Today we have the release day blitz for Back to You by Kristen Granata! Check out the release festivities and be sure to grab your copy today!
Title: Back to You
Author: Kristen Granata
Genre: Contemporary Romance
About Back to You:
They say you never forget your first love. Clearly, they haven’t tried hard enough. I’ve spent five years forgetting about Christopher Hastings.
His gentle touch? A distant memory.
Those gorgeous hazel eyes? Long gone.
The sparks that flew when we kissed? Wiped from my mind.
Now my life is going exactly the way I want it to. I landed a teaching job at my old elementary school. I’m happy again. Everything’s perfect.
Imagine my surprise when I find out my school’s gym teacher is none other than Christopher Hastings.
Cue panic attack.
But it doesn’t matter how good he fills out those basketball shorts—I’ve moved on. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. If only my heart would get the memo.
They say you never forget your first love, and it looks like Christopher is determined to make sure I never forget mine.
Exclusive Excerpt:
Have you ever forced a smile so hard that it actually hurt?
I think I just pulled a muscle in my face.
Either that or I’m having a stroke. That would give me a good excuse to exit this conversation. Sorry, I’m having a stroke. I have to go.
“And then I was like, wait … is this gluten free? Because I’m gluten intolerant.”
What’s this girl’s name again? My eyes glazed over five minutes ago, yet she continues blabbering on:
“And he was like, “No, ma’am.” And I was like, did he just call me ma’am? And then I was like, “I want to speak to your manager.””
Is it Jessica? Or Jamie?
“I mean, how prudent can you be? Can you believe that?”
Maybe it doesn’t start with a J at all …
“Uhm, hello? Are you even listening to me?”
Shit. I’ve been caught. I clear my throat. “I’m not sure prudent is the right word.”
Nameless Girl cocks her blond head to the side. “What?”
“You said: How prudent can you be? But that word doesn’t make sense in that sentence.”
Her vacant eyes blink back at me.
So I continue to dig my hole deeper. “Prudent means practical, sensible. I think you meant to say insensitive.”
Blink, blink.
I lift my half-empty cup of beer to my lips and take a swig. I guess it could be half-full, if you’re one of those types. But that’s not how I see things. Guess I’m more prudent.
My roommate, Damon, claps me on the back. “Hey, man. The pool table’s open. Let’s go.”
I don’t play pool, but he’s clearly on a search and rescue mission. A damn fine wingman, that friend of mine.
I push my cheeks up, straining through another smile. “I’m going to play pool. It was nice talking to you …” Jordana? Jody? Ah, fuck it. Who really cares what her name is?
She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, thanks for the vocabulary lesson.”
Damon chokes out a laugh as he ushers me toward the pool table. “Dude, that girl was a sure thing. Tell me you didn’t get all nerdy on her.”
I shrug before gulping down the rest of my beer. “I don’t see what the big deal is. I would want someone to tell me if I used a word incorrectly in a sentence.”
He shakes his head. “People don’t come to these parties to talk about school. They come here to get fucked up and not think about school.”
“But a conversation shouldn’t be physically painful. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. I’m pretty sure she used the word like over twelve times within one minute.”
Damon leans against the table, leveling me with a look. “That’s your problem: You were trying to talk to her. You’re supposed to smile and nod, let her run her mouth about whatever she wants. After a few minutes, you ask her if she wants to get out of here. Then, you take her back to your place and fuck her.” He spreads his arms out wide. “Have I taught you nothing in the past year?”
I’m quiet as I set my cup down on the edge of the table. It’s not socially acceptable for a guy to tell another guy that he’s tired of the one-night stands and meaningless conversations. I want to get laid, trust me. But what’s wrong with having an interesting conversation with a girl before I fuck her? Why can’t I enjoy her company, fully-clothed, as much as when we’re naked? Is that too much to ask?
That’s the real foreplay. Getting into a girl’s mind before getting into her pants. If I can’t stand talking to her, what’s going to make me want to fuck her? Stupidity is a major boner killer.
About the Author:
Kristen Granata is a teacher by day, and an (exhausted) author by night. Known for writing emotional New Adult Romance, she loves creating realistic, flawed characters who struggle through the darkest parts of life and come out stronger on the other side. Kristen is a self-proclaimed “bitter cynic trapped in a hopeless romantic’s body.” Her characters pack a sarcastic punch, make you laugh, make you think, make you ugly cry – and they will always live happily ever after. If you’re a lover of moving, inspirational reads, Kristen’s your girl.
Kristen was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1986. She moved to Staten Island with her family and lived there for almost twenty years. There she attended community college and became a teacher. Despite her passion for writing, and despite her professors strongly suggesting she become a writer, she took the more sensible route (bitter cynic, remember?) After going through a difficult divorce when she was only twenty-nine, Kristen returned to writing. The raw story that poured out of her led her to publish her debut novel, Collision, in March of 2018. Soon after in August 2018, the sequel, Avoidance, was published. Her third novel, The Other Brother, released in April 2019.
Kristen openly shares her mental health struggles with depression and anxiety with her Instagram following. Her message is a beacon of hope to anyone who is suffering: You are not alone. She delicately weaves this theme into her writing, and demonstrates the ability of love to heal trauma.
When she’s not teaching or writing, Kristen is reading, Instagramming, indulging in her messy love affair with popcorn, and annoying her wife and step-daughters by incessantly singing along to The Greatest Showman soundtrack.
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