KCBR Blog - dark romance

Camila was seventeen when Van Quiso kidnapped her. Ten years after her escape, the shackles refuse to release her. Not while there are still slave traders preying on her city.

She will stop at nothing to end them.

Even if that means becoming a slave again.

Returning to chains is her worst fear—and only option. They won’t know who she is or what she intends to do. She’s prepared for every complication.

Except him.

The one who decimated her sixteen-year-old heart.

Matias is charming, gorgeous, and dangerously seductive. He’s also untrustworthy and enshrouded in secrets. After years of no contact, he finds her—on her knees, wrists bound, in the clutches of her enemy.

Will he sabotage her mission by needlessly saving her?

Or will he keep her in chains and never let her go?

Warning: Graphic sex and violence. Age 18+ only

It is recommended to read after Deliver & Vanquish, but it can be read as a stand-alone.

Review:

Disclaim by Pam Godwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 Stars
Title: Disclaim (Deliver #3)
Author: Pam Godwin
Release Date: August 31, 2016
No cliffhanger

This dark romance is everything. I guarantee that this action packed; dark romantic suspense will fog up your Kindle screen, make you twinge, and fall for a bad-ass hero.

Camila is a vigilante sex slave victim who is hell bent on taking down sex trafficking rings and freeing other women. She will do anything even if it means risking her freedom. While working on breaking up a ring, she runs into Matias, the love of her life who turns her world upside down for a second time. That’s all I’m going to say because I’m not going to spoil this book for you.

This book deals with some sensitive subject matter and is not easy to read at times. Disclaim is filled with plenty of well thought out, multi-layered plot twists, that I didn’t see coming. This book was haunting and darkly sexy at the same time. I have to say this is my favorite book by Pam. I would highly suggest reading the other books in this series to comprehend all of the characters' back stories. This book and this series are total dark romance lovers Kindle Crack.

This review appears on www.kindlecrack.net, www.facebook.com/kindlecrack, Goodreads, Amazon, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter. A review copy of this book was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Author bio →

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.

Java, tobacco, and dark romance novels are her favorite indulgences, and might be considered more unhealthy than her aversion to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes.

Author links

Website → http://pamgodwin.com/

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/pamgodwinbooks

Twitter → https://twitter.com/pamgodwinbooks

Amazon author page → http://www.amazon.com/Pam-Godwin/e/B00A3AF2LY/

Other books by Pam Godwin

Deliver Series reading order:

DELIVER: http://amzn.to/2bB5a5k

VANQUISH: http://amzn.to/2cbJHfm

DISCLAIM: http://amzn.to/2bztZyH

Trilogy of Eve Series:

DEAD OF EVE: http://amzn.to/2bRJJfM

BLOOD OF EVE: http://amzn.to/2bB5G3o

Standalones:

DARK NOTES:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2bRJEbU

DIRTY TIES:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2bGrNjo

Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, August 20, 2016

NEW DARK ROMANCE & $25.00 GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY: Exploited by Lane Hart

Check out this new dark romance by Lane Hart. It's only 99 cents! Enter Lane's giveaway for a chance to win a $25.00 gift card.

BUY NOW!!!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2b6SMnU

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2bwDSs7

NOW ONLY $0.99 & Free on Kindle Unlimited.

Blurb

I’m going to hell, and my angel’s about to lose her wings.

For years I’ve left a path of death and destruction wherever I go. I promise myself that after one last job I’ll have the money I desperately need to quit taking lives. That’s how I find myself back in my hometown of Lexington.

So beautiful and innocent, I unknowingly end up saving the life of the one girl I was supposed to keep silent…the one girl I was supposed to end.

She’s my fallen angel sent from above.

I can’t resist staining her pure white wings with my darkness when I use her. Defile her. Deceive her.

The two of us were both ruined by our pasts when they intersected. Pasts that we’re still trying to escape with the hounds of hell on our heels.

Fate brought us together. Now, I’ll do anything to protect my angel from the demons that haunt her. I won’t stop until I slay the devil himself to keep her safe, the man who ruined both of our lives.

The only problem is, my silent angel is keeping secrets from me – the biggest of which is that I’m not the only one who wants to exploit her.

