Tag Archives: Lea Nolan

Claim Me Now by Lea Nolan – a Review

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Claim Me Now by Lea Nolan – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple

 

Description:
Raven Donovan isn’t looking for a relationship. She’s married to her job and vice president of her company. So she’s blindsided when a corporate takeover leaves her unceremoniously unemployed. Reeling, she retreats to her family’s beach house on Heron Harbor Island and drowns her sorrows in a bottle of tequila. And then a tall, dark, and gorgeous stranger walks through the door…

Jack Baines has it all—money, a good job, and he’s the heir to one of the largest private equity firms on the East Coast. With his latest conquest under his belt, he should be flying high. But as much as he enjoys the thrill of the hunt, firing people takes a toll on him. So he heads to the beach for some alone time, never expecting to find a half-naked, dark-haired beauty in his rental.

With a storm raging outside, Raven and Jack end up sharing more than just the house. A scorching night turns into a red-hot weekend that reveals how much they have in common—including Raven’s ex-company. That revelation threatens everything they’ve found unless they fight to build something new…together. 

Reading Order: Heron Harbor Series

Book 1 Want Me Always

Book 2 Claim Me Now 

 

 

Review:

Claim Me Now by Lea Nolan is the second book in her Heron Harbor series.  We are back to see if the  harbor can work it’s magic once again.  You don’t need to read the first book, they all stand happily on their own, but there is a familial link to the books. 

Raven only wants to lick her wounds and hide from the world after being sacked!! She poured her heart and soul into the company and the item they had created. She tries to warn the company, but as the young members of the board wanted to get rich quick, it fell on deaf ears. So she gone home to rest and work out her options….. 

Jack just needs to recharge and then he’s off again to do the job he loves (or does he?) his friend has let him borrow the family home in harbour for the weekend. 

He never expected company….. 

The sparks these two have for each other soon burst into a fiery and passionate weekend. But with Jack and Raven being so totally different, how can this last for longer than a weekend? 

And when Raven finds out who Jack really is, can she let go of resentment and anger?

I liked the characters, Raven being sassy and independent, she’s also got a good head on those shoulders, she’s not some innocent needing rescuing from the big bad man! She fights her own battles, and it made a refreshing change. 

Jack plays his cards closer to his chest, and I found him a little standoffish at times, and not very flexible, he didn’t always get the point Raven was trying to make. 

I love Heron Harbour, it was beautifully described so I could easily see me walking along the beach. We get enough background on both the MC to understand a little of why they are the way they are. I did want to bang their heads together a few times, especially towards the ending….. 

So, if you want a naughty weekend with the promise of forever, then grab Heron Harbour and enjoy. And I think I’m going to go grab the first book and possibly pre-order the third. 

Reviewed by Julie

Copy supplied for Review

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Illusion by Lea Nolan – a Review

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Illusion by Lea Nolan – a Review

 

IllusionAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM

Description:
Things aren’t always as they appear…

New school. Cross-country move. Broken heart. If only these were Emma Guthrie’s worst problems. Instead, she must battle a trio of enemies–human and spectral–who may or may not have joined forces against her and everyone she loves. All while pretending to be over Cooper Beaumont, her ex-boyfriend and true love, to shield him from her arch-nemesis’s revenge.

Worse, when the fight escalates, Emma is tempted to use black magic, which will endanger her soul. As her enemies close in, join forces, and fight with new and dark magic she’s never seen before, Emma must harness the power within her to fulfill an ancient prophecy, defeat a centuries-old evil, save her family, and reclaim the only boy she’s ever loved.


Review:

I went over my previous review to remember where Allure had left off. Not only did I find my place, but I recouped the joy I experienced stepping into the world building of Lea Nolan. Emma, our intrepid heroine, squares off against dark magic from the onset and you’re fighting alongside her until the end, as in the very last word. Illusion is book 3 of the Hoodoo series and also its finale. I weep for its conclusion, but Lea Nolan leaves an enchanting, spellbinding impression on you.  

