New Release Book Review: The Mirror by Nora Roberts #TheLostBridesTrilogy

 

The Mirror by Nora Roberts

Book 2: The Lost Brides Trilogy

Release Date: November 19th, 2024

Contemporary Mystery Romantic Suspense

Available at Amazon

My Rating for The Mirror: 5 Stars and a Series Recommended Read

When Sonya MacTavish was told she inherited a grand estate from an uncle she never even heard of, she was mystified but also curious. As she settles in at the estate and finds a new life in this tiny Maine town, Sonya finds a centuries old curse that has haunted her family and it's up to her as well as her friends to figure out the mystery of the Lost Brides before it ends in blood, danger and more. But when she dreams of a mirror that comes true in the daylight hours, Sonya knows she needs to follow her instincts if she is to find all the lost brides and end the curse that has haunted her family for ages. 

My Review:

When I finished book 1 in this exciting new trilogy by Nora Roberts, The Inheritance, I found myself captivated by characters and a storyline that drew me in by chapter two and kept me glued to the pages for hours until the very last page was read and done. THE MIRROR continues where book one left off and the readers continue alongside Sonya, her love, Trey and friends and new found family as they try to figure out what happened to the Lost Brides and how to beat a witch who is determined to take what she wants regardless of who dies in the end. What got to me in book two was how seamless it continues right where book one left off and Segway into something that if I am honest, made me even more excited to continue Sonya, Trey and friends stories here. So much twists and turns that made me gasp in delight, thrills and more as I continued reading immediately after I finished The Inheritance. 

THE MIRROR is one book that is as good if not more so than book one, The Inheritance. Ms. Roberts delivers another stand out book in her second book in The Lost Brides Trilogy and I for one can not recommend this trilogy enough. I'm always excited to see what this author can come up with her trilogies and I'm not disappointed at all every single time. 

If you haven't read The Inheritance, than I highly recommend you start there as book two, THE MIRROR continues immediately after that book ends. If you love romantic suspense, found family, small town charm and more then I urge you to grab this trilogy immediately as this is an author who knows how to weave a story around her readers and now I am eager to see how this all ends in book three (coming in 2025). 

About Book 1: The Inheritance

Inheritance is the first in The Lost Bride Trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts—a tale of tragedies, loves found and lost, and a family haunted for generations.

1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him…

Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about—and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth—and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light.

Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya’s unease—and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted…but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as “the first lost bride.” It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it…

New Release Spotlight: The Witches of Moonshine Manor

 

Discover the newest book by Bianca Marais in The Witches of Moonshine Manor.

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor

Bianca Marais

On Sale Date: August 23, 2022

9780778386995, 0778386996

Trade Paperback

$16.99 USD, $24.99 CAD

Fiction / Magical Realism

400 pages

 

About the Book:

A coven of modern-day witches. A magical heist-gone-wrong. A looming threat.

Five octogenarian witches gather as an angry mob threatens to demolish Moonshyne Manor. All eyes turn to the witch in charge, Queenie, who confesses they’ve fallen far behind on their mortgage payments. Still, there’s hope, since the imminent return of Ruby—one of the sisterhood who’s been gone for thirty-three years—will surely be their salvation.

But the mob is only the start of their troubles. One man is hellbent on avenging his family for the theft of a legacy he claims was rightfully his. In an act of desperation, Queenie makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than anything they’ve ever faced. Then things take a turn for the worse when Ruby’s homecoming reveals a seemingly insurmountable obstacle instead of the solution to all their problems.

The witches are determined to save their home and themselves, but their aging powers are no match for increasingly malicious threats. Thankfully, they get a bit of help from Persephone, a feisty TikToker eager to smash the patriarchy. As the deadline to save the manor approaches, fractures among the sisterhood are revealed, and long-held secrets are exposed, culminating in a fiery confrontation with their enemies.

