Guest Post: Thea and Viv's Big Adventure

This contest is closed. The winner is Julianne.

Welcome to Day Two and more adventures with Thea and Viv. The theme for this second day is Transportation and a chance to introduce you to our heroes. Now-transportation is a BIG theme in WOLF LINE, like there’s a really big boat as the setting for this story: a cruise ship. Kinda like this one:

Yes, for anyone who has already read others in the Granite Lake Wolves series, you know there’s a pun in that title, just like there are in all the story titles. One is obvious, I hope—but there’s more than one line being pulled in this story!

Like—don’t let the names fool you, but the fellow being called Mark Weaver in this scene is actually Jared: playboy extraordinaire first met in WOLF GAMES. Only after a pretty exciting morning he’s suddenly thrust into this meeting with Keri Smith who’s acting as a troubleshooter during her BFFs maiden voyage as Cruise Coordinator.

Welcome aboard, trouble!

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The late arrival was dark haired, the strands long enough to lie tousled around his shoulders like some bad-boy rock star on tour. Mmm, she liked bad boys. His leather jacket hung open, his chest moving rapidly, and Keri hesitated.

Chest heaving? Slightly panting—as if he’d been running? “Did someone escort you to the ship, Mr. Weaver?”

His eyes widened, then his grin flashed and her belly warmed. Damn, that face of his should be labeled a dangerous weapon. “No, but I sure could use an escort to my room.”

“You’ll get your sleeping assignment in a minute,” Chad cut in. “First, sign here.”

Keri shook herself, stepping back in self-defense.

Mark winked her direction then leaned over the table to add a swirl of chaos to the bottom of the page. “There you go, love.”

Chad choked for a second before handing over a key. “Your room is on the port side, toward mid ship. You can get extra linens and supplies from the hall storage, and your first shift starts at eleven hundred hours. Report back here and you’ll find your team leader, who will get you fitted up and give you last-minute instructions.”

Mark tilted an imaginary hat at Keri, ignoring Chad completely. “You going to be around? Help me find my sea legs, that kind of thing?”

Keri continued to retreat until her back hit the wall. “I think we’ll end this conversation now, Mr. Weaver. Find your quarters.”

His dark eyes sparkled for a second before he dropped his gaze, stroking his way down her body. She should feel insulted. She should turn and demand he treat her with more respect. The words wouldn’t come, mainly because what she really wanted was to strip right there and ride him like a Harley. Feel his power rumbling between her thighs and—

Sweat broke out on her brow, cooling instantly in the air-conditioned room. Mark was out the door before she figured out how to respond further. Keri avoided the blatant question in Chad’s eyes and raced away, slamming through the door that led the opposite direction from where her mystery man had gone. All thoughts of why he’d been chased aboard were lost in the disastrous new revelation that had overtaken her.

This was not good. This was so not good. The situation had gone from troublesome to tortuous in less time than it took for the average wolf pack to consume a prime-rib dinner.

Keri stopped to lean her forehead on the nearest wall. She hit with more force than intended, which was moderately excruciating but somehow appropriate.

In fact, she repeated the move. A couple of times.

Bang. Bang.

The resulting pain made her screw up her face. Bang. She was supposed to be there for her friend and act as a troubleshooter. Bang. Not be the one to cause chaos right under Tessa’s nose. Bang. Not discovering her mate in the midst of the hired help.

~~*~~

Oops? Okay, this is going to be a tricky cruise. Not as tricky as this one, but still:

Hope you’ll come along to see exactly why Jared is being called Mark, and why Keri is reacting to her mate, and yet Jared doesn’t seem to be…

Leave a comment here, and then head over to the Book Binge to see what Thea is up to. Tomorrow you’ll find us both hanging out at Smexy Books to talk about our heroines and take on the next part of the adventure.

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THEA AND VIV'S BIG ADVENTURE is brought to you by Thea Harrison and Vivian Arend, New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors with a love for both travel and writing. They have joined together for the nefarious purpose of celebrating their next Samhain Publishing ebooks.

Thea’s DEVIL’S GATE releases June 5. The novella returns readers to the world of The Elder Races. Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Samhain Publishing

WOLF LINE, #5 in Viv’s bestselling Granite Lake Wolves, is available June 12. Available at: Amazon | Barne’s & Noble | Samhain Publishing

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Comment for your chance to win:

Information re: Grand Prize can be found at Thea or Viv’s

DAILY PRIZE: One commenter here at this blog will win their choice of one of Thea or Viv’s backlist Samhain ebooks from either the Elder Races or Granite Lake Wolves series. If you’ve got them all, you can gift this to a friend!

Winners from comments at all the tour stops will be announced at
Viv’s and Thea’s blogs on JUNE 13.

Question for today:
Which cruise trip would you take? Alaska, Caribbean or elsewhere?

Review: The Darkest Heart

From the blurb on the back, The Darkest Heart sounds like everything I love in a book: dark, historical, paranormal, erotic. But it didn't quite hit the mark, for a few reasons.

The story features Senna, a girl who has used her wits to stay alive on the streets. Now she has devised a con that she thinks will find her a more permanent home. She sends a letter to the Countess Lazlaric, pretending to be a poor relation in need of home. And it works. Of course, Senna has no idea that the Countess is a vampire who plans to use her as a broodmare to extend the family line. The Countess pushes her son Charles on Senna, leaving the young woman very little choice in the matter: succumb or head back to the streets.

In the meantime, Nicolai is working to ruin the Countess' plan. He is her son too, but unlike Charles, he is a vampire. His mother turned him years ago and he has never forgiven her. So he figures he'll make her miserable by taking Senna for his own. And he takes his sweet time. The book is practically halfway over before his seduction moves beyond nibbles on her ear. And then, it's like going from drought to flood... and there's sex at every turn. But here's the thing: I don't see how Senna developed feelings for Nicolai. I'm not talking about sexual attraction, but feelings. They have sex in her sleep. A lot. They don't talk or spend any kind of time together when he's not trying to get her pregnant. Sure, the erotic pull is there, but it's hard for me to really get invested in them when they only have sex between them... no matter how good the sex is.

There's also some world building that kind of tripped me up. Out of nowhere, there is a rival vampire line who is Nicolai's arch-enemy. Suddenly everyone's a vampire. Well, everyone except Senna. And when all is said and done, I'm left wondering, How did we get here? Making things infinitely worse for me, the ending is a cliffhanger. There is not even a resolution. Grrr. It wasn't terrible, but I doubt I'll read the sequel. 3 stars.

*ARC Provided by Simon & Schuster

The Darkest Heart

by Thea Devine

Release Date: June 21, 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster