She’d secretly wished it would be with her, but now that he’s chosen someone else—the prim, perfect Alicia—he wants Vi to be his best man.

Healing her broken heart isn’t easy, but when Violet meets Landon Harlow, a man who isn’t fazed by her funky style and less-than-delicate attitude, she takes a step in the right direction. Until Gabe’s fiancé’s gorgeous façade begins to crack, and Violet’s disturbing past comes back to haunt her, that is. Vi now finds herself armed with a series of lies that would break Gabe’s heart—and his engagement—if he knew their truth, and a secret from their childhood that could change everything.

With the wedding looming, her relationships unraveling, and the bachelor party of the century to plan, Violet must choose between a fresh start with Landon, or confronting her painful past and risking it all for a chance at a future with Gabe.

Immediately after reading the blurb for Keeping Secrets in Seattle I knew this was a book I'd enjoy! And that instinct wasn't wrong. Violet Murphy is the kind of protagonist you fall heed over heels for! She's witty, endearing, and inherently quirky! She's also the kind of character you wish you were!
Violet has a great job, some incredible roomies and a best friend who she's been in love with  since they were kids. Gabe's family adore Violet. Gabe adores Violet . . . but . . . he's marrying someone else! On Christmas day Violet finally works up the courage to tell Gabe how she feels, but before she can jump off the proverbial ledge, Gabe drops the bomb of the century and their once tightly knit friendship slowly begins to unravel!
Not only does Gabe expect her to accept Alicia as his bride to be, he wants Violet to take part in the ceremony as his best man! On her birthday, no less! Talk about rubbing salt into the wound!

I would have to find a way to watch the ceremony without knocking the bride over and trying to pull her hair out. I knew it wouldn't be difficult to beat her up. She really was very skinny.

e-ARC - Kindle - 6%    

I liked the rapport between Vi and Gabe, but I had some real problems with Gabe. For one, he came off as incredibly inconsiderate to Violet's feelings. This is your best friend and you don't mention that you're planning to marry the girl you just broke up with until you're sitting at the table x-mas day with twenty other friends and relatives? Huh?!
 I also felt there was a real disconnect between the Gabe that we saw and the Gabe that Vi knew. It was definitely a case of Moss telling us how to feel rather than showing us and allowing us to feel every little part for ourselves. In fact, I think I would have preferred to see KSiS with dual POV's from both Gabe and Violet. Then maybe I could have fallen head over heels for Gabe, too. As it stands he was just a little meh, for me!

I wondered how many times I was going to be able to withstand my heart being broken because of Gabe Parker before it stopped beating altogether.

e-ARC - Kindle - 73%   

Landon on the other hand? Holy crap that boy was swoon worthy!    
Violet is determined to stand by Gabe throughout what she considers the wedding from hell and so she opts in for a big time distraction in the way of Landon Harlow!
He's inked to the eyeballs, rides a motorbike and see's himself settling down in a cabin in the woods with his future lucky lady! Talk about the holy trinity of hot book boys! He even has a kick ass name!
*sigh*
I will read anything Miss Moss might produce that contains more of this man! Please give us more Landon!!!

One thing I didn't love about KSiS was how long it took for Violet's darkest secret to come to light. It's pretty obvious early on what that secret is and I'm always a tiny bit baffled when an author makes a conflict glaringly obvious to the reader but keeps it a secret from the other characters? It's sort of like a friend handing you a present and telling you what's inside before you can unwrap it, the anticipation just up and vanishes. I did like the conflict itself and how Violet and the surrounding characters handled it, just not the delivery.

  Overall Keeping Secrets in Seattle is an really enjoyable read. Violet is one protagonist that doesn't fit the contemporary character mould and I adored that about her! Moss brings a burst of humor and whimsy to an otherwise serious genre which makes for a refreshing change!    

I'm giving this one Three and a Half OH, BRADS!

OH BRAD! I LOVE YOU TOO . . . BUT . . .

Purchase your copy Keeping Secrets in Seattle from the following places
Amazon | B & N 

Carmen: Hi Violet, Gabe, thanks for joining me on the Book Me! couch today. Hey great dress, Vi! Can I call you Vi? Or would that be too weird considering we only just met? 

Violet: Usually, I only let Gabe call me Vi, but since you complimented my dress, I’ll let it go. ;) It’s vintage, and I got it for eight bucks at a shop in Pioneer Square. Suh-weet! Now you like the dress even more, don’t you? 

Gabe: She looks gorgeous in everything. 

