Striving for Normal by B.L. Mooney

Striving for Normal by BL Mooney

I loved Striving For Normal! This book sucked me right in, and I didn't want to put it down until I was finished! 

Lets start with Drew Clayborn- oh my! Drew I felt for immediately. Drew carries around a lot of guilt. She is trying to come to terms with things that she did in her past that she's not proud of. Through her therapy sessions we learn more, and more what those things are. Drew broke my heart! I just wanted to hug her! She felt she didn't deserve to be loved or be happy ever again. Coming from a horrible relationship Drew doesn't trust anyone. 

Carl Williamson- Mr.Hot rich man who has everything a girl could want. Drew is drawn to him. We soon find out Carl is fighting a loss of his own. He is a lot like her ex and that scared me. 

Dennis Brooks- He is super sweet, he seems like the obvious choice, but Drew still is uncertain. She can talk to Dennis, and he makes her smile. I was shouting for her to pick Dennis the entire time! 

As we get deeper into the story we see Drew struggling to choose! She still feels she isn't worthy to love again. We also get flashbacks as to where all a lot of her pain is coming from. 
Just when I thought I had it figured out the ex comes back into the picture! I don't want to give too much away so I'll let you see who she ends up with. I had tears one minute, and was yelling at my kindle the next! You will go through a roller coaster of emotions! 

I give Striving for Normal 5 stars! I loved it! It kept me up wanting to read it so fast to see what would happen next. Just when you think you have it all figured out B.L. Mooney gives you more! Loved the characters! What a beautiful story about putting yourself back together after so much pain. Loved it! <3 Carrie

Buy Links: 

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Striving-Normal-1-ebook/dp/B00ENVYOFE/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1378683370

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Striving-Normal-Series-ebook/dp/B00ENVYOFE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378683434&sr=8-1&keywords=striving+for+normal

Exclusive Prologue:

Prologue

“Wait!” I couldn’t catch up. I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe. He kept tugging on my hand, pulling me behind him. He was laughing, too. We’d been dating for a little over a month, and he surprised me with a day at the amusement park. I had worked there over the summer during my first year in college, but never actually took the time to visit as a customer. When you’re saving to put yourself through college, you don’t want to give back the money you earned to the establishment that paid you in the first place.

He stopped and turned to me. “What? Don’t tell me you’re too tired.” He pulled me close to him. “We haven’t even begun what I have planned for us today.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he kissed mine. “No, I’ll never be too tired for that.” He was making me forget why I wanted to stop. I tried to back away, but he pulled me closer.

“Get a room!” A mother ushered her two young children past us as her husband looked at us and grinned.

He stopped kissing me to glare at the children walking by. “Their mother—”

We hadn’t been together that long, but I knew when his mood was shifting. I also knew how to shift it back. “Wishes she could still do this.” I kissed him hard to prove I didn’t care what the world saw.

He pulled back and the gleam was back in his eyes. I knew he had forgotten about that mother already. “Come on.” He started to turn, but I tugged on his hand. “What?”

I smiled and looked to my left and back to him again. “I really like the penguin.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “You want the penguin?” He pointed. “That penguin?” My smile grew, and I nodded as he pulled me close again. “What will you do if I get it for you?”

“Let’s see if you can get it first.” I loved to tease him.

He let go to look me up and down. “Oh, I’ll get it. Then I get to name my prize.” The look he gave me had me hopeful for more than just the penguin—I wanted his prize, too. “Agreed?”

I smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

He chuckled and leaned in to whisper. “Be careful what you wish for.”

He quickly turned and approached the counter. I slowly walked up behind him. Promises like that made me nervous and excited at the same time. I wasn’t very experienced, but he was the best lover I’d ever had. He was attentive and detailed when it came to loving my body. Just the thought of what was to come that night had me excited. I almost didn’t want to stay for the penguin. I thought about pulling him out of the park right then so he could take me on a different ride.

I walked up to the counter as he was given the three baseballs. It looked easy enough. Knock down all the milk bottles to win the cute penguin. I wasn’t really into stuffed animals, and I wasn’t sure why I desperately wanted that one. It was cute, but I think it had more to do with the fact that he would have won it for me than the penguin itself.

“Hey, guys.” Someone I’d never seen before walked up and slapped him on the shoulder. “We were just saying that we needed to have you and Sally over.” Whoever he was looked at me and tried to hide his shock. “Sorry, man.” He leaned in to whisper, but I could still hear him. “I hadn’t heard you guys broke up.”

The grip on the baseball looked threatening. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. I held my breath as he turned to the game and threw each ball. He knocked down all the milk jugs—on all three tables. Slowly turning back to the unexpected visitor, he plastered on his fake smile. “Drew’s my girl now.” He grabbed my waist and pulled me close. “Ain’t ya, baby?” He kissed my neck.

“Yes.” I held out my hand to shake his friend’s hand, but I was pulled away.

“Pick out your penguin.” He turned his back on his friend. “Then I get my prize.”

