Twinkle (Sugandha) Varshney's Blog, page 153
September 29, 2017
Back 2 School Special
For those who live to read...here are some awesome books provided by the incredible authors who wrote them. All in celebration of the new school year.
While a few of these books might be oldies, but goodies...others could be new and fresh off the presses.
Relax and find your new favorite author.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Young Adult (YA)
Young adult fiction or young adult literature (YA) is fiction published for readers in their youth. The terms young adult novel, juvenile novel, teenage fiction, young adult book, etc., refer to the works in this category. The subject matter and story lines of young adult literature are typically consistent with the age and experience of the main character, but this literature spans the spectrum of fiction genres. Stories that focus on the specific challenges of youth are sometimes referred to as problem novels or coming-of-age novels.
Please enjoy these books that focus on Young Adult and its sub-genres. The list is available in alphabetically order by title.
Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win an Amazon Giftcard.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Airwoman by Zara Quentin YA Fantasy
A dreamer chases rumours of magic across portals to another world—and into the clutches of a killer…
Jade Gariq is a dreamer—she longs to join the Traveller Force and visit the far-flung worlds of the Dragonverse. When her father suddenly dies, she inherits his cross-portal trading company, turning her life upside down.
Mourning her father, Jade hears rumours that suggest his death is not what it seems. Her uncle suspects foul play and all clues point to an uncharted, uninhabited world.
Determined to find the truth, Jade may finally get the chance to follow her dream--but will her father’s killer find her first?
Airwoman is the first in a fresh, original young adult fantasy series. If you love page-turning epic adventure, portals into incredible new worlds and a dash of romance, Airwoman is a must-read.
Buy Airwoman now and discover whether this dreamer can survive her worst nightmare.
Beneath the Stars by Jude Ouvrard Young Adult
Back in 1999, university student Clara is doing everything she can to stay focused. She avoids relationships at all cost, not wanting to risk drama or a broken heart before her finals. Until one night, she starts talking to a stranger on the internet, one she has too much in common with. Quickly, her virtual friendship feels like more. Sending letters, phone calls and thinking about him nonstop, turns her reality upside down. Can she really love someone who lives hundreds of miles away, whom she’s never met in person? Is it meant to be or meant to fall apart? Only the future can tell...
Sublime Karma by Peyton Garver Young Adult
When Brie's stepfather moves the family for what he calls a new beginning, it's not the new beginning she would have hoped for. Brie is targeted by jealous girls at her new school, and the only available seat on her bus is next to Jake, who for some reason, finds her offensive. After a humiliating article and picture of Brie is posted in the online school journal, a demon she thought she'd overcome resurfaces, and her life unravels. A newly compassionate Jake has finally taken an interest in her, but can Brie learn to trust her heart, or will she miss out on the best thing that ever happened to her?
Jake has his own secrets and has built his own walls, but eventually his curiosity about the new girl gets the best of him. Unfortunately, now there is competition: the captain of her cross country team. Jake's romantic histories with the girl next door and the school's queen bee, adds tension to a simmering tempest when all he wants is Brie. Is he strong enough to help the one he loves weave sense into her crumbling new reality while overcoming his own tainted past?
Watching July by Christine Hart
YA Paranormal
Sixteen-year-old July MacKenzie can hardly recognize her own life anymore. A few months ago, she was enjoying her urban lifestyle in Vancouver, going to school, hanging out with the same old friends she'd had for years. Now, when she steps out her back door, the only evidence of human existence she sees is an empty road, stretching off in the distance to ... nowhere.
It all happened so fast! Her mom was killed in a hit and run accident, and before she knew it Marie, her other parent, had sold the house, packed up and moved them out into the Interior. How could she leave everything behind like that? July could never make new friends. She'd never get used to the dark nights of the countryside. And she'd never, ever, stop missing her birth mom as long as she lived! But then July meets the boy down the road. Surprised to find herself falling in love and making friends at school, she starts to see the possibility of building a new life. But mysterious events soon make it clear that her new world is still very connected to her past. When it is revealed that her mother's death was not what it seemed, July must face some shocking discoveries that quickly gain a momentum that spirals out of control.
