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Undone by Sara Humphreys
ORDER A COPY: Undone (The Amoveo Legend)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publishing Date: May 7, 2013
Paperback: 288 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Party girl Marianna Coltari is an unmated pureblood Amoveo who wants nothing to do with the ongoing war that took her father’s life and continues to consume her brother, Dante’s. But when she is targeted by one of the clans, she has little choice but to run and hide in a cabin with Pete Castro, a retired cop from her brother’s security firm. There, Pete and Marianna explore an intensifying attraction between them until danger is at the door and there’s no escape.
Pete Castro has been assigned by his boss and his friend, Dante Coltari, to act as chauffer and more importantly as bodyguard, to his twin sister, Marianna. As an Amoveo shifter of the bear clan, Marianna should be more then able to protect herself, but many unmated females have been disappearing lately, and Dante wants to be sure that his sister doesn’t wind up among the missing women.
Pete hasn’t told Marianna that he knows what she is. As far as he is concerned, she can go on thinking him an ignorant human. With her unpredictable bear temperament, if she didn’t fear discovery by him, he is afraid she’ll do a disappearing act on him next time she is in a snit. As far as Pete is aware, Marianna doesn’t think of him at all. If only he could say the same thing. All Pete can think about are those long legs and how he wants to grab a fist full of those gorgeous brown curls and kiss her until they’re both breathless. But Marianna is looking for her mate—her Amoveo mate, not a plain old human like Pete.
Human or not, Pete will take care of that sleezyball Hayden. Hayden might be full-blooded bear clan, but there is no way that pompous ass is her mate, so why is he after Marianna so desperately? Pete isn’t planning on sitting around waiting to find out. Dante hired him to protect Marianna, and that is what he is going to do even if he has to fight her to succeed.
Now, they are hiding out together from the kidnappers. Pete couldn’t stop thinking about her…dreaming about her while he guarded her in the City. Now all alone, Pete’s desire for Marianna is only exceeded by his need for her to see him as more than just a human.
THOUGHTS:
Loved it! I love when a story leaves our hero and heroine stranded together for a chance to really get to know each other, and yet there was still plenty of time for an exciting rescue, a set up for the next book in the series as well as a set up for her next series focusing on vampires.
It was a well written story with great characters which blended the love story and the excitement so we have plenty of both to enjoy.
We got to see William again who loosened up in his and Layla’s story, but he comes off cold and distant again. I loved him in his book Untamed, but he quickly returned to his unsympathetic self. I guess he will remain a character that unless you are in his head, he will always come off as unfeeling and hardhearted.
These stories have gotten better each time and I am sorry that we are nearing the end of the series.
Received an ARC from netgalley.com, courtesy of the publisher. Thank you.
Favorite Scene:
He tried to keep his mind on the job—and that she’s his buddy’s sister.
You don’t nail your buddy’s sister. It’s unbreakable guy code.
Her hip bumped enticingly into his as they climbed the last couple of steps at the top. Peter used every ounce of willpower to keep from looking at her legs or her spectacular cleavage. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he tried to think of something else—anything else—except the woman on his arm.
“You know.” She sighed as she slid the key into the lock of her apartment door. “You’ve been driving me around town for the past two months, but I don’t think you’ve ever been inside my apartment.”
“Nope.” Pete stepped back, kept his hands in his pockets and both eyes on her. What was she up to? First she pretends to be wasted and bails out on that Hayden guy, and now, she’s hitting on him. What is her endgame with this?
Marianna flipped the lock and arched one eyebrow. “Care to break that streak tonight?”
He swallowed the urge to scream hell yes, and instead bit out, “I don’t think so.” Pete shook his head even though his body was screaming yes.
“Are you sure?” she asked as she grabbed his tie and twirled it playfully around one finger. Her large dark eyes clapped onto his. She tugged the annoying garment and pulled him closer.
“Yes,” he whispered. Pete willed his body not to move, to be strong and hold his ground, but it was no use.
