Christine ~ Romance Sunday ~ Keeping Katie by Angela Castle

ROMANCE SUNDAY

Keeping Katie

Angela Castle

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 5

Buy at: www.roguephoenixpress.com

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Finding love in the boyish home renovator and handyman Jordan MaKensy, dominant lawyer Jack Cullen, will do anything to make their dream of a home and family a reality. When shy Katie starts working at his law office Jack, know he’s found something very special, for them both.

Aussie girl Katie has come to London to start a new life for herself after a hard and tragic past. What she didn’t expect was to find not one man but two. Katie is swept into a world of sensual pleasure that only two men can provide.

Yet Katie is resisting their attempts to win her heart. Jack and Jordan need to help Katie overcome her fear of love, to let them love and Keep their Katie.

Excerpt

Katie tugged at the navy blue and white uniform. "Are you sure I have to wear this?" Katie glanced up at her Aunt Penny. The pencil skirt came to just above her knees; it had a small split, making her feel self conscious that her legs were bare. Katie wore no stockings or tights. She was thankful she had remembered to shave her legs this morning.

"It's the only one in your size, dear." Katie was far from being skinny. She had the voluptuous curves of a size twelve and a more than ample breast size. Her aunt's uniform looked far more decent. Her skirt was longer and her top not as low cut. "Trust me, there is hardly anyone left in the offices at this hour. A few hard-nosed lawyers with nothing better to do. Remember though, always knock before entering an office."

Katie tugged back her blond hair, wrapping a band around the wayward curls. She followed her aunt down the long corridor of Henson and Henson Law.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Katie? I'm sure there are much better jobs you could find."

"I need to earn my keep, and there's not much I can do. I really appreciate you getting me this job."

"You are no burden at all, my dear," Penny said with genuine affection. It warmed Katie's heart that she still had someone who cared about her. The smile on her aunt's face softened the aged creases around her eyes. Penny's dark hair was streaked with grey and neatly pinned up on top of her head. "I'm certainly not getting any younger, or faster. This will help cut the workload in half. The firm was happy to hire a second cleaner."

"None the less, I am grateful," Katie reaffirmed. Her Aunt Penny took a set of keys from her pocket. They stood in front of a door marked 'Cleaner'. This was Katie's first paid job. She figured she would be good at cleaning since she had done it for eight years looking after her grandfather and his house.

With the small cleaning cart loaded, Katie hitched the Dyson vacuum cleaner onto her back. Katie frowned in annoyance as she noticed the straps pulled her already body-hugging top tighter across her breasts. She gave a sigh and followed her aunt into the service elevator. The doors closed behind them and the elevator rose up to the fifth floor.

"If you want to start vacuuming here, I'll head up to the sixth floor and clean the bathrooms. Most power points are behind the potted plants."

Katie nodded, stepping off the elevator. "Are you going to be okay?" her aunt asked, looking directly into her eyes. Katie raised her chin and smiled.

"Yes, thank you, Aunt Penny." Reassured, her aunt hit the elevator button; the doors slid shut with a soft whoosh. Katie turned to survey the long corridor. There was a small reception area, and further down on either side of the corridor were several double doors. The carpet was deep blue with red fleur-de-lis patterns. Katie unwound the vacuum cord then found the nearest potted plant. Sure enough there was a power point behind it. She plugged it in, switched it on, and set to work.

Christine ~ Sci/Fi Saturday ~ Frozen Death by G.L. Didaleusky

Sci/Fi Saturday

Frozen Death

G. L. Didaleusky

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 1

Buy at: www.roguephoenixpress.com

Buy at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Death-G-L-Didaleusky-ebook/dp/B002JVX6YA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384905190&sr=1-1&keywords=Frozen+Death+by+G.L.+Didaleusky

BLURB:

Something is causing people to freeze to death in Florida during ninety-degree weather. Ancient Indian lore holds the answer to these mysterious medical aberrations. A newly constructed Florida male prison sits on ancient hallowed grounds called Forbidden Hill. Soon after the prison opens, two male inmates freeze to death without exposure to frigid temperatures. John Randall, a widowed prison doctor, meets Lena Windmaker, a single, off-duty sheriff detective at a local library. Their initial plutonic relationship soon kindles into a more amorous one. They hide a personal secret that could bring them together or destroy them. They uncover articles in local, post-Civil war newspapers describing residence succumbing to Frozen Death. John and Lena race to discover a cause before it chooses other victims.

EXCERPT:

At 3:30 A.M., the telephone rang. On the fourth ring, John picked up the receiver, his mind still foggy from sleep. "This better be an emergency."

"Is this…Dr. Randall?"

John realized the caller had a male voice, not the feminine voice of Nurse Simpson. “Yes, I'm Dr. Randall. I'm sorry for being so abrupt when I first answered the phone. I thought it was the infirmary nurse calling again."

