#Review: Asylum by @Danawrite (Ghost Echoes Book 1) #PNR #ghosts

Blurb:

The voices of the past are alive behind the iron gates of Bremore Asylum. Can Rachel and Matt deduce its secrets before it's too late?

When Rachel agrees to take the job investigating the disappearance of a fellow ghost hunter at Bremore Asylum, she is totally unprepared for the sexy and stubborn psychic debunker Matt Rutledge to be a part of the package. Can these two opposing forces find the answers behind the asylum's crumbling walls before they become the newest victims to the asylum's grim history?

Excerpt:

    Rachel narrowed her eyes. What little hold she held on her frayed temper snapped. Self-doubt flared, but she stamped it out as quickly as it came.

    "What's that supposed to mean?" She stepped forward, hands clenched into fists, her foot brushing against the luggage. Her hoodie slid off the suitcase and flopped unceremoniously into the dirt.

    "We haven't even started on the project and you're trying to displace me already?"

Rutledge stepped back, surprise clear on his lightly parted lips. Lips she apparently still wanted to kiss, damn his eyes. God, what was wrong with her?

    "My friend almost died because of a mistake I made. But you're already aware of that, aren't you, Mr. High and Mighty? Listen to me and listen good. I'm here because my grandmother needs me. I'm a damn fine ghost hunter, which you would already know if you bothered to see beyond what happened to Jeannie." She poked her finger into his chest and had the satisfaction of seeing him wince.

    Matt stepped back and held up his hands, a ruddy flush creeping up his cheeks. "Okay. I was out of line. Truce?" He bent down and carefully picked up her hoodie, handing it to her gingerly.

    "Thank you, Mr. Rutledge." Rachel snatched the hoodie from his hands and tied it around her waist with a firm yank. She didn't want to chance it falling in the dirt again and it was going to be a long weekend. At the rate they were going, it was going to be a full-on ice storm between them.

    A flash of humor crossed his face. "Do you think maybe you could call me Matt?"

    "That depends."

    "On what?" Matt cocked his eyebrow with surprise.

    "On whether you can stop dissecting me like one of your frauds."

Buy Links:

Breathless Press http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&products_id=681

Amazon  http://amzn.com/B00OC9R9P4

***Nona's review of Asylum***

    Who doesn’t love a ghost story? Even if you don’t believe in other worldly spirits, it’s fun to suspend your disbelief and enjoy the little chills running up your spine. This story features not only a spooky old building, but also a mysterious disappearance and a sexy conflict between dueling investigators.

    Rachel Winestock believes in ghosts and spirits. In fact, they are her livelihood. She is a paranormal investigator who’s been hired to investigate Bremore Asylum, a long abandoned hospital once used as a warehouse for society’s poor and unwanted, including unruly children and “disobedient” wives. This puts Rachel in direct conflict with Matt Rutledge, who is not only a skeptic, but a debunker of psychic phenomena. He not only wants to prove that Bremore is not haunted, but to demonstrate that Rachel is a fake. In spite of their opposing views, Rachel and Matt feel an intense attraction to each other.

    I loved how the characters in this story were placed in such delicious conflict. As they investigate the asylum where a previous investigator has disappeared, they discover they must work together not only to unearth secrets, but to save their own lives. Rachel is performing this task not just to salvage her career, but to earn enough money to rescue her beloved grandmother from a substandard nursing home. Rachel’s devotion to her grandmother made her a very sympathetic character.

    I liked Matt, too. He’s an honest man who works to expose phony psychics who take advantage of needy, desperate people (think a younger, more studly James Randi.) He’s clever and brave and ready to step into the hero role when danger threatens, but also secure enough to let Rachel take the lead when necessary.

    The story has plenty of twists and turns and more than one mystery must be solved along the way. There are surprises, too. When Matt and Rachel must deal with a very real person who wants to harm them, a ghost may be their only ally. I really enjoyed Asylum not only for the thrills and chills, but for the sympathetic characters and the sweetly sexy romance.

About the author:

Dana Wright has always had a fascination with things that go bump in the night. She is often found playing at local bookstores, trying not to maim herself with crochet hooks or knitting needles, watching monster movies with her husband and furry kids or blogging about books. More commonly, she is chained to her computers, writing like a woman possessed. She is currently working on several children's stories, young adult fiction, romantic suspense, short stories and is trying her hand at poetry. She is a contributing author to Ghost Sniffer’s CYOA, Siren’s Call E-zine in their “Women in Horror” issue in February 2013 and "Revenge" in October 2013, a contributing author to Potatoes!, Fossil Lake, Of Dragons and Magic: Tales of the Lost Worlds, Undead in Pictures, Potnia, Shadows and Light, Dark Corners, Wonderstruck, Shifters: A Charity Anthology, Dead Harvest, Monster Diaries (upcoming), Holiday Horrors and the Roms, Bombs and Zoms Anthology from Evil Girlfriend Media. She is the author of Asylum due out in October 2014.   Dana has also reviewed music for Muzikreviews.com specializing in New Age and alternative music and has been a contributing writer to Eternal Haunted Summer, Nightmare Illustrated, Massacre Magazine, Metaphor Magazine, The Were Traveler October 2013 edition: The Little Magazine of Magnificent Monsters, the December 2013 issue The Day the Zombies Ruled the Earth. She currently reviews music at New Age Music Reviews and Write a Music Review.

