♥ TToria ♥

Adult excerpt - Erin

2012-09-24T00:30:00.000+01:00

An excerpt from Erin by Miranda Stork.

Tags: Shifters, Paranormal romance, adult, vamps...

Sighing heavily, Erin plonked herself down on the bed she had been laid on just a few hours before, swinging her legs out in front her. Conner smiled, and came to sit next to her, winding his arm across her shoulders.

“What’s wrong?”

Erin leaned into his warm body, closing her eyes for a second, and wrapping her arms around him.
“I’m just…tired. It’s a lot to take in, you know? One minute I have this normal life…and then you find out that that was all a lie, and your real life is so incredibly complicated. I just wish I had something to hang on to that wasn’t complicated.”

Putting his hand under her chin, Conner lifted her face to his.
“You have me. I’ll always love you, even as Filtiarn, I loved you. That will never be complicated, and that will never change.” Erin’s lips curved into a smile as he gently planted a kiss on them.
“Do you remember the first time I gave in to you when you were at Forest Hall? I couldn’t keep up the pretense the whole time; it was killing me seeing you and not being able to touch you.”

Erin blushed, lowering her gaze. “You mean in the shower?”

Conner grinned broadly, making his face look even more sexy. “Yes, in the shower. You smelled so amazing…”
Swallowing, Erin lowered her head, pulling her chin away from his hand, so that he couldn’t see her grinning shyly in return.

Conner looked at her soft hair for a few minutes, teasing himself with the memory of burying his face in that soft, sweet-smelling hair, the touch of her smooth skin next to his, her eyes melting in pleasure…
He gently but firmly lifted her head up again, so that he could see into those stunning blue eyes. Erin was smiling, but a deep rosy blush had covered her cheeks, making her look even more beautiful to Conner. He leant down, pressing his lips against hers. She didn’t resist, and put her hand on his shoulder, to get closer to him. Reading her signals, he placed his other hand behind her head, pulling her deeper into their kiss, threading his fingers through her silky hair. His body began to stir, but he forced himself to be slow and careful, easing her into this. He growled low in his throat, a primal, raw sound, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, licking her lip gently.
The sound made her moan a little, as she let her tongue meet his. The sound made his groin ache, and his breathing began to go faster. His instincts were taking over, telling him to pin her down and rip her clothes off, but he held back, instead gently tracing her collarbone with the pad of his thumb. She shivered a little at the touch, placing her hands on his chest, clawing slightly, as if she too, wanted him stripped off.

Conner pulled his mouth away, gasping slightly. He leaned his head, and began to slowly lay butterfly kisses along her neck, moving his lips along the top of her collarbone, remembering how she had reacted to that in the shower, all that time ago. She cried out, making him instantly go rock hard against her, his hips moving of their own accord, as if he were losing control of them. Erin pushed him off for a moment; making him furrow his brows in disappointment-perhaps he had done too much?

“Erin, I’m sorry, I-“

“What are you sorry for?” When Erin spoke, her voice was husky and soft. She grinned at him, her eyes looking drowsy with lust. Leaning back, she pulled her sweater off, revealing her creamy lace bra. Unhooking it quickly, she pulled that off as well, letting it fall to the floor. She looked back up at Conner.

“Is this okay?”

*Excerpt used with permission, copyright Miranda Stork*

Synopsis:

Dark Mind Book Tours!

Erin is the werewolf Queen of Athol Castle. She has no memories of the events of a few months ago, where she believed herself to be a psychologist, and met the enigmatic and charming Conner...

Filtiarn has taken over Conner’s body once more, and is relishing being in control. Cruel and sensual, he decides to work on a plan...to take over humanity. He begins a war...of werewolves against humans. But unknown to him, Conner is fighting against him within his own body, to set things right, and to bring Erin back from her own darkness. He tries to undo a great mistake from long ago, using Erin’s famed sword, Sioctine, as remnants of his own memory come back to him, opening up the present he now lives in.

At the same time, another enemy is using the situation to their advantage, following the werewolves at every turn, threatening to undo everything that Conner is struggling to obtain...

But will he be able to bring Erin back from Filtiarn’s grasp, or is it too late? And will he be able to stop the war against the humans progressing?

And who is threatening to take over not only the humans, but the werewolves as well?

Purchase:

Amazon US l Amazon UK

Meet the author:

I was born in Guisborough, North Yorkshire in 1987 and have lived in various places around Britain, including Newcastle and Glasgow.
My writing is inspired by various writers, including the vivid characters of Charles Dickens, the imagination of Stephen King, and the gothic imagery of Anne Rice.

My love of horror began at an early age, when I was only three or four. I could read proficiently at the age of three, and devoured fairy-stories, but I always had a bent towards the darker stories, such as the Brother's Grimm's tales...Red Riding Hood was always a firm favourite, although I always felt sorry for the wolf, despite him having tried to eat everyone!

I also had an incredibly vivid imagination, leading me to believe that the noises that the radiator in my room made, were in fact the noises of monsters hiding behind it. This led to me having terrible nightmares, in which I believed I woke up and would see them sat in my room, doing nothing more extraordinary than playing cards or reading a book.

As I got older, my love of tales about unknown creatures persisted, always wanting to devour tales about ghosts or other beings. Being born in Guisborough was also a coincidence, as it is a town rich in folklore and ghosts in various places, such as the Black Monk of Guisborough Priory...whether or not any of these stories were true, I still don't know, but I love the tingle of imagining whether or not they might be.

As I began school, I began to read more books, and became enraptured with the tales of ancient Greece and Rome, loving the explanations for simple things around us turned into figures and gods. To this day, I still have an avid love of ancient customs, and I have especially fallen in love with Celtic symbolism and myths, winding them into my novels whenever possible.

As I got older, about ten or eleven, I had moved, to a small village, with only about 80 children or so. I quickly became the main story-teller of my friends, my favourite one being a story about a girl who buys a porcelain doll, only to hate it after a few days and lock it away in her family's garage. The doll of course, is haunted, and breaks back into the house, calling, 'I'm coming, I'm coming...!' until she reaches the little girl, who is hiding under her cover, where she whispers, 'I'm here, I'm here...!' The poor mother of course comes into her daughter's room in the morning and finds her daughter dead, with the doll sat on top of her. I have a vague memory of telling a wide-eyed group of peers one morning, and one of them running off crying...I think I got told off for telling stories that were too scary at school.

At the age of seven or so, I was given two books by a relative; one of them was a large collection of Lewis Carroll, and to this day my favourite poem is 'Phantasmorgoria'. The other book was a collection of weird tales, all involving fair maids and witches, devils and wicked spirits in some form or another, a lot of them derived from eastern story-telling, where children and evil witches constantly collide-usually with awful consequences. This persisted with a series of magazines and music called 'The Magical Music Box'.

At this point I began to really get into more horror books, watching all and any horrors on television, even ones that were far too cheesy to watch without laughing. Point Horror stories became a favourite on my shelf as I went into my teens, alongside my classic favourites such as Dorian Grey and Great Expectations (still my favourite book to this day). I got hooked onto Anne Rice novels as well, loving the combination of a typically monstrous creature who had redeeming qualities akin to human ones.

The most terrifying book that ever made an impression on me has to be The Exorcist. The film is nothing compared to the book-I don't believe I slept the night after finishing it, waking up at every noise in my room, imagining it to be a voice or whispered giggle.

Connect with Miranda online:

Website l Blog l Twitter l Goodreads l Facebook l Amazon

Read "Why I write about things that can't possibly exist", a guest post by Miranda.

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

Thanks for stopping by,
TToria♥

"Immortality can be a bitch…"

2012-09-03T01:08:00.001+01:00

An excerpt from Life Cycle by Zoe Winters

Tags:

Prologue

123 A.D. A hidden cavern near the waters of the Blue Grotto in Italy.

Tamar shivered with her twelve companions. They were about to attempt their most daring incantation. An opening at the top of the cavern allowed the light from the full moon to shine down on them, illuminating their secret gathering and adding its own power to the unfolding ritual.

Salt water splashed on her from a waterfall in the nearby pool. They’d searched for the water of immortality, a legend that had spread since before her birth. Far and wide, people had spoken of water that could make a person eternal and young.

But it wasn’t the water that conferred immortality. It was the creatures that lived inside the water. They were transparent and hard to see, with spongy tops and long tendrils on the bottom that could sting if you got too close. They didn’t die. Instead, they could age backward, reaching the end of their life, and then, without dying, start over again.

“We’ll freeze to death if you don’t hurry.” Tamar glared at the man in the middle of the circle. The irony of freezing to death while seeking immortality caused her to stifle a dark laugh.

“The potion must be altered with other ingredients unless you want to come back as a newborn each time. You’ll find that frustrating,” Jacob said. He was their leader and the best with potions.

Tamar made a face, but huddled closer to her sister, Naomi, for warmth. A circle of salt had been poured around them. Candles were already lit. A large stone had become a makeshift table upon which the coven leader worked. The sea creatures had been pulverized and added to an iron pot. He poured the herbal infusions into the potion.

Jacob passed a sharp knife to the person on his left. “Each of us must contribute blood to the potion or it will fail. The magic is in this creature, but they have no blood. Our blood must bond with this animal if we hope to succeed.”

“Are you sure that’s necessary?” Naomi asked. Tamar nodded her agreement. Cutting themselves and mixing their blood seemed extreme. What would be the consequences of linking together eternally?

“I am sure,” Jacob said, losing patience with their squeamishness. Magic like this had a price, and they all knew it. But the consequences always showed themselves when it was too late.

One by one they sliced the center of their palms with the ritual knife and added their blood. Jacob stirred the concoction with a wooden spoon; it smelled like death. When he was finished, he dipped a silver goblet into the brew.

“We each drink and then we chant,” he said, passing the goblet.

Tamar couldn’t help feeling pride at the chant she’d written. When they’d all drunk, they clasped hands and turned their faces up to the moonlight. The cavern echoed their words back to them. “Da immortalitatem. Renatus sine oblitus. Numquam moriens. Da immortalitatem. Renatus sine oblitus. Numquam moriens...”

And then they all died.

Tamar jolted as oxygen flooded into her body. Something felt very strange. Had the spell worked? She glanced around at her companions, each of them coming back to life one by one.

“We’re all children.”

Chapter One

Golatha Falls, Georgia. The Present.

Tam perched on the bar stool in her kitchen, still as death. Her third cup of Earl Grey tea cooled on the counter, ignored. Normally the warm brew calmed her nerves, but nothing would comfort her today.

She’d read her tarot cards, tea leaves, and scried with a bowl of water and sea salt. Everything she tried gave her the same morbid story. The death card glared back at her, mocking, and though she’d told many others—sometimes truthfully, sometimes not so much—that the death card didn’t always mean death, she knew this card said her number was up.

Jack—as Jacob was called now—was back, and he was after her. She fought to keep the tremor out of her hand as she raised the tea to her lips. He wouldn’t offer her a quick death. It would involve a cold stone slab, bleeding to death, and having vital organs removed. Ritualistic, because ritual was how you got the most effect out of stealing a fellow magic user’s power.

Tam had considered herself a cycler since the night she was reborn in that cavern nearly two thousand years ago. True to Jack’s word, each time they died, they came right back in their own younger body, looking for all the world to be about twelve years old—an inconvenience to say the least. Tam had been shuffled from orphanage to orphanage each time she began a new life cycle.

This last time she’d gotten lucky and been adopted by a well-to-do family who had taken her in and put her through a good school. The thought was nice, though pointless, given how many times she’d already suffered through school.

Cyclers kept their memories, their sense of continuity. They were effectively immortal, just like the rare breed of jellyfish they’d discovered so long ago.

Jack had only been actively hunting the other cyclers for a few centuries. He’d gone power hungry, convinced he could stop the cycle altogether and achieve true immortality by draining the power of his coven. Magic users aged differently—the more magic, the longer they could live. But it wasn’t just that. She knew him. He had an angle—something more than a personal quest for immortality.

If murder was his new hobby, his purpose for gaining all that power couldn’t be good. If he was going to get her anyway, suicide seemed the smarter option. It would free her to be reborn the normal way and keep her safe from a more brutal death at Jack’s hands.

But it wasn’t so simple. There were two ways she could die for real—and two ways only: at the hands of another cycler, or through magical means by a very old preternatural being, such as a demon or vampire at least a few thousand years old. Those were hard to come by, and their killing methods were usually too creative for Tam’s taste. She wanted to break the cycle, not be tortured.

Either way, she’d managed, through this latest cycle, to stifle the suicidal urge. Until now.

The image of the demon she’d chosen formed in her mind. Cain. The very first incubus. If he couldn’t kill her, nobody could. And he hated her. It should be simple enough to get him to agree, assuming she could find him. She’d dropped him in front of his badass pals a couple of times already with energy balls. He was probably plotting her death at this very moment.

Anna might know where to find him, since she was mated to a demon, but Tam hadn’t seen her best friend in three months. It wasn’t as if Tam had directions to the demon portals or a way to get through to their dimension even if she did. If Anna surfaced in the human dimension, Tam could do a spell to locate her, but who could say when that would happen? And would it be before Jack reached her?

Deep in her gut, she knew she was going to die—either by Cain’s hand or by Jack’s. As arrogant as the bastard was, Cain’s methods would at least be pleasurable. Bleeding out and organ removal versus orgasms. Gee, how do I decide? They both sound so glamorous and exciting.

