Forbidden by Lisa Clark O’Neill – Review/Excerpt/Giveaway

Giveaway Info: Prize is 10 eBook copies of “Forbidden” (1 each to 10 winners). Contest is tour-wide, open internationally and ends Mar 18. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Rafflecopter Link is at the bottom of the post.  Good luck!

 

Forbidden (Southern Comfort #2)

by Lisa Clark O’Neill

Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Self-Published/Indi

Release Date: February 12, 2013

Heat Level: Steamy

Word Count: 95,000

 

Buy Links

Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Southern-Comfort-ebook/dp/B00BAJY0VK/

Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Southern-Comfort-Clark-ONeill/dp/1482335727/

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/280899

 

Blurb

Special Agent Clay Copeland lives his job. As a behavioral specialist with the FBI’s Investigative Support Unit, his days are spent traveling the country assisting other law enforcement agencies with their most disturbing and difficult cases.  Clay excels at his work, maintaining an easygoing affability and sense of humor despite his frequently gruesome job.

 

Until one case goes terribly wrong…

 

Shaken by the loss of a young child whose death he lays at his own feet, Clay seeks refuge in the sandy beaches and plentiful feminine distractions to be found along the South Carolina coast.  And no female has ever distracted him quite as much as local innkeeper Tate Hennessey.

 

A woman with her own ghosts, Tate is a single mother to five-year-old Max.  Against her better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the charming and handsome agent.  When an outing to a traveling carnival ends with another family’s tragedy, Tate and Clay are sucked into the resultant investigation into the abduction of a young teen.

 

And neither of them can be prepared for what their chance encounter eventually uncovers.

 

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains adult sexual situations and/or adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Excerpt #1 (Extended):

The crowd had grown thick as evening gave way to night, and he wound his way through it to find a spot closer to the band.  Smoke rose in a thin blue cloud, dispelled occasionally by the salty breeze drifting in from the open windows.  Patrons wandered in and out from the patio to the bar, and well-fed diners descended the worn stairs to mix with the crowd.  Clay leaned against a rough-hewn support beam and watched them come and go, amazed, as always, at the way body language spoke volumes.

 

And his own body started screaming in his ear when a pair of long, tanned legs became visible as they descended from the second floor.  The staircase was angled in such a way that he got an up close and personal view of those mile-long beauties before a torso or head came into view.  Black sandals encased slim feet, a short black skirt hit deliciously at mid-thigh.  The legs paused, one resting a step higher than the other, and Clay felt his body stir.  If the rest of the package lived up to the preview, he was going to be on this particular woman like a flea on a junkyard dog.  He had the overwhelming urge to just wade over and take a bite.

 

He took a sip of beer, instead, and waited for the follow through.

 

A green Murphy’s shirt made an appearance, followed by a hand holding an empty tray.

Staff, Clay assessed.  He wondered what time she got off.

 

Her other hand rubbed down a thigh as she seemed to be responding to a comment from someone on the stairs above her. The overwhelming jolt of lust he felt caused Clay to choke on his beer.

 

Wait for it, wait for it…

 

After another nail-biting moment, the legs made their final descent.

 

Clay blinked twice, to assure himself he wasn’t seeing things.  Then he began to curse the psychological gods again, for messing with his head.

 

“Nice tan,” he murmured as Tate nearly passed him by.

 

Review:

As most people know, Romantic Suspense is my all time favorite read.  Throw in the beach, the South, a single mother, adorable child and the hottest FBI agent since Noah Clayborne (from the mind of Julie Garwood) and I’m a completely goner.

Sorry if offends my readers of the blog if I reference Noah and Julie Garwood in the review.  But Ms. Garwood sucked me in the world of FBI agents years ago with her contemporary series about the Buchanan’s and now Ms. O’Neill has sucked me into her world of Clay Copeland and the behavioral side of the FBI.  I have since bought the first book in the series and plan on reading it very soon.  Plus, book three is coming.  🙂

When we first meet Clay and Tate, I instantly felt connected to them as a couple.  Yes, the attraction was there as was the sexual tension.  Trust me, I nearly peed my pants with the scene at the B&B one morning.  🙂  For me, it was the way that Clay was reduced to a big puddle of goop when he was around her.  Big, strong FBI guy and he couldn’t form a single thought with Tate around.  Tate for the most part was one of the strongest heroine’s in a romantic suspense that I’ve read.  She was smart, sexy, strong and the moment she met Clay, yep she was a goner.

Both Clay and Tate were damaged in some degrees but not past the point of no return.  With the help of each other and a boy named Max, they were able to overcome what had damaged them and move on.  The smexy times were hot and perfect.  The inner dialogue that they had been at times hilarious, too.  I shook my head a lot at Clay and his thoughts about Tate.  Very Alpha but tender, too.

Don’t let this gem of a romantic suspense pass you by.  Its got everything that you will want in a romantic suspense.  Sexual tension between the leads, a boy that heals them and a villain that will definitely creep you out.  The subject matter is relevant and timely, too.  I’ve met another romantic suspense writer that I plan to stalk for years to come.  Thank you Ms. O’Neill.  🙂

 

 

 

About the Author

One fine day in the not-too-distant past, Lisa Clark O’Neill left Wittenberg University with a BA in English, which she promptly neglected.  After working as an interior designer, decorative artist, and Montessori art teacher (there may have been a BA in art as well,) she finally settled into the role of mother to two very fine children.

 

However, two years of doing the stay-at-home-mom brain cell melt drove her to pull out a pen and one of her old college notebooks.

 

That turned into six manuscripts.

 

Lisa spent subsequent years avoiding housework by burying her nose in just about every romance novel she could get her hands on, after completely falling in love with the genre.  Her own work falls into the romantic suspense sub-genre, with strong comedic undertones.

 

Lisa currently lives in the Atlanta area with her family, her dog, her cat and her daughter’s pet rabbit.  When she isn’t attempting to keep the rabbit from eating the woodwork, she’s hard at work on her next novel.

 

Connect with Lisa Clark O’Neill

Website: http://www.lisaclarkoneill.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Clark-ONeill-Novelist/287773574604107

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaClarkONeill
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