Prologue
The ravens swarmed around outside our house. There were hundreds of them perched on the front step and resting anywhere they could find an empty spot; they blanketed our front yard to the point where the green blades of summer grass were hidden from view. As I stared out at them through our front window, a sense of unease washed over me. I’d never seen so much darkness and so much light at the same time. “Amalia, what are you doing?” my mom asked, glancing over at me as she came into the room, buttoning her navy suit jacket. Her dark hair was pulled into a ballerina-like bun, the same way she always wore it to work. “Watching all of those birds outside,” I murmured, pointing out the window. “I’ve never seen so many of them all at once before. What do you think they’re doing here?” My mom rushed to my side and peered over my shoulder. “W-we, uh, need to get r-ready,” she stammered, ignoring my question. Her body seemed to tense up as she quickly closed the blinds in her best attempt to hide the birds from my sight. It was already too late for that, though. And even though I was young, I was old enough to know that my mother’s reaction wasn’t a normal one. Meli, our neighbor, who had lived across the street, had always told me that black birds flew with purpose. They only landed in a person’s yard if they wanted to send them a message. This flock in particular had come with a warning: someone was going to die. I wasn’t sure how I knew for sure; I could just feel it in my bones. And I knew then, at that very moment, that my fear of it inevitably happening would follow me around like a shadow. Chapter 1 Eight years later It was the first time in sixteen years that I had ever truly been alone. That was the only thing I could seem to think about as the taxi pulled onto the long, winding road that led to my aunt Regina’s house. Admittedly, being away from my mother was the one thing I’d always wanted, mostly because she’d never given me the chance to be away from her. There hadn’t been any sleepaway camp during my summers – or sleepovers in general (though I didn’t really have any friends to invite me, anyway) – and there had especially been no public school, all of which I’d begged to go to for years. And, of course, any act of rebellion I’d made had been quickly snuffed out before it even began. It wasn’t my mom’s fault, I supposed; it was only natural for her to be so overprotective. My father had abandoned us before I was even born. She’d probably worried that if she let me out of her sight for longer than a few minutes, she’d end up losing me in some way, too. In any case, I’d ended up spending most days reading books at the local library my mom had worked at for the past fifteen years. I loved reading, but it got to the point where I knew just about every book on the tiny library’s shelves inside and out – torn pages, markings, and all. Now that my mom was gone, though, I didn’t want to know what it was like to be on my own. All I wanted was to be back in that tiny library with her, reading the entire Harry Potter series for the twelfth time. “Are you sure this is the right place?” the cabbie asked, breaking the silence we’d been in for almost the entire trip. He glanced at me with concern in the rearview mirror. “123 Winchester Way?” “Yes, it’s the right address.” “It’s really out in the middle of nowhere, huh?” I nodded just as I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of gray darting out into the street. “Look out!” I screamed, pointing toward the road and bracing myself for the impact. Jumping to alertness, the driver slammed on the brakes and not a moment too soon. A startled gray wolf stared at us from the road, its deep blue eyes penetrating through mine. It was covered in mud and its fur was mangled, as though it had just gotten into a fight and had won, judging from the size of it. I’d never seen a wolf in the wild before, but I’d always imagined they were about the size of a German Shepherd. This one was much larger than that. The breath caught in the back of my throat as it stared past the cab driver and straight at me for a few seconds, its eyes full of hatred. It cocked its head to the side and took a few steps forward as though it were taunting me. A shiver crept down my spine. Then it stopped in its tracks and glanced at the woods. The wolf slowly crossed the road, glancing over its shoulder at me one last time before it sauntered off into the woods. Once it disappeared from view, I began to breathe a little easier again. Well, as easy as I could breathe, considering it felt like my heart was about to pound out of my chest. “Well, that was a close one,” the driver said as he let out a deep sigh – a mixture of relief and shakiness over the near-collision – and crept the car forward again, craning his neck in hopes of catching another glimpse of the wolf. I was looking for it, too, but it was nowhere in sight. An uneasy feeling set in as I realized this street led to my new home. If there was one wolf out there, how many others were there within the confines of the forest? They usually ran in packs, didn’t they? A few moments later, the driver pulled the taxi into my aunt’s long, narrow dirt driveway. I could see the house – a three story Victorian, which was nestled between trees, their leaves beautiful shades of gold, crimson, and sienna. Dread washed over me when he slowed to a halt in front of the porch and it had nothing to do with my fear of wild animals this time. I didn’t want to leave the car. Getting out meant the last chapter of my life was officially over. I wasn’t ready to start a new one. Knowing that there was nothing left for me to do but move forward, I pushed my car door open and climbed out, stretching my legs. The car ride from Pennsylvania had been exhausting, both mentally and physically. Even