Review Tuesday: Gray's Promise by Anni Fife - #ReviewTuesday #eroticromance #Texas #trauma

Gray’s Promise by Anni Fife

The Wild Rose Press, 2017

Zoey Morgan and Gray Walker belong together. Growing up on their parents’ adjoining ranches in Denton, Texas, they’re best friends, then, as Zoey matures, more than friends. Gray has always known Zoey would eventually be his; she begs him to take her innocence, but he wants to wait for the perfect time and setting.

On Zoey’s nineteenth birthday, however, everything changes. During the celebration, someone invades the Morgan home, drugs and kills her whole family, then brutally beats and rapes Zoey herself. Gray’s brother Jacks is wounded as well. Gray, who hadn’t yet arrived at the party, curses himself for being unable to prevent the attack, which leaves Zoey so traumatized she can’t speak. Meanwhile, Jacks claims that Zoey has agreed to be his wife, pointing out the engagement ring on her finger. Convinced by his mother that Zoey no longer wants him, Gray leaves Denton and becomes a soldier, turning his grief and anger against other enemies.

Meanwhile, Zoey endures years of nightmares and panic attacks, as well as a persistent inability to remember what actually happened on that horrible night. When Gray occasionally tries to contact her, she pushes him away. Having him around just makes the terrors worse.

Only when her psychological trauma makes it impossible for her to do her job as a pediatric surgeon does Zoey reach out to the man she’d once loved. More than a decade has past. Both Zoey and Gray are so emotionally damaged that it seems almost impossible for them to trust one another. For Zoey, though, Gray is her only hope of recovering her sanity.

Anni Fife really knows how to ramp up the angst. Rarely have I encountered romance characters who suffer as much as the protagonists in Gray’s Promise. Given what the two have been through, however, I found their mutual suspicion and heart-rending pain completely believable and very compelling.

Ms. Fife does a wonderful job portraying the mercurial shifts in their interactions, the visceral attraction between them battling the scars from their long estrangement. Only very gradually do they learn how to navigate the deep and stormy emotional waters into which they’ve been thrown. The author does not hurry them toward their happily ever after (the book is a hefty 400 pages in ebook form), but allows each of them to take tentative steps as they try to reconstruct the love they once felt for one another, which circumstances crushed so cruelly.

The book is beautifully written, alternating between Gray’s and Zoey’s perspectives. Although Gray is definitely an alpha type, he’s much more vulnerable and nurturing than Luke, the hero in the first King Security book (who shows up as a secondary character in this novel).

Zoey’s tragedy has almost broken her, but she retains an inner strength. She’s not a limp, self-pitying victim. She can still respond to Gray with flashes of wit and sass. Still, she teeters on the edge of chaos. Having had some experience with psychiatric illness myself, I found Zoey’s lapses into panic all too familiar. Like Zoey, I discovered that it takes a strong love to banish that sort of demons.

There’s a lot of erotic heat between Zoey and Gray, but they don’t fully consummate their relationship until very late in the book. Some readers of erotic romance might find this disappointing. I thought it showed true understanding on the part of the author. A woman as shattered as Zoey—a man as cautious as Gray—would not jump into bed with one another until they were really on solid ground. Let me assure you that when Zoey and Gray finally do make love, it is well worth the wait, both for them and for the reader.

Overall, I really enjoyed Gray’s Promise. My only criticism is that I thought the “mystery” of the birthday attack was far too transparent. I knew who was responsible, and why, hundreds of pages before Gray and Zoey discover the truth. The punishment of the villains was also a bit too quick and convenient.

This is a minor point, though. Gray’s Promise is a romance, not a mystery. And as an instance of that genre, it succeeds brilliantly.

When Your Story Blows Up in Your Face! @AnniFifeAuthor #romance #jealousy #giveaway

By Anni Fife (Guest Blogger)

I’m a detailed planner rather than a pantser. This means I don’t write by the seat of my pants, rather, I like to plan every scene, then move on to the research, and end by checking that my character development and arcs are complete. This works for me because when I start the actual writing of my novel, I can focus fully on the creative process without panicking about what is going to happen next. You see, I have a pathological fear of writer’s block!

