Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Spotlight: Elise Hepner's Ex-Retreat


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Blurb: 

Warning: This book contains a geeky, secretly insecure but overly cocky handy-man with a penchant for pleasing, a dominatrix in training who’s on the rebound, and enough smut to strip a couple layers off your soul. Plus there’s mac n’ cheese with a smattering of self-actualization for good measure. 

After Chloe Barrons’ fiancé cheats on her via webcam, she begrudgingly accepts her Type-A mother’s offer of a spur of the moment luxury spa weekend. But things don’t play out quite from point A to point B when she arrives drunk and disoriented on the front porch of a deserted North Carolina beach house. 

From the very start she’s caught off guard by Noah Knightly, a sinfully sexy, self-proclaimed 
commitment-phobe who’s a handyman for his sister’s relationship rehabilitation center—a rehab where Chloe is the sole guest during off-season. 

But faced with temptation, to stay guarded she’ll have to call the shots.

Noah shouldn’t have taken Chloe’s reservation. But in need of a second pair of hands to fix up the beach house, he throws all his sister’s rules out the window. Soon he worries that maybe he’s bitten off more than he can chew: each day Chloe cracks more of his cocky façade bringing down his guards to reveal a stuttering geek who has a hidden will to please her in any way possible.

With no way to ignore her pain, Noah sets himself up as a guniea pig to prove to Chloe that not all men are created equal—in or out of the bedroom. As Chloe comes into her own through every sexual 
session, Noah needs to decide if he’s man enough to accept the one thing he never thought he wanted—love.


Excerpt: 


