Reading and Reviews (Ligon and Gallant)

I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. From time to time, I'll share my reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read is limited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook at night for the last hour of my day. 

I tend to read what I write, but not exclusively. Besides Romantic Suspense and mystery, I read crime and law novels, once in a while a true story, WWII historicals, romance, and mainstream character driven books.

Here are some of the books I've read recently or in the not-too-distant past. Maybe you'll discover a new book or author. 

Running to Daylight by Kim Janine Ligon 

After ten years in witness protection, Morgan Tucker is hidden no longer. Evil hasn’t been thwarted by a false name or Morgan’s move to the small town of Lansdale, Wisconsin.

Mark Trask, a veteran of Lansdale’s police force, returns from vacation to find his reclusive housemate, Phil Hughes, missing. The driver of a black pickup truck stalks Mark and nearly kills him. Are they targeting Mark or is it related to Phil’s mysterious disappearance?

Elsie Dennis lives with her older brother, Hubert, and operates Knitting Pretty in downtown Lansdale. Unexpected danger plagues the siblings. Why now? Who is behind this evil?

Mark and Elsie are thrown together to solve the mysteries surrounding them and try to determine if they are related to a ten-year-old murder. They encounter evil at every turn as together they find their way toward the daylight. 

My Review 

Think the Sopranos meets Mayberry. And since this is a sweet romance, you’ll be spared the graphics. Ms. Ligon begins this tale when Morgan Tucker does the right thing. She is then whisked off, given another identity, and put in witness protection. We are transported to her new life in the second chapter. I liken Lansdale, Wisconsin to Mayberry and our hero, Mark Trask, to the down to earth law enforcement we’d expect in a small town. For me, a good story isn’t enough. I need characters that interest me and are well developed. This story has that. An entertaining read! 

This book will release May 26, but you can reserve you copy now:

https://www.amazon.com/Running-Daylight-Kim-Janine-Ligon-ebook/dp/B0F1P71LKV/

 

 

Unspeakable Sins (Truth and Lies book 4) by Jannine Gallant 

In the peaceful town of Wildwood, a killer is on the prowl . . .

Jessica Hayes hadn’t been back to Wildwood in years. She’d rather poke her eye out than visit her vindictive grandfather, so discovering she’d inherited his home on the James River came as a shock. Quitting her job to move to Virginia was an impulsive decision—one she might live to regret. Because making the old mansion habitable will take a herculean effort.

Returning centuries-old homes to their former glory is what Lincoln Quintrell lives for. When he receives a call from Jessica Hayes, a girl he’d gone to school with, about restoring her grandfather’s plantation house, he can’t wait to begin. The dilapidated mansion makes his heart beat faster—and so does Jessica, who is a lot prettier than he remembered.

Creating beauty from decay and navigating a budding relationship isn’t their only challenge. When Jessica discovers skeletal remains on her property, the Hayes family tragedy is resurrected. The aunt who’d disappeared years before hadn’t run away—she’d been murdered. Now, a killer with evil intent is hiding in plain sight. Will Jessica become the next victim? 

My Review 

This book had it all for me: an historical mansion in need of restoration, a soon-to-be bed and breakfast (I always thought it would be fun to own one), family skeletons—the ones you love to uncover but also quite literally, a strong female lead who still needs some man-help, and a hero you can hope gets the girl. There were enough twists and turns to keep the suspense going. The romance is believable and blends beautifully with the mystery. You’ll enjoy this 4^th book in the series. And if you haven’t read the first three, you’ll want to.

AMAZON BUY LINK

By the Shore with My Muse by Karen Cino

MUSE MONDAY

Who doesn't love the beach, even if you're not a swimmer like myself? Just sitting in the sun on the sand and hearing the sounds of the water is excellent. Add to that reading a great beach novel! My guest today enjoys that all the time, plus she writes those great beach reads. Please welcome Karen Cino to Discover... for Muse Monday.

