Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Review: Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid

Marriage of Inconvenience Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC via the author in exchange for an honest review. It is no secret I love Penny's books and this is no different than the rest of the series. It has quirky characters, banter, character growth, angst, and humor. I laughed so hard so many times. Sandra has some great lines in this book.

I normally don't like alternating perspective books, mainly because they are done so poorly. This was done very well and I think alternating between Dan and Kat was also necessary to tell their story. Kat is heiress to a very successful pharmaceutical company, however she ran away from home and hasn't been part of the family business until recently. We learn so much about her past and how much she's been through in her life. This explains why she is so quiet and reserved. It also explains why she is so flustered when it comes to Dan the Security man. Kat has to get married to save her fortune and the family business. Dan is the lucky guy and he and Kat have to work through some miscommunications, Kat's trust issues with people in general, and a whole slew of other stuff within hours of their marriage. Kat also has to deal with the fact that she isn't perfect and that finding the right partner means showing them yourself on your best days and your messiest days, and understanding that they will still love you no matter what.

Dan is awesome, he might be my favorite of the main characters in the series. I found him to be most like my own real life hero. He is kind, a bit gruff, broody, doesn't really care what other people think, loves his family, and he swears. Though I didn't think he was that bad, then again I was a sailor so I probably have a different tolerance. Anyway...Dan was patient with Kat, he pushed her when it was appropriate and backed off at the right time. He also fights for her when she needs him, especially in the case of her creepy cousin Caleb. Caleb is trying to take Kat's company and all of her inheritance from her for his own gains. Dan enlists the help of the knitters and the rest of the crew to help save the day and Kat's family business. Dan has some baggage of his own he's carrying around. We learn that he's got some unconventional thoughts on relationships and love that he's learned from his parents. Things with Kat start out as an arrangement, but they turn into so much more.

Their romance is a bit insta-lovey, since they go from an arrangement, to misunderstanding each other, to totally in love in a couple of days. Then again they've known each other for a few years, but they don't know much about each other. Their relationship feels right regardless of how quickly their love progresses. This is a solid romance, and another great installment to the series. The epilogue really brought everything together, and really closes the series off nicely.



Marriage of Inconvenience, an all new standalone in the USA Today bestselling, romantic comedy Knitting in the City Series by Penny Reid, is coming March 6th!

There are three things you need to know about Kat Tanner (aka Kathleen Tyson. . . and yes, she is *that* Kathleen Tyson): 1) She’s determined to make good decisions, 2) She must get married ASAP, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Being a billionaire heiress isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it sucks. Determined to live a quiet life, Kat Tanner changed her identity years ago and eschewed her family’s legacy. But now, Kat’s silver spoon past has finally caught up with her, and so have her youthful mistakes. To avoid imminent disaster, she must marry immediately; it is essential that the person she chooses have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever and be completely trustworthy.

Fortunately, she knows exactly who to ask. Dan O’Malley checks all the boxes: single, romantically indifferent to her, completely trustworthy. Sure, she might have a wee little crush on Dan the Security Man, but with clear rules, expectations, and a legally binding contract, Kat is certain she can make it through this debacle with her sanity—and heart—all in one piece.

Except, what happens when Dan O’Malley isn’t as indifferent—or as trustworthy—as she thought?

Preorder Today!
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2neqv6k
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Review: Scenes from the Hallway by Penny Reid

Scenes from the Hallway Scenes from the Hallway by Penny Reid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a cute place holder while waiting for Marriage of Inconvenience to release in a few weeks and a nice freebie book that Penny posted for Valentine's Day. It has 2 scenes I've read previously and 2 new ones that help us get to know Dan and Kat better, plus you get the first 3 chapters of their book. If you are caught up on the series like I am, this is a great transition to the next book because we know next to nothing about Kat. She is quiet and reserved. She speaks a bit more in Dating-Ish, but we don't really know her. Dan the Security Man, has been around since the beginning as Quinn's best friend, but again we don't really know him.

If you haven't read the Knitting in the City Series, what are you waiting for? This probably won't make any sense :).  Just kidding, all her books in the series are meant to be read as standalones, so go grab it and then get Marriage of Inconvenience when it comes out on March 6th.  I've already read it and its awesome.  Thank you for the ARC Penny and team at Social Butterfly PR.

