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Shivers #8
Stranger, Seducer, Protector
Stranger . Out of nowhere, Nick Bruno arrived at the once opulent, now decaying New Orleans mansion Jacinth Villaré had inherited.
Seducer . The sexy P.I. touched a part of her she'd never known existed.
Protector . When a gruesome crime was discovered in the walls of the Villaré mansion, Nick vowed to keep her safe.
As Jacinth uncovered the long-dead secrets of her newly discovered family, she was haunted by their spirits—and stalked by a very real killer. Though dark and menacing, her family secrets couldn't rival the one Nick kept hidden. He'd vowed to protect her, but could he save her from the truth about himself?
Seducer . The sexy P.I. touched a part of her she'd never known existed.
Protector . When a gruesome crime was discovered in the walls of the Villaré mansion, Nick vowed to keep her safe.
As Jacinth uncovered the long-dead secrets of her newly discovered family, she was haunted by their spirits—and stalked by a very real killer. Though dark and menacing, her family secrets couldn't rival the one Nick kept hidden. He'd vowed to protect her, but could he save her from the truth about himself?
216 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
4 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Wayne
187 books59 followersReal name: Jo Ann Vest
Pseudonyms: Joanna Wayne.
Joanna Wayne began her professional writing career with the release of her first novel, DEEP IN THE BAYOU, in 1994, but Joanna will be the first to tell you that the wheels were set in motion years before. She started reading at four years of age, the same age that she began making weekly trips to the library to check out as many books as they’d let her have, only to finish reading them all before bedtime. That love of books never waned.
Joanna was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and was the middle child of a large family. She moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1984 when she married her current husband. New Orleans opened up a whole new realm of activities and she found the mix of cultures, music, history, food and sultry southern classics along with her love of reading a natural impetus for beginning her writing career. It was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. From that point on, there was no looking back.
Now, forty published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and mainstream novels. She is known for the suspense and emotion she brings to the page, as she takes ordinary people and thrusts them into life-and-death situations. She has been on the Walden Bestselling List for romance and won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.
She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star state.
Pseudonyms: Joanna Wayne.
Joanna Wayne began her professional writing career with the release of her first novel, DEEP IN THE BAYOU, in 1994, but Joanna will be the first to tell you that the wheels were set in motion years before. She started reading at four years of age, the same age that she began making weekly trips to the library to check out as many books as they’d let her have, only to finish reading them all before bedtime. That love of books never waned.
Joanna was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and was the middle child of a large family. She moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1984 when she married her current husband. New Orleans opened up a whole new realm of activities and she found the mix of cultures, music, history, food and sultry southern classics along with her love of reading a natural impetus for beginning her writing career. It was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. From that point on, there was no looking back.
Now, forty published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and mainstream novels. She is known for the suspense and emotion she brings to the page, as she takes ordinary people and thrusts them into life-and-death situations. She has been on the Walden Bestselling List for romance and won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.
She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star state.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 9, 2017
I'd almost consider this story a horror/romance crossover, but it's lacking the required gore to do so. Alas, it is suspense, and boy is it ever!
I seem to have been plagued with bad novels lately, so discovering this book has been a breath of fresh air. I wasn't looking for a big book to read, and thankfully this one was well written.
The story certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat, and there were many times where I was actually a bit scared to go waltzing downstairs in the dark in the middle of the night for fear of what could be lurking there (quick note: I have an overactive imagination, so even though I know there's nothing waiting in the dark for me, my brain makes my body think otherwise and I get panic attacks).
It also doesn't help that this story is very well written. I caught maybe two mistakes throughout, just quick little unremoved words that show where the writer struggled to get the sentence out and didn't delete it completely before finish it. It doesn't break up your reading at all. Just a little hiccup that was pretty obvious is you know what good writing looks like. (Kinda made me laugh a little, which helped break up the nerves).
The characters were believable. The hero was attractive and had the typical bastard mentality some guys get when having to ward off a female they like. Very realistic. The heroine's reactions to the gruesome revelations about her house were surprisingly realistic. I wasn't too sure the writer would make her so. Glad she is.
Honestly, this story had a good plot with very good suspense. The romance between them was enough, but there wasn't any smut. So if you're seeking sex, don't read this book. You won't get any.
I seem to have been plagued with bad novels lately, so discovering this book has been a breath of fresh air. I wasn't looking for a big book to read, and thankfully this one was well written.
The story certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat, and there were many times where I was actually a bit scared to go waltzing downstairs in the dark in the middle of the night for fear of what could be lurking there (quick note: I have an overactive imagination, so even though I know there's nothing waiting in the dark for me, my brain makes my body think otherwise and I get panic attacks).
It also doesn't help that this story is very well written. I caught maybe two mistakes throughout, just quick little unremoved words that show where the writer struggled to get the sentence out and didn't delete it completely before finish it. It doesn't break up your reading at all. Just a little hiccup that was pretty obvious is you know what good writing looks like. (Kinda made me laugh a little, which helped break up the nerves).
The characters were believable. The hero was attractive and had the typical bastard mentality some guys get when having to ward off a female they like. Very realistic. The heroine's reactions to the gruesome revelations about her house were surprisingly realistic. I wasn't too sure the writer would make her so. Glad she is.
Honestly, this story had a good plot with very good suspense. The romance between them was enough, but there wasn't any smut. So if you're seeking sex, don't read this book. You won't get any.
