Never Let You Go (A Modern Fairytale #2) By Katy Regnery

"I missed you like crazy.........."

"..........I love you forever."

I don't know when I've read a story with this much poignancy, with this much emotion, with this much passion, hope and beauty. This is a 'second chance romance' like no other. It's a lesson in 'never giving up’ that should be taken to heart. It’s a heartbreaking yet joyous and uplifting tale of unconditional and truly selfless love. And it's the kind of happily ever after that fairytales are made of.

Note: 25% of June and July 2015's gross royalties from Never Let You Go will be given to the Elizabeth Smart Foundation "which aims, among other things, to support the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and to educate children about violent and sexual crime."

Book Description:

Regret, betrayal, kidnapping, loss, madness, abuse, passion, love.

In this modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel, thirteen-year-old foster children Griselda and Holden escape from their abductor after three years of brutal captivity, and try to cross the Shenandoah River on foot. Tragically, one of them makes it to safety, but the other is left behind.

Ten years later, Griselda’s boyfriend drags her to a fight club grudge match, and her world is turned upside down when she watches Holden step into the ring.

Though the connection between them is fierce, bitter regret, simmering rage, and a tangle of physical and emotional scars lie between them, just as dangerous as the white water of the Shenandoah.

Never Let You Go is a story of fear and hope, defeat and survival, and two people—once profoundly broken—who discover that love is the only thing that can make them whole again.

Excerpt from Never Let You Go:

This girl. Everything about this girl made him want, made him long, made him yearn to change his life, start his life, finally live his life after a decade of going through the motions. He wanted to get a better job to take care of her. He wanted to stop fighting because she disapproved of it. He wanted enough money to have every tally mark lasered from his arm. He wanted some sort of guarantee that she’d never, ever leave him again. And he wanted all of it now. Yesterday. Ten years ago, and every day since.

Standing up slowly, he let his body settle into an upright position before taking his time crossing the hall to the bathroom and then heading out into the common room.

She stood at the stove with her back to him, her feet bare, her hair in a ponytail, the mouthwatering smell of fried chicken filling the entire cabin with goodness. Holden leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, a grin taking over his face as he watched her.

“It’s just the thought of you—the very thought of you, my love,” she sang, using a fork to transfer a golden leg to a paper towel–covered plate.

As she reached forward to turn off the stove, some of the leftover grease in the frying pan spat up at her and burned her wrist.

“Ow!” she yelped. “Damn it!”

With a sudden rush of adrenaline, Holden crossed the kitchen in two strides. He turned on the faucet and grabbed her arm to thrust her wrist under the cold stream. He held it there, wincing at the red blotch developing on her white skin. When he lifted his eyes to hers, she was staring at him with a surprised, curious expression.

“It’s just a little burn.”

He shrugged, still holding her arm, staring down at the burn.

“You were asleep,” she said.

“You were singing.”

“Too loud?”

“No.”

“You remember that song?”

“I remember.”

He slid his palm down her arm to cradle her wrist from below.

“The stove’s still on,” she said.

Without dropping her hand, he took a step closer to her, reached around her waist with his free hand, and flicked the burner off.

“I made fried chicken,” she said softly, her cheeks flushed.

“I can smell it.”

“You like fried chicken. I mean . . . you must have mentioned it to me a hundred times when we were—”

“It’s still my favorite.”

They were both silent for a few seconds, and Holden knew he should drop her hand and step away from her, but he couldn’t. She’d hurt herself doing something kind for him, and it just about shredded his heart.

Just another moment, he told himself. A few more seconds touching her and then I’ll move away.

“Sorry about the singing,” she whispered, unmoving, her breath kissing his throat.

He jerked his neck to face her, his thumb curling into her palm, his eyes searching hers for mercy.

“I loved it,” he murmured.

She stepped forward, closing the distance between them, her lips parting, her breasts grazing his chest through his T-shirt as she stared up at him.

“Holden, I . . .”

Every breath she took seemed to draw him closer to her, as if she was breathing him, not air. He leaned forward, into her, his free hand reaching for hers.

“Griselda . . .”

Her eyes, dark blue and churning, flicked to his lips, lingered there, then slid back up his face and seized his.

His self-control snapped.

After all, he was only human.

Purchase Never Let You Go here:

Amazon (US): http://ow.ly/NLqSs

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Kobo: http://ow.ly/NJBuf

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About the Author:

Award-winning and Amazon bestselling author Katy Regnery started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract for a winter romance entitled By Proxy.

Now a hybrid author who publishes both independently and traditionally, Katy claims authorship of the six-book Heart of Montana series, the six-book English Brothers series, and a Kindle Worlds novella entitled Four Weddings and a Fiasco: The Wedding Date. Katy’s short story “The Long Way Home” appears in the first Romance Writers of America anthology, Premiere, and she has published two stand-alone novels, Playing for Love at Deep Haven and the Amazon bestseller The Vixen and the Vet, which is book one in Katy’s a m o d e r n f a i r y t a l e collection. The Vixen and the Vet was nominated for a RITA® Award in 2015.

Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.

Upcoming (2015) Projects:

The Winslow Brothers (Books #1-4)

Ginger’s Heart, a modern fairytale

Connect with Katy:

Katy LOVES connecting with her readers and answers every e-mail, message, tweet, and post personally! Click below to connect with Katy!

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An ARC of this story was generously provided by the author.

