paranormal romance

My Top 5 Reads of 2024

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

On Goodreads I read 38 books in 2024. But when I count the 16 books not registered on Goodreads and the 4 unpublished books I beta read, I read 58 books in 2024. Regardless, I didn’t meet my Goodreads goal of 76 books. But that’s okay. My Goodreads goal is always one more than I read the previous year. So, that means my 2025 goal will be 39 books. 

Of those 58 books, here are my favorites: 

The Dragon Prince’s Obsession by Ninally is the sequel to The Dragon King’s Obsession. Both books are about dragon shifters falling in love with the enemy: humans. In this series world building, dragon shifters live high up in the mountains. Human hunters down the mountain hunt them, and have hunted female dragons almost to extinction. In the first book, dragons capture the daughter of the leader of the hunters, and the king of the dragons falls in love with her while she is their captive. Of course there’s lots of drama, witches get involved, and the final battle is epic. And then the sequel begins. 

New couple. New story. One of the best enemies-to-lovers I’ve ever read. Adela is a human servant in the king’s palace. She serves the king’s sister, Princess Lucille, and the queen, Mystique. Prince Mikhail is the king’s brother. Mikhail was one of the villains of the first book. He kidnapped Mystique and tried to kill her.

Adela stumbles across Mikhail being imprisoned by witches while she is on an unwilling adventure with the spoiled Lucille. In Lucille’s inability to see anyone other than herself, she returns to the palace safe and sound without Adela. Mikhail and Adela fight their way out, and Mikhail takes Adela to his palace. Because she saved his life, his dragon now owes her. Mikhail begrudgingly takes care of her as he fights his dragon’s attraction to her. He hates humans, but he also opens Adela’s eyes to how she is treated back at the main palace. Adela is “friends” with the royal women, but yet still has to serve them and sleep in cramped quarters with the other human servants. Adela also thinks she’s in love with the king’s right hand man, Blaze. Lucille and Blaze are secretly in love and having a secret affair. The problem, is that in order to keep her secret, Lucille encourages Adela’s crush on Blaze to hide her own feelings, knowing Blaze will never look at Adela like that. So, she’s setting Adela up for romantic failure for her own selfish agenda.

When Mikhail cracks everything open for Adela, she refuses to return to the king’s palace. Mikhail keeps her in his, where she is not a servant, but an equal resident. They grow closer and have one of the most delicious slow burns I’ve ever read. During her time there, Adela also discovers she is not truly human. Her mother was human, but her father was something else (which I’m not going to give away – read the book!). Her newfound abilities call evil witches to them, and she and Mikhail will have to literally fight for their survival and love.

It’s beautiful. It’s spicy. I LOVE this story.     

The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore is a biography of Elizabeth Packard, whose story takes place in the 1860s in Illinois. Elizabeth held different religious and political beliefs from her husband, who was a preacher. She vocalized them in public, and her husband responded by getting corrupted doctors to certify Elizabeth as insane, and locked her in an asylum. Kate’s research of Elizabeth’s experience teaches four main historical facts:

1. What was considered “insane” in the 1800s – Women could be diagnosed with insanity if they disagreed with their husbands, disobeyed their husbands, or stopped loving their husbands. Elizabeth was guilty of all three.

2. How deep male ownership of women was –  Several doctors who “diagnosed” Elizabeth with insanity never saw her in person. They listened to her husband’s description of her, and wrote a certificate of insanity! Also, Elizabeth couldn’t divorce her husband because he would automatically get their six children if she did.

3. Treatment of patients in asylums – Elizabeth women with less money and social status than her slapped, starved, choked, and drowned. When Elizabeth disobeyed her doctor, he took her possessions and moved her from her private room into a shared room. While the employees didn’t physically abuse Elizabeth, they allowed the more violent patients to do so instead.

4. The amount of research and lobbying needed to change the law – When Elizabeth was released from the asylum, she went to work to change the law so that some of the friends she’d made could also be released, and future women didn’t go through the same thing. It took her a decade, which included a nationally followed legal battle against her husband and doctor. She was successful in getting the laws changed across the state, which would end up saving her daughter in the future when she also suffered mental health problems in her adult years. 

Elizabeth Packard’s story is one that needs remembering for both mental health laws and feminist ideology. I have always enjoyed biographies about strong and powerful women, and Elizabeth makes it on that list. 

Bound Across Time by Annie R. McEwan was my first experience where an author reached out to me and offered me a free copy of their book to read and review. And it was amazing. Of course, Ms. McEwan got the royal treatment: an unboxing video, a blog post, and a YouTube review. 

Bound Across Time is the first of a paranormal time-travel romance series. Patrick O’Loinsigh died in the 1700s in Wales. His ghost as been stuck in the castle he perished in. In modern days, the first living person, Cece Gowdy can see him. She’s a witch and they embark on a passionate love affair. But loving a ghost comes with risk and danger. Cece is not made for Patrick’s limbo world, and Patrick isn’t made for Cece’s living world. They are going to have to rely on the help of other witches to fight against the magic of time that is separating them.

I always find magic system world building interesting, and the rules of magic for this world were really cool. This was also the first ghost-human relationship that followed the rules of the romance genre. The sequel, Bound to Happen will be released early this year!

The Haunted Purse by Kimberly Baer is my tried and true “don’t judge a book by its cover.” I thought the title sounded juvenile and the cover didn’t pull me in. Then it ended up being the book of the month for the book club I was in. I inhaled it.

Libby is a 15-year-old high school student who lives on her own while her mom dates around, pretending she doesn’t have a daughter. Libby purchases an old purse from the secondhand store. The purse makes things disappear, and provides extra things to the purse. As Libby gets used to her purse’s abilities, she notices a connection with some of the objects that appear. They are all connected to a 20-year-old cold case. Convinced that the purse holds the ghost of the missing girl, Libby puts on her detective hat and works to solve the case.

