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Book Bites: Volume 1
Hello again! I know it's been a while since Iâve written anything in a while, real life has a way of beating you up sometimes, and while I still want to write book reviews, I also know I donât have the mental capacity to write long reviews like I used to, so I have come up with a compromise! Introducing Book Bites, quick reviews for the books Iâve been reading recently which I will be simultaneously posting on my Goodreads account, they will be spoiler free unless stated otherwise. I also wanted to let you all know I will be switching to tracking books on Storygraph for the coming year, Iâve started posting on there already, so check out the link in my pinned to follow my account! Please let me know what you think and let's get into it! Â
The Seventh Veil of Salome â Silvia Moreno-Garcia âââââÂ
As soon as I heard that Silvia Moreno-Garcia was publishing a new book I had to place a hold on it at my library through Libby. Iâm a huge fan of all of Silviaâs writing so I knew that I was going to love this book as soon as I read it, and I was right! This book tells both the story of the biblical Salome, the woman who ordered the head of John the Baptist, Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican actress who somehow managed to land the coveted role of Salome in the movie production set in the golden age of Hollywood, and Nancy Hartley an unsuccessful actress trying to become a star. The way the books is written is extremely unique, there arenât any chapters just changing points of view between the three women, and bits where it is written like a documentary based on the movie being made in modern day. While this format is a little weird at first, it really lends to the story telling experience and it makes for a beautifully written ending. I absolutely loved going on this journey with all three women, all facing unique hardships and their unified struggle of a woman trying to be successful in a time where men held all the power. If you love historical fiction and are a fan of golden age Hollywood movies, youâll love this book but be prepared to go on an emotional rollercoaster with each of these characters.Â
The Map of Love - Ahdaf Soueif âââââÂ
This book was recommended to me by one of my dear friends, and since I love making them read books that I loved, it was my turn to return the favor. The book tells the story of a woman, Isabel, who inherits her great-grandmother, Ana's, suitcase full of her writings, and after some guidance from Omar, an Egyptian American man she has fallen in love with, she travels to Egypt to meet Omarâs sister, Amar, to help her unravel Anaâs hundred year old love story. The book switches points of view between Anaâs journey to Egypt from England and her love story with an Egyptian man, Sharif, and Isabel and Amarâs own struggles in the modern day. The point of view shifts a quite jarring at first, it does take a while to get into, but once you do it's such a good way to tell the story of all three women and the political landscapes of their times. It really puts into perspective how Egypt is such an old country as there is common locations across those hundred years as well as common problems, namely the situation in Palestine which we are still living through twenty-five years after the book was published. I absolutely loved this look into the late-Victorian era and early Edwardian in a country outside the US and UK, though the story is greatly influenced by both. If you want to read some more diverse historical fiction and have the patience for a long and dense book, then I highly recommend this one.Â
The Honey Witch - Sydney J. Shields ââââ
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I was once again influenced by TikTok and their rave reviews about this book and decided to check it out at my library. This book is about 21-year-old Marigold Claude, a high society outcast and soon to be spinster who is whisked away by her grandmother to a magical island after finding out that she is the next Honey Witch meant to protect the island, its magical inhabitants, and the people of the nearby town, all while grappling with a curse that prevents her from falling in love and a brewing evil. I was promised by the people of TikTok a witchy sapphic romance and it unfortunately underdelivered, the book took too long establishing the world and magic system, and once things started to get into motion each plot point was connected to the next with very flimsy strings and everything felt super circumstantial and forced. The life altering evil was over and done with in fewer book pages than I wouldâve liked, and the romance was written like a bad Wattpad story from 2012. I did give it three stars because I thought all the characters were very compelling, though victims of a subpar story, and the world and magic system that was very well thought out. Honestly, not a bad book, but if you want to read it, I recommend keeping your expectations lower so as to not be disappointed.Â
#val's book reviews#val's book bite reviews#the seventh veil of salome#silvia moreno garcia#the map of love#ahdaf soueif#the honey witch#sydney j shields
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đĽâď¸đđ¨ please.đ
đĽ ⢠you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help?
I'd get in touch with @cha-melodius for her anatomical knowledge (y'know, maybe I can resuscitate whoever it is?) and @happiness-of-the-pursuit for his legal expertise, in the likely event that the resuscitation doesn't work.
âď¸ â˘ what made you choose your username?
You know, I've had this username since about 2010, and I honestly can't remember the backstory. I'm fairly sure it has something to do with some sort of arts and crafts project and then-untreated ADHD, though...
đ ⢠tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them
This might get long, so I'll come back to this one and toss it under a jump. đ¤Łđ
đ¨ ⢠link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it
You know, prior to the latest RWRB zine being published, I wouldn't have been able to narrow it down to just one, but this JC Leyendecker-inspired piece by @artofobsession is possibly my favorite piece of fanart that's ever been created. It's just -- even nearly a month after it was first posted, it causes beauty aggression in me and I just want to bite it because it's so pretty and glowy and ethereal and lovely and they're just so blushy and so into one another. It's the first fanart print I've ordered in years, and it's going to go on my wall of ephemeral pretty things with my Lindsay van Ekelenburg art and my various tarot card prints from Kickstarter decks.
[Send me emoji from the Writers Truth & Dare Ask Game and I'll answer the corresponding questions!]
Aight, back to đ ⢠tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them
I mean, obviously I'm tagging you first, @ad-astra13, because you're the Most Excellent of Doc Gremlins and your flailing in my Google Docs has been so, so motivating. Your fiber work is really cool and creative! I'm always intrigued to see which project you'll take on next.
And then there's @hgejfmw-hgejhsf, who even with a bunch of stuff going on IRL still takes the time to DM me a screenshot when someone has recced one of my fics, which -- warm fuzzies just everywhere. Val is one of the sweetest, most deeply passionate RWRB fans I have ever met, and her encyclopedic knowledge of all things book and movie have come in handy on like, dozens of occasions in the few months since I've gotten to know her.
@kiwiana-writes and I basically have the same brain in different bodies on different continents, the vibe is so consistent. Half the time I read his work it feels like it could've emerged from my brain instead of his, and now it turns out he's a pretty gifted songwriter too? Incredible, awe-inspiring, iconic, etc.
@artofobsession and I have a Spider-Man meme thing going on where I yell at Hann about their art, and they yell at me about my writing, and it's just a never-ending cycle of yelling. Pretty amazing to consider that I was Too Scared To Say Hi â˘ď¸ for awhile there, because I'm a big ol' introvert. Regardless of what Hann's got going on, I've never read an unkind word that's emerged from their keyboard, and they're super well-spoken and yeah, really glad I started making unhinged bulleted lists of art reviews as a way to break the ice, because they're good people.
Speaking of Spider-Man memes, @seanchaidh7 and I have also been Spider-Manning back and forth these last few months. She's created some really, really incredible art for my Big Giant AU, and just genuinely seems like a cool person. I'm happy we stumbled across each other in this fandom!
@duchessdepolignaca03 is one of the best unhinged idea riffers I've met. She deserves at least partial credit for the idea for my RBB fic, because a simple "fic where [x]" message can lead to a thread of dozens (or hundreds) of messages back and forth just flinging ideas out there to further the prompt. Half the time the riff is all that happens, but occasionally, the riff spawns something way bigger.
And there are folks who either I haven't found on Tumblr, or who left Tumblr behind in like 2013 and haven't looked back -- super grateful for everyone who's enabling my weird little brain to do the thing!
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|| Valentine & Corey ||
In his office, seated behind the desk, Corey tapped a pen against a page of the book heâd been reading, something on applied anatomy of the canine for vet techs, nurses and students, reviewing the specialized literature for the few veterinary residents in practice at the clinic. It was a productive way to pass time in between patients and shelter rounds. A bowl of mixed berry Fruity Raisin Snacks sat within reach on his desk, the animal doctor occasionally glancing away from the book and over the rim of his glasses to dip his fingers into the bowl and idly pop a few pieces into his mouth.
Many of the owners of his patients would sometimes drop by to gift him with little tokens of appreciation and gratitude, usually in form of a bottle of decent wine or whiskey although Corey did not drink - those were either forwarded to family members or passed further as a second-hand gift for a holiday or other occasion - or fancy coffee and even homemade baked goods and dishes. But Corey always liked what he would call âgranny snacksâ - cinnamon tea cookies that came in tin boxes, hard mint candy and plain tastes people usually avoided.
Just about to reach for another bite, the door to his office opened and the reception lady announced someone in. Coreyâs lips spread into a lazy, genuinely happy smile. âVal, what a pleasant surprise. I didnât expect you today. Come on in.â He rose, in case his friend would like a greeting hug, knowing the other was fond of being affectionate and that just a handshake might simply not be enough.
@valentine--dupont
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Daemon AU? Yes PLEASE!
I will give u the pre-canon material exploring Five and his daemonâs relationship ;3cÂ
---
Pancha prefers small forms. Five never knows for certain why, and when he asks her she just tilts her head and shrugs at him because she doesnât know what to say, either.
She likes being a hummingbird, flitting around Fiveâs head and hovering in front of his face before nesting in his hair. She likes being a mouse, scurrying up Fiveâs arm and tucking herself into the pocket on the front of his blazer. She likes being a rabbit, feet thumping against the floor as she zoomed around the room at top speed.
Five never knows, or maybe just never vocalizes why the representation of his soul prefers to be small.Â
But when Reginald Hargreeves gives him scathing performance reviews, his cane clicking against the floor in time with the soft clicking of Aryiaâs claws as they look down their noses, as Five stands with his back straight and proud while -Â
While Pancha curls up tight in his pocket, a mouse biting the end of her own tail so that she would not whimper aloud. They know then, even if they never voice it aloud. The reason that Pancha prefers to stay small.
---
The thing that people learn early is to watch daemons. Not directly, that would be rude, but to keep them in the corner of your eye and observe. Daemons are the representation of a personâs soul after all, and souls canât lie.Â
If someone is nervous, their daemon will shuffle anxiously. If someone is angry, their daemon will puff up in fury. When someone is scared, their daemon will cringe and cower. Itâs easy to spot a liar in a world where the heart lays outside of the body.
Fiveâs very good at lying with his own body. He stands up straight and proud. He bares his teeth in furious smiles, licking blood from his lips and refusing to back down. He speaks loudly, with purpose, with challenge in his voice and in his words. Five is hard-headed. Five is disobedient. Five is an unruly little monster.
