Hope Springs Infernal – Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 14 by Sara Bourgeois


Hope Springs Infernal
Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 13
By
Sara Bourgeois

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Donuts and demons, oh my!

When Brighton Skeenbaur comes out of retirement, she comes out swinging. One minute she’s minding her own business, attending her monthly book club, and the next… bam, she’s staring at a dead body.

It’s been a long time since Brighton got involved in a murder mystery, but this time, she feels compelled. While her sleuthing puts her at odds with her son-in-law, and his entire department, Brighton can’t back down.

But Kinsley is glad for the help. She’s up to her neck in Coven issues and did not want to get involved in another murder mystery. Still, she’ll lend a helping hand whenever she can. And as always, Meri is more than willing to lend a helping paw.

After all these years, can Brighton still solve a crime one spell at a time?

With Kinsley busy with her new donut shop and the Coven, Brighton and Remi often babysit their grandchildren. Mostly Hekate since Lainey is in preschool. One of the things she’s missed since Kinsley’s return to town is Meri. Although he still visits he most often is with Kinsley or Hekate.

While Remi is more of a homebody, enjoying the children or researching on the web. Brighton likes to get out more. On this occasion she has errands to run and her first stop is the grocery store. She has a confrontation with someone who looks familiar, but she can’t place. He gets thrown out of the store but it’s still unsettling. Her next stop is the hardware store and then she realizes he followed her as she’s talking to her cousin Aria. Aria’s quick thinking gets him tossed out of there as well.

That night is her book club and the book was boring and the discussion not much better. After a couple of sneaked drinks and some of the sweets provided Brighton steps out for some air. The property has a large pond and she wandered down and walked out onto the deck. Suellen, another of the book club members joins her and she spots something in the water. With a touch of magic, Brighton brings it toward them, it looks like a log, but it isn’t.

Not only was the person dead but his ghost is hanging around as well. It’s the man who had harassed and followed her earlier.

When Jeremy and Thorn get there, the investigation begins, and Meri shows up. Of course you know Brighton isn’t going to stay out of it, she’s been itching to do something new. So when Jeremy and Thorn start down the path that goes from the property to town, she follows with Meri.

This is a favorite scene.

The woods were dark, but it wasn’t so bad. The moon was bright and at least some of the light cut through the trees. Still, a little magic never hurt anyone.

I could see Thorn’s and Jeremy’s flashlights sweeping over the trail ahead, but I didn’t have a flashlight. I tried the one on my phone, but it was just above useless.

“We could use a little magic,” Meri suggested. “For you. I can see just fine.”

I mulled it over. A light would attract attention. “You’ve given me an idea.”

“You going to turn yourself into a cat?” Meri snarked.

“Close,” I said. “That would take a lot of magic to maintain, but what if I just turn my eyes?”

“You’re going to turn yourself into a goat.”

“I am not. I’ve been doing this for a very long time now. I think I can manage some cat eyes.”

“Or you could just do a light spell.”

“I’m doing the cat eyes,” I said. “It’s less obvious.”

Meri sighed. “Fine, I’ll help.”

“Just a little boost,” I said. “And maybe some protection.”

“You want to cast a circle out here too, lady?”

“I’d forgotten how delightful you can be,” I said with a chuckle.

“Whatever.”

“Whatever indeed.”

But that was the end of the conversation. I closed my eyes and covered my lids with my palms. The magic started in my heart. It was warm and turquoise blue like a Caribbean sea. I focused harder, and the color became water. The water became sparkling sunlight as it traveled down to my fingertips.

I supposed I could have just radiated the magic up through my chest and throat to my eyes. But I didn’t want to take the chance of a misfire and end up meowing instead of seeing in the dark. Meri would have never let me live that down.

When I moved my hands away and opened my eyes, the entire forest had taken on a silvery glow. It was almost like night-vision goggles, but pretty and sparkly. I looked down at Meri.

“Do my eyes look weird?”

“Oh, now that’s freaking strange,” he said obviously unnerved. “Can we just get on with this?”

“One second,” I said and took out my phone.

I turned on the camera and put it on front facing. I had to know what I looked like with cat eyes, and it was freaking strange.

My irises were still green, but my pupils were humongous. In fact, it was hard to tell that my irises were still green because my pupils had swallowed them up. Suddenly, the light on my phone came on, and my pupils narrowed to tiny snake-like slits.

“Did you just hiss?” Meri asked.

“No,” I said, but I really wasn’t sure.

An owl hooted overhead. I wasn’t sure if it was a sign or if the crafty old bird was just annoyed with our presence. It was time to move on.

But not before I got a selfie. Hey, how could you blame me? I had wicked cool cat eyes. I needed to show Remy later. If anybody would get a kick out of my shenanigans, it was him.

“Can you just get on with it?” Meri asked as I snapped a few photos.

“Sorry, jut want to make sure I get a good one,” I said.

“I thought we were investigating a murder,” he groused. “You’re acting like a dumb teenager.”

“I’m having fun,” I scowled at him.

He hissed and ran a few feet ahead of me.

“That’s right. Remember who is the witch and who is the familiar in this scenario,” I said.

“You’re so much more… witchy than Kinsley,” he said as I pocketed my phone.

“Hey, bud, that’s my daughter. Don’t talk smack about her.”

“I’m not. I’m just saying. You embrace all this in a way I’m not sure she ever will.”

I shrugged. “I thought being a witch was cool when I found out. She never really wanted it,” I said as we tiptoed down the path.

My eyes swept the trees on either side of the path. For the most part, all my silvery vision revealed was a bunch of confused animals staring back at us.

They could sense that my presence wasn’t entirely natural and kept their distance. Meri would have helped with that too. Cats are formidable hunters, but a magic cat was terrifying to anything smaller than a bear. And I was sure even a bear would think twice before tangling with him.

Another reason why Thorn and Jeremy should have let me come along. Not that there were any bears in the woods around Coventry. But there might have been a mountain lion. People said we didn’t have them in Illinois, but I knew better. Too many people had reported sightings, and I could feel something bigger and meaner way off in the distance.

I turned my eyes back to the path, and a bright flash of light momentarily blinded me. At the same time, Meri trotted ahead again.

My eyes adjusted quickly, and I saw what had overwhelmed my vision. Something metallic lay a few feet off the path. The moonlight had caught it and turned it into a spotlight.

“What is it?” I asked Meri. He’d already reached the object.

“Looks like a big locket,” he said and sniffed it. “Oh, it’s a pocket watch.”

I leaned down, as I’d reached the spot where he stood over the watch, and picked it up. It was cold. So cold that I almost dropped it.

A shiver went down my spine, but it wasn’t cold outside. The only explanation for the icy metal was magic.

“You all right?” Meri asked.

“Feel this,” I said and thrust my hand out to him.

He stuck his nose to the pocket watch. “It’s kinda cold, I guess.”

By that time, most of the magic had drained from the watch. But he got the point.

“It was freezing when I picked it up,” I said. “My magic diffused most of the enchantment on the watch.”

I turned it over in my hand. There was only one broken chain link at the top.

“It broke off its chain,” Meri observed at the same time.

“I guess we should take this to Thorn,” I said. “They’ll need to see if the chain is attached to Murray.”

“It could have fallen off in the water,” Meri said.

“It’s right here in my hand,” I said.

“I mean the chain, you boob.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’ll mention that.”

We hurried ahead on the path to catch up with Thorn and Jeremy. When we were almost on them, Meri reminded me. “Your eyes. You’ll freak them out.”

I stopped short, and as I was about to slip the watch into my pocket, I had an idea. I pulled out my phone and took a few pictures of it.

“You going to post those on the Gram?” Meri snarked.

“No, you boob,” I said, returning his previous insult. “Thorn and Jeremy will take this into evidence, and I want to be able to look at it later.”

“You don’t have to call me names,” Meri grumbled.

“Whatever.”

I put my phone in one pocket and slipped the watch into the other. We could hear Thorn and Jeremy talking up ahead, and I was certain they’d probably heard our entire exchange.

That notion was confirmed when we closed the remaining few feet between us. Both men stood there watching us with their hands on their hips. Thorn tapped his foot impatiently, but Jeremy had a slight smile tugging at his lips.

“You should have left evidence for the crime scene team,” Thorn chastised.

“Oh,” I said sheepishly.

“Stop,” Jeremy said and backhanded Thorn in the stomach. “You know they cut the budget for the tech team. They weren’t coming out here. They probably aren’t even going to the actual body. Just the coroner pronouncing death and they take the body away.”

“Oh,” I said. “The county cut the budget that far?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy said and stuck out his hand. “But you’ve still got to hand it over, Brighton.”

“Don’t you need an evidence bag?” I asked as I took it out of my pocket.

“That would have been an amazing thing to think of before you picked it up,” Thorn said.

“Oh,” I said again. But before I handed it over to them, I closed my eyes and whispered a gentle erasure incantation. “Get a bag,” I said. “I’ve erased all traces of me. You can still dust it for prints or send it to forensics.”

“You’re lucky I have one,” Thorn pulled a bag out of his pocket. “I always keep one just in case.”

Thorn held the bag open for me, and I dropped the pocket watch in. I stood there quietly as he sealed it and then tucked the baggie into his inside jacket pocket.

“You’re going to have to turn around and go back now,” Jeremy said gently. “Thank you for your help, but you really can’t be out here with us.”

I humphed and got ready to protest, but my phone rang. It was Remy, so I walked a couple of feet away from the guys and answered.
Bourgeois, Sara. Hope Springs Infernal (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 14). Kindle Locations (684-762). Kindle Edition.

Kinsley is still handling the aftermath of the aborted attempt to take the Coven. She still has to find Ellie who led the charge, and she has to deal with the others as well.

There’s Fae and possible demons in this one. A new character in the form of Brax, and Lilith is part of this one as well. Brighton’s mother shows up, we meet a dragon shifter and well this one has plenty of twists and turns to go with the mysteries involved.

I’m already reading the next book I can’t seem to stop reading these.

5 Contented Purrs for Sara!

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Coming Soon!

Sara Bourgeois

Sara Bourgeois is a Midwesterner through and through. She spends her time writing, reading, herding cats, and standing in her driveway during tornado warnings. (You can’t see them from the basement.)

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Unicorn Magic – Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 13 by Sara Bourgeois


Unicorn Magic
Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 13
By
Sara Bourgeois

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Craft Donuts is finally a reality for Kinsley.

Laney is three, and she’s beginning magical preschool just in time for the donut shop’s grand opening. Hekate is happy to have grandma and grandpa all to herself for a few hours a day.

