Assassin’s Kiss (Watcher’s Kiss #2) by Sharon Kay-Review, Guest Post & Giveaway

Assassin’s Kiss
Watcher’s Kiss #2
by Sharon Kay
Release Date: January 12, 2016
Genre: adult,paranormal, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 12, 2016

Warrior Scorpio finds himself alone on a botched op. No weapons, no communication devices, injured…and instantly recognized by a group of witches who want him dead.

Witch Tessa promises to marry a rival leader to save her people. But she never planned on the new prisoner in her coven. Scorpio, a rough, former mercenary makes the outrageous claim that she belongs to him.

Even from behind bars, the longer Scorpio stays, the more he unsettles Tessa and she questions all she thought she knew. Choosing him will put everyone she cares for at risk. He’s nothing like she expected, and the last thing she could dare to want.

**can be read as a stand alone**

•••••••••

REVIEW: Back from another fun journey from the wonderful and mystical realm of Torth where the twins moons light up their night sky. So many places within this realm I get the pleasure of visiting and in this book we are in the witch coven of Brownwy.

So this book picks up from Tainted Kiss where a mission goes awry and our hero, Scorpio goes missing. Injured and alone, Scorpio finds himself imprisoned at the hands of a witch coven that wants him dead. With Scorpio’s past as a mercenary, what better time for his past to catch up to him? And not only have that but, to find his mate in the midst of this group of witches that despised him? With so many missions under Scorpio’s belt, to gain the forgiveness of a whole witch coven and win the heart of his mate may be his most important mission yet.

In previous books, Scorpio was a man of few words and a cold unfeeling man with no emotion. He carries such an air of mystery that leaves you wondering what his story is and what shaped him to be the cold, lethal powerful man in Arwan’s watcher ranks.

Seeing Scorpio in action was a thing of beauty. The man is a powerful fighter and efficient killer complete with mind-numbing speed to boot. Charging dire wolves, snapping necks with his bare hands to throwing demon fire out of his hands oh my…. The only complaint was I wish I got to see how good he is with weapons but unfortunately his got taken away upon his capture initially. I was really surprised with how much I really liked Scorpio. For his hardened disposition, I expected a mean, slightly domineering man who can’t relate to others but no the man was continuing to win point after point with me. Scorpio was truly a man of honor who stayed true to his word. I really appreciated that the man used endless compassion, empathy and a world of patience to win Tessa over. Under all that hardened unemotion, is a kind, compassionate selfless man who puts others before himself. These books without fail make me fall hard for these watcher warriors of Torth. If you want selfless, kind and honorable men in your books, I suggest reaching for these books.

Tessa on the other hand was no slouch either. Tessa turned out to be an awesome witch with her own impressive abilities. I only wish to see more of her metal affinity abilities more throughout the book. After their terrible initial meeting, I was worried that Scorpio was going to kill himself trying to win over Tessa especially after reading the prologue but thankfully that was not the case because of her awesome intellect to see the bigger picture of his past actions. They made a spectacular match. I really enjoyed their physically love scenes I did but it was their emotional connection that left me breathless with awe.

I felt like Sharon had slowed the pace of this book compared to her other books with fast paced adventure but it was nice. Damien of the Vespera was a worthy villain and it was great to see the appearance of the other characters from previous books (Brenin needs a story ASAP). I really enjoyed this book and eagerly waiting for my next trip to Torth.

Reviewed by Xtina

Copy supplied by the author.

How music inspires my plot and character details.
by Sharon Kay

First, a big THANK YOU to Sandy for inviting me to be a guest at The Reading Café today!! I’ll be sharing the ways that music inspires my plot and character details.

We all get songs stuck in our heads sometimes. Maybe every day. Maybe it’s a song we love or maybe it’s from one of our kid’s toys and we’ll turn on anything else to get that annoying jingle out of our heads.

For me, a song stuck in my head can easily morph into a scene. And some songs hit me like a wrecking ball (eek, sorry, I couldn’t resist that one)! Sometimes a song will play out and a plot detail unfolds in my brain.

