REVIEW - PRIESTESS OF THE NILE (WITH EXCERPT)

"Sobek begins to fight the attraction he feels for her because it is forbidden for a God to love a Human, a law so enforced that it would be the death of the human. But the near death of Merys makes him throw away his charade and let her see just who he is... and just how much he lusts after her."

Author: Veronica Scott
Pages: 88 pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: January, 2012
Form: E-book (from a tour for an honest review)
Genre: Paranormal Historical Romance
Amazon: Buy / $2.99 (Kindle) ( EU price, click to see US price )
Barnes & Noble: Buy / $2.99 (Nook)
All Romance E-books: Buy / $2.99 (E-book)
Excerpt: Chapter 1

Egypt 1500 BC. Sobek, the Crocodile God, is drawn to one of his old, now a ruin, temple, where he hears one of his old song sung by a beautiful young woman. Unable to stop himself he introduces himself as a mere man asking to spend an hour in conversation.

Merys, the ill-fated daughter from a the village scribe's earlier marriage, spends an evening exchanging stories with a man dressed like a wealthy merchant, a man like she's never known before, handsome, kind and intriguing.

Their meetings become frequent, and Sobek begins to fight the attraction he feels for her because it is forbidden for a God to love a Human, a law so enforced that it would be the death of the human. But the near death of Merys makes him throw away his charade and let her see just who he is... and just how much he lusts after her.

A simple, entertaining story of love of insurmountable obstacles in the ancient Egypt, with its vast amount of gods and goddesses, pharaohs and mere men and women of its land. Priestess of the Nile is short story of love that either one of the destined couple doesn't hope to dream of, coming to fruition. It's beyond forbidden for a God to come to love a human woman and have a life with her. It's a sweet love story, filled with egyptian mythology, to have any girl hooked to see what will happen between Sobek and Merys, because surely there has to be a way for this to end happily, doesn't there?

Despite this Bek can't be away from Merys once he'd come to hear her enchanting songs and hear her stories of her village and of her unjust life with her new stepmother and her children. Bek has never loved before, and it takes a while to realize what it is he feels for her, having lived forever he has an air of languid crocodile like patience and strength and he waits too long to truly let her know how he feels. Put once his heart knows pain there is nothing to stop the horrible power he can wield against those who have taken from him.

Merys, a young woman dedicating herself to singing and honoring the Crocodile God even though his temple is in ruins, is the descendant of the High Priestess of Sobek. She's solemn and has been through a lot with her new stepmother and her new children with her father, despite the way she's treated she hasn't lost the playfulness and her happiness when she's free of them and alone by the banks of the Nile, caring for the temple.

In all this book was very good, it had just the right amount of despair, hope, love and mythology to make the story truly entertaining. At 88 pages it's a quick read, just few hours, but time well spent! Once you start the story you don't want to set it down, I sure didn't. This is my favorite Egyptian Novella so far! Makes me want to go and read Mika Waltari's, The Egyptian again. ;)

Rating :

Priestess of the Nile
By Veronica Scott
 Egypt, 1500 BC

      The sweet high note Merys held came to an end as she put a hand to her throat, then bent over the tiny waves. She searched along the riverbed, no longer focused on her song.

      A movement to the right caught his eye. What is the name of Set’s horns is that crocodile in the shallows doing? Is it actually swimming to attack her? Enraged, Bek threw himself down the trail at a breakneck speed.

      Merys stood carefully in one spot. She pushed her hair out of her eyes roughly and sighed in frustration, checking her neck one more time, not quite accepting the loss of her necklace. The slithering sensation against her skin as the old leather thong parted and the amulet fell had been so startling, she had not grabbed for it in time. Peering uselessly into the murk of the Nile, Merys blinked back tears. The only possession of bmy great-grandmother’s I had left, the symbol of my being a priestess—gone. I’ll wait for the silt to settle and then hopefully I can find it. Taking a moment to enjoy the soaring flight of a flock of white ibis against the blue sky, she stood straighter, easing her muscles. I envy them their freedom.

