A Chilled Drink, Ice Cream, and a COOL Summer Read

How many times have you said around February, “I can’t wait for warmer weather”? How many times this month have you said, “I can’t wait for cooler weather”?

I heard that phrase spoken the other day, and it got me to thinking. Reading is mental. We all know that. But why read a book that takes place on the hottest of summer nights when you're already sweltering in triple-digit temperatures? Which made me wonder - what if I picked up a romance novel that takes place in the middle of winter? With the frigid winds blowing around the hero and heroine, would my body translate that suggestion into feeling cooler?

Go ahead. Try out this little experiment and tell me what you find out. I discovered the answer, and you can, too!

Beat the heat! Read about a snowstorm or a wintry Arctic blast! And here are a couple of books to help you get started!

A DIFFERENT YESTERDAY
Sensuous Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic, Futuristic Romance

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The Apocalypse.

It didn't come because of man's inhumanity to man. It didn't come from bombs, or plague, or even from aliens descending from outer space. In fact, no one knows what triggered it. And even if they did, there was no way to turn back time.

Only one thing was certain. One evening the sun had grown unexpectedly bigger and hotter, and heat and radiation unlike anything ever experienced washed over the Earth, bathing it in searing rays that devoured over three-quarters of the world's population.

Now the sun is smaller, and it doesn't radiate as much heat as it used to. The world is colder. Food is scarce, and people are fighting to stay alive.

Andrew Michael Tollson, aka "The Silent Wraith", was a man who roamed from settlement to outpost to city, offering his protection from scavengers and renegades. Years ago, right before the sun had exploded, when he had been a boy growing up in a small Texas town, he had felt his first crush for the little tomboy he knew as Jo. Now, as a grown man, he has finally made his way back to his boyhood home to see if Jo is still alive, or if she has been a victim of the Apocalypse. He has to know if the dreams and memories he has harbored were mere fantasies, or if the infatuation he'd felt then has grown into something else, something stronger and more tangible.

JoBeth Wythe was a member of The Triad, three leaders who protected their little settlement, and tried to recall the carefree days before the Apocalypse. All they wanted was the chance at a decent life, with enough food, some shared warmth, and a little hope for the future. She had never forgotten the pudgy little kid who had followed her around when she was growing up, the little boy she called Mikey. Every time she thought of him, it only brought back pain and a wistfulness for a past that no longer existed.

For Drew and Jo, it was only a matter of time before they would be reunited to fight together. To survive together. And to discover that the innocent kisses they had shared as children had grown into a love that would overwhelm them with desire.

Warning!  Contains permanent extreme cold, love everlasting, survivalists, separation, a legend in the making, a brutal mass murder, childhood friends to lovers, and the end of the world as we know it.

 

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BREACHERS #1: HOLT AND MCKENNA

Sensuous Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

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They are the cause of many legends, myths, and fairy tales. And they still live among us.

There are creatures from a parallel world called Breachers who, for hundreds of years, have been inadvertently pulled into our world. They are the truth behind the creatures normally considered to be mythic. Once on Earth, they cannot go back, and those who cannot cope become rabid. Murderers. And when they go berserk, they must be put down.

Jerrod Holt always wondered why he was selected to be part of the secret governmental organization. More perplexing is why his skills as a professional bodyguard are needed.

He discovers his partner assigned to help him bring down a Breacher is the one woman who had caught his eye the moment he saw her at their initial group meeting. Together, he and McKenna travel to Utah to confront a killer beast, not knowing that the terror will be all too real, and too damn close to home.

Warning: Contains smart ass remarks, unbearable cold, a nightmare come to life, toe loss, rabbit farming, a search for the truth, and an unconditional love that defies all boundaries.