Funny, tender and uplifting, the novel explores the formidable power that can be discovered in aging, found family and unlikely friendships. Marais’ clever prose offers as much laughter as insight, delving deeply into feminism, identity and power dynamics while stirring up intrigue and drama through secrets, lies and sex. Heartbreaking and heart-mending, it will make you grateful for the amazing women in your life.

 

Saturday, October 23^rd

Morning

Half an hour before the alarm will be sounded for the first time in decades—drawing four frantic old women and a ge­riatric crow from all corners of the sprawling manor—Ursula is awoken by insistent knocking, like giant knuckles rapping against glass. It’s an ominous sign, to be sure. The first of many.

Trying to rid herself of the sticky cobwebs of sleep, Ursula throws back the covers, groaning as her joints loudly voice their displeasure. She’s slept in the buff, as is her usual habit, and as she pads across the room, she’s more naked than the day she was born (being, as she is, one of those rare babies who came into the world fully encased in a caul).

Upon reaching the window, the cause of the ruckus is im­mediately obvious to Ursula; one of the Angel Oak’s sturdy branches is thumping against her third-floor window. Strong winds whip through the tree, making it shimmy and shake, giving the impression that it’s espousing the old adage to dance like no one’s watching, a quality that rather has to be admired in a tree. Either that, or it’s trembling uncontrollably with fear.

The forest, encroaching at the garden’s boundary, looks disquieted. It hangs its head low, bowing to a master who’s ordered it to bend the knee. As the charcoal sky churns, not a bird to be seen, the trees in the wood whisper incessantly. Whether they’re secrets or warnings, Ursula can’t tell, which only unsettles her further.

That infernal billboard that the city recently erected across from the manor property—with its aggressive gigantic let­tering shouting, ‘Critchley Hackle Mega Complex Coming Soon!’—snaps in the wind, issuing small cracks of thunder. A storm is on its way, that much is clear. You don’t need to have Ivy’s particular powers to know as much.

Turning her back on the ominous view, Ursula heads for the calendar to mark off another mostly sleepless night. It seems impossible that after so many of them—night upon night, strung up after each other seemingly endlessly—only two remain until Ruby’s return, upon which Ursula will dis­cover her fate.

Either Ruby knows or she doesn’t.

And if she does know, there’s the chance that she’ll want nothing more to do with Ursula. The thought makes her breath hitch, the accompanying stab of pain almost too much to bear. The best she can hope for under the circumstances is that Ruby will forgive her, releasing Ursula from the invis­ible prison her guilt has sentenced her to.

Too preoccupied with thoughts of Ruby to remember to don her robe, Ursula takes a seat at her mahogany escritoire. She lights a cone of mugwort and sweet laurel incense, watch­ing as the tendril of smoke unfurls, inscribing itself upon the air. Inhaling the sweet scent, she picks up a purple silk pouch and unties it, spilling the contents onto her palm.

The tarot cards are all frayed around the edges, worn down from countless hours spent jostling through Ursula’s hands. Despite their shabbiness, they crackle with electricity, sparks flying as she shuffles them. After cutting the deck in three, Ursula begins laying the cards down, one after the other, on top of the heptagram she carved into the writing desk’s sur­face almost eighty years ago.

The first card, placed in the center, is The Tower. Unfortu­nate souls tumble from the top of a fortress that’s been struck by lightning, flames engulfing it. Ursula experiences a jolt of alarm at the sight of it for The Tower has to signify the manor; and anything threatening their home, threatens them all.

The second card, placed above the first at the one o’clock position, can only represent Tabitha. It’s the Ten of Swords, depicting a person lying face down with ten swords buried in their back. The last time Ursula saw the card, she’d made a mental note to make an appointment with her acupunctur­ist, but now, following so soon after The Tower, it makes her shift nervously.

The third, fourth and fifth cards, placed at the three o’clock, four-thirty and six o’clock positions, depict a person (who must be Queenie) struggling under too heavy a load; a heart pierced by swords (signifying Ursula); and a horned beast towering above a man and woman who are shackled together (obvi­ously Jezebel). Ursula whimpers to see so many dreaded cards clustered together.

