Leanne Crabtree's Blog, page 22

More ARC’s

I’ve received two more ARC’s off NetGalley.

One is Faking It, the follow on to Losing It which I loved. This doesn’t follow Garrick and Bliss but Cade–Bliss’ best friend. If it’s anything like the first, I’m going to fall in love with Cade in the first two chapters and will them on as a couple throughout

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16172634-faking-it?ac=1

The other is Acid, a young adult dystopian story that sounds interesting.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17287497-acid

I’m just starting Through the Ever Night, the second in the Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi and then I’ll be reading Savage Nature and then Dreams of a Dark Warrior before I even attempt these three ARC’s I have. To keep up to date with my reading just check out the “Reading List” tab above or if you’re on GoodReads add me as a friend.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6569083.Leanne_Crabtree

Chapter 18 – *Shifter Romance*

Watching from a few steps back, Kaitlin was mesmerised by the power that was emanating from Li. She looked formidable with her black hair pulled into a ponytail high on her head and the red and black leather all-in-one with the black and gold handle of the samurai sword visible over her right shoulder.

Flicking her gaze across to her father she noted the strain around his eyes and the bulge of his clenched jaw. He wasn’t happy.

Good.

They’d decided earlier that she should only make herself visible after the two party leaders had greeted each other.

She scanned the faces on her father’s side of the field; she recognised many but didn’t know most of them. Raoul wasn’t with them, she noticed.

Paul’s eyes flicked in her direction, “What’s going on here? Is my own daughter plotting against me? I am very disappointed in you, Kaitlin,” he then returned his attention to Li. “What lies has she told you to bring you here?”

Kaitlin snorted and rolled her eyes—trust him to try and pin the blame on her!

Rhys’ palm briefly touched her waist, though whether he was hoping to comfort her or get her to calm down she had no idea. Kaitlin shot him a sideways glance and then forced herself to relax. If she lost her cool things could go wrong real quick.

Her gaze darted to her mum who was stood a little behind and to the left of her father. She looked nervous.

“Kaitlin has given me a file with proof of your involvement in my father’s murder.”

“That’s impossible,” he denied. “You know it was some rogues working together.”

One of Li’s men stepped forward out of the line they’d created, and handed her the photocopied page Kaitlin had shown her yesterday when they’d met. She waved it in the air mockingly.

Locking her gaze on her father she didn’t miss the way he straightened as his gaze zeroed in on the sheet of paper. His eyes narrowed.

“This is the proof. It’s a transcript of the phone conversation between you and the rogues who killed him.” Her tone was hard.

A ripple went through the men at her father’s back at that titbit of information. “It’s fake! My daughter,” his glare turned on Kaitlin, “has obviously got it in for me and has fabricated that document.”

“So you never said, ‘I want you to make it slow and painful. Make him suffer.’?”

Paul swallowed and suddenly glanced across at his wife, a coldness in his eyes that Kaitlin had never seen before. Worry for her mum suddenly rushed through her; she didn’t understand the look but she knew it couldn’t be good news.

Her mother paled but raised her chin defiantly and like a switch it clicked. Ruth Mahone—her mum—was the reliable source. She’d been keeping Malachi informed of every move her husband made since…she didn’t know when. Was it that she hadn’t agreed with him kicking Malachi out of the clan or the reason behind it? Whichever it was, she didn’t want anything happening to the one parent who’d ever treated her well.

“Mum?” She held her hand out, hoping her mother would join her.

“Don’t!” Her father barked, his eyes turning murderous.

He’d figured the truth out too and was not going to let his wife get away with it but Kaitlin knew he wouldn’t dare hurt her in front of so many witnesses.

Taking another step closer, she held her hand out further. “Mum? Come on. We won’t let him hurt you. If he tries, he’ll cause a war right here, right now.”

Her mum cast her a quick glance and took a step closer.

“Ruth,” Paul warned.

Seeming to come to a decision, she walked calmly away from him and grabbed hold of her daughters hand and squeezed. “I’m not going to stand by you any longer, Paul. Messing with Kaitlin was the last straw. Your own daughter? Really?”

“Enough!” Li shouted.

His lip curled back in a snarl and for a second the veneer he normally presented to the world slipped, revealing the menacing man who lay beneath.

The sound of swords being removed from their scabbards echoed amongst the crowd behind Kaitlin and her mum as everyone caught sight of that look. It foretold trouble.

“I don’t have to listen to this rubbish, Li, so why don’t you run on home like a good girl,” he said patronisingly. “I’d like a word with my wife and daughter.”

An affronted growl had their attention returning to Li. She looked seriously pissed off.

