Thursday 26 March 2015

M9B Two for Thursday Book Blitz: The Dragonrider Chronicles by Nicole Conway with Giveaway #T4T


T4T-Banner

Hello and welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!
You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you:

Fledgling (The Dragonrider Chronicles, #1) by Nicole Conway
and
Avian (The Dragonrider Chronicles, #2) by Nicole Conway

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

cover

What They Say

Can one boy stand between two kingdoms at war?

Jaevid Broadfeather has grown up as a wartime refugee, hiding from the world because of his mixed racial heritage. He feels his future is hopeless, until a chance encounter with a wild dragon lands him in Blybrig Academy—a place usually forbidden to anyone but the rich and royal. But Jaevid’s case is special; no dragon has voluntarily chosen a rider in decades, so the proud riders of Blybrig must begrudgingly let him join their brotherhood despite his bloodline. Lieutenant Sile Derrick, a sternly tempered man with a mysterious past, becomes his instructor and immediately takes a peculiar interest in Jaevid’s future.

While struggling through the rigorous physical demands of training, things begin to go awry. Jaevid witnesses the king’s private guards kidnapping Sile in the dead of night. When none of the elder riders are willing to help him, Jaevid begins a dangerous adventure to save his instructor.

Everything Jaevid learned at the academy will now be put to the ultimate test.


Available for Purchase:

amazon B&N

What Readers are Saying:

“The author has taken the dragon concept putting her own unique spin and creating a captivating new series that spark the imagination.”Mandy, The Reading Diaries

Nicole Conway does a fantastic job creating her world and describing it in a way that the images fill my head while reading.”
Cassandra – Lost in Books


“It was a nice, fast read and I'm really hoping that we learn more about the Grey Elves, the war and the Dragons in future books because this series has the potential to be really great.”
Natalie – Book Lovers Life


Avian-Cover

What They Say:

What kind of power is lurking inside him? After a year of training to become a dragonrider, Jaevid Broadfeather has been sent home to rest during a three-month interlude. But when he returns to find the king drake has chosen Beckah Derrick as his new rider, Jaevid realizes something big is about to happen. Every fiber of his being is pushed to the breaking point as Jaevid battles through his avian year, preparing for the final graduation test of the battle scenario. But there is more standing in his way than a few pushups and fancy sword moves. Jaevid must face a new fear as he is tormented by a gruesome nightmare of a mysterious gray elf warrior murdering the royal family of Maldobar. It seems obvious to him that this is some kind of message about how the war started long ago—until Felix assures him the king is very much alive. With his strange powers growing stronger by the day, and that violent dream replaying in his mind every night, Jaevid no longer wonders if he will pass his avian year or not—he wonders if he will even survive it. The truth will soon be set loose.

add to goodreads

Available for Purchase:
amazon B&N

What Readers are Saying: 

“I highly recommend this series to fans of Eragon and Lord of the Rings because those movies jump to mind a lot when I’m reading this series.”Cassandra – Lost in Books

“This was a very exciting book two that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could to see what would happen next.”
Jasmyn – Bitten by Romance

“This is a sequel of pure perfection!” – Nay – Nay’s Pink Bookshelf

about-the-author
NicoleConwayPhoto


Nicole is the author of the children’s fantasy series, THE DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES, about a young boy’s journey into manhood as he trains to become a dragonrider. She has completed the first two books in the series, and is now working on the third and final book.

Originally from a small town in North Alabama, Nicole moves frequently due to her husband’s career as a pilot for the United States Air Force. She received a B.A. in English with a concentration in Classics from Auburn University, and will soon attend graduate school.

She has previously worked as a freelance and graphic artist for promotional companies, but has now embraced writing as a full-time occupation.

Nicole enjoys hiking, camping, shopping, cooking, and spending time with her family and friends. She also loves watching children’s movies and collecting books. She lives at home with her husband, two cats, and dog.


Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Giveaway
Complete the Rafflecopter for a chance to win!

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Wednesday 25 March 2015

His Other Life by Beth Thomas


What They Say:

His Other Life is a cleverly plotted, suspense-filled page-turner that makes you think but puts a smile on your face at the same time.

The story of a couple with seemingly perfect lives…and the secrets they hide behind closed doors.

