Thursday, July 31, 2014

Book Review: Netherworld by K.N. Lee


BLURB

What would you do if a demon threatened your mother's life? If you're like Koa, you'd sharpen your enchanted sword and go after him...

Our world is threatened by the creatures of an alternate land called the Netherworld. Koa and the Netherworld division are there to keep the vampire population in check. Koa is a powerful half-blood vampire. Her best friend is her boss, she has a cursed mother, an enchanted sword, and an attractive human pet.

Koa also has a problem. A Netherworld serial killer, with a taste for little girls, threatens everything Koa has worked hard to protect. Not even Koa's boss, Halston can stop him. But he knows one prisoner that can. Too bad that prison is in the Netherworld.

Is Koa ready to journey to the Netherworld to release the one creature that can break her mother's curse and protect all that she holds dear?



3 STARS

My Review

Netherworld is a darkly intense story of a young woman with a huge chunk of her past missing. She simply cannot remember most of her teen years and she doesn't understand why. Her best friend, Halston, holds the key to the truth but is reluctant to reveal it because he knows it will put her life in danger. Until the day comes when the truth can no longer be hidden. What waits for Koa on the other side of the Netherworld Gate will shake the very foundation of all she believes.

I enjoyed this book very much. The characters are diverse and interesting, the battle scenes are exciting, and the story has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Koa is a headstrong young woman whose reckless behavior sometimes get her into trouble. She's a fighter, but not invincible. Halston is a fallen angel trying to redeem himself so he can return to the Kingdom of Heaven. He's also a man with a dark side and a lot of secrets, not all of them his own. Together, they must stop Greggan, a king vampire, from unleashing hell on earth.

Secrets are a big part of the story and though some were revealed by the ending, enough was left out to leave me eager for the next book in the series. Can Koa and Halston defeat Greggan? Will Koa's mother ever be returned to her true form? How will Koa choose between two men who each hold pieces of her heart? I guess I'll just have to read on to find out.

Amazon

Book Promo: The Star Catcher by Molly Dean


BLURB

When fifteen year-old Hawke feels fed up with not being able to walk, he escapes in his mind to a misty island filled with moorlands, ancient forests, and monolithic stones: a place where he can move and run and accomplish heroic quests.

His life is turned upside down, though, when he's thrust into this dream world and finds it real! He becomes 'Star Catcher.' The job? Track and collect shooting stars or meteors sent from a more advanced civilization, which have powers that protect the island from approaching evil. He finds many helpers along the way: a serving girl who can communicate with animals and create light, an alluring mermaid, a savvy one-eyed crow, and an old farmer with a secret.

Hawke must also discover what's going on inside the imposing mansion called Moon House. Why do rooms change? Why do objects mysteriously shift? Who lives inside the old forest behind the place and why is the Star Catcher forbidden to enter it? And most importantly, who are Hawke and his stars really battling against? An evil genius? A pirate-like group called the Shrikers who have taken over the island? An Ancient Magic? Or, maybe an aspect of himself?

Amazon

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Book Promo: Alexander Drake's Extraordinary Pursuit by Elizabeth Parkinson-Bellows


BLURB

Alexander Drake is a curious young man. He lives in a drab, oversized mansion with his secretive father and spends his days playing alone. Where is his mother? And why is his father so tight-lipped about the past?

But secrets have a way of getting out. And a stay at his grandmother's cottage provides strange clues to his father's past. A past Alexander is determined to find out about.

With a mysterious key and several maps in his pack, he sets off on an innocent search for answers about his family.

The discovery of a secret passageway opens the door to dangers, and wonders, unimaginable. And each answer leads to more questions and the journey of his life.

Join Alexander for a thrilling adventure in Azra's Pith, a place of beauty and magic... but beware--something evil lurks in the shadows.

Amazon

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Feature: AnnaMaria Bazzi author of Incantation Paradox





BLURB

Magic is an illusion. It doesn’t really exist. Or does it?

A horrible car accident destroys Dolores Reynard’s life. But instead of waking up in a hospital bed, she awakens in a teenager’s body. Soon, she discovers she is at the heart of the murderous mystery surrounding the death of Mona, the young girl whose body she occupies. Caught between an evil greater than she ever imagined and a wizard who heals her tattered heart, she is forced to play a dangerous game of intrigue in the hopes of finding a way to return to her previous life.

Will magic be her ally, or will it lead to her demise once and for all.





