HARD AS ICE by RAVEN SCOTT BLOG TOUR includes a GIVEAWAY

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a

chance to win 1 of 3 copies of Hard as Ice

 

Hard as Ice
Fortis # 1

By: Raven Scott

Releasing July 28, 2015

Dafina

 

+Add to Goodreads

 

BLURB:

A covert ops specialist, a cyber-surveillance expert, and an unmatched international security and recovery pro. These are the men of Fortis. When money is no object, discretion is essential, and the police are not an option, the wealthy and powerful call on this trio of former government agents with elite military training—not to mention charm and good looks…

Former CIA agent Evan DaCosta is ready to continue his life of adventure, intrigue, and service. That means joining Fortis—and taking on the recovery of precious jewels stolen from a prestigious auction house. The list of suspects is long, but Evan is focused on the possibility of an inside job. Now he’ll have to go undercover and stay close to the gorgeous business manager, Nia James.

 

A gifted salesperson, Nia worked hard to get where she is today. Now, with her career at stake, a target on her back, and Evan watching her every move, she’s feeling the pressure and the heat. As Nia and Evan become intensely entangled, can they survive the secrets and threats standing in their way or will they run out of time?

 

Buy Links:   Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo

 

EXCERPT:

Thinking about the upcoming meeting with her boss, Edward Worthington, Nia logged into her laptop to double-check her e-mails and schedule for the rest of the afternoon. As suggested, Emma had booked ninety minutes for them to meet in Worthington’s office. It was going to be a difficult conversation, and she could not afford to be distracted by any other tasks due by the end of the day. So, she had just over an hour to get as much work done as possible.

 

But, first things first. Evan DaCosta appeared to be a very viable potential client. She needed to do some research on him and his family to prepare for their meeting that evening. As she launched an Internet name search, Nia nibbled on the side of her cheek, thinking about their brief conversation. It was common for her and the other account managers on her sales team to conduct meetings outside of the office. Their clients were some of the wealthiest in the northeastern United States, which meant they were often very busy and very demanding. Supporting their needs meant being available wherever and whenever they had time.

 

But Evan DaCosta’s suggestion for a dinner meeting had still caught her off guard. Well, it was less of a suggestion and more of a command. And her hesitation had nothing to do with how viable his business could be. While Nia would not admit it to Emma, “hot” was just one way to describe him. Gorgeous, delicious, and sexy as hell also came to mind.

 

Many of their clients wore Savile Row tailored suits, handmade Italian leather shoes, and Patek Philippe watches. It was her job to notice those types of details as part of the sales assessment process. But none of those things had anything to do with her first impressions of Evan DaCosta as she walked toward him in the gallery. In fact, sales potential was the last thing on her mind. Nia’s first thought had been that he was a spectacular male specimen, and it was too bad he was wearing so many layers. He was something north of six feet tall, with broad, tight shoulders that tapered into a lean torso. Her keen eye suspected the real prize was under his very expensive wrapping. Now, the thought of a dinner meeting at his hotel just heightened the inappropriate desire to peel off his clothes.

 

She let out a deep breath, and tried to focus on the task at hand. While her physical reaction to him as a man was completely human, now was not the time to indulge in fantasies. In the end, Evan DaCosta was no different from any other potential client and she had a job to do, while she still had one.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

AUTHOR INFO
 RAVEN SCOTT is married with two daughters and two dogs, living in the beautiful city of Burlington, Ontario, in the greater Toronto area.  She discovered her love of fiction at an early age, devouring hundreds of books over the years. She reads everything from historical and contemporary romance to mystery, sci-fi and suspense. By the time Raven finished University, she had her own stories brewing in her imagination. Writing became a satisfying hobby, then a fulfilling career. When Raven isn't reading or writing, you can find her outside with her family. Find out more at www.ravenscottbooks.com, or visit her on Facebook and Twitter @ravenscottbooks.

