Review - Entwined Destiny by Nana Prah

Blurb:

Time is ticking away for Adjoa Twum. She has until the end of the year to find a guy, fall in love, and marry. Or else, her father will disinherit her from the family business. 

Adjoa hasn’t had success with the dating game. No man meets her expectations. Esi, her cousin, suggests a fake relationship with Adjoa’s best friend, Kwame Opoku, to pacify her relentless father. 

Kwame thinks Adjoa’s request is ridiculous. Posing as her boyfriend might get tricky, but he can’t say no to those beautiful eyes. Once the falsified relationship begins, things heat up. He discovers deep feelings for her, feelings that might lose Adjoa and her friendship. 

Should they take the chance and up it to the next level?

Buy Link:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Entwined-Destiny-African-Romance-ebook/dp/B019X8VZNA


My Review:

Having read the first two books in the series, I was familiar with some of the characters in this book and this one didn't disappoint and kept me as enthralled as before.

What I love about this series is the setting in Ghana which takes us into a different culture to what we're used to in a romance novel. I love learning about another African culture and the writer presents it in an interesting and relatable way.

The romance was touching and also unique. I like that the twists and turns didn't follow a predictable plot but surprised me, yet they made sense as the characters remained true to themselves and didn't do things just because it was expected of them in a romance. Chemistry and love scenes were compelling.

It was an enjoyable, humorous, touching, romantic friends-to-lovers romance. Well written, authentic and unique. Great characters and setting.

The Smexy Romance Blog Hop and Giveaway

I feel privileged to be part of this blog hop with other erotic romance writers. Here's my latest book and a smexy excerpt for your tastebuds. Read down to the bottom of the post to see what I'm giving away.

Blurb:

Romance Writer in Training…

Joanie wants to get her romances published but can't seem to get things right with her writing. She buys an antique bureau which the shopkeeper says has magic working through it. While using her new bureau, she begins to talk to the hero in her book, asking his advice on writing, all the while thinking it's her own imagination. She promises he can live in her home, eat at her table and sleep in her bed, if he helps her with her writing. She doesn't think he will actually knock on her door and insist she keep her promise.

He’s made a wish…

Theo has also bought a magic chest of drawers that brings him into Joanie's life. He wants to settle down with one woman, tired of shallow relationships, and Joanie seems like the perfect candidate if it weren’t for her insistence on getting rid of him.

Against her will…

The magic keeps on forcing them to live together and Joanie’s not happy. This is her first year alone and she’s been craving time to herself after looking after her younger siblings and an ailing aunt. Theo’s presence in her home, although unwanted, stirs up needs she’s suppressed for years. When they start to discover things about the magic and why it’s bringing them together, will Joanie recognize another type of magic at work? Will she succumb to the charm of Theo or will her need for breathing space pull them apart?

Excerpt from Her Real-life Hero:

His face hovered inches from hers, his gaze fixed on her lips. “I’d like to kiss you. May I?”

So respectful, so sweet. Shutting her eyes again, she nodded then tilted her head to the side a bit. Heart thumping heavy in her chest, she waited for him to ravage her mouth.

Nothing happened—no touch on her lips, no closeness, only a coldness.

“Hurry, will you?” She begged him, taken aback by her desperation.

Nothing.

Confused, she opened her eyes again. He remained near her, waiting, torturing her.

With rough hands, she pulled him to her, pressing her lips to his. She flung herself down on the bed so his body flopped on top of hers. Papers crinkled beneath her, pricking her bare back as her blouse hitched up. Every inch of her burned with desire. He tried to pull himself free from her, but she held him tight, as though she possessed superhuman strength. Need scrambled inside her like a caged animal.

Whoa! A few hours ago, she’d wanted him out of her life for good. All those years she’d dreamed of fiery sex while reading and watching romances, she’d never realized how much she’d want it for herself. It had been her dream to write of it, not to experience it.

“Joanie.” He pulled away, breathless. “I don’t think—”

“Shut up.” She smothered him with her mouth again. That way, she could stop the questioning thoughts and let the sensation of Theo take over her mind. Later, she would consider the consequences.

