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Sharpest Sting by Jennifer Estep – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

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Sharpest Sting by Jennifer Estep – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

 

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Description:
As Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider, I’m used to having a target on my back. But ever since I started investigating the secret society known as the Circle, that target seems bigger than ever.

Still, I’m trying to relax and enjoy the events leading up to my friends’ wedding when I learn that an old enemy has returned to Ashland. And that’s the just beginning of my latest nightmare. Soon, I have Circle goons watching my every move, but I have no choice but to continue searching for a key piece of evidence against the evil group.

The deeper I dig, the more horrifying secrets I uncover, and the more dangerous things become for me and my friends. Just when I think I finally have a handle on things, a shocking revelation shatters my heart and leaves me with an ugly realization—that betrayal is the sharpest sting of all …

•••••••••••••••

Barb’s Review:
Sharpest Sting by Jennifer Estep is the 18th book in her fantastic Elemental Assassin series.  I can’t say enough about how Estep keeps the flow going so smoothly in each and every book in this terrific series, as well as the exciting action throughout.  Needless to say, Gin Blanco, the Spider, is one of the best literary kick-ass female heroines, as well as one of my favorites.  

In Sharpest Sting, Gin continues to find out more information about the secret powerful Circle Society that was also responsible for killing her mother, father and sister.  In the last book, Gin made a discovery who the leader was, and now she is more determined find a way to stop him and the Circle.  With help from her awesome friends, Gin searches every where for clues, and during one such trip to the cemetery, she and Owen are attacked by Giants; which they manage to survive by killing the two Giants.  Gin realizes she made a mistake in leaving clues that would identify her as the killer.

In between her investigation, she and all our recurring favorites, are preparing for the wedding of Mallory and Mosley. While the ladies are trying on dresses, an enemy of the past will kidnap Gin, Bria and Lorelei, bringing them to the Circle leader, Mason Mitchell, who is actually Gin’s uncle, whom she never knew.  Mason threatens Gin will killing all those she loves, unless she finds and brings him a ledger that has been missing for some time; time is of essence, as Gin is desperate to protect her family/friends.   

What follows is an exciting, action filled, pulse pounding mystery that will bring Gin into death defying situations. This is always an edge of your seat suspense when following Gin Blanco, as she is always in the middle of a wild violent adventure.  There were some major revelations and betrayals, some of which devastates Gin.

I love spending time with Gin, but I also love all the recurring secondary characters that are Gin’s friends and family that she is loyal to, and they are always there for each other.  Finn, Owen, Bria, Silvio, Sophie, Jo Jo, Lorelei are all great members of Gin’s group.  I also loved spending time with them at the wedding of Mallory and Mosely, only to be rudely disturbed by Mason’s people and Gin is once again kidnapped.  To tell too much more would be spoilers, as a lot is revealed and we once again are subject to the terrible suffering Gin must endure, as we pray for her survival.   

Tucker, who has been one of the villains for some time, continues to be cold, but every time Gin is in danger, he seems to be there to help her, which has us wondering ‘what is it that we do not know?’ The ending gives us more reasons to suspect there is more secrets in the books ahead.

Jennifer Estep is a master at creating exciting, mind-boggling adventures in each story, and making Gin into such a great heroine. Sharpest Sting was another wonderful action filled addition to this series, which also gives us answers to some questions, as well as surprises that will have us waiting impatiently for the next book.  I cannot wait for more adventures of Gin Blanco. If you have not read the Elemental Assassin series, it is time for you to start now.

 

Sandy’s Review:

SHARPEST STING is the eighteenth full-length instalment in Jennifer Estep’s ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN adult, paranormal, urban fantasy series focusing on Gin Blanco aka The Spider aka The Assassin –the reigning Queen of the paranormal Underworld of Ashland. SHARPEST STING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty although I recommend reading the series in order for cohesion and backstory. SHARPEST STING begins the latest arc in the series.

SOME BACKGROUND: Years earlier, Gin lost her father to a car accident, then her mother and older sister to a deliberate fire started by a fire elemental, a fire ordered by the notorious group known only as The Circle. Fostered and mentored by Fletcher Lane, Gin would become the fiercest elemental assassin the Underworld would ever know.

NOTE: There are some scenes of graphic violence that may not be suitable for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspective (Gin Blanco) using present day and memories from the past, SHARPEST STING begins the latest arc of the Elemental Assassin series focusing on Gin Blanco as the Circle continues to reign supreme in the world of the supernatural. When her friends and family are threatened, Gin is forced to retrieve an item, her mentor and former assassin Fletcher Lane, had stolen and hidden from the man in charge. As Gin and her lover Owen Grayson begin a search of places known to Fletcher Lane, Gin will discover that her connections to the Circle go much deeper than the hated disdain of the Queen of the Underworld, connections that threaten everyone she loves. An ultimatum forces Gin to give into demands as she continues to search for the missing item, demands made by an elemental whose powers overshadow those of all others.

The secondary characters are numerous, colorful and energetic with the return of Gin’s sister Bria, and her step-brother Finn Lane (Bria’s lover); Gin’s assistant /vampire Silvio Sanchez, vampire Roslyn Phillips, police officer and giant Xavier dwarves Jo Jo and Sophia Deveraux, Mallory and Lorelei Parker, as well as Underworld boss and security specialist Liam Carter, vampire Hugh Tucker, elemental and giant Emery Slater, and leader of the Circle Mason Mitchell. Here’s hoping the author has future plans for Silvio and Liam, together.

SHARPEST STING is a story of family, friendships, betrayal and love; hatred, vengeance, power and control. The reader is pulled into the past through Gin’s memories, memories that reveal more about Fletcher Lane, and his connection to the group known as the Circle. The premise is haunting and engaging; the characters are energetic and strong.

 