Moving faster now, she lays out the sixth, seventh and eighth cards at the seven-thirty, nine and eleven o’ clock po­sitions. Ursula gasps as she studies the man crying in his bed, nine swords hovering above him (which can only denote Ur­sula’s guilt as it pertains to Ruby); the armored skeleton on horseback (representing the town of Critchley Hackle); and the two bedraggled souls trudging barefoot through the snow (definitely Ivy). Taking in all eight sinister cards makes Ursula tremble much like the Angel Oak.

Based on the spread, Ursula absolutely should sound the alarm immediately, but she’s made mistakes in the past—lapses in judgment that resulted in terrible consequences—and so she wants to be a hundred percent certain first.

She shuffles the cards again, laying them down more de­liberately this time, only to see the exact same shocking for­mation, the impending threat even more vivid than before. It couldn’t be any clearer if the Goddess herself had sent a hom­ing pigeon with a memo bearing the message: Calamity is on its way! It’s knocking at the window, just waiting to be let in!

And yet, Ursula still doesn’t sound the alarm, because that’s what doubt does; it slips through the chinks in our defenses, eroding all sense of self until the only voice that should mat­ter becomes the one that we don’t recognize anymore, the one we trust the least.

As a result of this estrangement from herself, Ursula has de­veloped something of a compulsion, needing to triple check the signs before she calls attention to them, and so she stands and grabs her wand. She makes her way down the hallway past Ruby’s and Jezebel’s bedrooms at a bit of a clip before descending the west wing stairs.

It’s just before she reaches Ivy’s glass conservatory that Ur­sula breaks out into a panicked run.

 

Excerpted from The Witches of Moonshyne Manor @ 2022 by Bianca Marais, used with permission by MIRA Books.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Moonshyne-Manor-witchy-rom-com/dp/0778386996/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-witches-of-moonshyne-manor-bianca-marais/1141674843?ean=9780778386995

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/the-witches-of-moonshyne-manor/9780778386995

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780778386995

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9780778386995

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-witches-of-moonshyne-manor

AppleBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-witches-of-moonshyne-manor/id1609763913

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Bianca_Marais_The_Witches_of_Moonshyne_Manor?id=WKteEAAAQBAJ

Libro.FM: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781488215506-the-witches-of-moonshyne-manor

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-witches-of-moonshyne-manor/9780778333920-item.html

Target: https://www.target.com/p/the-witches-of-moonshyne-manor-by-bianca-marais-paperback/-/A-85998293 

About the Author:

Bianca Marais cohosts the popular podcast The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing, aimed at emerging writers. She was named the winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award for Creative Writing at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies in 2021. She is the author of two novels, Hum If You Don’t Know the Words and If You Want to Make God Laugh, as well as the Audible Original The Prynne Viper. She lives in Toronto with her husband and fur babies.

 

Social Links:

Author website: https://www.biancamarais.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biancamaraisauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/biancam_author/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/

May New Release from Sourcebooks: Cowboy Fire by Kim Redford

New release from Sourcebooks Publishing....Cowboy Fire by Kim Fielding

Cowboy Fire

by Kim Redford

Publication Date: 5/25/2021

 

This cowboy is more than just a perfect face...

 

Violet Ashwood arrives in Wildcat Bluff County with one agenda: convince the hunky Mr. July from the Wildcat Bluff Fire Rescue’s annual benefit calendar to be the face—and body—of her new lonely hearts online dating service. She didn’t count on his firm refusal, nor did she count on seeing him again. Until she discovers he’s her new landlord.

 

Kemp Lander, aka Mr. July, wants nothing to do with Violet’s schemes to make him a model for her Cowboy Chat Corral, particularly once he finds out she fudged the truth on her rental contract by claiming she was a cowgirl. He’s got enough problems trying to keep trespassers off his ranch and doesn’t need the distraction of his sexy renter.

