Review Tour - Crossroads (Skins #4) by Garrett Leigh

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to borrow in Kindle Unlimited.

Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design

Skins Series

Book #1 - Dream - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #2 - Whisper - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #3 - Believe - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Angelo Giordano and Dylan Hart are more in love than ever, but their reality is far from ideal. With Dylan working in London, and Angelo recovering from chronic illness in Cornwall, they rarely spend more than few nights under the same sky.


Dylan is struggling. Being apart from Angelo is killing him, and he’s at the end of his rope. Angelo can’t live in London anymore, but can Dylan give up his whole life and move to a place that often feels like the end of the world?


As the end of a tough year approaches, they reach a crossroads. Dylan returns to Cornwall for Christmas and Angelo can’t imagine watching him leave again. Can the love that surrounds them on Whisper Farm show them the way home?

My Two Pennies' Worth

This is probably as fluffy as you're ever likely to get from Garrett Leigh! Don't expect sugarplum fairies, rainbow sparkles or unicorns (unless someone's being gored by one). Nope no killer unicorns here. But we do get a gloriously sweet tale and happy ending for one of Garrett's couples. 

We return to Dylan and Angelo, a couple that are maintaining a toll-taking long-distance relationship due to Angelo's chronic illness. And find that magic really can happen at Christmas, in a realistic Garrett Leigh manner.

This story is Garrett's very best attempt at a festive happily ever after, no lie, she say so herself in the dedication. And I for one think she's done this couple (and her storytelling style) justice. 

November 20 - Urban Smoothie Read, Cdawgz Reads, Kimmers Erotic Book Banter, The Geekery Book Review, Dilyana's World, Xtreme Delusions, Reading In Sarah's Corner, November 22 - Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Mikku-chan, Book Corner Reviews, Love Unchained Book Reviews, Amy's MM Romance Reviews, November 24 - Open Mind For A Different View, November 26 - Mirrigold, My Fiction Nook, Wicked Faerie's Tales & Reviews, Lelyana's Reviews, November 28 - Bonkers About Books, Book Lovers 4Ever, Making It Happen, Wicked Reads, MM Good Book Reviews, Mainely Stories, November 30 - Jessie G Books, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Lillian Francis

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Fox Love Press.

Garrett's debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with photographer Dan Burgess.

Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh





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Release Blitz - Old Acquaintance by Annabelle Jacobs

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Length: 50,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Natasha Snow

Blurb

There are two sides to every story, even those buried in the past.


When Sam spots the hot guy moving in next door, he’s all for going round to introduce himself. That soon changes when it turns out his new neighbour is in fact an old school acquaintance, Charles Whitmore. Sam didn’t like him back then, and fifteen years haven’t altered that.


Splitting up from his long-term boyfriend means a move across the city for Charlie. As luck would have it, his immediate neighbour is a guy he went to school with, Sam Gellar. While Sam is less than welcoming, his best mate is more than happy to invite Charlie into their social circle. Whatever problem Sam has with Charlie, Charlie resolves to get to the bottom of it, because, frosty beginnings aside, Charlie likes him.


With Christmas just around the corner, fate thrusts them together, and they get on so much better than they ever did at school. Despite his efforts not to, Sam develops feelings for Charlie, and they appear to be reciprocated. If Sam wants to take things further he needs to either confront Charlie about their past--a past Charlie seems to have forgotten entirely--or let it go and move on. Sam knows deep down that he can’t let it go, but it never seems the right time to bring it up. Until it is.

Annabelle Jacobs lives in the South West of England with three rowdy children, and two cats. An avid reader of fantasy herself for many years, Annabelle now spends her days writing her own stories. They're usually either fantasy or paranormal fiction, because she loves building worlds filled with magical creatures, and creating stories full of action and adventure. Her characters may have a tough time of it—fighting enemies and adversity—but they always find love in the end.

Twitter – https://twitter.com/AJacobs_fiction

Website – www.annabellejacobs.com

Email – ajacobsfiction@gmail.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ajacobsfiction

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Review Tour - The Husband Gambit by LA Witt

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow in Kindle Unlimited

Length: 95,000 words approx.

Cover Design: L.A. Witt

Blurb

Marry me for 1 year. Payment: $1.2 million.