I shut the trunk, while Owen hefted the two shovels up onto his shoulder. Together, we left the car and headed into the trees.
I took the lead, slipping through the shadows and scanning the surrounding woods, with Owen creeping along behind me. It was just after nine o’clock on this clear February night, and the luminous full moon and pinprick stars brightened the landscape, as did the crusty patches of snow and ice that still dappled the ground from the most recent winter storm. The woods were utterly still and quiet, and not so much as a breeze rattled the tree branches.
The silence should have reassured me, but a frosty finger of unease slid down my spine, even colder than the night air, and I palmed one of the knives hidden up my sleeves. The mark stamped in the silverstone hilt pressed into the larger, matching scar embedded in my palm—each of them a small circle surrounded by eight thin rays. A spider rune, the symbol for patience.
A pendant shaped like a spider rune hung from a chain around my neck, and the symbol was also stamped into the ring on my right index finger. My Ice magic rippled through both pieces of silverstone jewelry.
Normally, the cool touch of the jewelry on my skin and the solid strength of my knife in my hand would have comforted me but not right now. Or perhaps my continued unease was caused by our destination, along with our mission. I scanned the landscape again, but I only saw the same trees, ice, and shadows as before. The woods seemed to be completely empty, and even the owls, squirrels, and other animals had vanished for the night.
A few minutes later, we reached the edge of the woods. Owen stopped beside me, and we peered out at the area before us.
Blue Ridge Cemetery.
The moon- and starlight clearly illuminated the cemetery, which spread out for acres. An uneven carpet of dull brown winter grass rose and fell with the hills and ridges that creased the land like wrinkles grooved into an elderly dwarf’s face. Tombstones of all shapes and sizes dotted the ground, from square slabs to Celtic crosses to tall, elegant spires topped with wings and other symbols. A few trees rose up here and there, their bare branches hanging over and casting long, bony, fingerlike shadows onto the tombstones below. The shadows filled in many of the names and dates carved into the markers, making the old weathered letters and numbers look like they had just been stamped on the stones in thick, wet black ink.
Most people would have been creeped out to be in the cemetery at night, but I had an extra reason to be uncomfortable: I could hear the tombstones’ wails.
Love, hate, anger, grief, rage, despair. Over time, people’s feelings sink into whatever stone is around them, and few places conjured up more deep, wild, varying emotions than a cemetery. As a Stone elemental, my magic let me hear the soft sobs and bitter, plaintive wails of everyone who had grieved for loved ones, as well as the sly, smug murmurs of happiness from those who had been delighted to see the deceased go into the ground. The sorrow and the satisfaction made for an odd, disturbing, disparate chorus, and the incessant screeching between the two factions caused a dull headache to bloom in the back of my skull.
“Gin?” Owen asked. “Are you okay?”
I blocked out the stones’ cries as best I could and scanned the grounds again, but I didn’t see anyone lurking behind a tree or crouched beside a tombstone. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
We left the woods and went over to a gray stone path that curled through the grass like a dull, tattered ribbon. Owen and I followed the winding walkway for about three hundred feet before stepping off the path and climbing up one of the hills. We stopped atop a ridge that featured a massive maple looming over five graves, each one marked with its own separate tombstone. Another, much larger stone statue shaped like a snowflake was set into the ground above and behind the tombstones, denoting this as a family plot.
The tombstones represented the five members of the Snow family—my mother, Eira; my older sister, Annabella; my younger sister, Bria; and myself, Genevieve Snow. Of course, Bria and I were still alive, although, sadly, the rest of our family was very much dead, thanks to Mab Monroe and Uncle Mason.
Owen rested his hand on my shoulder, letting me know he was there if I wanted to talk. I flashed him a grateful smile and squeezed his hand. Then I moved over to the fifth and final marker—the one for my father, Tristan.
His tombstone was the oldest and most weather-worn, and I crouched down and yanked off the dead kudzu vines that had snaked across the stone. It didn’t take me long to get rid of the frozen, brittle tendrils and reveal the writing underneath.
Tristan. Beloved Husband and Father.
The words flowed across the stone in a simple script, along with the dates of his birth, June 2, and death, March 24, and the corresponding years. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and snapped some photos of the tombstone, zooming in and focusing on the dates. Then I texted the photos to Bria, and also to Silvio Sanchez, my personal assistant.
My sister had left the rehearsal dinner early to work a shift at the police station, so she didn’t respond, although my phone chimed with a new text from my trusty assistant less than a minute later.
Got them. Starting work right now!
“Silvio?” Owen asked in an amused voice.
I tucked my phone back into my pocket. “Yep. There is something seriously wrong with that man. No one should be that eager to work, especially not this late.”
Silvio had also been at the rehearsal dinner, and I had told him where Owen and I were coming afterward. My vampire assistant had an annoying habit of tracking my phone and car, so it was just easier to tell him what I was up to rather than trying to keep it a secret. Silvio had made me promise to send him what was on Tristan’s tombstone so he could start digging up info on my father and see if he could find any clues that would lead me to Mason.
My mother had claimed that my father died in a car accident, although I doubted that was true. No, I had a sneaking suspicion the Circle was behind Tristan’s death, just as the group had been behind my mother’s and Annabella’s murders.
Perhaps Tristan hadn’t liked being under his brother’s thumb and the two of them had some falling-out that led to Mason eliminating my father. Then, later on, Mason had ordered my mother to be killed when he learned that she was planning to expose the Circle. At least, that was what I thought Eira had been planning. So much of this was still just hunches and guesswork on my part.
I’d come here hoping to get some answers, but the information on Tristan’s tombstone didn’t tell me anything new. Frustration flooded my stomach, curdling the fine dinner I’d eaten earlier. Owen was wrong. My motto as the Spider should be More Questions, because that was all I ever seemed to get regarding my parents and Mason.
Owen slung the shovels off his shoulder and crouched down beside me. “I never realized it until right now, but you’ve never told me your father’s last name.”
“That’s because I don’t know what it is.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“My father died when I was five, so I barely remember him. Ever since we discovered that Mason is the head of the Circle, I’ve been thinking back, trying to remember every little thing I can about my father. But Tristan is just this vague, hazy image in my mind—a nice smile, a warm laugh, a pair of gray eyes like mine.” I shook my head. “I don’t know if that image is real or simply what I want him to be.”
“And Mason?”
I shook my head again. “Nothing. I draw a total blank when it comes to him. I don’t remember anything about my father’s family. I always assumed Tristan didn’t have any family, but of course, now I know that’s not the case. But no matter how hard I try, I haven’t been able to remember anything helpful about Tristan, not even his last name.”
Owen pointed to my mother’s marker. “But Snow is your mother’s last name, and yours too. Not your father’s.”
“I was hoping Tristan’s last name would be on his tombstone, but it’s not.”
“Maybe your father decided to use your mother’s last name,” Owen said. “Maybe he didn’t want anything to do with Mason, not even something as simple as sharing the same surname.”
“That’s what I think too. That Tristan was so disgusted with Mason and the Circle that he disowned himself from their family.”
At least, that was what I hoped. I didn’t want to contemplate the idea that my father might have been just as evil and horrible as Mason was.
“Well, Silvio is working on it now, and if anyone can figure out my father’s last name and where Mason is hiding, then it’s him. But we have another mission.”
Owen lifted the shovels and tapped them point-first against the ground. “Are you sure you want to do this? We don’t have to. I know how hard this is.”
“I appreciate that, but we need more information about the Circle, and this is the only place I can think of where Fletcher might have hidden it. Even Silvio hasn’t been able to crack all the codes in that Circle ledger, and we’re running out of time to decrypt the info before Mason and Tucker target us again.”
A few weeks ago, during an auction of items from Mab Monroe’s estate, I had stumbled across what seemed to be a blue book of Circle secrets. Hugh Tucker had been after the ledger, as had Alanna Eaton, a vampire cannibal. That book had turned out to be a decoy, but I had still ended up with the genuine item. Fletcher Lane, Finn’s dad and my assassin mentor, had given the real ledger to Stuart Mosley for safekeeping years ago, but Fletcher had never gotten a chance to tell Mosley what to do with the tome.
But perhaps the most surprising thing was the fact that my mother had written the book.
I had recognized her handwriting immediately, and Silvio and I had been working to decode the contents ever since. My mother had been some sort of accountant or bookkeeper for the Circle, and the blue ledger chronicled assassinations, kidnappings, and other crimes the group had committed, orchestrated, and profited from, as well as bribes and payments they had doled out to various people.
Silvio was still trying to crack the last few bits of code, but the ledger hadn’t been quite the smoking gun I was hoping for. Sure, it cataloged some of the Circle’s dirty deeds, but most of the crimes were more than twenty years old, and many of the people associated with them were long dead. I wanted—needed—more information about the Circle’s past plots, as well as what its members had been up to in recent years, so I’d come to the cemetery to try to get it.
“Do you really think Fletcher knew how Tristan was connected to the Circle?” Owen asked. “And that Fletcher left something here for you to find? Buried in your father’s grave?”
I shrugged. “If anyone knew about Tristan and Mason, then it was Fletcher. Besides, the old man seemed to know everything else about the Circle.”
Owen tapped the shovels against the ground again, still unsure. I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want to dig up my father’s grave, but Fletcher had left me information in this cemetery before, and it was the only place I hadn’t checked yet.
Owen shifted his stance, and a bit of moonlight slid past his body and hit the tombstone, illuminating a small dark spot in the lower right-hand corner. I scooted forward and leaned down to get a better look at it.
“Find something?” he asked.
“I’m not sure.”
The spot was right above the grass, and I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t cleared away the dead vines. I yanked up a tuft of grass and tossed it aside, then leaned down lower so that I could get an even better look. It wasn’t a spot at all but rather a rune that had been carved into the tombstone.
And not just any rune—a small circle surrounded by thin rays. My spider rune.
“Fletcher,” I whispered.
I traced my fingers over the rune. Unlike the name and dates on the tombstone, which were neat and smooth and had obviously been done by a carver with professional equipment, this symbol looked thin and jagged, as though it had been crudely scratched into the stone with a blade meant for something else—like an assassin’s knife.
I stared at the knife in my hand, then dug the point into the stone and drew a short line with the blade. My gaze snapped back and forth between my mark and the rune already on the tombstone. They matched exactly.
“Fletcher,” I whispered again. “You sly fox.”
The old man had once again left me a clue from beyond the grave. My heart lifted, excitement zipped through me, and I surged to my feet and turned to grab one of the shovels from Owen. To my surprise, he was also on his feet, frowning and looking off into the distance.
“Something wrong?”
He stabbed his finger toward the bottom of the hill. “There’s a freshly dug grave down there.”
“So what? This is a cemetery.”
Owen shook his head. “So there are no flowers on it. And look where that grave is. I know that spot, Gin, and so do you.”
I peered in that direction. A grave had been recently dug at the bottom of the hill not too far away from where we were. No flowers were strewn across the turned earth, and no funeral wreaths were propped up on metal stands. But what made my heart sink was the grave’s location. Owen was right. I knew that spot all too well.
“That’s Fletcher’s grave.” Shock blasted through me, but it was quickly drowned out by sick understanding. “Someone dug up Fletcher’s grave.”
“Who would do that?” Owen asked. “And why?”
It took me a moment to force the words out past the hard knot of emotion clogging my throat. “Because they were looking for clues, just like we were. They must have thought there was something in Fletcher’s grave—or his casket—worth stealing.”
Owen’s eyes narrowed in understanding. “Like a blue ledger full of Circle secrets?”
“Yeah.”
I kept staring at the grave, not wanting to believe that someone had been so cruel as to disturb Fletcher’s final resting place, even though I was here to do the same thing to my father.
Then my assassin training kicked in, and I realized how much danger we were in. Not only had the grave been freshly dug, but a couple of shovels were propped up against Fletcher’s tombstone.
“We need to get out of here,” I told Owen. “Right now. Before whoever dug up that grave comes back—”
It was as if my whispered words made the very worst possible thing happen. Footsteps crunched on the frosty grass, and two giants rounded a tree and stepped into view at the bottom of the hill, heading straight for Fletcher’s grave.