 

All Violet and Kemp want is to save their livelihoods and have their lifelong dreams realized. But it’ll take joining forces and discovering they’re better together to finally meet their goals.

Purchase Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/3lDczzc

B&N: http://bit.ly/36D6Y7u

Apple: http://apple.co/3g9bZIq

Kobo: https://bit.ly/32AGvoo

Bookshop: https://bit.ly/2VAv5h3

BAM: http://bit.ly/3g7u6OB

Books2Read: https://bit.ly/3xdjiqm

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt:

“I need to get Heart-to-Heart Corral up and running.” Violet Ashwood glanced at Kemp Lander where he sat across from her at the dining table.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You haven’t given up on me representing your lonely hearts club, have you?”

“No. Your photo in the Wet & Wild Cowboy Firefighters calendar drew me here. That hasn’t changed one bit since I got here. ”

He nodded, then pulled the plate with his piece of pie close to him and dug in with a fork.

She followed his action, but she didn’t feel hungry now.

He ate a couple of bites before he set down his fork. He looked out the windows, then back at her. “Maybe we can compromise.”

“What do you mean?” She felt her taste come back with the advent of sudden hope.

“You’ve invested a lot of time and effort in something you’re obviously passionate about.”

“I am. Everyone deserves true love.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“True love.”

“I’m looking for others…not myself,” she said.

“Why not?”

“It’s just that I’ve never been lucky in love.”

“I can’t imagine why not.”

“Let’s let it go at that.” She forked a bite of pie into her mouth, but she’d lost her taste for it again.

“I don’t see how you can promote something you don’t believe in.”

“I do believe in it.”

“Prove it.” He leaned toward her with a challenging gleam in his green eyes.

“Prove it?” She didn’t trust that gleam. “How?”

“Kiss me.”

She took a deep breath, wanting that very thing and not wanting it at the same time. Mr. July was getting more dangerous to her heart every moment she was in his company.

“You’re not willing to put yourself on the line?”

“I didn’t think you were interested in—­”

“I’m not interested in posing for your website, but I am interested in you.”

“Oh.” She felt her face flush at his words as heat rushed through her entire body.

“I thought you might be interested in an experiment, seeing as how you’ve come all this way from San Antonio.”

“Experiment?”

He tossed his napkin on the table, stood up, and held out his hand to her. “Let’s go out on the patio and discuss our options.”

She gestured toward the dirty plates and table full of dishes. “Shouldn’t we clean up?”

“It can wait. I can’t.”

She grasped his hand, palm to palm, as she stood up. She could feel the roughness of his skin, see the stubble of his beard, and smell the soap he’d used in his shower. It was all heady stuff.

He led her into the sunroom, turned on a lamp for soft illumination, and opened the back door so that pale light spilled outside. The scent of roses in bloom filled the night air and moonlight cast a silvery glow over the patio.

“Why don’t you sit on the glider while I go back and get our wine?”

“Okay.” She really couldn’t say more as she watched him go inside because she felt as if her heart were in her throat.

When he returned, he handed her a glass, clinked hers with his, and nodded as if he’d made a decision.

She took a sip and returned his smile. She felt good, happy, contented. It was a mild, sweet­scented spring night with a handsome man by her side. If she could convey

this setting, this feeling, to her lonely hearts club, she felt sure people would positively respond in droves.

He leaned toward her. “Now, about your lonely hearts club…”

She leaned toward him. “Yes?”

“Do you really need me?”

“I want you.” She immediately wished she’d chosen different words.

“I want you, too.” He set down his glass. “What are we going to do about it?”

“I meant—­”

“I know what you meant, but can’t you mean something more, something personal, something just between us?”

She felt her heart pick up speed. She caught his gaze…and felt as if she’d always belonged here in this moment with this man.

“Something special?” he asked.

She had to respond, but she couldn’t find the words. If he looked at her with any more heat in his eyes, she might spontaneously combust. “I…” And then she threw caution to the wind, leaned forward, and kissed him. It was just a soft, fleeting, tender touch before she moved back.

