Title: Low
Series: Low #1
Author: Mary Elizabeth
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: February 1, 2016
Blurb
It’s hard living on the wrong side of the tracks.
Lowen Seely has a criminal record to prove it. Determined not to follow in his father’s footsteps, he fights instinct and tries honesty. But hunger becomes painful, and bills are due. Forced to choose between what is right and wrong, the boy from the hood learns abiding by the rules is nearly impossible when corruption is in your blood.
Falling for an outlaw has changed everything.
Poesy Ashby is the definition of ride or die, even when it means turning her back on freedom. The girl from the suburbs gives conformity the middle finger. Bonnie and Clyde have nothing on her love story.
On the run with consequences in the rearview mirror, Lowen and Poesy accept the truth: they are the bad guys.
But can they get away with their crimes?
Lowen Seely has a criminal record to prove it. Determined not to follow in his father’s footsteps, he fights instinct and tries honesty. But hunger becomes painful, and bills are due. Forced to choose between what is right and wrong, the boy from the hood learns abiding by the rules is nearly impossible when corruption is in your blood.
Falling for an outlaw has changed everything.
Poesy Ashby is the definition of ride or die, even when it means turning her back on freedom. The girl from the suburbs gives conformity the middle finger. Bonnie and Clyde have nothing on her love story.
On the run with consequences in the rearview mirror, Lowen and Poesy accept the truth: they are the bad guys.
But can they get away with their crimes?
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Excerpt
“Keep the engine running,” I say. “If I’m not out in five minutes, leave.”
Poe nods her head, but doesn’t argue.
When the nine o’clock hour comes, both she and I watch the clock on the dashboard turn to one minute after.
“You’ll need to keep your mask on, Poesy. Make sure none of your hair is showing,” I say. “Keep your head down the entire time.”
“Okay,” she answers in a small voice.
“If you see cops—”
“I know what to do, Lowen. I know you want me to leave you.” She sighs. “But I don’t know if I can.”
Despite our circumstances, I smirk. “Hopefully you won’t have to.”
At nine thirty, Poe and I switch seats, and she gets behind the wheel while I load the pistol. With hands that shake uncontrollably, I place the ski mask over my head but don’t pull it down my face. I help Poesy with hers, tucking in every stray strand of hair so they remain unseen.
She grabs my wrist, and our eyes meet. I see fear combined with love and loyalty in her stare.
I kiss her knuckles and promise with the chance of lying, “We’re going to be okay.”
Unlike when we drove into the garage, the streets are alive and filled with a variety of automobiles, and dirty sidewalks carry several pedestrians. The forty-second drive to the bank feels like forty years. Thick blood courses through my veins, and I feel it flow through arteries and vessels, nourishing muscle and bone. My head echoes with the thump, thump, thump of my hard heartbeat. Every breath is shallower than the one before it.
“Pull down your mask,” I say, but my voice sounds foreign and feels a million miles away.
As Poe drives into California Credit Union’s parking lot, I grip the cold steel in my hand.
The edges of my vision blur; I’m blinded by adrenaline.
My skin crawls like I’m covered in spiders; I’m delirious with edginess.
“Your ski mask,” Poesy shrieks. “Cover your fucking face, Lowen.”
My girl reaches over and pulls it down for me. The car stops to a screeching halt, and reality crashes into me in a brutal rush, stripping me of air and voice.
“If we’re in this, you need to go,” Poesy says in a calm but stern tone, hidden behind her black mask.
There’s peace in her eyes.
There’s strength in the girl who stayed with me when I was locked up.
The one who’s remained by my side, believing and starving all at the same time.
With the gun in my hand and determination in my heart, I leave Poesy in the car and push open the glass double doors into the bank.
As I step foot onto the burgundy carpet, I yell, “Everyone down on the fucking floor!”
4 stars
Low is a modern day Bonnie and Clyde story. Lowen was a really tragic character. I really loved him and my heart broke for him. Lowen is raised in poverty, he is doing odd jobs to try and take care of his mom and sister. On a really bad day for Low he is hungry and steals a jar of peanut butter and bread. It goes wrong and he is sent to jail. His girlfriend Poesy visits him and stands by him through it.
