Blog Tour+ARC Review+Excerpt: "Hawkyn" (Demonica Underworld #5) by Larissa Ione


From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Larissa Ione, comes HAWKYN, a passionate and spellbinding novella from the Demonica Underworld Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights! Grab your copy today!

                           

About HAWKYN:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Larissa Ione comes a new story in her Demonica Underworld series…


As a special class of earthbound guardian angel called Memitim, Hawkyn is charged with protecting those whose lives are woven into the fabric of the future. His success is legendary, so when he’s given a serial killer to watch over, he sees no reason for that to change. But Hawkyn’s own future is jeopardized after he breaks the rules and rescues a beautiful woman from the killer’s clutches, setting off an explosive, demonic game of cat and mouse that pits brother against brother and that won’t end until someone dies.

Aurora Mercer is the half-wytch lone survivor of a psychopath who gets off on the sadistic torture of his victims. A psychopath whose obsessive psyche won’t let him move on until he kills her. Now she’s marked for death, her fate tied to that of a murderer…and to a sexy angel who makes her blood burn with desire… 

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**


Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU



                                               

REVIEW

I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I never stop to carve more of the world Larissa Ione has made! Her novellas after the ending of the main series focus on separate pairs with some cameo appearances of the first characters. Hawkyn is a Menitim tasked to watch over humans who play a crucial role in the world. Even when he has to watch over a serial killer. But when he saves a witch from the killer, he and Aurora will have more to deal with than the broken rules.

The pair was funny and the dialogue was easy to follow. I liked the dictionary of terms at the beginning of the book, which reminded me of the rules and the existing classes and characters. And without spoilers, this was a very, very enjoyable read!


                                              

EXCERPT

“Hey,” Hawkyn said through clenched teeth. “Nice security system you’ve got here.
Could do without the electrical current frying my insides, though.”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t meant for you.” She closed her eyes and concentrated on the low-level vibration emanating from the trap she’d set. An invisible thread of energy, much like a power cord, stretched from her to the protective bubble around the house, and with a whispered command, “Rojalis,” it snapped.
Instantly, Hawkyn relaxed, taking in gulps of air, his broad chest heaving under his black turtleneck and leather jacket. Damn, he was magnificent, his long, lean thighs encased in dark jeans that bunched around well-used combat boots. She never would have guessed he was an angel, but damn, it was a good look, and despite the horror of the past days, her body grew uncomfortably warm.
Damn her succubus genes.
“That was unpleasant,” he said in a deep, husky voice that turned up the temperature even more, “and I’m an angel. What the hell would happen to a human who got caught in your trap?”
“A good human?” She shrugged. “Nothing. The trap was calibrated for evil.” She paused, an icy finger of fear poking her in the libido, and she took a casual step back in case she needed to slam the door in his face. “Um, if you’re an angel, why would it snare you?”
“Long sto—”
“Don’t,” she broke in with a wag of her finger. “Don’t even go there.”
One blond eyebrow arched high, and she suspected he wasn’t used to being cut off.
“Okay, short story it is.” He jammed his hands in his jacket pockets. “My dad is evil. Sort of.”
Well, that wasn’t expected. “Isn’t your dad, uh, God?”
“No.”
“All right, then. I have a lot to learn.” She gestured in invitation. “Want to come in?
Do you need permission?”
One corner of his mouth tipped up in amusement. “I’m an angel, not a vampire from some campy movie.” His voice, just like at the hospital, was so whiskey smooth she thought she could get drunk from merely listening to him.
“Well, you do have fangs,” she pointed out, feeling a little foolish.







    About Larissa Ione: Larissa Ione is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. An Air Force veteran, she traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion of writing. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her U.S. Coast Guard husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.



Website | Facebook | Twitter | 1001 Dark Nights

        


Larissa Ione’s HAWKYN –Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:
February 28th
Brittany's Book Blog – Excerpt
Milky Way of Books – Review & Excerpt
March 1st
Feeling Fictional – Review & Excerpt
I'm A Sweet And Sassy Book Whore – Review & Excerpt
Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt
March 2nd
Abigail Books Addiction – Review & Excerpt
Canadian Book Addict – Review & Excerpt
Under the Covers Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
March 3rd
Deluged with Books Cafe – Review & Excerpt
Jax's Book Magic – Excerpt
Literary Misfit – Review & Excerpt
March 4th
March 5th
Dirty Girl Romance – Review
Oh My Growing TBR – Review & Excerpt
Vagabonda – Review
March 6th
BTH Reviews – Excerpt
Sue's Romance Reviews – Review & Excerpt
The Escapist Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
March 7th
A Hopeless Romantic’s Booklandia – Review & Excerpt
Evermore Books – Review & Excerpt
Never without a book in hand – Review & Excerpt
March 8th
Love Notes Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
March 9th
Once Upon An Alpha – Review
The Romance Reviews – Review



                                               

Top 10 Tuesday: Books I Could Re-read Forever


This meme is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is Top Ten Tuesday #139: This is an east list! Although I have so many books I want to re-read let's try and tone it down!








