Ramblings of a Book Lunatic: Missing Pieces by Nicola Haken with Giveaway, Excerpt, Playlist & Review

*Please note this is an updated version of a story previously published under the title ‘Inevitable’*

Seventeen-year-old Maddie Davis has spent her whole life on the move. With an unstable mother who has a knack for making bad decisions, she’s never stayed in one place long enough to remember its postcode. But this time is different… This time, she has been dragged half way across the world. Arriving in California and being forced to go back to school feels like stepping back in time. She wants to go home…

Until she meets Blaine Elwood – the stepson of an old family friend.

Blaine appears to have it all. To the outside world, quarterback Blaine is rich, confident and has the ‘arrogant bad boy’ image down to a tee. But nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. Nobody ever can. He has vowed never to let anyone get too close – let anyone discover how weak he is. So when new girl Maddie starts tugging at strings he didn’t know existed in his heart, his only option is to push her away…

Until he realizes how much he needs her.

Together, after being forced into adulthood from an early age, they begin to learn what it feels like to be young - to smile, to laugh... to love. So when shattered secrets and splintered lies start unraveling around them, will the trust they’ve worked so hard to build be irreparably destroyed? Or will they realize they are two pieces of the same broken puzzle?

(Not suitable for under 18’s due to scenes of abuse, sexual content and adult language)

Nicola lives in Rochdale, England with her husband and four children (six if you include the dogs!) She is the author of New Adult/Contemporary romance novels Inevitable, Saving Amy and the Take My Hand series. When she is not busy playing with her imaginary book friends (or talking about them with real life friends!) she can usually be found carrying out her ordinary mum/housewife/all round slave duties. Oh, and if the kids ever ask, she moonlights as the Pink Power Ranger while they’re sleeping…

He handed me three textbooks and pointed to a double table at the back of the room. My heart sank when I noticed a girl already sitting at it and started to pray that she was a ‘keeps herself to herself’ type.

I should’ve know better than to pray for the impossible…

“You know Blaine Elwood?” she asked incredulously as I slid in beside her. I couldn’t help but be taken aback by her blatant disregard for the word hello.

“His step-mum and my mum are old friends,” I replied nonchalantly.

“Oh my god, you’re British!”

I know.

“Do you know Robert Pattinson?” she asked enthusiastically.

Is this chick for real?

“Sure, he came round for tea with the queen last week.” Her bright green eyes widened in astonishment.

“She’s fucking with you,” the most deliciously deep, smooth voice in the world interrupted. He laughed and I swear I could hear several people around us literally piss their pants.

“Blaine! What are you doing here?” the shamefully dumb blonde next to me asked, her face falling like she’d had a stroke as she gawped up at Blaine. Honest to god, a shallow pool of drool formed on the curve of her lips threatening to spill over at any given moment. I hadn’t noticed him creep up beside me and my heart began to thud so loudly I was almost certain he would be able to hear it.

“This paper was due in yesterday. I just found it in my locker and thought I’d drop it in. Better late than never.”

“Are you going to Wayne’s party a week on Saturday?” she asked eagerly and my eyes blinked rapidly as my brain struggled to catch up with the fact this wasn’t déjà vu – this was life actually repeating itself.

“Probably.” He gave the same answer in the same uninterested tone as he did the last girl who fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Me too.” She grinned like a desperate idiot, twisting a rogue tendril of her hair (which had been bleached to the point of being almost white) around her small finger. At that moment in time I was feeling fairly confident I would not be coming back tomorrow.

“I’ve gotta get going. I’ll wait outside for you, Maddie.” I nodded a little too eagerly and realised I had just turned into the puppy-eyed blonde to my left.

“O.M.G are you two like a thing?”

“No!” Wow, I wasn’t expecting that to sting so badly. What the hell was wrong with me? “We’re new to the area and like I said my mum knows his family. He’s just being friendly.”

“Blaine Elwood doesn’t do friendly. Blaine Elwood does screwing and fighting and not much else. I’m telling you he’s crushing on you, girl.” I allowed myself to consider her words for a second, and then immediately wanted to slap myself for being so stupid.

“That’s ridiculous. He’s just showing me around, that’s all.” Blondie surrendered her palms.

“Whatever you say. I’m Lori. Lori Hanson.” Lori offered her tiny manicured hand to shake and flashed me a genuinely warm smile. It was like she was actually happy to be sat with me. I shook her hand gratefully, pathetically desperate for her to like me.

“Maddie Davis.”

5 stars Wow! Nicola always manages to knock my off my feet with her writing. Some is hard to read, really hard. But it's always told so well, with characters that are just so real it's hard not to feel anything. As a matter of fact, I don't think it's possible not to feel something when you're reading Nicola's work. I have read a few of Nicola's books at this point and can honestly say, with every book she surprises me. I love that she can write about such heavy topics, but also brings you to feel those emotions and to care for the characters deeply. This book is no different in that aspect.

I loved Blaine and Maddie together, no matter what. There are some surprises, but that's just now Nicola rolls. She always manages to catch me off guard in one way or another. Things aren't always just as they seem. There's always something going on. Blaine and Maddie both made me cry at different times, not gonna lie, this was an emotional read. Ups and downs, but that's life, right? What amazed me was the way in which Blaine and Maddie seemed to come together and have fantastic chemistry from the beginning, and I always love that. What I love most is that Nicola always makes me feel. That's an amazing talent right there. Love it!