Spotlight on: Unlikely Allies by Tiffany King

Eighteen-year-old Kimberly gets the shock of her life when she learns the father she thought was dead is not only very much alive, but never even knew she existed. Angry with her mother for lying all these years, Kimberly flies to Colorado to meet the father she knows nothing about before heading off to college in the fall. 

Her father’s world turns out to be nothing like she expected. Rather than the typical nine to five lifestyle, Kimberly’s father runs a summer foster camp that teaches young children skills to build their confidence and self-esteem. The Colorado Rocky Mountains are a different world than the sunny shores of California, taking Kimberly completely out of her element, and causing her to second-guess her spur of the moment decision. 

Never being one to quit anything, Kimberly is determined to show her father that a surfer girl can fit into this rugged mountain wilderness. That is if she can deal with Mason, an arrogant nineteen-year-old guy who has made it his mission to point out every mistake she has made since her arrival. While she would love nothing more than to rub it in his know-it-all face, Kimberly can’t deny the feelings he stirs up inside her, or the chemistry between them, even during their verbal assaults. 

When a tragic accident leaves them stranded in the mountains, Kimberly must use her shaky skills to save Mason and survive the elements. Suddenly, fighting is the last thing on their minds as they must rely on each other if they want to live. In their struggle for survival, they realize what they thought they knew about each other isn’t true after all.

I adore Tiffany King. As a person, and as an author, so I had a good idea going in that I would enjoy this book. But I wasn’t prepared for just how addictive Unlikely Allies turned out to be.

This book kept me walking on the treadmill for a lot longer than I had planned (double win), and staying up way too late at night to squeeze in a few more chapters before finally crashing and dreaming of mountains and trees and hot, arrogant men.

Yes, my subconscious aged Mason to a more acceptable age for a dream boyfriend.

So let’s start with Mason. I loved this hero. He came from a hard background, but didn’t let that define him. Even when he was picking on Kimberly, you knew from all the other characters that his behavior toward her was unusual. He genuinely cared about all the other campers and especially for Rick, Kimberly’s dad and Mason’s foster father. Of course the boy was hot, but what drew me in was his protectiveness, especially during the second half of the book.

And oh, the second part of the book. I enjoyed the first half, the set-up, getting to know Kimberly better, watching the relationship between her and her father build, and the friendships that she made with the other camp leaders, but it was the second half of the book that had me pounding the keys on my Kindle, needing to see what happened next. Ms. King pulls out all the stops when Mason and Kimberly are stranded in the mountains. You get a MAJOR swoon factor, you get danger, suspense, tender moments that had me teary-eyed, and conversations that make you laugh.

I’m an emotion girl, a character girl. And when an author can get me to fall in love with the characters, and gets me to experience the full range of emotions with them, they skyrocket to my favorites list. And this book did that. It also taught me a lot about wilderness safety and survival skills. Knowledge that I hope I never have to put into practice, but hey, good to know.

Kimberly was a fun heroine to live the story with—she was smart, artistic, funny, and had a good heart.  Her relationship with her mother was complicated, but understandable, and perhaps because Tiffany is a mother herself, she handled it respectfully. The mom made a major mistake, which was the inciting incident for this whole book, but she took ownership of it and in the end made up for her faults. Rick was perhaps my favorite character. He was a strong, caring dad who didn’t always see eye-to-eye with his California girl daughter, but he was always looking for that connection, that way to bond and show he cared, and their conversations about CW shows made me smile. The rest of the book is fleshed out with a wide variety of characters you get to know and truly care about, and I found myself hoping this would kick off a series of books. I’d love to know more about all of the friends she made in camp and during her first semester at college. One boy in particular (*grin*).

I recommend Unlikely Allies to anyone looking for a captivating read that will pull at your heartstrings and inspire you. It was fast-paced and fun and I know I’ll be reading it again in the future. If you’ve never read any of Tiffany King’s books before, start with this one…and then start playing catch up! You won’t regret it.

And now for an interview with the FABULOUS author, Tiffany King:

1)    Mountains or Oceans?                                                                                            

Okay, so, I want both LOL. I want the mountains when it's cold, so I can cuddle up by the fireplace while I write, and I want the ocean so I can sit outside writing to the crashing of the waves. To me that would be the perfect life.

2) If you could live in any YA paranormal book and/or have any YA literary hottie   boyfriend, who would it be?

 Gah. I know everyone hates it when I pick this answer, but I would still go with Edward Cullen. Come on, you have to admit, SM created the perfect guy. Super strong, attentive, loves you beyond distraction, extremely attractive,and of course, the ultimate reason, he could fetch you a Blizzard from Dairy Queen before you could even get the question out.

3) Cookies or Brownies?

I'm a fan of both, but brownies win my heart over every time, matter of fact, I could go for one right now ;)

4) Summer camp as a kid, yes or no?

I went to summer camp twice when I was little. Both were only for a week, but I always wished I could go for the whole summer. Of course, I would die if I went camping now. I'm a techie girl and would miss my wifi way too much.

5) Last time you went camping as an adult?

Ummmmm, this will seriously age me, so I'll just say it was many, many, many years ago, when I was eighteen ;)

6) You write so fast and have so many amazing books coming out. What is your latest, and can you tell us a little about it?

Awwww, thanks. Coming from you, I take that as a huge compliment. My newest book is called Miss Me Not, and will be released at the end of November.

They had a pact.
Leave the world behind much as they had lived it.
No one would miss them. No harm, no foul.
Their personal demons would be left behind once and for all.
It was the only thing they could count on.
It was all she had. 

Madison Hanson has spent the last four years being a "shadow." Her parents ignore her. The students at her school stopped talking to her years ago, and the majority of her teachers forget she's even there. In her desperate yearning to leave her invisible life behind, Madison makes a pact with her only friend, James Garrison, to end their lives as inconspicuously as they live them. No fuss, no muss. No one would miss her and she would miss no one. Their plan is set, and it's all she can count on. That is, until fellow student, Mitch Peterson, beats them to the punch. Everything Madison believed in is shaken to the core when she watches the aftermath of Mitch's death unfold. By taking his own life, Mitch unwittingly saves hers. What a selfish prick.
 She is now left with the daunting task of living. Trying to bury her demons once and for all, and finally trusting someone with her fragile existence.
 Living is hell.
Death would have been so much easier.

Sounds awesome!!! Thanks for joining us, Tiffany!

Tiffany King is the author of The Saving Angels Series, Wishing For Someday Soon, Forever Changed, and Unlikely Allies. Writer by day and book fanatic the rest of the time, she is now pursuing her life-long dream of weaving tales for others to enjoy. She has a loving husband and two wonderful kids. (Five, if you count her three spoiled cats). Her addictions include: Her iphone and ipad, chocolate, Diet Coke, chocolate, Harry Potter, chocolate, and her favortie TV shows. Want to know what they are? Just ask. She can always be found on Twitter(@AuthorTiffany) Facebook(Tiffany King) Pintrest and her website(authortiffanyjking.blogspot.com)or you can always email her at authortiffany@yahoo.com.