Words of Wisdom....from The Scarf Princess: Book Tour for Emerald Fire by Valerie Twombly (Review & GIVEAWAY)

Fans of the paranormal rejoice as I introduce you to the steamy Emerald Fire by Valerie Twombly. Keep reading to learn five fun facts about this novella from the author herself as well as getting a tantalizing taste of it. Get my impressions of this book and then fill out the form for the chance to win eBooks, swag, and a $10 Amazon GC too!

Thanks for having me today. I thought it might be fun to reveal five fun facts about the story. So here goes.
1.A bottle of chocolate syrup makes a special appearance.
2.Demons need sex to refuel or they become mortal.
3.My favorite line from Brock: “Darlin’, I was thinking of laying you out on top of this bar and having you for dessert.”
4.My favorite line from Sarah: “Tell me what? What an ass you are? I think I know firsthand.”
5.While a demon mates for eternity, they can often be given more than one potential mate.
With the sandy beaches of Emerald Isle, NC as our back drop. Our hero, Brock shows up to finally put to rest his past, but can he? Our heroine, Sarah has waited an eternity to find her mate, but she never expected it to be the sexy, yet heartbroken demon next door.
Enter the dark and mysterious Elias who just so happens to be Sarah’s mate as well. What is a girl to do when she must chose between the two? Get ready to steam up your ereader and find out!

Ever since Brock lost his mate and son in a tragic murder, he’s been unable to move on. When urged to go back home and bury his past, he never expected to meet Sarah. The demon is strong, sexy, and kind-hearted. Everything a man could want in a woman.

Sarah has longed to discover the mate who completes her and finds herself wondering about the demon who left the house next door shrouded in magic. After he appears in her camera lens, it’s an instant attraction and doesn’t take long to realize he belongs to her.
When Elias steps into the picture, Sarah must fight the urges he stirs inside her. She can’t believe fate has given her two mates. Now she is faced with a decision. Choose the one who promises nights of passion and undying love, or the other who can only offer her his broken heart.

EXCERPT:

Sarah stood outside the house and watched while Brock unraveled the magic woven around it. The demon fidgeted and paced, and on more than one occasion, she worried he would run from her. She hoped, once inside, he would be able to find peace. Something in her gut told her his jitters were not all due to the opening of old wounds. She realized she actually made him nervous. When she’d caught him admiring her assets, she’d been anything but angry. His roving eyes had sent moisture between her thighs and a longing that nearly had her shoving him to the floor to sate her desire. Hot, inviting, he made her mouth water. She wondered if he tasted anything like the spicy cinnamon scent she inhaled every time she got near him and decided she needed to find out. Would it be in poor taste to seduce him when he was at his weakest? For some reason, she didn’t care, and that was really out of character for her.
“Sarah?”
She looked up and met his dark, brown eyes, noting a twinkle of mischief in them.
“Find something you like?” he chuckled.
Shit. She’d been caught staring at his ass. Well, it wasn’t her fault he filled out a pair of jeans like nobody’s business. Not to mention he was standing two steps up from her which put the muscular perfection right at eye level. She curled her lips upward. “As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, I did.” There, let him chew on that! She hoped he’d take it as a hint of her interest.
He tipped back his head in laughter. “Well, I guess I deserve that after I gawked at you.”
He pushed the door open, his features immediately schooled. Her heart ached for him and longed to see the sexy smile again. Her new goal was to get him through this and help him move on. She wanted to get to know the real Brock. The one who wasn’t in pain. “I’ll go first just to make sure it’s safe.” He slipped past the threshold and disappeared. Sarah remained on the first step, waiting for him to give her the all clear. Minutes later, he stuck his head out, his face ashen. “You can come in.”
She made her way up the remaining steps and through the doorway, not sure what she would find inside and half expecting her senses to be assaulted. She took in a deep breath and found the air to be crisp and clean. She must have had a puzzled look on her face.
“The spell kept everything out so there’s no mildew or mold,” he stated matter of fact.
She glanced around the spacious kitchen and felt as if she’d stepped back in time. The white porcelain refrigerator and gas range with its side storage compartment were state of the art for the period when the house had been previously occupied. Everything glistened as if freshly cleaned, waiting for the museum patrons to walk through the time capsule. She noticed Brock no longer stood next to her so she moved across the linoleum floor to the beige carpeted living room. She found him standing in the center, staring down at the floor.
“Brock?” She walked up and stood next to him. He didn’t respond and almost seemed to be mesmerized except that his hands balled into fists then released, only to repeat the process. Her heart fractured. Clearly, this was where he had found his mate. She reached out to touch him but hesitated unsure how he would respond. “Brock, maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I think we should leave.”
He lifted his head and glanced around the room. “No. I need to face my ghosts. I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be this difficult.” He ran his fingers through his short, blond hair. “Hell, I’m not really sure what I was expecting.”
It was heartbreaking to see him so vulnerable. This time, she didn’t stop herself from placing a hand on his arm.
“Is this where…?” She couldn’t finish the question without her voice giving away her emotions.

