Ever Bound
by Odessa Gillespie Black
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
1879, Tennessee. A
farmhand on the vast Rollins estate, handsome young Colby Kinsley makes the
mistake of his life when he becomes briefly entangled with conniving Grace
Rollins, the plantation owner's beautiful but unstable daughter. Yet matters
become even more complicated when he finds himself falling truly in love with
Grace's clever younger sister, Annabeth...
Intent on escaping her
darkly troubled father and her melancholy home, Annabeth is also determined to
avoid Colby. Yet she is still drawn to his quick wit and many talents. And when
he performs an act of astounding courage, she can no longer deny her true
feelings for him…just as her sister cannot hide her jealous rage. Grace will do
anything to destroy the blossoming romance—even invoke dark, powerful
supernatural forces. And as her dangerous machinations begin, the passions of
all three are set on a tragic course—with a conclusion that will echo across
lifetimes…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
After
Mama made a supper fit for kings and queens, I walked out the back door of our
cottage full and happy. It wasn’t dark yet, so maybe I could get some fishing
in. A small rut worn in the middle of a long path led down to a pond set far
away from the main house.
“Colby?
What’s your middle name?” a girl asked from behind me.
Not
again.
For
three long years, since the day we arrived at the Rollins Plantation, I’d dealt
with Grace Rollins’ tiresome advances. No matter how many times I rejected her,
she became more insistent. I could never have a moment’s peace without her
searching me out. Other than her sister, Annabeth, who was buried in her
studies and the arts, we were the only young people. That left me with no one
to become acquainted with. Which was just as well. Time to myself had become
scarce, since lately, I could never find any.
“Well?”
She eyed me with the gaze of an interested mountain lion.
“Kendall.
Colby Kendall Kinsley.”
“Hmm.
It’ll do.” She twirled a black tendril of hair about her finger as her gaze
intensified. “Colby Kendall Kinsley, have you ever kissed a girl?”
I
spit into the pond. “I beg your pardon?”
“Have
you ever kissed a girl? It’s a simple question with a simple answer.” She
examined her fingernails the way a cat would before she clawed your face. She
tapped her chin, then pointed at me. “You’re scared of me.”
I
put my pole and worms beside the water’s edge. There was no sense in bothering
to fish. She’d scare them all off with her incessant rambling. But I would
figure out a way to run her off before dark. Just before the sun set over the
tall trees south of the property, they really started biting.
“You
keep darting away from me when I try to kiss you. You haven’t kissed a girl
before.”
“I
kiss my mom all the time. She’s plenty enough female in my life.” I took out a
medium-sized hook and ran the line through it. “I don’t think this is an
appropriate subject.”
She
giggled and stood. “You know by now that ‘proper’ isn’t exactly a concern of
mine.”
“Don’t
you have lessons to attend or some knitting to do?”
Pressing
her dress down, she walked toward me. “I’m a big girl. I do what I want, when I
want.”
“I’m
going to have to insist you bring along a chaperone if we are to be in each
other’s company.” I jabbed a hook right through the biggest, juiciest night
crawler I had, hoping to send her retching.
“If
you’re asking for a chaperone, that makes me believe you would like to call on
me in the near future.” She slinked closer.
I
almost tripped on my bowl of worms and took a tumble into the pond. “I used to
wonder why you came out here with all the bugs and frogs and slimy creatures,
but it’s quiet. I might accompany you while you fish more often. It would get
me away from Annabeth and all her goody-goody college talk. I swear, she’ll
never find a decent husband.”
Just
as I gained my balance and looked up, Grace was nose to nose with me. I slid
out of her clutches before she could lean in to put her lips on my face.
“Colby,”
Mama called from the back of our house.
Relieved,
I slipped around her and scooped up my fishing supplies. “I have to go.” “We’ll
meet tomorrow night.” Her demand followed me as I fled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Odessa Gillespie
Black lives in the beautiful North Carolina foothills with her husband, four
children, Chihuahuas Little Bit and Rico, and rescued Lab and Pit mix, Mo. When
not chasing dogs around the backyard and tackling the daily duties of
mother-and-wife-hood, she enjoys watching horror movies, and reading and
writing paranormal romance. Readers can visit Odessa’s website:
odessablack.wordpress.com, and find her on Facebook.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BUY LINKS FOR
EVER BOUND:
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Never Been Bitten
by Sonya Weiss
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Amid the lore of 19th century England,
even a woman of science isn’t immune to the charms of a wickedly handsome,
dangerously sexy vampire…
The devilishly seductive, irresistibly
rakish Mr. Macane is ravishing all the ladies of the ton—despite the fact that
he is penniless, untitled—and believed to be a vampire. Hired to disprove such
an absurd claim, the skeptical Miss Elspeth Ramsay does not expect to tremble
in his presence—until the graze of his teeth on her neck ignites an appetite of
her own, and she finds herself biting him back! Surely this sudden bloodlust
can only mean danger for her family and her heart—or a love for eternity...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
A slow smile
curved his lips, gapping just long enough to flash a sliver of white teeth. Not
fangs, Ellie told herself. Just teeth. As normal as hers. She took a deep
breath and shivered as she inhaled the scent of cologne and clean linen.