He submitted, allowing her to tease his tongue. His breath turned frantic, and she upped the play to frenetic. His erection rubbed her aching pelvis, igniting a fire within her. Breaking from the kiss, still trembling, she undid his buttons and removed his shirt. At last, she could run her fingers down the line of neat blond hairs leading toward his perfectly round belly button. Oh, how good to touch him and breathe in his scent. He still smelled of island, coconut, and sunshine.

“Joanie,” he croaked out.

She couldn’t meet his gaze. Eye contact would show him the intensity of the feelings she shouldn’t be experiencing.

Lust to feel and experience him spurred her on. She pushed him down onto his back. “Lie still. Don’t move.”

Boldness overcame her. The need inside stirred a raw desire to possess him, despite his caution. She’d never had the opportunity to find this part of herself. It was as if Theo brought out a raging fire, a raw, primal flame.

You can buy it here:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Her-Real-Life-Hero-Beyond-Fairytales-ebook/dp/B014FXCBXG

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/571955

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-real-life-hero-vicki-ballante/1122571465?ean=2940151122573

Kobo Books: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/her-real-life-hero-2

Google Play Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Vicki_Ballante_Her_Real_Life_Hero?id=XkpqCgAAQBAJ

Giveaways

There are many other authors taking part, so please stop by. You can win a grand prize of over $100 worth of erotic romances as well as a prize on each blog stop.

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Grand Giveaway Link:

Entry-Form

For those who stop by my blog, I'll be giving away another Beyond Fairytales erotic romance called "The Century Sage." Here's a bit about the book:

Lina is a tree sage, a gifted person who heals trees, but her duty binds her to one place for her whole life until she marries. Tree sages must marry and birth a daughter by twenty-eight, even if true love is out of the picture. When hot rally winner Brad meets her, he is drawn to her mystical powers. Lina can’t resist the man who represents something she shouldn’t go for, but neither can she turn away his sexy touch. Brad offers to marry her and take her on a world-wide rally tour. She can fulfill her dream of traveling, and he provides a way to meet the demands of her breed, but will that be enough? What about love? 

When Lina settles in Paris, loneliness and unfulfilled expectations threaten to pull the shaky relationship apart. Could the barriers between them be caused by an evil greater than they imagined? Soon, they will have to fight for Paris, but will they survive? 

Enter here:

Entry-Form

Hello from the Other Side

I stole a piece from a contemporary song to say, wow, it's been a while since I've blogged. It's been niggling at the back of my mind that I've been slack, but life has been busy and well, I haven't had any books coming out so....

No, that's no excuse for not blogging.

So, here I am.

At least I didn't close my whole blog. I've been considering it too as I've kind of lost interest in writing erotic romance. It's partly because of a review I received, but mostly because of the well running dry. I know it's probably not productive to let one review get to you, but well, the words got me thinking. The reviewer said that the book was written like a sweet romance but had explicit erotic romance words in it which didn't gel with them. I was a bit upset because the book was published as an erotic romance, but then I thought more deeply about what they said. I do write sweet romance under another name and it comes naturally to me. So, I figured, that's my natural style. So, why am I writing erotic romance then? I had some serious soul-searching to do. I have to admit, one of the reasons was I was hoping it would help me make some money. But then, if I dug deeper, I knew that wasn't the only reason. I can't exactly put spicy scenes into my sweet romances under my other name. And I still like to write them. Sometimes, they're a vital part of the romance story.

So this is my decision: I will continue to write under Vicki but will concentrate on a more contemporary angle. I will write a story with fewer sex scenes - the love scenes won't drive the story as in an erotic romance, but will rather compliment it. I admit that love scenes are the hardest to write and I struggle to write a full-length with varied ones. It's so hard to make them meaningful and use them to boost the story forward. So, for now, I'm going to write contemporary. I may revert back to erotic romance some time, but I do feel like my style matches contemporary more. It means rewording things in my love scenes to be a bit less graphic which I'm not used to. Although I write sweet, when I write hot, I prefer to just put it out there and not skirt away from the truth, lol. But I'm going to try a different way.

