Review ~ Wrapped in Shadows by Lisa Eugene

One night of shadows. One night of bliss. One night of evil.

Katherine Regina Vandercamp has everything. Wealth. Beauty. Social standing. She’s the heiress to the Vandercamp fortune and engaged to the man of her dreams. One night it all shatters…

Finding her fiancé with another woman, she is distraught and makes a reckless decision to go with a friend to a sex club. Needing total anonymity, she has sex with a stranger in a room of total darkness, a sensuous cocoon of silky shadows. She has no idea who this man is or what he looks like. But it is in the shadows she finds solace. In the shadows she finds bliss.

She can’t forget this stranger’s touch, his taste, his scent. He infiltrates her dreams and holds her thoughts and body captive. But had she made a false assumption about her fiancé? Had he really been unfaithful? She regrets her hasty actions and is tormented by guilt. She is determined to marry the man she loves and forget her stranger.

Sinister events unfolded at the sex club. There was a gruesome murder and her stranger has been charged with the crime. Katie knows he’s innocent because she was with him at the time of the murder. She is shocked to find that he’s not a stranger after all. Will she reveal her horrible secret? Will she besmirch the Vandercamp name? Will she risk losing the man who has her heart to save the man who’s touched her soul?

Will coming forward put her in danger? Her life is in turmoil. All because of that one night.

A night that changed everything…

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About the Author:

Lisa Eugene began writing as a way to mentally escape from the hectic medical world where she has been a practicing nurse for over twenty years. After publishing her first novel, STRICTLY BUSINESS, she quickly learned that readers couldn't get enough of the world she created and now she lives out her wildest fantasies by writing steamy romantic suspense for her fan-favorite Washington Memorial Hospital series.

When she's not plotting her next dangerous, fast-paced, sexy adventure, you can find her juggling a full time job, playing soccer mom, or curled up reading a good romance.

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My Thoughts:

Oh Sweet Heavenly Bliss! This book was off the charts hot!

I absolutely LOVED The stranger. I won't tell you his name so that you will be surprised but he is so hot and sweet and protective and loyal and just plain AWESOME!

Katie also has a jerk of a fiance named Josh. as wonderful as Mr. Stranger is, Josh is equally his total opposite. The problem is that Katie has a kind and loving heart and tries to see the best in everyone including him. I understand and in a way it was admirable but I found myself being frustrated with her as well.

Wrapped in Shadows had an immense amount of sizzling sex, suspense, and sweetness all wrapped up with sprinklings of romance, danger, secrets, hidden agendas, a foundation that helps the community, and a set of obnoxiously snobby parents. There are one or two other surprises that will delight you as well!

This is so much more than just a romance! The suspense will have you guessing and the steam will have you hot and bothered.

If you like your books hot or suspenseful, you NEED to read this one. I was in the middle of attempting to read two other books and they just weren't cutting it so I started this one. I stayed up all night and finished it in one sitting with hardly even a bathroom break.

I urge you to put this at the top of you reading pile. Skip the TBR list and read it right away! ;-) You'll thank me.

I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I thought it was phenomenal.

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Present Perfect
 
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Blurb from Goodreads:

I’ve been unsure about many things in my life except for one thing, that I have always loved him. Every single minute of every single day that I have been on this earth, my heart has belonged to him. It has never been a question, never a doubt. The love had taken on many different forms over the years, but it had always been a constant.

Everyone has their definition of love. There have been countless songs sung about it. A gazillion books, articles, and poems written about it. There are experts on love who will tell you how to get it, keep it, and get over it.

We’re led to believe love is complicated. It’s not the love that’s complicated. It’s all the crap that we attach to it and put in front of it that makes it difficult. If you’re smart, you’ll realize this before it’s too late and simplify.

Amanda Kelly spent her entire life trying to control every aspect of it, while striving for perfection. Her obsession with being perfect, along with her feelings of worthlessness, consumed her. The one thing she thought was perfect in her life was the bond she shared with her best friend, Noah.

Everything was going according to her life plan until she woke up one day and realized she had fallen in love with him. The one thing she couldn’t control was the affect he had on her. Noah had the power to give her one hundred lifetimes of happiness, which also gave him the power to completely devastate her. He was the one thing in her life that was perfect, but she couldn't allow herself to have him.

