29 January 2016

Book Beginnings: Debt by Rachel Dunning



Over 400 Pages
Standalone Novel

New-Adult Romance / Sports Romance 

It's been quite a while since my last book beggings, but hopefully I'm back with this meme! The author of the book I'm sharing with you today contacted me a couple of weeks ago about a spotlight. I figured that it would be a perfect way to kickstart book beginnings here on the blog.
It's also extra special since you get to see the first paragraph and a couple of snippets from the book - did I mention that the book isn't released yet?


I am quite in love with these snippets and they've definitely intrigued me - I hope they intrigue you too.

Content Warning: Not intended for readers under the age of seventeen.

The Debt Collector

I pay my debts, and I expect others to.

I was raised in the slums of London, I knew nothing of privilege. My father was murdered when I was seventeen. Morty figured my father's passing meant I would automatically take on dad's debts. I refused.

And I paid for that refusal.

So did my sister.

So now I fight. All I know how to do is fight. The best cash is in the states, so that's where I am now. A big fish called Vito came along offering me a "favor" when I arrived.

Another debt.

I paid for that one too.

I knew Kyla Hensley would be trouble when I met her. But I wanted her. I could see through the falsehood of her wannabe-slutty clothes and her sexy legs. So I chased her.

Besides, trouble is my middle name.

Kyla Hensley
I was brought up in privilege, but I lacked everything else. My father is a business tycoon who buys and sells and doesn't care who gets rolled over in the process.

I never knew my mother, and all I have of her is a photo with a note scrawled on the back in French saying "I'm sorry." The only Female Figure I had growing up is my dad's wife who is a bleach blond with seven boob jobs. We never bonded.

I drink. I party. I meet guys.

But I wasn't always like that.

I've had a string of lovers in the last few years, the worst and most recent of which was Vince Somerset. My best friend Vera was dating a guy called Rory Cansoom who is the opposite of Vince in so many ways, and yet so the same.

She and I hit the road for the summer, getting away from the two college psychos and just trying to have some fun.

But there's a funny thing about trouble, the more you run from it, the more it finds you.
Which is when I met the Debt Collector.

It was only supposed to be sex. He made that clear. I made that clear.

That's all it was supposed to be.

I never expected to fall in love. I never expected to fall so deeply, madly, uncomfortably in love with a man who is wrong, so wrong for me.


And yet...so unbelievably right.

This first snippet is the beginning. It's from Kyla's perspective and be ware; not suitable for readers under 17.


I don’t make excuses for how I live my life. I drink. I party. I meet guys.
Technically speaking, I’ve only ever had a single actual one-night stand. I get hot, I get bothered...and then something stops me.
You could say it started when I was sixteen. I was nowhere near this wild back then. I had a steady boyfriend I dated for two years but, whoa, once he deflowered me, we did it like rabbits. Mornings, afternoons, evenings. I’ve tried to think if there was ever a day we didn’t do it at least once after that, and I don’t think there was. (There was that one Christmas, but I remember we snuck out into the back and squeezed one in just before Clarissa appeared in her skimpy Santa suit for dad.) But it wasn’t sex to me, it was love. I was so naive.

This is definitely not what I expected, it just get's right down to business!

I don't know where the rest of the excerpts are from, but I believe they're in chronological order. Here's another from Kyla's perspective.

My hand slides over to his jeans unwittingly, rubbing his leg. “I want to kiss you again,” I say. I want to kiss you because you’ve taken my heart with your words and I need it back.

This one is so cute so I couldn't not share it with you, right? I love the last sentence, so beautiful!

This would be the time to share a few from The Debt Collector's perspective, or Logan's, as his name turns out to be.

I have no desire to settle down.
I have no desire to make Kyla be the last woman I’m ever with.But, damn it, I’d like to be given a chance to do those things. Does she even feel anything for me?I know I do.I feel something.
Not love. Something else.
Like I need her.Like I’d stop breathing without her.
Like the sun would stop being so bright or the sounds of the world so sweet if she disappeared. 

She looks at me with eyes that say something to me. They’re the eyes of someone who’s realized something. Not happy, not excited, not sad. A bit of all of it. I think the word they use for that crazy mixture of emotions is Love.

After the first paragraph I didn't expect it to be as beautiful and romantic as it is - which is why I wanted to share more than just the first paragraph. I think this will be quite a good read with a bunch of beautfiul quotes and hot scenes.



About Rachel Dunning

Rachel Dunning hit the scene in August 2013 and is the author of the highly praised Naive Mistakes Series, Truthful Lies Trilogy, Johnny Series and the paranormal romance series, Mind Games.
A prolific writer, she sticks to stories where Alpha Males aren’t pricks and where women have guts.
She’s lived on two different continents, speaks three different languages, and met the love of her life on the internet. In other words, romance is in her blood.

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