This will only be around until March 17, 2018.  Grab it while you can.


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Review: Dating-ish by Penny Reid

Dating-ish Dating-ish by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was so nerdy and funny. I loved Marie. I loved all of the science and robot stuff. I loved and hated how long it took Matt and Marie to get together. They were both so awkward, but their relationship really touched on friendship and companionship. In the beginning I wasn't even sure they were going to have a relationship because it started out so badly. But enter the knitters to push Matt and Marie together in an unforeseen way. 

Penny did such a great job touching on human need and with Matt's research trying to replace human companionship with artificial intelligence the characters had some really thought provoking and intelligent conversations. I also found Marie's research for her writing assignment very eye opening. And finally it is filled with Penny's usually brand of humor, funny lines, quirky characters, and excellent banter between the characters. I think this may be my favorite in the series.

On to the review...Dating-ish follows Marie, a member of our favorite Tuesday night knitting club, a journalist, and a single lady who has had no luck with online dating. Marie has one final date lined up with someone who seems to be her perfect match. Enter Matt, he is not her perfect match and their date does not go well. She escapes the date and of course recounts the horrors of her date to the knitting ladies, who are of course present throughout the book. Marie discovers that Matt is Greg and Fiona's neighbor, and a frequent guest at their home as Fiona used to babysit Matt when he was a child. Marie discovers that Matt is working on artificial intelligence, specifically in the form of companionship robots. This sparks an idea for a story and she begins researching alternate forms of companionship outside of traditional relationships. Who knew all that stuff existed?  She also interviews Matt about his research on the robots and the two slowly become friends. They both know what they want or don't want from a relationship and resolve to being friends, but you know there is more between them. Things build up and pretty much explode after an agonizing wait, but it was well worth it.

This can be read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend reading the rest of the series.  Oh and read the Winston Brothers too, they are equally as good.



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Review: Haunted Pittsburgh

Haunted Pittsburgh Haunted Pittsburgh by Timothy Murray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this. It is really interesting to read about places I've been that are supposedly haunted. I've visited many of the locations mentioned in this book as a Pittsburgh native, and if I haven't been to them in person I know where they are. I can say that some of these places are actually kind of creepy, either because they are old and dark or maybe there is something more super natural at work, who knows. It was a fun read. I appreciated the humerous stories about famous Pittsburghers and famous people who've visited my home city and their paranormal experiences.

This reads more like a history book. The authors just lay out whatever facts and stories they could find. If the nature of the story was comical the story ends up being funny, otherwise most of the stories about the places and people are fairly short and dry. There are plenty of pictures both of the current day locations and of the buildings when their said spooky inhabitants were alive. Each story is short so you can get through it quickly. If you are looking for a fun history lesson about Pittsburgh, from local authors (which is actually why I picked it up), I recommend it. I also understand they run the Haunted Pittsburgh tours in the fall and I hear they are great as well.

I picked this up for the 2018 reading challenge for the read something by a local author.  This was written by a couple of local attorneys turned haunted historians.  If you are looking for a history lesson about Pittsburgh and ghosts and such are of interest to you I'd check this out.  It isn't very long and was something different to read.

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Sunday, February 25, 2018

Review: Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

Beneath the Sugar Sky Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All I can say is I want more and I need to know what happens with the rest of the kids. I need to go back and read Every Heart a Doorway because I think it makes more sense now. I loved this. I really didn't like Every Heart a Doorway when I read it the first time, but I think after having read the next 2 books in the series it really deserves another chance. I loved the more focused storyline this has, and while there is still alot going on and I was never quite sure where the actual plot was heading at the end of the day there was actually some closure to things that happened in the first book as well as in this one. The storylines fit together nicely, and leaves the series open for more exploration but you also feel like it ended if there isn't another book. I loved the characters and that we got to see some of the original characters and get to know them a little better. I also loved that we got to travel to a few different worlds and hear about a few different worlds from the perspective of the students.