With a reserve of energy she didn’t feel, Chloe bounded up from the bed. Not the best idea, considering her brain’s penchant for rattling around in her skull the minute she moved because of her hangover. Maybe she could get Noah to make a Bloody Mary to take the edge off before she left? Chloe climbed the plush carpeted stairs back up into the living room.
“Since it looks like we’ll be spending a bit of time together, care to enlighten me on why you took a reservation when it’s off season and your sister wasn’t even here to run it?”
Chloe sat back across from him and took a slow drink of her juice, using the added time to get a closer look at his slightly freckled face. Cute. Whatever attraction rose up tightening her throat she quickly squashed it down. A man had gotten her here in the first place. If it wasn’t for her mother’s penchant for psychological healing, without the aid of television and a quart of ice cream—she would be surrounded by piles of good books, take-out, and new workout DVD’s she wouldn’t attempt to use for a solid month.
When Noah caught her watching him, she deflected her stare to the bookcase behind his head, cringing at the A to Z self-help tomes. When she came out of rehab she might have more of a complex than when she went in last night.
“Didn’t feel like turning down company. Plus I could use the extra hands around the house getting the place weatherproofed for hurricane season.”
Chloe had to cover her mouth to keep from shooting citrus out of her nose.
“Nice plan, right?” He waggled his dark brows and took another bite of bacon.
“You purposely let me come here because you were looking for a playmate while you babysat the house?”
“You’re much more fun than building model cars and searching for the meaning of life.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Plus, I won the genetic jackpot. You’re quite the looker,” he said it offhand, meeting her eyes, and winking with darkness in his gaze that left nothing to imagination.
“What are you, sixty years old?”
“That was a compliment, in case you’ve never heard one.”
“Yeah, great going, complimenting a woman who probably just got out of a debilitating relationship, is emotionally vulnerable, and ready to kick some ass. What a charmer you are, Noah.”
He cleared his throat, picked up his plate, and headed toward the kitchen. Despite her resolve to let his comment slide off her back, she’d opened her big mouth. But more than anything she wished she could close her eyes to get the image of his fine ass out of her mind as the swinging door closed behind him. Pathetic didn’t cover it. She needed another dictionary definition. What were the odds of finding a dictionary in this house?
Was she even thinking about staying? The idea was idiotic at best. In a house with a total stranger in the middle of nowhere for any span of time—when did that choice go from you’re crazy, to eh, it’s workable? The fact that she managed to miss kind of a big decision when she was the one making the choice in the first place made her feel like she’d come to the right place for her discombobulated mental state. Yet…she trusted her gut. There was something to women’s intuition and Noah didn’t scream psycho killer. Of course, she didn’t think they made a t-shirt for that type of thing. But either way her first layer of apprehension peeled back with the knowledge that she had basic knowledge of self-defense and there were plenty of knick-knacks around the house to double as weapons should the need crop up.
It would be an adventure, right? He wasn’t keeping her here. She could leave and walk away—literally—at any time.
“Oh, by the way—”
Noah stuck half his body through the swinging door, large fingers splayed across the pastel green paint. He licked his lips, mouth shaping into a wolfish grin that left her fingers twisting together in her lap. Noah raised one of his hands in the air.
“One, I’ve been told I’m not relationship material. Two, I’m great rebound sex in case there isn’t anything else in this boarded up hole to occupy your mind. And last, but not least, if you want to kick my ass on behalf of my species that’s all well and good—I’m a gentleman, I’ll let you—but you bet your sweet ass you’ll be playing nursemaid afterward. And that’s with the kinky outfit, or no deal.”
There were no words. Chloe sat there without a single retort even close to her mouth. Was he kidding? Before she could regain her senses he’d popped his head back into the kitchen, and water ran in a loud rush. Almost, but not quite, blocking out the joy in his gruff laughter as it echoed through the door. Gentleman, yeah that was a joke. He was a gentleman like Rhett Butler wasn’t a cad—and Rhett was the best bad boy of ‘em all.
She should know, she’d only watched that movie over a hundred times growing up because it had the prettiest cover in her mother’s old movie collection. No matter what, Rhett was a cad. And, though she tried not to be flustered, Noah gave off the same swarthy I-know-what-you-look-like-without-your-clothes-on vibe.
So what if she’d tried a relationship with the solid, wet-blanket, Ashley type and that hadn’t exactly worked out? That didn’t mean a damn thing.
“Plan on throwing me any other fastballs? Or are we not speaking because I dared to mention how beautiful your smile is and hurt your girl power pride?”
His voice shook her out of her reverie.
“You haven’t even seen me fully smile.”
“I’ve seen the ghost of one. Maybe if we keep playing this “getting to know each other” game I’ll get to see more. What do you think?”
He wiped his damp hands on his jeans leaving dark smudges that led Chloe’s eye elsewhere. She crossed her arms, determined to pay attention to the hideous, metal deep sea fish sculpture on the wall.
“I think that you haven’t given me jack squat to go off of in terms of getting to know you. I also think, Noah, that it’s probably in your best interest to start chatting, otherwise these hands might not feel like working.”
“Please tell me those hands will be doing other, more delightful things,” he practically purred, clutching his heart. “Oh, also, unless you’re a shrink, there isn’t much else to do around here. No radios or TV. Consider yourself promoted to first foreman. Better than reading the self-help crap, right?”
“Oh will you can it? Jesus, I’m not sleeping with you!”
He shrugged, making the move mean far more than it should have, while also showing off the hard muscles in his chest.
“I never really asked, did I?”
She couldn’t help it—she made a pure noise of frustration and glared sharp, lethal icepicks his way. What did he do? Only the second most infuriating thing ever after all his cheesy come-on’s. Noah threw up his hands in front of his body making a mocking face filled with fake terror. Eyes wide, mouth an “o,” he sprinted to the corner folding his large frame until he cowered hiding his face in between his knees. Heaven help her, a bubble of laughter floated out through her mouth and broke into pieces.
You’re hopeless.
Noah peeked his head out from his lap with a goofy grin.
“That impressed you, huh? Didn’t know your host took several unwanted years of drama in high school in order to make up for failing math grades. Pretty genius performance, wasn’t it? Might have won me an Oscar.”
Well, there was her first tidbit into the brain of her new hot—er, host. When Noah stood up from his crouch he quickly stretched his arms up above his head, leaving a delectable piece of pale flesh with a smattering of dark, treasure trail hair leading beneath his jeans. Chloe snapped her eyes away and thinned her lips pretending to adjust on the coach and folding her legs up under her.
“You’re getting better.”
“At what?”
“Nothing. You ready for your lesson on how we’re going to work together to keep this place in tip-top shape?”
“Do I get to say no?”
He made an obnoxious beeping noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a game show buzzer.
“Wrong answer. But you do get handy demonstrations, your own tool belt, and dinner tonight if you do a good job.”
“Do I get a gold star, too?”
“I can probably figure something out for you.”
Noah snatched her hand, a shock to her system tightening all the muscles in her upper arm. His warm palm engulfed her whole hand. Was this what it had been like when he’d carried her inside last night? Had she folded up in his arms like she fit? She swallowed and met his serious look.
“Come on, I’ve got a whiteboard downstairs.”
Chloe couldn’t deny his excitement. When he pulled her up and raced them down the stairs she followed—telling herself it was only because he would have dragged her anyway. But when he pulled her into a spare bedroom, it had been converted into an office with a white board that took up three of the four walls, her mind was boggled. Not one inch of board was free.
“You’ve been busy.”
Chloe took in the myriad of checklists, bullet points, and definitions scrawled in a neat sloping hand. One of the notations caught her eye. The roof needed fixing? He wanted her up on a slope a million feet in the air? Oh, that was priceless. With a careful eye she tried to stuff the overload of information into her brain.
“You need to be trained.”
Noah took a seat in the office chair, swiveling his body around a few times before he came to a full stop with his long legs stretched out. His hands were laced together in the middle of his chest, while he regarded her with an expression she couldn’t quite place—and probably didn’t want to think too hard. She went back to studying the notations.
“This is almost everything you need to know about construction and what we’ll be doing as early as tonight. Think you can handle it all?”
At least he’d given her a head start—with his help a day of intense study might be enough to keep her safe. Besides, the busywork could keep her mind in the right place and off of any thoughts of the ex. She could admit—begrudgingly—that she kind of couldn’t wait to see Noah in a tool belt, shirtless, and a little dewy with sweat. His verbal banter wouldn’t hurt as a distraction either. With a long exhale, she shoved the thought into a little box, readying herself for the oncoming storm.