As Kaitlin watched, she reached back and withdrew her sword. The blade was engraved with symbols she couldn’t understand, and they caught the light as she twirled it impressively in her hand; the soft whoosh of air the only sound on the field.

“You choose to challenge me?” Paul asked haughtily.

“I just want you to admit you had my father murdered,” Li countered, widening her stance.

He laughed. “And why would I admit to that?”

“Because it’s the truth! I don’t need your answer though; this is proof enough.” With a battle cry, she twirled, the blade extended, heading straight for the council leaders chest.

Paul stumbled back just in time and received only a slice to his shirt. He glanced up quickly, his eyes narrowing in anger. “You’re going to regret that.” With that, he aimed his fist at her face and swung—it was almost a blur, he moved that fast—but Li was smaller and more agile; she ducked the arm and elbowed him in the ribs.

Just like that, with both parties having attacked, it was war. Cries came from both sides as then they ran at each other, weapons drawn.

Someone jumped at Rhys and Kaitlin shot him a quick glance before she had to duck to avoid the knife slicing towards her head. One hand on the floor, she struck her foot out and it landed in the centre of her attacker’s chest, sending him flying backwards. His weapon clattered to the floor but she paid it no heed as she scrambled to her feet and tackled the man before he could get fully back to his and punched him in the face. Blood spurted from his nose as she heard the crunch of bone breaking. With a snarl, he used his build to roll them and punched her in the face. Pain exploded across her lower face and anger and adrenaline surged through her.

The man was dragged off her seconds later and she saw the glowing amber of Rhys’ eyes before with one sharp twist he broke the man’s neck. His chest was heaving, whether with anger or exhaustion she didn’t know. Offering her his hand he pulled her to her feet and quickly pressed her to his chest and twisted around. A pained sound left him and she quickly pulled away to see a man with two serrated daggers in his hands bouncing on the balls of his feet like a boxer. He was grinning like a maniac.

Her eyes narrowed on him, knowing he’d just stabbed her mate. She’d make him pay for that.

Quickly dropping she swung her right leg out in a sweeping kick and heard his grunt as she connected and the thud as he fell onto his back. He quickly regained his feet and threw one of his knives. Kaitlin moved her body to the left but it still managed to nick her forearm. His other soon followed, aiming straight for her and she knew she couldn’t avoid it. Steeling herself for the blow, she gasped when Rhys caught it mid-air less than a foot from her body. How had he managed to move so fast?

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the blade back towards its owner and it lodged in his throat. The man clutched at his bleeding throat and made gurgling noises.

Kaitlin turned away from the gruesome scene. Her gaze was drawn to the other fighters who were still battling their enemy. Beyond she could see the slinking black form of her shifted father. Li was still in human form. There was blood on her sword and claw marks in her leather outfit.

A familiar yowl had her turning to see her mother, in puma form, swipe at a man who had come up behind her. She caught his face, leaving deep gauges. He cried out and clutched at the wounds.

“Mum! Behind you!”

The puma turned and noted the woman charging towards her with the bloody blade of the axe high above her head ready to strike, and hissed in warning. The woman paid no heed and her mum jumped at the woman, knocking her to the ground, and snapping at her face—though she never made contact. Her attacker tried to fight back by grabbing her under her lower jaw and pushing but it was useless. Right paw lifting, Ruth, slashed at the other woman’s throat and it was over.

“Admit it! You killed my father!”

Li had somehow managed to pin Paul to the ground and had the sword at his neck. He was growling low, unhappy at his current position but unable to do anything about it. The young woman pressed the blade in deeper and the growl turned to a whine.

“Admit it!” She shouted.

There was a ripple of power and the jaguar turned back to human. “Alright! I had the rogues kill him! Happy now?!” He winced suddenly and a steady stream of blood ran down his chest.

The fighting suddenly stopped at his admission and everyone turned to stare at him, some in confusion, and others in hatred.

Reading something different

Well after reading 6/7 New Adult books back to back, I need a change of genre so I’m going for Veronica Rossi’s “Under the Never Sky” series. They’re kind of upper aged young adult with dystopian and sci-fi themes. I have the first two books in paperback–feels like I haven’t read one in ages–and am currently about a third into the first and I’m just starting to get really into it (after the New Adult stuff I’m finding it a little difficult to adjust to the different style).

If you’d like to see what I’m reading next or currently, just check the “Reading List” tab above and you’ll find a gigantic list including rating and date read. I’ll be sticking to paperback’s for a while as the pile keeps getting higher and higher and mainly books of the paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre’s but you’d have to check the list to find out what comes after that

Chapter 17 – *Shifter Romance*

They escorted Li and her entourage up to the penthouse and she sat on one of the chocolate coloured sofas while the men took places behind her and at covert points around the room.

