Release Day Blitz-Review, Excerpt and Giveaway: Windburn (Nightwing #2) by Juliette Cross

 Windburn (Nightwing Series, Book Two)

Author: Juliette Cross

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance/New Adult

Publisher: Kensington Publishing/Lyrical Press

Date of Publication: February 3, 2015

Number of pages: 91 - Word Count: 35K

Cover Artist: Renee Rocco

Book Description:

In the Gladium Province, the boundaries between humans and Morgons, the dragon-hybrid race, continue to blur as a new generation surrenders to long-forbidden temptation…

Sorcha Linden does whatever she wants whenever she wants, and no one can stop her. Least of all a man. After all, they’re good for only one thing—warming her bed. But then she meets Lorian, brother of Lucius Nightwing. Seductive and iron-willed, Lorian is determined to melt her emotional defenses—and warm her rebellious heart.

The beast within Lorian longs to cage Sorcha and mark her as his own. Forever. Yet the man within also longs to protect her. When a stalker starts leaving Sorcha suggestive gifts with cryptic messages bearing an ancient blood cult symbol, Lorian’s dragon side takes over. With her life at stake, Sorcha can no longer deny the love they share. But when evil tracks her into the night, will she be too late to claim it?

Available at   Amazon    BN   Kobo   Kensington

Excerpt: 

Throughout our discussion, Lorian hadn’t said a word. He tapped his forefinger on the glass-top table, an agitated movement. There seemed to be a consensus of agreement, whether he liked it or not. Finally, he stood and spoke, but not about the name.

“Ground-breaking for the site is tomorrow at ten in the morning. I expect you all there as news teams will be covering it. I expect everyone on time.” A malicious glare at me. “Dismissed.”

Willow and Belka gave each other a questioning look, obviously wondering how our first meeting lasted all of ten minutes. Like soldiers, we fell out toward the door. Fast.

“Ms. Linden. I’d like a word with you.” Hard, grating words.

I swiveled, catching Fallon’s sympathetic smile as he passed. Marching back, I stood in front of Lorian. He said not a word, hard gaze meeting mine, towering above me. Knowing he wanted privacy, Willow closed the door behind her.

I waited, back straight, chin set at a defiant angle. I only came to the top of his chest, but it didn’t faze me in the least. I imagined what it would be like to be covered by all of that hard muscle. His biceps and forearms flexed from tension. Rather than frighten, I longed to trail my fingers up them to see if he would relax under my touch.

“Ms. Linden, you came highly recommended, but don’t think because your best friend is married to my brother I will be lenient with you. I expect my employees to be on time, every time. Not one minute late. Not two seconds late. Am I clear?”

I bristled. “Crystal. Am I dismissed, Mr. Nightwing?”

Sharp eyes narrowed.

Oh, yes. He caught the slight dip, the edge of sarcasm and defiance leaking into my voice. Big boy didn’t like that. A wonderful shiver rippled down my body.

“And another thing.”

“Yes?”

“Be sure you take a shower before you show up for work.”

“What?”

“I can smell a man on you.” He leaned forward, fury lining his face in hard edges. “And I can smell everything you did with him last night.” Steely, steely words. Oh, he was so pissed.

I’d forgotten about ultrasensitive Morgon senses. Oops. I opened my mouth to make a snarky remark, but what could I say? He was right. And though it was none of his business, I still didn’t want Lorian knowing I’d had sex last night. Oh, hell. Nor did I want the rest of the damn team knowing. No wonder the men were looking at me as if they knew a secret. I’d just broadcasted to the lot of them my extracurricular activities. Heat flared in my chest as embarrassment swept through me, a sensation I rarely experienced. My attempt to transform going-out Sorcha into professional Sorcha this morning did no good, because they still knew I’d recently stumbled from another man’s bed. A flush of heat crawled up my neck.

“My private life isn’t any of your damn business, but I’ll be more sensitive to your animal senses in the future.”

“My animal—?” he stammered. His eyes narrowed, jaw clamping shut.

“Why don’t you just stop sniffing around me?” He didn’t retreat when I edged into his personal space.

“Trust me. If I could toss you out the door, I would.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

I tilted my chin higher, a clear challenge to Lorian. I tucked a loose curl behind my ear. His intense gaze followed my hand, lingering on my cheek before landing on my lips. I moistened them. Lorian’s whole body jerked as if he’d been slapped. Wild eyes captured mine.

“Be at the building site at ten sharp. Don’t be late or you’ll regret it.”

I leaned over to grab my portfolio and bag, my breasts nearly brushing his arm, but he moved just in time.

I whispered my response. “I’m shaking all over, Mr. Nightwing. Something makes me want to be late so I can see what kind of punishment you’d have in mind.” I shocked him into silence, then gave him my best bedroom smile. “But I’ll be a good girl.” I swished toward the door, feeling his eyes following every sway of my hips. “For now.”