Author Bio: 

Elise Hepner lives with two spastic cats and a very supportive, slightly crazy husband. There is never a dull moment in the house, unless the caffeine runs out, which it never does. She's a multi-published erotica author with Cleis Press, Ellora's Cave, Xcite, and Secret Cravings Publishing.
She's driven by her tea addiction and a tiny stuffed turtle her husband picked up from Disney World that sits on her desk and "supervises" her work.
When not writing (which is rare), she's watching countless hours of reality television, playing the Sims or shopping online. Plus there's that odd obsession with the color purple. Everything is purple. Visit Elise at her website www.elisehepner.com to keep up with her naughty ramblings, random tidbits and future work.
She has a newsletter where you can sign up for sneak peeks, contests, giveaways, new release news and other fun things: http://eepurl.com/pW8Sj
Twitter: @EHepner

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Cover Reveal: Don't Let Me Fall by Briana Pacheco




Title: Don’t Let Me Fall
Author: Briana Pacheco

Release date: December 4th, 2014

Genre: New Adult


Book Description:
I don't want to be here.
When you lose the one person that was your whole life, you'll understand. For me, it was my best friend, Alice. We spent every second of every day together. We planned a life. I was actually living. I was happy.
Now, it's just gone.
And I'm still here. Lonely. A tatted up body with an empty soul.
Getting inside of my head won't be pretty. I'm warning you now that you won't like me. I hate people besides my family. I hate everything around me. I just want to be alone. And I HATE how Logan Mercer doesn't understand that. He's everywhere; getting inside of my head, kissing me when he shouldn't be, messing everything up, and trying to get me to open up. He's making me crazier than I already am. Why do I need to talk about my life? Why does he even care?
Why doesn't anyone understand that I don't want to get attached to people? I don't want to get fixed.
I want to be alone.
I want to be free.
I want to fly.
My name is Rebeckah Lennox and this is my story...of how I fell.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22454956-don-t-let-me-fall?ac=1