I live at the Jersey Shore, and I’ve been a beach lover my whole life. Walking every morning at the boardwalk is the perfect way to start my day. I’ve taken my love of the beach and have incorporated it into my women’s fiction romance and cozy mysteries. Yes, it’s tough during the winter months, but just knowing that the ocean is there every morning, I can’t help but create stories that take place at the shore all year long. If you enjoy reading beach themed books, then take a few minutes to check the other book in the Five Beach Road Series.

Living at the Shore

Blurb: 

     After moving into her grandmother’s summer house at the Jersey Shore to seek solace and new beginnings, Brooke’s tranquil life is disrupted by a past love and her new neighbors. Her newly found friendship with Flo and Jane assists in settling Brooke into her new surroundings. When she finds herself in the middle of her neighbors’ domestic disputes, it puts further strain on her relationship with Scott. Flo continues to come to terms with her past decisions about her daughter’s adoption, while maintaining a relationship with Jerry. A misunderstanding on Thanksgiving put her relationship to the test.
     Jane’s bakery is blooming and she’s settling in nicely in her relationship with Mark, however, she’s still battling old wounds from her deceased ex-husband, causing her to second guess moving forward with Mark.
     All three women are battling demons from the past, deterring them from making a commitment to their future relationship. Their friendship is a rich tapestry of interconnected stories about overcoming adversity through support systems found in their friendships. 

Excerpt: 

Brooke walked him down the spiral staircase to the door and waited for his car to disappear down the block before she walked into the kitchen. Scott O’Keffe had been her godsend. He was unlike any man she had known. She became instantly attracted to him the night she met him at the tiki bar and they had their first dance. By the end of the summer, their relationship had bloomed into something that Brooke never thought was possible for her.

The doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. As she walked down the spiral stairs again, she rolled her eyes. Brooke flung open the door and gasped. This can’t be happening. The last thing she expected to see was her ex-boyfriend, Eric, especially since she had put that part of her life to rest. Now, he stood at her front door, dressed in clothes she had given him. Her legs weakened, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. She knew it was essential to keep her cool and not let him break her down. She had no intentions of turning the clocks back in time. After all, she had come to grips with her emotions for Eric months ago.

“Brooke?” Eric waved papers in her face.

“Eric, what the hell are you doing here?”

“I did it. I asked her for a divorce.” He handed her a set of divorce papers. “It’s official. We can finally be together. I’m here to take you home.”

Brooke dropped her glance to look at the papers, flicking through them until she got to the last page with the seal. Why, after all these years, did he make the plunge to file for divorce? They had spoken about him leaving her years ago, but he never followed through. Seal or not, she wasn’t going back. Slowly, she raised her gaze back to Eric. “Congratulations on your divorce, but I am home,” Brooke said, blocking the door.

“Sweetheart, please, let me in so we can talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. We’re over. Nothing you say or do will change my mind. I have created a new life here and have no intention of changing my routine. It’s too late for us.”

“I’m so sorry I hurt you.” Eric slid his hands into his back pockets and leaned toward her. “Please, I did this for us.”

Brooke handed him back the papers. “This has no bearing on my decision. You strung me along for years. You didn’t do this for us, you did it for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eric asked, rolling the papers in his hand. “I thought this is what you wanted.”

“No, Eric. This was a decision you had to make on your own. All you’ve done was complain about your wife for years, and how you hated being there. You said that she was bipolar and wouldn’t be able to handle you leaving her. So, my guess is she was the one who initiated the divorce.”

“No, you’re wrong. I…I…I can’t live without you.”

“I thought the same thing for the longest time. I’ve moved on and learned to live without you.”

“I don’t believe you. You’d repeatedly said how much you loved me and wanted to be with me. What changed?”

“I can ask you the same thing, Eric. Tell me the truth. Did you ask her for a divorce or is she divorcing you?”

