[Blog Tour & Review] Instinctual by Amanda Mackey

October 28, 2014March 3, 2020 Fiona

Title: Instinctual
Author: Amanda Mackey
Blog Tour: October 27th-October 31st
Hosted By: Author Sandra Love

Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched?
How much do you trust your gut instincts?
Kate Fitzpatrick’s intuitive gift warns her that her ex-lover Jake Alexander
has arrived in her idyllic hometown of Vernazza, Italy, but she tries to shrug
it off as being overworked and tired.

When Jake appears in front of her in a lonely, dark alley looking sexier than
ever, Kate’s worst fears are confirmed.She fights the magnetic pull between them, feeling guilty that her new
boyfriend is out of town on business.
But after a serious fall that leaves Kate between life and death, she soon
discovers that Jake’s arrival, and their intense connection, may be the only
thing that can save her…Genre – Romance, Drama, Suspense
Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and
language

review banner

This took me a while to get into the story. It just didn’t hold my attention until the end of chapter 4 then I thought it was getting a little weird but much better.

I was a little confused by the way it was jumping from Jake to Kate and I couldn’t quite work out what was going on sometimes, then around chapter 20/21 it all made sense!

I found myself engrossed in it after that point and couldn’t wait to reach the end to see what happened to Kate, but I need to wait for book 2 for that answer argh lol

Once the book got going and made a wee bit more sense I started to enjoy it. It’s was an interesting read and storyline if a little confusing at the beginning but it all comes to light later on why as to why.

Tentative 4 stars.

Excerpt:

Her wall was crumbling fast as choked sobs escaped. Her teeth clenched as she willed her body to be strong and behave.

An apology just didn’t cut it.
What a nerve thinking he could just waltz back into Vernazza and expect
her to be anything other than angry with him?
What did he hope her reaction to be?

“You’ve been stalking me!” She turned her head slightly to project her
voice.

“No! I haven’t! I had to find you. There is so much I need to tell you, only I
didn’t expect…”

“What? What didn’t you expect?
Spit it out Jake and hurry up!”

“Something has happened to you!
I tried to tell you earlier.
You’re in danger!”

“Danger? The only danger I’m in
is from you. I don’t want you here. Why can’t you understand that?” Did he not understand English? She’d practically spelt it out for him in
every way possible.

And he thinks
I’m the stubborn one! Okay, you’re doing good Kate. Stay strong.

“I’m here to help you. You need
to hear me out. I promise, if you listen
to what I have to say and you still want me to go, I will. I’ll go and I’ll never bother you again.”

Silence. Jesus! Why was she even considering this? It was absurd.

“How do I know you’re not lying to try to get me to forgive you?”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like this. About you. This is a life or death situation. I’ve never been more serious about
anything. Except for my feelings for
you. They will never change. You have to
hear me out and then I’ll leave. You have my word.”

Amanda Mackey was born in New Zealand and moved to
Australia when she was 12 years old with her family, where she has lived ever
since. She has loved books since an early age and is an avid reader. This has
helped lay the foundation for her writing. She’s published 2 non-fiction books
and has her fiction novels titled, Instinctual and Instinctual 2 out now.
Amanda hopes to make writing her full time career.

Random Trivia About the Author:

Trivia I’d like to share:

I spend my free time avidly reading, next to spending time
with family of course! I have an addiction to all things books!

My favourite part of writing is when I get an idea in my
head for a book and actually start. It’s an amazing feeling to begin creating
something from an idea in your head. Instinctual came to me while driving my
kids to school!!

My interest in writing came about from a young age when I
dabbled in writing poetry. It was a feeling inside me that beckoned to come
out. I was in my early 20’s when the desire to write a full novel hit.

Advice for other writers is to continually hone your craft
by learning all you can about the art of writing. I’m continually trying to
improve mine! Also if you believe in yourself and your work it’s only a matter
of time before others will too.

Some more needless trivia about me:

My favourite colour is not one but two colours. Blue and
Green are equally my favourites.
My favourite holiday was a 6 week trip to the US when I
was just 18. I travelled alone from Australia and ventured on a 3 week camping
tour and then I stayed with a pen-pal whom I met for the first time for the
other three weeks.
My most embarrassing moment was when I worked at
Seaworld and a friend of mine who is a voice-over expert pretended to call me
up at work, claiming she was a well-recognized television personality and I
believed her!!
My dream vacation would be visiting the setting of
Instinctual which is in Vernazza, Italy.
Something unique about me is that I have an extra bone
near my shoulder clavicle.
One food I will never touch is fish eggs or roe.
Favourite book is a hard one because I have read so many
but I would have to say the Hush Hush series – Becca Fitzpatrick.
Writing snack of choice is cashew nuts and coffee.
Top hobby I do when not writing is read, read, read.
My favourite animal would have to be the tiger. Would love to work with them