This is my stop during the blog tour for Here Comes the Witch by Ani Gonzalez. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 7 till 20 September. You can see the tour schedule here.
Here Comes The Witch (Main Street Witches #1)by Ani Gonzalez
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Age category: Adult
Release Date: 7 September, 2016
Blurb:
Jewelry designer Kat Ramos has come to Banshee Creek to break the famous Hagen House curse and, in order to do that, she must marry Liam Hagen. A vengeful ghost with a deadly history isn't part of the deal, and neither is love. Will Kat be able to handle both? Or will the mystery of the cursed Hagen House remain unsolved?
You can find Here Comes The Witch on Goodreads
Excerpt
They crossed into the foyer, and she
peered at the black and white marble floor.
No sign of bloodstains.
No sign of anything except furniture
polish and potpourri, in fact. The room, with its sparkling floors
and polished wood staircase, looked pristine. The crystal chandelier
was indeed massive, the crystals sparkling in the afternoon glow. It
was, she had to admit, a spectacular entry.
Liam, however, did not seem impressed.
He was staring at the wooden entry door, a concerned look on his
face.
"Did the ghost knock?" she
asked, trying to figure out what was wrong.
He looked up. "Oh, no. It's just,
um, we may have skipped a step."
"We skipped lots of them. We still
have to see the living room and the upstairs."
He shook his head. "No, not that
kind of step. One of the wedding rituals."
What? She didn't realize there was a
checklist for this marriage. They'd gotten the licenses and gone
before the judge. Wasn't that enough? They'd had a wedding reception,
for Pete's sake. She'd thrown a bouquet, eaten a wedding cupcake, and
had her picture taken.
What else did the house want?
Liam opened the front door and stepped
outside. He motioned for her to follow.
Oh, crap. "You've got to be
kidding."
"Nope," he said, laughing. "I
have to carry you over the threshold. Yolanda said we had to fulfill
all the wedding rituals."
"But … I don't know if you've
noticed, but I'm not exactly skinny." She wasn't obese by any
means, but she was, well, healthy. Okay, she was curvy.
He frowned. "What are you talking
about? You're perfect. Now, come on out so we can get this done."
She gave in, following him outside.
"Fine, but if you get a hernia, don't blame the curse. It's your
own darn fault.
He laughed and closed the door behind
her. "I think that's highly unlikely. Ready?"
She took a deep breath. The afternoon
sun washed over the house, making the white paint gleam. A rogue
sunbeam hit the brass doorknob, giving her the strange feeling that
the house, amused by the spectacle, was winking at her.
Great, that was just what she needed, a
cursed house with a sense of humor.
"I'm ready," she said. After
all, she couldn't let a building intimidate her, could she?
But Liam didn't move, his eyes were
fixed on her. She glanced down surreptitiously, checking to make sure
she didn't have duck sauce on her cream shirt. Nope, for once she
hadn't smeared food on her clothes.
Then what the heck was he staring at?
The answer dawned on her slowly. He was
staring at her. This was the kind of look a man gave to a
woman he found attractive.
Scratch that. This was more than
attraction. The heat in his gaze was unmistakable, and she felt
herself blush in response. She hadn't expected this kind of
attention.
"Liam?" she asked, her voice
a bit shaky.
He blinked, coming out of his stupor.
"Oh, sorry." He opened the front door then stepped toward
her. "Ready?"
She tensed as he wrapped an arm around
her shoulders, then bent down. In a split second he'd hauled her up,
making it look easy. She held her breath as he walked toward the
house, holding her in his arms. She didn't dare breathe until he
reached the foyer.
He set her down gently. "There we
go."
A sudden feeling of … joy swept
through her. She took a shaky breath, feeling woozy. He steadied her,
arms wrapped around her body. She could feel the rough fabric of his
sports coat under her hands. He smelled like aftershave and soap, a
clean, masculine smell. Was she trembling? Yep, she was. Her left
hand, the one that now wore the filigree diamond ring, was shaking. A
beam of sunlight hit the chandelier, blinding her.
"All done now," he said. Was
it her imagination or was his voice a bit shaky too?
He straightened, his grip loosening
around her, but she held on, compelled by a force she could not name.
She felt curiously giddy, almost bubbly.
"No." The word seemed to come
from far away, and it was a long moment before she realized she'd
been the one who said it. "We still have one thing to do,"
the alien voice inside her continued, this time in a whisper.
She leaned forward, her hands still on
his shoulders as if her body—with a will of its own—could not
bear to break the contact. He bent down, looking confused.
The chandelier rained tiny beams of
light, a magical mist of electric snowflakes that swirled around them
as she kissed him, finally tasting the forbidden fruit she'd longed
for all day long. The magical embrace seemed to go on forever.
Finally, Liam broke the kiss. He stared
at her in confusion, then turned toward the still-open door.
"Did you hear that?" he
asked. "It sounded like a car."
"What?" The kiss had left a
warm afterglow that made it difficult to focus.
A familiar noise reached her ears, an
odd choking sound like a car motor dying a slow painful death. The
metallic groan woke her up. The glutinously warm, happy feeling faded
away, and she pulled away from Liam and ran toward the door.
A small yellowish-gray car was speeding
down the road at an impressive speed. It was old, it was fast, and it
was her car.
The stupid house had carjacked her
baby? How?
"I'm calling the police,"
Liam said, grabbing his phone.
Kat ran out of the house, racing after
her vehicle and cursing under her breath. Not her car. Why did it
have to be her car?
She watched in disbelief as the yellow
hatchback braked and made a left turn onto Main Street, ignoring the
frantic honking of the vehicles around it.
What the …?
She slowed down, unable to keep up her
jog in the heels she was wearing. She turned and saw Liam's truck
backing out of the driveway of the Hagen House. He was driving to
pick her up.
The sun was setting and the oak trees
cast a shadow over the building's facade. The house, which had seemed
so welcoming a few minutes ago, now seemed dark and uninviting. Liam
had left the lights on and the house seemed to glare balefully at
her.
Kat glared back.
The stupid house had messed with her
car. This wasn't a business arrangement anymore.
This was personal.
About the Author:I write paranormal romantic comedy and cozy mystery (whew, that's a mouthful!) set in Banshee Creek, Virginia, The Most Haunted Town in the USA. My books feature feisty funny heroines dealing with a host of paranormal critters (ghosts, cryptids, pagan gods...the sky's the limit) and mysteries. They find magic, love and laughter and readers get to follow them every step of the way.
I love quirky towns with spooky stories, and, thanks to my books, I get to "live" in one year-around. In real life I live in a Minneapolis suburb (which is sadly lacking in ghosts) with my husband and three children and I'm still trying to adjust to the cold.
You can find and contact Ani here:
- Website
- Goodreads
- Amazon
- Newsletter
Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Here Comes the Witch. These are the prizes you can win:
- Custom Jewelry (US Only)
- a 25$ amazon gift card (International)
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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