For Gray’s Promise, my plan seemed to be on track until I started to write. Then, by the end of Chapter One, I realized Gray and Zoey’s journey to their happily ever after was going to be so painful and intense, and so darn beautiful, that a complicated suspense plot would only distract from their explosive relationship. So I started to ask that magical question a lot of authors resort to when a plot isn’t working: ‘What if…?’

Out went my intricate suspense plot that was built around fracking, the theft of lucrative gas by tunneling into a neighboring ranch, and a kidnapping that exploded into death and mayhem. I reworked the suspense plot and brought the evil much closer to home, making the horror and pain more threatening and claustrophobic. I also reworked their physical relationship. The sexual chemistry between Gray and Zoey is explosive but it’s also intricately linked to their long and unbreakable bond to each other. Complicated emotional factors (clear in the story when you read it) determined that I delay the actual consummation between them. This presented a huge challenge because I had to find a way to make the sexual encounters between them smoking hot but without them actually doing the deed until the final chapter of their story.

Yowza! The love scenes between Gray and Zoey have ended up being the hottest scenes I have ever written, most likely because the emotion between these two is intensely raw, but also because Gray is just that darn hot!

I hope you enjoy the Blurb and the short Excerpt I’ve selected that gives you just a hint of the heat between Gray and Zoey.

Happy reading…Anni x

Blurb

A jealousy that destroys everything in its path…a love that refuses to die.

Zoey Morgan seems to have it all as a successful surgeon in Boston. However, perfection lies only on the surface. Plagued by nightmares and amnesia from a tragedy that ripped her family from her fourteen years ago, she finds the courage to reach out to the only man who can make her feel safe. She’s buried the memory of their love, but her heart—and her body—responds to the ex-marine in ways that are all too familiar.

Grayson “Gray” Walker’s heart shattered when Zoey chose another man over him. Since then, he’s built an impenetrable wall around his emotions. But from the moment she implodes back into his life, her vulnerability breaches his defenses. His skills as an elite member of the King Security team cannot shield him from the devastation of learning he might have left Zoey high and dry when she needed him most. Now, Gray must navigate the tripwire of helping her heal while protecting himself from being hurt again.

As the embers of their potent love reignite, an old threat awakens, leading to greater danger than ever before.

Excerpt

The porch door was open, letting a soft breeze move through the cottage. I breathed in the dewy dampness, and a faint pain echoed near my heart. If I closed my eyes, I could almost hear Mama chattering to my dad in the kitchen. She always got up early to make breakfast. The memories were buried but when they surfaced, they were mine to treasure. I drank my coffee and washed down the last of my cinnamon roll. And with it, gently nudged the memory away.

The breeze gusted and I brushed away a curl of hair fluttering in my face. Gray was cracking eggs now and a wave of lust crept over me. His easy—and mostly naked—confidence in the kitchen was weirdly heady. An image of his face when he came last night slipped into my mind. The dampness in the air transferred to my skin and I shivered, goose bumps prickling up my arms. Jeez. He was so sexy. Even more than I could have ever imagined. Rubbing at my goosies, I peeked at him through my lashes. A vague heaviness fluttered in my tummy. He was confident and seductive as hell, but he was also holding back. He might have had reason last night, but I wasn’t going to let him get away with it for long. Gray’s running days were coming to an end. Soon.

“Butterfly.” His sexy growl demanded my attention. He was sipping coffee, his electric gaze focused on me. “You wearing panties?”

Buy Links

Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077KRRX15

 

Amazon.uk – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077KRRX15/

Nook – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grays-promise-anni-fife/1127486541?ean=2940158745911

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/gray-s-promise

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/grays-promise/id1315176273?ls=1&mt=11

Bookstrand – http://www.bookstrand.com/grays-promise

The Wild Rose Press - https://wildcatalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-erotic/5486-gray-s-promise.html

OTHER BOOKS IN THE KING SECURITY SERIES

Luke’s Redemption (King Security Book 1)

Currently on sale for only 99c. Limited time so be quick!

Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/Lukes-Redemption-King-Security-Novel-ebook/dp/B01M4ITMS7

About Anni

Anni Fife is an exciting contemporary romance author who has already made her mark in the popular genre of Steamy Romantic Suspense. Her debut novel, Luke’s Redemption, has been acclaimed by critics and readers and was a Finalist in the 2017 RONE Awards. Anni says she credits Kristen Ashley as her guiding inspiration, and strives to make her characters equally as heart-wrenching and unforgettable. She is currently working on Eva’s Peace (King Security Book 3).

