TITLE – Palace Secrets
SERIES – Palace Secrets #1
AUTHOR – Ravyn Rayne
GENRE – Romantic Erotica, Historical
PUBLICATION DATE – June 6, 2015
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 25k words
PUBLISHER – Blushing Books
COVER ARTIST – Blushing Books
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Love comes in many forms and always at a price.
At twenty-three, Princess Isabella must settle down for the sake of her kingdom. Caught up in a secret affair with her lady-in-waiting, Hannah, the princess knows it can only last for so long.
When Prince Alexander arrives to court her, he confides that his father is on his death bed, and he will be crowned king soon. Isabella hastily agrees to the proposal, desiring to be queen, knowing little about her soon to be husband.
Murder, secrets, and lies combine with menage, spanking, and erotic encounters in this steamy medieval romance.
"Ella?" He knocks on the door across the hall, my chambers.
Both of us grow silent, not wanting Alexander to find us. I squeeze Hannah's hand tight, afraid to let go. I know I'm a princess and possibly now a queen, but that doesn't change the love I feel for Hannah and the trust I implore her with.
His knock grows louder, more insistent. "Ella, are you in there?" He tries again. Getting no response, I hear the door across the hall squeak open. Obviously I hadn't locked it because I wasn't in the room. His boots stomp through the corridor and away from our chambers.
I keep my voice low, not wanting to alert anyone stepping into the hall that Hannah's room is occupied. "Now what?" I ask her. I'm terrified of the man I married. He's a man with too much power. I was warned of such princes's existing in their quest for the crown. Had I been wrong judging Alexander when we first met? He'd intentionally swept me off my feet and charmed my parents letting him take me away in a whirlwind. I should have delayed the wedding, gotten to know him better. Did he have any siblings? Were they too murdered so he could ascend the throne? My stomach aches and I feel as though I may never be able to eat again. How will I face Alexander with what I know? I've never been very good at pretending. How will I lie beside him at night and act like I'm falling in love with him? Last night it came easy, but now that I know what he's capable of, I fear for my life.
AUTHOR BIO
Ravyn is a sassy, fun-loving, and adventure-seeking young woman. She loves to travel and can’t wait for her next vacation, wherever it might be.
Ravyn writes romantic erotica. She began writing romance novels in college, spending her down time either reading a book or writing fiction. Please don’t make her choose between the two, she loves them equally. Prefer less steamy novels? Try her out here.
TITLE – A Saint’s Salvation
AUTHOR – Beverly Ovalle
GENRE – contemporary military romance
PUBLICATION DATE – Feb 10, 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 61
PUBLISHER – Secret Cravings Publishing
COVER ARTIST – Dawne Dominique
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Corporal Nicholas 'Saint' Santiago needs to go home to reclaim the man he used to be. To be the man he was before Operation Enduring Freedom slowly hardened his heart. He needs to reconnect to the values and the reasons he is doing what he does. Saint also needs to try to forget the courageous woman he knows was meant to be his.
Petty Officer Angelina Jones' life changed the moment Saint saved her life. She survived the blast but now has to deal with the fact that she will never be whole. Knowing Saint received a 'Dear John' letter, Angelina has no intention of being his rebound romance. She needs to be loved for herself. She needs to forget about the one man she knows was meant to be hers.
They each try to find someone to help them forget.
But what does fate have planned for them?
Nick quickly took advantage, pressing his hand deeper as he raised her up, her ass on his forearm. Angelina squirmed, rubbing against him. Nick bent and sucked a nipple into his mouth, teasing it through the silk. He slid a finger in and out of her heat, lightly rubbing her clit with his thumb. Angelina moaned and tightened around his finger. Pressing her close against him, Nick increased his thrusts. Nick bit her nipple and was rewarded with a cry as Angelina clamped down, drenching his hand as she came apart in his arms.
She placed her head against his shoulder, shivers running through her while her arms and legs tightened around him. Nick pulled his hand free from her warmth and licked his fingers clean, making smacking noises as he did.
“Pig.” It was so low Nick barely heard the comment. Nick chuckled as Angelina giggled in his arms.
“Did you want another glass of champagne?” Angelina shook her head and squirmed against him. Nick squeezed her to him, enjoying the feel of her, despite the tightness in his groin. “Are you ready for dinner? Or shall we just head straight to dessert?”
