Blurb:
“Haunted by tragedy, FBI profiler Rife St. Cloud is driven to find the person who brutally attacked six women. Unfortunately the only survivor, Keva Moon Water, has no memory of what happened, and the evidence makes her the prime suspect.

Keva cannot die. She has waited a thousand years to be reunited with the man she loves, whose soul sleeps within Rife. Though he refuses to believe her claims of immortality, there’s no denying the passion that burns between them. Keva desperately hopes their sexual connection will be enough to awaken Rife’s memories of the love affair that started a war and bound their souls together for all eternity.

But when Keva’s own memories come trickling back, she realizes that a future with Rife depends upon confronting the mistakes of the distant past…”


Misty Evans - Soul Survivor

Lost Worlds Series Part 1

Ebook: 171 pages
Paranormal Romance
Carina Press
ISBN: 978-1-4268-9178-6

Main characters: Rife St.Cloud & Keva Moon Water


First line of book:
“Hundreds of Virgin Marys stared at Rife St.Cloud from every surface inside the old church, their serene eyes in direct contrast to the bloody bodies of the six dead women at his feet.”

Keva Moon Water is cursed with immortality after a spell that went wrong. She used to be the Chieftess and Shaman of the Salt Coast Clan. She has waited a thousand years to be reunited again with her soul mate, the man she loves, whose soul sleeps within Rife St.Cloud, only then will the curse end. There is a problem: Rife St.Cloud does not remember her and he has come to investigate the murder of her beloved sisters and she is the prime suspect.

Rife St.Cloud is a FBI profiler on a mission, to catch as many murders as he can. He does not believe in magic or any other paranormal activities. He believes in what he can see and touch, but the moment he lay eyes on Keva his instincts tell him she is not the killer he seeks. He feels this strange deep connection with her and has visions of a life in the far past, yet what she tells him makes no sense at all.

Enann is the son of the Red Fire chief and was supposed to marry Keva, but she rejected him and performed the ceremony with his half-brother Kai, whose soul has now awakened in Rife St.Cloud. Now Enann has used his evil powers to find a way to travel through time to take Keva back in time to do her duty and have his revenge.

Keva realizes that no cop or FBI agent can catch the killer of her beloved sisters, only she can. To save Rife/Kai she has to face the consequences of her past mistakes and try to fix the mess she created.

Soul Survivor is the first part in the Lost World Series by Misty Evans, and she had me hook, line and sinker right from the start. Two soul mates destined to be together yet cruelly separated find their way back to each other; yes that has my romantic heart racing. The plot of Soul Survivor is different and refreshing and drops us right in the middle of the action. A murder scene where Keva rises from the dead because she feels her soul mate is near, the mystical vibe that surrounds the scene and the masculinity of Rife St.Cloud that rolled of the pages in huge waves just the way I like it had my full attention immediately. And yet I had no clue where this plot would take me.

So as the plot unfolds it is clear that the rites and traditions of the Salt Coast Clan play an important part in Soul Survivor. Bit by bit Misty Evans takes us further into Keva’s mystical world where the past is back to haunt the future. I love how she combines the mystical elements of Native American lore with the romance and the suspense and though the story is fast-paced from the start it does not feel rushed, somehow the pace and different elements all fit in the story perfectly.

And though the romance between Rife (I love his name!) and Keva develops rather quickly, which is normally a minus point with me, it did not bother me in this story. I guess it is because they already shared a history in the past and their chemistry for each other in the present is obvious because their souls recognize each other. Their interactions are intense and at all times there is this sensual undercurrent between them. This and the fact that Evans convincingly let Rife struggle to come to grips with all that has happened, which is consistent with his character, made me believe it all.

The only other key-character that plays an important part in Soul Survivor is police chief James Chee, Rife’s grandfather. As a descendant of Native Americans he has a healthy respect for everything mystical and he is the one helping Keva to discover what is going on and to show Rife that not everything is as black and white as Rife wants it to be.