INTERVIEW
What inspired you to write this book?
A quirky morning, I got out of bed from the wrong side and wanted to know what it would feel like to be in a young body.

How did you choose your title?
The original title of the book was Trapped in a Nightmare but when I googled it I found that someone had already published a book with the name. I wanted my book to have a unique title, but because I loved the original, it was hard for me to come up with something new. I asked some of my friends, and Michael came up with Incantation Paradox.

Tell us about the cover and how it came to be.
 I had a vision of what Mona, the young body Dolores ends up occupying, looked like and I wanted to capture her pretty face

Did you self-publish or publish traditionally and why? 
I am a self-published author because for two reasons: 1. I like having control of all aspects of creating a book, including the cover art. 2. The big six publishing companies don’t really take chances on new authors and have made it quite difficult. I could have tried a small press, but then I wouldn't have total control over my books.

What do you consider the most important part of a good story?
The most important part of a good story is a well-developed climax and resolution of the major conflict.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Definitely a pantser. I do not use outlines or rough sketches. Sometimes a character will present herself to me and beg for her story to be told. Other times, an idea takes shape in my head and once the beginning of this tale is clear, I sketch out the ending, the point I want to reach at the end of the story. That ending is never written in stone because many times twists and turns I never expected to happen occur.

What part of the writing process is the hardest for you?
Editing. I really don’t like editing. I’d rather be creating and writing.

What tips can you give on how to get through writers block?
Does writers block really exist? Or is it something we create when we don’t feel like writing? I don’t think I've ever experienced writer’s block. I usually work on multiple projects at a time. Therefore, if I don’t feel inspired to work on one, I turn to another, but I make sure I write every day. Some days I spend much of my time editing, but I make sure I even write one paragraph.

What kind of music do you like to listen to while you write?
Unfortunately, I don’t really listen to music while I write.

Who is your favorite author?
I don’t have just one author that I enjoy. I have a few. I absolutely love Emily Bronte. I enjoy reading Frank Herbert, Orson Scott Card, Carl Sagan, and Terry Goodkind.

Who is your favorite character from a book?
I have more than one favorite character. The oldest of my favorites is Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, Richard Rahl from the Sword of Truth Series, Lady Jessica from the Dune Series, Eugenides from The Queen’s Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, Ender Wiggin from Ender’s Game. I know I've forgotten to mention a few but this should give you an idea.

What is your favorite book?
May all time favorite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. She creates a most magnificent villain in Heathcliff.

Read anything good lately?
Lately I've dedicated my reading time to review Indie books. Some of these books are: Taming Romeo by Rachelle Ayalla, Bound by Time by A.D. Trosper, Less than Humble Beginnings by Chelsea Falin, just to name a few.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Several things I enjoy doing when not writing. If I want to spend a quiet evening with hubby and a movie, I’ll take out my crochet. I enjoy long walks through my neighborhood or at Deep Run Park, a state park that is less than a mile from my home. Other times I might sketch or paint.

Have you had anything else published?
Besides Incantation Paradox I've published several short stories, A Simple Matter of Justice and Revelation of Abaddon, two paranormal fantasies. The other three short stories I published were an experiment gone sour. I began to publish the novel White Swans as a short story series thinking that busy teens would prefer the shorts. After three of these shorts, I gave up and am in the process of editing the complete novel and hope to publish it before the holidays.

What's your next project?
The next project I’m working on is the complete novel of White Swans A Regency World. So far I've been publishing the novel as a short story series, but have decided to complete the first book of the novel and publish as a whole. I've also started on book two of the series.





About the Author

Although born in the United States, Annamaria Bazzi spent a great deal of her childhood in Sicily, Italy, in a town called Sciacca. Italian was the language spoken at home. Therefore, she had no problems when she found herself growing up in a strange country. Upon returning to the states, she promised herself she would speak without an accent. She attended Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Computers with a minor in Spanish.
Annamaria spent twenty years programming systems for large corporations, creating innovative solution, and addressing customer problems. During those years, she raised four daughters and one husband. Annamaria lives in Richmond Virginia with her small family where she now dedicates a good part of her day writing.




Giveaway


2 Digital Copies of Incantation Paradox is up for grabs.




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3 New Releases: Heather Hildenbrand, Aimee L. Salter, Tracey Banghart

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Synopsis


When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self. Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived the heartbreak, and heard every ugly word her classmates threw at her. But her older self is also keeping a dark secret: Something terrible is about to happen to Ashley. Something that will change her life forever. Something even her older self is powerless to stop.