November 22, 2020
“I’m just looking for the truth… no matter how perverse it turns out to be.”
I snagged this discontinued Harlequin series after seeing Bree from Falling for Romance talk about it on Instagram! She’s the queen of gothic romance and I always get all the best book recommendations from her, so when I saw she shared this 8 book gothic romance series from Harlequin I knew I had to have them! Harlequin Shivers is a small series of standalone books that have classic gothic and spooky elements to them; making them catnip for me!
I ordered all eight books and decided to start with Stranger, Seducer, Protector because I loved the idea of an inherited New Orleans mansion and a scholar who needs protection from a hot private investigator. And I totally loved this!
She had just inherited a whole new set of problems and the last thing she needed was a sexy neighbor she knew absolutely nothing about to complicate matters.
I loved the atmosphere and the mystery to this; it almost felt like a true crime novel with the whole dead girls in the walls plot line. I have to admit I was totally clueless in where the mystery was going or what was happening, and I loved that this book could deliver that page-turning mystery I wanted! So many family secrets here and it was a multi-layered mystery, both past and present.
This is a shorter book but it really packs a punch! Now, there was some discrepancies in smaller things that both confused me and made me wonder if this had an editor…. like at one point Carrie is said to currently be in her 30’s, but when they talked to her she said she was in her 40’s years prior. I’m not great at math, but seems fishy, yes? Also, there’s a part in the book where Jacinth and Nick go to the nursing home and the administrator asks if they need help and it says “are you to hear to see” instead of “are you two here to see” and I cackled. It was such a dumb typo.
The romance elements here were top notch, as well! There was instant chemistry between Nick and Jacinth that felt authentic but didn’t feel forced, which can be a problem for shorter books like this. It was fun, it was spooky, it was mysterious, it was sexy! I think Jacinth being a post-graduate student and a teacher at Tulane really added to the story for me since having a main character be a scholar is one of my favorite elements in a romance!
I really really really enjoyed this and I was honestly sad about finishing the book! I remember one day I was looking forward to picking it up before I realized that I had already finished it! I can’t wait to pick up the other books in this series!
You can check out other full reviews, author interviews, and bookish talks at Tonkin About Books!
Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
I snagged this discontinued Harlequin series after seeing Bree from Falling for Romance talk about it on Instagram! She’s the queen of gothic romance and I always get all the best book recommendations from her, so when I saw she shared this 8 book gothic romance series from Harlequin I knew I had to have them! Harlequin Shivers is a small series of standalone books that have classic gothic and spooky elements to them; making them catnip for me!
I ordered all eight books and decided to start with Stranger, Seducer, Protector because I loved the idea of an inherited New Orleans mansion and a scholar who needs protection from a hot private investigator. And I totally loved this!
She had just inherited a whole new set of problems and the last thing she needed was a sexy neighbor she knew absolutely nothing about to complicate matters.
I loved the atmosphere and the mystery to this; it almost felt like a true crime novel with the whole dead girls in the walls plot line. I have to admit I was totally clueless in where the mystery was going or what was happening, and I loved that this book could deliver that page-turning mystery I wanted! So many family secrets here and it was a multi-layered mystery, both past and present.
This is a shorter book but it really packs a punch! Now, there was some discrepancies in smaller things that both confused me and made me wonder if this had an editor…. like at one point Carrie is said to currently be in her 30’s, but when they talked to her she said she was in her 40’s years prior. I’m not great at math, but seems fishy, yes? Also, there’s a part in the book where Jacinth and Nick go to the nursing home and the administrator asks if they need help and it says “are you to hear to see” instead of “are you two here to see” and I cackled. It was such a dumb typo.
The romance elements here were top notch, as well! There was instant chemistry between Nick and Jacinth that felt authentic but didn’t feel forced, which can be a problem for shorter books like this. It was fun, it was spooky, it was mysterious, it was sexy! I think Jacinth being a post-graduate student and a teacher at Tulane really added to the story for me since having a main character be a scholar is one of my favorite elements in a romance!
I really really really enjoyed this and I was honestly sad about finishing the book! I remember one day I was looking forward to picking it up before I realized that I had already finished it! I can’t wait to pick up the other books in this series!
You can check out other full reviews, author interviews, and bookish talks at Tonkin About Books!
Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
March 23, 2018
HI #1308 = 3.5 stars
March 19, 2019
Very easy reading - will read more from this author.
October 9, 2019
New Orleans is the back drop to this intriguing story.
October 13, 2011
In Wayne's romantic suspense novel, Nick Bruno, a stranger from nowhere, has arrived at the once opulent, now decaying New Orleans mansion Jacinth Villare had inherited. As Jacinth uncovers the long-dead secrets of her newly discovered family, she's haunted by their spirits and stalked by a very real killer with an agenda. Pairing both romantically and professionally, they discover that they both hold dark and menacing secrets. But Nick keeps his vows regardless to protect her from an unknown enemy that lies in wait. A wonderful addition to the Shivers Vieux Carre Captives series.
Read
December 24, 2014Miniseries: Shivers: Vieux Carré Captives
February 29, 2012
Started out enjoying this one, but the ending seemed to be really rushed and rather disappointing. Some scenes were just plain awkward as well.
Read
December 24, 2014Miniseries: Shivers: Vieux Carré Captives
January 5, 2013
I loved every minute of it. :)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews