Natasja: november 2014

zondag 30 november 2014

Blog Blitz & Review: Anthology Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors

Title: Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors

Authors: Delilah Devlin, Layla Chase, Renee Luke, Emma Jay, Jacqueline Brocker, Cela Winter, Susannah Chapin, Axa Lee, Lizzie Ashworth, Regina Kammer, Beatric Ellroy, Connie Wilkins, Anya Richards

Release date: Octobeer 14^th, 2014

Publisher: Tempted Romance

Men devoting themselves to their true love through the art of courtly love is the ultimate in romance. Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors is filled with wild knights and Scottish warriors whose courage on the battlefield is outmatched only by their ardor for their ladyloves! Readers will unleash their fantasies of olden days where men wearing heavy armor or thick tartans sent a spirited young maiden’s (or lonely widow’s) heart fluttering. These bravehearts were prized for their physical strength and men were judged for their fierce loyalty and unshakeable honor. Crusaders, highlanders, Normans and Saxons, tournament fighters, vikings, and hunky Huns astride stallions in search of adventure and love all populate the pages of this steamy read.

Excerpt from “The Keeper of the Keys” by Axa Lee, part of the anthology Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors: Erotic Romance for Women by Delilah Devlin

“My queen,” he says and kisses my ear. He draws me down on our pallet, his body curled protectively around mine, cock still buried deep inside me.

“Am I?” I whisper, breathless still.

He chuckles. “Since you first threatened my life.” He squeezes me, exhaling a deeply male, deeply satisfied noise. “Are you well-served?” he asks.

And I think about it. Yes, I’ve been well fucked, and that’s likely what he’s asking. But if anything this experience has taught me that I need more. Before my thoughts coalesce enough to form a cohesive answer, he speaks again.

“I see you,” he says. His voice is rough, but his hands are gentle. “You serve everyone. They all come to you, and you answer them. you care for them. You protect them. You married me to protect them. I married you because I will be cyning.”

This surprises me. I had no idea he aspired to kingship. Though it makes sense, considering the views he’d expressed the past year or so about the current cyning.

“It will be a fight, but I am strong. We,” he emphasizes this, “are strong.”

He rolls me to my back to look up at him in the firelight, his blond hair a halo of flame. “I need a partner, an equal. Not just a wife and lover. And this is you, I think. Is this...what you think of me too?”

I study his face in the firelight. I see his intensity, his strength both of body and will, and I see his honesty. He isn’t just talking about shared mutual appreciation or even passion. He is, I think, talking about love. Was that why I could yield to him, be vulnerable to him and no other? Do we have love? I think, perhaps, we do. We might.

“A consort,” I say, “an equal, a lover?” 

He nods. 

My keys clink when my foot kicks them across the hut. As his laughter and arms encompass me, my ass is hot and my heart warm. He’s mine, I know suddenly, with great clarity. And I am his. Perhaps we have love, but more than that we have respect, we have ambition, we have desire. And all I see are possibilities.

I received this novel as an ARC, courtesy of Temted Romance & Cleis Press Publisher

Pleasure in Surrender by Delilah Devlin

Lady Edwina is a widow and has been forced into another marriage to a fearless Viking named Grimvarr. But it seems this handsome Viking has some seduction to do to make her accept him for who he is.

Wicked by Susannah Chapin

Isobell has a crush on Lachlan since her childhood, now she is a widow and very determined to convince Lachlan that he is worthy of her affections. Will she succeed?

The Keeper of the Keys by Axa Lee

Marrying to save her land and her people was the right thing to do, but can she completely give herself to her husband in the bedroom?

The maiden’s kiss by Layla Chase

When Jorunn saw this handsome shirtless warrior during his sword practice, he was all she could think about. And when the opportunity arose, she couldn’t say no to Enar.

My Loveliest Vision by Renee Luke

Lena is blind, but that doesn’t stop her to tell no to men when they step on her doorstep after her father died. Then Seth shows up with a scroll with information that will change everything.

The Invasion of Nefyn by Lizzie Ashworth

Nefyn and Bedwyr are shortly reunited in the time of war. What better way to spend their short time together is to give themselves completely to each other.

The Promise of Memory by Regina Kammer

Aelia hasn’t seen her husband since he was captured by the Romans more than 10 years ago. The knight Manius is the empress’s lover and he reminded Aelia of her husband and that is why she’s so attracted to him. When the opportunity appears and she is face to face with Manius, she is in for a big surprise.

On My Honor by Beatrix Ellroy

When Hedda come across injured Sir Cephas, she took matters into her own hands and she nurses his wounds for one night. Even though Cephas is very attracted to Hedda, he is bound by his honor and won’t bed her. But Hedda has some other ideas to enjoy each other without having intercourse.