Kinsley’s excitement over her restaurant is cut short when a body is found in the bathroom during the grand opening celebration. Of course, she’s not an official suspect, but when did that ever stop the small-town gossip train?

Her new business is about to be deep-fried before it even opens.

Although you probably don’t have to, I do recommend reading this series in order. Some books have cliffhanger endings and others don’t but there’s something new or added in almost every book, so it’s good to have read them first.

In the last book, the Skeenbauer family gains another familiar through much the same process as Meri, although Bonkers was a familiar he wasn’t attached to a witch. He also has multiple personalities, hence the name Bonkers.

As this book opens Kinsley is about to have the grand opening of her new business, Craft Donuts. The opening had me laughing at the antics of Meri and Bonkers and enjoying their interaction with Kinsley and Thorn.

This is a favorite scene.

“Shut up!” Meri shrieked.

Bonkers was, of course, making fun of him for being a tiny kitten again. He’d begun shrinking when we liberated the ghost from Thorn’s body, and it hadn’t stopped until he looked like a tiny, black fluffball. We’d hoped that once Hekate was born, the magic that had caused his shrinkage would reverse.

It had not.

“Boys, you need to stop right now. You know how important this day is to me,” I said as I used the mirror to fasten my right earring to my lobe.

The teardrop sapphire earrings Thorn had giving me for our anniversary went perfectly with my cream dress. I smoothed my hair one more time, and then turned to face the familiars.

“What is a gram opening, again?” Bonkers asked as he stretched and kicked Meri over with his back paw.

“It’s grand opening, you moron,” Meri said as he righted himself again. “Gawd, you are an endless font of moronity.”

“That’s not a word,” Bonkers said. “I know that.”

“Wow, you look…” Thorn began as he walked into the bedroom.

I smoothed the dress down over my stomach. I’d lost all of the baby weight and then some more getting the business off the ground. I didn’t like it one bit because I thought I was too skinny. My curves had given me confidence, so I’d vowed to put a little fluff back on now that Craft Donuts was finally a reality.

“You don’t think it’s too much?” I asked before he could finish.

“You look so beautiful,” Thorn said as he quickly crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. “You know, I’ve been thinking the girls need a baby brother,” he said playfully before planting a soft kiss on my neck.

“Thorn Wilson!” I said as I pulled back and slapped his arm playfully. “I’m opening my second business today. You…”

He held up his hands in mock surrender and laughed. “Babe, I’m kidding. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to get you riled up on your big day.”

“Well, it doesn’t take much to get me riled up,” I admitted.

“You are a paragon of virtuous patience,” he said stone-faced.

“Don’t be a jerk.”

“I’m not,” Thorn said and smiled. “You really are amazing. Incredible. Inspiring.”

“I’m not saying we should never have another baby,” I said as Thorn leaned in and nuzzled my neck. He was trying to avoid messing up my makeup, and I loved him so much for that.

“Well, we can talk about that tonight after the grand opening day is done,” Thorn whispered just below my ear.

“Oh, gawd,” Meri said and jumped off the bed.

“Ew, get a room,” Bonkers followed up.

They both jetted out of the room as I called, “We are in our room!” after them.

“Ignore those idiots,” Thorn said as we stepped apart just in time to keep him from wrinkling my dress.

“Those idiots happen to be extraordinarily powerful magical beings,” I said as I tilted my head to the side and looked up at him.

In the handful of years that we had been together, Thorn hadn’t aged. Part of that was magic, and the rest was just incredible genes. He’d passed those down to our daughters, and I’d given them magic.

As I studied the strong line of his jaw and the sparkle in his blue eyes, I felt a stab of pain. I’d almost lost him. I’d been on my way to losing everything as a crazy witch from my family had begun dismantling my life piece by piece.

But she wasn’t strong enough to destroy me. I’d gotten Thorn back, and in the year and a half since, Coventry had been peaceful and quiet.

Well, other than Hekate’s arrival. She’d been born on Christmas morning, after the familiars had kidnapped Santa Claus, in the driveway of Hangman’s House.

That’s right… I didn’t make it any farther than the car before she came screaming into this world. What an entrance.

Her wailing was so mighty and strong, despite being born early, that it drew the spirits of the ancestor witches from the graveyard across the street to bear witness. And they had blessed her with the powers of life and death. That she could walk in this world and have dominion over the next. Just like her namesake, the Goddess Hekate.

But she was eighteen months old, and her current obsessions were unicorns and her big sister, Laney. Oh, Laney…

With her big blue eyes and gorgeous blonde ringlets, she had her daddy wrapped around her little finger. Heck, she had everybody wrapped around her little finger. That included me.
Bourgeois, Sara. Unicorn Magic (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 13). Kindle Locations (1-42). Kindle Edition.

Of course, the opening doesn’t go as planned as a body is found on the premise just before the start. Then to make matters worse, a confrontation with the younger generation of witches has Kinsley rethinking her status quo.

We also learn about Meri’s past with Bonkers, it really goes a long way back. Hidden sigils are a big part of solving the problem with the witches. However, Reggie teams up with Kinsley to solve the murder.

So much in play here and there are many twists and turns as yet another mystery is solved. Yet not everything is.

5 Contented Purrs for Sara!

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Coming Soon!

Sara Bourgeois

Sara Bourgeois is a Midwesterner through and through. She spends her time writing, reading, herding cats, and standing in her driveway during tornado warnings. (You can’t see them from the basement.)

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Steven’s Solace – Heroes for Hire Book 30 by Dale Mayer


Steven’s Solace
Heroes for Hire Book 30
By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Dale Mayer

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Finding out that an old friend was kidnapped, tortured, then deep-sixed in the harbor, complete with cement boots—and survived—sends Steve rushing to California to help. Also Opal and her mother had appealed to Levi to find Steve and to send him to help, if possible.

Opal has been through the worst possible scenario, but it’s not over, as her kidnapers were looking for something she didn’t have. She’d been to hell and back for a couple years already and had hoped the worst was over. How wrong could she be? And it wouldn’t ever end, unless she found what these men were looking for or stopped them altogether.

With her in hiding, and Steve now back in her life, she’s finally hopeful she might survive. Until things take an ugly turn, … and having a future is no longer a guarantee.

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The case Levi has for Steven is one he doesn’t expect and is practically running for the door when he hears what has happened. Opal is friend from long ago, he keeps in touch but not as frequently as he maybe should.

The last couple of years have been hard on Opal and her mother, Ruby. Her father was a dirty cop, and even his partner Marshal didn’t know what he was up to. Marshal had to leave the force with all the side-eyes and constant questioning of his abilities. It was him and a doctor friend of his who saved Opal from certain death.

When Steven and his partner on this, Reyes, meet up with Marshal there’s a lot of
secrecy around where they were going. Marshal has put Ruby and Opal’s safety above all else.

As they get details, what they find is there are a lot of suspects due to the nature of the crimes Opal’s father committed. All Opal knows is that there questioning of her centered on some sort of stash.

As Steve and Reyes get ready to go check into their hotel they are met with a resounding NO from Opal.

This is a favorite scene.

Opal stood up slowly and walked stiffly. “Mom, no need to panic. We will cross that bridge when we get to it. I’ll be right back.” She used the facilities and then washed her face, trying to put some of her sense of self back together again. She did feel pleasantly alive for the first time in a very long time. The fear was still there, yet, for the first time, it was muted in the background.

She didn’t know how much of that was the sleep versus having Steve here to help out. No doubt she felt stronger with him around, but then he had always had the ability to make her feel as if she counted. He made her feel alive, special even. She didn’t even know if he could do anything with this mess, but, if he could, she knew he would do his best.

She was blessed to have him and was also sad that they had lost touch over the years. She didn’t really know why, but they had drifted apart. He’d always been busy on missions and not able to tell her very much about them. She’d heard through the grapevine at some point that he was engaged. It had saddened her for her own sake, and somehow she still knew his fiancée was a very lucky woman.

He hadn’t mentioned it to her, but then why would he? So far it had been all about Opal and what had happened with her dad. It’s not that she wanted to steer the conversation to Steve’s engagement, but it was hard not to, when there was so much mess in Opal’s world. Any other subject would be easier to talk about.

When she made her way back to rejoin them, Opal looked over at her mother and asked, “Are there leftovers or anything?”

“Oh my.” Her mother stared at Opal in amazement. “Are you hungry?”

She nodded. “I think I am, yes,” she murmured, “though I’m not sure how that happened.”

“I don’t care how it happened, but I’ll go get you something, something easy for your throat.” She stopped and looked from Steve to Reyes and asked, “Have you guys eaten?”

They shared a glance and a shrug. Steve shook his head. “We can catch something later, and we still have to check into our hotel.”

At hearing that, the word instantly exploded from Opal’s mouth. “No!”

“What does that mean?” Steve asked Opal gently. She took a deep breath. “Please stay here,” she whispered, the slightest waver in her voice. That said so much, even as she tried to stop it from showing.

He looked at her for a long moment and then nodded. “I guess we can stay for a while, yes.”

“It’ll reduce our movements back and forth, so we wouldn’t be followed quite so easily,” Reyes added.

Steve interrupted, “But you also know it’s temporary, right, Opal?”

She gave him a ghost of a smile. “Of course, but maybe in the meantime I can regain some strength and self-confidence and grab some sleep. Having you two around is a huge boon for that.”

“I get that,” Steve murmured, then looked over at Reyes. “What do you think? Do you see any problem with that?”

Reyes shook his head. “Nope, if there is room for us, it would be perfect. We’ll need a table or desk to work at too.”

“We have lots of that,” Opal shared. “This rental house has plenty of spare rooms. Even though we didn’t move very far, we left home to get away from the media. I’m pretty sure Mom is bound to be looking at selling that house, now that my father is gone.”

Steve nodded. “That may not a bad idea, as the place is full of memories, I’m sure. What about you? Were you still living there?”

“No, I have an apartment, but we gave notice, although I still need to get everything moved out,” she said, with a wince. “I only have a couple weeks left, and I’m definitely not looking forward to that.” She brushed back her hair and added, “I can’t seem to think that far ahead.”

“Hire it out. Move whatever is there into a storage unit for now. You don’t know where you might end up living,” Steve suggested instantly. “Then you don’t need anybody to know what happened. You don’t need to see anyone. You just need it taken care of. That’s why you hire people.”

She stared at him and then nodded. “You may be right. I was avoiding dealing with it. I could have just paid another four months’ worth of rent, but the media found my apartment.”

“Sounds like a good reason to me. I can help now that I am here.”

“It’s been a long time to reach out. I’m sorry for that,” she muttered.

“Don’t be sorry. You’re not to blame. It was just life.”

