Title:
Who We Are (FireNine 2)
Author:
Shanora Williams
Release
Date: September 17, 2013
Genre: New Adult
Synopsis
“I thought I had gone through something much worse. I thought the abuse
and pain from my mom and step-dad was bad, but this? This heartache? This pain?
This depression? This gut-wrenching, heartbreaking moment? This knotted up
feeling in my gut, the tightness in my throat, the ache in my chest? It was
slowly but surely killing me.”
Eight months.
That’s how long it’s been since Eliza last saw
Gage and they both feel as if they don’t deserve one another’s forgiveness. He
screwed up. She walked away without looking back. They’ll try and make up all
the time they’ve lost with one another, that is until they’re facing the
choices of either going their separate ways, or hanging on and fighting for
dear life.
The fights will be endless. They heartache will
be real. The demons will return, and they won’t back down without a fight.
There are some who will do anything to keep true
love apart, and those same people will dig deep into their demonic ways until
Eliza and Gage are literally no more.
Can Eliza and Gage overcome it all? Will they be
able to face the true demons that are seeking to destroy them? Or will they
just forget about everything they’ve worked so hard for and go their separate
ways?
Sometimes you have to go through struggles in
order to reach an ultimate point of peace… but will their struggle be worth it?
Shanora Williams was born and raised in Matthews, North Carolina. She's the author of the New Adult series, OBTAINED and the Best Selling New Adult novel, Hard to Resist. Her upcoming mature New-Adult/Adult novel, Who He Is, will be released in July of 2013.
When she's not writing, she's happily reading or watching cartoons like the big kid she is. She has a wonderful family that you will hear her brag and talk about all of the time. Whenever she just wants to get away from the words for a while, she'll spend some time with her loved ones, eat gummy bears, or drown in Coca-Cola and anything else caffeinated.
Author Contact Links
Excerpt
As
soon as I arrived at my temporary apartment, I dropped my keys on the counter,
blared some Laura Welsh on the stereo, and then trudged for the shower. The
water was soothing. I didn’t want to step out of the steam, especially as I was
bombarded with memories.
Gage
and me on the FireNine tour bus. Gage kissing me, licking me, soiling me with
his fervent kisses. I quivered, running a finger across my lips, remembering
the kiss we shared when he stayed the night at Ben’s a few days ago. The
passion I felt, the power. It was so much, yet I couldn’t get enough. My lips
were still tingling from it… from how much I missed it. How much I missed him.
Soon,
the water chilled against my skin and I shut it off, ran a towel over my damp
hair, and grabbed an extra towel to wrap around my wet skin. I brushed my
teeth, cleared my face with handful of cool water, and then headed for my
bedroom.
Laura
Welsh sang about hollow drums and it was like she spoke to me—like she reminded
me of how much I actually missed Gage. How hollow and empty I felt without him
while I was in school and even now. In school it was worse. Every little thing
reminded me of him. Every couple that walked by hand in hand reminded me of
him. All the girls who were smiling up at their boyfriends lovingly, clinging
to their sides, holding them like they never wanted to let go… it all reminded
me of him. I couldn’t stand it… but I missed it. I rolled my eyes, trying to rid
my mind of him, but it was nearly impossible.
Even
as I changed into a pair of running shorts and a tank top and dropped the towel
from my hair, I still thought about him. Even as I poured myself a bowl of
cereal and ate it to the heartfelt music, I still thought about him. Even as I
lounged flat on my back on the sofa, my hand on my forehead, staring at the
dots on the ceiling, I still thought about him.
About
his eyes, his full, pink lips that always sent a bolt of electricity coursing
through me whenever connected with mine. His hard, rippled body, the perfect
sleeve of ink on his forearms, broad chest, ribs, and even his back.
The
ceiling seemed to spin above me as the music filled me, and then I felt the
rims of my eyes pricking, begging for the pooling tears to be shed. I couldn’t
believe it. I missed everything about him. I fucking missed him. Entirely too
much.
There
was a knock on the door and I perked up, back stiff, staring ahead. They
knocked again and I swiped at my tears, confused. Who could be at my door this
late? I cautiously made my way to the entrance, my heart pounding, my steps
soft, making sure I didn’t cross any weak spots to make the floor creak.