On paper, Grace’s new husband Adam was the perfect package. Good looking, good job, charming –some would say out of her league. So when he disappears from her life one evening, Grace has a lot of questions. As she tries to track him down, Grace opens a Pandora’s Box of secrets and lies and soon troubling stories about Adam’s past emerge; stories she finds hard to square with the man she married. Was marrying Adam the biggest mistake Grace has ever made?


What I Say:

I would like to thank Avon Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When we first meet Grace she has it all a husband and a house, but she isn't happy and is convinced Adam is hiding something from her.  Adam receives a mysterious phone call and begins to act strangely, he goes out for a take away and disappears. This is not surprising as he doesn't let Grace open post, look in his wardrobe and even chose the clothes that she wore.

I would say the book is more chick lit than thriller, as Grace and her friends boyfriend Matt go in search of Adam and his secrets.  I really liked Matt from the first time the author introduced him, he was so helpful with Grace and patient.  

Adam I really didn't like, he sounded really controlling.  At times I had little sympathy for Grace, as she is the main character isn't great.  I really wanted to shake her up but I sense deep down she let Adam get away with how is was because her self esteem wasn't great.  She didn't realise how much Matt like her/  My favourite character is Grace's best friend Ginge, shes full of fun and turns up in some really crazy outfits.

All in all the book is a great chick lit story, especially as the relationship between Matt and Grace builds.  I was disappointed in the Adam story line and felt so much more could have been made of this.


4 out of 5 stars

What Sarah Says:

This was a fabulous story.  I really enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down.  It wasn’t what I expected and it kept you guessing until almost the very end.  It didn’t turn out quite how I thought it would but it didn’t disappoint.

I connected with Grace the main character so much in fact I thought she was almost a clone of me.  The story was written so well and for me true to life like how Grace acts with the police, questioning whether she is acting like a guilty person even when she isn’t necessarily the suspect….do I look guilty?....she is making a mental note in her notebook…..is this how I should be acting?  I have had the police call to my house because my car broke down and was abandoned by the road…..did nothing wrong still felt like I had done something wrong and was I acting suspiciously.  I completely believed everything Grace was going through and how she felt.

The story wasn’t as predictable as I thought it was going to be and had me feeling all the highs and lows with the characters.  I tried to guess each time another clue came along what was going to happen and changed my mind all the time.  Until the obvious clues were given I didn’t get it right and it kept me in suspense until the very end.

I can not wait to read more by this author and I would highly recommend this book and author.

4 out of 5 stars

About the Author

Having just read a sample biography, it seems that it's a good idea to insert details of your Booker and Pulitzer prizes on here. Which makes me think maybe I should leave it a while before I write this...

But who am I kidding? I like writing humorous observations on life and love, and that kind of thing never wins prizes. Although I think it definitely should. If it makes people feel good, then it's the same as penicillin, isn't it? And that stuff did pretty well.

I've always enjoyed writing, since I first held a pencil, in fact. No, really. My first novel to be published, 'Carry You', will be out this April - exactly forty years after I wrote my first book in 1974. I was six and the story was about a strange person in a strange land, coping with prejudice and fitting in. It sounds more complex than it is, but I was - and am - proud of it. I wrote short stories for many years but they weren't terribly satisfying. It was only once I had discovered the joy and pain of writing a novel that I knew I had found my niche at last, which is a fantastic feeling. I thoroughly recommend that if you haven't already got a niche, you should definitely get one.

'Carry You' draws heavily from my experience of walking the Moonwalk, so if you want to know more about what that is, you should definitely read it. It will make you laugh and cry, then laugh again, and probably smile a fair bit in between. Eat my dust, penicillin.

Follow me on Twitter @BethThomas68





Tuesday 24 March 2015

Guest Review - Creature Comforts by Trisha Ashley


Today I have the pleasure of bringing Sarah Pritchards Guest Review of Creature Comforts.


What They Say

Fall in back in love with life in this gripping read about fate and second chances.

The eagerly awaited new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author.

Izzy has broken off her engagement to her feckless fiancĂ©e Kieran and returned to her childhood home – the sleepy village of Halfhidden.

She soon realizes that life in the village is anything but peaceful – for one thing she’s living with her mad aunt Debo and her pack of dogs, and for another, Izzy has a lot of unanswered questions.

When she was a teenager, Izzy was involved in a terrible accident, involving various inhabitants of Halfhidden. As she sets out to discover what actually happened on the night of the accident, she realizes that her painful past is actually standing in the way of her future happiness. So when a handsome stranger comes to Halfhidden will she let love back into her life?

