Book: Caught Inside
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
Publication Date: September 29, 2016
Length: 247 pages
Reviewed by Meredith
Synopsis
It should have been simple—a
summer spent with his girlfriend Zara at her family’s holiday cottage in
Cornwall. Seventeen-year-old Luke Savage jumps at the chance, envisioning
endless hours of sunbathing on the private beach and riding the waves on his
beloved surfboard. He isn’t interested in love. Though his rugged good looks
and lazy charm mean he can have his pick of girls, he has no intention of
falling for anyone.
Nothing prepares Luke for his reaction to Theo,
the sensitive Oxford undergraduate who is Zara’s cousin and closest friend. All
at once, he is plunged along a path of desire and discovery that has him
questioning everything he thought he knew about himself. No one, especially
Zara, must find out; what he and Theo have is too new, too fragile. But as the
deceit spirals beyond their control, people are bound to get hurt, Luke most of
all.
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Guest Post
A huge thank you to
Diverse Reader for inviting me here today to share a little about myself, my
recent release, and the muse who helped create it.
It’s fair to say I’m
someone who enjoys their own company, to the point of being reclusive, some
(e.g. my family) might argue. Yet, while writing my debut novel ‘Caught
Inside’, I was thrown into close and constant proximity with my muse. In fact,
I've never spent so much one-to-one time with anyone in my life! Whether I’ve
emerged from our entanglement with my sanity intact…I’ll let others be the
judge.
One thing’s for sure:
I learned a lot about my muse since the day he hammered on the front door of my
brain with that first seed of an idea and clamored for me to turn it into a
novel. Here are 5 facts I discovered:
1. My muse and I are
similar in many ways, but very different in others. Like me, he has a passion
for sexy young men, fictional as well as in the flesh; is a total geek when it
comes to crosswords and TV quiz shows, and has a weakness for desserts,
particularly anything involving cream. Unlike me, he thrives on drama and
emotional conflict. Betrayal, deception, unrequited love…he can't get enough of
them and insists on me cramming as much of these into my writing as possible,
something which probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has read
‘Caught Inside’.
2. My muse has an atrocious
sense of timing. He thinks nothing of prodding me awake in the middle of the
night with a flash of inspiration, or keeping me tossing and turning into the
small hours to hash out plot details. He takes particular pleasure in
tormenting me with fresh ideas when I'm ill in bed, too blinded by a migraine
to even think about reaching for the laptop to note them down. I know, right?
What happened to a cold compress and nice cup of tea?
3. My Muse won't take
no for an answer. Once he gets a bee in his baseball cap—the one he insists on
wearing backwards because he thinks he's Mr. Cool—that's it. No matter how hard
I tried to ignore him, to push aside the doubts he whispered into my ear, he
invariably won in the end. Sooner or later, I was booting up the laptop and
setting right whatever aspect of the story he'd taken issue with.
4. My muse is my best
friend and worst enemy. When the inspiration is flowing and the story coming
together, he’s both cheerleader and commisserater, spurring me on to write to
the best of my ability, raising my spirits when the words dry up. However, on
those occasions when he abandons me, sometimes for weeks at a time, and always
without reason or explanation, I vow never to speak to him again. Yeah, I know
what you’re thinking. I need more backbone. Then again…
5. My Muse is always
right. This is by far the most aggravating trait about him. Often, when he
demanded I rewrite a scene for the umpteenth time, I accused him of being a nit-picking
perfectionist who would never be satisfied in a hundred edits. Yet, after
making the changes—so far I haven't refused him—I had no choice but to concede
that the book was much stronger and that my muse was right all along. Damn him!
Review
Luke goes on holiday with his girlfriend Zara and this summer is literally life changing for all the characters involved. Zara's family is filthy rich while Luke is not even in the same financial universe. But when Zara asks him to come on a trip with her (accompanied by her cousin Theo) he says yes.
Theo is a college graduate, he's 23 I believe to Luke's 17. There's a bit of an age gap but nothing huge. I liked Theo. I didn't see him as a bad guy here. He's attracted to Luke and the affection is mutual. Theo of course won't hurt his cousin and while commendable it's just not possible for these two to say no to each other.
There's a lot in this book that has the ability to hurt so many. Giles, Theo's friend, is a terrible person. Like he's a force that blows in and is destructive on so many levels. His girlfriend Meredith is amazing but with a name like Meredith I expect nothing less (wink). She's actually a voice of reason in this mess.
A lot of emotions and proof that secrets hurt but happily ever afters can happen for everyone. It's a good story with some complex characters. Enjoyable.
About Jamie Deacon
Jamie lives in a tranquil spot close to the River Thames in
Berkshire, England, and has always been just a little out of place—the only
redhead in a family of brunettes; an introvert far more at ease with dogs than
with people; a connoisseur of simple pleasures in a society intent on the quest
for wealth and fame. Despite an outward cynicism, Jamie is a romantic at heart,
and, when not immersed in a book, can mostly be found writing emotional stories
where young men from all walks of life are thrust headlong into the breathless,
euphoric, often painful whirlwind called love.
Connect with Jamie
Website: http://www.jamiedeacon.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jamiedeacon82
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jamiedeacon
Boys on the Brink Reviews: http://www.boysonthebrink.com
Giveaway
Enter to win a copy of Caught Inside!
Fill out the rafflecopter below!
Contest ends November 13th!
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Congratulations on the release!This was a great review! I can't wait to read this one! Added to my tbr list
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie your muse sure does lead you on a merry dance but you got a great book out of the deal so I guess you are still best of friends!
ReplyDeletecongrats jamie!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was IMPRESSIVE for a debut novel. There's so much emotion that's been encapsuled in this story. I loved it so much that I had a book hangover after reading it. So much HEART was put in creating this story.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jamie. And I'm definitely looking out for sequels. <3
*I'm not joining this giveaway since obv. I've read it already*
Miss Meredith has been always the smart girl. <3 Am I talking 'bout the character or the reviewer? Uh... Both? ;)
Congratulations on the new release.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review! And congrats on the release! I have Caught Inside on my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post & review!
ReplyDelete