Winter of the Crystal Dances by Angela Dorsey Young Adult
Evy can telepathically understand horses, but she’s not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse. Her secret “gift” certainly seems to get her in a lot of trouble. When some starving mustangs wander close to the wilderness cabin that she shares with her hermit mother, she knows she must help them - but her act of kindness quickly snowballs into events that forever change her life and the life of a very special mustang filly.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Noble's Song by Vicki Green
Title: Noble's SongAuthor: Vicki GreenGenre: Contemporary RomanceRelease Date: September 25, 2017
Blurb
A song can tell a thousand stories
And break a million hearts
When you have next to nothing, it’s easier to be appreciative of what little you do have.
Noble Lewis grew up with meager means yet her heart couldn’t be purer. The day she lost her mama was the day she set out on her own, leaving behind the only place she’d ever known to find her place in the vast world.
Her mama always told her to follow her heart, let it guide her. Her gentle and selfless nature is the one thing that her mama gave her but is she really prepared for what lies ahead?
ADD TO GOODREADS
Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Excerpt
“You see, Noble – I’m bad news around here. You deserve to be with someone who’s in better regard in town. Someone you can be proud to be with.”Reaching up, I cup his handsome face. “Don’t you see you’re better than what you think you are? No one’s perfect, Merrick. Lots of people have hard lives. You’ve been nothing but kind and caring to me. And your mama? You’ve just told me you’ll do anything for her and you have.” I smile and rub my thumb across his cheek. “I am proud of you, Merrick.” His eyes stare into mine and my breath hitches at the intensity. Slowly, he moves toward me, his hand taking my arm. “I’m gonna kiss you now if that’s okay.” I swallow hard and barely nod when his lips press against mine. I’ve never had a boy – or a man – kiss me before. It’s not like kissing Mama at all. It lingers. Makes shivers run through me. My lips tingle. It’s…. beautiful. It’s not as long as I’d like, left me wanting more, but he pulls back slightly and presses his forehead against mine. My eyes remain closed, and I still feel those tingles on my lips. “That was the most perfect kiss,” I whisper.
Author Bio
Best selling Author of Romance and Romance Suspense, Vicki lives in Kansas with her husband and two boys as well as their 3 dogs that rule their house. She loves spending time with her family and furbabies as well as reading.
Look for more exciting romance adventures in the future.
Author Links
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK GROUP NEWSLETTER | WEBSITE | BOOKBUB AMAZON US / UK
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Daring Wes by Jules Barnard
Title: Daring WesSeries: Cade Brothers #2Author: Jules BarnardGenre: Contemporary RomanceRelease Date: September 26, 2017
Blurb
A second chance could either save him or destroy him...
I was born with a competitive streak a mile wide. Ever since I could walk, I've made it a point to never lose. And I never did, until my girlfriend left me senior year of college and my professional golf career tanked.
Over the past four years, I've fought to regain my winning edge. The last thing I need as I prepare for the pro tour is my ex-girlfriend sauntering into the golf shop on the arm of her new fiancé. Then again, this might be my opportunity to win back what I've lost.
Kaylee doesn't seem the contented fiancée she should be, or the cold-hearted girl who left me years ago--and she's hiding a secret. One I'm determined to discover. Because if there's a chance I was wrong about Kaylee and she really had loved me, maybe I can break the mental block that's left me in the rough.
But the rules of golf don't always apply to love.
*NOTE: This is not a cheating story. Each book in the Cade Brothers series is a standalone that can be read in any order.*
ADD TO GOODREADS
Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AUB&N / KOBO / iBOOKS GOOGLE PLAY
Also Available
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AUB&N / KOBO / iBOOKSGOOGLE PLAY / AUDIO
Author Bio
Jules Barnard is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic fantasy. Her contemporary series include the Men of Lake Tahoe and the Cade Brothers. She writes romantic fantasy under the same pen name with the Halven Rising series Library Journal calls “…an exciting new fantasy adventure.” Whether she’s writing about sexy men in Lake Tahoe or a Fae world embedded in a college campus, Jules spins addictive stories filled with heart and humor.
When Jules isn’t in her sweatpants writing and rewarding herself with chocolate, she spends her time with her husband and two children in their small hometown on the California coast. She credits herself with the ability to read while running on the treadmill or burning dinner.