After Low is released he tries to rebuild. These parts were really hard for me to read and got to me big time. No matter what Low and Poesy did to get ahead it was never enough. I really connected to Low because of this; I know what it feels like to never get ahead. It is easy to tell someone to keep trying or try harder but you just keep getting knocked down. It is a suffocating feeling and I felt Low was trying. The longer it took though he was losing hope and getting angry.
Poesy was also working herself to the bone to keep up with bills and go to school. One of the things I didn’t like was how wild Poesy became. It was almost like she was hell on wheels and Low tried to be the voice of reason. I really believe they loved each other with everything they had but I don’t know if it was good for them.
Low and Poesy soon turn to breaking the law to get ahead. You will need to read the book to find out how this turns out. It is a wild ride and quite messy. The ending is left for you to draw your own conclusions and I am okay with that. This was an interesting read for me and I enjoyed it.
After Low is released he tries to rebuild. These parts were really hard for me to read and got to me big time. No matter what Low and Poesy did to get ahead it was never enough. I really connected to Low because of this; I know what it feels like to never get ahead. It is easy to tell someone to keep trying or try harder but you just keep getting knocked down. It is a suffocating feeling and I felt Low was trying. The longer it took though he was losing hope and getting angry.
Poesy was also working herself to the bone to keep up with bills and go to school. One of the things I didn’t like was how wild Poesy became. It was almost like she was hell on wheels and Low tried to be the voice of reason. I really believe they loved each other with everything they had but I don’t know if it was good for them.
Low and Poesy soon turn to breaking the law to get ahead. You will need to read the book to find out how this turns out. It is a wild ride and quite messy. The ending is left for you to draw your own conclusions and I am okay with that. This was an interesting read for me and I enjoyed it.
3.5 STARS
The prologue to this book had me thinking this wasn't going to be a happy tale by any stretch of the imagination. We learn fairly quickly that Lowen "Low" Seely hasn't had an easy life. He's been raised in a poor neighborhood and his father's reputation has led people to believe that Low will never be anything more....and sometimes it becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Low is sent to prison and when he gets out, his girl Poesy is waiting for him, ready to start a new life.
Unfortunately for them, they struggle quite a bit. They try to do everything right; working hard, paying their bills and keeping to themselves. But eventually, the bottom falls out and they do what they need to in order to survive....they rob a bank.
I really liked the premise of this story, and it pretty well told. The issues I had with the book were related to the huge gaps in time towards the end of the book. I also had a hard time following the flow when the author would write "my getaway driver said" instead of just using the person's name...it just felt odd to me when it was written that way. I do like that Poe and Low never gave up on each other and stuck it out til the very end.
Unfortunately for them, they struggle quite a bit. They try to do everything right; working hard, paying their bills and keeping to themselves. But eventually, the bottom falls out and they do what they need to in order to survive....they rob a bank.
I really liked the premise of this story, and it pretty well told. The issues I had with the book were related to the huge gaps in time towards the end of the book. I also had a hard time following the flow when the author would write "my getaway driver said" instead of just using the person's name...it just felt odd to me when it was written that way. I do like that Poe and Low never gave up on each other and stuck it out til the very end.
Author Bio
Mary Elizabeth is an up and coming author who finds words in chaos, writing stories about the skeletons hanging in your closets.
Known as The Realist, Mary was born and raised in Southern California. She is a wife, mother of four beautiful children, and dog tamer to one enthusiastic Pit Bull and a prissy Chihuahua. She's a hairstylist by day but contemporary fiction, new adult author by night. Mary can often be found finger twirling her hair and chewing on a stick of licorice while writing and rewriting a sentence over and over until it's perfect. She discovered her talent for tale-telling accidentally, but literature is in her chokehold. And she's not letting go until every story is told.
Known as The Realist, Mary was born and raised in Southern California. She is a wife, mother of four beautiful children, and dog tamer to one enthusiastic Pit Bull and a prissy Chihuahua. She's a hairstylist by day but contemporary fiction, new adult author by night. Mary can often be found finger twirling her hair and chewing on a stick of licorice while writing and rewriting a sentence over and over until it's perfect. She discovered her talent for tale-telling accidentally, but literature is in her chokehold. And she's not letting go until every story is told.
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