I received an audible code from the author, all opinions are my own.
I thought the narrators did a great job with the narration and the voices of the characters. My one complaint about the narration was the constant chuckling and giggling throughout the book. I appreciate them trying to act out the book, but I found the excessive chuckling really distracting. I've really enjoyed them both as narrators of Adriana Locke's other audiobooks and they didn't chuckle or giggle every time there was banter or the author wrote "Walker chuckled". I think it took away from the audio experience for me because they are both awesome narrators. That being said I checked my print copy of the book and there isn't overuse of "haha" and laughing in general. I think it was just artistic license with the production of the audio. Take that with a grain of salt, you may not even notice it while listening or it may not bother you. This is one I think I would have enjoyed more in print. On a positive note, I did really like that the narrators actually swapped in an out when a male or female character were talking. You don’t normally see that in a dual narrated book, typically the female narrator still voices the male parts and vice versa. Here the male narrator stepped in during the Sienna chapters and voiced the male dialogue and vice versa. I really liked that and wished more audiobooks did that.
On to the actual book which is what I'm here to review. This is features insta-love, enemies to lovers, and opposites attract. It takes Sienna and Walker to decide that they like each other enough to get together, however that doesn't stop them from instantly having impure thoughts about each other the second they meet. That being said this book is definitely NSFW or the after-school pick-up line. You will want to wear headphones if you don't want anyone to hear the racy content of this one. The narrators actually did a good job with the intimate scenes and putting the passion into those scenes. This is one of the more steamy books I've read from this author. Sienna is outgoing and Walker is broody. We don't find out why he is closed off and grumpy until nearly the end of the book, which causes quite a bit of drama between our two main characters. The banter between the main and side characters was actually really good. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series and getting to know more of the Gibson family.
This is a standalone, but there are mentions to the Landry family. I haven’t read the Landry series yet, I started with the Masons. You don’t need to read the Mason or the Landry family series to get into this. If you like to read things in order so you know who all of the other characters mentioned are, you would want to start with Sway. I plan to tackle that series next.
I was provided an ARC via Smartypants Romance, all opinions are my own.
I loved Leigh and Walker together. While it took them both a little while to come to terms with what they were feeling for each other and their baggage, it was well worth the wait. I also really enjoyed that they each had their convictions about their respective professions. Leigh was so passionate about her job at the hospital and the personal relationships she builds with her patients and their families. Walker wants to keep the legacy of the bank that his grandfather built and be an upstanding pillar of the community, but he also wants to pursue his passion of flipping houses. There is quite a bit of drama on both sides as Leigh's hospital is being privatized by a company whose reputation is not particularly great. Walker is dealing with some family drama as his younger sister Tavia has come home and wants to implement new changes to the bank that he doesn't feel their customers are ready for and that fit their brand. Sidenote, I really hope we get Tavia's story, I'm super anxious to find out what she's dealing with and if she is able to find her way within her family.
While both Leigh and Walker are dealing with work stress, they both want nothing to do with a relationship. Walker doesn't see himself ever settling down, but his friends and family think he just hasn't found the right woman yet. Leigh doesn't trust relationships after her divorce. She has plenty of family drama as well. You have to read the book to fully understand the depth of her trust issues and why she feels the way she does about relationships and love. When Walker ends up renovating her duplex and he ends up moving in with her because of the renovations, the end up growing closer. What is supposed to be a one time thing ends up turning into something more that neither of them expected.
This has a moderate level of steam. There are some decent steamy scenes, but there are just the right amount. Walker and Leigh had great conversations and good banter. I also loved the side characters. The Leffersbee family is great as is Leigh's sister and brother-in-law. There were lots of serious moments, but there were some comedic ones woven in throughout. I really enjoyed watching Leigh and Walker develop both together and apart. While Walker's decision making was suspect, he finally came around. I really like how this wrapped up and leave room open for more books about the family. I like how we got some resolution about Leigh's family drama and potential to know about what is going on with Tavia.
Love in a Pickle, an all-new standalone contemporary romance from L.B. Dunbar, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!
When a mysterious silver fox becomes intrigued with this small town’s most disliked society woman, he finds she’s more than a little trouble and possibly a whole lot of heart.
Scotia Simmons. The name says it all—ornery, judgmental, mean—but underneath a woman like that is typically a shattered heart. Locked within her secrets, this fried pickle princess has used her unkindness as a shield of protection against the loneliness. However, menopause and a one-night stand can change a woman’s perspective on things. Who knew it would take a man the likes of him to push her strong will to its limits?