Everything had
an explanation. Macane was an accomplished rake, not a vampire. He happened to
be brilliant at the art of illusion. With his absent cravat and his
close-lipped smiles, he lent just the right touch of mystery and illicit
adventure to woo the golden flock. Genius, actually. If she’d thought of it
first, perhaps she’d be the celebrated Original of the ton, rather than the
spinster who investigated frivolous claims for the rich.
She glanced up
at him again. His mouth was no longer curved in a smile, but it was still wide
and firm. The swooning ladies could keep their macabre fantasies. She’d much
rather have that sensual mouth kissing her than biting her. If there weren’t
such a crush of people.
As if they
shared one mind, his next artful spin took them from the sparkling dance floor
to a spot behind a hand-painted Chinese folding screen—which hid the entrance
to the gardens.
Before she could object (presuming she would have objected) Ellie was out the door and beneath the moonlit sky, still cradled in Macane’s arms.
Before she could object (presuming she would have objected) Ellie was out the door and beneath the moonlit sky, still cradled in Macane’s arms.
A frisson of
trepidation caused her to catch her breath. She stared up at him in a panic.
Might he actually kiss her? As far as she could remember, no one had ever
tried. No gentleman had ever noticed her long enough to think of it. And
now—what if she did it wrong? What if she did it right? What would be expected
of her then?
“You’re
beautiful,” he murmured. “You dazzled me even as you tried to hide.”
Well, that was
laying it on a bit thick. Ellie wasn’t ugly, but nor were artists dueling for
the honor of painting her portrait. She was plain. Worse than plain: She was
nondescript.
Wracking her brain for an appropriate setdown to such ridiculous flattery, she narrowed her eyes at him . . . and nearly swooned at his expression.
Wracking her brain for an appropriate setdown to such ridiculous flattery, she narrowed her eyes at him . . . and nearly swooned at his expression.
He was sincere.
Or if not, he gave a bloody good impression of it.
His eyes were
rapt on her face, as if he had been searching for her all his life. His gaze
had softened, making his features less harsh and more open. His arms cradled
her gently, his hands splayed at the curve between waist and hips. He was being
far more familiar than anyone of her acquaintance—far more familiar than any
right-minded young lady should allow—but Ellie was so enamored by the idea of
having entranced him that she couldn’t bring herself to pull away.
His lips
parted. Hers did too, mostly because she was having trouble remembering to
breathe. Her lips suddenly felt too dry. She edged out the tip of her tongue to
lick them and gasped when his hold tightened painfully. She felt strangely
powerful, as if she truly were beautiful.
He lowered his
face to hers. His eyes were no longer the crystal green of the sea, but rather
a shimmering black. Rather than try to process the transformation, Ellie
cleared her mind and let her own eyes flutter closed. She was going to be
kissed for the first time. And she was going to enjoy it. Her brow creased when
the delicious pressure of his parted lips brushed the base of her throat rather
than her waiting mouth. The sharp edge of bared teeth grazed the tender skin at
the curve of her neck. He wasn’t going to kiss her—he was going to bite her!
Instinct forced her to react at lightning speed. But instead of shoving him
away as she could’ve sworn she had instructed her limbs to do, Ellie returned
the favor and sank her own teeth into his cravat-free neck.
Mutual shock
held them immobile for an interminable moment. Realizing the ignominy of what
she’d just done, Ellie pulled away in horror before he could thrust her from
him bodily. To label him thunderstruck would be the understatement of the
century.
He touched his
neck with the tip of a finger. The pad of his white glove came away pink with
blood.
“Good Lord,” he
growled, his expression fierce. “Did you just bite me?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
New York Times
bestselling author Erica Ridley learned to read when she was four, which was
about the same time she decided to be a writer when she grew up. Now, Erica
writes Regency-set historical romances. Since becoming active in the writing
community, all of her manuscripts have finaled in or won various RWA chapter
contests. Erica is also the webmistress of her local writing chapter. When not
reading or writing romances, Erica can be found riding camels in Africa,
zip-lining through rainforests in Costa Rica, or getting hopelessly lost in the
middle of Budapest. Readers can visit her website at http://www.ericaridley.com.
Buy links:
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Reckoning
by Sonya Weiss
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
The Great Extinction,
the prophesied war between the humans and the Supernaturals, has begun.
