Twelfth Sun Tour Stop!

 The hunky young PhD knows all about seduction, but what does he know about love?

Reagan Cassidy is settled in her life. She has a thriving interior design firm, an upscale condo, two cats, and a goldfish. As a favor to her uncle, she agrees to team up with his marine archeologist friend to validate and retrieve a nineteenth-century journal, reputedly that of a passenger aboard the doomed schooner Twelfth Sun. Finding a hunky twenty-five-year-old coming out of the shower in her hotel room wasn't part of the deal, but it's hard to complain...

Dr. Elijah Cross is cocky and he knows it. He enjoys trading barbs with the lovely Reagan. Barbs, and some innuendo. He can tell she'd rather get back home to her business than stick around for the extended treasure hunt they've been talked into, but he's fine with the situation. At least, until the 'clues' start getting personal.

Reagan finds Dr. Gorgeous is as skilled in matters of the heart as he is behind the lectern. Throw in a series of clues which mean more to Elijah than he'll explain, several odd-ball competitors out to win the journal, a saboteur, and a lavish seaside mansion, and Reagan has enough trouble keeping her head straight, let alone her heart.

WARNING: Younger man, older woman, nautical riddles and romance.

A Lyrical Press Contemporary Romance

Reagan Cassidy is on sent on a trip for her uncle, who is more like her father and she would do anything for. She is to meet up with her uncle's friend Elijah Cross... Doctor Cross. The night before she is to meet her uncle's friend, she checks into a hotel only to find a naked, super sexy, younger man in her room... Or is it? He's quirky; fast witted and doesn't take her serious as she threatens him with a....lamp? She finally realizes that this man isn't in her room, but she is in his! 

In the morning she is shocked to realize that the naked man was actually the man she was to meet, which only puts them on even worse ground than they would've initially been. Elijah doesn't have great people skills. Over the years he has developed the knack for having a very off-the-cuff type attitude with quick lashbacks when people get too close. We get to follow as they are put into an odd situation that turns into more than a meeting and purchasing of a book for her uncle. The entire book keeps throwing surprise after surprise with an interesting twist at the very end, which you know I can't tell you. 

While I found the story a bit boring at times because there is quite a bit about nautical things and history of ships, it actually fit into the book as it is what Elijah does and what the book they are seeking is about. I however, am not interested in such things. This is the book that MANY MANY other books try to be. There is a sweet romantic story that is slowly developing and how a real relationship develops, sure it is only over a little over a week, but still the feelings feel genuine and sincere. Plus, with the situations they are thrown in, it makes sense for feelings to develop on a faster scale. 

I really enjoyed the story and the few love scenes that were thrown in were written in a classically way so as to not be offending. The technical skill of the writer was excellent as well, it was clear the writer takes her time to develop the scenes and characters in very thorough way. The scavenger hunt in the book was quite complex and thought provoking, where most books focus on the romance; this was more about the mystery. 

       

Reagan glanced at her watch. She’d dragged herself from bed hours before any civilized person should be up, for the sole purpose of meeting Elijah Cross. The marine archeologist was already ten minutes late--not a brilliant way to begin a working relationship. She’d learned through firsthand experience many of her uncle’s friends were as unreliable as they were eccentric. Foolishly, she had hoped Dr. Cross wouldn’t fall into the same category.

Resigned to passing the time, she added hot water to her tea. From the corner of her eye she spied movement at the door of the cafe. A man stepped inside, shaking rain from his jacket. The door banged shut behind him, ensnaring her full attention. He wore a battered black fedora and worn jeans with scuffed dock shoes. There was something oddly familiar about him. He turned slightly and she caught his profile, realizing he was the man from room ten. Self-conscious, she looked away, hoping to sink through the floor. He spoke briefly with the hostess and then headed in her direction.

She tensed. What were the odds of encountering him now when she was scheduled to meet Dr. Cross, a highly-respected and, no doubt critical, academic? How would it look to her uncle’s friend if he walked in on a conversation revolving around naked men and the color of her undergarments?

Chagrined, she bowed her head over her teacup. Her hair spilled forward, concealing her face behind curtains of red-gold. With any luck he’d go away. With any luck, he’d leave her alone.

“Hi.”

Reagan raised her head fully convinced mischievous imps had tracked her to Shipwright Landing and were even now performing rituals of bad luck. “Hi.” She pressed her lips together. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m expecting someone.”

“Yeah, I know.” He grinned. “You’re Reagan Cassidy.”

She blinked. She’d given the hostess her name only because she was expecting Dr. Cross and neither had any idea what the other looked like. She certainly hadn’t expected the woman to share her name with any longhaired Lothario who asked for it. “The hostess told you.”

He nodded. Removing his hat by the crown, he dropped it on the table. “Some storm.” He shrugged out of his jacket and hooked it over the back of the nearest chair. “Good thing it’ll be over soon.”

Reagan watched flabbergasted as he sat across from her and picked up a menu. “Excuse me.” Her voice rose sharply, edged like a knife. “I didn’t invite you to sit. I told you I’m expecting someone.”

“Yeah, I know.” He flashed that same irritating grin. “I’m Elijah Cross.”

Mae Clair opened a Pandora’s Box of characters when she was a child and never looked back.  Her father, an artist who tinkered with writing, encouraged her to create make-believe worlds by spinning tales of far-off places on summer nights beneath the stars. She snagged the tail of a comet, hitched a ride, and discovered her writer’s Muse on the journey.
Mae loves creating character-driven fiction in settings that vary from contemporary to mythical. Wherever her pen takes her, she flavors her stories with conflict, romance and elements of mystery. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and is passionate about writing, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail and cats.
Discover more about Mae on her website and blog at www.MaeClair.com

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