Chester Chesterfield. The name has more than one meaning—generous, quiet, private—but within one man is a multitude of personas. The gruff oil mogul has a wounded heart (and a big secret) that holds him hostage from the man he’s meant to be. His past defined him, or so he thought. He never imagined it’d take a woman like her to push him over his carefully constructed edges and show him love has no boundaries.
When you’re in a pickle, it’s time to relish what—or rather who—stands before you and accept that even over forty, a second chance at love can be a big dill (every pun intended).
'Love in a Pickle' is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #9 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.
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I give Chester a five-second head start before I follow him. My heart bleeds for him after hearing the story he’s told me. This big, beautiful man—his heartbreak is so huge.
We move away from the crackle and snap of the fire and into silent darkness. The loud crunch of my wellies on gravel echoes in the night. My sister’s farm has been restored now that she owns it outright and shares the land with Jedd. He’s built a horse barn on the property, and Chester stalks in the direction of the structure.
I want him to talk to me, but he continues to walk faster without looking back. With his long legs, he’s put quite a distance between us. He detours into the barn as I’d suspected. Once I enter, he seems to have disappeared inside the dark building. Despite a dim light illuminating the passageway, I’ve lost him.
“I know you’re in here,” I call out as if we’re children playing a game of hide-and-seek. Perhaps we are, as it seems we share bits and pieces of ourselves with one another, hiding truths, and then seeking full disclosure. We’re . . . curious . . . about each other, or at least, I am about him. I want to know more about him. And I’m not letting him walk away after the bomb he just dropped.
I pause before a horse stall. The heavy breath of Lucky One steams into the cold passageway. Jedd breeds and trains horses for the rodeo. It’s a process I don’t pretend to understand, not being much of an animal lover myself, but it makes him happy. Jedd’s happiness makes Beverly ecstatic, which is something she rightfully deserves after all she’s been through.
I think about Chester. His best friend, Davis, and his wife, Harper, lost their lives in a house fire, leaving behind three beautiful boys. Chester is now their guardian and an excellent provider for them. For a moment, I wonder why he doesn’t live with them. Why does he live in a bus just over the border instead of the valley? I suppose the locale might have something to do with his ownership of The Fugitive, but then again, his Chesterfield Oil offices are said to be in Knoxville. There’s a hefty distance between the locations with Green Valley in the middle.
I’d reach up to pet the horse, but I’m afraid he’ll bite me. Jedd likes to call him a mean sonofabitch, yet surprisingly, the animal has a soft spot for Beverly. While Beverly loves animals, Naomi loves the woods, which reminds me of her Samhain ritual later tonight. I’m doing my part to keep up the sisterhood rejuvenation plan, and after what I’ve learned about Chester’s friends, I take a moment to recognize I’m blessed that my sisters are still with me. I’ve missed them. We’re very different people as adults, and in many ways, it should make us more incompatible than ever, but there’s something about blood I can’t deny. My sisters are the truest people I have in my life next to my daughter, who I haven’t spoken to in a week.
After a few minutes, I decide I’m not going to find Chester in the dimly lit barn and give up on the hope of him speaking further to me. I turn toward the entrance and pause when I see him blocking my exit.
“Why did you follow me?” His low, gruff tone startles me, and we stare at one another for a minute.
“Because I don’t want you hurting. That was a lot you shared, and I just want to be sure you’re—”
I’m cut off from more words as he closes the distance between us in three broad steps and crushes his mouth to mine. His hands firmly cup my face. He kisses me as though he can’t get close enough. Our mouths nip and suck, devouring one another, reminding me how I’ve never been thoroughly kissed. Never like this.
About L.B. Dunbar
L.B. Dunbar has an overactive imagination. To her benefit, such creativity has led to over thirty romance novels, including those offering a second chance at love over 40. Her signature works include the #sexysilverfoxes collection of mature males and feisty vixens ready for romance in their prime years. She’s also written stories of small-town romance (Heart Collection), rockstar mayhem (The Legendary Rock Stars Series), and a twist on intrigue and redemption (Redemption Island Duet). She’s had several alter egos including elda lore, a writer of romantic magical realism through mythological retellings (Modern Descendants). In another life, she wanted to be an anthropologist and journalist. Instead, she was a middle school language arts teacher. The greatest story in her life is with the one and only, and their four grown children. Learn more about L.B. Dunbar by joining her reader group on Facebook (Loving L.B.) or subscribing to her newsletter (Love Notes).
Edit: This book has been renamed, and is now titled Lady Love.
I was provided an ARC via the author, all opinions are my own.
