Tuesday, January 29, 2013

"Love of Her Lives" by Sharon Clare


Love of Her Lives
by Sharon Clare



Description
Calum and Beth are soul mates who have lived many lives together, lusting, loving, and dying for each other. While their lives are often turbulent, their eternal bond is secure - or so Calum thinks - until Beth decides to live a life on her own. Left behind in the Upper World, he sees a wrongful imprisonment in her future, so he bargains with Finn, an elven trickster, to return to Earth, rescue Beth, and reclaim her heart. Unfamiliar with the twenty-first century, he must determine who plots against Beth while playing Finn’s sensual game, a game designed to awaken her repressed passion and keep them on the run together.
Beth has no recollection of their lives together and didn't ask this sexually charged stranger to come to her aid. When she takes a risk to help an abused woman, she is horrified to find her house ransacked and her life threatened. With a secret to keep, she takes the greatest risk of all - trusting Calum. Her life soon depends upon re-evaluating everything she thought normal as she becomes embroiled in Finn's game. Her eternal bond with Calum will only be saved if Beth can rescue the man who spanned worlds to rescue her.

Excerpt
He leaned back on one heel, unruffled by her sarcasm or the look of irritation she’d sent him. Instead, his beautiful lips formed another rousing smile that reached clear to those eyes of blue. “’Tis a fine name for a lovely lass. I’m visiting summer students to conduct a study on risk-taking behavior.”
He still held her hand. In his right hand he held a clipboard that rested against his thigh. “May I come inside and ask you a few questions?” He gazed at her mouth, at her hair, and then scrutinized her from top to bottom. Geez, this man had a way about him—a way of bewitching a woman, fully confident of her surrender—no mistaking the sensual heat of an attempted conquest there.
He had to be kidding. 
She pulled her hand free and probably should have shut the door in his inappropriate face, but she couldn’t help giving him a taste of his own medicine.
She ogled him right back. The man was built like a warrior, tall, wide in the shoulders with a chest broad enough for a woman to spend the afternoon exploring. Warrior? That was an odd association to pop into her mind, as if you couldn’t go anywhere these days without bumping into a warrior. Whether he was a university professor or not remained to be seen, but he definitely looked good in those jeans and mocha turtleneck.
His fingers drummed the curve of an impressive biceps as he regarded her, regarding him. She took her time scanning the square jaw and feline angles of his face, but this guy was no tabby cat. Tabbies weren’t warriors. He was cut from the mountains—solid muscle, graceful lines and eyes smooth as still water.
“No, Professor Cunningham, you may not come inside.”

Review


By Lynda Dickson
Calum is Bethia's spirit guide. Soulmates for a thousand years, the souls of Calum and Bethia are destined to live out their lives on earth in human form. They always find each other, but Bethia's risk-taking behavior constantly lands her in trouble, usually leading to her untimely demise.
In this lifetime, Calum retains his memory of their time together but Bethia (now Beth) does not. Calum is charged with breaking the cycle of Bethia's destructive behaviour . He must save her and make her fall in love with him, without exerting his will over her. The catch - once this happens, he will be taken away from her, until their next life together 67 years hence.
This book deftly combines the elements of romance, fantasy, adventure, thriller, and even comedy. Sharon Clare has created an elaborate fantasy world. She clearly demonstrates the difference in chronological times and worlds through the use of Calum's distinctive vocabulary and his unfamiliarity with modern technology, including motor cars, elevators, the mini-bar, telephones, and even zippers. On the run from drug dealers, the police, and a boyfriend she was about to break up with, Beth and Calum form an unlikely duo as they try to clear Beth's name and uncover the mystery of a buried treasure - with a little help from their elven friend, Finn.
As with all good romances, the hero and heroine fight a battle of wills and have a love-hate relationship. This is complicated by Beth's faint memories of their past lives, lives ruled by passion and lust, but not necessarily love. She is the love of his lives, but will the modern-day Beth reciprocate this time? Will Beth be able to resist Calum's warrior charm? Or will she succumb to their destiny once more? What will happen when reality catches up with them? And what will happen when the tables are suddenly turned? You'll just have to find out for yourself.

About the Author
Sharon Clare lives in Ontario with her husband and three grown-up kids who come and go from the nest. Sharon fell in love with writing at the University of Toronto where she graduated with a science degree in psychology and professional writing. She writes paranormal romance and has published short stories, art reviews, newsletter and magazine articles. Love of Her Lives is Sharon's first novel. Her second book, Rhapsody, has just been released.
For further insights, read an interview with the author.
From the author:
"Ever since I read Tolkien as a kid, I’ve loved the fantasy world of Fairies and Elves. Years ago, I discovered Karen Marie Moning’s books and couldn’t get enough of her contemporary heroines, sexy Scottish druids and the Fae world of the Tuatha Dé Danaan. Her books inspired me to create a mystical world for my own characters to dwell in.
"Thus my Alfarian World was created. The Alfar in my stories are a noble race of elves who inhabit beautiful kingdoms in Alfheim, a dimension closely associated to Earth. Finn is an Alfarian elf who lives with us mortals after he was exiled from Alfheim due to his propensity to play games with humans. Finn can’t deny the entertainment he gleans from his games, but he also has a theory to prove and while doing so he provides humans with a much needed match making service. All the better when he succeeds in pushing people out of their comfort zones - now that’s entertainment!"

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