Aspiring author, Nate Wilson wants some space from his overbearing family and a job he doesn’t like. A week on the Oregon coast sounds like paradise and just what he needs to get the creative juices flowing. Unfortunately, his plans are derailed when a storm moves in and a ghostly figure flashes in his headlights, sending him skidding off the road and into a tree. Lucky for him, he ends up in front of a Bed and Breakfast, and the beautiful owner may do more to spur his creativity than any beach could.

Hesitant witch and inn owner, Haylee Clark is cursed. Well, not her exactly—at least not yet—but all of the women in her family have suffered the same fate. They fell in love, only to have that passion turn sour and their husbands die tragically, leaving them brokenhearted. So far, Haylee has done well to avoid that destiny, but when the captivating Nate Wilson crashes into her life, he awakens something within her that she never thought to feel.

When the pair stumbles upon a hidden room where Haylee’s grandmother used to conduct her rituals, they unknowingly unleash a dark entity hell-bent on destruction, and discover that a family heirloom is the source of the Clark family curse. Despite the spell, they can’t deny their attraction, and give in to the magic between them. But the closer Haylee and Nate get, the more the curse tries to tear them apart. If they don’t find a way to defeat the evil, they may lose more than their hearts.

This book was a gift in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Once again Lia perks up the interest in the first pages. A cloaked figure in white, a gargoyle waking, a cemetery and a bed and breakfast. Add in a car accident and we have our recipe for danger and excitement.

Hitting a tree was not how Nate wanted to start his vacation, but being it was close to a bed and breakfast it wasn’t so bad. Well other than the storm that was raging.

Haylee the proprietor of the quaint establishment, was welcoming in spite of her staff being off for the weekend. Although she may have been a bit short when explaining no phone or internet. I think that snippiness was more due to the attraction she was feeling than anything else.

Neither Haylee or Nate know what to make of Cam, showing up with no luggage in the middle of the storm. He’s here one minute then gone the next.

A spooky basement, with a somewhat hidden room discovered on a tour of the house. Something else is happening beyond the curse she knows about.  This is a favorite scene as they try to piece together what Haylee’s grandmother had done.

“Grams had worked in the ritual room for days. She’d forbidden me from entering the basement. When she finally came out, the stone was gone and she told me that everything would be fine now.” Haylee hugged her waist as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “The next morning, I found her dead in her bed. She’d passed in her sleep.”

Instantly, Nate rushed around the desk and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into his chest. “I believe it’s the stone that’s cursed, not your family.”

She lifted her head and locked gazes with him, her eyes narrowing. “The stone? Why the stone?”

“I’m not sure. But I think we need to find out.” The first thing Nate would do was question the old man. After all, it was he who’d planted the idea in his head. “What do you know about it?”

“Grams found it when she and Papa were on vacation at the coast. The Sunstone can aid in healing, protection, and success. Plus, it’s associated with the element fire, which was Grams’ favorite element to work with.”

Haylee averted her gaze and moved toward the door, but not before he saw the tears fill her eyes.

“Is it possible that if the stone were cursed, it would react negatively?”

Stopping in the doorway, she turned to him. “Yes, that would, in many cases, be the point of a curse.” She rushed out the room as if realizing something.

He followed her with quick steps, stopping when she entered her bedroom. “What is it?” “It’s just a thought, but I think Grams was trying the break the curse. When she was unable to, she tried to contain the negative energy.” She zipped from her dresser to the nightstands on either side of her bed, opening drawers.

Confused, he watched her go to the closet and dig around on the floor. “I’m not following.”

“If it is the stone that’s cursed, then the fire within the stone is gone. The attraction and sexual energy were altered in some way. That is the only thing that makes senses.” She pulled out a shoebox and opened it. A moment later, she withdrew a black cloth. After removing the Sunstone from around her neck, she wrapped it in the cloth and placed it inside the box.

“Without the fire, the passion, a couple will fall out of love.”
SunstonesFire LiaDavis-eBook (Kindle Locations 411-429). Kindle Edition.

Nate and Haylee need to find a way to undo the curse or neither of them will ever have a happily ever after. Then there is Cam and his secrets.

I thoroughly enjoyable read. Lots of suspense and intrigue combined with a love story that gets the heart pounding and the pulse racing.

I can’t wait for the next installment in this series.

5 Contented Purrs for Lia!

  Lia Davis

In 2008, Lia Davis ventured into the world of writing and publishing and never looked back. She has published more than twenty books, including the bestselling A Tiger’s Claim, book one in her fan favorite Ashwood Falls series. Her novels feature compassionate yet strong alpha heroes who know how to please their women and her leading ladies are each strong in their own way. No matter what obstacle she throws at them, they come out better in the end.

While writing was initially a way escape from real world drama, Lia now makes her living creating worlds filled with magic, mystery, romance, and adventure so that others can leave real life behind for a few hours at a time.

Lia’s favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers, but it’s her home and she loves it!

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