Mel Sterling

Abby steals a truck to flee from her abusive brother-in-law when she sees one with nobody in it that's running in the parking lot when she leaves the convenience store. Little does she know that the owner, K-9 deputy Cade and his dog, are in the back of the truck. This romantic suspense novel was just okay for me. Even though Abby was a victim, I never really felt sympathetic to her. First, she steals a truck, then hours later she’s willingly having sex with the owner (Cade) of the truck whom she’s just met. Along the way, she has some too-stupid-to-live moments, as well. Cade never really made much of an impression on me one way or the other. I liked that he was a K-9 deputy, but it would have been nice if his dog, Mort, had been featured more, instead of being left in the background for the most part. The best part of the book was the creepy brother-in-law, Marsh. I liked that his point-of-view was included because he really livened things up. Being inside his head made the story more interesting amid the tedium of the romance between Abby and Cade which didn’t do much for me.… (altro)

*I offered to read this book for an honest review.

Thomas's enslavement to the Unseelie Queen is coming close to an end, but not close enough. All he wants is to be completely human again. His current job is to prevent the Queen's items from being stolen from storage at the Goblin Market. While at the market, Thomas's eye is drawn to a tall woman who is talking to glamoured and dangerous fae.

Tess's experience with her brother drew brought out her drive to help others in trouble with drugs. She works in a rehab center for drug addicts and she's got a few clients that are getting worse, even though they claim to have not used drugs. Tess tracks one client to the Artisans Market under the bridge, asking about a new drug while picking up fancy trinkets she finds tucked around the market.

Tess finds a spark of a new interest in a man that helps her out of the market. She also digs deeper than she should to find a world far more dangerous than she could have imagined from the fairy tales she was told. Tess will give anything to help those that are in danger...

The story is of fae nature and we see the fae influence in the story by way of descriptions. The details of the world and people given with creative descriptions.

We get the story from both Thomas and Tess's POVs. This format provides a lot of information from the proper venue. Thomas has the knowledge of the fae, and worries about Tess being to close to the world he knows could do worse than kill her. Tess is determined to help those in danger from the new drug on the street. She never sways from her plan. We also see the reaction of introducing the world of fae to Tess from her and Thomas's sides. It's scary and heart aching. There is a blooming relationship between Tess and Thomas, that may not survive the knowledge that he's half Trow.

There are fae, other fae, that have their own agendas in their world. The Queen has a goal in mind, that we don't know about. We learn what it is as the story unfolds. Hunter is another with his own agenda. Hunter despises Thomas to begin with for being half human, half fae along with having the Queen's ear without being full fae. Hunter will use or kill Thomas for his needs. There is a game to play with the fae, but Tess doesn't know how to do that yet.

All at work comes to a high on Allantide - Halloween. The dangers come after Thomas and Tess and they finally face off for their lives. I don't think I will look at Fall leaves the same way again.

The ending... Thank you Mel for doing what you did. I loved that we didn't get the ending that we 100% thought would happen. Oh, part of it is what I wanted. But there was a small piece, once you read you'll know what it is, that held true to the story and was a great thing to see happen.

I enjoyed the dangerous fae written here. I am looking forward to reading on in the series.… (altro)

Contemporary, Romance, Florida

Abby McMurray is a new widow that is desperate to escape her abusive brother-in-law and that desperation has led her to steal a pickup truck. Unfortunately the truck’s owner and his attack dog halt her plans. Abby knows she has made a horrible mistake. What she didn’t expect was how this stranger has something tender about him that makes her feel safe for the first time in a very long time.

Cade Latimer is a K-9 deputy that knows there is something more to Abby and that she isn’t a criminal. Then he sees her bruises and realizes that she is running from someone. Cade has his own demons especially being physically and emotionally scarred from an investigation that went horribly wrong. Cade just can’t resist protecting this woman that is capturing his heart. What they don’t realize is that Abby’s brother-in-law will go to any lengths to track Abby down.

This story takes a dark subject and handles it with a sensitivity that makes for an excellent book. It is fast paced and yet gives so much on the subject that the reader can feel what Abby is going through. It changes character perspective throughout the book but does it in such a way that the reader is never lost as to what is happening at any given point. Seeing how both Cade and Abby handle the difficulties that life has thrown at them and how they overcome them makes for a great read and seeing their strength will have readers hoping that they get a happy ending that they both so obviously deserve. While it would have been nice to have the story end a little ways down the road it still has a very nice ending that leaves readers with a warm feeling.… (altro)