Book Review: Untouched by Sara Humphreys

I absolutely love the warmth and charm of the Amoveo shifters...at least the good guys.  The bad guy  “Purists” are suitably twisted and evil!
  

Untouched 

by Sara Humphreys

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (April 3, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1402258461

ISBN-13: 978-1402258466

Also available in Kindle and other ebook formats.
Genre: Paranormal Romance
My Rating:  4.25 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2012 | Series: The Amoveo Legend

SHE SHOULD BE SEEN, BUT NEVER TOUCHED...

Kerry Smithson's modeling career ensures that she will be admired from afar, which is essential since mere human touch sparks blinding pain and terrifying visions.

EVERY GOOD MODEL NEEDS A HEAVENLLY BODYGUARD...

Dante Coltari is hired to protect Kerry from those who know who she is—or more importantly what she is—and want her dead because of it. Nothing could have prepared him for the challenge of keeping her safe. But, strangely, his lightest touch brings her exquisite pleasure rather than pain, and Dante and Kerry have an otherwordly connection that might just pull them through.

Praise for the Amoveo Legend series:

"Sizzling sexual chemistry that is sure to please."—Yankee Romance Reviews

"A moving tale that captures both the sweetness and passion of romance."—Romance Junkies, 5 Blue Ribbons

"Fascinating...the characters haunted my dreams...I'm dying for the sequel."—Long and Short Reviews Best Book

Review:

Kerry has been an outcast all her life because touching others brings her pain and overload of negative sensation.  Even her adopted parents learned not to share affection with her. The only person she could safely touch is Samantha and whenever they touch Kerry sees a large gray wolf. Now, surprisingly, Kerry discovers that when her persistent and sexy bodyguard, Dante, touches her she feels all sorts of wonderful tingles!

Dante knew from the first time he saw Kerry (see Book 1 - Samantha and Malcolm’s story) that she was his mate, even if she is a hybrid, like Sam, half human and half Amoveo.  Dante isn’t really trying to crowd her but he is anxious to convince her that he wants only her happiness and he needs to protect her from the Amoveo natural human enemies, the Cadeo.  He knows she is also in danger from attack by the “Purists” who object to any human mingling in the clan lines.

Dante (a red fox) knows he can trust Malcolm (an eagle) and Sam (a wolf) but they are trying to celebrate a little honeymoon time.  He is pretty sure he can trust his friends, easy going Steven (a coyote) and stoic William (a gyrfalcon). Beyond that group they are not sure who can be trusted, even those in the Amoveo Council, since Dante’s own father, a Council member was one of the Purists who attacked Sam and Kerry before.

The rolling banter between lonely but confident model Kerry and eager Dante is great fun. He calls her “Princess” and she calls him neanderthal or “Tarzan.”  The setting of her lingerie fashion shoot is a run down plantation in the Bayous of Louisiana. The place is creepy and nearby in New Orleans are Voodoo shops and the purveyors of spells and witchcraft.

The story moves along well with the fun sensual banter, the repeated threats against “the traitors” and finally with the action of the attack and rescue.  There are twists revealing characters as friends and foes.  There are a few bad words but I’m willing to read over those for the sheer joy of the strong love reflected in this series. If you like shifters who are not only hot but romantic, and a romance spiced with danger, this is a perfect series for you! I’m definitely looking forward to William's story and more excitement in the next installment.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Feel the warm glow:

She'd never been the focus of such love, devotion and fierce protection. As a model she'd had total strangers fantasize about her ... but no one--no man -- had every really loved her. Page 226.

Samantha kept saying he was the missing piece to Kerry's puzzle, but the truth was that Kerry was his. They fit. He wouldn't lose her. Not now. Not ever. Page 257.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing this book to read and review. Sourcebooks is also sponsoring a Giveaway of TWO Copies which I have included with the author interview. And don't miss the interview answers from Dante too!

A good part of this story is set in or near New Orleans, LA for my Where Are You Reading Challenge. I will also include this book on my ARC challenge.
 

Giveaway + Interview with Sara Humphreys, Author of Untouched

Hello Sara! Thank you for sharing at Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf. I have really enjoyed your characters and exciting action in the Amoveo Series!

Questions for Sara:

Q1  Congratulations on your successful Amoveo Series! I believe there are to be five books - is that right?  I love to ask this question about series:  did you have each book plotted out before you started the first one or did the subsequent books flow from the first book?

SH: Hi! Thanks for the congratulations J Yes. There are going to be five books in the series but I did not have them all plotted out. When I was writing UNLEASHED, I figured out the story for UNTOUCHED. It pretty much worked out that way for the whole series. I get the idea for the next book as I’m writing the one prior and sometimes it changes. For example, in the original version of UNTOUCHED the villain was different but I realized that I liked that character far too much to make him evil and kill him off.