I also cannot count how many times I've listened to the ACOMAF audiobook! These two above count as one.










Cover Reveal+Read-along Invite+Giveaway: "Circle of Ashes" (Wish Quartet, #2) by Elise Kova & Lynn Larsh



Welcome to the cover reveal of the second book of the "Wish Quartet" series! Co-written by Elise Kova and Lynn Larsh the sequel promises to be even more amazing than the first one!




Release Day: April 9, 2018
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Genre(s): New-Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Summary:
EVERY WISH HAS A COST BUT WILL THE SOCIETY BE WILLING TO PAY IT?
Once a hacker-for-hire living in the shadows, Josephina “Jo” Espinosa is the newest member of a magical Society. Their mandate? To grant the wishes of mortals. A simple enough task until Jo is faced with an impossible wish – and her inability to grant it might spell disaster for her entire team, if not the Society itself.
Jo is used to high-pressure situations, but after a string of disasters, the last thing she needs is stakes of this magnitude. Especially given that neither she nor the Society know quite what the consequences of failing to grant a wish might be.
The only person with answers is the Society’s aloof and cryptic leader, Snow. Yet while Jo is enigmatically drawn to the man, all their clandestine encounters leave her with only more questions about the true nature of the Society, her magic, and her own history.
Time is running out for the Society, and an executioner will rise from among them to exact the price of failure.



There will also be an official read-along for the first book of the series! You can join the link below: 




And don't miss the first book of the series!










About the authors:


Elise Kova is the USA Today bestselling author of the Air Awakens series, Loom Saga, and Wish Quartet.

In her past lives, she has graduated from an MBA program, lived in Japan for a bit, and worked for a Fortune 500 technology company. However, she finds herself much happier in her current reincarnation as full-time author. When not writing, she can usually be found playing video games, drawing, watching anime, or talking with readers on social media. She’s happy to call Saint Petersburg, Florida, her home, but is always looking forward to her next trip.



Lynn Larsh considers herself to be a serial hobby-dabbler. She got a bachelors degree in music (which she used for all of four months), studied aerial acrobatics and classical piano for many years, worked briefly as a stunt woman in a Wild West stunt show (it's a long story), and eventually settled down into the bar tending business in St. Petersberg, FL. When she's not acting as a purveyor of fine libations, you can find her diving head first into her newest venture as a New Adult author, or simply writing Voltron fan fiction on Archive of Our Own.

Elise’s Website: http://elisekova.com

Lynn’s Website: https://www.lynnlarsh.com/

Blog Tour+Excerpt Reveal: "Liam" (Brother's Keeper #2) by Stephanie St. Klaire






                                                      

Summary from Goodreads

Running blind, and hiding in plain sight may be your only option, when your villain isn’t just behind you but all around you. When a past Felicity Nichols thought was dead and buried threatens everyone she loves, that’s exactly what she encounters. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide because her villain can follow her anywhere.

Liam O’Reilly is as loyal and protective as they come. When Felicity falls victim to a cyber stalker who wants something she has, he will stop at nothing to protect her and his family from the danger threatening them at every turn. Technology may make life easier for some, but it’s the smoking gun that can end it all for others.

Power, and money will never be enough – it will only get you so far. The power struggle threatens to turn deadly when Liam meets his match, behind the computer screen, in a race of wills against time. 

Can Liam overcome his own past, or will it cost him another broken heart and shattered soul. Can Felicity be the light in his darkness and reveal that love is the most dangerous weapon of all?

Will Liam and Brother’s Keeper Security be able to bring a faceless predator to justice? Or, will Liam lose more than just a second chance at love? One thing is certain… sometimes you have to break the rules to protect what you love.


BOOK INFORMATION: 

BROTHER'S KEEPER II: LIAM by Stephanie St. Klaire just released and for a VERY limited time, you can grab it for just $1.99!