As comfortable as Emma’s become with the practice of hoodoo (an apprentice root worker being mentored by the most powerful of the South Carolina Lowcountry), when confronted by evil, a menacing spirit plaguing Emma from the grave and 2 zealous rivals, it’s beyond tempting to fight fire with fire – even if it means going against what you swore never to wield. Will Emma withstand the allure of revenge? One can only be pushed so far before you’re crossing fundamental lines and absolving such behavior.

“…it’s considered justice work rather than a spell worked for revenge.”

Any way you look at it, it’s a caveat used to ease her conscience. Lucky for everyone involved, everyone good that is, Emma is surrounded by loving, engaging characters who help Emma stay to the light. Emma is young, just about to turn 15, but she displays such fortitude wrestling, and resisting, the passions of vengeance.

Aside from the diabolical maneuverings of malevolent forces, give it up to Ms. Nolan and the swoon-worthy love story *standing up, applauding*. I may have been a tad bit critical in my last review (I was/am a mom embarking on teenage daughter-dom – I’m not so irrational any more, lol).   Emma and Cooper should be indulging in the beauty of first love promises, but the enemies stalking and threatening Emma aren’t to be taken lightly; she’s willing to sacrifice her heart to save Cooper’s.  

I want to stroke his face or rub his back, anything to take away the lingering pain…But I can’t, because that simple gesture would send the wrong signal and only encourage him.

Foreboding prophecy or not, Emma and Cooper are adorable and completely loyal to each other. In a moment of “weakness”, a hug to forget troubles, “I sink into him like a marshmallow in a vat of melted chocolate.” I felt it! They’re just so stinking cute! Illusion is a great piece of writing that I won’t soon forget.

I wouldn’t dare end this glowing review without addressing the care and respect Ms. Nolan gives to the hoodoo practice. I was riveted by the sounds and scents and solutions alike. You’re mesmerized by the incantations and seduced by the ingredients so fully, you’re committed to the execution of the ward/spell. And in a twist, a distasteful one to be sure, we’re subjected to shiver-inducing, gut-spewing. Emma fights the good fight, but that doesn’t prevent her nemesis from hitting below the belt. Well done, Ms. Nolan!

In a stunning finale, the interest never wanes. You navigate through subplots with equal enthusiasm and Ms. Nolan delivers each with triumphant aplomb. The tears shed were only due to my heart’s overflow. I adored this book and Emma. She embodies pure spirit and is a genuine hero for all to admire.  

Reviewed by Carmen

Copy provided by Publisher

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Allure by Lea Nolan – a Review

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Allure by Lea Nolan – a Review

AllureLinks to order Allure: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Description:
Worst. Summer. Ever.

Emma Guthrie races to learn the hoodoo magic needed to break The Beaumont Curse before her marked boyfriend Cooper’s sixteenth birthday. But deep in the South Carolina Lowcountry, dark, mysterious forces encroach, conspiring to separate Emma and Cooper forever. When Cooper starts to change, turning cold and indifferent, Emma discovers that both his heart and body are marked for possession by competing but equally powerful adversaries.

Desperate to save him, Emma and her twin brother, Jack, risk their lives to uncover the source of the black magic that has allured Cooper and holds him in its grip. Face with the horror of a soul-eating boohag, Emma and Jack must fight to resist its fiendish power to free Cooper long enough to join their strengths and face it together, before it destroys them all.


Review:
“It’s hoodoo…Not voodoo.  That’s a religion.” 

