Teaser Tuesday: Silent Woods

I’ve been a bad blogger! Meaning I haven’t done shit in ages. But, today is the day that’s gonna change. I blame the lovely weather we’ve had here in Sweden these last weeks and my garden for stealing me away from the screen – I go voluntarily I should add. Few things make me happier than staring at the leaves of my Habanero Dulce or smelling the flowers on my lemon tree. My husband thinks I’m insane, and he might be right.

But, I’m not writing today to talk about my garden – though, I could go on for ages (my Ophelia mini aubergines are bearing fruit! LOL I had to buy them since they were named Ophelia).

The reason I’m writing is that it’s Tuesday and now when we’re getting close to midsummer I wanted to do a post on Silent Woods.

I’ve written a couple blog posts about the Silent Woods before, but the last one was back in 2016, so I figured I’d do it again. In Silent Woods we meet The Neck, a male water nymph from the Scandinavian folklore who is as his strongest around midsummer. Beware…

A married couple with two kids go camping, but what lurks in the woods is not what they’d thought they’d encounter. There, in the middle of a lake, is a man who can make the forest go quiet simply by being, and he can control you merely by playing his violin.

The wet spider webs and the light mist that could be seen between the trees should’ve made a beautiful picture, but the glade didn’t feel as it had the day before. It felt closed off, like someone had put a giant glass bubble over us. The woods were silent, no rustling winds, and no tweeting birds. The eerie stillness that surrounded us was almost oppressive. I couldn’t help but whisper as I turned to Anders, “Is it always this quiet in the mornings?”

Anders frowned a little. “I’m sure the birds will start to sing as soon as I make my way out of here.” That did not make me feel any better. “Probably just means that there isn’t anything close by to alert them.”

I didn’t buy that. Birds sang in the morning. And I could tell he only said it to comfort me—his gaze kept searching the tree line, and he had a little crease between his brows. He lit the mini stove, gave me what I’m sure was supposed to be a reassuring smile, and headed out of the campsite.

I couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling, and it only grew more intense the longer Anders was away. It wouldn’t take him more than twenty minutes or so to cover the distance. He was a practised runner, and this little round was nothing compared to what he normally ran in the mornings. Still, I found no comfort in that. I tried to distract myself by preparing breakfast on the stove.

books2read.com/SilentWoods


24779481Do you believe in myths and ancient creatures?

Daniel has never felt the need to leave the city behind, so when his husband suggests a camping trip for their holiday he agrees with reluctance. Even before they step out of the car, Daniel has the feeling of something being wrong. Something about the forest is turning his stomach into knots.

He wants nothing more than returning to the safety of their home, and when their five-year-old son goes missing his fears turn into full-blown panic. What awaits them in the depths of the forest is far more sinister than anything Daniel ever could have imagined. Will they be able to find their son before it’s too late?

 


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

FridayReads | Hexbreaker

HexbreakerHave you read about Cicero the cat and his witch? In Hexbreaker by Jordan L. Hawk we’re taken on a tour through the 1890’s New York but with a little extra, like witches and hexes and familiars.

I loved this story, just like I have many of Ms Hawks stories before it, and I’m always thinking I should read them all but then I don’t – I save them. I’ve had Hexbreaker for a long time but I haven’t read it, it’s just been sitting there like a backup book for when I can’t find anything to read.

Tom grew up in a tunnel gang, he’s a hexbreaker so no hexes could keep him out, and that made it easy to steal things. But we all know that nothing good comes from stealing, right? So Tom needs to hide, he fixes himself a new identity, becomes a copper without any magic…until his past and a hex he never wanted to see again find him and he has to turn to the witch police.

There he meets Cicero, an unbonded cat familiar. Cicero needs to bond with a witch before he’s thrown out from on the streets, but he will not bond with Tom…even if it turns out that he really is Cicero’s witch. He will help him solve the case with the hex, though.

I loved this world of hexes, witches, and their familiars.

books2read.com/Hexbreaker *


29505845Will a dark history doom their future together?

New York copper Tom Halloran is a man with a past. If anyone finds out he once ran with the notorious O’Connell tunnel gang, he’ll spend the rest of his life doing hard time behind bars. But Tom’s secret is threatened when a horrible murder on his beat seems to have been caused by the same ancient magic that killed his gang.

Cat shifter Cicero is determined to investigate the disappearance of one friend and the death of another, even though no one else believes the cases are connected. When the trail of his investigation crosses Tom’s, the very bohemian Cicero instinctively recognizes the uncultured Irish patrolman as his witch. Though they’re completely unsuited to one another, Cicero has no choice but to work alongside Tom…all the while fighting against the passion growing within.

Tom knows that taking Cicero as his familiar would only lead to discovery and disaster. Yet as the heat between them builds, Tom’s need for the other man threatens to overcome every rational argument against becoming involved.

But when their investigation uncovers a conspiracy that threatens all of New York, Tom must make the hardest decision of his life: to live a lie and gain his heart’s desire, or to confess the truth and sacrifice it all.

 


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Friday Reads | Free Falling

Free-FallingI saw Free Falling by S.E. Jakes in my list of ebooks and thought ‘yeah, I’ll read me some Tom and Prophet’…make that Mick and Blue. I’ve read this before and yet I can’t remember it. I always remember books I’ve read – or so I thought. And it’s not that I don’t enjoy it, so I really should remember it.

Mick is a former CIA agent working for EE and Blue is a thief. Things turn tricky when Blue is drugged by drinking from a glass meant for Mick. There are bad guys, drugs, and then there is Prophet – you got to love Prophet, it’s a rule.

When I went to check what books I had read by S.E. Jakes I realised that one, they were more than I thought, and two, there are others I don’t remember. What’s up with that?! For example, I remember Mal and Cillian from Prophet and Tom’s adventures but I can’t remember having read their story…apparently I have.

If you like stubborn men who are a lot more emotional they want to let on, who kill bad guys and make stuff explode, you should read the books in the EE Ltd. Universe.

books2read.com/FreeFalling *


51oigfjwmelFrom New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Tyler, writing as SE Jakes….

Sometimes falling in love is the most dangerous thing of all.

Blue is a thief who lives for adrenaline and danger. And when he meets Mick, a mercenary, he’s hit with a buzz of attraction like the rush of a high-rise job without a safety rope. But after making plans to get together, Mick leaves him hanging, and Blue vows never again.

A year later, Mick watches helplessly as Blue stumbles into the middle of one of Mick’s jobs. Risking his cover and their lives, Mick saves Blue and cares for him as he recuperates, but neither man has any idea how to handle the intimacy this forces them into.

Once Blue is safe, Mick redoubles his efforts to take down the drug lord responsible — and disappears. Blue goes after him, determined to return the favor and rescue the man he loves, no matter the cost.


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.