Private North
Synopsis:
New Adult Contemporary Romance
An internship cataloguing
ancient pottery. A war-hardened soldier who’s impossible to resist. A
priceless Egyptian artifact. And a devious scheme that is fraught with danger.
Antiquities major, Auggie Stonefield, is about to experience a winter break she
will never forget.
Dalton North POV:
This
isn't in the book, Tess has written it just for the blog tour for us.
The throbbing in my head took
my mind off the relentless pain in my leg. It had become my sort of twisted way
of dealing with the constant agony. Get drunk enough for a skull-pounding
hangover and it dulled everything else.
I made a stupid-ass attempt to
mask the uneven sounds of my footsteps, but the wooden hallway floor made it
pretty damn laughable. I wasn’t even completely sure why it mattered, except
that I knew the girl was standing just around the corner in the kitchen. I’d
heard her silky laugh twice before I’d even left my bedroom.
She stood in the kitchen
helping with breakfast. Long auburn hair cascaded down the back of her sweater
and I could see only the side of her face as she smiled sweetly at my dad. I’d
been in a desert that was so hot just taking a breath hurt, a place where you
learned not to trust even your own shadow, a place that could only be described
as hell, and the only way to survive the nightmare of it all was to believe
that somewhere else in another place, another time, another dimension angels
existed. And now I’d come home and found one standing over the waffle iron in the
kitchen.
She looked up as I entered the
room and that was all it took. I could not look away. Her thin fingers trembled
almost imperceptibly as she tucked her hair behind her ear. I dragged a chair
out from the table and sat down hard and watched her. She grew more and more
flustered by my scrutiny but I couldn’t stop myself. She was a piece of heaven
that had floated in through the darkness and I wanted to watch her. And, even
though she nearly bit through her plump, highly kissable bottom lip with agitation
. . . it seemed . . . that deep down she wanted me to watch her.
Book Excerpt:
I pulled the cover up to my
chin like I’d done as a young girl when I was certain the closet monsters were
coming out to get me, but I couldn’t relax enough to sleep. The house was quiet
and dark again. I climbed back into my slippers. I peeked out into the hallway
and everything was still. I tiptoed to the kitchen hoping a glass of milk would
make me sleepy.
I scuttled around the corner,
and a gasp stuck in my throat. The refrigerator door was open, and the light
pouring out illuminated his broad bare back, showing every line of hard muscle
. . . and every small scar. There were many. His pajama pants hung low on his
narrow hips, and I stood as quiet as a mouse for a guilty second and stared at
his incredible physique.
He still had not heard me, and
I wondered if he was still lost in the agony of his bad dream. I tiptoed
without a sound, but as I neared he seemed to sense me. He continued to stare
into the refrigerator as if he expected something to jump out into his hands.
“I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“Please don’t apologize.” His
shoulders tensed as I moved closer to him. Even in front of an open
refrigerator, heat rolled off of him in searing waves.
He shut the door but didn’t
turn around. He leaned his forehead against the freezer door. I stepped closer.
My hand trembled slightly as I reached up and touched him. The muscles of his
back tightened and then relaxed. I trailed my fingers over the tiny scars that
were splattered across his shoulders. The tiny ridges were hard, and I could
feel the pain of each one in my fingertips. I stood on my toes and lowered my
mouth to his skin. He sucked in a sharp breath as I pressed my lips to the
scars. I kissed him over and over again wanting to absorb the pain that still
clung to him physically and mentally. And he let me kiss him. His broad
shoulders lifted and fell with each shallow breath as I ran my lips across his
marred skin.
Buy the Book:
Teaser:
Author Bio:
Tess Oliver
is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling
author of Freefall (Custom Culture, #1). She is also a full time teacher and
lives in California with her husband, two kids, and a pack of pampered pets.
She loves horses, chocolate, and Jane Austen books. She has a BS in Nutrition
Science and a MA in Curriculum and Instruction.
Social Media Links:
Giveaway:
Tess is giving away three $10
Amazon Gift Cards
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Dalton
North's POV
The throbbing in my head took my mind off the relentless
pain in my leg. It had become my sort of twisted way of dealing with the
constant agony. Get drunk enough for a skull-pounding hangover and it dulled
everything else.
