Strained
by Marcia Colette
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alexa is keeping a secret from her husband and being half
werewolf isn't it. After all, he’s a full-blood and doesn't care that there are
those who think their union is an abomination. Despite their abnormalities, the
Yorks have settled into suburbia and gone out of their way to look like the
couple next door.
Their rouse may have fooled an entire community, but not the Georgia Pack. The Yorks have encroached on their territory. Most interlopers end up dead, especially when the bounties on their heads invite stalkers, killers, and psychos to collect. Despite the trouble the Yorks have brought with them, the domestic suburbanites have intrigued the pack.
Alexa’s less domestic than she seems. Eight months ago, her bounty hunting club disbanded after several team members lost their lives in an ambush. Since then, the club has reemerged and are expecting Alexa to take her rightful place among the ranks.
Keeping the truth from her husband about her extracurricular activities will strain the Yorks’ marriage and risk everything they’ve worked hard for. But, that’s the price Alexa pays when her deception becomes deadlier than her aim. A deception that also keeps her alive.
Their rouse may have fooled an entire community, but not the Georgia Pack. The Yorks have encroached on their territory. Most interlopers end up dead, especially when the bounties on their heads invite stalkers, killers, and psychos to collect. Despite the trouble the Yorks have brought with them, the domestic suburbanites have intrigued the pack.
Alexa’s less domestic than she seems. Eight months ago, her bounty hunting club disbanded after several team members lost their lives in an ambush. Since then, the club has reemerged and are expecting Alexa to take her rightful place among the ranks.
Keeping the truth from her husband about her extracurricular activities will strain the Yorks’ marriage and risk everything they’ve worked hard for. But, that’s the price Alexa pays when her deception becomes deadlier than her aim. A deception that also keeps her alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
Several shots exploded along the streets.
Pedestrians screamed and ducked out of the way. Glass shattered from stray
bullets.
My heart pounded in my chest. My nerves
frayed to the point that revenge was the only thing on my mind. He needed to
know what it felt like to have someone he held close to his heart nearly
snuffed out before his eyes. How dare someone ruin a perfectly good night to
use us like China plates in a shooting gallery? I tried to push past Matt’s
thick body to get a peek at our enemy. I wanted to memorize their faces in case
we met again. Preferably when I had my crossbow or bowie knife to level the
playing field.
Whoever was in the car was gone. There were
too many witnesses and too many potential witnesses. If they were smart, they’d
ditch the car at the first subway station lot.
“Is everyone okay?” Stephan was the first
on his feet and hitting the speed dial on his cell phone. He hurried back
toward the sidewalk, stretching his neck to get a good look at the car.
“He’s not calling the police is he?” I
finally manage to get out from under my husband who seemed more compact than a
wolf about to pounce on his prey. In fact, Matt remained a little too quiet for
my taste. I met his unyielding gaze. “What is it? What’s…?”
The smell of blood touched my nose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY REVIEW:
Alexa is a human hybrid, a mix between a human and a werewolf. Most of the werewolves view her as an abomination, a weak hybrid that shouldn't be married to full-blood member of their species. But she is far from weak. A lethal bounty hunter, trained to kill, she practically lives a double life, as he husband knows nothing about her extracurricular activities.
After a tragic incident that ended up with many losses on both the bounty hunters' side and that of the rogues they fought, their club gradually disbanded. Eight months after that tragic night, Alexa and her husband, exiled to live without a pack, on their own, are finally taking a chance to live a normal life and even try to make a family.
But the local pack's insistence and getting close with Alexa and Matt, as well as the two bounties that are placed on their heads, have made their lives a bit more complicated! Alexa, after finding out that three of the bounty hunters that belonged to her club have gone missing, is forced to take her lethal nature up all over again!!
Will she be able to keep her secret identity a secret from her husband once more? And, how is Alexa's double life going to affect her relationship with Matt?
A very interesting novel that excited me right from the first few sentences of the prologue! There was action and adventure, as well as a very well-thought plot.
I loved the fact that the existence of the werewolves was kept a secret to all mankind, but a few hunters knew about them! And, I deeply enjoyed the existence of the bounty hunters! It was something very original and very new for me!
