Sapphire Blue by G. Doucette

"WARNING: DARK THEMES, EXPLICIT CONTENT"

Published by http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/books 

My Thoughts:

Wow... Sapphire Blue by G. Doucette certainly goes off on an unexpected tangent. 

Have you ever dreamed of a looming catastrophe, where you are just an ordinary bystander watching the drama unfold around you? Imagine a train comes careening, too fast around a corner; you see the engine derail, leaving the tracks speeding to a place no train should go. Transfixed you watch, knowing disaster is coming. Knowing you have no hope of stopping the carriages with your bare hands and your shrill, panicked voice. And knowing all this, you still you cry out a warning and reach out in vain with arms that even if close enough would be able to push the barreling locomotive back on its course.

Sapphire Blue is like that. Argent is the train steadily loosing control; Mara is a passenger with no real inkling of her pending doom, and you the reader are the forever traumatised witness wishing desperately to push them both back on a course, towards something true and maybe a little safer.

Poor, poor Mara. Her life was so well ordered before the advent of Argent. At first, like so many relationships where a good girl meets a bad boy, the sex is all heat, excitement and raw passion. However Argent isn’t the hero of this tale, he’s not going mend his ways and become the man of Mara’s dreams. He is a sick @$&* with some supernatural shit in his corner, and Mara is the catalyst... the conductive material for a sexual experiment.

This book crosses into dark themes and scenes and the reader should be prepared.

For myself, I enjoyed the story. Yes, even the darkness and the controversy - though it did make me uncomfortable. Possession as a means of sexual exploitation is not a new concept in fiction. Dean Koontz has delved near to this topic on at least two occasions, using hypnotherapy in False Memory and chemical mind control in Night Chills. I would love to discuss this in a bookclub group one day. It would be interesting to analyse / philosophise / debate the difference between the act of giving consent, and supernatural possession creating the illusion of consent. 

Read this book and tell me who is the victim and who is the perpetrator, in all the many situations where you can find such identities. It won’t be as simple as you think. 

My Rating:

❀❀❀❀

Disclaimer:

I obtained an ARC from the publisher (via Netgalley) with a view to providing an honest review. The thoughts expressed above, are entirely my own. I don’t like the concept of rating novels as they are subjective to the moment. A five star book today, may be re-evaluated when compared to future novels.

The Summary:

Mara Cantor’s life is boring and uncomplicated, and she likes it that way. She has her internship at the museum—a job she shares with her roommate, Davis—and while it is low-paying and occasionally mind-numbing, it gives her all the free time she needs to finish her thesis. And that is just fine.

But when Argent Leeds, the internationally famous playboy and raconteur, visits Mara’s museum, he brings with him the most exciting archeological discovery in decades: the Pazuzu gemstones. Long assumed to be nothing more than a myth by most scholars, the gemstones are rumored to possess mystical powers.

Between Argent, his gemstones, and Davis, Mara’s boring life has suddenly gotten very complicated. Now she is caught up in a sexual adventure that is either the most exciting time of her life . . . or the most terrifying.

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Available From:

The Writer's Coffee Shop, Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Kobo

About the Author:

Gene Doucette is an award-winning screenwriter, novelist, playwright, humorist, essayist, father, husband, cyclist, dog owner – and a few other things, too. He is, in other words, a writer. A graduate of Boston College, he lives in Cambridge, MA with his family.

Sapphire Blue is Doucette’s first foray into the erotica genre, and will be available for purchase in both paperback and e-book formats on February 27, 2014.

Connect with G. Doucette:

Facebook, Goodreads, Website, Twitter, Tumblr

Other books by Gene Doucette

 

Andromeda's Fall by Abigail Owen

Andromeda's Fall

by Abigail Owen 

Designed by: Regina Wamba from Mae I Design
Publication Date: February 25, 2014
Series: Shadowcat Nation, Book One
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance (18+)

Andie Reynolds is being hunted. After witnessing her mother's violent death at the hands of a pack of wolf shifters, Andie has devoted her life to protecting her community of cougar shifters from a similar fate. But now, a greater threat lies within her own dare, and she must run. If she stays, Kyle Carstairs will try to force their Mating, seeking the added power their union would provide.