Her life begins to unravel. Events take over and force her to let go of her dreams and desires. She needs to realize that a person cannot control the events in their life, only their reaction to them...but will it be too late for her to save her relationship with her best friend?

Present Perfect is a story of how past events have present consequences and how perfect your present could be if you stopped fighting and just allowed it to happen.

 Past Imperfect

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Blurb from Goodreads:

In Present Perfect, Brad Johnson was sexy, cocky, rich and a complete Smurff**ker. He could afford anything he wanted and could charm any girl he set his eyes on. Everything was laid out in front of him, all for the taking except the one thing he craved and needed. A tragic event forces him to reevaluate his life. When he tries to change, will the people in his life let him move on from his past or will they constantly hold him to the life altering mistakes he’s made?

Mabry Darnell is intelligent, ambitious, beautiful, and sassy. Secrets from her past haunt the present causing her to question her actions in order to shield her heart and protect her life.

From the moment Brad and Mabry met, their connection was strong, intense, and electrifying. Both knew they had found the one person who could satisfy what the other ached for. When their pasts collide with their present, will it prevent them from having a future together or will love be strong enough to conquer their demons?


Have you read either of these? What do you think?

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Spotlight on Shannon’s Gift: A Story of Love, Loss, and Recovery by Nate Bennett

~ Book Synopsis ~

In this raw, emotional memoir, Nate Bennett shares the blog he maintained to work through his grief over the sudden loss of his wife Shannon. He is surprised and comforted to discover a vast virtual community of support. His blog posts—alternately poignant and of dry wit—eventually attracted tens of thousands of hits and a following from readers who hadn’t known the couple. This unique book gives the reader a window into the starkness of a widower’s grieving experience in real time. What comes through in virtually every post is his love for Shannon as he weaves in vignettes from their life together, chronicling their love story and his efforts to recover. And in the end, with the support of his virtual community and the strength he was able to draw from remembering Shannon’s wishes for him, he finds love again.

Title: Shannon’s Gift: A Story of Love, Loss, and Recovery

Author: Nate Bennett

Genre: Grieving, loss, love story

Publish Date: June 1, 2014

Publisher: Booklogix

Event organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.

Book Trailer

Purchase Links: Amazon * B&N * Booklogix * iTunes




Excerpt:

November 10

Today I am thinking about the best age to become a widower. The question came to mind because I found myself thinking that from where I stood, the grass was greener in every direction. I hate the self-pity—I really do. So I was trying to work my way through it to get past it.

If I was younger, I might not have Spencer and Reid. Or I might be in a severe struggle to try to raise them right. Or I would have lots of mobility restrictions. But if I was younger I would feel like there was still enough runway ahead to use to launch something great. If I was older, I might not feel as frightened about spending the time I have left alone. I might be able to just work myself to death. I like my work—so that isn’t as bad as it sounds. But 30 years of working myself to death is too long.

I think I am a widower at the worst age. I am a ‘tweener widower. Too old for round two, too young to throw in the towel. So much for working through the self-pity!

Changing the sheets today. The thought passed that I could wash the sheets half as often if I slept for a week on my side and then a week on Shannon’s side. Think of all the water I would save the planet. I could be an eco-hero. I quickly realized that I am careful when I go to bed, when I wake up, when I walk around the bedroom, to NOT look at Shannon’s side of the bed. I have her side of the bed covered with pillows. I think part of me is trying to “hide” her side of the bed from the rest of me. So I don’t think I’ll be sleeping over there any time soon.

The final deep thought for the day was that my bad moments come in two different flavors. I am not sure I understood them this way before. One is when I am overcome by loneliness from missing Shannon. I get very, very sad. That is a curl up in a ball and wait for it to pass thing. The other is when I am overcome with fright about being alone. That is a get up and do stuff to be distracted thing.

So today was a frightened about being alone day. Boy, was I busy. Bank, carwash, tailor (she said “it’s good to see you,” not “how are you?”), Reid’s bank, FedEx shop, lunch, grocery store, liquor store (for party Sunday).

Came out to the car, turned on the car. Song playing on the radio is “Miss You” by the Rolling

Stones. Really? Not fair.