To learn more about Jules, visit her website at: http://www.julesbarnard.com
Sign up for Jules’s Newsletter and receive access to FREE extra scenes-- http://www.julesbarnard.com/newsletter/
Author Links
WEBSITE FACEBOOK
BOOKBUB
AMAZON
NEWSLETTER
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Rewrite by Stephanie Rose
Title: Rewrite
Author: Stephanie Rose
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Design: Najla Qamber Designs
Photo: MaelDesign & Photography
Models: Josh & Shauna Meyers
Release Date: October 19, 2017
Blurb
Once upon a time, a girl loved a boy and he loved her back. They lived happily ever after.
But our story was never that simple.
I loved Josh with all I had, right until the day he left. Now, all these years later, he was back—and wanting me the way I’d always longed for him. Except now, I belonged to someone else. Someone who never left me the way Josh had. I figured that was the end of our story. I couldn’t alter the past.
I didn’t want to rewrite my future.
Brianna was always more than my best friend. She was the shining light in my black hole of an existence, and I loved her with every cell and bone in my body. I wasn’t good enough for her, though—more the villain than the hero in our fairy tale. When I had to leave, I vowed to come back a better man—for her. But when I finally did return, she wasn’t waiting for me anymore. She had someone new, her very own Prince Charming. Did that mean our story was over? I couldn't change our past.
It was time to rewrite our ending.
ADD TO GOODREADS
AMAZON LIVE ALERT
Excerpt
Brianna hadn’t uttered a single word since we stepped into the truck. Tension radiated off her entire body as she faced as far away from me as possible. I knew she was avoiding me. Our near kiss was too much for her to handle right now. I should’ve backed off and let her have her space, and I did for a few days. All we were doing was delaying the inevitable—whether she chose to admit it or not. “I’m sorry we had to leave so soon. I would have liked to meet more of your friends.” I glanced her way, and Brianna nodded in response, still not looking at me. “I saw Christal corner you at the bar.” Her voice was aloof but the ticking in her jaw said otherwise as she drew back into the seat. Sick, my ass. I noticed her glaring at me and Christal tonight. She stared daggers into Christal’s back every time she touched me. She could act as aloof as she wanted. I knew she fucking hated it. My cupcake was in a losing battle with herself. She was going to make herself really get sick if she didn’t surrender soon. “Yeah,” I chuckled. “Chatty little thing.” Brianna nodded but wouldn’t look my way. “She is. I’m surprised she didn’t slip you her number,” she scoffed. “Oh, she did. In fact, she opened with that.” I fought a smile, picturing the wheels turning in her adorable little head. Brianna’s head whipped to mine. “She did?” “What’s wrong?” I asked with as much innocence as I could get away with. “You don’t like her?” “No,” she offered a bit too abruptly. “I mean, she’s fine, I guess. You can talk to whomever you want.” "So, if I take her out . . . you'd be okay with that?” I let Christal down easy and right away, but Brianna didn't need to know that. The prick in me wanted to see how this played out. "Sure." She shrugged as she turned away from me again. "Do what you want." Her jaw clenched so hard, I thought she was going to chip a tooth as she focused on the Hudson River whizzing passed the car window. Since we were kids, she had the worst poker face. I always knew the second she was pissed off, and judging by how her chest heaved, she was about ready to blow. Traffic always bottlenecked around the same exit. We inched until we came to a full stop. I slid my arm around her and leaned in. She stiffened, but unless she jumped out of the car onto the side of the highway, she had nowhere to go. I nuzzled her cheek. Fuck it, I was going for broke. "And if I . . . take her home. You'd be . . ." "Fine," she breathed out, her voice a mix of fury and lust. "Like I just said, do what you want." I laughed, victorious. "Cupcake," I whispered as my lips grazed her cheek, “you are so full of shit."
Author Bio
Stephanie Rose grew up loving words and making up stories. Being able to share them with readers is her dream come true. This lifelong Bronx girl loves Starbucks, wine and 80s rock. Her voice often gets mistaken for a Mob Wives trailer.
She married her prom date and has a seven-year-old LEGO obsessed son. She believes there is nothing sexier than a good guy who loves with all his heart, and has made it her mission to bring as many as she can to the page.
