When Ethan, her childhood sweetheart, turns up on her doorstep, Kendra must learn to love or risk losing him once again.
Kendra, a regular member of the Winchester Widows Sex Club, is perfectly happy with the life she has built since the loss of her husband. Sure, one of her lovers is leaving to start a new life, but she still has her regular, Chip, and there’s even a new guy in the club to keep her occupied. She doesn’t get attached—and that suits her just fine.
But when her first love, Ethan, turns up on her doorstep, he brings with him painful memories of secrets and lies—feelings that Kendra has safely tucked away for years.
Can she allow him back into her life and her bed without those pesky little feelings getting in the way? Is her carefree existence not as liberated and uncomplicated as it first appears? Maybe Ethan is just what she needs to finally open her heart to love.
Excerpt
“Say my name.” Striding up behind me and about to enter me for the very last time, Military Guy had suddenly decided he had demands. “Just for tonight, call me by my name.”
“Uh…” He looked a bit like a Josh. Think, Kendra. I searched the dregs of my mind. “I like Military Guy. It suits you.”
He lifted my arms one at a time, placing them on the wall like he was going to do a body search. “You don’t know it, do you?”
Crap.
“I do. I just… Well, you know I don’t get involved—names, family and all… I don’t do that. You know this.”
He traced a finger down my spine, making me flinch. “Three months, Kendra. Three months I’ve been sleeping in your bed at least once a week, and you don’t even know my name.”
“Sleeping?” Yeah, that wasn’t exactly what I’d have called it. “Josh?” I proffered.
“Josh! Do I look like a Josh? You’ve got to be kidding me. This is not going to go unpunished.” He pulled my butt toward his crotch, rubbed his coarse hands around my cheeks, then slapped gently, but it was sharp enough to sting. “Try again.”
He slid his cock, hard and ready, under me, waiting to take me again. Fuck. My mind was a complete blank. Why don’t I listen more?
“Nick?” Slap. “Matt?” He chuckled and slapped again. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the name on his uniform. “Dan. It’s Dan.”
A warm body lay over my back, enveloping me, “Say my name,” he whispered in my ear as he entered me from behind.
“Oh, Daniel.” It purred out of my mouth as he thrust into me. He snaked his hand around and under my belly, holding me to him. “Fuck me, Daniel.” He found my clit with his fingers, and I grasped the wall as he filled me.
Daniel was a strong, powerful man, who looked like he was made of ninety percent muscle. Lifting and holding me to him while he thrust into my body came easily to him.
He pulled out then turned me around “I want to look at you if it’s going to be the last time.” Lifting me, he lowered me onto his dick with my arms splayed out behind me, steadying me, my legs wrapped around his trim waist.
He grabbed me and slowed, grinding and turning until he found the perfect position. Ecstasy. Only Daniel could make me come without touching my clit. He just had to find my G-spot, and I was putty in his big, strong hands.
Who taught you this?How do you know?
He teased me, listening to my rapid breaths, bending his head to suck on my breasts. “I want to make you come so you’ll never forget me.” He yanked his crotch forward, changing the angle.
“Fuck.” A million nerve endings screamed at the same time as I did, sending a jolt through my body. The man was a machine, twisting and contorting his body, carrying me with his bare hands and making me writhe with pleasure. I threw back my head and screamed his name as my pussy tightened around him and sent waves of pleasure crashing onto his dick.
“Shit.” He spun around as he came, unable to hold me, his legs giving way with the strength of his own orgasm. “Shit, Kendra. You wipe me out every time.”
Lowering me gently onto the bed, he slipped off the condom and flopped down next to me, completely spent.
“I’m going to miss you, Daniel.”
“You’re going to miss this dick.” He thrust his crotch, his tired cock doing a final dance of honor.
“No, seriously. I know I don’t say these things—the cute, girlfriend-type things—but I’ll still miss you.”
“It doesn’t have to be over.”
Oh, bless his heart.
“Of course it does. You’re going to go save the world, fall in love with a sweet, young woman, buy a nice little house with a white picket fence and have lots of cute babies. That’s how it should be.”
He enveloped me in his toned arm and, for once, I left it there and settled down to sleep. I wasn’t usually much of a hugger, but this was a special night.
“Get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.” Training over, I was giving Dan his marching orders…straight out of my life.
People leave. I’d come to expect it. When my husband had died suddenly a few years back, it was almost as if I’d been wondering why he hadn’t done it earlier.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Don’t get attached. No names, no families. It’s better that way.
Katherine E Hunt ran off with a Frenchman twenty years ago. She now lives on a French mountain with three children and two dogs. When she isn’t writing contemporary romance she can be found huddled up in front of a roaring fire, with a glass of Chardonnay in one hand and a book in the other.
You can find out more about Katherine on her website.