About the Author

In the fall of 2011, Nate lost his wife of 26 years in a shocking turn of events. She’d just had an outpatient procedure on her shoulder and the doctor sent Nate to get the car to bring her home. In the next few minutes, things went terribly wrong. Shannon collapsed, never to recover. After more than a week in a critical care unit in pursuit of a cure, Nate honored Shannon’s wishes and had her life support discontinued and she died shortly later. Nate’s book, Shannon’s Gift, is the result of the blog Nate kept during Shannon’s hospitalization and after her death. Initially, the purpose of the blog was to keep friends and family informed of Shannon’s condition. Quickly, though, the blog became Nate’s catharsis and a way to stay connected to a web of supporters.

After the sudden loss of his wife, Nate was surprised and comforted to discover a vast virtual community of support. His blog posts – alternately expressing poignancy and dry wit – eventually attracted tens of thousands of readers and a following from people around the world that didn’t even know Nate or his wife. The unique book gives the reader a window into the starkness of a widower’s grief in real time and a look at how social media has changed grieving in today’s world. In the end, with the support of his virtual community and the strength he was able to draw from remembering Shannon’s wishes for him, he finds love again.

While Nate is new to the personal memoir genre, he is co-author of two management books, "Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO" and “Your Career Game: How Game Theory Can Help You Achieve Your Professional Goals.” Both are books published by Stanford University Press. Additionally, his research has been published in respected scholarly journals such as the Academy of Management Review, the Academy of Management Journal, Psychological Bulletin, and the Journal of Applied Psychology. He has also published in many widely read resources for managers including the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek.com and Forbes.com.

Nate Bennett is a professor of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University in the summer of 2012. From 1999 to 2012, he was on the faculty of the business school at Georgia Tech, where he most recently held the position of the Catherine W. and Edwin A. Wahlen Professor of Management. From 1999 until 2010, he served as associate dean and then as senior associate dean. Prior to Georgia Tech, he served on the faculty at Louisiana State University. While at LSU, he served at times as the management department’s Ph.D. program coordinator, department chair, MBA program director, and associate dean.

Nate holds a BA in sociology, as well as a MA in Social Research from Tulane University. He earned his Ph.D. in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He resides in Atlanta, GA.

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What is Mitochondrial disease?


Nate was kind enough to tell us about Shannon’s illness.

Shannon suffered from mitochondrial disease – or mito as it is known to the victims, friends, and family of those afflicted. A mito patient’s mitochondria are not effective at “producing the power” that cells need to function and that organs need to thrive. It is relatively rare; something like 1 in 3,000 are affected by it. Its cause is not well understood, there is no truly effective treatment, and there is no cure. On the other hand, mito is critical to understand because the cellular function that mito patients lose is though to play a role is an entire constellation of conditions, including ALS, autism, and Parkinson’s.

Shannon was diagnosed in her early twenties, around the time that we were married. Her primary concern was whether or not she would pass it on to any children. At the time, she was advised that the greater risk was to her health in carrying a child to term. She was undeterred; we married and had two very healthy boys.

During her 20s and 30s, mito was really on our radar. That approach made sense because there wasn’t a treatment that was anything beyond a hope and a prayer – and because the best doctors could tell her was that she either would either (a) experience a slow descent caused by the unavoidable and untreatable cumulative effects of mito or (b) die of some other natural cause before mito had a chance to hurt her. She did try things that were thought to help, such as co-enzyme Q10 and L-carnatine, but all she could tell they were doing was creating unpleasant side-effects. Mito was out of sight and out of mind.

In her 40s, the signs of mito’s impact began to appear. Her vision – never great – got worse. Ocular myopathy, droopy eyelids, etc. She had problems with digestion. She started to have problems chewing and swallowing. She hardly ever complained. What she was was afraid of what she saw coming – an active mind trapped in a body that couldn’t function.

She was spared that future by her death. After she and I dropped our youngest at College, she finally underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery as an outpatient. The doctor came to tell me about the success of the procedure and sent me to get the car. Unfortunately, all the years that all of her systems were not being properly “fed” with energy caught up to her. Though she had awoken fine from the procedure, recovery was too much for her and she collapsed while I was driving around to pick her up. She died 11 days later and the blog started.

Do you have a question or thoughtful comment for Nate or about his book?

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