“I hope that was only an appetizer.” He clasped her shoulders with both hands and gently tugged her toward him.

She leaned into him, feeling his heat, his strength, his power. She wanted it all. She didn’t want to compromise. She raised her face, waiting for his kiss…waiting…waiting…

“I want you to know I don’t do this lightly. I know you really only want me for your lonely hearts club. I know you’ll go back to San Antonio when you get what you want here. I know all that, and I still want to kiss you. I need to kiss you. I plan to kiss you. It’s just that I’m a serious kind of guy.”

“Kemp, I swear if you say one more word, I’m taking the pie and going home.”

He grinned, chuckling. “You’d take the pie? That’s serious.”

“Yes, it is. And I’m serious, too.” She put her palms on each side of his face. “Please, just kiss me.”

And he did…tender at first, then with growing passion until he lifted her up, set her on his lap, leaned her head back against his arm, and held her tightly.

She felt his heat and strength and desire build as one kiss followed another and he delved deeply into her mouth, hugged her closer and closer as if desperate to meld their bodies so they could never be separate again.

Finally, he raised his head, kissed the tip of her nose, gave her a slight smile. “And I thought that fire I just fought was hot.”

***

Excerpted from Cowboy Fire by Kim Redford. © 2021 by Kim Redford. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

 About the Author:

Kim Redford is a bestselling author of contemporary Western romance novels. She grew up in Texas with cowboys, cowgirls, horses, cattle, and rodeos. She’s a rescue cat wrangler and horseback rider—when she takes a break from her keyboard. Kim Redford currently divides her time between homes in Oklahoma and Richardson, Texas.

Book Review: State of Affairs by Marie Force

 

Sam and Nick find their life is about to change in a way they never saw coming.

My Rating of State of Affairs: 5 Stars and Series Recommended Read

Romantic Suspense

Buy links found HERE

My Review of State of Affairs 

It’s the phone call that changed their lives. When Vice President Nick Cappuano was informed the President has died suddenly, he finds himself promoted to President and his family is now on the biggest stage of their lives. As Sam and Nick try to deal with the suddenness of Nick’s changed position in the White House, Sam is also working on a current murder investigation that has ties to a cold case that has haunted her for fifteen years. As their lives spin out of control as changes come left and right for their family, Nick and Sam find that if they stand together, they can get through anything, big or small.

 

STATE OF AFFAIRS is a new direction in the Fatal Series by Marie Force.  I can honestly attest that I adore this series with a passion. It has amazing characters, an author who delivers a story that has heart, suspense that will keep you invested in solving and a contemporary world where you can relate to the main characters and their families/friends. Ms. Force delivers a knockout introduction to Sam and Nick’s new direction in their life in STATE OF AFFAIRS and gives her readers a story that will keep you highly entertained as well as glued to the pages till the end. What I love about this author’s books is how real these characters are to me. I mean, Sam is a kick-ass police Lieutenant who has a knack for solving crime mysteries; Nick who is determined to keep his promises to his wife and young family while serving in politics and you fall in love with them as they unite to face whatever obstacle life throws at them. They are so beautifully written and life-like it makes me want to hang with them and see what transcends the pages into real life.

 

STATE OF AFFAIRS is more about the new direction in their lives but also about them, their family and how they can cope with the most unsettled changes they find they now have to navigate. With the flourish of a keystroke, Ms. Force delivers on everything while also keeping the reader glued to the pages till the very last page is read. What I want to know now is…. When is book two out and why so long of a wait? If you want to enjoy Sam and Nick’s journey to this new direction then I highly recommend starting from the very beginning in Fatal Affair and be prepared, their connection with one another is off the charts hot and you just might need a cold drink after reading these books.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.

The entire Fatal Series is found HERE

First Family Series:

State of Affairs (Book 1)

State of Grace (Book 2)- out December 2021

Character Interview/Spotlight~ Meet Jev Brennan

Please give a warm welcome to Jev from Scrying for Summer by Katherine McIntyre today as we sit down and see what makes her tick.