Kaitlin remained standing, her nerves beginning to jangle again. Rhys had disappeared somewhere further into the suite to sort his men out and she missed his calming influence. Brent had stayed with her at his Alpha’s request but not before going and retrieving the transcript from the bedroom she’d used not too long ago. He was currently holding it in his hand waiting for the right time to offer it.

“Can we get you anything, Li?” She asked, playing the part of hostess.

She waved away the offer. “No thanks. Why don’t we get down to business and you explain what you meant when you said you knew who killed my father? Do you?”

Feeling like she needed to sit for this talk, she dropped down onto the sofa facing Li. “Yes, I know who did it. It…It was my father.”

“Paul Mahone? Head of the Council?” Her voice was devoid of any emotion, not giving anything away.

“Yes. It seems he made a deal with the rogues. He’d let them stay in the area if they would kill your father. Obviously they accepted.” She hesitated for a second before continuing, “It seems he instructed them to do what they did to him.”

There was a long stretch of silence as the words were absorbed by everyone in the room.

“You have proof?”

Kaitlin swivelled to face Brent and he offered her the printed transcript. She took it with a small smile and ran her gaze over the page before solemnly handing it to Li. The other woman took it and read it silently, her already pale skin going ashen as she took in what she was reading. When she was finished she passed it over her shoulder to one of the men behind her and stared at a point on the floor.

Moving her gaze up to the man behind, Kaitlin realised she knew him. He had been second to Li’s father and Li had admitted to having feelings for him when she’d been younger and they’d been closer friends. When he put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture she briefly wondered if they were more than just pack mates.

“You realise we can’t just ignore this, right, Kaitlin?”

She nodded, firmly pushing her thoughts aside, and met Li’s eyes. “Yes. You’re not the first person my father has done wrong by and it needs to stop. He can’t remain in power if all he’s going to do is abuse it.”

A small smile lifted the corners of the other woman’s lips, “You have a good heart. I forgot that about you.”

Kaitlin returned the smile.

Then it was back to business. “It looks like I need to set up a meeting with your father. I’ll tell him it’s for something else. I want you to be there with me, you don’t mind do you?”

After the slightest hesitation, she shook her head. “Of course I don’t mind. I’m not exactly his biggest fan right now anyway.”

Li nodded once and then rose to her feet. She walked around to the guy who used to be her father’s second and who Kaitlin guessed served as Li’s second now too, and watched as he offered her his mobile.

“Excuse us for a moment,” she said politely and at Kaitlin’s nod, walked across the room to make the call.

She tried not to listen to the conversation taking place across the room; it was hard though with her enhanced hearing.

“So what do you think your dad’s going to do when this goes down?” Brent asked, garnering her attention.

Her shoulders rose in a shrug, “I have no idea.” A long sigh left her, “I mean, I never thought he’d be capable of half of the stuff Malachi has evidence about, so who knows?”

She caught a hint of a scent she knew by heart so wasn’t surprised when Rhys asked, “Everything alright?” and placed his palms on her shoulders and ran them down the top of her arms as he bent to press a light kiss to her crown.

Smiling up at him, she nodded, “Yeah. Li’s just making the call to my dad.”

“Well I’ve got the guys set up in the master bedroom. It’s a bit cramped but we can’t do anything about it until Li goes.”

“Speaking of,” Brent muttered.

Li was watching them with a small smile on her face. “I am sorry for disrupting your pack, Rhys. We’ll be leaving shortly to get everyone ready for tomorrow.” Her attention shifted to Kaitlin, “We’ve agreed to meet on neutral territory; a park a mile or so from here, at nightfall. Hopefully no humans will come traipsing through or they may just see something they wish they hadn’t. I’ll message you the details later on when I’ve worked them out, if that’s alright?”

“Sure, sounds good.”

Li’s dark head dipped in a respectful bow and the three of them copied the action and then watched as she left the room, her pack members leaving with her.

The door shut with a loud snick in the now silent room and Kaitlin collapsed back into the cushions with a sigh. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said quietly. “I’m actually going against my father; he’s head of the goddamn council! What am I thinking? This is going to cause all sorts of problems and not just for us, either.”

Brent and Rhys shared a meaningful look and then Brent turned on his heel and disappeared off somewhere in the suite.

Rhys moved around the sofa to sit beside her. Grabbing her hand in his he brought it to his lips. “You’re doing what you believe is right, that’s not a crime, Cat.”

Kaitlin glanced heavenwards, almost ready to ask for His guidance and then snorted. She wasn’t even religious so that was just stupid. “What happens to my mum when we do this? What if it all goes pear shaped and my mum gets the brunt of his anger because of something I did; something I instigated?” Tears burned her throat at the thought.