The second-half of the story had me mesmerized, Keva travels a thousand years back in time to face her mistakes and stop Enann from doing more harm. She comes face to face with her younger self and Kai, she has to save lives without altering the past, and then she has to return to the present and face the murder investigation. It sounds far-fetched but when you are engrossed in the mystical world of Soul Survivor it all makes sense and every little piece of the puzzle fits perfectly in the plotline.

Misty Evans kept me on the edge of my seat till the very last page and managed to create a believable story with a satisfying ending. She blends an intricate plotline of past and present easily with the mystical stuff, the thrilling suspense and the passionate meant-to-be-romance.

Soul Survivor is an addictive, fast-paced romance with a strong mystical vibe. I loved it! I can’t wait to read what Misty Evans has up her sleeve for us with the next part in this series!

4,25 stars

Please welcome to my blog the fabulous Donna Grant, one of my favorite authors, with a guestblog and at the end you can win the second part of her Sisters of Magic trilogy, Echoes of Magic.

Magic – Do you believe?

It seems in every culture throughout history there has been mention of magic. Some would say it doesn’t exist, some would argue it does. How can something so widely spoken about not be real? And if it is real, how do you prove it?

The wonderful thing about writing fiction is that I can include all kinds of paranormal elements in my worlds, and magic is one of my favorites. There is so much that a writer can do with magic from doing spells, using it to help – or hurt – someone, and even to use it in something like a castle or the land itself.

The world in my Sisters of Magic trilogy is most definitely filled with magic. My heroines are part of a dying race of witches who are cursed by one of their own to never hold the love of their men, and to always be alone.

In DANGEROUS MAGIC (Dec 27, 2011) the heroine, Francesca, knows her own death by the dreams she’s given. She keeps it a secret, because her death is the answer to everything. Things get complicated when she finds herself falling for Cade. Will she out the future she’s dreamed of for years that will take her life, but also that of the evil and save everyone? Or will she turn her back on it all for the love she never thought possible?

With the darkness holding firmly onto his soul, Cade knows he’s destined for Hell. Men like him don’t perform the deeds he has, regardless if they come by order of the kind, and not elude the darkness…

A loner, Cade takes what the land provides and vows to keep the two men he thought of as brothers alive from the great evil after them. He knows his time is short and the evil is looking for him, but there is just enough humanity left in him to aid his friends. When the flame-haired witch finds him, Cade is instantly spellbound by her beauty. He can either forget her – or give in to the reckless, impossible love that could destroy her…

My question is: If you could have magic, what kind would you have?

I’ll be giving away an e-copy of ECHOES OF MAGIC, the second book in the trilogy to a commenter, so talk to me.

Happy Reading!

Hugs,

D

Giveaway
One ebook copy of Echoes of Magic, Sisters of Magic trilogy part 2.

1. Open worldwide, so everyone can enter.
2. To enter just leave a comment that has to do with this post or answer Donna's question what kind of magic you would like to have?

Good luck!

The Trilogy

Shadow Magic

ISBN-13: 978-1600883484

Ebook Only
Sisters of Magic #1
November 1, 2011 Rerelease

With a past soaked in sin and darkness slowly closing in around him to claim his soul, Drogan only wants to live his life in solitude. Years in the king’s service and his numerous deeds directed by the crown have left Drogan with horrendous nightmares and immeasurable guilt…

Serena is a witch, cursed and forever alone. She accepts her future. Until she meets Drogan. With Drogan a passion deep and unyielding awakens inside her. She is willing to sacrifice herself for his love, but can he put his past to rest and embrace the future?


Echoes of Magic

ISBN 13: 978-1600883835

Ebook only
Sisters of Magic #2
Rerelease Date: Dec 2011

Hiding a secret so awful that his only hope for survival is to remain hidden, Grayson has lived most of his life pretending to be someone he isn't. After years serving as a commander to his lord and friend, Grayson can no longer hold back the past. He leaves in search of answers only to find evil awaits him. Until he discovers an achingly beautiful woman who stirs his deepest passions and all-consuming need.

Adrianna knows what her future holds for her as a witch - loneliness and heartache. She has accepted that. Until she discovers Grayson near death in the forest. Saving him is her only choice, and even as she falls deeper into the attraction surrounding them, can her magic be enough to stop Fate or the evil that awaits them.