 

 

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. 

Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. Sharpest Sting, book #18, will be released Oct. 8.

Jennifer is also the author of the Crown of Shards, Mythos Academy, Black Blade, and Bigtime fantasy series.

For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit www.jenniferestep.com or follow Jennifer on Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, BookBub, Blog and Twitter. You can also sign up for her newsletter.

 

Jennifer is graciously offering a $10 Amazon Gift card to ONE (1) lucky commenters  at The Reading Cafe:

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE:  If you are having difficulty commenting after logging into the site, please refresh the page at the top of your computer

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please LIKE and Follow Jennifer Estep on Facebook

4. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

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7. Giveaway open Internationally

8. Giveaway runs from October 8- 12, 2019

 

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N9NE: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater by TM Frazier-Review & Excerpt Tour

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N9NE: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater by T.M. Frazier-Review & Excerpt Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /iBooks /

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2U1ObOV

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 18, 2019

“I know it’s wrong to watch her like this, but she’s a temptation I can’t resist. She’s performing for another man, but I feel like it’s all for me. Like she’s mine.”

Nine lives.
Nine inches.
One chance to make her his.
Preppy’s brother is about to live up to the family legacy in more ways than one.

••••••••••

REVIEW: NINE: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater is the ninth instalment in T. M. Frazier’s contemporary, adult KING erotic, MC, romance story line. This is twenty-one year old, Kevin ‘Nine’ Clearwater, and former real estate agent Lenore ‘Lenny’ ‘Poe’ Leary’s story line. NINE: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for backstory, history and cohesion. Kevin ‘Nine’ Clearwater is Samuel ‘Preppy’ Clearwater’s brother.

WARNING: There may be some triggers for more sensitive readers due to the nature of the story line content.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Lenny and Nine) using present day and memories from the past NINE: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater follows the building relationship between Kevin ‘Nine’ Clearwater, and former real estate agent Lenore ‘Lenny’ ‘Poe’ Leary. Four years earlier Kevin Clearwater met a stranger, a young woman he called Poe, but a woman whose life was spiralling out of control. Fast forward to present day wherein Nine will come face to face with his past, the woman he long thought gone from this world, but a woman caught up in a scam she knew nothing about. What ensues is the building relationship between Nine and Lenny, and the potential fall-out as Lenny’s past comes looking for revenge.

NINE: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater is a story of betrayal, vengeance, secrets and lies; a story of love, loss, and second chances; a story of abuse and neglect; of seduction, romance and hope. NINE reveals the brutal past of Kevin Clearwater and the life he left behind but will never forget. Lenny is a woman who has lost everything and more; defenceless in the face of accusations and threats against her life, our heroine’s only hope is the man everyone knows as Nine.

The relationship between Lenny and Nine is a second chance, of sorts: a rekindling friendship between two troubled and lost souls who met under questionable circumstances but have never stopped thinking about the who, how and why. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and familiar secondary and supporting characters, familiar if you are a fan of the author’s KING series. The friendship and camaraderie forged between Preppy, King, Bear and Ray is revealing, including their unquestionable need to protect and defend.

NINE: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater is an edgy, dark, and gritty story line; a raw and emotional look at betrayal and revenge. The premise is dramatic and intense; the romance is sensual and seductive; the characters are familiar, energetic and tragic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

I look up into his dark eyes. “This is a dangerous game of cat and mouse we’re playing.”

“More like a game of cat and bird,” he corrects.

I straighten my posture, my nipples grazing his hard chest. “And we all know how that turns out in the end. The cat eats the bird.”

Nine lightly scrapes his nails over my bare arms before pressing them into my skin. I gasp at the slight bite of pain. “No, the pretty bird swoops down from nowhere and sinks her sharp talons into the cat, marking him for life.”

There’s no sarcasm in his voice. I don’t know how to begin to process what it is he’s saying. It takes all of my concentration to get out my next few words.

“And…and then what?”

Nine picks me up off the floor in one quick motion, flipping me back onto the bed. He crawls over my body, hovering above me, pinning my wrists to the mattress. He grazes his teeth over the sensitive spot behind my ear.  He lowers his voice to a deliciously deep rumble that has me vibrating with his every word.

“And then he eats her.”

 

T.M. (Tracey Marie) Frazier never dreamed that a single person would ever read a word she wrote when she published her first book. Now, she is a five-time USA Today bestselling author and her books have been translated into numerous languages and published all around the world.  

T.M. enjoys writing what she calls sexy‘wrongside of the tracks romance’ with morally corrupt anti-heroes and ballsy heroines.  

Her books have been described as raw, dark and gritty. Basically, what that means, is while some authors are great at describing a flower as it blooms, T.M. is better at describing it in the final stages of decay.

