Tour! A Review of Before He Was Gone by Becky Wicks, Plus Guest Post!

Before He Was Gone (Starstruck #2) by Becky Wicks 
Genre: New Adult (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: May 29, 2014
Publisher: Self

Standalone sequel to Before He Was Famous (out now!)

Sometimes, you have to get lost to find yourself...

When her rock star boyfriend breaks things off out of the blue, Alyssa applies to hit reality TV show Deserted and to her shock she gets through. Abandoned on a remote island with a bunch of strangers and none of the luxuries she’s become accustomed to, it’s not long before an undeniable attraction to the mysterious Joshua starts complicating things even further.

Joshua's different to everyone she's ever known - a traveller, a man with no plan, a world away from the celebrity life she's left behind. As a series of challenges test their wits and weaknesses, things start heating up in paradise, but in a game designed to break people down, it soon becomes clear that Joshua is hiding a painful secret - one he won’t risk anyone finding out. 

Struggling to know where she belongs, Alyssa will have to choose - a life she once loved that wants her back, or a brand new reality that heartbreakingly may just have its limits.

***Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and mature situations. Not intended for young adult readers.***

Before He Was Gone is the second book in the Starstruck series by Becky Wicks. Remember Chloe's friend Alyssa? This is her story. This story stands fine on its own, so you don't need to read this series in order, although I still prefer to. I think I enjoyed Alyssa's story even more than Chloe's. Alyssa's pretty tough. She surprised me. She had different challenges in a different setting than what she's used to, and she really shined. Joshua seemed right at home. This atmosphere is what he's good at. I started to get scared when I saw where the story was headed. I don't like sad endings. At all! I'm not going to tell you if this was happy or sad, but I really enjoyed the adventure of reaching the ending.

The romance was dramatic. Actually, most of the story with it's adventures, emotional situations, and steamy romance was packed full of drama. This was a fun and fast read, and I'm looking forward to more in this series!

The ARC of Before He Was Gone by Becky Wicks was kindly provided to me by Xpresso Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

Behind the scenes: A day in the life of a writer, and seeking inspiration for stories

Becky, you’ve now written two books in the Starstruck Series and you’re working on a third. Take us through a day in the life of a writer.

Well, I’m kind of a gypsy nomad, really! I’m in Bali right now, in a small town called Ubud. It’s where Elizabeth Gilbert spent her time while she was writing Eat, Pray, Love, so maybe I’m a cliché for writing here but I discovered this place while I was working on my travel memoir Balilicious and it turned into a second home for me. The people, the weather, the healthy lifestyle – I love it. I tend to work most of the day though, maybe 10-12 hours. I spend a lot of time on social media, too. I work freelance on a few things but I also do a lot of Pilates. I play guitar and talk to interesting strangers. It’s an inspiring place to live!

How does where you live inspire your writing?
Well, in Bali it’s very green and the people conduct their ceremonies around animism – which is the belief that every living thing has a heart and soul that must be respected. Everything is about balance and I try to take that into account with my work. You have to balance work with pleasure! I give that to my characters too, in some way. They have to work for the fun they have. I’m so inspired by the people I meet who are travelling through here, too. Everyone has a story and you never know or when those stories, or even those people might wind up in one of your books in some way! 

Are there any islands near by that you used for inspiration for Before He Was Gone?
There are lots of islands around here, and the waters around them are as beautiful as I tried to describe them in the book. They were taken to Raja Ampat, which is actually a part of Indonesia I’ve never been to, but the islands closer to where I live would be too populated to have been a good base for the show Deserted. There are too many drunk tourists on them! I’ve spent a lot of time on the nearby Gili islands over the past three years or so, so they were definitely used as inspiration. Luckily I got to sleep in a bed and not a sand shelter though. And I’ve never had to kill a goat for food on the Gilis! 

Where will you head next in search of inspiration for your writing?
Hmmm, I do always seem to have a travel plan. It’s quiet and much cheaper to live here in Bali than in some other places, so I have a lot of time to think and explore my ideas that I might not have at home in the UK. I’m so grateful for that and for the fact that I have freedom to write right now. It’s a lot of work but I love it! I want to go to Nashville soon though and work on my third book. I’ve always wanted to go there, and now that Stephanie (a character from Before He Was Gone) is moving there, I may just have to go check it out! You can’t write about a honky tonk life without living it now, can you? Well, I guess there’s Google maps… but I’m sure there’s a cowgirl in me somewhere, too ;-)

Check out my review of Before he Was Famous!

Becky Wicks lives in Bali and scribbles books, and she’s mostly powered by coffee. Her first book in the Starstruck Series, Before He Was Famous recently reached #1 in Amazon’s Coming of Age and New Adult & College categories, and her three travel books, published by HarperCollins are online to make feet nice and itchy. Mostly though, she loves to write love stories. She blogs most days at beckywicks.com and always welcomes distractions on Twitter @bex_wicks. Especially if you have photos of cats.

To learn more about Becky Wicks and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.


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