CHARACTER BIOS
Corporal Nicholas ‘Saint’ Santiago
Saint is serving in Afghanistan when his heart is broken over a ‘Dear John’ letter. Everything seems to get worse at that point. Normally a happy go lucky kind of guy he seems to have lost his optimistic view of life. The only thing that stirs his interest is ‘Doc’ a female medic assigned to the FOB. Not wanting anymore entanglements, he ignores her. He knows that he needs to go home to find the place he belongs and bring back the man he was.
Angelina ‘Doc’ Jones
She had the hots for Santiago but everyone knew he’d been dumped. Doc didn’t want to be the rebound. She joined and became a corpsman against her parent’s wishes, knowing just that she had to serve. When the grenade changed her life, she needed reassurance and someone to love her despite her disability.
CAT'S REVIEW
Wow! I'm not even sure what to write - this story is beautiful and amazing! I simply loved it! Nick and Doc are so meant to be and are just incredible together. Nick rescues Doc but Doc is leery of starting a relationship. After time, they find each other but can they save each other? I loved how Nick and Doc went back and forth and the banter was great. Seeing the interactions with the other characters was great also - It was so moving to read about Nick's flight - that was so touching. Ms. Ovalle has done an awesome job of bringing the reader into the scenes and the minds of the characters - I don't believe I've read another book that brought me into the face of war as she did. While I have always been proud of the service these men and women give to our country, Ms. Ovalle has deepened that respect. I felt as if I was there with them, throughout the entire story. The storyline itself is incredible - my heart, oh my heart, just fell in love with it all. I smiled and wept and wished for more. This is a novella so it's a quick read and I would highly recommend it to everyone - it's sweet and tender and seemed so very real. Thank you, Ms. Ovalle, for such an enjoyable read. (received copy for honest review)
★★★★★
AUTHOR BIO
Beverly Ovalle dabbled with writing on and off for years when her best friend finally dared her to submit a story to a writing contest. Beverly decided she had nothing to lose and since she’d always wanted to be an author sent it in and agonized for months waiting to hear back. Contract in hand she has never looked back.
Beverly has been obsessed with dragons and romance since she was a young girl, collecting dragon books and reading everything she could find on them even down to the care of real life dragons. She’s always been slightly panicked that the world as we know it will end, so has prepped for it, haunting survivalist pages and prepper projects she felt she needed in the event SHTF.
An avid fan of all romance, Beverly’s goal is to share her love of the written word and write the hot and erotic romances that she enjoys. She writes what she loves to read and it was only a matter of time before her obsessions crept into her writing for her to share. She hopes you enjoy her tales as much as she loves writing them.
A Navy Veteran, Beverly has traveled around the world and the United States enabling her to bring her settings to life, meeting and marrying her husband of twenty five years along the way for her own romance. Reading romances since the fourth grade she’s followed as the genre changed and spread into the vast cornucopia of romance offered today.
Fun Facts:
The name was changed less than two weeks before publication!
A Saint's Salvation was inspired by my son's tattoo
His tattoo says 'St. Nicholas' – the original name of my book
A Saint's Salvation took me eight months to write!
The name of A Saint's Salvation was my editor's suggestion
The teasers were made from photos from Afghanistan
The Marine in the teasers is my son
He only gave me permission to use his photo because he loves me
He only gave me permission if I cut off his head! LOL
TITLE – Star Crossed Shifters
SERIES – Pepper Valley Shifters (#4)
AUTHOR – C.A. Tibbitts
GENRE – Paranormal romance (18+)
PUBLICATION DATE – May, 2015
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 50k
PUBLISHER – C.A. Tibbitts
COVER ARTIST – C.A. Tibbitts
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Nick Caputo is a wolf shifter, and the new clan enforcer. He knows with every fiber of his being that Violet Tago (a shifter that can't shift) is his mate. One kiss. One simple taste and she'll be his.
Since arriving in Pepper Valley, Violet has ignored any burgeoning attraction for Nick, and instead crushes big time on her brother's best friend, Brody.
Brody Westwood, also a wolf shifter, has never thought twice about his best friend's kid sister. The fact is, he wants nothing to do with any supernatural being. After seeing his best friend, Griffin, fall in love, marry, and have children, Brody decides it's time to settle down with a family of his own. When a new curvacous beauty shows up in town, the attraction practically crackles the air between them. But Leah Cross isn't human...or a shifter.
Two couples with undeniable attraction. Under the Colorado sky, they are Star Crossed Shifters.
She watched him glance around the living room before his eyes settled on hers again. Her panties dampened. She backed up against the door, her palms flat against the cold metal, and he stalked her, trapping her in place with his arms on either side of her head. Her heartbeat sped up as his eyes flashed yellow for one short moment, and she knew his wolf was close to the surface.