Last year, Anni closed the door on a successful career in television production to fulfill her lifelong passion, writing. In the space of a month, she shut her business, packed up her city life, and moved to a small seaside village. When she’s not writing, she can be found on the beach searching for pansy shells, or drinking red wine and gabbing with her gal posse.

If you want to know when Anni’s next book is releasing and be first to get regular updates and BONUS TREATS, visit her website and sign up to join her POSSE.

Anni is published by The Wild Rose Press, and is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA).

Anni’s Social Media Links

You can read all about Anni on her website, and join Anni’s Posse to get regular updates and Bonus Treats—www.annifife.com

Or LIKE Anni on Facebook www.facebook.com/AnniFifeAuthor/

Or follow Anni on Twitter—https://twitter.com/AnniFifeAuthor

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Review Tuesday: Luke's Redemption by Anni Fife (#eroticromance #review #alpha)

 

Luke’s Redemption by Anni Fife

The Wild Rose Press, 2016

Katya Dalca has known for years that her mob-connected father is a cold, controlling bastard. When she overhears his promise to marry her to a Russian gangster, that is the last straw. She runs away to New Orleans, taking a flash drive full of incriminating data as insurance.

Ex-Marine Luke Hunter has an assignment: get the memory stick from Katya and deliver it to his boss at King Security. His family history with drug abuse only reinforces his determination to succeed in this job. Luke doesn’t plan to seduce Katya, just get close enough to snatch the drive, but she enchants him so completely he cannot resist taking the innocence she offers. When magic of their night together drains away in the chill light of dawn, Luke realizes the enormous mistake he’s made. Pocketing the memory stick, he turns his back on his new lover and disappears, leaving Katya confused, grieving, and, as she later discovers, pregnant.

Luke’s Redemption is Anni Fife’s debut novel. It displays the tell-tale passion of a first book. Although many of the tropes are familiar (loss of virginity to a soul-mate, secret baby, and so on), Katya’s intense emotions keep the book fresh and indeed, quite harrowing. Time and again she is betrayed and abandoned, but stubborn courage plus her devotion to her daughter keep her from giving up. Ms. Fife writes Katya’s sections of the book in the first person, making the heroine’s agony all the more immediate.

The sections from Luke’s point of view, in contrast, are written in third person. When I noticed this discrepancy (about halfway through the book), my first thought was that this was an editing problem, but the distinction is consistent throughout the novel. The third person narrative has the effect of distancing the reader from Luke’s feelings. I wonder if this is why the author made this artistic choice.

The book covers a period of more than six years. Since this is a romance, Luke finally does overcome Katya’s (justified) distrust to create the conditions for a HEA. My personal opinion? He doesn’t deserve her.

I read a lot of romance reviews that comment on the reader’s reactions to the characters as people. Most of my reviews, in contrast, tend to focus more on the literary characteristics of a book.

In the case of Luke’s Redemption, however, I found myself disliking Luke enough that it interfered with my overall appreciation of the story. As he tries to win Katya’s love, he repeatedly promises her honesty, respect and protection—then fails to deliver on these promises. He’s a conceited chauvinist who treats her like a weakling and refuses to allow her to make her own decisions. Meanwhile, he acts as though he’s blind to the threats she faces from the dark, criminal forces arrayed against her. In the final crisis, he watches helplessly while she single-handedly subdues the vilain.

Luke is also unpleasantly bossy in the bedroom, in a way that I (an avowed fan of BDSM) find distinctly non-erotic. 
 

Despite my feelings about the hero, I actually liked Luke’s Redemption quite a lot. Ms. Fife writes clear, vivid prose that moves the story along at a brisk pace. Katya’s emotions carry the book. It’s inspiring to watch her build a life after having it shattered by her encounter with Luke. Their mutual chemistry is so strong that you want her to reconcile with him and experience some happiness. He’s such an extreme alpha, though, that I found this outcome a bit hard to believe.