  

 

REVIEW: HARD AS ICE by RAVEN SCOTT

Hard as Ice
Fortis # 1

By: Raven Scott

Releasing July 28, 2015

Dafina

 

After suffering a bad injury that ended his career with the CIA, Evan DaCosta has started Fortis along with his two friends, an agency where his first investigation is to find the person responsible for stealing jewels from a prestigious auction house and return them to their rightful place. There's every possibility that it was an inside job, so Evan decides his best course of action is, to become a client of the auction house and get close to one of the suspects.

Nia James is good at her job, but she has skeletons in her closet that she'd rather no one learn the truth about. However, it seems nothing is off limits when jewels are stolen from the auction house she works at. Knowing she's one of the suspects, she knows she has to be careful but she can't seem to stay away from her new client.

What can I say, other than I absolutely loved this story. It had everything I enjoy in a book - murder, mystery, mayhem and romance. The amazing plot is fast-paced and I couldn't believe how quickly I finished Hard as Ice.

As for the dialogue, the emotions throughout this whole book were so real and as a reader that's important. It makes you imagine you yourself are in the shoes of the hero and heroine. Makes you suffer alongside the heroine when she discovers Evan's motives for getting close to her. Even though I could understand the need for Evan's deception when it came to gaining Nia's trust and learning if she had anything to do with the robbery, I really felt for the heroine when she discovered the truth.

Overall, this was an excellent story and has me looking forward to the next adventure in this series. I would recommend it to those that love a good romantic suspense novel that leaves you hanging on every word until the antagonist is revealed.

 

Sensuality Rating: Very Sensual

 

Overall Rating:

 

 

 

BLURB:

A covert ops specialist, a cyber-surveillance expert, and an unmatched international security and recovery pro. These are the men of Fortis. When money is no object, discretion is essential, and the police are not an option, the wealthy and powerful call on this trio of former government agents with elite military training—not to mention charm and good looks…

Former CIA agent Evan DaCosta is ready to continue his life of adventure, intrigue, and service. That means joining Fortis—and taking on the recovery of precious jewels stolen from a prestigious auction house. The list of suspects is long, but Evan is focused on the possibility of an inside job. Now he’ll have to go undercover and stay close to the gorgeous business manager, Nia James.

 

A gifted salesperson, Nia worked hard to get where she is today. Now, with her career at stake, a target on her back, and Evan watching her every move, she’s feeling the pressure and the heat. As Nia and Evan become intensely entangled, can they survive the secrets and threats standing in their way or will they run out of time?

REVIEW: YEARNING'S SAMIEL by CHARLOTTE BOYETT-COMPO

Yearning's Samiel

Windverse Series #14

By: Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Released February 7th 2014

Publisher: Ellora Cave

 

Finally escaping the hell-hole prison he was sentenced to, for a crime he didn't commit, Kaizen Samiel has been making those responsible pay, for their role in him being wrongfully accused. Intercepting the scout ship the woman he's always loved captains, determined to learn if she played a part in betraying him, he finds himself tempted by her all over again. 

 

Discovering the truth that the man she's always loved is still alive, comes as quite a shock to Captain Kathleen McGregor, when he intercepts her scout ship and kidnaps her. Since for so many years, she's held a secret -- their son. Determined for him not to learn the truth until she thinks he's ready, she does her best to lie. Yet, secrets have a way of being exposed, and if she's not careful, it could ruin their second chance at a future.

 

There was so much to enjoy about this story. The fast-paced plot, the angst-ridden dialogue of the hero as well as the couple of twists that surfaced throughout the book. I absolutely loved the opening chapter where Kaizen and his crew intercept Kathleen's ship and she discovers that he's still alive. Her shock that he wasn't dead as she assumed came through loud and clear as to did the hero's suffering at the hands of his tormentors. In fact, that side of the dialogue was what I loved so much about this story. There's no way you can't help, but feel anything except empathy, for both the hero and heroine. His imprisonment turned both their lives upside down.

