Tuesday 22 March 2016

**Blog Tour** Falling Ashes by Annie Anderson







Book: Falling Ashes (Ashes to Ashes #2)
Author: Annie Anderson
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: 21st March









Synopsis

Mena Constantine is pissed off.

Finally freed from her fifty-year imprisonment by a maniacal leader, she is desperately trying to recover and get her life back. Problem is, the life she had is long gone. Struggling under the weight of her memories and healing from the wounds of her captivity, she can't seem to catch a break. Every waking moment, death seems like a relief she would welcome.

Asher Crane is a dead man.
As a Guardian to the King, his only purpose in life is to keep the King alive. And he's failing. Miserably. With the King ill, the Queen dying, and zero plans for a successor, he's pretty much screwed. Because if the King dies, the law says Asher dies, too.

As these two wounded souls collide in a series of bloody and unfortunate events, they will clutch to the last shreds of life before death beats down their door.

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Excerpt

© Copyright 2016 Annie Anderson
Asher
She’s going to leave me.
That thought runs on a loop through my head, and I want to rip the house apart in my unmitigated rage. I should go back to John and Olivia and see how I can help, but losing time with her rips apart my chest worse than anything I can imagine. I want to do my duty, but I need her more than my next breath.
She’s going to leave me.
And I can’t remove myself from this hallway. Even when Aidan comes in behind me, I don’t move my eyes from the door separating me from the only woman I could ever want.
“John wants you to get back to the house, Ash,” Aidan says gently from behind me, and I close my eyes to the battle waging in my head, and rest my forehead on her door.
She’s going to leave me. One way or another. She’s going to leave.
“I’ll make sure she stays here, but you have to go,” he says, and it takes a moment to realize I spoke my thoughts aloud. When I finally open my eyes and look at the man I’ve called a friend for so many years, he winces at the look in my eyes.
“I swear it, Ash,” he promises, and I believe he’ll try, but nothing and no one can hold Mena if she doesn’t want to be held.
I can only nod.
“John needs you, Ash.”
I stare at the door a moment longer before traveling to my King, dreading every moment I’m away from Mena. It only takes a few seconds, but it kills me, and I can’t believe John has been away from Olivia for even a minute without losing his fucking mind. How can he stand this? This clawing, gouging ache. It rips at my chest, and I have to focus all my energy on not traveling back to her. I knock on the chamber door, and I cannot fathom what I can do to help when I feel so torn in two.





Kristi's 4.5***** review


After reading the first book in this series, Scattered Ashes, I didn’t think we could get a more bad-ass female lead than Aurelia Constantine.  The petite little Phoenix is a smart-talking, ass-kicking woman that can hold her own in any fight.  And though I can’t really say that her twin, Mena Constantine, has surpassed Aurelia….I would definitely say she is at the very least her equal.  I mean, really….who can survive fifty years of constant torture and come out with their kind heart, compassion, and gentle soul intact?  Let alone their sanity?!  Mena manages to do exactly that, and does it with such grace and strength it left me in awe.  Once she was released from her long captivity, her concerns were never for herself, but always for that of her sister Aurelia and the people she had adopted as her family.  Even when nightmares of her torture haunt her dreams and cause her powers to decimate the medical floor, her first thoughts are of the only other patient in the room.  A man she has never met, yet her concern for him outweighs any thoughts of herself.

“Don’t help me,” I choke out, “help him.  The fire won’t kill me.  Get him first.”

And these qualities don’t even scratch the surface on how totally cool she is.  Watching as she slowly adapts to living again, as she accepts the love of her sister, and learns to live without guilt, was heartwarming.  As if that wasn’t enough, seeing her open herself up to the love of a man, and discover her sexuality with her newfound mate?  Wow! Sweet, sexy, and totally intense.  In all honesty, a great deal of that is because Asher Crane is completely swoon-worthy.  As one of the Wraith King’s personal Guardians, he is built like a warrior….tall, muscular, and completely gorgeous.  Practically raised by the Wraith King and Queen, he is completely shattered by the knowledge that the people he loves as his own parents, are dying.  Though Asher is no stranger to violence, pain, and death, the thought of losing them is only compounded by the fact that law states the Guardians of the King will follow him into death.  Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t have even been an issue for the noble Guardian….but when he first lays eyes on Mena, his world is turned upside down.  How cruel is fate that it would give him his mate when his time is so limited?  Ugh…the agony!!  Unable to fight the pull between him and Mena, he gives in, and my Kindle app nearly caught fire from the heat!  The man is seriously sexy, but gentle and sweet when Mena is near.  Which, let’s face it, is always!  

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the second I heard your voice,” I murmur agains her mouth, and that pulls her eyes up to mine again.  Disbelief colors them as if she doesn’t realize how gone I am for her.