"Leah, I'm going to kiss you. After that, I'm going to lick your pussy until you come, and then I'll flip you over and take you like my wolf demands."
She whimpered at his words, her panties now thoroughly soaked. "'Kay," was all she managed to say before his lips descended on hers, hard and unyielding. She opened for his probing tongue and a shock coursed through her body, curling her toes, as she tasted him. He tasted of peppermint and coffee, but underneath that, home.
CAT'S REVIEW
"Star Crossed Shifters" is Book 4 in the Pepper Valley Series - I would recommend reading the first 3 prior as the reader will learn about all the characters in this story. This is actually two love stories in one - so much fun! Nick and Violet and Brody and Leah. I was so excited to read their stories and Ms. Tibbitts did not disappoint. This is my favorite story of the series. It was so much fun to watch these two relationships develop and grow. There is action and some suspense as well in this one. I liked these four characters a lot - probably my favorite of the entire series! If you enjoy paranormal stories that involve wolves, fairies, cat varieties and even fish, don't miss this one. Each book gets better and better! (received copy for honest review)
A quick review of Books 1-3.
Book One - Shifted for Love. This is tells the story of Jace and Fiona. They are mated but he doesn't feel he is worthy so he makes a hasty choice and begins a job that keeps him away from her. She is not happy about this. Fiona annoyed me in that she never seemed to give him a chance to explain and just jumped ahead without real thought to his feelings. I liked Jace - he truly wanted to be a good guy and take care of his mate. Her choices later in the story irked me a lot too. Not a terrible story, just not my favorite of the series.
Book Two - Healed by a Shifter. I liked this one so much better than Book One. Dani is wonderful - she's a strong, independent woman that is thrilled to find her mate. Oh, and what she shifts too - just perfect for her! I loved Griffin too - his story is a bit heartbreaking but I love how Dani deals with him. This is a fantastic continuation of this series.
Book Three - Shifter Under Cover. Here we have Forrest and Addie. Again - just a great couple. Their road to becoming mates and love isn't an easy one, especially since Addie is trying to deny the attraction. This one has some suspense and angst as the new mate bond is put to the test and people thought long gone re-ermerge. Another good one by Ms. Tibbitts!
★★★★
AUTHOR BIO
An Oklahoma native, C.A. Tibbitts resides with her husband.
Writing has always been her passion, and she hopes to continue writing for many years to come in the paranormal romance genre, as well as other romance genres.
She loves to hear from her readers, and deeply appreciates honest reviews.
$5 Amazon gift card
1 set of Pepper Valley Shifters books 1-3 (does not include anthologies)
1 autographed paperback Pepper Valley Shifters book of your choice (international)
TITLE – LIP SERVICE
AUTHOR – Adele Downs
GENRE – Contemporary Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – April 28, 2015
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – Short Novel 40,550
PUBLISHER – Boroughs Publishing Group
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Some ghosts won’t take “yes” for an answer.
Jack Harris has loved Legs Anderson since they were kids. Now that he has her in his bed, he has no intention of letting her go. Aunt Ada has other ideas, even from the grave.
GETTING BETWEEN JACK…
Orphaned at a young age, Legs Anderson owes her Aunt Ada everything. The stoic old lady raised her, and Ada’s warnings about men—and the Harris boys in particular—have stuck, even after her death. Of course, that could be because Ada stuck around, too.
…AND HIS LEGS
Patience is not one of Jack Harris’s virtues, and he’s waited too long to start a life with the woman he’s loved since childhood instead of them just knocking boots. Now Ada is interfering from beyond the grave, haunting the old Victorian house she bequeathed to her niece and reinforcing Legs’s fears of commitment. But Jack won’t give up. No matter what trouble may follow, the house will be renovated, Ada will learn to let go, Legs will put her money where her mouth is…and then Jack’ll put his lips everywhere else.
The roar of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Rachel’s block and the rev of a throttle in her driveway announced Jack’s arrival. Legs tried to appear nonchalant when he walked through the poolside gate, but the sight of his sun-streaked hair and tanned, muscular good looks nearly knocked her off her seat. She eased her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose to get a better look.
When he stepped into the pool area dressed in black jeans, black biker boots, and a white muscle shirt that framed his pumped-up shoulders and biceps, she caught her breath. Everyone in the group said “hey” and Rachel offered him a cold drink, but his focus had remained on her. He slid his sunglasses on top of his head and nodded in her direction.