In addition to the murder mystery plot, there are three other themes that provide great lessons for young adult readers:

  1. How educational professionals treat each student is important – Libby’s math teacher bullies her, and her counselor looks down on her for being poor.
  2. See something, say something – A big part of what keeps the plot moving is teenagers keeping secrets. Obviously, the secrets need to exist for a great story, but in real life, keeping secrets like these are dangerous.
  3. Honesty really is the best policy – This connects with number 2. Teenage characters lying to adults helps the plot, but in real life, telling a trusted adult the truth can always help. 

The Haunted Purse is the best YA story I’ve read in a while.

Dark Love by Aura Rose is the second in a fated mates romance trilogy. Each book features a different couple. The first book is called The Last Alpha. To be honest, I didn’t much care for the first one. Some authors who write fated mates stories use the mate bond in their plot to have a – what I call – justified cheating subplot. That is in The Last Alpha, and left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. Luckily, the end of the first book lets the reader know who the couple will be for Dark Love, and I was fully on board for their love story.

Madeline is a werewolf, Arius is a witch-vampire hybrid. Arius is not supposed to exist per the council’s rules, and they’ve been trying to kill him since he was born. Arius is also the son of the vampire king who tried to kill Madeline’s pack in the first book. So, she and Arius get a very steamy enemies-to-lovers and forbidden love arc – which, in my opinion, is the best combination of romance tropes. Trigger warning: Arius does kidnap Madeline at the beginning of the book, but he doesn’t torture or SA her.

Once Madeline and Arius accept the mate bond, they combine forces to take down the bigoted council so they can live in peace. Arius is my favorite book boyfriend. 

It ends on a pretty dramatic cliff-hanger. I’m about a third of the way through the third book, His Lost Tribrid. It’s also really good. Unfortunately, the platform it’s on (Dreame) has tripled their prices over the past year. So, I won’t be able to finish it there. So, I’ve subscribed to Aura Rose’s Amazon page, and as soon as it’s available on Amazon, I’ll buy it there and finish it. 

What notable books did you read in 2024? Share them in the comments!

Resolving Sociopolitical Issues in Fiction: One Reader’s Perspective

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

It’s very common in fantasy and science fiction for the authors to mirror real issues that human history has gone through or is currently going through. In ACOTAR, humans used to be slaves, and once freed, became segregated from their previous masters, the fae. The First Order in Star Wars is obviously the Third Reich. Voldemort in Harry Potter is clearly Hitler. House Elves are slaves. Every single creature that isn’t a wizard are all of the colonized nations around the world. A wizard and a no-maj not being allowed to marry mirrors U.S. anti-miscegenation laws. The list goes on. 

In each of those issues, the protagonist or one of the sidekicks fight against those issues. And enough progress is made that even if it’s not fully resolved by the end of the series, the reader is able to believe that it will be soon – or the main characters physically move away from the corruption to a new kingdom/world/etc.

So what happens when an author creates social injustices for their plot, but doesn’t resolve them by the end? 

I recently read a series that did just that.  

It was a paranormal romance series that had 10 books in it. The majority of the world-building centered around sexism. The female characters had no rights, and so their only way of a decent life is to accept a mate bond with a strong male. Children also had no rights until they shifted into their animal for the first time. And half-breeds (one human parent, one shifter parent) were the lowest of the low. 

The main character for the first three books leaves her community and tries to fit into the human world because of this. She gets sucked back into her old life, where she meets her fated mate. He also doesn’t agree with the traditional way of their species, so together, they create a refuge for others like them. So, things are looking good for a traditional fight-the-corruption plot line that I love in fantasy series.  

For the next three books, one of the side characters becomes the main character, and her love story commences. She and her fated mate spend three more books fighting the system, and win. They also create a second pack for outcast shifters to escape to. 

The final four books take place roughly fifteen years after the sixth book ended. And this is where the plot goes in a completely different direction. There were very strong hints at the end of the sixth book that things were changing drastically. So when chapter 1 of the seventh book started and things had not only failed to improve, but even regressed beyond the first book, I was confused. However, as I continued reading, I realized it’s okay if society got worse. The Force Awakens does the exact same thing, and I enjoyed that movie. The author had to come up with something for the main character to fight. But as I got to the end of the tenth and final book, there were no hints that the corruption was going to be defeated. And sadly, it wasn’t. The two love interests got off on a technicality within the corrupted legal system, and continued to live in that evil world. 

The series would have felt more complete, for me, if the corruption had truly been defeated and social and political change was evident – even if it wasn’t perfectly gone by the final sentence.

Now, I need to make a note here. I think that the author created an incredible world with relatable characters. I obviously was invested enough to read all ten books. The romance plots – which were the main plots – were well executed. And there were plenty of readers who loved the whole series. I think the author is a talented writer. They have a great imagination. I gave each individual book between 3-5 stars on Goodreads.

I also acknowledge that the end of this series is more realistic. To quote Anita Hill, “Progress isn’t measured in days. It’s measured in decades.” That being said, I don’t want fantasy to be realistic. I want the final battle to magically change everything (or put society on the first few steps of changing everything).  

This is similar to what I said in my historical fiction post. Some readers don’t care if the characters are eating chocolate too early for historical accuracy, while others care very deeply. Some readers will be fine if the characters don’t take down the corrupt system, while others will want to see exactly that.

So, my opinion is simply mine. This is a decision that all writers have to make. As they build worlds and create characters, writers need to figure out which plots need to be resolved by the end – or at least a hint of a resolution. 

For me, resolution is important.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you think all – or close to all – the problems in a story need some type of resolution by the end? Let me know why or why not in the comments.  

How Music Inspires My Writing

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

The greatest pop hits of 2006 bring me back to working in a Snowie Shack on the corner of Center Street and Geneva Road. For some reason, anything by Alanis Morisett, The Cranberries, and the Pina Colada Song remind me of working at Mervyn’s. And a catchy cha cha or samba is going to bring me back to the competition floor.

Music has always been a part of my life, and specific songs are nostalgic for different eras in my life. 

Writing Bondwitch was no different, and as part of celebrating my book’s birthday, I thought it’d be fun to share what songs inspired or helped me write specific scenes.