Trailer:

You can find the trailer at:  http://youtu.be/dYpsFZRbmbc
It will be made public a few days before the reveal.






About the Author:
Briana Pacheco hates referring to herself in third person so let’s start off with I’m the author of the Enough Trilogy, Don’t Let Me Fall, and many more books to come in the future. I’m from Boston and a wannabe explorer so one day I’ll travel the world. So far, that’s only happening when I write but I’m not giving up just yet. I love coffee, music and books, and I have an obsession with tattoos and accents. Sadly, I have neither so I make my characters have them instead. I’m an avid reader and if I’m not writing, you’ll find me with a book (or Kindle) in my hands. I love hearing from readers about anything so please don’t be shy and stalk me.
I love it!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Blog Tour and Review: Forgiving Reed by C.A. Harms

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Forgiving Reed by C.A. Harms  Southern Boys #1 Publication Date: October 13, 2014 

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Synopsis:

Kori suffered a great loss, one that left her feeling so desolate and alone, that she believed nothing would ever fill the void... The only thing that kept her going was the one little piece of joy she still had in her life, her baby boy, Rhett. She had no choice but to move forward and give her son the best life she could. Which meant moving back home. Except there was one problem Home was where Reed would be... The man who once held her heart, then shattered it into a million pieces. Grieving the loss of Rhett's dad, and learning to forgive those who have betrayed her, Kori was battling it all. But will she ever have the strength to forgive Reed?
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About the Author

C.A. Harms 
 C.A. Harms is like any other addicted reader. She enjoys happy endings and HEA love stories. She hasn't always been a lover of Romance and had once been addicted to a good Mystery. Just recently she has taken on a new liking and now is a full blown Romance novel addict. She lives in Illinois and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. You will always find her with her kindle or paperback in hand as it is her favorite pass time.


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Monday, October 27, 2014

#1 Crush Cover
#1 Crush by Kaia Bennett</ strong> Loose Ends #1 Publication Date: December 2014 Also in this series: #1 Crush Genres: Contemporary, Erotica, Romance

Synopsis:

Nicole Langley’s #1 Crush has always been Gabriel Roberts, but settling for being a friendly acquaintance has had to be enough. Gabriel has always seen Nicole as his good friend’s very pretty, but extremely off limits baby sister. Then a hot summer day and an even hotter discovery pushes them over the lines of friendship, over the lines of unrequited desire, and into each other's arms. Will they indulge and move on? Or will this crush turn into something more, something deeper? Something that leaves loose ends begging to be tied...

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EXCERPT

Gabriel's room.

She paused, peeking through the slightly closed door to the bed within. She had been in there once or twice when Gabriel had a new CD for her to download, or a book he’d recommended she read. He’d moved in a little over a year ago when Jackie and her boyfriend Ian had to get rid of their last roommate, who had almost set the couch on fire when he’d invited his loser friends over to get high. That guy had been crass, sloppy, and late on the rent more than a few times. Gabriel was none of those things. He had a relatively decent job at an employment recruiting firm while he saved up money to play music full time and get his own place. He tried to keep his messes inside his space, though he wasn't usually around much to make any. And if he did smoke, he had yet to set anything on fire.