She loves meeting her readers, but if you see her at an event please don’t pinch her because she’s not ready to wake up from this amazing dream.  

Connect with T.M. Frazier

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You Will Suffer (The Agency #3) by Alexandra Ivy-a review

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You Will Suffer (The Agency #3) by Alexandra Ivy-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 29, 2019.

Every small town has a secret…and this one is worth killing for. The rolling fields outside Curry, Oklahoma, are a beautiful spot to ramble on an early spring day…and a lonely place to die. Among the prairie grass and wildflowers, a killer kneels beside a curled-up figure, plunging a syringe beneath skin to deliver the fatal dose. And as the victim’s last breath mingles with the air, it sends a warning out to the world: this is just the beginning. Rejecting her judge father’s prestigious connections, Ellie Guthrie opened her own law firm in Curry. But something strange is going on. Ellie’s tires are slashed. Dead rats are dumped on her patio. Her neighbour, former FBI agent Nate Marcel, insists on watching out for her. And then bodies begin turning up – supposed overdoses that Nate suspects are something much more sinister. There’s a killer in town, toying with her, drawing both Ellie and Nate into a web of murder and vengeance. To find answers, she’ll have to unearth this small community’s dark and twisted past…before it’s her turn to die. Look for more page-turning suspense from Alexandra Ivy with Pretend You’re Safe and What Are You Afraid Of?, out now

•••••••••••

REVIEW:YOU WILL SUFFER is the third instalment in Alexandra Ivy’s contemporary, adult THE AGENCY romantic, suspense series. This is retired FBI Agent Nate Marcel, and attorney Ellie Guthrie’s story line. YOU WILL SUFFER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Ellie and Nate) as well as first person (murderer) YOU WILL SUFFER follows the search for a killer(s). With a recent spate of murders and disappearances in the small town of Curry Oklahoma, local attorney Ellie, and her neighbour retired FBI agent Nate Marcel begin an investigation of their own only to find themselves in the line of fire. In the hopes of trying to connect the pieces of the growing puzzle, Ellie and Nate will soon learn about the mysterious past of Curry Oklahoma, and a group of well-connected and prominent people whose secrets are about to be revealed. What ensues is the building relationship between Nate and Ellie, and the fall-out as our couple’s investigation begins to reveal a dark and dangerous past.

YOU WILL SUFFER is a story of betrayal and vengeance; secrets and lies; power, fear, and control; mystery and suspense. A killer is on the loose in Curry Oklahoma, a killer who is determined to destroy those who destroyed their life. More suspense thriller than romance, YOU WILL SUFFER focuses on the clues-both the past and the present-and the victims whose ties to one another reveal a dark, sordid and dangerous history, a history that seeks revenge for sins of the father, and sins of the past. The cleverly written premise is intriguing and intense; the colorful supporting characters are numerous ; the romance is secondary to the overall premise

Reading Order and previous reviews
Pretend You’re Safe
What Are You Afraid Of?
You Will Suffer

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Haints and Hobwebs (Elemental Assassin 4.7) by Jennifer Estep-dual review

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HAINTS AND HOBWEBS (Elemental Assassin 4.5) by Jennifer Estep-dual review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

Re-release Date: November 27, 2018.

Even the Spider can’t escape a ghost’s web . . .

I’m being haunted.

As Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider, I’m used to being haunted by all the bad things I’ve done over the years. I suppose it was only a matter of time before an actual ghost came back to haunt me. But for once, I’m not the bad guy, and I wasn’t the person who sent this ghost—this haint—into the afterlife.

But this haint definitely wants something from me, and I can’t help but think that it’s revenge on the person responsible for her untimely demise.

Good thing revenge is my specialty, whether it’s among the living or the dead . . .

Note: Haints and Hobwebs is an 11,000-word story that takes place after the events of Tangled Threads, book 4 in the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. Haints and Hobwebs first appeared in The Mammoth Book of Ghost Romance in 2012.

•••••••

Sandy’s REVIEW: HAINTS AND HOBWEBS is a short story in Jennifer Estep’s Elemental Assassin paranormal/ urban fantasy series focusing on Gin Blanco aka The Spider aka The Assassin –the reigning Queen of the paranormal Underworld of Ashland. HAINTS AND HOBWEBS takes place after the events of Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin #4).

NOTE: HAINTS AND HOBWEBS first appears in The Mammoth Book of Ghost Romance in 2012

DEFINITION: A Haint is a restless spirit who is unable to move on due to unfinished business.

Told from first person point of view (Gin Blanco) HAINTS AND HOBWEBS follows Gin as she is haunted by the spirit of a young woman who needs our heroine’s help. Unable to move on, the ‘haint’ needs Gin’s help to reunite with the man that she loves but his soul lays trapped behind magic and glass. When Gin’s foster-brother Finn discovers the truth behind the spirit’s death, Gin goes in search of the young lover’s soul.

HAINTS AND HOBWEBS is a very quick read; an intriguing, engaging and colourful stand alone in the author’s Elemental Assassin series that reveals at little about Gin and Owen’s growing love; Gin and Jo Jo’s ability to see spirits; the early stages of Finn and Bria’s relationship; and the ultimate evil who steals the souls of the people he kills.

 

BARB’s Review:   Haints and Hobwebs by Jennifer Estep is a short story that is part of her wonderful Elemental Assassin series.  Haints and Hobwebs is a re-release that was published as part of an anthology from a few years ago. Since I had never read this book, I looked forward to reading this, as I love Gin Blanco and Elemental Assassin series.

The story begins with Gin visiting Fletcher’s grave and she sees a female ghost standing over someone else’s grave.  Gin is shocked as this is the first time she can see a ghost; as she watches the girl, Gin notices the desperation on her face.  What is a Haint? It is a spirit (ghost) that cannot move on due to something left unsettled.  Even though communications is difficult, in a short time, Gin and her team will become involved in helping the haint solve the problem, which has been in existence for many years.

What follows is a quick story that is exciting and also fun.  It was exciting as Gin will discover an evil vampire who is killing people and stealing their souls; one of those souls is from the girl’s (haint) boyfriend, whom she is desperate to help.  It was tense when both Gin and Owen find themselves in a deathly situation.  The fun part, since this goes back to earlier in the series,  was remembering the early days of Gin & Owen; Gin’s sister Bria, and just spending time with them all.

Haints and Hobwebs was a nice fast paced enjoyable read. If you are a fan of the Elemental Assassin series, I suggest you read this short story, as it was fun.

 

Copy supplied for review

 

 

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.

Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin codenamed the Spider who can control the elements of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy killing people and righting wrongs, Gin runs a barbecue restaurant called the Pork Pit in the fictional Southern metropolis of Ashland. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vampires, and elementals – Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

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Discreet (Discreet #1) by Nicole French-Review tour

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DISCREET (Discreet #1) by Nicole French-Review tour

ONLY 99¢ Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 4, 2018

Fitz Baker was the world’s biggest sex symbol. Until he disappeared.

Fed up with the trappings of fame, he traded his world of Hollywood for a quiet life on Newman Lake. He was perfectly happy living as an island. Until he met her.

Returning home with nothing but a failed music career, all Maggie Sharp wants is to rebuild her life. A life that doesn’t involve the surly, arrogant stranger now living across the lake.

Still, there’s something about Will…something familiar. Something Maggie can’t quite put her finger on…

She only wanted the spotlight.
He gave up his life to escape it.
The real question is if they can remain discreet.