A Falcon in Flight by Connie Wilkins

Ardzvik is officially the lady of the castle, but mostly everyone believes it’s her beautiful half-sister. Even the men who’re send to court the lady of the castle all fall for her sister Leyli.

Now Yul Darugha has come to their land and he isn’t fooled that easily. Will Ardzvik and Yul find their happiness together?

To Love a King’s Man by Emma Jay

Evanna is a young widow, who’s being married off again but she is determined to choose a husband herself instead of her brother. She has been in love with her brother’s best friend Conal since childhood and when he is visiting her brother, she will finally let her feelings known.

The Bodyguard by Jacqueline Brocker

Saitou became Misato’s bodyguard after a failed ninja attack. Misato couldn’t denied her growing feelings towards Saitou and when she heard him pleasuring himself one night, it grew only into something deeper. Can she convince Saitou that they belong together?

Broken Vows by Anya Richards

Lady Mary has remarried Gareth, only to discover her husband doesn’t like her. They haven’t been intimate since the wedding, but she falls more and more in love with him. Mary takes matters into her own hands and decides to confront him. Never would she suspect the reason why is turning away. Can she change his mind?

Poetry and Amber by Axa Lee

King Buliwyf needs a new oracle to secure his reign, so when he capture this beautiful redheaded witch, he knew he had found her. But this little witch has more up her sleeves, she isn’t about to share him with any other women and is determined to prove he has his hands full with only her.

The Squire by Cela Winter

Sir Godrey recently lost his squire in the middle of war, so when young squire Wulfric loose his master, they come to an understanding to help each other. Soon Godrey finds himself attraction to this young boy and is really questioning his sanity. But he soon learns that not everything is what it seems.

Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors is a great novel full of great short erotica stories, which includes some fine highlanders and warriors. They all have been well written and have some very hot and steamy scenes.

Some of them were too short to my opinion, because I really wanted to continue with the story and see what would happen next with these characters. I have to say I really enjoyed reading this anthology and I loved that I found some new authors to check out.

woensdag 26 november 2014

Blog Blitz & Review: Sanguinary by Margo Bond Collins

Title: Sanguinary
Series: Night Shift #1

Paperback: 294 pages

Publisher: Bathory Gate Press (October 5, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0990743322

ISBN-13: 978-0990743323

Only fifty years left before vampires rule the world.

When Dallas police detective Cami Davis joined the city's vampire unit, she planned to use the job as a stepping-stone to a better position in the department.

But she didn't know then what she knows now: there's a silent war raging between humans and vampires, and the vampires are winning.

So with the help of a disaffected vampire and an ex-cop addict, Cami is going undercover, determined to solve a series of recent murders, discover a way to overthrow the local Sanguinary government, and, in the process, help win the war for the human race.

But can she maintain her own humanity in the process? Or will Cami find herself, along with the rest of the world, pulled under a darkness she cannot oppose?

Buy links Sanguinary:

Amazon kindle here

Nook here

Kobo here

Paperback here

Excerpt 1

"Hey, Bradley." I beckoned the crime-scene tech, who had finally arrived and was snapping on gloves. "Is that a piece of paper under the vic's head?"

He bent down over my shoulder to get a clearer view from my line of sight. "Looks like it's tangled in her hair," he said. He pulled a pair of long tweezers out of his kit and snagged the sliver. "Yep. Looks like it has a word written on it . . ." We both peered at the brownish, spidery writing.

"Sanguinary," I said. "Is that written in blood?"

"Maybe. I'll get the lab to run a basic analysis on it. If it's blood, we'll be able to let you know pretty quick if it's human and if so, what type. DNA will take longer."

"Sounds good." I stared at the woman a little longer. Her dark hair—almost the same color as mine—spilled out around her, matted with dark, coagulating blood. The two bloody marks on her neck shone like black stars on a white background.

Vampire.

I knew that if I lifted her dress, there would be other puncture wounds all over the body, and strange symbols carved across her skin—pentagrams within circles and other ritualistic signs. Exactly like the others. Ten murders in the four weeks since the beginning of September—all centered in downtown Dallas, and many with affluent victims whose families demanded action.

The department had been in a barely suppressed uproar.

I stood up, my knees popping a little. Five years ago, they wouldn't have done that.

And five years before that? Vampires hadn't existed, except in books and B-movies. It took time for the world to believe. We hadn't even realized how to fight back when they'd first shown up.

This victim's ragged, bloody fingernails suggested that she had tried to resist, but obviously failed.