Author Links
FACEBOOK FACEBOOK GROUP TWITTER INSTAGRAM GOODREADS AMAZON NEWSLETTER BOOKBUB
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hard to Stay by S. Jones
Title: Hard to StayA Hard Series Standalone
Author: S. Jones
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Design: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs
Photo: Sara Eirew
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Blurb
Leaving the past behind should be easy.
For Lexi Manning, escaping her past shouldn't be so hard, but like objects in the rear view mirror, things end up being much closer than they appear.
Brad Morgan is no stranger to heartbreak. He gave his heart away once only to have it returned. This time around he's not taking no for an answer.
His friendship with Lexi might have started off in his romantic blind spot, but it quickly turned into something he never saw coming.
When the life that Lexi is running from starts to catch up to her, she is forced to make an impossible decision. Is protecting the man she loves worth running back to the life she barely escaped from the first time?
Leaving Brad is the last thing she wants to do, but she knows ultimately it will be too Hard To Stay....
ADD TO GOODREADS
Also Available
99c for a limited time
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Author Bio
S. Jones lives in Upstate, N.Y. with her husband, her two teenage children, and her adorable golden retriever Marley. She is a wine lover, coffee drinker, domestic chef, housekeeper, chauffeur, dog walker and world traveler...Oh and she is also a hopeless romantic! When she's not doing laundry, mowing her lawn or taking care of her family, you can usually find her on the computer planning out her next vacation, having a drink with her friends or reading a nice juicy book.
Author Links
WEBSITE
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Fighting Fire by Jiffy Kate
Title: Fighting FireSeries: Finding Focus #3Author: Jiffy KateGenre: Contemporary RomanceRelease Date: September 29, 2017
Blurb
Fire is a fickle bitch. It comes in all shapes and sizes.
The power held within its heat and flames can either create something strong and beautiful or destroy everything in its path.
Sometimes it does both without you even realizing it.
If you want to live life, your only choice is to fight the fire. You might still get burned, but you’ll be stronger in the end.
ADD TO GOODREADS
Purchase Links
99c for a limited time
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Also Available
99c for a limited time
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
99c for a limited time
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Author Bio
Jiffy Kate is the joint pen name for Jiff Simpson and Jenny Kate Altman.
Jiff was born and raised in Louisiana. She’s now living in Texas with her two teenagers and two bulldogs, Georgia Rose and Jake. She spends her days enabling people’s LulaRoe addictions. Don’t worry, it’s not illegal.
Jenny Kate was born and raised in Oklahoma where she lives with her husband, teenager, and two high-maintenance Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Wrigley and Oliver. She’s a coffee-obsessed accounting assistant, who wishes she had an endless supply of money and vacation days.
Some people think they’ve been friends forever, but they’ve only known each other about six years. Kindred spirits and all that. After their first “date”, they knew it was fate. Five years ago, they started writing their first story and they haven’t stopped.
Their first published book, Finding Focus, was released in November 2015. Since then, they’ve published the second book of the Finding Focus Series, Chasing Castles; a new adult romance, The Other One; and a sexy novella series, Table 10.
If you like a romance set in the south, then you’ll love their southern fried fiction with heart and soul.
Author Links
FACEBOOK GROUP
AMAZON
BOOKBUB
Defying Gravity by Laura Farr
Title: Defying Gravity
Series: Healing Hearts #2
Author: Laura Farr
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 29, 2017
Blurb
Savannah Parker is miserable.
The reason: Josh Miller, her brother’s best friend.
Devastated by the unrequited love she has for Josh, she has no choice but to sit back and watch him play the field, her heart breaking a little more each time she sees him.
In an attempt to forget about Josh and move on, she distances herself from those who love her. Josh is never far from her thoughts though. In a desperate attempt to feel something for someone and fill the void, she makes a reckless choice – one that will change her life forever.
Once her secret is revealed, relationships are threatened, and Savannah stands to lose those closest to her. When she needs someone the most, Josh proves to be her greatest support, and soon the lines of friendship become blurred. When she confronts him about his feelings for her, he reveals a secret of his own – a secret that could destroy them before they’ve even started.
Can Savannah and Josh make a relationship work? Or are there some secrets that are too hard to overcome?
ADD TO GOODREADS
Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Also Available
FREE for a limited time!