though I’d tried to hide it from the cab driver, I’d spent most of the trip crying silently in the backseat. As the driver hopped out of the car to retrieve my luggage from the trunk, I started to feel . . . weird. I knew that it wasn’t just anxiety, either. I mean, of course I was nervous. I was beyond nervous about making a good first impression. I’d worn my favorite purple dress and had pulled my long, blonde hair into a simple ponytail at the nape of my neck. I’d also made the effort to apply my eye makeup more intricately than I normally would, which was probably all in vain. I had a feeling most of my makeup had slid down my face with my tears, anyway. I was as prepared as I could have been, given the circumstances. As I stood there in the driveway, though, I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that there was something eerie about the house that stood in front of me. I wished that I could just turn around and back out of going inside, but I knew that wasn’t an option. Now that my mom was gone, Aunt Regina had become my legal guardian. It might not have been so bad if I’d actually known my aunt while I was growing up, but I’d never even met her or my cousin, Callie. I still couldn’t figure out why my mom had named my aunt as my next legal guardian in her will, but I supposed it was because there was no one else. My father was dead...or, at least, I liked to pretend that he was, because if he was alive, that meant he’d chosen not to come back to get to know me, which was something I wasn’t ready to own up to, even at sixteen years old. Aside from Aunt Regina and Callie, I had no other living relatives. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to meet Aunt Regina or Callie. I’d dreamt of this day so many times before, but never under these circumstances. I had always wondered what Callie would be like, if we had things in common, or if we would get along. I’d wondered what it would be like to have a cousin, period. Well, I wouldn’t need to wonder anymore. I was about to find out. “Here are your bags, Miss,” the cab driver said as he set them down on the ground in front of me. “Thank you,” I replied as I fumbled through my wallet for the money that Meli had been kind enough to give me to pay for the cab fare. She’d wanted to drive me to Connecticut herself, but her daughters had their dance recital and I didn’t want her to miss out on it for my sake, even though I’d dreaded the idea of taking such a long car ride with a complete stranger. “Thank you! Have a good day,” he said cheerfully as I handed the money to him. He turned and headed back for the car, slamming the door shut behind him. He backed out of the driveway a moment later, not even bothering to wait until I got inside, leaving me to wonder what I would have done if no one was home. I lifted one my suitcases from the ground. It was heavy. I packed it with as much as I could stuff inside. Most of my belongings held memories of my mom, memories that I didn’t want to leave behind just because she was gone and I was forced to start a new life. Most of the weight in my luggage came from the photo albums I’d packed, which were filled with picture upon picture of the two of us. Nervously, I climbed up the old, creaky porch steps. Just as I was about to extend my hand to knock on the front door, it slowly creaked open and a man silently stared back at me. He looked like he was probably in his late thirties. He wore his copper hair short and donned a black suit. Did I have the right house? As far as I knew, I didn’t have an uncle. Then again, would Mom have known? She and Regina hadn’t exactly kept in touch over the years. “Amalia, how nice it is to see you. It’s been such a long time,” the man said, breaking into a broad grin that extended to his turquoise eyes. I stared back at him blankly. He knew my name, so apparently I did have the right house...though I couldn’t remember ever meeting him. “I don’t think we’ve ever met,” I replied politely. “Of course we have. You were only just a baby, though. Since you don’t remember my name, it’s Martin.” He extended a hand. I chose not to tell him that he must have been mistaken; there was no way I could have met him when I was a baby, considering I’d never been to Shadow Hill and, as far as I knew, my aunt had never visited us in Pennsylvania. As I shook his hand, I noticed how cold and clammy it was. “Are you my uncle?” Martin let out a light laugh. “No, your aunt isn’t married. I’m her butler.” I felt my eyes widen. “She has a butler?” It made me feel a twinge of bitterness. My mom had only been able to afford the basics, but my aunt had hired help? I couldn’t help but feel slightly envious of Callie and Regina’s lives. My mom could have used a break, too – more than just the gooey pancakes and every other disaster meal I’d made for her as breakfast in bed. “Indeed. There’s a maid too.” As he stepped outside to retrieve my other bags, he added in a lowered voice, “She’s an annoying little thing.” “Hey, I heard that,” a voice said from behind him. A petite woman who looked to be maybe twenty-one at the most came to stand in the doorway. She was pretty, with short dark hair, warm golden brown eyes, and olive skin. “I’m Marie...the annoying little thing.” She shot dagger eyes at Martin, though there was the trace of a smile on her lips. I got the feeling that the two of them bickered a lot, but it seemed like it was mostly out of playfulness. “I’m Amalia,” I told her. She nodded. “I know who you are. We’ve been expecting you. Mrs. Greene is really excited about you coming to live with her.” I shifted nervously in my boots. “Where is my aunt, anyway?” “She’s not home right now,” Martin replied a little too quickly as he climbed back up the stairs, carrying my luggage. “It’s hard to say when she might return.” “Oh.” I felt my own