Thursday, August 15, 2013

Heart Trouble

Heart-Trouble  


Dr. Erin Taylor would rather be strapped to a gurney in her ER than prowling Jacksonville’s newest nightclub in a tight dress and high heels. Forced to do that very thing after losing a bet to a friend, she’s surprised by the sparks flying between her and sexy police detective Sean Rembert. Sean is supposed to be scoping the bar for leads that might help him catch a serial killer, not letting his neglected libido lead him astray. But the minute he sees the gorgeous blonde headed his direction, all thoughts of work go out the window. Until he discovers Erin is a possible target. Their connection is red-hot and undeniable, but Erin is in serious danger and Sean will do anything in his power to protect her. Passion explodes between them, then a secret destroys it. Can they overcome the hurt and resentment to find their way back to each other before the killer closes in?3 of 5 stars false1/2





Review

****This book was part of a blog tour I was given a copy for my honest review****
Erin is a doctor and would rather be at home than stuck at a club in a short dress, but she lost a bet. While there she meets Sean a detective working on a series of rapes in the area, sparks fly between the two of them. When Erin’s purse is stolen during the chaos after a club goer is hurt Sean thinks she is the next person on the rapists is going after. The two of them grow close, but a secret she has to keep blows up in her face and breaks the two of them apart. Can they get over the hurt and put it behind them before the rapists turned killer gets Erin? This was a good engaging read; it starts out with a dramatic opening and takes off from there. The relationship between Erin and Sean is hot, they have great chemistry and they understand each other’s passion for their work. The love scenes between the two of them were great not just physically the author wrote them in such a way that you could feel the emotional connection between the characters. The suspense in the novel added a bit of danger and the mystery behind who the rapist/killer was kept things interesting. Heart Troubles was a good read, definitely worth the price. 


Excerpt

There was something different about Erin, something that didn’t quite mesh with the sex-kitten outfit. The clothes didn’t suit the girl who wore them. She was smart, quick on her feet. She was flirty, but not in an over-the-top, in-your-face kind of way. She didn’t reek of expensive, over-applied perfume and there wasn’t a piece of flashy jewelry to be found on her. Her makeup was tasteful and minimalist. Even her nails were bare of polish, trimmed short and neat.
The pulse at the base of her neck beat rapidly too, belying her calm outward demeanor. Why would a woman who looked like her—who could have any guy in the place with one crook of a finger—be nervous talking to him? It didn’t add up.
“I’m not sure yet,” she said. “I’ll answer that after we’ve talked for a bit.”
He grinned to hide a wave of disappointment. “Okay, I guess that’s fair.”
“Married?” she asked.
The directness of her question caught him a little off guard, since they were flirting with each other, but then he knew there were women out there who wouldn’t be deterred by the presence of a wedding band, or the indention left behind by one hidden away in a pocket. Some of them even sought married men out. She wasn’t one of those women. There was no doubt in his mind if he said yes, Erin would spin on her high heels and leave him choking on her dust.
“No. You?”
“Oh, God no,” she said, as if she found the idea repulsive. “Ever been?”
“Got close once. Caught her in bed with our neighbor and his brother.”
Erin grimaced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, it hurt for about a day, until I realized they’d done me a huge favor. How ’bout you? Ever been close?”
“No,” she said, glancing down at the drink she held in her hand.
“How’s that possible?”
“I’m a workaholic.” She tapped her temple with a finger. “Kind a have a hard time shutting down, ya know?”
Sean got that. He suffered from the same affliction. “What do you do?”
Her mouth twitched before she took a sip of her drink. “What do you think I do?”
So they were going to play that game. Well, all right then. Normally he wasn’t into games when it came to women. It turned him off faster than a light switch, no matter how beautiful she was. It would take a hell of a lot more than that for this woman to turn him off.
Sean let his eyes drift over her body again, cataloging every curve and freckle. He’d been good up to this point, keeping his gaze trained on her face like a gentleman should, when he wanted to stare at her chest till his eyes bled.
“Lingerie model?”
She smirked. “Not even close.”
“Mechanic?”
She laughed then, a deeply genuine sound that made him want to feel it with his mouth pressed against her throat. “That’s closer than you might think. What about you?”
He grazed the back of her hand with his fingertips. “Wait a second. You dodged an answer.”
“Did I?” she asked, feigning innocence. “I’d rather ask you questions.”
He sighed and shook his head in frustration. Maybe he had to pass some crazy female test. “I’m a cop.”
Her eyebrows shot up, something like wonder filling her eyes. “Cool! Can I see your badge?”
He reached into his front pocket and pulled it out, flipping it over in his palm. When she pursed her lips and nodded, he tucked it away.
She leaned closer until their shoulders touched, lowered her voice to a sexy murmur. “Are you wearing a gun right now?”
Good thing the bar didn’t allow smoking inside. He breathed deep, catching her soft scent. She smelled like…honey? He’d be willing to bet she’d taste like it too. Everywhere.
“Yeah, I’m packing.” Christ, was that ever a loaded statement, considering his dick had been half hard ever since she’d walked up to him.
Her eyes turned smoky. “Oddly, I’m quite turned on by that.”
It was Sean’s turn to laugh out loud at her directness. She sure didn’t pull any punches. He wanted to kiss her right then and there, among other things. “Well, that’s a new one.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, she blushed. “Seriously? A woman has never said the thought of you packing heat is a huge turn on? What’s wrong with the women you’ve dated?”
For one thing, none of them were anything like you. He grew somber, studying her incredible smiling face. The desire to get closer to her was palpable, both physically and intellectually. “You want to get out of here? Go grab a cup of coffee someplace quiet, so we can talk some more?”
Her pretty lips parted to reply. Unfortunately, that was when all hell chose to break loose.