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KATHERINE E. HUNT IS GIVING AWAY THIS FABULOUS PRIZE TO ONE LUCKY WINNER. ENTER HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A LOVELY GIFT PACKAGE AND GET YOUR FREE KATHERINE E. HUNT ROMANCE BOOK! Notice: This competition ends on 6th July 2021 at 5pm GMT. Competition hosted by Totally Entwined Group.
People have told me to go to hell—I guess they finally got their wish.
I’ve finally accepted the fact that I might not be entirely human, but still life doesn’t give me a break. Instead, I’m sucked into hell at Lucifer’s demand, and realize death is even more complicated than my life was.
I have to survive hell—where everything wants to kill me—so I can confront the devil himself. My love life is even more complex, though. Troy is terrified of his werewolf side hurting me, Kase and Grant are lying to me and Hunter is keeping his own secrets. I know better than to trust anyone, especially the men who have taken over my life.
Get to Lucifer’s Court, find out the truth about the missing spirits, figure out exactly what I am and try not to die along the way. Oh, and don’t fall in love with the men who will for sure break my heart and possibly get me killed.
Easy enough, right?
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, bloodshed and death. There are references to parental abandonment and tattooing a child.
Excerpt
So, hell was pretty much what I’d expected.
Troy sat across from me in a small cave we’d taken shelter in, still avoiding looking at me, turning the spit with something cooking on it over the fire.
I had decided against asking what it was they were roasting, because I doubted any answer to that would make me happy.
If it were some strange hellbeast, I’d be grossed out, and if it were a cute, fluffy critter, I’d be sad.
Some questions were better left unasked, such as “Do I look fat in these?” or “Do you think my sister is hot?” and “What animal did this come from?”
Hunter came into the cave looking far too happy, as though he’d been waiting anxiously for just this moment. Hell, he was almost skipping.
Kase, on his heels, appeared significantly less pleased with the turn of events.
“I love the smell of brimstone in the morning.” Hunter set down an oddly shaped cup in front of me.
I took a closer look at the dish, the white of it standing out against the dimness of the everything else. “Where’d you get this?”
“Don’t worry about it. Drink. You mortals get parched fast out here.”
His answer didn’t ease me at all, so I lifted the cup closer to the fire. The white took a moment to place, and once I did, I couldn’t unsee it. “Is this bone?”
Hunter groaned and sat cross-legged on the other side of the fire. “I told you not to worry about it.”
“You can’t seriously expect me to drink out of a bone cup.”
“I have skulls, if they’re more your style.”
I was ready to yell at him for the stupid joke until I realized he probably wasn’t kidding. Somehow, the idea that Hunter had a collection of fine china made from bones in hell seemed right on par for him.
Especially the way he had no shame over it.
“Drink,” Kase said, nodding toward it. “I doubt you want to die of dehydration while in hell.”
“At least it’d be a short trip if I did,” I muttered before closing my eyes—it’d be easier if I didn’t have to actually see the cup—and drank the water in big gulps. I figured if I finished it off quickly, I’d have to touch the thing for less time overall.
Which was a stupid reaction since I’d touched dead bodies plenty of times.
But I’d never use them as flatware. There were some lines a person didn’t cross.
The water was warm, stale and tinged with an odd taste that made me want to gag a bit as I downed it.
Still, once I finished it, I handed back the empty cup. “Why would Lucifer drop us here? I thought he wanted to see me?”
Hunter shrugged. “He might figure a good test would be worth it. Anyone who can’t survive a few days journey in hell isn’t someone important enough for him to meet in person. Or maybe he intended for us to get dropped in his Court, but something went wrong. Magic doesn’t work quite right on you.”
“Things aren’t supposed to just go wrong for Lucifer.”
“Then you don’t know Lucifer. Remember the whole fall from heaven thing? He’s had things going wrong right from the start.”
And, again, that made me feel no better. I liked the idea that at least Lucifer had his business figured out. The thought that he was as powerless and fumbling as the rest of us gave me a moment of thinking, If he can’t get shit right, what chance do I have?
I sighed and crossed my legs, leaning forward. Great. We were stuck in hell, had no idea why I was where I there and now even the guy who ran it all didn’t seem to have a good grip on specifics.
The only person happy about our circumstances was Hunter, who grinned as though he couldn’t have planned things any better.
Then again, it was his home.
Grant was still outside, setting wards so we could get a good night’s sleep, or at least the best one could expect in a cave in hell.
Not that there seemed to be any night. It reminded me of the pocket realm I’d met the fae in, except it didn’t get lighter or darker. It remained a constant depressing level of dim, which ranked around the super overcast and rainy level.
When Troy finished cooking the food, he tore free a piece and held it out for me. Instead of thinking too much about it—I was really hungry—I popped it into my mouth, surprised to find it rather good.
As long as I don’t consider what it might have been before being spit roasted or how many legs it might have had.
“Do you think he’ll try to kill me?” I asked.
“I doubt it,” Hunter said. “If he wanted to kill you, he could have done it without this much work. Lucifer doesn’t do anything without a reason. He calls it efficient—I call it lazy.”