      The sky tilted and vertigo assailed her as her feet were violently yanked out from under her. A crocodile closed its mighty jaws around her ankle, ripping a desperate scream from her throat. The bone-crushing force sent a sheet of hot pain up her leg and through her body until adrenaline pulsed in her system. The beast dragged her under the surface of the Nile, pulling her toward the center of the river. Cold water rushed over her face, into her open mouth. Merys gagged, tried to hold her breath, beating on the animal’s closed jaws with her fists, then trying to jab at the nearest eye. Her stomach heaved, nausea and weakness from the intensity of the pain in her leg spreading outward from her gut.

      The crocodile rolled her over and over, tossing her like Tyema’s puppy with a rag doll. Black spots
danced before her eyes and she scrunched them tightly  closed against the dizziness. What do I do to get away before I drown? I have to breathe. My chest is going to explode. I’ve got to have air. Just as her lungs were bursting, something huge flashed by her in the water and struck the crocodile with enough force to shove it sideways a few feet against the current. The predator opened its jaws to deal with the threat and Merys floated free.

      A tiny hope of survival bloomed within her. A spurt of energy sizzled through her nerves, giving her
new strength. Kicking as hard as she could with the injured leg, heart pounding, Merys clawed her way to the surface. The water in her vicinity churned bright red. Something solid rose from the murky depths. Merys screamed and flailed, too weak to swim. A hard surface lay under her, lifting her completely out of the water, supporting her as if she were stretched out on a board or a raft. Thank the gods for helping me. Nausea and dizziness overwhelmed her and the world faded from her view.

      When Merys regained consciousness, she was held safe in Bek’s muscular arms, nestled against his broad chest. Too exhausted to question the miracle of his presence she curled closer to him in relief while he strode across the beach toward her favorite spot under the palm trees. Tenderly he laid her in the softest spot, then bent to examine her leg.

      Blood gushed from a long series of deep, serrated slashes, staining her dress as well as his hands and kilt. The crocodile’s teeth had shredded her lower leg from ankle to knee. The bone showed through. The pain was excruciating.

      Merys leaned to the side and vomited river water that burned her throat while Bek held her hair out of the way. As she wiped her mouth, exhausted, he pushed her gently to a reclining position. Chanting
something, he proceeded to run his hands over her legs. The pain spiked, then receded.
      What is he doing? Some kind of healing, but how?

      Green light shone from his hands, radiating from his palms in a cold, numbing rush. The light brought
blessed relief, mending her skin and bones in front of her eyes. Thank the gods.
      When he finished, Bek sat on his haunches, resting his hands on his thighs, and scrutinized her. His face was lined, his eyes shadowed. He was dripping wet.

      Another time I would have appreciated this view. But right now I need to understand what happened.
     “You saved me? How? How could you defeat a crocodile? And what did you do to my leg?” Wriggling her toes, Merys touched her shin hesitantly with the tips of her fingers. I’m safe in his arms. Her
pulse slowed. The weakness ebbed away as she relaxed.

      Bek gathered her in for a hug and she breathed deeply of his clean masculine scent. Crooning her
name over and over, he buried his face in her hair. Then he pulled back, framing her face with both of his broad hands, and met her eyes. “I thought I’d lost you.”

      She put a trembling hand on his cheek. “Who are you, Bek?”

     “Sobek.” He cleared his throat as he stroked her back with one hand. She realized her soaked dress
must be clinging to her as tightly as his wet tunic was plastered to his body. She leaned into the shelter of his mighty arms. Bek rested his lips next to her ear and whispered, “I am Sobek.”

      New adrenaline pumped through her, making her heart pound and sending a hot pulse along her nerves. “The Crocodile God?” I’ve been sitting and talking to the Great One all this time, treating him like a human man? I fell in love with him. How could I have been so blind? So stupid?

      “The Crocodile God himself?”

      “Yes.” He nodded, watching her closely, his green eyes steady on her face, his brows slightly raised. “I’m sorry I misled you.”

Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library full of books as its heart, and when she ran out of things to read, she started writing her own stories. Married young to her high school sweetheart then widowed, Veronica has two grown daughters, one young grandson and cats.

Veronica's life has taken many twists and turns, but she always makes time to keep reading and writing. Everything is good source material for the next novel or the one after that anyway, right? She's been through earthquakes, tornadoes and near death experiences, although nothing is as stressful as meeting a book deadline. Always more stories to tell, new adventures to experience--Veronica's personal motto is, "Never boring."