face fall. I couldn’t help but think that it didn’t sound like my aunt was all that excited to meet me. If she was, wouldn’t she have made the effort to be home when I arrived? It almost felt like she’d forgotten about me. From the sympathetic look that filled Marie’s eyes, I was pretty sure that she could tell what thoughts were running through my mind. “Don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll be home later,” she said gently. “And then you’ll wish she weren’t,” Martin muttered under his breath. Marie shot him a look before turning back to me. “In the meantime, we can give you the grand tour if you want.” “Okay.” I clutched my suitcase a little tighter and hesitantly followed them through the front door. Marie and Martin led me through the house, giving me a simple tour of the spacious, carefully decorated rooms. Why did anyone need a house this huge? It was almost big enough to get lost in. My mother and I were lucky enough to even have a TV, whereas Regina’s spanned across a greater portion of the wall in not just one but both of her over-sized living rooms. I was willing to bet that their cable package included more than just the basic stations that we had. “And this is the heart of the house,” Marie chirped as she led us into the kitchen. “It’s where we do most of our gossiping.” As Martin reached inside the fridge and pulled a box out, he glanced over his shoulder at me. “Want some cheesecake?” Before I even had the chance to respond, he had already placed a thick slice oozing with raspberry topping onto a plate and was setting it down on the silver counter in front of me. “Your trip must have been so exhausting,” he said as he handed me a fork. I nodded. “It was tiring, but only because I had to sit still for so long. I guess I should have brought a book or something to keep me entertained.” Pulling a bar stool out, I climbed onto it. “I’m wide awake now, though. We almost hit a wolf right before we pulled into the driveway.” “You did?” Martin exchanged a glance with Marie. “Yeah, it came really close.” “Wow. That must have been scary,” he murmured. “I’m glad no one got hurt—the wolf included.” “Are there a lot of wolves around here?” I asked, almost afraid to know the answer. “I haven’t seen any,” Marie replied, pulling a seat up next to me. “I’ve heard people say they’re out there, but they seem to keep to themselves...most of the time.” Martin stood across from us, leaning against the counter. “This cheesecake is even better than the one yesterday, Marie,” he said as he spooned a piece into his mouth. “Don’t tell your aunt on us.” She shot me a mischievous grin as she took a bite of her own slice. “My lips are sealed.” I giggled. Marie turned to me. “So, your aunt told me you’ll be going to school for the first time ever tomorrow. Are you excited?” “I will?” Of course, I hadn’t been expecting my aunt to homeschool me, but I also hadn’t thought I would have to start school right away. I’d sort of been hoping to have a few days off to adjust to my new living arrangements, but now that I knew that wasn’t the case, I couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. Going to school may have been what I’d always wanted, but now that it was finally happening, I felt panicked. I didn’t know the first thing about fitting in or making friends. As if moving to live in a brand new state with my, up until now, estranged family wasn’t hard enough, I also had to go to school for the very first time in less than twenty-four hours. It was all so overwhelming. “Indeed. But on the bright side, you’ll have your own personal driver,” Martin offered, seeming to note my disappointment. I frowned, wondering how that could be a bright side. I’d always kind of wondered what it would be like to ride on a school bus, getting the full high school experience. I also wasn’t sure if having my own driver could make things embarrassing by drawing unnecessary attention to me, but Aunt Regina’s house was so far away from town that I doubted there was a school bus that came to this neck of the woods. Then again, maybe there was a bright side. Would I have really wanted to stand outside waiting for a school bus knowing that there were wolves nearby? * After we finished eating our cheesecake, Marie led me to the one room that she and Martin hadn’t shown me during the grand tour of the rest of the house: my bedroom. It was on the second floor, right next door to Callie’s room. When Marie opened the door, I held in my gasp. It was more than I ever could have hoped for. The room was large and spacious, decorated mostly in turquoise with brown and white accents. Marie glanced over her shoulder at me. “Do you like it?” “It’s beautiful,” I whispered. “I thought so, too.” She sat down on the bed, running her hands over the paisley patterned comforter. “Do you need any help unpacking?” I glanced down at my bags, suddenly feeling somewhat possessive over their contents. It wasn’t that I couldn’t have used the help. It was just that I needed to unpack – and deal with what unpacking really meant – on my own. “I think I’ll be okay,” I told Marie. “But thank you for offering.” “No problem. If you change your mind, just let me know.” “I will,” I promised. With a smile, she rose to her feet and headed for the door. She stepped out into the hallway, leaving me alone in the room I would call home for the next two years.