EXCERPT

“So, this is a game of who can out technology the other now?” Dace asked with a chuckle.
“Exactly. He gave us a trail. We just need to find it in all of this,” Liam added, his fingers already tapping away. “There’s always a trail.’
“What ever happened to the bad guy just chasing us with a gun?” Luke asked, his tone laced in sarcasm but his question real.
“This is a new kind of manhunt, boys, like hunting someone who isn’t there,” Liam answered. “Technology can make you believe anything and everything then hide it all in an instant, like chasing a ghost. It’s now our greatest enemy while also our greatest tool. It’s how we are going to resolve this as much as it will threaten us.”
“So, get on that interweb thing of yours, Liam, and surf it or whatever. Find him – beat him. Case closed, brother.” Luke ended with a booming team Liam clap of his hands.
“I will, and it’s innerweb.” Liam smiled, focused on his wall of screens. “I just need to find the first needle in the fucking haystack that is layers and layers of coding and programming.”
“Ummm.” Felicity turned from her computer, interrupting the silence surrounding them. “I already may have found that needle you’re looking for. Well, found help anyway.”
Liam stopped what he was doing and listened. All they needed was a small break. “Okay? And?”
“He’s an old…friend. He’s actually how I got hooked up with Wells and ultimately met Dunham,” she explained. “I can’t reach him though. He’s off the grid. But I think I know where he is.”
Liam jumped to his feet and hung his cardigan sweater, swapping it for a jacket.
“Hold on, he needs to do his Mr. Rogers thing and hang the sweater. Are you going to change your shoes too?” Wylie teased. Liam was often the butt of many harassing jokes because he was the quieter brother with all of the fun quirks to pick at.
He flipped his brother off before turning to Felicity. “Let’s go.”



AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Stephanie St. Klaire debuted in 2016, launching her writing career with Rescued, the first book in the widely popular, five book series known as McKenzie Ridge. Stephanie is a Pacific Northwest native currently living in Oregon with her husband, five children, and two ferocious lap dogs.
As a writer, Stephanie brings realistic circumstances to the pages, and fills them with real emotion, reactions, and outcomes. Her characters are passionate, have bold personalities, and full of life. She writes happily ever after’s, with plenty of twists, turns, drama, and of course, steamy romance.
Stephanie has always been a story teller, with the gift of “gab”, and a life-long goal to be a writer. Unfortunate circumstances with her health, finally afforded her the time to do so. Irony at its best, she began writing her first novel at an adverse time, to escape her circumstance and explore the stories in her imagination for relief. She is happy to share those stories with her readers, and bring a little fun, entertainment, and of course smexy characters to the pages.
Follow Stephanie St. Klaire on Social media to learn more about her, and to keep up with her work.

ARC Review: The Prophecy (Titan #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout


The Prophecy by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

History is on repeat…

Seth never thought he’d have a future. But now he’s on the brink of having it all with Josie: A tomorrow. A family. A forever. And all that's standing between him and that forever is the Titans. If he helps Josie entomb them -- without killing them, a nearly impossible task for him -- everything he could ever want will be in reach. But he soon realizes that as a god, every little choice he makes can reshape the world for the better… or worse. And in meddling with the Titans, Seth may have just set into motion catastrophic consequences that will force the Olympians to enter the mortal realm and reshape the delicate balance of power that keeps the world from total collapse.

A price must be paid…

Entombing the Titans is Josie’s top priority. After all, it was what she was born to do. But the plans her father put into play to help her are no longer an option, and the odds she and Seth face in forging their own path are grim. The escalating violence between halfs and pures only increases the danger closing in on them and their friends. Josie knows their chances of succeeding in their task are slim at best -- and if they fail, they might lose everything. But she also knows she's not fighting just for herself -- she's fighting for the man she loves, for their future, for the world. Together with the Army of Awesome, Josie and Seth will face the unthinkable. And to win this war, the ultimate sacrifice must be made.

For the end is here and the Prophecy will be fulfilled….




PRE-ORDER



REVIEW

I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

After almost two weeks of trying to gather my emotions over the ending of this book, I am finally able to write the review.

Josie, Seth, and co still haven't found a way to entomb the Titans and at the same time, vast destructions are razing the world. Pures are getting angry and many halfs are also in danger. Yet the Gods give no answer to the questions of everyone.
I really enjoyed the emotion and everything in between in both Seth and Josie. To be honest, if Seth now could go to the past and meet the old Seth, they would have a fist-fight. While Josie doesn't do much in this book, she is the brain of everyone. Alex, Deacon, and Luke are amazing and the bromance between Aiden and Seth is adorable!

I surely didn't expect the second half of the book to make me cry that much...but I cried a lot. The ending was bittersweet, because I became so invested in this world since 2013 and it is hard for me to see it go. But Jennifer Armentrout's amazing writing never stops to amaze me!



About the author: 

Photo of Jennifer# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Charles Town, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications.  Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can. 