What Sarah Says

This was such a lovely story.  It made me feel good and I wanted to keep reading until I finished it.  It was such an uplifting story that had both romance and mystery about it.  I really want to know if Halfhidden is a real place somewhere just because I would love to move there it sounds like the kind of community I could live in forever!

I connected with the characters straight away especially Izzy and Lulu.  I loved that it had a close knit community that looked out for each other and was glad at how some of the characters turned out to be better than I thought they would be.  It was wonderfully written so I was able to side with the ‘good’ characters and really didn’t like the ‘bad’ characters almost as if I was part of the story myself.  The characters are all recognisable as people we know in real life, I could relate to them all as if they were actually in my life.

Although I managed to guess what I thought would happen at the end of the story it still didn’t take anything away from how much I enjoyed reading it.  Although I did guess pretty much the outcome there was always the possibility that I wouldn’t be right.  It was such a charming story and one I think everyone will enjoy.  I was in a bubble while I read it and I want to get back in there and live my life with these characters they were just so sweet, lovable and real!

I can not wait to read more by this author and I would highly recommend this book and author to everyone.

4 out of 5 Stars

About The Author


Trisha Ashley writes romantic comedies, and her latest novel, a reprint of Every Woman for Herself, was her sixth consecutive Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. Her novels have twice been shortlisted for the Melissa Nathan award for Romantic Comedy and Every Woman for Herself was nominated by readers as one of the top three romantic novels of the last fifty years. 

She is from St Helens in West Lancashire, and believes that her typically dark Lancashire sense of humour in adversity, crossed with a good dose of Celtic creativity from her Welsh grandmother, have made her what she is today...whatever that is. Five of her novels are set in rural West Lancashire and three in Wales. They frequently explore aspects of the three F's that are a constant in her own life: Food, Flowers and Friendship and include delicious recipes at the back.

Nowadays she lives in North Wales, together with the neurotic Border Collie foisted onto her by her son, and a very chancy Muse. 

She is the founder member of NW Novelistas Ink, a group of twelve novelists, several of whom are bestselling, who meet regularly in North Wales; she is also a long term member of the Society of Authors and a member of Literature Wales.

Her new novel, a reprint of Every Woman for Herself, will be published on May 8th, 2014. The dysfunctional Rhymer family, the result of a failed attempt by their father to recreate the Brontes, gather together at the Upvale Parsonage for what might well turn out to be the last time....

Trisha has a website at www.trishaashley.com where you can find out more about her, sign up for her newsletter, or see a complete list of her books. You will also find her on twitter as @trishaashley.



Monday 23 March 2015

Interview with Debbie Rix

Today I have an interview with author Debbie Rix.  Her debut novel The Secrets of the Tower was published on Friday 20 March.



What They Say:
Two women, centuries apart, bound together by the secrets of one of the most iconic buildings ever created. 

Pisa, 1999 
Sam Campbell sits by her husband’s hospital bed. Far from home and her children, she must care for Michael who is recovering from a stroke. A man she loves deeply. A man who has been unfaithful to her. 

Alone and in need of distraction, Sam decides to pick up Michael’s research into the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Immersing herself in the ancient city, she begins to piece together the mystery behind the creation of the tower, and discovers the woman that history forgot… 

Pisa, 1171 
Berta di Bernardo, the wife of a rich merchant, sits in her chamber, dressing for a dinner party. A gathering that will change the course of her life and that of a young master mason, Gerardo, forever. 

A strong, intelligent woman, Berta’s passion for architecture draws her to Gerardo. As she embarks on a love affair, her maid Aurelia also becomes spellbound by the same man. Yet for Berta, her heart’s desire is to see the Tower built, and her determination knows no bounds… 

A richly drawn and absorbing novel of passion and power, love and redemption that will captivate fans of Victoria Hislop, Tracy Chevalier and Kate Furnivall. 

Interview


Hi Debbie

Welcome to Comet Babes Books.

Can you tell us about the Secrets of the Tower please?
Secrets of the Tower tells the story of Berta di Bernardo – a widow who left the money to build the Tower of Pisa. The novel is set in two time periods – 1170 when Berta was alive, and 1999 – the year the Tower was finally re-opened after engineering work had been completed to make the Tower safe at last.   I have two heroines: Berta of course, and a modern heroine Sam Campbell who is a journalist, married to a TV producer who has a stroke whilst making a film about the Tower. Living in Pisa, caring for her sick husband she is drawn to the story he was researching. The narrative interweaves the stories of these two powerful women and explores the complexities of their lives.  Both wrestle with loving a man other than their husbands but they are bound together by something more – a passion for the Tower.