Amazon Final

 

Everyone is exactly like me. There is no one like me. Ven wrestles with these contradicting truths every day. A clone of wealthy eighteen-year-old Raven Rogen, Ven knows everything about the girl she was created to serve: the clothes she wears, the boys she loves, the friends she loves to hate. Yet she’s never met the Authentic Raven face-to-face. Imitations like Ven only get to leave the lab when they’re needed—to replace a dead Authentic, donate an organ, or complete a specific mission. And Raven has never needed Ven . . . until now. When there is an attack on Raven’s life, Ven is thrust into the real world, posing as Raven to draw-out the people who tried to harm her. But as Ven dives deeper into Raven’s world, she begins to question everything she was ever told. She exists for Raven, but is she prepared to sacrifice herself for a girl she’s never met?

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The Dominion of Atalanta is at war. But for eighteen-year-old Aris, the fighting is nothing more than a distant nightmare, something she watches on news vids from the safety of her idyllic seaside town. Then her boyfriend, Calix, is drafted into the Military, and the nightmare becomes a dangerous reality.
Left behind, Aris has nothing to fill her days. Even flying her wingjet—the thing she loves most, aside from Calix—feels meaningless without him by her side. So when she’s recruited to be a pilot for an elite search-and-rescue unit, she leaps at the chance, hoping she’ll be stationed near Calix. But there’s a catch: She must disguise herself as a man named Aristos. There are no women in the Atalantan Military, and there never will be. Aris gives up everything to find Calix: her home. Her family. Even her identity. But as the war rages on, Aris discovers she’s fighting for much more than her relationship. With each injured person she rescues and each violent battle she survives, Aris is becoming a true soldier—and the best flyer in the Atalantan Military. She’s determined to save her Dominion . . . or die trying.

Amazon Final


Aimee L. Salter writes novels for teens and the occasional adult who, like herself, is still in touch with their inner-high schooler. She never stopped appreciating those moments in the dark when you say what you're really thinking. And she'll always ask you about the things you wish she wouldn't ask you about. Aimee blogs for both writers and readers at www.aimeelsalter.com. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.


 
Heather

Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. Since 2011, she's published more than eight YA & NA novels including the bestselling Dirty Blood series. She splits her time between coastal Virginia and the island of Guam and loves having a mobile career and outrageous lifestyle of living in two places. Heather is also a publishing and success coach bent on equipping and educating artists who call themselves authors. She loves teaching fellow writers how to create the same freedom-based lifestyle she enjoys. For more information visit www.phoenixauthorink.com and find out how to create your own OutRAGEous Life. You can find out more about her and her books at www.heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com


 
Tracy

Tracy Banghart is a cheesy movie-loving, fantasy football-playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began "practicing" her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family's cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake.

 
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Monday, July 28, 2014

Book Review: Dangerous Choices by Morgan Kelley






(The Harcourte Society Book 2)

BLURB


Centuries pass and yet one thing remains the same, we are predators and they are the hunted. What happens when the lines become blurred and the killers are now the only creatures who stand between humans and death?

Jolie Harcourte has taken on the responsibility of protecting those that would stake her in her sleep, since she is one of the most powerful undead remaining.
Along with her mates, she has decided to stand up for humans instead of seeing them solely as food.
After being chased from Philadelphia, by a rogue vampyre, she has now moved her family to New Orleans in hopes of just surviving what is coming for them.
With Jacques protecting her, and her newly acquired human mate working for the police, they once again have found themselves between the human world and that of the undead.
More bodies are turning up in the streets and fingers are pointing right at them.
Now, it's a matter of time before suspicion lands at their doorsteps and they once again are hunted and chased. One thing remains the same, someone has to die, but will it be them or the killers?

May the Dangerous Choices begin… 

3 STARS

My Review

Shortly after moving to New Orleans, police detective Flynn Brody finds himself on the case of a rash of bizarre and unexplainable murders involving children. Kidnapped from behind locked doors, the children are found dead in various locations throughout the city. But the cause is a mystery. No visible signs of violence can be found. The children appear to have died of natural causes, despite the odd locations in which they are found.

Jolie and Jacques suspect soul stealing vampires, not a suspicion Flynn can take to his superiors. This leaves the trio with no choice but to once again ferret out the killers on their own. But someone from Philadelphia is hunting them, looking for revenge. And with every choice they make, one of them steps closer to the death which waits in the shadows.