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Always free in Kindle Unlimited
Author Bio
Laura Farr lives in Shropshire with her husband and two children. When she isn’t working, or being a Mummy she is pursuing her dream of writing.
She is a romantic at heart and loves nothing more than writing stories with a happy ever after, even if there is the odd chapter of angst thrown in! Her desire to write came from her love of reading and when she isn’t writing you will find her attached to her kindle or spending time with her family.
Author Links
FACEBOOK PROFILE
FACEBOOK PAGE
Summer Prescott Books Giveaway
BookBrag.com $100 Amazon Giftcard Giveawayhttp://www.BookBrag.com3 ebook giveaway from Summer Prescott Books Publisher.
Those books include:
A Ryli Sinclair Mystery, Book 1By Jenna St. JamesPublished: August 2017Genre: Cozy MysteryBuy it From Amazon
By Summer PrescottPublished: April 2017Genre: ThrillerBuy it From Amazon
By Alex JamesonPublished: February 2017Genre: HorrorBuy it From Amazon
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Duke by Katharine Ashe
Katharine Ashe continues her lush and sensual Devil’s Duke series with a sweeping story of unbreakable love. Six years ago, when Lady Amarantha Vale was an innocent in a foreign land and Gabriel Hume was a young naval officer, they met . . . and played with fire.Now Gabriel is the dark lord known to society as the Devil’s Duke, a notorious recluse hidden away in a castle in the Highlands. Only Amarantha knows the truth about him, and she won’t be intimidated. He is the one man who can give her the answers she needs.But Gabriel cannot let her learn his darkest secret. So begins a game of wit and desire that proves seduction is more satisfying—and much more wicked—the second time around…About the BookThe Dukeby Katharine AsheSeriesDevil’s Duke #3GenreAdultHistorical RomancePublisherAvon BooksPublication DateSeptember 26, 2017
He saw her for the first time ever in a storage cellar with rain slashing at her face, standing atop a crate, struggling to fasten a window, and the first words he heard from her lips were, “Damn and blast it to Hades!”
Before he could duck his head beneath the lintel and move forward, she turned to him eyes the color of cloverleavesand lit like lightning.
“Don’t gape, you big column of shark bait,” she shouted. “Help me!”
A blast of wind struck the building and the shop above them shuddered. Her grip slipped over the window latch.Gabriel shoved his shoulders through the narrow doorway and in three strides crossed the room. The wind blewhot and punishingly hard through the opening, but she did not release the latch. Covering her hand with his, he drovethe frame shut.
The building moaned, and Gabriel found himself looking down upon a nose both freckled and wet, lips both lush and damp, lashes both long and dripping, and cloverleaves that had gone entirely round. Her features were English, fine, and not unattractive. After five months at sea, he would have been one sailor in a million to resist following the trail of rainwater down her pale throat in which her pulse beat visibly to the gown laced tight around her collar, sodden, and clinging to her curves.
Sweet curves.
“Remove your hand from mine and your eyes from where they have fallen out of your head,” she said in suchan altered tone that he barely heard it below the groaning of the walls and the pounding of the rain. Rather, thepounding of his pulse.
Too long at sea.
He removed his eyes and then his entire self. Stepping back, he offered his hand for her descent from the crate.
She lifted a single brow.
“I beg your pardon,” he said roughly, withdrawing his hand once again.
She grasped her sodden skirts and climbed nimbly down. “You are pardoned, Shark Bait. This time.”
“Lieutenant,” he corrected.
Swiftly scanning the room with those eyes that even in the murky light of this day were like the green of Highlandsmountains, she untied the ribbons at her throat, removed her dripping bonnet, and tossed it atop a barrel.
“Have you got a handkerchief?”
He reached into his waistcoat and proffered the square of linen. She glanced at his outstretched hand, then at hisface, then at his hand again, and did not move forward.
“You are a giant beast of a man, aren’t you?” she said.
“So I’ve been told.” He set the linen on a crate and backed away, curling his fingers into his palm that hadeasily encompassed her whole hand. Taking up the kerchief, she unfolded it with trembling fingers and wiped the rainwater from her face. Wind and rain battered the building in frenzied fury, filling the tiny space with sound.