Hayden Somerset is convinced the ad is a joke, but he responds anyway because, hello, $1.2 million. He’s broke, living in a tiny apartment with two roommates, and exhausted from praying his ancient car survives just one more week. His skyrocketing rent and crushing student loans aren’t helping either. At this point, there isn’t much Hayden wouldn’t do for that kind of cash.


The ad isn’t a joke. Jesse Ambrose is absolutely serious. His father, the charismatic patriarch of a powerful Hollywood dynasty, has his eye on politics, and he’s counting on California’s liberals and progressives to elect him. But Jesse knows what his father believes when cameras and voters aren’t around. As the election looms, he’ll do anything to force the man’s hand and show the public who Isaac Ambrose really is.


Anything, including marrying a stranger so his father will make good on his promise to disown Jesse if he ever takes a husband.


Now he just has to wait for his father to take the bait… and try not to accidentally fall in love with his fake husband.

My Two Pennies' Worth

Fake marriage and LA Witt! Two of my favourite things. 

This author can write anything from sweet-no-sex to really kinky or highly sexual, and can do it well. This is somewhere in between but focuses more on character and relationship than sex. In fact there is a slow burn between these two that fits this trope perfectly. But once they start having sex it's hot, hot, hot.

The MC's are warm, caring and funny, but they're also emotionally mature and happy to discuss their issues with each other or their friends, so there's none of those pesky misunderstandings that make you want to slap the characters. The angst and conflict all come from outside sources. 

Another great story from LA Witt.

November 15 - Cdawgz Reads, On Top Down Under, Two Chicks Obsessed, Gay Book Reviews, Xtreme Delusions, OMG Reads, November 17 - Henna Loves Books, Open Mind For A Different View, Urban Smoothie Read, Amy's MM Romance Reviews, November 19 - Cupcakes & Bookshelves, November 21 - Love Unchained, V's Reads, Mainely Stories, November 23 - Momma Says: to Read or Not To Read, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Bonkers About Books, Engaging Secrets, MM Good Book Reviews, November 26 - Jim's Reading Room, Making It Happen, November 28 - Megan's Media Melange, November 30 - Mirrigold - Mutterings & Musings, Lillian Francis, Valerie Ullmer, Reading In Sarah's Corner, Sexy Erotic Xciting, Southern Babes Book Blog, Bayou Book Junkie, Wicked Reads

Author Bio

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don’t tell Lauren. And definitely don’t tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut…

Website: http://www.gallagherwitt.com
E-mail: gallagherwitt@gmail.com
Twitter: @GallagherWitt
Blog: http://gallagherwitt.blogspot.com



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Release Blitz - All I Want Is You by DJ Jamison

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Cover Design: Jay Aheer

Length: 161 pages

Blurb

One kiss under the mistletoe destroyed a friendship. Will another Christmas kiss remake it into something better?


Eli hasn't been home since he left at eighteen with a heart aching from his best friend's rejection and his father's intolerance. But when his father reaches out, Eli figures it's time to make peace with his family. He doesn't expect to come face-to-face with Turner too -- or to learn that the straight friend he'd foolishly loved is actually bisexual -- but once the shock wears off, he knows exactly what he wants for Christmas.


Turner's life isn't everything he'd once planned, but he's happy to be the shoulder his loved ones lean on. They keep him busy, which is just as well since none of his dates have really clicked. He hasn't been able to connect with anyone the way he did with his former best friend. When Eli shows up for the holidays after years away, Turner doesn't know what hit him. But he knows one thing: This time, he wants to give Eli a reason to stay.


All I Want Is You is a friends to lovers, second-chance romance with an HEA.


Excerpt



Turner kissed him, and Eli’s heart exploded into a frantic pace. Turner’s lips were on his, finally. And all his anger, all his disappointment washed away on a wave of endorphins.

This felt right. It was as if he’d been holding his breath for eight years, and he could finally exhale.

But it was over too soon. Eli hadn’t gotten a taste of Turner’s tongue, the kiss quick and chaste. He hadn’t gotten to run his fingers through his hair. Hadn’t put his hands on him at all.

Nothing but their lips had touched, and it was the single, best kiss of his life.

“I’d like us to be friends again, real friends,” Turner said. “Even after you leave again for California.”