Legs remembered his gaze meeting hers before his attention strayed to her gold and black bikini then savored every inch of her skin. An appreciative smirk curled his lips and desire flashed in his beautiful blue eyes. He took a long pull of the soft drink someone handed him and then set the can down on the patio table. He looked her way and said, “Want to go for a ride?” The invitation came out like a dare.
CAT'S REVIEW
Adele Downs has done it again! She has written a tale that is light and full of love. The characters - Legs and Jack - I absolutely love!! Legs is spunky and full of life. Jack is yummy! Oh, and in love with Legs! I loved how Jack pushes Legs, ever so gently, to move on after the passing of her beloved aunt. He's patient and kind with her. And we can't forget Aunt Ada! She never approved of Jack and even from beyond the grave, she tries to keep them apart! Legs and Jack set off sparks whenever they are together and everyone in town sees it. From page one, the chemistry is off the charts for these two and I turned each page rooting for them to have their HEA. Mix in all the characters you find in a small town, and you have a story that will make you smile and chuckle throughout. Thank you Ms. Downs, for once again bringing a little bit of joy into my life.
★★★★★
AUTHOR BIO
Adele Downs writes contemporary romance novels, some with a touch of magic, inside the office of her rural Pennsylvania home. She is a former journalist, published in newspapers and magazines inside the USA, UK, and Caribbean.
Adele is an active member of Romance Writers of America and her local RWA chapter where she serves as a past-president. She has written several articles for RWR magazine (Romance Writers Report) and has presented workshops for writers.
When Adele isn’t working on her current project, she can be found riding in her convertible or reading a book on the nearest beach.
TITLE – Liberty, second edition
AUTHOR – Kim Iverson Headlee
GENRE – Historical Romance (ancient Rome)
PUBLICATION DATE – Dec. 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 462 pages/118K words
PUBLISHER – Pendragon Cove Press
COVER ARTIST – Natasha Brown
BOOK INFO - http://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/p/liberty.html
BOOK SYNOPSIS
They hailed her “Liberty,” but she was free only to obey—or die.
Betrayed by her father and sold as payment of a Roman tax debt to fight in Londinium’s arena, gladiatrix-slave Rhyddes feels like a wild beast in a gilded cage. Celtic warrior blood flows in her veins, but Roman masters own her body. She clings to her vow that no man shall claim her soul, though Marcus Calpurnius Aquila, son of the Roman governor, makes her yearn for a love she believes impossible.
Groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps and trapped in a politically advantageous betrothal, Aquila prefers the purity of combat on the amphitheater sands to the sinister intrigues of imperial politics, and the raw power and athletic grace of the flame-haired Libertas to the adoring deference of Rome’s noblewomen.
When a plot to overthrow Caesar ensnares them as pawns in the dark design, Aquila must choose between the Celtic slave who has won his heart and the empire to which they both owe allegiance. Knowing the opposite of obedience is death, the only liberty offered to any slave, Rhyddes must embrace her arena name—and the love of a man willing to sacrifice everything to forge a future with her.
FINGERS CRAMPING AND shoulders aching from having wielded the pitchfork all day, Rhyddes ferch Rudd tossed another load of hay onto the wagon. Sweat trickled down her back, making the lash marks sting. Marks inflicted by her father, Rudd, the day before because eighteen summers of anguish had goaded her into speaking her mind.
Physical pain couldn’t compare with the ache wringing her heart.
She slid a glance toward the author of her mood. He stood a few paces away, leaning upon his pitchfork’s handle in the loaded wagon’s shade to escape the July heat as he conversed with her oldest brother, Eoghan. She couldn’t discern their words, but their camaraderie spoke volumes her envy didn’t want to hear.
Her father’s gaze met hers, and he lowered his eyebrows. “Back to work, Rhyddes!” On Rudd’s lips, her name sounded like an insult.
In a sense, it was.
Her name in the Celtic tongue meant “freedom,” but the horse hitched to the hay wagon enjoyed more freedom than she did. Her tribe, the Votadini, had been conquered by the thieving Romans, who demanded provisions for their troops, fodder for their mounts, women for their beds, and coin to fill the purses of every Roman who wasn’t a soldier.
If those conditions weren’t bad enough, for all the kindness her father had demonstrated during her first two decades, Rhyddes may as well have been born a slave.
She scooped up more hay. Resentment-fired anger sent wisps flying everywhere, much of it sailing over the wagon rather than landing upon it.
“Hey, mind what you’re doing!”
