Do You Dare to Speak of the Devil?

Shawna Romkey has generously allowed me to reveal her cover on my weekend blog. I like to guess as to what the book is about before I read the blurb or anything else about the author or novel.

First off, we know he's a warrior angel by the the wings and the sword on his back. I suspect this is YA only because the male appears young to me, but then again I'm a mature woman (not old, definitely not old), so I could be way off base. I would say he walks the earth by the landmass behind him, but also in heaven revealed by the transparent wings and the lightening coming down from the sky. On the other hand, the lightening could reveal a loss of grace. Banishment from heaven.

In the sky we have ravens (I think) and ravens are known to be messengers of death. They wander the skies looking for their next victim.

Let's see how close I am.

Blurb:

What happens when falling in love and falling from grace collide?  (Ha! I got this one.) After dying in a car accident with her two best friends, Lily miraculously awakens to grief and guilt. She escapes to her dad’s to come to terms with the event and meets some people at her new school who seem all too eager to help her heal. (YA!) Sliding deeper into sorrow and trying to fight her feelings for two of them, she finds out who…what they really are, and that they are falling, too. 

Can she find the strength to move on from the past, reconcile her feelings for Luc (Is he the angel on the cover?), find a way to stop a divine war with fallen angels, and still pass the eleventh grade?
 
Biography

Shawna grew up in around farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of Kansas, was raised in the US, but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons, two rescue dogs and one overgrown puppy from hell.

She’s a non-conformist who follows her heart. She has a BA in creative writing from the University of Kansas where one of her plays was chosen by her creative writing professor to be produced locally, and two of her short stories were published in a university creative arts handbook. 

She earned her MA in English from Central Missouri State University where she wrote a novel as her thesis. She’s taught English at the university and secondary levels for close to twenty years and can’t quite fathom how all of her students have grown up, yet she’s managed to stay the same.  She’s a huge geek and fan of Xena, Buffy and all kick ass women, and loves to write stories that have strong female characters.

Links:  
www.shawnaromkey.com 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shawna-Romkey-Author/137998326331706?ref=hl  
https://twitter.com/sromkey  
http://pinterest.com/shawnarp/ 
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6869437.Shawna_Romkey

Congratulations, Shawna! The novel sounds wonderful and the cover is simply awesome.

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As most of you know, I'm a Vine Reviewer for Amazon. I chose to review Dangerous Affairs because it seemed like a nice piece of mind candy. Not syrupy, not #inyourfacekissassheroine either.

And for a romantic thriller, it delivered. Here's my 4 Star review:

Dangerous Affairs is a nice easy read with twists and turns that will keep you wanting more.

A knife is found inside a pocket door. In a place no one would put it. Is there blood on the blade?

A stain appears in a dream right where Abby finds it in the spare room. Is the stain blood or paint?

A romantic suspense about a sexy soap opera star turned housewife and mother, Dangerous Affairs is a well-written novel about finding ones way. Moving into an old Victorian that was once her favorite house in her hometown, Abby begins to wonder if what she 'sees' is not something paranormal, but something hidden from her past.

Throw in a handsome policeman and a shifty husband who is only interested in making money off publicity--good or bad--and you have the makings of nice Saturday afternoon read.

Just who is Abby's 'greatest fan?' Who is the person stalking her, determined to get her out of her new home and back to Hollywood? Is he a fan of her character in the soap opera, herself, or something even more sinister?

The pacing is good, the read easy. If Josh's ex girlfriend was a bit too bimboish, and the ex husband a bit too off-putting (perfect for an ex) the novel claims to be little else than what it is. A nice easy read for a lazy afternoon.

If there is a downside it is the ending. It's a little too, oh come on now, and the love scenes are written--almost with embarrassment. Too pat--too you can pull it off the page of any romance novel for my liking.

Other than that, if you enjoy romantic suspense, you will like Dangerous Affairs.

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