Website / Twitter / Facebook / Amazon / Harlequin

"UNDER THE MOON" REVIEW & INTERVIEW WITH NATALIE J. DAMSCHRODER

"Quinn Caldwell is the epitome of a modern goddess. Her power source is the moon, her abilities restricted only by physical resources and lunar phase... someone has developed the rare and difficult ability to drain a goddess of her powers, and Quinn is a target."

Author: Natalie J. Damschroder
Pages: 296 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: November, 2011
Form: E-book (review copy through the tour for an honest review)
Series: Goddess Rising #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Amazon: Buy / $15.07 (paperback)
Barnes&Noble: Buy / $4.99 (nook) / $13.85 (paperback)
The Book Depository: Buy / €9.77 (paperback)

Excerpt: Chapter 1

Their power gives them strength...and makes them targets.

Quinn Caldwell is the epitome of a modern goddess. Her power source is the moon, her abilities restricted only by physical resources and lunar phase. She runs a consulting business and her father's bar, serves on the board of the ancient Society for Goddess Education and Defense, and yearns for Nick Jarrett, professional goddess protector and the soul mate she can never have.

But someone has developed the rare and difficult ability to drain a goddess of her powers, and Quinn is a target. With the world thinking Nick has gone rogue ( whatever that means ) and that Quinn is influenced by "family ties" she didn't know she had, keeping themselves safe while working to find the enemy proves harder each day.

But not as hard as denying their hearts...

The plot was very interesting, when goddesses come to their powers at 21 they have a source of power be it flower water or rain or in Quinn's case the Moon. Suddenly two goddesses turn up drained of power, and her protector when the moon is new is coming to her weeks too early to protect her. Together they start to find out what happened to the goddesses even though her help is not wanted because of her family-ties, she knows they aren't talking about her adopted family so Quinn sets out to find out about her biological parents. But some things are better not known. I liked the intensity of the whole book, a lot happens and having the love triangle going on with Sam, Quinn and Nick is interesting to read.

The characters are all flawed, but then again it makes them interesting. Quinn suffers for what she's put Sam through with energy charging ( read, having sex ) and Sam torn in his love for Quinn, Nick and Quinn try their hardest not to have any feelings for each other but 15 year courtship, danger and threat but them in the path where they can't ignore what's between them any longer. Interesting characters indeed!

The only thing that bothered me a little while reading this was Quinn's "moon lust" ( read, energy charging ), I get it's how her relationship with Sam got so complicated, but it threw me off in the beginning of the book, but as the book moved forward and focus was shifted on the actual adventure things perked up considerably. I also very much enjoyed the little twist that there were only Goddesses left that all the Gods had taken themselves out of the questions!

You'll like this if... you are into urban fantasy with a paranormal romance twist, if you love love-triangles, and like your romance low burning, building, until someone just has to give in!

Rating :

Niina : Welcome to Natalie J. Damschroder, author of “Under The Moon” to For The Love of Reading! and thank you for stopping by and chatting with us!

Natalie J. Damschroder : Thank you so much for having me, Niina! Your holiday layout here is gorgeous!

Niina : Thank you! Can you tell us a little about the book and five fun facts about yourself, so we can get to know you a little?

Natalie : Under the Moon is about Quinn Caldwell, a modern-day goddess determined to stop a leech from stealing power from her fellow members of the Society for Goddess Education and Defense. She's assisted by her protector, Nick Jarrett, and her assistant, Sam Remington, and along the way learns a lot about herself and the people she loves.
Hmmm, five fun facts about me... I always fail at this. They all sound boring. LOL Let's see what I can do.

1. I won a 1st place medal riding a horse named Teacher's Pet, which was poetic because that's always what I was.

2. I was a teacher's pet because I was shy and very obedient. No one believes I'm still shy, though usually adults are labeled "introverted" instead. :)

3. I worked at Sarett Nature Center in Michigan one summer, and in Under the Moon, Quinn owns a cabin along the edge of Sarett's property.

4. I'm magic. When someone's computer isn't working properly, or they can't figure something out, I go stand next to them, and before I say a word, it works or they get it. It's equally effective on electronic glitches and homework confusion.

5. I am a huge believer in Mercury Retrograde, and wish there was something we could do about it, because I'm really tired of everything being messed up four times a year.

Niina : Yeah tell me about it... What made you write about Goddesses, did something spark the idea?