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We know it's seemed like a long wait, but Ignite is finally available on Amazon for Kindle users and Barnes & Noble for Nook users. We're so excited for you to read this book and to hear your thoughts. It's our favorite YA paranormal romance that we've written so far and also includes one of our favorite male leads. Synopsis He ignites something in her that she's never felt before... Sixteen-year-old Amalia Greene has lived under her over protective mother's watchful eye her entire life. But when her mom is killed in a car accident, Amalia has no other option than to move to Shadow Hill, Connecticut to live with her estranged family where she finds herself more alone than ever. When Amalia meets Julian Archer, she feels a magnetic pull to him unlike anything she's ever felt before. She's pretty sure he feels the same way she does, but he won't let her get too close to him. She soon learns it's because Julian is keeping secrets - dark, dangerous secrets that affect both of them. And then there's the cute, mysterious stranger who Amalia meets in the woods but who won't even tell her his name. The more time she spends with him, the more she finds herself intrigued by him...and unsure of what his true intentions are. As Amalia learns more about herself and not just one but two age-old curses that involve her, she's forced to decide if she's willing to risk it all. The newest book in the bestselling Forever Series by Deanna Roy is out – Forever Sheltered!
SYNOPSIS Tina would rather sew up her girl parts with dental floss than go on a second date with a man. She's been dumped enough to know not to get attached. So how DOES she end up half-naked in Surgical Suite B with Dr. Darion? Dr. Darion has a lot to hide. His baby sister is the only family he has left, and he’s not leaving her treatment to some incompetent hack. But now he’s breaking every hospital rule imaginable. He lied about his sister so he can manage her care, and now he’s banging the art therapy teacher between patient rounds like a fraternity boy at a keg party. But Dr. Darion and Tina have one thing going for them – a fierce passion for each other that just might obliterate all their doubts, and solve all their problems. Forever Sheltered includes many favorite characters from Forever Innocent and Forever Loved, as well as the much-anticipated wedding of Gavin and Corabelle. It is a standalone HEA that does not require reading any other parts of the Forever series. MY REVIEW Some of you may remember my reviews of Forever Innocent and Forever Loved. I'm a huge fan of the series, so I was hyped when I found out there was going to be a 3rd book in the series about Tina, Corabelle's friend and art therapist. Although Forever Sheltered, the 3rd book in the series, can be read alone, I personally recommend reading the whole series in order. Part of that is because you’d miss out on some really amazing books if you didn’t read them, but it’s also because the first 2 books give us more background info on Tina so you already have an idea of the things she’s dealt with that make her character who she is before starting Forever Sheltered. This book wasn’t quite as emotional to me as the first two books in the series, which was a nice change. There’s only so much crying a girl can do, though I do admit I got teary eyed a few times over Darion and Cynthia’s situation. In Forever Innocent and Forever Loved, I found myself more connected to Corabelle and wasn’t a huge fan of Gavin, but I actually had the opposite feeling with these characters. I liked Tina but wasn’t able to connect to her quite as well as I was with Corabelle, but I really loved Darion’s character and how he was willing to lay everything on the line for Cynthia. Now I just hope Deanna Roy gives us Jenny’s story soon because I’m dying to know more about her. Overall, I give this book 4 stars and highly recommend it if you’re a fan of the NA/contemporary romance genre. *Disclaimer: An ARC was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Forever Innocent Amazon BN Forever Loved Amazon BN Forever Sheltered *NEW* Amazon BN It just occurred to me that I never posted the first chapter of All of You (Summer Haven #1). I know you all can preview the first chapter on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but I just figured I would post it so you can read it here, too, if you haven't already. Enjoy! Chapter 1 Hannah “He’s cute,” Teagan whispered to me, pointing her chin in the direction of a guy who stood a few feet in front of us. His longish blonde hair, deeply sun-kissed skin, and muscular body that he’d obviously spent hours working on at the gym just screamed Baywatch. I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not into blonde guys.” And long hair was one of my top three turn-offs, along with having no sense of humor and God-like complexes. Of course, my list was longer than just those three things—longer than I cared to admit. “Me either. One blonde is more than enough in a relationship,” our friend, Matt, said as he exaggeratedly ran a hand over his own short sandy blonde hair. “Guys, I meant for me.” She stared after him longingly as he passed by our table—the same table we always sat at when we went to O’Neill’s, our favorite bar near our university’s campus. The table was just feet away from the bar, so it gave us the perfect view for guy-watching, which was exactly what we were doing at that moment. Well, it was what Teagan and Matt were doing, at least. I was mostly just sittingthere, watching as the two of them guy-watched. As a guy with dark hair and a thin build approached the bar, my best friend downed the rest of her drink, smoothed out her dark brown hair, and then turned to me. “I’m going to go in for the kill on this one. Wish me luck.” “You’ve got this,” I replied with a grin. I watched as she walked over to the guy and began to work her flirting magic on him—and then a wave of jealousy swept over me. Everything, from the way she strutted over to him so determinedly to the way she let her hand linger on his shoulder exuded confidence. Why couldn’t I do that? Heck, if I even wore heels as high as the ones she had on, I’d just look like a total klutz. The guy, though… personally, I thought she