Hello lovelies! ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ

My name is Bri and I am so excited to be here! I really want to thank Kelly for featuring me! I can't wait to meet all of you and hopefully we can all come out of here with a new friend from this lovely discussion.

Today, I am presenting my pain-in-the-butt story Strokes, how it relates to so many of us and a fun get to know you after!

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˗ˏˋhe is her darknessˎˊ˗

Ria refuses to fall in love again. To her, love is a trap. A curse that buries itself in your soul and rips you apart when you least expect it.

Emotional commitment must be avoided. Use men the way they've used her. That's her moral. But a single encounter can change everything and everything can change her heart.

After months of sulking over a devastating breakup, Ria comes across another philophobic like herself. Ashton, a man with sadness in his eyes despite the mischief in his smile.

He brings a new feeling to her. A warmth that she can't describe and a pull she can't escape. So she lets her guard down for one night of heartless passion. After that, she's never supposed to see him again.

But nothing is ever as it seems and the same can be said for her one-night fantasy. Once Ashton steps into her life, it's no longer in her power to avoid him. And when their paths cross again, she can't bring it upon herself to leave him.

Yet the closer Ria gets to Ashton, the more she sees beyond his sensitive smiles and tender affection. He's hiding things from her. Dark secrets that could ruin them forever.

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Ah romance. (҂⌣̀_⌣́)

Despite how harsh, lonely, frustrating and heartbreaking it can be, we all kind of love it, right?

That is exactly the case for our two protagonist, Ashton and Ria. One with a brooding past and the other with a tragic heartbreak. They both are two of the most emotional people you'll ever meet, yet they're terrified of one thing. Love.

And aren't we all? Afraid of the potential heartbreak? Afraid to find that person who could possibly make you want to say forever. One person can open your heart, rip it apart or both...

*shudders*

Though, uncommon in the romance genre, Strokes features some of the most realistic/relatable characters you'll ever find.

Ria: The strong (but not flawless) female who's still vulnerable and weak when it comes to her heart.

Women are strong. No question about it. But we are not invincible. Ria is the perfect example of this.

She is strong and can stand up for herself. She won't allow herself to be pushed over. Yet she can't defend herself from the aches of the heart. Despite thinking she can close her heart to men, Ashton proves to be her biggest challenge yet. He's nothing like the others and he wants more than her surface, but to piece together the broken shards within her.

Ashton: A brooding man with a soft heart, flaws, a sense of humor and oh so many weaknesses.

Men are always strong, sexually driven, dominant creatures, right?

Wrong!

They have emotions. They feel pain. They can be just as, if not more, vulnerable than women.

As a man with a dark past, Ashton is the kind of guy who is (surprise) also afraid of love. Through his distrust of women, he's convinced he's meant to wander the world alone. Women are his weakness and he refuses to chase them anymore.

Yet when Ria enters his life, he doesn't really have a choice because she makes him feel things he hasn't felt in years. And something about the way she gazes at the stars and dreams about the moon pulls him under her charm.

Throw in his (lovely) sarcasm, filterless mouth, silly jokes and his need to constantly paint Ria in the nude and you so have yourself a guy who you want to kiss one second and yell at the next!

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Even supporting characters have stories that are just as real and picked out from common life.

Like Jared (the fan favorite): your average, introverted best friend who spends his day writing sappy poetry, spewing off his self-proclaimed wisdom, and of course being helplessly in love with his ex-girlfriend (now best friend) who just so happens to be a lesbian. Super common right?

And that's just one side story!

My characters are very human and will usually cause readers to question everything. Do I really hate this guy? Am I falling in love with a fictional character? Is this person so bad? Can I marry them? Can I slap a person through a book?

Why can't I find a man like Ashton? Seems to be the most common question (≧∇≦)

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ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ The biggest themes of Strokes are things I think we can all relate to:

1.The desire to be loved, even if we're afraid to love ourselves.

2. Sometimes you want to be alone, but is it always the best? How warm does it feel when someone wants to be there with you?

3. Friendship. You don't need a million of them. Nothing compares to that one good friend you know will follow you to the ends of the earth and yell at you the entire way.

4. Art and stars. We are all stars. We're all significant. We are the art of the universe and everyone of us contributes something to the world. It's our choice whether it be positive or not.

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Overall Strokes is more than a story. It's a journey and inspiration for many. It covers real life topics, emotions, situations and struggles. It's a dark romance, but with enough light to give everyone hope. There is a ton of drama, twists, and the need to throw your phone across the room.

Warning: Some readers are prone to cry as many have told me. If you decide to embark on this journey, it will be pretty emotional! This story thrives on emotions and questioning everything! I hope to see you there with your own lovely feedback!

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Enough of my ramblings! Let's get to know each other!

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Celebrity crushes anyone? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

>Warning! The list of men in my bio are completely off limits! Be careful who you name!

Top Five TV Shows!

-The Walking Dead

- Friends

- The Flash

- Pretty Little Liars

- A ton of cartoons I am not ashamed to watch at 20 years old!

Top Five Books

- Percy Jackson and The Olympians / The Heroes of Olympus Series (go figure)

- The Lunar Chronicles (amaaaaaaazing books)

- The Hunger Games Trilogy (go figure)

- Divergent Trilogy

- Maximum Ride Series

- The Vampire Diaries (Team Damon!!!)

Top Five Series (Book or TV) You Want to Try

- Harry Potter (books and movies) I'm late! I know!

- Stranger Things

- Riverdale (hello Cole Sprouse( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )

- Everything Marvel (I've only seen three which include Spiderman Homecoming)

- Too many WP books in my library to name

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Thank you guys for being super awesome and reading this rambly post! As a thank you for checking it out, and being included in the party, I'm participating in the giveaway! So check it out below!

Giveaway Information: -romantically will giveaway one $25 Amazon eGift Card to one lucky winner! Feature as BOTW for my Ethereal Book Club of over 200 members to two lucky winners! Three graphics (cover, banner and a mood/character board) to three lucky winners! A shout out for each (6) winner! My giveaway is open internationally!

Don't forget to stop by my page! Leave a message, check out Strokes (if I haven't scared you away) and any votes or comments would be greatly appreciated and received with love!

See you guys soon!

-bri ( ˘ ³˘)♥

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