This is a new series from Emma Hart following aristocrats in a small English town. This follows Lady Gabriella Hastings, who is not what you'd expect. She wants to go to college, get a job, and play in the dirt. She loves plants and wants to design gardens as a career. You wouldn't expect that from someone with a fancy royal title, but she is pretty down to Earth, loves the people of the town and her goal is to get a job doing something she loves. She also has a huge crush on the grumpy head gardener that works on the estate that her father is responsible for. She can't figure out why Miles (the gardener) doesn't like her when she's been nothing but polite to him other than asking him questions about the gardens and the plants she loves so much. It turns out Miles is actually attracted to Gabi, but he doesn't think that his status as a commoner would mix with her aristocratic title. This becomes quite the rift between them when they get stuck together at the estate during a pretty bad storm. As they get to know each other, they realize that there is an attraction between them and that they do actually get along and like each other. They both have to decide if they are willing to put class rules aside and go after what they want for the sake of their own happiness.
This doesn't have a ton of angst, though it is a little slow burn as it takes Miles a bit of time to figure out what he wants to do about having a relationship with Gabi. He has to be told a few times to get over himself when it comes to his views on the aristocracy and what would make Gabi happy. I really loved all of the side characters in this. Emma Hart always finds a way to write in a hilarious parent or grandparent type of character in her books. In this case it is Gabi's Aunt Cat, she provides some drama and comic relief throughout the book with her animals and banter. Mile's grandpa was pretty awesome too, he gave great advice. Gabi's friends and cousin were great side characters and I expect we will get books for them soon. I thought the character development was good between Gabi and Miles. Gabi decides what she wants and goes after it, Miles on the other hand is a little slower to take action but it is worth waiting for. This has some great comedic moments. It is fairly tame in the spice department, if you are looking for something super steamy this is not the book. This is more slow and sweet with some kissing scenes.
This is set in modern day England and the author uses quite a few British terms for things. I had to look up a few I didn't know, but I didn't really mind. Most of the time they were really funny. I actually really liked that it was set in England and that she used some elements of her real life in this book. I know she has her own ducks and gardens and posts about them in her author group and on instagram.
This was really fun and has all of the things I love about an Emma Hart book. Great humor and lovely characters. I can't wait to see more from this series!
From the thrilling voice of Sacha Wunsch comes a heart-stopping psychological mystery in a world where memories can be shared—but maybe not trusted.
Enhanced Memory changed everything. By sharing someone else’s memory, you can experience anything and everything with no risk at all: learn any skill instantly, travel the world from home, and safeguard all your most treasured secrets forever. Nova’s parents invented this technology, and it’s slowly taking over their lives. That’s where Nova comes in. She can pick up the slack for them—and she doesn’t mind. She knows Enhanced Memory is a gift, and its value outweighs its costs.
But Kade says Nova doesn’t even know the costs. Kade runs a secret vlog cataloging real experiences, is always on the move, and he’s strangely afraid of Nova—even though she feels more comfortable with him than she ever has with anyone. Suddenly there are things Nova can’t stop noticing: the way her parents don’t meet her eyes anymore, the questions no one wants her to ask, and the relentless feeling like there’s something she’s forgotten.
But there’s danger around every corner, and her own home might be the most dangerous place of all.
I was provided an ARC via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this YA sci-fi thriller. The concept of this was really interesting. I really liked the Enhanced Memory idea where you can experience things you've always wanted to try, but were never able to for whatever reason from the comfort of your own home. It was a cool take on some tropes we've seen before in other books and movies. I think the concept of a virtual reality technology that you can get addicted to is a very real conversation, as tech gets more and more available we are always on it. I know it is a conversation we have in our house all the time. We are always on our devices for some reason school, work, leisure, etc. When is enough enough? How do you know if you are addicted or just using it to escape the stress of life? Can you tell the difference?
This follows Nova, daughter of two prominent inventors who helped launch the Enhanced Memory technology. This technology has taken the world by storm providing people with experiences they may have never otherwise had. It also helps patients struggling with memory loss to preserve their memories before they are gone for good. Nova sees firsthand how the memories help the patients at the home she works at after school, however she also sees some of the effects the memories can have when they are used too often. She also discovers that there is a dark side to the memories, and they can be as addictive as getting your next hit of a drug. As she begins to uncover the darker side of Enhanced Memories through her new friend Kade, she realizes that her parents may be wrapped up in something ugly. Her parents become more and more neglectful and more protective of their work and the memories they bring home to test. She starts to realize that Kade may be onto something with his “make real memories” philosophy and that Enhanced Memories may not be 100% safe. I don’t want to give much more away as it will spoil key points of the story.