Pancha shifts into a hummingbird, because everyone knows hummingbirds flit around to keep aloft. It doesnât look like nervous energy when itâs for a purpose. Pancha shifts into an australian tiger beetle, because they donât have lips to draw back in wordless snarls. Pancha shifts into a gerbil and hides in Fiveâs pockets, because what you donât see cannot betray you.
They call her adaptable, laugh when their siblingsâ daemons begin to settle. They tolerate the speculation about who is going to settle next and what they will become.
They both dread the day Pancha will settle, even if they donât say anything to one another. They donât address the fact that she changes from one form to another, cycling through dozens within the space of a day even though their siblings stick to perhaps three. They donât talk about the buzz under their skin that drives Pancha racing around their room at top speed until they crash on the bed panting together with something clawing desperately inside their soul.Â
They donât talk about a lot of things, but they donât need to. Theyâre two halves of the same whole.Â
---
Luther snaps at Five for cheating, for running ahead on a mission. Theyâre twelve, and Andromeda looks down on Pancha with something cold in her eyes and says, âOf course they canât obey. Theyâre still unsettled.â
She says it like an insult, lip drawing back to show off too sharp teeth, says it like itâs something for Five to be ashamed of. Says it like what sheâs really saying is that Five is a child. Like they arenât all twelve-years-old and just settling into their own skins.Â
She says it like itâs Fiveâs fault that Pancha can flit through forms like she canât shed them fast enough. Even as Andromeda speaks, Pancha is a bat, is a wren, is landing on Fiveâs shoulder as a sugar glider, is curling around his neck as a ferret.
She says it like itâs his fault that heâs twelve-years-old and his daemon is unsettled. Like half the twelve-year-olds running around arenât doing so with daemons just as unsettled as his.Â
(Five read once, in a book, that trauma can make daemons settle earlier. There are so many cases of children as young as nine, seven, six with daemons tiny and scared and permanent.
The same book mentioned that abused childrenâs daemons often fell into one of two categories: large predators, to protect themselves and bare their teeth and intimidate any who try and hurt them. And the small ones, who are tiny and scared and do their best to be beneath notice.
Luther and Diegoâs daemons are large, with teeth that can tear flesh and muscles beneath their skin.
Pancha likes to take small forms. Five doesnât think about it too much.)
Five curls his lip and snarls back at Andromeda in a way that he never does when theyâre in front of cameras, because etiquette says that people donât talk to other peopleâs daemons, âIf you werenât so slow then maybe I wouldnât have had to go in alone.â
Pancha shifts from a ferret to a squirrel to a kangaroo rat. The others are used to her rapid changes, but they also mean that they canât pin down Fiveâs mood based on his daemonâs body language. Sheâs shifting too rapidly for that, clawing down his jacket as a hispid cotton mouse and settling into his arms as a pika, as a pygmy rabbit, as a stoat.
âMaybe I should hear a rumor about everyone calming down.â Allison threatens, her hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently. Amraphel is wrapped around her shoulders like a scarf, lazily flicking his tongue out.
(Allison has been of ill temper and short of patience ever since Raph settled a month ago. The whole house had heard her shouting about it, and none had dared to address it when they came down to dinner with Raph draped over the back of the chair instead of his customary place in Allisonâs lap.Â
Raph and Allison havenât sat properly together since he settled, and no one talks about it.)
But Allisonâs words settle Andromeda and Luther, both of them backing up in a way they wouldnât for any other sibling.Â
Pancha is a bush baby now, climbing up to Fiveâs shoulder and tugging lightly on the hair behind his ear.Â
Five holds his hands behind his back and twists his fingers together to the point of pain.
âNo need for that.â Pancha says, voice clear and level and almost haughty. âTheyâre only jealous they canât be as adaptable as us.â
Luther snarls and lunges forward, only to be blocked by a bristling Andromeda. âTheyâre not worth it.â She growls, low and deep in her chest with flashes of white teeth. Luther and his daemon try so hard to be respectable, to be cool and aloof like their father and his daemon. Itâs almost sad, really.
Pancha is a manipur bush rat, scurrying to Fiveâs other shoulder. Five untwists his hands from behind his back and reaches up to grab her when she shifts into a black jackrabbit.Â
âHave you looked in a mirror lately?â Five says, with all his twelve-year-old wit, âYour face isnât worth it.â
The black eye he sports for three weeks is, in fact, worth it.
---
Pancha is the last one left unsettled. It shouldnât bother them, they donât even really want Pancha to settle, but it does in some terrible inexplicable way.
Pancha flits between forms, and none of them feel right.
âWeâre obviously going to be something that can jump properly.â Five muses, tapping a pencil against a little black notebook as he thinks. âYou said the kangaroo mouse didnât feel right?â
âNothing will feel right until the moment we settle.â Pancha points out, flicking the tail of her current ginger-tabby-cat form back and forth, âVal was definitely a wolf a few times before she settled.â
âYeah, well, Iâm like 90% sure Val settled out of pure competitive spirit.â Five dismisses rolling his eyes.Â
Valencia had settled two hours before Andromeda had, and has lorded it over the other daemon ever since. Diego still preens about how he was the first of the siblings to settle before even Luther.
(Five kind of wants to tell them both that Tamaya settled a week before Valencia and Andromeda both. No one noticed because Ben hadnât brought it up, and Tamaya had always favored hiding to confrontation. Instead, Tamaya âofficiallyâ settled around three days after their siblings.)
âIâm probably not going to be a big animal.â Pancha says, her claws pricking into his skin through his pajama top as she leans against his shoulder to peer at his list. âYou can cross kangaroo off.â
âI thought you said you couldnât be sure?â Five says, eyebrow raised.
Pancha just stares at him blankly. He stares back. Pancha shifts into a Florida king snake.
âNot having eyelids is cheating.â Five scowls, crossing his arms.
Pancha easily swaps into a possum, shaking out her fur. âIt wasnât cheating, it was adapting.â She tosses his words back in his face, âBesides. You thought I could be a kangaroo.â
Five grudgingly crosses an entry out. âWell why are you a possum now?â
Pancha shrugs as well as she can as a possum. âDunno. Itâs a marsupial or whatever, isnât it? Besides, Iâm sort of digging the fingerless gloves aesthetic.â She offers a foot out for Five to inspect.
âYou look like you just climbed out of a trash can.â Five informs her.
âNo, that was last night.â Pancha shoots back, shifting into a pine marten to crawl into Fiveâs lap and bat at his notebook. He just holds the notebook a little bit higher, making her huff in irritation.Â
âDad really needs to feed us more.â
Pancha nuzzles against Fiveâs stomach as comfortingly as she can, even though she can feel the slight pang of hunger gnawing at her belly as well as he can. Their power takes so much out of them sometimes, itâs difficult to justify taking more to a man who sees them as an experiment instead of a person.
âI could turn into a tiger and eat Aryia.â Pancha offers, shifting into an otter and making another grab for the notebook that Five easily avoids.
âYou donât like taking big forms.â Five dismisses easily, as though itâs nothing. As though it isnât something they donât discuss between them.
Pancha is silent for a few minutes, and even Five stops scribbling away as he waits for her response.
Finally she says, very carefully, âJust because I donât like to, doesnât mean I canât.â
They both are silent after that, Five lowering his arms to curl around Panchaâs latest form in something just a little bit too loose to call a hug.Â
âItâs safer.â Pancha whispers, breaking the silence between them, âI donât know why, but itâs safer this way. Smaller daemons - they arenât looked at as closely. When a tiger daemon bristles, people pay attention. When a mouse daemon bristles, no one even notices.â
âIs my soul really mouse shaped?â Five huffs a laugh, but they both know that he wouldnât be disappointed in her being a mouse so much as he would her being trapped a mouse.
Pancha nudges at his chin with her broad muscular head, âHey, donât knock mice. Theyâre survivors. Practically anywhere you go, youâll find mice. Inside, outside, they know how to get around.â
Five hums, dropping his notebook on the bed and bringing his hands up to run them through Panchaâs fur.
âMaybe we should be something with a beak.â Pancha whispers, knowing that Five will hear her no matter how softly she speaks. âNo one bothers to look at bird daemon expressions, either.â
âMaybe youâll be a swan, able to break someoneâs arm and look pretty while doing it.âÂ
Pancha snorts, âYeah, youâd like that wouldnât you. Vicious representation of our soul, that.âÂ
Instead of saying anything more, Pancha shifts from an otter into a meerkat. She curls into a tight little ball in Fiveâs lap.
âNot this one either, then?â Five says with a smile.
âShut up.â Is Panchaâs intelligent response. âNext time you ask, Iâm going to bite you.â
---
The moment they figure out what they can, theoretically, do, the buzzing under their skins gets louder than ever.
âAsk dad again, please.â Pancha begs, shifting from a budgie to a canary to a superb fairy wren as she flits about close to the ceiling of their room.
âYou ask Aryia!â Five shoots back, bouncing lightly on the top of his bed even though itâs sort of childish. If anyone comes in though, heâll just say he was trying to catch Pancha and theyâd probably believe it.
Pancha turns into a magpie and immediately tries to divebomb Five in irritation, who stands there unimpressed and sheâs forced to veer back towards the ceiling or crash into him. âYou know sheâs a mythic bitch!â
âAnd you think dad isnât?â Five asks incredulously, bouncing a little more frantically.
âYou donât get lectures on how youâre -â Pancha flies to the floor and shifts into an impressive rendition of a marble fox identical to their fatherâs daemon, âStill unsettled Pancha, honestly, I expected better of you. Why canât you be like the others, youâre so unruly and disheveled and I have no idea why dear old Reggie didnât do away with you long ago -â
Five is cackling, his bouncing having come to a stop so he could slap a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter at Panchaâs, frankly, spot on impression of their fatherâs daemon.
Pancha grins, shifting from a fox into a jack russell terrier and jumping on the bed with Five. âSpot on, wasnât I?â
âAbsolutely impeccable.â Five manages, sticking his nose haughtily in the air, âWhy, I almost thought our dearest Aryia was in the room with us!â
Pancha nips at his heels, making him flop down onto the bed with her automatically. The shift in weight and position makes them both bounce a few times before they settle down. Theyâre still buzzing with energy though, even sitting still.
âI bet time travel would fix us.â Pancha says finally, voice strangely serious in the face of their previous jostling and cheer.
