Discover the lost ancient energies within you . . Caridad Pineiro . . .

Book promo giveaway of Avenger's Angel, by Heather Killough-Walden

Always Angel blurb….

Always Angel, A Novella of the Lost Angels

A story of paranormal passion from the author of the Big Bad Wolf series!

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Big Bad Wolf paranormal romances, a brand-new novella in the world of the Lost Angels. For millennia, the archangels have searched for their destined mates on earth. Now they are beginning to unite, but for Angel, it is a time of danger and fear. For at the culmination of these fated unions, her secret, true nature will finally be revealed – opening her to an impossible desire and exposing her to the one man she desperately craves.

Look for Avenger’s Angel, the first full-length book in the new Lost Angels series from Heather Killough-Walden, on sale November 2011.

Excerpt from Always Angel, the exclusive eBook introductory novella for the Lost Angels series by New York Times bestselling paranormal author, Heather Killough-Walden….

Always Angel, by Heather Killough-Walden
“Hesperos,” she whispered, nearly out of breath with the shock of him. Memory was a strange thing. Most people couldn’t recall what they’d had for lunch the day before, but they could remember events and people from decades past. It was that way for Angel now.
The man on her window ledge looked the same as he always had, just like she remembered. His clothing had changed. Instead of the armor of a soldier of ancient Athens, he now wore black jeans, black boots, and a black leather vest over a bare chest. But his appearance was as it had always been: Tall, strong, chiseled. Perfect.
Hesperos may not have been quite as otherworldly as Samuel Lambent. No one was, and for good reason. But Hesperos was a king.
And it showed.
Maybe he won’t recognize me, she thought desperately. Her mind was spinning end over end, her heart thumping painfully in her chest. Angel was far from defenseless, even when it came to battling things not quite human. However, Hesperos was special. If it came down to a struggle, she would lose.
The last time he had seen her, she’d been sporting long red hair and hazel eyes. She’d been wearing the robes of a Celt. On the outside, she had looked nothing like she did now. Maybe, if she was lucky, he wouldn’t see past her outer shell any more than a human male would.
But even as she hoped it, she knew she was fooling herself. Hesperos was an incubus. The incubi, or “Nightmares,” as other supernatural creatures referred to them, were notorious for hunting beauty in its purest form. Outward appearance often meant little to them. They appreciated it, to be sure. But if a woman was not as lovely on the inside as she was on the outside, they quickly lost interest and went elsewhere.
Nightmares could easily tell what rested in a woman’s heart. Despite the fact that Angel had become very good at hiding her true nature over the decades, Hesperos was their Nightmare king. Two thousand years ago, he had managed the tiniest peek at her real form. And now? If anyone could see her, or at least glimpse her, as she truly was, it would be him. Well… him and Samuel Lambent, anyway.
Very slowly, Angel turned from the mirror, her fingers clasping the thin spaghetti strap of her slip where she’d been about to let it fall off her shoulder. It was her last remaining vestige of clothing. It was all that remained between herself and the literal lord and master of the sexiest men on the planet.
Hesperos watched her from where he stood on the ledge, framed by the light of the moon and her slowly swaying curtains. His raven black hair was shot through with streaks of blue beneath the illumination. He bore an intriguing black tattoo on the left side of his neck, and another across the swell of his right bicep. A third peeked from beneath the leather edge of his vest. To most people, they simply appeared to be tattoos, “manly” perhaps, intricate and well drawn. However, to Angel, they were symbols of his power, his status, and a reminder of the fact that he was king.
After a few moments, he stepped down from the ledge and the moonlight struck the steel of his eyes. It had always been his eyes that turned Angel’s head the most and weakened her to the point of danger. They were a mixture of green and gray that she had never seen before. They looked like jade shot through with metal, and their powers of perception were incredible.
Nothing escaped Hesperos.
That was perhaps what scared her the most.
She swallowed hard now and watched with a wariness she hadn’t felt in centuries as the incubus king moved from the window, his boots sounding loud in the hollow silence between them. It wasn’t that Hesperos was a bad man. He never hurt women – not that he would ever need to – and he never let his seed impregnate anyone as did the majority of the incubi. Compared to his minions, the Nightmare King was a teddy bear in those regards.
But he hadn’t gotten to be king by accident.
Hesperos possessed a great deal of power. In fact, Angel was a little surprised that he hadn’t yet attempted to subjugate her mind in order to make this easier for himself. It wasn’t that he necessarily needed to be able to control the minds of his victims to get what he wanted. Most women melted at a single glance from him. But he wasn’t stupid. He never left anything to chance. Another reason he was king.
The fact that he hadn’t tried to infiltrate her thoughts only fortified Angel’s fear that he knew damn well she was something more than human. He wouldn’t bother to try taking her over until he knew what he was dealing with. He was sizing up his prey. A good hunter did whatever was necessary to keep the claw and bite wounds to a minimum.
Hesperos continued to watch her as he moved through her room, a shark making slow circles around his dinner. His expression was a wickedly handsome mixture of curiosity, caution and determination. “Oh, little beauty,” he said, his voice raising goose bumps of anticipation across her skin. “What are you, I wonder?”
Angel said nothing, but her heart’s quick pace was surely giving her away. He doesn’t know, she told herself firmly. He doesn’t remember, so don’t tip him off. Be strong.
“You seem familiar to me,” he said.
Angel’s breath caught. She felt her eyes widen just a little. Stupid, she scolded herself. She was out of practice, it would seem. Hesperos was sure to notice slip ups like that.
The king stopped at the center of her room and cocked his head to one side, narrowing his gaze on her thoughtfully. In that moment, he reminded her of the calculating Greek soldier he’d once been as he’d gone slumming among the mortals out of sheer boredom. He’d been a veritable god of war, pulling back from the role only when he’d realized that if he’d wanted to, he could have slaughtered the entire human population. That wasn’t him. Hesperos wasn’t a killer.
But he looked like one now. Machiavellian. Cunning…. Bad.
Without speaking, the Nightmare King took a step toward her. Angel thought fast, steeling her nerves. She raised her chin, and with a slight twist of her wrist, she finally let the slip that she had been holding slide through her fingers. Hesperos’s metal green eyes watched the thin sheen of material drift to the floor and pool at her bare feet. For the slightest of moments, he paused, a small smile playing across his lips.
Then his gaze slid back up her long body, taking everything in. He took another step. “My, my,” he said, shaking his head as if at the wonder of her. “But you are a rare bird.” Several more boot-echoing steps and he had closed the distance between them. Despite her tall frame, the king stood half a foot taller than she did and towered over her as he crowded her with his imposing presence.
“You’re rather impressive, yourself,” she admitted softly, unable to help herself. He was getting to her. She may have been inhuman, but she was still a woman and Hesperos was very much a man.
“You know me,” he said. “You’ve spoken my name.” He smiled then, revealing straight, white teeth with canines that were ever so slightly longer than the norm. “I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage.” As he spoke, he locked her gaze in his, capturing her attention in a nearly literal sense.
She found it impossible to look away as he raised his right hand and delicately brushed his fingers across the top of her collarbone. A hard shiver raced through her. “I hardly believe that’s possible,” she told him.
His smile broadened and a chuckle of real amusement rumbled up from his broad chest. “I wouldn’t have thought so either,” he admitted easily. “And yet, here we are. You know who I am….” He lifted a curly lock of her black hair and wound it around his fingers. “And it isn’t mutual.”
To this, Angel said nothing. She was afraid that if she dared to speak, she would inadvertently say something – anything – that would give her away.
Hesperos watched her eyes as if he were reading the play of thoughts that ran through her mind. And then he narrowed his gaze and she felt it. The swell of his power. He’d obviously realized that she wasn’t going to reveal herself to him willingly because he had decided he was no longer playing nice. She sensed the arms of his magic reach out and grab her, holding her fast as his mind scraped hers, scouring it for the secrets she was hiding.
“Stop, Hesperos,” she said, her own gaze narrowing in turn. “Stay out of my head.” Anger clenched her jaw and gritted her teeth. She had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but his curiosity was piqued. He’d always been like that. Relentless.
Again – he was king for a reason.
“Who are you, little one?” he asked, his steel green eyes sparkling with almost cruel amusement and curiosity. “The walls you’ve put up are ancient,” he said, shaking his head as he brushed his knuckles across her cheekbone and then gently cupped her chin. “As ancient as I.”
And then, suddenly, he stilled – and she knew her battle was lost. The recognition flashed before his beautiful face like lightning and his grip on her chin tightened. “Angel,” he whispered. His gaze darkened, his pupils expanding. For a moment, he seemed thrown. Off his game.
Angel felt her muscles tighten, preparing for a literal fight or flight.
But he was faster. His hands came down around her upper arms, gripping them with vice-like strength. It didn’t hurt – not yet. But it was clear she wasn’t meant to go anywhere.
Two thousand years ago, Angel had spent a single night with Hesperos. A single, hot, wanton, intense, burning and delicious night. And then she’d fled – and though he’d looked for her, sending out his Nightmares to search high and low for decades, she had successfully eluded him.
Eventually, he and his kind had taken to the shadows along with the rest of the paranormal creatures on Earth. They’d disappeared from the sight of humans as readily and easily as she had vanished from Hesperos’s sights.
Only now, he was back. And he’d found her after all.
Angel felt her hopes sink and her need rise as Hesperos bent over her and leaned in, his grip tight, his eyes unflinchingly resolute. “Long time no see, precious one.”