I see from the Synopsis that it is set over two different time periods, was this hard to write?
No, it wasn’t hard to write – in fact, I found it easier really.  By setting the novel in two, time periods you give yourself a little ‘holiday’.  Each time you change the scene you are refreshed and keen to get back to the story in whichever segment.  So it keeps the process really fresh – and hopefully the reader feels the same way.

Can you tell us about your writing/research process?
I am a journalist by training, so I needed to know as much as possible before I began to write.  I researched all aspects of the period – the food, the jewellery, the clothes, and the architecture.  I visited museums, worked for months in the British library studying manuscripts from the time.  I met with experts and did as much as possible to get really immersed in the period.
But finally, I had to start pulling it all together and write the story.  I don’t really plan – but I knew who my main characters would be.  Then I just let the story out...  It’s almost as if it was just waiting there… ready to emerge.  My father and mother were both architects and my Dad often said the same thing applied to architecture – maybe it’s just the creative process.  If I’m writing, I work all day – starting at around nine in the morning, working through till one o’clock, when I have lunch with my husband and then on again until 6.30 or 7pm when I stop to make supper.  What I love is that time just rushes by when I’m writing. There is no sense that time drags… I hope that’s because I love it so much.

As this is your debut novel, can you tell us about your future book plans?
I have already started the next novel.  It will also be set in two time periods – the present day and the sixteenth century.  I’ve already ‘found’ my modern character and really like her…she’s quite funny.  But I’ve not yet found the historic hero and heroine.  I’ve got some ideas and am about to go on a little research trip to Amsterdam to see what inspiration I can find there…

What advice would you give to someone thinking of writing their first novel?
Just do it!  I know that sounds too simple… but really it's just about getting on with it.  And find an agent who will support you and if you are really lucky sign with a publisher as kind and supportive as Bookouture!

Before being signed by the wonderful people about Bookouture, were you rejected by any other publisher?
Oh heavens yes… the submission process is so frustrating.  I had two or three publishers who said: ‘I love this novel, but …  I've just signed a similar time slip, so will have to pass sadly.’  That’s almost more frustrating than the odd one who just doesn't ‘get’ or like it.  But you need to be strong and resilient, and have faith!  And remember that even hugely successful writers like J.K Rowling were rejected – twelve times!

Do you have a favourite place you like to write and why?
I always write in my little summerhouse in the garden.  Before I began the book it was a bit of a tip – cold, letting the rain in and not very salubrious.  We just dumped garden furniture in there over the winter and it was full of cobwebs.  But when I started the book, I mentioned to my husband that I found it hard to concentrate in my normal office (where I work producing events).  Emails kept coming in, there were distractions from work and it’s also next to the kitchen, so I kept popping in there to sort things out.  So, I began to work in the summerhouse in spite of the rain and the spiders and found it so peaceful – it’s the perfect place to be a creative.  But as the winter arrived and the roof began to leak and temperatures dropped it became a bit miserable out there.  So my dear husband spent a ghastly wet October (It rained every day!) putting on a new roof and insulating it, and now it’s a lovely space to work in – I’m very lucky.

What inspired you to take up writing?
I’ve always wanted to write.  I made up stories endlessly as a child.  I joined the BBC and became a journalist and a newsreader and the desire to write got channelled into my work.  I actually wrote my first novel at about age 30, but I didn't find (or look very hard) for a publisher so the desire to write lay dormant for a while.  I was a huge fan of Mary Wesley who didn't start to write until her late sixties or even her early seventies, so somewhere in my mind, I always felt I had time on my side.  I resolved to wait until my children were a bit older and more independent and I had the peace to really concentrate on the process.

Are any of your characters based on people you know?
Not really.  When I first began to write, I did start by basing characters on people I knew but the truth is that becomes rather dull – because you are somehow straight-jacketed by what has actually happened to them and how you know they will react.  The great thing about writing fiction is that you should not be constrained by that sort of thing.  But that does not mean that I don’t draw on my own personal experiences occasionally or get inspiration from people I've known.