âWe arenât broken.â Five says equally seriously, watching as Pancha shifts into a grey collared chipmunk, then a harvest mouse, and then an antelope jackrabbit. She uses that formâs legs to launch herself from the bed to the desk across the room and back again.Â
âThereâs something wrong with us, Five.â Pancha corrects him fiercely, clawing up his arm as a pallid bat to his shoulder. âThe others werenât like this. Weâre thirteen, now. Statistically, we should have settled by now. Or - or slowed down at least.â
Now sheâs a margay, precariously balanced on his shoulder with her tail whipping into his face. Five brings up a hand to gently grasp at the twitching appendage, âThe average is twelve to fourteen, technically.â He corrects her gently, âWe practically just turned thirteen, we have time.â
Pancha hisses, hopping down off his shoulders in the form of a mongoose. âIf we just - we have to try, Five. Canât you feel it?â
Five bops her gently over the head, half scolding. âOf course I can, Iâm you arenât I?â
The buzz under their skin gets stronger by the day, and Pancha hasnât been able to hold a form for longer than five or ten minutes in almost a year. It takes more effort not to jump than it does to actually jump, these days. Pancha shifts into a brush rabbit and levels him with an unimpressed look.
Five heaves a sigh, foot bouncing against the floorboards as though Pancha has transferred her nervous energy to him. âYou know what dadâs gonna say, anyway.â He brings a hand to his chest and put on a nasally fancy tone, âMaybe we can revisit this topic when youâve matured a bit, Number Five.â
Pancha gnashes her teeth together as a beaver. âYou know what thatâs code for.â
Fiveâs look is just as bitter as his daemonâs tone. He does know. Everyone knows. Itâs a whole thing - people have weird ideas about what it means to settle. That it means, in some weird way, that itâs a transition into adulthood and responsibility.
How many hospital dramas and detective shows make it a point to draw attention to a child actorâs shifting daemon? How many true crime shows have grieving parents wailing about how the daughter or son wasnât even settled yet, as though it might have been less of a tragedy if the kidâs daemon had been permanently stuck as a woodchuck. How many courtroom dramas have dismissed eyewitness testimony on the basis of the kid isnât even settled yet.
Five and Pancha thinks itâs stupid, the emphasis put on settling. Thinks itâs dumb that heâs somehow considered less mature than a nine-year-old with a settled hedgehog daemon, even though heâs thirteen. But his age doesnât matter. Just his daemonâs settled status.Â
âWhat if time travel fixes us.â Pancha proposes again, fluttering over to the desk in the form of a cardinal. âWhat if it helps. What if itâs what we need to - â
Settle, she doesnât say. Because to settle is to know yourself, and they donât even know they extent of their powers.
Five shakes his hands out, blue sparks flying down his wrists as he does so. Anything to try and get the buzz out from under his skin.Â
âIâll ask dad again tomorrow.â Five says finally, âAnd if he says no - â
âThen we do it anyway.â Pancha is a coyote, lips pulled back in a wordless snarl before blue lightning runs down her form and sheâs suddenly pressed against Fiveâs side.
âThen we do it anyway.â Five confirms, grim.
---
Time travel does not fix them.
Time travel breaks them.
They stand in the rubble of the end of the world, howling for their family with something that tastes like desperation on their lips, and no one answers. Dust swirls across the ground, glittering and gruesome as the smoke chokes the air from their lungs.
They claw through ruin until they find what theyâre looking for, until Five shoves a piece of debris off of a face that belongs to a wrist with a black umbrella inked upon it, dark and final.
He finds Luther. He finds Allison, finds Diego, finds Klaus. He does not find their daemons.
Pancha is a falcon, is a racoon, is a wolf howling desperately into the crackling air, hoping, praying for an answer. But the only thing they hear are the quiet roar and crackles of the fires and their own footfalls.
Itâs eerily quiet, at the end of the world. Thereâs no movie soundtrack, or screams, or howling winds. Itâs just the pops of distant fires and the sound of rock across rock as their feet dislodge pieces of the wreckage.
âWe can fix this.â Five says feverishly, âWe have to go back.â
âItâs not working.â Pancha grits her teeth, pushing and pushing and pushing against the wall of their powers. Itâs about as useful as trying to break down a brick wall with her shoulder.
âWeâll make it work.â Five vows, âWeâll go back. Weâll save them all.â
Pancha nods, equally grim and equally serious.Â
âWhat we need,â Pancha says slowly, sounding out each word. She has Fiveâs full attention on her, âIs an equation.â
Math isnât something they technically need anymore. Itâs a crutch from their younger days, something that soothes them and calms them and helps them focus. They can jump without it, their brain doing most equations automatically.
But when theyâd first been figuring out their limits on distance, when theyâd first figured out the differences between jumping in water and jumping in air - theyâd used math. When they were figuring out time travel was possible, theyâd looked at the math.
âOkay.â Five says, breathy and small and scared, âOkay.â
---
They donât figure out until a week in that the buzzing under their skin is - not gone, but lesser somehow.Â
In their defense, they have a lot bigger things to worry about.
Five is scooping cold spaghetti-oâs directly into his mouth with a spoon heâd buffed against his shirt when he finally looks at Pancha and realizes that sheâs been a barbary macaque for⌠hours now. She has a box of childrenâs sidewalk chalk by her side and is concentrating fiercely on writing while Five takes a break.
âPancha - â Five starts, and then finds himself at a loss for words when she looks up at him.Â
âHmm?â She asks absently, little monkey face still scrunched up in concentration. Five canât help but wonder when the last time Pancha stayed in one form long enough for him to pick up proper expressions from her face.
â...Never mind.â Five says, and watches Pancha turn back to her work.Â
They have more important things to worry about now anyway.
---
âThis is a bad idea.â Pancha informs him, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she pants in the scorching heat. Sheâs a dingo today, has started experimenting with bigger and bigger forms.
(Five is seventeen-years-old. She still hasnât settled.)
âWeâre literally starving to death, Pan.â Five says dryly gripping bright packaging between thumb and forefinger like he would prefer not to be touching it himself, thanks. âLook, I definitely remember something about these things never going off.â
âThat doesnât sound right.â Pancha frowns, âBut then again, I donât know enough about twinkies to dispute it.â
They both look at the innocent little treat that Five has managed to unearth from inside of what looks like it used to be a childâs backpack. They donât think about the child the backpack might have belonged to.
âDonât those things have like, cream in them or something?â Pancha asks doubtfully, leaning forward to sniff the treat suspiciously, âPretty sure anything with dairy in it went off like, years ago.â
âTheyâre like, 90% preservatives probably.â Five says, bringing it closer to his face so he can sniff it as well. âWhat do you think?â
âI think this is a terrible idea.â Pancha shrugs, which looks strange with a Dingoâs shoulders, âBut then again, we are starving to death. Not sure we can afford to be picky.â
âWe also canât really afford to be sick.â Five points out sensibly.Â
They both take another pause to consider the twinkie.Â
âWeâre so going to regret this.â Pancha sighs, laying down and putting her head on her paws. âBut hey, if we die, we die.â
âWeâre not going to die.â Five scolds her, peeling open the twinkie finally and giving it a distrustful look, âWe totally arenât going to regret this. Power of positive thinking, right?â
They absolutely regret it.
They donât die, though.
---
The bright side of Pancha being unsettled is that sheâs actually very useful in the apocalypse. She can take on the form of an elephant, acting as a one-daemon construction crew to clear out debris when they need a place to stay. She can run through the rubble as a mouse, squeezing through cracks in search of anything useful.
She takes the form of a chameleon, snagging insects from the air and offering them to Five when his skin starts looks paper thin and his ribs stick out prominently.Â
Pancha lays in the body of a tiger, curled around her human to protect him from the cold nip of the night air. The weather is turning, and soon enough there will probably be snow on the ground.
âWeâre twenty-one this year.â Pancha says quietly.
Five hums, fingers twisted into her fur. âFive more years and then weâll have officially been here longer than we were there.âÂ
âDoesnât matter how long it takes us.â Pancha says, squeezing her paws around his shoulders in warning, âWeâre going to get back to them.â
Neither of them are sure they really believe it anymore, but oh how they want to.
They let the silence sit for a while between them before Five speaks up with a snort, âNot this one then?â
The question is almost an old joke at this point. Thirteen was a late bloomer. Sixteen was maybe-we-should-get-you-checked-out territory. Twenty-one was practically unheard of.
Pancha gives him a punishing lick with her sandpaper tongue over his forehead, making Five squawk with outrage. âDonât ask questions you already know the answer to, idiot.â
âYou know, calling me an idiot is really only calling yourself an idiot.â Five bites back, but they both know heâs not really offended. If he was, he wouldnât still be cuddled into Panchaâs fur. Even their arguments are performative these days.Â
âI can call you scruffy without offending myself, I suppose.â Pancha says dryly, âWhat is wrong with your face.â
âIf you can find a good razor kit in the apocalypse then be my guest.â Five says grumpily, but he ruins it by nuzzling his face into Panchaâs chest fur making her huff with laughter.
Pancha squishes him closer, mindful of her big paws and powerful muscles. But even in this form - her hip bones are too prominent and her ribs can easily be felt through her fur. Theyâll go out scavenging again tomorrow, but for tonight they can just⌠lay here. Bask in one anotherâs company.Â
âStop thinking so much.â Five draws his head back a little to sleepily scold his daemon, âYouâre going to keep us both up.â
âShut up then.â Pancha shoots back.
âNight, Pancha.â Fiveâs words are muffled against her fur, but she hears him loud and clear.
âNight, Five.â Pancha says softly.
---
Pancha hops tentatively through the first snow of the season, her white fur blending in well. âFive,â She says, not sure how sheâs planning on following up.
âI know.â Five says quietly, reaching down to pick her up. She rubs her face under his chin comfortingly, feeling the scratch of his beard across her fur. âHappy birthday to us, I guess.â
âTwenty-six.â Pancha whispers.
âIt was - it was 2019, right?â Five asks suddenly, âWhen the apocalypse happened?â
âApril 1st, 2019.â Pancha confirms solemnly.
Five hums. âTheyâd have been, what, thirty?â
âIt was still April.â Pancha corrects, shaking her head gently, âOur birthday is in October. Theyâd have still been twenty-nine.â
Five is very quiet for a long time, and Pancha keeps her own silence as they trudge through the wasteland. Theyâve been doing a little better food-wise recently. Theyâve discovered that while Five doesnât get much out of Pancha eating, they get something out of it. Sheâs taken to wearing herbivorous forms and munching on grass and other plantlife where she can. The coming winter may make that trickier, though.
âIf we go back before we hit thirty, weâd be about the same age.â Five says finally.
Pancha hums in agreement.