“I wonder how you go along aboard a ship.” Her gaze passed up and down him anew. “The crown of my headis barely to your chin yet I found the quarters aboard our ship frightfully cramped. Unless naval ships are muchmore spacious, you must spend every day bent over.”“Aye, but only the part o’ the day belowdecks.”
The lush lips twitched. When she withdrew her gaze to look about the room, he felt the loss of that reluctant smile in his chest like the loss of air.
Nonsense. He was muddled with exhaustion from preparing the Fairway for the storm. This storage room beneath the shop was minuscule, heavy with heat, and packed with sacks of rice and grain, barrels of sugar and ham, wooden parts for furniture, skeins of silk, boxes of nails and other tools, and even one small keg of gunpowder. She strode the circumference of it, rounding him, and then halting where she had begun.
The wind blasted against the shop above and she tilted her face upward to peer at the ceiling that hung an inch abovehis head. Biting her lips between her teeth, she drew a hard breath, and then looked at him again.
“I suppose you have experience with storms of this sort,” she said.
Not of this sort. But spots of pink sat upon each pale cheek now. She had tucked her hands into her soggy skirtsto hide their quivering. She was making a valiant effort to conceal her distress—more valiant than many a sailorhe’d known.
“ ‘Twill blow over soon enough, lass.”
“That was a lie,” she said, a dart forming between her brows. “Why did you lie to me?”
“I didna—” He bit back his retort. But his patience was frayed. There had been no sign of the Theia entering the harbor, though he had stood in the downpour until the swells were rising so suddenly and steeply over the quay he had finally been obliged to shelter here. And now this: a sharp-tongued English girl with the manners of a stevedore.
Gabriel didn’t care much for social niceties. But a man wasn’t made First Lieutenant of a ship of the line at twenty-three by failing to mind his tongue.
Minding his behavior was another matter entirely.
He bent his head and a stream of water cascaded from his hat brim. He glanced at her through the waterfall. “Would you be fretting if I remove my hat?”
The cinnamon spots that trailed over the bridge of her nose and across her cheeks crinkled together to make one big cinnamon blotch. “Why on earth should I?”
He set his hat upon a crate. Wrapping her arms about herself she watched him closely.
“Well?” she said. Some of her hair had escaped the knot at the back of her head and clung wetly to her browjust as the fabric of her gown clung to her hips and legs.
Copper hair striated with gold.
Softly rounded hips.
Long legs.
The damn pulse in his head was a snare drum. He knew men whose cravings for feminine flesh got the bestof them when they finally came into port. He had never been one of those men. Women weren’t to be enjoyedlike a randy stallion taking a mare, rather with as much appreciation as a man savored a tumbler of fine brandy,or a sublime piece of music, or a painting by an Italian master—a Michelangelo or Botticelli.
Sweet curves.
Her garments were fine, her speech cultivated, and she was old enough to know that her damp gown was not inthe least modest at present.
The stallion was winning.
“ ‘Twill be some time before the storm passes,” he said in too husky a voice. “ ’Tis miles wide.”
The brilliant cloverleaves popped round again.
“Miles?” Beneath the freckles and agitated flush, her skin was smooth—cheeks, brow, hands. She had not beenin the islands long, and she was little more than a girl.
After nearly a decade at sea, Gabriel could barely remember boyhood.
“You’ve just arrived?” he said.
“Two days ago on the Camelot.”
Gabriel knew it. As first officer on one of His Majesty’s finest ships of the line, it was his responsibility to knowthe merchant vessels that docked at English ports.
“No one warned you o’ hurricanes?”
“No.” She had remarkable features: mobile and bright and expressive. “Should they have?”
“It’ll be hours still.” And it would leave a mighty mess of destruction.
“How many hours?”
“No’ till morning.”
With a long inhalation, she released her arms from about her chest. “Then we should make ourselves comfortable,” she said with newly crisp decision and swept him with another perusal, lingering ever-so-briefly on the medals pinned to his coat. “If you can. You are as wet as I, yet you look like a toy soldier, standing there so erect and unbending. I suppose sailors are accustomed to being soaked through, of course.”
“If they’re bad sailors, aye.”
Pleasure flared in her eyes. “Now, make yourself useful and help me search these crates for a woolen shawl or blanket. For I am soaked through.” She set to her task on the nearest crate, but the lid was nailed shut and her fingertips strained at the wood.
