His Hometown Girl by Karen Rock Book Blitz and Giveaway!

Today is my stop during the blog tour for His Hometown Girl by Karen Rock. This book blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from March 31 till April 13, you can view the whole tour schedule here.


His Hometown Girl
by Karen Rock

Blurb:
He'd always managed to best her…

Jodi Chapman will do whatever it takes to get top care for her autistic son. If that means going home and convincing local farmers to sell their land, so be it. Even if her biggest opponent, childhood rival Daniel Gleason, is equally determined to convince farmers to buy into his co-op plan. And he's not playing fair.

Facing off against Daniel is the last thing Jodi wants. The attraction that's always fueled their competitiveness is as strong as ever and just as distracting. But with both their futures on the line, and years of distrust between them, how can they ever be on the same side?

You can add His Hometown Girl to your to-read list on Goodreads.

You can buy His Hometown Girl here:
- Amazon U.K. (Print and Kindle
- B&N
- eHarlequin (Print Book)

Excerpt!

Red, pink, yellow and purple flashed as she watched fireworks paint colorful patterns 
against black velvet. Her mouth trembled when she felt his eyes on her. “Daniel. Aren’t 
you going to watch the show?” “When I see something more beautiful, I will.” 

She looked at him then, her mouth parted in surprise and, as if unable to resist, he 
pulled her against him. The feel of him drove away rational thought, the drumbeat of her 
heart registering in her stomach. “Daniel. No,” she murmured, but couldn’t move from such warm arms, every breath drawing in his faint smell of musk and fresh air, her heart full of him. 

He laid his cheek against hers. “Why?” he whispered in her ear, his voice rough. “You know why,” she whispered back, though there was no one to hear them, the distant crowd more focused on the sky. It was getting harder and harder to remember her reasons for resisting him. Her gaze drank in the shape of him—the breadth and contours of his chest, the sharp line of his widow’s peak that her fingers had traced so many times, and his eyes, above 
all his incredible eyes. Confronted with his nearness, Jodi understood that she was fighting familiarity, a profound kind of recognition. 

He stroked the back of her head. “I know the timing is lousy, but if we—” “But we’re not. It makes no sense when I imagine it,” she said, almost to herself, and pulled away. His absence registered, the way it had once before, as cold rushing in to fill the void. “So you do think about it.” His eyes lit up. “About us.” Her sigh felt as though it came from the deepest part of her. “Oh, Daniel.” 

He cupped her cheeks. “We can make this work.” Her brows came together. “Impossible. We both have too much to lose.” He seemed ready to argue, opening his mouth and then closing it at her firm head shake. At last, he pulled her close instead. “Our loss, yes.” The thought caught in her soul as he let her go. She rose unsteadily, an impressive display of pyrotechnics signaling the show’s end. “I’d better get back in case Tyler wakes.” 

They looked at each other. She didn’t want to go, the thought of leaving him and this beautiful moment behind an almost physical ache. “If you’re sure.” “I’m sure,” she said, her trembling voice giving her away. There was nothing more to say. Or too much.

FlashBack Scene!

Strawberry Kisses- Flashback #2 from HIS HOMETOWN GIRL by Karen Rock


Jodi stepped carefully through a row of strawberry plants, her eyes drinking in the field of 
scarlet fruit dangling from mint green mounds. It felt good to be out in the fresh air, her heart 
filled with the light that streamed through cotton candy clouds spinning across a cerulean sky. 
How long since she’d left her father’s bedside? She mentally counted back the three weeks since his accident. It’d been the day before her high school graduation ceremony, when she’d 
mistakenly thought decorating the gym was more important than heading straight home to help 
out with chores. 

She sighed and stopped at a thick patch, getting on her knees and setting her basket in the 
dirt. If only she’d been there when his arm had been pinned. She would have called 911, helped move the malfunctioning machine off of him, talked him through a terrifying moment… 
anything but hanging crepe streamers and taping up glittering signs. Her insides curdled as she remembered the teacher hurrying across the gym floor, the look on her face spelling tragedy. 

Only the news had gotten worse as the hours went on. Her father’s arm had had to be amputated and now, without his farming income coming in, they were likely to lose the farm. The only home she’d ever known… except, she couldn’t look at the barn again without a shudder, picturing her father’s accident. Maybe being forced to leave all they had, even their friends, family and neighbors at Cedar Bay, wouldn’t be a bad thing. It might stop the nightmares that woke her every night, the bleeding shame that flowed from her guilty wound. 

A shadow blocked the bright sun, and when she glanced up she could make out only a tall, rugged silhouette. Yet she didn’t need details to know that shape. She could have traced it 
by heart. Daniel Gleason. “Mind if I join you? This looks like a good section.” His husky voice did something funny to her heart and she busied her hands plucking berries from their stems. She’d rather stare at the handsome boy-now-man, but this was her first day of work on his family’s farm. She wasn’t going to mess up this chance to earn money for her father’s medical bills. 

“It’s a free country,” she muttered, of two minds. Like always, she wanted him near. Though they’d been childhood rivals for years, he’d been the only boy who made her stomach turn itself into knots, her heart beat faster. Too often, she’d caught herself doodling his name in the margins of notebooks when she forgot herself. Yet his family had loaned her father the machine that’d caused the accident. It was hard not to see him as ‘the enemy’ more than ever. 

“Thank you.” His muscular thighs came into view as he squatted across from her, his large fingers pinching off berries and dropping them in his pail. “Is your mom making jam this week?” she asked when the silence between them felt as heavy as the humid summer air. He was silent for so long she glanced up and noticed he’d stopped working, his jaw clenched. 

