Teaser Tuesday 366: Into the Fire

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week’s teaser comes from the latest release by Jeaniene Frost, Into the Fire.

I knew that smile. It meant someone was about to die.

(Chapter one)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: Night Prince #4

In the explosive finale to New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Prince series, Vlad is in danger of losing his bride to an enemy whose powers might prove greater than the Prince of Vampire’s….

In the wrong hands, love can be a deadly weapon.

For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him.

A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them…and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.

Teaser Tuesday 360: The Awakening

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser is from The Awakening by Amanda Stevens. This is the final installment of the Graveyard Queen series, though the ending leaves it open to another installment.

I came across the hidden grave my first day in the Woodbine Cemetery. It was late October, warm and sunny with a mild breeze stirring my nostalgia and the colorful leaves that had fallen from the dogwood trees.

(Opening paragraph)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: Graveyard Queen #6


Shush . . . lest she awaken . . .

My name is Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer who lives with the dead. An anonymous donor has hired me to restore Woodbine Cemetery, a place where the rich and powerful bury their secrets. Forty years ago, a child disappeared without a trace and now her ghost has awakened, demanding that I find out the truth about her death. Only I know that she was murdered. Only I can bring her killer to justice. But the clues that I follow—a haunting melody and an unnamed baby's grave—lead me to a series of disturbing suspects.

For generations, The Devlins have been members of Charleston's elite. John Devlin once turned his back on the traditions and expectations that came with his birthright, but now he has seemingly accepted his rightful place. His family's secrets make him a questionable ally. When my investigation brings me to the gates of his family's palatial home, I have to wonder if he is about to become my mortal enemy.

Teaser Tuesday 359: Shadow Spell

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Another Nora Roberts book this week -- Shadow Spell, book two in her Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy.

He struck out then, with the sword formed from the ball of fire, cleaved the air between them. He felt the burn—a bolt, a blade sear across the biceps of his left arm.

(Chapter 7)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Series: Cousins O'Dwyer #2

With the legends and lore of Ireland running through his blood, falconer Connor O’Dwyer is proud to call County Mayo home. It’s where his sister, Branna, lives and works, where his cousin, Iona, has found true love, and where his childhood friends form a circle that can’t be broken…

A circle that is about to be stretched out of shape—by a long-awaited kiss.

Meara Quinn is Branna’s best friend, a sister in all but blood. Her and Connor’s paths cross almost daily, as Connor takes tourists on hawk walks and Meara guides them on horseback across the lush countryside. She has the eyes of a gypsy and the body of a goddess…things Connor has always taken for granted—until his brush with death propels them into a quick, hot tangle.

Plenty of women have found their way to Connor’s bed, but none to his heart until now. Frustratingly, Meara is okay with just the heat, afraid to lose herself—and their friendship—to something more. But soon, Connor will see the full force and fury of what runs in his blood. And he will need his family and friends around him when his past rolls in like the fog, threatening an end to all he loves…

Teaser Tuesday 353: Dark Witch

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


My teaser for you this week comes from Dark Witch by Nora Roberts, the first book in her “Cousin O’Dwyer” series.

She flung out her arm, sent a raging funnel of wind through the fire.

It lifted the wolf off its feet, threw it up as it screamed in rage. And she hoped, in fear. It spun, claws lashing air as it bore him up and away.

(Chapter 12)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: Cousin O'Dwyer #1


With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horseman, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

Teaser Tuesday 308: Fire Touched

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week’s teaser comes from the first paragraph of Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs, part of her “Mercy Thompson” series -- and an excellent addition it was.

I sat up in bed, a feeling of urgency gripping my stomach in iron claws. Body stiff with tension, I listened for whatever had awakened me, but the early-summer night was free of unusual noises.

(Chapter one)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: Mercy Thompson

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?

Thursday Thirteen 344: Recently Read

Here's a look at what I've been reading this summer. As always, it's an eclectic mix of romance, mystery, YA, and classics. Click on any link or cover to find out more about a particular title.















ABOUT THE BOOKS:

ROW 1: More Nora Roberts catch-up. The Pagan Stone is the last book in the Sign of Seven series. Hot Rocks is a single title, though related to the JD Robb book, Big Jack (which I have not read . . .yet). Finding the Dream is book three in the Dream trilogy. These will certainly not be the last books read by NR this year.

ROW 2: I won Mr. Monk Gets On Board through a blog contest and loved it (thanks Yvonne!). Will have to seek out more of these books, and I recommend them to anyone who loved the TV series. I plucked the Wendy Lyn Watson books out of Mount TBR for July mini challenges. These were books two and three respectively in her Mystery A La Mode series. Pity there aren't more, though maybe a good thing, considerign how long it took me to catch up on this series.