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more. She is also the creator and sole financier of the annual Write Your Way To RT Book Convention, a contest that gives aspiring authors a chance to win a fully paid trip to RT Book Reviews.

Double Reviews: Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) by S. Jae-Jones & Everless (Everless #1) by Sara Holland


Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads

Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can’t forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her. 

When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King—who he was, who he is, and who he will be. What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world—or the ones Liesl loves—is in her hands?







BUY ON



REVIEW

The final book of the Wintersong duology diverges very much from its predecessor. The author herself mentions the reason in a short author note at the beginning of the book and I can see why.

Months after the events of Wintersong Liesl has returned home but her feelings and her heart are torn. She can't play or compose and many times her grandmother accuses her of giving her heart to the Goblin King. When mysterious murders begin happening and also a mysterious sponsor decides to whisk Liesl and her sister to their brother Josef, the veil between worlds will suffer and Liesl will have the biggest challenge yet.



S. Jae-Jones gives a TRIGGER WARNING in the beginning! She knows that the thems in the book may be hard for some and I totally liked that! The story is as much about Liesl growing up as also about Josef and the meaning of his life. There are four POVs here; Liesl, Josef, the Goblin King and a final POV told from the third perspective.

The world-building reminded me quite much of Austria od 18th-19th century and it was very detailed with mystery, masquerade balls and music. I didn't expect the ending, but the quotes from Beethoven in between the chapters gutted me!

For me, this was a stellar way to end the book, despite the hardships everyone had.






About the author:

S. Jae-Jones, called JJ, is an artist, an adrenaline junkie, and the NYT bestselling author of Wintersong.

Born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, she lived in New York City for ten years before relocating down to Dixie, where she is comfortably growing fat on grits and barbecue. When not writing, she can be found rock-climbing, skydiving, taking photographs, drawing pictures, and dragging her dog on ridiculously long hikes.











Everless by Sara Holland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads

In the land of Sempera, time is extracted from blood and used as payment. Jules Ember and her father were once servants at Everless, the wealthy Gerling family’s estate, but were cast out after of a fateful accident a decade ago. Now, Jules’s father is reaching his last hour, and she will do anything to save him. Desperate to earn time, she arrives at the palace as it prepares for a royal wedding, ready to begin her search into childhood secrets that she once believed to be no more than myths. As she uncovers lost truths, Jules spirals deeper into a past she hardly recognizes, and faces an ancient and dangerous foe who threatens her future and the future of time itself.






BUY ON



REVIEW

The land of Sempera is a wondrous place to live...as long as you have the time to pay for more time of course. Time is a currency, which is quite a unique element in the YA, and Jules will have to face the ghosts of her past int he lord's manor if she wants to save her father.

There is treachery, an evil queen, a lost love and a new one as we thread through Jules and her fight against the glitter of the court life and the hypocrisy of some others. I liked the mythology of the world and how vital the knowing of it was for the plot.

And I'll surely read the sequel too!







About the author:

Sara Holland grew up in small-town Minnesota among hundreds of books. She graduated from Wesleyan University and worked in a tea shop, a dentist’s office, and a state capitol building before heading to New York to work in publishing. These days, she can be found exploring the city’s bookstores or finding new ways to put caffeine in her bloodstream. EVERLESS is her debut novel.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Decided I’m No Longer Interested In Reading


This meme is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is Top Ten Tuesday #138: Books I'm no longer interested in reading. I didn't either like the reviews or I got bored when I began reading it.






















Pre-Order Campaign Launch+Exclusive Chapter Reveal: "Moonlight Seduction" (DeVincent #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout


Welcome to the pre-order campaign for the upcoming book of the DeVincent series! Jennifer Armentrout knows how to keeps us on edge with her amazing stories! Check out below the details for the chance to get extra goodies!





Synopsis:


The de Vincent brothers are back—and so is the intrigue that surrounds them—in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s sizzling new novel... Nicolette Bresson never thought she’d return to the de Vincents’ bayou compound. It’s where her parents work, where Nikki grew up... and where she got her heart broken by Gabriel de Vincent himself. Yet here she is, filling in for her sick mother. Avoiding Gabe should be easy, especially when so much of Nikki’s time is spent trying not to be stabbed in the back by the malicious hangers-on who frequent the mansion. 

But escaping memories of Gabe, much less his smoking-hot presence, is harder than expected—especially since he seems determined to be in Nikki’s space as much as possible. Gabriel spent years beating himself up over his last encounter with Nikki. He’d wanted her then, but for reasons that were bad for both of them. Things have now changed. Gabe sees more than a girl he’s known forever; he sees a smart, talented, and heartbreakingly beautiful woman... one who’s being stalked from the shadows. Now, Gabe will do anything to keep Nikki safe—and to stop the de Vincent curse from striking again.