During the second act, Annamaria meets a pair of professional ballroom dancers who are also vampires. Kylie and Tyler have a YouTube channel, and invite Annamaria to join their dance routines. The routines I spent significant word count on went with a real song to help me describe the choreography. So, here are the songs that helped with the key dances:

  • “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri – The Viennese Waltz that Annamaria and Tyler perform. It’s Annamaria’s first ballroom performance, and the choreography tells the story of Annamaria’s parents’ courtship.
  • “The Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – The contemporary routine Annamaria and Kylie perform. This routine tells the story of Annamaria and Marianna growing up apart from each other throughout the years. 
  • “Human” by Christina Perri – this is a contemporary duet that Kylie and Tyler perform. It showcases Marianna’s upbringing by her “adopted” vampire father. 
  • Jasmine Thompson’s cover of “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” (originally by Meghan Trainer and John Legend) mixed with “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran – This is a foxtrot-tango medley that tells the story of Annamaira’s relationship with her first boyfriend, Cody.
  • “How Can I Not Love You” by Joy Enriquez – This is Annamaria’s contemporary solo. She choreographs it all herself and designs her costume. The purpose of this routine is to say goodbye to her human life. 

The last song that goes with a specific scene is “Almost Lover” by A Fine Frenzy. This song goes with Annamaria’s dark night of the soul moment. In this scene, Annamaria is heartbroken because she has been betrayed by people she cares deeply about, and she thought they cared deeply for her. She’s literally chained up and has a decision to make that could lead to fatal consequences. 

Other songs I listened to while working on Bondwitch:

  • Arms by Christina Perri
  • Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri
  • Fight Song by Rachel Platten
  • Down by Jason Walker
  • I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz
  • My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
  • My Immortal by Evanescence

Music plays a huge part in most people’s lives. Certain songs have inspired decisions and creations. And sometimes, we just need the background noise while we work. 

What song has been important or inspirational for you?

Let me know in the comments! 

New Release: The Passenger by Joie Lesin

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Joi Lesin’s debut novel The Passenger came out last month, and I am excited to introduce her and her Paranormal Historical Romance to you.

Let’s start with what is The Passenger about?

Elizabeth Reilly is twice haunted. She not only keeps the memories of her late husband, a casualty of World War II, close to her heart but she also inherited the ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead from her mother. 

When she aids a dying man, Paolo Clemente, in his last moments of life, she launches on a journey that will forever change her life and the life of the family Paolo left behind. After befriending Paolo’s ghost, Elizabeth travels to California to help him find peace. There she meets his son, Giovanni, who has recently returned from the war in Europe. Gio, as he is known by those closest to him, is only just settling back into his post-war life. When Elizabeth arrives, bringing news of the father he never truly knew, Gio is suspicious of both Elizabeth and her story.

The Passenger is a historical paranormal romance that explores the themes of love, grief and discovering who we truly are. These things are set against the backdrop of paranormal historical and picturesque settings that transports the reader to another time and place. Add to that, the characters are forced navigate the challenges of long hidden family secrets, matters of the heart, and the supernatural.

For me, the setting is as much of a character as the people who populate the story. The Passenger takes place in Cana, a fictional town nestled somewhere in California’s wine country. It’s a town where there’s so much more than meets the eye. 

To visit Cana, you must travel over winding roads bordered on both sides by green, rolling foothills and tall, sun filtering conifers surrounded by native plants. Along the way, the ancient trees part to reveal estates of all sizes. Here, a vineyard displays rows of grapes ripe for the picking. There, a ranch complete with cattle grazing the hillside. This is where you’ll find the vineyard Paolo Clemente bought after immigrating from Foggia, Italy to America. 

History and the paranormal are my two favorite genres. What inspired this story?

The inspiration for Elizabeth, Paolo, and Gio’s story came to me when I was 16 years old. I was on the city bus on the way home from school playing the “What If” game, making up stories for random passengers. 

On this particular day, I noticed a man sitting at the back of the bus who seemed a bit down on his luck. I wondered, what if he were alone in the world? What would happen if this man collapsed there on the bus? Would he die right there on that bus alone? What if I, or someone else, comforted him in his dying moments?

The tale blossomed from there until I finally sat down to write it 16 years later.

That’s amazing that such a seemingly small moment stuck with you for so long. How does that affect your writing schedule?

As a writer, I find I am a combination of a pantser and plotter—I puzzle together rather than plot my stories. For me this means I spend a significant amount of time thinking about the story. I tend to work out the story in my head like a problem that needs to be solved. This also means that part of my writing routine may look like I am just staring into the sky, but I am working hard—honestly.

All of my stories start with a single scene. Most of the time when that scene first comes to me, I don’t yet know the characters, but I see a moment in time. From there I treat it like a puzzle. I discover who the characters are by writing the opening and closing scenes. From there, I write to discover what has to happen to lead them from that opening to the single scene that birthed the story for me—and how to progress forward from that pivotal moment to the closing scene. Any plotting I do happens a scene or two at a time. It may not sound like it but it’s both organic and methodical for me.

I am, and have always been, a night owl. So, when I’ve gathered enough of the story elements together in my head, I sit down to write, usually, at night. Why? Because my creativity is most alive under the moonlight.

Welcome to the night writer’s club! When you aren’t writing, who are you?

Outside of writing, I am many things—a wife, mother, stepmother, daughter, sister, and friend. Until three years ago, I was also a Business Analyst, but now have the opportunity to focus on my writing full-time. 

For grounding myself, I simply love to lose myself in books and always have—both reading and writing them.

For fun, I take pictures and share them on social media. I’m always on the lookout for a view that’s new to me. I’m also a novice ukelele player. By this I mean, I’ve been learning how to play for the last four years. My husband did restring my ukelele for lefthanded playing, so I think I should get the hang of it one day soon—maybe. Which leads me to say, aside from books, one of my biggest interests is music. I have an eclectic taste, but my favorite to listen to by far is indie rock—80s and current.

I think anyone who can play a musical instrument is awesome. What’s next in your writing career?

 I am currently working on two projects at once. 

The first is a story that takes up where The Passenger left off. Like its predecessor, Watch Over Me is a ghost story and answers some questions left open at the end of The Passenger. This paranormal romance takes place in 1968 and tells the continuing story of Elizabeth’s daughter, Bella. What was the inspiration? A scene of Bella running through the vineyard with someone—or something—in pursuit while the earth trembles.

