{"id":9414,"date":"2020-04-14T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/?p=9414"},"modified":"2020-04-16T15:08:36","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T22:08:36","slug":"new-release-breathe-by-c-l-matthews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/14\/new-release-breathe-by-c-l-matthews\/","title":{"rendered":"New Release: Breathe by C. L. Matthews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Breathe
click to purchase<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Title: Breathe (Hollow Ridge #2)
Author: C.L. Matthews
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date:<\/strong> 14 April 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019d think five years would be enough time to cope and move on.   
It\u2019s not. 
If anything, it\u2019s given me more unrealistic ways to deal with my loss.
More pain. 
And even worse, a woman I don\u2019t love.
A woman that isn\u2019t her.
I hate her.
She hates me, too.
My life\u2019s a mess.
My heart\u2019s nonexistent.
My soul was lost long ago.
Worst of all, I no longer have any fucks to give.
They say you find your true love after you lose your first one.
I call bullshit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Breathe
steal and share this<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Breathe<\/strong> Excerpt:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

I bottle the resentment and hatred as one would a black widow and praying mantis in a jar, wondering which would strike first and who would conquer all.<\/p>\n

One time, Wes caught one of each in two separate jars. It annoyed me that he captured two beautiful creatures just to hold them hostage and watch them waste away.<\/p>\n

He set the glasses side by side, mirrors, almost doorways, to see how calculated each species was.<\/p>\n

The intrigue in his eyes terrified me, let me know something inside him may be darker than I bargained for, yet I did nothing but watch.<\/p>\n

His fingers caressed the one housing the bright green mantis. He leaned in close, his eyes narrowing on the stillness, I’m sure.<\/p>\n

When the insect didn’t move, only keeping a stock-still position, I wondered if maybe fear kept it frozen in place, but like Wes knew something I didn’t, he smiled.<\/p>\n

The way his lips tilted at the edges conspiratorially made my insides squeeze uncomfortably. As a predator or person with a lack of empathy would, he gave me chills, but for some reason, it didn’t force my eyes away.<\/p>\n

Like the impact when music hits really loud, the bass bumping throughout your body, I could only prepare for the cacophony of bulldozing emotions.<\/p>\n

After deciding whatever he needed, he stared at the widow. Its red stomach patch faced away from us as it protected itself by hiding in the lid, but Wes saw. Tapping the lid several times, we watched as the spider plopped to the bottom.<\/p>\n

He bit the inside of his cheek wordlessly, causing an insane curiosity to bite at my mind.<\/p>\n

It made zero sense.<\/p>\n

This was barbaric, but I didn’t do a single thing to stop this from escalating.
He unscrewed the lids, lifting both cylinders at the same time. Nothing could prepare me for what I witnessed next.<\/p>\n

Anxiety gnawed at my stomach, creating an untamable distress to bubble through my chest. It burned and ached, acting as an early warning system as the two foes faced off.<\/p>\n

Neither moved.<\/p>\n

They both stood motionless, almost calculating, watching, observing the opponent.<\/p>\n

It never occurred to me which would win, but staring at the black widow, knowing its bite was as deadly as it was vicious, my mind had made itself up.<\/p>\n

It struck first. The widow went straight for the jugular, and that was its first mistake\u2014taking the easy shot, the uncalculated risk of striking first.<\/p>\n

The mantis, as if knowing all along, gripped the spider with its pincers, holding it like it was sushi, his arms the chopsticks of death.<\/p>\n

It squeezed and squeezed, making sure to eat its legs while it writhed in its hold. Nausea built inside me, suffocating my every breath, but the mantis didn’t stop to recognize how uncomfortable I was.<\/p>\n

How could it know?<\/p>\n

This was a dog-eat-dog world. In this case, a mantis-eat-widow one, he did what he had to do to survive. He won, eating his winnings like a gloating king after battle.<\/p>\n

And I learned something valuable that day: always watch your six, don’t trust words, and never take the first shot. I’d never lay victim to a man ever again.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