Natalie : I've always liked paranormal stories with people who had special powers. I wanted to write something with that kind of heroine, but not something that had already been well done by dozens of authors ( like with vamps and shapeshifters, for example ). I was intrigued by the idea of goddesses, women who'd inherited their abilities, not been imbued with them by something radical like eclipses or radiation or aliens.

Niina : Where are you planning to take the series?

Natalie : This is such a hard question to answer without giving too much away! There are a couple of things mentioned in Under the Moon that spawned the events of Heavy Metal and Sunroper. Heavy Metal, which has already been written (though not yet revised, so some things might change), heavily features Quinn and Nick, though they aren't the main characters. Some of the unresolved situations in Under the Moon are dealt with in Heavy Metal—like what happens to the power taken by the leech. In Sunroper, Marley finally finds herself, just as she truly begins to lose herself.

Niina : Why do you write romance into a story?

Natalie : I can't NOT write romance into a story. LOL But honestly, I think love raises the stakes of anything. Yes, it's one of the driving factors of most people's lives, whether they seek it or not. But when characters' goals are life-threatening or even world-threatening, love makes it personal, and that makes us, the readers, care more.
I also love the emotions of falling in love. I'm incredibly lucky to have met my perfect match in college, and we just celebrated our 19th anniversary. So I'll never have that rush of giddy joy again—there's no substitute for new beginnings. Writing and reading romance lets me live it over and over again. :)

Niina : Well said, I agree as a married woman on that! Which character in your book became your favorite?

Natalie : I always say Nick and Sam. I can't put one over the other because I love them both equally. :) For a long time writing that first draft (which I did in 29 days during National Novel Writing Month), I wasn't sure who Quinn would end up with, I loved both guys so much. The book has changed quite a bit from that first draft, but my feelings for those guys haven't.

Niina : Now little on how you write… How do you write, chapter here and there or follow from beginning to an end?

Natalie : I'm definitely a linear writer, starting at the beginning and writing straight through. That doesn't mean I don't jot down ideas ( I keep a spreadsheet AND an ideas document for every book ), and once I wrote the final chapter when I was only about 2/3 of the way through the book. But I don't plan a lot in advance, so that makes it harder to hop around.

Niina : What chapter did you most enjoyed writing and why?

Natalie : The chapters changed on every revision. But the scene I most loved writing was the first one in the cabin, when Quinn, Nick, and Sam arrive battered and weary, and Nick doctors Quinn's injuries. I was really proud of the emotions and sensuality in the scene, and can only hope they come through to the reader the way they play out in my head.

Niina : What's the best part about being an author? And what’s the worst?

Natalie : The worst part is rejection, whether that's a publisher saying no thank you, a reader wanting their money back, or a reviewer trashing everything you love about a story. There are a lot of best parts, though. At the top are the moments when everything is flowing fast and furiously and you just KNOW you nailed the scene. Having readers and reviewers love the same thing you loved about the book is right up there, too. And just being able to make some kind of career out of something you're passionate about is fantastic.

Niina : What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Natalie : I don't think I really have any. I'm pretty mundane. I guess the closest thing to a quirk is getting ideas or solutions in the shower, and doing the mad dash through the house to write them down before I lose them. But I know I'm not alone in that one. :)

Niina : How many jobs did you have before you became a writer? What was your first job?

Natalie : I think I had 8 jobs before I became a writer. My very first non-babysitting job was working the counter at a dry cleaner/laundromat my senior year of high school. In college I demonstrated pizza  ( handed out samples ) in a grocery store for a while, and sold shoes the rest of my college career. My favorite job was an internship at National Geographic Society. No, wait, favorite was working in a concession stand on the beach! Yeah, that was a good one.

Niina : Now for its time for some fun! I you could only read 5 romance books for the rest of your life what would they be, and why?

Natalie : Oh, lord, only 5?! Why are you so cruel?! LOL

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Most wouldn't call it a romance, but Harry falling for Ginny, something I'd seen coming since he first boarded the train at platform 9 3/4 in the first book, is something I can and do read over and over.

2. The Suzanne Brockmann book where Jules and Robin finally get together. I can't remember which of her Troubleshooters books that is, but I loved it!