•••••••••••

REVIEW: DISCREET is the first instalment in Nicole French’s contemporary, adult DISCREET erotic, romance duet focusing on recluse Will Baker, and musician/singer Maggie Sharp aka Lily Pad.

Told from first person point of view (Maggie Sharp) DISCREET follows the building relationship between recluse Will Baker, and musician/singer Maggie Sharp aka Lily Pad. One year earlier Maggie Sharp’s life spiralled out of control when the man that she loved destroyed her life. Fast forward to present day wherein our heroine has returned to her hometown of Newman Lake, Idaho in an attempt to stay one-step ahead of the man who ruined it all. With a mother whose reputation is tattered and torn, our heroine steps in to fix the family-owned B&B in an attempt to provide some stability to their lives. What Maggie never expected was to meet her future, and ultimately her past, in the guise of recluse ‘mountain man’ Will Baker, a man who stirs something deep inside our story line heroine. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Will and Maggie, and the fall-out as secrets and lies are about to be revealed, and in the process destroy them both.

Four years earlier famed Hollywood actor Fitzwilliam ‘Fitz’ Baker disappeared without a trace in a suspected boating accident off the coast of Maine. Fast forward to present day wherein our hero, in hiding and seclusion, keeps to himself on Newman Lake, until the fateful day chance and a pothole found Maggie Sharp injured with nowhere to go. Trying to hide from his past, Will Baker keeps secret his true identity, in an effort to live without the paparazzi and media beating at his door. Maggie Sharp knows success is ultimately followed by failure but, combine that with an abusive ex who continues to taunt, Maggie is desperate to remain one-step ahead before everything comes crashing back down.

The relationship between Maggie and Will is tempestuous. Will suffers severe anxiety and refuses to venture forth where anyone may recognize our story line hero. Maggie is desperate to help the man she believes is keeping secrets but she never expected those secrets to bring forth her own heartbreaking and painful past. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting players include the small-minded and racist townies who continue to rip at Maggie’s already fragile heart. We are introduced to Lucas Forster who is helping Maggie repair the B&B but Lucas is a man with ulterior motives, one of which is hoping for a shot at our story line heroine. Eloise Sharp, Maggie’s long-suffering, alcoholic mother, remains fixated on the past, a fixation that keeps Eloise at the bottom of a bottle, at the local bar.

DISCREET is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and trust. The premise is intriguing; the characters are broken, embittered and impassioned; the slow building romance is provocative and hot. DISCREET ends on a cliff-hanger, you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

“I don’t like feeling like this,” Will said.
I sucked a breath through my teeth. “Feeling like what?”
“Like this.” He took a step toward me, and I fought not to step backward. Will had a quiet authority about him, and in the shadows of the moon, his shoulders seemed to broaden, his legs seemed to lengthen. He seemed larger than life.
When he had me backed up against the porch railing, he raised a hand, floating his fingers around my jaw, over my cheeks, but never actually touching me. I arched toward his hand. I couldn’t help it. But he hovered, never making contact.
“You make me feel…” Will started. “Out of control.”
I couldn’t move. “Oh?”
“Like I actually have to care about what someone else thinks. Like I’m not alone anymore.” He paused. His eyes opened wide, following the path of his fingers as they took hold of a strand of hair in my ponytail and twirled. “And for the first time in a very long time, I feel like I don’t want to be.”
He tugged lightly on the strand, and I felt the slight pinch like an arrow through my body, shooting down my arms and legs, and coming to throb in that place no man had been for so, so long. I bit my lip. Will’s eyes dilated.
“Tell the truth, Lil. What do you want?”
You. The word echoed distantly, like a bell tolling from miles away. I didn’t understand it. I was broken. A mess. What should I want with this man? We had a connection, sure, but overall, he was nothing but trouble. He was grouchy. A loner. Clearly had serious social and emotional control issues.
And yet. There was no denying that something was here. Since we met, it certainly felt at times as if the universe itself was tilting on its axis, trying to knock me into him. Breakdown after breakdown. Meeting after meeting. And now…
I tipped my chin up so I could look directly at him, drawn like one of the moths circling the porch light. Winging through the dark, ready to dive into his golden inferno.
“I don’t want Lucas,” I said quietly, drifting my gaze up and down his naked torso. A sheen of sweat glimmered in the moonlight, which also made the shadows of his muscles—the square pectorals, the solid rack of abs, the lickable V that dipped beneath his shorts—that much more evident.
Will followed my gaze, and his hand dropped. He stepped between my legs, and his unique scents engulfed me. Working all afternoon only made them that much stronger—the scent of pine trees, lake water, and man swallowed me with a heady rush that made me shake slightly. And it was then, only then, that he finally touched me. My waist was encircled by his wide palms, so broad that his fingers nearly touched on either side. It was relatively innocent, but the intent was clear. Just like last night, he held me still; I couldn’t move unless he wanted me to. For that moment, I was his.
When I looked back up, his eyes were fixed on my lips. Unconsciously, I licked the lower one. His pupils dilated even more.
“Lil,” he whispered as he leaned a little closer.
“What are you waiting for?” I murmured. Now I was the one staring at his mouth—so soft and full under his newly trimmed beard.
I panted. Will swore.
“Fuck it,” he growled. “I don’t fucking know.”
Sometimes you don’t know you wanted something until you have it. Sometimes you don’t know you need something until it’s there.
His mouth found mine in a fury, one that surprised me for about a half second before. The hands at my waist gripped so tightly, I almost couldn’t breathe, and I felt like I was strangled—not for lack of oxygen, but for lack of him. Will’s lips made me feel like I was breathing for the first time; like I’d been under water my entire life, and he was the air I’d never known I needed.


 

Follow: Goodreads/ Website/ Twitter/ Pinterest/ Facebook

Nicole French is a East Coast/West Coast hybrid creature, Springsteen fanatic, hopeless romantic, and total bookworm. When not writing fiction or teaching writing classes, she is hanging out with her family, playing soccer with the rest of the thirty-plus crowd in Seattle, or going on dates with her husband. In her spare time, she likes to go running with her dog, Greta, or practice the piano, but never seems to do either one of these things as much as she should.

Sign up for Nicole’s monthly newsletter for giveaways and exclusive excerpts from upcoming works!   www.nicolefrenchromance.com

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Darkest Heart (Dominion #1) by Juliette Cross-Dual Review & Excerpt Tour

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DARKEST HEART (Dominion #1) by Juliette Cross-Dual Review & Excerpt Tour

DARKEST HEART
Dominion #1
by Juliette Cross
Release Date: August 20, 2018
Genre: adult, urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play/ iTunes

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 20, 2018

Wrong side of heaven…right side of redemption.

Anya—a stoic, blue-winged angelic warrior— was bitten by a demon prince in battle, and now she has precious little time to find a cure for his deadly venom. But the only archangel with the power to stop the dark poison from corrupting her body and soul is missing. She’ll have to trust her guide, the outcast high demon Dommiel, who is as handsome as he is dangerous if she has any hope.

An outcast of his own kind, high demon Dommiel stays under cover while the war between angels and demons rages on. But when the only person who ever showed him kindness asks for his help, he has no choice but to try to save the angel. Venturing back into the dens he has avoided for so long, Anya makes him want and feel things he never thought possible.