At first I felt like Nova’s character development was a bit lacking, but as the story progressed, I realized that her character development was spot on. She was introverted and cautious throughout the story, but as things progressed she started to take more risks and come out of her shell a bit. After the reveal, which happens nearly at the end of the book, her character development makes a lot more sense. The development wasn’t lacking, she was looking for something that was missing. It takes her quite a while to figure things out, but once she does things start to fall into place and it all starts to come together.
I felt like the pacing was off on this book, there is alot of explanation about why Enhanced Memory was so great, but you know something is off about it. Then the ending felt a bit rushed. The reveal and conclusion was only a few chapters and I felt like that could have been given a bit more time, We spend a lot of time going through Nova's day to day life in the beginning, but I wanted more of the action and suspense that came toward the end. This doesn’t really get into the hard science of how the technology works. The descriptions of the tech are all pretty high level, so this will appeal to a broad audience that enjoy both science fiction and thrillers.
This is age appropriate for young adult readers, I think even mature middle grade readers would enjoy this. There is no graphic violence or sexual content. The main characters do kiss, and there is mention of pornography but it is not described in any detail and the conversation is quickly diverted away from that topic. If you don’t enjoy hard sci-fi but you enjoy a thriller that isn’t scary or creepy I’d give this a read.
I would say if you liked Ready Player One, Warcross, Ender's Game I think you'd really enjoy this.
I hadn’t even known I was afraid of heights until the moment I stood up there.
The stranger came up to me, grinning. “You’re going to love it,” he said.
I swallowed.
My entire body was sweating, most notably my palms, slipping as I tried to grip the safety harness.
Was I really going to do this?
No. I was going to get unclipped, turn around, and simply climb back down what felt like the millions of stairs stretching below me.
And then, just as I started to turn, someone pushed me off the platform.
I screamed as I dropped, nothing but air beneath me.
And then… I started to glide.
The scream kept coming a few seconds more, but my heart did a flip before it could reach my mind. I was soaring. Over the treetops. Whizzing along the zip line at high speeds. It was the best thing I had ever felt.
I had never been this free. Which made sense, I was essentially flying, after all.
Giggling was very much not in my nature, but there I was, giggling anyway. I closed my eyes to get a better sense of the wind on my face, but when the sweet scent of fresh-blooming flowers greeted me, I opened them again. Sure enough, the trees several yards below my feet were blooming some kind of large purple flower.
I sucked in a breath, wishing I could inhale the whole scene, wanting to appreciate it as much as I could—savor it—knowing it wouldn’t last forever, and landed gently on the other side.
I did not have to be pushed off the second platform—barely able to wait my turn to jump again. I soared from platform to platform, wishing nothing more than for this to go on forever, grinning all the way, and realizing only at the last second that the final landing platform wasn’t a platform at all, but a deep, cooling pool.
I sucked in a breath, and with a final burst of adrenaline, I splashed into the crystal-clear water.
TWENTY MINUTES EARLIER
“Come on, open it,” Mom said, her smiling beaming.
I held the small, beautifully wrapped box, unable to imagine what it was. My parents knew I wasn’t really that into jewelry, and neither were they really, but what else could be in such a small box?
I tore into it and flipped the lid open.
Which confused me even more. It wasn’t a ring or a pendant, just a small metal disk.
Dad sensed my confusion. “Give it a second,” he said, beaming even brighter than Mom.
In a blink, a form emerged, a hologram above the disk. There was no sound, but it looked like the person in the hologram was gliding through the tops of trees high in the air.
“This is…really cool,” I said, and meant it, but couldn’t help but feel like I was missing something.
Mom was practically bouncing on the couch. “We wanted to do something special for your birthday.”
“Thank you” was all I could really think to say. The disk was pretty cool, but what the hell was with their enthusiasm?
“You’re welcome Nova,” Dad said. “But this isn’t the whole thing. It’s the experience of it that’s the real gift.”
“The experience of it?”
Mom had gotten up and gone to the desk by the front door. She picked up another box, this one unwrapped, and pulled something from inside.
“Here, you put this on,” she said, handing me a clunky set of headphones plugged into a small handheld device about the size of a phone.
“The disk goes in there,” Dad said, and showed me how to open it, setting my new present inside.
And then I experienced my first ever zip line.
As the experience ended, I blinked my eyes open, a hundred percent sure I’d be soaking wet, but I was sitting right back in my living room. The sensation was a bit disorienting, but my parents were staring at me like they were about to explode.
“What was that?” I asked, grabbing the hem of my shirt, which I couldn’t quite comprehend being dry.
“That was Enhanced Memory,” Dad said, but the look on his face said so much more—like if he’d had feathers, they’d be plumaged out like the most badass peacock of the bunch.
“What did you think?” Mom asked, clasping her hands like she had so much energy whizzing through her body she had to do something to hold it in.
