Anchor Me is LIVE!!! More Damien and Nikki!!!
Book Description:
FROM NEW YORK TIMES AND #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR J. KENNER comes the highly anticipated fourth novel in the fast-paced series including Release Me, Claim Me, and Complete Me. This sexy, emotionally charged romance continues the story of Damien Stark, the powerful multimillionaire who’s never had to take “no” for an answer, and his beloved wife Nikki Fairchild Stark, the Southern belle who only says “yes” on her own terms.
It’s a new chapter in the life of Nikki and Damien Stark ...
Though shadows still haunt us, and ghosts from our past continue to threaten our happiness, my life with Damien is nothing short of perfection. He is my heart and my soul. My past and my future. He is the man who holds me together, and his love fuels my days and enchants my nights.
But when tragedy and challenge from both inside and outside the sanctity of our marriage begin to chip away at our happiness, I am forced to realize that even a perfect life can begin to crack. And if Damien and I are going to win this new battle, it will take all of our strength and love ...
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Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4.5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“…trust isn’t a panacea any more
than it’s a curtain to hide behind.”
Damien and Nikki have been a couple I have avidly followed
for nearly four years. From the very first book these two have cemented
themselves as one of my favourite book couples and the adversity that these two
have faced would have crippled many a relationship. Damien and Nikki however,
alone are vulnerable but together are impenetrable and Anchor Me cements that
relationship between them. These two are truly formidable, and while J Kenner
still gives them a few curveballs in this book, as ever, these two pull
together.
“…there are ghosts everywhere.
And we’re both going to have to get used to fighting them.”
I really do not want to go into anything that this book
covers, because it would literally ruin the experience for you the reader,
however, this book is a testament to the power of being married to your soul
mate, to the one that truly understands you and loves you, the positives, the
negatives and the flaws. The power of love should never be underestimated and
these two prove that theory in every single way. Damien and Nikki are each
other’s rocks, they are there in times of trouble and times of intense passion,
but whether they are in or out of their sheets, their connection is palpable
and their love for one and other radiates from each single page.
J Kenner has brought this couple to life and the character
connection that I have to these two holds no bounds and that is testament to J
Kenner’s writing ability. This was the book that I had begged and pleaded for,
a book that I desperately wanted to read because if any couple deserved
completion, it was these two and this book does just that. Demons put to bed,
loose ends tied up and one happy couple.
“I don’t like it when there’s a
chasm between us.”
“Neither do I, baby. But there’s
always a bridge.”
This book was emotional, yes, I did shed a few tears, but
that emotion is borne from my intense connection to this couple, when they
hurt, I hurt. While this book did not have as much drama as usually follows
this couple around, the drama they come into contact with is emotionally
draining, both for them and me the reader. It is these scenes that I have to
kudos to J Kenner for, these scenes were depicted to perfection, each page
compelling.
“Love isn’t reliance, baby…The
truth is, you can stand on your own. But you choose to stand with me.”
My only complaint was that I did feel that the ending was a
little rushed, maybe that is just me wanting to cling onto this couple for
longer, but for pivotal moments I wanted them explored and elaborated a little
bit more. We do have another novella to look forward to though, so this is not
the end for these two. Hold Me releases in May and I for one, cannot wait.
Excerpt:
I look
out the window at the beautifully manicured yards that line the wide street
down which I am traveling in the sumptuous luxury of a classic Rolls Royce
Phantom. A car so sleek and magical that I can’t help but feel like a princess
in a royal coach.
The road is shaded by
parallel rows of massive oaks, their branches arcing over the street toward
their counterparts to form a leafy canopy. Morning light fights its way between
the leaves, creating golden beams in which dust sparkles and dances as if to a
celebratory melody, adding to the illusion that we are moving through a fairy
tale world.
All in all, it’s a
picture-perfect moment.
Except it’s not. Not
really. Or at least not to me.
Because as far as I’m
concerned, this is no children’s story.
This is Dallas. This is
the neighborhood where I grew up. And that means that this isn’t a fairy tale.
It’s a nightmare.
The branches aren’t
stunning—they’re grasping. Reaching out to snare me. To hold me tight. To trap
me.
The canopy doesn’t mark a
royal corridor leading to a castle. It leads to a cell. And it’s not The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies that
fills the air. It is a requiem for the dead.
The world outside the car
is lined with traps, and if I’m not careful, I’ll be sucked in. Destroyed by
the darkness that hides behind the false facades of these stately houses.
Surrounded not by a bright children’s tale, but by a horror movie, lured in by
the promise of beauty and then trapped forever and slowly destroyed, ripped to
pieces by the monsters in the dark.
Breathe, I
tell myself. You can do this. You just
have to remember to breathe.
“Nikki. Nikki.”
Damien’s voice startles
me back to reality, and I jerk upright, calling upon perfect posture to ward
off the ghosts of my memories.
His tone is soft,
profoundly gentle, but when I glance toward him, I see that his eyes have
dipped to my lap.
For a moment, I’m
confused, then I realize that I’ve inched up my skirt, and my fingertip is
slowly tracing the violent scar that mars my inner thigh. A souvenir of the
deep, ugly wound that I inflicted upon myself a decade ago when I was desperate
to find a way to release all the pent-up anger and fear and pain that swirled
inside me like a phalanx of demons.
I yank my hand away, then
turn to look out the window, feeling oddly, stupidly ashamed.
He says nothing, but the
car moves to the curb and then rolls to a stop. A moment later, Damien’s
fingers twine with mine. I hold tight, drawing strength, and when I shift to
look at him more directly, I see worry etched in the hard angles of that
perfect face and reflected in those exceptional, dual-colored eyes.
Worry, yes. But it is the
rest of what I see that takes my breath away. Understanding. Support. Respect.
Most of all, I see a love
so fierce it has the power to melt me, and I revel in its power to soothe.
He is the biggest miracle
of my life, and there are moments when I still can’t believe that he is mine.
Damien
Stark. My husband, my lover, my best friend. A man who commands an
empire with a firm, controlling hand. Who takes orders from no one, and yet
today is playing chauffeur so that he can stand beside me while I confront my
past.
About the Author:
J.Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.
Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.
JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A five time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy). Her Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (as Julie Kenner) is currently in development with AwesomenessTV/Awestruck.
Her books have sold over three million copies and are published in over twenty languages.
In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.
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