Large palms cupped her cheeks and his thumbs brushed away the tears. “Then we make her come with us tomorrow. I won’t let

anything happen to her; that’s a promise, Kaitlin.” Leaning forward Rhys kissed her softly on the lips and then rested his forehead against hers. “Nothing is going to go wrong tomorrow, I won’t let it.”

She nodded slowly and glanced into his earnest golden amber eyes. Kaitlin trusted him with her life so why not with her mother’s too?

Twining their fingers together, he rose to his feet and pulled her up with him. “Let’s go to bed. We’ll need all the rest we can for this showdown tomorrow.”

Kaitlin nodded and followed him down the hallway to a different bedroom to the one they’d used the previous night. It was decorated almost the same, just on a slightly smaller scale.

Tugging her over to the bed he undressed her slowly, occasionally running a hand over her body appreciatively though he didn’t try anything overtly sexual. When she was naked she began undressing him too, inhaling his scent like he was her favourite drug. Removing his trousers she became aware of how turned on he was by her nakedness and made a small sound. She started to reach for him but he grabbed her wrist gently and shook his head, no.

Rhys flung the covers aside and they climbed into the bed. He tugged her back against his chest; his erection cushioned between her buttocks, and nuzzled his face in her hair.

Sleep overtook them both quickly.

**************

Soft voices woke her the next morning and she rolled over to see Rhys stood at the bedroom door talking to someone outside. He took something small and then closed the door, his gaze going to the bed to see if he’d disturbed her.

“Hey,” he greeted softly.

“Hey,” she returned with a smile.

He held something up. “Seems Li text you sometime during the night,” he tossed the phone to her and she caught it easily.

Unlocking the phone she opened the message and read it. “She wants us to meet her at the park half an hour before we’re supposed to meet my father to talk tactics. She also wants us to fetch all your men because she doesn’t trust him to come with only his personal guard.” Kaitlin snorted, “Me neither.”

“So that gives us,” he glanced at the clock on the bedside cabinet, “what? Twelve hours? Not that long to pull an army together.”

Going up on her knees she shuffled over to the foot of the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Looks like you’ll have to work a few miracles.”

Raising his brows he grinned, “Oh, I think I can manage that.”

Kaitlin’s laugh turned into a soft moan of pleasure.

Chapter 16 – *Shifter Romance*

Rhys took the paper from her and scanned the page. He paled at the details and she saw his jaw clench hard. She wasn’t surprised; it wasn’t pleasant reading. “Now what?”

“Now, we take this to Li. She’ll want revenge for her father and I’m sure if the rest of the council knew the truth they’d want him out too. Fear that they could be next may just shock them into doing the right thing.” He gave her an odd look. “What?”

A grin curved his lips, “I never realised you were so…business orientated.” Kaitlin raised a brow. “Wanting to bring your father down,” he explained. “You seem really determined to do it; there’s a fire about you.”

“He can’t be in a position of power if he’s just going to abuse it.”

Rhys nodded emphatically. “I agree.” He bit his lip, “That fire is kind of hot.”

She laughed. “Do you ever not think about sex?”

“Not when I’m anywhere near you,” he confessed. Standing, he grasped her hips and pulled her against him, his breath warm on her face as his gaze locked on her lips. Obliging, she tipped her head back, her fingers threading into his hair as his mouth lowered to hers. Her fingers tightened in his hair as his tongue tangled with hers and his hands pulled her closer against him.

Kaitlin’s breathing was harsh as she pulled away from him. Placing her palms on his chest she gave a little push. With his legs being at the edge of the bed, he fell backwards until he was sat back on the mattress. “Rhys, we don’t have time!”

“I know. I couldn’t resist,” he added with a wink.

Leaning forward, Kaitlin plucked the crumpled page from under his thigh and scanned it again. “I need to contact Li; set up a meeting with her.”

Rhys offered her his mobile and she took it with a smile. Opening the contacts she scanned through the names but couldn’t find the one she was after. Then she realised that probably not everyone had the names and numbers of every council member programmed in, like she did—not out of choice but at her mother’s request—in case she found herself in trouble. She seriously doubted her mother had meant from her own father at the time.

“I need my phone. I have her number stored in there.” Kaitlin handed him his phone back and patted her pockets hunting for her own. Only she couldn’t find it. Running through the places she’d been in her head, the only one where she could possibly have lost it was in the car when things had gotten a little…crazy, earlier. “Damn, it’s in the car.”

Pushing to his feet, Rhys offered her his hand. “Let’s go get it.”

