Monday, February 29, 2016

MYSTERY MONDAY: After being trapped in an arson fire that destroyed her clinic and her memory, a doctor struggles to regain her courage. Legacy Under Fire by Genie Gabriel



Title: Legacy Under Fire
Author: Genie Gabriel

Genre: Women's Fiction
Email: genene@genenevalleau.com
Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 1


BLURB:

After being trapped in an arson fire that destroyed her clinic and her memory, a doctor struggles to regain her courage as well as solve the mystery of why someone would want to kill her. A different kind of heat fills her life when she falls in love with the firefighter who rescued her, but can he protect her from the man determined to snuff out her life?


EXCERPT
As Shiloh stood watching the dancers, butterflies swooped in her belly like the rainbow of satin gowns swirling across the dance floor.

"Would you like to dance?"

Shiloh gazed at Jeremiah, her handsome escort. No smudges on his face from smoke and ashes. No sturdy turnouts with its fabric rough against her cheek.

Handsome. Serious. Sexy.

Though he barely touched her fingers, the heat shimmered between them.

Shiloh's breath caught in her throat. Tonight was different. He wasn't a hero doing his job. He was a man whose gaze looked into her soul.

And found what?

Did he see the holes where her memory had been? Did he sense her fear and wonder at her doubts?

"I-I can't."

A frown settled briefly on his brow.

"I've never learned any dance steps--I just to sway to the music." Shiloh shrugged ruefully.

"I can teach you."

Shiloh's mouth went dry. She struggled to swallow as the fantasy of Jer teaching her more than dance steps raised goosebumps across her skin.

"It's easy." Jeremiah turned his hand over so her palm rested against his. "Just a few simple steps in a box pattern."

His other hand moved to her hip, and he quietly counted the steps as they moved to the music. "One, two, three. One, two, three."

Mesmerized by the movement of his lips, Shiloh simply followed his lead. Until he turned and she stumbled against his feet. She jerked upright, flushed, and stammered out an apology. "I guess all my skill is in my hands--or used to be..."

"You can stand on my feet if you want to until you get the hang of it. Marly used to when she was a kid and Tallie was trying to 'give us some culture', as she said."

"That sounds nice." Wistfulness wove between Shiloh's words.

"Trampled feet or culture?" A dimple appeared in Jeremiah's left cheek when he smiled.

Why had she not noticed that before? "Having lots of siblings must have been nice."

"Intrusive sometimes."

"Better than being alone."

"Were you lonely as a child?" Jeremiah continued dancing with Shiloh as they talked.

"I knew my parents loved me and were doing important work. But I missed being around kids my own age."

"Yeah, you missed out on bruises and elbows in the ribs during basketball games."

They laughed together.

"I didn't realize how lucky I was," Jer said. "Until lately."

"Much has happened lately," Shiloh agreed.

Jer swung her under his arm and she concentrated on keeping her feet moving so she didn't stumble. For the rest of the song, Shiloh focused on dancing rather than talking. As the dance ended, a cautious pride bloomed in Shiloh's chest.

"You're a fast learner."

Jer was staring at her. With something different in his eyes Shiloh hadn't noticed before. Speculation. Desire perhaps.

The orchestra began playing again and she melted into his arms. In this beautiful old house, time seemed to have receded to a gentler era when gentlemen and ladies put on their best manners with their fine clothes for a special night on the town.

Shiloh let her eyes drift closed, wondering what making love would be like with Jeremiah. She fancied it would be much like dancing with him. A slow, tantalizing journey unlike any other she had taken.

Is this what she had missed in younger years by focusing on her studies? Or was this magic reserved for a special someone? Someone she hadn't met until Jeremiah.

When she opened her eyes, Jer was gazing at her. A slight smile on his lips and banked fire in his eyes. He wanted her. Yet made no move to put his desires into action. Truly a gentleman. A hero.

The man she had fallen in love with.








Sunday, February 28, 2016

ROMANCE SUNDAY: Throughout the Highlands she is known as Keely, the witch woman. Highland Magic by Christine Young



Christine Young
Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 3


REVIEW:

4.0 out of 5 stars
February 24, 2013
By 

I have enjoyed this series. Strong alpha highlanders....what more could a girl want. The heroin is strong but sometimes just doesn't think....but that makes for the drama. Off to the third book.

BLURB:

Throughout the Highlands she is known as Keely, the witch woman. She is a great healer-a woman whose dreams come true. Ian MacPherson is a man who puts honor, loyalty and duty above everything. Their lives are entwined when Ian is sent by the Scottish King to bring Keely to trial for witchcraft. He is attacked and left for dead, but Keely rescues him. When he wakes, he discovers he has no memory. As he remembers his lost past, Ian finds that his need to protect the woman who has saved his life eclipses his duty to his king and country., He is a man torn between honor and duty to his country and the woman he loves.

Excerpt:

Scotland, Summer 1513:

For a moment the man's gaze met hers, bored into her heart, questioned. Blood curdling war cries rode the wings of death through the timeless night. Claymores clashed. Dark eyes the color of midnight flashed a challenge. The holy man's opponents hesitated then lunged once more.

Moonbeams reflected light from the gold chain he wore around his neck. Brown robes fell from massive shoulders. Three more enemies appeared from the trees. The priest fell to the ground, wounded by the broadside of his enemy's weapon. Motionless, he lay on her flower-strewn meadow, blood staining the grass and wildflowers, marring the colorful, summer landscape.