WARNING: This book contains some dark, dirty and dangerous situations before ending in a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. The debauchery will continue in the second book in the series, Redeemed.

EXCERPT

Blair

I casually walk around the cluttered racks and shelves of used junk, touching lamps and other random things occasionally, as if I’m just browsing and not intent on buying an illegal gun. I just keep wandering around until, what do you know, the shiny guns in the glass case just so happen to catch my eye. There are three choices, small, medium and large. I’m sure a gun enthusiast would know more about them like make or model, but to me, it’s just eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Deciding on the large one so that I do this right the first time, I pull out the wad of cash I grabbed from my childhood piggy bank and start counting out the three hundred dollars required for my purchase based on the handwritten price tag. I lose count when the door buzzes, announcing another customer. Nosy, I glance over to see who it is.

My blood warms in my veins, sending a scalding blaze of heat from my scalp down to my toes at the mere sight of the tall man. Everything about him screams dangerous, from the thick chestnut-colored facial hair to his black leather jacket in summer and the cigarette billowing a cloud of smoke from between his two fingers. When he removes his dark sunglasses, it’s his lowered brow and deep set eyes that are the scariest. His cold gaze undresses me from my V-neck tee down to my open-toed platform sandals before he deems me lacking and quickly moves on to the used guitar display in the corner. But at least he actually saw me, if only for a few, brief seconds.

Brede

Lifting her off my bike, I stand her up next to it. Her legs are so wobbly she has to reach for the handlebar to hold herself upright. That’s fine, she won’t need to be standing for the next part.

“Get on your knees,” I order, and then I have to steel my features to hide my surprise when she obeys with no reluctance, kneeling right down on the uneven pavement. Her long, wavy butterscotch hair spills over her shoulders, throwing off streaks of gold in the sunlight, practically forming a halo.

My thrill-seeking angel is about to lose her wings.

Well, she may not lose her wings just yet, but those ivory feathers will definitely be stained. Darkened. And I wanna be the one who pluck every last one of them. Why is the idea of dirtying her up so f***ing hot?

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Lane Hart was born and raised in North Carolina. She continues to live in the south with her husband, two daughters, and several pets named after Star Wars characters.

When Lane's not writing or reading sexy novels, she can be found in the summer on the beaches of the east coast, and in the fall watching football, cheering on the Carolina Panthers.

Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

$25 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, July 25, 2016

Did you get Pennies for PENNIES?

Dark romance lovers must one-click Pennies for pennies (It’s only 99 cents). This gritty and intense new series is so good! Check out my review below.

Pennies (Dollar #1)

by Pepper Winters

Publication date: July 20, 2016

Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

“At 18 I had pennies, but money didn’t make me bold. At 19 I had dollars, but it didn’t dull the pain of being sold. At 20 I had hundreds, but then I met him and was found. At 21 I had thousands, but all I wanted was to be bound.”

“At 23 I had dollars, but life changed and made me rich. At 25 I had hundreds, but it wasn’t enough to stop my killing itch. At 27 I had thousands, but my reputation didn’t set me free. At 29 I had millions, but I met her and could finally see.”

Tasmin was killed on her 18th birthday. She had everything planned out. A psychology degree, a mother who pushed her to greatness, and a future anyone would die for. But then her murderer saved her life, only to sell her into a totally different existence.

Elder went from penniless to stinking rich with one twist of fate. His lifetime of crime and shadows of thievery are behind him but no matter the power he now wields, it’s not enough. He has an agenda to fulfil and he won’t stop until it’s complete.

But then they meet.

A beaten slave and a richly dressed thief. Money is what guided their separate fates. Money is what brought them together. And money is ultimately what destroys them.

She was poor.
He was rich.
Together…they were bankrupt.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25296512-pennies?ac=1&from_search=true

Purchase:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2asitQv

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/29T7cqO

iBooks: http://apple.co/1PofXwO

Nook: http://bit.ly/1TXN1uq

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1WVHdEZ

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1Plgtvw--

Review:

Pennies by Pepper Winters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 Stars
Title: Pennies (Book #1)
Author: Pepper Winters
Release Date July 20, 2016

Dark romance lovers must one-click Pennies for pennies (It’s only 99 cents). This gritty and intense new series is so good! Pennies book comes with a warning note from Pepper. Read it. Pennies may/may not be for you. Pepper digs deep into the disturbing lives of a sex slave, her demented captor and her savior (or is he?). Pennies is dark and twisted perfection!