The enticing scent of peaches wafted over Pete as she held him captive. His hands curled into fists in his pockets as he struggled to keep from touching her and resisted the urge to lace his fingers through that silky looking hair. His entire body hummed with arousal and awareness as the heat from her body radiated along his.
Her mouth hovered dangerously close, and her eyes glinted back with the unmistakable glaze of desire. It would be easy to dip lower and take just one taste. “Come inside.” She whispered.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and somewhere in that odd displacement of time and space, his mouth settled over hers. A rush of sweetness flooded him as her lush, gorgeous lips fused with his.
She tasted like peaches too…and champagne.
Marianna ran her tongue along his. He yanked his hands from his pockets and slipped his fingers into that long wavy hair that did indeed feel like silk. He moaned as she linked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Devouring her lips, Pete pinned her against the door and drank greedily from her soft, pliant mouth. Her full breast crushed against his chest, and all he could think about was getting closer.
His body, taut with desire, sensed every single spot where her heated skin touched his. However, amid the haze of lust he heard the voice of reason screaming at him to stop, listing all the reasons why he definitely shouldn’t be doing this.
She’s your friend’s sister.
She’s Amoveo and you’re human.
She’s got some predestined shapeshifter mate out there, and you’re not it.
She can’t ever be yours.
“I can’t to this,” he murmured against her lips.
Untamed by Sara Humphreys
Congratulations to Jenny our winner of a signed copy of Untamed.
ORDER A COPY: Untamed (The Amoveo Legend)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publishing Date: November 6, 2012
Paperback: 300 pages
Rating: 4 stars
The Amoveo are an ancient race who’ve lived secretly among humans for thousands of years. They are beautiful and incredibly strong but their race is extremely fragile–each has until the age of 30 to find their soul mate, before their bodies start to die a slow, painful death.
Layla Nickelsen has spent her life running from a mate she didn’t choose, until William Fleury finally confronts her. Normally stoic and unemotional, William finds himself befuddled by Layla: his growing feelings for her and his driving need to protect her. And Layla has to admit that William might be everything she’s always wanted after all.
William Fleury is one uptight shifter. He was not nicknamed the “iceman” for nothing. So how does he end up with a mate who is such a free-spirited, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of girl?
Layla Nickelsen knew she was half human/half Amoveo and she feared the day that some neanderthal Amoveo would come to her door, beating his chest and screeching that she was his mate, and thinking he was going to be dragging her off by her hair to do as he says. Oh, hell no!! Especially, not after her mother went insane after mating with her father who abandoned them, and then both of them abandoning her to live in foster home after foster home because she was so different from the other normal kids. When William comes knocking on her door, she knows what he is looking for and she is not interested in his good looks and how sexy he looks out of those expensive suits, no man should look so yummy in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt…no, no, no, not interested, at all!!
The more time William spends with Layla, the more he appreciates her quirky outlook on life and her love for her adoptive family. He will do anything to convince the panicky Layla how perfect they could be together, and when trouble comes to the farm, he will do anything to protect her from those purists among this people who want to destroy the half-breed abominations.
THOUGHTS:
I am loving this series more and more with each new novel. I am impressed and amazed when an author can me love a character that I previously had no interest in.
William has been an important secondary character throughout the previous two novels, but he was so uptight and he coldness in the first novel, made him appear not as a purist but definitely not thrilled about the idea of finding a mate in a half-breed. I wasn’t 100 percent sure he was trustworthy. I kept waiting for him to turn out to be the bad guy. So after the first two books my interest in a novel about William was meh!
We find out that William met his mate during the second half of Untouched which answers the question of what was up with him and why was he acting so weird. Layla gets him out of the business suits and loosens him up which makes him a more likeable and relatable character. William is also very forthcoming with his feelings toward Layla and very understanding about her reluctance to embrace him as a lifelong, predestined mate. He is very patient and tries to win her affections. It was very enjoyable on his part.