“Maybe he just wants to be able to watch me die in person,” I muttered around another bite of food.
“We won’t let him hurt you,” Kase said.
I gave him a withering glare in return. I didn’t get over betrayal so easily. We might have been in an entirely different realm, but I wasn’t ready to forgive him for lying to me, for hiring Grant to figure out what I was, for manipulating me. Maybe his words would have reassured me if I didn’t already doubt his loyalty so much.
He looked as though he wanted to discuss the matter, but a glance around the cave reminded him we had an audience. Kase’s ego would never want to air dirty laundry with others in earshot.
The perfect Kase didn’t want to not look so perfect.
“You know, you all don’t have to be here.” I forced the words out even though I really didn’t want to say them. Still, it was only fair to give them an out.
“What?” Grant asked as he came into the cave.
“Well, you can make portals to and from hell, right? You might have gotten sucked in here on accident, but you don’t have to stay.”
“Actually, we do,” he said.
“Don’t give me that. There’s no reason for you all to risk your lives just because I evidently have an appointment with the devil.”
Hunter shook his head, a smirk across his lips. “No, shadow-girl, what he means is that when Lucifer yanked us here, it placed a tracer on us. All of us. None of us can portal back until Lucifer removes it. The magic just won’t work for a portal. I could cross the boundary, but I couldn’t take anyone with me.”
I blew out a breath, ashamed to admit just how relieved I was by that. Sure, I had to give them an out, but the thought of them leaving, of trying to make my way across hell by myself hadn’t been one I relished. They were stuck with me for now, and it was far more reassuring than I wanted to admit.
“How long until we reach Lucifer’s Court?” I asked, trying to change topics.
Hunter plucked a piece of meat from the creature and ate it with noisy bites. “Three days? Maybe five if we need a lot of stops. We ended up right at the boundary line, so it’s a long walk. If it were just me, I’d make it in a day, but you all couldn’t keep up.”
Troy snorted. “Maybe not them, but I’m quicker than you think.”
Hunter offered Troy a wide grin. “Yeah, but you’d keep up—maybe—if you were in your wolf form. Sadly, you’ve got some performance issues about that one, and on two legs you’re as slow as the mortal.”
Troy narrowed his eyes but didn’t respond.
Fine by me. Honestly, I’d love for them all to shut up.
It was bad enough they bothered me at my house, when they stopped by constantly and threw my life into chaos, but out here, I didn’t even have the privacy of a bathroom or the occasional moments of peace.
It was twenty-four-seven testosterone zone.
So I ate another piece of food before a yawn told me I needed rest.
The cave floor was hard and there wasn’t anything to use as a pillow around. I groaned and twisted, my shoulder sore from where it dug into the ground.
Troy had taken a spot far away, as though he wanted to avoid me as best he could—just like he’d done since I’d saved him.
The ungrateful bastard. Next time maybe I’d let that freaky shadow take him over.
After checking the wards, Grant had leaned himself against the doorway of the cave, his legs stretched out and his eyes closed. He’d picked there, at the threshold, like a guardian.
Funny, since Grant, with his twenty-year-old appearance, massive number of tattoos and rebel hair style, appeared the least dangerous.
Hunter had chosen to rest outside, like some dog in the yard. He’d taken a large hunk of the meat and claimed to like sleeping under the stars.
Not that there were any stars…
“Come here.” Kase’s voice was soft in the darkness, and close enough I jumped.
How he could move so quickly, I didn’t understand. He’d managed to shift around so he crouched just above where I lay.
I pressed my palm against the cave floor and pushed myself up. With the fire gone, I struggled to see Kase, so I glared in his direction best I could. “Sorry, but that doesn’t work.”
“What doesn’t work? You need sleep, and you won’t get any tossing and turning like that.”
“You think this is my first time dealing with men? Let me guess, I’ll sleep so much better all curled up beside you. And I’ll sleep better without any pants. In fact, a few orgasms will put me right out.” I made sure my voice sounded as insulting as I meant it to be.
Which was stupid, because no matter how much I disliked him at the moment, a few orgasms would help me sleep.
Just not from him. Not that he’d proven himself capable of delivering them anyway. His only attempt had been pathetic.
He sighed before sitting on the ground, his back to the wall. He removed his jacket and balled it up in his lap. “I’m not offering orgasms, Ava, and since my body doesn’t run warm, there isn’t a reason to curl up beside me, naked or not. However, I am, at the very least, useful as furniture.”
I wanted to argue that I was sleeping just fine, but the ache in my shoulder called me a liar. Still, the thought of touching him made me wonder how stupid one person could be.
His entire reaction to me was bad enough—I wasn’t sure I’d ever live down him spitting out my blood as if it were tainted—but the idea that he’d been lying to me was what really stuck.
He’d hired Grant to spy on me, to go behind my back and figure out what I was. He’d even said the entire thing had been for the coven, not him. How on earth could I just forget that?