Oh, right. Eli would be leaving. Turner would be staying. Nothing had changed.

His racing heart slowed. Grew heavy. Thudded hollowly.

“Friends,” he repeated.

“I know you’re not staying long,” Turner added. “So, it’s just a kiss. Between friends.”

“A friendly kiss,” Eli said.

Turner chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” Eli said.

And yet he sensed something more between the lines of Turner’s spoken words. Honesty, yes, but also yearning. Could it be possible that Turner wanted him as much as he’d always wanted Turner?

There was only one way to find out.

Eli wrapped a hand around the back of Turner’s neck, tugged him close, and kissed him hard. If he was only getting one kiss, he was going to make it count. He was going to kiss the daylights out of Turner and decide for himself how much Turner Williams wanted Elijah Harp.

Author Bio


DJ Jamison is the author of more than a dozen m/m romances, including the Ashe Sentinel series and the Hearts and Health series. She writes a variety of queer characters, from gay to bisexual to asexual, with a focus on telling love stories that are more about common ground than lust at first sight. DJ grew up in the Midwest in a working-class family, and those influences can be found in her writing through characters coping with real-life problems: money troubles, workplace drama, family conflicts and, of course, falling in love. DJ spent more than a decade in the newspaper industry before chasing her first dream to write fiction. She spent a lifetime reading before that, and continues to avidly devour her fellow authors' books each night. She lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons, two fish and, regrettably, one snake.

Facebook Author Page | FB group | Mailing list! | Twitter | Goodreads | Book Bub

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Review Tour - Mr Winterbourne's Christmas by Joanna Chambers

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | KOBO | Barnes & Noble 

Length: 30,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Natasha Snow

Winterbourne Series

Volume #1 - Introducing Mr. Winterbourne - CURRENTLY FREE - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Lysander Winterbourne has been living happily at Edgeley Park for the last eighteen months. By day he is Adam Freeman's estate manager, by night, his lover...but Adam never speaks of his feelings and Lysander has no idea whether their relationship is any more than a convenient arrangement for Adam.

When the two men are invited to Winterbourne Abbey for a family Christmas, matters quickly come to a head. Snowed in at the Abbey with a house full of guests, Lysander has to face up to shocking revelations, long-held secrets and a choice he never expected to have to make...


My Two Pennies Worth

Well, Introducing Mr. Winterbourne is just adorable. And with added fencing. And a virgin MC. Yum.

Mr Winterbourne's Christmas picks up the gents 18 months later. They are happy living and working together at Adam's country estate but both have been summoned to the Abbey for Christmas with Lysander's family.

This story is delightful, and not only are Adam and Lysander sickeningly in love (in the best possible way) but here they are surrounded by an eclectic mix of secondary characters that I'd want to see again. Aunt Maud is a scream, Edmund's a bit of a rake but I couldn't help but like him, and as for Perry, well, the author went exactly where I hoped they would and I want to demand his story next. 

Highly recommended. 





November 19 - Boulevard des Passions, My Fiction Nook, OMGReads, November 21 - Diverse Reader, November 23 - Mirrigold, November 26 - Romantic Reads & Such, Amy's MM Romance Reviews, November 28 - Drops Of Ink, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, We Three Queens, November 30 - Kimmers Erotic Book Banter, Lillian Francis, BooksLaidBareBoys


Author Bio


Joanna Chambers always wanted to write. She spent over 20 years staring at blank sheets of paper and despairing of ever writing a single word. In between staring at blank sheets of paper, she studied law, met her husband and had two children. Whilst nursing her first child, she rediscovered her love of romance and found her muse. Joanna lives in Scotland with her family and finds time to write by eschewing sleep and popular culture.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Release Blitz - Santa Daddy by Keira Andrews

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Length: 30,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Dar Albert @ Wicked Smart Design

Blurb

Mall Santas aren’t supposed to be hot.


Hunter Adams is hopelessly adrift after college. He’s still a virgin, can’t find a real job, and has no clue what to do with his life. In desperation, he returns to his humiliating old job as an elf at the Santa's Village in his hometown's dying mall. The Santa on the job is an unexpectedly sexy lumberjack, twice Hunter's size and age. He makes Hunter feel very naughty—too bad he's grumpy and intimidating.