Born a Supernatural,
Juliet Sawyer has the ability to save the world from disaster. But after barely
escaping the underground, power-sucking prison known as the Void, she finds
herself on the brink of death and in the middle of a vengeful war. To survive,
she’ll have to make a deal with her human captors. But the stakes are raised
when she learns the government is holding her sister hostage. To rescue her,
Juliet must become a weapon for humanity, fighting against her own
kind—including Riley West, the boy she fell deeply in love with—and by whom she
was abandoned.
Forced to desert
Juliet, Riley is on a mission to capture the human’s president and bring her to
the Supernatural’s king. But if he fails, there will be no stopping the Night
of Grief, which will unleash horrors capable of destroying humans and
Supernaturals alike. With battle lines drawn, amid a flurry of secrets and
betrayals, can Juliet and Riley rescue their love as well as all life on Earth?
Or will someone get caught in the crossfire?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
I’d forgotten
the execution of revenge always brings a reckoning. Revenge was the reason for
my predicament. I’d told myself I was following my destiny to save the humans,
but that was a lie. In truth, I’d wanted to get even with the leaders of our
world for murdering my father.
I choked back a
sob as I fought the despair threatening to overwhelm me. I needed to save my
little sister, Maisy, but I was trapped, unable to get to her. She and the
other mixed-blood children with her depended on me to protect them from the
humans and the Supernaturals and instead I was deep in the bowels of the Void.
It was a triple D place to be. Dark. Dank. Dangerous.
The cold, dark,
stone walls of this Supernatural prison were designed to absorb our power.
Robbed of our abilities, we were as weak as the humans.
Careful to
avoid the loose rocks dotting the ground all around me, I struggled to my feet,
worry over my sister’s safety driving me to move my aching body. Shut down the
fear. Shut down the pain. Do whatever it takes to get out.
A noise to the
left caught my ear.
Riley moved
haltingly toward me. Even in blue jeans and a T-shirt, his royal bearing was
unmistakable. He drew his arm tight against his body as he favored his ribs.
Failure and guilt struck again, smacking me in the face. He’d had to save me
and I hated that. Hated leaning on him when I knew what I would be called on to
do to him. Falling in love with Riley wasn’t logical, but when does the heart
ever listen to logic? It simply looks into the eyes of the other person, into
their soul, and falls. The idea that once he knew my secret he might not ever
forgive me, much less love me back, chilled me to the bone. Could I handle
seeing the love disappear from his eyes?
The tip of his
black Converse caught on a rock and he pitched forward, throwing his hands out
to catch himself. The muscles in his arms flexed and he rested his forehead
against the wall for a second, shaking his head as if dazed, which I didn’t
doubt he was. The fall into the opening from the castle above us was a neck
breaker. We’d been lucky to live through it.
Riley had
risked his life and given up his freedom for me. By jumping into the Void with
me in his arms, he’d found a way to stop my own power from killing me.
I made a sound
that was half laugh, half sob as a conversation with my late father popped into
my thoughts. Use your power for good. Remember your purpose, Juliet.
Sure, Dad, but
what good is having power when it comes with a nasty side effect like death?
I didn’t have an autonomic fail-safe to govern the temperature of my power like all the other Supernaturals did. Every time I used my power, I risked being barbecued from the inside out. When my last manmade fail-safe blew, I’d almost died and Riley had saved me then too.
I didn’t have an autonomic fail-safe to govern the temperature of my power like all the other Supernaturals did. Every time I used my power, I risked being barbecued from the inside out. When my last manmade fail-safe blew, I’d almost died and Riley had saved me then too.
I blinked back
tears and smiled when Riley reached me. Putting my hand on his side, I checked
the area he’d favored, and my hand trembled as I remembered the intimacies we’d
shared.
“I’m okay,” he
said. I knew the words for the lie they were. He was far from okay physically
and emotionally. His handsome face was covered in bruises, his skin scraped raw
in places.
Wounds caused when his own father had tried to kill him. Riley
reached for my hand, faking a smile. Even in his battered state, he was still
incredibly hold-my-breath hot, making me forget everything I wanted to say at
that moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Sonya Weiss is
a freelance writer, ghostwriter, and author, including the Stealing the Heart
series with Entangled Publishing. She's addicted to great books, good movies,
and Italian chocolates. She's passionate about causes that support abused
animals and children. Her parents always supported her bringing stray animals
home, although the Great Dane rescue was a surprise. Visit her site at
sonyaweiss.com, find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSonyaWeiss and
follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/sonyaweiss
BUY LINKS FOR
RECKONING:
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Wicked
Burn
by Rebecca Zanetti
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Simone Brightston knows
she can beat the rap her enemies are pinning on her. An Irish witch is nobody's
fool, and she didn't get to her position on the high council without serious
power. But her cousins want her to hide out—and they somehow convinced her arch
nemesis to play getaway driver.
Of all the men she's
known, Nikolaj Veis is the hardest to intimidate. With his demon-dark eyes and
his inscrutable beauty, he's as desirable as he is dangerous. And he knows
better than to underestimate Simone. So when he pulls up on a roaring bike and
tells her to climb on or fight it out, she grabs a handful of jacket and holds
on tight. Running from the law may not be the smartest plan. But when it comes
to Nick, hot pursuit and a blazing fast ride are exactly what Simone's looking
for .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
The helicopter
maneuvered gracefully through the buildings, keeping above him, tracking
easily.
Honking cars
and screeching brakes pierced the day behind him as the SUVs kept pace.
“Pull over,”
Simone hissed into his ear. “We can’t outrun them.” No, but perhaps they could
get to safety of a sort. Even the Guard wouldn’t risk a full immortal fight
with human witnesses. So he kept driving, avoiding a wreck, knowing full well
the risk he took. The skyscrapers turned to three-story buildings. Then homes.
Finally, trees began lining both sides of the road and filling the air with the
scent of pine.
“Where are you
going?” Simone whispered against his ear, her breath hot.
A shiver wound
through his body to his groin. Jesus. He was about to take on a cadre of
witches, and his cock wanted to play? Simone Brightston had always destroyed
his system. It was a relief to know that she still could. In his darkest
moments, he’d wondered whether he’d ever find his way back to warmth. “I have a
cabin prepared for you.” At least then, they’d have a chance. The roar of pipes
echoed through the trees, and within seconds, men on careening Harleys and dirt
bikes surrounded them. Nick hunched over the bike. “Hold on,” he yelled.
Her thighs
tightened on his, and she slipped both arms around his waist to hug tight.
Two men moved
in on either side of them, and he smelled shifter. What the hell? Turning, he
eyed the closest threat. Lucas Bryant? A grizzly bear lieutenant? What the
fuck?
Lucas narrowed
his dark eyes and jerked his head toward the rider on the other side.
Nick glanced
the other way to see another man draw a gun from his jeans. The shifter smiled.
Nick shook his
head.
The shifter
lowered the gun toward Nick’s front tire. Damn it. Nick leaned to the left and
kicked out with his right leg, hitting the guy in the ribs. The male’s eyes
widened, and he flew off his bike with an animalistic bellow, his bike dropping
and spinning around in his wake.
Nick yanked to
the side, swerved to avoid the shifter’s head, and drove straight into the
forest.
Simone screamed
and tucked her face against his neck, her hold tightening until his ribs
protested.
Branches
whipped into them, and the bike skidded on wet pine needles. Instinct guided
him as much as his enhanced senses, but he didn’t know these woods. The bear
shifters careening through the trees in his wake certainly did.
His only hope
was to outrun them and find shelter. The Guard’s helicopter was visible through
the treetops, but at least he’d lost the SUVs.
The bike hit a
patch of tree roots and shot up in the air. He held tight and corrected when
they came down, jerking the handlebars before opening the throttle again. The
trees thickened, providing cover but less visibility.
“Where are you
going?” Simone yelled into his neck.
There were more
weapons at his cabin, if he could just outrun the shifters. He turned right,
barely missing a sapling, and then snapped around another tree. Branches
scraped his cheek, and his left eye watered, so he used his right.
Lucas Bryant
flew out of a bunch of cottonwoods, his bike in the air and his gun already
firing.
Nick tried to
jerk away, but a bullet sliced into his front tire. The explosion was
deafening.
Panic swept
him. They pitched into the air. He turned, enfolded Simone, and wrapped himself
around her as much as possible, protecting her head with his arms. They flew
through the forest, hitting trees and branches.
Pain exploded
through his back.
His head
impacted with a tree, and stars flashed behind his closed lids.
Something
shattered in his shoulder a second before agony ripped through his neck.
Simone’s screams echoed in his head, gravity took over, and his skull cracked.
Unconsciousness
took him before he felt the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
New York Times
and USA Today Bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti has worked as an art curator,
Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner - only to
culminate it all in stories about Alpha males and the women who claim them. She
writes contemporary romances, dark paranormal romances, and romantic suspense
novels.
Growing up amid
the glorious backdrops and winter wonderlands of the Pacific Northwest has
given Rebecca fantastic scenery and adventures to weave into her stories. She
resides in the wild north with her husband, children, and extended family who
inspire her every day—or at the very least give her plenty of characters to
write about.
Buy links:
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GIVEAWAY:
The authors will be awarding digital
copies of all books on the tour to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter
during the tour.
Thanks for hosting!
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