Q: So tell us about yourself. What got you in the crosshairs for your author? 

Apparently my brand of sass and danger fit the bill for leading lady in this book after I met Conor and Brenna in Hunting for Spring. What can I say? I’m easily bored.

Q: What was it that drew you to your mate? 

Sure as hell wasn’t his moral aptitude. I hated Liam O’Reilly with the passion of a thousand dying stars at first. After all, traitors are the worst sort of bottom dwellers out there. But I guess he’s okay. If I had to admit it, the first time I didn’t want to punch him in the face was watching him around his mom. He tossed the stupid cockiness out the window, and I witnessed an entirely different guy, one with a sweetness and loyalty you’d have never guessed.

Q: A little naughty fun, where was the wildest place you seduced your partner(s)? 

Well, I would’ve at the club if we hadn’t been hunting down pieces of a lamp and laying the smackdown on some asshole necromancers who were causing trouble. We’ve had a couple times when we didn’t make it all the way up to my apartment though and ended up going at it in the alleyway instead.

Q: Boxers, briefs or Commando on a man? 

Boxer-briefs, hands down.

Q: If your partner wants to seduce you, what's one sure fire trick they can do to seduce you? 

Does pissing me off count? I swear, half the time we’re yelling at each other one second and the next we’re making out. Not going to lie though, I love when he picks me up to slam me against the wall.

Q: What is the one place on your partner's body that you know will drive them wild-in and out of bed? 

He likes when I bite his bottom lip—it’s a guaranteed way to get things started.

Q: What was one of the most embarrassing things your author did to you in Scrying for Summer? 

Hooked me up with that asshole. Thaaaaanks, bunches. In all honesty, I don’t really get embarrassed by much. I might do dumb shit sometimes, run my mouth, and I know I’ve made mistakes, but none of that bothers me in the end. After all, why waste time dwelling when there are Unseelie assholes lurking around every corner, ready to play? Figure fighting to keep my city safe is a much better use of my energy.

Q: Anything else you would like to add? 

Yeah, a note to Sienna. The cheesesteak in the break room fridge is MINE. Has my name on it and everything. Take it at your peril, because after spending the whole morning sorting through tomes, I’m a mite bit hangry. 

Thank you Jev for joining us on 'Meet the Character' day here at Dawn’s Reading Nook Blog. You can find all of Katherine McIntyre’s books at https://www.amazon.com/Katherine-McIntyre/e/B00J8U4VNU.

Paranormal, Shape-shifters, Urban Fantasy

Loose Id Publishing

Jev was looking for an adventure, however she wanted the usual variety of stomping out nasty fae in the city as an enforcer of the Philly Coven. Instead, handsome as sin Liam O'Reilly shows up on her doorstep dropping news of the worst organization of fae they'd dealt with on the rise again. Except, he's a traitor, an asshole, and the absolute last person she wants to work with.

However, the longer they work together, the more the fire between them burns, turning from rage and irritation into something primal. And as she gets to know the real Liam O'Reilly behind the charming smiles and sexy lines, he becomes so much deadlier. Because the protective, self-sacrificing man underneath his facade is just the sort she could fall for.

Buy Links: http://www.loose-id.com/scrying-for-summer.html

Excerpt:

Liam stepped away from her desk and crossed his arms as he waited for Jev to respond, the silence setting his nerves aflame. The entire Coven building gave him the jitters—too much magic brewing in this place, and as he strode through he’d garnered more than a couple nasty gazes. Not like he hadn’t earned them. Anyone who knew his past discretions already juried him as a screwup. He couldn’t help but notice the steel in her gaze as the girl with the brilliant mind weighed her options. Since he’d last seen her, she’d changed her hair to a lush cerulean that even in the yellowed light of the library shone like a jewel.