For example, with my new release, Assassin’s Kiss (Watcher’s Kiss #2), I knew that the hero, Scorpio, would be missing at the end of the previous book. I was working on that book (Tainted Kiss) and not sure exactly where I would strand Scorpio. (Yes, I stranded him. I am so mean to my characters sometimes!) Then, I was sitting at my hair salon, and Katy’s Perry’s “Dark Horse” came on the radio.

I wasn’t planning to hash out Scorpio’s plot that day, but cue the inspiration machine (and Katy singing about magic and enemies), and BAM!
I suddenly knew Scorpio would be found among witches who wanted him dead, and his mate would be among them. And that his mercenary past plus her initial judgement of him would form the central romantic conflict.

Soft pink lips moved in an ancient dialect, her voice a low, breathy murmur that made his head spin. She could be spelling him into a magical coma and he’d be okay with it.

Yay! I dashed home and started making notes and a blurb. Of course, I still had to write the entire 300 pages, but it’s easier to get to THE END when I have guideposts along the way.

I like to run on the treadmill, pop in my earbuds, and let my mind wander. This is how I ended up choosing Linkin Park’s “A New Divide” as my main inspiration for On Wicked Ground (Solsti Prophecy #4). My heroine, Alina, can manipulate the earth, so I could “see” the ground opening up. There is a big showdown at the end, so when the band describes black skies, lightning, and ashes, this fit that scene perfectly. I still get chills as the hero, Caine, tries to stop her from making the ultimate sacrifice!

Thunder clapped and the light flashed as brightly as the sun, forcing Caine to look away. With a crash and a boom, the light and Alina dropped down into the earth, leaving nothing but churned up dirt.

One day, while I was writing Wicked Waves (Solsti Prophecy #2), I was at my son’s soccer practice and “We Found Love” came on. I enthusiastically said, “I love this song! It’s Brooke and Kai’s song!” And the other moms I was sitting with looked at me and said, “Um, who?” So I need to remember that not everyone knows these characters like I do (which can be REALLY tough)!

My characters live in my head. They’re like another family. They bicker, act stubborn, and don’t listen to me all the time. Sometimes they talk or act so fast I feel like I can’t write fast enough to get it all down. But if I can find a song to capture what they’re going through, I can listen as much as I want and get each detail right. In Wicked Waves, Brooke and Kai need to escape a dungeon and the only way out is by making a hundred foot jump into a fast moving river.

Not only is this crazy-dangerous, but these two don’t like each other much at first and the area they’re stuck in is bleak and lifeless. So when I heard Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” it all clicked. They need to trust each other to survive in this wasteland. Luckily, the death–defying plunge into the river is aided by Brooke’s ability to manipulate water.

He looked down at her, his eyes flashing with a mix of emotions. “Brooke, I might be able to heal, but you…I don’t know if you will. I can’t risk it. You’re a Solsti. You’re too important.”

“Yes, Kai, I am a Solsti. The one who commands WATER.”

“Gods help us,” he muttered, but he wrapped his brawny arms around her waist. To her shock, he lowered his head and pressed a swift kiss to her lips.

So music equals scenes, which equals plot details, or sometimes even just the past events that shape my characters’ lives. Did they have a rough childhood or a dark past they had to overcome? It’s also nice to give a character a music preference. In Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy #3) my heroine liked eighties music, and I was able to incorporate lots of eighties rock into the book.

One last goofy detail: though I love music for inspiration—I need to write in silence! I’ll listen to the song, see the action unfold in my mind, then press pause and go write. That’s where I’m headed now! Thanks for stopping by!

~~Sharon Kay ~~

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Sharon Kay writes award-winning fiction and can never get enough reading time. She loves winter and black coffee, and is endlessly inspired to write kick-ass heroines and the men strong enough to capture their hearts. Sharon lives in the Chicago area with her husband and son, and one weekend the idea for her Lash Watchers and tough leading ladies formed in her head, refusing to stay quiet until she put pen to paper. Her characters tend to keep her up at night, as they banter, fall in love, and slay endless varieties of power-hungry demons.

Sharon Kay is graciously offering a paper copy of ASSASSIN’S KISS to TWO (2) lucky commenters at The Reading Cafe

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8. Giveaway is open to USA only

9. Giveaway runs from January 14 to January 19, 2016