***

Cain snarled as he passed through the portal point into Cary Town, Washington. The filmy dimensional doorway shimmered and then fizzled out of existence as he moved through the forest away from it. He couldn’t believe he’d allowed himself to be summoned by the vampire king. Half-breeds.

He’d thought his business with Anthony was finished when Cain had delivered his don’t mess with us again or there will be a war speech the last time they’d met. But now there was a bigger evil brewing, something that risked the living standards of all the factions—and possibly their lives.

Even his newly turned succubus and her werewolf mate would be at the meeting, which was going to be awkward to say the least, given that they all hated Anthony. And the feeling was mutual. How this was going to go with everybody in one room, he couldn’t say. Officially, the werewolf pack was banished from Cary Town. If someone saw them slinking through the night to Anthony’s penthouse, things would get entertaining.

The demon nodded at the guardian in the lobby of the Cary Town Luxury Apartments. This meeting was being kept on the down-low. The Preternatural Council had been shut out. Even most of the vampire king’s coven didn’t know he was fraternizing with the enemy and holding a secret meeting in his former penthouse residence. Cain stepped onto the elevator and pulled out the key he’d been given to gain access to the sixth floor.

The door at the end of the hall was answered by a vampire who looked more like a butler. “They’re on the roof by the pool, sir.”

Cain took the stairs two at a time. His presence announced itself as the metal door clanged against the brick. All eyes went to him, and he smirked.

“Well, well, looks like the gang’s all here.” And what a motley crew they were.

Anthony stood at one end of the table beside an overhead projector and portable screen that had been plugged into an outlet embedded in the brick.

At the table were several familiar faces. Beside Anthony was his human mate, Charlee. Coming around the table was Cain’s brother, Luc, and his annoying mate, Anna. Then there was Jane, the new succubus who was mated to Cole, the Cary Town werewolf pack alpha. The rest, he didn’t know.

“You’re late,” Anthony said, bristling. “We’ve been waiting, and Charlotte needs her rest. The baby takes a lot out of her.”

Cain’s eyes cut to the vampire’s mate. She was so pregnant she’d pop any day now. If this meeting was about her and her spawn, heads were going to roll. If he didn’t care about a half-breed, he sure as hell didn’t care about a quarter-breed.

“I was detained. These things happen. Lovely little school teacher. I made some third graders very happy today. Or they’ll be happy tomorrow, anyway.”

Cole growled from his seat beside Jane. “You killed a woman, you mean.”

Cain chuckled. “My god, man, what is it with you and this obsession with killing? Which one of us is the demon? Perhaps amongst your kind third graders are happy when their teacher dies. She’s… just a little spent. She’ll have to take a sick day tomorrow.”

He dropped into a chair at the end of the table where he could most easily glare at and annoy Anthony. Since Cain wasn’t killing him right now, annoying him would be the second best thing. He didn’t like that Anthony was in charge of this meeting. The vampire king was practically a child next to Cain’s eight thousand years. It should be seniority rule.

The vampire cleared his throat. “Sitting next to you is Father Hadrian who is one of mine… And over here is our resident sorcerer, Dayne, and his lovely werecat, Greta.” Anthony leered at the brunette beside the sorcerer and Greta gripped Dayne’s hand tighter.

“Therian, not werecat! You know I hate that term,” Greta hissed.

“Whether you like it or not, it’s accurate.”

“Really, Anthony?” Charlee said, an irritated expression on her face at her mate’s goading.

The vampire chuckled. “What? Is it my fault your friend is so easy to mess with?”

He took a clear plastic sheet with writing on it and placed it on the overhead projector. “I apologize for being so vague as to the purpose of this meeting. Half of you are officially enemies, but if I go to the Preternatural Council with this, my vampires will all know, and I’m not prepared for it to go public yet. We can go back to hating each other after we’ve eliminated the threat.”

Anthony flipped on the light of the projector, and an electric buzz filled the silence. “I had this letter reproduced onto a transparency for our purposes. In case the context doesn’t spell it out to you, we’ve been contacted by Jack the Ripper. He’s still alive, and he’s one of us.”

“You couldn’t just use a computer program?” the werewolf asked. Cole was the most tech-savvy of the group.

“Don’t try, it won’t get you anywhere,” Charlee said.

Dear Boss,

I’m back. You didn’t take the threat seriously last time. Shame on you. Did you not understand my joke? It wasn’t for the common people. It was for the others. Was “from Hell” not a big enough clue? It’s where we all are, after all.

When I’ve killed the other cyclers, I’ll change the world. There are 13 of us, a perfect coven. The first kill was an accident, the second an experiment. Whitechapel was only three. You were wrong. It wasn’t five. Those and others were copycats all wanting Ripper’s glory.

Since then, there have been four more, but I’ve been quiet as a mouse, giggling at my funny little games. With you in power, I thought I’d make this interesting. Only three left to kill; catch me first or Hell is mine.

Yours Truly,

The Cycler

Don’t mind the new trade name. The old one was stale, and this one will give you something new to chew on. A new mystery to solve. Do better this time. The stakes are higher now.

P.S. Have fun when the human media gets this letter. I’ll give you a head start. Tick, tock.

Cain read the letter on the projector once, twice, and then a third time. “Why did he send this to you? And addressed the same as the original letters? And what the fuck is a cycler?”

Anthony seemed annoyed by Cain’s tone, but he answered anyway. “I believe I’ve met him before. At previous points in my history, I’ve chosen to blend with the humans, exploring various ways of living to satisfy my boredom. During the Whitechapel murders, I worked for the London police department under an assumed name. But a few decades before that, I owned a small fish shop. All my other employees called me by the name I was using at that time, except one. He just called me “Boss.”

“There was something off about him. I suspected he was a magic user, but it was more than that. The way he gutted a fish… it was so clean. Surgical, almost. Even being a vampire, this guy gave me the creeps. But I never realized he knew I’d joined the London police or that the letters might be for me. He must have discovered what I was. He was playing games then; now I think he’s ready to end this. Which brings me to your other question. Does anybody besides Hadrian know what a cycler is?”

There was a consensus of head shaking.

“Father Hadrian, perhaps you could tell us about your experience.”

The priest poured a glass of wine from a bottle on the table and took a leisurely sip. “When I was turned in 1955, my first meal was a blonde witch—maybe in her twenties. Her name was Tamara. I left her corpse and went to hunt for more. When I returned to the church, there was a young girl, maybe eleven or twelve or so with the same blonde hair and the same eyes, wearing the same dress as the woman I killed. She told me she was a cycler. She was powerfully magical, much more so than I thought even a woman in her twenties should be. Magic users do age differently, so I can’t be sure of her age before I killed her.”

The hair on the back of Cain’s neck stood up. There were millions of women with that name, and probably plenty of blonde witches with it as well, but his experience with Tam had always been one of confusion over how she could take him down so easily with a flick of her wrist.

The demon glanced at Anna, wondering if she’d made the connection, but the idea that Father Hadrian was speaking about the Tam they both knew hadn’t penetrated for Luc’s mate.

“Anna, do you understand yet why this involves you?” Anthony asked.

Her eyes widened but she maintained her denial. “No… I… Why would it involve me?”

The vampire laughed and shook his head. “I forget how recently you were introduced to our world. Your friend has been keeping a monumental secret from you. Tam is the woman Father Hadrian met in the fifties.”

“That’s not possible. I mean… we grew up together. Since we were kids…”

“Since you were about twelve?”

Anna shut her mouth and looked down at her hands.

“That’s what I thought. She must have died and started a new life cycle right around that time. We’re still not sure exactly what that means.”

The vampire king turned to the sorcerer and werecat. “Dayne, Greta, did you do the research I requested?”

Dayne nodded. “I might have a theory. Since magic users are human, we’ve always been a wild card. Up until now, we’ve kept ourselves mostly secret from normal humans and considered ourselves part of the preternatural world, but if Jack gets enough power, he could sway magic users to his side. I think he wants to expose the preternaturals and fight. He’s absorbing power from his kills to make it easier.”

Greta interrupted. “I don’t think anyone considered there could be magical and ritual significance to the way Jack the Ripper was killing. The killings got more complex, but if he was experimenting with the most potent methods for power absorption, that would happen. He could become unstoppable if he kills the other cyclers.”

“He’ll also be a true immortal,” Dayne said. “The more power a magic user has, the more slowly they age. Considering the nature of what he is already, my suspicion is that he’d become unkillable. He wouldn’t have to start over in a younger human body like what Hadrian observed with Tamara.”

Cain stared at the table. He squeezed his eyes shut as images flashed in his mind of Tam being ritualistically and gruesomely murdered. He didn’t know why it pissed him off so much.

“Cain?” Anthony said.

The demon looked up, startled at being included in the discussion. He tried to maintain a bored mask, but he couldn’t stop his hands from balling into fists or the heat from the glow in his eyes. “Yes?”

“We need you to protect the witch in your dimension. It’s the only place we’re guaranteed she’ll be safe. This affects everybody. If he kills all the cyclers, and magic users come out of the closet, they’ll band together, which risks your demons as well.”

Magic users were a demon’s one weakness. Demons were exempt from death and could heal any injury—true immortals, but they could still be trapped by a curse. They could still feel the weakness and suffering of starvation. They could still be hurt.

All eyes were on him, waiting for his response. He didn’t know how he felt about the little blonde witch, but if anybody was killing her, it was going to be him, not some cheesy magical serial killer with a world domination plot, and not one of Anthony’s thugs, either.

“I’ll protect her,” Cain said, avoiding eye contact with the others. This was killing the shit out of his reputation. There were dramatic gasps and whispering, but he ignored it.

“Of course, killing her would be more expedient... if you could find a way to make her stay dead.” The vampire king’s tone was bland.

“No!” Anna said.

“Anthony!” Charlee said.

“I said I’d protect her,” the demon snarled, finally meeting the eyes of everyone at the table. He dared them to start something with him.

“We’ll also need you to get her to tell you everything about being a cycler. We still don’t understand how or why they exist or the extent of their powers,” Anthony said.

Cain growled. “Watch yourself, half-breed. I could take you out without blinking. I’m sure you want to survive to be a daddy.”

Charlee’s hand went protectively over her pregnant belly, as if the child were in danger instead of the cocky vampire standing beside the projector screen.

Anthony glared. “Don’t forget, I have magic users in my employ. I have a coven of vampires that stretches across North America and contacts with vampire leaders all over the world. Our numbers are far greater than yours. Let’s not make this personal. We’ve got a bigger enemy to fight.”

Cain was bored now. “Are we done here? I’ve got a witch to collect.” He stood, already turning toward the door.

“Cain…” It was the first word Luc had spoken since Cain had arrived. “Take Anna with you. She knows where the witch lives.”

That would make things easier.

Luc’s mate recoiled, gripping tight to his arm. “What? No! Come with me,” she said.

“I should stay for the rest of the meeting. My brother can’t harm you, remember? You can’t hold a solid form without me,” Luc said.

When she’d given her soul and became a demon’s mate, she’d had to die first. It made her existence somewhat ghostly. Only her mate could give her a full, solid form. Gradually, she would gain the same powers as Luc, but it was a lengthy process—centuries. Anna looked from Cain to Luc a couple of times. She finally sighed and let go of her mate.

Cain headed for the door. He didn’t bother waiting for her, assuming she’d follow. And if she didn’t, he’d just have to find the infuriating witch on his own.

You can read more about Life Cycle in my review, here.

Synopsis:

Immortality can be a bitch…

Two ancient souls. Two weary fighters, torn between love and hate, forced to decide if the other could be worth living for.

Purchase What Kills Me:

Amazon l Kobo l Smashwords l All Romance Ebooks

Barnes & Noble (Printed also available)

Meet the author

Zoe Winters writes quirky and sometimes dark paranormal romance. Her favorite colours are rainbow and clear.

Zoe's goal as a writer?

"I want to write a book that makes you almost pee your pants because you dont want to put it down long enough to go to the bathroom. I want to write a book that you miss meals for. I want to write a book you miss bathing for. I want to grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page, where you crumble to the floor in a blissful heap, ask for a cigarette, and say: "Damn, was it good for you too," then tell 300 of your closest friends about it on Twitter."

Connect with Zoe online:
Website l Blog l Twitter l Facebook l Myspace l Goodreads

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. I absolutely loved this book in the series, Cain is fab!

To view the schedule for the Life Cycle tour, stop by Dark Minds Book Tours. There you'll find reviews, giveaway's, interview's, guest post's etc.

Have a great week folks xo

TToria♥

Adult review - Life Cycle

2012-09-03T01:07:00.002+01:00

Life Cycle by Zoe Winters

Series: The Preternaturals #4

Publisher: IncuBooks (July 2012)

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Tags: PNR series, shifters, demons, vamps, witches

ASIN: B008OCMEWI
Format: Kindle

File size: 330 KB

Purchase: Amazon l Kobo l Smashwords l All Romance Ebooks l Barnes & Noble (Printed also available)

Synopsis & my thoughts: Immortality can be a bitch…

Tamara has lived nearly two thousand years, trapped by a spell of her own creation. Hunted by her enemy and former lover, she knows there is only one man strong enough to release her from the curse. But will Cain honor her death wish, or keep her for himself, whatever the cost?

Two ancient souls. Two weary fighters, torn between love and hate, forced to decide if the other could be worth living for.

Sigh. Cain...
That is all.

