Showing posts with label Romantic Thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romantic Thriller. Show all posts

Saturday, 31 August 2019

Review ~ Smoke In Her Eyes by Anna Belfrage


Troubadour Publishing
March 2019

My thanks to the author for my e-copy of this book
Six months ago, Helle Madsen would have described herself as normal. Now she no longer knows if that terms applies, not after her entire life has been turned upside down by the reappearance of not one, but two, men from her very, very distant past. 

Helle Madsen never believed in mumbo-jumbo stuff like reincarnation—until she came face to face with Jason Morris, a man who purportedly had spent fifty lives looking for her. Coping with being reunited with the lover from her ancient past was one thing. Having Sam Woolf, her vindictive nemesis from that same ancient past join the party was a bit too much. Suddenly, Helle finds herself the reluctant heroine of a far-flung, time-transcending epic story, one in which pain and loss seem to play a very big part. 

This time round, Jason and Helle are determined to make it to the happily ever after. Unfortunately, Sam Woolf will stop at nothing to crush them. That ride into the golden sunset seems awfully far away at times…

What did I think about it..

Those who have read A Torch in his Heart, which is the first book in the darkly romantic Wanderer series, will be entirely familiar with the dangerous love triangle which exists around Sam Woolf,  Helle Masden and Jason Morris, so I'm not going to repeat what has gone before, however, for those who are new to the series, it would be much better if you started at the beginning and followed this daring story of thwarted love and heated passion.

Smoke in her Eyes continues in the same dramatic way as the first book, with so much unease that my heart was in my mouth and that was from just what was happening over the first chapter! The story continues with further developments in the twisted world which exists between these three complex characters whose shared history spans well over three thousand years.

The author keeps us well entertained with this dark story of love and revenge and, as always, the drama explodes in some truly fascinating encounters. However, it is in the relationship between Jason and Helle where much of the passionate heat of the story lies and in Smoke in her Eyes, they both have to overcome some pretty powerful emotions in order to understand just where their relationship is headed. There's jealousy, misunderstanding and suspicion between them, which makes their volatile partnership all the more exciting, and yet it is their erotic and passionate relationship in the bedroom which fairly sizzles on the pages.

The dangerous relationship which Jason and Helle have with their nemesis, Sam Woolf is where the story really gets into some dangerous territory, and as old jealousies explode so the battle for dominance continues with deadly vengeance. Contemplating the destiny of her characters is what this author does really well and she plots their fate with a deft hand and a fine eye for detail. I especially like the way she plays with the readers emotions so that you both love, and loathe, the characters in equal measure. The suspenseful mystery at the centre of the novel is as taut and tight as ever and there's never a moment when the action relaxes into complacency.

Smoke in Her Eyes is a worthy continuation of the Wanderer series and, after reading the tantalising excerpt at the back of this e-copy, I'm already looking forward to Fire in the Skies which is book number 3.



Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with three absorbing interests: history, romance and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England. 

Smoke In Her Eyes is the second book in her new series, The Wanderer. This time, she steps out of her normal historical context with fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. She has loved writing the series – she hopes her readers will like reading it just as much.


Twitter @abelfrageauthor



Saturday, 8 October 2016

Close to Home ...Liz Bower



As a book reviewer I have made contact with authors from all across the globe and feel immensely privileged to be able to share some amazing work. However, there is always something rather special when a book comes to my attention which has been written by an author in my part of the North of England. So with this in mind I have great pleasure in featuring some of those authors who are literally close to my home. Over the next few Saturdays, and hopefully beyond, I will be sharing the work of a very talented bunch of Northern authors.



Today please welcome Lancashire Author





Hello Liz and thank you for spending time with us today. Tell us a little about yourself and what got you started as an author?


I am originally from Lancashire and have just moved back after eight years away. Most of the time I drink too much coffee while writing about my characters finding their own HEA. The rest of my time I'm either searching for the next HEA to read or walking my dog.

The idea of writing my own book started when I was a teenager. It wasn't until I was living abroad that I found the time to actually start one.


As a writer based in the North West, does this present any problems in terms of marketing and promoting your books and if so, how do you overcome them?


Most of my marketing and promotion — like so many other things nowadays — I do online so my location isn't an issue.


If you were pitching the North West as an ideal place to live, work and write – how would you sell it and what makes it so special?


I love the north-west and I'm a Lancashire girl at heart.

It's a great place to live because there's something for everyone. Lancashire is a county steeped in history with many museums and historical buildings to visit. It is home to the cultural city of Manchester, some of music's best bands and singers, and of course where Charlotte Bronte began writing Jane Eyre.

The north-west is home to some of the most beautiful places I've visited.  This is great for my writing too as I'll never be short of inspiration for a book setting. And of course the people are so friendly 'Up North'!


What started you on the path to writing?


I had written stories as a teenager but then adult life got in the way. When I found myself living in the Middle East and unable to work it seemed like a great opportunity to give it a go. I took an online creative writing course and started writing my first book, which is still buried on a shelf somewhere never to see the light of day!


How did you break into the publishing world?


I only published my first book this year so I'm still trying to break into the publishing world but I always wanted to go the self-published route.


What are the up and downs to being an author?

Some weeks there are so many I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster. I love it when my characters talk to me and the writing just flows. Or when a reader gets in touch to thank me for helping them escape reality in my books for a while, that makes all the hard work worthwhile. Then there's those bad moments when you let doubts creep in and every word you write is a struggle. It's also hard trying to get your name out there because there are so many great authors already published.


Can you describe your books in three words?


Thrilling romantic fantasy


And finally, if someone is new to your work, which book do you think they should start with?


The three books follow on from each other so start with Vision in Love. 



©Liz Bower
All photographs by kind permission





Legends of the North



ab661-visioninloveebookcoveruseupdated 776a1-visionintrustebookcoveruseupdated Vision in Faith book cover



You can find out more about Liz and her writing by clicking on the links below;


Website
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon UK





Huge thanks to Liz for being part of my Close to Home feature and for sharing her thoughts about her writing so eloquently.




I hope that you have enjoyed reading today's Close to Home feature.




Coming next SaturdayJo Hollywood



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