As in the first book, I didn't find the main plot all that interesting. The missing children really don't get much attention, as they are just a means of propelling the characters into yet another hunt. I was much more interested in Genevieve's quest for revenge and in the situation going on in Delina's household.

The characters continue to be what holds the story together for me. I have to admit that some things in the relationship between Jolie, Jacques, and Flynn bothered me, but that's only a matter of personal taste and I don't want to get into and maybe give away a spoiler.

Jolie is even more awesome in this book. Her powers are growing in unexpected ways and I would like to see how she deals with that in future books. She is such a complicated character, someone who is capable of both great compassion and great cruelty. I enjoy complex characters such as she is.

I also like the way the character of Chloe was fleshed out and given a story all her own. A story which will certainly surprise and intrigue you.  

The only character I have a problem with is Mamba. She was completely superfluous in and of herself, useful only as a means to facilitate a few crucial points in the story.

All in all, I enjoyed this story and would certainly read the next installment in the series.

Amazon






EXCERPT


Turning his head to scan the darkness which surrounded him, he sought out the woman who was hunting him.

Her vile scent was unmistakable.

The air around him was fragranced with the smell of gardenias. Oh, how he hated that nauseating stench. It turned his stomach, making him want to wretch. The perfume was so heavy in the air that it reminded him of a funeral.

Everything about it was overpowering, but that was exactly what she wanted. There was no doubt in his mind that she longed to greedily drink in his fear.

All of this was quite obvious.

For this to work for her, the prey needed to be well aware that he was going to be her victim. The vicious bitch was tracking him to his demise. It was her pleasure to play with his mind and, if she caught him, his body.

She was sick, vicious, and out for blood. Unfortunately for her, he couldn’t let her win.

Not now.

Not ever.

He had a family to consider, and his duty was with the woman who owned his soul. If the predator were to catch him, it would be a dagger to his love’s heart.

Their family would crumble, and they would be broken.

That’s why Flynn Brogan had to keep going.

With each step through the fog, he searched for the one way to escape her. As long as he kept trying, ultimately, his death wouldn’t be in vain. The doom enveloped him as he fought valiantly for hope and love.

As if by magic, her name was gone from his mind.

It was like someone was taking away all his memories of her.

No, it wasn’t just her. It was all of them.

The harder he tried to whisper her name, the more difficult it became. It wouldn’t roll from his tongue, but instead burrowed deeper into his mind.

There was no choice.

He had to fight.

Deep down, he knew that if he gave up, it would all be over for him. His heart was telling him to fight on, while his brain told him to quit.

It was hopeless.

Why couldn’t he remember her name or face?

Now, everything about her was slipping away too.

Before this moment, surely it had been burned into his soul for all time, and now…

It was missing.

“Come on,” he muttered, as he fought hard to recall her name. It was right there on the tip of his tongue, waiting for his mouth and brain to work together.

If he could just say it, everything would be okay. Flynn was sure of it. All it would take is calling for her, and this would all go away.

She would save him.

The last piece of her beautiful face slipped from his mind, taken so he couldn’t hold onto any hope. It wavered, and then faded from his thoughts.

Shit!

It was getting harder and harder to think straight.

“Run, Detective!” came her hideously sweet voice. “Run for your pathetic life.”

Laughter.

Her words were like nails on a chalkboard, and he refused to look back. For now, he needed to keep going forward.

There was no way he’d give her the satisfaction of a victory.

As far as he was concerned, he had to get to her, no matter what obstacles stood in the way. His heart demanded it. If he trusted in that alone, he’d be okay.

It was all Flynn had to cling to.

“Damn it! Think!” he muttered to himself, as he kept trudging through knee-deep sludge. It swirled around him in a pungent, bubbling brew, threatening to pull him under. He couldn’t let that happen. Locked in this nightmare, he feared what lived above the water, let alone what was waiting beneath.

“What’s wrong, Detective? Are you feeling a little lost?” she asked, laughing maniacally. 

With each word, there were cold, icy fingers brushing down his spine, wrapping around him. It choked him as tears filled his eyes. Flynn was being bombarded with so much hate, anger, and fear, that it was making each step painful.

Already, his will was weakening.

He didn't have much left.

Soon, he would be forced to wish for death.

Brogan tripped, falling face first into the sludge. It pulled him under as he fought to resurface for air. Something intimately brushed his body beneath the murky mire, and he tensed. So much fear was now gripping him as tentative fingers touched his left leg, and then his hip.