“Sure,” grabbing his hand she let him escort her out of the suite and down the corridor to the lift. Oddly the doors opened as soon as the button was pressed, and they stepped into the steel compartment. He pushed the ground floor button and the doors swished shut and the elevator hummed softly as it descended. A ping signalled their arrival at their destination and Rhys took her hand, twining their fingers together, and led her through the ornate lobby and to the car parked outside.

The black SUV’s lights flashed once as he unlocked the car and she pulled open the passenger door and inspected the carpeted floor. Kaitlin couldn’t see it so she reached blindly under the seat. Her fingers brushed something and she quickly grasped it and pulled it out. Sure enough it was her silver phone.

Smiling triumphantly she wiggled it at Rhys and then unlocked it. The message icon blinked furiously on the screen and she tapped it with her finger. It opened to reveal three messages; two from Misha and one from her mum. Apparently things were happening in the cat compound. Big things.

“Something’s happening back at the cat compound. How much do you reckon it’s to do with us?”

Rhys didn’t seem bothered in the least. “Almost definitely.”

“I need to phone Li, tell her what I know and see what she wants to do.” Scrolling through her contacts she found who she wanted and hesitated for the briefest second before pressing the call button. The phone started ringing and she pressed the phone to her ear.

“Li.”

Kaitlin licked her suddenly dry lips. “It’s Kaitlin Mahone. I…I know who killed your father and I have evidence to prove it.”

There was a long silence following her words and she began to wonder if the connection had cut when Li spoke, “Where are you? We should meet.”

“I’m with Rhys…” she trailed off as she realised she didn’t know his last name.

He grinned before supplying, “Hemsworth.”

“Rhys Hemsworth, a wolf shifter—my mate—at the Crescent Bay hotel; he’s got the penthouse suite.”

“A wolf shifter is your mate?” She asked, her voice turning light and teasing. “I bet your father isn’t happy about that?”

Kaitlin smiled and let out a snort of laughter, “Not in the slightest.”

Li’s voice grew serious again, “I’m already in the country—your city actually—on business. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The line went dead.

“Cat?”

She glanced up at Rhys to find his gaze locked on something across the car park. Following the direction of his gaze she found a group of people, both men and women, staring at them. Her eyes locked on one man as he cracked his knuckles with a smile. This couldn’t be good.

“What should we do?” She asked.

“The most sensible thing would be to run, but I don’t think that would be a good idea with Li coming here.”

Shooting him a quick glance, she said, “We don’t know how long she’ll be. Two versus nine are not good odds. Can’t you phone Brent or something?”

“Not a bad idea,” he conceded and swiftly plucked his phone from his jeans pocket and speed dialled Brent. “We’ve got trouble in the car park. Fetch some guys downstairs with you.” He didn’t wait for an answer just disconnected the call and slipped it back in his pocket. “They’re on their way.”

“Good because they’re heading our way.”

Kaitlin tried to remain calm as the newcomers grew ever nearer but it was hard. Not knowing whether they posed a threat to them or not was driving her crazy.

One of the men in the group drew a knife and took a second to stroke the blade before tossing it end over end at Kaitlin. She ducked the flying weapon and heard a crack behind her as it embedded itself in the bullet-proof glass of the SUV.

Definitely a threat, she decided.

Rhys swore to her right as one of the male attackers drew a blade and sliced at his stomach. Baring his teeth in a snarl, he drew his fist back and punched the man in the face.

Kaitlin didn’t get the opportunity to watch as a shrieking woman ran at her. Feinting left, she quickly moved right, kicking out with her foot and connecting with the woman’s side. The woman let out a pained grunt but quickly rallied with a low punch to the kidneys that had Kaitlin crying out in pain. Her anger and adrenaline rising she pushed the pain away and bared her teeth in a snarl.

The other woman went to punch her again but Kaitlin blocked it and grabbed the woman’s arm to pull her off balance. Lifting her knee she drove it into her attacker’s stomach and heard a satisfying “oomph”. Quickly she tripped the woman and, following her down, punched her in the face several times until she was unconscious.

One down, several more to go.

Jumping to her feet, she saw Rhys grappling with one guy on the floor. A woman was closing in on them from behind and Kaitlin saw red.

Stalking forward, she launched herself at the woman, catching her in the side. They tumbled to the ground and rolled as they each fought for dominance. Surprisingly the other woman ended up on top and punched Kaitlin hard in the jaw. Her head snapped to the side with the force and she had to struggle to keep conscious. She blinked slowly and turned her head back to face the woman, who was grinning at her.

In the next second she was yanked backward, her face showing surprise. Kaitlin heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh and then a thud.

Brent was suddenly leaning over her. “You okay?” She nodded, shaking the punch off, and took the hand he offered and was hauled to her feet. “Duck!”