 

The secondary characters bring their own uniqueness to the story, since the person responsible for Kaizen's imprisonment, is someone Kathleen wouldn't have suspected, until Kaizen reveals certain facts that he knows about the antagonist. As for the sex scenes, they heat up the pages at the right moments and illustrate the fact that Kathleen and Kaizen are making up for lost time.  What I liked so much about both characters was their determination to find the truth, so they could finally have the future they'd planned before he was imprisoned.

 

Again, Ms. Boyett-Compo has proven she can pen an entertaining Sci-Fi novel that leaves a reader loving the main characters and wanting to read the next installment of this series.

 

Sensuality Rating: Explicit

 

Overall Rating:

 

 

 

BLURB:

Wrongly convicted of high treason, Kaizen Samiel has everything taken from him—his career, his freedom and the woman who is the center of his Megaverse. Condemned to a hell-hole prison in the frigid darkness of space, all he wants is revenge on the men who had him sent there and the woman who has forsaken him.

When Capt. Kathleen McGregor’s scout ship is attacked, the last face she expects to see on her vid-com screen is that of a man she’s thought long dead. She has kept her love for Kaizen safely ensconced in her heart where no one can take him from her. Now, looking into his beloved face and seeing only hatred, vengeance and retaliation aimed directly at her turns her world upside down.

 

 

HEROES ARE MY WEAKNESS by SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS Blog Tour includes a GIVEAWAY

Enter to Win a 'Surprise' Prize of pack

 of Susan Elizabeth Phillips Books

 

 

Heroes Are My Weakness

By: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Releasing Sept 28^th, 2015

Mass Market Paperback

Avon Romance

 

+Add to Goodreads

 

BLURB:

The dead of winter.

An isolated island off the coast of Maine.

A man.

A woman.

A sinister house looming over the sea...

He's a reclusive writer whose macabre imagination creates chilling horror novels. She's a down-on-her-luck actress reduced to staging kids' puppet shows. He knows a dozen ways to kill with his bare hands. She knows a dozen ways to kill with laughs.

But she's not laughing now. When she was a teenager, he terrified her. Now they're trapped together on a snowy island off the coast of Maine. Is he the villain she remembers or has he changed? Her head says no. Her heart says yes.

 

It's going to be a long, hot winter.

Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | BAM

 

EXCERPT:

Run! Crumpet shrieked. Something’s very wrong here!

 

Whenever Crumpet got hysterical, Annie counted on Dilly’s no-nonsense manner to provide perspective, but Dilly remained silent, and not even Scamp could come up with a wisecrack.

 

“Mr. Shaw?” Annie’s voice lacked its normal powers of projection.

 

When there was no reply, she moved deeper into the kitchen, leaving wet tracks on the stone floor. But no way was she taking off her boots. If she had to run, she wasn’t doing it in socks. “Will?”

 

Not a sound.

 

She passed the pantry, crossed a narrow back hallway, detoured around the dining room, and stepped through the arched entry into the foyer. Only the dimmest gray light penetrated the six square panes above the front door. The heavy mahogany staircase still led to a landing with a murky stained-glass window, but the staircase carpet was now a depressing maroon instead of the multicolored floral from the past. The furniture bore a dusty film, and a cobweb hung in the corner. The walls had been paneled over in heavy, dark wood, and the seascape paintings had been replaced with gloomy oil portraits of prosperous men and women in nineteenth-century dress, none of whom could possibly have been Elliott Harp’s Irish peasant ancestors. All that was missing to make the entryway even more depressing was a suit of armor and a stuffed raven.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

AUTHOR INFO:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips soars onto the New York Times bestseller list with every new publication. She’s the only four-time recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Favorite Book of the Year Award. Susan delights fans by touching hearts as well as funny bones with her wonderfully whimsical and modern fairy tales. A resident of the Chicago suburbs, she is also a wife, and mother of two grown sons.