Eric dropped his gaze down to the floor, shuffling his feet on the wooden porch, confusion written all over his face. Brooke took a deep breath. Eric was a mess. And as much as her heart went out to him, she still stood her ground.

“She did,” he whispered. “She told me she was tired of me being out all night and she had found my secret phone in the car’s glove compartment.”

BUY LINKS

AMAZON

DRAFT TO DIGITAL

Down at the Shore 

https://www.amazon.com/Down-Shore-Five-Beach-Road-ebook/dp/B09F6Z73FY/

Karen Cino is a multi-published author who has been writing since she was fourteen years old. She started her career by writing poetry, short stories and articles for her high school newspaper. While in college, she was one of the foundling member of WSIA radio station. Many years later, she worked as an investigator reporter at a local newspaper. Her daily walks down at the boardwalk are what gets her muse going. It clears her mind and helps her find realistic plot ideas and characters, boosting up her muse. Karen loves writing about local places that people can relate to. 

Karen loves the summer, loves the beach. Her previous books were written and take place in various places across Staten Island. When Karen relocated to the Jersey Shore back in 2015, she traded in the Staten Island Boardwalk for the New Jersey Shoreline. 

Currently, Karen is working on a Women’s Fiction as well as a Cozy Mystery series.

FIND KAREN HERE:

Website: https://karencino.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/karencino

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/karencino

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladymandolay

Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/jGP7wi

Book Shopping Made Easy-Spring Has Sprung!

Here's an easy way  to book shop. I've got two great catalogs for you to browse and find the next great read for yourself as well as the new readers in your life!

SMALL TOWN ROMANCE covers all genres of romance: mystery and suspense like my books, as well as westerns, military, billionaire, contemporary, and historical. 

To find your next great read, click on the image above or CLICK HERE

And for those beginning readers this catalog, SPRING INTO CHAPTER BOOKS, has some great choices. If they aren't quite ready to read on their own, you'll have fun reading these books to them.

To find some books perfect for you young reader, including a couple of mine under the name Brenda Sue, click on the image above or CLICK HERE

Reading and Reviews (Black and Grafton)

I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. From time to time, I'll share my reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read is limited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook at night for the last hour of my day. 

I tend to read what I write, but not exclusively. Besides Romantic Suspense and mystery, I read crime and law novels, once in a while a true story, WWII historicals, romance, and mainstream character driven books.

Here are some of the books I've read recently or in the not-too-distant past. Maybe you'll discover a new book or author. 

The Case of the Croaked Coach (Hannah White Mysteries, book 1) by Susie Black 

There wasn’t an honest bone in Buzz Bixby’s body. The Encino High School’s head football coach was an equal-opportunity scoundrel. Bixby cheated and lied his way to the top and screwed anyone and everyone in his wake. So, the question wasn’t who wanted the bastard dead. The question was, who didn’t?

Student reporter Hannah White’s interview with the coach is a nonstarter when she discovers varsity football hero Dean Snyder standing over Bixby’s battered corpse holding a bloody trophy. Despite how guilty Dean looks, Hannah is convinced he’s innocent. When Snyder is arrested for Bixby’s murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to flesh out the real killer.

But the trail has more twists and turns than a slinky, and nothing turns out how Hannah thinks it will as she tangles with a clever killer hellbent on revenge. 

My Review 

Susie Black has launched a new cozy mystery series with The Case of the Croaked Coach. At Encino High School, the head football coach has collected quite a list of enemies. Who would like a cheating scoundrel who lies, treats women badly, and steps on anyone who gets in his way? When he ends up dead, murdered, and one of the football players is the prime suspect, student reporter, Hannah White is on the case…with a little help from her lawyer Uncle B and a female private investigator whose smart mouth rivals Hannah’s.

I found Hannah a delight, and the seriousness with which she takes her position on the school paper fun. The amateur sleuth in this series might be a high school student, but I’m convinced from this first book, this is a full-fledged cozy that will give mystery readers hours of entertainment. 

