Book Tour for Hero For Hire by Margaret Madigan & Merissa McCain (Review & GIVEAWAY)

Fans of the TV show The Walking Dead will find much to intrigue them about Hero For Hire by Margaret Madigan and Merissa McCain.  Keep reading to get my impressions of this zombie apocalypse story and learn even more by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour.  You'll learn a bit about the authors too along with having the chance to win books and a bookstore GC by filling out the form!

This should be a piece of cake. Since there are two of us, it means only five things about each of us.  I have no idea what you’ll find interesting about us, but here are a few things about me (Margaret):

1. I live in the middle of nowhere in a tiny town of fewer than 1000 people in the northern plains. There’s a grocery store, four bars, three churches, three gas stations, a school, a senior center, a medical clinic, a volunteer fire department, a post office, and a pharmacy in town. That’s it. But we leave our doors unlocked, everyone knows each other (not always a good thing, btw), and the biggest crime since we’ve lived here was a couple of kids breaking into the grocery store. Farming is the biggest business here and the flax, sunflower, and canola fields are beautiful in the summer. It looks like a Christmas postcard in the winter.

2.  I teach college English, but I don’t really like teaching. Ask Merissa. She’s probably sick of listening to me complain about it.

3. I’m afraid of balloons and spiders.

4. My all time favorite book is a series – Stephen King’s Dark Tower series (except for book four, which in my opinion was a novel-length flashback and bored me to death. Sorry, Steve [like he’s really reading this – or cares what I think]).

5. I write mostly romance and science fiction. Currently, I’ve got a space opera (thinkIndiana Jones meets Firefly) pitched to editors, and I’m writing an historical western romance. Merissa and I are working on a fabulous romance series about a team of MMA fighters (trust me, they’re hot – and loads of fun to write). We’re also working on part two of the Tales From Beyond the End series.

Okay, Merissa’s turn. Trust me, she’s much more interesting than I am........

1.  I’m writing this from Vygeboom Dam in South Africa.  I grew up in Africa, went to college and law school in Texas, and now spend my time in both Africa and in the US. Today, I’m in Africa.

2. I adore water, but I can’t swim. I even fail at doggy paddling.  I blame the crocodiles, because growing up the only water big enough to swim in had crocodiles, and there was just no way I wanted to share space with them. So I never learned. But one day, I’m going to take lessons, and then I’m going to learn how to scuba dive. But for now, I just stay out of the water, even though now, we have a crocodile free-pool.

3. I’m a gypsy. (Okay, not technically.) But my friends call me a gypsy because I can’t stay in one place for very long before I’m itching to see somewhere else. I’ve moved  to nine different cities on two continents in the last 10 years. Luckily for me, hubby is a gypsy as well.

4. My wanderlust isn’t confined to places. I am always looking for new, interesting things to learn. Right now I’m learning to fly (hubby is a pilot among other things) am earning an MBA, and am running businesses on two continents and am writing books. Apparently I like to be busy.

5. I have three beautiful kids, age 7, 6, and 5.  I take them everywhere with me, and so they too are gypsies. This year they are learning Afrikaans and Siswati along with learning to read and write. Last year, they were learning Spanish. Next year? Who knows what life will bring?

One day her prince would come…disguised as a zombie-killer.

Having been disgraced and tossed out by her own scientific community, Gwyn is convinced she can develop a cure for a SuperVirus that has turned the Infected into zombies. By pure luck and determination, she has survived on her own for years, but while out scavenging, a clash with the local zombies leaves her potentially infected. Now, running out of time, she needs help and takes a chance on a hero for hire.

Rafe loves the apocalypse. Since the world went to hell, everything’s come up roses for him. Having procured a mansion in the Hollywood hills, adopted a slew of homeless boys and one cantankerous but useful Doc, Mr. Charming is benefiting from the nasty zombie infestation. His job? Killing the bastards, which he considers fun anyway.

Gwyn Snow needs Rafe Charming to help retrieve her research from the Paragon Pharmaceuticals lab, also known as Zombie Central. Believing she can yet save the world, Gwyn makes Rafe question what’s right and what’s worth the fight.

