Saturday, September 17, 2016

Saturday's Series Spotlight: Heritage by Layne Macadam


Titles: Wolf on Wheels & Wolf at the Door
Author: Layne Macadam
Series: Heritage #1 & 2
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Erotica
Release Dates: Wolf on Wheels: March 16, 2015
Wolf at the Door: July 11, 2016

Wolf on Wheels #1
Summary:
Wolf Shifter, Caleb Grayson’s opinion of humans is lower than a rattlesnake’s belly, that is, until Lara Walker comes into his life. But can the pretty veterinarian, with her marmalade curls and flashing green eyes, be trusted with his secret?

As alpha of his pack he is duty bound to keep them safe and, with genocidal hunters closing in on them, that means maintaining anonymity. So will sharing his secret strengthen Lara’s and his relationship? Or will it send her running in horror and announcing his heritage to the world?

When the decision to reveal all is snatched out of his hands the revelation, not only turns her world inside out, but it has far-reaching repercussions neither could have imagined.

Wolf at the Door #2
Summary:
Jonah Lawson is a wolf with secrets. Fate has dealt him a shabby hand, so, long ago, he decided to lead a solitary life, never to inflict his tortured past on any female. He takes his pleasures outside the pack with human women, and that works just fine and dandy until the exquisite Camille Robineau arrives at the compound claiming relative status to his alpha, and he knows then and there, he’s in serious trouble.

With his protective armor slipping, he treats her with sardonic indifference, but when the headstrong, reckless Camille goes missing, he realizes she’s taken his heart along with her. His wolf senses ignite and he leads a search party to find her that ends with dire consequences no one could have foreseen and leaves Camille making a sacrifice that will impact the rest of her life.


Wolf on Wheels #1
Caleb Grayson’s fur spiked and his tail swished with anger as without a thought or a care, Nora bounded off down the street, leapt over the suburban fence and was lost from sight. His orders to the pack had been clear. Bare minimum—travel in pairs. Stay together at all times. Watch each other’s back. The lure of fresh rabbit must have overridden duty and common sense.

The growl he released was feral as he took off after her. The rules were put in place to keep his pack safe. Hunters were on the warpath and they were after wolf shifters with deadly intent. He’d already lost one member to their violence and would not lose another. Humans, he made a derisive sound. They were uncaring and self-centered. He’d yet to meet one he liked. He pulled his muzzle into a sneer and bared his teeth at the thought of that race.

One giant leap had him over the fence and landing smoothly on all fours on the other side. Nora was farther up the yard edging closer to her goal, but she was not alone.

Frozen to the spot he couldn’t move had his life depended on it. It was as if he’d stepped into a trough of rapid dry cement and was stuck fast. His heartbeat had ramped up and his tail twitched at the sight of the divine human before him. Awestruck, he snarled at the smaller gray wolf beside him. They’d talk about her transgression later. Nora was an adolescent and still in the playful stage of wanting to hunt live prey. Fresh meat was tempting but no excuse for defying his orders. She pawed the ground waiting for him to speak telepathically, but he was speechless. The female human had him dumbstruck and transfixed.

She was a good head shorter than he, athletically built with dips and curves in all the right places, and her spiral curls were the color of marmalade and looked every bit as rich and glossy in the lunar light.

It came to him in a flash then, this human with her emerald eyes sparkling like gemstones was his mate. He’d waited centuries to find her, had given up hope, and now, like a bolt from the blue there she was. Not even Lycan, but human. It was cruel, preposterous, but true. He had little tolerance for the species, but he ached to carry her home, cherish her, breed with her, howl with elation, but he quashed the instinct as his homosapien side surged to the fore—tread carefully, do not rush this—she may not understand.

“Caleb, what is it?” Nora’s telepathic voice quivered with unease.

He didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, so consumed was he with the human before him. Her shape was visible through the silk of her gown. The night breeze had molded the thin white material to her womanly form. She was a vision. He was grateful it was a she-wolf beside him and not a male from his pack.

As he continued to stare, mouth agape and tongue lolling, the breeze picked up and she shivered. Her nipples punched out against the flimsy fabric. He whimpered. His heart pounded faster now as if he’d run for miles at top speed over the rugged terrain around his Black Mountain home.

“Caleb what’s wrong, can’t you hear me?” Nora’s voice was high-pitched now and sharper than normal.

