Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne
Date of Publication: May 1st 2016
ISBN: 9780373009695
ASIN: B015CJXYMO
Number of pages: 304
Word Count: 80 000
Cover Artist: Harlequin
Book Description:
Claiming her felt like his
destiny…but could prove to be his ultimate undoing.
Desperate to flee a horrific
arranged marriage, Princess Tanzi turned to the only man who could help. Lorcan
Malone, infamous necromancer, had vowed to come to her aid whenever she needed
him. And even as they traveled from the mortal world into the fantastical
Otherworld, Tanzi knew her true need ran deeper than just a rescue.
She was his enemy's daughter. A
renegade like Lorcan had no business craving a Fae princess, one intended for a
greater calling. Yet he was powerless to resist the pull to do more than
protect Tanzi…
Excerpt:
“Trust me,
Tanzi. If you need me, I will know.”
Those words,
spoken by Lorcan Malone in the heat of battle, must have been a bit of Irish
blarney. He probably didn’t even remember who she was, let alone recall their
strange encounter on that fateful day. So why, in this moment—when she was in
more trouble than she could ever have imagined possible—was she suddenly
experiencing a fierce longing for the bad-boy necromancer with the twinkling
blue eyes?
It’s called
clutching at straws, she told herself. It’s what you’re doing right now instead
of facing reality and finding your own way out of this madness.
“What are you
thinking, my daughter?” Moncoya, exiled King of the Faeries, watched her face.
“I’m thinking
that defeat has unhinged you. That you have finally done what others have
whispered of for years and taken leave of your senses.” Never before had Tanzi
spoken so boldly to him. Defiance was the trait her twin sister, Vashti,
proudly exhibited. Tanzi had always been the acquiescent one. Until now. There
were some things she could not bow down and agree to. This was one of
them.
Moncoya’s
perfect features hardened with fury. His blue eyes, so like her own with their
sidhe ring of fire encircling the iris, lit with a brighter inner blaze. His
fingers tightened on the arm of his chair so that his knuckles gleamed white in
stark contrast to the black polish that decorated his perfectly manicured
nails. Tanzi braced herself. His retribution would be swift and merciless. She
couldn’t hope to match him in strength, but she might be able to outrun him.
The outcome hung
in the balance for seconds that stretched into minutes. Then Moncoya laughed.
It was a brittle, mirthless sound that set Tanzi’s teeth buzzing. She knew that
laugh well. It had never boded well in her childhood. She didn’t imagine things
had changed. Unexpectedly, he relaxed back into his seat.
“My child, you
are overwhelmed by the honor I have arranged for you. I should have foreseen
this.” He rose, draping a deceptively casual arm about her shoulders. “Walk
with me a while.”
They stepped
through a set of double doors straight onto a sand-and-shingle beach. The
entire island, known locally as the Silver Isle, seemed to be made up of sand.
Even the ocher-hued cliffs looked ready to crumble into grit at the touch of a
fingertip. Ferns, wild fennel and coarse bamboo grasses clung determinedly to
soil that was a combination of granule and dust. Tanzi thought of her father’s
palace, of the precisely laid-out gardens leading down to the elegant lake. She
glanced back over her shoulder at the beachside villa they had just left. Sea
breezes and salt water had taken their toll on its elegance so that it had a
faded charm she doubted her father would acknowledge. In comparison with the
soaring, white marble palace she had called “home” for all her life, it was a
shack. Moncoya was as out of place here as a diamond in a dung heap.
“You made sure
no one followed you?” Moncoya withdrew his arm from about her shoulders as they
walked along the water’s edge. Secrecy surrounded this hiding place. If he was
discovered, he faced trial and inevitable execution.
“Of course.”
Tanzi was offended at the question. Would he have asked Vashti the same thing?
She doubted it. Yet we both trained with the Valkyrie. We are equally astute
when it comes to warfare and subterfuge. It came back to the same weary
argument. The same reason Tanzi had been summoned to be the recipient of his
latest piece of “good news” instead of her twin. Moncoya viewed Vashti as the
son he had never had. Tanzi’s only value to her father was as a pawn in the
marriage stakes. Not this marriage, father. The sacrifice you are asking of me
is too great.