Still, his lap was as good as anyone else’s, and I was tired. I slid up, wincing when it aggravated my shoulder.
He set a strong hand on my back, helping me to adjust, until I was on my side, my head pillowed on his lap, his jacket creating more cushion and a useful barrier between me and any erecting that might happen.
Not that that seemed a problem with him.
When he ran his fingers through my hair, I swatted him away. “Knock that off.”
He let out a soft sound, all annoyance. “I’m trying to help.”
“I didn’t ask for help, did I?”
“You haven’t ever asked, and yet here I’ve been, doing it anyway. I am in hell, literally, for you.”
I sighed, having nothing to say back to that. When I closed my eyes, he dragged his fingers through my hair again, and this time I let him. Just because I was mad at him didn’t mean I had to forgo the nice sensation, did it?
It wasn’t like he was getting anything out of it. Might as well enjoy it while it lasted. I doubted many nice things happened in hell.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said, voice low as if we could have a private conversation in such a small space, surrounded by others. “I hired Grant before I knew much about you.”
“But even after you got to know me, you didn’t feel the need to mention it? To call him off?”
“I knew you wouldn’t be happy about me invading your privacy like that, and as I spent more time with you, I found out you hold grudges. It seemed a pointless argument to risk, since if you never found out, you would have never been angry.”
I shifted and accidently elbowed him in the crotch.
He let out a rush of air—it seemed not everywhere on a vampire was impervious to harm—before groaning. “I have learned my lesson, Ava. I do not intend to lie to you again.”
“And so I’m supposed to be okay with it? What was this all? What was it when you tried to feed from me? Just more research for the coven? At least that explains why you couldn’t keep it up.”
“No. It wasn’t ever for the coven.”
“That was what you told Grant.”
“Because I prefer not to expose potential weaknesses.”
“So I’m a weakness now?” I went to rise, because his lap was not worth me getting any more hurt than I already was.
He set a hand on my shoulder and pressed me back down, reminding me just how strong he was. “Stop it, Ava. Stop fighting with me long enough to listen. I have thought about you since I first saw you in that shop, and that obsession hasn’t ended. When I asked around and found out what little I could, it still wasn’t enough. So, yes, when given the chance, I hired Grant to discover more about you—not for the coven and not for Colter, but for myself. You can be angry with me for as long as you’d like for that invasion of privacy, for the lies, but do not mistake it for something it wasn’t. I hired you for the job with Olin because you could do it, I wanted to feed from you because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I want you because I have since I first saw you. Besides, you shouldn’t be so angry with me when Grant found nothing useful out.”
“Maybe that’s why he got kicked out of the guild, because he’s a terrible mage.”
A snort from the doorway said Grant was listening, but I pretended it was a random sound so I didn’t have to think about our audience.
Kase went back to the gentle stroking of his fingers through my hair, and, despite my better judgment, it relaxed me. His voice, smooth and unfailingly calm, was even worse. “He ran every test he could, did everything he knew and he could not identify what you were. No matter how much I researched, who I threatened, I discovered nothing. You are an enigma, Ava.”
“And that’s why you’re still around? Because I’m a very interesting puzzle, and you’re old and bored? Or because I could be potentially useful to you?”
“No. I don’t think I care what you are anymore. Originally, it was a mystery, but I’ve discovered you are trouble no matter what you might be.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re here now.”
“You’re smart enough to figure that one out. I’m not sure there are many reasons a man goes to hell for a woman.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Kase and I, we never talked. We didn’t admit anything. Where Troy liked to come out and say what he felt, and Hunter didn’t feel deeply enough for the need to have a conversation, Kase and I liked to exchange things in non-speak.
He didn’t say he cared, and I didn’t say I liked that he was there.
Even still…I couldn’t quite accept his words. I recalled Colter, remembered the coven house, and knew I had no idea where his loyalties really lay.
He might be a great piece of furniture, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill me if he needed to…
Jayce Carter lives in Southern California with her husband and two spawns. She originally wanted to take over the world but realized that would require wearing pants. This led her to choosing writing, a completely pants-free occupation. She has a fear of heights yet rock climbs for fun and enjoys making up excuses for not going out and socializing. You can learn more about her at her website.
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JAYCE CARTER IS GIVING AWAY THIS FABULOUS PRIZE TO ONE LUCKY WINNER. ENTER HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A LOVELY GIFT PACKAGE AND GET GET A FREE EBOOK FROM THE AUTHOR! Notice: This competition ends on 22nd June 2021 at 5pm GMT. Competition hosted by Totally Entwined Group.
I’m the first female alpha in history and every pack leader out there wants to claim me as their mate. Including the Stormfire alpha who sent my life into a spiral after rejecting me. While he and the others fight for the right to possess me, a new Demon Trial is created in honor of the Crescent Mother, and this time I’m the prize. Or so they all believe. I’ll stop at nothing to reclaim my freedom even if it means entering the trials myself, where the only way out is death and ruin. But I don’t plan on dying. I plan on winning.