“A penny for your thoughts, silent one. Perhaps, today you’ll speak.”

I can't imagine where this story is going to go...but one thing is for sure I'm on board for this five book series. Fans of Pepper's Tears of Tess series will devour Pennies. Absolute dark Kindle Crack.

Five silent screams for the Queen of Dark Romance!

This review appears on www.kindlecrack.net, www.facebook.com/kindlecrack, Goodreads, Amazon, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter. A review copy of this book was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Pre-order the Entire Series HERE!

Dollars (Book Two)

Release date to be determined

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2ambvhp

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1XTx4b4

iBooks:http://apple.co/24lfptd

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1VxvqM7

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1XKTYRS

Google Play: http://bit.ly/24jqbzX

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1X2jy4I

Hundreds (Book Three)

Release date to be determined

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2a0Jycg

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/20VVm3I

iBooks:http://apple.co/22AJEwX

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1OZDwq2

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1UvlFM6

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1X2jy4I

Thousands (Book Four)

Release date to be determined

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2aaqYBv

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1XTz4jR

iBooks:http://apple.co/1VzRiGQ

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1TYvR0R

Kobo: http://bit.ly/27ZPxrq

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1TQwkEe

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1X2jy4I

Millions (Book Five)

Release date to be determined

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2aaq3Rm

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1XTAfzE

iBooks:http://apple.co/1Poli7j

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1ZebBbC

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1TOtyPS

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1sqgfcl

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1X2jy4I

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

NEW RELEASE REVIEW: CLAIM ME (Capture Me, Book 3) by Anna Zaires

Claim Me is LIVE! Check out my review of the final installment in this dark romance series.

Title: CLAIM ME (Capture Me, Book 3)

Author: Anna Zaires

Release Date: June 14, 2016

Genre: Dark Romance

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28935909-claim-me

Blurb

She’s on the run.

Yulia Tzakova’s freedom comes at a heavy price. Her former captor dominates her dreams, and survival consumes her waking moments. She may have escaped, but she’s far from safe.

In the shadowy world of spies and betrayal, nothing is what it seems.

He’s obsessed with getting her back.

Lucas Kent’s rage knows no bounds. The danger of his job occupies his days, but hunting down Yulia is what he lives for. When he finds her, she’ll never escape again.

He’ll do whatever it takes to keep her.

Note: This is a LONG novel that concludes Lucas & Yulia’s story.

Claim Me PURCHASE Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1XnNkCe

Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/ClaimMeAmazonUK

Amazon Canada: http://bit.ly/ClaimMeAmazonCA

Amazon Au: http://bit.ly/ClaimMeAmazonAU

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/ClaimMeBN

iBooks: http://bit.ly/ClaimMeiBooks

Google Play: http://bit.ly/ClaimMeGooglePlay

Kobo: http://bit.ly/ClaimMeKobo

Review

Claim Me by Anna Zaires
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4.00 - 4.50 Stars
Title: Claim Me (Capture Me, Book 3)
Author: Anna Zaires
Release Date: June 14, 2016
No cliffhanger.

Claim Me is the third installment in the Capture Me series. If you have read the first two books there isn’t a chance in hell you are not reading Claim Me. Claim Me picked up exactly where Bind Me left off without skipping a beat. Yulia escaped from Lucas’ home, but is her heart still a prisoner? The love, lies, murder and mayhem continue in this stunning conclusion. You must read the first two books in this series in order so that you can fully comprehend the characters’ backgrounds. One-click this one!

This review appears on www.kindlecrack.net, www.facebook.com/kindlecrack, Goodreads, Amazon, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter. A review copy of this book was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Capture Me (Capture Me, Book 1)

She fears him from the first moment she sees him.

Yulia Tzakova is no stranger to dangerous men. She grew up with them. She survived them. But when she meets Lucas Kent, she knows the hard ex-soldier may be the most dangerous of them all.