SEAL of Honor by Tonya Burrows

SEAL of Honor is the first book in Tonya Burrows' HORNET series, and romantic suspense lovers, you do not want to miss this story!

Gabe Bristow’s life as a Navy SEAL comes to a screeching halt – not because of terrorists or IEDs or any of the usual things associated with badass military men and their career ending injuries, but because of a car accident. He was lucky he didn’t lose his leg, but being left with a foot so badly messed up he’s forced to leave the teams, Gabe is struggling to accept the possibility of life behind a desk which, for man like Gabe, is the worst thing that could happen.

But then he’s made an offer too good to refuse: Head a private hostage rescue team to rescue a wealthy American businessman from Colombian rebels looking to make a bundle on ransom. Gabe recognizes this as a chance to continue doing what he loves most and thought he’d never be able to do again, so he reluctantly accepts. Everything is finally looking up until he meets his new team: “a drunk Cajun linguist, a boy-genius CIA threat analyst, an FBI negotiator with mob ties, a cowboy medic, and an EOD expert as volatile as the bombs he defuses.” Then toss in the determined, impulsive, and far too sexy Audrey Van Amee, sister of the kidnapped man who wants to be in on the rescue, and Gabe finds he got more than he bargained for.

Romantic suspense is one of my favorite genres, but it’s hard to find an author who can do the genre justice. To make me a happy reader, there has to be a solid, gripping story, characters I can care about, the right amount of action – both in bed and out, and a happily ever after that leaves me with a contented smile on my face. That’s a lot to ask for, but Tonya Burrows pulled it off beautifully, and I’ll definitely be reading more by this very talented author.

My thanks to J.J. Bonds and Entangled Publishing for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure!

Selling Out by Amber Lin

 

Shelly Laurent escapes her life as a high-class escort, but against her better judgment she takes the scared young Ella with her. Framed for murder by her pimp and his dirty cops in retaliation, Shelly turns to the one man who could be her salvation: Detective Luke Cameron. She doesn’t know if she can trust him or if he’s just a mirage, but it's time for her to take a stand. Just one shot, make it count, she’ll fight Ella’s demons—and face her own.

Shelly throws light on the shadows of Chicago’s underworld, challenging everything she knew and the man she’s come to love. Together, a prostitute and a cop fight for truth stronger than secrets, hope deeper than deception, and a bond more enduring than betrayal.

*****

Selling Out is one of those stories that will have you thinking long and hard about your feelings on prostitution, regardless what your stand on it actually is. Through Shelly's experiences, Amber Lin shows us both the harsh, and the not so harsh side of the oldest profession on earth. It's a story told from Shelly's point of view, but we also get up close and personal with what's going on inside Luke's head.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this story! Though admittedly, I wasn't Shelly's biggest fan in the beginning. She didn't just have walls built around her heart, it was an entire fortress. But once I "got" where she was coming from, I couldn't help but respect and care for her.

But Luke? He caught my attention right from the start and I couldn't get enough of him. His motivations for the things he was doing, and his reasons for keeping Shelly at arms length, were heartbreaking. He's a solid man, knows what he's about, and even though he has his demons, they do not own him. As the story progressed, Shelly grew on me and surprised me by turning out to be a strong, amazing, compassionate woman, one I'm happy to see paired with Luke.

I really can't say enough about this story, and am looking forward to reading more by Amber Lin, an incredibly gifted writer.

My thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of Selling Out in exchange for an honest review.

Dancing on Coals by Ellen O'Connell

After escaping robbers intent on murder, Katherine Grant says, "I jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Before long I'll be dancing on the coals." The highwaymen were the frying pan; the handsome young Apache who saved her from them was the fire; and the coals? Gaetan.

Rage against the enemies of his people has consumed Gaetan from boyhood. The only use he ever found for any white was to test the sharpness of his knife. Forced by his brother to endure Katherine's company, Gaetan tries to deny what he sees—the white woman has a man's temper and a lion's courage. She has an Apache heart.

In spite of hate, distrust and fear, surviving in the rugged country of southern Arizona and northern Mexico forges a strange bond between Katherine and Gaetan. When the bond turns to love, can they admit it? Can they bear the consequences?

*****

Well, as usual, I’m late the game. So many of my friends have read this book and raved about it. They’ve nudged me, telling me it’s amazing and that I had to read it. Every so often I’d get a reminder that I had it sitting here, just waiting for me to pick it up… and still, I put it off. But, I finally did it and, as usual, my friends were right.

I’m just going to share a few thoughts with you, since there are already so many wonderful reviews on this book.

When I read a book I want the time I spend to be worthwhile, so I’m always looking for stories that make me forget that I’m just reading a book. I love it when I’m swept away to another time and place, living a life very different from my own, a life I’d never otherwise get to experience. That’s what Dancing on Coals was like for me.

For the few days I spent reading this story, I’d close my eyes and try to imagine what it was like to be a lone woman in an unfamiliar land, finding myself living with a people whose traditions and ways of life were completely foreign to me. What it was like to have the wind whipping through my hair while on horseback, riding faster and faster, as if my very life depended on it, because it did. Seeing the ocean for the very first time. Falling in love with someone I had every reason to hate, and being thankful for all the horrible things that happened to me because without them, I would never have met him.

This is a tale that is, at the same time, both ugly and beautiful. It took me places I’ve never been, made me feel things I’ve never felt. And most importantly, it's a beautiful love story, and I can’t ask for more than that.