âBut - â Five hesitates, âWe have to go back to, to before Ben dies, right?â
âThey were what, sixteen?â Pancha taps at Fiveâs chest in a request to be put down, which he readily complies with. âMaybe we could get them out. Be the responsible adult.â
Five snorts, âAdopt our siblings?â
Pancha grins, âHey, donât tell me you wouldnât enjoy the hell out of bossing Luther and Andromeda around.â
âWeâll see whoâs the kid then.â Five chuckles before they both fall silent.
After all, Lutherâs entire thing about Five being a brat was because - well. Pancha silently shifts into a husky with thick fur, coming over to nudge at Fiveâs leg as they walk side by side.
âWe never really talked about what weâd do about - about me once we get back.â Pancha says carefully, warily.
They donât need to change like they used to. Donât shift between forms with the blink of an eye. Theyâre more solid now, Pancha tends to take a form for hours or entire days now unless she finds another form more useful to their current situation.
But they arenât settled.
Five offers her a strained smile, âWeâll cross that bridge when we get to it.â
âMaybe if we get back, itâll fix us.â Pancha offers, but her voice is soft and a little bit wistful. She doesnât believe what sheâs saying any more than Five does. They already travelled down that road before, and look where it got them.
âWeâll cross that bridge when we get to it.â Five repeats firmly, before his face softens a little bit, âHappy birthday, Pancha.â
âHappy birthday, Five.â
---
âDo you remember how old we are now?â Five whispers, his hair and his beard have gotten streaked with grey. Panchaâs not exactly a spring chicken herself anymore, allowing Five to card his fingers through the feathers in her wing and straighten them out.
âToo old.â Pancha complains, âWhatâs the point in keeping track anyway? Itâs not like we know what day it is.â
âWe should probably keep track in general.â Five sounds amused, âGotta remember how far to go back after all.â
âFuck it.â Pancha declares, nipping at Fiveâs fingers when heâs a tad rough with a tender spot, âJust overshoot. Either weâll pop out when the family are babies, and we can just steal everyone, or we donât and bam weâre right on track.â
âYouâre suddenly finding a motherly bone in your body, somewhere?â Five removes his hands from her wings to brush them off on his pants. Pancha gives them an experimental flap or two. âI, for one, could not be paid enough to deal with a baby Diego. Can you imagine?â
âHeâd have fantastic aim when heâd throw his toys at you.â Pancha snickers.
âCan you imagine baby Allison?â Five demands, and they look at each other for a heartbeat before they both break down into laughter.
âOh my god,â Pancha gasps, burying her face into her own wing, âCan you imagine what sheâd rumor? Everyday would be Disney world day and she would be the prettiest princess of all.â
âRuling the world with an iron fist and a sparkly tiara.â Five manages to get out, his own face buried in his hands as he wheezes.
âKlaus would be right next to her, tiara and all.â
âFuck youâre right.â Five laughs, a deep belly laugh they neither of them hear very much these days, âThere would be so much glitter.â
That statement makes Pancha dissolve into giggles again where she was just getting control of herself.Â
âIf we ever get back, Iâm going to buy both of them the sparkliest tiaras available. No, wait. Gonna buy the whole family a bunch of those little kid birthday tiaras, and never explain why.â Five declares, grinning, âTheyâd be so confused.â
âWhen.â Pancha corrects, and the mood suddenly turns serious. âWhen we get back.â
Five doesnât apologize, doesnât sputter or claim it was just an error of speech. He just inclines his head a little bit and says, âRight. When we get back.â
---
Theyâre old and broken and creaky and tired when their endless days of bouncing math off of each other and testing at the boundary of the blue that stays frustratingly solid to them changes.
Fiveâs hair is entirely grey now, and his beard is long and scraggly where he hasnât taken a knife to it in a while.Â
Pancha is a european hare and sheâs the one that first senses danger.
The thing about living in the apocalypse, is that itâs quiet. Thereâs no hum of electric lights. Thereâs no brawls between stray cats or dogs. Thereâs no squirrels or rats or mice scurrying around.Â
So when Panchaâs sensitive ears pick up the sound of footsteps she feels such an intense sense of - of something that it makes Five drop his chalk and swing around to look at her with alarm.
Sheâs glad her form today is swift, because sheâs across their little âcampâ in seconds and in his arms, clawing her way up to his shoulder to press her mouth to his ear, âThereâs something out there.â She whispers, somehow terrified and she doesnât know why.
To his credit, Five doesnât even hesitate despite the impossibility of her words. He scoops her under one arm and turns and picks up the gun (they donât talk about why they have a gun) with the other. He turns around and points it at -Â
A woman. They both freeze like deer in headlights.
âHello!â The woman calls, picking her way down the debris in high heeled shoes.
âFive.â Pancha swallows, making her human look at her, âFive, whereâs her daemon.â
Fiveâs head whips back around, and they both stare. Itâs entirely possible that the womanâs daemon is just small, just out of sight and out of mind. Itâs even possible that sheâs a witch, and her daemon is off gallivanting about.
But Pancha can feel a scream trapped behind her teeth, feel her ears go back as she fights the urge to run run run away from this terrifying woman who tastes of empty empty empty. Something is wrong.Â
She can see the way Fiveâs fingers tremble as the sense of wrong wrong wrong reverberates through their bond.Â
âWho the hell are you!â Five snarls out, and Pancha takes the opportunity to squirm and wriggle so that sheâs balanced precariously on Fiveâs shoulder, freeing up his other hand to steady the gun.
âIâm here to help.â The woman says brightly, still picking her way towards them.
âFive.â Pancha whimpers, and as she feels her paws tremble she watches his hands go still and steady.
âTell me why I shouldnât just put a bullet through your head right now.â Five raises the gun further, but the woman doesnât even hesitate.Â
âBecause,â The woman says, smiling a carefree smile as she adjusts her hat and pulls her sunglasses from her face. âThen you wouldnât hear the offer Iâm about to make you.â
Five and Pancha are more tense than theyâve ever been before in their lives, and considering some of their childhood missions - thatâs saying a lot.
âWhich would be rather tragic given yourâŚâ The woman looks around and even though she doesnât look disgusted the implication is there anyway which makes them both bristle, â...Current circumstances. I work for an organization called the Commission. We are tasked with the preservation of the time continuum through manipulation and removals.Â
âWhy are you telling us this.â Five manages to grit out, never letting his gun drop.
The woman just looks at him like heâs a child and sheâs disappointed he asked such an obvious question.
âIâve come to offer you a job, Number Five.â She says simply.Â
They donât miss the way she only offered the job to him, not to Pancha.Â
Thereâs a lot after that. The woman explains that she wants to hire him - them - to, to eliminate threats to time caused by humanityâs free will. She tells him that her organization has had their eye on him. That he has potential. That Five can retire with a pension plan for the low low price of his soul.
Well, heâs paraphrasing.Â
She at least allows him a moment of privacy to discuss things with his daemon, telling him that she will be back in an hour to pick him up and that he should take the time to gather what possessions he wishes to take with him. She seems awfully confident he will take her deal.
âShe doesnât have a daemon.â Pancha shudders against him, âSheâs so empty inside. She scares me, Five.â
âI know.â Five says, smoothing his hands over her fur comfortingly, âBut - Pan, the chance to get out. If they know how to properly time travel - â
âThen we can finally get out of here.â Pancha says softly, longingly. âItâs been so long, Five.â
âI know.â He whispers.Â
âShe wants us to kill for her.â Pancha tells him, âRemoving the problems - she just wants us to become an assassin. She wants us to be a weapon.â
âWould we kill to get our siblings back?â Five asks, but itâs a rhetorical question. They both know that theyâd probably let the world burn all over again if only it meant saving the people most important to them.Â
âWeâd have food.â Pancha offers finally, âIf itâs a job, weâll have money. No more scavenging. We could focus more time on, on - you know.â
Five nods solemnly, âSo, do we take the job?â
A shudder ripples through Panchaâs body, âWhat about me, Five?â
âWhat about you?â Five asks, brow furrowing.
âIâm not normal.â Pancha states tightly, watching Fiveâs face light up in comprehension. Itâs been a long time since they discussed Panchaâs ability to shift. After so many years, it almost seems normal. âSheâs already seen me as a hare. So do I just - pretend to be a hare?â
Five bites his lip, âJust until we figure out how to get back.â
They both know thatâs not a real answer. They both have no idea what theyâre going to do when they show up, old and decrepit and still unsettled.Â
âShe canât know.â Five says, because at least that much is certain. âShe doesnât have a daemon. She canât know.â
Pancha sighs, but they both already know what their choice is going to be. âOkay. Okay letâs become assassins.â
---
Theyâre in a hotel room, and Pancha shifts a few times just to prove she can. She likes being a hare, but sometimes it just gets itchy. Wrong. Sometimes she needs wings, or fangs, or something.Â
She feels like she needs fangs a lot around the Handler. Or like she needs to be something small, like a mouse and curl up in Fiveâs pockets again to hide away. Usually she just hides behind Five and lets him deal with the woman, which is perhaps unfair of her but Five hasnât protested yet.
(Actually, Pancha doesnât speak to anybody. Not after the doctor and his capuchin daemon looked entirely scandalized when she addressed him instead of his daemon. Apparently missing out on socialization for an estimated forty-five years led to⌠some not so great manners.)
Five methodically cleans his gun as Pancha shifts from a lion to a gazelle to a pallas cat and back into a hare to jump onto the bed with him.Â
âToday?â She asks him.
He looks up at her and frowns, his hands pausing.
âSomething feels different. More right.â
Five tilts his head a little bit in though and then nods. Heâs been quiet, since they got back. When theyâre alone together at least. The opposite of Pancha. Sometimes she wonders if theyâre just switching off, the way they do when it comes to shows of emotion sometimes.Â
Pancha crawls into his lap, nudging at his hands until they put the gun aside and bury themselves in her fur.Â
âWeâre going to save the world, Five.â She says, projecting as much confidence as she can into her voice, as much confidence as she can into him. âWeâre going to save them all.â
Fiveâs hands tremble in her fur, and they both politely pretend that they donât.
âYou arenât going to do this alone, because you have me. Weâre a team.â She cranes her head back so she can offer him a smile, âTeam Adaptable, right?â
âRight.â Five rasps out, touching the silver patches in her fur.Â
And then they get up, and move out. Theyâre on a mission now.