She didn’t question the shout and quickly crouched. A loud crunch sounded above her and she quickly glanced up to see a guy go flying backwards from the force of the hit. He didn’t get back up or twitch and she hoped he was only unconscious and not dead.

“Thanks.” She surveyed the rest of the car park. Almost all the group of would-be bounty hunters were out cold.

A body flew past them and they turned to see a heavily-breathing Rhys, fangs bared as he fought to bring himself under control. He was bleeding from a cut under his eye. “You okay?” He asked, the words garbled by the large incisors on display.

Kaitlin nodded and then spun as she heard the sound of an engine pulling up behind them. It was a large, sleek, silver Chevrolet SUV. The back door opened and an elegant heeled boot stepped out, followed by its counterpart.

Frowning she waited for the owner to appear and her jaw dropped a little when she saw Li emerge in an expensive looking evening dress. It was a strapless nude colour dress with a black swirling pattern that covered the bust and flowed down the body stopping at about knee height where the dress fell in slinky waves to the floor.

“Kaitlin,” she greeted. Her gaze then dropped to the bodies on the floor. “I see you’ve had some visitors this evening. Unwelcome ones, I assume?” Her lip curled in distaste as she glanced around before returning to Kaitlin. “I believe we have business to discuss?”

Snapping her mouth closed, she nodded. “Of course.” Her gaze dropped to the bodies at their feet and she bit her lip wondering what to do.

“My men will remove any evidence of this little battle. Shall we?”

Not for the first time, Kaitlin wondered if she was doing the right thing.

Rhys caught her gaze and smiled softly. The cut on his face began to bleed again and she frowned. Her father had caused that by putting a bounty on her lover’s head; her mate’s head. It was unforgivable.

Yes, she was doing the right thing.

Book Review – When In Paris…

Name: When In Paris…

Author: Beverley Kendall

Genre: New Adult, Romance

Release Date: 21st May 2013

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So this tells the story of Olivia who is attending college halfway across the country and on her first day of classes she was not expecting to see Zachary Pearson, the guy she has had a crush on for the past four years, enter the room. Considering he barely acknowledged her at school, she knows it’s stupid to want him but she cant help it. Zach, unbeknownst to Olivia and everyone else, feels the same way but due to family loyalty has treated her like she doesn’t exist. When a trip to Paris with the French class comes up, Olivia cant wait to go with her best friend but things don’t always go to plan…

On the back of that last sentence I’ll say I was expecting for their to be more time spent in Paris–what with the title and all–but it lasted from 49% to 61% which isn’t that long and then they were back in the States and their relationship was full steam ahead.

It’s a fairly long book and though something seems to be happening all the time I found myself a little…dare I say it, bored? in some places.

I did enjoy it though and the characters were interesting. I’m dying to find out what happens with the other two couples too so I think I’ll be buying the next two books when they’re available.

Next review(s): Fire Inside

Book cover…

I decided to go with Cat’s Wolf as I think Wolf Claimed will be more fitting for Brent and Misha’s story. I just spent the last ten minutes are so making a cover for it and I know it’s not perfect because, considering I went to college to do art and we used photoshop, I am fairly crap at it. I can always do a new at a later date. I’d still like to know what you think of it though…so who’s up for another poll?

Take Our Poll

Chapter 15 – *Shifter Romance*

It took just under half an hour to get back to the Bay and her puma went on alert at the number of wolves inside the suite. There must have been three times the number she’d met before and she itched to run away; her skin feeling almost like it was crawling. Not a nice sensation at all. She rubbed her arms trying to stop it.

Malachi looked just as freaked. The clenching and unclenching of his hands showed her just how hard he was fighting the urge to do something.

Kaitlin moved closer until her arm touched his and watched as some of the tension left his shoulders. She’d relaxed a little too. He gave her a grateful smile.

“Right guys,” Rhys said loudly, grabbing her attention as well as everyone else in the room. “We have possible information that could bring down the head of the Shifter Council. If it wasn’t bad enough that he put a bounty on my head, he’s also exiled one of his own clan members and abused his daughter mentally and emotionally. He is an evil man and he must be stopped and tried for his crimes.”

A cheer of approval went through the room.

He wiggled the file he was holding. “This holds everything we need. I need volunteers to recheck the sources of this to see whether they’d give evidence against Paul Mahone. Who’s up for it?” Several hands raised and he beckoned them forward to come and retrieve the file from him and had a quiet discussion with them.

Kaitlin looked across at Malachi but he’d relaxed and seemed content to wait while his file was looked through and confirmed. Movement beyond him caught her attention and she glanced past him to see a guy with a phone pressed to his ear talking quietly and rapidly. He seemed familiar, like she’d seen him before but it was only when he turned, finishing the conversation that she recognised him. It was the guy who’d been staring at her her first night here. A shiver moved down her spine as he caught her watching him and gave her a cold glare. Something wasn’t right there. Instinct told her she should tell Rhys and she quickly turned to him. “Rhys? Rhys!”