He went to her side. Scent arose from her damp hair and skin. She smelled like a memory. He withdrew the knife from his coat and pried open the lid.
“It seems that you are useful after all,” she said with a half grin that abruptly turned something very sharp inhis gut and made him want to tell her the truth. Urgently. All truths. Truths about the hurricane and truths about thedepths of the sea and the stars in the heavens and every one of the sins that made him a beast indeed.
“Lass, ’tis as likely as no’ that before this night is o’er, the sea will top the wharfs an’ swallow this building.”
“And we in it.”
“Aye.”
“I see.” For a moment she said nothing. “After we find blankets we should look for a deck of cards or a backgammon board in these crates. For if we are to die tonight, we had better enjoy our final hours on earth, hadn’t we, Shark Bait?”
“Lieutenant.” He could not look away from her eyes. Black clouds without blotted the tropical sun, allowingonly the most reluctant light into this room, yet her eyes sparkled.
Backgammon. She had the body of a siren and the innocence of a girl.
“You’ve a disliking for sailors, it seems,” he said.
“The officers aboard the Camelot confined me to my quarters for the entire duration of the journey. They said it was not suitable for me to be atop, but I think they simply did not want me to witness them drinking the day away every day.”
More than likely they did not trust themselves with the pretty little siren wandering about.
“I think you are trying not to smile, Shark Bait. Will you attempt to deny that sailors drink excessively?”
“No.”
“So, you understand the reason for my dislike.”
“Because hardworking men are fond o’ spirits?”
“Because they refused to share their spirits with me.”
They found blankets woven of soft wool and tins of biscuits. They had no lamp, which Gabriel said was for the better, and she accepted that without comment. As the storm lashed the shop above and water trickled through the seams of the window, and darkness fell, they found a cask of new rum. She said that she had never tasted rum, and asked if, being a Scot, he preferred whiskey. He replied that he did, but that any grog in a storm would do.
She smiled so readily, as though her lips were more accustomed to smiling than not. Despite her obvious breeding,there was no maidenly modesty in her frankness. It was on the tip of his tongue to say that over both whiskey andrum he already preferred her.
She discovered sugar, which he added to the rum to make it more palatable for her, and she sipped warily. Asthe daylight waned and she explored the contents of crates and barrels, she darted glances at him—frequently.
She spoke with ease but she came no nearer to him than necessary. When the black night consumed every last wisp of light she ceased speaking. As the hurricane shook the walls, Gabriel settled onto the ground with his back against a crate. Closing his eyes, he made himself picture the Theia bobbing violently at anchor in some nearby port, its decks flooded in foam but its crew and officers tucked into some terrestrial haven.
No time left for repentance. He had thought he and Jonah would have plenty of time. Sailors perished every day at sea, but somehow he had believed them untouchable.
Invincible, Gabe. That’s what the storytellers will say of us someday. Invincible.
In the heavy darkness, her scent came to him again. Like home. Not the mossy grass of the mountains of Kallin, nor the wildflowers that carpeted the hills of Haiknayes. She smelled of woodland fir: crisp and warm and rich.
The room rattled and he felt her settle silently at his side.
“How did you come to be here in this cellar?” she said very quietly. She was close to his shoulder, closer than hehad anticipated.
“I was watching for a ship. You?”
“I walked to post a letter and got caught up with exploring. Everything here is so different and interesting. Iwas far from the hotel before I thought to turn around.” She made a sound that might have been a sigh. “I failed to heed the warnings.”
“Dinna fear, lass. ‘Twill be morning before long.”
“You are lying again, Shark Bait.” Then he felt the pressure of her body against his arm, her shoulder leaningin. “But this time I don’t mind it.”
He did not move. He could not move. He wanted her bone and flesh pressing against his so simply. Perhaps inthese final hours that had come far too soon in his life, God was offering him mercy, a moment of innocent pleasureafter all the moments of sinful pleasure he had seized.
Something bumped against his leg. Then her fingers slipped beneath his hand. Her clasp was unhesitating, herfingertips brushing across his palm then pressing tight against his knuckles. Palm to palm with her, he strove tobreathe and his heartbeats flew at twelve knots.
“You are lying to comfort me,” she said, “so that I will not dwell on how we are about to die.”