Before he could speak the woman took a small tentative step toward Nora’s midnight snack. She reacted on natural impulse. Her fur stood on end, a menacing growl emanated from lips drawn back in a savage snarl baring sharp teeth. Crouched low and ready to spring, it was enough to have him recover his voice.

“Stay. The human is my mate. Threaten her and you threaten me.” As he sent the telepathic message, Nora dropped to her haunches, and with a whimper assumed a submissive position—she would not dare challenge him.

The command was issued with his sight still glued to his female. The stiffening breeze had whipped the ginger ringlets around her face giving a halo effect, but when her eyes widened and she trembled, it pierced his heart like a blade. He hated seeing her frightened, smelling her fear, but at this point there was little he could do.


Wolf at the Door #2
The house, when it came into view, was not what Caleb had been expecting. Then again, he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, his head was so in a muddle, but a ramshackle dwelling in the wilderness was not it. The log cabin was from another era and had seen better days, but it
was clean and well kept. There was a settee and two rockers on the porch out front, and two steps leading up to an open front door.

“Looks like someone’s home.” He drew in a big breath and let it out slow as he parked the car alongside an old-model Ford at the end of the drive. He got out and scanned the place with interest as he walked around to open Lara’s door. A banged-up CTG 750 was under a lean-to a few yards in front of the Ford, and beyond that a makeshift clothesline, complete with sheets flapping in the breeze, was strung between two trees.

Lara got out and stood beside him just as an attractive slender woman, balancing a basket of laundry on her hip, came out the door and trotted down the steps before noticing she had company.

On spotting them, color drained from her face. The basket hit the ground, spilling the contents onto the dirt in a sodden pile. Her hand covered her mouth.

“Caleb.” The single word puffed over pale lips in a bare whisper as she dropped to the steps, sitting down hard with a thud, her hand fluttering over her heart. “Is it really you?” she mouthed.

Before he could answer, a male who could only be Connor burst through the open door, sleep tousled and wearing jeans clearly pulled on in a hurry, unzipped and sliding off his hips.

He rushed to her side and touched her shoulder. “Mother, I heard you fall. Are you all right? Let me help you.”

Lara made a move forward while Caleb remained glued to the spot, studying the scene as if from another planet. His mother was striking. And at first glance, Connor and he were mirror images, but the more he studied his brother, subtle differences became evident. They were of a similar size, both being big males, but Connor emitted a latent anger simmering beneath the surface. Although both had wolf tattoos, his was just on his bicep, while his twin had a complete sleeve. The most obvious and bewildering difference, though, was the absence of a white streak in Connor’s raven hair.

Perhaps he’d misunderstood Rose. He rubbed the back of his neck in contemplation while he viewed the whole picture. Lara bent down and started collecting the soiled laundry, shoving it back into the basket. Up until that point, Connor seemed oblivious of their presence. He spared her a glance now, then flicked a transient look over him before turning away and helping his mother up and onto the settee. That was Caleb’s cue.

With determined strides, he crossed to his mate and clasped her elbow. “Leave that, Lara.” Neck hairs bristling, resentment rising, he drew her upright and supported her up the steps. “I didn’t mean to shock you, M-M Amber-Lee.” ‘Mother’ stuck in his craw. She’d never been a mother to him.

Connor cleared his throat and with languid movements straightened and zipped his jeans, his flowing hair wafting in the breeze that had kicked up a notch. Without a word of acknowledgment or greeting, he slipped a band from his wrist, secured his long hair in a ponytail, then folded his arms and glowered.

“I guess you know who I am?” Caleb schooled his features and adopted an affable stance he was far from feeling.

“Yeah, we know who you are, and if you think we give a shit, then you’re barking up the wrong tree.”






Author Bio:
Multi-award nominated Australian author, Layne Macadam, writes hot and spicy romance in a variety of genres, including paranormal, sci-fi, and contemporary. Always an avid reader, one day, having exhausted her supply of paperbacks, she decided to try her hand at writing. After a lot of determination, hard work, and frustration, she completed her first novel, Desire Unleashed.

With a passion for travel, Layne has been able to draw on her practical knowledge and experiences when setting the backdrop for her stories. The Australian Outback plays a part in Obsession Down Under. Kentucky’s Black Mountain and the Canadian Rockies feature in her shifter Heritage Series, while her Desire Books follow the antics of a team of Navy SEALs on their adventures in exotic locations around the globe. Her repertoire, thus far, includes two novels and four novellas, with the much awaited third book in her Desire Series to be completed by the end of the year.