“I was thinking about that, when I came out of the bathroom just now, wondering how we let so many years get between us.”

“It doesn’t matter now because we’ve reconnected again, and I’ll always be there for you. Whenever you need me, I’m there.”

“I do know that,” she murmured. “My mother wasn’t so sure that you were coming, but I’m grateful that Levi went the extra mile to make it happen.”

“And how do you know Levi?”

Opal glanced at her mother and explained, “Ice’s father has a medical facility here.”

Steve sat back, nodding. “Of course. I’d forgotten that. And that’s how your hospitalization records were changed, I presume?” Steve shot a look at Marshal, then to Opal.

“Yeah, it sure is,” Opal confirmed.

“If it helps,” Ruby added, “the records will be corrected later, but, for the moment, to keep her identity hidden and to keep her safe, Dr. Danning was happy to do whatever needed to be done.”

Reyes noted, “Plus your kidnappers and would-be killers may not yet know that you survived this, Opal. So best to keep you hidden, especially as we delve into this more.”

Then Steve spoke up. “So, that led to Ice, which led to me. And you’re really lucky because I had only contacted Levi recently about joining his team. He’s always had an open-door policy for anybody looking for work,” Steve explained. “We all come out of whatever military service area we served in, and a lot of us have gone to work for Levi. It’s crazy how many former military guys Levi has brought on. Baffling almost that you could locate me so quickly.” He stared at Opal. “Actually it’s a miracle.”

Ruby added, “But it’s good that you all come with abilities that most people don’t have access to.”

“Exactly,” Steve agreed, “and, in this case, Levi and Ice have access to a ton of civilian experts too, including medical staff and facilities apparently.”

Opal smiled. “The hospital staff put in a lot of work to keep me alive. I don’t think it was easy. My lungs had water in them. My throat was damaged. I’d taken quite a few blows to the face, and, although not all my bones were broken, several were, and it’s taken a while to heal. Even now, my face might need plastic surgery, when the swelling goes down.”

Steve held her face, while he critically assessed the damage, then shrugged. “You still look beautiful to me.”

She gave him a dry look. “I almost believe you. I know when you look at my face that you don’t see my face. You were always more concerned about the me on the inside.”

“When I first saw your face, and there was nobody I could punch to take out my aggravation on,” he murmured, “there wasn’t a whole lot of sense in focusing on it. However, you can bet that I didn’t miss the damage done.”

“No, of course not,” she murmured. “How could you? It’s pretty obvious.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Steve told her. “It’s really not that bad.”

“Oh please,” she cried out in a hoarse voice.

“Okay, it’s terrible.” He chuckled. “Only because you’re still vain.”

“I’m not still vain,” she stated trying for outrage but sounding like a hoarse frog instead.

At that, Reyes broke them up with his laughing. “I’m really glad to hear that you’re not vain and that you do know him as well as you do because that will help you when we start probing into your life and that of your father’s,” Reyes forewarned Opal. “There will be times when you want to order us out of here, and yet we can’t go. Once we commit to this, we commit fully, and there’s no going back.”

She took a deep breath. “I understand, but there’s no life for me after this if we don’t solve it. They’ll come for me again. Thankfully they don’t even know I’m alive— at least I hope they don’t.”

“Have you had any interaction with the media yet?” Steve turned to look at Marshal.

Marshal stood with his arms akimbo, as he stared at him, hardly moving. “No, we’ve managed to keep her rescue quiet.”

“So, the kidnappers are probably looking for some notice that she’s missing.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Her mother was supposed to be leaving for a holiday, until I contacted Ruby— once we found out what was going on.”

“You mean, when you brought Opal up to the surface?”

He nodded. “More or less, yes. I’d been talking to Ruby anyway. I was supposed to join her on this vacation. You might as well know that we’re in a relationship.”

“Got it,” Steve noted calmly, “I had a pretty good idea on that already.”

He flushed. “I’ve known them all my life, and Opal is like a daughter to me. When I saw what was going on, I—” Then the emotions choked him. He spun away. “I’ll go help Ruby with the food.” And, with that, he disappeared.

Steve looked down at Opal. “Are you okay with their relationship?”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes. Marshal makes Mom happy.”
Dale Mayer. Stevens-Solace-Dale-Mayers-re (Kindle Locations 400-476). Kindle Edition.

The last Opal knew Steve was engaged, and when the conversation comes around to that she’s absolutely indignant that the woman needs to be punished for leaving him. It shows how much she really cares for Steve even if he has to restrain her enthusiasm.

This is a convoluted path they have to follow, and so many people to eliminate as suspects. Surprisingly it’s her father’s Lawyer that along with the will, has something for Opal that helps bring everything to a head.

So many twists, unbelievable betrayal, and a long-time coming relationship kept me turning the pages to the conclusion.

I really can’t wait to see what Dale comes up with next for this group of heroes.

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

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Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.


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Fated – Serendipity Series Book 4 by Carly Phillips


Fated
Serendipity Series Book 4
By
NY Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
Carly Phillips

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He used to crush on her best friend.
How can he convince her
falling for him won’t crush her heart?

Though Nick Mancini flirts with her like it’s his second job, Kate Andrews tries to ignore the sexy construction worker. How could he be interested in her? Not that long ago, he was in love with Kate’s best friend, Faith. His muscled body and sexy dimples are hard to resist, but Kate refuses to be anyone’s rebound girl. Been there, done that, burned the road map.

Trouble is, Kate does believe love at first sight. But it has to be a two-way street, and she’s convinced she and Nick are destined to crash and burn.

Nick can pinpoint the exact moment he gave up on Faith, and really saw Kate for the first time. He’d ticked her off and she’d been seriously angry. He’d looked right into those flashing green eyes, and he was a goner. He’s pretty sure Kate feels the same way, but despite their off-the-charts chemistry, she rejects him at every turn.

But Nick is nothing if not persistent and the longing looks she sneaks his way don’t lie. She wants him, too. For Nick to break through Kate’s barriers, he’ll have to throw out the original blueprint and come up with a whole new plan. One that takes him off guard and cements their future.

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The opening of this book echoes the thoughts of many women, as Kate Andrews with her best friend Faith and Tess, Dare Barron’s half-sister watch the softball game. The Cops are playing Mancini Construction and it’s a sight to make women sigh. Kate won’t admit her feelings for Nick Mancini, and though he has asked her for a date many times, she always says no.

If you recall in a previous book, Nick thought to rekindle his feelings with Faith only to find there was nothing to rekindle. What they had was a high school romance nothing more. With that realization also came the startling revelation that the person he’s been looking for was right in front of him the whole time, Kate.

This is a favorite scene.

“Hey, look! Dare’s up at bat!” Tess said, conversation forgotten and her focus now on her brother.

“And look who’s pitching,” Faith said under her breath.“It’s Nick.”

To Faith’s credit, not only was she sensitive to Kate’s feelings about her past with Nick, insisting things between them were over as of ten-plus years ago, but she also tried to match-make for them now.

“I hadn’t noticed.” Kate’s hands gripped the bleachers harder.

“Liar.” Faith leaned closer. “Why do you keep turning him down when he asks you out? The chemistry between you two is off the charts.”

She shifted uncomfortably on the metal bench. “We talked about this. He’s not over you, and even if he is, I’d still be his rebound girl.” And Kate had too much self-respect to go that route again. At least now she was aware of how much it hurt to be that girl, and she refused to repeat the past mistake that haunted her still.

“And if you tell him what I said, I may never forgive you.” She knew the two were still close, but Kate trusted Faith to keep her secrets as long as she knew where Kate drew the line.

Thankfully, Faith dropped the subject, and the rest of the game passed quickly. Mancini Construction won 5-2, thanks in no small part to Nick’s stellar pitching. The teams took the win and the loss in stride, agreeing to meet at Joe’s Bar for drinks.

Faith had to return home with Tess, but she offered to drop Kate off at Joe’s first, where it would be easy enough for her to get a ride home later.

“I can take you,” Nick said, coming up behind Kate and standing way too close.

He ought to smell sweaty and disgusting. Instead, he smelled like Nick and a hot, sexy man. Kate gritted her teeth, prepared to turn down his offer.

“Awesome!” Tess said. “Then we can get home to Anna’s dinner that much faster.”

Thanks for throwing me under the bus, kid, Kate thought. “I think I’ll go straight home.” She treated Faith to a pleading look, hoping her friend would chime in.

“Then I can take you there,” Nick said first, his tone more insistent.

Kate swallowed hard. The last thing she wanted was to be alone in a vehicle with Nick. “Faith doesn’t mind driving me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Tess is hungry, so let them go straight home, and I’ll drive you wherever you want to go.”

“You’re the man,” Tess said with a big grin.

“Thanks,” Faith said to Nick, then leaned in to kiss Kate goodbye. “Take advantage of the opportunity,” Faith whispered in her ear.

“Not happening,” Kate said right back. Every logical cell in Kate’s brain warned her to be careful around Nick. His dating history rivaled a who’s who in Serendipity. His one and only long-term relationship had been with Kate’s best friend. Maybe if he hadn’t tried again so recently, Kate might believe he was over Faith. But he had.

Faith and Tess took off, walking across the field to the lot where the cars were parked, leaving Kate alone with Nick.

“I just need to grab my duffel, and I’m ready. You?” Nick asked.

“Sure. And thank you,” she said, not wanting to seem like an ingrate.

He returned a few minutes later, and they strode side by side to the car, Nick placing a hand on the small of her back. Pleasure rushed through her at his touch, and her skin tingled in approval. Instead of letting herself enjoy it, Kate stepped out of his reach.

Nick’s low chuckle echoed around her.

“Good game,” she said, hoping conversation would help distract him. “You pitched great.”

“Thanks.” He grinned, showing her the sexy dimples in his cheeks. “I’ll miss playing during the winter months.”

“But you have basketball,” she said, knowing the guys played every Sunday.

“True. But I prefer softball and the hot sun to the indoor stuffiness in St Anthony’s basement.” He reached his truck and tossed his bag into the back before walking around and opening her door.

She climbed in, and soon, he’d done the same on his side, and they were on their way to Joe’s. Nick behaved on the short ride over, asking her about her new crop of students at the middle school where she taught English. He seemed genuinely interested, and Kate loved talking about her kids. In fact, she often thought they were the closest she might ever come to having children of her own.

After all, what were the chances of her finding true love the way Faith had? Although she was just twenty-seven years old, Serendipity was a small town, and Kate knew almost everyone. Added to that, she’d never had any desire to leave or travel, which meant meeting new people was rare.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek. God, when had she become so maudlin? She was still young. She had plenty of time to find the right man. Of course, her gaze drifted to Nick. She covertly studied his chiseled features, tanned skin, and gorgeous muscles as he concentrated on turning into the lot behind Joe’s. It was his fault she was thinking like this, she decided.

