The New York Times Bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series and PLAY ON returns to the world of the arts in this intense and emotional standalone romance about love, sacrifice, and surviving both. AS DUST DANCES is now available on all retailers! Grab your copy today!
About AS DUST DANCES:
Once upon a time Skylar Finch was the lead singer of a hugely successful American pop-rock band. But fame made her miserable. When years of living a lie suddenly ended in tragedy, Skylar fell off the map.
Eighteen months later she’s sleeping in a tent in a cemetery in Glasgow, making just enough money to eat by busking on the streets. She manages to avoid recognition, but not the attention of one of Glasgow’s ambitious A&R executives.
Killian O’Dea works at Skyscraper Records, Scotland’s most successful record label. Raised by his uncle and owner of the label, Killian’s upbringing would have been devoid of affection entirely if it wasn’t for his loving sister. Killian is unflinchingly determined to bring the label more success than ever, and the young homeless woman who busks on Buchanan Street is going to help him do that. Her music speaks to him in a way he refuses to over-analyze. All he knows is that if it can touch his dark soul, it’ll set everyone else’s alight.
Skylar makes it clear that she doesn’t want to sign with him. But when she experiences the dangerous reality of a woman sleeping rough, Skylar has no one else but Killian to turn to. An undeniable connection forms between them. But Skylar doesn’t want the career Killian is trying to forge for her, and when her past comes back to haunt her Killian will be faced with a decision that could ruin him. He must either free Skylar from his selfish machinations and destroy everything he’s ever worked for, or lose a woman who has come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible…
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Excerpt
We both froze.
Me in my bra and jeans.
His lips parted, not even hiding that he was taking in every inch of me. I flushed all over.
Killian cursed under his breath and then slammed his office door shut so no one would see me from the hall while finally turning his back to me. He sounded hoarse when he spoke. “Sorry. I thought you’d be dressed by now.”
“My wrist was hurting,” I lied. “I needed a minute.”
That was all it took to make him move. Suddenly he was in front of me, grabbing the tee out of my hands. “What are you doing?” I tried to cover myself.
Killian gave me an impatient look. “It’s not anything I haven’t seen before. Lift your arms.”
“I can put the tee on myself.”
“The longer you argue, the longer I see you half-naked. I’m a man who appreciates the female form, so I don’t mind. I can do this all day.”
Grunting, I lifted my arms, my annoyance with him lessening as he carefully pulled it down over my head and then gently placed my arms through the short sleeves. He shrugged it down slowly, as if savoring those moments of naked skin.
My breath caught as his fingers brushed the sides of my breasts and my eyes flew to his as he pulled the T-shirt down excruciatingly slowly, caressing my skin with it. Those dark eyes smoldered.
Then somehow, we were standing closer, our bodies almost touching. Excitement tingled between my legs and I felt my nipples peak against the fabric of my bra.
A flush crested Killian’s cheeks and his chest rose and fell in shallow breaths.
I forgot everything.
Where I was.
Who I was.
Who he was.
All I could think about was the way my skin prickled to electrified life under his touch. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him to push me up against his desk, rip my jeans off, and thrust into me.
My breath shuddered at the thought and Killian’s eyes blazed even hotter, as if he’d been able to read my mind.
“Sir, Mr. Byrne would like to speak with you!” Eve’s voice called through the door and shattered the moment.
Killian stumbled back. His hands dropped from my waist, allowing the T-shirt to fall.
I tried to catch my breath as he whirled away from me. “Just … Just a second,” he called back.
“Killian …”
He glanced over his shoulder at me, his expression unreadable. “I’m Killian again?”
Confused, I blinked. “What?”
Exhaling heavily, he shook his head. “Nothing.” Then his nostrils flared as he stared at me. I glanced down at myself. His T-shirt drowned me. It also smelled of him, which was very bad because I really needed to stop thinking of Killian and sex in the same sentence, and wearing his scent was not helping. “I look ridiculous.” But I didn’t think Killian thought I looked ridiculous at all.
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About Samantha Young:
REVIEW
As Dust Dances by Samantha YoungMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Samantha Young has written a story saturated with emotion on every page. A story that will make you mourn right along with Skylar as she searches her soul during the lowest point in her life. Many heroines in romance have a tragic backstory, but there's something so vulnerable and raw about this character that grips you and won't let you go from the very start. This book was calling my name and begging me to read it when I saw the synopsis. The idea that this famous pop star dropped off the face of the earth after a personal tragedy, and began living on the streets was so intriguing to me. Her love of music was so deeply embedded, it became her undoing and salvation all at the same time. Which I think holds true in real life. There's such power in a song because it can bring you back to your most painful memory, or your biggest blessing.
Skylar and her band created music that placed the world in the palm of her hand, but the tradeoff was her privacy and her happiness. With success, she began a downward spiral with anxiety, depression, and finally devastation when she lost the one person who she loved most in the world. Piece by piece, as her story is revealed, her pain is resurrected. It's a ghost that haunts her relentlessly. But this life she chose on the streets helped her to go into survival mode rather than let her dark thoughts consume her.
This was my life right now. I liked it like this. I worried about important, basic-necessity stuff and all the other shit went away. I’d keep being smart as long as it meant not having to think about who I used to be.
When Killian O’Dea, an A&R exec at Skyscraper records approaches her, she wants nothing to do with him or his offer to re-enter the music world. However, no one knows better than her that desperate times call for desperate measures. After getting viciously attacked, she knows that her solitary, dangerous life must come to an end. Killian comes off as very abrupt and ruthless in the beginning. You don't see a lot of tenderness or sympathy, he gives her tough love, and lots of it.
Skylar is very much a straight shooter, and even though his bluntness and hard truths drive her up the wall at times, I think she feels a grudging respect and understanding from the start. He's a man who knows what he wants, and goes after it with everything he has. They were similar in so many ways in the beginning of the book, which led to a lot of sparks flying. Their snark, unbending personalities, and stubbornness were not a good combination for creating a fast friendship. But over time, they would make cracks in each others' defenses and their relationship was able to evolve. When they traded barbs, you could see how close they could be if they just let their guards down and let each other in.
“There you go acting all noble, taking the sarcasm out of my sails.” “Not even a hurricane could knock the sarcasm out of you.” I nodded. “You’re learning.”
I loved this story from beginning to end. I can honestly say that there's not one thing I would change about it. Skylar went through hell and back and came out the other side a stronger woman because of it. She learned to forgive herself for words never said, to love herself first in order to live her best life, and let go of things that couldn't be changed to move into the future. It was a healing process, not just for her, but for Killian as well. To see him soften right before our eyes and lay himself bare for her melted my heart. He wasn't perfect by any means throughout the book, in fact there were moments he deserved a good smack for his selfishness. All along he thought he was saving her, but in the end it was clear that they were saving each other. Killian and Skylar's story really resonated with me in the best way possible, and gave me those romantic chest flutters that I so rarely feel anymore. I can't recommend this one enough, it's a must read!!
Somehow, he’d helped me find my soul again. It would never be whole, but I think that’s what life was about. You started out with a pure, whole soul and life took hits at it. It charred it, bruised it, and sometimes even smashed it to dust. But there were ways to hold on to it and to even piece it back together in new ways. To add patches of light to a shadowy bruise, to stitch a crack with a little thread of joy.
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