A dedicated teacher of homeless children, Isabella Camarena's life is interrupted by a midnight call threatening her students. Isabella speeds across state to save a family of kidnapped migrant farm workers, but is soon in over her head helping a family lost to the world of human trafficking. During an undercover assignment at Isabella's school, former Special Forces Army Rangers Leif Johansen and Caleb Samuels met Isabella. After the assignment ends, they continue volunteering there, to pursue a relationship with Isabella, only to discover she's missing. After a harrowing rescue, Leif and Caleb bring Isabella home with them to recuperate. She reluctantly agrees so that she can stay close to the rescued children. Amid the struggle to ensure the safety of the families, Leif and Caleb are determined to win Isabella's heart. Despite her fierce independence, Isabella is naive to the ways in which they want to love her. Can these former Rangers help Isabella embrace her submissive nature? ** A Siren Erotic Romance
I
think in order to do this book justice I will start out with Leif Johansen and
his best friend Caleb Samuels. Both met as children and have continued
their friendship through the military where they were Special Forces Army
Rangers. Now after an undercover mission to protect someone they care
about they decide to stay at the school and finish the repairs that they were
doing while on the mission, this is where they meet Isabella, a teacher at the
school. Leif was clearly a Dom, being raised by two fathers, he needs the
power he gets when a woman willing offers her submission to him. I found
him to be abrasive in his personality but he did it in a very sexy
manner. When he says drop the sheets and expose yourself, women don’t
take long looking into his Viking blue eyes before they obey. He was also
a no nonsense type of man. Cuddles, soft words and enabling are not part
of his genetic makeup and he is going to have to adapt to not only Isabella but
his friend Caleb’s way of dealing with their dream woman.
Caleb
doesn’t really get the whole need to dominate a woman, he feels you can get her
to love you and make passionate love by encouraging and using soft tones and
verbal cues. He sees the softer, fragile side of Isabella and he wants to
give her the nurturing she didn’t get due to events in her past. While he
had talked to Leif extensively about the domination part of their threesome, he
understands how it could work but for him, he has to follow his own gentle
heart. I found both men to be sexy and attractive and I really enjoyed
the different views of these two when discussing issues regarding how to solve
the problems involving their woman.
While
being a beautiful woman with a heart of gold, Isabella left me on more than one
occasion wanting to slap some sense in her. She is one of the most
confusing characters I have read in a while. Knowing how her college
years unfolded we were able to understand she carried a lot of heart break,
guilt, isolation and regrets. Mix that with body image issues and I could
eventually understand that her courage to save the children at the school was
not only because she cared but also the fact she had no desire or reason to
keep herself safe. I also wondered if this wasn’t her way of trying to
make amends with her “God” or humanity for the things she saw as major
character flaws in herself. There were points in the book she was a hero
and such a strong woman that I admired, then she would have mental break downs
and you could see the shattered young woman who just wanted to be worthy of
love and doubted it would ever happen.
With
her two different personalities Leif and Caleb were the perfect pair for
her. I enjoyed watching them try to heal her old wounds while convincing
her that she couldn’t put herself in danger for the kids and families of the
school. She gave up a lot in her life to do “charity” work at this poor
school and her work is going to suck in Leif and Caleb giving them more to live
for than the relationship. I loved this book, it was full of emotion and
healing and those three made a great team to watch as they molded each person
into becoming a family. Amazing things happen at Fate Harbor.
Caleb made sure the door was shut softly and they were well away
from Isabella’s room, before he rounded on Leif.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” Though his tone was low, he
knew that Leif was aware he was being shouted at.
“What is your problem?”
“You looked like you were ready to spank that
girl in there.” Caleb looked at his friend, and didn’t see a single bit of
remorse on Leif’s face. He couldn’t believe the level of stupidity that was
surrounding him today. First, there was Isabella who couldn’t see that she had
been a child wracked with sorrow, reaching out for comfort, and used by
predatory scum in college. Now here was Leif, with his inner Dom in full force,
planning on showing her the error of her ways because she didn’t think she was
worthy.
“Caleb, didn’t you hear the crap that she was saying about
herself?”
“Yes, Leif, I did. Shall I recap for you?” Caleb knew his voice
was sarcastic, but his temper was blown. Leif should know better than this. He
continued, “I know that we are dealing with someone who has almost no sexual
experience. Would you agree?” Caleb waited, and finally Leif nodded.
“We are dealing with someone who thinks she has been promiscuous
and if I had to guess, based on her upbringing, she sees what happened to her
as something sinful that she alone caused. Are you with me, Leif? Are you
tracking?”
“Yes, Samuels, I’m tracking.”
“We are dealing with someone who is sheltered and by her own
admission, is still struggling with her deep attraction to the two of us. Still
with me?” Leif just stared at him.