I’m also working on a mermaid novel that explores the relationships between sisters, mothers, and daughters. I’m very excited about this story and cannot wait to share more about it. 

First though, my ghosts are calling and want their stories told.

Minnesota-based author, Joie Lesin is a life-long fiction writer and the author of The Passenger. She has long been fascinated by anything otherworldly including ghosts. She loves to write a good ghost story—especially when it includes a touch of romance.

Originally from Massachusetts, at six years old, Joie moved to her mother’s birthplace, Minnesota. By eight, Joie lost her New England accent, however, it’s gradually returning as the years go by. She grew up in Minneapolis but now resides in St. Paul with her husband and their blended family—which includes a rambunctious grand-corgi.

Joie misses the ocean, but she often finds herself walking by one of Minnesota’s many lakes and travels to one of the coasts as often as she can. In fact, she considers California her home away from home. When she’s not writing, reading, or walking, you can find her listening to music. She absolutely loves music—especially live—and songs have sparked most of her story ideas.

Follow her at her website: https://www.jlesin.com/

She’s a 1940s ghost whisperer. He’s the son of a ghost.

Burdened with her empathic gift, Elizabeth Reilly wants to be free of it and fit in with normal people. Nevertheless, when the spirit of an old man asks for her help, she travels across the country to help him return home. Gio Clemente is still angry with his father who abandoned him as a child. To help the father pass on, Elizabeth must persuade Gio to let go of his anger. Though he resents her intrusion, they are both stunned to find themselves fighting a profound attraction. Elizabeth can accept his headstrong brand of love, but can Gio accept her gift—and believe in her?

The Passenger, a 1940s ghost story set in the California wine country, tells a tale of family connections, life-changing choices, and love—lost and found.

The Passenger is available now: https://www.jlesin.com/thepassenger

How to Put a Ghost in a Romance: Bound Across Time

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Four years ago, I learned the rules of romance writing. There are two very important requirements for a story to be considered a romance:

  1. The main plot must center around the relationship between the love interests.
  2. It must end with a Happily Ever After or Happy For Now. 

I struggled with rule #2 for about a year (check out how I overcame that in a previous blog post), but once accepted, I had a big question: How do you make this work with ghosts? If one half of the couple is a living person, and the other half is a ghost, how are they going to have an HEA?

Part of my confusion came from reading an incorrectly labeled paranormal romance. First off, the main plot was not the relationship with the (ghost) love interest; that ended up being the side plot. Second, the main character is not reunited with their ghost love interest until decades after the main story ends when they die of old age (think the reunited scene of Jack and Rose in Titanic). That didn’t really feel like an HEA to me. 

So, like the emotional teenager I sometimes act like, I stayed away from ghost stories until Bound Across Time by Annie R. McEwen fell into my lap. This is a paranormal romance worth reading.

Let’s start with our living character, our female main character: Celeste Gowdie (a.k.a. CeCe). CeCe’s mother died when she was young, and she was raised by her aunts in the U.S. state of Georgia. CeCe doesn’t know who her father is (this is important for one of the reveals toward the end). She studied history in college, and is working in St. Rhydian’s castle in Wales when the story begins. CeCe wants to be taken seriously as a real historian, but she ends up being the American tour guide who gets to research and share ghost stories to the patrons. 

Patrick O’Loinsigh is the bastard son of one of the historic Lords of the castle. He was born in Ireland in the 18th Century, educated in Paris, and forced to move to his father’s castle during his early adult years. His father used him to do his dirty work since Patrick wouldn’t be inheriting the title. Patrick is murdered by his half brother, and his spirit spends the next few centuries hanging out in the in-between waiting for the living soul who matches a prophecy meant to free him.

Patrick and CeCe have a meet-cute of epic proportions. Patrick lures CeCe to the top of the tallest tower by turning on a battery operated candle. CeCe can’t lock up the castle and go home until all lights are turned off. So after a literal hike, CeCe comes across a handsome man in 1700s clothing. Patrick scares CeCe so bad that she faints. 

It takes CeCe several days to believe Patrick that he is the ghost of the handsome man in the gallery of the castle’s historic inhabitants. At first she thinks he’s a loiter pretending to be Patrick O’Loinsigh. But when she finally believes him, she falls, and she falls hard. 

The local witch coven gets involved, CeCe’s aunts get involved because… family secrets! (That I’m not going to spoil.) Everyone wants CeCe to stay away from Patrick for her own good. Of course she doesn’t listen, and she embarks on a passionate and steamy love affair with Patrick. 

Well, it turns out that when a living person spends that kind of time with a ghost, their literal being starts to disappear. So now, CeCe and Patrick have a difficult decision to make: go their separate ways to save CeCe’s life, or research if magic can help them. 

And that’s where I’m going to leave you with this story, because you’re just going to have to read it yourself if you want to know how it ends. But the ending is soooooo worth the emotional turmoil that Ms. McEwen is going to put you through. 

These kinds of stories always have to have “rules of magic” and the rules of magic that Annie created were very cool. When Patrick and CeCe meet up, the room they are in reverts back to the way it was when Patrick was alive. When Patrick leaves, the room returns to its modern-day look and feel. When they are together, they are neither in the past nor present – though they are closer to the present, because humans could hear CeCe if they came by the room. 

There also appears to be two different “types” of magic. There’s a traditional witch who can cast spells and make potions and such. Then there are people born with “gifts”. CeCe is born with a gift that allows her to see and hear Patrick in the first place. (For more details on that, read the book!)

And to finish off this review, here is a Q&A with the author herself:

In your planning, what came first: a story about witches? Or a story about ghosts?

Door Number Three: a story about a castle! Because, when I conceived the book, I was living in a small Welsh town that is graced by a very old and beautiful castle. I spent a lot of time thinking about the people who passed through those halls and gardens. Were any of them still there? So, yes, I suppose the ghosts came first and everything else followed. 

What historical people, places and facts are true? What did you embellish or fill in the holes?