3. Collide by Megan Hart, her most recent Spice book, because the heroine is amazing, and the relationship is so untraditional, and I love untraditional.

4. Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Devereux, because it was the first time I remember reading a romance where the heroine didn't wind up with her hero, but had a happy ending anyway.

5. Blue Silver, a collection of short stories I was part of with Megan Hart, Ellie Marvel, Jacki King, and Penny Dawn, because I love the band members so much, especially Seth and Julian, and every so often I need to be back in their world.

Niina : Your current Top 5 dangerous bad boys in literature? (and why?)

Natalie : Wow, this one's even harder. Bad boys aren't really my thing, though the term has slightly different definition for different people. Roarke is on the list, definitely, from JD Robb's series, because he'll do so much for Eve, including not be bad. I'll add Ranger from the Stephanie Plum books because he's mysterious and hot and intense and I love intense guys. Ooh, Reyes from Darynda Jones' reaper series. He's the son of Satan! Also intense and mysterious. Tod from Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers, though that might be cheating because he's so very good. And then Kale from Jus Accardo's Denazen because it was never his fault that he was bad.

Niina : Oh yes, Roarke. ;) If your book were made into a movie who would you cast as the leads?

Natalie : Finally, an easy question! LOL Quinn is the trickiest, because I can't really think of an actress who's the right age and attitude. Emma Stone would be great if she were 10 years older. Sam would have to be played by Jared Padalecki, and Nick by Jensen Ackles.

Niina : Good choice for the boys! Now, who is currently your “book boyfriend”?

Natalie : Morrison in CE Murphy's Walker Papers! :)

Niina : Now, can you tell us five fun/quirky things about Nick, that we didn't learn from the book?

Natalie : 1. Nick would totally ride a motorcycle if it were practical, which it's not because he has too much gear he has to transport. (That's why it's okay that he's on a motorcycle on the cover but never rides one in the book. LOL)
2. Nick loves sushi, but he'd never admit it to anyone in a million years. Especially Sam.

3. Every Christmas, if he's not working, Nick secretly drops food, toys, and other stuff at the homes of needy kids and adults he's come across while traveling.

4. Nick is totally addicted to talk radio. He'll argue with the talk show host for hundreds of miles.

5. Though Nick is currently the only member of his family to carry on the protector legacy, he's grooming a few of his nieces and nephews to take over when they grow up.

Niina : If we could ask Nick and Quinn what has been the single most outrageous night out for them, what would they answer?

Natalie : Nick just snorts at the question and Quinn looks wryly sad, because nothing has ever been "normal" for them. They've never had a night out, never mind an outrageous one, unless you count their night on the run in Boston.

Niina : Now before we sign off and finish up here are some Quick Fire Questions: 

Cats or dogs? I used to think both, but learned it's definitely cats.
Coffee or tea? Mostly tea (regular black tea with cream and sugar), but I love a mocha with whipped cream
Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Dark, definitely! Preferably with nuts or toffee in it.
Rocks or flowers? I love flowers, but rocks are definitely more suited for me. LOL
Night or day? Night! I'm a big night owl. I hate to go to bed, and I hate to get up in the morning.
UF (Urban Fantasy) or PNR (Paranormal Romance)? Both, as long as the UF has romance in it. I like how UF can explore things in further depth over time or even feature dueling heroes, but PNR is satisfying in the short term.
Bad boys or good cops? Good cops pretending to be bad boys.
Brunettes or Blonds? Totally irrelevant. :)
Vampires or werewolves? Neither.
Romance or erotica? Romance. I write graphic sex and have nothing against it, but it has to be tightly intertwined with the love story.
Mystery or Thriller? I lean slightly toward mystery, being more cerebral and not really liking to be too scared.
Men:  Alpha-male or submissive? If those are my only choices, alpha male, but I prefer a guy who's more complex than that.
Beer or Wine? Hard alcohol in a mixed drink!
Pizza or Restaurant? Depends on the circumstances. Pizza delivered after a long day, restaurant when we're out and about.
Cake or Donuts? Donuts!
TV or DVD? TV wins for the amount of time I spend watching, but I do like DVDs, too.
Movies: Romantic comedies or Action/Adventure? Again, both! But only well-done ones.
Halloween or Midsummer? Halloween. October is my favorite month!
Times New Roman or Courier? TNR, but I like Garamond even better
Crayons or markers? Crayons. They allow for more nuance in shading.
Pens or pencils? Pens, though pencils are important at certain times.
Books or e-books? I like both equally, but read more on my Kindle now because of the convenience.
Kids or pets? Other people's? Not too big on either. Mine? The kids are much better behaved than the pets.