Dangerous Magic

ISBN-13: 978-1600883996

Ebook Only
Sisters of Magic #3
December 27, 2011 Rerelease

Dangerous Magic

Never tempt magic…

With the darkness holding firmly onto his soul, Cade knows he’s destined for Hell. Men like him don’t perform the deeds he has, regardless if they came by order of the king, and not elude the darkness…

A loner, Cade takes what the land provides and vows to keep the two men he thought of as brothers alive from the great evil after them. He knows his time is short and the evil is looking for him, but there is just enough humanity left in him to aid his friends. When the flame-haired witch finds him, Cade is instantly spellbound by her beauty. He can either forget her – or give in to the reckless, impossible love that could destroy her…

About Donna Grant

Donna Grant is the award winning author of more than twenty novels spanning multiple genres of romance – Scottish Medieval, historical, dark fantasy, time travel, erotic, and paranormal.

Donna was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.

To find out more about me please visit my website at www.donnagrant.com. To read more about my series, including my bestselling Dark Sword series, download wallpaper, read excerpts, search characters, or watch book trailers please visit my site!
 

Just what is a good girl supposed to do, faced with the wicked temptation of not one bad boy, but two?

No matter how hard good girl, Gemma Trent, tries to run from the mistakes of her past, she can't seem to escape the memories of two hard-bodied, hot-blooded rowers, and the shameful things she let them do to her one crazy night five years ago in the college boathouse. Perhaps only by facing up to those mistakes can she prove that she’s no longer that sort of girl, and finally set herself free.

As determined as Gemma seems to be to smother the truth of her passions, Nathan Hunter and Ben Pearce—having already had her slip through their callused fingertips once—are equally committed to fanning the embers and rekindling the fire they suspect still smoulders deep inside. Now that they have her within reach again, all they have to do is convince Gemma to put her own self-imposed prejudices aside, and remind her just how good it feels to share.

Kat Black - Double Strokes

Ebook: 32 pages
Erotic Contemporary Romance (ménage M/F/M)
Release date: 12 September 2011
Total-E-Bound Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-85715-699-0

Main characters: Nathan Hunter, Ben Pearce and Gema Trent

First line of book:“In one of the bustling spectators' enclosures set up along the Thames riverbank for the annual Henley Royal Regetta, Nathan Hunter milled with a group of  old university rowing club peers, reunited for final days of the world-famous competition." 

Five years ago Nathan Hunter and Ben Pearce were students and rowers for their university. Gemma Trent had made up a perfect third of their crew, she had called the strokes and kept Nate and Ben on course. They were good friends but after the crew of another rowing team walked in on their threesome experiment everything had changed. Gossip had spread like wildfire, Ben and Nate were considered heroes but Gemma was spurned and had to flee to Scotland to finish her degree. The three of them never felt that intense passion again with anyone else and now for the first time in years all three of them are together at the annual Henley Royal Regetta. Can Gemma be persuaded to give their threesome another try to rekindle their fire and finish what they started?

Before reading this story I had my doubts about Double Strokes because it is such a short story. I wondered if it was possible to create a believable erotic story with only 32 pages, but Kat Black did just that with Double Strokes. Kat Black’s brisk and fluent writing made sure I fell for this story hook, line and sinker.

I loved the dynamics between Gemma, Nate and Ben. Gemma came to the Regetta to prove she has moved on, that she has grown out of these feelings for Ben and Nate. She is beautiful, likeable and sensitive. Nate and Ben are like day and night, both are tall and athletic but the comparison ends there. Ben is blond, bright and fair. He is charming and easy with a playful sensuality. Nate is the complete opposite; he is dark, intense with a fiery passion and he is the brooding (caveman) type. Together they make sure Gemma experiences her sexual awakening and they give her what she has been missing in her life. The sex is explicit, smoking hot and intense and I loved how it also mirrors the personalities of Gemma, Nate and Ben.

Kat Black’s characters leap off the pages, especially her two men. I love the raw, sexual potency of the pair. Double Strokes worked for me because Gemma, Nate and Ben already have a common past. Before the grand finale Kat Black skillfully blends their past and the present together so I understood Gemma’s insecurity, her hesitation and cravings very well, but also Ben and Nate’s perspective is crystal clear.

Double Strokes is a fabulous, sensual ménage story, I could have read on for hours but I ran out of pages way too fast!

4 stars

“Being an American in Britain isn’t easy. For Krista, it’s downright hard especially when she’s plagued by erotic dreams that increase as Halloween approaches. So when she’s given a dare by her co-workers to pluck a rose from the most haunted house in Cardiff, she agrees never thinking it would be more than a scare tactic.

As a Tracker, all Orrin wants to do is capture the Were’s before they feed off the people of Cardiff, but when he lands on Earth and discovers the woman he’s been sharing dreams with is there, he can’t help but find her. All he plans to do was talk, but the lust that flares between them leaves no room for talking.

But the Were’s have come for more than food. They’ve come for Krista, to claim her as the mate to their leader. To resist their seduction is futile. Unless a Tracker is involved.”


Donna Grant - Primal Heat
Ebook: 52 pages
Paranormal Romance

Re-issued novella

ISBN 13: 978-1906811211
Release Date: Oct 2011

Main characters: Krista Evans & Orrin Black

First line of book:
"“How could I be so stupid?” Krista Evans asked herself for the hundredth time since exiting."

My review:
Krista Evans just moved from the States to Cardiff, Great Britain. She has left her old life and foster family behind to move to an unknown city. She has no logical explanation for her move besides the overwhelming need to be in Cardiff and now she is having strange, erotic dreams of a man. She is young, practical and independent.

Orrin Black is a Tracker for his people, the Acanti. He comes from a different planet and roams across the universe in his quest to track and kill the enemy of the Acanti’s, the Weres, to protect the innocent. He is called to Earth by the woman of his dreams, his mate. It can be no coincidence that the Weres are also in Cardiff; they are after the woman of his dreams as well. He cannot let that happen. Orrin is an adventurer, loyal, protective and a real warrior.

Primal Heat is up and running from the start, Donna Grant captivated me with likeable characters but even more with her creation of a whole new world besides Earth and a different set of rules that comes with that world. Unfortunately there was not much room to explore this world any further since Primal Heat is only 52 pages long and focuses on Krista’s and Orrin’s adventure. For the story it was not necessary to provide more information but Donna Grant does such a good job in creating this new world that I soaked up every word and it whetted my appetite for more.

Primal Heat is fluent and fast-paced; it is a mix of paranormal and sci-fi with a good dose of hot smex. It is a quick but addictive read, as a reader you want to know more about the link between Orrin and Krista. Their attraction is strong and their love scenes are steamy and hot. Primal Heat has the perfect balance of suspense and romance, it played out perfectly and left me completely satisfied as a reader, it would be nice to read more Acanti stories in the future. Primal Heat is another, thrilling page-turner by Donna Grant and a real treat for her fans and every other romance reader out there.

Favorite quotes:

"“I take it she left before you got back.”
Orrin gave a jerk of his head. “These damn modern women. Had this been a hundred years earlier, she would have listened to me.”
“Maybe.”
“You aren’t making things better.”"

“You don’t understand what you do to me, Krista, but with you, I’m the man I’ve always wanted to be. With you, I’m the man I always should have been.”

4 stars

“Emma Benson's view of life was crafted as a child by the death of her brother, the abandonment by her father and later, the man she trusted she would marry. A teacher by training, she forgoes her chosen path to save the Wisconsin farm she calls home from financial ruin.

A tornado threatens damage, but David Schlosser—back in town after years in New York writing best-selling novels—could ruin her neatly tended life. He's looking for the charms of the small town he once rejected and finds more than he bargained for. He risks everything to get what he wants.

The storms of life throw Emma and David together and into the world of a criminal determined to ruin their plans by any means necessary. Robbery and near death connect Emma and David to their nemesis and during the throes of securing life and limb they make every effort to resist falling for one another.”