Follow Dana’s reviews:

Twitter: @danawrite

Author site: http://danawrightauthor.wix.com/danawright

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/danawrightauthor

Breathless Press Blog Hop

Hey all, 

Hold on to your hats, because we have a special treat for you today! We're hosting a stop on the Breathless Press Blog Hop, put on by Goddess Fish Promotions. 

Here's a little bit about Breathless Press 

Breathless Press is an e-book publisher specializing in Romance and Erotic(a) stories.

Our mission statement is simple: To provide the opportunity for readers to connect with romance authors through the purchasing of quality e-books at a low price.

Starting in the summer of 2009, Breathless Press came into existence. Since then, we have been producing top end romance and erotic stories for valued readers to enjoy.

Our Goal?

Breathless Press is an electronic publisher of paranormal, erotic, and mainstream romance, releasing one to three e-books a week in a variety of downloadable formats. It is Breathless Press' mission to provide readers with quality romance books in electronic formats and to raise the standard in e-publishing.

For more information about Breathless Press, visit their website here: http://www.breathlesspress.com/ 

And now, for the really good stuff... 

First up is: The Hero Sandwich by Karyn Gerrard and Gayl Taylor

http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=15&products_id=362

Blurb:

Can three lonely people keep pain, bitterness, and grief at bay or will emotional fireworks tear down the walls surrounding their hearts?

A wild night of meaningless sex is all best friends Connie Hollingsway and Nicci Sullivan have in mind when they approach a beyond handsome, younger man in the Cougar Cave bar. They soon realize they have taken on more than they bargained for.

Barrett Michaels just found out he was cut from the Double A baseball team he played for. To drown his sorrows and ease his pain, he goes to the Cougar Cave looking for a one-night stand with an experienced, older woman. Imagine his surprise when not one, but two women suggest a night of mind-blowing sensual pleasure with no strings attached.

Can three lonely people keep pain, bitterness, and grief at bay or will emotional fireworks tear down the walls surrounding their hearts?

Excerpt:

As far as Connie Hollingsway was concerned, she'd just found the meat filling for her hero sandwich. She cast a quick glance to her best friend, Nicole Sullivan, and amended her statement to our hero sandwich.

Bass from inane techno music reverberated off the wood-paneled walls of the club called the Cougar Cave that she and Nicci were at tonight. Connie's gaze slid back to the man sitting alone in a booth directly across from them and further down the wall. The man, in a word, was perfect. Ascertaining his age was difficult under the flashing strobe lights, plus he sat directly underneath a neon sign for Budweiser, which cast a reddish glow over a stunningly rugged, handsome face. The layered and tousled hair looked as if he had just rolled out of bed. Milk chocolate would be the way she'd describe the color. Like all young guys, he had a scruff of facial hair, but Connie's keen eye could make out the sexy cleft in his perfectly shaped chin. There were six empty beer bottles in front of him, and he'd just waved his arm to the waiter for more. A sly smile curved about Connie's mouth. If man-meat was drunk enough, he may be open and willing to consider her suggestion.

Leaning toward Nicci to talk about her idea, the words died in her throat when man-meat stood, shook off his leather jacket, and hung it on the coat rack attached to the back of the bench seat. He was taller than she first imagined, a few inches over six feet to be sure. A skin tight black T-shirt hugged every valley and plane of his powerful physique. Man-meat was cut, chiseled, honed, and sharpened into hardened precision, enough to rival those marble statues of Greek gods. The T-shirt, tucked into a pair of incredibly tight blue jeans, showed his torso to sculpted perfection. Fabric strained across rock hard thighs, a muscular ass and—Connie's held breath whooshed out in a moan—showed off his impressive package to perfection.

She had to get a closer look.

While his build and his aura evoked a certain maturity, there were no telltale lines fanning out from the eyes to show he may be in his thirties, nor were there heavily cut lines around his mouth. Damn, how young was he? Who cared? He was getting drunk at the Cougar Cave so naturally the man would be interested in an older woman.

Wonder how he would feel about two women?