The fact that the protagonist was both the hunter and the hunted was very exhilarating. She wasn't only a bounty hunter, belonging in a club of lethal professionals who sought out rogue wolves to kill them, but at the same time she was the victim of a high bounty placed on her head.
Alexa was a strong young woman, that had been though a lot, even from the tender age of five years old. She knew how to hide her strength when she must, though, and pretend she was a weak hybrid. But, when the night fell she would transform into a lethal professional! I deeply admired her for that and her courage through all of this!!
Matt, her husband, was one of my other favorite characters, too. He was a werewolf lawyer, a fact that made him very special for his species. And a very good one at his job, too! He was handsome and intelligent. The perfect mate for the brave heroine of the book!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Alexa is a human hybrid, a mix between a human and a werewolf. Most of the werewolves view her as an abomination, a weak hybrid that shouldn't be married to full-blood member of their species. But she is far from weak. A lethal bounty hunter, trained to kill, she practically lives a double life, as he husband knows nothing about her extracurricular activities.
After a tragic incident that ended up with many losses on both the bounty hunters' side and that of the rogues they fought, their club gradually disbanded. Eight months after that tragic night, Alexa and her husband, exiled to live without a pack, on their own, are finally taking a chance to live a normal life and even try to make a family.
But the local pack's insistence and getting close with Alexa and Matt, as well as the two bounties that are placed on their heads, have made their lives a bit more complicated! Alexa, after finding out that three of the bounty hunters that belonged to her club have gone missing, is forced to take her lethal nature up all over again!!
Will she be able to keep her secret identity a secret from her husband once more? And, how is Alexa's double life going to affect her relationship with Matt?
A very interesting novel that excited me right from the first few sentences of the prologue! There was action and adventure, as well as a very well-thought plot.
I loved the fact that the existence of the werewolves was kept a secret to all mankind, but a few hunters knew about them! And, I deeply enjoyed the existence of the bounty hunters! It was something very original and very new for me!
The fact that the protagonist was both the hunter and the hunted was very exhilarating. She wasn't only a bounty hunter, belonging in a club of lethal professionals who sought out rogue wolves to kill them, but at the same time she was the victim of a high bounty placed on her head.
Alexa was a strong young woman, that had been though a lot, even from the tender age of five years old. She knew how to hide her strength when she must, though, and pretend she was a weak hybrid. But, when the night fell she would transform into a lethal professional! I deeply admired her for that and her courage through all of this!!
Matt, her husband, was one of my other favorite characters, too. He was a werewolf lawyer, a fact that made him very special for his species. And a very good one at his job, too! He was handsome and intelligent. The perfect mate for the brave heroine of the book!
All in all, 4,5 stars for a thrilling adventured that
kept up the excitement from the very first sentence, to the very last!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Author
Marcia Colette didn’t start out reading or writing books. She had earned a
bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before
going on to complete her Masters in Information Technology at American
Intercontinental University in Atlanta, GA.
While
riding the MBTA train back and forth to her job in Boston as a software
consultant, she picked up a copy of John Saul and never looked back. It wasn’t
long after that when she started writing her own stories. Five years later, she
signed a contract with Double Dragon eBooks to publish her first urban fantasy
novel.
Her
next novel was a paranormal romance entitled Unstable Environment and was
picked up by Parker Publishing, LLC. She went on to sell her next urban fantasy
entitled Stripped to Samhain Publishing, LLC. During that time, she also
released Bittersweet (YA), Hazardous Environment (Paranormal Romance), The
Spider Inside Her (Urban Fantasy), and Deadlier by the Dozen (Urban Fantasy)
under her own independent publishing label Dusk Till Dawn Books. She has sold
several short stories and novellas to Mocha Memoirs Press and has continued her
Alexa York series with Purple Sword Publications.
Marcia
also writes science fiction under another pen name.
Still
holding her own as an IT Manager, Marcia is a single mom who lives in South
Carolina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER
CODE
Marcia Colette, will be awarding a $15 Amazon or
Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the
tour, and a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn host.
Additionally, Goddess Fish Productions will be awarding a $5 Amazon GC to a
randomly drawn host.
Thanks for the great chance to get to know a new author....
ReplyDelete