The story mainly follows a group on a quest to save Sumi, who you will remember was killed in book 1 by Jill in an attempt to return through her door.  I say mainly because there are a couple of side plots, some get wrapped up and some are left open for future exploration.  Sumi's daughter, Rini, comes from the future because things have been upset and she asks Sumi's friends from Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children to help save her mother. Sumi is accompanied on the quest by Kade and Christoper who we met previously in book 1 and newcomers Nadya and Cora who are both from waterworlds and desperately want to get back. There is alot of good representation in the cast of characters, Kade is transgender, Chris is Mexican-American and had cancer, Nadya was born without an arm, Cora is plus sized but was also a great swimmer. They all had their hardships in the real world but they all found peace and comfort, except for Kade, in their doorways. I felt like the representation was written much more naturally and it was organic to the characters in this installment. Cora had body image issues from past experiences, but as a mermaid those things made her strong. She never quite understood Rini and her nonsense, but she was willing to help just like Nadya, Kade and Chris. While their quest was quite whimsical and ridiculous, it all comes together given that they go to a nonsense world. You just have to read it.

I would still recommend this to mature readers as the content can be a bit graphic and violent, but as a grown up myself I loved it. I think the story is creative, the writing is well done, and I hope that this is not the end. I would love to hear how things end up for Kade, Cora, Chris, and even our wonderful Eleanor West.

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Review: Heat & Capture by Penny Reid

I just recently finished the 2nd and 3rd installments of The Elements of Chemistry/Hypothesis Series.  This follows main characters Kaitlyn Parker and Martin Sandeke on a whirlwind romance during spring break and through their breakup and 2nd chance at romance through a serial series.  The first installment is titled Attraction.  There is alot of angst, miscommunication, drama, steamy romance, and push and pull by the main characters.  Overall I really enjoyed the series on audio, and I'm looking forward to re-reading in in print in the future.


Heat Heat by Penny Reid
Narrated by:  
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This picks up immediately where Attraction leaves off, with Katy seeing Martin in a compromising position with another girl. In typical Kaitlyn fashion she jumps to conclusions and finds a place to hide for the evening, leaving Martin to seek her out and explain. So after a huge cliffhanger in part 1, they resolve it relatively quickly and without much drama. The couple continues their paradise vacation as if nothing happened, until the next thing happens to disrupt their blissful trip.

Much like in the first installment, Martin continues to be overbearing and Katy has to put him in his place. We do actually get to learn more about Martin and his family and get to understand him a little more. This doesn't excuse his behavior most of the time, but it does explain some of it. It also explains why he needs Katy so much, she balances him out. He also challenges her in the places she is uncomfortable because they are foreign and uncharted. He pushes her to feel things. Then enter Martin's father to ruin everyone's happy vacation. Most of Martin's friends go back to school, and Martin and Katy take the remainder of their vacation onto a boat. We get plenty of steamy scenes in this installment as well as emotion and relationship development from both characters.

This installment ends on another cliffhanger, but this time both characters are broken and you know it is going to take more than 5 minutes to resolve. Both Katy and Martin have their reasons for splitting up, but neither of them really want to be apart. They do have a whirlwind romance, but it implodes just as soon as it starts. I'm anxious to see how it ends.

CaptureCapture by Penny Reid
Narrated by:  
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was definitely my favorite of the 3. It wraps up the series nicely, giving Kaitlyn and Martin's story the closure it deserves. This picks up a few months after the devastating break up between Martin and Kaitlyn. We get to see Kaitlyn got through the various stages of grief though she describes them in terms of matter, which I loved the scientific references throughout the book. Kaitlyn grows up quite a bit in this installment, but she never loses her quirkiness. She is still oblivious and kind of dense at times, so much so you want to reach through the book and shake her because what is happening is so obvious to everyone but her. I think that is meant to be a product of her being raised in such a logical environment and kind of the moral of the story. She is learning how to love and trust throughout the series, but this 3rd installment is where she really takes some of the things that Martin says to her in book 2 and actually does something about it. She pushes through her pain and angst caused by their breakup, and actually makes some major changes in her life. She realizes she doesn't want to go back to the way she was before, hiding all the time and not having passion for anything. She does a ton of growing, and I appreciated that she did it on her own.