About C.L. Matthews:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

C.L. Matthews lives in lala-landia with her husband and invisible friends. She wants to riot the lack thereof authentic Mexican food in her state, but she\u2019s an introvert at heart. She enjoys tacos, Red Bull, and warm water because she\u2019s crazy. She\u2019s an oddball and realizes it\u2019s been mentioned before, just go with it. Her joys in life consist of writing unconventional romances, making book covers, causing havoc to her reader\u2019s hearts, and genre-hopping when she needs a change of scenery. She\u2019s a special kind of weird and enjoys every moment of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with C.L. Matthews: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Twitter<\/a> | BookBub<\/a> | Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Title: Breathe (Hollow Ridge #2)Author: C.L. MatthewsGenre: Contemporary RomanceRelease Date: 14 April 2020 You\u2019d think five years would be enough time to cope and move on.   It\u2019s not. If anything, it\u2019s given me more unrealistic ways to deal with my loss.More pain. And even worse, a woman I don\u2019t love.A woman that isn\u2019t her.I hate her.She hates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2426,2,2433,2424],"tags":[2745,2746,2639,2747],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Breathe-Banner.png?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2055,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2014\/02\/21\/book-it-in-news-today-tamara-matayas-cover-reveal-for-just-breathe\/","url_meta":{"origin":9414,"position":0},"title":"Book It - In News Today: Tamara Mataya's Cover Reveal for Just Breathe","date":"2014-02-21","format":false,"excerpt":"Tamara Mataya, author of the New Adult Romance The Best Laid Plans, will be releasing Just Breathe in May. The upcoming New Adult novel cover reveal was released today accompanied by the synopsis and the author's bio. Seems that reality is inspiring fiction since Tamara's time spent in the Library\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book It"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Just-Breathe-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7908,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/09\/guest-post-liz-talley-author-of-room-to-breathe\/","url_meta":{"origin":9414,"position":1},"title":"Guest Post: Liz Talley author of Room to Breathe","date":"2019-11-09","format":false,"excerpt":"Liz Talley Room to Breathe\u00a0is a story of two southern women at very different stages in their lives who are experiencing the same sense of \"starting over.\u201d Daphne Witt is weeks from turning forty, in a career that she never expected, and ready to start dating after a divorce. 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If she could\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blitz"","img":{"alt_text":"Breathe In by Michelle Bellon","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/BreatheInBlitzBanner.png?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12595,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/20\/release-blitz-of-bishops-and-pawns-by-renee-harless\/","url_meta":{"origin":9414,"position":3},"title":"Release Blitz: Of Bishops and Pawns by Renee Harless","date":"2021-05-20","format":false,"excerpt":"Release Blitz: Of Bishops and Pawns by Renee Harless Title: Of Bishops and Pawns Author: Renee Harless Genre: NA Romance Release Date: 20 May 2021","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blitz"","img":{"alt_text":"Of Bishops and Pawns by Renee Harless","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/OBP-RB-banner.png?fit=815%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2478,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2014\/03\/27\/he-said-she-said-making-love-101-lexi-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":9414,"position":4},"title":"He Said, She Said - Making Love 101: Lexi Post","date":"2014-03-27","format":false,"excerpt":"Lexi Post has been combining her brand of romance to classic stories to produce intriguing tales filled with a modern taste of saucy heat to the simpler historic love stories. She has revamped Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of Red Death in her novel, Masque. Taken Nathaniel Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Ichabod Crane\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Making-101-image-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10364,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/01\/book-blitz-the-hollow-gods-by-a-j-vrana\/","url_meta":{"origin":9414,"position":5},"title":"Book Blitz: The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana","date":"2020-08-01","format":false,"excerpt":"The Hollow Gods by AJ Vrana Title: The Hollow Gods (The Chaos Cycle Series #1)Author: A.J. VranaGenre: Dark Fantasy,\u00a0Magical Realism,\u00a0New AdultRelease Date: 28 July 2020 Isolated in the forests of Western Canada, Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret. For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blitz"","img":{"alt_text":"The Hollow Gods by AJ Vrana","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/TheHollowGodsBlitzBanner-2.png?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9414"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9414"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9428,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9414\/revisions\/9428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}