Haha. I jest of course, that isn't all. But really, Cain takes the shiny PNR-hotty crown this month and will hold on to it for a while no doubt.

I just love the characters Zoe creates in all her books. Antagonist Jack is especially memorable in this and cleverly written, even when he isn't in a 'scene', he's feared. There's more to him, but I won't go into too much detail and spoil some cracking points.

Tam is my favourite heroine in the series so far, kick-ass and a witch that does not take shite, she’s immortal so has been round-the-block a few times. Every time Tam is reborn she is back on the run from Jack, the power-hungry, fellow cycler, that needs to kill her in order to gain even more power.
Understandably, Tam wants to die -for good. No more running from Jack or living a life over and over where she watches those she loves die. But the only one that can kill her is Jack himself or some one equally, if not more, powerful.

Cue witch-hater, Cain's, time to step in.

He's strong enough to take her out, considering he’s ancient and the equivalent of the devil. Not to mention an incubus -hello happy ending for Tam!
But before killing her, Cain wants to toy around with the witch. He's met his match however, and so it’s himself that gets lost in the game.
This isn't a split-second change in his character: one minute he has a heart of ice, the next he's in love. No. Romance between the two does blossom gradually, and is fought against the entire time by them both. As you're reading, the outcome of the situation is anyone's guess, along with the plot's conclusion.

This book in the series has to be my favourite so far. I'll even excuse Father Hadrian being a muppet in this one (I read about Father Hadrian first in Dark Mercy and loved him), because his actions in this book took on the "for the greater good" vibe.
Along with F.Hadrian, other characters from previous books play their parts in Life Cycle too. Don't fret if you're not up to date with the series, or if you haven't read any -you don't need to! The plot is easily followed and all of the characters are distinctly obvious when they're on the page.

Summary: Life Cycle ticks all the boxes on my pnr must-have check list. Danger, intensity, love, unique and memorable characters, witty and convincing dialogue, unpredictable plot, scorching sex scenes, creative world-building, -the list goes on.

It's just another fantastic read from Zoe Winters. She's built such a foundation that this series can stem out into so many stories within her Preternaturals world and always have a new direction. Keep them coming I say!

Recommended to: All PNR fans, fans of those keywords in the tags. Charlaine Harris, J.R Ward, Larissa Ione, Lara Adrian and L.J Smith fans <- though Smith fans take note that this is an adult read. Fans of Kitty Thomas! Yes, the other pen name of Zoe Winters, get this series read!

Content warning: A bit of nookie -sizzling scenes- as expected in a pnr with incubus! No taboo scenarios though.
'Violence' should get a mention too. Jack (antagonist) is a little on the crazy side, see quote two below, that's nothing compared to his antics carving and eating folk though...

Books within the series: Preternatural novels and shorts

Reviews:

Dark Mercy. (Preternaturals short).

The Catalyst. (Preternaturals #3)

Quotes:

"I like that you're not scared of me." -Cain

"I punched her. You didn't think I'd waste magic did you?" -Jack

Meet the author:

Zoe Winters writes quirky and sometimes dark paranormal romance. Her favorite colours are rainbow and clear.

Zoe's goal as a writer?

Don't forget to stop by Dark Minds Book Tours to check out the schedule for this tour. There you'll find reviews, giveaway's, interview's, guest post's etc.

You can read an excerpt from Life Cycle, here.

Thanks for reading, have a great week xo

TToria♥

*A copy of this book was provided to me by the author. No payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review.*

"Do one thing every day to help someone else..."

2012-08-27T01:07:00.001+01:00

My most memorable moment...

an author guest post by Wynne Channing

Thank you so much to TToria for giving me this space on her fabulous blog to tell you guys a little story.

She asked me to share a memorable moment from my life. How do you choose just one? As a journalist, I’ve had the weirdest experiences and met so many inspiring people. Was it that time in Thailand where that elephant gave me a massage? Or the time I was in an aerobatic airplane and the G-force drained all the oxygen from my brain, enveloping me in darkness? Or the time that a man fired a gun down the street and rather than run away, I had to run towards it because I was the cop reporter at my newspaper?

I’ve chosen to share this one story because it inspired some key scenes in my debut adventure novel, What Kills Me.

Several years ago, I was in Hong Kong on a newspaper assignment and I was visiting a shelter for abused nannies. (Hundreds of thousands of women work in Hong Kong as caregivers to children and the elderly — they leave their own families behind in Malaysia or the Philippines to raise other kids.)

I spent the day inside this narrow, stuffy building, sitting on bunk beds or squatting on the floor to eat with these women. This one woman, I can’t forget. She was quiet and pretty, with willowy limbs and cropped hair. A U-shaped purple welt marred her thigh. Her employer had slammed a tin can on her leg.

I was about to leave when all of the ladies gathered in the main room. There were about two dozen of them and they started singing. Someone brought out a cake with a lit candle. Oh my God, I thought. Earlier, I had told one of them that it was my birthday.

These women had gone through so much. They had suffered. They were struggling. And here they were, showing the most incredible kindness to someone they had just met.

I think about that moment often. That kindness is at the core of my heroine, Zee. Sure, she’s funny and brave. But both of those things spawn from her trying to care for others, trying to make others happy. And several characters show her kindness in return.

No matter what, if we can do one thing every day to help someone else, however, small the gesture may be, all of our lives will be better for it.

What a really great post Wynne!

I really wanted to write a couple of ohymygods after examples of your memorable moments.

I definitely think the ladies showing such kindness comes out on top!

Why don't you write or tweet Wynne about a kind gesture that you recently gave or received.

Has your most memorable moment included such tender-heartedness from another?

Connect with Wynne online:

Website l Facebook l Twitter l Goodreads

Synopsis:

An ancient prophecy warns of a girl destined to cause the extinction of the vampire race.

So when 17-year-old Axelia falls into a sacred well filled with blood and emerges a vampire, the immortal empire believes she is this legendary destroyer. Hunted by soldiers and mercenaries, Axelia and her reluctant ally, the vampire bladesmith Lucas, must battle to survive.

How will she convince the empire that she is just an innocent teenager-turned bloodsucker and not a creature of destruction? And if she cannot, can a vampire who is afraid of bugs summon the courage to fight a nation of immortals?

Purchase What Kills Me:

Amazon US l Amazon UK l Barnes & Noble l Smashwords l Kobo

(What Kills Me is only $0.99/ £0.77 for the duration of the tour folks, so go grab your copy asap!)

Meet the author:

Wynne Channing

Wynne Channing is an award-winning national newspaper reporter and young adult novelist. She loves telling stories and as a journalist, she has interviewed everyone from Daniel Radcliffe and Hugh Jackman to the president of the Maldives and Duchess Sarah Ferguson. The closest she has come to interviewing a vampire is sitting down with True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard (he didn’t bite). She briefly considered calling her debut novel "Well" so then everyone would say: "Well written by Wynne Channing."

Connect with Wynne online:

Website l Facebook l Twitter l Goodreads

Thanks for stopping by & reading folks!

Read more about What Kills Me with an excerpt & my review.

Don't forget to stop by Dark Minds Book Tours to check out the schedule for this tour. There you'll find reviews, giveaway's, interview's, guest post's etc.

And remember, What Kills Me is only $0.99/ £0.77 for the duration of the tour...

Have a great week!

TToria♥

“My name is Axelia but everybody calls me Zee.”

2012-08-27T00:42:00.003+01:00

An excerpt from What Kills Me by Wynne Channing

Tags: Paranormal, Vamps, YA, Romance

A human girl will be re-born a vampire. She will shed the blood of all who walk in darkness and bring about the death of the entire vampire race.

—Ancient vampire prophecy

Chapter 1

The sun’s down. I am so dead.

I walked out of the bakery with a box of cannoli balanced in my hands and when I saw the dark sky, my smile faded. I shouldered my way through the crowds and rushed into a piazza. The clock on the church tower read 9:25 p.m. I rounded the fountain in the center of the square, my flip flops slapping at my heels. I shifted my box of pastries so that it was under my arm like a football and quickened my pace.

Sofia is going to kill me. When I left the house at 7:30 p.m., I had told her that I’d be only twenty minutes. But I’d lost track of time wandering the narrow cobblestone streets, snapping pictures. So far, I wasn’t being a good guest in her home. Two days ago, I had accidentally used dishwasher soap in her laundry machine, producing a titanic bubble bath. This was not the way to redeem myself.

A few people sat on the stone stairs around the fountain. A bearded man plucked at a guitar and nodded his head. A woman reclined against her boyfriend, her hands on his knees as if they were the arms of a chair.

One young man stood alone on the top of the stairs. His hands were in the pockets of a charcoal coat with an asymmetrical zipper that cut across his chest. His face was backlit against the street lamps, but I knew that he was staring at me. He had such rigid posture that nothing but his head moved as he watched me cross the square.

I dropped my gaze. The straps of my backpack dug into my shoulders and shifted my T-shirt. I tugged at the hem so that the Canadian flag was centered in the middle of my chest. He probably wants to rob me. My father had warned me about pickpockets in Rome. A few days before my trip, he had come into my room with a bulgy blue fanny pack: “To keep your valuables safe.”

From the corner of my eye I could still see the man’s face pointed in my direction, and I heard my best friend’s voice in my head. Zee, he’s checking you out. See if he’s hot. Ryka had encouraged me to have a summer fling. The only fling I’d ever had with a guy was when Felix Lewis flung me in the air during cheerleading tryouts. “Find someone and have fun,” but avoid the bad guys, she had said. She wanted me to keep my other valuables safe.

Pretending to look back at the clock, I glanced at the fountain. The guy was gone. I searched the piazza but didn’t see him. Too bad. He might have been cute. Would his trying to pick my back pocket count as second base?

I turned down a lane sandwiched between two square buildings and wove through a group of men in soccer jerseys. An old man in an undershirt and house slippers stood in the street with a dusty poodle, and I returned his sullen glare with a smile and a nod.

After walking several minutes, something seemed wrong. Okay, I remember passing this restaurant with the row of people eating on white linen tablecloths under white umbrellas. I remember this tight street with the parked cars on my left. But I don’t remember the street opening into a parking lot and this giant purple bush.

A mass of fuchsia flowers cascaded down the side of a building, like a purple monster arm, reaching for the ground with its branchy fingers. I would have remembered this. I doubled back through the dim streets but then couldn’t find my way to the piazza. Don’t panic.

I took a mental inventory of the contents of my bag: a journal, my wallet, my passport, my digital camera, a bottle of water. Of course, I didn’t take the note card with Sofia’s address and phone number on it. It’s on my dresser. Of course, I didn’t take a map. I could see Sofia’s round face, scrunched with disapproval, the creases on her frowning forehead. I performed a frustrated pirouette.

“Come on,” I said, exasperated with myself.

“Excuse me?” A voice said behind me.

I spun around, and there he was in the middle of the road. The guy from the fountain. I recognized his jacket and his tall, stiff stance.

“Sorry. I was talking to myself,” I said.

He took a step toward me and his face shocked me. He had high cheek bones and clean-shaven, pale skin. His deep-set blue eyes were in shadow under thick, dark eyebrows, but they were luminous.

I realized then that I was staring with my mouth ajar.

“You’re American?” he asked in his Italian accent.

“No, I’m from Winnipeg. It’s in Canada,” I said, pointing to my T-shirt. I glanced away, feeling weird that I had just directed his attention to my chest.

He nodded. “You are on vacation?”

“I’m living here for two months studying Italian.”

“Well then, welcome to Italia,” he said, and his pale pink lips smiled. “Do you like it here?”

“I’ve only been here for about a week and I love it.”

“What do you love most?” The word, “lah-ve,” filled his mouth thickly.

“I love the architecture, the food,” I said. “If I could eat gelato every day for the rest of my life, I would.”

“Then you must be sweet.”

His smile widened and I felt embarrassed. To quash my anxiety, I thrust my hand at him. “I’m Zee,” I said.

He seemed startled, tucking in his dimpled chin to gaze at my hand. “Zee?”

“My name is Axelia but everybody calls me Zee.”

“Paolo,” he said.

He slipped his smooth, cool hand into mine. I gripped his palm and shook it vigorously.

“Eggs-ee-lee-ah?” he said, pronouncing every syllable of my name. “I like it.”

“Thanks. I like it too. It’s spelled A-X-E-L-I-A; but the X is soft. Though I hated it when I was young. In kindergarten, someone spread a totally untrue rumor that ‘Zee likes pee,’ and then, you know, at recess, it was always ‘Zee likes pee, Zee likes pee.’”

I laughed and when he didn’t join me, I cleared my throat to silence myself. “And I have no clue why I told you that story, since we just met.”

Oh, Zee. Always babbling when you’re nervous.

He cocked his head and studied my face. “Zee, would you like to go with me for a gelato?” he asked.

Whoa. Is this beautiful guy asking me out? Ryka would be celebrating with corniness: “He doesn’t want to steal your wallet. He wants to steal your heart.”

“Uh, thank you, Paolo,” I said, relishing the opportunity to use his name. “But I actually need to get home.”

“Where do you live?”

“Good question. I mean, I’m not sure. I’m a bit lost,” I said with a shrug and something in between a grin and a grimace. “It’s on a narrow street around here. There’s a café on the street. There’s a pizzeria. I know—every narrow street has a café and a pizzeria. And I don’t have a map or an address. I might just have to live on the streets, survive on cannoli, and sing for coins.”

“You sing?”

