Katie Regnery
Ginger’s Heart
A Modern Fairytale
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Blurb:
In this modern retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood," the wolf and the woodsman are cousins, and Ginger is the little girl who claims both of their hearts.
In this modern retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood," the wolf and the woodsman are cousins, and Ginger is the little girl who claims both of their hearts.
Cain.
Woodman.
Ginger.
When three children grow up together in the rolling hills of Kentucky horse country,
One becomes a predator
One becomes a protector
And one becomes prey.
Ginger McHuid has been in love with the "Dub Twins" – Cain Wolfram and Josiah Woodman – for as long as she can remember. And for as long as the cousins can remember, they've each loved Ginger in their own all-consuming ways.
One will win her
One will be cast away
While one follows her heart.
Ginger's Heart
This is a standalone novel inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to profanity and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
(The next standalone “A Modern Fairytale” novel, ‘Don't Speak,’ inspired by ‘The Little Mermaid,’ will be released in June 2017.)
*****
Ginger's Heart is part of the “A Modern Fairytale” collection, which will include four standalone, unrelated novels:
"The Vixen and the Vet" (Beauty & the Beast) - available now
"Never Let You Go" (Hansel & Gretel) - available now
"Ginger's Heart" (Little Red Riding Hood) - available March 22, 2016
"Don't Speak" (The Little Mermaid) - available June 16, 2017
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Excerpt
Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Ginger’s Heart, a modern fairytale, by Katy Regnery. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Just about everyone called Woodman "Woodman" except Gran and sometimes Cain. Gran insisted on calling him by his Christian name. Cain used “Josiah” and “Woodman” interchangeably with no real rhyme or reason that Ginger could follow.
“Rumor is you’re gonna marry Josiah someday,” said Gran, her sixty-something blue eyes merry. “But what do you say?”
Ginger giggled self-consciously, thinking about her grandmother’s question, something clenching in her twelve-year-old heart as she thought about marrying sensible Woodman and abandoning her wild feelings for his cousin, Cain.
“I don’t know,” she said, feeling her forehead crease in confusion.
“Or maybe you’re thinkin’ you want to marry…Cain,” said Gran softly.
Cain, with his jet black hair and ice blue eyes, appeared like a vision before her, and Ginger’s heart thumped faster. The way he’d run off to see Mary-Louise Walker this afternoon made her brown eyes spitting green with jealousy. The way he swaggered made her breath catch. Woodman was so predictable, so safe in comparison.
Then again, Woodman hadn’t exactly been predictable this afternoon, had he? He’d surprised her with the gift and even more with his words. His body had been hard and warm when he’d held her, the embrace awakening something new and foreign within her. Something she wasn’t sure she wanted. Something that didn’t feel safe and even scared her a little bit. She pulled her fingers away from the charm bracelet and faced her Gran.
“What do I do if I love them both?”
Her grandmother’s eyes, which had been mostly teasing, flinched, and her mouth tilted down in a sympathetic frown, which made her face seem so serious and sober.
“Choose, dollbaby," said her Gran. "Someday you’ll have to choose.”
The same feeling that she’d had in the barn, when Cain had yelled, “Jump to the one you love the most, darlin’!” flared up within her—a fierce refusal to love one cousin more than the other, to give up one in lieu of the other.
Choose? Her memories skated back through a dozen years on McHuid’s Farm that had always included Cain and Woodman. When they were little children, they played together, swimming buck naked in the creek and racing over the green hills and pastures in impromptu games of tag. As the boys grew up, they started working with Cain’s daddy, Klaus, who was her father’s right-hand man, mucking out the stables and grooming the horses. She’d run down to the barn every day after her lessons to see them, working right along beside them until they were all covered in hay, dust and barn grime.
Though the Wolframs weren’t generally included in the McHuid’s active social life, the Woodmans were, which meant that in addition to seeing Cain and Woodman on the farm, she also saw Woodman at every holiday and birthday party…and they always managed to slip out unseen with some smuggled sweets for Cain.
They were the Three Musketeers of McHuid’s Farm and Ginger knew both boys as well as she knew herself—Cain’s smirking, hot-headed, impulsive ways, and Woodman’s level-headed patience, caution and kindness. Regardless of their differences, she also knew that as the only children of twin sisters, Cain and Woodman were much closer than most cousins. Genetically speaking, they were half-brothers, and while they surely liked to tease and torture each other, they wouldn’t hesitate to jump into front of a train to save the other’s skin either.
In Ginger’s mind, she envisioned them like two halves of the same coin that she held carefully in the palm of her hand.
She loved them both desperately.
Choose?
No, her heart protested. Impossible.
“What if I can’t?” she whispered, leaning back and resting her head on her grandmother’s comforting shoulder.
“Then you’ll lose them both,” said her grandmother softly.
Ginger’s shoulders fell, relaxing in surrender as she closed her eyes against the burn of tears.
“But don’t let’s think about that now, dollbaby,” said Gran, leaning her head upon her granddaughter’s, the constant tremble of her unpredictable body almost soothing to Ginger as they rocked side by side in the twilight. “You’re just twelve today. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”
My Review
There's a reason I have Katy Regnery at the top of my favorite romance authors list, and Ginger's Heart just drove that home again with one hell of a bang. After reading this heartbreaking, emotionally draining yet still unbelievably beautiful story, I'm going to be suffering a book hangover for a very long time. And yes--that's a very, very good thing.