#daemon au#yeAH#long post#far tua long#i started writing it and then got super busy oops#but this probably would have been the first chapter#just establishing five and pancha as the main characters#and their whole relationship#and what it means that pancha is unsettled and why she hides it#there's a level of shame involved in a world that treats settled as matured#i'm 100% sure there are parties thrown when a kids daemon settles#like it's a BIG deal in this au#and they don't want to settle because they're so adaptable#but they also desperately want to fit in rip#the handler does not have a daemon and pancha is terrified of her#dolores is not super necessary in this au bc they have each other#i only have like six and a half more google doc pages written tbh#and they're not great bc writing the coming back was awkward#me: i struggle with juggling a lot of characters in a scene#daemon au: oh? double the amount of characters you said?#Anonymous
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Hit me with some Peter fluff, Val. Maybe since you want to be distracted from school it's the reader begging Peter to pay attention to her and not studying? Idk just some Peter fluff I really don't care what the plot is lol
writing this during my last class of the day mhm
-
âpeter, can we please do something?â you emphasize the last word, this being the third time youâve asked him. heâd rather review for history than entertain his lovely girlfriend. âmhm, in a minute,â he says on autopilot, biting the eraser of his pencil. his eyebrows knit together while he reads over the page heâs on.
âweâve had this conversation already. take a break,â you whine and nudge his arm with your nose. âi really gotta do well on the test, bug. iâll be done soon,â peter outstretches an arm for you. you lean into him and huff. âitâs not until next week.â âitâs a lot of content,â he murmurs, flipping the page.
youâre aware of how childish you sound, but you donât care. you watch his eyes follow a paragraph. âyouâre so smart, though. donât you know it already?â âsmart people forget stuff,â peter sighs and tucks his pencil behind his ear. he doesnât say anything else after that, focusing on his reading again. you canât take it anymore.
you grab the textbook off his lap before he can react. his eyes go wide. itâs behind your back now. ây/n, i really need that back,â peter reaches to get it from you. you come towards him, grabbing both his hands. youâre in his lap instead of the book. he canât really complain about that. you set his hands on your hips.
âtake a break,â you repeat, a smile appearing on your lips. peter pulls you flush against his chest. his eyes practically darken. âon second thought, i can finish later.â
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Fire Meets Gasoline (4)
Summary: You leave your city to start over in your best friendâs town, oblivious to the fact that you have an unexpected roommate. What will happen when fire meets gasoline?
Pairing: Loki x Female!Reader
Word Count: 1k-ish?
Warnings: Mentions of sex I guess?
A/N: In this household, we support filler chapters. If you asked me to be tagged and I didnât tag you, please send me an ask or a message because I am a mess.
After the whole Eric situation, you swore to yourself you wouldnât let another person sleep with you, not when you were sure it was just something physical. Missing someoneâs body next to yours at night was the worst feeling ever, the emptiness of the bed spreading through your hollow chest. All the sleepless nights you experienced made you realize the huge mistake you made a while ago.
You looked at yourself in the mirror, checking for any evidence of last night, but there were no love bites or swollen lips, but you were 100% sure you had sex with Loki. That was not the problem, the problem was that he stayed in your bed, with you.
You barged into your bedroom, hoping Loki was gone, but there he was, smiling at you. You glared at him and he frowned.
âWhat happened?â You asked him, the obvious annoyance in your voice.
âWell, we had sex and-â He started saying, but you cut him off, needing a different answer.
âYeah, I know we had sex, asshole. Why the fuck are you still in my bed. Why didnât you go to your own room to sleep?â He was looking at you, confused.
âWe just fell asleep, what the fuck is wrong with you?â He spat while standing up and getting dressed. You turned around to give him privacy, since you couldnât remember the whole thing. Yeah, sure, it was your idea to suck his dick, but you were not expecting the outcomes of it. Like falling fucking asleep with him.
You knew you were overreacting and your own mind wasnât making sense, but it was your way to protect yourself from the possible comments or actions that could come afterwards.
âRelax, Y/n, it was just a one time thing. You said that yourself.â He said right before leaving you on your empty room. You approached your bed and threw yourself back on the pillows.
âFuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.â You shouted to the pillow, muffling your voice. The fucking bed smelled like him.
âYou really wanted the bed to swallow you whole for being over dramatic and for falling asleep last night. You heard the shower so you took that opportunity to call Valerie, but she cut the call. You frowned and pressed your face to the pillow again, not knowing what to do with yourself on your day off. After fifteen minutes or so, your phone buzzed.
Valerie: Hey! Sorry I cut the call, I was at the meeting I told you about last night. Hope everything is okay :)
Fuck, you totally forgot about her telling you that. You looked at your screen, unsure of what to say.
Y/n: Hey, sorry I totally forgot. Would you like to grab a coffee and maybe lunch? Itâs my day off.
You pressed send and waited not so patiently for her reply. When you saw the three dots, you panicked.
Valerie: Itâs a date! Send me your address, Iâll pick you up in 45 minutes. Wear something cute ;)
And so you did and seconds later, you were picking up your outfit and heading towards the already empty bathroom. The burning water fell on your body, calming all the nerves you felt about everything that had happened in less than 12 hours.
While you showered, Loki was sitting on his desk, trying to comprehend the situation he just lived. He couldnât understand why you panicked over a shared bed, when you were the one who showed interest first. He had wanted to fuck you since the first day he saw you at his door, but now that it happened, he felt like he could move on. It was not bad sex, but you were so cold and then morning came. You didnât even let him kiss you while doing it, for fuckâs sake.
You looked at yourself once again in the mirror, admiring the dress you carefully chose. It was a  skater dress, a rusty color and white flowers. You styled it with your white converse and a small yellow backpack. You finished applying mascara and lipstick when you received a text message.
Valerie: Iâm down.
Before you closed the door, you could hear Lokiâs door opening and calling out your name, but you decided to ignore it and go on with your day.
Val showed you around the city, since you havenât seen much after a month living here. She took you to her favorite Greek restaurant to have lunch and to her favorite coffee shop. Next stop was a small bookshop owned by her grandparents friends.
You stared at the dusty bookshelves in awe, the smell of old paper and ink filling your senses, Valerie holding your hand all the time. She was wearing a black sweater, light grey pleated pants and black oxfords. Her short blonde hair, wavy and she was just wearing gloss. She looked gorgeous.
âWhat are you thinking about?â Val asked you, standing shyly in front of you. You smiled at her and placed a strand of her hair behind her ear, caressing softly the side of her face.
âIâm thinking about how gorgeous you look. So ethereal and effortless.â You answered honestly. She blushed but placed a kiss to your cheek.
âKinda makes me wonder if I wanna kiss you or be you.â You teased and she laughed, the sound music to your ears. But even though you wanted to kiss her, you knew it was going to be just a one time thing, since your stupid brain couldnât separate correctly feelings. Valerie was a nice girl, sweet and beautiful, but something in you told you she was not the one. You walked around the shop for half an hour and bought a copy of a book youâve been planning on reading since it came out. It was a romantic novel, written by some mysterious guy who called himself God of Mischief. The name was interesting to say the least, but it still brought your attention, so after reading so many positive reviews, you decided to buy it.
Valerie left you at home after having dinner in a small dinner, after you declined the offer to go to sleep to her house. You really didnât wanna be that kind of person. You couldnât be like Eric.
You arrived to your apartmentâs door and something felt odd, and as you stepped in the empty room, you understood why.
There was clothing items scattered all over the place, the armchair almost in the middle of the living room, when its usual place was a corner. You walked towards your bedroom silently and closed the door, trying to be as quick and quiet as possible.
At 4 am something woke you up. At first, you didnât understand what was going on, but as the minutes went by, everything made sense. Loud moans and groans came from Lokiâs bedroom, the banging of his headboard on the wall confirming the already obvious situation.
This is a joke.
#loki#loki fanfic#loki x reader#loki x you#loki laufeyson#loki (marvel)#loki x female reader#loki x y/n#loki x yn#loki x bisexual reader#bad boy!loki#biker!loki#enemies to friends to lovers#enemies#roommates au#hate to love#Loki Odinson#thor odinson#Loki (thor)#thor is a good bro#loki/you#loki/reader#canon bisexual reader#marvel fanfiction#marvel#marvel fandom#marvel fic#mutual pinning#eventual smut#eventual romance
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Read My Mind
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ââ Nothing's deadlier than sleeping with the enemyââ Title: Blurred Red Lines Author: Cora Kenborn Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EZNJok Cover Design: Bite Me Graphic Design Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense Hosted By: The Wit & Wonder Agency Synopsis: Nothingâs deadlier than sleeping with the enemy. Eden In the wrong place at the wrong time, my life is forever altered when I witness a botched cartel hit. Kidnapped and held against my will, I find myself thrust into a longstanding cartel war as some sick consolation prize. Iâll make it out of here, and when I do, everyone from the drug lord to the bottom-feeding trigger man will fall. That is, if I can stop myself from falling first. For him. I should hate him. He holds me prisoner, but I'm the one who refuses to leave. Valentin My name is whispered in fear. As the heir to the Carrera Cartel, Iâm determined to defy my legacy and do things my way. When an innocent manâs death put a witness on my radar, I try to convince myself Iâm keeping her prisoner to discover her secrets. Itâs a lie. I want her, but this dangerous attraction risks both my empire and our lives. Iâve spent my life in a solitude of my own choosing, but now that I have Eden beside me, I wonât let her go. If we burnâŚwe burn together. Purchase Links: Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2m2BEY9 Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2AxPczg Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2Cwh0Ge Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2EbXn6X Reviews: "The suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat and the romance will have you both needing a cold shower and hoping your Kindle doesn't melt while you turn the pages." ~ Dani Rene, author "Val is ruthless, and you want to hate him, but you just can't...Sexy, hot and suspenseful, with lots of mind- bending dark moments." ~ Book Lovin Mama "I absolutely loved Eden Lachey, she's a tough feisty heroine with heart and Valentin Carrera is the sexy alpha bad boy that Eden feels will break her heart. Val is the perfect combination of scary dangerous and a loving protective hero." ~ Michelle, reader #valbrl #MUSTread
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 Man. Where to even begin this week. Well. I will start by saying my reading achievements were next to none. Not quite none. But near enough. Work has been very demanding, I have been very tired and my heart just was not in it. No reflection on the books, more a reflection on my weary and rapidly ageing bones and brain telling me to take a break. In fact I am writing this post in stages as I know where my head is currently at so it if makes no sense come the end ⌠well nowt new there really but this time there is an excuse at least đ
So, anyway. Aside from being generally ancient (turned 42 this past week donât you know) I was preoccupied with something else. Lordy 42. Do you remember being a kid and thinking that people in their forties were ancient? Well Iâll let you into a secret â when you finally reach your forties you bloody feel it too. Just kidding. Age is just a number. Like my chest, mine is just larger than some, thatâs all. But back to my point (wandering mind comes with age tooâŚ) I was away from home from Thursday until Sunday this week because I took the plunge, packed my backbone in a small holdall and made my way to Harrogate for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Festival.