Breaking the surface, he fought to get away. As he opened his eyes and cleared the sludge from his face, a strangled sound escaped his throat. Flynn was almost too afraid to look at what was surfacing around him, but he could hear the water churning.

It was coming for him.

He knew it.

As he looked down, his worst fears materialized in sludge around him.

Floating in the water were corpses.

There were so many tiny broken bodies of children with no life left in them.

He wanted to weep.

Flynn needed to scream.

No, he longed to beg.

But instead, he fought on, refusing to succumb to her madness.

“Christ,” he hissed, trying not to touch them as they floated by with their dead eyes watching him. Flynn silently began pleading for help. In his heart, he knew she wouldn’t let him die like this.

Would she?

Shit!

What was her name?

“What’s wrong, Detective? Does death bother you?” she asked, mocking him wickedly. He was her prey, and soon she would even the score.

It would be his life for the one she lost.

It only seemed fair.

Brogan scrambled away from the floating corpses to head to the bank of land which appeared at his left. He knew he had to get out of the water or he would lose his mind.

That was her intent, and he couldn’t let her win.

He wasn’t done yet.

There was still hope.
            The broken bodies began calling from the water, “Help us, Detective! Save us!” They reached for him, brushing his stomach and hips as he struggled to escape their watery grave. He shook off one clinging child, finally stumbling out of the water. On the ground, Flynn crawled like a crab to escape their tiny fingers, as the little voices pleaded for his help.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he mumbled over and over again, watching them float away in the murky water. Flynn knew that he was helpless to stop or help them. For now, his survival had to come first.

He needed to live.

For the first time in his career, he chose to be selfish. There was no way he was going back into the water for the dead. It wasn’t happening.

Laughter filled the air, ripping down his flesh like sharp thorns in bramble.

“You’ll be sorry, Detective.”

The voice slithered around him, making his heart jump in his chest. The sick laughter choked the air from his lungs, squeezing the breath from his body.

He was dying.

Scrambling to his feet, Flynn needed to put space between him and the watery grave. As he glanced up the muddy hill, he saw the trees and had hope.

He’d take a foot race through the woods any day.

Despite the odds, there was no other choice. Hope was waning as the predator’s laughter filled his ears and head.

Who would save him?

She would.

He was sure of it.

Now, if he could only call out her name. It would act as a talisman out of this hell. Closing his eyes, Flynn tried to picture her beautiful face to use it as a beacon home.

“Shit.”

He stumbled over something again, as the last of his energy was depleted, draining from his body. He was so tired and didn’t think he could take another step. Brogan didn’t want to wade through death anymore. He just wanted to find her. In his heart, he knew that she would offer him comfort and peace.

He knew it.

“Please save me,” he whispered with so much pain and emotion in his voice.

“She can’t get to you, Detective. You’re mine now.”

 Flynn heard the footsteps coming toward him, but his body was too heavy to care. He looked down toward his feet and saw the bodies of the children. The corpses were dragging themselves from the river and across the mud. They were closing the distance with their dead eyes focused on him.

Flynn knew the truth.

Ultimately, he would die by their hands.

“No!” he screamed hoarsely, as he tried to move out of their reach. His head pounded as more sick laughter inundated him, wave after wave.

“Please help me!” he called to her.

Only he knew the truth.

She couldn’t hear him.

Shaking his head, he tried to break the invisible bonds holding him against his will. Then, he saw the evil bitch materialize in front of him. All the energy shifted around him at her approach.

“We meet again, Detective. You should have let me kill her, and then you could have saved yourself. She isn't worth it, and now you’ll pay.”

Over his dead body would he let that happen. Despite this bitch’s words, he knew the truth. Flynn Brogan would die to keep his woman safe and out of this evil vampyre’s reach.

She stepped toward him, kicking the crawling dead children out of her way as if they were nothing. The sickening crunch of bone and brittle limbs filled the air, as they fell like broken dolls. Yet, still more of the lost kept crawling from the stagnant water toward him, refusing to give up their mission.

Flynn knew he was screwed.

 “Who do you want to kill?” he begged, praying for a clue. He knew she would save him if he could just remember her name.

Think damn it and remember!

 “I need your mistress to pay. She killed my only precious child, and I need to make her suffer. By stealing away what she loves, I can have my revenge. What choice do I have?”

“You have a choice,” Flynn hissed, as he watched her take a dagger from her sleeve. The woman and her army of dead children crept toward him. Their little fleshless hands began pulling at his clothes, as their skinless lips smacked in hunger at the possible meal.