Jev hissed out a breath, and her fingertips curled around the edge of the large book she clutched. Her full lips pursed as she met his gaze, a resigned and more than a little irritated look in her own.

“Fine, consider me baited.” She glared at him before using the desk to push herself up. “Spill.”

Liam shook his head, casting a glance around the spacious room. Jev had earned his trust through the blood of battle even if she hated his guts. However, the entire Coven of witches didn’t need to overhear the information he had to discuss. “Not here.”

Her brow quirked up. “Yeah, because I’m going to just follow you to a dark alley where you can kidnap and murder me?”

The comment hit him like a blow to the gut, but he didn’t let it show. After all, he’d had years of experience playing a part, and the cruel and unaffected act had become a specialty. “Pick a public place, and we’ll go.” Even here in the library, where the books far outnumbered the witches present, the press of gazes made him uneasy. He spent years with no allies, watching his every move and every phrase until paranoia had sunk into his veins.

“Diner up the street. The owner’s a friend of mine, so if you decide to pull any hinky shit, not only will I kick your ass, but he will too.” She bent down to loop her messenger bag around her shoulder before tapping a finger on the desk. “No time like the present.”

Liam blinked in surprise at her quick-as-a-breeze pace, but rather than commenting, he jammed his hands into his pockets and gave her a nod. As they strode up the steps of the library, their footsteps echoing throughout the cavernous place, he cast a glance her way. “You know, if I was planning on ‘pulling hinky shit,’ I’d hope I was intelligent enough to nab you outside your home or something rather than escorting you out of your workplace with hundreds of dangerous witnesses.”

Jev let out a snort. “The jury’s still out on your level of intellect. After all, you signed up with Evil Incorporated in the first place.”

Author Bio:

A modern day Renaissance-woman, Katherine McIntyre has learned soapmaking, beer brewing, tea blending, and most recently roasting coffee. Most of which make sure she’s hydrated and bathed while she spends the rest of her time writing. With a desire to travel and more imagination than she knows what to do with, all the stories jumping around in her head led to the logical route of jotting them down on paper. She writes novels with snarky women, ragtag crews, and guys with bad attitudes. High chances for a passionate speech thrown into the mix.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.katherine-mcintyre.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6473654.Katherine_McIntyre

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Katherine-McIntyre/e/B00J8U4VNU

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Book Spotlight~ NJ Walters' Wolf on a Mission

Wolf on a Mission
Samhain Publishing
Paranormal Romance

When love runs wild, there are no limits.

Salvation Pack, Book 6

Full-blooded werewolf Elias Gallagher, sole guardian of his half-breed teenage nephews, is all too aware that the world is not a safe place for a werewolf on his own. Doubly so for half-breeds.

He brings his nephews to North Carolina to check out the Salvation Pack’s openness to half-breeds. He never expected to find a mate—the fully human mother of a young boy—while there.

After enduring one tragedy after another over the past two years, Sue Walsh is focused solely on earning a living and raising her five-year-old son. With her ex suddenly demanding custody, the last complication she wants or needs is an attraction to a ruggedly handsome stranger.

But the sexual pull between them is too strong to be denied. And when there’s trouble with the local hunters, Elias will do whatever it takes to protect the people he loves. Even if it means revealing his biggest secret.

EXCERPT:

Sue put away the last of the dishes. The barbecue had been a huge success. Billy had eaten his burger and several marshmallows, and even laughed at the antics of a squirrel that had chattered endlessly from his perch in a nearby tree.

He’d stayed outside on the back porch to play while she’d cleared away and washed up. Even though it was still light out, Billy should have already had his bath. “Relax. It’s summer,” she reminded herself. He’d have to be on a stricter schedule once school started. They both would. Better to let them both enjoy these last days of summer.

She glanced out the window at the back porch. Her heart skipped a beat and she tossed aside the dishtowel. Billy had been there only a minute ago. She hurried to the backdoor and pulled it open. “Billy?” His toy trucks and cars had been abandoned and he was nowhere in sight.