In case you were unclear, 14 year old Emma, apprentice to Miss Delia, the most powerful hoodoo Gullah root worker of the Lowcountry in South Carolina, will clarify the misconception and race against a deadline to save her BF, Cooper Beaumont from a 300 year old curse.  When you meet this young lady, you’ll know that this sort of urgent matter — it’s all in a day’s work for this gal!  Allure is book 2 in the Hoodoo Apprentice series by Lea Nolan.  I loved her writing style, the flow of the story so much, not only do I clamor for book 3 (please say there’s a book 3!), but I’ll retrace my steps in the meantime and start at the beginning with the debut novel, Conjure!  By the time I’m done with that, you should be ready to go…right, Ms. Nolan?  😉

While Allure launches straight into a fast-approaching target date of 3 weeks (Cooper’s 16th birthday) to break the curse, we’re immediately given snippets of information detailing missing Gullah artifacts pivotal in Conjure.  Overlapping mysteries including a stolen pirate’s dagger and a missing family heirloom are interwoven throughout the story, but Ms. Nolan features them all diligently.  Sure, Cooper’s soul is the most important (can’t lose focus there, lol), but the suspense behind the subplots were just as intriguing.  The 80-carat family heirloom ruby stolen from Cooper’s father, Beau, whose description resembles that of Jabba the Hut (minus the rotting bologna odor), detours off the main storyline, but snatches center stage when further explored by Emma, her twin brother, Jack, and Cooper, as it connects to the Beaumont curse Cooper is so desperate to avoid.

Sabina, an African queen with a brutal sense of justice…used her mystical hoodoo powers to seek revenge.  She…cursed the Beaumont progeny forever by stealing their souls when they come into manhood, turning them unspeakably dark and corrupt. 

A murder to be solved (along with identification of a tar-like substance found on the body), an unplanned stay from Miss Delia’s haughty great-granddaughter (intent on spoiling Emma and Jack’s young love), a shady investigator with a dark agenda, and all kinds of hoodoo magic, spell conjuring, and boo hags ultimately find its way back to the heart of the matter.  This isn’t stereotypical teenage amusement at play, but supernatural threats that are based in deep-rooted vengeance.

Before you know it, latent effects of the curse are taking root within Cooper and he begins to detach from Emma and Jack (the trio have been BFFs for years). 

My jaw drops as I stare at him, transfixed by the strange hue of his irises.  His eyes have always appeared to change shades, but I’ve never seen this one, ever.  It’s cold.  Lifeless.  Perhaps even soulless.  A chill ripples through me.  Is this proof that the Beaumont Curse has begun to set in?              

Will breaking the Beaumont curse rid Cooper of his sudden obsession with Miss Delia’s great-granddaughter?  Just when you hoped things/emotions would settle down, Ms. Nolan ramps up the hoodoo action, with even more action, and the mother of showdowns leaves you with baited breath (and a wicked oath for interference).  Quick resolutions?  Where’s the fun in that?!  BRING ON BOOK #3!!!

I loved the care, the respect, afforded to the practice.  Ms. Nolan clearly dabbles in the art or has done a marvelous job of research.  The gathering of herbs and exotic ingredients to execute a spell felt as if they were being concocted in my home.  I could almost smell the lemon verbena!  I got such a kick out of her flare for the dynamic imagery:  Referring to the first deputy on site of the murder scene, she described him as “a thick-necked, muscle-bound specimen of crime-fighting prowess”, or when explaining the impossible, she refutes, “But that’s like telling an ice cube not to melt in this heat”.  When voiced by a 14 year old girl, Ms. Nolan gives you hope for the next generation!  Even when Emma’s hoping justice is served, her indignation lies on the person mistreating hoodoo; for using it with malevolence.  I loved this young lady!  I did gasp, and gulp, when reading a kiss between Emma and Cooper that was just too “advanced” for my tastes.  Tracing kisses behind her ear…yiker bikers, slow down!  It didn’t go beyond that, thankfully, and we end up in love with young love…well, sort of.  An unexpected change of plans keeps Emma and Jack in South Carolina.  How long till Cooper and Jack notice Emma keeps looking over her shoulder from the supernatural threat that has a personal bone to pick with her?

It was indeed my pleasure to meet a lovely cast of characters, each equally impressive and unique.  I did end the story on an “Awww…”, so I’ll say it again:  I’M READY FOR BOOK 3!!!

Reviewed by Carmen

Copy provided by Publisher

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