could do better than him. “This one’s almost as bad as the last one,” I whispered to Matt. “Really? I have to go with Teagan on this one. He’s hot.” It wasn’t that the guy was ugly; he was just a little too skinny for my taste. Okay, I knew I probably sounded like a picky bitch, but that’s because I was. There was a reason for my pickiness, though. Someone had already caught my eye—a guy who I knew I didn’t even have a chance with—and I was having a hard time letting go of the feelings I had for him. Other guys just didn’t even begin to compare in my mind. A few moments later, the bartender set two drinks down in front of Teagan and the skinny guy. I gaped at them. Really? She had already somehow gotten him to buy her a drink? She just might have set a new record for herself. Matt pouted as he watched her from across the room. “Looks like we’ve lost her for the rest of the night.” I nodded in agreement. “Yeah.” I watched as the two of them continued to chat for a few moments. But then, an unreadable expression crossed her face. The guy picked up both drinks and walked away from the bar, leaving her standing there by herself. “Ouch,” Matt said to me. “I know,” I replied, wondering what had happened. Teagan shot an uncomfortable glance in my direction as the bartender made her a drink. I knew she was trying to talk to me with her eyes, but I just didn’t understand what message she wanted to convey. Once she had her drink in hand, she came back to our table and plopped down next to me. “Well, I guess my gay-dar was a little off on that one.” “Really?” Matt’s eyes lit up a little. “In that case, I’ll be back.” He shot a grin over his shoulder at us. “Watch how it’s done, ladies.” “Hey!” Teagan called after him. When he turned around, she said, “Girl code rule number one: you don’t go after someone who your best friend liked first!” “That rule doesn’t apply when the object of your best friend’s affection is swingingfor the other team,” he replied with a wink as he turned back around and headed over to the guy. Teagan laughed. “Let’s watch the pro, then.” But I wasn’t watching him anymore…I was too busy staring at who had just walked into the bar. My stomach did little flips and turns as I drank him in. His dark brown hair was ruffled, and he was wearing a tight black t-shirt that showed off his tan, muscular arms. God, he was so freaking hot. . . . Almost every single girl’s eyes in the bar drifted in his direction as he walked in—the same way they always did any time he walked into a room—but it was like he didn’t even notice. He had to have known just how good-looking he was and how much all of the ladies wanted him, but he didn’t seem to let it affect him. Following my gaze to the front of the bar, Teagan whispered, “I didn’t know they were planning to come out tonight.” “Me neither.” I took a hard swallow of my drink, trying not to pay attention to the arm that was wrapped around his waist. There was nothing quite like unrequited love and the sting that I felt every time I saw Logan Daniels with one of his flings of the week or, in this case, of the past couple of months. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, the truth was that I was hopelessly, foolishly, head over heels in love with him. He gave me butterflies like no one ever had before, and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest any time his eyes lingered on mine. It had been that way for years. And while my feelings for him probably wouldn’t have seemed like such a terrible thing (except maybe to all of the other girls who went to our college and were also in love with him), it was bad. Logan and I had grown up together, so I knew better than anyone what he was really like. I knew that he barely got by in his college classes because he went to class hung-over half the time and the rest of the time he was too hung-over to go out at all. Even worse, I knew how many girls he’d slept with since we were in high school—a number that was much too high for me to even try to count. But none of that seemed to bother me the way it should have. I didn’t care howserious (or should I say how un-serious?) he was about his life or, well, anything. I didn’t even care how much he’d sucked at the few relationships that he’d actually bothered to commit himself to over the years (a number that was much, much lower than the number of hookups he’d had, of course). Regardless of what—or who—he did, Logan had a hold on me like no one ever had before. His relationships had never lasted long, and I usually took comfort in knowing that he always moved on to the next one fairly quick. That usually made it somewhat easier for me. As much as it sucked to see him with so many different girls, I always felt relieved to know that he usually went through them quicker than he did underwear. Usually, he wasn’t emotionally attached to them at all; it was just about sex and nothing more. This girl, Valerie, was different though. I could feel it every time I looked at them…and that bothered me. They'd been together for two whole months, which was his longest relationship so far, and it didn’t seem like it was going to falter any time soon. Logan scanned the room, and his eyes locked on mine when he noticed me and Teagan sitting at our table. My heart froze in the back of my chest and the butterflies in my stomach swarmed, the same way they always did whenever he looked at me. I was convinced that he would come over to say ‘hi’, but he didn’t. Instead, he and Valerie headed over to order drinks, which only made me wonder if they were going to pretend that we weren’t there and sit at a table by themselves the whole night. It wasn’t like we’d made plans to hang out with the two of them. Teagan, Matt, and I always spent our Saturday nights at O’Neill’s and we’d always extended an open invitation to Logan, regardless