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Making Sense by Serenity Woods – Review/Guest Post/Excerpt/Giveaway

Author:            Serenity Woods

ISBN-13:        9781619211223

ASIN:             B008TR5CUO

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon:          http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TR5CUO

B&N:               http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/making-sense-serenity-woods/1112418361?ean=9781619211223

Samhain:         http://store.samhainpublishing.com/making-sense-p-7080.html

Giveaway announcement:   Serenity will give one of her back list for each tour stop. She will also be doing a Grand Prize, $20 Amazon or B&N gift card, at the end of the tour, winner will be selected from all of the commenters throughout the tour.   Contest ends December 13th.  Good Luck!  Rafflecopter link is at the bottom of the post.

Blurb:

 

One night can loosen the grip of the past. Only love can break it completely.

Sensual Healing, Book 2

 

Freya Fletcher longs to travel and use her nursing skills abroad. But while her father keeps gambling away her meager savings, she’s anchored to her hospital job and family responsibilities.

 

When friends ask her to a bar one evening to support a local band, Freya goes along reluctantly. But she’s glad she took the night off when gorgeous Nate Taylor turns out to be the lead guitarist and singer. Too bad there’s no room in her complicated life for anything resembling love.

 

Following a car accident at age fourteen, Nate awoke with an ability to heal. Now, hounded by the family that used him, haunted by the memory of a boy he couldn’t save, he is a man on the run. Although the promise of peace glows brightly in Freya’s beautiful eyes, his past, weighing heavily on his soul, won’t let him reach for it.

 

Luckily, the delectable Freya doesn’t want a relationship either. They come together for one night, just casual, no strings. But one night quickly turns into several. Before long they’ve fallen in love, but until they can find a way to break free of their pasts, a happy future will remain only a distant dream.

 

Warning: An unashamedly romantic and sexy story guaranteed to make you laugh and cry. Please do not read unless you like brooding heroes, fun and feisty heroines, and a touch of the Twilight Zone.

 

Thanks for having me on your blog today!

 

Making Sense is the second in my Sensual Healing series by Samhain Publishing, which features heroes with psychic talents.

 

First and foremost, though, it’s a sexy contemporary romance with a ‘one-night stand that leads to more’ theme. I write mostly contemporary romance, so what made me introduce a supernatural element?

 

Well I’m a huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy and watch a lot of movies and TV series, and I love anything to do with the suggestion of a world beyond our own, like X-Files or Supernatural. I wanted to write about heroes with that little extra something, without writing a paranormal. The result was this series concentrating on the romance between the hero and heroine, but with the added extra layer of the hero’s psychic talent to make the story a little more interesting. In the first in the series (An Uncommon Sense), the hero is a medium, and in this book, Nate is a healer.

 

I would love to be a healer like Nate, because I think the gift of healing is one of the most precious in the world. And for anyone out there who thinks this is a bit far-fetched, I’m not just talking about some airy-fairy hand waving here. We all know that some people make us feel stressed or down, whereas others exude an air of calm. As mothers, we all possess the skill to soothe our children, and often as wives and partners we use that ability to help our other halves when they’re stressed. So we all have the ability to heal to a certain extent, and it’s this that I enjoyed exploring in the book.

 

Nate is also a musician, and the book starts with him playing guitar in a band at a local bar. I listen to music while I write, and I think there’s a strong likelihood that Nate was influenced by the fact that I was listening to a lot of John Mayer at the time—I think he even looks like John Mayer in my head! I was listening to his album Battle Studies, and the moody, folksy jazz seemed to fit the mood of the story really well.

 

Here’s a snippet to whet your appetite 😉

 

They walked for a while in silence, not touching, enjoying the music in the distance and the fantails fluttering in the tall trees to their right. It had grown more humid, and sweat trickled between her breasts again.

Thinking about what he’d told her, Freya asked, “What does it feel like, when you heal someone?”

He sipped his wine and looked up at the sky, shading his eyes. “Like this. Like standing in the sun, feeling the energy run down my arms and out of my hands. My hands grow hot, here, in the middle.” He turned his hand over and drew a circle on his palm with the hand holding the glass. “When I started working with Ash, he taught me a lot about the flow of energy. I mean, he’s not a healer as such, but he knows a huge amount about that sort of thing. He gave me lots of books to read and introduced me to one or two people he knows who are healers. At first I didn’t want to know, but gradually he’s talked me into it. And I understand a lot more now about how it works. That it’s not from me, the power—that I can’t give my own energy away. I’m just a vessel.”