Keely Gray woke, heart pounding a rapid staccato. She pressed against her throbbing temples with sweat-slick palms, hoping to ease the horrific pain that always accompanied the dreams. Death--the scent of blood, fear and treachery still hung heavy in the darkened hut. The prickling sensation radiating from her spine to encompass her body was too familiar.

She listened and heard nothing.

A dark void impaled her. The usual night sounds stilled. She heard no hoot of owl, no chirp of crickets, no croak of frogs, nor could she hear the mournful sighing of the wind through the branches of the old oak trees.

Silence emptied her heart as well as her soul, leaving only an ever-present loneliness.

Keely wanted nothing more than to cuddle into her bed and pull the covers over her head. Despite the unspeakable agony deep in the pit of her stomach, she rose from her pallet. Her limbs trembling, she slipped a shapeless tunic over her head and soft-soled shoes onto her feet. As she swept past the front door, she grabbed her woolen cloak.

Light from a full moon illuminated the path. She could see, but she could also be seen, the moonlight both a curse and a blessing. Approaching the meadow she'd watched in her dreams, she slowed her pace and waited. Her fingers wound tightly around the amber pendant she always wore, her only keepsake from her mother.

The sounds and scents hovering on the wind would tell her if danger still lurked. Caution guided her. A vigilance she'd learned long ago held her motionless.

 A familiar dragging sound reassured her she wasn't alone. "Whipple?" she whispered.

A self-appointed guardian angel appeared as if from nowhere then nodded, though there was a wary cast to his faded blue eyes. "Aye, lass, I'm here. I heard ye leave your hut. I would not leave ye alone to face whatever dangerous mission awaited."

Keely waited for Whipple to close the distance between them before she spoke. "I would argue with you about your appearance here at this great hour, but I ken it would do no good. You should not be here. Your heart--"

Whipple spat. "My heart is fine."

She determinedly stepped forward, approaching the meadow of her dream, knowing she wouldn't like what she found.

"Have it your way, then." Given a choice, Keely wouldn't have come to this meadow. But she had to know the truth--had she seen the future or something happening at that very moment?

Whipple didn't reply. On his clubfoot, he followed her, his trailing leg sliding behind him with a soft swish. The hard thud of his crooked oak cane followed at a slightly skewed interval.


Together they crested the hill. Below her, she saw her dream. A priest lay on the ground, his head twisted at an odd angle. For a moment her heart stopped. She bit down on her lower lip while she studied the man.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

SCI/FI FANSTASY SATURDAY: Sunny has a gift that she has no idea how to use. Shadow Dancer by Courtney Rene



Shadow Dancer
Courtney Rene
Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 1

Buy at Amazon:
Buy at Barnes & Nobel:

BLURB:

Sunny has a gift that she has no idea how to use, until she meets Leif, a boy from the kingdom of Acadia, on the other side of the shadows.  Leif teaches Sunny about Shadow Walkers and how to use her new found gifts. As they grow closer and their gifts grow stronger, a threat arrives.  The Shadow Guard has been sent to bring Sunny back to Acadia, to determine if she is a threat to the king as the rightful ruler of Acadia. 

As Leif and Sunny prepare to defend themselves, Sunny finds that Leif has also been sent to bring Sunny back to the kingdom but for very different reasons.  As a battle for possession of Sunny wages, she is struggling to come to turns with her feelings of inadequacy regarding controlling her gifts as well as the hurt regarding the lies and deceit of everyone around her.

EXCERPT:

“My Lady? I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what else...I think we need to call for help.”

“Where is she? I can’t see her.”

“She’s fine, my Lady. She’s sleeping, right over there. Can you see her?”

“Bring her to me. I want to hold her.”

“My Lady, you have lost too much blood. We need to get you to a hospital or something. Please.”

“Star, it’s already too late. You know it. We can’t call for help. We have to keep her safe. She’s all that’s left. She is worth that and so much more. God, I am so tired. Please bring her to me.”

“My Lady...“

“Even now Star, after all these years, can’t you just be my friend?”

“I will always be your friend, my Lady, but you will always be my Queen. Even now, even later, that will never change. Here she is. Do you have her?”

“I’ve got her. Please don’t hover over me, Star. I’m alright. Look how beautiful she is. Can you believe Malcolm and I made something so beautiful?”

“Yes, I can. She looks like you. She has your hair, all golden and soft. She has your mouth too. Don’t you think?”

“Yes. Oh God, I want to hold on to her forever. I never want to let her go. Star, you have to promise me that you will keep her safe. Whatever you have to do, you have to keep her safe. Promise me.”

“No, my Lady, we will keep her safe. You and I together.”

“No, Star, this burden will fall to you. You already see the truth of it, right here in front of your eyes. I’m just so tired. Here, you’d better take her. Bye, my baby girl. I love you so.

Star, promise me. You’ve done all you can here. All that is left is her. Malcolm is gone, and I…”

“Stop it! You can’t just give up! Don’t laugh! Can’t you see that it’s tearing me apart? I can’t do this without you.”

“Star, I’m not laughing. I promise you. There just isn’t anything I can do to stop it. You can do this. I believe in you. Star?”

“Yes. My Lady?”

“Promise.”

“All right. I promise I will do everything I can to keep her safe.”

“Do you think you will ever return?”

“I don’t know. Everything is changed now. Our whole world has changed.”

“Star?”

“Yes?”

“Stay safe. You have always been my very best friend. I don’t know what I would have done without you. Thank you, so much, for everything.”

“My Lady...“

“Keep her safe...“



Shadow Dancer is a fun, light read with some action, some romance and some kick-butt abilities. 
LunaMoth for Far from Reality Reviews