Violet: 

He just wants to get me back out of the dress later. Be honest. 

Gabe: 

True. *Turning to Carmen* She’ll make me work for it, though. 

Violet: 

*Rubbing hands together evilly* Dinner. Kimchee. Super hot. 

Carmen: 

Let’s discuss the X-mas day proposal, shall we? Violet already paints us a pretty vivid picture in Keeping Secrets in Seattle about what that day was like for her, but we’ve yet to hear what was going through your mind, Gabe, when you announced your proposal to Alicia, would you like to fill in those blanks for us? 

Violet: 

I hate talking about this. 

Gabe: 

Plug your ears, Vi. 

Violet:

 *Huffing, puts hands over ears* 

Gabe: 

I was thinking that if I could just force myself to be with Alicia, just jump in head first, so to speak, that maybe—just maybe—my feelings for Vi would dissipate. I thought of it as a baptism by fire. I just had to throw myself into a marriage with Alicia, in order to forget how I felt about Vi. 

Violet: 

Aw, that’s so sweet. 

Gabe: 

I told you not to listen. 

Carmen: 

You had to know that Violet was still in love with you though, right? I mean, to anyone who had eyes - sorry Vi - it was pretty obvious. 

Violet: 

So everyone says…. 

Gabe: 

Honestly, no. I mean, I knew there were probably unresolved feelings, or whatever, but she always acted so cool with the girls I dated. I kept waiting for her to pick a fight with one of them, or try to scratch their eyes out, or— 

Violet: 

You’re such a perv. 

Gabe: 

Sorry. But really, she hid it well around me. 

Violet: 

Met just really aren’t that perceptive. And Gabe is very black and white. Unless I punched him in the nose or showed up on his doorstep in nothing but a raincoat, he wasn’t getting the clue. 

Gabe: 

Can we talk more about that raincoat method? 

Carmen: 

Can we talk about Landon? 

Gabe: 

*Rubbing eyes* Do we have to? 

Violet: 

Shush. *Covering Gabe’s hand with her own* Sure, why not? We had to talk about Bulimia Betty, didn’t we? 

Carmen: 

Violet, you’ve never run into him around the city? Is he still single? Because I know some ladies that would do illegal things just to . . . er . . . meet someone like Landon! 

Gabe: 

Oh, come on. I’m sitting right here. 

Violet: 

Forgive him. Underneath his Greek God exterior lies an insecure little boy. 

Gabe: 

You didn’t think I was a little boy last n—” 

Violet: 

Ohmigosh! Shut up! Anyway….yes. Last I heard, Landon was still single, but had moved away, somewhere in Montana, where he’s running a custom made furniture store, and searching for the right little lady to help him fill his log cabin with babies. 

Carmen: 

Gabe, what went through your head when you found out Violet was planning to elope with someone else? 

Gabe: 

*Straight faced* I thought I’d let the one woman I’ve ever really, truly loved slip through my fingers. 

Violet: 

*Fanning face* Awwww. Now I’m going to cry. Don’t ruin my makeup, babe. 

Gabe: 

It’s true. 

Carmen: 

Gabe, your relationship with Violet’s roomies Kim and Betsy was a little tumultuous, has that improved any since your relationship with Vi has changed? 

Gabe: 

Yeah. They made me sign a contract, though. 

Violet: 

Seriously, they did. Betsy drafted it at work, and Kim bedazzled it. It was pretty. 

Gabe: 

They made me sign my name on this paper covered in glitter and feathers. It said that if I ever hurt Vi again, they could hold me down in a tattoo chair while Lizzy tattooed giant tool across my forehead. 

Violet: 

They’re such good friends. 

Carmen: 

How are those two crazy girls by the way? 

Violet: 

Great! They’re planning their wedding right now. They’re going for a Moulin Rouge theme, and I’ve been asked to be their Maid-of-honor-slash-best-man. 

Gabe: 

Hopefully it will work out better than last time. 

Violet: 

*winking* You’re mine now, so it should. 

Carmen: 

Violet, without getting too spoilery with it, you’ve kept a pretty huge secret for much of your adult life and shouldered the burden of protecting your loved ones from it for so long, how does it feel to have it out in the open and what would you say to other women or girls who are going through the same situation? 

Violet: 

I’d say…tell someone. If your parent won’t do anything to help you, then find another adult you trust, and talk to them. If they won’t listen, find someone else. Keep talking until someone hears you. Then you can start to heal. 