“Don’t panic. Don’t panic.” He had to be here somewhere. “Billy, where are you? Billy?” She turned in a circle, taking in the entire yard. There was no sign of her son.

“The creek.” He liked to play by the water. She ran toward the path, her heart pounding and chest aching. “Billy!” He knew he wasn’t supposed to go off on his own. This was the first time he’d ever done such a thing. “Billy!”

A vision from the past slammed into her. She could still remember coming out to visit Anny that fateful Saturday morning and finding her friend’s bloody body. The paramedics had saved Anny’s life, but nothing had ever been the same again.

Sue kept her gaze on the path ahead of her and picked up her pace. “Billy!” she yelled. “Answer me.” Her phone was in the charger on the kitchen counter. She should have grabbed it in case she needed to call the sheriff’s office.

No, she wouldn’t think like that. She’d find Billy looking for frogs by the edge of the stream. Thankfully the water level was low at the end of the hot summer and her son could swim, or at least dog paddle.

She hurried around the final bend and her feet skidded to a halt. For one brief second, she was paralyzed, her limbs refusing to work. Then she broke free and started to move toward her son at a slow and steady pace.

Billy must have heard her coming, because he turned to her and smiled. “Doggy.” His joy was evident, but she couldn’t share it. His doggy was huge and was no dog at all. It was a wolf.

A wolf had attacked and almost killed Anny almost two years ago. Was this the same beast? Sue reached down and grabbed a decent-sized rock. She’d played baseball in high school and knew she had a decent aim. At this distance, she couldn’t miss. “Get away from him, Billy. You know better than to touch a strange animal.”

Her son frowned at her. “He likes me.”

As if he understood her fears, the animal whined and licked Billy’s cheek.

Obviously, wherever this animal had come from, he wasn’t vicious. She was lowering her hand when she realized the dog or wolf or whatever it was, wasn’t alone. A man stepped out from behind a tree. No, not a man, a teenage boy. He was tall for his age, at least six feet, maybe more.

He held his hands out in front of him. “We didn’t mean any harm. Reece and I were just out exploring.”

“Reece?” Her fingers tightened around the rock.

He grinned and pointed at the creature sitting next to her son.

“Billy, come here.” She used her mom voice. The one Billy knew meant business. He sighed and reluctantly left the animal and came to stand beside her, dragging his feet all the way.

“Where did you come from?” she asked the teen. He might seem harmless, but she didn’t know him at all, and she knew everyone who lived within a fifty-mile radius of town, because at one time or another, everyone came through the diner where she worked.

He pointed off in the distance. “We’re camping and just decided to go exploring. We didn’t mean any harm.”

Now she was starting to feel a little ridiculous. She lowered the rock but didn’t drop it. “You shouldn’t be out here by yourself.”

The teen grinned. “You sound like our uncle.”

Sue took a good look at the teen. He was a handsome young man with his brown hair and blue eyes. There was something about him she liked, in spite of the fact he was a stranger. “You should listen to your uncle.”

The wolf growled and Sue took a step back.

“Knock it off, Reece,” he told the animal. “I’m Sage Gallagher.”

She wasn’t quite ready to introduce herself. “Is that a wolf?”

Sage nodded. “Yeah, it is, but he won’t hurt you. Honest.”

The hair on the back of her neck rose and a shiver of fear raced down her spine as a man stepped out of the woods. He was big. At least six-two with short brown hair and dark eyes. He also wasn’t wearing a shirt. It was impossible not to notice his broad shoulders, the dusting of dark hair on his chest and the bands of muscles that rippled on his abdomen.

It was also impossible not to notice the scowl on his face.

He pinned her with a ferocious glare. “What the hell is going on?”

BUY LINKS:

Samhain Publishing: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5761/wolf-on-a-mission

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/pgbzut4

Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/jlzdcvj

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-wolfonamission-1960433-140.html

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/wolf-on-a-mission

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

Visit me at:

Website: http://www.njwalters.com

Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters

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