“Yes but I’m sure people will pay me to stop.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I will help you.”

“Oh, I remember!” I exclaimed. “There’s a white church on my street.”

“Via della Scala has a white church,” he said. “And a café and a pizzeria.”

“Via della Scala, that’s it!” I said.

He put his hand over his heart and bowed slightly. “May I have the honor of walking you there, Zee?”

“That would be lovely.”

As we walked back to Sofia’s apartment, I chattered to fill the silence. I told him about the laundry fiasco and about my Japanese housemate, Miyuki. At one point, I realized that I was nervously swinging the box of cannoli while I walked. Paolo kept his eyes on me while I looked everywhere else. His suede coat sleeve would brush my bare arm, giving me goose bumps.

“How old are you?” I said.

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“Me too,” he replied.

“I start university in the fall. I’m going to take general arts courses for now because I’m not sure what field I’d like to get into. My father’s an aerospace engineer and my big sister is studying mechanical engineering. But I almost failed physics and math in high school. So for the safety of mankind, I don’t think I should get a job building anything. I love taking pictures so maybe I could be a photographer. What do you do?”

“I’m a student.”

“What are you studying?”

“I’m a student of life,” he said. He pursed his lips when he smiled.

Was that code for unemployed?

“I see,” I said, instead. “And what have you learned so far?”

“I’ve learned that treasures present themselves when you least expect them,” he said. “And you? What has your life taught you?”

“That I shouldn’t walk around without a map,” I said. “And that dish soap doesn’t go in washers. Actually, I’m here because I want more life experience. I feel like I’ve been pretty sheltered in Winnipeg.”

“I’ve never been there. Is it nice?”

“Yes, but it gets cold.”

“Cold doesn’t bother me.”

“This cold would. Our winters are brutal. It’s so cold sometimes that my eyes water and then my wet eyelashes freeze together.”

He chuckled. His teeth were small and perfect. For a moment, I imagined walking with him through these streets, laughing and holding hands. I imagined him teaching me Italian. I imagined him kissing me. Then I could add “kissed a hot guy” to my experiences, right after “traveled outside of Winnipeg.”

Suddenly I recognized the square planters in front of Sofia’s apartment farther down the street.

“Thank God, we’ve found it!” I blurted. Then I turned to Paolo. “I didn’t mean thank God because I don’t like your company. You’re wonderful company in fact.”

“I also enjoyed your company.”

“Thank you so much. I owe you my life for helping me get back to Sofia’s.”

One side of his lips curled up. “Then repay me,” he said.

“Okay.” I channeled Ryka’s boldness. “I could buy you a gelato?”

“Yes. Let’s meet tomorrow at nine fifteen.”

“Where?” I asked. I could feel my cheeks flushing.

“Right here,” he said, pointing to the pizzeria to his left.

“Done,” I said. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Goodnight, Zee.”

“Goodnight, Paolo.”

You can read more about What Kills Me in my review, here.

Plus, find out what Wynne's most memorable moment is.

Synopsis:

An ancient prophecy warns of a girl destined to cause the extinction of the vampire race.

Purchase What Kills Me:

Amazon US l Amazon UK l Barnes & Noble l Smashwords l Kobo

(What Kills Me is only $0.99/ £0.77 for the duration of the tour, so go grab your copy asap!)

Meet the author

Wynne Channing

Connect with Wynne online:

Website l Facebook l Twitter l Goodreads

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

Don't forget to stop by Dark Minds Book Tours schedule for the tour. There you'll find reviews, giveaway's, interview's, guest post's etc.

And remember, What Kills Me is only $0.99/ £0.77 for the duration of the tour...

Have a great week!

TToria♥

Review: What Kills Me

2012-08-27T00:40:00.002+01:00

What Kills Me by Wynne Channing

Publisher: Jet & Jack Press (June 2012)

Genre: Young adult Paranormal

Tags: Vamps, Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy,New YA series

ASIN: B0089H01VO
Format: Kindle

File size: 306 KB
Purchase: Amazon US l Amazon UK l Barnes & Noble l Smashwords l Kobo

(What Kills Me is only $0.99/ £0.77 for the duration of the tour folks, so go grab your copy asap!)

Synopsis & my thoughts: An ancient prophecy warns of a girl destined to cause the extinction of the vampire race.

Jeez am I getting some good reads through DMBT! If it isn't some shockingly good erotica of some kind, it's a YA read good enough to keep me on my toes along side them. YA, young adult, I used to hear that and immediately presume: love triangles, cliched heroines, sparkly vamps etc... Vaempires: Revolution by Thomas Winship, and this, What Kills Me, are two that have changed my mind & I'm back to being a YA & vamp fan again.

This in no way was predictable. Though, when I first began reading and found young Axelia (Zee) smitten with the dark and mysterious Paolo, I thought it was heading that way. But Zee has more obstacles to face than simply falling head over heels for some 'badass'. Instead, she falls into a well. Not any old well, one that is full of blood from the Ancients: the first vampires to walk the earth & with great powers (see quotes below). Written in the 'Sacriva', and deemed the truth by the vampire race, these Ancients had predicted someone would rise and become the destruction of them all, unfortunately for Zee, she is that person.

Once this is discovered, the novel's pace really picks up speed as Zee travels the globe trying to escape the Aramatta guards (vamp law folk, led by the meany General). I love a wee shock, and I got it in this when author, Wynne, wasn't afraid to put her likeable characters through hell & actually kill some off. It was tactfully done, their deaths meant omg moments, but there was still enough going on that it was simply the case of looking forward to not knowing what awful thing is going to happen next. Or if Zee actually makes it through at all. I feel all characters were necessary to aiding the plot's progression, each of them so individual and strong.

Zee ranks as one of my favourite heroines in a young paranormal read. She's written as a convincing seventeen year old and developed well to suit her role, considering the first impression she makes as a somewhat sheltered girl.

By this I don't mean she breaks out of her 'well-behaved' shell and turns all I'm all world-wise, feisty, kick-ass, etc in the blink of an eye. It's a gradual thing as she fights for survival, keeping the element of innocence and kindness whilst maturing with every crappy situation she's put in. But yes, she does eventually realize she can kick some heiny.

Now, the romance...

This too, is satisfyingly gradual!

Haha. Usually with books on TToria they're anything but. But hey now, I wasn't disappointed. I know, I'm shocked too.

But in all seriousness, the romance in this novel just slots into the story as a whole, perfectly. There was no love-at-first-sight relationship going on here. Which works sometimes yeah, but it wouldn't have with this. I think it's because Zee's character has that moment to start with, with ol' dark & mysterious, & as a reader you think that is the relationship that is going to progress, but it takes a different route...

No spoilers!

The hero in this is in fact Lucas. Zee and Lucas meet whilst she's on the run and he pretty much hates her to begin with, more-so when she endangers his family. It gets even worse before they are then thrust into utter chaos

--> Hankies at the ready.

You can see why their relationship has to be gradual, the no liking her thing prevents fireworks & they're ducking from death every five minutes; there's no time for smooching! But he's the charmer of the pages by being a survivor just like Zee. Sarcastic, likeable and yeah, sometimes morbid, he isn't all hearts and flowers, but he is practical. And developed well too.

Knowing this is the first in a series (I think. I'm sure?) is exciting because their relationship has had a big foundation. But can they have as much chemistry and be as exciting not dodging knives/ sunlight or fangs? No idea.

And how in the hec is the general (antagonist) going to be topped?

As you can see I have more questions than a usual review here! Once you've read it, you'll be the same no doubt.

Summary: An adventure! The non-stop action was complemented by the sprinkle of progressive romance, and the characters unforgettable. A really good and easily read fantasy novel.

Read an excerpt here

Recommended to: Any one really. Particularly those who enjoy a Paranormal read with vamps. Fans of Stephanie Meyer, Cassandra Clare, Thomas Winship, to name a few.

Content warning: None that would need a red flag waved at you. Some YA's have a little hanky-panky, this has none. Death's here, there & everywhere would suggest it is a tad violent? But I reckon no more than the rest of the books in the genre.

Quotes:

"The only fling I'd ever had with a guy was when Felix Lewis flung me in the air during cheerleading tryouts."

"In the beginning, there were seven ancients. They were considered to be the first vampires. It is said that the vampires & humans worshipped the Ancients as gods, for they had infinite strength & terrifying powers. They walked under the sun. They knew what was in your mind. They could predict the future. Their prophecies became the Sacriva."

Meet the author:

Wynne Channing

Connect with Wynne online:

Website l Facebook l Twitter l Goodreads

Don't forget to stop by Dark Minds Book Tours to check out the schedule for this tour. There you'll find reviews, giveaway's, interview's, guest post's etc.

And remember, What Kills Me is only $0.99/ £0.77 for the duration of the tour...

Thanks for reading, have a great week xo

TToria♥

Dirty Little Secret #31

2012-08-23T19:37:00.000+01:00

Under the Covers

This week's question:

"What quote or picture would you get tattooed from a book & where would you get it?"

I'd go with something written. There are so many quotes from books I love.

I'll use two of the images I made with some of my favourite...

From Caressed By Ice by Nalini Singh.

I'd get this quote on my ass cheek...

Hahahaha No, I jest.

From Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard

It seems quite wrong to get this quote on myself to be honest. I just like the meaning behind it in the book.

No, in all seriousness, if I was to get a tattoo with a quote from a book it would be from either The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, or from Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde. There are some great quotes in both.

I'd get it on my side beside something like this:

What's your dirty little secret?

TToria♥

Fancy a free read?

2012-08-21T00:01:00.000+01:00

Yes, I said free...

Ok, I know TToria has totally been neglected for the past couple of weeks. It's not that I've lost interest, jeez no. It's that I've started a new job and my hubby is still away...

It's taken a while to get into a comfortable routine at home. My young son is back at school, so morning's are rushed. I don't have a maid, so night's are busy.

I thought me & caffeine had a close relationship before, it's now bordering on obsession...

Right, well anyway, I did mention a freebie...

Today, Tuesday the 21st of August, The Elusive "O" becomes yours with the click of a button.

Written by the author of Betrothed, Courting Celia and Loving Lucia, Renee Rose has written this short story which will be free on Amazon for five days only.

What's The Elusive "O" about?

Molly Winters had never been able to orgasm with a man before. Nor had she ever confessed to a partner her interest in spanking. When her co-worker Josh notices the odd look on her face after someone casually uses the word “spank,” he has an idea of just what might turn her on.

On a business trip to Vancouver, the two find it easy to carve out a little time to sneak away and experiment in Josh's hotel room.

Has Molly finally found the partner who can make all her fantasies come true?

Go get your free copy today.

And give me a shout when you finish it so we can share thoughts!

Amazon.com l Amazon Uk

Meet the author

Renee Rose is an author of erotic romance. She received a Bachelor's of Arts in Creative Writing, where she was trained to write poetry and literary fiction. She spent the next 13 years numbing her creative mind as a technical writer.

Happily recovered, she is thrilled to be incorporating her fantasies into fiction, publishing soft core spanking romances with Blushing Books. She lives in the southwest with her husband and young children.

Connect with Renee online:

Website l Blog l Goodreads

You can find other work by Renee on Blushing Books and my review of Betrothed, here.

I'll be posting again in the next couple of days, plus a review on Monday the 27th, of What Kills Me, a Young Adult novel by Wynne Channing...

Things will be back to normal soon. I miss DLS Thursday's! :-D

Have a great week folks.

TToria♥

Author guest post

2012-08-07T20:14:00.000+01:00

How I Wrote Crashing Eden

by Michael Sussman

My first novel, Crashing Eden, tells the story of Joss Kazdan, a 17-year-old juvenile delinquent who is depressed and guilt-ridden following the loss of his younger brother. After suffering a concussion, he awakens to a beautiful sound that no one else can hear. He becomes convinced that it’s the primordial vibration of the universe, and by attuning himself to it he experiences ecstasy and feels at one with the cosmos. Things get even stranger when friends of his are able to construct a device that produces this same Edenic consciousness. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’ll just say that what starts out so promising, soon leads to generational conflict and cataclysmic destruction that threatens the very survival of humanity!

You may wonder: How did I come to write such a strange novel? I believe the story emerged from the convergence of the following three strands of my life.

1.Adolescence was a painful and confusing time for me, when my struggles with depression first began. I experienced mood swings, became increasingly introverted, socially isolated, and had to contend with deep feelings of guilt, self-hatred, and suppressed rage. These experiences were influential in my later becoming a psychologist, helping others to cope with the ravages of depression.

2.During my later teens, I developed a passionate interest in Eastern mysticism. I read books by mystics and gurus, started to meditate, and even joined a cult called Divine Light Mission. In my quest to transcend mundane existence, I also lived for a while in a commune located—I kid you not—in Paradise, Nova Scotia.

One night, I suffered a concussion in a car crash in which I was a passenger and was lucky to survive. Like my protagonist in Crashing Eden, I spent the days following the concussion in what I can only call a state of grace, filled with deep feelings of gratitude and joy.

3. Throughout my life I’ve been interested in world mythology. I’m especially intrigued by the widespread myths suggesting that humans have degenerated from an ancient state of grace, symbolized by Paradise or the Golden Age.

To sum up, I believe that my history of depression and experience as a psychotherapist allowed me to get inside the head of my adolescent protagonist and find his voice. My fascination with mysticism and my personal experience of grace led me to conceive of a transcendent state to which my protagonist aspires. And my familiarity with the Golden Age myths provided a framework for the story.