A Vision of New Orleans (#eroticromance #suspense #firstnovel @AnniFifeAuthor)

By Anni Fife (Guest Blogger)

I began writing Luke’s Redemption in June last year. It was one month after I left the city for the beach, and changed my life forever. It was also the first book I had ever written, or even attempted to write. I was able to stave off my panic because I already had my basic plot outlined. The idea came flowing into my head a few nights before my departure. It was around midnight. I don’t know what triggered my creative juices, but suddenly I could hear Katya’s footsteps beating a desperate rhythm down a dark cobble-stoned road in the early hours of the morning. It was dead quiet. New Orleans was hung over from Mardi Gras. As I watched her, I realized I was looking through the scope of a sniper lens. Was I her hunter or her hero? Or both? My story unfurled at such a rapid pace I was terrified I’d fall asleep, and when I woke my idea, like an elusive dream, would be gone. In a mad spin, I turned on my bedside lamp, and spent the next hour typing manically on my iPhone. When I turned off the light, I had the beginnings of my novel. The next time I looked at it was one month later, when I sat down to write.

Completing my debut novel has been a wild journey. Seven months to write it. Two months to edit. Two months to secure a publishing contract. And now here I am, ready for release.

I wrote Luke’s Redemption for my own tastes. So if you like contemporary erotic romances with a lot of angst and some suspense; hot alpha heroes with damage; smart sassy heroines, also with some damage; and burning chemistry that dictates lots of conflict, and even more heat—then why don’t you give this story a go?

Blurb

Red-hot sex. Searing betrayal. A passionate and elusive love…

Chased by her criminal kingpin father, Katya Dalca runs to New Orleans and straight into the arms of Luke Hunter. Sucked into the carnal world of the French Quarter, she succumbs to Luke’s potent sexuality. He not only steals her breath, he steals her heart and the only leverage she has against her father. She is left with no choice except to pick up the pieces and rebuild her life alone.

Undercover DEA agent Luke Hunter thought his newest assignment—recover a stolen flash drive to gain the trust of the Russian mob—was like any other. But his target brings him to his knees, and after one taste of her intoxicating beauty, he's in too deep. Doing his job means walking away, leaving his heart behind with nothing but a promise to reunite. It's a promise he can't keep.

When Katya's past reaches out and her world unravels, her only hope is the one man she is most vulnerable to—Luke.

Excerpt

Luke and I drove alone. Lily insisted she was traveling with Gray and Tane, and clambered into their SUV before anybody could stop her. I didn’t want to argue with Lily. She was still processing the scare of seeing Dani unconscious, and Gray was a safe distraction for her. My distraction was my confrontation with Anna. I asked Luke about the beautiful—but skanky—Russian. All he would say was she worked with Nicu when he was undercover. A tense silence filled the vehicle and for the rest of our drive I mulled over how Anna fitted into the picture. There had been a weird vibe between Luke and Anna that I couldn’t let go of.

Had he used Anna the same way he used me? What could she have had that he needed? Maybe he just liked her!

We pulled into the underground parking at King Security and Luke parked the SUV in line with several other huge black Ford Expeditions. It appeared King Security had its own fleet.

Unable to stop myself, I blurted, “You were with Anna when you were undercover with my father, weren’t you?”

Luke pulled the keys from the ignition. In the deafening silence I didn’t think he was going to answer. Then he turned to me and bit out. “Yes!”

Wow! I didn’t expect him to be so honest. I sat back and folded my arms, tight. Damn, his answer hurt me. “So you make a habit of lying to your women? Being with them while you’re pretending to be someone you’re not? Is that your thing?”

“She wasn’t my woman,” Luke growled. “She was just a woman. She was there, I was there. It was never deep and it sure as hell wasn’t forever. Then it was over, and I made certain she was clear of the investigation. That was it.” He leaned towards me and said impatiently, “That tell you what you want to know?”

“Not even close. You made love to her didn’t you?”

“Hell no!” Luke snarled. “I fucked her. Like I have all the other women in my life. There’s only one woman I ever made love to Katya. And that was you.”

I went rigid, stunned into silence. Luke turned to open his car door. “You didn’t make love to me, Michael did,” I whispered.

He quickly turned back and leaned in close, right up to my face. His breath smelled lightly of coffee. I stopped breathing when his inky gaze drifted from my eyes to my mouth then back again. I felt cornered but also strangely alive. Then in his rough, oh so sexy voice, he replied, “You can wish that as hard as you want, sweetheart, but it was me, Luke, sliding through your innocence, taking everything you had to give. And it was my cock driving you to come, baby. Over and over again!” He stared at me a moment longer, then climbed out of the car, slamming the door closed.

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