Release Blitz + Excerpt + Review: Man Of Honor by Sarah O’ Rourke- Passion In Paradise Series

Title: Man of Honor

Series: Passion in Paradise

Author: Sarah O’Rourke

Genre: Erotic Romantic Comedy

Published: July 25, 2016

Sheriff Zeke Monroe loves one woman…Honor McKinnon. He is willing to stake his entire future on protecting her…no matter what the cost.

Honor McKinnon knows she is broken. Her body and soul had been shattered by a violent attack years ago, and no one…not her sisters or anyone else in the tiny town of Paradise, especially the Sheriff…can change that. Rather than dealing with her wounds, she chooses to protect herself from any further damage, even if that means that she avoids the one chance at love. But Zeke is determined to break down Honor’s walls…and to find the persons responsible for hurting her and make them suffer.

He’s already killed for her once…and is willing to do it again if it means she’ll know safety and happiness.

What happens when Zeke refuses to allow Honor to ignore her past? Will Zeke’s love be passionate enough to break down her barriers? And can Zeke save Honor when her life is in danger once again?

Join Sarah O’Rourke in this epic culmination of the Men of the McKinnon Sisters stories…and find out how the Passion in Paradise series is always scorching hot! Standalone, romantica suspense.

“WOW!!! This made me an emotional wreck.” ~MsMe28

“This is a beautiful story of love, loss and moving forward. I would recommend this book and all books in this series!” ~Sassy Southern Book Blog

“OMG WOW!! I have been hooked on this duo as writers for a while but with this book they absolutely outdid themselves.” ~Book Happiness

“Not necessarily, but I wouldn’t mind,” Zeke replied truthfully. “Honor, darlin, you’re a gorgeous woman.”

“Not without my clothes,” she mumbled, bending her head to stare at her clenched fists. “Ugly,” she muttered. “I’m ugly.”

Tensing, Zeke’s jaw clenched. “I don’t know why the hell you’re saying that, but there’s not a single ugly thing about you. Not when you’re naked. Not when you’re tryin’ to bring yourself to release. Not ever, Honor Grace. You do not ever have to be ashamed of your body.”

Honor slowly lifted her mortified gaze to him. “You’ve never seen me without my clothes, Zeke. There are scars. So many scars. They’re raised and bumpy. Some are red and raw. It’s disgusting, Ezekiel.”

“Bullshit. Every single one of those marks remind me of one thing, Honor. One,” he growled, holding up a finger between them. “You lived. You survived. When all the odds were stacked against you, you defied modern medicine and every one of those damned doctors predictions, and you lived. And all those scars will ever do is remind me of how lucky I am to still have you. Don’t you ever tell me you’re ugly because you’re the most beautiful thing in my world. You wanna be scared to share your body with me because of what happened to you? I get that. I can accept that. But worrying about some marks on your flesh? I love you, baby, but that’s insane.”

Honor stared at him a long time, gauging his sincerity. “It doesn’t feel silly,” she finally grumbled.

“You need to reassess your feelings then because I assure you, it’s one of the silliest concerns you ever had. Christ, baby, how long have you been agonizing of a worry as pointless as your scars?” he asked, shoving a frustrated hand through his dark hair. “I could have put these fears to rest ages ago, Honor, if I’d known about it.”

“It’s hard to talk about,” she revealed in a low voice as her head twisted to look at him.

“Yeah? Is feeling like shit alone better than talking it over together with me?” he returned calmly, reaching up to tenderly tuck her hair behind one ear. “Baby, you gotta start getting this. When you hurt, I hurt. When you suffer, I suffer right along with you. Don’t make either one of us feel that way needlessly, Kitten. Just talk to me. I know you have scars. You’ve got them on your body, and you’ve got them on your soul. I’ve sat by your hospital bed too many times to count and watched you while you did your damnedest to heal them both. Those wounds are not new information to me and they don’t change shit. I still love you, and I don’t allow those scars to do anything other than remind me to treasure every day I have with you. Okay?”

Honor’s eyes were soft as they locked with Zeke’s. “You really do love me a lot, don’t you?” she asked in a small voice.

“So much that I ache with it, Honor.”

******************************

Tracey’s Review

Haunted by the torment of a violent assault from her past, Honor McKinnon does her best to keep putting one foot in front of the other and put it behind her. Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Monroe has been in love with Honor for as long as he can remember. Knowing that there is still an evil threatening to end Honor once and for all, Zeke is making it his business to both keep her safe and to show her that love will triumph if she’ll just let it.One of the first things I thought when I opened this book was, “Oh, my word, this is a long book!” And it is. As books these days go, especially in the romance genre, MAN OF HONOR is a hefty tome. But there’s a reason for it, and it’s this: it would have really taken away from Honor’s and Zeke’s story had the authors attempted to give it to us in a shorter read, and I appreciate all of the back story that was included so that I could understand completely the events that made Honor who she is now, and understand the dynamic between Honor and Zeke better.

Honor has been through horrific things, and they have changed her, so much so that she doesn’t feel that she will ever be able to have a ‘normal’ relationship. While it took a while for her sass and her spunk to show back up, she’s a livewire, for sure, and bound and determined that Zeke should get past his feelings for her and move on. You have got to love Zeke, though. Some might call him stubborn, which he is, but I applaud his determination to stick by Honor. He’s decided that she is it for him, the one, and nothing that she or anyone else says will change that.

I really like that the authors that make up the team behind Sarah O’Rourke manage to take some disturbing and sad subject matter and instill it with humor, love, and all of the quirks of small-town life to make one very touching and enjoyable read. I’ve only read one of Sarah’s other books, TANGLED HEARTS, so, while I’d met the folks of Paradise, TN, I didn’t have everyone’s back story. I didn’t feel like this kept me from understanding what was going on in MAN OF HONOR, though, because of the great detail to capturing past and present situations. I would, however, like to go back and catch up with all of the couples that inhabit Paradise.

MAN OF HONOR is an easy 4- small town, true love, redemptive stars for me, and I am happy to recommend it. Humor, sass, determination, and one really big entertaining and close-knit family will keep me coming back for more.

***ARC generously provided for an honest review.***

Sarah O’Rourke is the alter ego of two best friends who have taken their passion for romantic fiction and erotica to the publishing world. Born and raised in the southern United States, one lives near Louisville, KY, while the other resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Neither is ever very far from a tall glass of sweet iced tea, their dog-eared copies of Gone With the Wind, or their Steel Magnolias DVDs!

Formerly an accountant and a chemist, they are now overworked, stay-at-home moms who adore their children, their husbands…and writing about love in every way possible!