Look for Always Angel, available exclusively as an eBook at Amazon and other eBook retailers beginning October, 2011.

Avenger’s Angel blurb….

Avenger’s Angel, A Novel of the Lost Angels

A story of paranormal passion from the author of the Big Bad Wolf series!

When four female angels were created for the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Azrael, a chaos spurned by jealousy erupted, and the archesses were secreted to Earth. The four favored archangels followed, prompting a search that has lasted millennia. But for Uriel, the former Archangel of vengeance, the search ends the moment he lays eyes on Eleanor Granger, his one true archess. Can he protect her from the danger lying in wait for her - and win her heart?

Excerpt from “Avenger’s Angel,” the first book in the exciting upcoming series The Lost Angels, by New York Times bestselling paranormal romance author, Heather Killough-Walden….

Avenger’s Angel, by Heather Killough-Walden
They were there for a signing. The movie Comeuppance had been such a hit with vampire fans around the world, it had been turned into a book – and then a series of books – and cast members from the movie were signing autographs in bookstores across the globe. It was late in the afternoon and Uriel’s signing as “Christopher Daniels,” the actor who had played Jonathan Brakes, the gorgeous vampire in Comeuppance, was about to begin.
They’d pulled up to the back of the bookstore in order to prepare. Across from him in the back of the limousine sat Max, Uriel’s manager. He was also Uriel’s guardian – and guardian to his three brothers, Michael, Gabriel and Azrael. Max was good at the job; he was an ace at donning the multitude of different hats it took to deal with four very strong male spirits in an ever changing world.
Just as Max was reaching his hand through the break in the separation glass to signal to the driver that they were ready to go to the front of the store and meet Daniels’s fans, a harsh shrieking sound drew Uriel’s attention to the limousine windows.
His vivid green eyes grew very wide. “Is that what I think it is?”
“I’m afraid so,” Gillihan replied.
“They’re blocking the exit,” Uriel said, his tone laced with shock. A throng of teenage girls had amassed on the Tarmac that ran around the side of the bookstore and were racing toward the limousine at break-neck speed.
There was no time to formulate a plan. He could either stay inside the car indefinitely and wait for the cops, or he could escape from the car and run. Fast.
Uriel threw open the door of the limousine and bolted out of the backseat. Behind him, he heard Max calling, but he ignored the guardian and headed directly for the bookstore.
Later, and in retrospect, he would realize that heading toward the bookstore instead of away from it was, at the very least, a bizarre decision. Especially considering that the slew of fans now racing toward him like a medieval village mob was coming from said store.
However, there was little thought involved. The girls were coming around the corner from the front of the store, which gave him a clear shot at the back door. It was mostly instinct that propelled Uriel across the lot to the locked back exit of the establishment. And it was superhuman strength that then allowed him to wrench the door open against the lock and rush inside.
He sensed that the alarm wanted to go off. He used his powers to silence it and pulled the door shut behind him, making sure to yank it in tight enough that it warped a little and held.
The girls outside reached it just as it shut and their fists pounded furiously on the metal of the barred exit. They were getting soaked out there. He was more than a little damp himself.
He wondered if they were also hurting one another as they shoved toward the door. He sincerely hoped not. But whatever was happening, the sheer number of them suggested that the door wouldn’t hold for long. All they had to do was work together and it would come open.
Uriel passed the restrooms on his left and strode toward the science fiction section of the store just beyond the exit foyer. There, he stopped and grimaced. Another mass of girls, nearly as large as the first, was grouped around the front of the store. There must have been a hundred of them. . . . Maybe more.
The door behind him creaked and then scraped.
Uriel thought fast and ducked into the women’s restroom. Once inside, he closed his eyes, pressed his back to the wall beside the door, and listened. The exit door of the bookstore gave way beyond and he could hear the group of girls rush into the hallway. They raced by, their Converses squeaking with rain water on the linoleum tile.
“You have to memorize a script to act, and the movie you starred in was also turned into a book, so I assumed that you could read.”
Uriel’s eyes flew open to find a woman and a little girl standing a few feet away, beside the door of the first stall.
“I was obviously wrong,” she continued. “Because you’ve mistaken the women’s restroom for the ridiculously famous sex symbol restroom—which is next door.”
Uriel’s heart stopped beating. His jaw dropped open.
He couldn’t be seeing what he was seeing in that moment. He couldn’t be feeling what he was feeling. Not now. Not here, in a bathroom—after two thousand years. Maybe he’d slipped in the rain outside and hit his head.
No, that was impossible. He was relatively invincible. Being hit on the head would do nothing to him but make him a little cranky.
She was really standing there before him. She was real; he could see her, hear her—he could even smell her. She smelled like shampoo and soap and lavender.
Jesus, he thought, unable to refrain from letting his gaze drop down her body and back up again. She was everything that he had ever imagined she would be, from her tall, slim body to her long jet-black hair, and those indigo blue eyes the color of a Milky Way night. Her skin was like porcelain. Her lips were plump and pink and framed perfect, white teeth. She was an angel.
She was his archess. And she was . . . scowling at him?
He frowned.
*****
The door to the bathroom had shut firmly behind Christopher Daniels, and he clearly had heard what she’d said, but he still just stood there like he was frozen and Eleanore could not figure out why. “Mr. Daniels, is there something I can help you with?” Eleanore asked.
She had to admit to herself that when Daniels had first entered the women’s restroom, she’d been taken completely and utterly by surprise. First of all, he was even more handsome in real life than he was in his plethora of press photos. And that wasn’t supposed to be the case at all. Wasn’t there supposed to be loads and loads of makeup involved? Tricks of the light? In real life, didn’t actors have acne and scars and wrinkles and un-dyed roots for miles?