Do you have a support network for your writing?
All my family and friends have been very supportive of what I'm trying to do.  The kids have been great and so has my husband.  I do also have a couple of friends whose advice has been helpful.  Both are writers – so that makes a difference.  Victoria Hislop is a very old friend and she has been inspirational in many ways.  And my friend Vanessa Nicolson is also a huge support – hopefully we support one another…

What's the worst advice you have ever received?
Give up.  Seriously, I’m not sure anyone has ever said that to me, or if they did I ignored it.  My darling Dad told me when I was little that if I believed in something enough and worked hard enough there was nothing I could not achieve.  I still believe that and have passed that advice onto my own children.

Tell us something about yourself that readers won’t know from reading your books or web page?
I am immensely domesticated.  All my childhood games revolved around making houses – in woods, the garden – anywhere.  I was constantly dragging bits of children’s furniture and tiny tea sets into the garden to serve tea to my dolls.  I’ve not stopped since and am never happier than when digging a border, or painting a room, or cooking a meal for friends and family.  My perfect day involves cooking supper for at least eight people.  I know it’s not very cool – but there you are!


Thank you for answering my questions, Jo xx





Friday 20 March 2015

Excerpt Seed - Keepers of Genesis I by DB Nielson





Title: SEED
Series: Keeper of Genesis I
Author: DB Nielsen
Publication Date: May 7, 2014


What They Say:

A powerful, hidden artefact is unearthed in modern day Iraq and, with its discovery, an ancient conflict is reignited. Seventeen-year-old Sage Woods, the daughter of an eminent archaeologist working at the British Museum recently relocated from Australia, uncovers the artefact’s disturbing secret and is placed in terrible danger. Unwittingly, she has stumbled into an invisible war between two primordial dynasties of a supernatural order – a war in which she has a fateful role to play in a race to control the power of the SEED.

Embroiled in a quest that takes her from the British Museum to the Louvre to the Vatican Secret Archives, Sage realises that her blossoming romance with the mysterious, alluring St. John Rivers is inextricably tied to the artefact. Up until now, St. John has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Sage is determined to delve deeper to uncover his dark secret and his connection to the SEED. It is a decision that will have a devastating effect on humankind…

Goodreads | Amazon 



EXCERPT from Seed by D.B Nielson 

 Sage and Fi

‘Of course I didn’t give them all the photos or all the negatives as they requested. I’m not stupid, you know!’ she said, a smug look plastered on her face, ‘I only gave them the ones that were normal, nothing unusual.’

I couldn’t believe how devious my sister was, she had a real talent for deception – though this was something that I had always known, as she was a master of being able to elude detection, sneaking out of the house at fifteen to go clubbing with friends much older than herself who should have been more responsible than to allow an underage youth to accompany them, lying to our parents about who she was meeting up with, smiling winsomely to get her way with one parent knowing that the other would disapprove, and almost never getting caught.

I kept her secrets out of loyalty to a twin, but it wasn’t easy.

St.John in Paris

As the elevator doors slid open revealing the grand marbled foyer, I immediately spotted St. John standing with his back to me, hands thrust into his trousers, as still as any statue in a museum. He was still wearing his suit from earlier and my breath caught in my throat even as I gazed upon the back of him – his wide shoulders filled out his jacket admirably and his blond hair curled loosely over his collar. I realised that I was always looking at his face and had never clearly paid attention to what a dashing figure he cut; he must have an extraordinary physique beneath his clothes. I blushed at where my thoughts were taking me.





Author Bio:










DB Nielsen was born in British Hong Kong and immigrated to Australia in childhood. DB likes to travel the world with family; dividing time between residing in Sydney and visits to the cathedrals, crypts and museums the world over, doing research for new projects. The author is a university lecturer in Linguistics and Semiotics, and continues to teach English Literature and Language whilst writing fiction.

Author Links: 





GIVEAWAY


This was organized by Good Tales Book Tours. 

Thursday 19 March 2015

Blog Barrage - Taken By A Dragon by Felicity Heaton

Taken by a Dragon Blog Barrage - Felicity Heaton
Taken by a Dragon, the seventh book in New York Times best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates, is now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY at her website and sharing sneak peeks of the book.