of who he was dating—or screwing—but he usually let us know if he was planning to show up. He hadn’t mentioned coming out that night. Maybe he wanted to just spend time with Valerie and not the rest of us. I don’t know why the thought made me feel sort of (okay, actually, more than a little) bitter. She was his girlfriend, after all. It was expected that the two of them would spend time alone together sometimes. It was part of being in a relationship. I couldn’t let myself be jealous over that. “Here’s a tip: if you see a guy buying two drinks, it’s because he’s giving one to another guy,” Matt said with a sigh as he sat back down next to me. “Or girl,” he added. I tore my eyes away from Logan to focus my attention back on my friends. “A boyfriend, huh? Guess I’m not the only one who struck out,” Teagan told him amusedly. I had a feeling that she must have realized that the other drink had been for someone else. I wasn’t sure why Matt hadn’t put two and two together before heading over to approach him. “Yes, but see, I only struck out once. You’ll be on your fourth attempt if you try to talk to another guy tonight,” Matt teased her back. “Thank you for reminding me about how completely single I’m going to be for our trip to the beach this week,” she replied, shooting a pout in his direction. We were going to be spending the next week with Logan at his family’s beach house in Summer Haven, North Carolina. I had to admit that I was a little more than excited to get away for the next week. My classes had been grueling this semester. Even though I loved Literature, I’d completely regretted my major this semester. Thankfully, graduation was in two weeks. There was only so much more Shakespeare and Chaucer I could have taken without going mad. Anyway, my best friend was upset that she hadn’t met a guy who she could bring to the beach with us this week. I think that was half of her motivation for trying to pick up so many guys tonight. “We’re all single,” I reminded her. Truthfully, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about being single myself. I didn’t mind that I’d be single for the next week, since I was looking forward to spending it with my friends, but most of the time, I wished that I had someone in my life. I thought that, with time, I’d get over Logan, meet a new guy, and we’d all become the best of friends. I still hoped that would happen, but so far, my own track-record when it came to relationships was almost up to par with Logan’s. I hadn’t dated nearly as many people as him, but I’d never really gotten serious with any of the ones I had dated. The idea of being serious with anyone scared the crap out of me, for some reason. I thought I could do it with Logan, though. He was the only one I’d ever been able to picture myself with for the long haul. “Not all of us,” Teagan replied with an eye roll. “You, at least, have Logan.” “Are you forgetting that he has a girlfriend?” I asked her. Teagan whispered, “You know better than anyone how long his relationships usually last. Plus he’s going to be away from Val for the entire week, so who knows what will happen? It gives you the chance to finally tell him how you feel about him.” “If you want Logan and Hannah’s whole friendship to crash and burn, that’s great advice, Teag,” Matt said, shaking his head sadly. “I just mean now is the best time, rather than later. I personally don’t think him and Val are going to last very long. Logan’s been in, what, six relationships in the past four months or something? I don’t think that boy could keep a girlfriend even if he tried. But you never know, maybe she’ll be ‘the one’,” she said pointedly, using finger quotes for emphasis, “if you don’t say something. You need to tell him how you feel now…before it’s too late.” I couldn’t tell Logan. I hadn’t even wanted to tell Teagan and Matt how I felt about him, but I also hadn’t needed to say anything. They’d figured it out all on their own, not long after we’d all met during our first year of college. After that, there was no point in trying to deny it. “Matt’s right,” I told Teagan. “I’m not going to jeopardize my whole friendship with Logan when I already know he doesn’t feel the same way about me.” I didn’t want to be having this conversation at all anymore. “Well, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that,” Matt disagreed. “I do think he cares about you. But I can’t help it. I’m a hopeless romantic and wrecking someone’s relationship is the opposite of that. I might not exactly love Valgina, but that doesn’t mean I want you to wreck things for the two of them, either.” I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to kick him under the table. I hated when he used his nickname for Val. I always worried that he was going to slip and use it in front of her one of these days. It made me even more nervous when he used it when we were in the same room as her. “Anyway, I have a much better suggestion for you,” Matt continued. “Make him completely fall for you. Hint that you like him, but don’t actually tell him how you feel and don’t be the first one to make a move. If he feels the same way as you do, then he’ll take the bait. And if not, then you don’t have to worry about being the one to ruin their relationship and, most likely, your friendship.” No one needed to worry about any of that happening. Sure, I’d always thought about what it’d be like to tell him how I really felt. I’d rehearsed what I would say to him over and over again in my head so many times, but it didn’t matter how much I practiced. I knew there was no perfect way for me to say it. How did you tell your best friend that you were madly in love with him? You didn’t. Or, at least, I didn’t. I doubted that admitting to my feelings would have even made a difference, anyway. Even if Valerie wasn’t in the