Sometime in the last few months, she’d become hyper-aware of him as a man, not just as an old friend. His flirtatious passes that she kept turning down didn’t help, either. But she couldn’t bring herself to believe that he wanted her for anything real or serious. His past cemented his intentions now, just as her old experiences made her extra wary. That was the way of things, wasn’t it?

“Here we are,” Nick said as he parked behind the bar on Main Street.

They walked into Joe’s together, but Kate pulled her armor around herself and acted friendly, yet found other people to hang out with for the rest of the night. Though she was aware of Nick watching her, she told herself it was just the challenge that had his hot gaze following her everywhere she went.

And when it was time to go home, she let one of the other teachers she worked with give her a lift instead of taking Nick up on his offer.
Carly Phillips. Fated-Carly-Phillips (Kindle Locations 54-101). Kindle Edition.

Getting these two together and for Kate to acknowledge her real fears is an interesting journey.

Nick is as patient as Kate is obstinate and Faith is the best friend for both of them to have.

There is laughter, fun, and romance in this short and satisfying read.

5 Contented Purrs for Carly!

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Coming soon!
Click the Cover for Buy Links and More!

Carly Phillips

Carly Phillips is the N.Y. Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of over 50 sexy contemporary romance novels featuring hot men, strong women and the emotionally compelling stories her readers have come to expect and love.

Carly’s career spans over a decade and a half with various New York publishing houses, and she is now an Indie author who runs her own business and loves every exciting minute of her publishing journey. Carly is happily married to her college sweetheart, the mother of two nearly adult daughters and three crazy dogs (two wheaten terriers and one mutant Havanese) who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. Carly loves social media and is always around to interact with her readers.


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Yule Be Sorry – Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 12 by Sara Bourgeois


Yule Be Sorry
Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 12
By
Sara Bourgeois

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Jingle Bell Hell!!!

When the unthinkable happens, Kinsley has to figure out a way to save her best friend. There’s a bad witch on the loose, and Kinsley’s going to have to stop her before the bodies pile up like presents under the Christmas Tree.

“This book sucks.” – Meri

Note: Ignore Meri’s comments, he loves to grump!

As this book opens Thorn has left Kinsley, and she’s pregnant again. The business she was thinking about starting is now on hold. Unfortunately, she forgot to cancel one of the meetings she had set up and now he’s at the Brew Station and pissed.

Kinsley hopes to soothe his ruffled feathers, and while a fresh cup of coffee and a peppermint brownie seems to work a bit, it doesn’t stop him escalating to rude and insulting. This causes Kinsley to make a bit of a scene and she apologizes to Viv. Not the best way to start a day and it ends even worse.

Dahlia, her cousin and employee leaves her wallet at the shop and returns after hours to collect it. When she opens the shop, she finds a body. Kinsley identifies him as Mr. Carlson the man she had the meeting with earlier in the day.

Jeremy is in charge of the case, and he also brings up his concern about Thorn. He say’s something’s off with him, a feeling he gets when he’s around him but can’t put his finger on.

Then Thorn threatens to take Kinsley to court to get custody of Laney. You know that’s not going to go over well.

Then Meri disappears. Kinsley hasn’t seen him since the arrived at the shop. No one has, and she’s really worried about him.

The nice thing about Meri being a familiar is that we get to know what’s going on with him, and it’s most interesting. But, what Thorn does is in the aftermath is unforgivable.

This is a favorite scene.

The mental hospital I was being taken to was out in the middle of nowhere. I saw the lights appear on the horizon after we turned onto a desolate country road, and it looked every bit like a prison.

Not only was it secluded and enclosed by a tall, barbwire-topped fence, but the entire hospital was surrounded by ghosts. Lost souls who had been buried in unmarked fields on all sides of the hospital.

And when I said lost souls, I meant lost in their own sadness, pain, and anger. I could feel them draining all of the energy from the air, and if I got any closer, they’d drain me too. There would be no magic to get me out.

I had to get away before they drove me any closer. While I didn’t want to do anything to hurt the men who were escorting me to the hospital, I didn’t have the same concern for the transport van.

When the driver slowed down to avoid a huge pothole, I did just a little bit of magic to blow out all four tires. The van skidded sideways to a stop, but no one was hurt.

As soon as we weren’t moving anymore, I once again used magic to fling the back doors open. I hopped down out of the van, I’d behaved so they didn’t have me in any kind of restraints, and ran off into the night.

Not that restraints would have stopped me anyway. I had enough magical juice left in me to undo locks or buckles.

Once my feet were on the ground and running, I had to decide which direction to go. I knew if I stuck to the road, I’d be too easy to catch.

I scouted a path through the field in front of me that didn’t come too close to any of the wandering ghosts. I’d stopped the van soon enough that there weren’t that many.

While I didn’t know for sure if I was headed back toward Coventry, it didn’t matter. I just had to lose the orderlies, and then I could find my way home.

I ran until I got to the highway. That was the first time I really got to take a breath and think.

It was then I realized I still had my phone in my hand. The orderlies had put me in the van with me still clutching it.

“You’ll have to turn that in at intake,” one of them said before closing the doors. He’d nodded his head toward my phone.

Apparently, they didn’t see any problem with me keeping it. Had he been trying to give me a hint? I’d been so worried and stressed that I hadn’t even thought about it.

“Mom!” I said when she picked up.

“Kinsley, where are you?” she asked. “Meri said they took you away in a van!”

“Meri! Meri is there?” I said breathlessly.

“Yes, he’s here.”

“Where was he?” I asked more concerned for Meri than for myself. “Is he all right?”

“We’ll… talk about that later, sweetie. Where are you? Where did they take you?”

“Uh, I’m on the side of Highway 17. Looks like I’m close to exit ninety-nine,” I said.

“Meri’s coming, dear. I’ve fed him three packages of bacon and a glazed donut. He’s going to come there and bring you back. If he can’t, call me right away, and we’ll come out there. It will take us a while to drive that far, so call right away, okay?”

“Mom, can you stay on the phone?” I choked out.

“No, sweetie. When Meri comes through, he’s going so far… It might fry the phone. Turn it off now, so he can come through. As soon as he does, you can call me right back, okay?” she asked.

I agreed, and we hung up. A moment later, thunder rolled through the sky, and there was a flash of light behind me like lightning had struck the field near the highway. But I knew it wasn’t lightning.

Meri came sauntering out of the field and plopped down at my feet. “Give me just a second to prepare, and then we’ll go,” he said. “You’ll need to get down on your hands and knees. I’ve only got enough to make a door big enough for you to crawl through.”

“What’s wrong, Meri?” I asked, and for the first time, I noticed how dirty he was. There were leaves and tiny sticks caked into dirt that stuck to his fur in clumps. “Where were you?”

“It’s a long story. We’ve got to get back. Your father is about to murder Thorn.”
Bourgeois, Sara. Yule Be Sorry (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 14). Kindle Locations (688-719). Kindle Edition.

Fortunately, Meri is able to let everyone know what’s going on.

The solution is interesting, practical and funny, well not to Meri but you’ll see why.

The murder, well, that gets solved as well and it really was a surprise. I never saw that one coming.

I am already reading the next book in this series!

5 Contented Purrs for Sara!

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Coming Soon!

Sara Bourgeois

Sara Bourgeois is a Midwesterner through and through. She spends her time writing, reading, herding cats, and standing in her driveway during tornado warnings. (You can’t see them from the basement.)

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Pack Wars – Their Shifter Princess Book 2


Pack War
Their Shifter Princess Book 2
By
May Dawson

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A few months after escaping the coven that drained my magic, life is golden. My little sister Maddie is safe and happy. I have my pack. I’m in love.

But nothing gold can stay…

Maddie’s violent, dangerous birth pack wants her back.

My four men and I face dozens of wolves, intent on taking my little sister by force. If we keep fighting, my pack will be destroyed all over again.

There’s only one sacrifice I can make to end this pack war.

Myself.

If you haven’t read the first book in this series, STOP! Go back and read it first this book continues shortly after that one ends.

In the last book we learn that Piper is a Shifter Princess as is her sister Maddie. Their adoptive father was a witch whose coven stole them from their parents and bound their power and in Piper’s case her ability to shift as well.

Piper is the Princess of Callum’s pack, she is also the fated mate of Callum, Josh, Nick and Kai. Right now, they are all living together, including Maddie in the house outside of town. They are all training physically and Callum is working on breaking the rest of the curse put on Piper.

Piper’s also having a recurring nightmare of drowning, neither Maddie nor her can swim so it’s particularly frightening. Kai takes Piper shopping for a bathing suit but they play some arcade games and have lunch first. As she’s getting dressed after trying the last suit, Kai bursts into the dressing room. There are wolves in the mall, they are not their pack, and they need to get away.

Kai makes it possible for Piper to get in the truck and to relative safety to call Callum, but she returns for him after the call. They get away just as Callum is pulling in, Kai jumps into the back of Callum’s truck and they rush home.

Things are tense, the other pack has many more wolves and they really won’t have a chance in an attack. They are preparing to protect Piper and Maddie anyway. What happens when that attack comes is quite the surprise.

This is a favorite scene.

I ran for the door, knowing that I would have to do something to stop this battle before every wolf I loved was murdered.

As soon as I wrenched it open, Nick’s glowing wolf eyes met mine, and he growled at me. He butted me with his big head, trying to push me back into the room.

“Sorry, Nick,” I told him. I pushed him away from me, hard as I could—his enormous body barely moved—and ran for the stairs. He bounded after me, but I called back over my shoulder, “Protect Maddie!”

That pulled him to an abrupt stop, looking over his shoulder at the open door where my sister still slept innocently.

“I promise I know what I’m doing!” I called back, which was a lie. “Just take care of her!”

He left out a small whine of desperation, but he paced back to my sister’s side to protect her.

By the time I reached the front door, which stood open, I could hear the sounds of battle raging. Wolves snapped at each other, involved in a pitched battle. Callum was trying to make it through the sea of white and gray fur and snapping mouths—it looked like he was trying to fight his way to the alpha—but there were so many wolves between them.

The alpha stared at me, his eyes boring into mine even from this distance.

“We’re not here for your princess.” His voice boomed, rolling across the field. “We’re here for ours.”

Maddie. They wanted Maddie.

“She’s not here.” I took a step down the porch stairs. “Call them off.”

He shook his head. “Nothing doing, sister.”