 “No, God! No!” he whispered hoarsely. It couldn’t end like this. Surely, this wasn’t destined to be his final moments. Brogan closed his eyes and used every ounce of his energy to focus on his woman. He sent out a silent plea to her, taking one last chance that she would hear him.

He couldn’t remember her name, but Flynn knew she existed. It would have to be enough.

 “She won’t come for you. She can’t save you, Detective.”

  The children were digging their nails into his body and pain tore through him. The little claws of bone were ripping holes in his arms and legs to find leverage on their climb up his frame.

They were trying to get to his throat.

When he stared at the closest one, he saw that the human teeth were gone, and sharp, pointy fangs had emerged.

They were going to drink him dry.

Brogan was about to give in to it all, letting the horrors win. He was too weak to carry on.

He was lost.

There was no choice but to let it all go.

Just as he whispered goodbye to the nameless woman he loved, there was warmth. It covered him, wrapping around his body in a gentle cocoon. Then, there was her beautiful French tinged voice, and it was the sweetest sound to his ears. She was calling for him from the darkness to be his salvation.

“Please help me,” he begged in response to the warmth.

“Flynn, come to me,” she called, love flooding from her voice to offer him peace.

He opened his eyes and stared down at the dead who were digging into his body. Just her essence was forcing them to scatter and scamper away. Flynn knew that this wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

He could trust her.

She was the one.

This woman was his love.

Glancing up at the hideous killer, he watched as she loomed over him. Her face contorted into an ugly mask of hate. In her cold black eyes, he saw anger and destruction. It was then that her intent was clear. Flynn watched as she lifted the dagger to end his life, and fear flooded back into his body.

“Flynn, come to us,” the voice said, offering peace and the only way out of the nightmare.

“Jolie?”

The name slid into his mind and out between clenched teeth. He heard the woman in front of him scream at the realization that the prey was no longer hers. The dagger started its descent downward in a sickening arch, aimed right at his heart.

“Wake, Flynn. NOW!” she called urgently.

He felt himself being jerked back to consciousness, just as the cold metal of the dagger began piercing his flesh. He fought to sit upright, but his arms were pinned to his sides by some force stronger than him. He opened his eyes fully expecting to look into the face of death, but it was peace which stared back at him.

“Jolie?” he asked again, his voice cracking. Here stood the darkest angel he had ever seen, and she was straddling his body.

He didn't wait.

Sitting upright, Flynn went into her arms and against her body, like a scared child who needed comforting.

 “Flynn, you had us terrified,” she whispered into his ear, as she lovingly stroked his strong back and silky black hair. He was clutched to her chest, holding on for dear life. Jolie left kisses across his flesh in an effort to reassure him that he was indeed safe.

Her heart pounded against his. 

 “Oh God! That was horrible!” He shook uncontrollably against her as Jolie’s hands soothed away all his fears. Flynn stared at the second vampyre sitting beside them as he ran his hand gently over Flynn’s leg in comfort.

“It’s okay, my friend. You’re safe,” promised Jacques, his serene, green eyes offering sympathy.

“We’re here, Flynn. You’re safe now.”

Brogan lay back, still clutching on to her tightly. As he came to rest against the pillows on their shared bed, Jolie curled protectively around him. 

“I have you, Flynn. I won’t leave you,” Jolie offered.

Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the scent of her expensive French bath oils. Instantly, the fragrance began erasing the horrible memories that were replaying in his head. As he buried his face in her throat, she placed as much of her body against him as possible. His Jolie was acting like a warm, protective blanket.

“What happened, Flynn?” she asked.

“She was in my dreams,” he finally said, when the calming ministration began to relax him.

“Who is ‘she’, Flynn? We heard you call for us, and it took us a while to get to you. What happened? What was scaring you so much and keeping you from us?” Jolie inquired.

He relaxed as they both moved to protectively frame his body, building a buffer from anything that wanted to hurt him. The closeness gave him peace.

This was his family.

Flynn had survived, and now he could tell them what he’d learned. Someone had to give them the bad news, and it needed to be him.

“She’s back for you-for us.”

“She?” repeated Jacques, already sure he knew the answer to his own question.

“Genevieve,” he whispered, as if saying her name was forbidden and would conjure the monster into their room.

Silence shrouded them.

Jolie had no doubt that this day would come.

It had only been a matter of time.

Now, it would begin.

Jacques began planning his strategy of keeping his family safe. It appeared that the wicked vampyre was going to hit them fast and hard, but Flynn’s nightmare could be to their advantage.

