Crushed (Evermore Book 1)

It's 1993 in the pristine coastal community of Malibu, CA. Fourteen year-old Neely Evans is coming of age, like it or not. A Tennessee transplant, she ended up in California when her father landed a job at a top law firm.

Neely fills her time painting seascapes, still life art, and combing the beach for her next perfect picture. And then, the boy down the beach enters her life, and she will never be the same.

Seth Drake, a year older than Neely, takes her under his wing. He enjoys hanging with her and they are soon inseparable. As they grow close, their friendship gives way to something more. But before the teens can fully revel in their budding romance, Neely's life is ripped apart. Her father's infidelity is made public, and her mother is determined to seek revenge by using Neely as her weapon. She takes her daughter and moves back to Tennessee.

Months later, when Neely returns for a visit, she finds that Seth has matured in ways she'd never imagined. Neely isn't sure if she's ready to take the next step in their relationship. In the end, Neely makes a decision she may live to regret.

This first installment in the Evermore Series is bittersweet; complete with first love, first heartbreak, a family forever fractured by infidelity, and a teenager that becomes the primary caregiver for her mentally unstable mother. But Neely has strength that sometimes surprises even her. She learns how to cope - any way she can.