“Well obviously it was amazing, but by the way you two are acting, you already know that.” I couldn’t help but grin. They were just so cute sitting there all proud of themselves. “But seriously, what is this? What is Enhanced Memory?”
I’d seen 3D movies and had even tried virtual reality once, but this was way beyond either of those. This was next level.
“It’s simple,” Dad said. “The headphones are equipped with dozens of…well, let’s call them electrodes for sake of ease, though really, they’re more advanced than that.”
“Okay,” I said, mostly with him still, although knowing Dad it wouldn’t be long until the science-y droning took hold and steered him right off the layman’s term trail.
“And these,” he said, taking the disk out of the machine and holding it up, “are Memories.”
“Memories.”
Mom nodded. “We discovered a way to extract memories and reproduce them.”
“Wait, you guys created this?”
Mom nodded, her smile huge and eyes wide. “This is what we’ve been working toward all these years.”
My mouth dropped open. I knew my parents had been working on some kind of project for a long time, but I guess I hadn’t really been that interested in what it was.
Mom laughed at my stunned expression while Dad came over to give me one of his signature kisses on the top of my head.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Mom said, beaming.
I mean, they were scientists and science was basically the last thing I wanted to pay attention to, so I never really asked many questions.
But this was way beyond science. This was…actually kind of awesome.
A smile crept across my face. I couldn’t wait to try it again.
Sacha Wunsch grew up dividing her time between the family farm in Canada and traveling to numerous fictional worlds. She was a bookseller before discovering her love of writing mind-twisty novels - which has proved an excellent job since she gets to blame all the TV she watches on her love of storytelling. She now splits her time between the city and the lake, and still travels to made-up worlds as often as she can.
“Jennifer L. Armentrout has absolutely blown me away.” -- Larissa Ione, New York Times bestselling author
A Shadow in the Ember, the much anticipated fantasy romance set in the Blood and Ash world from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout is available now!
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns with book one of the all-new, compelling Flesh and Fire series—set in the beloved Blood and Ash world.
Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort.
However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot.
Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.
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Excerpt
She reached back, curling her arm through mine. The unexpected contact caused me to flinch, and I was suddenly grateful for the veil. Like any of the Chosen, my flesh should not encounter another’s unless related to my preparations. It spoke volumes that Lady Kala had touched me.
She led me through the twisting, endless halls of nothing but doors and numerous blazing candle sconces. I had just begun to wonder if she was lost when the hazy outline of two silent figures draped in black appeared by a set of doors.
Shadow Priests.
They’d taken their oath of silence to all new heights, having stitched their lips closed. I always wondered how they ate or drank. Based on their wraithlike, sunken frames under the black robes, whatever method they used wasn’t exactly working out that well for them.
I suppressed a shudder as each of the Priests opened a door to reveal a large, circular chamber aglow with hundreds of candles. A third Shadow Priest seemingly appeared out of thin air, taking Lady Kala’s place. The bony fingers didn’t touch my skin but pressed into the center of my back. The contact still bothered me, made me want to pull away, but I knew better than to step away from the coldness of his fingers seeping through the thin layer of cloth. Forcing myself to breathe, I stared at the etchings carved into the otherwise smooth stone. A circle with a line through it. The symbol filled each stone tile. Having never seen it before, I wasn’t sure what it meant. My gaze lifted to the wide dais before me. The Priest guided me down the aisle, and some of the pressure returned to my chest. I didn’t look at the empty pews. If I had truly been Chosen, those benches would be full of the highest-ranking nobility, the streets outside alive with cheers. The silence of the room chilled my skin.
There’d only ever been one throne before, constructed from the same stone as the Temple. Shadowstone was the color of the deepest hour of night, a marvelous material that could be polished until it reflected any source of light and whetted into a blade sharp enough to pierce flesh and bone. The throne was the glossy sort, absorbing the glow of the candlelight until the stone appeared as if it were full of dark fire. The back of the seat had been carved into the shape of a crescent moon.
The exact shape of the birthmark I bore just above my left shoulder blade. The telltale sign that even before I was born, my life had never been mine.
Tonight, there were two thrones.
As they led me to the dais and helped me up the steps, I really wished I had asked for that glass of water. Guided to the second throne, they sat me there and then left me alone. Resting my hands on the arms of the throne, I scanned the pews below. Not a single soul from Lasania was in attendance. None even knew that their lives and their children’s lives all hinged on tonight and what I needed to do. If they ever discovered that Roderick Mierel—the one the histories of Lasania called the Golden King—hadn’t spent day and night in the fields with his people, digging and scraping away land ruined by war until they revealed clean, fertile soil… That he hadn’t sown the land alongside his subjects; his blood, sweat, and tears building the kingdom… If they learned that the songs and poems written about him had been based on a fable, what was left of the Mierel Dynasty would surely collapse.