ROW 3: Nancy Atherton was the July featured author in the Cozy Mysteries group. Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin is book ten in the series. I still have several more in Mount TBR. No Graves As Yet was read for a mini challenge -- this book is set during WWI and was my first (though definitely not my last) book by Anne Perry. Laura Childs is not one of my favorite authors, but is the August cozy featured author, and as I had Gunpowder Green in Mount TBR . . . I figured I should probably read it.

ROW 4: I read A Sand County Almanac over a couple of years. It's a collection of essays, so I worked a few in now and then between other books. Aldo Leopold was certainly ahead of his time and wrote many thought-provoking essays. The Bell Jar was the classic group read for July and The Moonstone the group read for August. The writing in both is impressive, but the former is rather depressing, while the latter was quite good and more engaging -- even humorous at times. I would definitely read more by Wilkie Collins.

ROW 5: Only one YA book read these past two months, and it was a reread of a childhood favorite. Bridge to Terabithia was the 1978 Newbery Medal winner and one I recommend -- with a box of tissue at hand.


YOUR TURN: What are you reading these days?



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen 341: Recently Read

It's time for another edition of Recently Read. As always, click on any cover, or one of the links at the bottom, for more information about a given book.














BOOK NOTES

ROW 1: More Nora Roberts catch-up -- The Hollow is book two in her Sign of Seven trilogy. Daring to Dream and Holding the Dream are books one and two respectively in her Dream trilogy. I'll be reading the last two books in both series this month or August.

ROW 2: These were all new-to-me authors. The Groom's Gamble was a good historical romance novella, and Where There's Smoke is a novella by Jodi Picoult. First Grave on the Right is book one in the Charley Davidson series and was a bit of a disappointment for me. It was much recommended, and won a RITA for best first book, but I was not impressed.

ROW 3: The cozy mystery row! If Fried Chicken . . . was the first in Paige Shelton's Gram's Country Cooking School series. It was okay, but probably won't read more of this series. Avery Aames was the June featured author in the Cozy Mysteries group at Goodreads, so I read the next two books in her Cheese Shop series that were in Mount TBR, Lost and Fondue and Clobbered By Camembert. Still two books behind with this series.

ROW 4: The classics -- these were all for group reads: East of Eden, The Swiss Family Robinson, and The Sun Also Rises. I liked "E of E" and "TSAR," but did not much care for "TSFR" -- most people participating in the discussion actually said they prefered the movie version of "TSFR."

ROW 5: I was first introduced to Rascal in fourth grade, and it sparked a love of raccoons. The author, Sterling North, was a Wisconsin author who lived not too far south of where I am, and his boyhood home is now a museum and literary center.


What are YOU reading these days?


LINKING TO: More Thursday Thirteen lists

Teaser Tuesday 218: Blood Brothers

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



Recently finished: Blood Brothers, a paranormal romance by Nora Roberts. This is book one of her Sign of Seven trilogy.

The wind exploded with a voice like a raging scream. The little campfire spewed up flame in a spearing tower. The three of them were lifted off their feet as if a hand gripped them, tossed them. Light burst as if the stars had shattered.

(Chapter two)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Every seven years, there comes a week in July when the locals do unspeakable things--and then don't seem to remember them. The collective madness has made itself known beyond the town borders and has given Hawkins Hollow the reputation of a village possessed. This modern-day legend draws reporter and author Quinn Black to Hawkins Hollow with the hope of making the eerie happening the subject of her new book. It is only February, but Caleb Hawkins, descendent of the town founders, has already seen and felt the stirrings of evil. Though he can never forget the beginning of the terror in the woods twenty-one years ago, the signs have never been this strong before. Cal will need the help of his best friends, Fox and Gage, but surprisingly he must rely on Quinn as well. She too, can see the evil that the locals cannot, somehow connecting her to the town--and to Cal. As winter turns to spring, Cal and Quinn will shed their inhibitions, surrendering to a growing desire. They will form the cornerstone of a group of men and women bound by fate, passion, and the fight against what is to come from out of the darkness . . .

Teaser Tuesday 211: Night Broken

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week I am teasing from a book finished Monday night, Night Broken by Patricia Briggs. This was a great addition to the Mercy Thompson series. Though there was a lot of action, there were also plenty of passages that had me laughing out loud. Here are a few teasers, since I had a hard time settling on just one.

Love means leaving yourself vulnerable, knowing that there is someone to catch you when you fall.

(Chapter 1)

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Chica," he said seriously, "next time some firebug starts throwing burning things at you, run away."

