FIND ME TRILOGY (Dark Pleasures)
by Julie Kenner
Paranormal Romance
Published on January, 2015
A
doomed woman. A dangerous and mysterious man. And an epic passion that cannot
be denied…
From the first moment I saw Malcolm, I felt his
power shudder through me. Lithe and powerful, dark and controlling, he cast a
spell over me that I didn’t understand, but to which I willingly surrendered.
One touch and I melted. One glance into his
storm-swept eyes and I was lost. One kiss, and I was bound.
But sometimes passion can burn to hot, and it would
take all of our strength for Mal and I to survive the fire that raged between
us…
NOTE TO READERS: Each
of the 1001 Dark Nights novellas is a
stand-alone, be sure not to miss Caress of Darkness by Julie Kenner. The Find
Me books are a true trilogy spanning Mal and Christina’s romance and are meant
to be read in order
The alley
is about as wide as a car, and as I follow him past a collection of rather
pungent smelling garbage cans, we pass a heavy door that I assume opens to the
bar’s kitchen. A single bulb above the door emits a dim light that ostensibly
illuminates the alley, but really only makes the shadows deeper.
I hear a
rustling behind me and turn, expecting to find Roger. Instead, it’s the flame
lady.
The first
thing I notice is that her face looks normal.
The
second thing is the knife in her hand.
I scream
and stumble backward even as the big gray blob of a cat launches itself from
the top of a trashcan and connects with her face.
The knife
goes flying, but that doesn’t deter the woman, whose fingers close around my
upper arm.
In that
freakish trick of time, everything seems to slow and the world is suddenly more
clear than it has ever been.
I feel
the pressure of her fingers.
I see the
cat hissing from behind a plastic crate.
I hear
Brayden calling my name.
And I see
a strange, colorful blade of light slice sideways from behind the woman, neatly
lopping off her head to reveal the tall, dark, god of a warrior wielding a
sword behind her.
What the fuck?
Some part
of me thinks that I have snapped. That whatever bit of crazy I have inherited
from my mother has battled its way to the surface and is all set to drag me
back under.
Except I
don’t believe that. This doesn’t feel like crazy—which is a ridiculous
rationalization, when you get right down to it. I mean, if you are losing your
mind, chances are you believe that you’re perfectly sane.
Even so,
I am not worried about my sanity. And, frankly, I don’t have time to be
concerned about my laissez-faire attitude toward these strange
goings-on. Time has snapped back into place, and there is a body falling to the
ground, and Brayden has my hand and he is yanking me toward the back of the
alley where, presumably, there is another way out.
We don’t
even make it one step.
The
warrior holds up a hand, and the air seems suddenly charged. It rolls toward us
in waves, its force knocking us both backward. Me against the brick wall and
Braydon to the ground. I see him hit his head, and I cry out, afraid he’s been
knocked unconscious, but the air is so thick that the sound can’t even travel.
Then the
wave dissipates and I’m left gasping as the warrior approaches me, that
strange, sword-like weapon tight in his hand.
I tilt my
head back, breathing hard.
I realize
with some surprise that I’m not scared. On the contrary, everything seems oddly
familiar. Like deja vu on steroids.
And in
that moment, I am certain that the fierce looking warrior with the sad gray
eyes is going to kill me. More than that, I’m certain that he has killed me
before, which really makes no sense whatsoever.
I open my
mouth to beg him to stop, but that is not the word that comes out.
Instead,
I hear myself saying, “Malcolm?”
As always I love Julie Kenner's books. This series was different from some of the other Julie Kenner/J. Kenner books I've read, but I loved it too. We were introduced to some of the characters, including Malcolm in Caress of Darkness. That book is meant to be a standalone, but reading Caress of Darkness before the trilogy definitely helps set the time, place, and explains a bit of Malcolm's background.
But I don't believe it's necessary to read Caress first, just helpful. These books are meant to be read in order as a trilogy. Reading them out of order would probably be very confusing. So I wouldn't suggest that.
From the moment Jaymie meets Malcolm she knows him. They connect in a way that she's never connected with anyone else and she feels drawn to him. We learn in Find Me in Darkness that Jaymie does know Malcolm. They are soulmates and are meant to be together. But fate has cursed them and Mal has been called upon to end Jaymie (who was known as Christina in a prior life) time and again.
In the Find Me Trilogy Malcolm is determined to end the cycle that is not only killing his beloved. He is determined to help Jaymie/Christina and prove that love can conquer all.
Malcolm is dominant, powerful, and sexy. Jaymie/Christina is beautiful, wounded, but no less strong. Their love is timeless and they prove that love conquers all.
I don't love serial romances usually because you have to wait for each book. This series was wonderful in that each book was released one week after the next. There was no waiting. Great job, Julie!
I loved this series and give it 4 1/2 stars!
FIND
ME IN DARKNESS (Part 1)
Published
on January 13th, 2015
FIND
ME IN PLEASURE (Part 2)
Published
on January 20th, 2015
FIND
ME IN PASSION (Part 3)
Published on January 27th, 2015
J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times,
USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and International bestselling
author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of
genres. Though known primarily for her award-winning and international
bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that
have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been
writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal
and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, Victorian-era
thrillers (coming soon), and paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter,
Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, has been
consistently in development in Hollywood since prior to publication. Most
recently, it has been optioned by Warner Brothers Television for development as
series on the CW Network with Alloy Entertainment producing. JK has been
praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and
eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market
on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for him.” A
three time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK
took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in
2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy). Her books have sold
well over a million copies and are published in over over twenty countries. In
her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First
Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in
Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two
daughters, and two rather spastic cats.
