My Sexy Howl from Ilona’s Wolf #MySexySaturday

Week 51 of #MySexySaturday is all about shifters, so I had to add a snippet from Ilona’s Wolf: A Fairy Tale. If the opening of the story sounds a bit familiar, it’s because Little Red Riding Hood was my favorite fairy tale when I was but a lass. Perhaps I related to Red more than the princesses because I grew up in a multi-generational household and my grandmothers were part of my everyday life.

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If you’re not familiar with My Sexy Saturday, a weekly blog hop where writers share sexy tidbits 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words) from their stories, either published or in progress. It’s the brain child of author, Lynn Crain, who writes “Shifters come in all makes and sizes. They can be a wolf, a bear, an eagle or any variety of things but all meant to protect the one they love… Shifters are hot, shifters are cool and this week shifters are us.”
Ilona's Wolf cover
Sir Rolf of Klosterlupe, the hero of Ilona’s Wolf, was born a werewolf in a land where shifters are banned. Trapped in wolf form by the curse of an evil sorcerer, he wanders the forests of Velosia until the day he senses a young woman in danger. His protective instincts kick in and he charges to the rescue. Princess Ilona fears the wolf at first, then she gets a big surprise.

7 Paragraph Snippet:

She smiled at the canine as she continued to pet it. “Grateful I am for you rescuing me, but ’tis not exactly what a girl dreams of. Where’s my knight on a white steed? ‘Tis he who is supposed to do the rescuing.”

When the wolf lowered his head, sniffing between her legs, she laughed and pushed it away. “Rude creature.”

The animal responded by sitting up and resting its head on her breast. She put both arms around it and hugged it close, dropping a kiss on its head. “Do not misunderstand, Sir Wolf, but I still wish you were a knight. A strong, handsome knight like my Werner.”

The familiar sadness filled her at the memory of her husband. “I miss him so much, you know. Dagmar says another knight will come for me, a handsome knight to protect us and make sweet, passionate love to me.”

The wolf whined and raised his head to lick her cheek. Laughing, she tried to push him away, but he licked her full on the mouth. She closed her eyes, stunned when her powers came rushing back, like a flood of magic coursing around her.

Turning aside, she summoned her basket to her side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the wolf jump up, staring at the basket. Her vision seemed to blur as the wolf’s face slowly became humanlike, then shifted back. She must have hit her head harder than she’d thought if she was seeing things. She closed her eyes and shook her head, but the aching had receded.

When she peeked again, the wolf was gone, and a naked man crouched in front of her. A handsome, well-built man with shaggy brown hair and golden brown eyes.

Blurb:

Princess Ilona is rescued by a wolf that transforms into a handsome, naked man. Cursed by an evil wizard, Rolf was trapped in wolf form until he tasted the blood of a royal. Now he must escort the princess on a hazardous journey to the castle. Passion flares between them, but both know there is no future for a princess and a werewolf. Or is there in a world where magic and passion combine?

Ilona’s Wolf is available for 99 cents from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks.

For July only, Ilona’s Wolf is FREE at Smashwords. Use coupon code SW100 at checkout.

What’s your favorite kind of shifter? Leave a comment below to be entered in my monthly drawing for a $15 Starbucks e-gift card.

Lyndi

And follow the linky list below to find more My Sexy Saturday snippets.


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Book Review Club: Naamah’s Kiss

This month Book Review Club moves to my new Reading Room blog. This will be the last book club until September.

Naamah's Kiss coverNaamah’s Kiss
by Jacqueline Carey
Adult Fantasy
Hachette Book Group, 2009

I loved Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series, so bought Naamah’s Kiss in hardback when it came out in 2009. Then it sat on my bookshelf until this year. On a very hot lazy Sunday, I took the book off the shelf and started reading, figuring it would take several weeks to read since it’s about 600 pages long. But then the cable TV & Internet went out for two days, and before I knew, I’d read the book in about five days.

This trilogy is set about 100 years after the events in the Kushiel’s Legacy series, and if you haven’t read those six books and think you might, I recommend tackling them first as many of the stories are briefly retold, so there’s no way to hide any spoilers. Though Naamah’s Kiss works as a standalone book, I felt that having read the previous books gave me an advantage in terms of understanding the world Carey has created.

The main character is Moirin mac Fainche of the Maghuinn Dhon, the folk of the Brown Bear, an ancient clan in Alba (Carey’s version of England). The Maghuinn Dhon are solitary woodland dwellers who worship a bear-goddess. Moirin’s mother is descended from royalty, being a descendant of Alais the Wise, who was the daughter of the queen of Terre D’Ange and the Cruarch of Alba. Moirin learns that her father is a priest of Naamah whom her mother met once at a celebration. Moirin is a true daughter of Naamah, the goddess of love, and falls into a relationship with a young man who is tragically killed. After his death, she goes through a ritual where the bear-goddess shows Moirin that her destiny lies over the seas. She sets sail for Terre D’Ange and travels to the City of Elua in search of her father where she becomes involved in court intrigue. She soon finds herself a pawn caught between the young Queen Jehanne and her lover/courtier Raphael de Mereliot, who has no qualms about using Moirin for his own purposes. She also meets Master Lo Feng, a scholar and healer from the distant land of Ch’in, and his surly assistant Bao. When Master Lo is called back to Ch’in, Moirin knows she must accompany him to meet her destiny.

Moirin has a number of magical gifts from the Maghuinn Dhon, including the ability to “summon the twilight” which means she steps between the worlds of spirit and flesh and becomes essentially invisible to anyone who wasn’t already looking at her. She also has a deep affinity for plants and understands their need. In Terre D’Ange, she learns she has healing abilities that help humans, though using them is draining to her.
And as a child of Naamah, she has a natural sensuality.

Moirin’s adventures in Terre D’Ange center around the plots of Raphael de Mereliot, a courtier and physician with occult interests, and the intrigues of the idle aristocracy. Meeting Master Lo Feng helps to keep her focused as he teaches her The Way. But it’s in Ch’in that the story becomes really exciting as Moirin, Bao and Master Lo must free a dragon and save the Emperor’s throne.

I’m always amazed by the intricacies of Carey’s world building, and at times I found myself picking up the earlier books to refresh my memory about what happened back in the distant past of Terre D’Ange and Alba. I enjoy Carey’s brand of epic fantasy with a hearty dose of sensuality. While I loved the Kushiel series, I wasn’t crazy about some of the bondage and discipline scenes. Fortunately, there is none of that in this book. While it was fun to revisit Terre D’Ange, I most enjoyed the section of the book set in Ch’in. Recommended for adult fantasy readers. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, Naamah’s Curse.

Read the first chapter here: http://www.jacquelinecarey.com/kiss.htm

My thanks to http://www.terredange.net/ for providing character name lists. This site looks like a great resource for fans of the series.

Leave a comment below telling me what you like to read with your email address and I’ll enter you in my monthly drawing for a $15 Starbucks e-gift card. Follow the blog and let me know for a second chance to win.

As always, click on the graphic below for more great book reviews.

Linda

Click icon for morebook review blogs@Barrie Summy