Someone closed the doors, and my gaze stretched to the back of the chamber, where I could make out the shadowy forms of my mother and Tavius in the candlelight. A third figure stood beside them. King Ernald. My stepsister, Princess Ezmeria—Ezra—stood beside her father and brother, and I didn’t need to see her expression to know that she hated every aspect of this deal. Sir Holland wasn’t here. I would’ve liked to have said goodbye to him, even though I didn’t expect him to be here. His presence would raise too many questions among the Shadow Priests.
Would reveal too much.
That I wasn’t the beacon of Royal purity, but rather the wolf dressed as the sacrificial lamb. I wouldn’t just fulfill the deal that King Roderick had struck. I would end it before it destroyed my kingdom.
Determination filled my chest with warmth as it did whenever I used my gift. This was my destiny. My purpose. What I would do was bigger than me. It was for Lasania.
So, I sat there, ankles crossed demurely beneath the gown, hands relaxed on the arms of the throne as I waited.
And waited some more.
Seconds ticked into minutes. I didn’t know how many passed, but tiny balls of unease formed in my belly. He’d been summoned to his Temple. Shouldn’t…shouldn’t he be here? My palms dampened as the knots grew, stretching into my chest. The pressure increased. What if he didn’t show?
Why wouldn’t he?
This was his deal.
When King Roderick had grown desperate enough to do anything to salvage his lands ruined by war and save those who were starving after already suffering so much loss, I imagined he’d expected a lesser god to answer his summons—which was far more common for those bold enough to do such a thing. But what had answered the Golden King was a Primal.
And when he’d granted King Roderick’s request, this was the price the Primal of Death had requested: the firstborn daughter of the Mierel bloodline as his Consort.
The Primal had to come.
What if he didn’t? My heart pounded as my fingers curled against the chilled stone of the throne.
Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold.
If he didn’t arrive, all would be lost. Everything he’d granted King Roderick would continue to come undone. If he didn’t come for me, and I failed to fulfill this, I would doom the kingdom to a slow death at the hands of the Rot. It had started upon my birth, first with just a small patch of land in an orchard. Unripe apples had fallen from trees that had begun to lose their leaves. The ground below had turned gray, and the grass, along with the roots of the apple trees, had died. Then the Rot had spread, slowly taking out the entire orchard. In the time that passed, it had devastated several more farms. No crop could be seeded in the soil and survive once tainted by the Rot.
And it wasn’t only affecting the land. It had changed the weather, making the summers hotter and drier, the winters colder and more unpredictable.
The people of Lasania had no idea that the Rot was a clock, counting down. It was an expiration date on the deal the Golden King had made, one that had started with my birth. There was a good chance the Golden King hadn’t realized the bargain would expire no matter what. That was knowledge gained in the decades after the deal had been struck. If I failed, the kingdom would—
It started as a low rumble, like the distant sound of wagons and carriages rolling over the cobblestone streets of Carsodonia. But the sound grew until I felt it in the throne I sat upon—and in my bones.
The rumbling ceased, and the candles—all of them—went out, plunging the chamber into darkness. An earthy-scented breeze stirred the edges of the veil around my face and the hem of my gown.
In a wave, flames sparked from the candles, surging toward the pitched ceiling. My gaze fixed on the center aisle, where the very air itself had split open, spitting crackling white light. A mist seeped out from the tear, licking across the stone floor and seeping toward the pews. Tiny bumps erupted all over my skin in response. Some called the mist Primal magic. It was eather. The potent essence that not only had created the mortal realm and Iliseeum but also what coursed through the blood of a god, giving even the lesser, unknown ones unthinkable power.
I blinked. That was all I did. I blinked, and the space in front of the dais that had been empty no longer was. A male stood there, garbed in a hooded cloak and surrounded by pulsing, churning tendrils of deep shadows laced with luminous streaks of silver. I didn’t allow myself to think of what Tavius had said about him. I couldn’t. Instead, I tried to see through the wispy mass of smoky shadows. All I could tell was that he was unbelievably tall. Even from where I sat, I knew he would tower over me—and I wasn’t short by any means, nearly the same height as Tavius. But he was a Primal, and in the stories written about them in the histories, they were sometimes referred to as giants among mortals.