Years after the tragic death of his partner, Nick Spini has his beagle and long, hard days on his Christmas tree farm. That’s plenty. But he can’t refuse a loyal friend’s plea for help and finds himself filling in as Santa at the local mall. Despite Nick's attempt to stay aloof, the beautiful, anxious young man playing elf brings out his long-dormant daddy instincts.


When a surprise blizzard traps them alone in Nick’s isolated forest home, their attraction burns even brighter. Will they surrender to the sizzling connection between them and find the release and comfort they crave?


Santa Daddy is a holiday gay romance from Keira Andrews featuring an age gap, steamy m/m first times, daddy role-playing and light spanking, Christmas romance feels, and of course a happy ending.

Author Bio

After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical, fantasy, and paranormal fiction and — although she loves delicious angst along the way — Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said:


“The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.”

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub

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Audio Review Tour - Alpha Heat by Leta Blake

Buy Links: Audible US | Audible UK

Narrated By: Michael Ferraiuolo

Length: 15hrs 22 mins

Heat of Love Series

Book #1 - Slow Heat - Audible US | Audible UK

Blurb

A desperate young alpha. An older alpha with a hero complex. A forbidden love that can’t be denied.


Young Xan Heelies knows he can never have what he truly wants: a passionate romance and happy ever after with another alpha. It’s not only forbidden by the prevailing faith of the land, but such acts are illegal.


Urho Chase is a middle-aged alpha with a heartbreaking past. Careful, controlled, and steadfast, his friends dub him old-fashioned and staid. When Urho discovers a dangerous side to Xan’s life that he never imagined, his world is rocked, and he’s consumed by desire. The carefully sewn seams that held him together after the loss of his omega and son come apart - and so does he.


But to love each other and make a life together, Xan and Urho risk utter ruin. With the acceptance and support of Caleb, Xan’s asexual and aromantic omega and dear friend, they must find the strength to embrace danger and build the family they deserve.


This gay-romance novel by Leta Blake is the second in the Slow Heat universe. It has a strong, happy ending and a well-crafted non-shifter omegaverse. It features alphas, betas, omegas, male pregnancy, heat, and knotting. No cheating. Content warning for brief sexual violence.

My Two Pennies' Worth

Oh my, that was even better than reading the book. Or worse, depending on how you look at it. What a sobfest. It was so bloody good.

If Leta Blake tugged on my heartstrings with Xan's story, then the narrator used those strings to rip my heart out and play yoyo with it.

I made no bones in my review that Xan broke me almost every time he appeared on the page in Slow Heat. Now we catch up with him five years later and committed to an omega. But his ability to break my heart remains. He hates himself and is wilfully self-destructive which is almost painfully to read but once he is happy, he is a joy. I think Xan is probably my favourite character from the series.
Both books, as you can imagine from the title, have their fair share of hot, sexy scenes although I think book #2 felt more sexual, with a slightly kinky edge. 
Now I need Ray's story, because the possibility of a bearded bear of an omega turning up in that tale has me salivating.





Alpha Heat Sample 1 from Leta Blake on Vimeo.

Author Bio


Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

Patreon | Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Review Tour - Quenched In Blood by Ari Mckay

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner Press

Length: 62,216 words 

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Design: Aaron Anderson

Asheville Arcana Series

Book #1 - Out Of The Ashes - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #2 - Forged In Fire - Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Blurb

Will love mean rebirth… or death?


Vampire Julian Schaden has been warning the Asheville Paranormal Council of an impending demonic incursion for more than two decades. Over the past two years, he and his friends have fought as hard as they can with little help, since Micah Carter, the demon hunter who should have led them, shirked his responsibility and then perished.


Desperate for anything that might aid the fight, Julian enters the Carter property and finds something he never dared hope for: young Thomas Carter, the heir to a long line of demon hunters.


Thomas knows nothing about the supernatural world. But the prospect of a real life, outside the sheltered, isolated farm where he grew up, calls to him, and the idea of fighting the Unholy feels right.


Julian agrees to train Thomas, but he struggles against an unexpected, unwanted attraction. Thomas is too young and innocent to get involved with Julian, but opposites attract, and this is one battle Julian seems fated to lose. But a prophecy from a dying mage comes with a bleak warning: the upcoming battle will claim Thomas’s life. To keep his home and friends safe, Julian may have to sacrifice the only love he’s ever known.

