ARC Review & Giveaway: Safe Word by Teresa Mummert

Title: Safe Word
Author: Teresa Mummert
Series: Stand Alone
Publication Date: June 1, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance/ Erotica
Source: e-arc (Provided by Word and the Author)

Description from Goodreads:

A chance meeting with a stranger can turn your entire world upside down.
When Colton ‘Colt’ Bishop enters a bar in New York City, he has a plan. His job is to find an easy target and take her back to his place for a few days. He is working his way up the crime ladder doing a job he never wanted.
Lily Hilton has it all, but is hiding from a troublesome past. When she enters a bar downtown, and runs into her old high school crush, her entire world is turned upside down. She is determined to make him notice her, but that plan may work better than she expects.
Colton does not hesitate to take Lily home and use her as his new pawn, but their past begins to catch up with them as their secrets unravel and he must decide what is more important to him, protecting Lily or himself.

My Thoughts:

I was lucky to receive an eARC of Safe Word by Teresa Mummert for the Blog Tour I will be participating in June. If you read my first post of WoW, then you know how EXCITED I was to open up my email and see the ARC of Safe Word. 

This is the first book I have read of Teresa Mummert, and I LOVED IT :D! If you have been reading the hot, sexy, steamy teasers and watched the book trailer, then let me tell you that the book will not disappoint. It definitely met my expectations on steam, characters, and story.

Colton or Cole Bishop is your typical bad boy, he has lived a tough life, and he is also mysterious. Colt has watched his father-only cares about money and drugs-beat his mother endlessly. He vows that he will never be like his father when he gets older, but certain situations in his life lead him to that road/path.

"If I had the luxury to view the world through rose colored glasses, I wouldn't hesitate. Instead, my lenses were fractured. I'd seen the world at its ugliest."

Colt has been brought into the same world his father lived and delved in, all those years ago when he was a teenager. This new world has transformed Colt into a monster, and he knows that there is no way in getting out of it.

I had become one of the men I hated and no matter how I tried to justify my actions, I knew I was not a good person

One day Colt is searching for his next victim, and he stumbles upon Lily. Colt is taken by surprise when Lily tells him that she knows him, because he has been careful on staying low on the radar with other people. Once he realizes who Lily truly is, it is too late because she has been chosen as his next victim

"You don't remember me, do you?" Her head cocked to the side.

"Why don't you enlighten me?" I leaned slightly closer to her, flashing her my best 'boy next door' smile.

I wished she would have fought; caused a scene, but she trusted me and that would be her downfall.
Now that Colt has brought Lily back to his home, everything starts to fall apart. All the walls Colt has build up to keep his past hiding, and to keep all of his emotions locked is being torn apart by Lily's presence in his life. 

"I struggled to block out my past and now it was looking me in the eye and begging for me to talk about those secrets I had locked away so many years ago."

"The walls I had built around my self had finally crumbled, leaving me buried in the rubble below."

I loved Lily's character because she is fearless,  a fighter, and a smart girl. Both Lily's and Colt's character are both broken from the inside, and have suffered a lot throughout their lives. They are able to connect with each other through their suffering, but Colt knows that nothing can happen between them. There is no way to bring Lily into his life without consequences, that can lead to both their deaths. 

"We can't stop this. It's going to be dangerous and we are going to have to fight for us if we want it, but you don't have to be afraid. You can be fearless."

Overall, Teresa Mummert delivered an incredible story of heartbreak, loss, and how two people who are equally broken can help each other stop their suffering by being each others anchor. 

*e-arc was provided by the girls at Word (Blog Tour) and the Author for my honest opinion.

Final Verdict: 5 Stars

FAVORITE Quotes:
"I had someone to live for and it was hard to consider that a bad thing."
"I was Cole, the boy who fell in love with the untouchable girl, but this time I could have her any way that I wanted her."
"Her stepping back in my life had set in motion a huge change inside of me. It felt like my heart had remembered how to beat again"
"The body has a noticeable reaction to most situations. If you know what to look for, it is easy to pick up on someone's true intentions."

*I received an ARC from the author for an honest review. 

About the Author:

I was a Russian spy at the ripe age of thirteen, given my uncanny ability to tell if someone was lying ( I also read fortunes on the weekends). By sixteen I had become too much of a handful for the Lethal Intelligence Ensemble (L.I.E.). I was quickly exiled to the south of France where I worked with wayward elephants in the Circus of Roaming Animals and People (C.R.A.P.). I was able to make ends meet by selling my organs on the black market for pocket change and beer money. At the age of twenty three I decided to expand my horizons and become a blackjack dealer in Ireland. I loved the family atmosphere at Barney's Underground Liquor Lounge (B.U.L.L.). People couldn't resist the allure of Liquor up front and poker in the rear. Eventually I became tired of the rear and headed off to the United States to try my hand at tall tales. That is what brings us here today. If you have a moment I'd like to tell you a story.
(This bio is not to be taken seriously under any circumstance.)

Teresa Mummert is an army wife and mother whose passion in life is writing. She is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels White Trash Beautiful and Suicide Note. Born in Pennsylvania, she lived a small town life before following her husband's military career to Louisiana and Georgia. Check out her website for samples and updates! TeresaMummert.com

Where to find Teresa Mummert:

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Where to Buy Safe Word:

Amazon (Ebook & Paperback) 

 

Barnes & Noble (Ebook) 

 

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