The red dress she wore would have originally matched the color of the relatively scant splashes of blood surrounding her, but those stains had dried to a muddy brown, the same color as the writing on the paper caught in her hair.

Her clothing suggested that she'd been at the opera that evening, though the manager, roused from her bed, swore that the building had been cleared and empty when she left.

One black, high-heel shoe lay several feet away, toppled over onto its side, the heel broken, as if she had stumbled out of it when it failed her as she ran from a pursuer.

Sanguinary.

I'd heard the word before from vampires I had taken down—whispered as a threat, shouted as a warning: the Sanguinary is coming, the Sanguinary will kill you all.

The Sanguinary is here.

It was why I was about to go undercover among the vampires.

Excerpt 2:

"Ooh," the taller woman said, "your friend doesn't like it when you flirt."

I glared at her. Vampires should not know more about me than I do.

"I'll have to see that she gets over it," a voice drawled from behind me. I whipped my head around in time to see a man standing up from a barstool behind me. I hadn't even noticed he was there

God knows how I could have missed him.

He wore jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt. He had on dark brown cowboy boots, and as he turned away from the bar, he picked up a black felt cowboy hat from the seat next to him, placing it on his head. On anyone else, I might have assumed that the hats and boots were an affectation. On him, they looked perfect. He was utterly beautiful, with bright green eyes, and dark hair that curled down to barely brush the back of his collar.

I am undercover, I reminded myself sternly. Here to do a job.

When Garrett caught my gaze in his, flicking his glance toward the cowboy vamp, it was all I could do to keep from sighing aloud.

Would it have killed my partner to be a little more descriptive when he briefed me?

Of course that was the vampire cowboy I had to get close to tonight.

No making eyes at the informants, Cami.

But damn, he was hot.

"Nice scars," he said, sliding his gaze along my bared shoulder.

"Thanks," I said, almost breathless.

"But I thought you didn't do Un-Claimed strays, Reese," the short woman said, managing to both pout and smile at the same time.

And I am absolutely not attracted to vampires.

I could keep telling myself that.

Excerpt 3:

It hit me, hard, that no matter how I twisted it around in my head, Reese was going to be more than just an informant to me. I didn't know if I could trust him, this cowboy-vampire I had been thrown together with. But something about him sang to me, like a tune just out of hearing, almost recognized—a song of protection and death. And I wanted to dance to it, almost as much as I wanted to escape it.

The department wouldn't force me to stick it out, wouldn't expect me to team up with a vampire for anything more than the most superficial of connections.

I could walk out at any time.

But I wouldn't. He'd help us find and stop whoever was killing these women.

That's why I'll stay in this.

"I'll tell you everything," I said to the vampire snarling at me. "But I'll need your help."

Reese's lip dropped back down, covering the fang.

I was glad—it was easier to contemplate joining forces with him when he wasn't reminding me that he was one of the monsters.

"Talk," he said.

I shook my head. "Not here," I said, speaking quietly. How good his hearing might be was only one of the many things I didn't know about vampires.

He slid up to the bar beside me.

"We can't leave," he said, equally softly. I had to lean close to hear him.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Mendoza all but dared me to Claim you, back there." He didn't look down at me. "If I don't bleed you at least a little before we go, he'll be suspicious."

At his words, the half-healed bite mark Reese had left on my shoulder throbbed once, sending a hot pulse throughout my entire body.

I wanted the response to be revulsion.

Almost everyone who went undercover with the vamps came out addicted to their bite. The ones who could still string two sentences together, like Garrett, stayed on the force.

The others . . .

The press portrayed us as bumbling and stupid—and maybe we were. Sending detectives in against humanity's worst nightmare? We were like little kids trying to hold back the dark with matches, bound to get our fingers burned, and worse, maybe burn the house down around us.

I paused and swallowed.

Sanguinary by Margo Bond Collins is a novel in her new Night Shift Series and I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it.

Cami Davis is a police detective who has joined the vampire unit. It seems a war might break out between vampires and humans, when several humans are turning up dead and a vampire might be the killer. The only way to find the truth about these murders is to go undercover and it is Cami who is thrown to the wolves. Now the only thing she needs is a vampire who can introduce her into the vampire society and have her back.

Reeves is a vampire and an ex-cop, he knows there is something strange going on in the vampire society and he is determined to find out what is going on. So he agrees to be Cami’s vampire contact and her way in with the vampires. But neither of them could have known the huge attraction between them and the rules to be accepted by the other vampires. The price might be too high for Cami.