 

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: PROTECTED BY A SEAL by CAT JOHNSON

Protected by a Seal

Hot Seals #5

By: Cat Johnson

Released 21st July. 2015

198 Pages

 

Forced to retire from his life as a Seal after suffering an injury during a training exercise, Rick Mann is just now starting to realize how boring his life truly is. No longer is there the adrenaline rush that his military life provided. When a job to protect actress Sierra Cox becomes available with Guardian Angel Protection Services (GAPS), the agency his ex-teammates have formed, he takes it without hesitation. Desperately needing the action the job will hopefully offer.

 

Receiving fan mail is something every actress is used to, but the harrowing letter Sierra discovers inside her trailer has her spooked, especially when she spies the photos and the message that goes along with them.   When her manager, Roger, suggests hiring a bodyguard to watch over her, she's adamant against the idea. But he won't take no for answer, believing she needs to be protected at all costs.

Spellbinding is a word that comes to mind when describing this book as the plot weaves a spell with every page. The twist towards the end with Rick didn't surprise me, but no way did it deter me from finishing this book. Rick and Sierra are a wonderful couple, whether they're teasing each other or trading insults. In fact, their banter made for very interesting dialogue. I couldn't help but laugh at some of the things she thought the acronym GAPS stood for. 

The sexual tension between the pair was intense from the moment they met and grows until you're ready for these two to give in to their strong attraction. Thankfully, it happens through some rather hot sex scenes that will have you hoping for more as the sex doesn't get their need for each other out of their systems. What I liked so much about both characters was how comfortable they became with each other so quickly. It made it so much easier for Rick to guard her, even when she was arguing that his protection wasn't necessary at first. That there were other ways, in which she could protect herself.

 

Honestly, what more could you ask for in a book. Protected by a Seal had everything a fan of romantic suspense could want. A hot Seal, a stubborn heroine, a fast-paced plot, suspense that grabs your attention from start to finish as well as the added bonus of a hot romance.  

This was another great addition to this series by Ms. Johnson. As with all of the books, this one can be read as a stand-alone. I would recommend it to fans of books where the hero is an ex-military man looking for some action in more ways than one and a heroine not afraid to speak her mind.  Or even if you're looking to start reading romantic suspense, this is the book for you.

 

Sensuality Rating: Very Sensual

 

Overall Rating:

 

 

 

 

BLURB:

As a Navy SEAL, Rick Mann fought his way to hell and back, but he's never faced a challenge quite like protecting the rich and famous actress Sierra Cox. She's spoiled, she's annoying and he's never wanted a woman more. That's a problem for so many reasons. At the top of that list is that he needs to keep his head in the game because even though Sierra doesn't take Rick seriously, the threats on her life are very real.

REVIEW: WAITING FOR YOU By MARI CARR

 

Waiting for You

Sparks in Texas #2

By: Mari Carr

Released July 21, 2015

Publisher: Carried Away Publishing

138 Pages

 

Constantly worried about her best friend, Chas, while he's away overseas doing his duty as a Marine, Sydney Sparks is relieved to hear the news that he is finally coming home to stay. Determined not to get her hopes up that they'll rekindle the relationship they once had as childhood sweethearts, she's taken totally by surprise when he kisses her, not long after stepping off the plane at the airport where she's come to welcome him home.

 

Not willing to waste one more second apart, after being away from the only woman he's ever loved, for the past twelve years, Chas is making up for lost time. Kissing Sydney the moment he steps off the plane is his first step to winning her back, believing she'll be the answer he needs to reclaim the old him. The person he was before he witnessed, so much death and destruction as a Marine.

 

I don't normally read a lot of BDSM fiction, but being a fan of this author's books, I couldn't wait to read this one.  Ms. Carr has a way of engaging a reader from the get-go. The plot was well-written and took me completely by surprise, in the way Chas stakes his claim on Sydney. I wasn't expecting him to embarrass her in front of his Gran, but I'm glad he did. Sydney needed to know that she still meant something to him. As their friendship had become almost non-existent, until the last couple of times he'd returned home, for a quick visit since joining the Marines.