I
took a peek out of the peephole and made out a tousled mess of silky,
dark-brown hair and broad shoulders. His head was ducked down, hiding his face,
but I knew exactly who it was and I stifled a gasp.
My
mind then went into gear. Should I let him in? Should I shoo him away? Should I
blast him and beg him to just leave me alone?
In
the end, I knew I couldn’t do any of those, no matter how upset I may have been
with him. I did love him, after all.
I
cracked open the door and he jerked away from the doorframe, taking a quick
step back, his hazel eyes meeting mine. “Gage?”
“Eliza,”
he whispered. His eyes were tired, restless. His lips were strained, as if he
wanted to say something else, but then they relaxed and he ran a hand through
his hair.
“Why
are you here?” I asked, opening the door wider. He pressed the palm of his hand
on the door and stepped past me, his heavy cologne filling my lungs. It mixed
with the light, airy scent of water, as if he’d purposely walked in the
drizzle. I could imagine him pacing back and forth in front of the apartment
building, debating on whether he should come up or not. “Better yet,” I said,
“how did you know where this apartment was?” I locked the door before looking
at him.
“Frank
told me,” he sighed out. “Look… I can’t do this,” he said, running another
rigid hand through his hair. A few pieces fell onto his forehead, proving he
would need a haircut in maybe three days tops. His eyes saddened and filled
with guilt and I narrowed mine, tilting my head.
“Do
what?” I asked, stepping up.
“This…
I can’t be angry anymore. I can’t act like I don’t fucking care. I want—” His
sentence broke and his gaze lowered to the floor. Good thing the music was
playing, filling the silence, because I wasn’t sure of what to say, but I knew
what he was getting at. “I wasn’t supposed to come here. I wasn’t supposed to
see you. I was supposed to fight myself from getting close to you again—for
your sake—but… I can’t. I can’t fight it. It’s so fucking hard to stay away
from you, Eliza.”
Book Trailer
My Thoughts
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Gage Grendel (lead
singer)
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Where do I even begin....It's just so hard to put into words just how amazing this book was. I couldn't put it down. This has to be one of my favorite series of all time. Book 1, Who He Is, crushed me into a million little pieces and I could not wait to see what was going to happen next. I'm not even going to lie, I was really depressed with the ending of book 1, that I didn't even want to read book 2, in fear that I would be left empty again. However, Shanora reassured me and I needed to know what happens to my favorite group of characters, so I continued on. As you can tell I was not disappointed. This book picks right up where the first one left off, story wise not time frame wise, and definitely left me with a smile!!
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Eliza Smith (Heroine)
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The characters play extremely well together. They have such great chemistry and each person plays a significant role throughout the story. The introduction of some new faces and the combination of the original characters is really great!! Kelsey and Monica are great compliments to Eliza and I enjoyed the other female interaction that wasn't really present in book 1. I also love Kristina. It breaks my heart to go through this story with her. Gage is still amazing and I love that he cares about taking care of everyone that means anything to him. He has such an amazing heart and he makes me melt!! Definitely my current book boyfriend!!! :) I also really liked that we got to learn a little more about Roy in this story. He is a really supportive character and it was exciting that he was more involved!! Not so much from Deed this time and Montana still makes his presence known. Gotta love Montana!!! :)
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Montana Delray (bassist)
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The storyline is over an extended period of time and I really like that it doesn't lag. It was an easy flow and focused on major details. It's so hard to review this book without giving away everything that happened. I just loved it so much I just want to talk about every little detail, lol. But, I don't want to ruin it for anyone and I want everyone to experience this greatest for themselves, so I'm not going to go any farther with this one!!
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Roy Sykes (lead
guitarist)
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So I'm just going to say that I give this book 5 stars (but it definitely deserves a million) I definitely cried a lot through the last several chapters because I felt so close to these characters and I wanted everything to work out for them. It did for some and not for others. But overall, this ending made up for the heart shattering ending of Book 1. Shanora, you are amazing and I absolutely adore this series. It is my favorite so far and I can't wait to see what you have to come!!! Rock on rock star!!!
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Dedrick 'Deed' Parsley
(drummer)
Check out the Who We Are Playlist
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