I took another step. It felt like I was descending into Hell, into this fury of raging wolves. I had to stop them.

“You can take me,” I said. “If you show me you can be trusted with my sister, I’ll tell you where to find her.”

The faintest smile twisted his lips. “She’s not your sister.”

“And she’s not your pack princess yet,” I said. “She’s a little girl.”

Kai let out a scream—I would have known his voice anywhere, even in wolf-form—and as my eyes desperately sought him out in the crowd, I saw the spray of blood that covered his fur and the fur of the wolves that surrounded him. A snarling wolf bounded toward his throat as if it would rip his life away.

“I love her!” I said. “Even if she’s not my sister by blood. If you won’t hurt her, that’s all I need to know. I’ll send for her. But I need to see that first. Call them off.”

His eyes glittered from across the sea of fur and blood. “You have command in your voice. Does it work with your wolves?”

That condescending jackass.

He whistled, and suddenly the wolves attacking mine whirled from battle and ran back behind him, forming a long line that stretched across the pines.

Callum staggered in front of me, bloodied but with his shoulders still held proudly. He was going to stop me.

“I know what I’m doing,” I promised him. “Save the pack to fight another day.”

Maybe this pack would take my offer in earnest. Maybe they would take me as hostage.

Either way, if my sister was safe, if my pack survived, I would face what came. Otherwise, I would lose them all tonight.

Callum tried to block my way, but his front leg was broken, and he couldn’t move fast enough. There was blood all across his white fur, bleeding from his shoulder and his neck. His deep hazel eyes met mine, human in that broad wolf’s face. He might well be too weak now to shift back. But wolves healed fast. I had to count on that, because I didn’t know how Kai was doing.

“See you soon,” I promised him around the lump in my throat.

I walked across the vast lawn to the alpha wolf, who waited with his arms crossed over his chest.

“You offer yourself as a trade, for now?” he said.

“If you promise you won’t hurt them,” I said.

“Any more than I already have.” A cruel smile twisted his lips

I nodded.

“I’ll offer you a month’s peace,” he said. “At the end of that time, I want our girl back.” He leaned in toward me, his voice so soft I had to strain to hear him. “Or I’ll kill each wolf while you watch. Princess.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Good.” He raised his voice, then, addressing Callum and the others. “She’ll be safe under my protection. But if you come for her, I’ll come for you.”

Without further discussion, he bent forward, driving his shoulder into my stomach. He threw me over his shoulders easily.

Then he turned and ran, and his wolves followed.
Dawson, May. Their Shifter Princess 2: Pack War. Kindle Locations (1140-1182). Kindle Edition.

They guys aren’t pleased that Piper went with the Alpha of the other pack but he understands why she did it. She would protect Maddie with her life, against anyone, even Maddie’s parents.

Maddie doesn’t remember her parents even though she was older when she was taken. The witches had altered her memories just like they did Piper.

When Piper finds the pack lives on an island, she finds herself wondering if her nightmare is more premonition than just a dream. Only time will tell.

There is much to learn about this pack, it’s large and there is descent. Not everyone approves of the way their Alpha, Arthur handled things and resent Piper’s presence.

Piper has two allies right from the start, Finn and Sebastian, they are twins and at first, she had mistaken Sebastian for Finn. Authur’s beta Logan is their brother, so they seem to get away with quite a bit.

One thing Authur makes clear, is Maddie isn’t his fated mate, but would be for the next generation. Piper makes more friends here as she learns of how this pack got so large. Caroline and Fiona are best friends but only Caroline was turned voluntarily. It wasn’t Arthur it was the previous Alpha, his brother, who perpetrated those events.

Through a series of events, Arthur learns Piper can’t shift and what they are doing to remove the spells. It seems the most effective way to do that is to kill the witches who set it on her.

We learn much about pack princesses in this one as Piper starts having those same feelings for Arthur, Logan, Finn and Sebastian as she does for her Blissford Pack.

It’s quite the journey in this book, from enemies to adversaries, these two packs even though one far outnumbers the other find that path to peace. The Coven isn’t going to sit around and wait for them to do them all in. War is coming.

There is plenty of action, suspense, romance and sizzle in this book, I couldn’t put it down and I am about to start the third book in this trilogy.

5 Contented Purrs for May!

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May Dawson

May Dawson writes reverse harem romance about magic, strong women, and the men who love them. A native New Yorker, she’s settled in Virginia, where she is raising two red-headed troublemakers and a passel of cats.

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Their Shifter Princess – Their Shifter Princess Book 1 by May Dawson


Their Shifter Princess
Their Princess Shifter Book 1
By
May Dawson

1cf2a-addtogoodreads

Love could cost me everything.

It’s love that keeps me coming home, to the beautiful house full of ugly secrets. As soon as I’m eighteen, as soon as I can take custody of my little sister myself, I’m going to run.

But my world is turned upside down by four mysterious men. The heat between us is intense. Their protectiveness feels real. Overnight, they become gods in our town. They can’t seem to stay away from me. I can’t resist them.

I can’t risk my chance to save my sister, though. Not even to save my happily-ever-after.

Is there any hope I can take care of her…and still lose myself in the arms of these men?

Piper is a high school senior, and she walks her sister Maddie to school on her way every morning. On this particular morning their walk is interrupted by Eli Kingston, his father and hers are friends although business rivals. She knows it’s trouble and send her sister running the short distance to the elementary school gates.

Eli wants a date and Piper has the perfect excuse, she’s not permitted to date, her father won’t allow it. Eli won’t take no for an answer and Piper’s getaway is perfect. Unfortunately, in the process she lost her wallet and fancy calculator. It’s already been a long day and it’s just beginning.

She’s leaning her head on her arms and concentrating on her breathing when someone behind her asks if she’s okay. This is an unusual occurrence since no one ever asks. It’s one of the new boys, Josh and he’s attractive and seems nice.

With no wallet she has no lunch, so she heads out to her favorite hill to read. Only it’s already occupied by Josh and two others. Josh’s brother Nick and cousin Kai. They’d moved here with their Uncle Callum. While they ate she got the impression from their questions the like Missy and wanted to dethrone Eli.

Ther repercussions from her encounter with Eli that morning comes to a head when Eli shows up with his father after dinner. This is when we see her father’s true nature and it’s not pretty.

Her father also finds her cash stash in the process of having her empty her room except for her schoolbooks. He engages with her in the garage where she’s putting her things. She manages to get away before he hurts her too badly and drives one of the cars away. She heads out of town to find a place to feel safe for the night. A dog dashes out in front of her car and when she jams on the brakes the car spins. When it comes to a stop, she checks to be sure no one is following her and then checks on the dog.

This is a favorite scene.

I knelt just out of reach, afraid the dog would snap at me in its pain, but its bright, keen eyes seemed intelligent. It whined again, and I realized there was blood all over the white fur, as if he’d broken his back leg.

“I’ve got to get you to the vet,” I said, and he whined louder. “Jeez. How am I going to do this?”

He was such a big dog. He might weigh damn near as much as I did.

“Hang on,” I told him, before running back to the car. I leaned into the driver’s side and popped open the trunk. My father was an abusive asshole, but he was also practically a Boy Scout in his preparedness. The trunk was always organized neatly with spare blankets, emergency flares, first aid equipment and bottled water. Sure enough, I found a stiff gray wool blanket. If I could wrap the dog up in it, I could hopefully help buffer myself in case he snapped when I tried to pick him up.

I returned to the dog, making comforting noises, and draped the blanket around his shoulders. He looked at me with a look of extreme doubtfulness written across his doggie face.

“Trust me,” I said. “I know I don’t seem that competent based on my driving skills, but I promise. I’m going to take care of you.”

I tried to ease him into my arms, and he moaned.

“What the hell are you doing?” It was a boy’s voice, rough and gravelly and familiar.

I almost dropped the dog as I looked up, shocked.

Kai stood at the edge of the road. His chest was heaving, as if he had been running. Since he wore nothing but jeans, I could see the way his chest fluttered with his breaths. He had powerful pecs and chiseled abs that were surprising for a high school boy. He raked his hand through his dark hair as he stared at me.

“You hit the dog,” he said flatly. “I didn’t mean to.”

“You hit my dog,” he said, and the dog barked at him, as if he was irritated. “You keep turning up, don’t you, Piper?”

“I didn’t mean to hit your dog,” I snapped. “It was definitely not on tonight’s to-do list. Now we have to get him to a vet—will you help me move him?”

Kai came and stood next to me instead, then dropped to my side to examine the dog. His shoulder brushed mine. His naked skin felt hot to the touch, his muscle hard, and something in me stirred at the unthinking way his body brushed against mine. It was just practicality that brought him so close.

He looked his dog over, his movements quick and impatient, then gentle when he touched the dog’s hindquarters.

“It’s broken,” he said.

“That’s why I’m trying to get him to the vet,” I said. “I could’ve told you that.”

He shook his head. “Christ. This night just keeps getting better.”

“I’m having a great night too,” I promised him, irritated by his tone.

His gaze turned my way, and his eyes widened as they met mine. “What the hell happened to you? Were you hurt in the accident?”

“You’ve got a lot of questions,” I shot back, mimicking his complaint earlier in the day.

He took my jaw in two fingers, his gaze steady on my face. My breath caught at his grip on my chin as he examined me. There was something so caring in the touch, even though he was so brusque and rude.

“That wasn’t from the accident,” he said decisively. His tone was raw and angry, and I felt a spike of fear before he suddenly released me. He jumped to his feet. “Come on. I’ll get the dog into the car. It’ll drive, won’t it? You can drive us home.”

“Yeah, I can drive. But home won’t work. He needs a vet—”

“I can do better than a vet,” he told me impatiently. “My uncle’s a doctor. You going to take us or not?”

“Of course I’ll take you.” I’d do anything to undo what had happened tonight.

He leaned forward, scooping the dog into his arms. “Take it easy, dog.”

The dog whined louder, a keening sound that broke my heart, as he lifted it easily off the ground. The dog had to be well over a hundred pounds, but Kai carried it easily to the backseat of the car. I scrambled to open the car door for him, and he bundled the dog into the backseat. Then he slid into the seat too, as if I were their chauffeur. It was the least I could do after that, anyway.

I ducked into the seat and pulled the seatbelt across my lap. “Where am I going?”

“I’ll tell you,” he said.

I put the car into drive and carefully pulled onto the road. I glanced in the rearview mirror. Headlights were coming, in the far distance, and I slammed my foot down on the gas. The car leaped forward.

“Christ!” Kai said again.

“Sorry.” I glanced in the rearview again, looking for the headlights, and met his eyes. They looked black in the dim light of the car, and he stared at my reflection knowingly.

