Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the South of Surrender Blog Tour!
You can follow the tour at Entangled in Romance. My stop includes a review, excerpt and blog tour giveaway.
Series: Hearts of the Anemoi #3Category/Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication Date: 5/28/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 400
Source: Received from publisher for review
She’s the only one who can see through his golden boy façade to the broken god within…
Chrysander Notos, Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer, is on a mission: save Eurus from his death sentence and prove his troubled brother can be redeemed. But Eurus fights back, triggering vicious summer storms that threaten the mortal realm, dangerously drain Chrys, and earn the ire of the Olympic gods who ordered Eurus dead.
Laney Summerlyn refuses to give up her grandfather’s horse farm, despite her deteriorating vision. More than ever, she needs the organized routine of her life at Summerlyn Stables, until a ferocious storm brings an impossible—and beautiful—creature crashing down from the heavens.
Injured while fighting Eurus, Chrys finds himself at the mercy of a mortal woman whose compassion and acceptance he can’t resist. As they surrender to the passion flaring between them, immortal enemies close in, forcing Chrys to choose between his brother and the only woman who’s ever loved the real him.
I am a huge fan of Laura Kaye's, but had yet to read any of her paranormal books. I was very excited to have the opportunity to read South of Surrender, and I will confess that I haven't read the first two books in the series, though I own them. I think having read North of Need and West of Want would have made the experience even better, and knowing the characters like I do now, I am very anxious to go back and read them. But I can say, for me, that Kaye did such a great job of giving the back story on the series without info-dumping, and I wasn't lost reading South of Surrender.
South of Surrender was a treat! I have always loved mythology and many of the various re-tellings, but I can say that I have not come across a re-telling like this. Not only do you have standard gods and goddesses, but what I loved was the Anemoi. You have the Cardinal: North, South, East, and West; the Ordinal, such as: Southwest, Southeast, etc.; and the Inter-Ordinal Anemoi, who are in charge of the half-winds like North-Northwest. (I took this info from the book to help explain.) These gods are in charge of seasons and the cause of the weather patterns. I loved this aspect of the story and found it really inventive and cool.
Chrysander "Chrys" Notos is the god of Summer. He thrives on heat and growth and life. I kind of expected Chrys to be this really nice guy, which is weird because he's a god/Element. Chrys was nice, essentially, but he was really complicated, with a long and troubled backstory. He's a little harsh, down to business, and a really dominant guy. He's set on bringing his brother safely to justice, no easy task, and this leads him crashing into Laney Summerlyn's life.
Laney Summerlyn was such an endearing heroine. She has a horse farm in Virginia, and leads a very quiet and sheltered life, due to a degenerative eye disease. When Chrys crashes into her barn, and life, Laney gets the chance to help him, get to him, and fall in love. I loved that she forged ahead despite her condition and the fact that Chrys is a god in the midst of an epic battle. The relationship between the two was romantic, complicated, and heated. The two seem to have impossible odds against them, but you just know love will overcome all.
South of Surrender is another great book from Laura Kaye. With her books, you always know that you will get fabulous characters, an exciting story, and super hot romance. This book is no exception. Having read it, I am dying to read the first two, and the fourth books in the Hearts of the Anemoi series. If you're looking for a great Paranormal Romance series, this is it.
Favorite Quote:
He covered her hands with his against the edge of the spa. "What are you doing to me, Laney?" he rasped.
She turned her face against his. "Loving you," she whispered.
The words slayed him.
She loved him. This smart, brave, sexy-as-all-hell woman loved him.
He couldn't wait another moment. ~eARC, 81%
He covered her hands with his against the edge of the spa. "What are you doing to me, Laney?" he rasped.
She turned her face against his. "Loving you," she whispered.
The words slayed him.
She loved him. This smart, brave, sexy-as-all-hell woman loved him.