In real life, an actor’s eyes didn’t seem to glow the way they did in the movies. But Christopher Daniels’s eyes did. It was nearly eerie, they were so intense. They instantly called to mind the dreams she’d had of him. It was always his eyes she saw just before she woke up. All of the pictures he had plastered across the nation didn’t do them justice. His eyes were the color of arctic icebergs, so very, very light green that they seemed . . . more than human. They were incredibly beautiful.
She was standing in a restroom, face-to-face with a famous actor who was, quite literally, the most attractive man she had ever seen. And yet he was looking at her as if she were the gorgeous movie star instead.
And so she was more than a little surprised at herself when, instead of feeling faint and falling all over him like all of the other girls in the world seemed to do, her first instinct had been to stand up to him. For what, exactly, she had no idea. For coming into the girls’ restroom, she guessed. Of all things! What kind of crime was that, exactly?
Eleanore’s subconscious mind knew the truth. She wasn’t mad at him for coming into the wrong restroom, of course. She was mad at him for being who and what he was. Gorgeous—and famous. It was an old brain kind of thing.
He was obviously hiding. That was clear. And from the sound of the giggling schoolgirls beyond the door, she would wager a guess that it was his fans he was hiding from. The nerve! First, these guys fight tooth and nail to climb their way into fandom and then they balk at being loved by the masses.
What was up with that?
Meanwhile she’d forgotten Jennifer, the little girl she’d come into the bathroom to help in the first place. But Jennifer had clearly noticed Daniels as well. Her hand slipped out of Eleanore’s own as she spoke up. “Miss Ellie made my stomach feel better!” she chimed in, completely out of the blue. “I was throwing up, but she touched my tummy and made it stop.”
Eleanore paled. Oh no, she thought. Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet—don’t say any more!
“Which is a good thing,” Jennifer went on, nodding emphatically, “because the throw up made me want to throw up some more.” Jennifer was only about five, but she wasn’t shy. She grimaced and seemed to want to push the memory away with her little hands. “It was so gross.”
Eleanore felt herself blanching further. She pulled her gaze off the famous actor and looked at the wall. She needed to compose herself. She needed to get a handle on the situation—take control.
Finally, she rolled her shoulders and looked back up at him.
She blinked. He was still staring at her in abject fascination. That was fascination, wasn’t it? Not amusement? Maybe he just thought she was mental. . . .
“Mr. Daniels, I’m going to find Jennifer’s parents and then I would be happy to announce your arrival over the intercom, if you’d like—”
Daniels pushed himself off the wall and stepped toward her. His motorcycle boots made a heavy thud on the linoleum floor. It sounded dangerous. A warm, erotic warning thrummed through Eleanore’s body.
“You’re the reason it’s storming,” he said. “Now it makes perfect sense.”
Eleanore’s world tipped on its axis, and fear gripped her. Her vision began to tunnel. “P-pardon me?” she asked. Her voice sounded hollow to her own ears.
What is he talking about? He can’t know.
She almost shook her head against the possibility. She thought about taking a step back, suddenly needing space. But there was a tiny hand in hers, squeezing tight, and she couldn’t escape.
“You’re a man and this is a girls’ bathroom,” little Jennifer said.
Christopher Daniels glanced down at the child. Jennifer’s nose was scrunched up and her gaze was reprimanding. The actor seemed to be considering the girl for a moment and then he looked back up at Eleanore.
“Ellie,” he said softly.
Eleanore swallowed hard. Her mouth and throat had gone dry. “It’s—it’s Eleanore,” she stammered. And then, realizing that she’d just given out her name and that perhaps she shouldn’t have, she looked away from him and shook her head. “Mr. Daniels,” she tried again. “Excuse me. I really do need to find Jennifer’s parents. She’s just been pretty sick.”
She brushed past him to push open the door and as she did, the air seemed to thicken around her; it suddenly felt cloying and confusing. It took forever to get by the actor; she could feel him watching her as she came near and he made virtually no move to get out of the way. His nearness was electrifying and disarming, his body tall and hard and very real. Time seemed to slow down as she opened the door and stepped out into the store.
But once she was past him, she walked as quickly as she could with a five-year-old tethered to her arm, which wasn’t very fast at all. She heard footsteps behind her and glanced back to see that Daniels was following her. He kept pace easily, a small, determined smile playing about his lips.
Christopher Daniels is behind me, Eleanore thought. The famous actor, Christopher Daniels, is behind me! He’s probably looking at my ass. She tried not to groan out loud at that thought. As if it mattered!
She wasn’t sure what her bottom looked like from his vantage point; she never bothered with the mirror that much in the morning. And she was nearly as horrified by the fact that she cared what she looked like to him as she was by the fact that he seemed to be looking at her. Was he looking at her butt?
Of course he’s looking at my butt, she thought. He’s a guy! That’s what they do!
She berated herself for the internal monologue of Clueless-worthy concerns and once more wondered what he’d meant by his storm comment. Did he know that she’d caused the storm? If he did—how?
There’s no way, she thought. He must have meant something else.
Eleanore stopped beside the customer service desk and bent to whisper into Jennifer’s little ear.
“This is our secret, okay?” she said, hoping against hope that the child would catch the urgency with which she made the request.
Jennifer looked up at her and then glanced over at Daniels, who was leaning against a bookshelf a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression both bewildered and amused. Then she nodded and smiled up at Eleanore, and Ellie’s fear dropped down a notch.
Eleanore straightened and picked up the phone at the customer service desk. She saw Daniels peek over the racks at the crowd by the front doors. A woman dressed in a suit with a name tag glanced nervously at her watch and then stood on her toes as if to look for someone. They were wondering where their star was.
