romance

Embers of Hope, Flickers of Passion

by Kristen James

Embers of Hope, Flickers of Passion

A story about balancing motherhood, friendship and romance…

Savanna dreaded telling her family and friends about her failed marriage so much that she hid it while living in another state. But she can’t stay away when her best friend Cassie loses her husband, who dies on duty as a firefighter. Savanna quickly returns home to help, longing to find herself again and make a home for her daughter. She meets Mike’s best friend, Jason, the man who talked him into staying with the department just before the fatal fire. He’s also the man who once saved Savanna’s life. Though hurting herself, something deep inside her won’t let her walk away. Jason needs her but she’s off limits on so many levels. She’s falling for this sexy firefighter but he confuses her to no end. Savanna’s a single mom with secrets, and she could lose her best friend over him.

Review from Melissa from There For You:
I am a woman. If you cut me, do I not bleed? If you offer me chocolate, do I not take it? If you offer me romance, do I not read it?! Of course I do, I am woman. Let me introduce you to my newest weakness. Romance novels by author Kristen James. I met Kristen via an interview I recently did on her (Interview) and decided to try her book. Boy is the woman, and reader, in me happy I did! Embers of Hope, Flickers of Passion is a well written love story, reminiscent of the movie Backdraft, in the fact that the main character, Jason, is a firefighter and his best friend, Mike, is killed in a fire.

The central characters of the story are Savanna, her best friend Cassie, Cassie’s husband Mike and Mike’s best friend Jason. The story starts off with Savanna moving herself, and her infant daughter Aubrey, or Bobby Boo as she is affectionately called, to Texas to help her best friend, Cassie, recover from the very recent death of her husband Mike. Mike is a firefighter who is killed in the line of duty. Mike’s best friend, Jason, is held accountable by himself and Cassie, even though he was not involved in the accident. Savanna quickly realizes that Jason is the firefighter who saved her life a few years before.

Being the mother hen that she is, Savanna soon decides that she not only needs to repair Cassie but also Jason, thus throwing herself in the middle of the two since Cassie blames him. The reader soon realizes that Savanna needs some saving herself as the last 2 or so years of her life with her ex-husband Eric have been horrible. After hearing parts of Savanna’s story, and an intense internal feeling of need, Jason also feels the need to help Savanna.

A beautifully woven plot, Embers of Hope, Flickers of Passion, will have you crying with Cassie, cheering for Jason, and praying Eric does not return to distinguish the flames that are spreading between Jason and Savanna. A romance novel that any woman with a history of being burned by love, and has hopes to rekindle the flame, can enjoy. Next up, More Than Memories, in the Kristen James romance novels.

I hope today you get your daily helping of romance and chocolate! Enjoy your day :)) -Melissa

A room without books is like a body without a soul. -Cicero

“The Look” – A Romance Mini

by Kristen James

(First appeared on Books-n-Kisses)

The pouring rain outside made it feel more like late evening than six in the morning. Annalisa stared out into it, her back to the office door. Sounds banged and clicked in from the busy shop outside as she tried to jumpstart herself.

The sound of the door swinging open did it. The outside noise jumped in volume, then dimmed again as it slammed shut. She spun around.

“We don’t need some change agent coming in here. We can handle this ourselves!” A very fit man with a long sleeve shirt and jeans threw a stack of papers onto her desk. Some slid across it and hung over the edge on her side. Spotting her, he stood mid gesture and blank faced, watching her push the papers back into a somewhat neat stack.

The day went from bleak to super charged in 2.3 seconds, and not because he’d burst into the office. This guy needed to be in a clothing ad, maybe for outdoor gear. He had a movie star, Brad Pitt type face, and she imagined running her hand along his jaw, checking for stubble.

She sat and leaned back in her chair. “What kind of ideas do you have?”

“Who are you?”

“Looks like I’m the person you’re looking for. Mr. Rici brought me in to see how we can improve the processes out there.” She glanced down at his papers to keep her eyes away from his tall and lean figure, the piercing blue eyes set in a firm face. Soon she realized he had thoughtfully written out several process improvement ideas with calculations on how much time each would save.

Sometime during her scanning, he asked, “Do you have a name?”

She finally looked up and realized he’d sat down and had been watching her for several minutes. Evaluating her. Memorizing her. His face had softened considerably and now he stared at her in wonder. She’d been about to compliment his ideas but got caught up in gazing back at him.

Oh, yeah, her name.

“I’m Annalisa Gildhart, and you?”

“Dan.” He extended his hand in a polite gesture that threw her. His shake was firm but not too hard…and they didn’t break the physical contact right away. He nodded toward the papers. “You know, people aren’t expecting you to listen to our ideas.”

She smiled, thankful for his honesty. “I’m here to help, believe it or not, and that means working with you to keep this place running. These are great ideas, Dan.”

A slow smile spread across his face, and the flirtatious tilt to it made her think he’d reacted more to her smile than her words. Still, he looked much more at ease.

It was her that was tingling inside.

Dan leaned back and studied her. Change always made people nervous, but he almost looked like he’d be willing to drop the old us-against-you routine. Oh, she hoped he’d keep that attitude and prevent a hotbed of tension. Everyone would have to work together or this place would be closing within three months.

“So you might be around a while?” The smile lifted even more on one side.

“Yeah.” She was local too, but kept her answer short.

They were smiling across the desk at each other when someone else rapped on the door and cracked it. “Mrs. Gildhart, you’re on. Everyone’s gathered for the morning meeting.”

She pulled in a deep breath as she rose, then grabbed the papers. She’d like to show them she was on their side and wanted their ideas.

Dan gave her a reassuring smile. “This revamp is starting to look much better than I anticipated.” The gleam in his eye sent shivers up her back as she stepped out of the office.  Annalisa agreed. She just hoped she could concentrate on work with him around… but, wow, those jeans looked good on him.

Copyright Kristen James, all rights reserved. If you like the short stories and previews on my blog, try my Kindle freebie, Embers of Hope, Flickers of Passion. 

The Fairy and her Giant – A Fantasy Romance

by Kristen James

Sometimes size does matter…

Stephen couldn’t walk by the old pirate, outnumbered and losing a fight. Of course he had to help. He didn’t expect a ‘thank you’ for saving the Captain’s life, and he sure didn’t expect a gift, especially a gift like this! How could it be fairies are real, and yet he had no idea?

She is so beautiful… and so tiny. There’s no reason to stick together, except that Trisha might need his help, at least for the time being to stay safe. Besides, she insists she can help him find his brother. But when they track him down, a secret comes out. The pirates want their fairy back and his brother is mixed up in the mess of it.

Everyone wants to find that special one, but “Phen” and Trisha both know they’re dreaming. How can they make a love like this work? And that’s a question for when they’re lives aren’t in danger.

 

Get it for your Kindle or Kindle Fire here!

New for your Kindle and Kindle Fire – The Fairy and her Giant. A bargain Kindle romance.