Carmen: 

If either of you could have a “do over” for your time in KSiS would you take it? And what would you change? 

Gabe: 

I would have made Leeandra let me into their house on the night of Cameron’s party. I would have climbed the trellis into Vi’s room. Something. I would have found out her secret that night, and avoided everything that happened over the next nine years. 

Violet: 

*Wiping the corners of her eyes* Have I ever mentioned how much I love you? 

Gabe: 

Love you, too. 

Violet: 

Well, then. Since he’s covered the serious answer, I guess I’ll say…I never would have worn that stupid golf get up to brunch at the Silver Cascade. It really was a fashion no-no. 

Gabe: 

*Snorting* It beats taupe. 

Carmen: 

Now we move onto the rapid-fire-useless-facts-no-one-ever-knew-about-you-before-now part of the interview. 

Carmen: 

Biggest Pet Peev? 

Violet: 

Losing my smart phone power cord. 

Gabe: 

You couldn’t find yours this morning! 

Violet: 

Exactly. 

Gabe: 

Mine’s clutter. I can’t stand clutter. 

Violet: 

*Gasping* My stuff is all cluttered! 

Gabe: 

*Smirky smile* Relationships are all about compromise. Next question. 

Carmen: 

Best shared memory? 

Violet: 

I liked the day after Gabe’s work party. It was pretty amazing to wake up next to Gabe for the first time ever. 

Gabe: 

Agreed. *Smiling proudly* I made her breakfast in bed. 

Violet: 

He burned the eggs! 

Gabe: 

It’s the thought that counts. 

Carmen: 

Best Kiss? *waggles eyebrows* 

Gabe: 

Oh, the one she gave me this morning was pretty awesome. 

Violet: 

Our first kiss when we were sixteen was pretty spectacular, too. 

Gabe: 

It was? I hardly knew what I was doing. 

Violet: 

Could’ve fooled me. 

Carmen: 

Biggest Mistake? 

Gabe 

& Violet: *In unison* Breaking up. 

Carmen: 

Describe yourself in three words? 

Gabe:

 I hate this question. Either I sound too cocky or too insecure. There’s no middle ground. 

Violet: 

Don’t be such a baby, just try. 

Gabe: 

Fine. Um…intelligent, hardworking—” 

Violet: 

You’re right. You sound cocky. 

Gabe: 

*Laughing and pressing a kiss to Vi’s temple* And…infatuated. 

Violet: 

Well played, sir. Mine are…loud, brash, and in love. Whoops, that was four words. 

Gabe: 

Who’s counting? 

Carmen: 

Describe each other in three words? 

Violet: 

Handsome, loyal, and mine. 

Gabe: 

The most beautiful, incredible, astounding, strong, resilient, and sexy woman I’ve ever known. 

Violet: 

*Giggling* That was, like, twenty four words. 

Gabe: 

Who cares. Interview’s over… *Grabbing Vi and leaning her back on the couch as he presses a kiss to her mouth.* 

Carmen: 

Thank you so much for joining me guys!  

The LOVELY people at Entangled have been kind enough to offer up two yumtastic giveaways on this tour! I know! Generous, right? To go in the draw to win an Awesome Seattle gift basket and an e-copy of THE "WHAT IF" GUY all you have to do is fill out the Copter do thinga'm'jig below!
To go in the draw for an e-copy of Keeping Secrets in Seattle just leave your name and email address in the comments section below!  

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"I write because if I don't...my head will explode, and ruin the drapes." ♥

Brooke Moss is the name, contemporary romance, fantasy YA, and women's fiction are the game. 

Brooke writes complex, character-driven stories about kismet, reunited lovers, first love, and the kind of romance that we should all have the chance at finding. She prefers her stories laced with some humor just for fun, and enough drama to keep her readers flipping the pages, and begging for more!

When Brooke isn't spinning tales, she spends her time drawing/cartooning, reading two books a week (ask her who her faves are), watching movies then comparing them to books, and, of course, wrangling four kids, one hubby she lovingly refers to as her "nerd", and attempting to conquer the Mount Everest of laundry that is the bane of her existence.

You can stalk Brooke Moss at the following places:

Blog | Twitter | GoodReads | Facebook

Special OH BRAD thank you to Entangled Publishing

 for including Book Me! in the Keeping Secrets in Seattle Blog Tour!

What are your thoughts on Keeping Secrets In Seattle, my sweets? 
I'm looking forward to more works from Brooke Moss, especially if they contain more Landon!
Get commenty with it below!