Owen, her closest brother in age and in spirit, emerged from the wagon’s far side, hay prickling his hair and tunic like a porcupine. Rhyddes couldn’t suppress her laugh. “’Tis an improvement. Just wait till the village lasses see you.”
“Village lasses, hah!” Sporting a wicked grin, Owen snatched up a golden fistful, flung it at her, and dived for her legs.
They landed in the fragrant hay and began vying for the upper hand, cackling like a pair of witless hens. When Owen thought he’d prevailed, Rhyddes twisted and rolled from underneath him. Her fresh welts stung, but she refused to let that deter her. He lost his balance and fell backward. She pounced, planting a knee on his chest and pinning his wrists to the ground over his head.
Victory’s sweetness lasted but a moment. Fingers dug into her shoulders, and she felt herself hauled to her feet and spun around. Owen’s face contorted to chagrin as he scrambled up.
“Didn’t get enough of the lash yestermorn, eh, girl?” Rudd, his broad hands clamped around her upper arms, gave her a teeth-rattling shake.
When she didn’t respond, he released her and rounded on Owen. “As for you—”
“Da, please, no!” Rhyddes stopped herself. Well she knew the futility of pleading with Rudd. Still, for Owen’s sake, she had to try. Her father’s scowl dared her to continue. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “’Twas not Owen’s fault. I—” Sweat freshened the sting on her back, and she winced. “The fault is naught but mine.”
“Aye, that I can well believe.” Rudd grasped each sibling by an arm and strode across the hayfield toward the family’s lodge. “Owen can watch you take his lashes as well as yours. We’ll see if that won’t mend his ways.” The thin linen of her ankle-length tunic failed to shield her from his fingers, which had to be leaving bruises. Rhyddes gritted her teeth. Rudd seemed disappointed. “I doubt anything in this world or the next will make you mend yours.”
“You don’t want me to change. You’d lose your excuse to beat me.” Sheer impertinence, she knew, but she no longer cared.
“I need no excuses, girl.”
The back of his hand collided with her cheek. Pain splintered into a thousand needles across her face. She reeled and dropped to her hands and knees, her hair obscuring her vision in a copper cascade. Hay pricked her palms. Owen would have helped her rise, but their father restrained him. Owen blistered the ground with his glare, not daring to direct it at Rudd for fear of earning the same punishment.
Not that Rhyddes could blame him.
Rudd yanked her up, cocked a fist… and froze. “Raiders!”
Rhyddes whirled about. Picts were charging from the north to converge upon their settlement, the battle cries growing louder under the merciless afternoon sun. One of the storage buildings had already been set ablaze, its roof thatch marring the sky with thick black smoke.
Rudd shed his shock and sprinted for the living compound, calling his children by name to help him defend their home: Eoghan, Ian, Bloeddwyn, Arden, Dinas, Gwydion, Owen.
Every child except Rhyddes.
She ran to the wagon, unhitched the horse, found her pitchfork, scrambled onto the animal’s back, and kicked him into a jolting canter. The stench of smoke strengthened with each stride. Her mount pinned back his ears and wrestled her for control of the bit, but she bent the frightened horse to her will. She understood how he felt.
As they loped past the cow byre, a Pict leaped at them, knocking Rhyddes from the horse’s back. The ground jarred the pitchfork from her grasp. The horse galloped toward the pastures as Rhyddes fumbled for her dagger. Although her brothers had taught her how to wield it in a fight, until now she’d used it only to ease dying animals from this world.
But the accursed blade wouldn’t come free of the hilt.
Sword aloft, the Pict closed on her.
Time distorted, assaulting Rhyddes with her attacker’s every detail: lime-spiked hair, weird blue symbols smothering the face and arms, long sharp sword, ebony leather boots and leggings, breastplate tooled to fit female curves . . .
Female?
The warrior-woman’s sword began its descent.
From the corner of her eye Rhyddes saw her pitchfork. Grunting, she rolled toward it, praying to avoid her attacker’s blow.
Her left arm stung where the sword grazed it, but she snagged her pitchfork and scrambled to her feet. Unexpected eagerness flooded her veins.
As the Pict freed her weapon from where it had embedded in the ground, Rhyddes aimed the pitchfork and lunged. The tines hooked the warrior-woman’s sword, and Rhyddes twisted with all her strength. The Pict yelped as the sword ripped from her hand to go flying over the sty’s fence. Squealing in alarm, the sow lumbered for cover, trying to wedge her bulk under the trough.