The town, the witches, the historian who’s forced to resort to ghost walks since history doesn’t sell, the castle, the stone circle a few miles out of town, the Welsh coast almost within sight of Ireland, the family who kept secrets, the work of people – archivists, admins, docents, conservationists – at an historic site: all those are fact-based, along with the many casually dropped references to and stories about the past as viewed by both a modern historian and a ghost who died in the mid-1700s. Beyond and embracing those is the truth of protagonist CeCe’s life and work; just like her, I’m a career historian who lived in a small Welsh town and met the astoundingly warm and quirky inhabitants, worked in the local castle, visited the stone circle. The things I changed were the ghost (whom I never met, more’s the pity) and the names and actions of both CeCe and the locals. Oh, and the color-changing cat! Always wanted one of those but, alas, mine have all been the single-color variety. 

I’m guessing Aiofe’s story is next? Do you also plan on going back in time and also telling Gabrielle’s story?

Bound to Happen (Book Two of the Bound Series) does indeed follow Aoife/Fee’s story. It involves a radical change in setting, from a tiny Welsh town to London and, specifically, Covent Garden, where Aoife has a grant to research playwrights and poets of the 1600s. She’s lured to an abandoned theater by some urban exploring chums and…Well, you’ll have to read the novel to see what happens then! But in addition to new and very different secondary characters – Aoife’s Ghana-born flatmate and her ancestor priestess Mom, along with some skeptical folks in the National Trust and Museum of London Archeology – characters from Book One re-appear, like Jana Smithbury-Tewkes (and her new color-changing feline, Rumpelstiltskin.) Through them, readers learn more about Fee’s Savannah family (still keeping secrets, as families do) and her life growing up with leathling-souler parents in 18th century Paris. As to Gabrielle Gowdie: while bits of her tale are woven into Bound to Happen, it’s in Boundless (Book Three of the series), that we hear from an aging Helene Gowdie (oldest of the original five sisters who included Gabrielle) about why and how the secret-keeping of Gowdie family began.

What’s next for your writing career?

More writing, more publishing! I’m contracted with four publishers (one in the UK, the rest US-based) for nine books, five of which are written, the rest in progress. I’m eager to push ahead with my series for the UK publisher, Bloodhound Books; it’s Victorian working class romance centered on the lives and loves of four women who work in a London corset workshop. If you liked Peaky Blinders, you’ll love The Corset Girls! I haven’t left paranormal romance behind, though; I’ve got a spine-chilling vampire romance story in Rowan Prose Publishing’s horror anthology coming out later this year. And I’m finishing a time travel historical romance set in 1910 Boston, New Orleans, and Wales. Several other WIPs are nudging me for attention, including a Regency romance comedy about the lengths to which an impoverished heiress will go to avoid an inconvenient marriage, an 1880s romance set in New Orleans’ back streets, and a novel of smuggling and love on the Kent coast in the 1740s. 

Annie R. McEwen has written a beautiful romance that brings past and present together in the most captivating of ways. She kept me guessing until the very end how the problems would get resolved. Very captivating and well-earned five stars. 

New Release: Fox Tale by Karen Hulene Bartell

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Karen Hulene Bartell is back to talk about her newest release: Fox Tale. Before we dive into this captivating title, let’s get to know Karen.

Plotter or Pantser: I’m a pantser, no question about it. I do make short outlines of what happens next, but I’m too spontaneous to follow any extended framework. Besides, when I “play dolls” with friends, that is, brainstorm my plot, I often prefer their ideas to mine, which makes for far more interesting plot twists than I’d devise.

Does It Come to Me, or do I Struggle?: It’s usually a combination of the stories coming to me and me struggling to conclude the chapters. I’m inspired to begin each book, but occasionally I grapple with twists or turns of the novel, trying to patch the sections into the greater story, as well as smoothly transition the reader to the next chapter.

When did I Start Writing?: An only child, I began writing my first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating my own happy endings…However, I got four pages into my first “book” and realized I had to do a lot of living before I could finish it! 

Reading is the entry to writing. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually–sometimes monthly–I found my earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became my portable pals. Ghost stories kept me up at night–reading feverishly. Novels offered an imaginative escape, and the paranormal was my passion.

So here I am all these decades later, still creating my own happy endings…

What is the Most Powerful Challenge of Authoring a Novel?: IMHO, marketing is the nightmare to the dream of writing! Promoting my books is the hell to the heaven of authoring them. I’d much rather keep “plugging away” at finishing a chapter than “plugging” myself on social media 😉

Background of Fox Tale 

My husband works for a Japanese company. When he was instructed to meet with his Tokyo team, I leapt at the chance to accompany him. The next thing I did was research Japan’s cryptids. What appeared were Inari’s kitsunes or fox spirits—and voilà, the idea for Fox Tale was born.

What are Inari’s kitsunes? Japan’s history of foxes is complex. According to Fox Tale’s leading man, Rafe, “Originally, Inari was the concept of a successful rice harvest. Over time, devotees fleshed out that belief, and Inari became the androgynous god of wealth.” 

“And the kitsunes?” asked the protagonist, Ava.

“The relationship has always been cooperative…Initially, foxes kept rice fields free from rodents, ensuring good crop yields. Eventually, people humanized the foxes into guardians and agents.”

While my husband attended meetings, I explored Tokyo, sometimes alone on foot and sometimes with a group tour. I took copious notes, and each site I visited became part of my developing story. With the supernatural element, as well as the locale established, my imagination began taking flight.

I spoke to locals as often as possible, asking if they believed in kitsune–or if their neighbor or grandmother believed in them. (Luckily, many Japanese speak English!) Not one admitted to believing in the old superstitions, but almost all knew of someone who did. 

Said Fox Tale’s antagonist, Ichiro, “Most Japanese live in concrete canyons, and rational university educations replace superstition. Still, fox stories persist through theater, festivals, language, and literature…or kiterature as I call it.” 

“Despite a waning belief?” I leaned closer. 

“Even today, some believe in fox possession…although believing in kitsunetsuki might not be fashionable in this age of supercomputers and artificial intelligence, stories still circulate in the tabloids and mass media.”

“For example?” 