Find out how to enter the Taken by a Dragon international giveaway (ends March 22nd) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 5 chapter sample of the novel: 

http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/taken-by-a-dragon-paranormal-romance-novel.php


Here’s more about Taken by a Dragon, including an excerpt from this paranormal romance novel.
Taken by a Dragon by Felicity Heaton
Possessed by a need to save a beautiful Amazon warrior from the vision he witnessed, Loke snatched her from the midst of the battle between the Third and Fifth realm of the demons, and carried her to his home deep in the black mountains of Hell to protect her. But as the fierce little female awakens, he finds she’s anything but grateful, and his dragon instincts roar to life to warn she might be more to him than an enemy—she might be his fated female.
Anais remembers meeting a handsome warrior in the heat of battle, a man who was her enemy but who looked at her with eyes that held dark heat and wicked promises. When she wakes to find that same dragon shifter has taken her captive, desire is the last thing on her mind, but escaping him to return to Archangel, the hunter organisation she works for, sounds less than appealing when he reveals the reason he took her—to stop her from dying.
Can Loke protect Anais from the dangers of his realm and how far will he go to save her from the future he keeps witnessing? Can Anais resist the fierce attraction that burns between them as hot as fire and stay true to Archangel or will her heart be taken by the dragon?
Taken by a Dragon is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/taken-by-a-dragon-paranormal-romance-novel.php