 Woohoo! That sounds mighty hot. :-)

Next we have: To Catch a Fox: Wilder Wood, Book 1 by Raven McAllan

http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=13&products_id=354

Blurb:

Eleanor may be a lady, but even she knows that there's more than one way to catch a fox…

When Eleanor was told the foxes had returned to Wilderwood, she wondered and hoped it wasn’t just any old foxes. She’d spoken to no one of her week of passion with Alexander and Stanford Foxxe. The Foxxe brothers had warned her about their other lives, but Eleanor had been skeptical until that magical night where they had showed her their true selves. They shifted from human to animal; howled at the moon, and mated with her. Now six years later, the foxes were back. Had they come for her? If they had, would her changed circumstances alter all their plans? How would they cope with what she had become?

Excerpt:

Eleanor closed her eyes, rubbed them, blinked, and took a cautious look. If she wasn't peeking at an illusion and that was her erstwhile lovers in front of her, how were they giving an answer to all her thoughts? What was worse, what were they doing, fucking without her?

"Not everything," she said. Perhaps if it is just in my mind, then I can answer myself in an honest fashion. "You seem to have started without me."

She glanced with pointed deliberation at each cock in turn.

"'Tis easy remedied."

The illusion on her left—she knew it to be Alexander—moved toward her. His prick was released from its caress to stand proud and hard, and begged for attention. Its head was engorged and shiny. The length demanded to be touched. Eleanor licked her lips and moved towards it, before she was pushed with gentle determination backwards until she once again was stretched out on the bed. Her chemise was ripped from hem to neck in one sharp movement, the sides drawn apart to reveal her perspiration-covered body. "Our hands are for you alone; our cocks and mouths also," he continued. "Your pleasure is of the foremost concern, ours but to follow once you are sated."

His words soothed her like a warm embrace. Her essence coated her curls afresh, although the phrase 'first concern', gave her pause to smile and raise one eyebrow.

Her heart thumped. She fancied it echoed the noise of the timepiece on the mantle. She gasped as he spread her legs wide. His calloused hands were gentle on her soft skin.

"Later you may touch, now 'tis our turn to do the work. Take hold of the rail."

Ooh, and that sounds nice and spicy, too!

Next up, we have: The Fifth Story by Ivy Bateman

http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=13&products_id=340

Blurb:

When led into the world of her stories, Bryn finds her secret desires hidden in the darkness and behind every door.

Every day we encounter doors. Some of these doors are open to us and some of them are closed, but when we pass through any door, a different truth or mystery lies beyond the threshold.

The night Bryn is pulled into a world of her own stories by a shadowy being, her reality is changed forever. Souls and danger, hauntingly beautiful witches, sexy and dangerous vampires, a soldier with a dying wish; she knows that each door leads to a story and to outcomes she can't control, but in order to return home, Bryn must complete a set of tasks for the enigmatic and strangely sensual Darkness.

With four stories to enter, four items to retrieve, Bryn takes part in plot points so out of character that she almost loses herself in the tales she's written. More than once she questions her sanity and curses herself for creating such perilous realities, but she always remains focused on her goal; the creation of the fifth story.

Excerpt:

She walked quickly around the counter and headed to where the sign indicated where the washrooms were, but she couldn't find the women's room. Then she almost slapped herself with ridiculousness. Who cared if she went into the men's room? She marched over the door and pushed on it. Immediately she fell back. The door was stuck. She pushed on it harder, but could only open it about a foot. Something, or someone, was lying in front of the door. Bryn squeezed her head through the narrow space and looked down at the floor. Coran was lying passed out on the cold tile.

Bryn thought maybe something strange had happened in her story, and Coran was already dead. How lucky would that be? However, she realized that the story hadn't changed that drastically when Coran groaned, revealing that he was very much alive. He rolled over, away from the door.

With his weight suddenly off the door, and Bryn's weight still being pushed against it, the door went flying open. Bryn stumbled and fell into the washroom. None too gracefully, she hit the floor with a satisfying smack, and knocked her head against the tile floor with a hard clunk.

"Ow," she said, as she rolled on her back and pressed her hands against a rapidly rising goose egg on the right side of her head. "Ah" she yelped as the door closed on her foot.

"Are you okay?" asked a voice with a gentle Scottish brogue.

Bryn turned her head and opened her eyes. Coran, who looked like he'd been through a rough time, was leaning over her. His blond hair was a mess and it fell into his gray eyes. He had soot on his face and he smelled, not unpleasantly, of smoke. He gave her a little smile. "My dear, are you all right?" he asked her again.

She smiled in return. She was touched by his concern. The ash on his face and the apparent absence of anyone else in the castle told her she had come into the story not long after the first time she'd entered with Darkness. Coran had every right to ignore her and he really had no time to get involved with a stranger and yet, he didn't seem to be in any rush at all. Instead, he helped Bryn sit up.