At the almost desperate quality in her voice he turned sharply. “What is it?”

Turning back, she gripped his arm when she saw the man had vanished. “He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?”

Her eyes went over the faces in the room but she couldn’t find him. “The guy,” she answered, her gaze roaming frantically from face to face.

“What guy, Cat? You could be talking about anyone; only the guys followed me from Darren’s.”

She frantically tried to recall what he looked like. “He was tall, dark hair, dark eyes. Kinda creepy looking. You’ve introduced me to him before, the first night I came here. You told me his name!” The night came back to her suddenly, “Raoul!”

He frowned. “Raoul? You’re sure it was him?”

“Yes!”

Rhys whistled sharply and Brent appeared at his side in the next moment. “Try and find Raoul in the suite.”

“He won’t be here. He’ll be long gone by now.” Kaitlin crossed her arms over her chest, unimpressed at not being trusted on this.

Reaching out he brushed his thumb across her cheek. “I can’t go jumping to conclusions; it wouldn’t make me a good Alpha. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe you, though, I do.”

Brent reappeared at their side, shaking his head. “He’s not here. Why did you want him?”

“He’s working with someone else,” Kaitlin cut in before Rhys could answer. “I saw him talking heatedly to someone on the phone. When he saw me watching he gave me this cold, evil look and I just knew something was wrong. I told Rhys and when I turned back he was gone.”

“I hate to break it to you, Kaitlin, but that doesn’t prove anything,” Brent said softly.

She took a step closer and shoved her finger in his face, “Don’t patronize me, Brent. My instinct tells me he’s up to no good and it’s never been wrong before. He’s working for someone else. For all we know it could be my father; or Darren; Tito.”

Both men stared at her for long minutes as the rest of the room was filled with the sound of quiet conversation.

“Look, Raoul wasn’t happy to see me when you fetched me here the first time. He may have acted polite but I sensed he’d rather have killed me than smile like he did.”

Brent nodded like it made sense. “We did think it strange that he came with us, didn’t we? He never interacted with us unless he had to so why did he follow us out here?”

“You have a valid point,” Rhys acknowledged. “We need to find out who he’s working for.”

“How do we do that?” She asked.

His brow furrowed as he thought and then a loud sigh left him. “I have no idea. Maybe we should concentrate on one problem at a time. Your father is a bigger concern. If it turns out Raoul is working for him then that will get rid of both problems. If not, we can deal with it afterwards.”

Kaitlin nodded and turned back to stare at the room.

“My source is very reliable. The information doesn’t need verifying,” Malachi chipped in. “And there’s a list in there that documents who’s willing to testify. You may also find a picture of—Raoul?—in there as an associate of Tito’s; which probably puts him on the payroll of Paul Mahone.”

They all turned to stare at him and he held his palms up. “I didn’t know he was in your pack; that wasn’t passed on to me or I’d have mentioned something sooner.”

Rhys glared at him for a moment before turning back to the room. “Alright guys. Change of plan. There should be a list mentioned in the file that lists people willing to testify. Find it and check—just to confirm. Myself and Kaitlin will be working out who on the council will be the best choice to take the evidence to. Brent will be around somewhere, as will Malachi, if they are needed. Please treat Malachi kindly, he is a…guest and an ally.”

A soft murmur of agreement went through the room and then Kaitlin felt Rhys’ hand wrap around her upper arm and she was led down the corridor and into the bedroom and pushed gently towards the bed.

“Rhys now isn’t the time to—” Her words were cut off as his lips claimed hers softly but passionately.

“I know,” he told her with a smirk, when he finally released her, “but I couldn’t resist.” His thumb ran over her bottom lip, “You’ve been biting it and it looked so red and inviting.” Rhys’ eyes flared amber as his gaze roamed her face.

Kaitlin could see the effort it took for him to let her go and couldn’t resist a small smile. It was certainly something to know you had a hold on someone who was normally so strong-willed. That you were his weakness.

He moved away to grab something off the table and then sat on the edge of the bed. Rhys patted the space beside him and she walked to his side to see what he was doing. He’d grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and was writing all the council members names on it with a pro’s and con’s column under each.

“You think that’s going to help?” She asked with a smile.

As he shrugged his shoulders, she dropped down beside him and pulled the pad from his grip and flicked through the names for the one she wanted. When she found it, she tugged the pen from his fingers and wrote a note on the pro side.

Youngest member of council; has done little that D could hold over her.