We can understand Layla’s reluctance to go all in with the whole mating thing, between her mother’s issues and her foster brother’s parents’ issues, which is why they are all hiding from the full blooded Amoveo. The only thing that irks me is that she agrees to take time to get to know William before rejecting him, especially since William is not attempting to drag her off by the hair, but she’s only giving if a 50 percent try. If you agree to give the guy a chance and he is really being nice, then really give him a chance. I was bothered by her constantly putting the brakes on her own actions, and it kept derailing the really nice romance going on.
Can’t wait to see who is up next. I am wondering if it is Dante’s sister, who is another full blood Amoveo (a bear) who is not thrilled about the half breeds.
Received an ARC from netgalley.com, courtesy of the publisher. Thank you.
Sara Humphreys Booksigning 11/2012
Favorite Scene:
As they piled the groceries into the backseat, he looked across the way and watched Layla. The wind blew her curls off her face, and he noticed how young she looked.
Her skin was free of lines. Based on her complexion, he doubted that she spent much time in the sun. He imagined she’d burn easily. She was a natural beauty and didn’t wear a speck of makeup. She didn’t need it. Thick, dark red lashes framed those huge green eyes in a strikingly beautiful way.
Layla shoved the last package into place and leveled her gaze to William. He held it. She pushed her windblown hair back self-consciously. “What are you looking at?” she asked with a short laugh.
“You, I’m looking at you, Layla.” She stilled as his penetrating stare wandered slowly over ever visible inch of her. William concentrated on keeping his eyes from shifting; he didn’t want to do anything to spook her or send that defensive wall back up. He took his time, committing every freckle to memory. Finally, after several minutes, his dark eyes locked with hers once again. “You are exquisite,” he said softly.
Was it possible to have an orgasm simply by having a man look at you? No. Not just look. Devour. He was devouring her with his eyes, and it was, without a doubt, the biggest turn on of her life. His fierce gaze locked onto hers with a piercing intensity that impacted every inch of her being.
For most of her life she’d worked hard at being invisible, and flying under the radar. She loved being behind the camera and taking pictures of the beautiful and unusual, but she never wanted to be either. Layla avoided male attention like the plague, so as a result, her high school boyfriend and a couple of lovers over the years were the sum total of her adventures with men.
However, when William looked at her, it turned her on more than anyone ever had. No one had ever looked at her so intimately. It was as if he stripped her bare, saw straight to her very soul, and cut through all of her bullshit, which unnerved and fascinated her.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she held his powerful stare and nibbled on her lower lip. Those dark brown, almost black eyes, looked back at her unwaveringly. His skin was fair, not as fair as hers, but more people weren’t. Long strands of his unusual whitish-blond and brown hair blew free from the confines of his ponytail and danced around that insanely handsome face.
He didn’t move, didn’t flinch or try to brush them back, but kept his attention fully focused on her. His massive frame looked poised and ready to pounce on her at any moment. She was grateful that there was a Jeep between them, because if he’d been within reach, she probably would’ve tangled her fingers in that long hair.
Untouched by Sara Humphreys
We are giving away a signed copy of Untouched. Just leave a comment below to be entered into our drawing. Drawing ends Friday, April 13th.
18 years or older. US or Canada residents only.
ORDER A COPY: Untouched (The Amoveo Legend)
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publishing Date: April 3, 2012
Paperback: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
The Amoveo are shape-shifting animal clans who live secretly among humans and must find their pre-destined soul mate while avoiding the enemy that seeks to destroy them all.
Beautiful plus-size model Kerry Smithson appears to have it all, but inside she harbors a crippling secret and avoids all physical contact. Until she encounters gorgeous Dante Coltari, an Amoveo shifter. In her, he believes he has finally found his life mate. But how does he convince her…and keep her safe?
In the world created by Sara Humphreys, shapeshifters live quietly among us. They are the Amoveo and there are ten clans, including lions, tigers, panthers, cheetahs, coyotes, foxes, bears, eagles, gyrfalcon, and the wolf clan.