I’m going to make each of the alphas pay for what they did to me.
18+ Dark reverse harem romance full with a sassy and sarcastic heroine who finds her match.
I recently discovered Ms. Bailey’s books, and I think I’m hooked. Reverse harem is quickly becoming my new favorite genre, and while I typically dislike cliffhangers, I don’t mind it so much with fantasy books.
Lilith is still fighting for her life, for revenge, and for love. The three men she’s fallen for only make her stronger and more determined as one enemy after another tries to tear them apart and destroy the world’s first alpha female. There’s nothing she won’t do to take down the monsters and free those under their influence. Lilith is furious and she’s ready to protect the innocent.
Full of unexpected twists, and more than a little heat, Mine in Hell is a page-turning read I couldn’t put down. Love. Danger. Friendship… and so much more. I hope you’re ready for one hell of a ride (pun intended).
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Shifter’s Sin Debbie Cassidy
(Wolves of Hawthorne Cove #1)
Publication date: June 3rd 2021
Genres: Adult, Reverse Harem, Romance, Urban Fantasy
A Lycan that can’t shift is no use to anyone.
I’ve made it my mission to be useful to my pack. As pack enforcer, I’m fast and strong, but when the time comes to bond with my mate, it isn’t enough.
Rejection means lone wolf status and isolation from the pack. But when a package arrives with an unexpected inheritance, the pack that wants to shun me, suddenly has a new use for me.
Turns out, I’m the proud owner of a house in mysterious territory, rumoured to be home to a pack of beautifully twisted shifters. Hawthorne Cove is Impregnable to Lycans, but not to a half human like me.
Now I have a second chance to be accepted by my pack.
All I have to do is infiltrate the Hawthorne pack, find the source of their power and steal it.
Easier said than done.
Because once I pass the mystical boundaries surrounding the town, I’ll be absolutely, and totally at the mercy of the wolves of Hawthorne Cove.
Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes Urban Fantasy, Fantasy and Reverse Harem Fantasy. All her books contain plenty of action, romance and twisty plots.
See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. Sleep with no evil… If only it were that easy.
Between being kidnapped by a psycho dragon-shifter, influenced by ancient relics, and fighting for my freedom, I’d say my hands are full. But really, my troubles have just begun.
Cain, Dorian, and Elias are wickedly dangerous, scorching hot, and all too tempting. They’re devils in disguise. Literally.
I don’t know why they’re collecting these relics, but it looks like I’m not the only one with secrets. Despite all the risks, I might be falling for the three of them. But there’s a good chance this Hellish relationship ends up being the death of me.
To make matters worse, there may be something more to my shadow than I originally thought. Something evil that’s set on taking over me entirely if I let it. With each passing day, I find myself falling deeper into its darkness and further under the demons’ deadly charms.
There’s no other way around it… Things are quickly going to Hell in a handbasket.
Book two in this series starts off with a bang … there’s tons of action, super hot scenes, and the mystery surrounding Aria doubles.
Elias, Cain, and Dorian have never met anyone like Aria. They don’t understand the shadow living inside her any more than she does. In the mix of trying to figure where she came from or what she is, they’re also still on the hunt for the relics they need in order to return to Hell.
Dragons, kidnappings, and lots of hot sex make this a book I couldn’t put down. By the end, I’m still left wondering exactly who or what Aria is, and whether or not her demons will realize she’s more important than them returning to Hell. They’ve been around for centuries but still haven’t realized love is more important than anything else…. stubborn men!
While the book does end with a cliffhanger, and you definitely need to read book 1 before diving into this one, I found that I had to know what happened next. I flipped through the pages, gobbling up every scene, and now I’m eager to read the next installment. Hopefully, all my questions will be answered and Aria will get her happily ever after with her demon trio!
*Disclaimer: The authors did not request a review of this title. I purchased/borrowed it from Amazon. The review above is only mu opinion.
Crimson Tears Lyra Winters
(The Crimson Demon, #1)
Publication date: April 17th 2021
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Reverse Harem, Romance
Death didn’t scare Lilith Whitlock. At the ripe age of twenty, she preferred to take whatever life threw at her, and if death was a curveball, she’d catch it.
What she didn’t expect was for impending death to be stalled by being transformed into a vampire.
With sharp, pointy teeth and a hunger for blood, Lilith adapted to her new life. Befriending three hot vampires with a mission to maintain balance had something to do with that, but the paranormal world wasn’t perfect.
Especially when she learned creating new vampires was illegal. Now, she had to prove herself as indispensable to the Order of the Void, or she’d be obliterated from existence.
No one mentioned that being a new-blood came with a looming threat and imminent danger.
Crimson Tears is book one of three in the Crimson Demon Trilogy. It is a paranormal why-choose romance centered around three vampires and one demon. It contains mature subject matter that might not be suitable for all readers.