From there, I used my imagination to envision how the God of the Old Testament might react to an impudent gang of teenagers who discover a way to crash the Gates of Eden.

That’s when the story gets really interesting!

Synopsis:

For one boy and his friends, the path to Paradise comes at a cost—one they may not be prepared to pay.

When a biking accident leaves 17-year-old Joss Kazdan with the ability to hear things others can't, reality as he knows it begins to unravel.

A world of legends exists beyond the ordinary life he's always known, and he is transported to the same Paradise he's studying in World Mythology. But the strange gets even stranger when his new friends build a device that delivers people through the gates of the Garden of Eden.

Now Samael, the Creator God, is furious. As Samael rains down his apocalyptic devastation on the ecstasy-seeking teens, Joss and his companions must find a way to appease Samael—or the world will be destroyed forever.

Purchase:

Barnes & Noble l Smashwords

Amazon l Amazon UK (paperback) l Amazon UK (e-book)

Author bio:

Michael Sussman is the author of Crashing Eden, a YA fantasy/paranormal novel, and Otto Grows Down, a children’s picture book featuring illustrations by Scott Magoon.

Dr. Sussman is a clinical psychologist and has also published two books for mental health professionals. He’s the author of A Curious Calling: Unconscious Motivations for Practicing Psychotherapy and the editor of A Perilous Calling: The Hazards of Psychotherapy Practice.

He resides in the Boston area with his son, Ollie.

Connect with Michael online:

Website/ Blog l Twitter l Facebook l Goodreads

Thanks for stopping by & reading folks! I hope you enjoyed Michael's words.
TToria♥

Woo hoo giveaway time!

2012-08-05T18:03:00.000+01:00

Oh jeebers, I know I don't usually post on Sunday's, but I have something fab to share with you!!

Zoe Winters, aka Kitty Thomas, has an amazing giveaway happening right now, along with fellow author Kimberly Kinrade. Now, those of you who happen to kindly drop by TToria often will know how big of a fan I am of Zoe's, (reviews here), so imagine my excitement when I read this...

Win a Kindle Fire and six signed paperback books from authors

Zoe Winters and Kimberly Kinrade

My happy-seal-clap was definitely performed, more-so when I checked out Kimberly's books on Goodreads. Sod the Kindle Fire, just give me the books!! Haha.

Anyway folks, hop on over to Zoe's & Kimberly's sites, links above, have a look around and leave some love. There you'll find more details about the books and the rafflecopter to fill in.

Good luck!!

TToria♥

Trailer reveal & Giveaway!!

2012-08-04T09:19:00.001+01:00

I hope everyone has had a great start to the weekend! To make it even better, how about a giveaway?

That's right, head on over to Darkest Sins to enter & to see what's up for grabs. Plus, check out the new trailer for
VAEMPIRES: WHITE CHRISTMAS...

Darkest Sins: Vaempires: White Christmas Trailer Reveal & Giveaw...: VAEMPIRES: WHITE CHRISTMAS (A PRELUDE TO THE EVOLUTIONARY WAR SERIES) It’s almost Christmas. With the global holiday days away, the...

Good luck!!

TToria♥

Adult excerpt - Giving It Up

2012-08-03T01:28:00.000+01:00

An excerpt from Giving It Up by Amber Lin

Adult content

Tags: Adult, Contemporary (Dark) Erotica,

We stripped at the same time, both eager. I wanted to see his body, to witness what he offered me, but it was dark in the room. Then he kissed me back onto the bed, and there was no more time to wonder. The cheap bedspread was rough and cool against my skin. His hands stroked over my breasts and then played gently with my nipples.

My body responded, turning liquid, but something was wrong.

I’d had this problem before. Not everyone wanted to play rough, but I was surprised that I’d misread him. His muscles were hard, the pads of his fingers were calloused. I didn’t know how he could touch me so softly. Everything about him screamed that he could hurt me, so why didn’t he?

I wanted him to have his nasty way with me, but every sweet caress destroyed the illusion. My fantasy was to let him do whatever he wanted with me, but not this.

“Harder,” I said. “I need it harder.”

Instead his hands gentled. The one that had been holding my breast traced the curve around and under.

I groaned in frustration. “What’s wrong?”

He reached down, still breathing heavily, and pressed a finger lightly to my cunt, then stroked upward through the moisture. I gasped, rocking my hips to follow his finger.

“You like this,” he said.

Yes, I liked it. I was undeniably aroused but too aware. I needed the emptiness of being taken. “I like it better rough.”

Colin frowned. My eyes widened at the ferocity of his expression.

In one smooth motion he flipped me onto my stomach. I lost my breath from the surprise and impact. His left hand slid under my body between my legs and cupped me. His right hand fisted in my hair, pulling my head back. His erection throbbed beside my ass in promise. I wanted to beg him to fuck me, but all I could do was gasp. He didn’t need to be told, though, and ground against me, using my hair as a handle.

That small pain on my scalp was perfection, sharp and sweet. Numbness spread through me, as did relief.

The pain dimmed. My arousal did too, but that was okay. I was only vaguely aware of him continuing to work my body from behind.

I went somewhere else in my mind. I’d stay that way all night.

At least that’s what usually happened.

My review

Synopsis:

Allie prowls the club for a man who will use her hard and then ditch her. Hey, it’s not rape if she wants it. Instead she finds Colin, who looks tough but treats her tenderly, despite her protests.

He tempts her, but kindness and a few mindblowing orgasms aren’t enough to put her back together again. Allie has no hope for a real relationship. Two years ago her best friend betrayed her in the worst possible way – she’d be stupid to trust a man again. Besides, she has her daughter to think of, the only good thing to have come from that dark night.

But when her rapist returns, threatening her sanity and custody of her daughter, Allie turns to Colin. Under his protection and patient touch, Allie begins to heal and learns to hope. Colin’s no saint, though, and his criminal past draws danger of its own. Allie must fight to protect her child and the man she loves, hoping her newfound power will be enough to save them all.

Meet the author:

Amber Lin

Amber married her high school sweetheart, birthed a kid who’s smarter than she is, and spends her nights writing down her dirty thoughts. In other words, life is good.

Connect with Amber online:

Website l Facebook l Twitter l Goodreads

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

Have a great weekend.
TToria♥

Adult review - Giving It Up

2012-08-03T01:27:00.004+01:00

Giving It Up - Amber Lin

Publisher: Loose Id LLC (June 2012)

Genre: Contemporary Erotica

Tags: Dark, romance
ASIN: B008H4W2ES
Format: Kindle

File size: 430
Purchase: Amazon l Fictionwise l All Romance Books

Synopsis & my thoughts: Allie prowls the club for a man who will use her hard and then ditch her. Hey, it’s not rape if she wants it. Instead she finds Colin, who looks tough but treats her tenderly, despite her protests. He tempts her, but kindness and a few mindblowing orgasms aren’t enough to put her back together again. Allie has no hope for a real relationship. Two years ago her best friend betrayed her in the worst possible way – she’d be stupid to trust a man again. Besides, she has her daughter to think of, the only good thing to have

come from that dark night. But when her rapist returns, threatening her sanity and custody of her daughter, Allie turns to Colin. Under his protection and patient touch, Allie begins to heal and learns to hope. Colin’s no saint, though, and his criminal past draws danger of its own. Allie must fight to protect her child and the man she loves, hoping her newfound power will be enough to save them all.

I got done reading Giving It Up, the other day and wow. Do you like truly troubled protagonists? If so, pick this up. Heroine, Allie, faces so many obstacles within her life you truly think the poor girl will never catch a break. Hero, Colin, should wear a cape. Fair enough he's got issues of his own, but Knight-In-Shining-Mafia-Armour is his middle name. An emotional, sometimes dark and addictive read. *Review to follow*

(Written by me in a previous post).

This initially reminded me of the movie, Black Snake Moan. The two leading ladies in both this book & that film have a troubled past and both feel the only way to deal with their haunted minds is to numb it, in a sense. Their outlet is sex. Protagonist Allie, needs her 'date night's', where she visits a club purely to find a man that will have his way with her. Roughly. She feels this is the best coping mechanism and it's only when Colin enters her life that she re-evaluates everything. This 'hard' looking man she meets in the club turns out to be so gentle in the bedroom, too gentle. Read this excerpt to get a better picture.

I usually find tortured heroines whiney, leaning to favour the tortured heroes, haha. But Allie wasn't whiny and irritating, she was absorbing.
From the get-go it's clear she's a troubled soul. I think she is perhaps one of the most anguished protagonists I've read about this year. At least she sticks out as such. The fact a child, Allie's daughter Bailey, is included in her journey, makes it all the more heartbreaking.

Every action and emotion Allie made and felt, you're right there with her. She's a fighter, but at the same time consumed by the awful event in her past. Which then dictates her choices and actions. It really is a touching journey she's on. Written brilliantly too. Allie's character as a whole is well developed, she transcends the obstacles she faces as best she can, growing from little-girl-lost to a young self-aware woman. It's not in the blink of an eye, and it's not fully, but she gets to a better place gradually. The intimate scenes are scorching, dramatic, emotional, shocking, worrying, hot and enticing (at different times of course, not just one scene). And not just between Allie and Colin but every character. An unusual combination of adjectives to use, but having a character as tortured as Allie, it's expected and it's sometimes dark.

As for Knight-In-shiny-mafia-armour, Colin, as I've dubbed him, he remained more of a mystery throughout. He's a strong, almost silent type and though a bit more dialogue from himself would have been grand, the fact his presence still announced 'alpha' without it, is a feat in itself. Little snippets unfold here and there, moreso towards the end, so we do learn a bit about his background, childhood and how the 'work' he does for his brother isn't exactly legit. Speaking of the brother...
Philip doesn't have as much 'page time' as the hero/ heroine, but when he is mentioned it's with an impact. He's introduced as a very unlikable person, a dick to be frank. And I should have kept that opinion of him considering he ... Ok, no spoilers here. I just should have disliked him from start to finish. But there was a vulnerability unearthed when his feelings for Allie's best friend, Shelley, came to light. And again during the aftermath of what he did.

All in all this story is one hell of a roller-coaster ride for the characters, which is why I've mostly talked about them. There are so many bad events that occur from the beginning, as a reader you find yourself questioning if the author can create a big enough dramatic climax. Amber Lin does, and it is. Though, it really is a relief how the book ends. Really.

Summary: Dark and compelling, Giving It Up is a memorable and thought-provoking read not to be approached lightly. This possesses gritty, humane elements and analyses the repercussions of rape and the ever-lasting effects and anguish victims may feel. Allie wanted to be saved, and she was.
A great debut by Amber Lin.

Recommended to: Fans of dark erotica. I say dark, but It isn't on the same wave-length as Kitty Thomas or Skye Warren in how they seriously challenge your sanity & comfort zone with taboo topics. But it does contain uncomfortable situations and dark intimate scenes involving violence which maybe upsetting to some readers.

Content warning: Rape is discussed & the driving force behind protagonist, Allie's actions. I'd suggest not picking this up if this is not something you want to read about. Also, see above.

Quotes:

"My shoulders hunched as if I could curl in on myself. I envied those little pill bugs that could roll up into a ball. But my body didn't come with any built-in armour." -Allie.

Meet the author:

Amber Lin

Amber married her high school sweetheart, birthed a kid who’s smarter than she is, and spends her nights writing down her dirty thoughts. In other words, life is good.

Connect with Amber online:

Website l Facebook l Twitter l Goodreads

Thanks for reading!

TToria♥

Dirty Little Secret #30

2012-08-02T12:30:00.002+01:00

Under the Covers

This week's question:

All your favourite characters & celebs have been entered into the SEXY OLYMPICS! Who would win your Gold, Silver & Bronze & why." Pick only characters from books you've read this year.

Ok, I'm going to change it up & choose characters that I haven't already used in previous DLS posts...

Dayne. The powerful and infamous 'evil' sorcererer from Kept by Zoe Winters.

He's winning first place because I've just got done reading this book & his alpha-ness is still buzzing around between my ears.

Love, love, love this series.

Kellen. Rock star heart-throb from Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens.

Ok, this rocker just hasn't been mentioned enough here on TToria. I haven't even written a review yet, despite loving this book. Kellen's got all of the ingredients to create a well-rounded stud-muffin. I just have to get around to reading the second in the series now...

Z. Mr arrogant. A werepanther from The Catalyst by Zoe Winters. A bad-boy, up-himself dude has to come in somewhere. Z's it, because along with the draw of naughtiness, comes a softer side squishy enough to make the heart melt. Mr bronze he is.

And because I've been watching the Olympics & feeling sorry for those missing out on a medal by coming in fourth, I'll create another spot :-D

Colin. Mr Knight-in-Mafia-dodgy-armour, from Giving It Up by Amber Lin.

Protagonist Allie's savour. It takes a real saint-type to protect & love the way he does, especially considering the circumstances...

What's your dirty little secret?

TToria♥

Excerpt - Four In the Morning

2012-07-30T00:15:00.001+01:00

An excerpt from Four In the Morning by Christi Goddard

Tags: Paranormal, Young Adult Fantasy, mystery.

My mom’s a liar.

What parents aren't, right? They tell their kids lies about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. Even the Boogeyman who crouches in the shadows beneath beds has his legend whispered into the ears of young green bean-haters.