LINKS:
GOODREADS | AMAZON |  BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | PREORDER CAMPAIGN LINK | DIRECT LINK 



RULES/INFO:


· Preorder an ebook or print copy of Moonlight Seduction by Jennifer L. Armentrout and get an exclusive de Vincent bonus story sent via email!
· Open Internationally
· You must upload a copy of their preorder receipt of Moonlight Seduction to be eligible.
· The de Vincent bonus story will be emailed after the release Moonlight Seduction (6/26/18)


CHAPTER 1

Six years later . . .

It took every ounce of self-control for Gabriel de Vincent to stand back and do nothing. Just stand there and watch him being led away, but that’s what he had to do, because that’s what he’d promised and Gabe tried to be a man of his word.
Sometimes he failed at that. Failed at that in ways that haunted him late at night, but he wouldn’t go back on this.
He’d promised them three uninterrupted months.
That’s what he was going to give them.
 His jaw ached from how hard he was clenching it as the Rothchilds walked back into the restaurant. He didn’t take his eyes off them, not until he couldn’t see them anymore. Only then did he look at the slip of paper.
Looking down at the drawing of puppy on a piece of blue construction paper, he felt the worst mix of emotions. Sadness. Pride. Helplessness. Hope. Fury that he’d never tasted before. He had no idea how one person could feel all of that at once, but he did.
A wry smile tugged at his lips. There was definitely talent in the drawing. Real skill. The de Vincent knack for the arts was still kicking around it seemed.
His gaze flickered over what was written in a blockish handwriting. He’d already read in three times, but couldn’t bear to read it a fourth time. Not right now. He didn’t want to fold the paper and created creases in it, so he was careful as he carried it back to where he was parked.
“Gabriel de Vincent.”
Frowning at the vaguely familiar voice, he turned around. A man stepped out from behind a truck. Dark, square sunglasses shielded half the man’s face, but Gabe recognized him.
He sighed. “Ross Haid. To what do I owe the honor of seeing you in Baton Rouge?”
The reporter for the Advocate gave one of what Gabe assumed was a trademark half grin; the kind that probably got him into places and events he sure as hell didn’t belong in. “Headquarters are here. You know that.”
“Yeah, but you work out of the New Orleans office, Ross.”
He shrugged a shoulder as he neared Gabe. “I had to come up to headquarters. Heard through the grapevine that a de Vincent was in town.”
“Uh-huh.” Not for one second did Gabe believe that. “And you just happen to hear that I was at this restaurant?”
The smile kicked up a notch as he ran a hand over his blond hair. “Nah. Seeing you here was just luck.”
Bullshit. Ross had been sniffing after his family for about two months now, trying to get to one of them when they were out at dinner or at an event, showing up at nearly every damn function one of them was attending. But back home, in New Orleans, Ross had trouble getting near them. Well, he had trouble getting to the one he really wanted to talk to which was Gabe’s older brother.
Didn’t require any leap of logic to figure out what was going on. Somehow Ross had heard that Gabe was here, and that’s why Ross conveniently ended up here. Normally he could tolerate Ross’ incessant questioning. Hell, he sort of liked the guy, appreciated his determination, but not when Ross was here and something he didn’t want a reporter
finding out mere feet away.
Lowering his sunglasses, Ross eyed Gabe’s ride. “Nice car. Is it one of the new Porsche 911s?”
Gabe raised his brows.
“Family business must be going well. Then again, the family business is always going strong, isn’t it? The de Vincents are old money. The one percent of the one percent.” Gabe’s family was one of the oldest, linked all the way back to the days the great state of Louisiana was being created. Now they owned the most profitable oil refineries in the Gulf, coveted real estate all around the world, tech firms, and once his older brother married, they’d be in control of one of the largest shipping industries in the world. So, yeah, the de Vincents were wealthy, but the car and nearly everything Gabe owned, he bought it with the money he worked for. Not the money he was born with.
“Some say that your family has so much money, that the de Vincents are above the law.” Ross straightened his sunglasses. “Seems that way.”
Gabe really didn’t have time for this. “Whatever you want to say, can you stop beating around the damn bush and get to it? I’m planning to head home sometime in the next year.”
The reporter’s smile faded. “Since you’re here and I’m here, and it’s damn hard to talk to you all any other time. I want to chat about your father’s death.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“I don’t believe it was a suicide,” Ross continued. “And I find it also convenient that Chief Cobbs, who openly and publicly wanted your father’s death investigated as a homicide ended up dead in a freak car accident.”
“Is that right?”
Frustration hummed off Ross about as loud as the damn locusts. “Is that all you got to say to me about this?”
“Pretty much.” Gabe grinned then. “That and you have an overactive imagination, but I’m sure you’ve heard that before.”
“I don’t think my imagination is nearly vast enough to compete with all the things the de Vincents have had their hands in.”
Probably not.
“Okay, I won’t ask you about your father or the chief.” Ross shifted his weight as Gabe opened his driver’s door. “Also heard some interesting rumors about some of the staff at the de Vincent compound.”
“I’m started to feel like you might be stalking us.” Gabe placed the drawing facedown on the passenger’s seat. “If you want to talk about staffing, then you need to have a chat with Dev.”
“Devlin won’t make time to talk to me.”