 I started reading when I was four, thanks to a babysitter who found out the only way to get me to sit still (and shut up) was to put a book in my hand. By the time I entered kindergarten, I’d blown through just about every Little Golden Book ever printed. Ten years later, much to my mother’s dismay, I found her stash of paperback romance novels. She tried to divert me back to something more chaste by buying me Harlequins, but I still snuck copies of her Kathleen Woodiwiss’s and Johanna Lindsey’s when she wasn’t looking. Shanna, The Flame and the Flower, and Fires of Winter will always hold special places in my heart because they introduced me to roguish heroes, headstrong heroines, and the trouble they could get into together. I live with my family in a swampy little corner of north-central Florida, close to the Gulf of Mexico and the historic Suwannee River. It’s hot, humid and full of mosquitos, but I wouldn’t trade it for… actually, I would trade it for a cottage on the beach somewhere in the Keys. In addition to my website, I can be found saying inappropriate things on Twitter as @JennyLynwrites; on Goodreads; and Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/author/jennylyn.



  
Tour Schedule


 

The Twins of Devonshire and The Curse of The Widow


Welcome to the sixth day of The Twins of Devonshire and the Curse of the Widow blog tour. It will run until August 17th and will feature excerpts and new author interviews each day. But first, here is the obligatory blurb about the novel to settle you into this strange world:

A plague has covered the land, a single word on the lips of the frightened masses: the Widow. Washing a wave of terror over the countryside and then disappearing like a thief in the night, the Widow holds a kingdom in the palm of her hand. The eyes of Chaos have settled on Prima Terra and heroes must rise. Xeno Lobo, enigmatic and cryptic, hunts the Widow, seeking an object taken from him years before. Will he be able to stem the tide of violence and horror that sweeps the land?



A few questions for the author:



How did you come up with the title of your book or series? 

The title is borrowed from the plot and the characters. The series is actually part of much larger epic fantasy story line that I have been working on for a very long time. It follows characters who have been removed from one dimension and inserted into another with no knowledge of their past. 


Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular image/artwork? 

The cover is actually a photo taken by my brother while he was visiting Europe a few years back. 


Who is your favorite character from your book and why? How about your least favorite character?  What makes them less appealing to you?