It’s the first book I’ve read of Margo Bond Collins and when the opportunity was handed to me to read and review this book I couldn’t say no. I love reading novels where vampires are involved and mostly those vampires turn out to be good by the end of the book, but not in this novel. They are evil to the bone, but with one or two exceptions.

I love Reeves and Cami together; from the moment they meet I knew Reeves was different from the other vampires. For some reason he’s still got a heart and really want to help Cami in her journey to find the killer and bright him or her to justice. The ending of the book was a little surprise and I’m really dying to get my hands on the next book, because I really want to know what will happen next with Reeves and Cami.

When did you start writing? What has your writing life been like?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been making up stories. The first story I remember actually writing down was basically fan-fiction of The Wizard of Oz. I wrote it in long-hand in a yellow legal pad. I’ve been writing ever since. But about ten years ago, a friend suggested I join in National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org). Until then, I had always written short stories. That year, I finished the first draft of what would eventually become Legally Undead—it will be my third published novel, but it’s the first one I wrote.

I ended up as an English major in college because I was fascinated by the ways stories work. And then I went on to graduate school because I couldn’t figure out what else to do. I ended up with a Ph.D. in literature almost by accident; I just never quit wanting to learn about all the stories in the world!

So now I teach literature and writing in my day job, and the rest of the time, I write, both as a fiction author and as an academic.

What gave you the idea for this book? Where do you write and what do you use: PC, laptop or MAC?

Most of my ideas come to me almost in passing, when I see something that catches my attention. In the case of Sanguinary, it was a color. My husband and I have season tickets to the Dallas Opera, and the interior walls of the Winspear Opera House—the ones that separate the lobby from the theater itself—are a gorgeous dark red. As we were walking out one night, I glanced back and saw that the tint of the outer glass walls turned the inner walls to a blood-red. At the same time, I saw a woman in a dark red dress of the same color. And of course that led to thoughts of vampires and murder (doesn't that happen with everyone?! Or is it just sicko writers?)—and the story spun out from there.

How often do you write, and how much?

I write something every day, whether it’s academic writing, fiction, or my blog. I’ve recently started making sure that no matter what else I may be writing, I write something fictional every single day. “How much” varies. I aim for a minimum of 500 words a day—my average word-count for thirty minutes of writing. I generally write more than that, but sometimes I don’t quite reach it. Last night, for example, I managed to write one sentence just before I fell into bed. But I made sure to get that one sentence down so I could continue to claim that I write every single day!

Which authors do you admire and why?

Too many to count! Because I’m a literature professor, I have piles and piles of favorite authors. Right now, though, I’m particularly fond of Neil Gaiman, Robin McKinley, Holly Black, Ann Aguirre, and Melanie Karsak. What I love about all of them is their ability to create such realistic worlds, to draw me in and keep me interested in the stories they spin out.

I have an office that I use for all my work: academic writing, fiction writing, editing, and online teaching. My desk is against a window so I can see outside. I’m surrounded by books and papers. I write directly on my laptop, but when I get stuck, I sometimes switch to handwriting; this seems to shift my brain onto a different track and helps me get over writer’s block.

What are you working on at the moment?

Piles of projects! I’m currently working on the next entry in my Hometown Heroes series, a contemporary romance novel. I’m working on the sequels to Fairy, Texas, Waking Up Dead and Legally Undead. And I'm working on the next Night Shift book.

What are your writing goals for the rest of 2014?

Always keep writing! I have three works in progress that I plan to complete. And I also have two others that I want to get to. So I guess that means my goals are to finish several more novels. (I’m suddenly realizing that I might be insane . . . )

Any advice for aspiring writers?

The very best advice I ever got was just this: keep writing new things. Always have a work in progress. Finish writing a piece, do a quick edit, and submit it somewhere for publication. Then move on to the next project. Don’t wait to hear back—that way lies madness! If it’s rejected (and often it will be; that’s the nature of writing for publication), don’t let it get you down. Just send it out again and go back to your work in progress.

Thanks so much for having me today!

Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead, Waking Up Dead, and Fairy, Texas.

She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.

Connect with Margo:

Website / Email / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon US / Google + / Pinterest

zondag 16 november 2014

Review: Pretty Girl by Amy Heugh

Title: Pretty Girl

Author: Amy Heugh

Release date: July 29^th, 2014

Genre: Young Adult

If there were one day that she could change it would be the day she was taken.

After her parents’ divorce, seventeen-year-old Izzy Scott and her mother move to the old town of St. Augustine to begin a new life, a life beyond the media attention and the memories of the traumatic experiences that left an everlasting affect on their family.

The former ballerina is trying to adjust to the outside world without suffering a panic attack and exposing, who she is - all while getting through her senior year at a new school. That’s easy to say until she meets local boy Mason Winchester, a boy with a tragic past.