Ms. Black has established a cast of characters that I’ll enjoy following in the next book and beyond.

 

Y is for Yesterday (A Kinsey Millhone Nove, book 25) by Sue Grafton 

In 1979, four teenage boys from an elite private school sexually assault a fourteen-year-old classmate—and film the attack. Not long after, the tape goes missing and the suspected thief, a fellow classmate, is murdered. In the investigation that follows, one boy turns state’s evidence and two of his peers are convicted. But the ringleader escapes without a trace.
       
Now, it’s 1989 and one of the perpetrators, Fritz McCabe, has been released from prison. Moody, unrepentant, and angry, he is a virtual prisoner of his ever-watchful parents—until a copy of the missing tape arrives with a ransom demand. That’s when the McCabes call Kinsey Millhone for help. As she is drawn into their family drama, she keeps a watchful eye on Fritz. But he’s not the only one being haunted by the past. A vicious sociopath with a grudge against Millhone may be leaving traces of himself for her to find... 

My Review 

It’s hard to find fault with an author who can crank out 25 novels around one detective, Kinsey Millhone. And this is the fourth book in the series I’ve read, but not in order, so I have enjoyed them. I enjoyed this one too, but found a little trouble following the storyline a few times. She uses a flashback technique to slowly reveal what actually happened in 1979. So we hop between that and her investigation in 1989. She also dropped in a villain who is after her from one of her other novels. The problem could’ve been caused because I read in brief segments of time before I go to bed…actually in bed. If I read for longer times, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten lost. Regardless, it was an entertaining book. I’m sure I’ll drop back and read at least some of the others in the series.

Epic Adventure for Fearless Friday by Kim McMahill

FEARLESS FRIDAY

Please join me in welcoming Kim McMahill to Discover... on a Fearless Friday. What an adventure she had! And I'd say with her life, she's well equipped to write entertaining adventure stories. Enjoy her post and then check out her books...

I love adventure, nature, wildlife, travel, and learning about new cultures. Last winter I got the opportunity to experience all of those at once in one amazing trip. My husband and I flew in a small plane from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to San Ignacio Lagoon on the Baja Peninsula to participate in an immersive whale watching experience. The area is home to one of the few birthing and breeding lagoons in the world used by gray whales, making it an unparalleled place to view whales.

The trip started with a flight over stunning mountain and desert scenery as we headed up the Baja Peninsula. After landing on a dirt airstrip, we piled into a four-wheel drive vehicle for a short drive to whale camp. We stayed in a comfortable well-equipped tent on a shell-strewn beach, but most of our time was spent on the water.

Each day, we got up at sunrise and donned life jackets and tall rubber boots to wade into the water to board our small boat. The lagoon is a protected area, so we had to travel to a designated part of the lagoon for viewing and were limited to a set time on the water before having to go ashore. After a short time on shore, we would head back out for another round of whale watching.

The first day we saw a huge gray whale “spy-hopping,” which
is when a whale vertically lifts its head out of the water to look around. It only got better from there. Each day brought more whale sightings and on the last day, a mother brought her calf alongside the boat as we bobbed silently in the water watching.

Some days brought strong winds, forcing us off the water. The temperatures were cool most of the time, but the experience was well worth any discomfort or nail-biting boat rides.  Seeing these magnificent giants in such an amazing place was both humbling, awe-inspiring, and even a little frightening. The adult whales were much larger than our boat, so we were truly at their mercy. It was nothing less than a trip of a lifetime.

If you love adventure too, I hope you will check out, The Beartooth Chronicles. Below is a blurb about the series. The first three novels have been released. The fourth is scheduled for release in April and the fifth and final installment in September 2025. You can find all of my novels at major online book sellers including Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Kim-McMahill/e/B007IK0EJW/

The Beartooth Chronicles

In a world unraveling from relentless natural and human disasters, a determined group of individuals form a cooperative community built on sustainability and hope. Their mountain haven, Beartooth, offers safety and solace, but as environmental catastrophes escalate and humanity's darkest instincts emerge, their fragile sanctuary is threatened.