Niina : Thanks for visiting the For The Love of Reading, Natalie, it was fun to have you come by!

Natalie : Thank YOU, Niina, for making me work so hard in this excellent interview! I loved it!

Natalie J. Damschroder came to writing the hard way - by avoiding it. Though she wrote her first book at age six (My Very Own Reading Book) and received accolades for her academic writing (Ruth Davies Award for Excellence in Writing for a paper on deforestation her senior year in college), she hated doing it. Colonial food and the habits of the European Starling just weren’t her thing.

She found her niche - romantic fiction - shortly after college graduation. After an internship with the National Geographic Society, customer service for a phone company just wasn’t that exciting. So she began learning how to write the books she’d loved to read all her life. Now she struggles to balance her frenetic writing life with her family, the most supportive husband in the world and two beautiful, intelligent, stubborn, independent daughters (the oldest of whom has become a writer). She somehow also fits in a day job and various volunteer positions in and out of the writing industry.

Learn more about her at her website, www.nataliedamschroder.com, follow her on Twitter @NJDamschroder, or friend her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nataliedamschroder

REVIEW - NORTH OF NEED + GIVEAWAY!

"Called to life by the power of Megan's tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body..."

Author: Laura Kaye
Pages: 234 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Published: November 1st, 2011
Form: E-book (review copy through the tour for an honest review)
Series: Hearts of the Anemoi #1
Genre: Fantasy / Paranormal Romance
Amazon: Buy / $11.04 (Paperback)
The Book Depository: Buy / €8.55 (paperback)
Barnes and Noble: Buy / $12.99 (paperback)
Excerpt: The 1st and 2nd Chapter

Megan Snow lost her husband on Christmas Day morning one year ago, now she's come to their cabin in the snowy mountains to be alone on Christmas. Noticing exertion gets her mind away from John she cleans the snow covered yard and ends up building a snow a snowman, woman and child. When done she realizes just how alone she is and ends up crying , leaning into the snowman.

A snowstorm brings Owen, a snow god, to Megan's cabin. Her deceased husband's request is for her to find happiness and closure, and Owen finds himself desperate to fix her broken heart, because he finds he can't help but fall in love with Megan. Now to stay human he needs to hear from her that she loves, so that he can stay, forever, with her. The only trouble is that Owen has only 4 days to win her heart before the warm from descends and he, like the snow, melts.

This has to be the happiest PNR/Fantasy I have ever read! North of Need was joyous, romantic discovery of love, letting go and opening your heart to love again, without the unnecessary angst!

This story made me feel good, lighthearted and happy like no other has before! If you want a happy, romantic, paranormal and scorching hot Christmas Holiday read - well this is it! Some of the scenes will sure melt more than just snow, wow!

I loved Owen's character, he genuinely wanted Megan to be happy, smile and accept him, love him. Megan begun as heartbroken and sad at the anniversary of John's death and suddenly comes to life with Owen responding to mundane things with genuine happiness of being corporeal, eating and well, making love like he only has 4 days to indulge in it.

The plot is simple, but the writing made it beautiful and I was fully invested in seeing them together at the end of the book. I can tell some might view it as naive, I did not, I found it delightful and a true feel good, deliciously hot Christmas love story with a fantasy twist! I'm so happy this is book one Hearts Of The Anemoi series! Because then there will be more!

Read an romantic excerpt from North of Need here!

"A deep sound of satisfaction rumbled low in his throat and ricocheted down her body. Those soft lips found hers, already open, waiting for his touch. With his kiss, he possessed her. His scent—winter spice and male—filled her senses. His body covered her. She could live on the cool, sweet taste of his tongue. And, God, his little moans and grunts reverberated right down to the wet heat between her legs.

He trailed open-mouthed kisses over her cheek to her ear, sucked her lobe between his lips and flicked it with his tongue. She gasped as goose bumps erupted everywhere and she offered her neck to his exploration.

“I want you, Megan. Be mine. Gods.”

