Showing posts with label danger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label danger. Show all posts

June 6, 2014

Snog by the Sea

                                                  
                      Hi everyone — This is a big prize week here on the Blog.

                                                      A Kiss

"Come, we should leave at once," she said and glanced nervously over her shoulder. "Something terrible happened after you left for town. I think the Abbess found out about us. Our meeting in Uncle Ryan's cabin is no longer a secret. We have been overheard. For all I know someone spies on us even as we speak. I think the Abbess, or one of her 'friends,' is hovering somewhere nearby and listening to every word."

Andrew pulled Genevieve to his chest. "Do you regret you've come with me?"

Passion smothered Genevieve's doubt and guilt. "Never," she answered, aware of her body's response to his touch, and she succumbed to his embrace.

Calming the gnawing unease in her mind and the thought of Sister Dominica guessing she was the dough of a sinner, Genevieve repeated, "Never."

With her eyes closed and their bodies touching she became, for the very first time, simply a woman. She melted in his embrace in spite of the invisible vicious threat breathing around them. Aware they might never be alone again, she fought hard to silence the voice of conscience berating her.

"Oh, God. Please forgive me," Andrew muttered under his breath when he bowed his head to kiss her. 
Their lips met in a passionate first kiss.

 (Excerpt from my paranormal romance Shadows of the Past)

 Buy links
Wildchildpublishing
Amazon
Barnesandnoble
Allromanceebooks

 
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May 22, 2014

Reviews (XXVII)



4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat dark and well worth a read, March 7, 2014
By
Robert Clark
This review is from: Shadows of the Past (Kindle Edition)
Shadows of the Past, by Carmen Stefanescu, is, in effect, two novels intertwined into one. One, set several hundred years ago, revolves around Genevieve and, to a lesser extent, around Andrew. The other, set in the present, has Anne as the main protagonist with Neil as the secondary main character. While Shadows of the Past has to be considered a paranormal romance, the romance element is simply one part of a complex story.

The paranormal aspects of the book start out as hints and suppositions. Even well into the novel the reader has to wonder if the supernatural elements are really there, or are the products of the characters’ minds. Was the venomous snake crawling up to Neil a sending from some evil power or was it just a snake in the wrong place at the wrong time? Are the spectral figures Anne sees real or products of her imagination? Is there an actual linkage between Anne and Genevieve? Only toward the end does Stefanescu leave no doubt that the paranormal is operating as a major factor in her novel.

The constant movement within the two basic time frames, and some back and forth jumps within each, can prove a bit disconcerting at first. However, unlike some novels, in Shadows of the Past the two story lines are always clearly delineated and can’t be confused with each other. As the novel progresses smoothly this ceases to be a problem as Stefanescu draws the reader into the plot.

For those who like their paranormal romances light and fluffy with happy endings, Shadows of the Past probably isn’t a good choice. While most novels in this genre put the protagonists in danger or at least in crisis time after time, they almost always finish with a happy ever after ending. Stefanescu’s work is darker. The threats and problems are as much psychological as physical, and, as in real life, not every problem is easily solved and not every ending is happy.

This does not mean Shadows of the Past is a downer. In the critical story line the good guys win, it’s just that their victory doesn’t mean their lives will always be perfect. I found the concession to realism in the fantasy refreshing.

No novel is perfect, although the imperfections are often less in the novel itself than in the mindset of the reader. There are sections of Shadows of the Past that I found a bit repetitive. However, in all those cases, I could see where Stefanescu would have considered the retelling of specific events critical to make sure the reader understood what was happening.

There was one minor scientific glitch where DNA, instead of something like carbon dating, was used to determine the age of some bones. In the over-all context of the book, the error was irrelevant.

Apparently Shadows of the Past is intended as one book in a series, or at least a book with a sequel, because one rather ominous passage at the end certainly sets the stage for another book.

Carmen Stefanescu’s Shadows of the Past is a little different from the typical paranormal romance, which is a good thing, and is an enjoyable read.

Buy link: Amazon 
wildchildpublishing
All Romance ebooks 

January 13, 2014

Book Reviews (XXI)

TheSapphire Sea by David Andrews
November 7, 2013

Book Description


He would not die.

She was old, bordering on obsolescence, under-powered and small. Her crew were the last scrapings of the barrel, a mixture of drunks, old hands and new chums, yet the Sapphire Sea carried as many hopes and dreams on her last voyage in the Timor Sea as the most modern of her cousins.


Join her in Singapore as she sets sail on her final charter. The crew won’t mind and you’ll glimpse a way of life experienced only by those who had the good fortune to live it.