I found Martin to be pretty redeeming in this installment. I didn't always like him in the past. In the past two he was pushy and domineering. As Katy points out, sometimes that's OK and she even liked it, but sometimes its annoying and irritating. Martin is always used to getting his way, and when Katy didn't rush back to him when they broke up, he didn't know what to do. It turns out he actually did some pretty decent things, but Katy was too hurt to find out what he had done.
He approaches her with the mindset to do the right thing and give her what she needs. He is softer in this one than he is in the first two, and you know immediately that he is using the ploy of friendship to win her back, but she misses it completely. This causes them both to fumble around each other for quite a while, when you both want them to just spit out their feelings. It is definitely a slow burn romance.

This is not a steamy romance, though there are some steamy scenes. This is more about character growth and relationship development. It is about how a miscommunication, or lack of communication can cause so many problems in a relationship whether platonic or romantic. Katy and Martin rebuild what they had and see if there is still something worth salvaging.

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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

What I'm reading Wednesday: Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid


Marriage of Inconvenience, an all new standalone in the USA Today bestselling, romantic comedy Knitting in the City Series by Penny Reid, is coming March 6th!

There are three things you need to know about Kat Tanner (aka Kathleen Tyson. . . and yes, she is *that* Kathleen Tyson): 1) She’s determined to make good decisions, 2) She must get married ASAP, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Being a billionaire heiress isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it sucks. Determined to live a quiet life, Kat Tanner changed her identity years ago and eschewed her family’s legacy. But now, Kat’s silver spoon past has finally caught up with her, and so have her youthful mistakes. To avoid imminent disaster, she must marry immediately; it is essential that the person she chooses have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever and be completely trustworthy.

Fortunately, she knows exactly who to ask. Dan O’Malley checks all the boxes: single, romantically indifferent to her, completely trustworthy. Sure, she might have a wee little crush on Dan the Security Man, but with clear rules, expectations, and a legally binding contract, Kat is certain she can make it through this debacle with her sanity—and heart—all in one piece.

Except, what happens when Dan O’Malley isn’t as indifferent—or as trustworthy—as she thought?

Preorder Today!
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2neqv6k

Monday, February 19, 2018

MOONLIGHT SEDUCTION by Jennifer L. Armentrout PREORDER LAUNCH



Synopsis:

 The de Vincent brothers are back—and so is the intrigue that surrounds them—in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s sizzling new novel...

Nicolette Bresson never thought she’d return to the de Vincents’ bayou compound. It’s where her parents work, where Nikki grew up... and where she got her heart broken by Gabriel de Vincent himself. Yet here she is, filling in for her sick mother. Avoiding Gabe should be easy, especially when so much of Nikki’s time is spent trying not to be stabbed in the back by the malicious hangers-on who frequent the mansion. But escaping memories of Gabe, much less his smoking-hot presence, is harder than expected—especially since he seems determined to be in Nikki’s space as much as possible.

Gabriel spent years beating himself up over his last encounter with Nikki. He’d wanted her then, but for reasons that were bad for both of them. Things have now changed. Gabe sees more than a girl he’s known forever; he sees a smart, talented, and heartbreakingly beautiful woman... one who’s being stalked from the shadows. Now, Gabe will do anything to keep Nikki safe—and to stop the de Vincent curse from striking again.


LINKS:







Moonlight Seduction by Jennifer L. Armentrout


Jennifer L. Armentrout Author Bio:


# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance.

She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over a hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more. She is also the creator and sole financier of the annual Write Your Way To RT Book Convention, a contest that gives aspiring authors a chance to win a fully paid trip to RT Book Reviews.