“Since your car still drives just fine, why didn’t you drive away?” he asked.

“I didn’t know if the dog was okay,” I said. “What’s his name?”

“He doesn’t have a name. He’s a stupid mutt. I’m not sure we should keep him if he’s going to run off like that.” He rattled the words off, but his tone didn’t quite sound genuine. His words were cruel, but it didn’t seem like he meant them. Maybe I was giving him too much benefit of the doubt, though.

“He’s beautiful,” I said, thinking of the alert, intelligent face and the black-lined green eyes that stood in contrast to the gray-and-white fur.

Kai snorted. “If you like dogs so much, maybe you shouldn’t hit them with your car.”

I didn’t bother to say it was an accident again. What if the dog wasn’t okay? It hadn’t been my fault, but that didn’t take away the horror of that impact, or of the dog groaning, or the way the dog had looked at me for help, as if despite what I’d done, he believed I could help him. I bit down hard on my lower lip, trying to fight back the hot tears that flooded my eyes.

Kai leaned forward, his eyes wide with alarm, and for a second, it looked as if they were full of empathy. “Are you crying?”

“No,” I lied, my voice coming out thick.

“Jesus, girl, you aren’t good enough behind the wheel to cry and drive at the same time!” he said.

His blunt statement flipped my sadness over to anger, and when I blinked, those tears streaked down my cheeks. My gaze was clear again. “You are an ass, you know that?”

His lips quirked up sardonically. “I don’t owe you anything, Piper. Not even nice. We don’t know each other yet.”

“I try to be nice to everyone,” I said.

“How’s that working out for you?”

His cold words hung in the air.

“Not that great, I guess,” I said. “Since that’s how I ended up meeting you.”

At the insult, his lips widened, his smirk bordering on a genuine smile.

“You should be careful who you’re nice to. This world is full of wolves, and worse.”

“Just because you’re nice doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself,” I told him.

“You don’t look like you’ve been taking care of yourself, girl,” he said. “Who did that to you?”

I shook my head.

“Tell me.” A low, fierce edge found its way to his voice. As if he cared. After the way he’d talked to me, so cutting and rude, he must just be recreationally curious. I wasn’t going to shake out all my hurt and agony for his amusement.

“I don’t owe you anything,” I said, repeating his words.

He straightened up. For a second, his eyes met mine in the rearview again. He looked…wounded.

“You’re right,” he said. “You’re going to turn left at the intersection. Then slow down…the turn into our property is easy to miss.”

“All right.”

“It’s lonely out there,” he said. “Not a lot of people know our place.”

My father wouldn’t find me there. Kai’s words might have been chilling, another time, but right now it reminded me that I was safe. I’d take my chances with the wolves of the world. The worst danger to me was in bright rooms and big houses.

“Do you mean to be creepy or does it just kind of come naturally?” I asked.

“You always this sassy?” He leaned forward again, pointing into the darkness to the left. “You better brake. You’re going to miss it.”

I slammed on my brakes and made a hard left.

I looked behind me, one last time, at the dark, empty road I was leaving behind.

The car bounced over a rough, unpaved driveway, a long track that wound through the woods, as I headed off toward god-knows-where.
Dawson, May. Their Shifter Princess. Kindle Locations (475-551). Kindle Edition.

Josh is surprised when Piper is with Kai when he brings in the dog. He does help her feel safe and comfortable though.

For the reader it’s easy to put two and two together and realize the dog is actually Nick. However, it’s a while before Piper learns about all of that.

There’s a lot of deception and secrets with Piper’s father, and secrets extend to Josh and his family and Eli’s as well.

There’s plenty of suspense and lots of angst as this story unfolds. So many secrets revealed as Piper, Josh, Eli and Nick begin a relationship.

5 Contented Purrs for May!

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May Dawson

May Dawson writes reverse harem romance about magic, strong women, and the men who love them. A native New Yorker, she’s settled in Virginia, where she is raising two red-headed troublemakers and a passel of cats.

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Moon Malediction – Familiar Cat Mysteries Book 11 by Sara Bourgeois


Moon Malediction
Familiar Cat Mysteries Book 11
By
Sara Bourgeois

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A savage killing makes Kinsley question if Dorian really is who he says he is… Can she clear his name? What truth will the light of the full moon reveal?

Meri found that it was Kinsley who was suppressing the magic in the area and has broken that but it’s different as we saw in the last book when Thorn was injured. Meri is also growing from the kitten size he had been turned into from his wish.

As this book opens Kinsley is getting coffee at the Brew Station when a crow crashes into the window. It’s disturbing and leaves behind a heaviness to the air a dreariness. She kicks the energy away and heads to her shop across the square. There she’s met by the scent of blueberry scone incense her cousin and new employee Dahlia had ordered. Along with Reggie and Dahlia they ate the breakfast Kinsley brought while waiting for the first tour group to come to the store. They’d just finished when Maura Barlow came in looking for wolfsbane.

The conversation about that and then the request for datura had Kinsley questioning her more thoroughly. Those things aren’t used for anything good, and it appears she intended to use them on her cheating husband. It also leads to quite the threat. She accuses Kinsley of being terrified of her witch side and she needs to overcome that or pass on the leadership to someone who cares more than she seems to.

While Kinsley has much to contemplate, she’s also not feeling well. When she picks up pepto bismol at the pharmacy the pregnancy tests catch her eye, she argues with herself and gets those too. After dinner Thorn knocks the bag with the tests off the counter and Kinsley decides to take them then. Results are one positive and one negative and it’s too late to go get another one.

After a restless night she takes Laney with her to the pharmacy and then takes the tests at her parents. She only does three of the five she bought, and they are all positive. She’s most definitely pregnant. It’s early for work so she takes a drive to sort out everything going through her head, when she reaches the forest preserves the woods calls to her she needs to commune with nature. After parking she gets out and Meri scares her when he jumps out of her bag. He’s not going to let her wander in the woods alone especially not now. They’re not that far up the trail when she sees something in the trail, Meri goes closer to investigate and tells her they need to leave right away, the body had been attacked by something large and Meri suspects supernatural.

This is a favorite scene.

“What is that?” I asked. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

“Stay there,” Meri commanded. “I’ll check it out.”

I stopped in my tracks, something told me that I should listen to him. He trotted up the trail and looked at the dark shape that was lying in front of us. He sniffed a few times and then turned tail and ran back to me.

“It’s a body,” Meri said. “And we need to go.”

“Well, I need to call it in first. I need to tell Thorn. We can’t just… Leave them here,” I said and waved my hands around like it was obvious why we couldn’t leave.

“No,” Meri said. “We need to go right now.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“You are infuriating,” Meri said. “The body was attacked… By a large animal. Something… Something unnatural. If you are pregnant again, then we don’t know how our magic is going to react. So, we need to get out of here.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Suddenly, I noticed a smell in the air. It was dank and musty. It was almost like wet dog mixed with mud mixed with seawater.

As soon as that smell hit my nostrils, and turned my stomach, I whirled around on my heels. Meri and I made a beeline back down the path. I swore the entire time it sounded like something was behind us, but I didn’t want to slow down enough to turn and look. It would’ve been too hazardous to keep running forward while looking back, so we just kept moving. There were a few times, though, that I swore that the scent got stronger.

Back at the car, I took out my phone to call Thorn. Meri was up on his hind legs with his front paws on the window ledge keeping watch. Occasionally, he’d switch and look out the windshield.

I had to call Thorn four times before he finally picked up. The entire time, Meri kept dashing back and forth between the car’s side windows and the windshield. A few times, he told me just to go, but I kept dialing.

Finally, Thorn picked up. “Hey, babe. I got the text, and it’s great news. But they really need me to focus here. I would’ve called you, but I just couldn’t.”

“It’s not that,” I replied. “That’s not why I called. Thorn, I need to listen to me. I stopped by one of the old nature trails off Highway 77, and a few hundred feet… maybe a quarter-mile onto the trail. I found a body. I don’t know how far it was in actually. I don’t know how far we went.”

“Wait,” Thorn said softly. “You found a body?”

“Yeah, I was out walking trying to get some air, and we found it right on the trail.”

“We?” Thorn asked. “Do you have Laney out there with you?”

“No,” I replied. “I dropped Laney off at my parents’ house. It’s just me and Meri. We were out taking a walk in the woods before I went into work, and I found a body on the trail. Thorn it’s bad. Looks like it was some sort of wild animal attack, except bigger. Meri said that it had to be something supernatural. I don’t know. I was out here trying to get my head together. I wasn’t prepared for this, so I don’t know what to think.”

“Kinsley, you need to leave. You need to take Meri and get out of there. I’ll call my deputies and… Maybe the state police can help us. The county can’t help us right now.”

“Not even for murder?” I asked.

“This accident is bad,” Thorn said. “Hey, is your location within Coventry? Maybe I don’t even have to leave. I could just call it in to the state police.”

“I might be outside Coventry,” I said. “I don’t know if I crossed outside the town line or not. You know how it is out here.”

“I do,” Thorn said. “What I also know is that you need to take that cat and you both go home or go into the shop. I don’t like you sitting out there all alone.”

“I’m not alone. And there are several of these little turnoffs along this highway,” I said. “It would be much easier for you and state police to find the right trail if I wait here.”

“Kinsley…” Thorn started to say.

I interrupted, “The sooner we get off the phone, the sooner you can call it in. I’m staying here, and when you get here I’ll leave.” I had no idea why I was digging my heels in, but something made me want to argue back. Maybe I was just afraid that if I left, another unfortunate hiker would come along and stumble on the body. Or on whatever had killed the victim.

Thorn grumbled, and it softened my mood a little. “Fine, woman. You are the most stubborn…”

“Bye, babe, I love you,” I said and hung up the phone.

“You really are an idiot,” Meri said as soon as I hung up

“Like I said to him,” I responded, “it will be easier for him to find which one of these trails the body is on if we wait here. Plus, we can prevent someone else from walking down the trail. Perhaps ruining the crime scene.”

“Text him the coordinates from your satellite position,” Meri said. “The GPS…”

“We are waiting,” I said. “I could text him the coordinates for the location, but that doesn’t prevent someone else from going down that path.”

“It will be like five minutes, Kinsley. Who will come along?” Meri looked up and down the deserted highway.

“You’re right. It will be like five minutes, so we will sit here. You can get in the trunk if you’re afraid of the big bad wolf.”

“Your hormones are affecting your ability to think,” Meri snarked. “And that big bad wolf thing is far less funny than you know.”