One night—that’s all it should be. A chance to make up for a failed assignment and get information on Kent’s arms dealer boss. When his plane goes down, it should be the end.

Instead, it's just the beginning.

He wants her from the first moment he sees her.

Lucas Kent has always liked leggy blondes, and Yulia Tzakova is as beautiful as they come. The Russian interpreter might’ve tried to seduce his boss, but she ends up in Lucas’s bed—and he has every intention of seeing her there again.

Then his plane goes down, and he learns the truth.

She betrayed him.

Now she will pay.

CAPTURE ME - Purchase Links

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1U7bL1b

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1KLM2Kl

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1j7ilcc

iBooks: http://apple.co/1MH4VAy

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1MH4ZjB

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Ppagd7

Bind Me (Capture Me, #2)

He’s determined to break her.

For Lucas Kent, his new prisoner is a maddening contradiction: compliant yet defiant, fragile yet strong. He needs to uncover her secrets, but doing so may ruin everything.

His obsession could destroy her.

She’s determined to escape.

For Yulia Tzakova, her captor is the man of both her dreams and her nightmares: tender one moment, cruel the next. She can’t let him crack her, but resisting him may leave her broken.

A moment of weakness could cost her everything.

BIND ME - Purchase Links

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1ZORgKp

Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/BindMeAmazonUK

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/BindMeBN

iBooks:http://bit.ly/BindMeiBooks

Google Play: http://bit.ly/BindMeGooglePlay

Kobo: http://bit.ly/BindMeKobo

About the Author

Anna Zaires fell in love with books at the age of five, when her grandmother taught her to read. She wrote her first story shortly thereafter. Since then, she has always lived partially in a fantasy world where the only limits were those of her imagination. Currently residing in Florida, Anna is happily married to Dima Zales (a science fiction and fantasy author) and closely collaborates with him on all their works.

After graduating from the University of Chicago with a degree in Economics, Anna spent eight years on Wall Street analyzing stocks and writing research reports. In 2013, she became a full-time author, pursuing her lifelong dream of writing romance novels.

Dima Zales is the love of her life and a huge inspiration in all aspects of her writing. Every book Anna writes is a product of their unique collaborative process.

In addition to reading and writing, Anna enjoys drinking tea (coconut oolong, anyone?), watching addictive TV shows, and discussing book ideas during long walks with her amazing husband.

She loves hearing from her readers, so please don't hesitate to contact her through her website or connect with her on Facebook, where she hangs out way too often. Also, please visit her husband and collaborator, Dima Zales, at www.dimazales.com and check out their fantasy & science fiction books.

Connect with Anna

Facebook: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6550220.Anna_Zaires

Goodreads: https://www.facebook.com/author.annazaires?fref=ts

Website: http://www.annazaires.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnaZaires

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

EXCERPT REVEAL: Je Suis A Toi by Pepper Winters

This dark romance series is not to be missed.

Je Suis A Toi by Pepper Winters releases on May 31st.

Haven’t met Q & Tess yet?

Grab the Monsters in the Dark Box (four book set) here:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1sycsdh

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1ElHi9B

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1wK3MRr

iTunes: http://apple.co/1MBZr4O

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1zSget3

“Life taught me an eternal love will demand the worst sacrifices. A transcendent love will split your soul, cleaving you into pieces. A love this strong doesn’t grant you sweetness—it grants you pain. And in that pain is the greatest pleasure of all.”

Je Suis A Toi by Pepper Winters releases on May 31st.

Pre-order on iBooks here: http://apple.co/1Tm62pT

To be alerted when it's live sign up here: http://eepurl.com/120b5

Blurb

Q made me the happiest esclave in the world. He gave me his heart, his empire, his ruthless unforgiving love. And life finally left us in peace.

A man like my maître has special needs though, growing stronger as our lives intertwine. The only way to survive his monster is to agree to all his desires.

Including his latest wish.

I’m his.

And I won’t refuse.

Excerpt

“You obeyed me.”

Her head bowed, her legs spreading wider, revealing the gift I worshiped daily between her legs. “I did. I look forward to my reward.”