Chapter 1
Six years later . . .
It took every ounce of self-control for Gabriel de Vincent to stand back and do nothing. Just stand there and watch him being led away, but that’s what he had to do, because that’s what he’d promised and Gabe tried to be a man of his word.
Sometimes he failed at that. Failed at that in ways that haunted him late at night, but he wouldn’t go back on this.
He’d promised them three uninterrupted months.That’s what he was going to give them.His jaw ached from how hard he was clenching it as the Rothchilds walked back into the restaurant. He didn’t take his eyes off them, not until he couldn’t see them anymore. Only then did he look at the slip of paper.
Looking down at the drawing of puppy on a piece of blue construction paper, he felt the worst mix of emotions. Sadness. Pride. Helplessness. Hope. Fury that he’d never tasted before. He had no idea how one person could feel all of that at once, but he did.
A wry smile tugged at his lips. There was definitely talent in the drawing. Real skill. The de Vincent knack for the arts was still kicking around it seemed.
His gaze flickered over what was written in a blockish handwriting. He’d already read in three times, but couldn’t bear to read it a fourth time. Not right now. He didn’t want to fold the paper and created creases in it, so he was careful as he carried it back to where he was parked.
“Gabriel de Vincent.”
Frowning at the vaguely familiar voice, he turned around. A man stepped out from behind a truck. Dark, square sunglasses shielded half the man’s face, but Gabe recognized him.
He sighed. “Ross Haid. To what do I owe the honor of seeing you in Baton Rouge?”
The reporter for the Advocate gave one of what Gabe assumed was a trademark half grin; the kind that probably got him into a places and events he sure as hell didn’t belong in. “Headquarters are here. You know that.”
“Yeah, but you work out of the New Orleans office, Ross.”
He shrugged a shoulder as he neared Gabe. “I had to come up to headquarters. Heard through the grapevine that a de Vincent was in town.”
“Uh-huh.” Not for one second did Gabe believe that. “And you just happen to hear that I was at this restaurant?”
The smile kicked up a notch as he ran a hand over his blond hair. “Nah. Seeing you here was just luck.”
Bullshit. Ross had been sniffing after his family for about two months now, trying to get to one of them when they were out at dinner or at an event, showing up at nearly every damn function one of them was attending. But back home, in New Orleans, Ross had trouble getting near them. Well, he had troubled getting to the one he really wanted to talk to which was Gabe’s older brother.
Didn’t require any leap of logic to figure out what was going on. Somehow Ross had heard that Gabe was here, and that’s why Ross conveniently ended up here. Normally he could tolerate Ross’ incessant questioning. Hell, he sort of liked the guy, appreciated his determination, but not when Ross was here and something he didn’t want a reporter finding out mere feet away.
Lowering his sunglasses, Ross eyed Gabe’s ride. “Nice car. Is it one of the new Porsche 911s?”
Gabe raised his brows.
“Family business must be going well. Then again, the family business is always going strong, isn’t it? The de Vincents are old money. The one percent of the one percent.” Gabe’s family was one of the oldest, linked all the way back to the days the great state of Louisiana was being created. Now they owned the most profitable oil refineries in the Gulf, coveted real estate all around the world, tech firms, and once his older brother married, they’d be in control of the one of the largest shipping industries in the world. So, yeah, the de Vincents were wealthy, but the car and nearly everything Gabe owned, he bought it with the money he worked for. Not the money he was born with.
“Some say that your family has so much money, that the de Vincents are above the law.” Ross straightened his sunglasses. “Seems that way.”
Gabe really didn’t have time for this. “Whatever you want to say, can you stop beating around the damn bush and get to it? I’m planning to head home sometime in the next year.”
The reporter’s smile faded. “Since you’re here and I’m here, and it’s damn hard to talk to you all any other time. I want to chat about your father’s death.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“I don’t believe it was a suicide,” Ross continued. “And I find it also convenient that Chief Cobbs, who openly and publicly wanted your father’s death investigated as a homicide ended up dead in a freak car accident.”
“Is that right?”
Frustration hummed off Ross about as loud as the damn locusts. “Is that all you got to say to me about this?”
“Pretty much.” Gabe grinned then. “That and you have an overactive imagination, but I’m sure you’ve heard that before.”
“I don’t think my imagination is nearly vast enough to compete with all the things the de Vincents have had their hands in.”
Probably not.
“Okay, I won’t ask you about your father or the chief.” Ross shifted his weight as Gabe opened his driver’s door. “Also heard some interesting rumors about some of the staff at the de Vincent compound.”