“I’m just tired of… I don’t know. I’m tired of being told what to do,” I said and found myself getting way more irritated than I expected. “Here I am, about to have another baby, and my… people keep telling me what to do. It’s got me so messed up that I even doubted my ability to be a mother to this child. Meri, I am already a mother. I know I can do that.”

“Sorry,” Meri said sheepishly.

“No, don’t be like that,” I said. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“Whatever,” he said and went back to looking out the window.

“Yeah, whatever to you too.”
Bourgeois, Sara. Moon Malediction (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 13). Kindle Locations (475-527). Kindle Edition.

Once Thorn arrived Kinsley and Meri leave the scene and bring breakfast to Dorian. There’s a scent of something in his house that Kinsley doesn’t like and makes her suspicious of Dorian. After all, he was once a werewolf. While Dorian and Kinsley prepare to head to the crime scene, Meri is already there doing his own investigating. He does find a clue, but it comes with more questions than answers.

Of course, Thorn has plenty to say about her involvement in an investigation, and even more when she’s investigating with Dorian. Seriously Thorn’s got a problem with being overprotective and Kinsley just isn’t going to take it anymore. Once again, he’s off and running.

I really sympathize with Kinsley. She’s got a lot on her plate and Thorn always seems to make it worse. Even though she’s the one who along with Meri and Dorian seem to be solving the murders around here.

There are plenty of ups and downs as the clues slowly come together adding more than a few twists into play. There’s even a small period of time where Meri is a goat.

I am already reading the next book in this series, somehow, I just can’t stop reading these.

5 Contented Purrs for Sara!

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Coming Soon!

Sara Bourgeois

Sara Bourgeois is a Midwesterner through and through. She spends her time writing, reading, herding cats, and standing in her driveway during tornado warnings. (You can’t see them from the basement.)

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Black Arts and Bones – Familiar Magic Mysteries Book 10 by Sara Bourgeois


Black Arts and Bones
Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 10
By
Sara Bourgeois

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Kinsley and Thorn finally get the date night they’ve been discussing for months.

Except an unexpected issue sends them home early, where they find a distraught young woman on the porch waiting for Kinsley’s return. She’s afraid to go home and begs Kinsley for help.

The woman’s house was never haunted before, but lately, she’s had strange and unusual things happening. Unseen eyes watch her from dark corners, and invisible fingers scratch at the floorboards when she tries to sleep.

It all culminates in the attack that sends her fleeing to Hangman’s House for help. Kinsley can’t bring herself to leave the poor woman hanging, so she agrees to investigate.

After a thorough search, Kinsley thinks she’s found nothing.

Until…

The specter appears and leads the women to a shallow grave in the basement.

This book is again in two parts. First let’s remember that magic is at a low, even the ley line isn’t putting out as much. As such, the wards everywhere are not as strong as they once were, so ghosts are more frequent as is the darker magic not used by many except for Kinsley’s Aunt Lilith.

Thorn and Kinsley go out on their first date night since Laney was born, it’s a nice quiet evening, at least until the end. A phone call from her mom has them rushing home, to find a young woman crying on the porch steps. The woman Nora hasn’t slept in a long time and can’t really explain why, except that she thinks her house has a ghost or something. She’s not a witch so Kinsley is limited in what she can say, so invites her inside to discuss the problem.

After getting as many facts as she could Kinsley decides the first thing Nora needs is sleep and sends her home with her mom and dad. In the morning they would deal with whatever is in her house.

At the house the next day, it doesn’t seem like anything is going to happen until it does.

This is a favorite scene.

But the ghost drifted past all of that. She made her way to the door that led to the unfinished utility area of the basement.

We went inside and followed her past the furnace and sump pump. On the other side, we found another door.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“It leads to an unfinished part of the basement,” Nora said.

“We’re in the unfinished part of the basement,” I shot back.

“I guess it’s more of a crawlspace,” she said. “I don’t know. I don’t really go in there.”

“Why did you need a crawlspace under your house if you’ve got both finished and unfinished basement?” I asked.

“It was in the plans for the house, and I didn’t really mind it,” Nora said. “I think it’s because the basement isn’t quite as big as the house above.”

I turned the knob and pushed the door open. Light flooded into the crawlspace from the basement, and it illuminated the room enough for me to see a bulb and chain in the middle. I walked into the room and pulled the chain.

The crawlspace was just another section of unfinished basement with a dirt floor. Its presence made zero sense, and I had to wonder if the builder had just done it to cut corners and costs.

“What about the ghost?” Dad asked as I stood there contemplating the crawlspace.

“Right. The reason we’re here. Why are we here?” I asked the specter.

I didn’t want to speak to her in case she was a demon. Acknowledging them was a sure way to let them into your world, but we’d already followed her down to the basement. That ship had sailed already.

The ghost just remained in the same spot staring at me. Finally, a soft, scratchy whisper came from her direction. “Here,” she said. And then she vanished. The ghost had used up every bit of energy she could draw from to utter that word, and I was sure she wasn’t coming back anytime soon. I’d thought she would have been spent from the night before, but at that point, I was sure there was nothing else she could do. Anger, and perhaps I’d seen a hint of fear too, would only get her so far.

“What does she mean?” Nora asked. “What did she mean by here?”

“I don’t know,” I said, but I walked over to the spot where she’d vanished.

Meri joined me, and we stood there studying the floor for a moment. “The dirt’s different here,” I finally said.

“What do you mean?” Dad asked. He and Thorn joined me at the spot. They both stood there staring at the dirt floor beneath our feet.

“She’s right,” Thorn finally said. “See, it’s raised up just a little higher than the dirt around it. Step back,” he said taking on his authoritative sheriff voice.

“Do you have a shovel?” I asked Nora.

“Out in the garage,” she said.

“Could you go get it?” I asked.

“I should… I don’t know. Should I call for backup?” Thorn asked.

“For what?” I asked. “We don’t know what’s down there yet.”

“Can’t be anything good,” Meri snarked since Nora was out of the room grabbing a shovel.

“I’m going to call it in,” Thorn said.

“Call in what?” I asked. “I don’t know. Something isn’t right, though. I can feel it.”

“We can all feel it,” Dad said. “Just give it a few minutes, son.”

Nora returned shortly after that with the shovel. At that point, Thorn stood off to my side suspiciously watching the hole. He wasn’t a witch, but I didn’t for a second doubt his intuition. He’d always been able to see through the veil that covered Coventry, and that meant Thorn could see things others could not.

My father had wandered out to the bigger unfinished area of the basement, but he returned with Nora. She stood there for a moment looking between us, but it didn’t take long for Thorn to reach out and take the shovel.

“I can do that,” Dad said.

“So can I,” I added.

“Let me,” Thorn said calmly. “It will let me feel like I’m contributing.”

Nora looked puzzled by his statement, but she didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she started to play host. “Does anybody need a drink? It will help me feel like I’m contributing something.”

“I’m probably going to need some water,” Thorn said as he scooped up another shovelful of the dirt.

“Some water would be good,” I said.

“You guys don’t think that ghost is going to come back when I’m away from you, do you?” Nora asked. “I felt a bit creeped out when I was in the garage, but I hadn’t turned the light on, so I’m pretty sure that’s why.”

“I don’t think she’s coming back any time soon… if ever,” Dad said. “But I’ll go up with you to get the water if it will make you feel safer.”

Nora nodded to Dad, and they left to get the water. I turned my attention back to Thorn’s digging. Meri sat right at the edge of the hole peering down into it. You’d have thought he was in Thorn’s way, but he’d somehow managed to position himself in just the right spot.

Thorn didn’t have to dig much farther. Nora walked into the room with two bottles of Fiji water, and she gasped.
She also dropped the bottles, and Dad caught them.

My husband stepped away from the hole he’d just dug and took out his phone. “I can’t get any reception in here. I’ll need to go upstairs. You guys should come with me.”
Bourgeois, Sara. Black Arts & Bones (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 10). Kindle Locations (473-520). Kindle Edition.

A few more twists and turns here as Kinsley gets sick and the investigation goes on without her. However, she does in fact become the person to solve it.

The second part of this book starts at Lainey’s birthday party. Kinsley has hired a clown to entertain the children, unfortunately the reaction to him is not what she expected, and neither is the clown. He turned up drunk and she has to fire him. Turns out Thorn isn’t a fan either, and his reasoning is interesting.

Then a clown turns up dead at a local playground. It wasn’t the same clown Kinsley had hired, so there is obviously more than one clown in town.

There’s now a report of a machete wielding clown, and Thorn goes to investigate. In the process he ends up attacked and in the hospital. While Kinsley is signing paperwork, another victim is brought in this one has a balloon tied around his wrist.

Kinsley is also finding that healing is draining her life force which had never happened before. More things that need answers to be sure.

Twists, turns, surprises and so much more as this is solved.

I am starting the next book already.

5 Contented Purrs for Sara!

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Sara Bourgeois

Sara Bourgeois is a Midwesterner through and through. She spends her time writing, reading, herding cats, and standing in her driveway during tornado warnings. (You can’t see them from the basement.)

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Code Name: Cayman – K19 Allied Intelligence Team One Book 2 by Heather Slade


Code Name: Cayman
K19 Allied Intelligence Team One Book 2
By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Heather Slade

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A man of strength
A man of danger.
Cayman will destroy anyone threatening his world.

I take my job seriously. I’m strong. Hard as nails. Nothing hurts me, and I refuse to let anyone hurt those I love.

As the new commander of the UK Task Force on Human Trafficking, I have important work to do, and innocent lives to protect. There’s no time for mistakes or distractions.

But when I encounter the beautiful and damaged Bexli, I’ll move mountains to keep her safe. After the hell she’s endured, she needs my strong exterior more than anything. For the first time, my hard shell just may soften with her touch.

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NOTE: Review may contain spoilers

The opening of this book introduces us to Bexli and her plight. She’s a captive of the human trafficker known as Mithras. She was planning her escape and she’d only get one chance at it.

In the UK, Winston ‘Cayman’ Trace is about to greet the French ambassador to the UN and leader of the UN’s Coalition Against Human Trafficking along with his boss Z Alexander. There are a couple of promotions coming down one of which is Margeaux “Nemesis” Jordan being named the head of the UN Coalition, and Cayman her replacement as Commanding Officer of the UK Task Force. As he reflects on this promotion, he wants to share it with someone he considers the most important person in his life, Bexli. They’ve been friends since he was eight years old and he’s shared all his accomplishments with her. Unfortunately, calling her would have to wait as there is more business to take care of.