There was a tall man in a suit with them. He was pushing his way through the women—and a few men—to the front of the store. Eleanore wondered vaguely who he was, but let it go as she made a “lost child” announcement over the intercom to get the attention of Jennifer’s parents.
When she’d finished, she put the phone back in its cradle and turned to face a harried-looking couple who instantly knelt before Jennifer to console her. Jennifer’s mother scooped her up into her arms and with a quick thank-you to Ellie, they were on their way out of the store.
Now Ellie turned to face Daniels, who was still leaning against the bookshelf, watching her. In the next split second, he straightened from the shelf, closed the distance between them with two purposeful strides, and pinned her to the customer service desk, one strong arm braced against the counter on either side of her.
Eleanore inhaled sharply and her heart did a somersault in her chest.
“I have to go to a big party Thursday night. Come with me,” he said. He was so close, his breath whispered across her lips—it smelled of licorice and mint.
“W-wha . . .” she stammered. Then she dry swallowed and tried again. “What?”
She heard a faint cracking sound and glanced down to see that his grip on the desk behind her had tightened. She turned back to face him and watched as his gaze flicked to her mouth and back.
“Ellie,” he said, as if testing her name out on his tongue. “Here’s the thing,” he continued softly. “I need a date to a big promotional party in Dallas. A gala. I don’t know anyone in Texas. You were kind enough to let me hide in the women’s restroom.” He smiled an incredibly charming smile. “And I appreciate it,” he added. “So I would be honored if you would consider being my date next week on Thursday.”
Eleanore took a few seconds to digest this. There was a part of her that simply couldn’t believe her position at that moment. She was being cornered by Christopher Daniels, against her own customer service desk, and asked out on a date. But despite the impossibility of it all, she knew she wasn’t dreaming. This felt too real.
He was so big. So tall and . . . he looked hard—everywhere. And his nearness was doing strange things to her. He smelled good. The leather of his jacket and whatever aftershave or shower gel he’d used were a heady, highly tantalizing combination. There wasn’t an ounce of him that wasn’t pure masculinity, from the set of his jaw to the smooth, determined sound of his voice.
“You’re not answering,” he said, once more glancing at her lips as he’d done before. He seemed to be leaning in closer now, and Eleanore was finding it more difficult to breathe. “Does this mean you’re considering it?”
Christ, I’m falling for this jerk. I’ve barely met him and I’ve already got it bad.
She tried to swallow past a spot in her throat that had gone dry. She wondered then, as she gazed up into those impossibly colored eyes, how many women he’d done this to lately. He was good at it.
He’s an actor, she told herself. Of course he’s good at it.
That was a sobering thought. She blinked and felt her own gaze harden. He seemed to notice, because something flashed in his eyes and his gaze narrowed in response.
“You’re serious,” she said in a low voice. “You don’t know anything about me and you want me to just agree to go out on a date—in another city—with you.”
“I know enough,” he told her plainly. “And yes. I want you to go out on a date with me.” He paused and then added meaningfully, “Very much so.”
She stared back at him for several more hard beats, and then, before she realized what she was doing, she had the customer service desk phone to her ear and was pressing a button behind her on the carriage.
Daniels seemed as surprised as she was and only watched as she put the speaker to her mouth.
“Attention guests! It is my pleasure to announce to you all that the star of the evening, Mr. Christopher Daniels, is here with us now and is making his way to the front of the store to begin signing autographs for all of his much-appreciated fans.”
The sound of cheering rose from the front of the store and spread through the aisles. Daniels glanced up, not moving from where he had her ensnared between his arms.
Eleanore glanced behind her to catch frantic movement at the front of the store.
When she turned back to face him, it was to find Christopher’s jaw tensed and his teeth clenched in obvious irritation. But his ice-green eyes returned to Eleanore’s face and once more trapped her gaze in his. He took a deep, calming breath and seemed to ponder the situation.
Then he smiled and straightened, stepping away from the desk. Eleanore stayed where she was and watched him warily. For a moment, his eyes flicked to her neck, her shoulders, and back up again. She could have sworn she saw a troubling indecision cross his handsome features. He looked as if he were tempted to grab her, throw her over his shoulder, and abscond with her.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Ellie,” he said instead, locking gazes with her a final time. “I’ll be seeing you again soon.”
With that, he turned and strode down the aisle toward the front of the store.
Eleanore was too stunned to move. She watched him go, and as he disappeared, she listened. The ecstatic greetings started up almost immediately. They were crazy about him.
And now she could see why.
He asked me on a date, she thought. The gorgeous, famous movie star from Comeuppance asked me on a date.
A part of her wanted to be thrilled at the thought. But there was another part of her that knew better. It was that other part that had forced her to cut their exchange short by announcing his arrival. Because that part of her had a feeling that Christopher Daniels was not who he pretended to be. Not just on the screen—but in real life.
He knows something, she thought.
She didn’t know how it was possible; even the very idea was unfathomably weird. But somehow, Christopher Daniels seemed to know that Eleanore had caused the storm. He’d told her as much. You’re the reason it’s storming, he’d said. She was willing to bet a dollar that he even suspected her healing powers after Jennifer’s untimely exclamation in the bathroom.
And now he also knew her name and where she worked.
Several more long, tense seconds passed and Eleanore’s body finally relaxed a little and she slumped against the desk. She closed her eyes and ran a somewhat shaky hand through her long hair.
Life had just gotten a little too interesting for her taste. Maybe it was time to move again.