My Review:

When I read the first book of this series, Soulfire, it left me intrigued with the world the author had created and wanting more stories in this setting. I was also enamored with the characters, and was glad to see that Sorcha has her own story here in Windburn.

Sorcha’s character is fantastic-so strong and self-assured, she knows what she wants and goes after it (and him). And then you have Lorian Nightwing (brother to Lucius from Soulfire)…overwhelmingly alpha male, especially when his dragon comes to the forefront…and every bit as protective, sexy and strong as you’d expect-and more.

As the suspense builds with each “gift” Sorcha discovers being left for her, things heat up in the story as well as between her and Lorian. With the two of them being such strong-willed, alpha characters that leads to a lot of passion, and not just physical either. There’s a raw sensuality between them that continues to build throughout the story that leads to its own wild culmination (you’ll have to read it to find out!).

There’s a slew of supporting characters (several that I’d love to see more stories for), and they all help contribute and round out the story quite well. The bad guy? You’re probably not going to expect it. And once that character is revealed, the action really cranks up-keeping you on the edge of your seat the rest of the way.

4.5 scorching stars, and I can’t wait to read Paxon’s story next! 

About the Author: 

Juliette calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance--brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.

Website - Amazon Author Page - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest - Goodreads - Newsletter

Tour giveaway 

3 ebooks of Windburn

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My 1st inspiration board attempt; Week 1 so far

I'm not the creative type.  I'm usually pretty bad at coming up with interesting ideas and I'm certainly not the crafty lady.  The craftiest I've gotten is with my cheering sign, just using markers, sparkle glue and extra sparkles with some letter stencils:

Me and my sparkly cheer sign before the 2011 Princess Half Marathon

So after putting up my last post (from guest post author Michelle Pino) about creating an inspiration board to meet your health goals, I was a little stumped on how to begin.  I knew the central image would be a Mickey medal as that is my goal-to finish the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon in January...which I'm going to achieve by losing weight, getting fit and training properly.

I've been down this road before-back in late 2008 I got really serious and got back on the Sparkpeople website that I had joined about a year prior (and just never really used) and really focused on losing weight.  Over the next year and few months between diet, exercise and then training for my first half marathon-the 2010 Disney Half Marathon-I wound up losing 45 pounds.  After that first race and several follow-up half marathons, I started to slack off a bit.  And then a bit more...and wound up almost all the way back where I started.  But when I was losing the weight, the things I needed to keep reminding myself of were to drink my water and do my strength training--two things I was very bad at keeping up.  And then once I kind of burned myself out after so many races in a short time period, I took a long (too long) break, after which it was really hard to get motivated again.

So I added pictures of water (my Brita pitcher and some bottled water that I just happened to have left over from my Sanibel trip) and some of my strength and flexibility training accessories (yoga mat, resistance bands, hand weights) to remind myself of their importance.  It's really hard for me to drink a lot of water.  Not just because I find the taste boring and plain-that's what Mio and Crystal Light are for-but also because I'm just not that thirsty.  My body seems to be able to stay hydrated on less water than the "recommended" eight 8-oz glasses a day and no matter how I space out my water consumption throughout the day, 64 ounces just makes me feel like I'm going to burst!  I can handle 48 ounces pretty well every day, so as long as I get to that point I'm happy (and yes, when I go to the bathroom it's always that nice pale lemonade color-if I get to that 64 ounce point it's just about clear...which is not necessarily a good thing).

As for the strength training, I just get bored doing it.  It's very repetitive and is nowhere near as engaging as heading outside to do miles where I can see all the interesting things going on around me.  I do want to get back into doing yoga.  I have a yoga DVD specifically for people who are heavier that I like to use and I always feel good and stretched out afterward.  I know the strength training and exercises to make me more flexible will help me in the long run (figuratively and literally LOL) so that's why I included that picture of some of my accessories.

I also like to have visual representations, being able to visualize what my weight loss will potentially look like is motivational for me.  I love looking at other people's before/after pictures because it inspires me to do the same for myself.  And so I used the virtual weight loss simulator at modelmydiet.com to make a before/after simulation to use on my board.  And yes, I'll be taking pictures to document my weight loss this time...another motivation for me personally as I know I'll push to stay on the wagon so I can have pics that show my progress.

The last picture I have on my board is of some food-a Chicken Caesar Salad specifically (you can find the recipe for the one in the picture here).  This is just to remind me to choose healthy things.  Now granted, a Chicken Caesar Salad could potentially be pretty bad for you depending on how much dressing and how the chicken is cooked, but for me the picture is a representation of healthy eating-not necessarily about the particular entree pictured.  Though just to mention it, I never put dressing on my salads...to me dressing is just yucky-and kind of defeats the purpose of my salad anyway.  Some people say the dressing is for flavor, but I put some cheese and bacon bits on my salads to achieve that (I'm really bad about getting enough protein and fat in my diet, I'm usually a HUGE carb addict-this is just one way to get some other nutrients in there).

