Lord of the Runes
by Sabrina Jarema
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GENRE: Historical Romance
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BLURB:
LORD OF THE RUNES
In this exciting new series, the dramatic world of the Vikings is brought to life in vivid, historical detail. As brave warriors fight to defend family honor and tradition, they discover unexpected passion with memorable women who only further their resolve for justice . . .
Following his father’s murder, Eirik Ivarson plunges into a maelstrom of brutal warfare. As outsiders threaten his homeland and all he holds dear, Eirik vows to maintain his focus and avenge the jarl’s death. In his quest for revenge, he will leave everything behind, all he knows, and all he loves.
Asa Sigrundsdottir, a spirited shieldmaiden with warm brown eyes, is wary of the golden-haired warrior discovered half-frozen in a storm. It is clear Eirik is a man of valor, bestowed with the gift of reading runes and destined for greatness. And despite the shadows in her past, he chooses her to help him on his journey. But when their bond is tested, it will take the strength of a hero to keep their love alive . . .
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EXCERPT:
She stood before him like a flame-haired Valkyrie—strong, proud, a warrior.
Not as she had been in life.
Eirik Ivarson had seen his dead wife in his dreams before, but in them, she was always as he remembered her—gentle and too weak to survive their brutal world. Her soft blue eyes would gaze at him with reproach like she blamed him for her death, sending her to dwell forever with the goddess Frigga. She’d been right.
But this dream was different and as he struggled to cling to it, she spoke.
“Why do you sleep, husband, while your kinsmen die?” Her eyes darkened into a deep brown as though she was sullied by passing so close to the earth. The vision turned as crimson as the blood that had gushed from her and carried her away from their life together. A scream split his sleep apart.
He tore himself awake and reached for his sword before he even opened his eyes. At least he was still dressed, having fallen across his bed well after midnight, passed out before he’d hit the furs. Head spinning with the mead he’d drunk, he staggered to the door of his small chamber.
Another cry cleared his thoughts. He eased open the door and took in the state of his father’s main hall. An unfamiliar warrior, an outcast from the looks of him, stood over two cowering serving girls.
Another servant lay in his own pooling blood beside them. The attacker raised his sword and the women shrieked again.
Yelling to divert the man’s attention, Eirik bounded across the room. He swung his blade as the invader turned. They clashed, flesh to flesh, iron to iron. Eirik’s momentum smashed them into the wall and the outcast’s head cracked against it. Dazed, he paused for an instant.
It was all Eirik needed.
Using his forearm, he struck the upper edge of the intruder’s shield into his face. His nose shattered. Eirik pushed the shield aside and whipped his blade across the man’s neck. Blood arced down his body as the attacker fell.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Sabrina Jarema lives near Ocala, Florida, the Horse Capital of the World. She has a herd of fat, lazy Arabians on 40 beautiful acres. She also breeds and shows white German Shepherd Dogs and currently has several Grand Victrixes taking over her house. She’s joined by a menagerie of tortoises, turtles, birds, fish and cats. To avoid farm work as much as possible, she loses herself in the worlds she creates through the novels she writes, her art, music, dollhouses, and jewelry. She has worked as a professional fantasy illustrator and has written fantasy romance for many years.
Recently, she has branched out into historical romances set in the early Viking era. She is currently writing the Viking Lords series, a family saga set in Norway during the ninth century. She is an active member of the Tampa Area Romance Authors chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Please visit her website at sabrinajarema.com to enjoy her art, music, writing, jewelry, and all the other visions the night brings to her.
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His Make-believe Bride
by Martha Hix
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GENRE: Historical Romance
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BLURB:
She’s a bride with a secret as big as Texas…
Widowed and alone, Linnea Powell agrees to swap places with a reluctant mail-order bride. Arriving in Lubbock, Texas, armed only with her future husband’s letters promising a prosperous life, Linnea feels hopeful—until the stagecoach leaves her standing before a handsome stranger who has more ambition than he does prospects. Still, Linnea accepts Sam Kincaid’s proposal, knowing the moment he seals their vows with a hungry kiss, she’ll never be able to keep her past a secret. For her appealing new husband is all too eager to share the marriage bed….
Sam knows there’s something mysterious about his new bride. But that only adds to Linnea’s allure. And when he learns his wife is really a vulnerable widow, he’s even more determined to give her the life and family she dreams of. Sam’s not afraid of hard work, especially when the prize is Linnea’s love. What the rugged rancher doesn’t know is that Linnea has an even bigger secret, one that could destroy his reputation—and shatter his heart….
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EXCERPT:
“What makes you think you can just step in and take this nice young lady’s identity?”
Still feeling the shake and rattle of riding for days in a stagecoach, Linnea Powell, disgraced widow, tried to ignore her lunch companion’s question. Impossible. The dark-haired, skinny woman was jerking her thumb at the eatery’s newest waitress.
Linnea leaned in to whisper, “Put your finger down or Mr. Philpott will notice you’re upset.”