Itâs an interesting festival, very different in tone to Crimefest, geared very much to a social atmosphere but encouraging and enticing readers with a healthy and steady supply of books. I say healthy with my tongue in my cheek (not easy to do without biting said tongue â donât believe me try it), as carrying around the dang things all day has knackered my shoulder but hey ho.Â
As book hauls go, this week was mega. It was also rather big in terms of meeting people. I met a whole host of bloggers this weekend who Iâm not going to try and name for fear of missing someone and causing great upset, but it was a pleasure to meet you all either finally or again (and you super lovely ones already know who you are đ ). I also met quite a few authors that I admire, including Robert Byrndza and the lovely Jan, Caroline Mitchell and Mel Sherratt, Graham Smith, Sarah Wray, Claire Seeber and also got to meet Keshini Naidoo (yes â a small Bookouture bias in this post I think).
It was also lovely to catch up with Kim Nash, Karen Sullivan, Steph Broadribb, Amanda Jennings, Lucy V Hay, Amer Anwar, Felicia Yap, Patricia Gibney, Bernie Steadman and Fiona Cummins again, and to get to say hi to Paul Burston as I absolutely loved his book The Black Path. I even remembered to take pictures of some of them (but not many as I suck at that). Oh yes, and it was nice to see Rod Reynolds again even if he did show Jo and Emma the terrible selfie he took at Crimefest (terrible because I was in it). And lovely to finally meet Graeme Cumming and have a catch up chat with Gabriela Harding in the quiet times. Iâm just hoping I havenât missed anyone and if I have Iâm sorry and I do love you too. (Well at least like and admire â love is such a strong word đ ).
Have to give credit to Abbie Osborne for the selfies as I would totally not take those đ
As well as generally milling about I did attend a couple of panels, though not as many as I perhaps would have liked so Iâll try better next time. The Friday night panel chaired by Sarah Millican and featuring Lee Child, Mark Billingham and Val McDermid was hilarious as you would expect. And I totally agree with Sarah Hilaryâs shout out for Chris Whitaker as a totally brilliant writing talent. I also went to a blogger/author event organised by Orion where we met Mari Hannah, Emma Kavanagh, Stephanie Marland (aka Steph Broadribb, aka Crime Thriller Girl) and Lara Dearman, a forensics talk in which I learned many important things to include in âKillerâ, and a quick start talk on writing crime fiction with Isabel Ashdown and Sam Eades.
And I had two lovely evenings out, firstly with Abigail Osborne, Leah and Jill of Jills Book Cafe, and then with Tracy Fenton and the guy and gals from TBC. Thanks for the company all.
And then there were the books⌠So. Many. Books.
I got the following:
The Devils Claw by Lara Dearman (Kindle pre order 7/9/17);
My Little Eye by Stephanie Marland (Kindle pre order 2/11/17) Happy dance moment :D;
The Wrong Child by Barry Gornell (Kindle pre order 2/11/17);
The Lost by Mari Hannah (Kindle preorder 2/3/18);
Murder at the Mill by M.B. Shaw (Kindle pre order 30/11/17);
Shadow Man by Margaret Kirk (Kindle pre order 2/11/17);
Beautiful Liars by Isabel Ashdown (Kindle pre order 19/4/18);
I Found You by Lisa Jewell;
The Seagull by Ann Cleeves (Kindle pre order 7/9/17) â The only book I actually purchased all weekend.
The Snowman by Jo Nesbo;
If I Die Before I Wake by Emily Koch (Kindle pre order 11/1/18);
Give Me The Child by Mel McGrath;
Eyes Like Mine by Sheena Kamal;
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell (Kindle pre order 5/10/17);
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent (Kindle pre order 29/8/17);
The Mountain by Luca DâAndrea;
The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes (Kindle pre order 14/9/17);
The Collector by Fiona Cummins; (soooooooooooo excited about this one and so new there are no Amazon links yet!!! :D) If you donât know why Iâm excited and havenât yet read Rattle (and if not why not?) then you can order it here and get yourself ready for next year. Did I mention I love that book? I do. I was so excited I may have actually started reading this in bed instead of the books I should have been reading. Oops. (Sorry â not sorry). All the eeeeeeeeeks and squeeeeeeeeals.
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (pre order January 2018);
Consent by Leo Benedictus (pre order 1/2/18);
Perfect Remains by Helen Fields;
Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn (Kindle pre order 11/1/18);
Strange Magic by Syd Moore
So all in all a great book haul of a weekend. And I visited Bettyâs and treated myself to a belated birthday cake. Go me.
Now the weekend wasnât without itâs down moments too but least said, soonest mended so lets move on.
Now as if all that wasnât brilliant enough, before I left for Harrogate I received some absolutely stonkingly fantabulous book post from the wonderful Louise Ross (LJ Ross). Now I knew Iâd be getting the signed book as I won it in a charity auction, as well as the chance to be a named character. But I wasnât expecting to receive a DCI Ryan series mug as well. I actually collect mugs as well as books so this couldnât have been a better gift for me and will take pride of place in the collection.
And, totally not book related but my new cushions and mugs turned up. How fab are these?
The McMoos by Jennifer Hogwood â You totally need to check out the website.
Just the one book order this week (just as well) which was Bad Sister by Sam Carrington. Itâs due out on 5th October and I canât wait to get my mitts on a copy.
Just the one Netgalley this week too (just as well) which was The Good Sister by Jess Ryder. Itâs due for release on 16th August.
I see a theme here. Kind of reminiscent of my life. I have one of each. Iâll let them fight over which is which đ
I also received an ARC of I Know A Secret by Tess Gerritsen, the brand new Rizzoli and Isles novel which is due out on 10th August.
Now I am hoping that all of these exciting things Iâve been rambling about above will distract you from my reading tally which stands at the grand total of 2. Lorraine at The Book Review Cafe will be laughing at me this week given her mammoth reading achievements and rightly so. If only Iâd saved the bloody Mr Men books⌠When I say reading tally it was one read, one listen as I only completed one book and then listened to an audio on the way too and from Harrogate. Failed blogger I am then (this is not news but now we have evidence).
Books I have read
Red Is The Colour by Mark L. Fowler
A GRIPPING NEW POLICE THRILLER Bullying. Corruption. Murder.
It is the summer of 2002. The corpse of a 15 year old boy, who has been missing for thirty years, is discovered in Stoke-on-Trent. The city is on the cusp of change and Chief Superintendent Berkins wants the case solved quickly.Â
DCI Jim Tyler has arrived from London under a cloud, moving to Staffordshire to escape his past. He is teamed up with DS Danny Mills to investigate the case, but there is tension between the detectives.
When the dead boyâs sister comes forward, describing a bright, solitary child, she points a finger at the school bullies, which puts important careers at stake.
Then one of the bullies is found brutally murdered and when Tyler and Mills dig deeper they start to suspect a cover-up.
What is the connection between the death of a schoolboy in 1972 and this latest killing?Â
With the pressure building, and the past catching up with DCI Tyler, will he and DS Mills be able to put aside their differences in order to catch a cold-blooded killer?
Iâm reviewing this for the blog tour next Monday but I have to be honest and say that this was a really well observed look at childhood bullying an the people who were involved, both directly and indirectly. With a thirty year old victim it is a tough ask for newly transferred DCI Jim Tyler to bring the killer to justice in this new police procedural from Mark L. Fowler and Bloodhound Books. It is released tomorrow, 25th July, and you can buy a copy here.
âŚ
 You Donât Know Me by Imran Mahmood
Itâs easy to judge between right and wrong â isnât it?
Not until you hear a convincing truth.
Now itâs up to you to decideâŚ
An unnamed defendant stands accused of murder. Just before the Closing Speeches, the young man sacks his lawyer, and decides to give his own defence speech.
He tells us that his barrister told him to leave some things out. Sometimes, the truth can be too difficult to explain, or believe. But he thinks that if heâs going to go down for life, he might as well go down telling the truth.
There are eight pieces of evidence against him. As he talks us through them one by one, his life is in our hands. We, the reader â member of the jury â must keep an open mind till we hear the end of his story. His defence raises many questions⌠but at the end of the speeches, only one matters:
Did he do it?
Oh my life. What an intriguing novel. Taking courtroom drama to brand new heights this is a story which will not only challenge your idea of right and wrong but also the whole idea of how courtroom dramas should be. Set as a series of court transcripts and told in the defendants voice the author takes you on a journey and you as reader are set to act as jury. I listened to the Audio book of this and I have to say it was absolutely perfect in this format. My review will follow but you can order a copy of the book here.
âŚ
That is all. Thankfully I was fully prepared on the blogging front so I had posts everyday.
#BlogTour Guest Post: Dying Art by Malcolm Hollingdrake
#Booklove: Katherine Sunderland
#BlogTour Review: The Other Twin by Lucy V Hay
Review: Blind Justice by M.A. Comley
#BlogTour Review: Her Deadly Secret by Chris Curran
#BookLove: Jane Cable
#GuestReview: Another You by Jane Cable
âŚ
The week ahead is a bit of a mixture. I start with a review, then some #Booklove with Helena Fairfax, followed by blog tours for The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond, and then The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan with a very special Author Q&A in between, rounding out the week with more #Booklove with Jack Steele and another blog tour, this time The Lost Wife by Anna Mansell.
Hope you have a brilliant week all. Iâm reading all day today before going back to work and some more training tomorrow. Boo hiss to that one but someone has to do it. Going to Chester Zoo on Saturday so think of all the animal/nature pics I can share with you next week. You canât wait can you? Hope they still have the Puduâs and the Kimodo Dragon. I love them!!!
See you next Monday.
JL
P.S. since penning this post Sunday evening I have been online and preordered three books from Goldsboro (itâs now Sunday bedtime). Weâll just ignore those, pretend I ordered them after midnight and Iâll fill you all in next week đ
Rewind, recap: weekly update w/e 23/07/17 Man. Where to even begin this week. Well. I will start by saying my reading achievements were next to none.
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Full List of Val's Book Reviews
This is the complete list of book reviews I have done on Tumblr though not a complete list of books I've read. I only do book reviews when I have recently completed a book to make sure the review is as accurate as possible. I will give opinions on any books I've read in the past if you send me a question through my ask box.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Foul Lady Fortune - Chole Gong
These Violent Delights + Our Violent Ends - Chloe Gong
Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Anatomy: A Love Story - Dana Schwartz
American Royals - Katharine McGee
Lockwood and Co. [Netflix]
Six Crimson Cranes - Elizabeth Lim
Last Violent Call - Chloe Gong
Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo
Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo
Ruin and Rising - Leigh Bardugo
Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo
The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater
The Dream Thieves - Maggie Stiefvater
Caraval Series - Stephanie Garber
Legendborn - Tracy Deonn
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins [Thoughts]
Guardians of Dawn: Zhara - S. Jae-Jones
Foul Heart Huntsman - Chloe Gong
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night - AmĂŠlie Wen Zhao
Powerless - Lauren Roberts
What the River Knows - Isabel IbaĂąez
Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross
Ana MarĂa and the Fox - Liana De la Rosa
Book Bites Reviews:
Volume 1: The Seventh Veil of Salome, The Map of Love, The Honey Witch
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Title: Sizzling Summer Love  Shifters in Love Romance Collection Release Date: #AlreadyReleased Reviewer: Ingrid Stephanie Jordan                       Authors V. Vaughn, Liv Brywood, Tasha Black, Elle Thorne, Mandy Roth, Michelle M. Pillow, Vivian Arend, Michele Bardsley, Elianne Adams #5Starsâââââ â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘ All A Definitely Must Read Called by the Bear           Books 1 - 3 Tempted by the Bear      Books 1 - 3 Desired by the Bear         Books 1 - 3 Rocked by the Bear         Books 1 - 6 Title: Desired by the Bear Book #1 Author: V. Vaughn    OMG!! What can I say, I feel like I've been waiting for this Trilogy forever, I swear I started these from day one, well for me day one. Now you know I love Rocked by the Bear, but I missed Tristan & Annie and Izzy & Jean Luc, Tori & Keith everybody in the De Rozier Pack and the Le Roux Pack, yes I'm very excited to start reading this new series.     Four Couragous, Strong Women and                     There Fated Mates. Nadia Boucher (Ice Queen ) and Darin Izzy and Jean Luc Ouellette is Alpha to the Clan in Safe Harbor, Canada Kelsey and Val Tally and Marcel Du Veaux     Nadia Boucher is a Polar Bear that has had it ruff 1st her husband, the love of her life, finds his true mate consequently Nadia is nothing to him, there marriage was over, Heartbroken Nadia starts working for her Alpha Tristan's vodka business becoming a super model The Ice Queen. Enjoying the limelight didn't last long though because the hunters found her, now she was running for her life. With Darin's help Nadia make it back to her clan only to be sent to Canada to guard Izzy.        Tally is a human witch, plus the clans medicine woman with eyes only for Marcel.      Kelsey is fresh out of college and working as an intern for Jean Luc than she see's Val and a light bulb goes off.       Ooooooooo the best part left for last Izzy isssssssss awwwww you'll have to read to find out. â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘ This Is Another Must Read In Order 300 Moons     6 Book Series Burn This!  Book #1 Bait This!   Book #2 Bite This!   Book #3 Break This! Book #4 Bake This! Book #5 Bear This!  Book #6 Title: Burn This!  Book #1 Author: Tasha Black     This is why I say Ms. Black has the Golden Touch, yep she did it again. This is the second book of A 300 Moons Series I love it. If you thought book one was good oh my gosh book 2 is phenomenal. Again the characters match perfectly for each other. I'm excited were going back to Tarker's Hollow with a very special Mom/Kate Harkness of Harkness Farm.     Johnny Lazarus is a Dragon Shifter but he keeps him caged never letting him out. Johnny became rich n famous with his band, the Somnambulance which made him very vain. Life was good or so he thought! Things were starting to happen he didn't feel right, than Mom called wanted him home at the farm because it was time for his 300 Moons. So with end of the tour, he packed up Little Ruby and left.     Neve Whittaker, loved her job at Malibu Sanctuaries. Helping patients with there addictions was her true calling she excelled in it. Some people called her âThe Angel of Malibu". There new patient walked in and she knew something was different but what? â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘ This Is Absolutely A Must Read In Order Immortal Outcasts     3 Book Series Broken Communication    Book #1 Damage Report                  Book #2 Isolated Maneuver             Book #3 Title: Broken Communication  Book #1 Author: Mandy Roth     This book is a spinoff from Immortal Ops. Casey Black is a wolf and Harmony is his Princess. For years he's been following Harmony around watching and protecting her. Then she is kidnapped and he must find her. Will he find his Princess in time?The book might be short BUT it gets you hooked on page 1 you'll have to finish it right away and the house work can wait. â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘â˘     A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and my comments here are my honest opinion.
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Blurred Red Lines by Cora Kenborn
April 4
My Review
Eden is a bad ass. There were some really sad moments in Blurred Red Lines but, Cora Kenborn did an amazing job in keeping the story action driven. Valâs world is rapidly spiraling out of control, snatching people up like a tornado into the chaos. When it finally pulls in Eden, she becomes his calm in the sea of pain and betrayal. As much as they have reasons not to be together. I loved their relationship. I loved the passion they felt towards one another. Â
* I voluntarily read an advanced readerâs copy of this book*
Title: Blurred Red Lines
Series: Carrera Cartel #1
Author: Cora Kenborn
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: April 4, 2017
Blurb
Sometimes, thereâs nothing more deadly than sleeping with the enemy.
Eden
Meaningless flings, a steady stream of alcohol, and two dead-end jobs fill my days until my world flips upside down. In the wrong place at the wrong time, I witness a botched cartel hit, and my life is forever altered. With nothing left to lose and motivated by revenge, I vow to make those responsible always remember what Iâll never be able to forget. Then Iâm kidnapped, and before I know whatâs happening, Iâm thrust into a long-standing cartel war as some sick consolation prize. Iâll make it out of here, and when I do, everyone from the top drug lord to the bottom-feeding trigger man will fall.
That is if I can stop myself from falling first. For him. The one I should hate myself for wanting. Heâs the one that holds me prisoner, but itâs me who refuses to leave.
Valentin
My name is whispered in fear because of the ruthless reputation Iâve built for myself. Being the heir to the Carrera Cartel comes with its perks, but Iâm determined to defy my legacy and do things my way. A prisoner with a temper as fiery as her hair and a rival cartel are the only things standing between me and complete domination. Murder is business in my world, but when an innocent manâs death puts a witness on my radar and in my basement, I try to convince myself Iâm keeping her safe to discover her secrets. Itâs a lie. I want her, and with my enemies closing in, I need her now more than ever.
This dangerous attraction between us risks both my empire and our lives. Iâve spent my life in a solitude of my own choosing, but now that I have Eden beside me, I wonât let her go. If we burnâŚwe burn together.
ADD TO GOODREADS
Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Excerpt
VAL
Returning my attention to the bar, I strained to hear her conversation with the random drunks gawking at her. Loud Mariachi music blaring in the background and annoying yells of over exuberant patrons made eavesdropping almost impossible. Trying to act bored as hell, I slipped into a seat at the end of the bar and leaned forward. âIâll be with you in a minute.â Tilting her chin in my direction, she kept her focus on the sugary frozen concoction she created. Puckering her red lips, she blew a piece of hair out of her face that escaped the sloppy bun on top of her head. A sloppy, candy red bun to match candy red lips. The kind of lips that could tell a man any lie they wanted and heâd gladly buy any shit they sold for just a taste. My dick twitched, reminding me itâd been a few days since Iâd gotten laid. It didnât help matters Emilio found it amusing to dress the bartenders in the tiniest denim shorts he could find, with black tank tops drawn across their chests so tight that the Caliente logo disappeared under their arms. Well played, Emilio. Iâd never been one to chase women. I didnât have to. They fell at my feet, crawled in my bed, and blew my phone up with calls and texts I never returned. But I found myself intrigued and unable to turn away as I watched Emilioâs new bartender flip through her texts, frown, and bite her lip, smearing the bright red lipstick that still had my pants in an uproar. I watched her eyes glaze over as she muttered something under her breath and stared at the liquor bottles in front of her. With a long, drawn out sigh, she snuck a sweeping glance around the bar. Immediately, I dropped my eyes down to my phone, suddenly engrossed in a blank screen. Do it. Be bad. Satisfied no one watched, she bent down and pretended to tie her shoe, taking a bottle of vodka with her to the floor. Tucked safely underneath the sink, I shifted over the bar to get a better view of the show as she reached up with a slim, milky white arm and snagged a glass. Pouring two large shots, she downed them successively, grimacing at the eighty-proof burn. Well, damn. She just became much more interesting to me. I arched an eyebrow and fought a smile. âBad day?â âBad life,â she shot back, narrowing her eyes and licking the remaining cheap vodka off her lips. Screwing the cap back on, she pushed off her heels and slipped the bottle back onto the counter. âI wouldâve gone for the Grey Goose myself. Drinking that shit is just asking for the day to get worse.â I shouldâve stopped talking. I considered small talk to be a waste of time. She dragged the back of her hand across her mouth. âI donât remember asking your opinion.â âCan I get a gin and tonic, please?â A man two seats down from me wore a pissed off impatient look I didnât care for and waved a credit card in her face. My jaw ticked, but before I could put him in his place, pale blue eyes that could start a war pinned him to his seat. âHere,â she drawled in a marked Southern accent as she threw a basket of chips on the bar. âFill your mouth so shit stops coming out of it. Iâll get to you in a minute.â Normally, thatâd be cause for termination, but she amused the hell out of me. I couldnât stand weak women, and this girl had enough fire for a room full of them. Plus, the asshole had it coming. I began to understand why Emilio spent so many nights at the cantina. Catching my eye, a wicked smirk lifted the corners of her mouth as she placed her forearms on the bar and leaned in close enough for me to catch the scent of citrus and vanilla. It was a bizarre combination that lit a heated trail straight from my nose to my cock. âSo, what is it you want?â You. Naked and spread out on this bar. âI doubt you could handle it.â I refused to blink, holding her stare, making sure she understood the double entendre. I wanted to push her to see how sheâd react, but honestly, I knew the answer to both meanings. Nobody had been worth a fuck yet. I didnât see why this would be any different. My challenge seemed to piss her off and invigorate her at the same time. âOh, I donât know about that. Havenât had any complaints yet.â Spreading her fingers wide on both hands, she slid her arms out and narrowed her eyes. âGive me your best shot.â Iâd give you my worst. Iâd wreck you and leave you broken. âAĂąejo tequila. Straight shot, in a stem glassânot a highballâroom temp.