“Where do you think it comes from? The energy, I mean?”

He shrugged. “The universe. God. I don’t know, and I don’t think it matters. I’m not religious—never have been, even at the height of it all. I never thought of it as faith healing. Or even spiritual healing. Just…I don’t know, a transference of energy, I suppose. I had so much of it—it seemed right that I passed it onto other people. I think we’re all made up of energy, and any relationship is about exchanging that energy. You know how sometimes you’re with someone, and you feel like they drain you? But other people make you feel energised?” He squeezed her hand. “I’m not saying there’s not a powerful being up there, just that I don’t tend to think of it like that. But I’m open to being convinced.”

“What happened, when you died?” she asked curiously. “Can you remember anything?”

“No. There were no white lights, no tunnels, no meeting my ancestors or anything like that. No angels on clouds or harp music. Or fiery brimstone either, for that matter.” He frowned. “Sometimes I think I remember a feeling of warmth, of safety, of feeling like I belonged. But they say it’s just your synapses firing. The last dregs of electricity surging around your body before you die. I don’t know what happened, why I suddenly got the gift. Why me? I’ve often asked that. People have accidents all the time. Why was I chosen? I’ve never been able to work out the answer.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry,” she said. “About your father being such an arsehole.”

He gave a short laugh. “Yeah, me too. I hadn’t heard from any of them until just a week or so ago. I guess my brother tracked me down somehow.”

“Are you going to write back?”

“I don’t know. Ash thinks I should. He thinks I’m still running. But…I can’t, you know? I just can’t. I can’t go back. I won’t go back.” He spoke fiercely, his body tense.

Freya caught his hand and stopped him, turning him to face her. “You don’t have to,” she said, stroking his cheek. “Nobody’s going to make you.”

He met her gaze. His eyes were open, honest. “Freya, you’re a lovely girl. You soothe me, and…I like you. You make me happy. But…you should know, what I said at the flat still stands. I’m screwed up, sweetheart, tangled and knotted inside. I gave everything in my previous life, my whole self, and I’m not going to do it again. I can’t—I can’t risk losing myself.”

“I know.” She continued to stroke his cheek.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was hoarse.

She smiled. “You don’t have to apologise. Nate, honey, I’m your friend. I told you on that day, I’m not looking for a relationship. I’ve got to sort my own life out before I think about sharing it with somebody else. I need to decide what I’m doing and where I’m going. I’m not looking for anything from you.” Her gaze fell to his mouth. “Well, almost nothing.”

His studied her for a moment, as if he couldn’t quite believe that she wasn’t pushing him for more, demanding something he was unprepared to give. And then, slowly, his lips curved. He sipped his wine, his eyes on hers. Then he slid his arm around her waist, pulled her gently toward him and kissed her.

Review:

I’m such a fangirl of Serenity.  Her stories are emotional, well written and I connect instantly with her characters.  Plus, every time I read one, it just makes me want to go to New Zealand that much more.  Its tops on my bucket list.

Freya is me in a sense.  Or least she is until I decided to take my life in my own hands and not live it for anyone else.  I could never say no and for years I didn’t have my own life that didn’t revolve around my family.  Sad, I know so I instantly connected with her.  I “got” her and her reluctance to get involved beyond the one night stand with Nate.

Nate was such a wounded soul.  I just wanted to hug him and squeeze him and tell that everything will work out in the end.  Meeting Freya, frees him from his own doubts and past that have haunted him since he was a teenager.  *sigh*  I can’t even imagine what he has gone through with his “ability”.

This story has a touch of a paranormal in it surrounding Nate.  Its nicely woven throughout the story and made a believer out of me.  I cheered for Freya and Nate to get their HEA and they did.  I also liked the secondary characters and seeing old friends again.  Great job Serenity.

 

 

 


Author Bio:

 

Serenity Woods lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, flirty, and sexy romances in a variety of romantic sub-genres. She’s won several writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies.

 

 

Links:

 

Website: http://www.serenitywoodsromance.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/serenitywoodsromance

Twitter: @Serenity_Woods

Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/serenitywoods

Barnes & Noble Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/serenity-woods

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/SerenityWoods

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6 thoughts on “Making Sense by Serenity Woods – Review/Guest Post/Excerpt/Giveaway

  1. Great post -Thanks for the excerpt. I like contemporary romance with just a touch of something extra:)
    Good review

  2. Looks like a series I’d like to read! Very hot! Thanks for sharing the excerpt and for a chance to win. Love the cover too:)

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