Look for Avenger’s Angel, available at book retailers everywhere November, 2011.


Heather is offering twenty free copies of Always Angel to the first twenty people who can send their Amazon email address to http://www.killough-walden.com/maincontact.html. YOU HAVE TO USE THE USE THE NEWSLETTER SING-UP CONTACT. 


 www.killough-walden.com 

ARC Review Sexiest Vampire Alive by Kerrelyn Sparks

Title: Sexiest Vampire Alive (Love at Stake #11)
Author: Kerrelyn Sparks
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 384 pgs
Release Date: September 27, 2011

The secret is out . . . Vampires do exist!

When a video reveals to the world that vampires live among us, it’s up to “young” vamp Gregori Holstein, VP of Marketing, to persuade the U.S. government to declare the video a hoax. But first the president wants a favor, one that requires Gregori to spend forty-eight hours in very close contact with the First Daughter.

Abby Tucker would rather spend her nights in a lab than attend her father’s state dinners. She’s dedicated her life to finding a cure that will save her dying mother and needs only two more ingredients. To find them, she’ll have to venture into the most dangerous region of the world—with a vampire. Her Armani-clad escort may be Undead, but he still makes her heart race. And the greatest danger won’t be the predatory hordes lying in wait for them; it will be her undying desire for the Sexiest Vampire Alive.


Rating -

Sexual -

My Review:

4.5 Stars! Funny, Sexy, Romantic ...

This is the eleventh in the Love at Stake series, one of my favorite paranormal romance vampire series. This story combines vampires, werebears, weretigers, a demon, the First Family, a whirlwind romance and even a weredolphin.

While this story takes place about two weeks after the end of the previous book in the series, Vampire Mine, it is a stand alone story which features many of the characters from the series but in such a way that it is not necessary to read the other books in the series first, but it will make you want to go back and read the others if you haven't. This is a not to be missed series.

The general vampire population is in a panic and hysterical in fear over the YouTube video claiming vampires are real. However, in a ironic twist, the general mortal population is calling it a hoax.

Gregori, a vampire for only eighteen years and reputed playboy/womanizer, is mystified as to why he is so enamored with the president's mysterious 'other daughter'. Unfortunately she continues to act afraid of him and alternatively, to treat him like a bug under a microscope. Additionally she's forbidden to him. Of course while this is going on, his mortal mother continues to nag him for grandchildren.

Abigail feels she has to save her mother from the lupus disease at all costs and has virtually put her life on hold while she rushes to find a cure or at least a way to improve her health. Abby is shocked to not only find vampires are real but that a real vampire has the hots for her and even worse, she for him. She tries to keep her interest in him clinical but fails miserably. She is determined to enlist his help in teleporting into China to find three special plants to help in her research.

The chemistry between the two is steamy.

Phineas, a.k.a. Dr. Phang, is in rare comical form in this story. Marielle's angel friend, Buniel, makes a cameo appearance. Newly turned vampire Sean, Shanna's dad and head of the CIA's special ops team to eradicate vampires, is featured as a secondary character with his own drama going on.

Some of the humorous lines from the story:
"Good God, if she was any thinner, she'd be two-dimensional."
"A straight guy can't be nice?"
"You're choosing me 'cause you think I'm an Undead Pillsbury Doughboy?"
"I'm too sexy for my cape, too sexy for my fangs-"

I read this in one sitting because I enjoyed the story so much. Fans of the paranormal romance and sexy vampire genres will like this as will fans of Katie MacAlister's Dark Ones series and Lynsay Sands' Argeneau series.

Book promo giveaway! To the Cliffside by B Jane Lawson

Excerpt

Too late.  One minute I was shifting gears the next I was bolting out of my seat to the sound of a sharp wrap on my window.  I turned and looked at the man to my left.  My traitorous jaw inexorably unhinged itself. Sheeeez-us.

         Hunched down in order to make eye contact with me, in an SUV no less, was one of the most roguishly sexy men I had ever seen – celebrity or otherwise. I think I was holding my breath because I started to feel the black tentacles creep in around my eyes and inhaled in order to keep from fainting. The last thing I needed to do was faint in front of this MAN.  I rolled down the window, going against everything my mother ever taught me about approaching strangers.  I should have kicked my car in gear and floored it out of there, but something in his expression told me that would be very unwise.

         I stared into his eyes, which were a dark gold, and took in the thick curly hair, which appeared to be a jet black in the night sky.  I couldn’t quite place his unmatched features –  a strong nose, chiseled jaw and cheekbones and a full bottom lip.  I’m not even sure I could call him handsome, but there was such an overt sexuality to his features that I felt hot all over. And that was just his face.  He wasn't wearing what I'd call ample clothing for a night in the 40s. From his threadbare t-shirt I could make out a body honed to perfection. Not a bodybuilder, though. More like ex-military; one of those special forces operatives who exudes power and stealth, and could run ten miles just as easily as he could bench press a few hundred pounds.  

  The energy he emanated abraded my nerves, making me feel like a riotous mass of electrical wires.  It was not on the same frequency as any human I've ever met.  I've had limited interaction with people who emitted energy like mine so I was both fascinated and afraid.  I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that all power was good power, but was interested enough to stick around and find out.

Blurb

To the Cliffside: A Morganna Cork Paranormal Romance

Morganna Cork has lived twenty-four uneventful years in Los Angeles under the thumb of her overbearing mother. The only thing barring her from a totally average existence is that she’s got a secret, magical ability to heal herself and others.  

An encounter with her mother results in exile to the small coastal town of Puesta del Sol.  There, she will be a guest and employee at the Cliffside Inn, owned by her estranged cousin Maeve. Morganna resigns herself to a winter of work and boredom in this one-horse town. 

Everything changes when she accidentally pulls into the driveway of the devastatingly sexy Callupo Stone.  Instantly she is attracted to the infuriating man who makes no bones about his lack of interest, even if he seems to be right behind her at every turn. The sparks fly as she does her best to thwart his every attempt to corral her.

She soon discovers that she’s not the only one with gifts.  There is an entire community of people known as Magicks,  each unique and powerful in their own right.

As Morganna undertakes a journey of self-discovery and determination, she befriends Anya, the spunky, sassy, sometimes employee of the Cliffside and bearer of town gossip.  Together, they begin to unearth the mysteries surrounding the strange reappearance of a vindictive villain, on a quest for power, in which Morganna finds herself directly in the middle. Simultaneously, they witness the succession struggles of a secret society, in which Callupo and many of their close friends are members, whose existence and purpose eludes them. 

Morganna undergoes a radical transformation of self as she becomes an unsuspecting participant in a Magickal war that has been thirty years in the making.  

Personal

https://bjanelawson.posterous.com

twitter.com/bjanelawson

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5198982.B_Jane_Lawson

Sales

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cliffside-Morganna-Paranormal-Romance-ebook/dp/B005MJFZX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316648196&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-the-cliffside-b-jane-lawson/1105606172?ean=2940013357709&itm=1&usri=to%2bthe%2bcliffside

 Giveaway 

Two winners can choose either the e-book, nook or Kindle version. Simply leave a comment, ask a question or list your favorite alpha character of all time.


Giveaway rules

Guest Author Ann Mayburn + Giveaways

Please welcome guest author Ann Mayburn

What Can Happen in Just One Night?

Think back to best date you ever went on, when everything seemed magical and you never wanted the evening to end. I know the memory of my perfect date night still brings chills and makes me smile all these years later, and I bet it does the same for you. There is nothing quite like that moment when you realize that you’re in love and the person you’re with makes you truly, deeply happy.

That is why I enjoy writing 1 Night Stand short stories for Decadent Publishing. Each book is about that one perfect night, but in this case the date is a blind date arranged by the extraordinary matchmaker Madame Eve. I love the challenge of writing a good story that can only last that one night and must end the next day. If I do a good job with it, my readers are left knowing that despite only having a glimpse of one night into the couples lives, they know that these two (or three) were meant to be together.Decadent1NightStand.blogspot.com

Of course the sexual attraction is off the charts, but I try to make each date about more than that. I try to capture that intangible chemistry between two people that joins them together not just at a physical level, but at a soul deep one. This is especially true in my ‘Prides of the Moon’ series.

Based on a fantastic world filled with shape shifters and magic blended with the modern day world I tell the story of a different couple with each book, but the stories overlap into a larger story arch. That allows me to fulfill the requirement of just one night, while giving my readers a much longer storyline to follow. Each story can be read and enjoyed on its own, but you’ll get so much more out of the series if you read them all.

My ‘Prides of the Moon’ series has really allowed me to explore all types of sexuality. Each pride is made up of an Alpha male and female along with their beta or betas. Bi-sexuality is common and not seen as something odd or different in my world. My characters don’t face any prejudice for loving who they love, something I wish happened in the real world. This leads to some interesting combinations and pairings of Alphas and betas.

An essential part of the world of the werepumas is bonding. When an Alpha and beta bond their souls connect so that they can feel each others' emotions and while making love bonded partners of the same sex can actually feel what their mate is feeling. Trust me, it’s as hot as it sounds. ;)

In the first book of the series, ‘Amber Moon’, I tell the story of Nick and Madeline Turea who are searching for the perfect beta female to complete their pride. As you read the story you’ll realize why there is no room for jealousy and mistrust in the relationship. Instead their trust in each other allows them the kind of trust that is the foundation for any relationship, conventional or otherwise.

I hope you enjoy my ‘Prides of the Moon’ series and I’d encourage you to take a peek at other books in the 1 Night Stand series from Decadent Publishing. With over twenty authors and counting contributing to the series you get a fantastic variety of stories. For me they’re like hot chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven, I can’t resist them. ;)

So tell me gentle reader, what was your perfect date?


Note from WildAboutBones:

Ann Mayburn has been nominated for four awards this year:

Debut Author of the Year
Shifter Short Story of the Year for Amber Moon
Demon Novel of the Year for Daughter of Lust
Paranormal Menage of the Year for Daughter of Lust

Voting ends October 1, 2011 and the winners will be announced at the Authors After Dark conference in New Orleans in August 10th, 2012. You can find out more at http://authorsafterdark.blogspot.com/2010/10/bookie-awards-nominations.html. So take a minute and go vote for Ann at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/69XZZKW

GIVEAWAY

Giveaway and Contest Policy

Giveaway open Sept 22 - 24 2011 (midnight)
Open to US and Canada only

To celebrate the release of this new series, Ann is giving away a custom handmade necklace to a lucky commenter. The necklace is made out of onyx, hematite, silver, crystal beads and a very sparkly amber crystal.

She is also giving another lucky winner their choice of one of her eBook short stories in this series.

So answer her question in a comment with your email address for a chance to win.

She-wolf pack review Thursday The Demon of Annwn by Ruty Aisling

Title: The Demon of Annwn

Author: Ruty Aisling
Source: Author Request
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ paranormal romance
Length: Novel

A young woman is destined to become Banriona, Queen of the Witches, but she must also face the Demon of Annwn, from a netherworld where time and space are endless. Will Arianrhod survive the rite of ascension and defeat the demon or will her soul be trapped forever in the depths of the Annwn . . .