 

As for the dialogue, it was strong, but emotional at times. Sydney was Chas's solace, his chance to hopefully recover the part of himself he feels he's lost since becoming a Marine. Although her efforts to get him to face the truth that he's suffering post-traumatic stress proved futile at first, I'm glad she didn't give up on him. He needed all the support he could get from, not only her, but the secondary characters as well.

 

Extremely hot sex scenes illustrate the strong chemistry Chas and Sydney have really well. The dominant side of the hero never once had me struggling to get through just how much he liked to assert his control as, so many BDSM fiction books out there do. What I liked so much about Sydney was her determination to help Chas in any way she could. Even if she needed to push his buttons a little to show him that he needed help. That he couldn't deal with his post-traumatic stress on his own. While with Chas, I'm glad that he finally took the advice some of the secondary characters offered him, otherwise he was going to lose the only woman he's ever loved.

 

I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of Ms. Carr as well as those that like a hot alpha male needing to assert his control -- at least in the bedroom. This is the second book in the Sparks in Texas series, and I can't wait until the next one.

 

Sensuality Rating: Explicit

 

Overall Rating:

  

 

 

BLURB:

How do you protect the woman you love…when the greatest danger is sleeping in her bed?

 

Sydney Sparks can’t remember a time when Chas wasn’t part of her life—from childhood playmates, to high-school sweethearts, to long-distance friends. Now, after twelve long years, Chas is leaving the Marines and coming home. Sydney’s thrilled to have him back on American soil, safe and sound, even if his return is doing funny things to her heart.

 

The second he stepped off the plane and locked gazes with Sydney, Chas refused to waste a minute more on their “just friends” status quo. Together again, it feels as if they were never apart, the love they’d shared as innocent teens now vastly more intense as adults—with a sexual hunger to match.

 

However, despite his newfound happiness, Chas can’t seem to shake the memories of his tours in the Middle East, of the firefights, the killing…the deaths of his friends. When the flashbacks grow stronger, Chas struggles to hide his increasing lack of control, terrified of losing everything he’d just regained—including Sydney.

REVIEW: FLIGHT FROM DEATH by YASMINE GALENORN

Flight from Death

Fly by Night #1

By: Yasmine Galenorn

Release Date July 7th, 2015

Publisher: Penguin Berkley

300 Pages

 

After being banished to Earthside from the Dragon Reaches for five years, Shimmer, a Blue Dragon is finally getting her life back on track. Working alongside vampire, Alex Radcliffe, for his private investigative firm isn't a hardship. He's everything she'd want in a man, if she was looking for a relationship. When a case takes them out of town, to investigate what they believe is a ghost haunting a bed and breakfast, soon turns into a fight for all their lives when they discover a dead body. And that the spirit haunting the place is not only strong but somehow trapping other souls within the establishment.  

 

For a book that starts off a brand new series for Ms. Galenorn, she certainly had me hooked. Although the plot was a little slow to draw me in at first, it was rather compelling. There are a variety of paranormals including a dragon, two vampires, a djinn, a witch and a werewolf. Of which, each add their own uniqueness to the story as it progresses. The story is told from Shimmer's point of view only and that fact didn't once stop me from getting to the end, even when I love my romance novels to be told in the third person from both a hero and heroine's point of view. 

 

As for the dialogue, Shimmer is just starting to find her purpose in life again after suffering at the hands of her people in the Dragon Reaches. She's an outcast and doesn't have any family, so it seems as if her kind have a right to treat her badly. Her back story and the emotional scars from the physical torment they forced her to endure drive a good portion of this story, as does the fast-paced action of Alex and Shimmer's investigation.  

 

A smoking hot sex scene heats up the story, but it was too bad there weren't more as Shimmer seems to need a physical and emotional connection with someone. She's been alone for so long and finds it hard to trust. Hopefully that someone will be Alex in the future. What I liked so much about Shimmer was that she was willing to do anything to keep her friends safe, even if it meant putting her own life at risk.

 

I would recommend this if you're looking for a good paranormal romance that will grab your attention from the moment the heroine meets the man destined to change her life. I really liked the ending and am very much looking forward to the next installment.   

