Friend is a Four Letter Word by Steph Campbell - Blog Tour, Book Review, Giveaway

Shayna Gillan is on a mission: start fresh in a new state without the small town gossip that has haunted her since her bad girl days of high school. 

Carter MacPherson has long been the most together member of his crazy family--until now. With a secret threatening to crumble everything he's worked for, he wishes he could forget the recent past, too. 

The last thing Shayna and Carter are looking for is a relationship. It's best to be alone while they sort out their issues. Friends. That's all they can ever be. But even the best laid plans always have a flaw, and once Shayna and Carter cross the line between friendship and more, there's no turning back... The only question left is--whose past will catch up to them first?

Friends. Lovers. Nothing is ever written in stone. Lines can blur. You may screw up. Everyone does. When it’s real though, your heart allows to rewrite.

I’m the queen of fucking up and making things not okay.

Shayna Gillian is lost. She was drinking hard, and sleeping around – until she got into her lowest point not just when she was slapped with a sudden rejection, but when she humiliated her parents in front of people who respected them. Not to mention, she just discovered a well-hidden secret that could change her life. She decided to give herself a fresh start, become someone her parents wanted her to be, become a good girl, become perfect.

If only it was that easy.

As for Carter MacPherson – I wonder why he was skeptical in starting a relationship or anything else with Shyna. Is it the rumors? The age? The friendship she shared with her sister? His father had laid out a plan for him, all he had to do was walk that path. However, Carter had some secrets of his own, something that could ruin his chances, not just with the girl of his dreams, but with life as well.

If only it was that easy to change and forget the past.

The last thing both of them needed was a relationship. They had so much issues and secrets both of them need to worked out first before one of them drags the other down. Friends. They needed to be JUST FRIENDS. But proximity and attraction doesn’t really help with them trying to figure out their lives. Once they crossed that thin line between friendship and love, there was no going back…

Shayna was a runner, Carter wasn’t a risk-taker – but Shayna stayed, and Carter took the risk. It wasn’t easy, with all their baggage attached to their backs. Carter couldn’t tell her his secret, he kept sneaking around, until it finally caught up to him. The Shayna who had escaped her parents would have bolted when she knew the truth, instead, she held her ground and gave the support that Carter needed.

The homesick feeling we’ve both talked about – the feeling of searching for something that maybe doesn’t exist – the feeling that has gnawed at me for as long as I can remember is gone when I’m with her.

It’s such a long title for a short read. Nevertheless, I had a grand time reading one of Steph Campbell’s story. She never cease to amaze me and get me hook on her characters and story. This time, I am faced with two broken and lost souls, despite this fact, they were just what the other one needed to mend and be whole again. Shayna and Carter had manage to break my heart, surprise me, and made me hopeful about love. Indeed, love is a powerful thing, it may break you into pieces, but it can make you complete, it can change you for the better.

I part my lips and lean in closer toward him. Now that we’re alone in the car, I’m suddenly more aware of the pounding of my heart, how flush my face is. I don’t usually feel so nervous around guys. Something about Carter is different, and it isn’t just that he’s a few years older.

“Alright then,” he says in a tight voice. Carter pulls away from the house just as we see Quinn slip inside the door next to Ben’s towering frame.

My heart feels this funny, strained pressure, and I can’t check my smile before Carter catches it from the corner of his eye.

“Stupid puppy love,” I snarl. Or try to. Hard to be snarly when you’re wearing the biggest shit-eating grin.

“Seriously.” Carter drums his fingers on the steering wheel. “I never thought my sister would fall for anyone, but especially not someone like that guy.”

“What’s wrong with Ben?” I demand. I’ve personally always found him pretty damn hot, though I have a feeling Carter wouldn’t be all that happy to know that.

The thought of Carter being jealous about me is pretty damn sexy.

“Ben seems great. He’s just...nice.”

“All girls want nice,” I say, thinking about why I was ever interested in Ben in the first place. “I mean, badass sounds exciting. But, trust me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Really?” Carter pulls his mouth to the side. “I would’ve pegged you as a sucker for a bad boy.”

“Maybe a couple of years ago.” I stop because I don’t want to draw attention to the difference in our ages.

“What are you looking for now?” I can tell that he’s trying hard to keep his voice even.

I shrug. “Maybe I’m not looking anymore. Maybe I’m finally trying to open my eyes to what’s right in front of my face.”

My own bold words make my hands clammy. I watch Carter’s throat work as he swallows hard. I crack the window as we wind through the subdivision and onto the interstate, letting the cool air shock me back to reality.

Carter touches my bare leg, and I don’t flinch away from him. I want more. A chill runs up and down my spine—it has nothing to do with the freezing rain spattering on my overheated skin and everything to do with the way his voice cuts through my thoughts.

“You’re going to freeze, doll.”

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Steph Campbell grew up in Southern California, but now calls the Northeast home. She has one husband, four children and a serious nail polish obsession. She's repped by Kevan Lyon at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Steph's works include Delicate, Grounding Quinn and Beautiful Things Never Last; My Heart for Yours and My Fate for Yours (with Jolene Perry); A Toast to the Good Times (with Liz Reinhardt) and the bestselling new adult LENGTHS series with Liz Reinhardt.

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