“That doesn’t sound like my problem.”

“It seems like it is now.”
Gabe laughed, but the sound was without humor as he reached inside, grabbing his sunglasses off the visor. “Trust me, Ross, this isn’t my problem.”
“You may not think so now, but that’ll change.” A muscle twitched along the man’s jaw. “I plan to blow the roof of every single damn secret the de Vincents have been keeping for years. I’m going to do a story that not even your family can pay to keep quiet.”
Shaking his head, Gabe slipped his sunglasses on. “I like you, Ross. You know I’ve never had a problem with you. So, I just want to get that out of the way. But you have got to come up with some better material, because that was cliché as shit.” He rested his hand on the frame of the car door. “You’ve got to know you’re not the first reporter to come around thinking they’re somehow going to dig some skeletons out of our closets and expose us for whatever the hell you think we are. You’re not going to be the last to fail.”
“I don’t fail,” Ross said. “Not ever.”

“Everyone fails.” Gabe climbed in behind the wheel.
“Except the de Vincents?”

“You said it, not me.” Gabe looked up at the reporter. “Some unasked for advice? I’d find another story to investigate.”

“Is there where you’re going to tell me to be careful?” He sounded oddly gleeful by the prospect. “Warn me off? Because people who mess with the de Vincents end up missing or worse?”
Gabe smirked as he hit the ignition key. “Doesn’t sound like I need to tell you that. Seems like you already know what happens.”

Nikki stood in the center of the quiet and sterile kitchen of the de Vincent mansion, telling herself that she was not the same little idiot that almost drowned herself out in the pool six years ago.
She sure as hell wasn’t the same idiot who had spent years making an utter fool out of herself, chasing after a grown man. An act, which resulted in one of the worst ideas she’d ever had in the history of bad ideas.
And Nikki had a remarkable history of making not the brightest of all decisions. Her dad said she had a bit of wild streak in her, taking after Pappy, but Nikki liked to blame the de Vincents for the recklessness. They had this really bizarre talent of making everyone around them stick one toe into Recklessville.
Her mother claimed that most of Nikki’s bad decisions came from having a good heart.
Nikki had the habit of picking up strays—stray cats, dogs, a lizard here and there, even a snake, and humans, too. She was a bleeding heart, hating to see anyone she cared about in pain and she was oftentimes a bit overly affected by the troubles of strangers.
It was why she avoided the TV around the holidays, because they always played those heart-wrenching videos of freezing animals or children left to starve in war-torn countries. She hated everything about New Year’s Eve because of that and spent the week between Christmas and the first of January moping around.
There was a lot of Nikki that was the same as she was the last time she walked through this house. She still got emotionally invested in animals that didn’t belong to her—that was why she volunteered at the local animal shelter. She still couldn’t turn away from someone who needed help, and she still found herself in weird situations but reckless? Wild?
Not anymore.
Not since the last time she’d been in the house, right before she left for college. That had been four years ago and now she was back, and nothing and everything had changed.
“You okay, hon?” her father asked.
Turning to find her father standing just inside the large kitchen, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and smiled widely for him. Goodness, her dad was starting to look his age, and that scared her—truly terrified her. Her parents had her late in life, but she was only twenty-two, and she wanted another fifty years or so with them.
Nikki knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Especially now.
She forced those thoughts from her head. “Yes. I’m just . . . it’s weird being in here after being gone so long. The kitchen is different.”