I wished my mom would use her power of deception for good. For one, I wouldn't have to chase down people in the dark, braving the muggers and would-be rapists who lurk in the bushes on my street.

If she’d told the boy who came knocking I was upstairs in my room, then we could have had a quick—though unlikely civil—conversation on the front porch. Instead, she told him I was out with another boy.

And she didn't just tell this to anyone. No, of course not. She told this to Josh Colby.

It was the equivalent of having some celebrity knock on your door after their car broke down. Except, as far as celebrities go, Josh's status didn’t reach beyond the doors of our high school. We’d known each other for the many years of our educational careers, and mostly succeeded with our mutual effort to avoid speaking to one another.

Mocking doesn't count.

“Josh!”

I was too lazy to run for more than a block. To scream seemed an easier solution. When a male voice called back, I smiled at my small victory of intelligence over physical prowess.

“Yeah?”

He sounded close, within a block or so, but I couldn't see him. The sliver of moon lacked radiance as it was smothered by dark clouds, but the streetlights were enough to confirm there was no silhouette of him on the sidewalk. He must have cut through a neighbor’s yard to head back to his house on the next street over.

“What did you want?” I winced at the sudden, sharp brilliance of lightning. Spots did flip-flops against the stretched shadows on the grass as my vision tried to recover. The scent of ozone carried on the cool breeze blended with that of a fresh cut lawn.

“That you, Elchubba?”

Elchubba is not my name. Not even close. Not that many of the kids at my school cared, and several might even be shocked to discover my real name was Kathleen. Not Kathy. Definitely not Elchubba. To my eternal frustration, I won that clever little nickname in junior high. Mostly because Ryan Dixon is a jerk, but also because I was horizontally challenged and usually clad in black from hair strand-to-toenail polish. It’s to do with Elvira. Lame, I know.

I just hoped Josh hadn’t asked my mother if Elchubba was home. I wouldn’t put it past him. Instead of correcting him, I turned on my heel and headed home. I didn't answer him on principle.

My house was still a sadistic distance from me when I heard Josh stumble through some bushes near the sidewalk behind me. Oh, heavy black boots, how you’ve failed me again.

“Wait!”

He mumbled a curse behind me after the distinct sound of his rubber soles tripping over a crack in the sidewalk. I didn’t slow down. Maybe he would follow me all the way back to my front door so I could slam it in his face.

He outpaced me to step into my path. I considered knocking him on his boney ass. I had the weight and momentum to do it. A whiff of whatever cheap, man-scent product he used to attract girls assaulted my nose. It reminded me of dish soap and burnt popcorn.

“Please, would you just stop?” Josh said.

“Fine. What do you want?”

A car horn blared a few blocks away, followed by the squeal of tires. Josh glanced around like a super-secret spy.

My response was an eye roll and crossed arms. If he didn't want to be seen talking to me, then he shouldn’t have answered me. For that matter, he shouldn't have come over.

Josh said, “I need you to do me a favor.”

The laugh that escaped me sounded more maniacal than I expected. “You’re high.”

Great. I wound up chasing a boy I hated down the street to do a favor for him. It was not the pinnacle of my existence. At least I hope not.

“No, I'm serious.” Josh leaned closer and dropped his voice. “I’ll pay you.”

“Then it’s not a favor. It’s a business proposition,” I said. “If you’re going to pay me for services—of the non-prostitutional variety—then it’s a business arrangement, not a favor. A favor I’d do for free.”

The hopeful look that passed his face prompted me to add, “For friends, not for you.”

“Okay, whatever.” Josh fished in a pocket of his too-baggy jeans and pulled out a folded bill. It was too dark for me to see which president. He smiled, his teeth a perfect picket fence of glaring white. “I want you to write a letter for me.”

My eyebrows lifted without my permission. “A letter? To who?” I didn't ask why me. I was editor for the school paper and wrote for the quarterly lit magazine.

“I'm not telling you unless you agree to do it.”

My eyes narrowed. “I'm not going to be suckered into writing a bomb threat or some stalker letter to a model you masturbate to.”

“No, no. It’s nothing like that.” Josh slouched and lowered the hand which held the bill to his side. “I was watching some old movie on TV tonight, and it got me thinking—”

I snorted.

“I'm serious, stop it. Well, this guy writes letters for a girl, but they’re from another guy who likes her.”

“You watched Cyrano de Bergerac?”

“Who? No, it was Roxy or Roseanne or something.”

“Roxanne?” I shook my head. “You were inspired by Steve Martin. Of course. You noticed that didn't end well for the one guy, right?”

“Well, yeah. But that’s because the guy writing the letters steals her away. That won’t happen with us because you’re a girl. I mean, unless you’re a lezbo.”

My frown was so deep, my brows nearly touched. “How politically correct of you.”

“Oh. . . you mean you are?” He stepped away as if he’d just realized I was Typhoid Mary.

I was offended on behalf of sexual libertines everywhere. “Yes, and we’re highly contagious. You better leave before you start wanting love letters for Ryan instead of whichever girl gets your mangina tingling.”

For the record, I'm not a lesbian, but I didn’t care what he thought.

“Well, she’s not,” Josh said. “So it wouldn’t matter if you liked her or not.” He lifted up the bill again. “I’ll give you twenty dollars to write a letter that a girl would like, and make it sound like me.”

I chuckled. “Those two concepts don’t mesh.”

“Just take it, all right?”

“No, I'm pretty sure my morals exclude this . . . escapade of falsehood.”

“What? Jesus, why can’t you talk like other people?”

“My intellect prevents it, sadly.” My wry smile belied any regret.

“No, you just like being freaky little Elchubba,” he shot back. “Only not so little.” He glared at me as he stuffed the money back in his pocket, and then strode away in a huff.

He couldn't have been more wrong. I didn’t like being Elchubba at all. I didn’t like being called that, I didn’t like being overweight, and I didn't like that I had to go back into my house and explain to Darth Mother who Josh was and why I chased him down the street.

Sometimes, I feel like life is trying to swallow me whole. I do my best to flail about and get caught in its throat. More than once I've been sure I was hanging onto life’s uvula by my fingernails. Which, of course, just tickles life’s throat until it coughs me back out.

God, I'm tired of being coated in life’s phlegm.

But my curiosity was piqued. What girl could Josh possibly think was worth all this trouble?

Schedule

Synopsis:

Kathleen Hayson thinks her biggest problem is her mother. The only runner up—her mouth. With a wit sharper than her mother's perfectly manicured nails, her clever remarks create more problems than they solve.

Enter Rigel, a smartass magical creature who invades her room one night, promising he has come to help. When a boy Kathleen hates turns up dead and her mother goes missing, the letter becomes a key piece of police evidence—implicating Kathleen. As she fights her way out of a web of lies, the trust she has in those closest to her shatters. In the end, she's pushed to a terrible choice: who lives, and who else dies.

Purchase:
Amazon.com l Amazon.co.uk l Barnes & Noble l Itunes l
Createspace (print edition, which are also available on Amazon, as well as in E-book format)

Meet the author:

Christi was born in Arlington, Texas in the early seventies. Her earliest memories are of seeing Jaws and Star Trek: The Motion Picture in the theater. The first was a bit much for a pre-K kid to take, and the second has much to do with what has inspired her imagination.

Her father is a bit of nomad, and they moved a lot when she was a kid. She inherited this trait, and has lived many places and been just about everywhere in America. She hit puberty in Colorado, got married in Las Vegas, had her first child in Kansas, her second in Illinois. She returned to Texas just shy of turning thirty and has been there ever since.

Books are Christi's first love, followed closely by movies. She loves to be told stories, and for most of her literate life, she's been a storyteller as well.

Christi is in her thirties, a mother of two awesome teenage girls, and a geek on many levels. Comic books, Victorian manga, science fiction, fantasy, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Star Wars, and renaissance festivals are her greatest loves. She lives in Waco, Texas (keep Waco Whacko) with her family and lovable dog, Nelly. She has a cat named Snape who is black, full of bad attitude, and thinks he runs the place. He was deftly named .

Connect with Christi online:
Website l Twitter l Goodreads

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!
Don't forget to visit the schedule for the tour where you'll find reviews, giveaway's, interviews & more!

Have a great week.
TToria♥

Review - Four In the Morning

2012-07-30T00:15:00.000+01:00

Four In the Morning - Christi Goddard

Tour: Dark Mind Book Tours
Publisher: Immortal Ink Publishing

Cover art photography: Wojciech Zwoliński

Cover art model: Magdalena Sosinowska

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Tags: Paranormal, YA, Fantasy, Teen angst, mystery
ASIN: B0084P70J2
Format: Kindle. Available in print, see below.

File size: 455 KB
Purchase: Amazon.com l Amazon.co.uk l Barnes & Noble l Itunes l Createspace (print edition, which are also available on Amazon as well as in E-book format)

Read an excerpt here

Synopsis & thoughts:

But it's not her clever remarks landing her knee-deep in trouble. This time, Josh Colby is to blame. Kathleen's former childhood friend has become the school's most stuck up jerk. Before, she'd have told him to piss off and write his own stupid letter to the town slut/minister's daughter. Now Kathleen's escalating problems at home force her to reevaluate how flexible her principles are. She agrees to write the controversial letter Josh has requested.

Enter Rigel, a smartass magical creature who invades her room one night, promising he has come to help. When a boy Kathleen hates turns up dead and her mother goes missing, the letter becomes a key piece of police evidence—implicating Kathleen. As she fights her way out of a web of lies, the trust she has in those closest to her shatters. In the end, she's pushed to a terrible choice: who lives, and who else dies.

Pleasantly surprised by this one! A murder mystery of sorts, which is something I don't really read. But add splashes of paranormal elements & I'm there. In this case it was an albino talking skunk. I'm not kidding...
Rigel appears in Kathleen's life, timed specifically. But is he there to cause chaos, or to be her saviour of sorts? This is the question you as a reader begin to ask yourself up until the final pages. And let me tell you, you'll predict the way it will go -and you'll be wrong. The ending was completely unexpected. But this is why I liked it so much, because it's different and it's dark. HEA? Well you'll just have to read it.

When Kathleen's enemy is discovered dead and the 'who dunnit' vibe begins to take shape, it's the characters that help to create the confusion, due to the air of mystery and darkness surrounding the majority of them. Aka, for one, was an absolute cracker of a character. You just don't know where the author's going with his journey. Did I like him? Did I hate him? Well I kept changing my mind, haha.

I loved Kathleen's sharp wit and blunt attitude, despite her unfortunate situation(s). It may be seen as arrogance, her being a smart-ass etc, but in my opinion her foot-in-mouth moments add to her charm. Besides, those traits and other "flaws" were formed by the hands of those around her. Kathleen's mother is not a very nice person, -a beyatch. Controlling and clearly not Kathleen's biggest fan. Her father is mostly absent and her sister is pretty much perfect -in the eyes of her mother. That's gotta sting, right? The self-esteem of Kathleen's character takes a severe beating, in what seems like every day. Because of this, she's built a wall of sarcasm and wit, it's this and her ever-growing intellect that get her through the tough moments.

I just love how the author has created her to stand out as much as she does. Kathleen's distinct voice sets her apart from the rest, You're truly on the journey with her. Because It has a dark undertone, you may have expected her to explode emotionally because of all the crap she's facing. I mean there's a part where she discovers something incredibly significant and life-changing, and the way the 'news' is delivered was just plain harsh. This has the potential to crack her constant composure, but young Kathleen keeps it together and battles on. Considering her personality, it translates as an authentic reaction. But jeez do you -as a reader- feel her anguish!

Overall Four In the Morning is a gem within YA reads and definitely recommended to fans of the genre. The plot is exciting and easy to follow, yet it's direction hard to determine. The dialogue between the character's flow nicely, no confusion on who's who, and who's speaking at a particular time. The character's in general are memorable, Kathleen, Aka and Rigel especially. I still can't believe my attention was held by a talking albino skunk, but, meh, it worked.

The ending leaves room for there to be a sequel, one -if created- I hope is even darker :-). The story definitely has the potential to go anywhere!

Summary: A unique paranormal tale capable of pulling on your heart strings and entertaining you at the same time. There's danger, betrayal, excitement, mystery, sorrow and even a bit of lust. The dark and sometimes eerie tone combined with the strong personality of the protagonist, sets this apart from the rest.

Recommended to: Most, I'd suggest mature Young-Adult fans, due to some language used.

Content warning: A steady stream of cursing for a YA read. Nothing overly shocking with it though.

Quotes:

"Sometimes, I feel like life is trying to swallow me whole. I do my best to flail about & get caught in its throat. More than once I've been sure I was hanging onto life's uvula by my fingernails. Which of course, just tickles life's throat until it coughs me back out. God I'm tired of being coated in life's phlegm " -Kathleen.

Schedule

Meet the author:

Books are Christi's first love, followed closely by movies. She loves to be told stories, and for most of her literate life, she's been a storyteller as well.

Connect with Christi online:
Website l Twitter l Goodreads

Don't forget to visit the schedule for the tour where you'll find reviews, giveaway's, interviews & more!

Thanks for reading, have a great week.

TToria♥

Spotlighting authors!

2012-07-27T12:55:00.000+01:00

Hi guys! Jeez I've been busy this week! The new house is coming together slowly but surely and I feel more settled in, which is fab! The crappy thing is, my other-half has gone away for three weeks, will be back for one week, then away again for three months -Boo! *Sings Eric Carmen's, All By Myself*. Anyway today I'm going to be spotlighting some authors of the books I've been reading & plan to read. Drop by their sites, check them out on Goodreads and I hope you find your next best-read...