As soon as his hands touched her skin, Bryn gasped and felt her heart beat quicken. Coran looked embarrassed and quickly, on unsteady legs, he stood up and got a paper towel. He wet it with warm water and kneeled down a couple feet away from Bryn. He handed her the paper towel. "Your face, it's quite dirty." 

"Oh, thanks." Bryn said, trying to avoid looking at him too much. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Why had she written Coran to have this effect on women? "It looks like I'm not the only one that's recently been in a bit of a scrap," he said with a chuckle. Bryn couldn't help beaming at him with amazement. He was just as kind as she'd written him to be. However, if she was correct, this man should be putting all chivalry aside and be searching the castle for Melusine. He should be calling upon the ancient gods to help him in battle with the sea witch, but instead, here he was, watching Bryn wash her face and being concerned about her well-being.

"Is your head very sore? Can you stand?" he asked as he gently touched the bump on her head, but quickly pulled hand back when Bryn sucked in her breath at the feel of his hand on her hair.

"Yes, I mean—no, it's fine, and yes, I can stand," she stammered as she pushed herself off the floor. She again tried to avoid eye contact with him, but it wasn't helping. Coran was having a profound effect on her senses—something which she should have remembered could happen, but had completely forgotten about. In her story, Coran had a powerful effect on women and it was something he could do nothing about. Whether it was his aura or his pheromones, no one could tell, but women, upon meeting Coran, not only couldn't control themselves around him but didn't want to. Their thoughts would travel immediately down a sexual path as soon as they stood close to him and they would offer themselves to his every whim. Even the most reserved women would find their bodies pulsing immediately with desire for the tall blond stranger. Only those who knew how to, could control their passions for Coran. Katie, his assistant, was usually one of them, but sometimes, her guard would slip and she would be overcome with sexual longing for her handsome boss.

Bryn was finding her own guard was slipping rapidly and started thinking about very naughty things and wishing that she had time to explore her hidden bad girl side. Was this happening because she'd written him this way or was it because he looked so much like Tyler?

I absolutely LOVE this concept. Sounds awesome 

And last but certainly not least: Freaky Flashes – Anthology by Lee Brazil, Hank Edwards, Havan Fellows, Raven McAllan, Dianne Hartsock, Doris O’Connor, S.J. Thomas, Jamieson Wolf

http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=18&products_id=359

Death Day Anniversary by Lee Brazil: A newcomer to town follows urban legend to the cemetery- is he a willing sacrifice, or an unfortunate dupe?

The Sum of His Parts by Hank Edwards: Scott Tallow awakens in a hospital, stitches holding him together. As a handsome doctor helps him heal, Scott comes to realize he’s not quite himself.

 

Writing is a Socially Acceptable Form of Schizophrenia by Havan Fellows: Almost everyone has an interesting story to tell. I've got numerous—and they've declared war against me.

That Special Feeling by Raven McAllan: Can you carve your future happiness in a pumpkin?

Andrew Calls the Dead by Dianne Hartsock: Love is powerful, but is it strong enough to raise the dead?

Make me a Sandwich by Lee Brazil: When his roommate is away, distraction is just a horror movie away for Gregory…until the things that go bump in the night take over.

Destiny by Doris O'Connor: Can Arabella reach sanctuary, or will her dreams become reality?

Spin the Bottle by Raven McAllan: Aeons ago, Attric had been banished in disgrace. Halloween gave him the chance to redeem himself. Would he? Or was he doomed to live in a bottle forever?

The Birthday by Dianne Hartsock: Every birthday Cyrus visits the dance clubs with a surprise for the young men. This year, the tables are turned.

Strength's Curse by S.J. Thomas: Hunted through the night by a terrifying creature a young girl refuses to give up, but her strength will be her curse.

Reaping Darkness by Jamieson Wolf: As a new Reaper of Souls, Kale knows who Death is. He just isn’t used to Death showing up in his dreams. When he does, Kale learns that attraction, even in dreams, can be very real indeed…

The Fog by Lee Brazil: Starting afresh in a new home in the valley should have helped Jeff leave memories of his lost love behind. Instead his dreams are filled with a passion that is terrifying in the light of day.

In the Shadows by Dianne Hartsock: He waits in the shadows; silent, hungry. Careful! He might be watching you.

WOW - what an interesting and PACKED anthology that looks like. 

:-) 

Well folks, that's it for today. I think I know what my favorite in the batch is... how about yours? 

All commenters here and on the rest of this blog tour will be entered to win a $20 Breathless Press gift certificate. Here's a list of the other blog stops. And thanks for being a part of this tour. 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/11/virtual-blurb-blitz-e2-breathless-press.html