My lips curled; the darkness enveloped me. The beast inside stretched, unsheathing its claws, lengthening its spine in preparation.

I stalked toward her and fisted her hair. I fell more in love than I already was.

This woman made me come alive. This woman would end up killing me. But my life was already hers, and I would die gratefully on the pyre of her affection.

“Tu connaiss les règles, esclave.” You know the rules.

“What rules, maître?”

“You don’t get your reward until you’ve been punished.”

Her gaze glittered with rebellion and retaliation but not one ounce of fear—the perfect cocktail for a bastard like me. “Go ahead. You’ll never break me.”

“Ah, my sweet, sweet Tess. That might be the case…” I nipped at her bottom lip. “Mais ça ne m'empêchera pas d’essayer.” But it won’t stop me from trying.

Dropping the black bag by her spread legs, I tugged on her right plait. “Up.”

Unfolding immediately, she stood quivering before me. Her chest rose and fell, imprisoned in the dark red bra I’d handpicked for her. Her flat stomach shadowed with faint bruises from previous nights, and I traced the bite mark I’d left on her hipbone after our parlour games.

I wanted to do what I’d planned now. To get it over with before she could have second thoughts. But I restrained myself. Anticipation would make it that much sweeter.

Gripping her jaw, I kissed her with a wet-as-fuck dominating kiss before pushing her backward to the bed.

She obeyed every prompt. Falling onto the bedspread, she watched me with desire-glittering eyes.

This room was very much like our assigned accommodation, only smaller. The fireplace roared with heat and the four-poster bed hung with midnight blue drapery rather than forest green.

My jeans and t-shirt became too tight as my body prepared to tease and torture.

Tess squirmed on the mattress as I moved toward her and yanked her up the bed by her arms. The moment she was in the middle, I uncoiled a piece of Japanese silk rope from my pocket and looped it around her wrist.

With a sharp smile, I secured her to one of the four bedposts.

It was a risk tying her down like this. After all, she’d done the same to me when I’d given her my nightmares to hopefully break hers. However, no memory of that day hovered in her gaze. Her skin already flushed with lust as I fastened her other wrist and moved toward her ankles.

She didn’t speak—she was too well trained—but her eyes never left my ministrations.

She gasped as my fingers ran around her ankle, cupping her heel protectively before wrenching her legs apart and securing them as tight as her wrists.

Once finished, she lay spread-eagled with no hope of escape.

I stood and surveyed my fucking delicious woman. The lingerie barely hid her bare pussy, shadowing it in red lace while her bra couldn’t hide the pinpricks of nipples begging me to bite.

Running a fingertip from her instep to her clit, I murmured, “So pretty and no chance of running. What shall I do with you?”

Her hands fisted, her lips parting with breath. “Anything…do anything you want.”

“Anything?” My fingers pinched her pussy, indenting her soft flesh with the lace protecting her.

She gasped, white cheeks flushing so prettily. The scrap of material couldn’t hide how wet and hot she was, drenching the delicate underwear. Her desire matched mine. I was rock-fucking-hard for her.

“I’ll give you a choice, Tess.” Rubbing her pussy, I pressed hard and swift. “Pain or pleasure first? You make the call.”

Her back bowed as I stabbed at her entrance, prevented from entering her by the lacy garment. Soon, that bastard chastity belt would have to be sliced away. But for now, it kept me focused. Gave me a barrier I wasn’t permitted to break.

Her eyes switched from dove-grey to dark blizzard. “Pain…I pick pain first.”

I shook my head, stealing my hand from her core and bending to unzip my black bag. “Wrong choice.”

Haven’t met Q & Tess yet?

Grab the Monsters in the Dark Box (four book set) here:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1sycsdh

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1ElHi9B

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1wK3MRr

iTunes: http://apple.co/1MBZr4O

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1zSget3

About the Author

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex... her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

COVER REVEAL: Killing the Sun by K. Larsen and Mara White

I love books that come with author warnings! I just added Killing the Sun to my TBR.

Add to Goodreads now.

****WARNING****

KILLING THE SUN is a collaborative novel by K. Larsen and Mara White.