Right from the very start I was thoroughly sucked into this story, totally captivated by Ginger, Woodman and Cain. There were times I was angry-even furious-with each of them, times they each made my heart melt, and times where I was sitting there with tears streaming down my face with the events that happened and everything they went through. The story is told from all three main characters' points of view, which gave fantastic depth and additional meaning to the entire story.
Like I said-heartbreaking and emotionally draining. But oh my goodness, so infinitely amazing. It is so hard for me to write this review without giving anything away, so I can't stress enough how much this book made me feel for the characters--to the point when there is loss, I felt like it was my own loss and not just that of characters in a book.
While the three main characters were the stars of the story, there is also a strong cast of supporting characters. From meddling parents to Ginger's wonderful grandmother, they all add depth and help to drive the emotional rollercoaster of this story.
Of all the characters though, the one who tied up my emotions the most was Woodman. My heart is still tied up in knots just thinking of him even now that I've finished reading, and his is one character that will be sticking with me for a long time to come.
If it's not already plainly obvious, Ginger's Heart was a 5-star top recommendation read for me...but honestly, I don't think any level star chart could go high enough for how this story actually made me feel. This has my highest recommendation for EVERY romance fan, and it's for those 18+ due to adult language and sexual content. You'll also want to have a fresh box of tissues on standby because you are going to need them...a whole bunch of them. There you go again Katy...you made me cry-a whole heck of a lot. And I love you for it.
About the Author:
Katy Regnery, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author, started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract for a winter romance entitled “By Proxy.”
Now a hybrid author who publishes both independently and traditionally, Katy claims authorship of the six-book Heart of Montana series, the six-book English Brothers series, and a Kindle Worlds novella entitled "Four Weddings and a Fiasco: The Wedding Date," in addition to the standalone novels, Playing for Love at Deep Haven and Amazon bestseller, The Vixen and the Vet.
The Vixen and the Vet is included in the charity anthology Hometown Heroes: Hotter Ever After, and Katy's novella "Frosted" will appear in the upcoming (Jan '15) anthology, Snowy Days Steamy Nights. Additionally, Katy's short story, "The Long Way Home" appeared in the first RWA anthology (Feb '15), Premiere.
Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.
More from the “A Modern Fairytale” Collection from Katy Regnery
The Vixen and the Vet
A Modern Fairytale
**WINNER 2015 Kindle Book Awards (Romance)**
**2015 RITA Finalist!**
"With Southern charm and a deeply romantic plot, readers will fall in love with this modern day fairy tale." --RT BOOK REVIEWS
In this modern-retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," Savannah Carmichael, betrayed by an unreliable source, returns to her hometown of Danvers, Virginia with her once-promising journalism career in ruins. Given the opportunity to get back in the game by writing a patriotic human interest piece, Savannah turns her attention to the town hermit, Asher Lee, a wounded veteran who returned to Danvers eight years ago, and hasn't been seen since.
After an IED explosion in Afghanistan took Asher's hand and disfigured half of his face, he's lived a quiet life on the outskirts of Danvers where the locals respect his privacy...that is, until Savannah Carmichael comes calling in a borrowed sundress with a plate of homemade brownies. When Asher agrees to be interviewed by Savannah, he starts feeling things for the beautiful reporter that he hasn't felt in years.
Misfits in small-town Danvers, Savannah and Asher create a bond right away, touching each other's hearts in ways neither thought possible. When a terrible mistake threatens to drive them apart, they'll have to decide if the love they found in one another's arms is strong enough to fight for their hard-won happily ever after.
The Vixen and the Vet is a standalone novel inspired by Beauty & the Beast. Contemporary Romance: Due to profanity, realistically depicted scenes of war and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
All novels in the ~a modern fairytale~ collection are written as fundraisers.
Buy Links:
Never Let You Go
A Modern Fairytale
In this modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel, 13-year-old foster children, Holden and Griselda, escape from their abductor after three years of brutal captivity and try to cross the Shenandoah River on foot. Tragically, one of them makes it to safety but the other is left behind.
Ten years later, Griselda’s boyfriend drags her to a fight club grudge match where her world is turned upside down when she watches Holden step into the ring.
Though the connection between them is fierce, bitter regret, simmering rage and a cache of physical and emotional scars lie between them, just as dangerous as the whitewater of the Shenandoah.
Never Let You Go is a story of fear and hope, defeat and survival, and two people - once profoundly broken – who discover that love is the only thing that can make them whole again.
This is a standalone novel inspired by Hansel & Gretel. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to profanity, scenes of physical abuse and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18. (Note: children are notsexually abused in this book.)
In June and July 2015, 25% of all gross royalties were donated to Operation Underground Railroad (a partner of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation).
Ten years later, Griselda’s boyfriend drags her to a fight club grudge match where her world is turned upside down when she watches Holden step into the ring.
Though the connection between them is fierce, bitter regret, simmering rage and a cache of physical and emotional scars lie between them, just as dangerous as the whitewater of the Shenandoah.
Never Let You Go is a story of fear and hope, defeat and survival, and two people - once profoundly broken – who discover that love is the only thing that can make them whole again.
This is a standalone novel inspired by Hansel & Gretel. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to profanity, scenes of physical abuse and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18. (Note: children are notsexually abused in this book.)
In June and July 2015, 25% of all gross royalties were donated to Operation Underground Railroad (a partner of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation).
Buy Links:
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