{"id":34185,"date":"2018-06-21T08:54:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T12:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=34185"},"modified":"2018-06-21T08:54:33","modified_gmt":"2018-06-21T12:54:33","slug":"arc-review-giveaway-family-ties-by-stephie-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=34185","title":{"rendered":"ARC Review & Giveaway: Family Ties by Stephie Walls"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOW LIVE!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Amazon US<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon UK<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon CA<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon AU<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Synopsis<\/strong><\/h4>\n

With a history like ours, the meaning of the word family tended to tangle into something unrecognizable. DNA and bloodlines didn\u2019t tie us together, and neither did our last names. Various shades of grey blurred the branches of our twisted family tree.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t her brother.
\nThey weren\u2019t my parents.
\nNot that it mattered\u2026<\/p>\n

She was off limits.<\/p>\n

Portia was my friend.
\nThen my foster sister.
\nAnd she\u2019d always be the love of my life.<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

4.5 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

A beautifully emotional sort-of forbidden romance between two foster siblings with an undeniable chemistry and an incredible love for each other. Dramatic and heartfelt with just the right amount of angst, I loved this one!<\/p>\n

Jude and Portia grew up as semi-foster siblings. Portia was adopted into a loving family following the death of her drug-addicted mother, and Jude\u2019s own mother was sick, necessitating him entering occasional foster care, and he was accepted with open and loving arms by Portia and her adoptive parents. For years they grew up side by side, their families spending holidays, birthdays and special occasions together, the two of them the best of friends, creating a bond and becoming an important and necessary part of each other\u2019s lives. And at 17, Jude\u2019s mother died and he went to live with the Shaws and now-19-year-old Portia full time.<\/p>\n

Jude and Portia always shared a special relationship, but over the years things shifted for both of them. Far from the bond of a brother and sister, they share a soul-deep love for each other which leads to all sorts of confusion \u2013 they are both very certain of what they feel for each other, but they know that the rest of the world views them of brother and sister, even though they don\u2019t share blood or any familial feelings whatsoever.<\/p>\n

Things were black and white for me, although I could see from an outsider\u2019s perspective how the morality of my feelings for Portia might blend into unidentifiable shades of grey.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So here is their battle. But what they feel is undeniable, and when they finally take that step and share their feelings with each other, all of the love they share for each other finally has an outlet and is able to be expressed, and they easily and effortlessly fall into something that is special, all-consuming and life-changing for them both.<\/p>\n

Jude and I hadn\u2019t talked about what was going on between us. We just let it happen on its own accord, and it was better than anything I\u2019d ever experienced. He was safe \u2013 his arms, how close we were, there were no secrets. I\u2019d never had that level of security with anyone in my life other than Jude, and it had been that way since we were kids. Adding in the physical and romantic part only added to the depth of the love I\u2019d had for him for years. And without saying it, there was no doubt he felt the same. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s beautiful, it\u2019s real, it’s passionate, and it\u2019s so gorgeously romantic. I could feel the connection between Jude and Portia, and I loved every moment of them together \u2013 wanting them to have what they so both desperately wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need you, Portia. In a way I’m not sure I even understand. Everything about you makes me better. You create sunshine in a bleak world. You fill my heart and touch my soul. I’m invincible with you by my side.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But perception is only a part of the struggle they need to overcome, and this story surprised me with its depth and intensity, and the storytelling is just amazing. It\u2019s angsty and emotional, but it\u2019s real. My heart ached for them, and though the story went in a direction I wasn\u2019t expecting, it was so right for them, I was absolutely captivated all the way through, and I loved the way it all played out.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever doubt how much I love you \u2026 My heart is yours to keep.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is my first read by Stephie Walls, and I love the way she writes. She created two wonderful characters in Jude and Portia and I loved them both! And the side characters are well developed and bring a lot to the story \u2013 if she were to write a spin-off for Bart, I would be all over that!<\/p>\n

I felt every moment of this book. The drama is real and emotional, and the love story is just gorgeous. It\u2019s a beautiful, beautiful, story.<\/p>\n

4.5 stars.<\/p>\n

Advanced Review Copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Giveaway<\/strong><\/h4>\n

$15 Amazon Gift Card & Signed Paperback of Family Ties<\/h4>\n

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Escapist Book Blog is not responsible for this giveaway<\/em><\/p>\n

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About the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Bestselling author, Stephie Walls is a lover of words\u2014the more poetic the better.\u00a0 She lives on the outskirts of Greenville, South Carolina in her own veritable zoo
\nwith two dogs, three cats, the Mister, and Magoo (in no preferential order). She would thrive on coffee, books, and Charlie Hunnam if it were possible, but since
\nit\u2019s not, add in some Chinese food or sushi and she\u2019s one happy girl.<\/p>\n

Connect with Stephie:<\/p>\n

Newsletter Sign Up<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Facebook Author Page<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Facebook Reader Group<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Goodreads\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Twitter\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Instagram\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 <\/strong>BookBub<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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NOW LIVE! Amazon US\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon UK\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon CA\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon AU   Synopsis With a history like ours, the meaning of the word family tended to tangle into something unrecognizable. DNA and bloodlines […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,49,25,13,9,29],"tags":[59,48,76,853],"class_list":["post-34185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-feeeeeeels","category-friends-to-lovers","category-new-adult","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-review","tag-standalone","tag-stephie-walls"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Family-Ties.jpg?fit=150%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-8Tn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}