They had a warning.

“She’s found us through your dreams, and now we’re the hunted,” stated Jolie sadly, knowing what was coming.

Brogan didn't say a word. After what he experienced, he knew that the woman wasn’t just coming for them.

She was wielding the hammer of twisted justice.

Genevieve had one thing in mind.


Their deaths.





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Book Review: Dangerous Revelations by Morgan Kelley








(The Harcourte Society Book 1)

BLURB

Mistress Jolie Harcourte has lived a very long time.
She’s seen things come and go in her eight centuries, but one thing always surprises her- how humans and her kind can’t be left to their own devices.
When someone is killing humans and leaving their bodies scattered all over the town, there’s only one thing to do.
~The right thing.
She has to help.
As an expert in deviant behavior, Jolie has volunteered to help the police solve this mess. Or, in this case, lead them astray while she ‘handles’ the situation. With her guardian by her side, she must navigate the slippery slope that is a fine line between the truth and what goes bump in the night.
Everything seems in control until that fateful moment when she sees him.
Detective Flynn Brogan.
He’s trouble for women, and vampyres alike, but even more dangerous to the Harcourte society.
Why? Because he’s about to find out the truth.
Now, it all comes down to trusting this man, chancing his betrayal, and catching the vampyre who’s risking them all.
One the truth is out, it can’t be bottled back up.
Dangerous Revelations are coming…

Now it’s a matter of who will survive.  


3 STARS

My Review

Someone is killing women and draining them of their blood. The police are baffled. So they bring in Jolie Harcourte, a psychologist with a specialty in deviant behavior. Unbeknownst to the police, the good doctor is also an eight hundred year old vampire.

Detective Flynn Brogan is not happy with the idea of having an outsider moving in on his cause, until he sets eyes on the beautiful Dr. Harcourte. She's not at all what he expected and there's no denying the instant attraction between the two of them.

As they set out in search of the killers, Flynn finds himself drawn into a world he never dreamed existed. Can they stop the killings before Jolie's kind are outed, or will these Dangerous Revelations be the end of them both?

I wavered between a two and three star rating for this book. My main problem is all the sex scenes. I don't like to read sex scenes, they bore me. I would have rather seen more scenes like the one in which Jolie gets really angry and objects start flying around like there's a tornado in the room. That was cool. Also, I couldn't seem to get very interested in the story of the hunt for the killers, because it seemed like more of a side plot rather than the main focus of the story, which is mostly concerned with the three main characters.

It was the characters themselves who pushed the book into a three star rating. At first, Jaques annoyed me. He was so hopelessly clueless that Jolie had to literally spell out her feelings before he could get it through his thick skull. I swear I wanted to reach into the book and slap him upside the head. However, the further the story progressed past the two of them finally getting together, the better I liked him. He's solid and so adorably in love. He stood by Jolie's side as her friend and protector for five centuries, never daring to even hope she might reciprocate his feelings. Now that's love.

Flynn is funny and sharp. He deals remarkably well with an insane situation and proves himself time and again as a good and true friend.

Jolie was my favorite character. She's sexy and smart and not afraid to do what needs to be done. She won't hesitate to kill, but she's not heartless or cruel. She's basically a good person whose position in life sometimes forces her to do bad things. She's also fiercely protective of those she cares for and woe on anyone who dares harm her 'family'.

Some of the side characters are interesting in their own right, though others were rather flat and lacking in personality.

Dangerous Revelations got off to a really slow start for me. I was well into the book before I started feeling any spark of interest. Still, all-in-all, this is a decent read and well worth getting invested in for the characters alone. I'd be interested to continue the series so I can find out what kind of trouble they get themselves into next.

Amazon


EXCERPT


1800’s      


Paris, France


Harcourte Manor



“Mistress, there has been another slaying in the city,” the deep, rich voice whispered into the darkness of the room, waiting for her to offer instructions.

“Is it the same as the others, Jacques?” softly came the reply.

There was a rustling of silk gossamer, but still the mademoiselle remained in the darkened shadows of her sleeping quarters, hidden from even his eyes.

“Yes, my Mistress. The local authorities are in the process of questioning anyone, who may have seen or heard anything on the night that the killing occurred.”

Again, there was a pause and almost a moment of trepidation on her behalf.

“Jacques, please! I must know. Are all of our people accounted for on that evening?” she asked. “I don’t wish to have to come up with another alibi for our society. It’s getting increasingly difficult to not look like we have something to do with these murders.”