â With her bizarre, intoxicating scent still fucking with my head, I realized she was knocking me off my game. I didnât like it. So, being the ass I was, and remembering Emilioâs tendencies toward cheapness, I leaned in as well and towered over her. âAnd if it hasnât aged at least three years, shove it up the ownerâs ass.â She brushed that damn stray hair out of her eye again and winked. âIâll do my best.â Swinging her hips all over the bar, she glanced my way a few times, making a big production of bending over unnecessarily to pick shit off the floor. More than once, I made silent deals with my cock to find it some uncomplicated pussy, if itâd calm the fuck down and stop trying to get a look at her ass too. Before it could agree, a stem glass appeared under my nose just as I requested. Thatâs a first. Raising a questioning eye up at her, she smirked and nodded to the drink. âWell? Are you going to drink that or wait until Jesus turns it back into water?â A full-chested laugh I barely recognized came from my mouth as I reached for the glass. âI think that was wine.â She shrugged and waved her hand. âWhatever. Sunday School wasnât my thing.â As she watched me carefully, I hoped for the best and downed the shot with low expectations. The moment the liquid hit my tongue I knew I was fucked. Dios mĂo, was I fucked. By the smug look on her face, she knew it too. Twirling the empty glass in my fingers, I studied the captivating woman with renewed interest. âHow is it that youâre the only bartender in Houston who can get this drink right?â Still grinning, she licked that damn lip again and returned the bottles to the shelf, the motion causing her tiny tank top to ride up and expose her flat stomach. âItâs not rocket science. Hell, some people would say Iâm a hit or miss on making anyone happy.â Wiping down the counter, she shot me a look with untold pain hidden behind it. âSome people would even say Iâve never gotten anything right.â âSome people donât deserve to breathe your air.â Fuck, I meant that. What was wrong with me? Her face broke into the first genuine smile Iâd seen from her all night not hidden behind a smirk or condescension, and my chest warmed. My fucking chest warmed, and it wasnât from the tequila. âSo, you got a name, Danger?â âDanger?â I tried for a flat tone, but my voice raised an octave, betraying my interest. Damn. âYeah, you knowâŚas in, tall, dark, and dangerous?â She squinted her pale blue eyes and silenced an incoming text on her phone. âYou look like you could get a girl in a lot of trouble.â I wanted nothing more than to wipe that damn grin off her face. She looked so smug. So sure I wanted her. Fuck, I wanted her. âYou have no idea.â Moments passed between us as we stared at each other in silence. That shock of red hair grabbed my attention again, and I couldnât help but wonder who, or what, happened in her life to cause it. Nobody just did shit like that on purpose. Candy red colored hair just didnât happen. It pissed me off that I even gave a shit. I wasnât a good guy. I wasnât even a decent guy. I didnât ask girls their names, much less their stories. âSo, thatâs it?â she asked, chin tilted and one hand resting on a cocked hip. Shit, had she been talking to me this whole time? âWhatâs it?â I asked, trying to force a bored look. âYou really have no name?â I shot her a pointed look, mentally slamming the door on her inquisition. âDanger works. I like it.â I did. I liked it too damn much. And I hated nicknames. I thought they were childish and reserved for those annoying assholes who sat on the same side of the booth at restaurants. The ones who called each other âhoneyâ and âbabyâ and fed each other bites of their own food and switched plates in the middle of dinner. âOf course, you do,â she snorted in an unladylike, but oddly sexy way. The bar started to get crowded, as patrons shoved bills toward her and demanded drinks. I watched them curiously, wondering what sheâd do. To my pleasure, she held up a finger to them and kept her eyes on me. Those eyes were what did it. Those pale blue eyes that tried to hide exhaustion exposed by the dark circles under her eyes and sadness well beyond her years. They sucked me in and broke one of my cardinal rules. âWhat about your name?â âHey, what about my drink? You think you could take a break from your date over there to do your job, honey?â Her eyes flickered relief for a moment, then darkened, becoming void of emotion. âDuty calls. Glad I could meet your expectations, Danger.â She reached for the shot glass I held, and I grabbed her hand, my out-of-character reaction surprising both of us. Hesitating a moment, she lifted her eyes and met mine in a battle of wills. I could tell we were both at war with what would happen next; I contemplated the consequences of fucking one of Emilioâs employees. He seemed fond of this one, and the moment it was over, Iâd have no choice but to have her fired. Shifting her weight, she made the decision for both of us when she released her hand from my grip and pointed toward the douchebag two seats down, now glaring at us. âLet me know if you want another.â As she poured the asshole that cock blocked me a gin and tonic, I pulled three, twenty-dollar bills out of my wallet and placed them face down on the bar. The exorbitant tip wasnât a handout, as I suspected sheâd think after I left. I generally enjoyed her company. Which was exactly why I had to leave and never talk to her again. She called me dangerous. If I was dangerous, she was fucking deadly. My life revolved around the cartel, stray pussy, and money. I had no time for complications of anything else, and candy hair was a walking, talking complication. I knew in one touch, I had no business being near her. A woman like that could cause the destruction of a man like me. While she argued with the dickbag about the amount of gin she shorted him, I slipped around the long end of the bar, through the kitchen, and out the back door. I cut myself off like a junkie jonesing for his next hit of short shorts and a-size-too-small tank top. After tonight, I knew I couldnât afford the distraction. Perfect drink or not, I was done with that girl. So, I gave my business to every other bar in Houston and walked out of them pissed off and sober as hell for two months before I caved. However, I never returned to a barstool. Always sitting at one of the tables, I allowed young, annoying waitresses to serve me while I watched her flirt with a new man month after month until it got to be too much to take and stopped going altogether.
Some women were storms who blew into a manâs life and ruined his plans for the night. That woman was a hurricane who uprooted and flooded the very foundation of everything a man thought he knew.
Author Bio
Cora Kenborn writes contemporary and romantic suspense novels with lots of danger, snarky banter, lovable bad boys, and damsels NOT in distress. She loves delving into the twisted mind of a dark villain as well as writing light-hearted romcom. Cora gets a kick out of talking about herself in the third person and is a true Southern girl from Eastern North Carolina, who grew up on sweet tea, front porches, and the simple life. She says âyâall,â âfixinâ to,â and should you deserve it will âbless your heart.â Sheâs the proud mother of three hyperactive and occasionally adorable children, and wife to an understanding husband who tolerates her chaotic writerâs cave. Although reading is her passion, she can usually be found taking notes during true crime shows, effectively freaking out everyone in the room. Cora admits to being a horrible cook, an even worse baker, and believes sheâs more dangerous with a hot glue gun than any weapon on earth. Oh, and she and autocorrect are mortal enemies.
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đĽNothingâs deadlier than sleeping with the enemy.đĽ Title: Blurred Red Lines Author: Cora Kenborn Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EZNJok Cover Design: Bite Me Graphic Design Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense Hosted By: The Wit & Wonder Agency Synopsis: Nothingâs deadlier than sleeping with the enemy. Eden In the wrong place at the wrong time, my life is forever altered when I witness a botched cartel hit. Kidnapped and held against my will, I find myself thrust into a longstanding cartel war as some sick consolation prize. Iâll make it out of here, and when I do, everyone from the drug lord to the bottom-feeding trigger man will fall. That is, if I can stop myself from falling first. For him. I should hate him. He holds me prisoner, but I'm the one who refuses to leave. Valentin My name is whispered in fear. As the heir to the Carrera Cartel, Iâm determined to defy my legacy and do things my way. When an innocent manâs death put a witness on my radar, I try to convince myself Iâm keeping her prisoner to discover her secrets. Itâs a lie. I want her, but this dangerous attraction risks both my empire and our lives. Iâve spent my life in a solitude of my own choosing, but now that I have Eden beside me, I wonât let her go. If we burnâŚwe burn together. Purchase Links: Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2m2BEY9 Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2AxPczg Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2Cwh0Ge Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2EbXn6X Reviews: "The suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat and the romance will have you both needing a cold shower and hoping your Kindle doesn't melt while you turn the pages." ~ Dani Rene, author "Val is ruthless, and you want to hate him, but you just can't...Sexy, hot and suspenseful, with lots of mind- bending dark moments." ~ Book Lovin Mama "I absolutely loved Eden Lachey, she's a tough feisty heroine with heart and Valentin Carrera is the sexy alpha bad boy that Eden feels will break her heart. Val is the perfect combination of scary dangerous and a loving protective hero." ~ Michelle, reader #DarkRomance #BlurredRedLines #CoraKenborn #Mafia #RomanticSuspense #CarreraCartel #NothingtoLose #LoveandHate #valbrl #cdast
#blurredredlines#valbrl#corakenborn#loveandhate#darkromance#mafia#romanticsuspense#carreracartel#nothingtolose#cdast
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ââ COVER RELAUNCHââ Title: Blurred Red Lines Author: Cora Kenborn Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EZNJok Cover Design: Bite Me Graphic Design Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense Hosted By: The Wit & Wonder Agency Synopsis: Nothingâs deadlier than sleeping with the enemy. Eden In the wrong place at the wrong time, my life is forever altered when I witness a botched cartel hit. Kidnapped and held against my will, I find myself thrust into a longstanding cartel war as some sick consolation prize. Iâll make it out of here, and when I do, everyone from the drug lord to the bottom-feeding trigger man will fall. That is, if I can stop myself from falling first. For him. I should hate him. He holds me prisoner, but I'm the one who refuses to leave. Valentin My name is whispered in fear. As the heir to the Carrera Cartel, Iâm determined to defy my legacy and do things my way. When an innocent manâs death put a witness on my radar, I try to convince myself Iâm keeping her prisoner to discover her secrets. Itâs a lie. I want her, but this dangerous attraction risks both my empire and our lives. Iâve spent my life in a solitude of my own choosing, but now that I have Eden beside me, I wonât let her go. If we burnâŚwe burn together. Purchase Links: Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2m2BEY9 Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2AxPczg Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2Cwh0Ge Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2EbXn6X Reviews: "The suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat and the romance will have you both needing a cold shower and hoping your Kindle doesn't melt while you turn the pages." ~ Dani Rene, author "Val is ruthless, and you want to hate him, but you just can't...Sexy, hot and suspenseful, with lots of mind- bending dark moments." ~ Book Lovin Mama "I absolutely loved Eden Lachey, she's a tough feisty heroine with heart and Valentin Carrera is the sexy alpha bad boy that Eden feels will break her heart. Val is the perfect combination of scary dangerous and a loving protective hero." ~ Michelle, reader #DarkRomance #BlurredRedLines #CoraKenborn #Mafia #RomanticSuspense #CarreraCartel #NothingtoLose #LoveandHate #CoverRelaunch
#blurredredlines#carreracartel#mafia#romanticsuspense#loveandhate#darkromance#nothingtolose#corakenborn#coverrelaunch
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