But Dommiel knows there is no way an angel can ever love a demon

•••••••••

SANDY’S REVIEW: DARKEST HEART is the first instalment in Juliette Cross’ post-apocalyptic, urban fantasy DOMINION paranormal, romance series focusing on the fight for control and power- the Great War- between heaven and hell. This is fallen angel/demon prince Dommiel, and guardian angel/warrior Anya’s storyline.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Anya and Dommiel) DARKEST HEART follows blue-winged angel Anya, as she goes in search of the Archangel Uriel believed to be held captive by a witch with demonic powers. Anya’s only chance to find Uriel, and save herself for the growing darkness within, is a fallen angel, a former archangel, a demon prince called Dommiel, and the man with whom she will fall in love. What ensues is the growing attraction and love between demon and angel, and the potential fall-out as Dommiel surrenders his life to save the woman he loves.

The relationship between Dommiel and Anya is one of the forbidden. Anya is the ambrosia to Dommiel’s poison; the demon prince whose very existence is now the heart and soul of a woman whose time is ticking, a secret she has yet to reveal to the man that she loves. The romance is seductive; the $ex scenes provocative and passionate.

DARKEST HEART is an emotional, dark and exquisite story between good and evil; hatred and love; vengeance and salvation. The colorful and charismatic secondary characters are brooding, intelligent and intense. A powerful story with passionate characters by a brilliant author. DARKEST HEART is spirited, mesmorizing and breath taking-Juliette Cross opens the heart to the mind’s eye of endless possibilities.

 

________

BARB’S REVIEW: Darkest Heart by Juliette Cross is the 1st book in her new urban fantasy Dominion series. I have said this a number of times that I am a big fan of Juliette Cross’ writing.  Each and every book she writes is totally fantastic, which I have come to expect from her.  She is such an awesome author whom you should be reading. Now to my review.

As Darkest Heart begins, we meet our hero (or antihero) Dommiel, who is a high demon, but is considered to be a traitor to his kind.  Dommiel no longer considers himself to be aligned with any side, and sells his help to the highest bidder; but he also helps save humans from other demons; this makes Dommiel different as demons care for no one.

Dommiel receives a call from Genevieve, a powerful vessel of light who can kill demons just by speaking and to whom he has a blood vow with. Genevieve is concerned that Uriel, the good archangel is missing, and wants Dommiel to work with Anya to find him.  But Dommiel isn’t too sure he wants to work with an angel. 

Anya was once a guardian angel for lost and helpless children, only to become a warrior to fight the demons and creatures. During a battle, Anya was bitten by a demon prince, whose poison is slowly growing inside her. She needs to find Uriel, who can remove the poison, or she will be fully pulled into the dreaded demon world.  Though she wants nothing to do with Dommiel, Anya abides by Genevieve’s request that he will be the best person to help her find and rescue Uriel.

What follows is an amazing story where Anya and Dommiel must enter a dark and dangerous world in an attempt to save the archangel.  While working closely together, in a short time, both Dommiel and Anya find their attraction to each other becoming stronger with each passing day.  Dommiel knows he shouldn’t become involved with an angel, especially one who is a virgin, but he is drawn to her like he has never been to anyone.  Anya also feels the lust developing between them, and though they are like night and day, she cannot resist him.  The bond they develop is strong and truly a beautiful love story. Is it possible for a demon to really love an angel? 

I loved Anya and Dommiel together.  At the start he was somewhat arrogant, but that changes when he knows he has fallen in love with Anya, something he never thought would be possible.  Dommiel turned out to be such a great hero, willing to do anything to protect and save ‘his angel’, even give up his own life. Anya was also a great heroine, being a tough warrior in her own right, and determined stand beside Dommiel, no matter the consequences. The chemistry between them was lethal, but the future was grim.   Will they survive a demon onslaught and save the archangel?  You will need to read this book to learn more.

Darkest Warrior was a heart stopping, intense, pulse pounding, action packed, exciting thriller that kept you glued to your seat, but it was the love between two people so different that was so heartwarming and beautiful.   Darkest Warrior not only pulled on all your emotions, but had an amazing couple that you rooted so hard for. 

As I have said before, if you have not read Juliette Cross, you are seriously missing a fantastic author, who never fails to wow us each and every time.  As always, thank you Juliette Cross for another sensational series that I will wait with abated breath for the next book.

Copy supplied for review

 

NOTE: The excerpt is intended for mature readers due to language and sexual content

I glanced up the street. Six cloaked figures strode in our direction, the mist curling around their billowing capes. High demons on the prowl with malicious intent. They moved as if they had a specific destination. But they’d derail plans in a heartbeat to pluck a pretty angel apart.
“Well, it’s worth a try.” Anya started toward the bridge.
Instinct gripped me hard. I stepped in front of her, covered her mouth with my hand, and pushed her back into a niche against the wall.
“Tighten your wings,” I commanded in a low whisper.
She did, making it easier to flatten them against the alcove wall behind her. I pressed my body hard against hers, minimizing our presence.
“Don’t make a sound.” I emphasized with force. “Not a whimper.”
Her violet-blue eyes widened, but she only nodded. I covered as much of her as I could, pressing my chest to hers, then cast illusion to hide her wings with a snapping summons of my power. She didn’t see the demons coming, and I had to hide her wings quickly. The shock of my dark touch, my invisible armor wrapping her in a hard grip, had her lips parting in a silent gasp. Our breath mingled in the frosty air as the gang of demons drew closer. They’d sense us and see us. I counted on my instincts being right. That they’d bypass a pair of lovers in the shadows. But if they’d seen her wings, they’d stop for a bit of sport with her.
Like I’d fucking let that happen.
“Play along,” I commanded again, hearing the grating dominance in my voice and expecting her to push me off.
Combing my hand into her hair, I reveled in the feel of the silky strands sliding over my skin before I gripped that black silk in a fist and leaned forward. A force not my own pulling me closer. Her eyes remained wide, her body stiff. But not as stiff as mine. Hell, I’d had a hard-on from the first moment she arched a defiant brow at me.
The need to get my mouth on hers drove me like a bullet train. I needed to know what she tasted like. Needed to feel the slide of my tongue past those full pink lips. Needed to get inside of her. But she wasn’t ready for me. Not yet. She was hard to read, my angel. But we could play pretend lovers for a minute.
Gripping her hip with my mechanical hand, I pressed harder against her body. My cock, like an iron rod, pushed against her pelvis. She flinched in my arms and stiffened but didn’t pull away. No. She softened, for fuck’s sake. And that was my undoing. I tilted my mouth toward her neck, breathing her in.
I sensed the sinister air surrounding the demons drawing closer, but I refused to give in to the urge to turn and draw a blade. The menace rolling off of them claimed they were not a group to overpower or escape quickly. If worse came to worse, I’d just sift us away. But something told me they were on the move. Better prey in mind. As long as they thought us harmless lovers, we were safe.
So I focused on Anya. Her grip on the lapels of my leather jacket tightened while her body melted against me. Pure, fucking heaven.
I grazed my lips against her soft throat, featherlight. Her desire—an innocent, fragile thing—flared hot when she let out a little moan. Christ. I was going to lose my mind.
I sensed the demons passing behind us. That danger drifted away but another kind took its place. Uncontainable lust had me in its iron grip. Unable to taste just a little, I flicked my tongue over the lobe of her ear. She flinched again, exhaling a breathy moan before she clamped her mouth shut.
Curling my hand into the collar of her leather jacket, I pulled it aside so I could taste her where her neck met shoulder. The soft patch of exposed pale skin lured me like a dying man in the desert to the coolest drink of water.
Fuck, the things I wanted to do to her. Dirty, dark, delicious things.
Her innocence was a beacon, a red flag waving in the breeze, and my bull wanted to charge. Right fucking now.
Feeling my control slipping, I scraped my teeth gently up the side of her neck, my beast jerking on the leash I was strangling him with.
I eased my lips off her skin, a new addiction that would surely cripple me, because that wasn’t nearly enough. A slight sound of protest escaped her lips. I lifted my gaze to hers.
“Not a whimper,” I said.
The urge to bind her and force every possible sound of pleasure from those luscious lips pushed me like a primal compulsion. A vibrating need I never saw coming threatened to choke the air from my lungs.
Her eyes—dilated with lust—trailed down to my mouth.
“Dommiel. Your teeth.” Her panting breath curled out in white puffs. “And your eye.”
That’s when I realized my beast had come to the surface. The monster I kept at bay so as not to frighten mere mortals. And sweet angels. He wanted to play. He wanted more.
Flicking my tongue over one canine, I backed up, removing my body from the achingly sweet alignment against hers. It would take a few minutes to simmer my blood, for my canines to recede. I turned away, facing the direction those night prowlers had gone, heaving in a deep breath of cold night air. I needed a dip in the Arctic to get my brain and my dick off the gut-punching pleasure one little taste of her had given me.