picture, Logan still had plenty of other girls who threw themselves at him, and I highly doubted that he would have ever chosen me over any of them. I was his best friend. If he was going to be with someone, hewould find someone new and exciting—someone he didn’t know inside and out the way he knew me. But Valerie was in the picture. And the worst part of all? I actually sort of liked her, which, of course, sucked for me for two reasons. The first reason was pretty obvious; I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get over the jealousy I felt every time Logan looked at her with those sexy blue eyes of his or the knowledge that she actually seemed to make him happy—or happier than any other girl he’d ever dated had seemed to make him, at least. The other reason it sucked was because if she was dating anyone else I knew, we probably would have been better friends, and I felt guilty as hell for writing her off just because she was dating him. “Like your way is so much better?” Teagan asked Matt with a scoff. “It’s the exact same thing!” “It’s not the same thing, Teag. The difference is that we need to let him decide who he wants to be with on his own, without the outside influence of a confession,” Matt explained. “If he decides he wants to be with Hannah on his own, his relationship with Val was already destined to fail. It’s different from completely interfering. Imagine what bad relationship karma she could get from that.” “Yeah, the last thing I need is bad relationship karma.” Glancing back over at the bar, I noticed that Logan’s gaze had drifted over in my direction. He seemed to be deep in conversation with Valerie, but he kept stealing glances over at me every once in a while. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem to notice him looking at me, though—or, if she did, she didn’t say anything. “Honey, you couldn’t be any more obvious right now,” Matt whispered into my ear. Knowing that he was probably right, I forced myself to look away from Logan. To Teagan, he said, “I feel sort of guilty about even discussing this, you know. Val has been a pretty decent friend to us.” She snorted. “I’m surprised you’re calling her our friend.” Matt rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink. “Okay, okay. I’ll admit it. I really can’t stand her most of the time.” “Plus, you do realize that as soon as he finds a new girlfriend, she’ll be out of the picture, right?” Teagan asked. “It’s not like we’ll keep hanging out with her after they break up.” He glanced over at me with a mischievous grin. “Hey, maybe you should tell him you’re in love with him, Han.” I was about to tell him to shut up when I felt a pair of arms come around my shoulders in a loose hug and a few strands of auburn hair fell onto my shoulder. “Tell who you’re in love with him?” Valerie asked. I felt my face and my whole body turn a nervous shade of red, and I knew that my eyes had gone as wide as a deer in headlights. It would have been my luck for Logan’s girlfriend to overhear us talking about how in love I was with him. I know it's been an extremely long time since I've updated my blog. Life has thrown some crazy things my way, but we finally have some updates for you in terms of what to expect from us in the upcoming months. I'm very excited about them, and I hope you will be too! First, in case you haven't already noticed, we just released our latest New Adult contemporary romance, All of You (Summer Haven #1). It's available on Kindle & Nook (you can find it here on Amazon and here on Barnes & Noble) and should be available in paperback and through the other retailers in the near future. We'll be releasing the other books in the series over the summer. The next book will focus on Teagan, and throughout the series, you can expect to see more of Wes, Evan, and Logan's little sister, Kadence. This series has been so much fun to write, and I'm very anxious to hear your thoughts on it. It's pretty different from anything we've published to date. We've mentioned that we will be publishing the first book in a new YA paranormal romance series this summer, and here are some of the details. The series is called The Witches of Shadow Hill, and the first book is called Ignite. It focuses on witches and other types of paranormal beings. Our main character Amalia moves to a new town called Shadow Hill, where she learns some secrets about her family and the town itself. This series sort of has a similar feel to the Briar Creek Vampires, but I think you'll actually enjoy it much, much more. We're expecting to have the first book of this series out in the next few weeks. In case you haven't noticed, we try to be mum about release dates. Honestly, the reason is because, as hard as we try to meet them, it doesn't always work out the way we plan. Like with the next book I'm going to tell you about--The Koto Chronicles #2. The 2nd book will be out at the end of the month, but the reason it's taken so long is because the story ended up going in a completely different direction than we were expecting it to. It's taken a lot of revisions and rewrites to get it to where we think it needs to be, which ended up being a lot more timely than we expected. And finally, we just wanted to give you an update for when we're expecting to release Feels Like Home (Where I Belong #2), which focuses on Danielle & Kurtis's story. We originally planned to have the book out by the end of spring. It's looking like the release will be in summer now -- most likely at some point in July. Thank all of you so much for having so much patience with our lack of updates on when we're going to be releasing things. Just keep your eyes peeled, because you will be seeing a lot more from us in the next few months! :) Some of you may remember when I reviewed Forever Innocent, a new adult romance by Deanna