Now, the residents must confront an unyielding wave of challenges—both from within and beyond their borders—that will push their resilience, unity, and will to survive to the brink. Will their vision of a better future endure, or will the chaos of the world consume all they’ve built?

Follow Ashley and Caleb as they embark on a remarkable journey. Together, they learn about tragedy, grief, love, joy, and hope as they fight to survive in a hostile world.

Novels in the series in order: Refuge from the World, Above the Abyss, Isolated from Anarchy, Evil Below the Mountain, and Winter Resurgence.

Find The Beartooth Chronicles here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWZDD7W3

Bio:

Kim McMahill started out writing nonfiction, but her passion for adventure, stories of survival against the odds, and speculating about the future of humanity and our planet, soon turned her attention towards fiction. Along with numerous novels, she has published over eighty travel and human-interest articles and contributed to a travel story anthology. Growing up in a small community surrounded by mountains, traveling the world, and enjoying a rewarding career with the National Park Service, has given her the opportunity to live in amazing places, experience incredible adventures, and witness many changes in our world, all of which have helped shape her stories.

Please be sure to sign up for her newsletter with the form in the sidebar of her blog at https://KimMcMahill.blogspot.com or follow her on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KimMcMahillAuthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimmcmahill/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@kimmcmahill

Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/849945.Kim_McMahill

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Kim-McMahill/e/B007IK0EJW/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kim-mcmahill

Some of My Best Friends Aren't Real

 “Well, then, sugar. Let’s get started.” 

With those last words, I typed The End to book five in the Wild Horse Peaks books. Sniff, sniff. 

The Deep Well of Love and Murder ends the Wild Horse Peaks series. When I wrote that last sentence, I sadly bid farewell to a cast of characters I loved and lived with for the several years. Even now, I miss Lacy’s level-headed personality, Chance’s dedication to peace-keeping and to Lacy, Phoebe’s sassy, gypsy style, Mason’s sexy attitude, August’s feistiness, Wolf’s James Bond coolness, Penny’s braveness, Jake’s soft side, and last, but not least, from The Deep Well of Love and Murder, Laura’s independent flare and Randy’s…oh, there’s too much to miss about Randy. 

When I write a book, I know so much more about the characters than I can include between the pages. It’s a satisfying feeling, putting their stories to rest, but it’s also as if they move on without me. Can they? I suppose Randy and Laura will be just fine without my meddling, but honestly, I’ll miss checking in on them every day. 

The Deep Well of Love and Murder Excerpt:

“You let me be the judge of what messes I choose in my life.”

His hands twitched at his sides, longing to hold her and stifle her anger. He narrowed his eyes and stared deeper into hers instead. “Taking care of your ex is a mess I look forward to.”

“This is my mess, not yours.” Her tone grew more combative. “I’ve handled what I’ve been dealt, and I’ll continue handling whatever gets thrown at me.”

“I don’t see it that way.” He kept his voice level, but hard edged. His own emotions, convincing her while fear of losing her, hammered his self-control. “You’re locking me out. Why? Because you think you aren’t allowed to be happy?”

Her mouth pinched in a tight line, and she glared at him. “Randy—”

“I think it’s about damned time you stopped blaming your mother, your ex, or whoever for your unhappiness.”

She whirled away, ready to flee, but he couldn’t stop now. He needed her and had to make her see how much she needed him. “Don’t be afraid of me, Laura Jane.” He shuffled a half-step closer.

“I’m not afraid.” She faced him again. “But I don’t need you to tell me how to run my life, if that’s what you think you can do.”

Perro jumped and planted his paws on Randy’s hip, panting heavily. “For Pete’s sake, Perro—”

Laura’s brow furrowed. “Do you smell that?” “What?” As soon as he’d asked, the hot, smoky scent assaulted his senses.