He put all the guys she dated to shame and served as the image she used to relieve sexual tension more times than she could count. In her mind he was tender and sweet, touching her skin reverently, laying gentle kisses all over her body. He would take his time making her wet, unlike the last asshole she had gone out with who thought a few licks and a dry finger was all that was required before he could stick it in. Gabriel would know better, would ask her if she was ready and then ease himself in carefully. He would tell her he had been waiting so long for this moment as he stroked her into a frenzy, making her come over and over again with the power of his strong body and gentle words.

Just the thought of it made her body shiver, and before she knew it she was pushing open the door and stepping inside his personal space. Her body hummed just thinking about how he slept in that bed, the sheets rumpled and unmade from when he woke earlier that morning. She thought of the glimpse she caught of him when he came out of the shower. Those tattoos stood out red and black against the sides of his v-shaped torso, the towel riding low on his narrow hips.

Thank goodness he had been oblivious to the pair of brown eyes surveying him from over the edge of the couch.

Now she was standing where he had been when he closed that door. She let her hand run over the dresser as she walked quietly inside, her fingers tapping over his brush, his comb, the deodorant he used. She picked up the bottle of cologne he used and opened it, breathing in the intoxicating scent.

She put the cap back on, careful to place the bottle back where it belonged, and surveyed the rest of the room. Beside the dresser was a pretty nice entertainment center, and on the other side of that was his bookshelf. She had nearly creamed her panties when she found out it wasn't just for show, that he did in fact read when he got the chance, and that they shared similar taste in books. A ridiculously huge rack of CDs and his propped up guitar filled the far corner of the room. The walls were lined with posters of his favorite musicians, as well as mementos from shows he and his band played.

Below those posters was the bed, which was simple. It had metal rungs for the headboard with white sheets and a steel grey comforter. She could still see the indent of his body in the mattress, the curve in the center of the pillow where he rested his head each night. On either side of the bed were small tables with a few drawers each, where pictures of his family and friends rested. She was tempted to open up those drawers and see what he kept in them, but she resisted. She didn't intend to go snooping through his things. All she wanted to do was be in his space, to see the side of him she wasn't usually allowed to see, at least not for long periods of time. Instead she swept her hands over the sheets, letting her legs brush against them where they drooped to the floor.

Nicole wondered as she brought her knee up onto the bed what it must be like to be a girl in this bed with him. Did he sleep with a lot of girls? She knew of at least one girl when he first moved in, his ex- girlfriend Marta. At the time she asked herself what the fuck kind of name was Marta? In this case, it was the type of name a gorgeous half-Indian, half-Spanish girl would have, the kind with long dark hair, golden, almond-shaped eyes and a tall, lithe frame with curves in the all the right places. Her skin was rich toffee compared to Nicole's milk chocolate with red undertones, her height and build making Nicole feel like an overly curvy dwarf, even if she was average in terms of height, and her curves were welcomed by plenty.

What kind of girl did he sleep with now that his ex, Marta, was out of the picture? Nicole only got to visit her sister occasionally during breaks from school, so she never got to see exactly what kind of girl besides Marta could make Gabriel take a second look.

She brought her other knee onto the bed. Resting on all fours, she pretended she was that girl, the one that he wanted. What would it be like to have him lying in this bed next to her, his hips barely covered by these sheets? She crawled closer to the center of the bed, smiling seductively, pretending she was crawling toward a deliciously naked Gabriel instead of the cold indent of his body, when her knee landed hard on something tucked under the sheets. The sound of the TV turning on startled her, as did the image that popped up on the screen. Her mouth dropped, her eyes widened...

About the Author

Kaia 

Bennett

 Kaia Bennett is a native of New Jersey, a college graduate and U.S. Army veteran who loves music, movies, astrology, tattoos, martial arts, animals and, of course, the written word. She heard the siren call of the writer as a teenage girl, but took her sweet time answering it until she had lived and loved enough to share her work with the masses. She is an erotic author who loves to write stories with diversity, depth, realism and viscerally hot encounters that flirt shamelessly with the taboo. A lover of all genres and a voracious reader, she aims to write stories that are transformative for her characters and readers alike.