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Wolf on Wheels #1
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Wolf at the Door #2
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Release Day Blitz: Revenge by EM Denning

Title: Revenge
Author: EM Denning
Genre: Stepbrother Romance
Release Date: September 17, 2016
Summary:
On the heels of a horrific break up, Summer is looking forward to having a couple months at home to lick her wounds. After a run-in with her ex leaves her reeling, she does something she’s never done before—has a one-night stand.


Hunter watched Mitch treat Summer like crap for months, so he was relieved when they broke up for good. Even better was when she invited him to her dorm room the night before they left campus for the summer.

The morning after comes with a surprise neither of them saw coming—Summer has a new stepbrother.


I stuffed the last of my clothes into a duffel bag and then zipped it up. My second year of college was complete, and I was ready for a relaxing summer free of stress. My life was a never-ending cycle of drama, and it all revolved around a guy I could no longer stand. I eyed the box of his belongings and groaned. I’d have to return his stuff sooner or later.

I sighed, picked up the box and headed to his dorm. I should have felt some sort of emotion, but all I could muster was irritation that I’d wasted two years of my life on Mitch. The first year was great. We were inseparable. Young lovers who did their best to be together as often as we could. We spent a lot of time finding places to screw. I should have dumped him at the beginning of the year, I thought as I lugged the break-up box across campus.

I came to his door and set it on the floor. I could walk away and leave it there for him to find, then I worried someone would take it. There wasn’t anything of value, but it was his stuff. I picked it up, balanced it on my hip and knocked on the door.

The door swung open, but it wasn’t Mitch. His cousin, Hunter, opened it. They were also roommates and best friends.

He rolled his eyes. “What do you want, Summer?”

Hunter stared at me. More like glared. He and I weren’t exactly friends. We had the same major so we shared a lot of the same classes. There was an unfriendly competition between us to see who could end up at the top of the class.

I shoved the box at him. “See that Mitch gets that, will you?”

Hunter took it and peeked in the top. “No problem. What’s in it?”

I scoffed. My irritation at Mitch and this whole shitty year spilled over. “It’s all the shit he left lying around my dorm.”

“So you two really are done, huh?” Hunter took a pink teddy bear out. Mitch had given it to me after our last reconciliation. “This was his?”

“No, but I don’t want it anymore.” I didn’t want anything from him ever again.

Hunter laughed and dropped the bear back into the box. “What happened with you two, anyway?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “As if you don’t know. He probably tells you everything.” I turned and left, but moments later, Hunter walked beside me.

“Did you get your chemistry grade?”

I nodded. “I checked this morning.”

“And?”

I looked at Hunter from the corner of my eye. “None of your business,” I spat.

I increased my pace, but his legs were longer than mine. Even if I sprinted, I wouldn’t get away from him.

He smirked and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, I knew I beat you.”

“Excuse me?” I stopped and whirled to face him.

“The only way you wouldn’t brag about your grade is if it was shitty. So I beat you. Good to know.” He turned on his heel and walked back toward his dorm.

“Asshole.”

Author Bio:
E. M. Denning is a writer from British Columbia. She loves her family and her animals and anything cute and fuzzy. She was born a hopeless romantic and when she’s not writing romance, she’s probably reading it. She loves love.


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Haven by Katherine Bogle

Title: Haven
Author: Katherine Bogle
Series: Chronicles of Warshard #1
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Release Date: May 10, 2016
Summary:
Princess Haven was never meant to be Queen.

Her immortality has saved her time and time again, but when the last of her royal family dies at her feet, she is next in line to rule a nation on the brink of war. With no formal training on how to be Queen, Haven must rise to the occasion with the help of her best friends, and personal guard, or risk losing everyone she has ever loved.

With war to the West, and no escape to the East, the evil tyrant Kadia sets her sights on the six kingdoms. Haven's neighbors are quick to fall under the swords of Kadia's shadow soldiers, leaving a sea of bodies and a clear path to Haven's only home. Haven must make a choice; take her people and flee to the foreign Republic across the sea or lead a last stand against a powerful dictator.