Crom-Cruach screamed from the triangle. Tonight, he was certain he would have her. The Tuatha fawn. He had been so close, so many times. Now he was determined to have her no matter the price. He streaked across time and space searching for her, reaching out to her, to the place that Peter was leading him. Then he saw it. A light, glowing like a beacon from an ancient hilltop. Through the Abred he descended, his great dragon claws reaching out.

She was there, naked, mating in ritual with a man. The glow swirling around them was intense as Crom-Cruach sought to snatch them both. His claws slashed against the circle as sparks of light shot out into the astral. He couldn’t get through! The Tuatha Asarlaí! He screamed in frustration and then circled round again. He had to have her. He would break through the wizard’s wall!

Suddenly he heard it. A noise like a distant rumble that seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere. It grew louder, closer.

Laurie
Rating- 3 One Good Howl
Sexual- Steamy


I enjoyed the Celtic and Egyptian magic that was in the story. But I myself felt like there was to much added to the story that could have been left out, it just made the story drag. I also found this is more for urban fantasy readers that loves a good cliffhanger. I myself would have liked it to have been more on the romance side.

WildAboutBones
A pack howl
Steamy

WildAboutBones' Review:
Ancient Celtic and Egyptian ritual magic; an ancient demon with an old grudge; a young woman coming into her powers and birthright; a misguided, greedy, foolish reverend and two romances fill the pages of this first in Aisling's Bariona, Queen of the Witches series. This is a paranormal romance filled with love, duty and heartbreak.

Arian suddenly screams awake from the same vivid dream she has over and over. She "wakes with sexual energies running through her each time". She had moved some years ago to Boston to go to college and stayed to work there. She misses home and feels something is missing in her relationship with Tom.

Tom, her current boyfriend and somewhat stuffy business man, feels he isn't in love with Arian but she looks good on his arm and she is "one of the most sensual, erotic and beautiful women he had ever been with" and would make the "perfect corporate wife".

Arian is called back home when her grandmother is murdered. She immediately feels comforted by her home town and surroundings. She's glad to see Ian, her former boyfriend. However she is stunned to see that her father's student, Jean-Paul, is the man from her dreams.

Jean-Paul has loved Arian since seeing her crowned Queen of Spring seven years ago. Ian had wanted to ask Arian to marry him before she left for college but was afraid she'd turn him down and he wanted to be there for her when she returned. Only she hadn't, until now.

The murders don't stop and Arian's family seems to be the focus of the attacks.

I laughed and I cried. This has a great story line and I'll make sure to read the sequel. Fans of the ritual magic and paranormal genres should like this as well.

Warning Spoiler Alert!!!
This ends with a cliffhanger.

Nooksmom

Rating- 3 One Good Howl

Sexual- Steamy

A very interesting story of magic. Arian learns a lot about herself, her family and her magic right along with the reader. It was fascinating reading about the links between Arian and ancient Egypt, along with all the many different practices of magic in respect to other countries and cultures. I would have liked for there to have been more romance between Arian and Jean Paul or Ian, so I would see this appealing to more Urban Fantasy readers. Be warned this book does end with quite a cliff hanger.

Review Bound to the Prince by Deborah Court

Review: Bound to the Prince (Elven Warrior Book # 1)

Author: Deborah Court

Source: Requested Review

Genre: Fantasy paranormal erotica romance

Format: eBook; 159 pages

Release Date: August 19, 2011

An elven prince without a throne.
A mortal woman without hope, stolen from her own world to fulfill his every desire.
A choice of love and death that could bind them together forever.
Some people believe that beneath our own world, separated only by a thin veil of human disbelief, there is another one – an ancient land of myths and legends, a place where magical creatures dwell. What would happen if one of them walked the streets of London at night?
Once a proud warrior, elven prince Elathan was living in exile, fallen from grace and separated from his own people. He wanted the mortal woman the moment he saw her standing on Blackfriars Bridge, staring down into the darkness with unbearable pain in her eyes. This strangely compelling female also happened to have luscious curves that made his body ache with desire. Naturally, he decided to hunt the woman down, drag her to his lair and command her to become his slave of pleasure. But would her frail human body survive a night of untamed passion in the arms of a Fae?
After a devastating breakup with her fiancé, Igraine Chandler was spending her honeymoon in England all by herself, her life utterly bereft of meaning. For who could ever love a plain, slightly overweight nurse from New Jersey with nothing left but a broken heart and her lost dreams of a home and a family? But she never imagined that she would soon set out into a world beyond her wildest dreams, and help a prince reclaim his throne …
Set in a medieval fantasy world of noble knights, monsters and magicians, honor, betrayal and revenge, “Bound to the Prince” is a romance influenced by Celtic mythology and Arthurian legends. But in its heart, it’s a story of a woman’s inner development to a new, strong, self; uninhibited desire, boundless love, loss and sacrifice.
Warning: This novel does contain erotica and therefore has quite a few graphic sex scenes between the two main characters.

Rating-

Sexual-
My Review:
Elves, trolls & gargoyles- OH MY!
Elathan isn't just a sexy Elven prince, he is a SMEXY Elven prince, who also happens to be living in exile. Despite an obvious hatred for humans, he finds himself drawn to Igraine Chandler, a simple Jersey girl who has had her heart broken. Claiming her as his slave, we are led on a journey so sensual and mesmerizing that it will leave you squirming in your seat from the intensity of the love scenes while leaving you yearning to know more about this fantasy world we've been pulled into with Igraine.
I have always been fascinated with author's depictions of fantasy worlds of any kind and I was left mesmerized with much of this world that Court has created, even relishing in an unusual approach to a time honored creature. Since I don't want to give it a way, I would just say pick up this book and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed.
My only quibbles about the book is more of a personal preference than anything "bad" about it. I felt the prologue was unnecessary. As the reader, I would have preferred to find out what happened in the prologue through Igraine's "eyes" as she learned of Elathan's history and his reason for hating humans. I also would have loved to have read more about the events that lead up to the climax of the book throughout instead of beginning so far in. While it seemed to work despite where it started, it could very well be conceived as feeling rushed to quickly include a larger plot to go with the erotica.
I will say that Deborah Court's premier book certainly leaves its mark! "Bound to the Prince" is the first of her planned Elven Warrior Trilogy and if the other stories are as engaging and hot as this one, you better believe I will be gobbling them up!