  

Sensuality Rating: Very Sensual

Overall Rating:

BLURB:

I’m Shimmer, a blue dragon shifter. Thanks to a mistake, I was exiled from the Dragon Reaches and sentenced to work for Alex Radcliffe, a vampire who owns the Fly by Night Magical Investigations Agency. Now, not only do I have to adapt to Earthside culture, but every time I turn around, somebody’s trying to kill us. And worse, Alex is as gorgeous as he is exasperating. But you know what they say: All’s fair in love and bounty hunting…

When an old friend of Alex contacts him about a haunting at the High Tide Bed & Breakfast in Port Townsend, Washington, we think we’re on a simple ghost hunt. But our investigation quickly transforms into a deadly fight as we uncover an eighty-year-old murder, a cursed house, and a dark force trapping the spirits within. To stop impending disaster we must break the curse and lay the angry spirits to rest.



REVIEW: WILD RAIN by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

 

Wild Rain

By: Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Released April 22, 2015

Publisher: Ellora Cave

295 Pages

Rain-Runner Kiel seems to be the only man game enough to take on the job of town sheriff in order to stand against the Brotherhood of the Domination, a sect that think people of an ethnic group other than theirs are beneath them. When the woman he’s always loved returns to town, things become complicated as he not only tries to keep her out of harm’s way but endeavors to take down the Brotherhood once and for all.

Arriving back in a town she left behind a long time ago, Kirree Kennaugh does her best to protect the man she has always loved. It seems he’s becomes a target of the Brotherhood after crossing into forbidden territory and arresting two of their members. Determined to keep Rain safe, she will do whatever it takes to get the death sentence he faces – if the Brotherhood catch him – expunged.

Books containing inter-racial relationships never cease to draw me into them as you know the hero and heroine are going to have to overcome many obstacles to achieve their happy ever after. This book grabbed my attention from the very first chapter as Kirree deals with the fact that she’s back in a town she left behind a long time ago and thought she’d never return to, only to soon learn that Rain has incurred the wrath of the Brotherhood. Kirree is the sort of heroine that will quite possibly have a reader liking her from the moment she’s introduced. Well, she at least had a fan in this reader. She’s strong and brave. Her determination to confront the Brotherhood and possibly sacrifice her own future to protect Rain was one of the many things I liked about her. Since it wouldn’t have been easy to face that bunch of fanatics, whom believe they’re so much better than everyone else.  

As for the dialogue, I loved that both the main characters never gave up on each other when it seemed so many people were against their relationship. It illustrated their love was worth fighting for. Also, the secondary characters added great entertainment, especially the ones willing to stand at Rain’s side. The scene where Rain asks Brody about his shooting skills and his reply was ‘Does a fish piss in the pond’ made me laugh. The sex scenes were scorching and I liked how persistent Kirree was in pursuit of an intimate relationship with Rain. Since there was so much love between them that deserved to be explored. What I liked so much about both characters was their determination to keep the other safe, even at the risk to their own personal safety.

Overall, this was a really good story that has me hoping that some of the secondary characters get stories of their own. 
 

Sensuality Rating: Explicit

Overall Rating:

 

 

 

 

BLURB:

Though most consider him nothing more than a half-breed, Sheriff Rain-Runner Kiel is the only thing standing between the locals and the demonic sect known as the Brotherhood. All he’s ever wanted is to live in peace with Kirree, the woman he’s loved since childhood.
 

Kirree loves Rain more than anything, but the Brotherhood stands in the way. They are determined to force her to marry one of them. She’ll stay locked behind their walls, at the mercy of men who treat women as chattel.

Rain will do anything, even offer his life for hers, to put a stop to their nefarious plan.

Inside Scoop: Not for the faint of heart. The pain in this story is vivid, the emotions more so.

Reader Advisory: This story has graphic sexual language and scenes—no closed bedroom doors (or other rooms) here!