“I’m started to feel like you might be stalking us.” Gabe placed the drawing facedown on the passenger’s seat. “If you want to talk about staffing, then you need to have a chat with Dev.”
“Devlin won’t make time to talk to me.”“That doesn’t sound like my problem.”“It seems like it is now.”Gabe laughed, but the sound was without humor as he reached inside, grabbing his sunglasses off the visor. “Trust me, Ross, this isn’t my problem.”
“You may not think so now, but that’ll change.” A muscle twitched along the man’s jaw. “I plan to blow the roof of every single damn secret the de Vincents have been keeping for years. I’m going to do a story that not even your family can pay to keep quiet.”
Shaking his head, Gabe slipped his sunglasses on. “I like you, Ross. You know I’ve never had a problem with you. So, I just want to get that out of the way. But you have got to come up with some better material, because that was clichĂ© as shit.” He rested his hand on the frame of the car door. “You’ve got to know you’re not the first reporter to come around thinking they’re somehow going to dig some skeletons out of our closets and expose us for whatever the hell you think we are. You’re not going to be the last to fail.”
“I don’t fail,” Ross said. “Not ever.”“Everyone fails.” Gabe climbed in behind the wheel.“Except the de Vincents?”“You said it, not me.” Gabe looked up at the reporter. “Some unasked for advice? I’d find another story to investigate.”“Is there where you’re going to tell me to be careful?” He sounded oddly gleeful by the prospect. “Warn me off? Because people who mess with the de Vincents end up missing or worse?”
Gabe smirked as he hit the ignition key. “Doesn’t sound like I need to tell you that. Seems like you already know what happens.”  
Nikki stood in the center of the quiet and sterile kitchen of the de Vincent mansion, telling herself that she was not the same little idiot that almost drowned herself out in the pool six years ago.
She sure as hell wasn’t the same idiot who had spent years making an utter fool out of herself, chasing after a grown man. An act, which resulted in one of the worst ideas she’d ever had in the history of bad ideas.
And Nikki had a remarkable history of making not the brightest of all decisions. Her dad said she had a bit of wild streak in her, taking after Pappy, but Nikki liked to blame the de Vincents for the recklessness. They had this really bizarre talent of making everyone around them stick one toe into Recklessville.
Her mother claimed that most of Nikki’s bad decisions came from having a good heart.
Nikki had the habit of picking up strays—stray cats, dogs, a lizard here and there, even a snake, and humans, too. She was a bleeding heart, hating to see anyone she cared about in pain and she was oftentimes a bit overly affected by the troubles of strangers.
It was why she avoided the TV around the holidays, because they always played those heart-wrenching videos of freezing animals or children left to starve in war-torn countries. She hated everything about New Year’s Eve because of that and spent the week between Christmas and the first of January moping around.
There was a lot of Nikki that was the same as she was the last time she walked through this house. She still got emotionally invested in animals that didn’t belong to her—that was why she volunteered at the local animal shelter. She still couldn’t turn away from someone who needed help, and she still found herself in weird situations but reckless? Wild?
Not anymore.
Not since the last time she’d been in the house, right before she left for college. That had been four years ago and now she was back, and nothing and everything had changed.
“You okay, hon?” her father asked.
Turning to find her father standing just inside the large kitchen, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and smiled widely for him. Goodness, her dad was starting to look his age, and that scared her—truly terrified her. Her parents had her late in life, but she was only twenty-two, and she wanted another fifty years or so with them.
Nikki knew that wasn’t going to happen.Especially now.She forced those thoughts from her head. “Yes. I’m just . . . it’s weird being in here after being gone so long. The kitchen is different.”“It was remodeled a few years back,” he replied. The mansion was constantly being remodeled it seemed. After all, how many times had this place caught fire since it was built? Nikki had lost count. Her father drew in a deep breath, and the lines around his mouth became more pronounced. He looked so tired. “I don’t know if I’ve said this to you or not, but thank you.”
She waved him off. “You don’t need to thank me, Dad.”
“Yeah, I do.” He walked over to where she stood. “You went away to college to do something better than this—better than cooking dinners and running a household. To become something better.”
Offended on his behalf, she crossed her arms and met his weary gaze. “There’s nothing wrong with cooking dinners and running a household. It’s good, honest work. Wok that put me through college. Right, Dad?”
“We take great pride in our job. Don’t get me wrong, but what your mother and I did all these years was so you could do something else.” He sighed. “So, it means a lot that you would come home to help us out, Nicolette.”