"I'll take that under advisement," I promised him solemnly."

(EMT and Mercy, chapter 7)


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"You're going to count to three? Seriously? How old do you think I am?"

(Laughingdog, chapter 8)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: Mercy Thompson #8

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam's ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn't the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam's house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn't about to step down without a fight, but there's a more dangerous threat circling. Christy's ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

Teaser Tuesday 205: Up From the Grave

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



This week I am teasing from Up From the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, the seventh in her Night Huntress series. Since I've just finished and the version I read was an ebook, I'm making it easy and sharing a bit from the prologue.

"I'm ready."

"Are you?"

The way he drew out the words warned her that this next test wouldn’t be easy, which was why she couldn’t stop her surprised blink when the chute above her opened and a new subject tumbled into the arena. It looked similar to the others she’d neutralized, but when it leapt up and faced her, she understood. Her new opponent had no heartbeat.

"What is it?" she asked, her own heart starting to beat faster.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Genre: Paranormal romance/Urban fantasy
Series: Night Huntress #7

There’s always one more grave to dig.

Lately, life has been unnaturally calm for vampires Cat Crawfield and her husband Bones. They should have known better than to relax their guard, because a shocking revelation sends them back into action to stop an all-out war . . .

A rogue CIA agent is involved in horrifying secret activities that threaten to raise tensions between humans and the undead to dangerous heights. Now Cat and Bones are in a race against time to save their friends from a fate worse than death . . . because the more secrets they unravel, the deadlier the consequences. And if they fail, their lives — and those of everyone they hold dear — will be hovering on the edge of the grave.

Teaser Tuesday 204: I'm the Vampire, That's Why

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


JUST FINISHED: I'm the Vampire, That's Why by Michele Bardsley. Fans of MaryJanice Davidson and Charlaine Harris may want to check this one out.

The night I died, I was wrestling a garbage can to the curb.

I had a perfectly healthy fourteen-year-old son who should have taken out the garbage after dinner, but he, and let me quote him directly hear, "forgot."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
I don’t remember how I disentangled my sorry self from the bushes. I have vague memories of the roses' too sweet scent as I crawled across the street and collapsed near my knocked-over garbage cans.

For those who know me, meeting my end amid the muttered curses and spilled refuse was not a great shock. But, shock or not, it was still a crappy way to go.


(From chapter one)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Book one of series
Genre: Urban fantasy/paranormal romance/mystery


Broken Heart is the city with the highest rate of divorce and highest percentage of single parents in Oklahoma. And I, Jessica Matthews, have been a member of that club ever since my husband dumped me for his twenty-something secretary and then had the gall to die in a car accident.

Now I’m not just a single mother trying to make ends meet in this crazy world . . . . I’m also a vampire. One minute I was taking out the garbage; the next I awoke sucking on the thigh of superhot vampire Patrick O’Halloran, who’d generously offered his femoral artery to save me.

But though my stretch marks have disappeared and my vision has improved, I can’t rest until the thing that did this to me is caught. My kids’ future is at stake—figuratively and literally. As is my sex life. Although I wouldn’t mind finding myself attached to Patrick’s juicy thigh again, I learned that once a vampire does the dirty deed, it hitches her to the object of her affection for at least one hundred years. I just don’t know if I’m ready for that kind of commitment. . . .

Teaser Tuesday 184: Sleeping With the Entity

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week I am reading Sleeping With the Entity by Cat Devon. It's a vampire romance, something slightly different for this author, who has written under another name for the past couple decades. I really wanted to like this book, seeing as how I know the author and have loved her romances for years, but honestly...so far it's just so-so. For one, there have been a couple info dumps—the kind I would expect of a new author, not a veteran in the field. I'm only a quarter of the way into it, and hoping it gets better. Here are a couple short teasers for you.

"All the good men are taken," Daniella Delaney said. "The rest are vampires."

(Opening paragraph)

~*~*~*~*~

"You communicate your disapproval just fine," she agreed. "It's the nice part that you definitely need help with. You seem to be lacking in that area."

(Chapter 4)

ABOUT THE BOOK

She has a sweet tooth and a dream.

Meet Daniella Delaney. She’s all ready to open her shop, Heavenly Cupcakes, in one of Chicago’s sleepier districts. But she’s having a hard time convincing the local business association—namely Nick St. George—that she’s a good addition to the neighborhood. Daniella hopes that her famous red velvet cupcakes will be enough to melt any man’s heart. But Nick is no ordinary man. He’s got fangs.

He has a constant craving...