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Release Blitz: Backstage by A.M. Madden

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   Synopsis   
 Trey Taylor was loving life. Bass player to the world famous rock band Devil’s Lair, chicks falling to their knees at every turn, no one to be held accountable to for his actions…life rocked. He had all he needed, food to sustain his body, sex to sustain his libido, rock to sustain his soul. For years he walked to the beat of his own drum, and made no excuses to anyone. Running and hiding can temporarily distract your fate, but it won’t derail it. Fate was coming for him, whether he liked it or not. His past was gaining ground and threatening all the secrets he desperately tried to hide. His present was slowing him down, making him feel emotions he buried years ago. The two are about to collide. Will Trey survive the impact?



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  Buy Links  

* AMAZON * BARNES & NOBLE * SMASHWORDS *

* Go Back To The Couple That Started The Series *

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About Author


Amazon Best Selling Author ~ A.M. Madden's debut novel Back-up is the first of three in The Back-Up Series. Book 2, Front & Center is also available on Amazon. Book 3, Encore will be released June 2014. A.M. Madden is a wife, a mother, an avid reader of romance novels and now an author. In Back-up she aspired to create a fun, sexy, realistic romantic story. She wanted to create characters that the reader could relate to and feel as if they knew personally. A self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, she loves getting lost in a good book. She also uses every free moment of her time writing, while raising teenage boys.


  Author Links  

* FACEBOOK * TWITTER * WEBSITE *



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Saturday, October 25, 2014

Double Review: Winter's Kisses and A Scarlet Fury by Bridget Blackwood

I went on a little Blackwood Binge reading and so I have not just one, but two reviews for this post.  Winter's Kisses is more a short story than anything, but it has an important place in the series and contains a whole lot of goodness.  


Title: Winter's Kiss
Author: Bridget Blackwood
Released: March 2014
Links:
Amazon ~ Goodreads



Varian Caina believed his chance at love and happiness died with Winter, but what if Winter isn't dead? Why allow everyone to grieve? Winter has assassins after her, sent by the Seelie Queen Tanith and faces a new enemy in the Unseelie King Corrigan. Can Varian turn his back on Winter or will he embrace his second chance? A short story in the World in Shadows series between books one and two.



My Review: 

It's a very very good thing that it is noted that this is NOT Varian and Winter's full story, because if it was, there is no end to the harassment you'd get from me, Bridget Blackwood, No end. (Okay well, since orange isn't my color, there likely is an end to it, but you get what I'm saying, yes?!) 

Though just a short story to show the current status of Winter and Varian, Winter's Kiss answers a lot of questions and also leaves open a lot of future possibilities. 


I found Varian to be an interesting character in Rising Shadows, its hard to take him seriously sometimes, between his innate crazy and seemingly bi-polar attitudes. But it's pretty plain to see there is a hidden depth to the Vampire, I can't wait to see that depth explored further in his full story. 

Winter, well, you can't help but feel for Winter and want to give her a big ol hug. Her life hasn't been easy, and though I'm sure we haven't heard all of it, what little we do know just kind of sucks. But I love that she's such a strong female character and doesn't let any of it pull her down or hold her back. She stands firm and does what she needs to. 


Though it is not long Winter's Kiss is still full of action, humor and Hello Hotness! It is a great little scene to slip into the series between books leaving open a range of places Winter and Varian's story can lead to. I can't wait for the rest of their story.





Title: A Scarlet Fury
Author: Bridget Blackwood
Released: August 2014
Links: Amazon ~ Goodreads 


It has been almost a year since mankind became aware of the world in shadows. It's been an adjustment, but life goes on and most have learned to adapt. There are some on both side that are not ready to let go of their plans. Madalaina Bonvillian believed nothing could harm her; she's the daughter of the former alpha and the sister of the current alpha, who would dare? After surviving a brutal attack, Madalaina must try to move forward, but where do you go when you feel like you've lost yourself? Cleary Neil has kept his feeling for Madalaina to himself. He's been her friend, and now that's what she needs more than anything. The only problem is he can't shut off the part of himself that wants to protect his mate from the pain and confusion he sees in her.