He appeared broad of shoulder—or at least that was what I thought the deeper, thick mass of darkness was that took the shape of…wings. His hooded head tilted back. I forgot those breathing exercises in an instant. I couldn’t see his face, but I felt the intensity of his stare. His gaze pierced straight through me, and for a brief, panicked moment, I feared that he knew I hadn’t spent seventeen years preparing to become his Consort. That my tutelage went beyond that. And that the meekness, the submissiveness I’d been taught, was nothing more than another veil I wore.
For a moment, my heart stopped as I sat on the throne meant for the Consort of the Shadowlands, one of the Courts within Iliseeum. Looking up at the Primal of Death, I felt real terror for the first time in my life.
Primals couldn’t read mortals’ thoughts. In the back of my mind, where some bit of intelligence still existed, I knew this. There was no reason for him to suspect that I was anything other than I appeared to be. Even if he’d watched me grow over the years, or if spies had been sent to Lasania, my identity, my heritage and bloodline, had been kept hidden. No one even knew there was a Princess of Mierel blood. Everything I did had been carried out in highly planned secrecy—from training with Sir Holland to the time spent with the Mistresses of the Jade.
There was no way he could know that in the two hundred years it had taken for me to be born, the knowledge of how to kill a Primal had been obtained.
Love.
They had one fatal weakness that made them vulnerable enough to be killed, and that was love.
Make him fall in love, become his weakness, and end him.
That was my destiny.
Gaining control of my hammering heart, I pulled from the hours spent with my mother, learning what would be expected of me as his Consort. How to move, speak, and act in his presence. How to become whatever he desired. I was ready for this—whether or not he was covered head to toe in the scales of the winged beasts that guarded the Primals.
My fingers relaxed, my breathing slowed, and I allowed my lips to curl into a smile—a shy, innocent one. I stood in the glow of the candlelight on feet I couldn’t feel. I clasped my hands loosely across my midsection so nothing would be hidden from him, just as my mother had instructed. I started to lower to my knees as one would upon greeting a Primal.
The stir of air was the only warning I got that the Primal had moved.
Shock silenced the gasp of surprise before it reached my lips. He was suddenly in front of me. No more than a handful of inches remained between us. Swirling light rippled the air around me. He felt cold, like the winters to the north and east. Like each winter here in Lasania slowly became with each passing year.
I wasn’t sure I even breathed as I looked up into the void where his face should be. The Primal of Death shifted closer, and one of the shadow tendrils brushed across the bare skin of my arm. I gasped at the icy feel. He lowered his head, and every muscle in my body seized. I wasn’t sure if it was his presence or the innate instinct we all had that warned us not to run. Not to make any sudden movements in the presence of a predator.
“You,” he said, his voice smoke and shadow and full of everything that awaited after someone took their very last breath. “I have no need of a Consort.”
My entire body jerked, and I whispered, “What?”
The Primal pulled back, the shadows retracting around him. He shook his head. What did he mean?
I stepped forward. “What—?” I said again.
The wind whipped from behind me this time, pitching the chamber into darkness as the candles whooshed out. The rumbling was weaker than before, but I didn’t dare move, having no idea where he was. I wasn’t sure where the edge of the dais even was. The earthy scent disappeared, and the flames slowly returned to the candles, sparking weakly to life…
He no longer stood before me.
Faint wisps of eather wafted up from the now-sealed opening in the floor. He was gone.
The Primal of Death had left. He hadn’t taken me, and in a deep, hidden part of me, relief blossomed and then crumbled. He hadn’t fulfilled the deal.
“What…what happened?” My mother’s voice reached me, and I looked up to see that she was before me. “What happened?”
“I…I don’t know.” Panic sank its claws into me as I turned to my mother, wrapping my arms around myself. “I don’t understand.”
Her eyes were wide and mirrored the storm brewing inside me as she whispered, “Did he speak to you?”
“He said…” I tried to swallow, but my throat tightened. The corners of my vision turned white. No amount of breathing exercises would help the alarm that took root. “I don’t understand. I did everything—”
The burning sting of my mother’s slap came as a shock. I hadn’t expected it—hadn’t even prepared myself for her to do something like that. Hand trembling, I pressed it against my cheek, standing there stunned and incapable of processing what had happened—what was happening.
Her dark eyes were even wider now, her skin a ghastly pale shade. “What did you do?” She pulled her hand back to her chest. “What did you do, Sera?”
I’d done nothing. Only what I’d been taught. But I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t tell her anything. Words failed me as something shattered inside me, shriveling up. “You,” my mother said. While her voice was not smoke or shadow, it was just as final. Her eyes glistened. “You’ve failed us. And now, everything—everything—is lost.”
About Jennifer L. Armentrout #1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Shepherdstown, 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 Border Jack Apollo. 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 Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, 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 an 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.