Amber Lin

Author of Giving It Up, released from Loose Id on June 19th, Amber Lin is repped by Jewelann Cone by Cascade Literary Agency. She also has a historical manuscript in the works as well as the sequel to Giving It Up. <-Yay!
Amber married her high school sweetheart, birthed a kid who’s smarter than she is, and spends her nights writing down her dirty thoughts. In other words, life is good.

I got done reading Giving It Up, the other day and wow. Do you like truly troubled protagonists? If so, pick this up. Heroine, Allie, faces so many obstacles within her life you truly think the poor girl will never catch a break. Hero, Colin, should wear a cape. Fair enough he's got issues of his own, but Knight-In-Shining-Armour is his middle name. An emotional, sometimes dark, addictive read.

*Review to follow*

Allie prowls the club for a man who will use her hard and then ditch her. Hey, it's not rape if she wants it. Instead she finds Colin, who looks tough but treats her tenderly, despite her protests.

He tempts her, but kindness and a few mindblowing orgasms aren't enough to put her back together again. Allie has no hope for a real relationship. Two years ago her best friend betrayed her in the worst possible way – she’d be stupid to trust a man again. Besides, she has her daughter to think of, the only good thing to have come from that dark night.

But when her rapist returns, threatening her sanity and custody of her daughter, Allie turns to Colin. Under his protection and patient touch, Allie begins to heal and learns to hope. Colin’s no saint, though, and his criminal past draws danger of its own. Allie must fight to protect her child and the man she loves, hoping her newfound power will be enough to save them all.

Purchase Giving It Up:

Amazon l All Romance Books l Fictionwise

Connect with Amber online:

Website l Facebook l Twitter l Goodreads

Annabel Joseph

Annabel Joseph is a multi-published BDSM romance author. She writes mainly contemporary romance, although she has been known to dabble in the medieval and Regency eras. She is known for writing emotionally intense BDSM storylines, and strives to create characters that seem real--even flawed--so readers are better able to relate to them.

Some of Annabel's favorite authors are Laura Kinsale, Judith McNaught, Flannery O'Connor, and Anneke Jacob.

Book highlighted today: Mercy. I finished reading this yesterday and have to say it falls into the Kitty Thomas category for me in terms of as a reader you're not sure whether or not you should like certain situations and scenes provided. Saying that, it doesn't have the typical Thomas mind-fuck, but it does have the same intensity to it's romance, touch upon TPE (total power exchange) relationships & fan-yourself hot sex scenes. I really liked how it went into the pressure dancers feel! It was so sad for Lucy! Recommended for fans of BDSM reads.

Lucy Merritt has always defined herself by her body, whether dancing in a small avant-garde company or posing for art. But she has always felt as if something is wrong with her, as if something is missing. She has never been in love.

Suddenly, in the darkness of the theater wings, a strangely affecting man enters her life. Matthew Norris, rich, handsome patron of the dance company, has decided that he wants Lucy for his own. He makes her an offer that both frightens and compels her, and they soon begin an affair characterized by only two requirements: beauty and truth.

But how truthful are Matthew and Lucy? How much of Matthew's strenuous brand of love can Lucy endure? And how long can their rigid Dom/sub relationship stay frozen in time, never growing, never moving forward?

Purchase Mercy:

Amazon l Barnes & Noble l Smashwords

Connect with Annabel online:

Website l Goodreads l Twitter l Fetlife (must be a member to view profile)

Renee Rose

Renee Rose is an author of erotic romance. She received a Bachelor's of Arts in Creative Writing, where she was trained to write poetry and literary fiction. She spent the next 13 years numbing her creative mind as a technical writer.
Happily recovered, she is thrilled to be incorporating her fantasies into fiction, publishing soft core spanking romances with Blushing Books. She lives in the southwest with her husband and young children.

I'm highlighting Loving Lucia today, a book I cannot wait to read since I fell in love with her writing style and lovable characters in Betrothed. Only published on the 30th of June, it's new yet received numerous five-star ratings on both Goodreads & Blushing Books. Go Renee!

Marco Donarati, the Count of Parma, had no interest in taking a new wife. He got his pleasure from the working ladies, and that suited him just fine.

Marco’s greatest passion is reserved for his fledgling winery, and therefore he cannot bring himself to refuse when Italy's leading wine maker, Don Edoardo Dante, offers him a source of funds with which to improve his vineyards. In return, the Count reluctantly agrees to make Dante’s red-headed daughter Lucia the next Countess. When he makes the deal, Marco never suspects that he might actually grow to care about his lovely young wife.

Passionate and eager to please, Lucia must navigate her new role as Countess to a husband who holds her at arms' length. When the Count becomes guardian to her twin sister as well, things really heat up. Tested by trials, betrayals, and jealousy, Lucia and Marco must find their way together and often the quickest route is with her bent over his knee for a bare bottom spanking. Will her wholehearted submission and love be enough to break down her husband's resistance and win his heart for her?

This story contains graphic sexual scenes, some anal play, and both consensual and non-consensual spankings, including domestic discipline in a historical setting. If such material offends you, please do not buy this book!

Purchase Loving Lucia:

Amazon l Blushing Books

Connect with Renee online:

Website l Blog l Goodreads

Rachel Firasek

Rachel Firasek grew up in the south and despite the gentle pace, she harassed life at full steam. Her curiosity about mythology, human nature, and the chemical imbalance we call love led her to writing. Her stories began with macabre war poems and shifted to enchanted fairytales, before she settled on a blending of the two. Today you’ll find her tucked on a small parcel of land, surrounded by bleating sheep and barking dogs, with her husband and children. She entertains them all with her wacky sense of humor or animated reenactments of bad 80’s dance moves. She’s intrigued by anything unexplained and seeks the answers to this crazy thing we call life.

Book highlighted: Chasing Fate. If you've been with me since I began blogging, you'll know that I absolutely loved Rachel's Curse of the Phoenix series. Reviews here. This is an author who creates the best sexual tension, I'm serious, you'll always route for couples to get their HEA in her reads. I'm looking forward to reading Chasing Fate.

She gave away her heart… Giving her heart to a mortal wasn't something the First Fate planned. Losing him nearly shattered her soul. Upon his death, Clothos swore never to love—or weave life—again. Hoping she'll change her mind before it's too late, Zeus commands the spinner of life to take a much needed vacation from her immortal responsibilities. He had to hide his... Dane is close to cracking the drug ring he's spent the last two years infiltrating, but needs to perform one last heist to meet the head man and prevent an impending war. An undercover agent, he’s now on the run from drug lords, thieves and with the very woman whose tears make him forget his purpose. Together they’ll find a way back from the dark. Chloe will have to put her trust in the man walking the same path as the murderers that killed her fiance, or face an eternity on Earth. Without the desire for life, hope could slip through the cracks of time if he doesn’t love away her sorrow.

Purchase Creating Fate:

Amazon l All Romance eBooks l Barnes And Noble

Connect with Rachel online:

Website l Facebook l Twitter l

Blog

Other authors to look out for:

Silvia Day. Pick up Bared to You if you've been searching for a book to get a similar Christian Grey fix. Sure it's similar to E.L James' first book in the series, but Day's creative sex scenes are sizzling and hero Gideon... Hm, well you'll be questioning Christian Grey who?

Christi Goddard. Her book Four In the Morning was a pleasant surprise for me! All this BDSM reading material had my train of thought heading in only one direction, this slammed on the brakes, reminding me that Young Adult reads have their gems too. My review & an excerpt will go live on the 30th of this month for the Dark Mind Book Tour. Click the link for the schedule :-)

Thomas Winship. Miss books with vampires? Pick up Vaempires: Revolution, this highlights the creatures in a whole different light! They do not, I repeat, do not sparkle. Read my review here.

Dianna Hardy. Author of The Witching Pen, a book I cannot wait to read! I have it on my Kindle ready to get stuck into, but other commitments force it to be prosponed for the moment. Even so, at least I know I've an exciting book to get to, check out all the dazzling reviews!

Korey Mae Johnson. Author of four successful titles featured on Blushing Books, she wrote one I'm currently reading: Never Submit and one I'll be reviewing soon, which I absolutely loved: Pursuit of Glory.

Johnny Stone. I just have to mention this author. He wrote The Devil's Dance, a book which utterly shocked me, which you all know, I love me some shock-factor in a novel. Good or bad.

It's a novel worth checking out if you're a fan of BDSM reads, with a bit of a paranormal edge.

Zoe Winters/ Kitty Thomas. You know I'm not going to spotlight authors without mentioning either Zoe or Kitty. Stories under both of her pen names are great.

I want to highlight Life Cycle, the fourth book in the Preternaturals series. Here you'll find a review of book three, The Catalyst, plus one of prequel, Dark Mercy.

It's a great Paranormal Romance series to get stuck into. Shifters, witches, demons, vampires, succubus, you name your favourite para-creature -they're there. I'll be reviewing Life Cycle in September for another Dark Mind Book Tour.

Oh, oh! And also, if you send a blank email to: freekept@gmail.com this will sign you up for contests/ giveaway's/ news and as a thank you you'll receive a free copy from Zoe, of the debut novella in the Preternaturals series: Kept.

So there you have it. There are plenty more authors to mention, which I'll be doing later in the week. Have a great weekend folks!

TToria♥

Wordless Wednesday: Yummyness!

2012-07-25T10:08:00.001+01:00

(WW - Hosted by Create With Joy)

Dirty Little Secret #29

2012-07-19T11:06:00.001+01:00

Under the Covers

This week's question:

If your dream man was in your clutches, a pack of condoms (& any other actrouments you may need!) & some saucy underwear on, what would be the first fantasy you & your hunk played out? And who would your dream man be?

ADULT CONTENT

We'd dance first of all.

Slow & tender, gliding the dance floor of a posh establishment. All the while he'd be whispering all the very naughty things he was going to do to me when we got home... Build up & all that jazz...

The dancing would come to an end after I grow impatient & tell him my stockings & crotchless panties are 'suffocating me'.

In other words, move your ass Mr, let's go...

Home time, where he, of course, takes control of the night.
"Yes Sir" ;-)

I'll leave the rest to the imagination, with aid of some pics...

The fella?

Travis? No he's not bad enough. Jack? Hmm. Nope.

Gideon, no Christian. Oh hell, sod it, both, -I'm getting tag-teamed...fantasy right?

Changed my mind... Bye Christian & Gideon...Hello Bones. He has extra strength! Totally justified!

:-D

And that's it.

Hahaha You totally have a shocked face right now.

What's your dirty little secret?

TToria♥

Adult excerpt - The Aspen 2Million Winner Take All

2012-07-18T14:35:00.002+01:00

An excerpt from The Aspen 2Million Winner Take All by John Morris

Chapter One

Morgan Somerville lived in the sole surviving do-it-yourself duplex in Aspen’s otherwise fashionable West End. Slapped together in the 50’s by a Swiss ski instructor with a free summer and a very casual approach to theft, the forget-about-plumb brown shoebox had tall doors, short doors, big windows, little windows, sagging 2nd-floor decks, no shutters, walls that weren’t quite vertical and a roof that was flat only in the sense that the ocean is flat. Most folks assumed it was the 20 coats of shellac that kept the whole thing from collapsing, but it also served as a humble reminder of the stove-in-from-a-helluva-lot-of-snow sort of place Aspen once was.

“The Quiet Years,” those times were called. Post-1893, when the price of silver plummeted and the population shrank to 800, when there was one schoolhouse, two trains a week, people made their own clothes, their own whiskey, and all the old trucks sat rusting in the weeds.

This was followed by the boom years, or “Aspen as we know it.” Post World War II, when the young men of the 10th Mountain Division came back, when skiing was born, nightclubs were built, a bunch of pretty girls showed up, and life became about as much fun as you could have at 8,000 feet.

The only real concern-- after the skiing and the parties and the girls-- was finding a place to live. Because no matter how
much fishing and climbing you did, no matter how good you were on skis or on horseback and no matter how many famous writers and movie stars you knew, eventually you had to put a roof over your head. And even in the summer, a teepee up Hunter Creek wasn’t gonna cut it with the girl of your dreams.

Whom you’d probably met the night before at the Tippler or the ’Horn or the ’Onion.

The old mining town would never have enough places to live. The Roaring Fork hemmed it in on the east and the north, Castle Creek ran down the west side, and Ajax climbed straight up from Durant Street to the south, so town was never gonna get any bigger than 10 blocks by 20.

And most everything was one-room miner’s shacks or simple two-story houses. Only the Wheeler Opera House and the Hotel Jerome stood three stories high, and if you’d suggested putting up anything taller, you’d have gotten run out of town. The only things in Aspen that grew over 30 feet high were chairlifts and trees.

So when Morgan showed up, many years ago now, his first order of business had been to put a roof over his head. And little did he know that his first-ever flophouse would wind up being “home” for literally decades to come. Because almost on Day One he happened upon...

Chalet Sepp. Not that it was called that. It was too much of a dump even then to merit a name. But that’s what it was: a listing, two- story slab of wood owned and operated by a crotchety old goat named Sepp. Whom nobody in town could stand.

Morgan found an ad on the community bulletin board, wandered over to Sepp’s stunningly stark tenement house and signed on to inhabit the smaller (darker) half with two other young guys who needed a place to crash. Even if the place might burst into flames any day (or night), or maybe just fall over.