The coppery bite of dried blood invaded my nostrils. Scrunching my nose up, I twitched my fingers, moving them along a satin fabric beneath me. Wherever I was, it was a hell of a lot more comfortable than cold, wet tar and broken glass.
Oh, fuck.
My brain flooded with snippets of what had happened: the weird animal on the road, the crash, my body breaking on the pavement, the voices with mesmerizing British accents, sexy man bun guy, and the blinding pain.
I swallowed hard, my hand wrapping around my throat as I winced at the burning sensation.
How the fuck am I moving? My bones were shattered. I was dying.
I patted my arms, legs, stomach, chest, and head to find no injuries at all. It was like the car accident hadn’t even happened. The only indication it had was that my clothes were torn and uncomfortable dried blood was crusted all over me.
Fuck. Panic flitted through me. My phone was in the passenger seat.
I reached up and clasped the fire opal pendant resting on my neck, and a calmness spread over me from the warmth it radiated.
Thank God it’s still there.
I pried my bleary eyes open as I sat upright with adrenaline flooding my system. My gaze darted around the room, soaking in my surroundings. Soft evening light from the large glass balcony door bathed the room in a golden hue.
I was lying on a soft king-size mattress with various throw pillows scattered around me. A few gothic-like paintings hung on the white walls, and I could see the details of the brush strokes.
A low whistle from the wind howling outside was the only sound in the room, and it was eerie as fuck. I wasn’t used to that level of quiet growing up with two older brothers.
Shit.
I had to let them know I was okay.
I swung my legs to the side of the bed, and my bare feet hit the plush carpet as I stood.
“Welcome to Draven Manor,” a deep voice drawled.
I whirled around to find a man leaning against the door that led to the balcony with his arms crossed—tattoos of dragons, fire, and some language I didn’t recognize covered his biceps.
He was fucking hot in a rugged kind of way. Pure white hair spiked up on his head, and a scent of charcoal and soot wafted off him. His steel eyes pierced me as his head tilted to the side, and his pink tongue darted out to wet his lips.
I couldn’t tell if it was a good or a bad thing that there was a bed separating us.
“What the fuck? How are you even real?” My tongue ran over my bottom lip. “You’re like a seriously hot anime character from an otome game.”
His lips quirked up into a cocky smile, and dangerous heat rushed through me. “What the fuck is an otome game?”
Planting a hand on my hip, I grinned. “It’s a video game. That’s all you need to know.”
“I do have Google, you know?”
“Hmm. Then I guess you can look it up yourself and sate your curiosity.”
“I’d rather sate something else, Poppy.” His gaze darkened as it raked up and down my body with clear desire.
Author Bio:
Lyra Winters is a twenty-something Kentucky woman who adores the book world. When she’s not typing away on her laptop or daydreaming book ideas, Lyra is occupying her time taking care of her two spunky daughters and dreamy husband. She’s addicted to Coca-Cola, 2000s rap music, and bubble baths. Her dream is to write love stories that touch the reader’s hearts.
The devils aren’t in the details. They’re in my bed…
When my warlock foster father trades me to demons for his outstanding debts, I find myself in Hell on Earth. I’m thrust into a supernatural underground crime ring I can’t get out of, eternally bound in a contract I never made.
Three hot-as-hell demons stand in between me and my freedom.
A tattooed, brutish Hellhound shifter. An incubus with the power to bend wills on command. And the heir to Lucifer’s throne—the original sin demon, Pride, himself. I have to find a way out of the deal before they devour me, body and soul.
But I’m no angel. There’s something inside me, something that craves the chaotic darkness these demons possess.
Escaping may mean giving in to Hell’s more sinful temptations. But playing with fire only hurts if you get burned…
A fantasy reverse-harem romance that will pull you in and not let go…
I stumbled across this little gem as part of the suggested reads on my Kindle, and I’m glad I decided to check it out. If you like darker reverse harem romances, this one has it all… demons, magic, slavery, and more…
Aria is a strong heroine, who won’t stop until she gets what she wants. In this case, she wants to escape a deal with three demons. She didn’t agree to be sold to Cain, Elias, and Dorian, and she refuses to stay with monsters. One failed escape attempt after another ends up in heated encounters with each demon.
Cain, a Prince of Hell, doesn’t want Aria in his home. And yet, he can’t seem to let her go. Elias, the hellhound, finds himself drawn back to the house more and more now that Aria is in residence, and the incubus, Dorian, is mystified that she can ignore his sexual lures.
With a mystery of who – and what – is Aria, three demons determined to do whatever it takes to return to hell, and a woman who refuses to be a pawn in their games, the pages are filled with action, emotion, and sexual tension.
Be warned, it does end with a cliffhanger… so naturally I’m off to read book 2! I have to know what happens next.
*Disclaimer: The author did not request a review of this title. I purchased/borrowed through Amazon. The review above is only my opinion.
Ghosts, corpses and four hot men—what’s a girl to do?
Abandoned at three—whose parents want a kid who sees ghosts?—I learned the world is quick to punish misfits. I try my best to be a normal, boring human, but the call of the supernatural just won’t be ignored.
When a stranger shows up on my doorstep in the middle of the night, it’s no sexy tryst. Instead, I’m off to the graveyard, digging up the corpse of a murder victim at the demand of the local vampire coven—and that small felony is just the start.
The spirit of the woman has gone missing—something that shouldn’t be possible—and everyone is looking to me for answers. There’s Kase, a vampire who’s both terrifying and secretive. Grant, a mage with a bad attitude and a lot of power. Troy, the possessive werewolf-detective next door and Hunter, a mysterious bad boy who isn’t even close to human.
It’s a race not just against time but against everything to figure out where the spirits are going, who’s behind it and if I can trust the men who now share my bed.
And all because of a little grave robbing…
Reader advisory: This book contains violence, bloodshed, and death. There are references to parental abandonment and tattooing a child, as well as vague references to pedophilia and the threat of child sexual abuse by a foster parent.
Excerpt
I wished a floating, nearly headless body at three in the morning were an unusual thing for me, but this was the fourth time this one had visited me in as many weeks.
A squinty gaze at my watch made me groan. At least she’s punctual.
“Avenge me!” the apparition demanded in an over-the-top ghostly voice.
I pushed myself upright to offer an annoyed look. “Don’t pull that scary crap with me, Melinda. I’m not some kid trying to contact spirits at a sleepover.”
The spirit shimmered then crossed her arms and gave me the same dirty look back. Ghosts have the worst attitude. “Well, if you did what I wanted the first time I asked, I wouldn’t have to keep bothering you.”
“You want me to kill a teenager.”
“He killed me. How is that not a fair reaction?”
“You ran a red light because you were trying to get your caramel macchiato to mix while complaining the barista didn’t make it right. Can’t really blame him for that.”
She pursed her lips as though she’d blown out a huge sigh, but with her being incorporeal, no actual air escaped. “If he hadn’t been driving, it would have been fine. Isn’t this your job? To make things right? You were given this gift for a reason.”
“I don’t know why I was given this gift, but I know I won’t be using it to murder innocent teenagers.”
“Can I talk to someone above you? Like your boss?”
I groaned and rubbed my eyes as it became clear I wasn’t going to be getting back to sleep any time soon. “Did you really just ask to speak to my manager? Look, if you can find whoever is responsible for me, please, be my guest and speak to them. While you’re at it, tell them I’d like to quit.”
Melinda jammed a bony finger at me. “Do you know who I am?”
“Someone who has ruined my sleep for four weeks.”
“And I’ll keep doing it until you agree to help.”
The threat was good, as far as threats went. Most ghosts tried to scare me into doing what they wanted, but after a person had seen as much as I had, those tactics fell flat. The worst an apparition could do was annoy me until they lost their hold on this world and went to the afterlife. A poltergeist could do some damage, but they were few and far between, luckily.
Melinda’s outline had already lost its sharpness. She’d dimmed until she was more of a shimmer than a clear picture. Another week—maybe two—and she’d drift to a whisper, then to nothing.
“And I’ll keep ignoring you until you’re no longer in this realm.”
An entitled huff came from her. “Look at me! I can’t believe I’m sitting here being ignored by some short, frumpy girl with bad hair.”
I considered pointing out that my hair didn’t normally look quite so wild, but she had woken me up in the middle of the night.
“Make peace with what happened,” I told her as I rolled over, my back to her. “Because I’m not going to help you.”
The bed didn’t sink, but an electric feeling that said she’d neared ran along my back. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” she whispered, some of that sureness missing. “I wasn’t supposed to die like this.”
“Well, that’s how it always goes. Everyone thinks their death will be some great sacrifice, some noble leap, but that isn’t what it is.”
“Harrison already moved his mistress into our home.”
Okay, so I wasn’t entirely jaded, because an ache ran through my chest at that. Being dead sucked, I was sure, but being forgotten so quickly? Replaced? Far worse.
“The world keeps moving. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that no matter what, no matter who dies or how, the world doesn’t stop for any of us.”
“Then what’s the point? Why does any of it matter if as soon as we’re gone, it all goes away?”
I cuddled into the warmth of my bed, unsure what to tell her. She wanted to be reassured. She wanted me to tell her there was some great plan, that at the end of the day everything, made sense. I would have loved to tell her that because I’d love to hear it—to believe it.
The reality was that despite having spent my life surrounded by death, I had no stunning pieces of wisdom about it. I didn’t know why we were all here, or what the great purpose was, or why any of it meant a damn thing.
Instead, I told her the only thing I could. “Make your peace, Melinda, because you don’t want to end up where you’ll go if you don’t.”
She wailed, the screeching of a soul that few could hear and even fewer could survive. It made my ears want to bleed, so I grabbed my headphones and cranked up the music to cover it.
She’d be gone soon, since she only ever stayed for twenty minutes or so. I’d done this long enough to know which ones would cross over and which ones who would get stuck. Melinda?
