Forever and One Week (Spirits of Saoradh #2)
by Caroline Cairn
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age category: Adult
Release Date: 24 April, 2016
Blurb:
The Spirits of Saoradh, who carry the guilt of a crime they committed when they were alive, now spend their ghostly days in the Void, dark nothingness where time and space are distorted. Until they get bound to a human. As often as needed, that human can call them to the real world, ask them to grant a wish, then send them back to the Void. The Spirits also have to follow strict rules or be punished, unaware that they can earn their redemption through a selfless sacrifice.
Spirit Logan despises the obedience he has to show to his humans, and prefers the enjoyable solitude of the Void. For three years, he has managed to threaten them into severing their bond, thus having his memory wiped of their existence. Except his latest human, an emotionless woman with a secret past, isn't scared of him. Worse, she doesn't care about his ability to make wishes come true.
Tessa, a twenty-six-year-old nursery teacher in Fort William, Scotland, doesn't expect a sullen ghost only she can see and touch to burst through her solid defences. Both dismayed and intrigued, she offers Logan a deal he can't refuse: to live with her in the human world for one week, at the end of which she will agree to release him.
Slowly, Tessa braves through the safety of her detachment towards people to show Logan some kindness. But the more her feelings deepen, the more Logan increases his distance.¦
You can find Forever and One Week on Goodreads
Logan
kept his distance as she walked home. She had removed her hair clip,
her long fringe hiding half her face. Her attention didn’t settle
on anyone. Anonymous figure, she passed people, shops, cars. Her
elbow grazed the city walls a few times. A teenager yakking with his
equally brainless friends bumped into her without stopping. She
stumbled back before resuming her trip in silence.
So
apparently, the smiles and energy were exclusive to the work place.
He grimaced at the idiocy of it. At
least she’s standing straight.
She
reached her flat after one last rounded corner. The building
presented well on the outside. The sash windows, the symmetrical
lines and the decorated roof line pertained to a wonderful Victorian
architecture. The inside on the other hand, had lost its
authenticity. Whoever had worked the hallway had done a half-assed
job and destroyed the features that should have remained. Shame.
He let
her remove her scarf, her shoes and her jacket. He let her put the
kettle on and make herself some coffee. He let her drink the first
sip, standing in the poky area an estate agent would have trouble
calling a kitchen.
“How
long are you going to pretend I’m not here?” he snapped.
Three
more sips, and not one attempt at eye contact.
His
blood went from simmering to boiling. He darted towards her, planted
his palm over her temple and forced her head back. “Are you on
drugs or something?”
Her eyes
flashed with something he couldn’t read. Not for long though; the
dead stare and limp body were soon back under his touch.
He flung
his arms up. “Fuck’s sake.” Who did she think she was? She
ought to be running by now, far from him.
Coffee
finished, she washed the mug and towelled it dry. The cloth she used
was frayed, the counter marked by old stains.
“Handsome
place you have here.” Clean, though in dire need of a makeover,
which suggested the woman lived alone, or wasn’t interested in DIY.
Either way, she could have phoned a joiner, or a painter. He used his
frame to crowd her once again.
“Ask
me,” he said, her chin between his fingers. “Ask me to give you
some brand new furniture.”
Her grey
gaze turned opaque.
“Ask
me,” he repeated, his grasp more forceful. “Ask me, for goodness
sake.”
If her
pulse hadn’t been visible under her skin, he could have sworn he
was holding a mannequin.
“Ask
me!”
His
voice boomed in the room. He hadn’t yelled this loud since Olivia
had crossed the road without looking.
“Why
don’t you react?” he continued, temper all but lost. “Ask me to
give you a penthouse apartment, ask me to fill your bathtub with
money, ask me to load up your fridge, anything!” He wanted to shake
this wooden doll who had had her life sucked out of her since her
departure from the nursery. He wanted to scream some more to wake her
up. She could be a proper human being, he had witnessed it. So why
was she back to this infuriating comatose state?
Enraged,
his fingertips clawed in her scalp, anger and confusion mixing and
melting into one. He yanked her against him and slammed his mouth on
hers.
There
wasn’t any lust or tenderness in their joined lips. Hers were
slack, his were tingly and unrepentant. His teeth bit inside, so
forceful he was. Her body didn’t shake. The mug and the towel
remained under her firm grip.
“Why
don’t you push me?” he roared, jerking himself from her. “Why
do you let me do this to you? Do you realize what I’m capable of?
What I could do to you? I could so easily—I could…” He tripped
over his own feet as he glided away from her, through her table,
through her walls, through people in the street, far, far away from
her. The pounding of his own heartbeat resonated in his ears. “I
could hurt you.”
About the Author:
Born and raised in France, Caroline Cairn studied hotel management before spending a couple of years in England, Ireland and Belgium. In 2001, she and her husband settled close to the Loch Ness monster in the Highlands of Scotland, and soon, two children and about thirteen fish joined them.
Dramatic scenes are still her favourite to work on, which is perhaps a reminiscence of her teenage years when every single ones of her stories had to end in epic tragedy (Shakespeare had nothing on her).
Thankfully, these days, she veers towards the happy-ever-after finale in a glorious orange and red sunset.
You can find and contact Caroline here:
- Website
- Goodreads
There is a cover reveal wide giveaway for the cover reveal of Forever and One Week. You can win a Scottish swag pack! The Scottish swag pack includes: a pen/bookmark/keyring Celtic set, a notebook with the Scottish thistles on the front, a Scottish fridge magnet, some Scottish shortbread and a Forever and One Week bookmark.
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I don't think Scottish when I see it but it is powerful. I like the use of all blue.
ReplyDeleteSherry Compton
I think the cover makes the book look interesting for a romance book
ReplyDeleteNice cover. The blue is very atmospheric.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being part of the cover reveal!
ReplyDeleteI think the cover is lovely.
ReplyDelete