At the moment, I've started a short contemporary called Wedding Dress Hunt. Here's what it's about:

Nicola's fiance, Ian, has just returned from a six-month work contract in Belgium. Being apart has put a strain on their relationship. They travel back from a trip to Durban and, on the way, Nicola's wedding dress falls out the back of their truck, nowhere to be found. It's her dream dress and she's worked so hard to get the ideal gown for her special day. Ian's annoyed at the delays, which makes Nicola begin to doubt their relationship. They begin a search for the dress in the Natal Midlands, stopping at all the tourist destinations. As the stress builds, so does the conflict, until Nicola seriously questions their future success as a married couple. When she confronts Ian with the hurt from the last six months, he doesn't want to talk. Only when they visit all the different craft shops and interesting places, do they begin to relax and deal with the barriers to their love. But Nicola has another problem. She's always promised to save herself for her marriage night. Now they have to share a room as the Bed and Breakfasts in the Midlands are fully booked. What will Nicola do with her feelings for a man she isn't sure she's ready to marry after all?

This book is based on a true story. I heard in the news a few months back about a woman who lost her wedding dress off the back of a truck while travelling through the Natal Midlands. Aah, I thought, perfect story fodder. She did find the dress with the help of a local radio station and people in the area. My heroine doesn't have it as easy in the book but she has a few lessons to learn that are worth much more than silk, lace and sequins.

Nana Prah's Entwined Destiny Cover Reveal

Entwined Destiny by +Nana Prah 

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Release date: January 12, 2015

Time is ticking away for Adjoa Twum. She has until the end of the year to find a guy, fall in love, and marry. Or else, her father will disinherit her from the family business.

Adjoa hasn’t had success with the dating game. No man meets her expectations. Esi, her cousin, suggests a fake relationship with Adjoa’s best friend, Kwame Opoku, to pacify her relentless father.

Kwame thinks Adjoa’s request is ridiculous. Posing as her boyfriend might get tricky, but he can’t say no to those beautiful eyes. Once the falsified relationship begins, things heat up. He discovers deep feelings for her, feelings that might lose Adjoa and her friendship.

Should they take the chance and up it to the next level?

Adjoa’s polite knuckle knock hadn’t worked, so her fist had to meet the door. He could sleep through anything. “Kwame, it’s me.”

When the door swung open, her eyes met a tall, sexy man with no shirt. The sprinkling of dark curly hair on his well-muscled chest forced her fingers to grip the handle of her bag so she wouldn’t reach out to stroke him.

A bicep flexed as he reached up to rub his eye. She’d always been a sucker for a man with a well-toned body, and this one met all of her muscle criteria.

Her gaze roamed up to the face scowling down at her. Holy crap. It was Kwame’s body she’d been ogling. She pushed past him so he couldn’t see her blush and headed into the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, she gulped it down. It didn’t come close to cooling her off. What was going on?

“Why aren’t you dressed? It’s seven.” She glanced down at her watch. “Five after seven to be exact. You should be ready to go.”

“I had a late night.”

Another swig of water at the sound of the sexy rumble of his morning voice didn’t help with the quiver in her stomach. Who was this man and why did he affect her like this? She hadn’t felt this way since she’d had that brief flutter of attraction in college. It had been easy to get over him when he started dating that hussy architect major.

“What were you doing? Computer work?” Please say yes. For years, they’d avoided detailed discussions about the people they dated; it seemed to be a mutual unspoken agreement between them.

“You know me too well.”

Relief flowed out of her in the form of a long exhale, glad he hadn’t been with a woman last night. Not that it should matter. Just because she’d asked him to be her fake man didn’t mean he couldn’t see other women. She didn’t even care. “Not good enough to circumvent you not being awake by now. Get going. Make it quick so both of us aren’t late.”

As he shuffled toward the bathroom, her gaze wandered down to his tight ass. Placing the cold, half-empty water bottle on her warm neck, she snapped her attention away. All of a sudden, her nerdy friend Kwame had morphed into a tempting man.