She’d get stuck. She’d cling and try to bargain until the last moment, when she faded to nothing and ended up in purgatory. Even I didn’t like to think about that, about the place I’d glimpsed a handful of times that sent a creeping, gnawing terror through me.
The deep bass and rhythmic drumming drowned out her wailing, and I fell back to sleep. Eventually.
Jayce Carter lives in Southern California with her husband and two spawns. She originally wanted to take over the world but realized that would require wearing pants. This led her to choosing writing, a completely pants-free occupation. She has a fear of heights yet rock climbs for fun and enjoys making up excuses for not going out and socializing. You can learn more about her at her website.
Giveaway
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The Library of the Profane has everything your black heart desires. But we don’t just allow anyone to get a library card.
Need to summon a demon? Raise the dead? A clan of vampires bothering you? Do you like the really nasty werewolf erotica? The Library of the Profane has all of that, but not everyone can handle the contents (Some people can’t handle their werewolf erotica). I’ve been a librarian here for five years and when I say I killed to get this job, I’m not being facetious.
You can’t check out our books. Some of the books are sentient and don’t like it. We have rooms to perform the spells in or hell, we do have a copy machine (copies are extra). When a witch came in and said they needed to do a little necromancy, I didn’t question it. They wouldn’t have been given a library card if they were going to raise someone really bad. I helped with the necromancy because it’s just my job as a librarian.
Except it wasn’t a normal resurrection. It was the physical embodiment of Chaos and when he woke up, he saw me first and now he’s attached. Chaos personified is a horrible library guest and he won’t leave with the witch who raised him. He’s constantly getting into things he’s not supposed to and he’s really into the werewolf erotica.
It’s not like I can let him out because the Library of the Profane is meant to contain Chaos. The rest of the world isn’t. He’s awful about keeping his identity secret too. A warlock, a Hellhound, and a vampire know he’s here and they are bugging me to let Chaos have a little fun.
I just want a normal day of summoning demons, cursing people, and telling people to be quiet in my library. This is too much.
MY REVIEW:
5 stars
Gods, witches, familiars, hellhounds… this book has a little bit of everything. As a lover of paranormal romances, the description for this one had me intrigued. Throw in the fact it popped up under a search for reverse harem, and I knew I had to read it.
Let me start by saying I gave it five stars for originality and a great concept. There are editing issues, both content and line, but those could easily be cleaned up. It wasn’t distracting enough to detract from the story.
I loved the characters. All of them. Ripley is feisty, sexy, and seems to find trouble even when she’s not looking for it. She’s not your typical librarian, but seems perfect for running such an unusual establishment as the Library of the Profane. The god of Chaos is hilarious, and not as oblivious as he appears. Ripley’s familiar, Felix, is definitely an added bonus to the book. The way all the characters play off one another will have you smiling or laughing nearly the entire way through.
Despite the romance building between the characters, and the comedy thrown in, there’s also a bit of action and a mystery to solve. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can’t wait for the next installment in the series.
*Disclaimer: The review above is only my opinion. Neither the author nor publisher requested a review. I purchased/borrowed this book from Amazon.
As the daughter of Dracula, you would think I’d be born the perfect monster.
You couldn’t be more wrong.
As far as monsters go, I’m a screw up—if I’m not tripping over my own feet, I’m accidentally murdering someone (it’s a real issue, guys).
Left with no choice, Dad decides to send me to Prodigium—otherwise known as Monster Academy—to train me on how to be a better monster.
When bodies turn up on campus, I’m the prime suspect (not that I can blame them. I’ll be pretty suspicious too if bodies drained of blood show up right after Dracula’s daughter arrives).
With the help of my mortal-nemesis Vin, Van Helsing’s son
Frankie, Frankenstein’s son
Mason, Medusa’s son
And Jack (sometimes Hux), Dr. Jekyll’s son
I might have a chance of uncovering the truth.
If I’m not murdered first.
The struggles of being a vampire, am I right?
This is a horror comedy reverse harem with some dark elements. After all, you can’t have a bunch of monsters without some darkness. This is book one of a series.
MY REVIEW
5 stars!
First, let me say that I don’t often read reverse harem books. I tend to prefer a guy who is so alpha that there’s only room for him and his woman in the relationship. But… that being said, the idea of Dracula’s daughter and the sons of all those other monsters was just too intriguing. And once I started reading, I couldn’t stop!
There’s humor, carnage, and Violet’s men are each so different, and yet similar in some ways. With a hint of mystery, danger around every corner, and love blossoming between Violet and her men, it kept me enterained from beginning to end. I flipped the pages, eager to find out what happened next. And when the book ended, I immediately went to look for book 2.
While there’s some sexiness in this story, and a lot of adult language and situations, the overall setting still gives the book a Young Adult feel (but it’s definitely not for younger readers). If you like fantasy, horror, mystery, humor, and romance, then you can’t go wrong with Monsters. Go grab your copy!
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