Kerry Smithson is a beautiful supermodel, but beneath the beauty hides a torturous secret. She is an empath and touching not only brings her great pain, but causes her to get flashes into the dark secrets hidden in the souls of those she touches. She has lived with this curse all her life and it has alienated her from even her adoptive parents, who could not touch her without her screaming in agony. What she doesn’t know yet is that she is also a half-breed; one of her natural parents was Amoveo.
Dante Coltari is the head of Inferno Securities, and he is also Amoveo, a member of the fox clan. He knew from the moment he met Kerry that she was meant to be his life mate. Now he must protect her from threats both from humans and from other Amoveo, neither of which want a further mixing of the bloodlines.
I was very intrigued by this story since I read those few pages at the end of Unleashed. I could only image that life as an empathy is very difficult and lonely one if you cannot touch another person and I was curious how Sara would tackle this in her book.
Once again the characters were well written and the story drew me in right from the beginning. I admit I started doubting the allegiances of some of the major characters (someone had inside information) and I no longer trusted anyone. I wasn’t sure who our antagonist was until the final reveal. She really kept me guessing. This was definitely a very enjoyable story, and I am looking forward to William’s story in the Fall.
Received ARC from netgalley.com courtesy of the publisher.
See my interview with Sara Humphreys for more information on this series.
Favorite Scene:
He knew that he needed to show her she was not alone.
“This is not going to work if you’re going to ogle me like that.” She straightened her back and stuck her nose in the air. “Stop staring. It’s bad manners,” she said briskly, while she flipped through the in-flight magazine.
“I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable,” he said softly.
She made a short scoffing sound. “Listen.” She shifted her body so they were now face-to-face. Her dark chocolate eyes narrowed with gritty determination. “I get stared at all day long by total strangers. The last thing I need is my bodyguard, or whatever you are, to be undressing me with your eyes. So why don’t you do us both a favor and keep your big eyes to yourself. Okay?” She smiled tightly and crossed her arms under her breast, which only served to accentuate her spectacular cleavage.
“I wasn’t undressing you with my eyes or anything else for that matter.” He leaned in closer with only the armrest between them. Her eyes widened, and her warm breath puffed across his cheek. Dante lowered his voice so only she would hear him. “Believe me, princess,” he said with a smile. “When I undress you, I’ll do it the old-fashioned way, with my hands.” He winked.
Kerry’s visibly shocked face reddened at his suggestion. “Just who the hell do you think you are?”
A long lock of ebony hair fell across her forehead, and Dante knew it was now or never. Before she could stop him he reached up, gently swept the hair from her face, and tucked it behind her ear. The pads of his fingers softly grazed the alabaster skin at her temple and skimmed along the top of her perfectly formed ears. The skin-to-skin contact may have been brief, but Dante knew the impact would have much longer lasting ramifications.
He sat back in his seat slowly and kept his gaze locked on her startled face. Kerry’s body had gone completely still, but he sensed her heart beating wildly beneath the surface. Her confused eyes searched his for answers, and all he wanted to do was touch her again, gather her in his arms, and tell her it was going to be okay. His heart ached as ripples of confusion flowed from her body, and one large tear rolled down her face.
“You tell me, princess,” he whispered. “Who am I?”
Unleashed by Sara Humphreys
ORDER A COPY: Unleashed (Amoveo Legacy)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release date: October 1, 2011
Paperback: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
What if you suddenly discovered your own powers were beyond anything you’d ever imagined…
Samantha Logan’s childhood home had always been a haven, but everything changed while she was away. She has a gorgeous new neighbor, Malcolm, who introduces her to the amazing world of the dream-walking, shapeshifting Amoveo clans…but what leaves her reeling with disbelief is when he tells her she’s one of them…
And shock turns to terror as Samantha falls prey to the deadly enemy determined to destroy the Amoveo, and the only chance she has to come into her true powers is to trust in Malcolm to show her the way…
In the world created by Sara Humphreys, shapeshifters live quietly among us. They are the Amoveo and there are ten clans, including lions, tigers, coyotes, foxes, bears, eagles, gyrfalcon, but the wolf clan is all but extinct.