ARC REVIEW OF Dark Sins and Desert Sands by Stephanie Draven

ARC REVIEW OF Dark Sins and Desert Sands
Title: Dark Sins and Desert Sands
Author: Stephanie Draven
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Format: ebook - 288 pages
Release Date: 10/18/2011
Author's Website (You can also sign up for her newsletter here.)


Wrongfully accused and broken by torture, an American soldier transforms into a mind-controlling minotaur bent on revenge…only to fall in love with his beautiful but cool-eyed interrogator.
Ray Stavrakis is out for revenge. As an Arab-American soldier accused of treason, Ray was interrogated and tortured so brutally, he's been transformed into a monster of ancient imagination. He can enter the maze of other people's minds and learn their secrets--even get them to do his bidding. This is a power he intends to use on Dr. Layla Bahset, the woman who broke him.
But Layla is now working as a Las Vegas psychologist and she has a secret. She can't remember her past and she can't remember Ray. When he enters her mind, there is nothing but a sandy desert, and he realizes that she's no ordinary woman. Layla and Ray become the target of a chase that is altogether other-worldly. Pursued by an Egyptian war god, Layla and Ray find their fates, and passions, increasingly entwined. And they learn that in a modern world in which the gods of old civilizations use mortals like playthings, they need each other to survive.



Rating



Sexual



MY REVIEW
This was such a well written story. I just can't get over how much I enjoyed it. It was a paranormal, romantic suspense novel. I have a lot of nice things to say about this book, but the best part of it for me was how smooth the writing was in the story. I felt like I was in the story watching everything happen live. There was a lot of very realistic dialogue between several very
interesting characters. There was just enough happening to keep me on the edge of my seat without overwhelming me with too many characters or strange plot points. I don't like violence or torture. The few times these issues were brought up, they were touched upon just enough to give me an idea of what happened to the hero in the past without rubbing it in my face. I absolutely loved Layla! She was such an amazing character. She was kind, intelligent, and loving. I also loved Ray. He was such a kind hearted person who was strong, caring, and perfect for Layla. These two were perfect for each other, and it was great watching them fall in love. The remaining cast of characters really helped to round out the story.

Review Bound In Darkness by Cynthia Eden

Title: Bound In Darkness (A Vampire/Werewolf Romance)

Author: Cynthia Eden

Source: Requested review

Genre: Paranormal romance

Length: Novella 

Hunter…

When it comes to killing vampires, werewolf Cade Thain is the best slayer in the Northwest. So when a witch hires him to take out a pureblood vamp, the assassin thinks it will be just business as usual. One less vicious vamp on the streets…one more undead parasite gone from the earth. Then he meets her.

Protector…

Allison Gray isn’t the prey that Cade expects. Beautiful, innocent, she stirs a dark desire within him. Allison hasn’t transformed fully into a vampire, not yet, and it’s Cade’s job to make sure that she never does. Allison thinks that he’s at her side to keep her safe, but Cade is supposed to pick the right moment—and kill her.

Lover…

Killing Allison is soon the last thing that Cade plans. As she begins the transformation that will turn her into a vampire, her bloodlust and their desire merge in an explosion of need that neither can control. But Allison’s enemies are closing in, and the coming battle will take Cade and Allison beyond life, beyond love…and into a deadly darkness that waits to claim them both.

Bound in Darkness.

Warning: This novella is a sexy paranormal romance. As such, it contains blood, sex, vampires, and a hot alpha werewolf. Violence and adult language? Yes, those are included, too.

While this is a good book it just didn’t hit my happy spot as Cynthia’s Bound by Blood did. I did enjoy the characters, the story and I found the werewolf and vampire coupling good. I don’t know what really happened. I read it and the next day I totally forgot what I read.. I hate that when it happens but it does happen. All in all for the price it’s still a nice quick read.

Review The Merzetti Effect By Norah Wilson

Title: The Merzetti Effect
Author: Norah Wilson
Source: Author Request
Genre: Paranormal Romance-Vampires
Format: ebook, 247 pages
Release Date: June 6, 2011

Delano Bowen has been a medical doctor for a very long time. More than 170 years, in fact. For much of that time, he’s been searching for a way to reverse the curse foisted on him by a vampress who sought to own him. With the emergence of medical technology, he now also aims to develop a vaccine to protect the vulnerable from predation by rogue vampires. After a century of searching, he thinks he's found the key to his vaccine – a surviving descendent of the Merzetti family. The Merzettis were virtually hunted to extinction over the years by rogue vampires who feared the anti-vampirism properties in their blood.

A foundling, nurse Ainsley Crawford has no idea that she carries a genetic gift, and Delano aims to keep it that way. He must keep her close, and ignorant, for he can leave nothing to chance. He manipulates events to ensure her unwitting cooperation. But when Delano's arch enemy Radak Janecek mounts an all-out assault to destroy Delano and the fruits of his research, Delano is forced to draw Ainsley even closer to protect her. Inevitably, the attraction that has sparked between them from the first flares hot and urgent. Ainsley sees no reason why that attraction shouldn't be consummated, but Delano knows succumbing to it is not just ill-advised; it could literally be the death of him.

Rating

Sexual

Review

This was not your typical vampire story. Delano Bowen is trying to create a vaccine to protect humans from rogue vampires and possibly find a "cure" to reverse vampirism. The answer lies in the genetic code carried in the blood of one family, thought to be long gone, hunted to extinction.

Being a vampire is looked at as an infection/virus and having it explained in medical terms makes it almost seem believable. I really enjoyed seeing the "scientific" side. Ainsley is of the long lost Merzetti family and her blood holds the answers for all of Delano's research. I felt bad for her being set up in the beginning, but I thought she handled the whole situation with grace. Delano is amazed by Ainsley's ability to accept everything that has happened to her and everything she has learned. He starts to develop deep feelings for her but he of course tries his hardest to keep his distance. While I would normally get tired of the whole "I love you but can't be with you because I know best" attitude, in this story I found myself totally agreeing with Delano. I wanted him and Ainsley to be together, but I also knew her blood could possibly kill him. In the few scenes where they lose control and let their hormones take over, I found myself cheering "Yes!" while at the same time yelling "NO!" I will admit there was one twist in the story I did not see coming.

This was a great book and I will be looking for the next one.