My Review

            I am a great fan of stories with characters who prove their strength and indomitability, or as one character- Randy- says, is indestructible in harsh circumstances. The Sapphire Sea was deeply satisfying in this respect. Action, suspense and a bit of romance makes this novel a good read both for ladies and gents.
            David Andrews has written an outstanding suspenseful story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. 

The Prologue starts out with the ship that has just sunk after an explosion and we meet Allan Shortland, the main character, a Marine Engineer, trying to save himself from the shark infested waters.

          Important moments of his life link Allan Shortland to the Sapphire Sea - He’d proposed to Sally while she sat in a chair on the ship's board and Melanie was conceived in a bunk of the same ship. But that was twenty years ago and things have changed. Sally's infidelity led to their divorce and now Melanie is getting married and wants her father to be present.  
            As about Allan’s relationship with the crew, skippers felt themselves fortunate to have him on board, but he tolerated no nonsense and had the ear of the company hierarchy.
            Chapter One takes us back before the unfortunate incident, and offers glimpses into Alan's life. The story continues with the description of the crew - many of the members very 'in love' with their drinks, thus a real danger for the ship. Tom doubted their ability to see anything beyond the ring pull of the next beer can. He was not sure which of them is the drunkest. This determines Allan to take drastic measures, limiting the beer cans each of them is allowed. He hopes this will keep the troublesome crew at functioning level. His action will not remain without consequences.
            The abundance of nautical terms - gash can, soogee, deck head survey- shows the author's thorough research or involvement in sailing environment and adds to the book's originality; I confess I liked to learn new things so I wasn’t bothered by them.
The Sapphire Sea offers a glimpse of how life is for those who earn their living on the ocean, as well as their families’ life. It is a well written suspenseful novel, which hooks you in from the beginning. The plot is intense, demanding, and full of hope. Curl up with your copy of the nail-biting suspense, The Sapphire Sea, today.
            I was offered a free copy by the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
 I rate it Five Stars.



December 19, 2013

Guest Promo (II)- Shawn's Latest Release


My blog hosts today the promo for a special lady author, Shawn Rost-Howen, whose latest release is called "Life Flight".





Blurb:
It's 1985. Malachi Blackfeather has spent twenty years in the Army. Two of those years as a Vietnam POW. Now that he's out, all he wants is some peace and quiet to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. Between the flashbacks, and an over interest in sex that is now being called sex addiction, finding his path isn't easy.
Kat is trying to escape an abusive marriage. Her soon to be ex is a master at manipulating the system, and her family thinks she should stay with him, "because no other man will want her." She's looking for escape in any form she can get it.
When they meet, sparks fly. Trapped by a blizzard, can two damaged people, who think there is no chance of love in the world for them, find each other, and survive an unforeseen circumstance that puts both of them in danger?
Mystery, romance, and danger, fill this novel, with a story that will draw you in and not let go.