Fire. 

The Deep Well of Love and Murder:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ59LGT7 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/80583692-the-deep-well-of-love-and-murder 

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-deep-well-of-love-and-murder-wild-horse-peaks-book-4-by-brenda-whiteside

Series Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BNC7LT9J 

If you’d like to get all four books in the series, I have a boxset available. You can receive the sequel, A Legacy of Love and Murder, by becoming a BNG member. See below. 

The Full Romantic Suspense Series

Danger, betrayal, secrets, murder, and love will keep you turning the pages. In northern Arizona, the mountain/college town of Timberline lies at the foot of the Wild Horse Peaks. This award-winning, five-star series is set in picturesque, rugged country, and the people who populate these stories are as colorful as the setting. 

The Art of Love and Murder, book 1

A woman searching for her past. A sheriff hiding in his present.

Their future together threatened by murder.

 

Southwest of Love and Murder, book 2

Writing murder mysteries is all in a day's work

until an obsessed fan brings Phoebe’s stories to life.

 

The Power of Love and Murder, book 3

Penny’s secrets can ruin the presidential contender who ordered her family’s murder

…and mark her as the next hit.

 

The Deep Well of Love and Murder, book 4

A vengeful ex-husband and bloody fight for land threaten a love-struck couple’s happiness. 

WILD HORSE PEAKS

COMPLETE SERIES BOXSET

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DD4Z1V6P 

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217473717-wild-horse-peaks-complete-series 

BookBub

https://www.bookbub.com/books/wild-horse-peaks-complete-series-the-full-romantic-suspense-series-by-brenda-whiteside 

Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of romantic suspense, romance, and cozy mystery. She writes children’s books under the pen name, Brenda Sue and Sadi Belle. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes. 

To receive special offers, news about her latest books, and to be eligible for quarterly and year-end gifts that only members of BNG receive, join Brenda’s Newsletter Group.

https://us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4804e039587723cfe02e83f2c&id=5e4b22a4ac 

Visit Brenda at https://www.brendawhiteside.com

Or on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/brenda.whiteside.58/

X: https://x.com/brendawhitesid2

She blogs and has guests: https://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003V15WF8

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3972045.Brenda_Whiteside

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/brenda-whiteside

 

Wicked Wednesday and Wicked Attraction by Tina Donahue

WICKED WEDNESDAY

There's that first meet. Maybe it tells you something right away about the person, or maybe only questions arise. Maybe you're instantly drawn in, or you could be repelled. Welcome Tina Donahue to Discover... today for Wicked Wednesday and that first meet. 

A wicked first meeting… This scene is when Kuma’s and Gwen’s eyes first meet. Enjoy.  

A sole woman lagged behind them.

Her.

The breeze seemed to pause.

Tall, she wore jeans as he did and what he’d learned was a hoodie on this side, the navy fabric pulled over her head, protecting her hair from the thin autumn shower, hiding those tresses from him. A few wisps had escaped, those locks short and dark.

She stopped within light spilling from the building, the harsh illumination revealing her exotic features, lush lips, coppery skin.

Her fragrance wafted close.

He drew it in. The woodsy scent intoxicated him and complemented her pale-blue eyes, the color sheer, ethereal.

Drizzle collected on her long, dark lashes.

She shoved her hands into her pockets, advanced a few steps, then stopped, and looked at him.

His legs weakened.

Color rose to her cheeks, darkening them.

Why? Because she feared him…or wanted him? 

SHAMELESS DESIRE

BOOK THREE – OUTLAWED REALM

Erotic Urban Fantasy SciFi Romance

AMAZON: Buy Link

Blurb: 

Passion without limit. Carnal hunger that knows no bounds.

Within Earth’s five dimensions, nothing is as it seems…and desire is never far away.