“You’re thinking of going to Li?”

She glanced across at him, “Why not? Maybe in Malachi’s file it says it was my father who sent the rogues to kill hers.”

Rhys’ brows rose in surprise. “You think so?”

“It’s possible,” she got up off the bed and headed to the door. “Let me go find out.”

Pulling the door open she hurried down the corridor and hooked and arm through Malachi’s to get his attention. He glanced around nervously, probably looking for Rhys, before giving her his full attention.

“You know that file off by heart?” He nodded his head, watching her warily. “Then do you know whether it was my father who sent the rogues to kill Li’s?”

Malachi slowly nodded his head. “My source told me.”

Kaitlin tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. “Who is your source? I know them, right?”

He glanced away, “I don’t think they’d want you to know.”

“Okay.” She nodded understandingly. “You have proof? I’m going to need it for what I have planned.”

“There’s a transcript in the file of the phone conversation between Paul Mahone and the rogue werewolf.”

How had he managed to get something like that? “I’ll need a copy.”

Malachi nodded and crossed the room to retrieve it from the file. She watched as he moved over to a small portable printer and pressed a few buttons. Moments later he was back with a copy of it, which he handed to her.

Her eyes scanned the sheet of paper, a queasiness taking over her as she read the instructions her father had given to the wolves on how he wanted Li’s dad to be killed. She took a steadying breath and looked away from the file. It was sickening.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

Taking the paper she headed back towards the bedroom where Rhys was waiting and waved the sheet in her hand. “Bingo.”

Book Review – Losing It

Name: Losing It

Author: Cora Carmack

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Release Date: 28th March 2013

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll start by saying I love the name and cover of this book. They are so fitting of the story.

Anyway, it tells the story of Bliss, a 22 year old theatre student who has let slip to her best friend that she is still a virgin. Her friend then decides they should go out to try and find the right guy for Bliss’ first time. After downing four tequila shots for courage she heads to the toilet and on her way back she sees a guy reading Shakespeare in the bar. Drunk, she blurts out something stupid and the guy, Garrick, puts the book down to talk with her and before Bliss knows it, they’re flirting with each other and on their way to his place. I don’t want to spoil it for you but let’s just say things go a little wrong and she’s just grateful she wont have to see him again. Only the next day when she goes to class and he’s there…as the teacher.

This story was right up my street. It had everything I look for in a book; humour, sexiness and a good plotline. So in my opinion Cora Carmack is a genius!

If you ask me, Garrick quite possibly pulled every single female reader within those first two chapters. Girls, he’s hot! In fact, Garrick seems pretty fecking perfect and I have to say I’m slightly jealous of Bliss. The rest of the characters are a fun bunch and when they do the whole getting drunk thing together I was laughing.

If you’re looking for a fun, sexy read then I recommend this book. It’s amazing!

Next review(s): When In Paris…

Book Review – Deeper We Fall

Name: Deeper We Fall

Author: Chelsea M. Cameron

Genre: New Adult, Romance

Release Date: 23rd January 2013

Rating: 3½ out of 5 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm…

This book tells the story of Charlotte – A.K.A Hottie Lottie/Lottie – and she’s struggling to forgive herself and others for the accident two years ago that left her friend with brain damage. The other people she blames are Zach and Alexander “Zan” Parker who were both drunk and in the car when the crash happened. On arriving at college, she finds out her room-mate is dating Zach and then bumps into Zan on Campus a while later. Lottie doesn’t take it well, them being there, and looks to her twin brother and friends for support. The plot then thickens abit when we start seeing things from Zan’s point of view and things get interesting…but I’m not going to spoil it by telling you what happens in the end.

Anyway. This is my first book by the author and though I have her “My Favourite Mistake” on my amazon wishlist I haven’t got around to buying it yet.

For me, this started good. We understood her animosity to the brothers and everything and we could see for ourselves how much of an arse Zach was while Zan was a man of few words and dark, bottomless eyes. I just didn’t quite seem to catch the bit where her feelings changed. Yeah, we as the reader knew that Zan wasn’t so bad and he may have done stupid things in the past but he’s changed now, but when did Lottie figure it out because she never really gave him a chance to talk to her?

That being said, I did like the characters (though there are quite a few by the end and I got confused a bit between Audrey and Trish). On the other hand, Lottie and her twin brother Will’s “twindar” was very impressive. If that really happens when you have a twin, I am impressed and wish I had one. I really liked Stryker too, he seemed like a chilled out kind of guy who could talk a lot of sense, I wish I had a friend like him. Looking forward to his and Katie’s story when it’s released.

It was quite a sweet story when they finally got together and the bad guy got his comeuppance in the end.

 

Next review(s): Losing It