 Together they will go on an emotional journey to find out if love can heal all wounds. Time is of the essence, because enemies are gathering


My Review: 

A Scarlet Fury takes on a more somber tone than previous books in the series, while also dealing with more difficult subject matters.  The inclusion of such different circumstances shows the ability of the author to adapt to any and all circumstances within their writing.  The deviance from the usual subjects to harsher ones, is sometimes harder to transition to and Blackwood does it with ease in this story.  The storyline matter is not  simple or easy or even remotely fun, but the events make for story with a larger emotional impact. 

There is deep reflection in Madalaina's personality throughout the story. This trauma happened to her and she was pretty much thrown for a loop because she had never ever anticipated that anyone would dare do wrong to her because of who she was. And it is almost exactly for that reason she was hurt in such a way.  While coping with the trauma, Madalaina learns things about herself, little changes in her personality, nothing to outrageous, but enough that she finds herself surprised and realizing that she had lost herself along the way, even before this incident had even happened. 

Blackwood handles the grievous events and following trauma with both  caution and grace. Madalaina struggles with many feelings and trying to assimilate those emotions and come to some form of acceptance.  It is even more difficult for her to handle the fact that nearly everyone in her life, whom she loves, knows exactly what happened to her and that she was unable to prevent or stop it.  Like most victims of any kind of trauma, Madalaina places a large amount of blame and guilt on herself. 

Cleary is AWESOME.  No, I don't say that lightly.  He's such a wreck throughout the first parts of the book, justifiably so, but even still, he makes your heart hurt, because he wants to help so much, but you can see he feels at a loss of being capable of doing it the right way.  So he does things he can in little ways, sometimes nearly making a fool out of himself or bringing danger down on himself (Hello Claude!).  Being Madalaina's friend prior to these events gives him a unique perspective with which to show her that she's not the dirty underserving weakling she sees herself as.  

Cleary battles the instincts in him that scream "This woman is my mate" and all that entails and the deep seated knowledge that one wrong move can have devastating effects where Madalaina is concerned and send her running.  I think he handles it all with just the right amount of care and concern while also enforcing to Madalaina that he's not going anywhere and he doesn't view her as different, at least not in the way she thinks. 


Sassy is awesome. I want a Sassy. She's a great addition to the story because she adds another push for Madalaina to go to Cleary. 

I love the glimpses into the friendships between Madalaina and Winter, and Tsura, and Cleary.  They all have their own unique bonds and I love how it is shown how they each do their part in pulling Madalaina back together.  This is true friendship, this is what friends do for each other. 


Dr. Livingston was crucial to helping Madalaina come to terms and begin to heal and rebuild.  She instigated the starting place for Madalaina and then helped her build up from there.  The women from group, also play a major role in her healing. Some clever twists there, very turning the tables in some ways too.  

  
A Scarlet Fury takes you on an emotional ride about tragedy, forgiveness of yourself and others, and also about understanding and finding who you are truly meant to be. It is a beautiful story of life's struggles and coming through on the other side. It is the story of Family and why we need each other though sometimes we want to kill each other.    While the front running story is Madalaina and Cleary's, there are so many smaller stories told in the process and I'm certain they hold importance to the series. 

There are many bumps in the road for Madalaina and Cleary as they both delve deep into the waters of this traumatic experience, but each small step taken proves the inner strength and dedication they carry. Though the tone is more serious and solemn, there are bits of humor and lightness mixed within.  

You know how you get a homemade gift from someone and you can just feel their blood, sweat and tears went into its making.  That is exactly how I feel about this book.  This story is hands down my favorite of the series so far.  


It's going to be a long long wait for the next book in the series...