Blog Tour: Hundred to One (A Cedar Tree Novel Book 2) by Freya Barker

Hundred to One Synopsis:

Arlene Bowers is as tough as nails. She has survived a less than perfect marriage, managing to move past it to run her own diner. Her abrasive exterior has always been a way for her to hide behind the darkness and pain that she has endured, but a recent, violent attack and several disturbing phone calls have that tight hold on her emotions wavering. Seb Griffin showed up in Cedar Tree eight months ago and was hired on at Arlene's Diner as a cook. An ex-con with secrets of his own, Seb walks a fine line. Since he began working at the diner, he's developed feelings for his fierce, stubborn boss, and the need to keep his distance from her, to protect her, is a daily struggle. When it appears that Arlene's past has come back, rearing its ugly head while her defenses are low, Seb steps up and claims responsibility for Arlene, praying that he can keep her safe from whatever is coming her way.

Review:

Hundred to One (Cedar Trees series book 2) by Freya Barker

5 star *****

Hundred to One was yet another undiscovered beauty of a book for me, as a reviewer or reader it seems to be my lot in life to unearth these phenomenal series’ midway through the entire saga having been released and often it spoils the entertainment element when you have to go back and relearn certain events about already established characters, thankfully with Cedar Trees I was able to get to know a bit about the side characters that obviously had their own show previously and still feel like I had a lot to catch up on should I want to venture back and read book one (which I went and bought straight after reading this one).

What I loved so wholeheartedly about this book was the characterisation, the thought process and inner struggles and hidden insecurities of each person.  There is so much depth and vulnerability lurking underneath their hardened exteriors that when Freya peels back their facades the reader is treated to two remarkable heroes.   What you see on the outside is not what you get on the in.  Seb may be an ex-con with tattoos and a rather stoic and stern outlook and Arlene might have a sharper tongue than my granny on vodka at Xmas time but with enough past tragedies and unfathomable pain to last a lifetime, the two of them wages a battle against the odds for a chance at love and redemption and peace.  Freya manages to work her literary magic in constructing two very believable and lovable protagonists whilst engaging the reader in a sort of mystery stalker-drama with plenty of thrilling, often emotional moments but still manages to break up the angst and heavy material with class and subtlety in the form of some witty banter and terrific dialogue from the supporting characters and Arlene’s sass and sarcasm.

The only way I can some up Hundred to One is by saying this; it has a clever engaging array of characters with two well-rounded heroes to focus on.  It has a sterling storyline that although easy to follow and pick up on does follow on from book one but it has everything to keep your eyes glued to the page from beginning to end and has you pondering and thinking about events in it long after you’ve read the words ‘the end’.  The heroes may be in their late thirties and early forties which seems to be a bit of a rare occurrence in today’s books but the sex scenes are scintillating and erotic and Seb is just a book boyfriend waiting to be discovered and adored whilst his female counterpart Arlene is a fierce, strong and resilient survivor that every woman should want to get to know.  If you haven’t read this series yet I urge you to go out now and grab the first book and start delving into the lives of Cedar Trees’ misunderstood misfit individuals, you will not regret it. 

Buy Links: 

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1x5S1Vw
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1CeuHDj
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1ABInHs
Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1z4zNyx

B&N: http://bit.ly/1z4z8xj

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Cnk29q

Slim To None;

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1tWbYrR
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1sLHY0R
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1tIwJZ
Amazon AUS: http://bit.ly/YZ1AWE

Freya Barker Bio:

Freya Barker has always been creative. Involved in music and dance when she was younger, she followed it up with cake design, quilting, and has most recently added cover design, the Dutch-born Canadian mother of two now has found her voice - writing. Freya Barker is the pen name for a well-respected reviewer/blogger, who has a strong following on her blog, Facebook and Goodreads. As an avid reader, the next step to pen a book of her own seemed natural. Driven to make her story about 'real' people, Freya writes about people who are perhaps less than perfect, but just as deserving of romance, hot monkey sex and some thrills and chills in their lives!

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