Mason has a reputation for violence, but a love for motorcycles. At the age of eleven he lost his mother to cancer and from then he has been running from something, but could never really get away.

Like any other angry teenager, he just wants to be left alone and to have nothing to do with anyone else because he believed that he had nothing to offer. That changes the moment he saw what was in the new girl eyes.
Tragedy wasn't new to either of their lives but among the secrets and the memories the one thing they both never excepted was to find hope.

*This book is recommended for readers 18+ for violence, language, and some adult situations.

Pretty Girl by Amy Heugh is a great book with a story full of emotions and traumatic pasts. When I read the book description I knew I had to read it. The book starts a little slow, but when you get further in the book you understand why.

Izzy Scott and Mason Winchester are the main characters and both seniors at the local high school. It seems they have something in common, because both have a troubled past. Maybe that is the reason why they are drawn to each other. But it will take a long time for them to really trust the other to tell the traumatic past they went through.

Slowly the feelings for each other begin to change and grow into something more than just strong friendship. They feel the pain the other have, but keep some distance to let the other deal with the past in their own way. But will they trust each other enough and let the other in?

I have to say that this book blew me away. When their traumatic past is slowly revealed in the book, you really can feel their pain and understand their anger and distance towards other people. I loved Izzy and Mason, although I wanted to slap Mason something for not telling Izzy the first reason he contacted her, but he turned out to be the best thing ever happened to her.

Amy Heugh has written an amazing novel with great characters and a heartbreaking storyline. Even though it’s full of raw emotions, anger and betrayal, it eventually turns into true love and great friendships. I definitely am going to read more of this author in the near future.

Hello. My name is Amy and I’m addicted to anything covered in chocolate.

I’m a Graphic Designer who has a obsession with escaping reality by reading printed works of fiction and tweeting about them. I run early in the mornings because there’s nothing better than a sunrise to start the day. I have two loves of my life. My husband, Lyle who treats me like his queen and my dog, Brandy that treats me every day like I’m a ice cream on a hot summers day.

My dream is to travel the world on a hot air balloon in 80 days (no, really!), to meet and greet different cultures and if I have to hijack a hot air balloon to do so, I would. I need to find a online ‘How to fly a hot air balloon’ course, first.

Oh and I don’t watch TV… like at all. Strange, but so true

Contact Amy Heugh: Twitter or Email

zaterdag 15 november 2014

Blog Tour & Review: Last Chance by T.G. Ayer

With the loss of her sister still weighing down both her conscience and her heart, Kailin Odel must take on the next part of her mission - find her mother and Anjelo and bring them back from Wrythiin.

Kailin uses her mother's portal key and enters the Wraith world intent on saving the ones she loves, but from the moment she arrives her mission is fraught with peril.

Arriving in Wrythiin, Kai steps right into the middle of a Wraith rebellion. And only to find that though Anjelo is safe, her mother is held captive by a subversive faction of Wraiths once led by the Wraithlord that Kai had killed.

From Wraiths to Shapeshifters, rebel causes to fraying family ties, to inexplicable new powers, Kai must fight her darkest demons while entering the blackest pits of Wrythiin to save her mother.

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Last Chance by T.G. Ayer is the third book in her Dark World Series and another fabulous addition in this series. I cannot tell you enough that this author is one of my favorite, her characters are growing by the book and I love reading them.

Kailin just buried her sister and already wants to leave straight away to save her best friend Anjelo and her mother. She leaves shortly after the funeral to the land of Wrythiin, along with her friend Lily. But of course their journey doesn’t go quite as they planned. Quickly after their arrival in Wrythiin they will find Anjelo, but her mother is another matter. She needs all of her friends and her boyfriend Logan and their unique abilities to search and save her mother.

The relationship between Kailin and Logan is unique. They understand each other and without any difficulty it grows into something stronger by the book. I really love them together.

T.G. Ayer has written an amazing book with another great storyline. I already liked the characters in the previous books and it grew into love after I read this book. It was good to see how they all come and help Kailin in her search for her mother without any questions. I cannot wait for the next book in this series.

I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognize that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practice given I have two teenage daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes... I am blessed with a husband who has left me for golf. It's a fair trade as I have left him for writing. We are both passionate supporters of each others loves - it works wonderfully...

My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands - I shall forever remain cross-eyed.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads | Blog | Web Site | Facebook | Twitter | Smashwords

I love talking to my readers so email me if you have any questions or even if you just want to chat...

Email: tgayer@xtra.co.nz or tgayerauthor@gmail.com

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