My Two Pennies' Worth

Why do people do that? The tagline more or less gives away the very end of the book. However despite that personal peeve, I've got little else to complain about. I enjoyed every single one of these books. All the couples were great (although I have a soft spot for a older virgin MC, so Whimsy and Harlan were probably my favourites. If you pressured me.). The story that was started in Out of the Ashes finishes in this final book and I was more than happy with the way things were all tied up. I read all three books over a two week period. 

November 20 - MM Midnight Cafe, The Blogger Girls, Jessie G Books, November 24 - Making It Happen, Mirrigiold: Mutterings & Musings, November 26 - MM Good Book Reviews, November 28 - Sexy Erotic Xciting, Lillian Francis - Author, Book Review By Virginia Lee

Excerpt

WHEN JULIAN said they were going to a house where a mage and a werewolf lived, Thomas didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t something as normal as this. The house itself was a two-story Victorian style with a white picket fence and a wide front porch with rocking chairs on it. The front lawn was lush green and neatly tended, and the flower beds along the front of the house were bursting with azaleas in colors ranging from white to blush pink.


Inside, there were tasteful antiques without a single iron sconce containing a flickering torch to be seen, and a teakettle on the stove in the kitchen rather than a bubbling cauldron. Whimsy Hickes-Edgewood, the mage, was a dark-haired, slender man who looked as though he had a good bit of Cherokee in his heritage. He stood several inches shorter than Thomas, but the sheer force of his personality swept Thomas from the front door all the way back to the kitchen before he quite realized what was happening.


Now he was seated at the circular kitchen table with Julian and Whimsy along with the two werewolves, Eli Hammond and Harlan Hickes-Edgewood, and Arden Gilmarin, the half-elf. If Thomas didn’t know they were all connected to what Julian called the supernatural community, he never would have guessed they weren’t normal humans. The only one of them who looked at all unusual was Arden with his pointed ears.


But they were all friendly and welcoming, and Whimsy prepared a dinner consisting of a salad made with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers from Harlan’s garden in the backyard, and spaghetti with a sauce made with herbs Whimsy grew himself. The meal was delicious, although Thomas was too overwhelmed to do more than pick at his food.


Even with only six people in the spacious kitchen, Thomas still felt crowded. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been around more than a couple of people, and he was accustomed to being in a quiet house with just Grandpa, as it had been for years before Grandpa died.


He was also still trying to wrap his mind around the idea that not only were the others not human, but he wasn’t either. Not fully. Julian had said that Grandpa knew what he was and had kept the information from him deliberately, but Julian seemed to think his ignorance could get him killed, although he wasn’t sure by whom—or perhaps, in this case, by what.


He sat quietly and sipped his iced tea, listening to the others laughing and chatting. Questions filled his brain, but he wasn’t sure where to begin, and he didn’t want to interrupt. They seemed relaxed and comfortable with one another, and a great deal of good-natured teasing flew back and forth. Thomas envied them. Grandma had tried to help him make friends when he’d been younger, but it was difficult to sustain a friendship when Grandpa refused to let him visit anyone and rarely let anyone visit him.


“You’re very quiet, Thomas,” Arden, who was on his right, said into a lull in the conversation. He smiled wryly and placed his warm hand over one of Thomas’s. “Please excuse us—we can get a little overwhelming, I’m sure. But you can ask us or tell us anything. If it helps, Harlan wasn’t born into the supernatural community at all, he was brought into it very suddenly and traumatically, sort of like you’re dealing with right now. Isn’t that right, Harlan?”


The big brown-haired man who sat across from Thomas smiled as well, then nodded. “I imagine we’ve got a lot in common. I was brought up as a Quaker three hundred years ago. Then one night I was bitten by a possessed werewolf and turned into a lycanthrope. I had no idea such creatures were real, and suddenly there I was, one of them. And finding out there were more things in the world than I’d ever dreamed possible.”


“Then you understand how strange and unreal this all seems to me right now,” Thomas said. “I don’t understand why Grandpa hid all this from me, but he went to great lengths to do it. My grandparents homeschooled me. The television broke when I was around eight, and Grandpa never bothered to repair or replace it. Grandpa had to approve anyone Grandma wanted to invite over first. He was particular about who he’d let into the house.”