Q2   Have you found that any of your skills as an actress add extra help to your career as an author?

SH: Definitely. I use sense memory recall when I’m writing, just as I did when I was performing. As a writer, you have to be able to get inside the head of the characters and understand where everyone is coming from and what their motivations are. It’s actually quite similar to acting.

Q3  Please share with us one surprising thing about your experience writing Untouched, or about something else related to your career as a writer.

SH: When I was writing Untouched, it was the first time that music played a significant role in the creative process. I heard the song Honey on the Skin and it sparked a wealth of ideas for the story. Now I use music all the time, but it’s especially helpful when I need to spark a lazy muse.

Q4  Which word would you use to describe yourself and your personality?

SH: Tenacious. I’m like a dog with a bone and won’t let go until I get where I want to go. My mother calls it tunnel vision and it can be both a blessing and a curse. I try to use it for good and not for evil.

Q5  How did you come up with the idea for Sara’s Angels?

SH: I heard the term “street team” and just kind of ran with it. I put the idea out on Facebook and asked if any of my readers would want to help do some promo in their hometowns. I was shocked by the response! We’re up to 50 angels in 29 states and 3 countries. I’m always looking for more. J  The girls on the team came up with the name. I really like it and I’m so lucky to have this vibrant group of women on my side.

Questions for Dante:

Q1  Which word would you use to describe yourself and your personality?

D:  Protector.

Q2  Briefly, can you share with the readers if you have any special plans on how to win over Kerry?

D: I’m going to show her that she has nothing to fear from me and that my only desire is to make her happy. If that doesn’t work, I’ll be tempted to throw her over my shoulder and carry her off like the Neanderthal that she thinks I am. But since I doubt that would get me anywhere, I’d probably ask her best friend, Samantha what the hell I’m doing wrong.

Q3  Do you have any special vulnerabilities?

D: Yes. Kerry. I’ve never met a woman who can set me on edge with one look but she sure has managed that. It’s both unsettling and sexy as hell.

Q4  What is something you would never be caught dead doing/saying?

D: Where can I get a good mani-pedi?

Q5  What is the one thing your readers would be surprised to know about you?

D: I’m an excellent cook and my specialty is breakfast…in bed.

Final Question:  If you could have readers finish a sentence what would it be?

SH: If Dante were to bring you breakfast in bed….he would bring….?

UNTOUCHED BY SARA HUMPHREYS – IN STORES APRIL 2012

She should be seen, but never touched…

Kerry Smithson's modeling career ensures that she will be admired from afar, which is essential since mere human touch sparks blinding pain and terrifying visions.

Every good model needs a heavenly bodyguard…

Dante Coltari is hired to protect Kerry from those who know who she is—or more importantly what she is—and want her dead because of it. Nothing could have prepared him for the challenge of keeping her safe. But, strangely, his lightest touch brings her exquisite pleasure rather than pain, and Dante and Kerry have an otherwordly connection that might just pull them through.

 

“Red-hot love scenes punctuate a well-plotted suspense story that will keep readers turning pages as fast as they can.”

—Publishers Weekly Starred Review

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sara Humphreys has been attracted to the fantasies of science fiction, paranormal, and romance since her adolescence when she had a mad crush on Captain Kirk. An actress and public speaker, Sara lives with her husband--who is very considerate of her double life--and four amazing boys, in Bronxville, New York. For more information, please visit http://sarahumphreys.com, Like her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Amoveo and follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/authorsara.

 Sourcebooks has graciously offered TWO Copies of Untouched for Giveaway!

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY: 
1.  Answer the Author's Question above (the last of the interview questions.)
2.  For an extra entry, become a follower on any media (GFC, Twitter @MSEREADS, Facebook fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/ReviewsByMarthasBookshelf , Goodreads or Linky - links on right sidebar) or tell me if you are already a follower.
3.  For an extra entry, make a meaningful comment on the interview.
4.  One more entry for commenting on the Review.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Four total entries possible.)

THERE WILL BE TWO WINNERS.

* This contest is open US and Canada only.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on May 4, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries and announced on May 5 with 72 hours to complete the winners' form.

Book Review and ARC Giveaway: The Highlander's Prize by Mary Wine

This story has likeable and passionate characters struggling to find love through an interesting political intrigue.

The Highlander's Prize

by Mary Wine 

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (April 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402264712
• ISBN-13: 978-1402264719

Also Available in Kindle and other ebook formats.