“In 2019, a doomsday cult member rammed his car into pedestrians on Takeshita Street, then pled not guilty on the grounds that the cult was fox possessed. And as recently as 2022, the Sessho-seki split in two.” 

Skeptical, I squinted. “The what did what?” 

“The killing stone…according to legend, it imprisoned an evil nogitsune vixen. Her spirit escaped when it split in half and began spewing sulfur fumes, killing anyone that approached…For over a thousand years, Japanese medical practitioners considered kitsunetsuki a disease. Even into the twentieth century, psychologists believed fox possession caused mental illness.” 

“But not anymore…” Crossing my arms, I hugged myself, seeking reassurance. “Right?” 

“Today, therapists consider kitsunetsuki a psychosis or a culture-bound syndrome. Although”—he shrugged—“its symptoms can extend to people familiar with the Japanese culture.”

Gathering all the information I could from locals, as well as researching online, the plot for Fox Tale began to take shape. Once I had the realistic component that tied the supernatural to the natural, I had the storyline. Then the characters emerged as the story unfolded in my mind.

When my husband finished his meetings in Tokyo, we visited Kyoto, where we toured Fushimi Inari. The mountain is sacred in the Shinto religion, a place where “deities coexist with nature” and where, some believe, Inari resides. Fushimi Inari has an ethereal presence. Its otherworldly aura and scenery are difficult to describe, but if anything supernatural could occur, it would happen on that mountain. While at that shrine, the various parts merged into the basis of Fox Tale: the supernatural element, general locale, plot, characters, and finally the specific location for the otherworldly activity. 

Lo and behold, a novel was born.

Chase is seemingly the villain of Fox Tale, yet from his perspective, he’s… 

“A guardian? Yes, but an angel…?” His lips rose in a sly smile. “I’m also a male with physical needs.” The smile faded. “I’m lonely without a woman’s company. I yearn for a woman’s touch.” The corners of his mouth drooped, and he spoke in a flat monotone. “Which brings us full circle to where this conversation began. You remind me of a woman I almost married—” 

Chase has objectives, but he acts and reacts according to his own code of honor.

The true villain is Atsuki, however, with his expensive suits, chauffeured cars, and Yakuza tattoos. Atsuki is an old adversary of Chase. Though his superficial generosity and lavish gifts fool many, Atsuki bends time and shapeshifts to attain his goals, then lures his pawns to their demise.

Meet Karen: Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, as well as Kissing Kin, Fox Tale, Wild Rose Pass, The Keys: Voice of the Turtle and more, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, IT technical editor, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories steeped in the supernatural. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Texas Piney Woods with her husband Peter and her mews—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

Follow Karen at her website: https://karenhulenebartell.com/

Fox Tale can be purchased here.

Heights terrify Ava. When a stranger saves her from plunging down a mountain, he diverts her fears with tales of Japanese kitsune—shapeshifting foxes—and she begins a journey into the supernatural.
She’s attracted to Chase, both physically and metaphysically, yet primal instincts urge caution when shadows suggest more than meets the eye.
She’s torn between Chase and Rafe, her ex, when a chance reunion reignites their passion, but she struggles to overcome two years of bitter resentment. Did Rafe jilt her, or were they pawns of a larger conspiracy? Are the ancient legends true of kitsunes twisting time and events?

New Release: Kissing Kin by Karen Hulene Bartell

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Maeve Jackson is starting over after a broken engagement—and mustering out of the Army. No job and no prospects, she spins out on black ice and totals her car.

When struggling vintner Luke Kaylor stops to help, they discover they’re distantly related. On a shoestring budget to convert his vineyard into a winery, he makes her a deal: prune grapevines in exchange for room and board.

But forgotten diaries and a haunted cabin kickstart a five-generational mystery with ancestors that have bones to pick. As carnal urges propel them into each other’s arms, they wonder: Is their attraction physical…or metaphysical?

The idea for Kissing Kin first came to me during 2020 because of the striking similarities between Covid and the Spanish Flu of 1918, but publishers convinced me no one wanted to read about pandemics. Time passed. 

Then I noticed a handmade cookbook my grandmother had constructed during the depression. It’s made of two cardboard flaps reinforced at the edges with duct tape and held together by two metal ring binders. That book inspired me. (I used some of its recipes in Kissing Kin, for instance, Simple Sponge Cake, Mother’s Soft Gingerbread, and…the treatment of chicken lice with nicotine-sulfate.)

The general tone of the cookbook, which was meant as a Christmas present during the 1930s, was chatty. It read more like a diary than a book of recipes, and it motivated me to begin writing Kissing Kin.

If wishes were fishes, Kissing Kin would be made into a movie. I realize that’s a longshot, but it never hurts to dream. On that note, Maeve, the female protagonist for my Kissing Kin dream cast would have to be Millie Bobby Brown because of her amazing acting range. With her talent, she could pull off being an M2 Bradley driver in Afghanistan and the unwitting spectator to specters. 

The male protagonist would have to be Timothée Chalamet. Not only is he a heartthrob, but he’s a versatile actor, whether the genre be drama, comedy, or action. I can see him as the struggling vintner, who makes Maeve a deal. On a shoestring budget to convert his vineyard into a winery, he offers her room and board in exchange for pruning grapevines.

And for your enjoyment, an excerpt:

Grandma’s bedtime stories echoed through my mind as I sped west on I-10. At an early age, family history had merged with myth until the name Fort Lincoln was as legendary as Avalon or Middle Earth.

But when the snow-covered peaks loomed closer, their reality was undeniable. Maybe her stories weren’t tall tales…

And what about her proverbs? “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” I winced. No job and no prospects. Mustering out after a five-year Army stint, I had to ask myself: What next? Where next?

Cody slipped into my thoughts, but I dismissed him, refusing to romanticize our breakup.

A troop of cavalry soldiers galloped toward me from the nineteenth century, but a second glance proved the images were metal cutouts–two-dimensional illusions that resembled an officer and guide leading two columns of cavalrymen.

The silhouettes evoked tales of my great-great-grandfather, Ben Williams. Beginning his military career as a scout, he’d been field promoted during combat, then commissioned as Second Lieutenant at Fort Lincoln.

I smiled, proud of our similar career paths. Maybe Grandma’s stories influenced me more than I realized.