 

Juliette lives in lush, moss-laden Louisiana where she lives with her husband, four kids, and black lab, Kona.

Multi-published author of paranormal and urban fantasy romance, she loves reading and writing brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes.

From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.

Connect: Website| Facebook| Twitter| Pinterest| Amazon| Goodreads| Newsletter

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The Last King (The Kings #1) by Katee Robert-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

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THE LAST KING (The Kings #1) by Katee Robert-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

 

THE LAST KING
The Kings #1
by Katee Robert
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play/ iTunes

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 3, 2018

THE MAN SHE HATES TO LOVE

Beckett King just inherited his father’s fortune, his company-and all his enemies. If he’s going to stay on top, he needs someone he can trust beside him. And though they’ve been rivals for years, there’s no one he trusts more than Samara Mallick.

The rebel. That’s how Samara has always thought of Beckett. And he’s absolutely living up to his unpredictable ways when he strides into her office and asks for help. She can’t help wondering if it’s a legit request or just a ploy to get her into bed. Not that she’d mind either one. After all, she likes to live on the edge too.

But soon the threats to the King empire are mounting, and the two find family secrets darker than they ever imagined and dangerous enough to get them both killed.

•••••

REVIEW: THE LAST KING is the first instalment in Katee Robert’s contemporary, adult THE KINGS erotic, romance series focusing on the King siblings and cousins. This is businessman Beckett King, and Samara Mallick’s story line.

Told from several third person points of view including Beckett and Samara THE LAST KING follows the building relationship between business rivals Beckett King, and Samara Mallick. With the recent, and questionable death of his father Nathaniel King, Beckett King was now CEO of Morningstar Enterprises but a change to his late father’s will found the family owned Villa went to his father’s estranged sister Lydia King- CEO of Kingdom Corp, and a woman whose reputation in the business was as fierce as his father’s. With a bid for a large oil contract on the horizon, Beckett King will come face to face with the woman who has starred in all of his fantasies since their one-night stand six months earlier- Samara Mallick-his aunt’s employee and overly protective assistant. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Beckett and Samara; and the increasing threats against Beckett King’s life as he begins looking into the events surrounding his father’s demise.

Samara Mallick is good at her job and her earlier hunger to win comes across as cold and malevolent but her attraction to Beckett is complicating her relationship with Lydia King-an attraction that Lydia is determined to use against her grieving nephew. Lydia is a power hungry CEO who will do anything to get back what she thinks she deserves, and gaining control of the Morningstar empire is on the top of the list. Beckett King knows that not all is well with the King family dynamics but his investigation into his father’s death reveals an inside connection that has targeted Beckett himself. Beckett is captivated by Samara Mallick, a captivation that could go horribly wrong, if Samara becomes collateral damage in the family feud.

The relationship between Beckett and Samara is one of immediate attraction; a forbidden romance between competitors in the high-stakes world of oil and finance. Beckett suspects that Samara has become a puppet and a pawn but Samara refuses to be controlled by anyone including the man with whom she is falling in love. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic, and intense. The chemistry is palpable between our leading couple.

We are introduced to Beckett’s best friend, business owner and security expert Frank Evans, as well as Beckett’s cousins Anderson and Journey (Samara’s best friend), and Beckett’s aunt Lydia King. Journey and Frank’s story line is next.

The world building focuses on the fractured family dynamics of the King family that go back several generations affecting each successive generation in its wake. Jealousy and rivals; infidelity and threats mar relationships that would have been better off never existing.

THE LAST KING is an exciting, suspense filled story of betrayal and vengeance; a broken family cursed by jealousy, hatred and greed but a story that is all too predictable about the who, how and why. The premise is entertaining and engaging; the characters are charismatic, enchanting and intelligent; the romance is seductive and provocative.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

The Last King Excerpt
Copyright © 2018 Katee Robert
 

Heaven was Samara in a little green dress.
Beckett watched her walk across the lobby, her mile-long legs eating up the distance with ease. That glimpse of wildness she’d given him last night was in full effect today, her hair a mass of black waves that seemed to curl and snap around her shoulders with each step. Her dress fitted her like a second skin, sloping down over her breasts, her stomach, to her hips and thighs.
But it was her dark eyes that drew and held him. Anger and desire and something like guilt lingered there, and she held his gaze as she stopped in front of him. “Do I meet your expectation?”
“You’re beautiful.”
She arched a single eyebrow. “I know.”
That surprised a laugh out of him. Beckett turned to the elevator bank and offered his elbow. The gentlemanly move was over-the-top for their current circumstances, but he couldn’t be this close to her without touching her. Kissing her now, here, was a terrible damn idea, so he’d settle for the small touch. “No false modesty. I like that.”
“I think we’ve established that I don’t operate based on what you like.” Despite her words, amusement pulled at the edges of her lips, and she set her hand carefully on his forearm. “Every time I think I have your number down, you surprise me. Most guys get pissy pants if a woman doesn’t fall at their feet when they call her beautiful.”
“I’m not most guys.” He waited for the elevator door to open and led her onto it. “You can’t fit me into a box and write me off, Samara.”
“I’m beginning to see that.” She shook her head, her hair brushing against his shoulder. “My life would be a whole lot easier if I could.”
He couldn’t argue that, so he didn’t bother. Beckett took them up to the executive level. He noted the way she studied everything, obviously filing away every bit of information she could lay her eyes on. “What does Lydia pay you these days?”
She dropped her arm and stepped back. “Oh no. I don’t think so.” She pointed at him. “We went over this last night. I’m not for sale.”
“It’s an innocent question.”
“It is most definitely not an innocent question.” She looked like she wanted to take off her shoe and throw it at his head. “I don’t care what issue you and your aunt have. I’m not part of it. You don’t get to use me as leverage. I’m not a pawn for either of you to sacrifice in this pissing match you have going on.”
Shame tried to take hold, but he wouldn’t let it. Samara knew the game, no matter how much it apparently offended her. “I’m the bad guy for trying to offer you a job, but I’m sure you agreed to show up here solely out of the goodness of your heart.” He pretended to think about it. “Wait, no you didn’t—which you already admitted. You’re here because Lydia wants to do whatever it takes to sink Morningstar. Full stop.” He motioned at the offices behind him. “Wake up, Samara. I’m only playing the game she made the rules for.”
She took in the empty COO office on the other side of the glass wall. “She poached your employees.”
“Convenient timing, don’t you think?”
“You’re not still harping on that paranoid talk about Lydia meeting Nathaniel.” Samara hesitated and then moved to stand in front of him. She pressed her lips together and then very gently said, “Do you think maybe it’s a good idea for you to talk to someone?”
Beckett jerked back. “What?”
There was nothing but sympathy in her dark eyes. “I’m serious, Beckett. I’ve known you a long time, at least by reputation, and this delusion you have going isn’t like you. Is it possible that Nathaniel’s death is hitting you harder than you realize? That you’re fixating on Lydia instead of your own grief because it’s easier to deal with an enemy than face the fact you can never make things right with your father?”
Every word flayed him, cutting to the quick. Beckett gritted his teeth against the need to tell Samara that she was the one who wasn’t thinking clearly. To yell. To expel some of the ugliness that had been brewing in him for a very, very long time. “I didn’t call you here to offer you a job, and I sure as hell don’t need a shrink.”
She stood her ground as he advanced. Her heels put them at the same height and she still managed to look down her nose at him. “Then why did you call me here?”
Because I can’t spend another moment alone without going out of my mind.
He didn’t say it. To admit how long it had been since he’d felt a connection with another person was to hand Samara—Lydia—a loaded gun and invite her to point it directly at him. He didn’t answer her verbally at all. Beckett cupped her waist and slowly pulled her against him, giving her plenty of time to register his intentions.
“Beckett.” Despair colored her tone and she gave a desperate laugh. “What are we doing?”
“I don’t know.” Using a hand on the small of her back, he pressed her firmly against him. “I don’t want to stop.”
Samara hesitated, but finally placed her hands gingerly against his chest. He waited, letting her decide. Yes or no. Push or pull. Stay or go. She hitched a breath. “I don’t want to stop, either.” 