REVIEW: WOUNDED HEARTS BY JAYNE RYLON

Wounded Hearts

Men in Blue #5

By: Jayne Rylon

Released 2nd June, 2015

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

242 Pages

 

Surviving a harrowing ordeal at the hands of her mad-scientist boss, Ellie is struggling to deal with her endless nightmares, for fear of ending up in a similar situation to the one she’s just recently escaped from. A night out with the girls seems like the perfect way to start putting her past behind her, but when she wins almost fifty-thousand dollars at a casino, it appears her life isn’t going to get better -- at least not anytime soon. Someone wants the money and will do anything to get it, even rob her in her own home.

 

Saving Ellie lost him a lot including his job as an undercover operative, his goals in life as well as part of one leg. Yet Lucas doesn’t regret his decision to help in her rescue and would do it all over again in a heartbeat, even if the outcome turned out to be the same. When he receives a call from one of his friends asking him to check on Ellie after her big win, he reluctantly agrees. If only to catch a glimpse of the woman he’s come to really care for after avoiding her for the past few months.

 

This was by far the best Men in Blue story yet. It was powerful, emotional and fueled by some very fast-paced action as Lucas and Ellie try to stay one step ahead of the people that intend to take back their money. Honestly, I couldn’t believe how quickly I finished it. The plot captivated me from the moment Ellie won the money, as I knew without a doubt that her win would wreak havoc on her life and invite Lucas back into it to protect her. There was no way he could stay away when she needed him and that had me cheering. Because this couple were one that desperately needed each other to heal after everything they’d both been through in the past. 

With the dialogue, there were some moments where I could find humor, especially when Ellie’s friends grilled her about her relationship with Lucas. But most of it was emotionally driven, stemming from the couple’s back stories and that I really did enjoy. It illustrated how far this couple had come since Ellie was rescued and how they’ve dealt with it. The past has certainly made them both stronger, even if it doesn’t seem like it at times.

 

Scorching sex scenes heated up the pages at just the right moments in the book and ascertained that love can conquer all. Certainly, Ellie proves that through her easy acceptance of his injury. Then again, Lucas had nothing to be ashamed of so it made my heart break a little when he felt he needed to hide how bad his injury was from Ellie. He received the injury being a hero, rescuing someone in need. What I liked so much about Ellie was her determination to move forward with her life and put the past behind her by finding happiness with Lucas. While with Lucas, I liked how protective he was of Ellie and that he could be every bit as dangerous now as he could be before he lost part of his leg.

Overall, Ms. Rylon never ceases to amaze me when it comes to writing heroes that aren’t afraid to release their dominant side in and out of the bedroom. This book is one that I’ll definitely be re-reading, and I would recommend it to fans that love a story where both the characters back stories ride an edge of darkness, but by facing their past helps to make them all the much stronger in the end.  

 

Sensuality Rating: Explicit

 

Overall Rating:

 

BLURB:

Attraction, fear, danger—an unlikely recipe for healing scars.

 

In the year since Ellie escaped The Scientist’s ghastly dungeon, she still can’t stop looking over her shoulder. Or stop feeling guilty over the man who sacrificed so much to save her. He lost everything. His career, his aspirations—even part of his body. It’s no wonder he wants nothing to do with her. Too bad he’s the only man she can think about.

 

Lucas has vowed to stay away from Ellie, but not for the reason she thinks. The woman he craves doesn’t need to waste her life taking care of a man with a missing leg, not when she needs to focus on her own healing.

 

Despite the best matchmaking attempts of the Men in Blue—and their wives—the emotional and physical gap between them seems uncrossable. Until Ellie is threatened again, and the only choice is to work together until she’s safe.

 

But to stay in the land of the living, they’ll both have to fight through their pain—and relive a few nightmares—to guarantee their demons won’t destroy her future.

 

Warning: Contains an alpha male with a broken body, but whose best bits are in fine working order. And a woman who survived hell, and is determined to fit enough of their jagged edges together to make a whole. Vivid PTSD flashbacks of sexual violence could be disturbing for some readers.