“Is everything alright?” It wasn’t until she felt his bicep harden that she realized she’d touched him. When she tried to yank back her hand, his own covered hers and held it there. Her pulse thrummed at the sensation. “No,” he replied, his answer so uncharacteristically curt she could practically hear alarm bells ringing. “Want to talk about it?” Not that they’d ever been chummy that way. But he looked pained and something was definitely off. Plus, she couldn’t deny it. She cared. Always had. 

He rubbed a finger absently across her knuckles, sending shivers of awareness tiptoeing down her spine. At last, he let go of her hand and dropped a strawberry in his mouth. After swallowing it, he shook his head. “How’s your dad?” he asked at last, changing the subject.  Disappointment filled her. So that’s why he’d come to her isolated spot in the berry field. 

He was getting the news about her father to share with his family. Not seeking her out. “Okay. He sees someone in Burlington about a prosthetic next week.” She popped a berry in her mouth, the tart sweetness exploding on her tongue. It reminded her of Daniel. Teasing her 
one minute, treating her so kindly the next. Overhead, sparrows swooped and dove, their singsong emerging from a nearby tree line that tossed shadows to dance at their feet. 

“I’m glad he’s doing okay. That it wasn’t worse.” Daniel’s hazel green eyes looked straight into hers and beyond, as if he could see what was inside of her, how she felt, know her thoughts. 
Something wet splashed down her cheek and, with a start, she realized she was crying. 
Such a strange thing. She’d had to be strong for her parents and keep herself together that she 
hadn’t given in to tears. But suddenly, alone with this boy who alternately teased and tormented 
her, she felt she could open up. In a flash, Daniel was beside her, his strong arms holding her 
close. His heart beat steadily against her cheek and her sobs drenched his worn t-shirt. Yet he 
didn’t move, only held her closer and stroked her back, his lips moving against her part as he 
murmured something she couldn’t make out, but sounded reassuring. 

At last, she stopped shaking and stared up at him in wonder. Never before had she seen such a tender expression in his eyes. Her chest constricted when his thumbs brushed away the 
last of her tears before his palms cupped the sides of her face. Did he care about her? After all 
these years, it seemed impossible to imagine. But he’d never looked at her this way before. Not as a competitor, someone to beat, but soulfully, as if she were someone that he… Before she could finish the thought, he lowered his face and brushed his lips against hers, the gentle caress making her ache. Their eyes met and held, and she melted inside at the longing she glimpsed in his gold-flecked depths. 

She slipped her arms around his neck, and with a groan he captured her mouth again, this time kissing her deeper, the intensifying pressure igniting a fire inside that wanted to burn brighter, hotter. He angled his face and drew in her lower lip, his tongue nibbling it before slipping alongside hers. A jolt of pleasure sang through her veins at the unexpected touch, and she slid her hands up his neck through the thick brush of his hair, loving this moment with him. 

His mouth left hers and travelled along her cheeks, the delicate sensation making her shudder in delight. When he reached her earlobe, he nipped the hypersensitive flesh and buried his hands in her hair, arching her backward so that she lay across his strong arm, his body bent 
over hers. Her breath came in fits and starts as his lips continued their trail of fire down her neck, making her chest heave. When he kissed her clavicle then looked up, the happiness dancing in his eyes matched the joy that lit her from within. A part of her knew this should feel strange. 

They’d been enemies for so long. Yet it felt perfect. Right. “I’ve wanted to kiss you forever,” he said, his voice deeper that she’d ever heard it. She raised his handsome face to hers and kissed him long and deep again, unable to taste his berry-flavored lips enough. “I never knew,” she answered when she pulled back, relieved to see that he looked as shaken as she felt. 
“Now you do.” He grinned, his deep dimples making her heart stop. She straightened in his arms but made no move to leave. “Will we – ah- do this again?” Her cheeks burned at the question, but she had to know where they stood. 

A cloud seemed to pass over his eyes, dimming them. “Our folks can’t know. Not with them fighting over whose fault the accident was.” Her shoulders slumped. Any chance of a romance with Daniel was over before it even began. She made a move to slip away but he pulled her close and rested his head on top of hers. “But that won’t stop us, Jodi Lynn.” A fierce note entered his note. “Nothing will.”



About the Author:

Karen Rock has adored romance since receiving Harlequin Presents books from her grandmother each summer. She formed her Young Adult writing partnership, J.K. Rock- pseudonym for the CAMP BOYFRIEND series, with her sister-in-law and Blaze author, Joanne Rock in 2011. When Karen heard of a call for submissions to Heartwarming, Harlequin’s latest line, she was inspired by the possibilities of writing unforgettable, deeply romantic, tender love stories that mothers would feel comfortable sharing with their daughters. Since then, her first Harlequin, WISH ME TOMORROW came out in September, 2013 and her next novel HIS HOMETOWN GIRL comes out in March, 2014 with three more releases expected this year.
When she’s not writing, Karen loves scouring estate sales for vintage books, cooking her grandmother's family recipes, hiking the ‘high peaks’, and redesigning her gardens. She lives in the Adirondack Mountain region with her husband, daughter, and two Cavalier King cocker spaniels who have yet to understand the concept of “fetch” though they know a lot about love. For more information about Karen's upcoming books, check out her website at http://www.karenrock.com, Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/karenrockwrites or follow her on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/karenrock5 . She’d love to hear from you!

You can find Karen here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Pinterest

There is a tour wide giveaway for the book blitz of His Hometown Girl. These are the prizes you can win:
- Grand Prize: $50 gift card and a signed copy of Karen Rock her earlier Heartwarming Wish Me Tomorrow and her YA contemporary romance, Camp Boyfriend.
- Two runner-ups both win a 15$ amazon gift card



For a chance to win enter the rafflecopter below:

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