Roy. Well, I got a chance to read the second book in the series, Forever Loved. Here's the summary and my review. Summary: “How do I tell the woman I love that I fathered a son with a prostitute?” After four long years of separation, Gavin has finally reunited with his childhood love Corabelle. She’s forgiven him for leaving her during the funeral of their seven-day-old baby, and also for where he ended up — in Mexico to get a vasectomy. But a message from Rosa, a prostitute he met the day of his surgery, brings his life to a crashing halt. She claims Gavin has fathered a son, now three years old and living with her cousin in Ensenada. He doesn’t know if he can trust Rosa, who never mentioned the boy before, or if his delicate reconciliation with Corabelle can withstand the shock if it is true. Corabelle believes their future together is the right thing despite their past. But when she learns of this other child, the one thing she lost long ago and might never have again with Gavin, Corabelle’s faith that her life will ever follow her old dream is shattered. To make things right for Gavin and his son, she just might have to let go of the only person she always believed would be her forever love. My Review: Wow is all I can say after finishing this book. Deanna Roy took this plot to places where I never would have expected her to go, and I’m so glad she did. The thing I love the most about this series, in general, is that it’s so realistic. Relationships aren’t perfect. People’s lives aren’t perfect. Happy endings don’t happen as easily as we would all like them to; there are always bumps along the way. There were times throughout this whole series where I thought that Gavin was a jerk and I wondered how Corabelle could still be with him, but I think that what it really comes down to is that they were meant to be. That’s why they found each other again by coincidence. I didn’t cry nearly as much with this book as I did with thefirst (so yay for a less sad read), but I definitely needed tissues when I read the epilogue. And it wasn’t that the epilogue was sad; it was just so bittersweet. The ending of the book doesn't feel complete to me, so I'm excited that we will get to see Gavin and Corabelle again in a third book that focuses primarily on Tina called Forever Sheltered. If you love New Adult romances, I highly, highly recommend this series. It is awesome. Note: An ARC was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Cursed (Howl #6) is finally available for iTunes users. We apologize for the long, long wait. We hope to never have that long of a wait with iTunes again. Also, exciting news! First Moon, the first book in the Koto Chronicles series (our Howl spin-off series) is now available on Kindle & Nook! Here's the synopsis: After living in Alaska with the Koto pack for her whole life, Skye had determined long ago that things will just never change. The Koto are stuck in the old ways of doing things, where she, and the rest of her pack members, must follow the rules that they see fit. One of those rules entails avoiding grocery stores, malls, and other places where humans frequent, leaving Skye naïve to the ways of the human world—a world which she’d do anything to experience. One night, Skye finally gets her chance to see things change when her Alpha calls a pack meeting with news that he’s establishing a new chapter of the Koto in New Jersey. Determined to explore the world and find her mate, she chooses to leave—but her best friend and the only guy she’s ever had feelings for up until now wants to follow her. Skye is allowed to go to school for the first time in her life, but soon finds that making human friends and fitting into a world she knows little about is a lot harder than she thought it would be. She can’t worry about school too much, though, because her Alpha has decided to add new pack members who may or may not have murdered their own Alpha. We're doing a giveaway for a signed paperback copy of Where I Belong! Enter our Rafflecopter giveaway below!
I know we've been sort of quiet about our upcoming releases. Since a few projects got delayed, we didn't want to announce anything until we knew for certain that they would coming out soon. We're still planning to have First Moon (The Koto Chronicles, #1) and A Girl and Her Wolf (A Howl companion novel) out by the end of fall, and most likely, by the end of the month. The next release that you will see from us later this week, though, will be our first New Adult Contemporary Romance, Where I Belong. Here's the cover and blurb for you to check out! Savannah Parker is the only one who knows what happened three years ago. It’s what caused her to leave her hometown of Madison, North Carolina, and it’s what’s kept her away ever since. But when she needs to return for her sister, Savannah knows that she must face the painful memories that Madison holds for her and the person she ran away from to begin with: Wade Devereaux, the first and only guy she’s ever loved. As soon as she sees him again, all of the feelings she used to have for him rise to the surface, but she knows she must fight them. Wade has spent the past three years wondering why Savannah left so abruptly, ending their relationship without even telling him it was over. He wants her back, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to prove it to her, but he wants answers, too, because all he has left are questions. He quickly realizes that getting an answer out of Savannah isn’t going to be easy. But what he can’t figure out is what she could be hiding from him. Even more importantly, is it as bad as what he’s keeping from her? Disclaimer: This New Adult novel is best-suited for readers ages 18 and up due to mature topics, strong sexual situations, and adult content. |
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