Purchase Links




Excerpt

She eyed Loke. He probably wouldn’t let her near it anyway. It was clear that he used that one knife for everything. Shaving. Cutting his incredible blue hair. Cooking. Everything revolved around that knife.
It was obviously quite precious to him.
If she stole it, would he let her go in exchange for having it returned?
“It’s a nice knife.” She nodded towards it and his left hand came down, settling on the spiralling metal grip.
He drew it from the sheath and stared at it for long seconds, his handsome face turning pensive and his blue eyes filling with emotions she couldn’t decipher, ones he decoded for her when he spoke, his deep voice echoing around the cave.
“It was my father’s.”
“I can see it means a lot to you.” She hadn’t expected it to mean so much though or that just mentioning the knife would affect him so dramatically. He looked lost as he stared at it, and a little broken, no longer the strong and determined male he had been just a moment ago. “Have you lost your father?”
He nodded and his expression shifted, turning even more sorrowful. “I lost my mother at the same time. The dragon wars took them both when I was two hundred. My aunt too.”
Anais’s heart went out to him. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to lose so many people who were close to him at the same time. It must have devastated him. She didn’t know whether two hundred was young or old for a dragon, but she guessed from his look that he had been young and that those two hundred years hadn’t been enough time with his parents.
“I lost my sister.” Those words slipped quietly from her lips, spoken from her heart to his, born of a need that seized control of her.
A need to connect with him and show him that he wasn’t alone in his pain.
They had both experienced loss.
He lifted his head and looked across at her, a softness in his eyes and his expression that touched her and felt dangerous. She looked away, unable to keep her gaze on him, because he was tearing down her defences again. Or maybe she was the one to blame. She had reached out to him after all. She fought the fierce gravity that tried to pull her to him and cursed herself for seeking a deeper connection with him. She didn’t want to get closer to him. She needed to focus on escaping.
Even though she felt certain it was more dangerous for her out there than it was in the cave with him.
“How?” he whispered and slowly sheathed the blade.
Anais focused on it, mentally cursing herself again for raising her sister’s death. She should have known he would ask about it and would want to know the particulars. It had been a long time since she had thought about it and even longer since she had spoken to anyone about what had happened, but it still hurt. The pain of grief was still raw even after all these years.
“I lost her nine years ago.” She kept her eyes on the blade sheathed against his left hip, afraid to look at him while she told him about her sister, letting him into her heart. She didn’t want to see how he would be looking at her. She didn’t want to see the sympathy in his rich blue eyes. She didn’t think she could bear it. “I never knew that she was a member of Archangel. I only found out after she had died. I didn’t even know the man she had married was a light fae. Christ, I had been so happy for her when she had brought him to meet me. They had been so in love.”
She closed her eyes and suppressed the sigh that wanted to leave her lips. Her sister really had been in love with him, the sort that rarely came around. True love. One that would have lasted forever. Literally in her case.
“They had a kid… a little girl.” Her throat closed and she swallowed hard, fighting the tears as she thought about Annabelle and how she was growing up in a world without her mother. “She was only a baby when Suzanne, my sister, was killed in an attack on their family home. Suzy’s husband’s enemies targeted her and the baby. He managed to save Annabelle, my niece… but my sister… the injuries… he couldn’t—”
She cut herself off as tears filled her eyes and she couldn’t breathe. Pain consumed her, tearing her heart to pieces all over again, so strong that it felt as if the attack had happened only yesterday. It had killed her when she had discovered what had happened to Suzy, and that they had almost lost Annabelle too.
She had been so angry with Aevys. She had blamed him for what had happened to her sister. He had come to her and explained, and she had wanted to hate him, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to feel that emotion towards him. He had been devastated by the loss of his mate. He had been broken.
And he had never recovered.
Whenever she visited him and Annabelle, he slowly gained a look, one that told her that seeing her pained him, even when it gave him pleasure too. He had told her once that she looked too much like Suzy. She didn’t want to hurt him, and she had told him so. She had even offered to meet with Annabelle elsewhere. He had refused, had hugged her, and told her that she was always welcome before confessing that he liked seeing her, because it reminded him of his mate.
Archangel constantly pressed her about him and she constantly lied and said she had no contact with him or her niece. She protected them. She had to, in honour of her sister’s memory, and for the sake of her niece and Aevys.
She wouldn’t let Archangel hurt them and she feared they would if they found them, shattering her fragile and carefully constructed image of the organisation that had become like family to her and was now her home.
“Anais?” Loke whispered softly and she lifted her head, a little gasp escaping her when she found him standing just inches from her, his handsome face etched with concern.
“Sorry… I was just thinking about Annabelle and Aevys.” She scrubbed her hands across her eyes and drew down a deep breath to steady herself.
“Do you still see them?” he said and she nodded.
“I pretend not to know where they live though.”
Loke’s deep blue eyebrows dipped low. “Why?”
Anais sighed. “Because of Archangel. They want to study him because he’s one of a rare breed of fae that they don’t have documented. Annabelle is just like him too.”
He backed off a step and his face darkened. “Study. It is a nice way of saying capturing, torturing and dissecting.”
She wanted to reassure him that Archangel wasn’t like that, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him again. Her earlier words to him still haunted her. She had been so quick to defend Archangel, spouting the lie without flinching, even when she knew they did bad things as well as good. They actively studied species and he was right, it did mean capturing them, holding them in cells, and often forcing them to reveal their abilities. She didn’t condone it, but she couldn’t pretend it didn’t happen.
Archangel were her family though. It was her home and it meant the world to her. She couldn’t stop herself from defending it, even when she knew deep in her heart that they did terrible things to some of the people they captured, and not all of those people were guilty of committing a crime against a human or good non-human. There was a shadier side of Archangel that many of their hunters didn’t know existed anymore, or perhaps they were like her and turned a blind eye to it because Archangel was the only family they had and the only place they could call home.
It was the only place where they belonged and fitted in, a part of something that made sense to them in a world that was no longer the one they had grown up in. She was sure many hunters felt as she did, as if Archangel was the only place for her now because she couldn’t turn back the clock and return to the time when she had been unaware of the dangerous fae and demons who shared her world.