Gloria Schumann - Called Home

Ebook: 333 pages
Contemporary Romance

Release date: May 8, 2010

Savant Books and Publications
ISBN: 0-9841175-7-1
ISBN: 978-0-9841175-7-4

Main characters: Emma Benson & David Schlosser

First line of book:“It felt like home and yet it didn’t.”

Until now Emma Benson’s life has not been easy, all the important men in her life left her. Her relationship with the man she loved ended, her brother died when she was young and she saw how her father walked away from her and her mother. She left Wisconsin to be a teacher but came home to help her mother save the farm she grew up on from financial ruin. She does not need another man in her life telling her what to do, these days she only relies on herself to avoid another disappointment. She did not bank on David Schlosser to be so persistent to help her and the fact that he is so attractive to her does not help her case either.

David Schlosser could not wait to get away from the small town he grew up in, determined to make something of himself he went to New York to become a successful writer. Now, years later, he is a successful and famous writer but he is tired of the fast life in the big city. He craves for the charms of the friendly, little town he grew up in, he goes back to buy himself a place he can call home. He ends up seeking shelter from a tornado at the Benson farm where he meets Emma. He cannot get her out of his mind but she has made it clear she wants nothing from him, but David is not one to back down from a challenge. So now he is not only hunting for a place to call home, he is also determined to make Emma his.

Emma is a headstrong, fierce, outspoken, prickly and too-independent-for-her-own-good kind of woman. She has learnt the hard way that she can only rely on herself so she will never ask for any help when necessary. She is distant and does not really participate in life to avoid emotional pain.

David is a well-balanced person. He is kind, honest and successful. He is at a point in his life that he knows exactly what he wants and goes for it. He is very patient with Emma and seems to know exactly what she needs; it was very easy to connect with David because he is so laid-back.

And then there is Nancy, Emma’s mother. Nancy is a lovely, caring and hardworking lady who lost her son and had to raise Emma on her own while running a farm. Although she had a tough life she is never bitter and always tries to make the best of things. She is getting older and needs help, but she is shrewd enough to know that David will be good for Emma so she pushes Emma and encourages David.

Called Home has a suspense part and a romance part, and though the focus of Called Home is on the romantic development between Emma and David, the romance goes hand in hand with the suspense. The changes in Emma’s and David’s relationship are slow and subtle, but would imo not have been possible without the suspense part. Some thug attacked Emma in the bookstore where she works in the evenings, after this happens the attacker continues to threaten her. This leaves Emma vulnerable and she allows David to help her and protect her, it opens the door for them to become closer.

Emma and David are at very different points in their lives. While David is financially secure for life and has the career as a best-selling thriller author he always wanted, he came home voluntarily to create a home for himself. Emma came home because she was needed at the farm, to help her mother. She has given up her passion to teach and does not live her life the way she had hoped or planned. She struggles to save the farm but also with herself.

Without the attack Emma would have kept the wall around her heart firmly in place, now David can slip through the cracks of that wall to get through to her, to convince her that he won’t leave her. There are no steamy love scenes in Called Home, but the story does not need it and I did not miss them at all. There is the undeniable, smoldering chemistry between David and Emma and there are plenty of stolen kisses to back up their romance.

There are not many secondary characters besides Nancy, but there are a lot of town folks who pass in review. I love how they all add to the charms of a rural, little town where everyone knows each other’s business and everyone looks out for another. Gloria Schumann has a keen eye for details and somehow she manages to bring to life a whole, small town with its shops and inhabitants.

The story is even-paced yet it pulled me in instantly. As a reader I got dropped in the kitchen of the Benson farm at page 1 and at once I connected with Emma, Nancy and David while they tried to survive a tornado. And though I had a pretty good idea how this story would develop it did not stop me from reading and it had a few surprises here and there. I loved how this story is about “normal” people and their struggles with life, I loved following Emma and David on their journey towards happiness, not once was it boring and I believed in them as a couple.

This is the first story of Gloria Schumann that I read, but it won’t be the last. I love her voice, the fluent writing and her keen eye for details and characters. All the characters in this story are “real” and belong to that little town, their actions fitted in the story perfectly. The romance is beautiful and the heart-wrenching. Called Home is a must-read for readers who love a classic romance with a touch of suspense!

4 stars