KTS is not a ROMANCE

KTS is not ROMANTIC

This book features a non-linear time line, some violence as well as graphic sex.

Do not read this book if you don’t like antiheroes.

Do not read this book if sexual sadism makes you uncomfortable.

Do not read this book if you don’t like dubious consent.

Do not read this book if you are looking for a traditional HEA.

Do not read this book if you like demure heroines and swashbuckling heroes.

KTS is a serial novel that will come in three novellas released in rapid succession.

If you choose to take this ride, please do so at your own risk.

Prologue

Aimee

I was born backwards into this world.

Breeched.

You tore me, she said.

Those were words I remember my mother saying to me, as if I had done those things to her on purpose.

Back first I came, my spine convex, the points of my vertebrae stretching my skin to reveal a miniature Appalachia, peaks and dips, craggy, unmarked indentations that had never seen the sun. I automatically straighten my spine thinking about it, tell my legs to relax, my gut to unwind.

Now I am sun. So full of sun.

You were late.

You made me wait.

But there would never have been enough time. My mother knew the soft strokes of motherhood didn’t suit her hands well, that my brothers’ crying had already scratched and clawed at her nerves like an unwanted emergency, a constant state of distress. But I pleased her. Her only daughter. She liked it when I brushed her hair; she would always close her eyes and hum a haunting song.

I left him by the riverside,

then the sun set on both of us.

Oh, I left him by the riverside,

And no one came back to pick me up.

She liked to look at me, to study my face. Not so much with affection but with a real curiosity that seemed out of place. She was lazy and unenthusiastic about most things, but she looked at me with gusto, almost like I’d been gone for a long time or as if she were searching for someone else in my face. In turn, I searched hers for recognition, some twitch or tic that signaled I belonged.

Mom loved my twin brothers Storm and Farren as best she could. She doted on them the only way she knew how. Food was her most available medium and sugared cereal and boxed dinners were often forced upon them in place of hugs. Mom was big and her eyes an impossibly bright blue. Cotton candy blue, raspberry popsicle blue. Her clothes were twenty years out of date and her hair hung in the same two swooping hot dog curls she rolled daily, framing her round face. I saw the same two curls in her high school pictures, where she listed disco and the roller rink under hobbies. I liked to imagine her sailing quickly around a polished rink, her hands clasped behind her, one foot leisurely replacing the other while the snare beat of disco ticked out of the speakers. She’d have those two hot dog curls and electric blue laces in her skates. In my mind she’d be lighter on her feet and never once would she think she’d be confined to a trailer, her carefree youth whittled down to a sliver, like an old bar of soap in the dish by the tub. You scrub away that many layers and whatever’s left can barely get the job done. That soap’s no good for washing the dirt off. It’s not good for much at all.

Our dad was never around. He carried a gun. Beer cans rolled in symphony, the gasping crescendo against the occasional bottle of schnapps in the footwells of his Dodge Dart. And he was missing a tooth in front; it made him whistle ever so slightly when he’d talk.

“Come here, Aim-girl. Give your daddy a hug.”

It wasn’t often. He’d storm in, fight with Mom, then take off to the sedan. He’d always park on the grass, tearing up the sod and leaving tire tracks of mud. I spent a lot of time on the swing set that belonged to the Dobsons. I also rode the Dobson girl’s grape-purple big wheel after the county bus picked her up for school. If Dad came home at night, he’d always show up drunk, yelling, slurring, sputtering. Sometimes retching.

Mom would disengage even more. She’d sit at the card table and butter slice after slice of white bread, chew through them with the steadfastness of a monk. She could eat a whole loaf like that, staring at the wall. Sometimes I would think she was crying, that I could hear her sobs through the thin trailer walls. But if I’d ever go and check, she’d be glassy-eyed, far removed but never undone.

The only time I saw her cry was at trial, when my brothers were both sentenced to life for capital murder. Storm and Farren—the little tow-headed boys my mom had dreamed would become professional wrestlers—they sealed their own fate because they’d had enough. I can’t help but believe my mom put them up to it. Dad was good for nothing but the worst he ever did was come home too drunk and knock us around; sometimes Mom would get hit bad. He’d yell, warble, then pass out in a lump on the carpet or in a chair by the TV.