“Tell me what
has been happening at the palace in my absence.” Three months had passed since
the cataclysmic battle that had forced Moncoya into hiding. It felt like three
years.
“There is a
peacekeeping council known as the Alliance in place. Each of the Otherworld
dynasties has representation on it. The Alliance itself is led by Merlin
Caledonius.”
Moncoya’s expression
hardened further at the name. “That half-blood cur will pay dearly for his part
in this.”
Merlin, the
greatest sorcerer the world had ever known, was Moncoya’s half brother and the
man who had brought about his exile. Cal, as he preferred to be called these
days, had widened the existing gulf of hatred between the two men further by
falling in love with and marrying the woman Moncoya had hoped to make his
queen.
Tanzi paused,
looking out across the turquoise waters toward the horizon. She drew a deep
breath. “My father, you wrong him. He is man of conscience who is doing a fine
job of uniting the dynasties…” Moncoya’s growl of rage told her she had gone
too far.
“Am I, the
greatest leader Otherworld has ever known, to be forced into hiding while he
lives in luxury in my royal palace? Am I to endure the knowledge that he has
stolen the necromancer star, the woman I chose as my own, from under my nose?
Must I kick my heels in this backwater while you, my own daughter, take the
seat that should be mine at this pathetic council table—” He broke off, his
voice ragged. When he spoke again, his tone was softer, the words a caress.
“But you know nothing of these things, my child. It is wrong of these men to
ask you to involve yourself in their political machinations. They seek to trick
you.”
Tanzi bit her
lip. How could she explain it to him when he insisted on viewing her as a
helpless dupe? Being part of the Alliance had brought her new life. Oh, she had
been regarded with suspicion initially by many of the council members. She was
Moncoya’s daughter, after all. They saw her as the spoiled brat sidhe princess
who had been his consort—his puppet—in the past. Together with Vashti, she had
blindly carried out his wishes. But things had changed three months ago on that
battlefield. She had changed.
A pair of
laughing Irish eyes came into her mind once more and she determinedly dismissed
them. Cal and his wife, Stella, treated her as their equal, and with their help
she was learning how to be the voice and conscience of her people. She was
developing an understanding of compassion and democracy. Tanzi cast a sidelong
glance at her father. She was learning that there was a way to rule other than
Moncoya’s iron-fisted style.
“Let us leave
this talk of the mongrel sorcerer for another day. I look forward to dealing
with him when the time comes. This marriage I have arranged for you is the
highest distinction ever to be bestowed upon a woman. Through this union, I
will not only be able to come out of this undignified hiding and return to my
palace, I will be the undisputed ruler of all Otherworld.” Moncoya’s lips
thinned into a smile. “There will be no need for their puny Alliance when that
day dawns.”
“And what of me,
Father? While you become all powerful, what will I become?”
He paused then,
perhaps considering for the first time the true implications of what he was
asking of her. Such was his arrogance, she might have known he would not allow
her feelings to influence him for long. “You will be revered above all others.”
She shook her
head. “I will not do it.”
His face was
set. The silken note in his voice made the threat even more menacing. “You have
no choice.”
“By all the
angels, Father, you cannot intend to force me into this!”
Moncoya’s lips
smiled but Tanzi’s heart quailed at the look in his eyes. “Given the bridegroom
I have chosen for you, might I suggest you refrain from speaking of angels in
the future?”
Review:
This was a great PNR read and the suspense didn't stop. The chemistry between the two characters was pure snap and spark and I loved it! Can't wait to read more from this author!
5/5
About
the Author:
Jane Godman writes in a variety
of romance genres including paranormal, gothic and romantic suspense. Her
Otherworld series is published by Harlequin Nocturne and she has a new series
coming out soon with Harlequin Romantic Suspense. 2017 will see the publication
of a new paranormal series for SMP Swerve.
Jane lives in England and loves
to travel to European cities, which are steeped in history and romance—Venice,
Dubrovnik and Vienna are among her favorites. Jane is married to a lovely man
and is mom to two grown-up children.
Website: http://www.janegodmanauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneGodman
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