“I think he believed that by keeping you ignorant, by limiting the people you knew, he could keep you safe,” Julian chimed in. He was sitting on Thomas’s other side, and he, too, had been fairly quiet during the meal, and he hadn’t touched the food. “Losing your father changed him. The Micah Carter I knew could be irascible, but he was basically a good man who wanted to use the abilities he had to protect others. Then, when your parents were killed so tragically young, he withdrew from the world. Somehow he must have come to believe that if you didn’t know about your heritage and never learned about the supernatural world, it could never hurt you.”


“He said they died in a car wreck,” Thomas said, glancing around the table. “Is that even true?”


“Unfortunately, yes,” Julian replied, as Arden and Harlan nodded in agreement. “To be honest, they were on their way to meet me when it happened. I was one of their contacts in a sort of informal network keeping an eye out for demonic incursions. I had reason to believe we were on the verge of a major incident, and I wanted James and Alicia to verify it for me. But they never made it.”


Thomas bowed his head, wishing his parents hadn’t died. Wishing he had any memory of them. “I don’t know what they look like. I don’t know anything about them. There were no pictures of them in the house, and Grandpa refused to talk about them. I think Grandma would have, but he wouldn’t let her.”


“Wait a moment,” Arden said. He stood, then motioned to Whimsy, who got up and followed him. “I need to use your computer. We’ll be right back.”


Julian raised a questioning brow but then turned his attention back to Thomas. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but sometimes when people lose the ones they love the most, they can’t bear to talk about them anymore because it hurts too much.”


“Then will you tell me about them?” Thomas asked. “I don’t understand what the heritage you keep talking about is. You called me a demon hunter. What does that mean?”


“If I may?” Harlan asked, looking at Julian. Then, at the vampire’s nod, he turned to Thomas. “According to the legend, hundreds of years ago an angel was sent to Earth on a mission. While he was here, he fell in love with a human woman. She gave birth to a child, who wasn’t an angel, but he wasn’t really human either. Kind of like Arden, he had traits of both. Angels always know when someone is good or evil. They can tell if someone is lying or hiding something. The legend says that this son could do so as well, plus he had the angel’s ability to fight demons. I did a lot of research after your grandfather was killed last year, because events in this area seem to indicate we could really use a demon hunter. I found stories of the Nephilim, children from the union of an angel and a human. Some thought they were giants, but always they were fierce warriors. Now there are lines of demon hunters around the world. They’re very rare, but the family groups all fight to keep demons away from the mortal world.”


As he was listening to Harlan, Thomas felt like he was hearing someone read a passage from a fantasy novel, and despite everything he’d seen and heard that day, he couldn’t connect what Harlan was saying to himself.


“How do you know I have any abilities at all?” Thomas shifted in his chair to face Julian. “What if I don’t, and that’s the reason Grandpa didn’t tell me anything? I’ve never done anything special in my life.”


“I can see your aura, for one thing,” Julian replied. “You’re definitely a demon hunter. I have no doubt you possess the abilities, and yours might be even stronger than your parents’ were. Your mother was a demon hunter too, you see, though she came from somewhere in West Virginia, as I recall. You have it from both sides of your family.”


“What abilities? How do I access them?” Thomas pushed his fingers through his hair and blew out a frustrated breath. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to know any of this, but if being a demon hunter was part of his heritage, he couldn’t ignore it now that he’d been made aware of it. It sounded like he had a responsibility to uphold. “I don’t know what to do.”


“Unfortunately, there ain’t another demon hunter around who could train you,” Eli said. “But I reckon we can figure out something.”


“Of course we can. We always do.” Arden walked back in the room, holding a stack of pictures. “But first, I think you need to see these. I’m on the Asheville Paranormal Council—so is Julian, but he’s new to it. Your parents were on the council too, and I have pictures of them. Council meetings, parties we threw… thank goodness for scanners and the cloud, because I could access them and print them for you.”


He handed the pictures to Thomas, then resumed his seat, scooting closer so he could look over Thomas’s shoulder. “That first picture is a bit formal, from a ‘get to know your council members’ thing we did maybe thirty years ago.”