BUY LINKS: Amazon | Resplendence | ARe

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

With its glimpse into an exotic and erotic paranormal world readers will find themselves drawn to this tale of loss and fear of the future between a man wracked with guilt and the woman who wants to heal him. Throw in some super hot encounters and an out of the blue threat and you get a pulse pounding read that keeps you guessing until the end.

The sensual and emotionally bruised Brock has been crippled by guilt after finding his wife and baby dead at the hands of zealots. For years he's closed himself off from happiness and from his powers by denying his sex drive. It's left him a shell of a man who returns home to try to deal with his past. Life throws him for a loop though once he meets a remarkably understanding woman who means more to him than meets the eye. He'll need all the help he can get in putting his wife's memory to rest as well as saving the woman who irrevocably changes his plans for the future. Brock's pain is palpable as he feels like a failure for not being able to protect his family. He doesn't want to experience that kind of pain ever again and fights the deepening connection burgeoning between him and fellow demon Sarah. With the prospect of losing her permanently it's a race against time to keep history from repeating itself.

Sarah is an extremely kind hearted woman who is intrigued by the demon next door. She knows he's emotionally damaged and at first just wants to be his friend, but there's an instantaneous attraction that neither can ignore. She sees her future when she looks at him but he fights those feelings in wanting to protect her. She wants a Mate and believes him to be the one but it's a rocky journey when another sexy demon enters the picture and leaves her with the biggest decision of her life. Sarah is strong-willed and supportive. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it but Brock leaves her full of doubt in a conclusion that leaves you on the edge of your seat until the final page is turned.

These two demons are compelling with a connection that crackles with sexual tension. Their relationship progresses quickly due to their demonic lineages which is reflected in some very erotic interludes. The introduction of Prince Elias, who's super sexy with a powerful personality, complicates Sarah's relationship with Brock and ultimately puts her in harm's way. The introduction of the zealots came out of the blue though and felt a bit manipulative in getting Brock to make a decision about Sarah. Hopefully this issue, just touched on here, will be addressed more in the future as well as finding Prince Elias a Mate of his own as I found myself drawn to him. The mythos surrounding the demons is equally compelling as is the idea of sex increasing their paranormal abilities and this too I hope to see expanded. Ultimately this is a fun appetizer with a premise that's just getting interesting and here's to more demonic intrigue in the future!

My rating for this is a B.

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

AUTHOR INFO:

As a child, Valerie would often get into trouble for peeking at her mother’s favorite TV show, Dark Shadows. She can still hear her mother saying “It will give you nightmares.” She was right of course, but that did not stop Valerie from watching. As an adult, her love of the fanged creatures never waned. She would watch any vampire movie she could find.

Being a true romantic, Valerie was thrilled when she discovered the genre of paranormal romance. Her first read was one of Lara Adrian’s, Midnight Breed Series and from there she was hooked.
Today, Valerie has decided to take her darker, sensual side and put it to paper. When she is not busy creating a world full of steamy, hot men and strong, seductive women, she juggles her time between a full-time job, hubby and her two German shepherd dogs, in Northern IL.
Valerie is a member of Romance Writers of America and Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Romance Writers.