Anyway, I added the "NO EXCUSES" since I'm awful about that (too tired, don't feel like it, I'll do it tomorrow instead, etc etc etc).  I'd like to figure out how to fill the empty parts of the background with color fill, but it doesn't seem to be working for me.  I still need to tweak it so it flows better and there's less white space...but, here's what I've got so far.  Let me know what you think:

Oh, and for those who are following along...I restarted my program this week with the nutrition part.  So far this week I've been doing good, staying within my calorie range and doing well with carbs/protein/fat and other nutrients.  My only issue is my calcium.  Most days I'm under, only reaching about 80% of the recommended amounts.  I'd rather get my nutrients from my food and not have to resort to taking a supplement so I'm trying to figure out how to do that.  First week weigh-in is on Sunday...here we go again!

Guest Post: Meet Your Health Goals with an Inspirational Board

As many of you know, I'm basically starting back at square one after a lot of backsliding both in my eating and my training.  I was recently contacted by Michelle Pino, a Spa Manager in Verona, NY about creating a post for my readers to help find what inspires them.  I've never had someone do a guest post before, but after reading about her ideas, I thought this would be something many friends and readers would find helpful in their own journeys (especially those of you who are crafters).  I hope you find you own inspiration :-)  

Falling into a rut can make it even harder to reach your goals for better physical health. Fortunately, there is a simple method that can make it easier to maintain your focus even during times when the going gets rough. Creating a “fitspiration” board is one way to generate some excitement about the great things that your workout routine and diet are doing for your health. If you are looking for a fun way to meet your health goals, then here is what you need to do to get inspired.

1. Find Inspirational Images

To get started, you will need to begin searching for inspirational images. Try to begin without a specific idea in mind and let your feelings guide you to the right image. Pictures of athletes, favorite hobbies and nature scenes can all be great places to start. Additionally, consider adding song lyrics or quotes that make you feel inspired.

2. Identify Your Main Image

Once you have found your inspirational images, you will need to find one that can serve as an anchor for the rest of the piece. This main image should provide a general overview of the rest of your pictures. Once you have found your anchor image, place it in the center of your board so that it will be the main focus for your inspiration.

3. Develop a Central Theme

Using the main image, you can then begin to add more pictures to your board that focus on your main theme. This can be anything that inspires you from healthy recipes to vacation destinations. As you place your pieces, notice how they fit into the rest and let your inspiration guide you throughout the placement of each new piece.

4. Observe for a Week

After finishing your board, it is best to let it rest for a week. During this week, observe how it makes you feel. Does it catch your eye as you go about your routine? Is it the first thing you look at each morning? Does anything about the board need to be changed? By taking the time to assess your board, you will make sure that it has the greatest impact.

5. Make Adjustments

After your week of observation, it will be time to make any adjustments to the board that may be necessary. If an image does not resonate with you, then remove it and place another one on the board. Then, sit with the board for a few more days.

6. Hang in a Prominent Location

Now that you are certain that your board is perfect, you will be ready to place it in a prominent location. This can be in your bedroom, kitchen or the main entrance of your home. Wherever you put it, make sure to look at it daily to stay reminded of your goals.

For sticking to your health goals, an inspirational board can be the perfect way to keep your goals in mind. This easy-to-prepare board should include only the images that make you feel inspired. Once in place, you will have a constant reminder of the importance you place on staying healthy and fit.

1.) Yoga focuses the mind and body, teaching ourselves to find a spiritual balance.  I also love that yoga can be done anywhere, even the beach! Yoga is great for beginners and the more advanced athlete.  Source: Yoga

2.) Sneakers- An easy to way to stir up some motivation is to treat yourself to some new workout gear!  Choose fun colors that will make you excited to show them off at the gym!

3.) I’m new to golf, but I find it very relaxing.   I’ve been learning at the Turning Stone Golf Academy, which is a New York resort.  They’ve got great instructors, and several courses to practice on.  Source: Turning Stone Resort

4.) Love this Nike quote: so simple but so true! Source: Women's Gear

5.) Your body needs nutritious foods as fuel for when you exercise.  A great source of clean eating recipes is Clean and Delicious.  They have delicious recipes along with instructional videos including a clean chicken & veggie stir-fry recipe.  

Michelle has provided these tips in hopes to educate others on how to lead a more organized and less stressful life.  Michelle believes a more organized approach to tasks will result in more completed goals.  Her hobbies include crafting, catching up on her favorite TV shows and learning about healthy lifestyles.  Michelle is thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Carra and together share their ideas on “­­­­­­­­­Making it Happen”.

I've already started working on my own board.  With my new main goal (other than the weight loss of course) of the Disney Full Marathon in January 2014, my main central image will be a Mickey medal.  In a few days I'll be posting a picture of my board once it's done, I hope if you decide to make your own board that you'll put a link to it in the comments section to share with everyone.  I also welcome any feedback about having guest posts.

Motivation for your Monday

Remember...it's about your whole journey, not just what lies ahead.