I picked out the penguin with the blue tie and was immediately hauled off again. The way he grabbed my hand and jerked me to him frightened me a little. I’d never seen him this upset. I wanted to ask who Sally was, but knew it wasn’t the right time. I would be asking later, though.

He pulled me down a couple of buildings and led me to the side of one. “What are you doing?”

“Getting my prize.”

“Here?” We stopped halfway down the alleyway, and he pressed me up against the building. “Someone could see us.”

“That’s the point.” He cupped my breast as I looked around. “It adds to the excitement.”

The grip I had on the penguin got tighter as his other hand made its way up my thigh. I thought jeans would have been more comfortable, but he insisted on the short sundress. I closed my eyes as he reached his destination. He couldn’t be serious. Shaking my head, I tried to move his hand. “Just take me home. We can spend the rest of the day in bed.”

He stopped squeezing my breast to pin my hand against the building. “I can’t wait. I need you now.”

I put my head back against the building as he started touching me again. He always knew what to do, but he was right, the thought of getting caught made it a little more exciting. I looked to the street again as he touched me. I let out a small moan.

He got close and whispered, “I knew you were my dirty girl.”

“I don’t know about this.” My breathing started to get faster as his fingers worked their way into my panties. I started to move my hips as he slipped a finger inside me. “Craig.”

“Just let go.” He pressed his body against mine and continued to whisper in my ear. “You want to feel alive, don’t you?” I nodded. “You want to make me happy, right?” I nodded again. “Fucking you always makes me happy.” He backed up and pulled out his hand, showing me how slick it was. “I can see this makes you feel very alive. Don’t think, baby, just feel.”

“But . . .” I looked to the street again. “I don’t want to do this here.”

His jaw clenched. “We are doing this here, and the longer you take to give in when we both know you’re not strong enough to say no will only increase the risk of us getting caught.” He crossed his arms and pinned me with his glare. “Go ahead and waste time. It makes it all the more exciting for me because we aren’t leaving until I fuck you here. Take off your underwear.”

I looked at the people on the street one more time before I looked back to Craig. His eyes told me we weren’t leaving until he got what he wanted. I wanted it, too. I just never thought I’d have sex in such a public place. I let go of the penguin, causing it to fall to the ground and slipped my panties off as he instructed. I stopped myself from looking at the crowd again and moved my hands to his jeans. “That’s it. That’s my girl.” Craig watched as I unfastened his jeans and pulled him out, stroking him a few times. I started to kneel and he stopped me. “No time. You can make it up to me when we get home.”

He pushed me back against the wall hard and lifted my leg around his waist as he entered me in one thrust. He started to pound into me harder. I grabbed his shoulders and lifted myself to wrap my other leg around him. I could tell his arms were getting tired when his grip started to loosen on my hips. He was going much faster and harder than he normally did. I wasn’t complaining, but I hoped after all of this that he didn’t stop before we were both finished. He must’ve had the same thought as he pressed me entirely against the building for support.

The rough feeling of the boards against my back only added to the sensation. I knew I would have scratches, but I didn’t care. I needed the prize he’d promised me. I arched my back as his thumb brushed against me. I knew he was getting close, and I needed to catch up. I did something I never thought I would do—I looked to the crowd to see if anyone was watching us. He was right. It added to the thrill, but it wasn’t for me. I just started to get more nervous about getting caught and closed my eyes.

He added more pressure as his thumb circled, causing me to look back to him. He was in full concentration, staring at each thrust. Watching him watch us was more exciting for me. Seeing the determination on his face to not stop until we were both satisfied was what got me. It was what I needed to block out the people around us and concentrate on just us.

I gripped his shoulders as I started moving my hips with him, grinding when I needed to. In no time, I started to feel the familiar build of the explosion he always brought out in me. He could tell I was close, too. He adjusted his hips slightly to hit that spot inside that he knew drove me crazy. I fell forward, putting my forehead against his shoulder as the sensation kept building. Normally, I would allow it to build, increasing in intensity, but now I just wanted it over quickly before we got caught.

And then it took over. All thoughts and worries about getting caught were pushed out as the pleasure I felt moved in. The orgasm was intense. I locked my ankles around his waist, afraid he was going to stop before I fully experienced what he was giving me. What were normally loud cries of ecstasy had morphed into quiet pleas of begging him to keep going as I clung to his shoulders and neck. He only lasted a few more moments before grabbing my hips and thrusting his release into me.

We stayed, leaning against the wall and catching our breath. “Didn’t I tell you it would be worth it?” He slapped my legs to get me to release him. I stood on shaky legs and started to bend down to pick up my panties and penguin. “You won’t be so apprehensive next time, and it’ll be even better.”

I stood up straight and looked at him. “Next time?” I wasn’t sure I could handle a next time. I slowly redressed, shocked that he would want to do it again.

“Yeah, next time.” He had just finished fastening his jeans. “And next time, wear the dress I told you to wear with the buttons on the front so I can get to your tits.” As he grabbed my hand and started pulling me away, I looked back at the penguin that started this all and decided to leave it in the dirt. It looked as dirty as I felt. I didn’t need a souvenir to remember that day. It was one I would never forget.