With a savage scream, the warrior-woman whipped out a dagger and charged. Rhyddes reversed the pitchfork and jammed its butt into the Pict’s gut, under the breastplate’s bottom edge, robbing her of breath. She reversed it again and caught the raider under the chin with the pitchfork’s tines. As the woman staggered backward, flailing her arms and flashing the red punctures that marred her white neck, Rhyddes struck hard and knocked her down.
The warrior-woman looked heavier by at least two stone, but Rhyddes pinned her chest with her knee. She dropped the pitchfork and grasped her dagger, yanking it free. Grabbing a fistful of limed hair, she wrestled the woman’s head to one side to expose her neck.
The Pict bucked and twisted, trying to break Rhyddes’s grip. ’Twas not much different than wrestling a fever-mad calf.
Rhyddes’s deft slice ended the threat.
Blood spurted from the woman’s neck in sickening pulses.
Rhyddes stood, panting, her stomach churning with the magnitude of what she’d done. ’Twas no suffering animal she’d killed—and it could have been her lying there, pumping her lifeblood into the mud.
Bile seared her throat, making her gag. Pain lanced her stomach. Bent double, she retched out the remains of her morning meal, spattering the corpse.
After spitting out the last bitter mouthful and wiping her lips with the back of her hand, she drew a deep breath and straightened. As she turned a slow circle, her senses taking in the sights and sounds and stench of the devastation surrounding her, she wished she had not prevailed.
The news grew worse as she sprinted toward the lodge.
Of her seven brothers, the Picts had left Ian and Gwydion dead, her father and Owen wounded, the lodge and three outbuildings torched. She ran a fingertip over the crusted blood of her scratch, and she couldn’t suppress a surge of guilt.
Mayhap, she thought through the blinding tears as she ran to help what was left of her family, ’twould have been better had she died in the Pict’s stead.
The surviving raiders were galloping toward the tree line with half the cattle. The remaining stock lay stiffening in the fields, already attracting carrion birds.
Three days later, the disaster attracted scavengers of an altogether different sort.
CHARACTER BIOS
I am Rhyddes ferch Rudd, which in your tongue means Freedom daughter of Red. The blood of ancient Celtic warriors flows in my veins, though I am a farmer's daughter by the circumstance of my birth. My life spans much of the reign of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, one of a very few men ever to claim that title who did not abuse his power for personal gain—but I care not who rules and who dies in this gods-cursed empire.
More than anything—even more than my freedom—I yearn to be my lover Aquila’s equal. As a foreign slave in an empire where citizenship stands paramount, where an arena fighter such as I can only be considered the equal of other gladiators, actors, undertakers, and whores, this goal seems impossibly remote. Although Aquila is the son of a powerful Roman, he has declared that he would renounce his aristocratic status, wealth, and power for me, but I cannot in good conscience allow him to destroy himself on my account.
And yet the gods have granted the impossible to other mortals. I pray that I am worthy to receive such a boon from them, for surely divine assistance is the only way for Aquila and I to bridge the vast social chasm that separates us from enjoying a future together.
CAT'S REVIEW
So, I have to say I was surprised with this one. Roman History isn't usually one of my faves but Ms. Headlee just might have changed my mind! There is tons of action - written beautifully. I could envision each scene as if I were there. Rhyddes, our heroine, is a strong and proud woman. She can hold her own and fights with all she has. At times, she comes across as a bit cold and standoffish but it's understandable due to her life. Marcus, at first, seems to be the spoiled rich kid, yet as we get to know him, it also becomes easier to understand his ways. Be warned, this is not a light and fluffy read but it captivated me and had me turning the pages eagerly to see what would happen. (received copy for honest review)
★★★★
AUTHOR BIO
Kim Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, and assorted wildlife. People & creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins—the latter having been occupied as recently as the mid-20th century—seem to be sticking around for a while yet.
Kim is a Seattle native (when she used to live in the Metro DC area, she loved telling people she was from "the other Washington") and a direct descendent of twentieth-century Russian nobility. Her grandmother was a childhood friend of the doomed Grand Duchess Anastasia, and the romantic yet tragic story of how Lydia escaped Communist Russia with the aid of her American husband will most certainly one day fuel one of Kim's novels. Another novel in the queue will involve her husband's ancestor, the seventh-century proto-Viking king of the Swedish colony in Russia.
For the time being, however, Kim has plenty of work to do in creating her projected 8-book Arthurian series, The Dragon's Dove Chronicles, and other novels under her new imprint, Pendragon Cove Press.