“Mistress Jolie, we have all been accounted for on the nights of the slayings. The authorities can’t drop this one into our laps. Surely, we will come across as being free of guilt.”

There was the soft tinkle of laughter. It spoke deeply of what neither of them were saying, but instead thinking.

Both knew that guilt didn't matter.

Not this time, and not ever.

It wouldn’t be the police who hunted them down like animals in the streets.

She continued, “Was all the blood taken from this victim too, Jacques?”

“Yes, my Mistress. There was none found near the victim, and it does appear that it was one of our kind who did it. Someone is feeding from the humans and leaving them for dead.”

That was the worst news they could give her. If one of their species was making a meal of the humans, it was going to come back to haunt them.

It always did.

Jolie had lived a long time and seen many atrocities. There had been some to her people, and some to the humans. Either way, she had learned to never discount fate and what could, or would, happen.

They were all pawns in the game.

“This doesn’t make me happy, Jacques, not at all. We’re hunted to begin with. We don’t need to have a rogue vampyre drawing attention to us.” She paused, choosing her words cautiously before speaking them. The vampyre before her would do anything she asked, and as of late, it was imperative to keep her family safe, him included. “I need to know who it is Jacques, and I need it handled immediately, if you understand what I mean,” stated Jolie.

She had made her decision, hoping their carefully constructed façade would remain intact. If that crumbled, they would have to escape for their lives.

“Ask and it shall be yours, Mistress. You know I’ll handle anything that you require done.”

He spoke the vow which he had whispered so many times and centuries before. “I’m ready to serve you.”

Jolie pondered the ramifications, and she prayed that ultimately, they wouldn’t be the ones who suffered in the end.

It was now or never. 

Making the decision, she set fate in motion. The man before her would undoubtedly handle it. “We must act now, before we are found out and eradicated by the hunters.”

 Jacques knew what was required of him.

“Yes, my Mistress,” he replied, watching as she came into the candle light. Momentarily, he was astounded by her ethereal beauty. It always caught him off guard and made his dead heart quicken. “If it is your wish, it shall be done.”

“See to it, Jacques. I wish for the person doing this to be brought to me. I don’t care what society he or she belongs to. I’m enacting my rights to put a stop to this. We must handle this personally, before the authorities start knocking on our door. I’ve not lived six centuries to have my life ended now, and so haphazardly.”

He understood and was willing to handle it, as he always did. After all, it was his job, his responsibility, and his duty.

Jacques knew his role, and it was to be her personal weapon.

“I shall work on it, Mistress.”

There was no doubt in her mind that he would make sure it was done right. If there was anyone who she could trust, it was the man before her. Jacques wouldn’t let her down.

For now, he was their only hope.

Mademoiselle Harcourt turned to her fireplace. Silence befell the room as she watched the flames burn and the wood spark bright colored embers. Her heart ached for a simpler time, where they would be safe.

It was all that she wanted for her people.

Yet, it was getting harder and harder to find it. As technology grew and time passed, their moments were counted like the ticks of a clock.

Jacques watched her with compassion. Desperately, he wanted to go to her and offer her some sort of reassurance that she was making the right decision.

He knew how heavily this was weighing on her heart, and now it weighed on his too.

“I’ll be fine,” she replied, catching the thoughts that flickered though his mind and into hers. Jolie appreciated how willing he was to offer her some peace.

It simply was his way.

But alas, she was the primus of the city, and it was her job to make sure the humans could co-inhabit with her kind. These atrocities must be stopped before their existences were further threatened. They didn’t need the hunters on their doorsteps.

That meant certain death.

If anything, Jolie Harcourte was a survivor, and she wouldn’t let someone else be her downfall.

It simply wasn’t happening.

“Jacques, call the society together. I don’t want anyone in our inner circle to not see what’s coming. I fear that we can’t wait any longer,” she said, moving toward the man standing in her room.

“Yes, Mistress. Right away.”

“Then, you may go to work and handle it.”

His eyes dilated, and he stared at her emotionlessly. The killer in him was begging to surface. The uncontrollable beast, just below the surface, was willing to comply to her every request. “As you wish, my Mistress.”

Jolie watched her trusted companion close the door. It was her greatest fear that her reign in Paris was coming to an end. She sighed, stepping back into the darkness to begin her evening energy ritual to prepare for what seemed to be the inevitable.  


There was a war coming.

And she was helpless to stop it.










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