And not surprisingly, by the following spring it was Chalet Sepp that was still standing and the two roommates who were gone. One of them couldn’t hack the long winter, the other went back to law school. So Morgan found himself all alone. He figured he’d have to move out, but Sepp told him not to bother, not to even recruit new roomies. Things were better with only the two of them, Sepp seemed to think, and he didn’t really need the rent money. He just wanted to have someone around who was nice to him.

Which Morgan was.

Which was way more than you could say for anyone else in town. Most folks, actually, pretty much hated Sepp Wegner. “Crusty old shit” sounds quaint, but in a small town, when people hate you, they just hate you.

So Morgan stayed on. Kept paying his modest share of the rent, kept being nice to Sepp. Listened to the old guy’s stories, helped him out with repairs, walked Sepp home from the Elks Club when he’d had too much to drink. Watched TV with him, talked about skiing, heard about all the famous European downhills Sepp had raced in, and made sure Sepp got invited to all the backyard parties Morgan started hosting as a way to get known around town. Chalet Sepp may have been the ugliest house in the West End, but it also had the biggest back yard.

So the years rolled by with Morgan and Sepp living side-by- side lives. Summers and winters came and went, pretty girls came and went, most of the miners’ shacks in the West End got torn down, replaced by designer second homes, but Chalet Sepp-- somehow-- endured.

Til the day arrived when Sepp himself stopped enduring. Lung cancer, they said, maybe the only thing that could’ve killed him. Face it: When you’ve got an asbestos-removal business and smoke 2 packs a day, something’s gotta give.

And after the surprisingly well-attended funeral, Morgan was equally surprised to get a phone call from a lawyer informing him that he-- Morgan Somerville-- was the sole beneficiary of Sepp Wegner’s estate. Because there was no long-abandoned wife, no long-neglected kids, no brother back in St. Anton. There was nobody.

There was also (of course) no secret stock portfolio, no unspoiled spread up in the Yukon, no 20-dollar bills tacked inside the walls. Just... Chalet Sepp.

And the estate taxes. The property taxes. The water bill, the electric, the trash. Various liquor-store bills, the inevitable IOU’s that old farts in small towns never forget (or forgive). But at least there was no spoiled-brat nephew popping up out of nowhere wanting to bulldoze the place. Kick Morgan out, build a trophy home, take the money and skip back to Florida.

There was nobody, so Morgan got the house. He got the house, both sides of it, so he could do whatever he wanted with it, short of spending money on it. Because he didn’t have any.

But he could do whatever he wanted. He could throw old mattresses out the back door, leave the Christmas lights up all year long, crank up his garage band every night of the week.

Most importantly, he wouldn’t have to move out. Wouldn’t have to pack up all the furniture, athletic gear, musical instruments, car parts, tools, the wine collection and the trampoline, and find another place to live. (And you don’t just find another apartment in Aspen. It’s never that easy, even if you’re rich. Getting thrown out of your home in Aspen is basically the end of everything.)

And moving downvalley wasn’t an option. If you’re an Aspenite, you live in Aspen. You don’t live in Basalt, you don’t live in Carbondale. It’s not about being snotty. It’s just that Aspenites live in Aspen, and if you’re not gonna live in Aspen, you may as well move to Alaska.

So by inheriting the place, he wouldn’t have to move out or move to the Klondike. The only thing he couldn’t do was make Chalet Sepp livable. As in: Renovate it, re-build it, re-furbish it. Maybe put up some shutters, re-do the decks. Rent out Sepp’s half. Be a landlord. (Which might be asking for trouble, he knew.)

In the end he borrowed some money from the bank, upgraded Sepp’s side enough to fool an unsuspecting out-of-town buyer, and turned it over to a friend in real-estate to sell.

Which the friend did. In no time. This being Aspen.

Morgan unloaded Sepp’s side of the building almost overnight and pocketed a fair amount of change in the process. Which meant he should’ve been able to rest easy. He should’ve been able to coast.

The one major worry for any working-stiff Aspenite, securing a long-term place to live, had been for him forever resolved. He had cash in his pocket. He had his health, his business, a respected place in society, his fair share of friends. Everything should’ve been great.

In fact, if you’d seen Morgan shortly after he’d sealed the deal, after he’d signed the contract and handed over the keys and cashed the check, you’d have seen a guy who thought he was on top of the world. Who thought the toughest question he was ever gonna face was...

*Excerpt used with permission, copyright John Morris*

Purchase:

Amazon l Barnes & Noble l ITunes

Synopsis:

Morgan thought he had it made. He owned a cozy if dilapidated house in Aspen’s otherwise-fashionable West End, had lots of friends, a great business, threw the best parties in town.

Then his beautiful-but-aloof neighbor Risa sued him for a million bucks-- for killing her dog. (Seriously. And he hadn’t even been there.) She was asking the judge to throw him out of town, too. (It’s a local tradition.)

For Morgan, the money didn’t matter. He didn’t have a nickel to his name. But he couldn’t imagine not living in Aspen.

His only hope: to win a 2-million dollar golf tournament (held on the sly at the local links) and pay Risa off.

Either that or discover her deep, dark secret and blackmail her.

Until his best friend/lawyer suggested Option #3: “Why don’t you just get her to fall in love with you?”

Tribute Books Blog Tours

Meet the author:

John Morris was born in 1895.

He was educated at King's College, Cambridge, where he studied Anthropology. From 1915 to 1934 he served in the regular army, serving in Palestine during the first world war and later in Afghanistan, Waziristan and the North West Frontier.

He also travelled extensively in Central Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Africa and the Far East, and was a member of the 1922 and 1936 Everest Expeditions. When he left the army in 1934 he studied Social Anthropology at Cambridge and in 1938 took up an appointment in Japan as Professor of English Literature at Keio University, Tokyo.

He became adviser to the Japanese Department of Foreign Affairs and held the post until 1942. From 1943-52 he was head of the Far Eastern Service of the BBC and from 1952-58 was Controller of the Third Programme.

Connect with John online:

Goodreads l Facebook

Visit The Aspen 2-Million Winner-Take-All Blog Tour site

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

Happy reading folks. Thanks for stopping by.

TToria♥

Wordless Wednesday: Mid-week yummyness!

2012-07-18T10:42:00.001+01:00

(WW - Hosted by Create With Joy)

Teaser Tuesday #24

2012-07-17T14:06:00.002+01:00

"Sometimes, I feel like life is trying to swallow me whole. I do my best to flail about & get caught in its throat. More than once I've been sure I was hanging onto life's uvula by my fingernails. Which of course, just tickles life's throat until it coughs me back out. God I'm tired of being coated in life's phlegm "

Hosted by 'Should Be Reading'

Taken from Four in the Morning by Christi Goddard.

Please feel free to share links back to your own teasers. If you don't have a blog, simply commenting with one would be fine!

Happy reading folks, thanks for stopping by!

TToria♥

Adult review - Call Me Maybe

2012-07-15T14:02:00.003+01:00

Call Me Maybe - Marie Shore

(Image taken from Amazon.co.uk)

Adult content

Publisher: Too Hot Erotica (June 2012)

Genre: Erotica

Tags: M/s, BDSM,

ASIN: B008CP0YF6

Format: Kindle Edition

File size: 128 KB
Purchase: Amazon

My thoughts:

Working full time, volunteering and doing just fine satisfying herself with the erotic stories, Kathy did not see a man in her future. But one phone call changes everything. Will she allow herself a wonderful man, a new life-style, and a totally new and different sexual experience?

This is the product description on Amazon, it sounds so promising, but it's totally mis-leading. There's no "wonderful man" for starters.

The story begins with Kathy receiving a telephone call from a man with a hypnotic and alluring voice...

He then appears at her house whilst on the phone and Kathy realises they know one another. But there's no solid evidence to back up their attraction for each other nor any reason why he, Cody, should be trusted as he leads her away blindfolded.

From there the story is full of all the things Cody is doing sexually to his new 'slave', yet there is no trust building and no believable connection between the two. When Kathy accepts a collar from Cody (this is the equivalent to an engagement/ wedding) I just couldn't believe it. It was all rushed.

I guess I just didn't find either characters likeable at all. (My opinion)

On top of this, the typos/ grammatical errors were so bloody annoying I had to stop reading and walk away numerous times. Not to mention the continuous "he did this, then this" and the confusing POV changes that didn't make sense. The only reason I continued with it until the end is because I don't rate any book unless I've finished it, it's only fair.

I see where the author was going with this, it is a good idea. But I feel it should have been worked on longer, edited and revised. I feel bad for giving this short read a slating, but when something's bad, it's bad. I just can't recommend it.

Recommended to: Fans of Master/ slave tales, but like I said, I really don't think even those interested in it will like this one.
This is on Amazon.co.uk for £1.53. I feel it should be free if anything.

Content warning: BDSM Master/ slave dynamics, anal play/ training, orgasm denial etc

Quotes:

"Cody, this is too much, it's not me. I just feel out of place." -Kathy

Thanks for reading!
xo
TToria♥

© TToria ttoria.blogspot.com

Dirty Little Secret #28

2012-07-12T16:57:00.000+01:00

Under the Covers

This week's question:

What book have you read recently that has surprised you (good or bad!), or that has been outside your normal reading genre?

One immediately springs to mind...

The Devil's Dance

by Johnny Stone

Among standard erotica's, I've been reading those that contain some BDSM content too, and whilst browsing such books on Goodreads, I came across this.

To say it wasn't what I expected is an understatement, it touched upon a number of kinks within the BDSM world and had a paranormal element to it too. Fab.

But, for the first time ever, a book made me dry-heave...and shocked the shit out of me for doing so. Unusual, because I don't read horrors, or gory stories etc.

I don't think the part I dry-heaved over was that taboo, but I think the story as a whole was just a lot for my poor innocent soul to deal with...<--- hahaha, yeah right.

Either way, as you know know, I'm a fan of books that have the shock factor. This definitely had it, yet I gave this an in between rating of three stars because I couldn't make up my mind (and I'm still working on the review).

So, The Devil's Dance wasn't a good shock, nor a bad one. Just an outright memorable one!

Synopsis:

Cherry Clark is a spoiled brat, unappreciative of the good fortune she's experienced throughout her life. She is also a solitary sex addict, experiencing her vicarious desires through her imagination and Internet porn. Her closet desire to be a submissive is shrouded in fear; and her mouthy attitude only gets her into trouble. One night after work, she finds a flier stuck to her car, advertising a mysterious club, Sheol's Fringe. Her interest is aroused, she decides to go, unaware that her life is about to change forever.

Sameal, the hot looking bartender and Sheol's owner, is also a "devil", and a member of the Board of Directors for Devil Corp, an organization that brokers in human pleasures through the use of a 'Dream Journal' service. The journal itself allows the user to experience whatever fantasy they write about while in a sleep-like trance. Sameal gives her dream journal of her own, through which Cherry lives out her deepest and darkest fantasies. Her desires take some shocking twists. Even more frightening, they tend to manifest themselves in unusal physically form. She's a rare breed, able to immerse herself in fantasy to the point of changing her own reality. From scenes as a sexy "puppy" to a down-on-her-luck white-trash whore who gets used hard, the shallow young woman is soon to discover that despite her open resistance, she has a strong desire to submit.

As her relationship with Sameal deepens, she becomes his. It's under his stern hand that she discovers the joy of being spanked and punished, as her bratty side is paddled into submission for the first time in her life. However, Cherry still wars with her submissive self. And when she decides she wants her freedom, Sameal grants her request. But without his ownership and guidance, she feels empty; and now she's fair game for other members of the club, who have their own designs on the sexy Cherry. Some painful lessons await her as she attempts to navigate her elusive quest for sexual gratification without the powerful Sameal. Can Cherry live without him? Will she find her way back? Or will there be a new master ready to take this needy submissive in hand?

Contemporary BDSM Fantasy, (with paranormal elements) featuring male domination

Not for the faint-hearted folks, & if you've never read a book with BDSM dynamics, or don't have a brief understanding of them, don't for heaven sake pick this up!

Feel free to share your memorable books, thanks for stopping by & happy reading!

TToria♥

Thank you Nancy!

2012-07-12T02:26:00.000+01:00

Looky Looky at what Postman Pat delivered this morning!

An advanced release copy of Blood Debt, by the lovely and talented author, Nancy Straight. Yay! Seal clap

I can't wait to read this!

The camera on my Blackberry is beep. So here's a better look at the front cover and the synopsis...

Blood Debt (Touched #1)

Her whole life, it had just been the two of them. Before her mother’s last breath, she gave Camille the information she had craved her entire life: the identity of her father. Daring to contact him, Camille was welcomed by an entire family she never knew existed. But nothing comes without a price, as she discovers when her family claims a legendary heritage tracing back to a centaur touched by Zeus.

As she learns the secrets of her Centaur bloodline, she is drawn into a forbidden love with Drake. Her life may be the blood debt required to pay for her mother’s transgressions. The same person who once held her mother captive, and forced her into decades of hiding, now controls Camille. Her only chance is to seek a piece of her mother’s past that will win her freedom and the life she desperately wants.

A huge thank you to Nancy, I really appreciate it!!

Be sure to grab your own copy when it's released, July 15th and you can connect with Nancy online here:

Twitter l Blog l Facebook l Goodreads

Here are some other titles that you can grab today...

Happy reading folks!

TToria♥