"I've answered the phone the same way on several occasions at this time of the morning," said the male caller. "My name is Steve Patterson. I'm the ER physician at Ocala General Hospital."

"Is it about the inmate I sent to you a few hours ago? Was it a drug overdose?"

"No."

"A brain tumor?"

"No. His CT brain scan was normal, along with a normal drug screen," said Patterson. "I'm sorry to tell you but the inmate died."

John nearly dropped the phone. "What did he die from?"

"He froze to death. I've never seen anything like this in my thirty years as an ER doctor. After running all the tests on him, he started to shake. His temperature rapidly dropped followed by cardiac arrest. I tried everything to save his life, but nothing worked."

"I’m sure you did everything you could. Hopefully an autopsy will give us an answer to his death." John decided not to tell him about Inmate Armstrong’s similar death yesterday morning. "Thanks for calling me, Dr. Patterson."    

"I'm just sorry I didn't have good news to tell you." He hung up the phone.

John couldn't go back to sleep. He got up and put on a pot of coffee. After he had showered, shaved, and dressed, he went back to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

As he sat at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee, the telephone rang. The ominous ring almost caused him to lose his grip on the coffee cup. He glanced up at the wall clock: 5:15 A.M. John sprang from his chair and rushed toward the ringing phone on the wall.

He picked up the phone. "Dr. Randall."

"It's Nurse Simpson from the infirmary." She took a deep breath. "I have an inmate…"

Stevi B. for Manic Readers says:

"Frozen Death is a very intriguing mystery and it gets even more interesting as the answer appears to be found in Ancient Indian lore. If you love Indian lore, medically impossible puzzles, and mysteries that look impossible, you will like Frozen Death."

Buy at: http://www.roguephoenixpress.com/

Christine ~ Friday's Featured Title ~ Bones by K.J. Dahlen

FRIDAY'S FEATURED TITLE

Bones by K. J. Dahlen

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level:

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Buy at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bones-k-j-dahlen/1101743087?ean=2940012296061

BLURB:

When human bones are discovered in a cave just outside of town, it’s up to Sheriff Max Reardon to find out who the bones belonged to. But someone in town doesn’t want the bones identified and they go to great lengths to try and stop Max’s investigation. 
They break into Max’s house and try to destroy the evidence and when that doesn’t work, they frame Max for murder. Can Max clear his name and bring the murderer or murderers to justice?

EXCERPT:

Max squatted near the opening in the rocky outcrop and took off his sunglasses. He was hot and tired and had just about given up finding this place. He wasn’t eager to go inside since the inside of the opening was dark and uninviting. But Max knew he had to go in there. The small hole in the side of the cliff was barely big enough for a child to scramble into let alone a full size man, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. God, I hate small places, he thought as he crawled inside. The hole was small and cramped and Max had to bend over to get through. I really hate small places, he emphasized as he struggled to get through the cramped opening. The hole in the cliff had been harder to find than he expected. The directions given to him by two young boys hadn’t been all that clear.

The boys said the opening was straight up from the dam below and a little left of the big oak tree. What they failed to tell him was which big oak tree. The whole hill was littered with oak trees right up to the base of the cliff.

It had taken him the better part of an hour to find the opening. There had been a lot of hillside to search. The boys had told him they left an old t-shirt to mark the opening, but Max hadn’t found the t-shirt. Some small animal or the wind must have carried it away. He hoped he had the right entrance this time.

He’d found a couple of other openings in the rock face that had led him nowhere. This opening appeared to be the one the boys had described. According to the boys, this small cave led to a cavern with the treasure. Max hoped it led somewhere.

His hands and face were scratched up from pushing brambles and brush out of his way. The thought had also occurred to him that the seldom visited, rocky part of the side of a cliff just a little ways north of the town Max was sheriff of, might be just the spot to run into a snoozing wolf or worse yet a rattlesnake. He heard something scramble out of his way a couple of times, but he hadn’t heard the symbolic rattle of the snake so whatever remained hidden from his sight wasn’t a snake. He’d tried to make enough noise to ward off unexpected company and hoped he hadn’t sounded like a complete idiot in the process. If anyone had spotted him, they would have thought he was drunk in the middle of the morning and that would never do for a sheriff.

The flashlight he held in his hand did little to penetrate the utter darkness that surrounded him. The cave walls and floor were slimy with what Max didn’t even want to hazard a guess and it smelled even worse. It smelled like something crawled in this narrow opening and died. The boys who found the cave might think this little venture was "neat", but Max didn’t. He’d lost his sense of adventure for little games like this a long time ago. He couldn’t believe he was here now.

The boys had been in this cave a couple of days before and had found what they thought was an Indian burial place. They had been reluctant at first to tell anyone of their find but eventually told their dads. As a result, Richard Crabtree had brought his son, Timmy, to see him. Max could tell that Timmy hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about his secret place and Max hadn’t been all that interested in the boy’s tale. Most of it was just the imagination of a ten year old. It wasn’t until Timmy mentioned the skeletons that Max became interested.