He couldn't wait another moment. ~eARC, 81%
Purchase South of Surrender at:
Excerpt
Hey everyone! I’m very happy to be visiting here at The Bookish Babe as I celebrate the release of my tenth novel, South of Surrender, the third book in my Greek-mythology-inspired Hearts of the Anemoi series. One of my favorite things about writing this series was the intensity of the hero, Chrysander Notos, the Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer. Chrys goes at life with both barrels blazing in everything he does, and I just loved that about him. Here’s an exclusive excerpt from the book that gives you a little taste of that:
“Don’t look at me that way, Laney. I’m so damn close to lifting your hips and burying myself inside you that I’m afraid to move.”
Heat roared through her, but this time it wasn’t from whatever had attacked her. It was from her pounding desire for the god currently kneeling behind her.
He was safe. And she was okay. Mostly okay, anyway. And he’d done that for her. He’d taken care of her, just as he promised.
She didn’t know what had happened in the moments after she saw that awful black light, but she did know they were damn lucky to be alive. And that made Laney not want to waste another moment. There’d be time for explanations later. Now, she wanted him. She wanted him wanting her.
“Chrys,” she croaked, her throat sore and parched. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not.” Shoving away her nerves, she pushed up onto her hands and knees, the carpet soft underneath. She stopped just shy of grinding herself into what she knew from how he’d laid on her moments before was a massive erection. Adrenaline roared through her until the room spun. His thighs straddling her calves were all she knew, all she could feel.
Rough hands settled on her hips. “Don’t. Move.” He spat out a curse in that odd language. “Jesus, woman. I’m trying not to hurt you here.”
She started to turn to him, wanting him to see the sincerity and trust in her face and eyes. Next thing she knew, he’d halted her movement by pinning her wrists against her lower back in one of his big fists. Fear and lust shot through in equal measure. She spoke over her shoulder, “You wouldn’t hurt me, Chrys. You healed me. Again.”
He tugged her upper body back against his chest, forcing her to arch against him. “You don’t understand what’s about to happen here,” he whispered, his voice low and gritty. “I don’t make love. I don’t do soft and romantic. I fuck. I dominate. And I restrain my lovers because I can’t stand to be touched. Sure, I get my partners off good, but then I walk out the door. So, whatever fantasy about us you’ve got playing in your head right now is whole solar systems away from my ugly reality.”
For a long moment, Laney was sure her heart stopped. And then it took off at a full-out gallop that left her breathless.
No one had ever talked to her that way. He was just trying to scare her away. Had to be. And, truth be told, she was a little scared. But she was also wetter for him than she’d ever been for another man. Right at this moment, she couldn’t really think about why his tight grip, rough tone, and coarse words set her body on fire, but there it was. Her nipples puckered. The emptiness between her legs ached. After what’d happened, she needed to connect with him, in every way.
Arousal flowed so thick through her blood, she’d take him any way she could have him.
See why I adored this book?!
GIVEAWAY
There are two blog tour giveaways!
The winner was KimCaffeinated!
Laura is giving away 3 - $100 gift cards to Amazon, B&N, or iTunes (winner’s choice) as well as 1 set of signed Hearts of the Anemoi books! The giveaway is open internationally and ends at 11:59pm on 6/23 .
“A fast-paced thrill ride.” ~New York Journal of Book
"Sexy, emotional stories, powerful, evocative writing, a vivid and unique vision, and enough magic and mysticism to keep the most demanding reader satisfied, Laura Kaye delivers it all. I love this series!" ~Maggie Shayne, NYT Bestselling Author
Visit all the stops on the South of Surrender Blog Tour for more ways to win!
Official Tour Stops
June 3 - Reading Between the Wines
June 4 - Literary Escapism
June 5 - Bitten by Books
June 6 - Under the Covers
June 7 - Savvy Authors
June 10 - Book Monster Reviews
June 10 - Love Romance Passion
June 11 - Fade Into Fantasy
June 12 - Cocktails and Books
June 13 - Reading Reality
June 14 - Grave Tells
June 17 - The Bookish Babe
June 18 - Bad Ass Book Reviews
June 19 - Parajunkee
June 20 - Feeling Fictional
June 21 - Literati Literature Lovers
About Laura Kaye:
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