As leader of the Vamptown clan, Nick has no intention of letting Daniella breathe new life into his old haunts. But something about her leaves Nick hungry…for more. He can’t control her mind like other humans, a trait that makes Daniella irresistible. Could it be that, for the first time in centuries, Nick has met his match? Love is always a force to be reckoned with. But can this vampire have his cake and eat it too?

Teaser Tuesday 170: Twice Tempted

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week I am featuring a couple teasers from Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2) by Jeaniene Frost. Love this series of paranormal romances! Both exchanges below are between Leila and Vlad.

Do you know who it is?

An eye roll preceded his next sentence. Wouldn’t I be torturing that person now if I did?

(Chapter 30)


~*~*~*~*~

"Fourteen hundred and thirty-one."

I blinked. “What’s that?”

"The year I was born, which is not, as you’ll note, yesterday."

(Chapter 31 . . . Gotta love Vlad!)

ABOUT THE BOOK:


Dating the Prince of Darkness has its challenges . . .

Leila's psychic abilities have been failing her, and now she isn't sure what the future holds. If that weren't enough, her lover, Vlad, has been acting distant. Though Leila is a mere mortal, she's also a modern woman who refuses to accept the cold shoulder treatment forever–especially from the darkly handsome vampire who still won't admit that he loves her.

Like choosing between eternal love and a loveless eternity . . .

Soon circumstances send Leila back to the carnival circuit, where tragedy strikes. And when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who may be closer than she realizes, Leila must decide who to trust– the fiery vampire who arouses her passions like no other or the tortured knight who longs to be more than a friend? With danger stalking her every step of the way, all it takes is one wrong move to damn her for eternity.

Teaser Tuesday 166: Frost Burned

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Finished Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs over two very late nights this weekend. Anyone familiar with the series knows that where Mercy goes, trouble is soon to follow. This book was no exception. Here's a teaser from chapter one.

I might have been a mere coyote shapeshifter instead of a muscle-bound werewolf, but I had years of full-contact karate under my brown belt. The irate owner of the SUV was a lot bigger than me, but, from the smell and lack of coordination in his movements, he was also drunk. That negated most of the advantage his size gave him.

I let his fist slip by me, took a step that angled my hips into his, grabbed the elbow and hand of his attacking arm, and slammed him face-first into the pavement using, mostly, his own momentum to do it.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Mercy Thompson #7

Mercy Thompson returns in the seventh novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more...

After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted.

Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

Teaser Tuesday 154: Night's Darkest Embrace

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Have just finished the novella Night's Darkest Embrace by Jeaniene Frost, a short paranormal romance set in the demonic realm of Nocturna. This was a good, quick read--and a steamy one at that. Here's a short teaser:

. . . I stroked his arm with one hand while I surreptitiously dipped the other one into my gun belt. He brushed aside the hair on the back of my neck with his mouth, tracing his tongue into the sensitive dip there. Erotic tremors broke out across my skin, increasing when he breathed my name into the same spot with a voice gone scratchy from desire.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Enter the dark realm of Nocturna in Jeaniene Frost’s red-hot tale, where blisteringly sexy Raphael dominates the demons of a lawless dimension and tries to help a beautiful young woman avenge her cousin’s disappearance. Mara is a 1/4 Partial demon. Raphael, ruler of Nocturna, is reported to be a 3/4 Partial . . . but what dark secrets is he keeping from her?

Note: This novella originally appeared in the anthology Haunted by Your Touch. This is a steamy paranormal romance not for the faint of heart.

Thursday Thirteen 265: Recently Read

Read over the last few months — as always, click on any cover to find out more about the book.
















BOOK NOTES

* The Casual Vacancy is the latest release from J.K. Rowling, her first adult novel. Pretty good book, but I think people who go into it with an open mind and no expectations are more likely to enjoy it. This book is contemporary fiction and deals in gritty reality, not the fantastical realm of her Harry Potter novels.

* The Haunting of Hill House, Anna Karenina and Little Women were all group reads, and each was featured in a Teaser Tuesday post, which I have linked to here. Of the three, I most enjoyed Anna Karenina, even though it is close to 1000 pages and took a while to get through. It truly is a good book and I'm glad I took the time to read it.

* The Amanda Stevens series was a gift received from a friend and I absolutely loved these. I am looking forward to three more books in the series next year!

* Ellery Adams was the September featured author for the Cozy Mystery group. These were books three and one of two different series, both of which I like.

* Home For a Spell by Madelyn Alt is book seven in another favorite series, her "Bewitching" paranormal mystery series.

* Phyllis A. Whitney was the October featured author for the Cozy Mystery group. An older mystery, but pretty good.


Books read so far this year: 92

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