Jewel Bellingham did drop her hand, but her mouth flattened with disgust.
They both glanced at the reporter, their fellow stagecoach passenger since leaving the East Texas town of Jefferson—one of several waystations on their journey from Shreveport, Louisiana. The man sat at a table for one and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. Despite his hunger for a shocking story, he always refused to break bread with the women, which suited Linnea just fine.
The prig then wiggled on his chair and raised a forkful of pie as if to smell the contents. One side of his mouth lifted in what appeared to be distaste.
“He could ruin everything,” Linnea said, her tone a hushed yet heartfelt plea.
The newly hired waitress approached. Carrying a large tray of plates, Ermentrude Flanders winked as she breezed by to deliver the noonday meal to a table of four. Just this morning, when the stage pulled into Fort Worth, the pleasant, flaxen-haired girl had abandoned her seat to ask the proprietor to take down the Waitress Required sign.
“I can understand wanting to better oneself,” Jewel remarked, leaning in to whisper, “but I have a hard time reconciling her future.
She could have been a respectable matron. To take a waitress job, on the off chance she can quit if a highfalutin bunch of Fort Worth doctors will allow her to study medicine at their school? Not likely.”
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Martha Hix is an internationally and multi published, award winning author. Living in the breathtakingly fabulous Texas Hill Country, she is blessed with a husband, two daughters and one son-in-law, their children, many friends and relatives, and has a house filled with books and spoiled four legged kids. She enjoys volunteering for good causes, and is an election judge and precinct chair for her county. She loves to hang out with her WINOS and Slacker girlfriends, and with her writing muse, Barbara Catlin. Visit her on the web at marthahix.com.
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Buying options at: http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/33901
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His Make-Believe Bride by
Martha Hix
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
First, I would like to thank Lyrical Press for gifting me this book through netgalley. I enjoyed this novelette. The characters are well developed and written. The storyline is good. I look forward to reading more books by Martha Hix.
View all my reviews
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Lady Lost
by Jane Goodger
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GENRE: Historical Romance
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BLURB:
Seek, and love will find . . .
All Marcus Granton wants is to be left alone to lick his wounds after the humiliating scandal of his wife’s death in another man’s bed. Secluded in his moldering seaside estate on the cliffs of the North Sea, he suddenly finds himself host to Lady Lilian Martin, one small child, and an annoying cache of servants all bent on ruining his solitude. Seems the lady got herself into a bit of a pickle and is accused of murder, of all things. Now she must rely on him for protection—and to keep his thoughts and hands away from her delectable body.
Lilian has no intention of spending any more time with the insufferable Lord Marcus Granton than she has to. But at every turn, circumstances force her into his company, and by the time she’s ready to make her escape, it's far too late for her . . . and her heart.
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EXCERPT:
Lilian would never forget the first time she encountered Marcus Dunford. He was naked and glistening with sweat and the most glorious thing she had ever seen.
Not entirely naked. Had that been the case, she might have fainted dead away and been discovered, no doubt from the thump that would have sounded when she hit the marble floor.
If only her mother could live a few years longer, the girls would be financially set. Their grandmother had settled quite a large sum of money aside for her only grandchildren, but it would only be available to them after they turned twenty-five, and that was seven long years away. Lilian would have happily lived in Cornwall in their little manor house if only her mother would live just a bit longer. But she would not. As much as Lilian tried to deny the truth, it was difficult to ignore that Anne was withering away before her very eyes and it wouldn’t be long before she was bedridden.
Which was why Lilian would say yes if the Duke of Weston proposed and also why, when she saw him talking to another gentleman in the hall, she quickly ducked into the nearest room and hid. Not very adult of her, but there it was. And there she was when two strapping young men entered the room, unbeknownst to Lilian, bragging about which one could do more push-ups.
Lilian had hidden herself behind the curtains of a bow window and was quite obscured by bushes from anyone who might pass by outside and by the heavy velvet curtain from anyone inside. What she hadn’t realized was how very warm she would be in her little hothouse of a hiding place. She quickly became drowsy, and fell asleep, only to be awakened by the low tones of two men, one of whom was counting.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jane Goodger lives in Rhode Island with her husband and three children. Jane, a former journalist, has written seven historical romances. When she isn’t writing, she’s reading, walking, playing with her kids, or anything else completely unrelated to cleaning a house.
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Buying options here: http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/33902
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First, I would like to thank Lyrical Press for gifting me this book through netgalley. I loved this story from start to finish. The characters are well developed and written. The storyline is written well. I look forward to reading more from Jane Goodger, especially when she wrote a first time love scene for the couple and I actually felt it was a very convincing first time. It's the first time I have ever actually enjoyed reading a virgin love scene. I am going to say that it's nice to feel the realism of a virgin love scene considering I have never experienced this in all the years I have been reading books.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
The authors will be awarding digital copies of all books on tour to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
The Perfect Tear by Connie Lansberg