 

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it ‘a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension.”  When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram

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Dirty Filthy Fix (Fixed 5.5 / 1001 Dark Nights) by Laurelin Paige-Review and Excerpt Tour

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DIRTY FILTHY FIX (Fixed 5.5) by Laurelin Paige-Review and Excerpt Tour

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DIRTY FILTHY FIX
Fixed 5.5 / 1001 Dark Nights
by Laurelin Paige
Genre: Adult ,contemporary, erotic, romance
Release Date: November 21, 2017

Dirty Filthy Fix

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 21, 2017

I like sex. Kinky sex. The kinkier the better.

Every day, it’s all I think about as I serve coffee and hand out business agendas to men who have no idea I’m not the prim proper girl they think I am.

With a day job as the secretary to one of New York’s most powerful men, Hudson Pierce, I have to keep my double life quiet. As long as I do, it’s not a problem.

Enter: Nathan Sinclair. Tall, dark and handsome doesn’t come close to describing how hot he is. And that’s with his clothes on. But after a dirty, filthy rendezvous, I accept that if we ever see each other again, he’ll walk right by my desk on his way to see my boss without recognizing me.

Only, that’s not what happens. Not the first time I see him after the party. Or the next time. Or the time after that. And as much as I try to stop it, my two worlds are crashing into each other, putting my job and my reputation at risk.

And all I can think about is Nathan Sinclair.

All I can think about is getting just one more dirty, filthy fix.

••••••••••

REVIEW: DIRTY FILTHY FIX by Laurelin Paige is instalment 5.5 in the author’s contemporary adult FIXED erotic, romance series, and the latest installment in the multi-authored 1001 Dark Nights novella series. This is Hudson Pierce’s (Fixed Trilogy) thirty five year old professional assistant Patricia ‘Trish’ Bisceglia, and forty five year old Nathan Sinclair’s –millionaire advertising executive, Creative Director for Reach, INC – story line. DIRTY FILTHY FIX can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalment is revealed where necessary. Some of the events of Dirty Filthy Fix cross-over with Dirty Filthy Rich Love (Dirty Duet #2).

Told from first person point of view (Trish Bisceglia) DIRTY FILTHY FIX follows the sexual escapades of our heroine Patricia Bisceglia, PA to billionaire businessman Hudson Pierce, and a woman who isn’t afraid to explore the kinky side of her sexual proclivities. As an unauthorized member of the Open Door ‘rotating’ sex club our fiercely independent heroine owns her sexuality, adhering to a specific set of rules including no penetration, never go home with anyone, never give out personal information, and never remove her mask until the night Nathan Sinclair catches our heroine’s eye, and all bets are off. What ensues is Nathan Sinclair’s slow seduction of a woman who steadfastly remains committed to controlling every aspect of her life, and the eventual fall-out as Trish begins to ease up on the rules that kept her sexual life out of the public eye-Patricia Bisceglia-professional assistant by day; T by night.

DIRTY FILTHY FIX is a quick, erotic and sexy story line. Trish Bisceglia does not do relationships or commitment but enjoys the sexual freedom of the kinkier aspects of sex and everything it has to offer. Nathan Sinclair is a man who likes to watch, a voyeur, who likes what he sees in our story line heroine, and intends to seduce said heroine into something more. The premise is sexy and hot. The characters are colorful and dynamic but the character building is limited- we know very little about their backgrounds or history prior to their fateful and unexpected meeting. The romance is spicy and edgy; the club sex scenes are dirty minded and erotic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Sensual couple touching at each other

excerpt

I wore satin that Saturday night, a long blue slip dress with slits up both sides. I never wore underwear to the parties. They were too much of an inconvenience, and the few times I had worn them, I’d just ended up giving them away as souvenirs. I liked nice lingerie. I preferred to keep most of it.
The shoes I wore—simple heels, easy to slip off—were also standard for an evening at the Open Door. But somehow I felt simultaneously more dressed up and more naked than I had in a long time. I left my hair down, and it fell long past my shoulders in dark, nearly black waves. It felt less like I was going to a weekly party and more like I was going on a date. A glamorous date.
It was a signal that I should not go.
But I went. Nothing could have kept me away.
I spent the beginning of the night as a voyeur, camped out on the settee watching as the Doms paraded their submissives around the room, entertaining everyone with their tricks and commands.
I had a few invitations to play from the regulars—Andrew, who’d shown up with a girl I’d never met before. Of course, Chuck Richard was there, wanting to fondle and stroke my skin. But I shooed them all away, feigning an introverted mood, when really I was just looking and waiting for one person in particular.
An hour went by. Then an hour and a half. After two hours, I kicked myself internally a bunch of times before realizing that I was in a place where people would gladly do that for me. So when Andrew suggested a game, an adult version of Spin-the-Bottle, I decided to join in.
An oddly shaped circle was created, some people choosing to sit on the floor, some on the furniture. I curled up with my knees to one side on the floor, and when I finished straightening my gown around me, I looked up to find that the man sitting on the ottoman across from me was Nathan.
And suddenly the room felt so much brighter than it had a few minutes before. Like there’d been too many plugs shoved into one outlet and finally someone had tugged one free, the power had surged, and the lights glowed.
Everyone disappeared around me and the only face I could see was his, handsome and rugged, his grin directed at me. His eyes lit up like they were the source of the glow, and they were the only things I could see.
Somehow I was sure I’d just broken one of my rules. I didn’t know which one, and I didn’t even care.

About The Author

Laurelin PaigeIn 2013, Laurelin Paige self-published her first novel. Her husband was just laid off, she had three kids, one with special needs, and they had just filed for bankruptcy so she needed this novel to work. Less than 1 year later, her debut novel, Fixed on You, was at the top of the bestseller lists and was named one of the top ten selling books of 2014 by Publishers Weekly (the only self-published book to do so) and a Top Ten Favorite Read of 2014 by People Magazine. Her successive self-published novels have been smash hits with readers.

Laurelin Paige is the NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Fixed Trilogy. She’s a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters.

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