“It was remodeled a few years back,” he replied. The mansion was constantly being remodeled it seemed. After all, how many times had this place caught fire since it was built? Nikki had lost count. Her father drew in a deep breath, and the lines around his mouth became more pronounced. He looked so tired. “I don’t know if I’ve said this to you or not, but thank you.”
She waved him off. “You don’t need to thank me, Dad.”
“Yeah, I do.” He walked over to where she stood. “You went away to college to do something better than this—better than cooking dinners
and running a household. To become something better.”
Offended on his behalf, she crossed her arms and met his weary gaze. “There’s nothing wrong with cooking dinners and running a household. It’s good, honest work. Wok that put me through college. Right, Dad?”
“We take great pride in our job. Don’t get me wrong, but what your mother and I did all these years was so you could do something else.” He sighed. “So, it means a lot that you would come home to help us out, Nicolette.”
Only her dad and mom called her by her full name. Everyone else called her Nikki. Everyone except a certain de Vincent who shall remained nameless. He and only he called her Nic.
Her parents had worked for the de Vincents, one of the wealthiest families in the States and possibly the world, since long before she was born. It was weird growing up in this house, being privy to a lot of strange stuff—things the public has no idea about and would probably pay a large sum of money to learn. And personally? It was like she had a foot in two different worlds, one absurdly wealthy and the other middle working class.
Her father was basically a butler, except she always had a small suspicion that her father had . . . taken care of things for the de Vincents that no normal butler did. Her mother ran the day-to-day functions of the house and prepared the dinners. Both her parents loved working for the family and she knew both had planned to continue to the day they died, but her mom . . . .
Nikki’s chest squeezed painfully. Her mom was not well and it had happened so fast, coming out of nowhere. The dreaded C word.
“Honestly, this is perfect. I got my degree and this will give me time to figure things out.” In other words, figure out what the hell she wanted to really do with her life. Get to work or go for her master’s? She wasn’t sure yet. “And I want to be here while Mom is going through
everything.”
“I know.” His smile wobbled a little as he brushed a strand of blondish-brown hair out of her face.
“We could’ve hired someone else to step in while your mother—”
“No, you couldn’t have.” She laughed at the mere thought of that. “I know how weird the de Vincents are. I know how protective you two are of them. I know how to keep my mouth shut and not see what I’m not supposed to. And you two don’t have to worry about someone new not keeping their mouth shut and not seeing what they’re not supposed to.”
Her dad arched a brow. “A lot of things have changed, honey.”
She snorted as she took in the white marble countertops with gray veining. Mom had filled her in on some of those changes during one of her chemo treatments. After all, what else did they have to talk about while she was being pumped full of poison that would hopefully kill only the cancer cells building in her lung?
Things in the de Vincent mansion that had changed.
For starters, the patriarch of the family, one Lawrence de Vincent, had hung himself a few months back. An act that had shocked her because she figured that man would’ve outlived a nuclear bomb. And Lucian de Vincent apparently had a live-in girlfriend and they were about to move into their own place. That was even more insane, the idea of Lucian settling down.
The Lucian she remembered put the play in player. He’d been an incorrigible flirt, leaving a string of broken hearts across the state of Louisiana and beyond.
She hadn’t met his girlfriend yet since they were away on some kind of trip; the rich rarely seemed to have much of a schedule. She just hoped whoever his girlfriend was, she was nice and nothing like Devlin’s fiancé.
Nikki might not have been around the de Vincents in four years, but she remembered Sabrina Harrington and her brother Parker.
Sabrina had just begun seeing Devlin the year before Nikki had left for college and that had been a year’s worth of snide comments and rather impressive disdainful looks. Nikki could deal with Sabrina though. If she was the same woman as she was before, she could be as mean as a cornered rattlesnake, but Nikki normally didn’t even register on her scale of people to pay attention to.
Parker though?
Nikki suppressed a shudder, not wanting to worry her father who was watching her like a hawk.
Parker had often stared at her the way she’d wanted Gabe to look at her, especially when she had grown brave enough to move from a one-piece bathing suit to a two-piece.
And Parker . . . he had done more than look.
She drew in a deep breath. She wasn’t going to think about Parker. He wasn’t worth a single thought.
What happened to Lawrence, and Lucian’s new romance weren’t the only things her mom had told her. She filled Nikki in on the whole sister reappearing and then disappearing again thing. Something that she knew the general public had no idea had even happened. She didn’t know the details around it, but Nikki knew that in typical de Vincent fashion, it had to the most drama-llama-est thing possible.
And she also knew better than to ask questions about it.
Her father stepped back. “The boys are all out.”
 Thank God and baby Jesus.
“Devlin should be back this evening for dinner. He likes dinner to be ready at six. I believe Ms. Harrington will be joining him.”
Well, thanking God and baby Jesus lasted all of five seconds. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and make a gagging sound. “Okay.”

“Gabriel is still in Baton Rouge, or at least, that’s the last I heard,” her father continued, ticking off the brothers’ schedules while she wondered what Gabe was doing in Baton Rouge. Not that she cared. She totally didn’t care whatsoever, but she wondered if it had anything to do with his woodworking business.
The man was talented with his hands. 
Really talented. 
Her cheeks flushed as an unwanted memory of how his calloused palms felt pierced her straight through the chest. Nope. Not going there. Absolutely not.
There were examples of Gabe’s skill all around the house—the furniture, chair rails, and trim, even in the kitchen. All of the woodwork was designed and created by Gabe. As a little girl, she’d been fascinated with the idea of picking up a piece of wood and turning it into something that was truly a work of art. That fascination had turned into quite the hobby for Nikki.
It had started one long, fall afternoon when she was ten and she’d found Gabe outside, whittling away on a piece of wood. Out of boredom, she’d asked him to show her how he did it. Instead of shooing her off, Gabe had given her small scraps of wood and showed her how to use a chisel.
She’d gotten pretty good at it, but she hadn’t picked up a chisel in over four years. Nikki refocused on what her dad was telling her.
“We’re a little understaffed right now,” her dad continued. “So there’s a lot of dusting in your near future. Devlin is very much like his father.”
Great.
That was not a compliment in her book.
“Is it the ghosts?” She half-joked. “Scaring off the staff?”
Her father shot her a look, but she knew damn well that her parents believed this
house was haunted. Hell, they wouldn’t even come here at night unless it was a dire emergency. None of the staff would and everyone in town knew the legends about the land the de Vincent mansion sat on. And who hadn’t heard about the de Vincent curse more than a more than she had seen some weird things and heard some stuff that couldn’t be explained.
Plus she grew up within minutes of New Orleans. She was a believer, but unlike her friend Rosie, whom she met in college, she wasn’t obsessed with all things paranormal. Nikki operated on the whole if- you-don’t-acknowledge-ghosts-they-can’t-bother-you theory and so far it had worked so far wonderfully.
Then again, Nikki had only come here at night once in her life, and that had not turned out well at all. So maybe ignoring ghosts didn’t work, because she liked to think
she was possessed by one of ghosts that supposedly wandered the halls, and that was what provoked her to do what she’d done that night.
Nikki was well aware of how the house was run because she’d spent most of her summer vacations in the house watching her mom, so she got to work pretty quickly once her father left her.
First thing first was tracking down what staff they did have at the house. Understaffed her butt! The only staff they had left was her dad; the landscaper who was constantly mowing grass it seemed or re-mulching; the de Vincent driver; and Mrs. Kneely, an older woman who’d done the laundry services since Nikki was a little girl.
Beverly Kneely actually owed her own laundry business and only came to the house three times a week to take care of the linens and clothing.
According to Bev, whom she found in the large mudroom at the back of the house, packing up clothing that needed to be dry-cleaned, over the last couple of months, nearly everyone had quit.
“So, let me get this straight.” Nikki smoothed back a few strands that had escaped the knot she’d pulled her hair up in. “The waiters are gone, as are the maids?”
Bev’s buxom chest heaved as she nodded. “It’s just been your parents for the last three months. I think all that work was wearing poor Livie down.”
Anger flashed through Nikki. Hadn’t the de Vincents noticed how thin and tired her mom had been getting? How quickly she got out of breath? “Why didn’t the de Vincents hire someone to help?”
“Your father tried, but no one around here wants to come close to this place, not after what happened.”
She frowned. “You’re talking about Lawrence? What he did?”
Bev tied up the bags. “Not like that wasn’t bad enough, but that wasn’t the straw the broke the camel’s back around here.”
Nikki had no idea what she was talking about. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve been updated on all the crazy. What else happened?”
Looking around the room, Bev arched her brows as she headed toward the side door. “Walls got ears. You know that. You want to know what’s been going on here, you ask your father or one of the boys.”
Her lips pursed. She was so not asking the boys.
Bev stopped at the door and looked back. “I don’t think Devlin is going to be happy when he sees what you’re wearing.”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” It was jeans and a black tee shirt. No way was she going to dress like her mom or her dad. Her willingness to help her parents did not extend to wearing uniforms.
She looked down at herself and saw the hole just below the knee.
Nikki sighed.
 Devlin was probably going to have a problem with the hole, but what Nikki wanted to know was what the hell had happened in this house to drive almost all the staff away?
It had to be something.
Not just because the de Vincents paid extraordinarily well, but also because her father hadn’t told her.
And that meant it was something really bad.




Moonlight Seduction is out June 26th, 2018!





About the author:

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance.

She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over a hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more. She is also the creator and sole financier of the annual Write Your Way To RT Book Convention, a contest that gives aspiring authors a chance to win a fully paid trip to RT Book Reviews.