Cherry
Blossom
Vampire
Cherry
Book
II
Sotia
Lazu
Genre: Erotic Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Acelette Press
Date of Publication: 18 December
2014
ISBN: 978-0692291986
ASIN: B00OS4WZ7U
Number of pages: 228
Word Count: 59,120
Cover Artist: Sotia Lazu
Book Description:
With her murderous maker still on
the run, Cherry has enough on her mind even before her newly turned boyfriend,
Alex, demands they meet each other's parents. Constantine, her ex and now
member of the vampire council, is suspiciously quick to allow this breach of
vampire law. It soon becomes clear there's a lot Cherry doesn't know about her
family's past.
And it's threatening her present
and her future.
Alex is changing, Ádísa is dead
but not as gone as she should be, and feelings forced aside are reconsidered.
Back in her hometown, and faced with an overabundance of new information,
Cherry is determined to fight for herself, her family, and her man.
That's when her world is turned
upside down.
Again.
Excerpt:
“There has been
a possible sighting of Willoughby.” Constantine motioned at Liza, and she
hurried to refill his teacup.
Gag.
“I can’t say
more at this time, but you should be getting ready for a trip at short notice,”
he said.
Alex nodded, unperturbed
as always by Constantine’s exaggerated air of mystery.
I wasn’t that
big a person. “You got us out of bed to tell us someone’s seen the bad guy, but
not who or where? What’s next?” I deepened my voice to a basso. “It will rain
one day in the near or distant future.” In my normal pitch, I asked, “Was that
doomsday-worthy enough for you?”
“Cherry, this is
all I can tell you right now. You have to trust me. What matters is we may have
a clue as to his surroundings, if not his intentions.”
“A clue you
won’t share with the class.”
“I’m sure he’ll
tell us more when he knows more.” Alex placed one hand over mine, which I’d
apparently fisted without realizing it. His effort at soothing me had the
opposite result.
“He knows more
now.” I locked my gaze on Constantine’s. “Don’t you?”
Constantine
shook his head and smiled ruefully. “When did you become so cynical?”
I scrunched my
face in mock concentration, then widened my eyes. “I know! Must have been about
the same time I found out you’d been lying to me for years, and our entire
relationship was a sham. Yup, that was the exact moment.”
His eyes were a
stormy midnight blue that usually meant anger or extreme pain. Yes, the man
came with preinstalled mood-rings on his face.
I wasn’t being
fair. His maker had appointed him my sponsor. She wanted me to fall for him,
and it hadn’t taken long for that to happen. But at the time, Constantine
didn’t know Ádísa had ordered my turning. And contrary to her wishes, he’d
really loved me in return. Just weeks ago, he insisted he still did.
Liza walked up
behind Constantine, and laid both hands on his shoulders. Until that moment,
I’d only thought of her as Head Concubine. I’d assumed all they shared was sex
and blood. Apparently, I’d been at least partially wrong there.
How well she
knew him astounded me. Even though Constantine’s posture didn’t change, Liza
noticed the subtle increase of tension in his body, just like I did. Thing was,
I couldn’t tell if Constantine’s discomfort was out of guilt over the lies he’d
told me in the past—for which he’d atoned by killing his own maker—or because
he really knew more about Willoughby than he let on.
I didn’t want it
to be the latter. Not when he’d been regaining my trust. My stomach clenched at
the possibility. Instead of asking him, I said, “Fine, be mysterious. But while
we’re here, can you remind Alex we’re not supposed to keep in touch with our
families?” Might as well get one problem out of the way.
The tiny lines
of tension around Constantine’s eyes smoothed out, and his jaw relaxed. Was it
me, or did my ex seem relieved by my change of subject?
Before
Constantine could speak, Alex piped in. “I want Cherry and me to meet each
other’s folks. I know it’s not something vampires do, but I’m still alive as
far as my mother knows, and I don’t see how Cherry’s family would be anything
but ecstatic to see her again. She was never declared dead, just missing, so
she can tell them she was off finding herself or something.”
I didn’t expect
the matter-of-fact way he’d presented his case to do him any good. What he was
asking went against council policy. No way would Constantine condone it.
Constantine
smiled, his irises now faded to their normal light blue. “We have been doing
things our own way for a while now.” He shrugged, apparently oblivious to how
my mouth gaped at his response. “I don’t see why you shouldn’t do as you
please, as long as you’re careful. I will, however, be joining you when you
visit Cherry’s parents. As a precautionary measure, in case things go awry.
I’ll have to make some arrangements first, but we should be able to leave by
the end of the week.”
It was obvious
from Alex’s eager expression that he’d go along with anything to get the
go-ahead for his silly fantasy. I didn’t exactly view things the same way. It
was weird how readily Constantine had agreed.
“Precautionary
measure?” I asked. “You plan to mind-wipe them, if our little reunion is
threatening to the vampire community?” Meaning if my parents somehow realized I
was undead, freaked out, and threatened to tell the world about our existence.
The look he gave
me was full of scorn. “No.” The word sounded like it was mentally accompanied
by several non-flattering adjectives. “What I had in mind was that you’ll have
a member of the council with you, in case another vampire realizes what you’re
up to. My presence will make your visit legitimate.” I could swear I heard him
finish his sentence in my head with, “You idiot.”
“Oh.” Because,
what else could I say? He only had our best interest at heart, and I really
should stop being so suspicious of him. If he said it was all right, it
probably was. “Okay then, I guess.”
Constantine
grinned. “Besides, a road trip with just the three of us? Think how much fun it
will be.”
Yeah, he was
hiding something, all right. All this cheer wasn’t normal. “What’s in it for
you?” I asked.
“Just the
pleasure of your company.” His mocking tone and arched eyebrow didn’t exactly
vouch for his sincerity.
About
the Author:
Sotia’s making do with Greek
reality, while writing and mostly thinking in English.
She loves romances with a twist
and urban fantasy novels, always with vivid erotic elements. Her favorite
characters to write are not conventional hero-material at first glance, and she
enjoys making them fight for their happiness.
Sotia shares her life and living
quarters with her husband, their son, and two rescue dogs, one of which may be
part-pony. Sappy movies make her bawl like a baby, and she wishes she could
take in all the stray dogs in the world.
Also, she hates mornings!
@justsotia
Tour
giveaway
One paperback of Cherry Blossom open to international shipping
3 ebook copies of Cherry Stem
(Book I)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for posting about Cherry Blossom :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great vampire read.
ReplyDelete