Thomas stared at the photo, scarcely able to believe he was looking at his parents at last, and he touched the image reverently. He could see he’d gotten his father’s tall, broad-shouldered build and blue eyes and his mother’s curly blonde hair. They stood with their arms around each other’s waists, smiling at the camera, and they looked so young and happy that tears stung Thomas’s eyelids.


“I can keep this?” he asked.


“They’re all yours,” Arden assured him. “Those aren’t even as good as the originals, which I’m going to find at the council and have better copies made for you.” He grinned. “Look at the next one. It’s your parents and Julian at a Halloween party I had.”


Thomas flipped to the next photo, which showed his mother dressed in a cheerleader uniform and holding a wooden stake and his father wearing a trench coat and fedora. He glanced at Arden. “I assume these are costumes?”


“Yes. There was a movie that had come out shortly before this called Buffy the Vampire Slayer, about a high school girl and the guy who comes to train her because she’s destined to be the Slayer. See how put-upon Julian looks? They teased him all night about staking him.”


Next to him, Julian growled slightly, but Arden stuck out his tongue.


“They look happy,” Thomas murmured. He glanced between Julian and Arden, who seemed to be the only two of the group who’d known his parents. “What were they like?”


“Smart, tough, dedicated,” Julian said. “They could really fight.”


“They were fun. They knew how to have a good time and not take life too seriously,” Arden said, rolling his eyes at Julian. “They were very much in love too. You could feel it whenever you were close to them and see it in their auras. Humans don’t get mates like some supernaturals do, but they couldn’t have been much closer if they had had a mate bond.”


Regret and grief welled up within Thomas as he gazed at his parents. He wished he could have known them, wished he knew what they were like for himself, wished he’d had a more normal childhood. The tears that had been stinging his eyes since he started looking at the photos threatened to spill down his cheeks. He’d never realized what he’d missed out on before, and he longed for the parental love he’d never known.


Covering his face with one hand to muffle a sob, he turned to Julian. His instincts told him they were all good people and he could trust them, but he felt as though Julian had been his rescuer, and he intuitively sought comfort from him.


For a moment Julian was still. Then, slowly and rather hesitantly, Julian slid his strong arms around Thomas and held him gently, and Arden rested one hand on Thomas’s back, rubbing it comfortingly. Where Arden’s hand was warm, however, Julian’s body seemed to hold no heat whatsoever.


When the wave of grief passed at last, Thomas drew back and scrubbed at his eyes. “Sorry,” he said. He’d just met these people, and he’d already made a fool of himself.


Julian withdrew an immaculately white handkerchief from a pocket and held it out to him. “It’s all right,” he said quietly. “It’s understandable. I’m sorry you didn’t get to know them. They were special.”


Thomas accepted the handkerchief with murmured thanks and wiped the wetness from his face. “There’s so much I’ve missed out on. So much I don’t know. I didn’t even realize how much until today.”


“But the good thing is, you did realize it, right?” Arden asked. He still had a hand on Thomas’s back. “You’re young, and you’re a supernatural, so you have a long life ahead of you to catch up and learn everything you want and need to know. And you have friends now. We’re all here for you, okay? One of the first things I want to do is get you a cell phone so you can call any of us at any time.”


“That’s right,” Whimsy said, watching Thomas with sympathy in his dark eyes. “We’ll help you any way we can. You’re not alone anymore.”


Hearing that made Thomas want to cry again, but for a different reason. He swallowed hard and twisted the handkerchief as he fought to control his wayward emotions. “Thanks, I appreciate that.”


“You’re actually going to need us,” Julian said somberly. “I wasn’t kidding about the danger you could be in, Thomas. We need to teach you to defend yourself, but the more immediate concern is your farm. I don’t think you should stay there at night until we can see about getting some wards reestablished. It’s too dangerous.”


“You’re absolutely right, Julian,” Whimsy said, elbowing Arden. “He should stay with you. You’ve got the best-protected property of any of us. Nothing could get to him there. Right, Arden?”


“I agree completely.” Arden’s eyes seemed almost feline as he looked at Julian. “There isn’t a demon who could get through your defenses. Isn’t that what you’ve always claimed, Julian?”


Julian was looking between his two friends, a frown line cutting deeply between his eyes, but then he sighed. “Fine.”

Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.


Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.


McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.


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