Leaving the Interstate, I turned south. Road signs noted towns that sounded familiar from family stories but seemed as mythical as Camelot or Tintagel Castle.

Closer now, the mountains’ features came into view. No longer mere outlines on the horizon, each craggy palisade and butte towered over the highway. Fluffy hoarfrost transformed the landscape into an icy spectacle, with flaky, crystal shards overlaying each leaf and every blade of grass. A frozen fairyland! Just the way Grandma described it. Inspired by the raw beauty, I straightened my shoulders. Maybe I’m viewing my discharge the wrong way. Instead of adrift, maybe I’m free…

Kissing Kin can be purchased here: https://books2read.com/u/boXl10

Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, as well as Kissing Kin, Fox Tale, Wild Rose Pass, The Keys: Voice of the Turtle and more, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, IT technical editor, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories steeped in the supernatural. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Texas Piney Woods with her husband Peter and her mews—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.98

Connect with Karen at her website: https://karenhulenebartell.com/

Favorite Reads from 2023

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

I read 88 books in 2023. And of those 88, I would like to highlight 24 of them (don’t worry, 21 of those are in 3 series).

Bridgerton: When He Was Wicked, It’s in His Kiss, On the Way to the Wedding

I finished the final three books of the Bridgerton series at the start of 2023. They were the perfect way to end the series. Julia Quinn got bolder with the three younger Bridgertons, and it paid off. Francesca is a widow who is fighting her feelings for her deceased husband’s cousin. Hyacinth is an independent woman who doesn’t want to fall in love, so when Lady Danbury’s grandson catches her eye, she doesn’t know what to do. And Gregory… Gregory, Gregory, he’s going to go after a young woman promised to someone else. Hyacinth’s and Gregory’s stories had action and danger that I loved. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses – A Court of Silver Flames

When your editor recommends a book to help with your writing, you follow through. When I finished the first draft of Bondwitch: Hybrid, I asked my editor for advice on a specific plot point. She recommended I read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and the subsequent novels. I have never gobbled up a series so quickly. And a quick paragraph won’t do the series justice. Lucky for you, I already have a detailed analysis for each book right here on the blog. Check them out:

ACOTAR: Beauty and the Beast Meets the Goblet of Fire

Mist and Fury: A Perfect Redemption

Wings and Ruin: The Cost of War

Frost and Starlight: Diversity in Healing

Silver Flames: Overcoming Toxicity

I will say overall, the world building is superb; and Sarah J. Maas gives JK Rowling a run for her money when it comes to morally gray characters. Everyone is flawed. Everyone makes astronomical mistakes. Everyone lies and cheats and steals. And almost everyone earns their redemption. 

Warriors of Sangrin

This series I also wrote a deeper post on. This is a SciFi Romance series by Nancey Cummings. In this world, Earth was invaded by alien invaders called Suhlik. The Suhlik’s enemies, Mahdfel come to Earth’s aid… for a price. That price is in the form of brides as Mahdfel only produce sons, so they must mate with females from other planets. There are 11 stories in the main line and 3 side stories, so far. This series opened me up to alien romances, and I’m addicted. 

The Alpha and Her Hunter

The is one of the best fated mate, werewolf stories I have ever read. The author, Lauren Rutherford, created a unique world building that worked so beautifully. Female werewolves are bigger, stronger, and the leaders of the packs. Hunters have their own powers that differentiate them from regular humans. And if you haven’t figured it out from the title, we have a Romeo and Juliet story going on. Forbidden love. My favorite trope. A female werewolf and a male hunter fall in love, and have to fight their families to be together. It ends on a cliffhanger, and I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel.   

The King’s Curse

This was the final Plantagenet/Tudor book left for me to read by Philippa Gregory. It’s Margaret Pole’s turn to tell her story, and I’d venture to say that this is one of Gregory’s longer books in respect to how much time is covered (it’s still her typical 600-page novel). We jump into Margaret’s story around the time that Princess Katherine from Spain is arriving to marry Arthur, following her life to the day Margaret was executed. Her execution was confusing to the court and historians. Catherine Howard had recently been executed for adultery, and Margaret had not been close to being involved in that. The most probable reason is that Henry still felt threatened by her and her sons since they were the remaining York family, and could distantly claim the throne. I really enjoyed learning about Margaret’s life through Gregory’s historical fiction. She’s always been a side character with few notable moments in the other novels, and with The King’s Curse she gets to take center stage. I loved seeing a human side to her, rather than the perfect ally to Katherine and Mary that she is usually depicted as. Though she did stay loyal to Henry’s first family, she still had her own trials that she had to focus on and make difficult decisions to protect her name, family, and property. And now, it’s the end of an era. 15 years, and I’ve finally read about the main Plantagenet and Tudor women.  

The Lycan Prince’s Huntress

This is the the prequel to a fated-mate-werewolf romance called Prince Reagan. In some omegaverse world building, there is a shifter called a lycan. Lycans are a more powerful version of werewolves. Depending on the author and their imagination, lycans can walk on their hindlegs in their wolf form (I kind of imagine Remus Lupin from Harry Potter, but more muscular), they live longer (or are full on immortal), they are the royal pack/family that regular werewolf packs have to bow down to, etc. The Lycan Prince’s Huntress can be found on the reading app Dreame. In this story, the FMC is the daughter of the head hunter; and their clan hunts werewolves and lycans. The MMC is the crowned prince of the Lycan Kingdom. And these two are fated mates. Forbidden love, enemies to lovers, Romeo and Juliet. And since those are my favorite tropes, I lapped this story right up. Also, it was an added bonus that the FMC wasn’t a sniveling weakling who becomes a jellied donut in the presence of her mate. 

And those were my favorite books I read last year. What are your favorite books from 2023? Let me know in the comments! 

New Release: Stonebridge by Linda Griffin

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Linda Griffin’s latest book, Stonebridge, released November 1st. Get to know Linda and her paranormal romance:

Stonebridge Manor is a Georgian mansion in Virginia, owned for centuries by the somewhat reclusive Demeray family. In 1958 Edwina Demeray lives there with her disabled scholar great-grandson Ted and has commanded her great-granddaughter Rynna to join them. One more resident may be present too—the ghost of Rosalind, the murdered cousin of Rynna’s mother.