I made a stupid-ass attempt to mask the uneven sounds of my
footsteps, but the wooden hallway floor made it pretty damn laughable. I wasn't
even completely sure why it mattered, except that I knew the girl was standing
just around the corner in the kitchen. I’d heard her silky laugh twice before
I’d even left my bedroom.
She stood in the kitchen helping with breakfast. Long auburn
hair cascaded down the back of her sweater and I could see only the side of her
face as she smiled sweetly at my dad. I’d been in a desert that was so hot just
taking a breath hurt, a place where you learned not to trust even your own
shadow, a place that could only be described as hell, and the only way to
survive the nightmare of it all was to believe that somewhere else in another
place, another time, another dimension angels existed. And now I’d come home
and found one standing over the waffle iron in the kitchen.
She looked up as I entered the room and that was all it
took. I could not look away. Her thin fingers trembled almost imperceptibly as
she tucked her hair behind her ear. I dragged a chair out from the table and
sat down hard and watched her. She grew more and more flustered by my scrutiny
but I couldn't stop myself. She was a piece of heaven that had floated in through
the darkness and I wanted to watch her. And, even though she nearly bit through
her plump, highly kissable bottom lip with agitation . . . it seemed . . . that
deep down she wanted me to watch her.
Private
North Excerpt:
I pulled the cover up to my chin like I’d done as a
young girl when I was certain the closet monsters were coming out to get me,
but I couldn’t relax enough to sleep. The house was quiet and dark again. I
climbed back into my slippers. I peeked out into the hallway and everything was
still. I tiptoed to the kitchen hoping a glass of milk would make me sleepy.
I scuttled around the corner, and a gasp stuck in my
throat. The refrigerator door was open, and the light pouring out illuminated
his broad bare back, showing every line of hard muscle . . . and every small
scar. There were many. His pajama pants hung low on his narrow hips, and I
stood as quiet as a mouse for a guilty second and stared at his incredible
physique.
He still had not heard me, and I wondered if he was
still lost in the agony of his bad dream. I tiptoed without a sound, but as I
neared he seemed to sense me. He continued to stare into the refrigerator as if
he expected something to jump out into his hands.
“I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“Please don’t apologize.” His shoulders tensed as I
moved closer to him. Even in front of an open refrigerator, heat rolled off of
him in searing waves.
He shut the door but didn’t turn around. He leaned
his forehead against the freezer door. I stepped closer. My hand trembled
slightly as I reached up and touched him. The muscles of his back tightened and
then relaxed. I trailed my fingers over the tiny scars that were splattered
across his shoulders. The tiny ridges were hard, and I could feel the pain of
each one in my fingertips. I stood on my toes and lowered my mouth to his skin.
He sucked in a sharp breath as I pressed my lips to the scars. I kissed him
over and over again wanting to absorb the pain that still clung to him
physically and mentally. And he let me kiss him. His broad shoulders lifted and
fell with each shallow breath as I ran my lips across his marred skin.
Private
North Blurb:
New
Adult Contemporary Romance
An internship cataloguing ancient
pottery. A war-hardened soldier who’s
impossible to resist. A priceless Egyptian artifact. And a devious scheme that
is fraught with danger. Antiquities major, Auggie Stonefield, is about to
experience a winter break she will never forget.
Rafflecopter
Code:
<a id="rc-454c8113"
class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/454c8113/"
rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>
Rafflecopter
Link:
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Buy
Links:
Goodreads
Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19266489-private-north
Review:
I received Private North as an ARC for an honest review. Private North was full of love, drama, and suspense. Auggie is a college student who is looking forward to her Christmas break with her mom and family. This year would be different though growing up privileged and having everything given to her for the holidays she was suppose to have a quiet one at home. Well that didn't happen instead after a conversation with her professor she decided it was best to do an internship helping him and his son categorizing ancient artifacts. Little did she know her life was about to change and to be honest in both good and a bad way. On her way starts the dramatics that I will not talk about or it will give it away. Just know that this book was really good, I read it in one day, and I fell in love with both Auggie and Private North which you will meet.
Thank you so much for being a part of the blog tour, and for the wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteBest,
Tess