Nana Prah is a multi-published author of contemporary, multicultural romance. Her books are sweet with a touch of spice. When she’s not writing she’s reading, indulging in chocolate, and enjoying life with friends and family.

Blog : www.nanaprah.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NanaPrah

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NanaPrah.Author

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7202262.Nana_Prah

Google + :  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NanaPrah/posts

Frosty Relations by Tara Quan

Please welcome Tara Quan with her latest paranormal 1Night Stand.

With the holidays upon us there are troves of books to curl up with by the fireplace. My paranormal romantic comedy goes great with mulled wine and cinnamon cookies. Part of Decadent Publishing’s 1Night Stand line, Frosty Relations features a young college graduate facing the complicated world of adulthood and confronting the frost mage she’s had a crush on for most of her life. Add some Christmas magic and Madame Eve’s renowned matchmaking service, and we’ve got the beginnings of an icy-hot love story. Those who’ve read my Halloween release Flirting with Fire already know Jack, this tale’s hunk.

Frosty Relations (A Witch’s Night Out, 2)

Blurb:

Attorney Jack Frost never understood why holidays did weird things to people. His secretary went on vacation, his best friend ditched their annual Aspen trip, and the law firm’s stubborn human resources assistant refuses his clerical support request. What’s a warlock to do on Christmas Eve but go on a 1-Night Stand? But when an oddly familiar empath shows up as his date, this ice mage has a hard time denying the magic of the winter solstice.

Faced with an anemic employment market and financial woes, college graduate and former witch Mina Mao lands an HR assistant job at Frost and Sons. Having spent her day saving Christmas from Frost Junior’s Grinch-like behavior, she accepts the gift of Madame Eve’s service and heads over to the Castillo Capital. When her date turns out to be her childhood crush and workplace nemesis, she braces herself for the sexiest icy ride of her life.  

Genre: Paranormal Romantic Comedy, Interracial/Multicultural

Buy Links: Amazon | AllRomance | B&N | Decadent | GoodReads

About Tara Quan

Globetrotter, lover of languages, and romance author, Tara Quan has an addiction for crafting tales with a pinch of spice and a smidgen of kink. Inspired by her travels, Tara enjoys tossing her kick-ass heroines and alpha males into exotic contemporary locales, paranormal worlds, and post-apocalyptic futures. Her characters, armed with magical powers or conventional weapons, are guaranteed a suspenseful and sensual ride, as well as their own happily ever after. Learn more at www.taraquan.com

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon

Excerpt

Yawning, he settled more comfortably into the seat and embraced the lulling haze. His mind wandered to the day Mina had showed up for an interview. In a departure from her current fashion slump, she’d worn a short skirt suit and glossy-black high-heeled pumps. On her way out, she’d swung by his office to drop off his major weakness—Shanghai White Rabbit Creamy Candy. He’d given her a high five and wished her luck.

That day, she’d stayed for no more than a few minutes and had left the door open. But in this foggy, slumbering vision somewhere between the dreams he could never recall and actual memory, he reached over her shoulder to shut it.

~

A mischievous grin on her face, she tilted her head back and met his gaze. “What do you want, Jack?”

He lifted his index finger and placed it over his lips. “Shh....”

Sashaying past him with feline grace, she shrugged off her jacket to reveal a crimson silk blouse. After draping the discarded garment over an office chair, she turned to face his desk. Placing her palms on the suddenly clutter-free glass, she threw him a sideways glance and motioned him over with her head.

The warmth of balmy fall allowed her to show off those smooth, toned legs. The tailored dark-green cotton hugged her ass’s subtle curve, the back slit giving him glimpses of her creamy thighs.

Coming up behind her, he closed one palm over her mouth. She remained still, her small body trembling as he nibbled her neck. He grazed his teeth over the slender slope, pausing to suck a bright-red hickey onto her snowy skin.

Hearing a muffled moan, he clamped his fingers tighter as he slid his other hand under her skirt. Finding damp heat, he yanked down her panties. The scarlet lace fell to circle her four-inch heels.

Biting her earlobe, he whispered, “Stay quiet, or everyone will know I’m fucking you.”

