Lightning Rider by Jen Greyson Blog Tour

For Evy Rivera, thunderstorms have always caused her physical pain, but she's never known why. When a record-setting storm arrives on the same night her father finds ancient ancestral documents, Evy is set aglow with mysterious tiny lightnings she can command.
Even worse, she alerts some people in the universe who've been looking for her family for a very long time.
Thrown back into ancient Spain and tasked with killing a Spanish legend, she must train alongside Constantine, a sexy yet obstinate Roman warrior. He teaches her how to wield her lightning as a weapon, through more errors than trials. With a relationship as explosive as their late-night training sessions, Evy and Constantine battle their push-pull relationship while trying to ignore the two-thousand-year difference in their birthdates.
Ilif Rotiart, her quasi-mentor, is appalled at Evy's skill. He would prefer to train her father and keep Evy on the sidelines—where women belong. Evy has a feeling Ilif is keeping something from them, but she must play nice until she uncovers the truth. And if he's lying, it will be the worst day of his four-hundred-year life.
Penya Sepadas claims she's Evy's rightful trainer, and she has the prophecy to prove it. Penya doesn't share Ilif's misogynistic attitude, but she does have her own agenda . . . and her own secrets.
Evy must sort through the lies and find the truth behind her family's time-traveling past before the wrong history obliterates the future. She’s spent her whole life fighting for her place. Now, as the first female lightning rider, she'll dedicate her existence to fighting to save the world.
But will Evy learn to manage her lightning and find the truth before it's too late?

5 Stars, 3 Flames

What would you do if you had the chance to go back in time and change the course of history? Now think about how that one change would affect the future. When Evy Rivera discovers that she can time travel and alter the course of someone's life, she is faced with the same dilemma. Evy is a Rider, able to harness the energy of lightning to travel in time to pivotal moments in history and change them.
On her first journey she arrives in Spain in 1927 and meets Penya Sepadas, an older woman who seems to know what Evy is. She meets her again on her second trip, thousands of years earlier in 143 BC. Penya is not a rider, but a guide, someone who can help Evy to make the right change at the pivotal moment. Unsure of her motives and given cryptic answers, Evy is understandably hesitant to trust Penya. However, Penya is a great deal better than Ilif Rotiart, a condescending, arrogant, chauvinist who refuses to believe that Evy has any Rider capabilities and focuses purely on her father.
Then there's Constantine, a truly gorgeous man bound to Evy, to protect her and help her to complete her mission. Constantine is a Roman who is tasked with the assassination of Viriato, a Spaniard who is blocking all Roman attempts to conquer Spain. If he, and Evy, fail to kill him, Evy's life as she knows it now will be altered, and not for the better.
I loved the uniqueness of this book. Using lightning/electricity to fuel jumps through time? Awesome! When Evy first arrives in Spain, she is able to understand the people, but barely. When she is in ancient Spain, she is actually able to understand and read their language through a benefit of her rider ability which helps her to translate and understand any local dialect. I immediately thought of Doctor Who, where the Doctor and his companions are able to speak and read the local dialect with the Tardis's help.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lightning Rider and cannot wait for the second book to be released. The attraction between Constantine and Evy is HOT! The plot of this book is resolved, but Ms. Greyson leaves Evy's relationship with Constantine hanging...SO frustrating! Though this is listed as a sci-fi fantasy romance, it is a great, easy read that isn't confusing or complicated as some sci-fi fantasy books can be. If you are a fan of romance, definitely pick up Jen Greyson's Lightning Rider. 5 stars, 3 Flames

Author Bio:From the moment she decided on a degree in Equestrian Studies, Jen Greyson’s life has been one unscripted adventure after another. Leaving the cowboy state of Wyoming to train show horses in France, Switzerland, and Germany, she’s lived life without much of a plan, but always a book in her suitcase. Now a wife and mom to two young boys, she relies on her adventurous, passionate characters to be the risk- takers.
Jen also writes university courses and corporate training material when she’s not enjoying the wilds of the west via wakeboard or snowmobile.
Author Links:

Facebook   GoodReads   Website  Twitter
This novel was requested by me on NetGalley.com for an honest review.


posted by emily

Caught in Amber by Cathy Pegau

Recently out of rehab, Sasha James is determined to keep her head down, complete her parole and never touch amber again. The chip in her neck controls her cravings for the highly addictive drug, but also tracks her every move. Not that she goes anywhere other than work and the halfway house she calls home—a far cry from her luxurious former life as lover of the mining colony's top drug dealer, Guy Christiansen.

Agent Nathan Sterling has no desire to see Sasha fall back into amber, but his sister has become Guy's latest conquest and the unexpectedly attractive Sasha is the key to getting her back. So in exchange for an introduction, he offers Sasha the one thing she can't refuse—her freedom. From the chip, her parole and even the planet if she wants. Though he would be sorry to see her go…

Torn between her growing attraction to Nathan, fear of Guy and the allure of amber, Sasha accepts. But who will save her if Guy refuses to let her go a second time?

4 Stars, 3 Flames

Caught by Amber is much like any other romance, hero and heroine meet, they resist their feelings for each other, but during the dangerous mission they can't help but fall in love. What I like is the added twist of the heroine, Sasha, dealing with her addiction and facing down the demons that ruled her life for so long. In conquering her fears of amber and standing up to Guy, she realizes that she is worthy of love, that she can have a better life with Nathan. Sasha is a tough yet vulnerable character without coming off as whiny and woe is me. When she realizes she is going to be more involved than Nathan originally planned she steps up to the plate and handles it.

The hero, Nathan, is a hot, sexy alpha with a strong protective streak in him. He would do anything to save his sister from Guy. Since she went to work for him though, there's nothing he can do through legal channels. That's why he needs Sasha. Because more disturbing than Kylie being in Guy's clutches, is the fact that two women before her have had "accidental" deaths. Each one looks similar to Sasha, red hair, pale skin...just like Kylie. But his plan unravels quickly, and he begins to realize he has feelings for Sasha. It becomes harder to choose who to save...the woman he's falling in love with, or his kid sister.

Ms. Pegau's writing really has you empathizing with the characters, even the sleezy drug lord, Guy. On one hand he isn't much different from Nathan. He loves Sasha, wants only the best for her. But he enabled her and controlled her with the amber, providing the drug when she pleased him, withholding when she didn't. You're all set to hate him. Until Sasha returns and he tells her why he didn't help her when she was in court. When he explains that he didn't kick her out, that she left him because he wouldn't support her addiction anymore, you think, huh, maybe he isn't such a bad guy after all. The author lures you in, then bam! he does something to remind you, oh yeah, he's not really a nice guy after all. I like that dichotomy within a character.

Cathy Pegau is now added to my list of "watch for their books." She mixes romance with sci-fi elements and action. I give it 4 Stars and 3 Flames (for hot make out sessions and a couple of great sex scenes!)