Every Shattered Thing Blog Tour and Giveaway!!

Title: Every Shattered Thing
Author: Elora Ramirez

Stephanie fights reality every day. The voices inside, the ones declaring her worth, deem her broken, used and dirty. She is an object. A toy. Something to be tossed aside when bored. Who will believe her if she whispers the truth about her wrecking ball of a family? Eventually, her secret explodes and the person who means the most to her knows just how shattered she is and why she's so afraid. But rescue is closer than she realizes. Hidden in plain sight, her horror hasn’t been ignored by everyone. Racing against the truth of what she faces, forces are joining together and developing a plan to free her from the hell in her own backyard. And while she’s at her lowest point, she’s hit with the beauty of love at any cost - redemption in the face of ruin. Will it be enough?

*Warning: Contains mature content that may not be suitable for younger audiences*

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I realize then just how little Kevin knows about me, and I’m afraid now. What will happen when he finds out the truth? What will happen when he finally understands just how fucked up I am? I wait a little while before speaking, hoping my voice won’t give away how much I’m shaking. 

“I think it’s easier for you to talk about changing your hand when you were dealt with easier cards to begin with—it doesn’t make you wrong or insensitive.” I grab his hand and wipe a stray eyelash off his cheek. “It just means we come from different worlds. And different worlds have different rules. Sometimes, those rules are broken. Most of the time, they aren’t and you remain stuck.”

I drop his hand and stretch my shoulders. “Don’t get me wrong, Kevin. I want out of my house. I’m counting the days until I can ride off into the sunset and never look back. I want to make something of myself —I refuse to fail. But. For now? I can’t leave. It’s just something I’ve got to survive.”

He looks at me and wants to protest, I can see it in his eyes. I lean forward before he can start talking and kiss him. “Kevin. You’re one of the only people I know who truly cares about me.” I still see the questions in his eyes and I ignore them; I change the subject. “So. Why are we out here again? I see, um...a field and some grass and I’m pretty sure a spider just crawled up my leg but I don’t really wanna look.”

He hangs on to my gaze for a few seconds, probably to make sure I really want to drop the discussion about my family. I know he still has questions, but right now I want to forget about myself for awhile. He sighs and wraps his arms around me.

“You’re looking in the wrong place, Steph.” He motions for me to look up, pointing to the pitch black sky.

“Um. It’s black. That’s usually what happens at night.”

He laughs at my confusion and just says, “Wait.”

And then it happens. A sudden shower of shooting stars —brilliant and streaking across the sky. I gasp and cover my mouth as the beauty of the night sky unleashes its power.

“Kevin, how on earth did you know this was going to happen?” My words are hushed and awestruck—I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve never had the opportunity to look at the stars because normally when I’m out late, it’s because I’m running from someone.

He pokes me in the side. “I pay attention in science.”

I glare at him and sit down in the grass, the icy blades poking through my jeans. I grimace and shift around before deciding to lay straight on my back so I’m facing the meteor shower. It looks like tiny pieces of glass tearing themselves against a black velvet tapestry.

“It’s beautiful," I whisper.

He sits down beside me and rests his hand on mine.

“I figured you might like it,” Kevin says. “It seemed to be something you would understand—complete beauty found in the darkest of places.”

I turn and look at him, the blades of grass poking my cheek. I squeeze his hand. “What do you mean? Why would I understand this more than anyone else? You can’t deny the beauty here...it’s—stunning.”

Kevin meets my gaze. “Yes. It is. But you were about to completely dismiss it. What did you see when I first brought you here?”

“A field with snakes and spiders,” I answer, suddenly feeling a little itchy around my ankles. I push the thought out of my head, keeping my eyes on Kevin’s face. I can tell he is thinking about something. Something he has been mulling over in his head for quite awhile. He seems confident. Sure.

I wish I could take some of that confidence and bottle it up to use with my family.     

Kevin laughs. “Yeah. A field with spiders,” he says. “But if your face would have been stuck in the grass, you would have missed the show.” His gaze turns electric as he places his hand on my cheek. “It’s just like you, Steph. There’s a lot of dark places inside. Places you don’t want anyone to see or know about. Places where you hide your insecurities and used razors and the bruises you don’t deserve. But you’re beautiful. You’re the most beautiful person I have ever met—inside and out—and I think if you let yourself look inside, you’d find some beautiful places you never thought were there.”

“Kevin...”

“Steph, don’t try and explain this away. Don’t try and tell me I don’t know where you come from —because I do. Don’t try and tell me I don’t know what I’m getting myself into—because I’m already in too deep. Just promise me you’ll stay with me.”

I bite my lip. No one ever makes commitments with Stephanie Tiller. No one ever pays this much attention to her.

And here I am, face to face with a boy I could very much fall in love with, and he’s asking me to promise him I will stay with him. I nod. It’s the only response I can give him because words aren’t coming to me. He smiles and moves his hands and before I know it his lips are on mine and my heart is pounding and his tongue is moving and my breath is gone. Just gone.

Every Shattered Thing was a heartbreakingly wonderful read! I hadn't read the blurb to this book before I started, I was just told that it was an amazing read, YA but with mature content. The beginning of the book reminded me of Reason to Breathe series, but after a few chapters I realized that there was more going on than just a drunken abusive father. The writing is very vivid, enough that your stomach twists in knots.. it's just down right sick in places.

The thing I liked most about this book, was Stephanie, the main character. Her life is the most crap-tastic I've ever read, yet she remains strong. Even at her most shattered and broken, she's strong. My heart ached at times when she was strong. I don't know if my will to live would have equaled hers, yet she made it. The ending made me sad though. I saw some of the components coming through, but was in denial. I have to agree with Stephanie's decision even though it hurts to think about it. 

Overall, this was a very rocky and emotional read. It will break you down but give you hope.. you will know that things can always get worse, but you need to stay positive, and hope things will get better. Since this is a dark read, it's definitely not for the light hearted, it hurts, it's real life, but a damn good read!

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Elora Ramirez lives in Austin, Texas with her chef-husband. At the age of four, she taught herself how to read and write, cutting her teeth on books like Dr. Suess and writing anywhere she could find the space—including her Fisher Price kitchen set, the pages of picture books and Highlights Magazine. Since then, she's grown to love the way words feel as they swell within her bones. Writing holy and broken is her calling, and pushing back the darkness and pursuing beauty through story is her purpose. She loves hip-hop, wishes she lived by the beach and cannot write without copious amounts of coffee, chocolate, and her husband's lavender liqueur.

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