With one hand, he unbuckled his belt and freed his erection, his other arm still holding her in silent captivity. He kicked her legs apart and hiked up her skirt. Sliding his length between the creamy cheeks, he probed her wet opening with the tip of his cock.

~

A loud feline hiss jerked him out of the dream. Sharp claws dug into his thighs as the chair rolled back and hit the wall. The cat scampered off his lap. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to remember where he was. Once his mind regained focus, he glanced down at his crotch and noticed the very visible bulge. He could see why she’d reacted in a rather extreme fashion.

With a soft popping sound, the woman whose bare butt he’d envisioned appeared in front of him, her snowflake earrings swaying against the sides of her rosy face. At least she’d lost the Santa hat. “What the heck were you thinking about?”

The most honest answer would give her the wrong idea. After all, he wasn’t attracted to her. He’d happened to be envisioning office sex with someone who bore a remarkable resemblance to her, at the same time he got an erection, while she’d been on his lap—all unrelated events.

Spotlight for the Temptress

Today, I have C. J. Fallowfield with her erotic romance, The Temptress.

The Temptress by C.J. Fallowfield

Genre: Erotic, Contemporary Romance

The Temptress.
Save over 50% for November only - Just 99c/99p.
Available on Kindle Unlimited

There’s just something about a French accent, something that conjures images of romance, sex and passion. There’s a reason French is called ‘the language of love.’

Lulu McQueen runs an exclusive honeytrap agency, to test the fidelity of rich men for their suspicious partners. While her business flourishes and her track record in the field remains unbroken, earning her the nickname of The Temptress, her personal life isn’t so successful.

A trip to Paris, years ago, led to the most erotic encounter of her life with Luc, a charismatic, dominant, irresistible Frenchman. For one night she experienced bliss on a scale she’d never encountered and fled in the morning, ashamed of herself, but her Parisian one night stand was burned into her memories and no one since had compared.

With no one available on short notice, Lulu steps in to lure Mrs. Le Grand’s rich husband, for an extortionately high fee. Lulu’s in for the shock of her life when she finds her mark at the hotel bar. Luc Le Grand still has a face and body to make Adonis weep. He exudes confidence, masculinity and raw sex appeal.

The question now isn’t whether Lulu can tempt him, but whether she can resist him, retain her reputation and secure her fee, or whether she’ll fall under Mr. Le Grand’s spell. Again.

A standalone erotic romance novel, The Temptress contains adult themes and is only suitable for those aged over 18.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

I smiled as I sat at the traffic lights and the smartly dressed businessman in his BMW waiting next to me dropped his mirrored shades down his nose to cast an appreciative eye my way. I kept a hand on the leather steering wheel as I gave him a smile back. A bit of harmless flirtation in the morning never did anybody any harm. I revved the powerful engine on my Mercedes AMG GT S as he slid his glasses back up and put both hands on his steering wheel. I did the same, with a faint smile, as we waited for the lights to change to green. The second they did I left him standing and laughed, as the exhilaration of the acceleration of my new baby made my heart beat faster. That was the trouble with men, most of them underestimated me. They just saw me as eye candy, someone they’d like to bend over their office desk and fuck, no one ever took me seriously. I’d been blessed with excellent genes. Not only did I look stunning, but I had a brain too, which most men obviously thought lay somewhere between the domes of my breasts, as that’s where they focussed all of their attention when they were talking to me. I’d come away from University with a First Class Honours degree in Business Management and had just completed my Master’s Degree, doing it part time while I worked.  

C.J. Fallowfield is an Amazon #1 bestselling author who writes contemporary humorous erotic romance novels. She comes from the United Kingdom and is half French. She lives in the wonderful countryside of Wales, surrounded by rolling hills, trees and fields full of sheep and cows. Her writing aids include chocolate, Ben & Jerry’s and copious amounts of coffee. Reading was her main pastime, until she discovered the joy of creating hot, erotic, romantic fiction, but she still tries to set aside time to indulge her appetite for steamy reads by other authors too. She is yet to find her Prince Charming, but lives with her extremely pampered fur baby, Pumpkin, kitten of mass destruction. C.J. started writing in October 2013, releasing her first novel, New Leaves, No Strings (The Austin Series #1) in January 2014. Her alter ego, Charlotte Fallowfield, is due to release her debut romantic comedy novel on 26th February 2016.