Genre: Historical Romance

My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2012

BASTARD ROYAL DAUGHTER, PAWN IN A DEADLY GAME

Sent to Scotland to be the king's mistress and produce an heir, Clarrisa of York has never needed a miracle more. But the brusque Highland laird who kidnaps her is a bit too rough to be considered divine intervention.

HE'LL DO ANYTHING TO THWART HIS KING

With rival lairds determined to steal Clarrisa from him and royal henchmen searching for her all over the Highlands, Laird Broen MacNicols has a mess on his hands. Worse yet, there's a magnetic attraction between them, although he's betrothed to another. But even an independent–minded lady like Clarrisa knows that a Highlander always claims his prize...

Review:
Clarissa of York is an illegitimate but acknowledged daughter of a King. She is raised with no fondness but rather as a pawn for a power trade in marriage. Her choices seem to be risking being killed as a threat to the throne or to be obedient and provide a royal blooded heir to the King of Scotland.  When she is kidnaped she is frightened for her future but relieved to be out of the immediate trap.  As time goes by she begins to hope that she might have another choice - a chance at a life with freedom and happiness.

Laird Broen MacNicols volunteered to steal the English ‘princess’ from the spineless King James to trade her for a favor. The King has failed to resolve disputes among the clans leaving the likelihood of clan battles that will kill many good men.  The Scots are dividing between the Royalists who support King James and those who want to replace him with his son in hopes he will be a better King for Scotland.

Broen found it fairly easy to snatch Clarissa but he finds it much harder to keep her as others seek to kill her or seek to take advantage of the political power she might bring.  Broen starts out with a promise to deliver her alive and he is intent on keeping that promise... or at least half of it. He wants her alive but now he doesn’t want to deliver her to anyone else. But Broen is betrothed to another and how can he keep Clarissa against the orders of his superiors?

I like how Ms. Wine has shown Clarissa as a lonely girl who isn’t allowed a normal life with friends but certainly was never given the life of a princess either.  Clarissa does have a wonderful fiery personality and I enjoyed the simmering distrust and tension that slides into a different passion between Clarissa and Broen.  I also liked several of the secondary characters, especially Broen’s outspoken and brave mother, Edme, his clever but reluctant betrothed, Daphne, and his friends who step forward to help him win the woman he has fallen in love with. 

I liked the historical background and the visual settings of the story.  The romance is prominent but there is an underlying intrigue and political circumstance that add an extra obstacle of interest. This is an easy read and I recommend it to readers who enjoy passionate romance with a strong-willed and confident Highlander hero.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A few quotes to give you a flavor:

He wanted her.  Plain, simple and blunt.
Brute...
He was one, indeed, and his fiery English captive liked that quality best of all. Page 123

“I’m sorry ye do nae know what a home is, lass.”
... “Maybe you can teach me.” ...
“I’d like to lass.” Page 275

“They love each other. Parting them is a sin against the heart God gave us to feel love with....” Page 309 

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing this book to read and review.

I will add this to my ARC challenge.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY: 
 1. Visit the Author's website and tell me something that interests you there. This is required for entry.

2.  For an extra entry, become a follower on any media (GFC, Twitter @MSEREADS, Facebook fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/ReviewsByMarthasBookshelf , Goodreads or Linky - links on right sidebar) or tell me if you are already a follower.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Two total entries possible.)

THERE WILL BE ONE WINNER.

* This contest is open US and Canada only.

* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on May 4, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries and announced on May 5 with 72 hours to complete the winners' form.

Book Feature for a Good Cause: End Malaria

End Malaria, http://www.EndMalariaDay.com , is an astonishing new book by more than sixty best selling business authors and social thought leaders who joined together to share information in a book whose entire profits go to buy malaria bed nets. Malaria is a disease that causes more childhood death than HIV/AIDS. 

Malaria bed nets are simple nets that hang over a window or a bed. They're treated with a chemical that mosquitoes hate. The mosquitoes fly away, they don't bite, people don't get malaria. 

Every single penny spent on the Kindle edition goes to Malaria No More, giving them enough money to buy one or two bednets and to deliver them and be sure they're used properly. Low overhead, no graft, no waste. Just effectiveness. None of the authors or anyone at the Domino Project receive money to be part of this project.  

Wait, there is one ulterior motive: We hope you are inspired. One of the sixty plus contributors might share a gem or spark an idea. The book is a collection of essays from 62 business and social thought leaders about the key drivers to live a life of meaning and impact. Contributors to the book (all of whom donated their work) include David Allen, Tom Peters and Keith Ferrazzi; TED speakers Brene Brown and Sir Ken Robinson; New York Times' best-sellers Jonah Lehrer, Gary Vaynerchuk and Dan Pink; Daymond John and Dave Ramsey; and leaders from organizations such as Google and GlaxoSmithKline.