It was a place where she could be with others like her, others whose eyes had been opened and whose heart beat with a need to protect the innocent and unsuspecting humans from the dangerous world around them.
The light from the fire faded and she glanced at it. The branches were black, nothing more than ash, threaded with glowing orange cracks. Loke looked there too and moved away from her. He gathered more wood from a stack against the side of the cave, placed it onto the dying fire, and crouched in front of it.
He leaned closer to the stack of wood, shut his eyes and frowned as he opened his mouth.
Shock rippled through her as he breathed fire.
It ceased and he raised his head, his eyes opening and locking on her. “You are surprised. Why?”
She shook herself and shrugged. “I just didn’t think you’d be able to do such a thing in your current form. Yesterday, you said you wouldn’t breathe fire… and I sort of figured that meant you couldn’t… not when you’re not a dragon.”
“You think strangely.” He sat back on his heels and prodded the fire with a stick, encouraging it to spread to the other branches. “There is no dragon and no man. There is only me. I am both. Both are one. I merely have two forms and I am comfortable with both. I do not think, feel or act any differently depending on my form. My mind and my heart remain the same. However… it is more difficult to breathe fire as I am now.”
Anais supposed that made sense, even when her mind rebelled against it. “Archangel teaches us to view the animal separately from the other form. The animal is always the more dangerous form.”
Loke’s lips curled into a smile that held no warmth. “From what you have told me, and what I know of your kind, it would appear the other form is the more dangerous one… the person and not the animal.”
Anais fell silent and sat down on the furs near the fire, on the opposite side of it to him. She couldn’t argue with him. Humans were dangerous. Animals tended to live in a sort of harmony with each other and their environment. People tried to control their environment and each other.
She frowned at her knees and then at Loke. “Your kind are no different though. You mentioned a war.”
“Wars.” He loosed a sigh and tossed the stick onto the fire, his blue eyes fixed on it as it caught and burned. The golden light played across his bare torso, highlighting his honed muscles with accents and shadows, and danced across his face as his expression turned pensive.
“That’s even worse then.” She didn’t flinch away when he raised intense eyes to meet hers. She weathered his dark look, not heeding the warning. She wasn’t going to sit in silence and let him make her species out to be the more dangerous one when his kind had gone to war many times. “Your species didn’t learn their lessons. Humans don’t either. We fight over everything.”
Loke shook his head, causing a slender thread of blue hair to fall down across his brow. He swept it back into place and ran his fingers through his hair. “Mortals fight over one thing. Land. The same as dragons. The wars did their work. Entire clans were wiped out. Our numbers are few now and our lands no longer crowded. Mortals will end up the same way if they are not careful.”
Anais couldn’t argue with that either. It was only a matter of time before humans unleashed Hell on Earth, killing vast numbers of the world’s population with weapons of mass destruction.
“So dragon numbers are low now?” She leaned back against the rough black wall of the cave and resisted looking off to her left towards the huge arched entrance to it. “How many dragons remain?”
Loke shrugged again. “I do not know. In my clan… perhaps no more than fifty when once there were over three hundred.”
“Does your clan live near here… in another cave?” Maybe a bigger one. She couldn’t imagine fifty people sharing a cave like Loke’s one.
He shook his head and shifted position. He sat on his backside, crossed his legs and leaned back, bracing his palms on the black ground and showing off his torso. Anais did her best to keep her eyes off him, but it was difficult. She didn’t want to appear rude, or as if she was avoiding looking at him. She also didn’t want to end up blatantly staring at his chest either, and she knew she would if she dared to look at him longer than a few seconds at a time.
“They live in the village. I have not been there in many weeks. I prefer it here.”
He looked around his cave and she had to wonder why he liked it here more than he did down in the village.
“How long have you lived here?” She took in the cave again. Sparse. Grim. Far from comfortable. The word village conjured images of homes, structures with roofs and furniture. Maybe even more modern conveniences.
Like a razor. Perfume. Clean clothes.
Loke tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling of the cave, his blue gaze distant.
She fought the urge to run her gaze over him while he was distracted and failed. Her eyes drifted down the strong line of his neck, lingering on his pronounced Adam’s apple again as he swallowed, and then wandered over the square slabs of his defined chest and down the thick ropes of his stomach. Eight pack. She had never seen a man with an eight pack before. She lost herself in counting each muscle, only stopping when she reached below his navel. A dusting of dark blue hair led down from it, into the tight waist of his rich blue leather trousers.
They were laced over the crotch.
Anais’s cheeks heated and a wave of desire crashed over her, ratcheting her temperature up and making her heart beat harder.
The intense sensation of Loke’s eyes on her caused the blush on her cheeks to darken and she dragged her eyes away, pinning them on the fire instead. She fought for her voice, needing to say something to dispel the tension in the air, the thick buzz of desire and passion that stemmed not only from her, but from him too.
“Eight centuries.” His deep voice curled around her, and her body reacted as if he was speaking low words of seduction rather than stating facts.
She heated inside, heart fluttering weakly against her chest, skin prickling with awareness and need, a yearning to feel his strong callused hands skimming over it and maybe pressing in a little to give her a glimpse of how powerful he was.
She coughed to clear her throat, battled her out of control emotions, and focused on what he had said, trying to use it to distract herself enough that she could rein in her desire.
Eight hundred years.
Anais raised her chin and looked across the fire at him.
There was heat in his eyes, but something else too, a feeling that struck a chord within her. Loneliness. He had lived in a cave, high in a mountain, for eight centuries, and he looked as if it had taken its toll on him, whether he knew it or not. He was lonely.
A dragon in his mountain.
But he was no longer alone.
She was here with him.
But for how long?

Taken by a Dragon is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback.
Find all the links, a fantastic 6 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also how to enter the giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/taken-by-a-dragon-paranormal-romance-novel.php

Books in the Eternal Mates paranormal romance series:

Author Bio

Felicity Heaton
Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.
If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Tsu | Pinterest | GoodReads | Amazon

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