“And that precious woman in there just basically said that she
cared enough for us, that she could see herself falling in love with us. She
told us that she wants us to have the best possible woman to make a life with,
but that she doesn’t think that she is good enough to be that woman.” Caleb
took a deep breath and continued. “She said that, Leif, because she is
empathetic, caring, loving and wonderful. Meanwhile, you’re over there thinking
with your goddamn dominant dick, instead of realizing that we have a chance to
nurture and love and be loved by the best thing that has ever happened to us.”
Caleb watched as his words sank in.
“But how can she doubt herself like that, Caleb? It makes no
sense!” Leif walked over to the counter where he had left his beer, felt the
warm bottle and poured it down the sink before getting a cold one out of the
fridge.
“Didn’t you ever spend any time with your mom or your sister?”
Caleb held out his hand and Leif handed him a beer as well.
“Yeah, I guess Kara was going through some stuff where she
didn’t know which way was up, but she always knew her own worth.” Seriously
surrounded by stupidity, Caleb thought to himself as he took a pull
from his beer.
“Leif, let’s look at this from another angle. I know that there
were times when all four of you Johansen kids took shit because you had two
dads.”
“We sure as hell didn’t take it for long.” Leif’s grin was
feral. Caleb couldn’t help but smile back. Growing up in Fate Harbor, he was
often right beside Caleb and his siblings whenever a disparaging comment was
made about the Johansen parents being a triad. Soon there was no kid in school
who had anything to say about the Johansens or any triad families, because they
knew they’d get the shit kicked out of them.
“What I’m saying is that Isabella is cut from a different cloth
than the Johansen clan. Clearly, she got called some pretty vicious names while
she was in college. These accusatory labels apparently tied into her moral
upbringing. So it’s easy to see how she ended up with some deep-seated beliefs
about who she is, and level of worthiness she’s assigned to herself since those
days. This is not about somebody who is mouthing off things to
offend her Dom so she can get spanked, Leif! This is a young woman who has a
broken mirror.” Caleb took another long pull off his beer and set it down on
the counter, happy to see Leif really thinking about what he had said. He
turned and made his way back down the hall.
Trusting Chance
Josie Decker and Chance Reynolds knew each other years ago when they were in the same foster home, before Josie's birth mother reclaimed her. Now, Chance and his best friend, Sam Booth an Afghan war veteran are living in Fate Harbor, Washington, when Josie reestablishes ties with her foster parents and opens a bakery in the quaint town. Chance realizes that growing up with her birth mother has left Josie with physical and emotional scars and a deep belief that she is unworthy of love. Fate Harbor is very accepting of triad alliances, and Chance believes that the relationship that will ultimately heal Josie is one that includes both he and Sam. Sam's recent trauma, fighting for his country, has left him beyond hurt. Chance has despaired of saving the brother of his heart, but finding Josie again has given him hope, and a plan. Can the three of them make the perfect future together?
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Protecting Olivia
After almost being beaten to death, Olivia Prescott is recovering in Fate Harbor. There she meets firefighter Joshua Parker, who was everything she wants in a man, and she begins to fall in love. Later, his best friend and fellow firefighter, Ian Ransom, returns, and she recognizes a long lost piece of her soul. Rather than coming between the two friends, she flees back to Boston. When Joshua and Ian find out that Olivia's life is in danger, they realize that their friendship and Olivia mean more to them than any sense of betrayal. They recognize that to keep her they must learn to share her. Their background in law enforcement allows Joshua and Ian to protect Olivia while helping to discover who is behind the attempts on her life. While finding out who is behind the plot to kill Olivia, can they convince Olivia that the three of them are meant to be together and make a life in Fate Harbor?
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Claiming Kara
Five years ago, Kara Johansen met and fell in love with brothers Ben and Quinn Shotbrook while on vacation with her fire fighter brothers in Sitka, Alaska.They planned to marry, when tragedy struck the Shotbrook family, leaving the brothers to care for their mother and younger brothers again. They sent Kara back home to Fate Harbor, Washington, promising that one day they would reunite. Years later, Kara has made the decision that she wants to marry and start a family of her own. She has put away her dreams of ever being with Ben and Quinn and instead focuses on men who are available to her here and now. Her meddling brothers inform Ben and Quinn of her plans. The brothers Shotbrook rush to Fate Harbor to do whatever it takes to reclaim the woman they never stopped loving. Has too much changed between them to save their love?
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I write the Fate Harbor series for Siren. Fate Harbor is based on the Pacific Northwest town where I grew up, and filled with the same kind of quirky, loving people I remember.
My books are filled with men and women who aren't perfect. They have problems, issues, angst, but every single one of them are good people who are deserving of love, (and steamy ménage sex.)
On May 23rd 2014, USA Today Recommended "Protecting Olivia" in their Hot New Romance Books. "Protecting Olivia" is book number two in the Fate Harbor Series.
I hope you'll take your time to explore the site, check out the books and excerpts and sign up for the newsletter. You can also send me comments. I would LOVE to hear whose story your think should be next.
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