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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

As a fan of The Walking Dead I was immediately drawn to this storyline and after the final page was turned it had indeed lived up to the promise.  The authors maintained a nice balance of romance and action providing many heart-pounding moments along the way in a story that had a satisfying set-up but a rather abrupt ending.  In-between readers are introduced to strong-willed adults and children having to grow up too soon.

Gwyn has been on her own for many months trying to find a cure for the virus her company created, but out of necessity she must leave her hide-out for food which sets off a chain of events that lands her at the gate to Mr. Charming's home and heart.  Being on her own has made her social skills rusty so she doesn't make a good first impression, plus there's a chance she might be infected after her run-in with zombies while shopping for supplies.  She's desperate for help in getting her journals to aid in creating an antidote and is willing to give just about anything to secure his assistance.  She's unaccustomed to being around people, especially those who resemble a family, which is what she discovers in her temporary home.  As she gets closer to the group of orphaned boys, a curmudgeonly old man, and a suave and sexy hero she realizes she'll give her very life to keep them safe....which just might happen after her vindictive boss uses hostages to ensure her assistance in finding a cure.  Before meeting Rafe Charming, Gwyn was unsure of her abilities to fight, she acted like a timid mouse easy to take advantage of.  Being with him she gained strength and became more self-assured to where she could laugh in the face of death.  She always had book smarts but now she has street smarts, which is a necessity in this new and dangerous world.

Rafe Charming was a stuntman who now hires himself out to help others.  He's created a safe haven amongst the mansions in a gated community taking care of old ladies and orphans.  He teaches every one of them how to stay safe no matter how young or old they are as he's extremely protective of those he claims as family.  He's a sexy and suave man who wears his heart on his sleeve.  He's immediately drawn to Gwyn and will do anything to help her and keep her safe.  Along the way he realizes he's in love with her and undertakes a suicide mission to rescue her from a vindictive woman who appears to control an army of zombies.

The romance here is sweet and super sexy but there's a sense of desperation to their time together.  Considering that there's danger everywhere it's understandable that they quickly cling to one another for even one moment of happiness and by the end of the story there's a promise of happiness still to come.  The orphans Rafe finds brought a tear to my eye as they waffled between the bravery of a man but there was still flashes of a boy's fear when they faced the zombies.  They were each unique and I look forward to their growing up.  The zombies were equally intriguing as there were differing degrees of abilities for each creature.  Not all were the stereotypical mindlessly lumbering creatures as some showed intelligence which added to the story's overall suspense.  Each scene involving them was heart-pounding in its vividness and kept me on the edge of my seat.  While the ending was a bit abrupt it was still satisfying and I greatly hope for more as this duo has created a compelling storyline that leaves lots of room for more.

My rating for this is an A-

*I received this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

My name is Merissa McCain. I grew up in the African bush, without T.V, and often without electricity. I now live in the deep South, with my very own superhero, and my three minons. Together, we attempt to take over the world.

When not otherwise occupied with planning world domination, I love to read, write, drink strong coffee and eat dark chocolate--not necessarily in that order and sometimes all at once.  I'm a voracious reader, and will devour any type of good fiction I can get my hands on, but I'm particularly partial to happy endings.

I write with a partner (Margaret Madigan) and on my own. We love to hear from our readers, so please shoot us an email at Merissa.mccain@gmail.com or mmadiganauthor@gmail.com.

Hi. I'm Margaret Madigan. Or M.K.D. Bail, depending on what literary genre we're talking about.

I live in the vast Northern Plains where it’s quiet and mostly empty, and very conducive to letting my imagination run wild. As a result, I have difficulty focusing on just one genre of storytelling. Of course, I love romance, so I write a lot of that, but I also write science fiction, a bit of horror, and dabble in other genres just for the fun of it.
When I’m not writing you’ll find me in a college classroom teaching English, or working as a literary agent for an amazing agency…and of course enjoying time with my family.

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