Connect with Jennifer L. Armentrout Facebook: http://bit.ly/2xSL7u5 Instagram: @jennifer_l_armentrout http://bit.ly/33GWn8R Twitter: @JLArmentroutnews http://bit.ly/2QvDYpT Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dnOSIi Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2U5Jemy BookBub: http://bit.ly/2U2Fe63 Stay up to date with Jennifer by joining her mailing list: https://bit.ly/2qBce5m Website: https://jenniferlarmentrout.com
Before and After You, an all-new heartfelt small town romance from Hope Ellis, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!
Leigh D’Alessandro is a fighter. She fought to escape her dysfunctional family, to end a soul-killing marriage, and to build a new life in a small Tennessee town. When the fate of the community hospital she works for is threatened, she’s primed and ready for battle. What she can’t fight any longer is her unshakable attraction to her best friend’s brother, who has a notorious reputation and triggers all her worst fears about trust and betrayal.
Walker Leffersbee is a lover. At least that’s the reputation he’s built in his hometown. Scion of a prosperous Tennessee banking family, he’s a known ladies’ man and a confirmed bachelor. His hands are full as he juggles competing demands from his family’s bank and his growing property renovation business. The last thing he needs is to give in to his long-standing craving for his sister’s headstrong and hot-tempered best friend. Especially because she’s the only one who knows the secret that threatens to upend his life.
When a home renovation project brings them too close for comfort, they both struggle to withstand the growing heat. As they grow closer helping each other navigate family minefields, Walker learns that love is not a four-letter word, and Leigh realizes that some battles are meant to be lost.
But Walker’s secret is the one thing that could keep them apart, unless they both decide to fight for the love they never looked for but now can’t live without.
‘Before and After You’ is a contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Leffersbee series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.
USA Today bestselling author Hope Ellis is a health outcomes researcher by day and writes romances featuring sexy nerds by night. She hopes to one day conquer her habit of compulsively binge-watching The Office.
Samantha Young has revealed the cover for Love Stories: A Novella Collection!
Releasing: December 6, 2021
Cover Designer: Hang Le
Photographer: Regina Wamba
A collection of contemporary romance novellas from New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Young.
This volume includes novellas previously only available exclusively to newsletter subscribers. They have now been collated into this romantic collection of modern love stories.
Includes: The Forbidden Christmas Gift: It's Christmas at Shaw's Department store in Edinburgh! Reid Shaw should feel nothing but gratified by his success. But he's not satisfied because the sexy Scot wants forbidden fruit for Christmas: Evan Munro. Reid's Evan's boss. He's thirteen years older than her. Oh ... and she's his best friend's little sister.
New Year's Eve: After Ryan drunkenly kisses the object of her crush, Joe--her sister's father-in-law-- at his son's birthday party, all she wants to do is avoid Joe for the rest of eternity. But when they find themselves stranded alone together on New Year's Eve, Ryan discovers Joe most definitely doesn't want to avoid Ryan...
Loving Valentine: Micah Green has loved Valentine Fairchild for over ten years; ever since they were kids brought together by Micah's difficult family life. Too many outside factors have gotten in their way, pushing them further apart over the years. But Micah, no matter how hard he tries, can't forget her. When he finds a way to see her again, he realizes he's wasted too much time loving Valentine from afar. Now he just has to convince her to let go of their past so they can move on with their future. Together.
Ember in the Heart: Loosely Inspired by Pride & Prejudice. When Ember Bonet overhears her sister's fiancé's best friend uttering rude remarks about the Bonet sisters at the engagement party, she instantly dismisses him as a pretentious man-child. Then said man-child, Foster Darwin, moves into the house next door along with his five-year-old daughter, making him hard to ignore. Foster can't believe his best friend, Colt, omitted to tell him the spinsterish Bonet sisters live in the house next door to his new home. Problem is, Ember Bonet is anything but spinsterish. From the moment they met, Foster has fought an overwhelming attraction to her. An attraction he has no time for. Not only is he determined to prioritize his daughter Georgie, he can't fail his own father again. And Edward Darwin has made it clear that Foster must settle down with the right woman. Unfortunately, his family's idea of 'right' isn't the sexy massage therapist next door who's eleven years his senior. Determined to keep her distance from Foster, Ember fails when it becomes clear he and Georgie need support in their new life together. But proximity to one another is too great a temptation, and physical chemistry soon turns into so much more. If only Ember could get over their age difference and Foster his family pride...
Samantha is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over fifty books, several of which have been nominated for Goodreads Choice Awards. She writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction. Her books have been published in 31 countries. She resides in Scotland.
Crank by Adriana Locke