Rating :

Kiss and Tell Tour

Want to take part in the Giveaway? 

Here is your chance to win the North of Need Trading Cards!

[GIVEAWAY CLOSED]

Laura is offering two ways to win on her Kiss and Tell Tour Posts, 11/28 - 12/6.
1) One commenter who leaves their email address on this post will win a full signed set of Laura's romance trading cards for all four of her books.
2) A tour-wide prize will also be chosen on Friday, December 9: Laura will draw three commenters from across all Kiss and Tell Tour Posts to win one of THREE $5 Amazon gift cards. The more Tour Posts you visit and comment on, the more you'll be entered to win! Commenters must leave email address. Both are open to international! Good luck!

Use as collectibles or bookmarks or to remind you fo this great book! Just comment on this entry with your email address if you'd like to take part! I'm jealous, I wish I could take part too, I'd love to get my hands on some!

REVIEW - FANTASY LOVER

"Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day."

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Pages: 337 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: January, 2002
Form: Paperpack
Series: Dark Hunter #0
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Amazon: Buy / $7.99
Book Depository: Buy / €4.87
Excerpt: 1st Chapter

Grace is a therapist, a sex therapist to be exact, her best friend a tarot reading gypsy-blooded Selena has decided Grace needs to heal from her first disastrous time with a total tool and she tricks Grace to summon a Greek Love-Slave from an old book.

Julian of Macedon, a Spartan general, has spent near two thousand years in the book, cursed there by his half-brother, and summoned out only by women who want him for his body - and what a body! Being a demigod he's a sight aphrodisiac to human women, so much so that he is irresistible. As Grace summons him he figures out something is different this time, first Grace doesn't want to sleep with him, and second her treating him like a man awakens weird feelings in him.

As more of who Julian is revealed feelings blossom between the couple but neither one wants to admit them, better yet acknowledge them - but as it comes out that there might be a way for Julian to be free from the book things take turn to worse. It's not easy to choose life after over 2000 years of emotional torture.

❝She laughed. “There’s a lever under the seat. Pull it out and you can move the seat back.”

He tried, but he was crammed in so tightly that he couldn’t reach it.

“Here,” Grace said. “I got it.”

Julian threw his head back as she leaned over his thigh, pressing her breasts to his leg while she reached between his knees. His body snapped to attention, instantly hot and hard.

When she put her cheek against his groin as she struggled with the release, he thought he would die from it.

“You know, you’re in the perfect position to-”

“Julian!” she snapped. She pulled back and saw the bulge in his jeans. Her face turned bright red. “Sorry.”

“Me, too,” he breathed.

Unfortunately, she had yet to move the seat, so he was forced to endure the position one more time.

Grinding his teeth, Julian reached one arm over his head to grab the headrest and clench it tightly. It was all he could do not to yield to the fiery lust inside his body.

“You okay?” she asked once she released the seat and returned to her own.

“Oh, yeah,” he said sarcastically. “I’m just fine considering the fact I’ve walked through burning huts that hurt less than my groin does right now.”

“I said I was sorry.”

He just looked at her. ❞

I loved this book! It sure is a hot read! I can't help but love books where the hero sets out to seduce the heroine, especially when the hero is rugged gorgeous Spartan Warrior! *SWOON* Alright let me get it together... there we go... no wait, okay, I got it.

I loved the plot, sure it was simple but with great twists! It was easy flowing to read and Kenyon writes in a way that you feel close connected to the characters, which helps so much to see the world and get immersed in it.

Fantasy Lover was deliciously sexy, dark and tempting and a surprise very funny quick read! Julian's out-of-place-ness, if one can use that as a word is hilarious, but at times heartbreaking, and this book is a perfect mix of both.

I loved Julian, he was so dark and conflicted, but sexy as hell. I loved that he didn't like public places where women swooned over him, it gave him just what the doctor ordered to be a great male lead.
Could not help but to love Grace as well, she saw Julian as a human being and not as a mystical creature, a love-slave. She wanted to help him adjust to where he was, and this is bit heartbreaking; she was the first women in 2000 years who wanted to give him the dignity to wear clothes, which he didn’t know how to handle…

I did not expect this book to be so good! I was very pleasantly surprised! This book works well for you if you want a break from vampires and werewolves, but still want your Paranormal Romance kick!

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