I enjoy ghost stories and always wanted to write one. I’m also intrigued with characters who come to live with strangers. When I put the two ideas together, Rynna’s story began to take shape. It changed direction, though, when I fell in love with the man the character of Ted was based on, and he took over the story.

I am very much a pantser. My characters have minds of their own and take me where they will. It took me about a year to write Stonebridge, and then I spent another four months obsessively re-writing the ending. The only way I could get myself to stop revising was to wonder what came next and start writing the sequel, Beyond Stonebridge, which is also under contract with the Wild Rose Press. Ideally, I would prefer to write in the morning, but my characters laugh at schedules. Unfortunately, they prefer to talk to me in the evening, often when I’m trying to sleep, and I have to keep a notebook by my bed so I can take dictation.

An earlier version of Stonebridge was published by Winston-Derek Publishers, Inc. in 1994. It’s been out of print for a long time, but I was only recently able to regain the rights. I’ve learned a lot since then, so I think the new version is better written. The story is the same, but some details have been changed, and while the first version was vaguely set in the post-Vietnam era, the new one starts in 1958, a better fit for Rynna’s somewhat unliberated attitude.

Linda Griffin decided to become a “book maker” as soon as she learned to read and wrote her first story when she was six. She retired as fiction librarian for the San Diego Public Library to spend more time on her writing. Her short stories have been published in numerous journals, and Stonebridge is her eighth book from the Wild Rose Press. Connect with Linda at her website: https://www.lindagriffinauthor.com/index.htm

After the death of her mother, Rynna Dalton comes to live with her imperious great- grandmother and her bookish, disabled cousin Ted at Stonebridge Manor. Almost immediately she is aware of a mysterious presence, which she believes is the spirit of her mother’s murdered cousin, Rosalind. Rynna is charmed by Rosalind’s lawyer son Jason Wyatt, who courts her, and she agrees to marry him. Meanwhile Ted and Rynna become good friends. But Stonebridge holds secrets that will profoundly affect her future. Why is Ted so opposed to the match? Why does Rosalind seem to warn Rynna against it? And how far will Jason go to possess Stonebridge—and the woman he professes to love?

Stonebridge can be purchased here:

https://www.amazon.com/Stonebridge-Linda-Griffin-ebook/dp/B0CGG1TN31
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1000585740
https://books.apple.com/us/book/stonebridge/id6463164419

New Release: Lost in Her Depths by Tabitha Emberose

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Lost in Her Depths is a Portal Fantasy Romance novel. It’s my debut and introduces readers to the planet of Sundara (although most of the book takes place on Earth 😁). It’s one of six known planets all interconnected by portals. These planets are known as the Torlana Lanak. 

There are four races that call Sundara home, and you will get to meet three of them in Lost. First we have the Takaryns (Ta-Karen-s). They’re a race of people who look like angels to us mere mortals with their white wings. They view Earth and the mortals who reside there as primitive, but this doesn’t prevent the small sect of Takaryns known as Kelaryn’s Guardians from protecting them. 

The next race is my Lamarans (La-mar-ans). They’re my wolf shapeshifters. Imagine a wolf twice its normal size approaching you through an open field. When they’re in their humanoid form, they stand at least seven feet tall and have a ripped body similar to the Rock or Jason Momoa. 

Our next shapeshifters are my Droskels (Dros-Kels). They appear no different than any other fantasy dragon we all know and love. What makes them unique is when in their humanoid form their skin isn’t smooth like ours. From a distance, they look human, but once you get closer you can see the main difference between them and us. Their skin is actually made up of interlocking scales similar to a snake, but these scales are strong enough to protect them from almost anything. 

And finally we have our Mer People. They look no different than any other mermaid with one exception. Unlike the mermaids we all know and love, the Mer People of Sundara have gills hidden on the back of their necks. No one ever sees them, because they’re covered up by the mermaid or merman’s hair. 

Lost came about after I wrote Guardian Against the Darkness. This will be book one of my Guardian Saga coming out sometime in 2024. I wanted to write a small series of novellas as an introduction to my fantasy world. I wrote Lost in a month after plotting it out. It’s gone through several beta reads and three drafts. It has expanded from the first draft, and is no longer a novella. I work a full time job, so I don’t have as much time as I’d like to dedicate to my writing. But I make due with what I have.

That being said, hello my name is Tabitha Emberose, and I live in a small gulf town in the Florida Panhandle. I’m the mom to my 15 year old fur baby Saphira (Yes, I named her after the dragon in Eragon 🤣). I’ve been a writer since a very young age. It didn’t matter how long or short the road trip was, I had to take my notebook and pen with me wherever I went. As I grew up, I turned away from writing original stories full time. Instead, I wrote fan fiction stories for over a decade while sprinkling in original stories that sadly I never finished.

It wasn’t until several years ago I got the writing bug to once again write original stories full time. Lost is the product of that dedication. My publisher is Mystic Phoenix Books which is my LLC business I created specifically for my author career.

Follow Tabitha at her Amazon Author page and pre-order Lost in Her Depths, available November 8, 2023.

He’s a Takaryn trapped in the mortal world. She’s a witch struggling to master her power.

But will their forbidden love survive in the end?

Artur is almost a Guardian who’ll be tasked with the protection of all the worlds of Torlana. When he learns of traitors on Sundara, he takes it upon himself to hunt for the guilty. He’s soon captured, tortured, and banished to the mortal world where he finds himself lost in the sky blue eyes and fiery spirit of a mortal female. But it’s her touch that sets his heart aflame. He knows if she stays with him her life will be in danger…

Twenty-two year old Ella Masterson has a secret. She’s a witch with the power over water, except she has yet to master her ability to its full potential. When she sees what looks like a warrior angel falling from the sky she dives in head first. Pulling the angel onshore, she soon finds herself drowning in his gold flecked eyes and musky scent. No matter how much he tries to push her away she’s determined to help him, knowing he’ll be taking her heart with him when he leaves…

Lost in Her Depths