“Am I?” Only thin wooden walls and ceiling separated them from death, and yet the touch of a girl’s hand was allhe cared for now.
“You are,” she whispered clearly and softly beneath the storm’s scream. “It seems that I will be obliged to reconsider my poor opinion of sailors. One sailor, at least.”
Blindly he turned his face to her. He was in fact a beast of a man, and she was a little thing that he could crushwith a single arm, and he knew he should not be holding her hand, not even in this circumstance.
He bent his head closer. “Aye?”
She did not reply and her hand remained snugly in his and the night raged on.About Katharine Ashe
KATHARINE ASHE is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of historical romances reviewers call “intensely lush” and “sensationally intelligent,” including her acclaimed Devil’s Duke Series, and My Lady, My Lord and How to Marry a Highlander, 2015 and 2014 finalists for the romance industry’s most prestigious award, the RITA®.Katharine lives in the wonderfully warm Southeast with her beloved husband, son, dog, and a garden she likes to call romantic rather than unkempt. A professor of European History, she writes fiction because she thinks modern readers deserve grand adventures and breathtaking sensuality too.Katharine’s Links
This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.
September 28, 2017
Three Empty Words By Gen Ryan
Author: Gen RyanTitle: Three Empty WordsGenre: Contemporary Romantic ComedyRelease Date: September 9, 2017Publisher: Hot Tree PublishingCover Designer: Claire Smith
AVAILABLE NOW Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ubFCkbAll others: books2read.com/empty-words
Melanie Smith has spent her entire life waiting for her happy ever after. For a moment there, everything is hunky-dory until her boyfriend falls in love with another man. Trying to move on, she makes every effort to find "the one."
Watching everyone around her find love, leaving her knee-deep in spinster status, Melanie decides on a new path: become a surrogate for her ex-turned-best friend. She doesn't bargain on a two-for-one deal: a baby for bestie... and a new man.
Join Melanie on her journey as she navigates the highs and lows, the cravings and confusion of love and trying to find meaning in those three empty words.
“Melanie.” My name came out like a seduction, teasing me. I clenched my legs together, the pad that I was sitting on crinkling in response. The man was pure sex and everything he did or said jump-started my body. “Tell me about having this baby.” He glanced down at my chart. “It says here that you are going to be a surrogate.”
“I... um….” I looked away, my eyes finding a spot on the floor to focus on. I didn’t know what to say. Did he need to know the details? My hesitation must have shown, because he cleared his throat.
“If you’d prefer, I can transfer you to a female doctor. I know sometimes these things can be difficult to talk about. Dr. Phillips might be available.”
“No!” My voice was about three octaves too high. Okay, I sounded eager. Way overeager. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out. It’s just hard to talk about.” I shifted on the table, the crinkling returning. “Dr….” I squinted, trying to remember his name. He never did introduce himself.
“Please call me Ashe.”
“Ashe,” I said with a smile. “Well, short version is my ex-boyfriend, now best friend, fell in love with a man, got married, and they’re having trouble adopting. They want to have a baby so they asked me, and here I am.” I pulled on the gown. Ashe cocked his head to the side, studying me curiously. Yup, he thinks I’m certifiable.
“Okay,” he said, looking away, but not before I caught his lips curve into a smile. Lips that look like they need a big fat kiss from yours truly.
“You’re a good friend to do all this.” He smiled as he went to the door and pressed a button. A moment later the same female nurse from earlier came in and went over to the counter and put gloves on. They snapped on her wrists, causing me to jump.
AVAILABLE NOW
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ubFCkb
All others: books2read.com/empty-words
Website I Facebook I Twitter I GoodreadsYou can find Genevieve curled up reading paranormal romance and romantic thrillers, or frantically typing her stories on her laptop.
Psychology is her trade by day, teaching and molding the minds of college students. Her interest in psychology can be seen in her books, each including many psychological undertones. Although she loves teaching, her passion, her true love, lies in the stories that roam around in her head. Yes, they all come from her mind-the good, the bad, and the totally insane.
She lives in Massachusetts-no, not Boston-with her husband, daughter, and American Eskimo dog. With each story, she shares, she hopes her love for writing and storytelling seeps through, encompassing the reader and leaving them wanting more.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ea80a6ed263/