“You will be perfect. You will be great. You will be a just Queen.” Haven paced the length of the hall, trying to calm her rattled nerves. “You will lead them fairly. You will save them. By the grace of the gods, you will.”

The distant boom of drums startled her. She stopped abruptly, her gaze lingering on the large oak doors leading to the throne room.

“All rise,” a muffled voice said behind closed doors.

The time had come.

Clearing her throat, Haven smoothed her regal skirts and stepped up to the ornately carved entry. Warm afternoon light spilled across the floor, bathing her dark red dress in fire. Sparkles from her jewel-covered throat cast a dazzling pattern across her olive skin.

Haven never thought she’d live long enough to take the throne. In a family of two older brothers, and a healthy father, it would never be expected that the eldest daughter would ascend. But it was her misfortune to be blessed with longevity. Haven had outlived much of her family, and as the idea of becoming Queen grew nearer, that blessing had only become a curse.


What Others Are Saying:
✯✯✯✯A new fantasy debut that promises an intriguing series by Faith
An epic fantasy led by a powerful female protagonist, Haven's narrative unfolds in a world where magic is rare and war is brewing. A newly crowned queen & gifted with immortality, Haven is granted ultimate power in her kingdom in the wake of her family's murder. Thrown into the role of Queen, she must rely on her friends, advisors and fellow kings to survive the coming storm and grow confident in her ruling ability.

It is a well-written novel, full of conflict and layered with unexpected themes. At the core is Haven, a protagonist and heroine who is compassionate and insecure. She is a relatable human being whose concern for her subjects' well-being also makes her rather endearing.

Her major arc deals with her conflict with Kadia, a woman who has a perverse fascination with her powers. This leads to rather dark and disturbing turn of events. The events that Haven is forced to contend with are life-altering and character building. Where many authors might fumble with the repercussions of them, Katherine deals with the fallout deftly, elevating the strength of the story in thematic terms.

The secondary characters have interesting stories of their own, and while most aren't as fully developed as I wish they would be, the primary male supporters are given enough depth and room to grow.

The setting descriptions and world-building are intricate, bringing Warshard to life. There is a lot of foundation laid for future installments, promising new lands and characters that will delight as well as the first.

The conclusion of the novel was a little jarring and wrapped up too quickly, but it does not take away from the general enjoyment of the narrative. I look forward to the next one!

Fans of epic fantasy will be drawn into Haven's story, discovering in her a strong female protagonist. Looking for a new world to get lost in, look no further.

✯✯✯✯✯Some things are worth fighting for ~ Haven must decide what it is by Meagan @ Blooming with Books
War has come to the Six Kingdoms of Warshard and the Kingdom of Rythern is the latest victim of Queen Kadia's insanity. With the murder of her parents and her brothers Haven Fyre is now queen of Rythern, a role she was never suppose to hold. But her people need a queen, and in Haven they will have one that cannot be killed.

Going to war against Kadia seems suicide with the kingdoms various armies having suffered losses to her shadow soldiers. With this seeming impossibility the Royals are faced with an impossible decision - fight, flee, or do nothing.

Does Haven commit her remaining soldiers to aid King Corrin in his plan to retake his fallen capital? Or are her troops needed first and foremost in defense of Rythern? Or does she offer Rythern as a place of sanctuary for those who are fleeing Kadia's aggression?

Relying on the advise of her closest friends and her desire to protect her people, Haven makes a decision that will forever change her life and the future of the Six Kingdoms.

Haven is a book that takes the reader on a journey - a journey of emotion, of loss, of friendship, of betrayal, and of promise. And this is a journey of growth as Haven becomes the queen she never expected to be by facing her fears and learning to live life.

This is the first (per the title) in a series and I for one am looking forward to additional books in this series. Though the book is complete in the story it is telling there is most definitely plenty of material from which more could come. The writing style of Katherine Bogle is steady and flowing. There are periods of endless action mixed with those of waiting which is true to what one would experience in one's own life if one were in a similar situation.

This book is definitely aimed at older teens and adults due to the subject matter of a few scenes - this book after all deals with war and the violence that comes with such a state of affairs. Overall I highly recommend this book and this author's work.

Author Bio:
Katherine Bogle's debut young adult novel, Haven, came second in the World's Best Story contest 2015. She currently resides in Saint John, New Brunswick with her partner in crime, and plethora of cats. She can be found at her website.


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