This book took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions.  From fear, to anger, to terror, to love, to sadness, to happiness, and I loved every minute of it!  The only thing I would ask for if I could have anything else, would be more time with the sisters.  I would love to have seen them bond more, talk more, hash things out.  All in all, though…I absolutely loved this book, and absolutely can’t wait for book three!  Ms. Anderson, if you are reading this….I’ll be waiting!!!!  (Please hurry!)



Author Bio

Annie Anderson is a military wife and United States Air Force veteran. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a southern girl at heart, but has lived all over the US and abroad. As soon as the military stops moving her family around, she’ll settle on a state, but for now she enjoys being a nomad with her husband, two daughters, and old man of a dog.

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Other Books In the Series

Scattered Ashes (Ashes to Ashes #1)


NOW ON SALE – 99c




Synopsis

Aurelia Constantine is having a rough century. 
Plagued by visions of murder, death and destruction, she has resigned herself to the nightmare her life has become. When an enemy from her past comes to her rescue, she must let go of old wounds and heal the breach so she may survive the evil poisoning her mind.

Rhys Stevens is guilty.
Murder. Betrayal. Treason. Take your pick; he’s guilty of them all. On the path of redemption, he must beg for forgiveness from the one person he fought to save - the woman he has always loved.

Thrown together in the trenches of war, they must work as a team to stop a monstrous puppet master from pulling their strings.

Ashes, ashes. We all fall down.
Get ready to burn.

Kristi's 4.5***** review



As with any new book, I went into Scattered Ashes with the hope that it would take me away….into a new place, a new realm, where the impossible could exist, and where sexy heroes, and heroines alike, were there to swoop in and save the day.  I wasn’t disappointed.  I was immediately drawn in by the main character, Aurelia Constantine.  She is a total bad ass.  Faced with  devastating betrayal and injustice in her youth, Aurelia had no choice but to fend for herself.  In doing so, she taught herself to fight, and learned skills way beyond the average male action hero.  She is truly a lethal beauty, with enough heart and sass to give any male a run for his money.

Boy, you’re a regular Chatty Kathy.  Do you have a last name, West? What do you do here? And more importantly, why are you on my best friend like white on rice? Cause, i gotta say, it’s not sitting so well with me.”

The fact that she is also a phoenix, and a Seer, made the story that much more intriguing.  That being said, I have a confession…..*standing up, I clear my throat and look nervously around the room*  “Hi….my name is Kristie, and I am a book addict.”  Now, with that confession out there, the fact that I can honestly say that this is the first book I remember that had a phoenix in it, let alone as the lead character, is really saying something.  For me, it made the story so much better, so much more dynamic.  It was a new and fresh spin on the characters, as well as the storyline.  I absolutely loved it.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a paranormal romance without a sexy male character, which is where Rhys Stevens comes in.  Also a phoenix, he has loved Aurelia from the time they were children.  Watching his only love marry his best friend had to be devastating, but to then be bound to her as her Soldier?  Damn.  Twist the knife, why don’t you?  Add to that the insurmountable tasks that he had to complete to keep her safe, which also effectively insured her hatred of him for the extended future, the man lived in pure hell.  But, as any good hero does, he always had her back….even if she didn’t want him to.  Keeping her under surveillance, Rhys did his damnedest to make sure she was safe, even though he knew she could hold her own.  When an exhibition of Aurelia’s art goes awry, and they are thrown together again, they are forced to deal with their history and secrets are revealed that change their relationship forever.  I have sung the praises of the lead female character, but Rhys is no slouch.  Incredibly sexy and strong, he is also loyal, considerate, loving, and compassionate.  Rhys successfully melted my heart (and my panties) on more than one occasion.  

If you get out of bed right now and let me do naughty things to you in the shower, I’ll make you an entire pot of coffee.”

He is definitely an Alpha male with his ripped body, strong protective urges, and willingness to go into battle for his woman. That being said, I do think Aurelia may have showed him up a bit in this story.  As I said before, she is pretty damn bad ass, and truly the hero here.  

The estrogen didn’t stop flowing there either, with the introduction of Evan Black (Aurelia’s BFF), the women are definitely the stars of this show.  I loved the playful banter between the friends, as well as the many supporting characters.  I do wish there had been more detail on the history of their friendship, and how both Aurelia and Evan got involved in the art scene. Maybe we will learn more in the books to come.  One can only hope…..*nudges Annie Anderson and winks*  I do want to explain why I didn’t give this book a full 5 stars, as the plot and characters were deserving.  My one complaint with the book was that it seemed to go too quickly in some areas, and not quickly enough in others.  As a new author, I think Annie Anderson has performed brilliantly, and I absolutely adored every minute of this book.  Thank you, Annie for giving me the escape I so desperately needed.  



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