C.J. started writing in October 2013, releasing her first novel, New Leaves, No Strings (The Austin Series #1) in January 2014.

Her alter ego, Charlotte Fallowfield, is due to release her debut romantic comedy novel on 26^th February 2016.

Media Links

Facebook         Goodreads      Twitter                        Wattpad     Website

Amazon Author Pages

USA                UK

Spotlight and Review - Her Montana Cowboy by Molly Ann Wishlade

Today, I'm spotlighting a book by Molly Ann Wishlade plus giving my review - see at the end.

TITLE: Her Montana Cowboy

AUTHOR: +Molly Wishlade 

HEAT RATING: Sizzling

BOOK LENGTH: Short Novel

WORD COUNT: 33,101

ISBN: 978-1-78430-746-2

SEXOMETER: 2

FORMAT: eBook

GENRE: Cowboys and Western, Erotic Romance, Historical

RELEASE DATE: 6th October 2015

Falling in love wasn’t part of Huyana’s plan, but when Matthew Duggan claims her as his own, she has to open her heart or risk losing everything.

Life has been tough for Huyana. From the moment of her violent conception, the odds were stacked against her.

Meeting Matthew Duggan and his family changes her life forever.

Family can be close. People can be kind. Love can be good.

But a lifetime of rejection and abuse is difficult to overcome and Huyana struggles to trust the man she loves. There are secrets in her past and she fears revealing them.

Can Huyana find the happiness she craves and allow herself to be claimed by her Montana cowboy?

TOTALLY BOUND

AMAZON

ALL ROMANCE 

Chapter One

“Edie! Get yer ass in here!” The gravelly voice rang out in the small house.

Huyana froze and held her breath. The knife she’d been using to chop carrots slipped from her grasp and clattered onto the tabletop. She hugged her slim waist and listened carefully for sounds of movement.

Nothing.

Yet.

Had William Montgomery gone back to sleep? She hoped so. If he was asking for his wife then he was going to have one of his bad days and therefore the longer he rested, the better. At least if he woke later, she would have company to help her deal with him. Even with all her experience of people, the old man’s sudden fluctuations from joy to anger to confusion still unsettled her and she’d prefer to have someone else nearby.

Someone like Matthew Duggan?

She shrugged away the thought. In the short space of time in which she’d known the handsome cowboy, she’d seen only good in him. He’d been kind, helpful and attentive, even coming to find her in Virginia City, where she’d been employed as a maid, to offer her the post as carer to William Montgomery. Not that other folks were hammering down the Duggans’ door to get the position, of course. But Matthew knew that her employer was leaving town and Huyana would soon be without an income. Matthew had suggested that his older brother, Kenan, offer Huyana the job. And mighty glad she was about it too. At first. But now she knew how hard it was caring for William Montgomery alone, she wondered if she’d made the right decision.

But of course she had. What other choice did she have? With her circumstances and her questionable background, what else could she expect to do? Whore? Beg? Steal? The choices for a mixed-race woman were limited indeed. Besides, it meant that she got to see Matthew Duggan regularly, even if she did clam up like a sixteen-year-old maiden every time he stepped over the threshold.

“Edie!”

Huyana jumped. She’d have to go check on William. He was clearly distressed. His wife had been in the ground just over a month. Sometimes he remembered this clearly, but at other times, he still thought she was alive and well. A wave of sympathy washed over Huyana. She knew what it was to love and lose someone and William deserved her compassion. The poor man was dealing with his raw grief in his moments of lucidity. Healing would likely take him longer than the average person because he wasn’t experiencing the heartache constantly with its full ferocity. Instead, it came in agonizing bursts, then, as if his mind was protecting him, he regressed to his confused state and forgot all about Edie’s death until the next lucid period. It was like a slow form of torture, and Huyana wished on a daily basis that she could do something to alleviate William’s pain and anguish.