What Samantha Logan doesn’t know yet is that she is a half-breed. Her father was the last of the wolf clan and her mother was a human with psychic gifts. Her dreams have been leading her back home to her family’s Rhode Island beach house.
Malcolm Drew has been waiting for Samantha to come home. His dreams have been leading him to her. She is his soul mate, and his energies will continue to deplete until they are finally mated. First he must explain to her about who she is and about the dangerous humans who call themselves the Caedo who want to kill the Amoveo. Just like they killed Sam’s parents.
Malcolm isn’t the only one watching Sam. The Amoveo counsel are waiting to see if Sam can find her inner wolf. It would mean a new beginning for their dwindling numbers if they can find mates among gifted humans. The Caedo want to make sure that the beasts haven’t tainted human blood.
The majority of this book is focused on Malcolm’s attempt to explain to Sam her Amoveo heritage and more importantly her status as his mate. There as a strong bond between them that kept growing as the story progresses. Throughout the story there is danger lurking in the background in the form of the Caedo stalker and his mysterious partner that needs to be unmasked.
This was an enjoyable and well written story, and the few pages included at the end for her next book Untouched left me wanting more. I will definitely be putting Untouched on my TBR list so I can pick up a copy when it comes out in April 2012.
CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW WITH SARA HUMPHREYS .
Favorite Scene:
“I want you to trust me, Samantha,” he said in a low voice laced with desperation and desire.
He brought her delicate hand to his mouth and gently brushed his lips back and forth across her knuckles. He slowly ran his other hand up the graceful cure of her back and began to message the soft skin at the nap of her lovely neck. Her breathing quickened, and with every breath, her breasts pressed tantalizingly against his chest.
“Please, give me a chance to win your trust,” he whispered against her trembling hand.
He brushed small kisses along her palm. Malcolm was on fire. Desire coiled inside of him, and the passion between them grew beyond control. He knew that her head told her to run, but every other fiber of her being begged for his touch. He sensed her resolve slipping away, inch by inch. Her energy wave shifted. The rapid drumming of fear had been replaced by heated pulses of desire.
He knew what he was doing was dangerous. He had secrets from her that she may never truly believe. Yet despite all the doubts, she was still drawn to him beyond all reason. Her eyes searched his for the answers. He wanted to tell her, but the right words escaped him.
“Malcolm.” His name came out in a desperate rush through her soft quivering mouth.
He leaned in and this time kissed her gently, slowly seducing her plump lips with his. He took her face delicately in his hands, as though she might break. She opened to him willingly and swept her tongue along his. The slow burn of desire crackled between them. She deepened the kiss and wrapped her warm arms around him. His large frame dwarfed her as she fit easily in his embrace. It was as though they’d been made for one another. His yearning for her clawed at him from the inside out; he needed to touch her everywhere.
He reached out to her mind with his and gently touched the most intimate part of her.
Trust me.
It was as if a bucket of cold water had been tossed over her. Sam’s eyes flew open, and she struggled to extricate herself from his embrace. She pushed her small hands against the hard planes of his chest and held him there at arm’s-length for a moment. He kept his eyes locked with hers. Her energy waves crashed into him violently. Her shoulders shuddered beneath his hands, and her breath came quickly. She trembled. Tears filled her eyes, unable to register what she just heard.
He held his craving in check and kept his eyes from shifting. He allowed her time to process what had just happened. Looking into her frightened eyes, he reached out and again whispered gently along the edges of her mind. Trust me.
Sam’s eyes widened further. She shook her head and backed away from him in disbelief. Blindly, she ran into the house, leaving Malcolm alone. One glimmer of hope remained.
He’d been looking into the ice blue eyes of a wolf.