There's a second motive: Stepping up feels right. It's a few clicks to buy a book and for the rest of the day, or even a week, you'll remember how it felt to save someone's life. 

END MALARIA was born out of a passion to save lives by author and Senior Partner of Box of Crayons Michael Bungay Stanier. Teaming up with marketing and publishing innovator and creator of Squidoo.com Seth Godin, they found a way to sell a book and give away all of the profit in the fight against malaria.

" This is the power of authors working together, the power of ebook distribution and most of all, the power of people who care to make a difference. Over and over, we're seeing that a new generation cares about business not just as a way to make money, but as a way to make a difference. These authors (and their readers) are making a difference at the same time they're saving lives." - Seth Godin.  

Learn more about End Malaria Day:

• http://www.EndMalariaDay.com
• http://bit.ly/endmalariaday

Buy the book:

• Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/qOwyhl

End Malaria Day is April 25, Twitter #EndMalariaDay , www.Facebook.com/endmalariaday

$20 sends a mosquito net to a family in need and supports life-saving work in the fight against malaria.

Book Review: A Light on the Veranda by Ciji Ware

This is a rich mix of history, haunting harp, lush jazz and modern romance set in  the beautiful, old South, environs of Natchez, Mississippi.  

A Light on the Veranda  

by Ciji Ware

• File Size: 1740 KB
• Print Length: 480 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1402222734
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (March 1, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English

Also available in print.
Genre:  Time Travel, Historical Fiction
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2012

A secret may hold for a hundred years... and then it's time for the past to take revenge

Daphne Duvallon vowed never to return to the South years ago when she left her philandering fiance at the altar. Now family has called her back to Natchez, Mississippi, a city as mysterious and compelling as the ghostly voices that haunt her dreams.

From a time when the oldest settlement on the Mississippi was in its heyday and vast fortunes were made and lost, Daphne begins to uncover the secrets of an ancestor whose fate is somehow linked with her own. In a compelling and mesmerizing tale, now Daphne must right the wrongs of the past, or follow the same path into tragedy...

Review:
Daphne has had a bad choice of beaus having rebounded to a cheating fiance, Jack Ebert, after she discovered that her boss and first love forgot to tell her he was married.  Daphne agrees to return from New York to the deep south to play her harp at the wedding of her brother, King Duvallon and Corlis (from Midnight On Julia Street.)

Daphne meets an attractive photojournalist at the Monmouth, an historic plantation house turned hotel.  Sim Hopkins is in town to do a photographic documentary of the birds painted in the area by John James Audubon in the early 1800s.  Sim has been a traveling man for many years, running from the ghosts of his failed marriage.  Daphne and Sim are drawn together by attraction and something more haunting.

Daphne doesn’t want to be a one night stand for a traveling man and Sim isn’t sure he can commit to settling anywhere. While they get to know each other and try to figure out what they might have going, Daphne is struggling with more than her own painful memories of jilted lovers.  The sounds of the harp, rain and other natural melodies transport Daphne to a vision world in the past where she watches the unfolding of the tragic story of her name sake seeking love but surrounded by sorrow.

Modern day Daphne forges forward, living with her Aunt Maddie in an old family home and juggling tea time harp playing while developing a new career as a jazz harpist.  She has to cope with stalking behavior by Jack who turns out to be on opposing sides of naturalist issues impacting the community. Pressure, confusion, doubts and jealousies build when Jack brings in a top gun attorney who happens to be Sim’s beautiful ex-wife.

Ms. Ware skillfully weaves two stories with detailed research, a remarkable setting and superb storytelling. I loved the blend of the historic story and the modern romance conflict. You can visualize the lush beauty of the past as you learn of environmental issues of the present. The idea of a female jazz ensemble including the harp was fascinating and the author used the sensual sass, like the song "Peel Me a Grape", as part of the romantic seduction.

This can be read as a stand alone although you might not want to miss the first story, Midnight on Julia Street, set in beautiful New Orleans, where similar haunting time travel visions are triggered by smells rather than sounds. If you are a fan of time travel, lush settings and strong storylines, this is an author you will enjoy.  

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sense the music:

The beat, the blossoming synchronicity of the quintet, created in Daphne the distinct sensation of a key fitting smoothly into a lock, opening up a world of full-flavored, melodious sound. Location 2151

Thank you to Sourcebooks through NetGalley for providing this book for reading and reviewing pleasure.

This book is set in Natchez, Mississippi for my Where Are You Reading Challenge. It will also go on my ARC reading list.