Only her dad and mom called her by her full name. Everyone else called her Nikki. Everyone except a certain de Vincent who shall remained nameless. He and only he called her Nic.
Her parents had worked for the de Vincents, one of the wealthiest families in the States and possibly the world, since long before she was born. It was weird growing up in this house, being privy to a lot of strange stuff—things the public has no idea about and would probably pay a large sum of money to learn. And personally? It was like she had a foot in two different worlds, one absurdly wealthy and the other middle working class.
Her father was basically a butler, except she always had a small suspicion that her father had . . . taken care of things for the de Vincents that no normal butler did. Her mother ran the day-to-day functions of the house and prepared the dinners. Both her parents loved working for the family and she knew both had planned to continue to the day they died, but her mom . . . .
Nikki’s chest squeezed painfully. Her mom was not well and it had happened so fast, coming out of nowhere. The dreaded C word.
“Honestly, this is perfect. I got my degree and this will give me time to figure things out.” In other words, figure out what the hell she wanted to really do with her life. Get to work or go for her master’s? She wasn’t sure yet. “And I want to be here while Mom is going through everything.”
“I know.” His smile wobbled a little as he brushed a strand of blondish-brown hair out of her face.
“We could’ve hired someone else to step in while your mother—”
“No, you couldn’t have.” She laughed at the mere thought of that. “I know how weird the de Vincents are. I know how protective you two are of them. I know how to keep my mouth shut and not see what I’m not supposed to. And you two don’t have to worry about someone new not keeping their mouth shut and not seeing what they’re not supposed to.”
Her dad arched a brow. “A lot of things have changed, honey.”
She snorted as she took in the white marble countertops with gray veining. Mom had filled her in on some of those changes during one of her chemo treatments. After all, what else did they have to talk about while she was being pumped full of poison that would hopefully kill only the cancer cells building in her lung?
Things in the de Vincent mansion that had changed.
For starters, the patriarch of the family, one Lawrence de Vincent, had hung himself a few months back. An act that had shocked her because she figured that man would’ve outlived a nuclear bomb. And Lucian de Vincent apparently had a live-in girlfriend and they were about to move into their own place. That was even more insane, the idea of Lucian settling down.
The Lucian she remembered put the play in player. He’d been an incorrigible flirt, leaving a string of broken hearts across the state of Louisiana and beyond.
She hadn’t met his girlfriend yet since they were away on some kind of trip; the rich rarely seemed to have much of a schedule. She just hoped whoever his girlfriend was, she was nice and nothing like Devlin’s fiancĂ©.
Nikki might not have been around the de Vincents in four years, but she remembered Sabrina Harrington and her brother Parker.
Sabrina had just begun seeing Devlin the year before Nikki had left for college and that had been a year’s worth of snide comments and rather impressive disdainful looks. Nikki could deal with Sabrina though. If she was the same woman as she was before, she could be as mean as a cornered rattlesnake, but Nikki normally didn’t even register on her scale of people to pay attention to.
Parker though?
Nikki suppressed a shudder, not wanting to worry her father who was watching her like a hawk.
Parker had often stared at her the way she’d wanted Gabe to look at her, especially when she had grown brave enough to move from a one-piece bathing suit to a two-piece.
And Parker . . . he had done more than look.
She drew in a deep breath. She wasn’t going to think about Parker. He wasn’t worth a single thought.
What happened to Lawrence, and Lucian’s new romance weren’t the only things her mom had told her. She filled Nikki in on the whole sister reappearing and then disappearing again thing. Something that she knew the general public had no idea had even happened. She didn’t know the details around it, but Nikki knew that in typical de Vincent fashion, it had to the most drama-llama-est thing possible.
And she also knew better than to ask questions about it.Her father stepped back. “The boys are all out.”Thank God and baby Jesus.“Devlin should be back this evening for dinner. He likes dinner to be ready at six. I believe Ms. Harrington will be joining him.”Well, thanking God and baby Jesus lasted all of five seconds. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and make a gagging sound. “Okay.”“Gabriel is still in Baton Rouge, or at least, that’s the last I heard,” her father continued, ticking off the brothers’ schedules while she wondered what Gabe was doing in Baton Rouge. Not that she cared. She totally didn’t care whatsoever, but she wondered if it had anything to do with his woodworking business.
The man was talented with his hands.Really talented.Her cheeks flushed as an unwanted memory of how his calloused palms felt pierced her straight through the chest. Nope. Not going there. Absolutely not.There were examples of Gabe’s skill all around the house—the furniture, chair rails, and trim, even in the kitchen. All of the woodwork was designed and created by Gabe. As a little girl, she’d been fascinated with the idea of picking up a piece of wood and turning it into something that was truly a work of art. That fascination had turned into quite the hobby for Nikki.
It had started one long, fall afternoon when she was ten and she’d found Gabe outside, whittling away on a piece of wood. Out of boredom, she’d asked him to show her how he did it. Instead of shooing her off, Gabe had given her small scrapes of wood and showed her how to use a chisel.
She’d gotten pretty good at it, but she hadn’t picked up a chisel in over four years. Nikki refocused on what her dad was telling her.“We’re a little understaffed right now,” her dad continued. “So there’s a lot of dusting in your near future. Devlin is very much like his father.”
Great.
That was not a compliment in her book.“Is it the ghosts?” She half joked. “Scaring off the staff?”Her father shot her a look, but she knew damn well that her parents believed this
house was haunted. Hell, they wouldn’t even come here at night unless it was a dire emergency. None of the staff would and everyone in town knew the legends about the land the de Vincent mansion sat on. And who hadn’t heard about the de Vincent curse more than a time or two?
Being in this house as much as she had been in the past, she had seen some weird things and heard some stuff that couldn’t be explained. Plus she grew up within minutes of New Orleans. She was a believer, but unlike her friend Rosie, whom she met in college, she wasn’t obsessed with all things paranormal. Nikki operated on the whole if- you-don’t-acknowledge-ghosts-they-can’t-bother-you theory and so far it had worked so far wonderfully.
Then again, Nikki had only come here at night once in her life, and that had not turned out well at all. So maybe ignoring ghosts didn’t work, because she liked to think
she was possessed by one of ghosts that supposedly wandered the halls, and that was what provoked her to do what she’d done that night.
Nikki was well aware of how the house was run because she’d spent most of her summer vacations in the house watching her mom, so she got to work pretty quickly once her father left her.
First thing first was tracking down what staff they did have at the house. Understaffed her butt! The only staff they had left was her dad; the landscaper who was constantly mowing grass it seemed or re-mulching; the de Vincent driver; and Mrs. Kneely, an older woman who’d done the laundry services since Nikki was a little girl.
Beverly Kneely actually owed her own laundry business and only came to the house three times a week to take care of the linens and clothing.
According to Bev, whom she found in the large mudroom at the back of the house, packing up clothing that needed to be dry-cleaned, over the last couple of months, nearly everyone had quit.
“So, let me get this straight.” Nikki smoothed back a few strands that had escaped the knot she’d pulled her hair up in. “The waiters are gone, as are the maids?”
Bev’s buxom chest heaved as she nodded. “It’s just been your parents for the last three months. I think all that work was wearing poor Livie down.”
Anger flashed through Nikki. Hadn’t the de Vincents noticed how thin and tired her mom had been getting? How quickly she got out of breath? “Why didn’t the de Vincents hire someone to help?”
“Your father tried, but no one around here wants to come close to this place, not after what happened.”
She frowned. “You’re talking about Lawrence? What he did?”
Bev tied up the bags. “Not like that wasn’t bad enough, but that wasn’t the straw the broke the camel’s back around here.”
Nikki had no idea what she was talking about. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve been updated on all the crazy. What else happened?”
Looking around the room, Bev arched her brows as she headed toward the side door. “Walls got ears. You know that. You want to know what’s been going on here, you ask your father or one of the boys.”
Her lips pursed. She was so not asking the boys.
Bev stopped at the door and looked back. “I don’t think Devlin is going to be happy when he sees what you’re wearing.”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” It was jeans and a black tee shirt. No way was she going to dress like her mom or her dad. Her willingness to help her parents did not extend to wearing uniforms.
She looked down at herself and saw the hole just below the knee.Nikki sighed.Devlin was probably going to have a problem with the hole, but what Nikki wanted to
know was what the hell had happened in this house to drive almost all the staff away?It had to be something.Not just because the de Vincents paid extraordinarily well, but also because her father hadn’t told her.And that meant it was something really bad.


Moonlight Seduction is out June 26th, 2018!