Storm and Farren burned his body in a fire pit twenty miles into the woods straight off of the highway juncture where I-35 crosses with Route Seven. I walked out of the courtroom when they hashed out the details. The gory bits about bone fragments and ashes and the stubborn threads from his tattered flannel. How sisal rope had cut into his flesh. They didn’t find the rope, but they did find bloody fibers. The binding was so tight it cut through the skin, leaving the faintest spatter of blood points against the blue tarp that they buried right on the border of Texas. A stupid shallow grave where they shoved in his beer cans and cigarette butts. They sunk the Dart in Veteran’s Lake by Sulphur. I know, I saw it all on 48 Hours.

Those boys never did wash up well before dinner, and in the end, it cost them a bunch. I like to think that I loved them, but they had each other and I was always an afterthought. Born eight years too late to make it to the party. But it kept me out of trouble and ultimately, it kept me out of jail.

So my brothers grew up with a mother they would kill for and I slipped through childhood without much commotion. I spent a lot of time playing by myself. Conquering the dirt mountains out behind Arbuckle Lake. There were days I walked for miles dragging a stick and spitting into the dust until my sneakers turned almost red with dirt. I patched up my own scrapes with Band-Aids I swiped from Wal-Mart. And it’s not like my life was devoid of comfort; I was bussed into Sulphur for school and I thrived there. God knows I wasn’t the only kid surviving off of stained and pilled-up hand-me-downs, a grade D smorgasbord of free school lunch. My grades earned me the affection of all of my teachers. I was the only one in my family to graduate from high school. Aimee Olsen, high school graduate. Moving on up.

And I made sure I had the kind of portfolio that could get me into college. I never once wasted my teenage years fooling around with boyfriends. I didn’t go to the drive-in to practice getting to all of the bases with boys who wore braces and were covered in pimples. I saved myself for something bigger, something grand that the kids in my town would only ever dream of.

Some girls in my class wanted nothing more than to get married and start having babies. A trailer was enough for them; a split-style ranch would make them the envy of Sulphur. I wanted to get the hell out of Oklahoma. So I moved to New York City with a one-way Greyhound bus ticket and Storm’s old gym bag stuffed with my scrappy clothes and a clean set of sheets. I never expected to get much out of life. But I got more than I bargained for.

I got Danny.

K. Larsen

I am an avid reader, coffee drinker, and chocolate eater who loves writing. I received my B.A. from Simmons College-a while ago. I currently live with my daughter in Maine.

I'm working on my sixth novel out later this year. I've published Tug Of War, Objective, Resistance, Saving Caroline, 30 Days, Committed and Dating Delaney. Enjoy!

I love hearing from you so please feel free to contact me!

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Mara White

Mara White is a contemporary romance and erotica writer who laces forbidden love stories with hard issues, such as race, gender and inequality. She holds an Ivy League degree but has also worked in more strip clubs than even she can remember. She is not a former Mexican telenovela star contrary to what the tabloids might say, but she is a former ballerina and will always remain one in her heart. She lives in NYC with her husband and two children and yes, when she’s not writing you can find her on the playground.

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KCBR bookshelf: read

When August Ends

by Penelope Ward

I spent the day binge reading When August Ends by Penelope Ward. I didn’t want this book to end!!! I seriously can’t wait for you guys to meet Heather and Noah. I loved everything about this book. When August Ends had the perfect amoun...

tagged: arc-or-provided-by-author and to-be-released

Mr. Write

by Monica James

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tagged: arc-or-provided-by-author and dysfunction-at-its-best

Overture

by Skye Warren

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tagged: arc-or-provided-by-author, romance-with-a-side-of-smut, dysfunction...

Birthday Suit

by Lauren Blakely

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tagged: arc-or-provided-by-author

If I Only Knew

by Corinne Michaels

4.50 - 5 Corinne Micheals did it again! If I Only Knew was sweet, sexy and pulled on my heartstrings. Danielle is a widow with two children. She works her way up the corporate ladder to become an SVP at her company. Milo, her boss’ broth...

tagged: arc-or-provided-by-author

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