Everlasting Blog Tour, Giveaway & Review of Eternity (Descendants of Ra #1).

Another Great review of Eternity

Reading Eternity was like riding a roller coaster blindfolded! It was an adrenaline-packed story that claimed my attention from start to finish. The story is full of exciting twists and turns leading me up an angsty, steep incline before accelerating and plummeting into a series of back-to-back loops that definitely put my mind through its paces!Roman Nicolis is a gorgeous, dark-haired, blue-eyed immortal who has been cursed to roam the earth from one century to the next without ever being able to have the only woman he will ever love. His love is reincarnated over a period of several lifetimes; sometimes, he manages to find her during one of her lives, but even if he does, he can never have her. He has never been able to claim her as his soul mate. Two thousand years of torment have drained his hopes of them ever reuniting. I did take a moment to consider whether I really wanted to put myself through the emotional turmoil of reading about two people who love each other but are always fated to be apart. Why should I put myself through that?

Is there even such a thing as a soul mate? Will the author be able to show me the depth of the love that exists between Roman and Stella so that I can feel the magnetic draw they have toward each other?  I had my doubts when I started the book, but by the end, Stephens makes it work for me. I appreciated her exploration into the concept and definition of  a soul mate because it made me question my own beliefs as well.

Eternity is not a mindless read. I had to pay attention to the numerous characters who are introduced and try to figure out why they are important to the story and how they connect to a complex plot that is slowly unfolding around Roman and his Brothers’ security firm who have been hired to protect Stella from a serial killer who has already tried to kill her once. Both Roman and Stella have secrets that need to shared,  and I couldn’t wait to find out exactly what Roman did to cause him to lose everyone he loved.  What will it take to break the curse?  Or does Roman even want to try anymore?  He doesn’t seem to want to face more rejection and can’t handle losing the only woman he will ever love again. Furthermore, even though Stella feels a connection to Roman, she doesn’t understand why, and her initial conclusion doesn’t have anything to do with him being her one true love.  To compound the situation, Stella has had a rough past that has left her with unresolved abandonment and intimacy issues. She doesn’t like to rely on anyone, especially Roman, and the effort to get her to trust him seems like a losing battle at times.

Overall, Roman and Stella are well-developed protagonists, and they aren’t perfect. Just when I think Stella might give Roman a chance, he does something that no woman would appreciate, and his thoughtless actions are hurtful.  Stella also frustrated me at times.  Her reactions to Roman ranged from hot to cold with little warmth in between, and her attitude and behavior were childish in some scenes where she tries to push him away. However, by the end I had a lot more respect for her. The story is told from numerous characters’ POVs and although doing so adds depth to the story, in some places the shifts between scenes and POVs are abrupt and unexpected.

The plot is filled with mystery, treachery, sensual romance, and an Egyptian underworld of the dead with rulers who give the concept of dysfunctional family a whole new meaning. I enjoyed this first book even though I have so many, many questions that are still unanswered. The drama is far from over!  I look forward to reading Everlasting next, and I anticipate the reading experience to be just as thrilling as with this first book.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

ANOTHER SEXY SATURDAY POST.

Here’s another sexy excerpt of Everlasting.

A little set up first. Reign and Alexis are at her parent’s anniversary party. She is not quite thrilled that Reign is there, afraid he may embarrass her. Yes, she’s a little shallow, but there’s a reason why. You have to read Everlasting to find out. 

A man filled the doorway. Conversation abruptly ended as both men and women paused to appreciate the predator in their midst. He studied the room until his gaze leveled on her. Desire flared in his blue eyes, turning his hard impersonal stare into a smoldering caress that left her charred. Everyone and everything faded, leaving only him.

He bent and whispered something to Mrs. Kelly. Her neighbor smiled and went in the opposite direction while he approached Alexis. Crowds parted. Men pulled their women closer while women gawked, whispered to the girlfriends, and tried to intercept him. He paid them no attention. His gaze never wavered as he threaded his way to Alexis.

He stalked her, moving smoothly between the tables and the dance floor until he stopped inches away. The tuxedo didn’t hide the perfection of his body. Clean shaven, his chiseled face held no softness except for his newly cropped, wavy hair curling around his ears and nape, tempting her. Different clothes, different hair, same eyes. They were still deep, ocean blue. Those orbs drained her will and left her remembering their only night together.

“Apologies for my delay. Mrs. Kelly needed my help.”  He held out his hand to her and without a thought, she took it and he pulled her closer. “You are the most stunning woman I have ever seen. You steal my breath, Amori. If I knew you shielded this,” his gaze swept her from head to toe “beneath that cloak, I would have held you captive in your bedroom.”

“Y-you cut your hair,” she stuttered and couldn’t resist reaching up and threading her fingers through the waves. “And your beard. I liked your beard,” she breathed. Especially when he brushed his chin across her nipples right before taking them into his mouth.

“For you, Amori, I will grow it back.”  His lips were inches from her. All she had to do was lean in to taste him.

“And your clothes? What happened to your jeans and boots?”  She fingered the lapel. Dangerously delicious in regular clothes, in a tux, Reign was a thousand sins to anyone with an ounce of estrogen.

“Mrs. Kelly. She showed me a picture something called a magazine, Vogue.”

The word sounded strange on his tongue and made a laugh bubble in her chest.

“That woman was a warrior in another life.” A smile teased the corner of his mouth. She leaned closer to his hovering lips.

“You did this for me?” She couldn’t hide the hope in her voice.

Reign nodded. “I would do anything for you.”

A tingling awareness spread from her chest to her limbs and shot up to her brain, leaving her lightheaded and swaying toward him. His hand rested on her waist and drew her into the shelter of his body. She didn’t resist the craving need to feel his heat, share it, and share hers. She didn’t suffocate beneath the glare of his smoldering blue eyes. She breathed, she lived, she— Oh . . . shit! She couldn’t bring herself to even think the word.

Goodreads Giveaway of Everlasting from September 1st to September 30th.

I’m giving away 5 paperback copies of Everlasting on Goodreads.

Got to be in it, to win it.

Kill the beast.

Save your brother.

Win your freedom.

No problem.

Falling in love with the cop trying arrest you?

Problem.

To save his twin from death, Reign Nicolis will have to bargain with Goddess of the Dead, and once more become what he despises, El Mortem, The Scourge, a killer trained to show mercy to none. But he is haunted by those who have fallen beneath his blade. Their ghostly shapes dog his footsteps, relentless in their torture to make him suffer for what he was put on this earth to do two thousand years ago. Saving his twin ensures Reign’s enslavement to the Goddess. She may own his body, but never his heart.   

Detective Alexis Lever’s career is in shambles. Her only chance at redemption is to discover what happened to the body of Daniel Nicolis. To do that she’ll have to thwart two men: Reign Nicolis and Roman Nicolis. Both belong in jail. But one has stolen her heart.