Max knew enough about the local tribes in Wisconsin to know they didn’t bury their dead above ground in forgotten caves. The boys told him that they hadn’t seen or found any other Indian artifacts and Timmy was positive someone else had robbed the cave of all its treasure. As sheriff, Max felt bound to check out their story. If there were skeletons in there, he had to find out why.

All-in-all, this is an enjoyable mystery that kept my interest from beginning to end.

Laurie
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

Addicted To Writing ~ The Talisman ~ Christine Young

The Talisman is the fourth book in the Lakota/Pinkerton series. It's follows, Dakota's Bride, My Angel and The Locket.

Talisman features a female doctor in the late 1800's and a gun for hire.

This is a wonderful tale, full of action, emotion and a bit mystical at times. Enjoy this one.

Maura
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More  4 Cups

The Talisman by Christine Young

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level:

Buy at: www.roguephoenixpress.com

Buy at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Talisman-Christine-Young-ebook/dp/B002C1A1YU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385500555&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Talisman+by+Christine+Young

Blurb:

The Talisman

Running from a marriage that lasted one night, Dr. Moriah McKeown discovers the land she has settled on is coveted by determined and lawless men. Yet the proud young woman who once vowed never to abandon her home has second thoughts when her adopted children are threatened. Her only recourse is to enlist the aid of a dark, dangerous gun for hire.

Haunted by the past and a betrayal he will never forgive, Ian Civanovich uses his fast gun and his reckless courage to forget the faithlessness of a woman in his past. He will trust no female--nor will he rest until the threat hovering over Moriah McKeown is put to rest.

Buffalo Creek,

South Dakota

1895

Hot, dry air scorched the prairie grass. Sweat slid along his spine. Danger clung to every whisper; seemed to swirl and grow with each passing second. Ivan Civanovich watched the woman below. With deadly purpose, he studied the lady who had hired him--the woman who had bought his gun and perhaps death.

"Reckless courage," Ivan mused.

"Si Senor, she does have what you call a great courage, but I don’t know about the reckless part. She is always so very careful," Pedro said.

"I’m a dangerous man, Pedro."

"This is why she hired you."

"The lady has no business hiring men like me. She’s a woman. She is supposed to nurture lives."

"She needs you to keep the bad men from taking the land away--our home," Pedro said.

Ivan pushed the tip of his hat back from his brows. From his vantage point, he considered the woman while she hung the freshly laundered white sheets on the line. A strange shudder swept through him, his muscles tensing with the sudden feeling he knew this woman, had known her forever. The sensations were too strong, the feelings too acute, and it troubled him because knowing her was impossible.

Her hair, a wild mop of red curls, battled with the stiff, hot wind rising off the prairie. The breeze and her hair flowed in undulating currents between the lines, threatening to tangle themselves in the wire. She bent over at the waist, giving him a perfect view of her backside while she toyed with something on the ground. Seconds later she picked up the object of her curiosity, turned it over in her hands then tossed it aside.

He didn’t like to think about what could happen to her in the next few weeks. She’d advertised for a gun for a hire. She didn’t know what she bargained for, and he’d bet his inheritance she didn’t have any idea what kind of trouble she’d purchased.

When she looked up the hill, his grin widened. She couldn’t see him, but her shoulders tensed and she sucked air. Her hand touched her forehead, shielding her eyes from the blinding sunlight. She scanned the horizon, turning a complete circle before she stopped.

"Good," he said, "she is cautious."

"She knows someone is up here," Pedro announced.

"She’s got more starch in her drawers and the stiffest backbone of any woman I’ve ever seen." Ivan whistled through his teeth, his eyes intent and focused upon the woman.

"Si." Pedro agreed. "She sure enough does but her heart is made of spun gold."

Ivan wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. Beads of sweat dripped down his back. His gaze swept across the barren landscape then followed the line of trees that bordered the creek. He lifted the glasses to his eyes and turned his attention to a spot about a mile north of her ranch. The railroad wanted easement rights. So why wouldn’t she sell to them. "Spun gold, huh." He dropped the binoculars, letting them dangle from their strap around his neck.

"Si, boss."

"I see." Ivan leaned forward, resting his forearm on the saddle horn.

Ivan wasn’t sure he understood. Women had a lot of fine qualities, many of which he didn’t want to live without but a soft, feminine heart shouldn’t be deciding life and death matters.

Spun gold. No, he’d never met a female with a heart of gold, spun or otherwise. He’d never known a woman who wouldn’t betray a man for a piece of gold. Save one, he amended, and his best friend had married her. Alexi Popov had his trials too. He had kidnapped Angela and spirited her away to his home in the Crimea. In the end though, he gave up his title, his land, and most of his wealth for Angela. He followed her back to America and married her.

This is a wonderful tale, full of action, emotion and a bit mystical at times. Enjoy this one.

Maura
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More  4 Cups