In E4’s jungle, Kuma’s the Alpha werewolf bent on revenge against the hated guards. Swept with them from that dimension to E1, he prowls Seattle at night, stopping the thugs from abducting women for use as sex slaves in E4’s Pleasure Palace.

On her way home from her nursing job, Gwen senses danger in the night’s shadows. A stranger attacks. Clinging to consciousness, she watches the impossible, a wolf fighting him off…protecting her. She wakes in her own bed, convinced it must have been a dream until she sees Kuma in human form. Virile, intense. A man like no other. 

Within his powerful embrace, Gwen experiences rapture she didn’t believe existed. His unrestrained lust and burning need end her loneliness, though not the menace they face. The guards are a constant threat in their hunt for women and their determination to see Kuma dead. Together, he and Gwen must fight—for his life, her freedom, their future.

She stopped within light spilling from the building, the harsh illumination revealing her exotic features, lush lips, coppery skin.

Her fragrance wafted close.

He drew it in. The woodsy scent intoxicated him and complemented her pale-blue eyes, the color sheer, ethereal.

Drizzle collected on her long, dark lashes.

She shoved her hands into her pockets, advanced a few steps, then stopped, and looked at him.

Rain pattered the concrete, matching his thumping pulse. Music poured from inside a car, its steady throb intensifying the moment. Wind whipped past. Tires swished over asphalt.

Ignoring the incessant noise, she studied him with female interest and curiosity.

He considered her approaching him, drawing close enough to touch.

His legs weakened.

She didn’t budge. Color rose to her cheeks, darkening them.

Why? Because she feared him…or wanted him?

Heat radiated from his chest to his belly. Unused to clothing, he ached to tear away his jeans, t-shirt, and suede jacket. At the very least, he longed to be near her.

Intuition warned him to remain where he was. For the moment. When she left, he’d follow. He had no choice, sensing what awaited her on the shadowed streets. Within the last minutes, the smell from a guard—the most hated predator in his realm—had grown more obvious, leading him to this area. If the night air had calmed, he might have located the man’s hiding place with little effort. As it was, the wind kept changing direction, snatching the odor away.

EXCERPT

To put her at ease and keep her from leaving the safety this place afforded, he smiled.

Her lips parted. Moisture slipped over the bottom one to her chin.

Yearning battered him. He wanted to lick the bead off, kiss her throat, gather her into his arms, and do so much more.

She stared. Uncertainty emanated from her.

He wasn’t certain whether she’d return his smile or flee.

Stay here until the threat’s gone. The guard will hide in a new location. He’ll stalk another woman.

She crossed the parking lot, away from him, her strides long and purposeful.

On instinct, he advanced a step, then stopped from tailing her. He couldn’t now, not after they’d exchanged such a prolonged glance. For him to follow too close behind would make her run, perhaps scream, bringing unwanted notice. His only option was to wait and allow things to play out as they had since he’d come to this realm, hunting—killing—protecting those he could in the hours before dawn.

About Tina: 

Tina’s an Amazon and international bestselling novelist who writes passionate romance for every taste – ‘heat with heart’ – for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. She’s won Readers’ Choice Awards, was named a finalist in the EPIC competition, received a Book of the Year award, The Golden Nib Award, awards of merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competitions, and second place in the NEC RWA contests. She’s featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction. 

On a less serious note: she’s an admitted and unrepentant chocoholic, brakes for Mexican restaurants, and has been known to moan like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally while wolfing down tostadas. She’s flown a single-engine airplane (freaking scary), rewired an old house using an ‘electricity for dummies’ book, and is horribly shy despite the hot romances she writes. 

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/tinadonahue

Bluesky: @tinadonauthor.bsky.social

Website/Blog: https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/

Newsletter: https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/p/newsletter.html

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tina-donahue

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/146988.Tina_Donahue

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/tinadonahue

Amazon author page: https://amzn.to/1ChWFkO

Sweet ‘n Sexy Divas: https://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/AuthorTinaDonahue