Huyana scooped up the carrots from the flat wooden chopping board and dropped them into a bowl then wiped her hands on her apron. She crossed the room and stood outside the door of William’s bedroom then rapped her knuckles against the wood.

“You all right in there, Mr. Montgomery?”

“Who in the hell is that?”

Huyana shivered as she heard the confusion in William’s tone.

“It’s me, Mr. Montgomery. Huyana. Your help.”

“Say what?” His voice was closer now, as if he muttered with his lips pressed against the wooden boards of the door. Huyana slowly unlocked the door and took a step back. The lock was a precautionary measure that the Duggans had insisted upon to prevent William from wandering off during the night when Huyana slept or when she was outside in the yard. “Who’s ya say yer?”

“Huyana.” Her own name tripped off her lips as it had done thousands of times before, but this time it filled her with dread because she feared his reaction.

“What in the hell kind of a name is that?”

The door swung inward and Huyana braced herself as William Montgomery staggered out into the main room of the house. He reminded her of an acorn calf, all unsteady on his legs and wary of his surroundings. Huyana winced as his stale smell reached her nostrils. She had only washed him last evening with Catherine Duggan’s help but it seemed that the old man had pissed his bed again. She’d left the pot right next to his bed in plain view, but unfortunately he didn’t always think to use it. At times, the floor and his undergarments seemed to serve him just as well.

Like an animal.

No.

Like a child. A poor helpless infant who sometimes doesn’t know right from wrong.

William stared around the room as if seeing it for the first time. He squinted against the September morning light that seeped through the small windows and warmed the floorboards. He eyed the fire that burned in the grate suspiciously, as if wondering how it had gotten there. His face held the look of a lost child as he scratched his matted gray hair, and Huyana’s heart broke for him.

It was going to be a bad day.

Molly Ann Wishlade has always been an avid reader and writer of stories. Her lifetime of reading has taken her from the magical worlds of The Faraway Tree and The Borrowers, to the Greek myths and legends, to Sweet Valley High and Judy Blume's Forever, to Asimov's science fiction, Jane Eyre's torment and Stephen King's masterpieces. More recently she has wandered through the vivid historicals of Philippa Gregory; the bubbly, gritty delights of Adele Parks and the fast paced thrillers of James Patterson. She loves getting lost in a novel and often regrets finishing one as the characters are usually missed like old friends. She regularly indulges her insatiable hunger for romance and passion in the delicious worlds created by romantic novelists and is working on several of her own!

What precious spare time she has is spent with her family (one gorgeous husband and two bright and beautiful children), taking long walks around the beautiful Welsh countryside (although she's still waiting for the rescue greyhound she wants to accompany her), cooking her own secret recipe curries, drinking Earl Grey (in copious amounts) and discovering delicious wines. Oh, and she also loves to ski and can't wait to go again! And buying shoes!

She wants to take readers on the rollercoaster that is life through the creation of her own characters, relationships and worlds.

She appreciates feedback, recipes and wine recommendations.

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My Review:

Thank you for the opportunity to read this special book. I loved the writer's style from the beginning. There was something so deep and touching about the way she wrote and her characters were amazing.

Huyana is half-Indian and half-American. She has prejudice and a very difficult past pitched against her. But her wonderful character has enabled her to rise above her sorrowful past and find a place in life. That place is working in the Duggan household looking after the sickly and troubled William. Matthew has been fascinated by Huyana for a while. But she doesn't know he cares for her. She's loved him for some time, but doesn't believe there's any future for them because of her past and not being a white woman.

When William becomes violent in his mental anguish, Matthew moves in to look after Huyana and to help her care for the elderly man. An erotic and passionate love affair soon takes over between the pair. Yet, every moment, there is such tenderness. Matthew is the best. And he wants the best for Huyana but she can't give herself fully to him. She has secrets.

I loved this short and very passionate love story. It's a story of trust earned and forgiveness and rising above the difficulties of abuse and poverty. It's a story of courage. Steeped in tender passion. Great love scenes. I admit I often get bored with lots of love scenes, but I really enjoyed these.