Excerpt:
A woman’s voice broke my moment of bliss.
She walked past me as if she didn’t see me. Set a backpack on the floor near the curved end of the bar, leaned forward and grabbed a bar rag--used it to mop the surface of the bar in front of her.
My first impression of her--short. Then, too skinny, and her dark hair on top of her head in an almost bank-teller type twist--not very attractive. She wore a black and white button up poet’s shirt, belted around her narrow waist over a mid-thigh length black denim skirt. The front of the shirt gaped open over breasts that belonged on a woman twice her weight. She either didn’t know that too many buttons were open, or she wore it that way on purpose--the top half of the lacy black bra she wore an open invitation.
Davin set a Bloody Mary on the bar in front of her. “On me,” Davin told her.
She took a sip and watched herself in the mirror. “Wicked,” she said, still watching herself in the mirror.
Davin went to the other end of the bar, and she let out a laugh. Not the sort of laugh I expected. It was deep, throaty, a flash of sexual heat went through me--that voice was Indian--one any man would have done things for to hear her scream his name. “Davin, come on, you’re so stingy with the olives.”
“Get ’em yourself,” he said.
She leaned over the bar so far that her skirt pulled up in the back almost to her ass. She wore a garter belt to hold her line-up-the-back, black stockings in place. The shoes she wore--black stilettos, with metal heels so thin I wondered how she’d walked across the floor so quickly and quietly in them.
As many olives as ice cubes went into her glass, all the while she kept watching herself in the mirror. When she picked up an olive with a drink pick and took a long time playing with it on her lips, before it vanished into her mouth, I realized she wasn’t watching herself in the mirror. She was observing the reaction of every man in the room to what she did--watching my reaction. Her gaze met mine in the reflection. Dark eyes. Rimmed in black, with long black lashes. She licked her crimson-tinted lips. Tilted her head a bit. Reached up and pulled a clip out of her hair.
Hair the same raven color as my own tumbled down her back all the way to her waist. She shook her head.
“So much better,” she said.
I turned away from the mirror. Went to the pool tables. Pro or cock tease? My bet was pro. Too calculated. Playful innocence in clothes that had every man in the place watching her. Skinny women got hurt too easy, made me feel like I would break them with a touch. And a pro, no thanks. I didn’t want to pay for what I needed--paid for wasn’t real.
The cue ball cracked into the triangle formation of colored balls. Some satisfaction in that. Drew my attention away from the whore at the bar, whose laugh washed over me again. She obviously knew Davin well.
“You and the jerk official now?” Davin asked her.
Number three ball in a corner pocket. A glance at the bar. She saw me look at her in the mirrors.
“Jackass didn’t show for court, came all the way down here, and the shit bag doesn’t show. Even his lawyer looked embarrassed.”
Another ball spun across the table, vanished into a pocket. Solid or striped didn’t matter when you played alone.
“Never knew why you married him,” Davin said before he refilled a beer glass. So, maybe not pro, recent almost divorcee--celebrating freedom.
The door banged open, the brass bell on the hook above it jingled, and Jake came in followed by a group of college kids. All preppy and lost in their own world.
“Hey, man,” he said and moved straight to the pool table. Opened his stick case and put his cue together. “Sorry I was late, buddy had an issue today, had to meet up with him, help him out with a problem.”
I put quarters on the edge of the table. So Jake’s promise of a woman was bogus. I should blow the place and head out of town before...
“Hey, Jake, didn’t think you’d keep your promise.”

About the author:
Shaunna Wolf is the erotic pen name of S.R. Howen. For more than seven years, S.R. Howen has been an editor at Wild Child Publishing. She also runs workshops on how to craft a winning
synopsis and query letter. S.R. Howen has written for both Freya's Bower and Wild Child Publishing. Her most recent work, Life Flight, is an erotic romantic suspense. She also has an erotic science fiction novella, The Forge, under Shaunna Wolf, was released in July 2006. A former military brat, then military spouse, and a traditional naturalist, S.R. Howen currently lives in Texas, with eleven cats (three of them the non-domestic sort) three rabbits, and four fish, one husband and her daughter. She is working on a sequel to The Forge and on several more traditional fantasy novels. For more info on her and her works please visit her web site.
Buy Links: Print and ebook
Freya's Bower:






October 4, 2013

Book Reviews (XVI)

Book review: Glad Tithings by R.E.Wood


My Review

Glad Tithings is chilling and atmospheric. The plot and characters, especially Jill and Rick, are very well developed.  Jill and Rick the fifty-year-old city slickers leave behind the bustle of the big city and seek a quiet retirement life. They buy a country house, whose former owners are said to have died in a car crash six months before.

Jill taught school and tutored math for extra money. Rick worked as an insurance broker and also brokered leasing and financing deals for commercial clients. They’d spent twenty-eight years in a four room apartment, and now their dream of rural life was coming true with a spacious home that sat on ten acres of land awaiting them. It seemed a world apart from the life they knew, but it was their dream and they were making it happen.

But aren't appearances deceptive, most of the time? Parrish is far from being the peaceful, idyllic rural area as Jill and Rick think at first. It won't take them long to realize something is a bit odd about the community. The waitress Connie, the preacher and the sheriff behave in an unusual way towards the two new inhabitants of Parrish. Their every movement is watched and controlled. Little by little, the most desired retirement peace turns into nightmare. Tension builds slowly and gradually, as Rick tries to unravel the secrets and dangers hovering over the small town, at the same time making great efforts to save his twenty-eight years of marriage as Jill falls an easy prey to the evil trying to seize them.

The subject is one of my favorites and it kept me captivated the entire time. It is, definitely, a fast paced and gripping read. I can't tell you more as it means spoilers and I hate them. I will only quote the author.

As the author, R E Wood, states in the last lines of the story:"keep an open mind. Accept certain truths that you never thought that you would. Accept the awareness of how little we truly know about the world and the universe around us."


I can tell you that after finishing the story I felt like a kid who gulped his cake and was disappointed the cake's gone as he wanted more. I highly recommend this to fans of suspense and mystery! 
 

One more thing I'd like to add: Glad Tithings isn't just a gripping story; it has a message. It makes you think and wonder among other things, "Isn't it already happening?"

An electronic copy of the book was offered to me by the author in exchange for an honest opinion.