Shadows
in Savannah
Lissa
Matthews
A Wicked Tale
ARe Books
Genre: M/M, Vampires, PNR
About
the Book
Is the prospect of love worth
dying for?
Vampires exist, and travel
through space and time. Immortal, beautiful creatures. Neither dead, nor
living.
Dane has no memory of being
human. He only remembers waking after being unwillingly turned. He is left with
a parchment with one single line written upon it: his human birthday. For this
one day a year, he can live and die as a human. He is ready. It is time. 126
years after becoming a vampire, he is ready to die.
When he meets Jorge, with his
dark good looks and brilliant blue eyes, Dane reconsiders his choice. Can he
take back the life that was stolen from him by dying? Or can he make a life
with a soulmate he never imagined having?
Excerpt:
There was an
unusual chill in the early evening air for Savannah in October. It wasn’t quite
mid-month, yet. Dane could feel it, even with his...condition. He smiled, a wry
twist to his lips. His condition. Right.
That’s what it
was. Like something he could wake up from one day.
Only he never
woke up from it. It was there, this nightmare he called living, this never
ending existence. He was neither dead, nor alive. He survived on blood and very
rare cooked meats. He had money, more than he knew what to do with, more than
he could spend in three lifetimes. He could walk in the evenings and in the
pre-dawn hours. He could even be out in midday, so long as he never stepped
foot in direct sunlight. And with the advances in science, he could appear to
have a light tan with a regular application of self-tanning lotion.
He wasn’t like
the fabled and fictional vampires in books and movies. Well, not entirely. He
could feel, taste, smell, though most things felt odd against his fingertips,
tasted bitter or overly sweet on his tongue, smelled like...? He didn’t have a
word to describe the smells. Neither acrid nor lovely. Things just...smelled.
A burst of
raucous laughter reached his ears and he turned from where he stood against the
edge of the walkway, mere feet above the water. His restaurant and pub was in
fine form tonight. It was one of several businesses he owned under a parent
corporation he’d formed some years ago. Everyone was owned by someone else, so
it didn’t look odd to anyone that his corporation owned a bar, a hotel, and a
bookstore. There were several other small companies he owned or invested in, but
those first three were his money makers.
The bookstore
had been a surprise. He loved to read, especially historical thrillers,
Victorian erotica, and letters from soldiers who’d died on battlefields. He
hadn’t expected the place to make any money, but then he hadn’t counted on the
number of people who loved the same type books he did. He also had a section
from local Savannah families who’d loaned parts of their personal libraries out
to him for display. They were much like museum pieces. Priceless, fragile,
exquisite.
The bookstore
was where he spent the majority of his time, talking of books and places he’d
traveled, showing off the volumes he brought back from various parts of the
world. The bookstore was his passion. It was the only thing he had that kept
him from taking the step that was closing in on him once more.
Death.
His human
birthday was the one day a year he and all other turned vampires became fully
human. They could do anything any other flesh and blood and beating heart
person could do. Even die.
Oh, he could die
any other time, as well. All he had to do was walk into a stream of midday
sunlight and the life force which held him together would disintegrate and he’d
be nothing more than vapor. He wouldn’t sizzle and burn. He’d been told he’d
barely feel a thing. Whether that was true or not, he didn’t know. But he was
tired, felt as though his soul, what was left of it, was stretched thin and to
the point of completely unraveling. Vampires could go mad and there were days,
hours, where he thought he just might.
Then, he’d lose
himself in a book and the feeling would pass, calm would settle in, and he’d be
all right. Those times were passing more quickly than they used to and
something told him the end was near. Vampires were immortal, but those made
against their will felt the call of death in ways those who were made
willingly, never did.
It was calling
to him.
Review:
Lissa Matthews is becoming one of my favorite new author finds. She takes what could be an old trope and really spins it into something special. This m/m vampire tale is such an example. Vampires are moody creatures-as they should be. Watching everything around you die? Not so much fun. But what happens when someone challenges that? You have a great conflict. Awesome read and great addition to the Wicked collection.
5/5
Lissa Matthews is becoming one of my favorite new author finds. She takes what could be an old trope and really spins it into something special. This m/m vampire tale is such an example. Vampires are moody creatures-as they should be. Watching everything around you die? Not so much fun. But what happens when someone challenges that? You have a great conflict. Awesome read and great addition to the Wicked collection.
5/5
About
the Author
Lissa Matthews has many loves in
her life: Family, friends, NASCAR, football, music of all kinds, cooking, BDSM,
and last, but not least, coffee. She loves it so much she and those who know
her are surprised she hasn’t floated away on a caffeine-induced cloud while
giving life to feisty heroines and hunky heroes.
Lissa’s love of romance came from
every book she has ever picked up. No matter what she read, she fell in love
with the written word. The promise of escape, the deep, intriguing characters,
and the winding journey from beginning to end, constantly drew her into
bookstores and libraries as she was growing up.
Her first stories were written in
junior high and she kept it up through college. She would stay up late at night
when her kids were little reading romance and still penning her own stories. In
2007, when she and her family moved to North Carolina from Florida, she began
pursuing writing as a profession and she couldn’t imagine doing anything else…
Well, except maybe writing in her own cupcake bakery/coffee shop. But that
dream is a ways down the road… Lucky for Lissa, she believes in dreams coming
true.
Lissa is married with two
children and seven, yes, seven cats. She blames her oldest child for the cats.
For more information on other
books by Lissa, visit her website: www.lissamatthews.com
Giveaway
2 ARe Imprint ebook s
Thank you for a chance to win some of the books from this series
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