Andie would rather chew off her own foot than end up with Kyle. Though, knowing him, she won't live long either way. Andie's only hope of survival is to Mate the Alpha of the Keller Dare with which she is seeking asylum. But before she can get to him, Andie must first go through A.J., one of the Alpha's Protectors. The incredibly frustrating shifter insists on challenging her story, her skills, her trust… and her heart.

Andie is running out of options and out of time. But risking the life of someone she loves - just to save herself - goes against every instinct she has.

MY THOUGHTS

There is nothing better that good morphing artwork! The successful blending of the two figures in the cover of Andromeda's Fall is nothing short of astounding. I also love the shadowed areas which serve two purposes; 1) to highlight the features of the main character 2) to hide the more personal areas of her body, giving the viewer a hint of her form without revealing anything… very sexy!

The red patterned border on the right side is unusual and creates a visual tension that is well executed, especially when offset by the minimalist inking in it's complimentary green on the left. About the only issue I have with this cover is the position of the arm and the bright white triangle of light it leaves against the ladies cheek… but otherwise its perfect.

EXCERPT

Andie crouched low, obscured from view in the underbrush, and watched the compound with a quiet patience born of experience. If her calculations were correct, the next patrol of guards would pass by within the minute. Her posture and expression didn’t shift an inch when, moments later, she was proven correct. As soon as the patrol passed out of sight, Andie moved, swift and silent as a shadow. She sprinted across the well-cut lawn, ignoring the pain radiating throughout her body, and was up and over the wall, using her momentum and the corners formed by a turn in the wall surrounding the installation. She dropped to the ground on the other side with a barely audible thud.

Andie found herself on the back side of a well-manicured garden. She stayed completely still, crouched low to the ground once more, and took her time observing her location. Ahead, about the length of a football field, she could see light from the main building in the complex. The glow spilled from a pair of glass doors and across the trees and plants, creating patches of dark and light.

A plan in mind, Andie moved again, using the pools of darkness and groupings of plants for cover. She didn’t go for the doors. They were too obvious and were likely wired for the alarm system and required some kind of code to get in and out. But on the second floor, one of the windows was wide open, allowing the cool nighttime breeze in. With agile grace, Andie swung herself up into the branches of a large tree. She took care to only use her right arm, which slowed her down a bit. As quickly as she could without rustling the leaves, she made her way up to the branch closest to that open window. And she stopped again. And observed.

Andie didn’t move for close to thirty minutes as she watched. And then, without any warning, she leapt, putting all the power of her feline form into the action. She didn’t shift exactly - she was trying to avoid that right now since it would be seen as a direct threat - but she used the might of the beast inside her to clear the distance to the window. She sailed through the opening and immediately tucked and rolled as she hit the ground. She found her feet and returned to her crouch.

Using her cat’s hearing, she waited. Someone might have heard the sound of her landing. Her injured left arm was messing with her usual finesse. At the same time as she listened, she also turned in a slow circle, checking that room she was in was empty. Many minutes later, satisfied that she was alone and that no one was coming for her… yet… Andie moved to the door of the room she currently occupied. Cracking it open a hair, she looked down the hallway.

She tensed to open the door all the way and then froze in place when a deep, male voice sounded from directly behind her, “Stop where you are.”

Dammit, Andie thought. How the hell did he find me?

About the Author

Award-winning author, Abigail Owen was born in Greeley, Colorado and raised in Austin, Texas. She now resides in Northern California with her husband and two adorable children who are the center of her universe. 

Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. A fourth generation graduate of Texas A&M University, she attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by obtaining a degree in English Rhetoric/Technical Writing. However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.

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