I have to admit that I don't have characters who are my least favorite, especially in a story this short. I generally try to write characters in which I am invested. Otherwise, the whole process becomes tedious, like going to lunch with someone you don't like. There are clearly heroes and villains, and I have a tendency to like and write characters who blur that line. 



Here be an excerpt for your enjoyment:


The halls of the Tower of Darkness were bathed in shadow. The narrow corridors were draped with murals and texts older than time. A minuscule window that lined these pathways was stained in black glass. 

The tower rose high into the skies, higher than the greatest reaches of the frozen clouds that circled it. As the citadel neared the stars above, it became progressively smaller and smaller until only one room remained: the Widow’s chamber. 

The room was situated with only a throne of obsidian and a cold steel table on which an iridescent orb resided. Beside the throne lay the slumbering were-beast and the pearl whelp that resided atop her throne of death. 

She moved about the room like a dancer amidst a song, her head tilted back and golden hair spilling over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her arms reached out into nothingness and a hum echoed in the dim chambers as she made her way. 

The spinning stopped as she neared the orb and in one movement, she brought her head over it. Her hair spilled over the sides of it. She muttered to herself incoherently. As she pulled back, the orb had gone from a swirling mass of indistinguishable colors to pitch black, the change extraordinary. 

“Mighty orb of darkness, what do you see?” she called into the darkness. The orb imploded upon itself, the darkness reverberating within the shadow until it stilled. 

A voice emanated from it, a dark voice that boomed from wall to wall. “A force approaches. A man bound to the Light, a servant of the enemy of the Towers of Darkness.” 

“Enemy of the Towers of Darkness, how enjoyable,” she cooed. 

Her voice was elegant. 

The voice came again, as monotone as it had previously been. “The servant brings a second, and soon a third. These forces align against your reign, against the reign of the Towers of Darkness.” 

“Karian, the Widow, fears no mortal, especially enemies of the darkness,” she laughed at the orb manically. She danced about the room again, the were-beast lifting its head as its master gallivanted like a child to a tune that had ensnared her soul. 

She danced and danced until she came to a stop abruptly, her hair tossed across the face. Her brow was furrowed, lost in thought, her finger raised in question. “Who is this servant of the Light? Has he, she, a name?” 

“The name that slices through the darkness is Xeno Lobo. He has defeated the Nighen, your carrier of death to the south, in Me’lein,” returned the voice. 

“Xeno Lobo,” she whispered to herself, her eyes closed. Her left hand began to glow, the darkness swirling about her and then in a blink of an eye, a sword materialized. 

The blade was etched in shadow and death, the hilt carved from human bone. The guard was a gnarled, twisted form of a shadow woman. She spun the sword with the practiced hand of a swordswoman and slammed it into the stone of her fortress. Splintering the rock, she turned back to the orb, chest heaving. 

“Xeno Lobo.” 

“Yes, they speak of Xeno Lobo. The caretaker of the crest of Devon,” replied the voice without inflection, without care. 

She looked across her room and saw the twinkling jewel crest that rested upon her throne, the golden chain sparkling in the moonlight. The sight of it drove her mad, swinging and striking the walls with her blade. The whelp rose from its perch, searching back into the darkness. 

It screamed the whole way. 

“But I took that damnable thing from him once. Why does he wish for more pain, more regret?” she queried madly. 

“I do not know, Mistress Karian, but I do know that he comes here for that crest. You are the bearer of his pain and regret.” 

She calmed, the sword vanishing from her grasp. The darkness embraced her once again. Her body fell to the cold floor, hair spilled about her face. She remained there, cackling madly as the shadows encircled her.

Bio: A psychologist, author, editor, philosopher, martial artist, and skeptic, he has published several novels and currently has many in print, including: The End of the World PlaylistBittenThe JourneyThe Ocean and the HourglassThe Path of the FallenThe Portent, and Cerulean Dreams. Follow him on Twitter (@AuthorDanOBrien) or visit his blog http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com. He recently started a consultation business. You can find more information about it here: http://www.amalgamconsulting.com/.




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