Once he is able to call, it goes to voice mail, and he pulls up the last photo she sent him, one of the mysterious Lorenzo Moretti. He’s wondering if she’s in a relationship with him since he’s the one who offered her this chance to model in Milan, where she’s been since September. It’s then he notices it’s been six weeks since he’s heard from her. No other replies to his texts or messages. He texts her a brief message he has news and for her to call him before he gets called away.

Nemesis received a brief from Marchand and it has pertinent information. With everyone gathered, Cayman lowers a viewing screen as Nem hooks up her laptop, the screen fills with a photo of Mithras. Cayman couldn’t breathe, he started sweating and couldn’t say a word as Poseiden gripped his shoulders. He swiped at his phone and handed it to Poseiden, it was him. Lorenzo Moretti is Mithras.

With the return of his phone he runs outside, the panic he feels is overwhelming thought. He knows now that Mithras has Bexli and he can’t think straight.

Ares, Poseiden and Nemesis are all trying to calm him. The brief from Oleander suggests an auction on the dark web, and Zeppelin and Magnet are checking the site for Bexli, then they can plan. With Bexli’s image found they are waiting for Wren and Wilder to trace the IP address when an update hits with the notification the auction will open in 24 hours. The clock is ticking.

With the location found, they successfully take it down, rescuing the women they found there. The problem is Bexli wasn’t there. She had managed to somehow escape and they have to find her. They do manage to track her movements and enter a restaurant to have drinks where they believe she is.

This is a favorite scene.

We’d been at the restaurant a few minutes and, so far, hadn’t seen anyone matching the description the guard gave of the nurse. An older woman was going in and out of what I assumed was the kitchen while a younger man took our order. Both stole surreptitious glances at the four of us. We’d arrived shortly after it opened. Poseidon and Delfino played the role of one couple, while Oleander and I played another.

“According to the Dopler device, there are two people above us but in different rooms,” O whispered, looking at the unit she held beneath the table.

The man returned and delivered our drinks.

“Perhaps we could get a recommendation for a place to have dinner later,” I said, looking between Poseidon and Delfino.

When she looked up at him and, I assumed, reiterated what I’d just said, he responded in Maltese. Once he left the dining area, though, Oleander said she was certain he’d understood me. She took another look at the radar device. “It appears someone is headed up a staircase near the rear of the building.” She waited for a couple of seconds. There are now three people gathered together directly above us.”

“I cannot wait another minute. I know Bexli is here. I can’t explain why. I just do.” I pushed the chair back and stood. “Cover us,” I said to Oleander and Delfino when Poseidon stood as well.

I burst through the door we’d seen the two people go in and out of, confirming it led to a kitchen. The only person immediately visible was the woman. When I drew my gun and pointed it at her, she dropped the spoon she held and raised her hands.

Delfino approached her, putting her finger in front of her mouth, indicating the woman should remain silent.

Poseidon pointed to the back door I’d already spotted. We rounded a corner, found the stairs leading to the second floor, and crept up them.

Once we reached the top, I rounded another corner and nearly sobbed with joy when I came face-to-face with Bexli.

“Release her, or I’ll shoot!” I shouted at the man who’d taken our order and now had his arm around her waist.

“Cayman!” Bexli gasped. “Don’t shoot! It’s okay.” She looked over her shoulder. “Xavier, let me go.”

When the man hesitated, I retrained my eye on him via the sights. “Let her go!” I shouted.

Poseidon took a step around me; his gun was aimed at the woman who stood slightly behind the man. “Step around. Keep your hands where I can see them. Raise them high in the air and walk toward me.” When her eyes scrunched, he spoke to her in Maltese. This time she did as he demanded.

The man, however, still had his arm around Bexli’s waist.

“Who are these men?” I heard him ask her.

“It’s Cayman. It’s who I wanted to call earlier. Remember? I asked if I could make a call?”

His eyes bored into mine, and he nodded once. “You are certain?”

“Yes, Xavier. Let me go before either of us gets hurt.”

He released his hold and raised his hands in the air. I lowered my gun as Bexli ran into my arms.

“You found me!” she cried as we embraced.

“Get her out of here,” said Oleander, walking up behind us with her gun trained on the woman. Poseidon had moved to the man and was restraining him.

“Wait!” said Bexli as I led her to the stairs. She looked over her shoulder at him. “Thank you, Xavier.”

Like before, he nodded once but didn’t speak.

When we reached the bottom, Delfino was standing next to the old woman but hadn’t restrained her.

“Nonna,” Bexli said, twisting out of my arms and rushing over to her.

“Thank you,” she cried, embracing her. I watched the woman cup Bex’s cheek with her palm.

“She said you’ll be safe now,” Delfino told her when Bexli’s head cocked at the woman’s foreign words.

“Thank you,” she repeated, kissing the woman’s cheek before turning back to me.

“Transport has arrived,” said Delfino, motioning to the back door.

I looked down at Bexli’s feet. While she wore socks, she had no shoes. Rather than waste precious time asking her about them, I put one arm behind her knees and gathered her into my arms. She rested her head against my chest, and I carried her outside. Z got out of the vehicle and opened the back passenger door. I set Bexli on the seat and was about to go around to the other side when she grabbed my arm. She shifted to the center, and I climbed in next to her.

I put my arm around her shoulders and drew her close to me.

“How did you find me?”

I rested my head against hers. “There’s time for us to talk about all of that later. For now, let me hold you.”

“Of course.” She stiffened, and I eased my grip but didn’t let go.

“We received intelligence that a man we’ve been looking for was believed to be holding an auction. I recognized him as the one in the photo you sent to me. From there, we traced the dark web site to Gozo.”

“An auction?” she whispered in a ragged voice.

“Shh, my darling,” I soothed.

“What kind of auction?”

“Bex…”

She tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let her.

“What kind of auction, Cay?” she demanded.

“We discovered the man who lured you to Milan is a known human trafficker.” Did I really need to say the rest? It was horrific enough to think it. I didn’t want to utter the words I knew would only terrify her more.

“I was to be a s-slave?”

I raised my other hand and cupped her cheek, similar to the way the old woman had. “You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.”

“What about Moretti?” “We’re tracking him.” It was as close to the truth as I could get.

She turned her face toward me. “I should’ve killed him. He… he…”

“Shh,” I soothed again.

“Where are we going?” she asked when Z, who’d remained silent during the drive, pulled through the gates of the compound.

“We brought a team to the island. This has served as our base of operation.”

When she nodded, the coarseness of her hair abraded my cheek.

“Cay—”

The dampness from her tears mixed with my own. I couldn’t speak, even to comfort her.

Z pulled up to the portico of the compound’s main house. I gathered Bexli in my arms, then approached the front door, where Delfino was waiting for us.

“Hello, Bexli. My name is Kima,” she said after stepping aside so we could enter and I set Bex on her feet. “Like Cayman, I am here to help in any way you need.”

“A shower?”

“Of course, if you’ll come with me—”

“No!” Bexli’s jagged fingernails dug into the skin on my forearm when I released it from her shoulders. “I need you with me,” she whispered.

“I’ll take it from here,” I said to Delfino. “Where is the clothing you mentioned?”

“With your things.”

I nodded and thanked her. I knew from her dossier that Delfino had extensive training in victim advocacy and trauma counseling. I should’ve considered that and asked her to return to the compound in the SUV with us. However, I was grateful she’d somehow managed to arrive before we did.

I led Bexli up the staircase and down the hallway. The room I’d been assigned was one of the larger ones and had a rather luxurious en suite bath. As promised, several articles of clothing were laid out on the bed. Bex was so distressingly thin that I had no doubt even the smallest sizes would hang on her. However, not likely as much as the flannels she had on now.

She held onto me as I walked to the shower area. When I reached in to turn it on and adjust the water’s temperature, I noticed her gaze longingly at the oversized tub.

“Would you prefer a bath?” I asked.

“May I?”

I shut the water off in the shower. “As Kima said, we’ll do everything in our power to give you whatever you need or want, Bex.”

“I need you with me, Cay.”

“Of course.”

Even when I moved to run water in the tub, Bexli kept her hands on me. It was a perplexing contrast to how she’d behaved at the restaurant. There, she’d seemed more confident, more self-assured. Was it because of the man who’d kept her from immediately coming to me? Was he holding her in his arms more than captive? And in the kitchen, she’d immediately raced over to the old woman and embraced her. I stopped myself from asking her about either of them or how she came to shelter with the family of someone Mithras employed. There would be ample time for questions later. I’d not allow myself or anyone else to make Bexli feel as though she was being interrogated.

“How can I assist?” I asked after adjusting the water’s temperature as I had with the shower.

“Stay with me.”

I turned her in my arms and guided her to the tub’s edge. When she sat, I knelt before her and removed each of her socks. Bandages, which I gently peeled off, covered the soles of both her feet. While the water may sting the cuts initially, it was necessary to keep the wounds clean.

She sat with her arms at her sides like I imagined a child might with a parent who was helping them disrobe. “Do you need help with the rest?” I asked.

When she nodded, I lifted the shirt slowly, waiting for her to take over. When she made no move to do so, I raised it over her head and tossed it to the floor. “Stand for me, my darling.” I lowered the flannel pants, biting my tongue to keep myself from gasping at how emaciated she was.

I looked up as I felt her body shudder and wrapped my arms around her when I saw tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m…” Her voice cracked, and her quiet cry turned into sobbing.

I used the pad of my thumb to wipe her cheeks. “You’re safe, Bexli, and I’ll not allow anyone to hurt you ever again.”
Heather Slade. Code Name Cayman – Heather Slade (Kindle Locations 1068-1150). Kindle Edition.

All this is just the beginning as they still need to take down Mithras, but he is only one of the big players.

There’s also Bexli and the way she feels unworthy of Cayman’s affections. Her family and background embarrass her although it doesn’t matter to Cayman or his parents. This leads to some interesting accomplishments on Bexli’s part as well as ups and downs in her relationship with Cayman.

There is plenty of intrigue and action in this one as we follow the steps in this investigation.

I really can’t wait to see what’s next in this series.

5 Contented Purrs for Heather!

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Coming Soon!

Heather Slade

USA Today and Amazon Top 15 Bestselling Author Heather Slade writes shamelessly sexy, edge-of-your seat romantic suspense.

She gave herself the gift of writing a book for her own birthday one year. Forty-plus books later (and counting), she’s having the time of her life. The women Slade writes are self-confident, strong, with wills of their own, and hearts as big as the Colorado sky. The men are sublimely sexy, seductive alphas who rise to the challenge of capturing the sweet soul of a woman whose heart they’ll hold in the palm of their hand forever. Add in a couple of neck-snapping twists and turns, a page-turning mystery, and a swoon-worthy HEA, and you’ll be holding one of her books in your hands.


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