Before Midnight
Blood Prince Series
Blood Prince Series
Book One
Jennifer Blackstream
Genre: Fantasy Romance/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Skeleton Key Publishing
ASIN: B00DPYZZXA
Number of pages: 180
Word Count: 45k
Cover Artist: Elaina of For the Muse Designs
Book Description:
Loupe always
dreamed of getting married. She yearned for a caring husband who would take her
away from her servant-like existence at home with her stepmother and two
stepsisters, a man who would love her forever. Those dreams ended the day she
was bitten by a werewolf. Now she’s a mindless beast on the night of the full
moon—a condition that forever prevents her from sharing a marriage bed. Not
even the attentions of a handsome and endearingly strong prince can convince
her that the life she wants is still possible.
Etienne is a prince in need of a werewolf. A werewolf himself from birth, Etienne and his family have protected their kingdom with tooth and claw—literally—for thousands of years. Unfortunately, the spell of a well-meaning witch is slowly turning him human. Only the bite of a cursed werewolf, one who was not born with the beast inside, can save him from becoming human. He has no time for anything that will not lead him to a cure for the cure. Not even the beautiful maiden whose gentle nature soothes his soul can take his mind from his goal.
Love cares little for the best laid plans or the impossible. A grand ball. The stroke of twelve. A magic “slipper.” All kinds of things can happen when you don’t leave the ball…Before Midnight.
Etienne is a prince in need of a werewolf. A werewolf himself from birth, Etienne and his family have protected their kingdom with tooth and claw—literally—for thousands of years. Unfortunately, the spell of a well-meaning witch is slowly turning him human. Only the bite of a cursed werewolf, one who was not born with the beast inside, can save him from becoming human. He has no time for anything that will not lead him to a cure for the cure. Not even the beautiful maiden whose gentle nature soothes his soul can take his mind from his goal.
Love cares little for the best laid plans or the impossible. A grand ball. The stroke of twelve. A magic “slipper.” All kinds of things can happen when you don’t leave the ball…Before Midnight.
Short Excerpt:
“You look like
you’re trying not to laugh.” Loupe furrowed her eyebrows and briefly halted
scrubbing the wolf pup. “What’s so funny?”
Etienne cleared his
throat. “Ah, I believe the bath was meant for you.” He gestured to the clean
nightgown lying folded on a chair.
Loupe turned red
from her neck to the tips of her ears. “Oh. I see.”
Etienne couldn’t
help it. He laughed, a booming sound that made the two pups he was still
holding in his arms bark. Loupe frowned.
“No, it’s all
right, Loupe, truly,” Etienne assured her, reining in his amusement. “I’ll have
the servants bring up another bath.”
“No, don’t be
silly, I don’t need another bath.” She pulled the pup out of the tub and
wrapped him in the large towel that had been provided. The pup’s growls were
muffled as she vigorously rubbed him dry. Etienne watched, amused, as she left
the pup to stagger out from under the towel and across the floor. She grabbed
the sponge that had also been by the tub and dipped it in the bathwater.
Loupe looked down
at her dress. The bodice wasn’t terribly low-cut, but it did give a hint of
cleavage. Loupe began scrubbing the mud from her skin. The smile died on his
face. Etienne’s blood heated as her motions drew his attention to the smooth mounds
of her breasts. Every vigorous scrub made the tempting globes of flesh bounce
in the most mouth-watering display. He took a step forward.
“There,” Loupe
announced. “My dress is a bit damp, but I’m sure it will be dry by morning…”
she trailed off as she turned to find him staring. He took another step and her
eyes widened.
Something of his
less than pure thoughts must have showed on his face because her blush returned
with reinforcements and her gaze bounced around the room like a bee in a field
of tempting flowers.
The wolf pups
hopped around on the floor, tumbling around Loupe’s skirts. An image hit
Etienne so hard he almost swayed on his feet. Loupe sitting in a chair in his
bedroom, wolf pups playing on the rug at her feet and a baby in her arms…
He shook his head,
struggling to gather his thoughts. No one in his family had the gift of
future-sight. The image wasn’t a premonition, it couldn’t have been. He was
just tired, under too much stress from the witch’s blessing.
Without meaning to,
he’d crossed the room and now stood only an inch or so away. Despite his
brain’s ramblings, his body seemed to be perfectly clear in its goals. Loupe
titled her face up, her wide green eyes locked on his like a frightened deer
watching a predator.
And he did feel
like a predator. For the first time since the witch’s blessing had cursed him,
Etienne felt primal, animalistic. His body moved on instinct instead of
rational thought as he raised his hands, slowly sliding them around Loupe’s
waist. The desire to grab her and throw her down on the floor filled him with
tension and he had just enough sense to grit his teeth against the urge. He
didn’t want to scare her. He just had to taste her.
The first touch of
her delicate lips against his stole his breath. He slid his mouth over hers,
teasing and coaxing her to relax into the kiss. She sighed, her lips parting in
what he took for an invitation. He caressed her full bottom lip with his
tongue, reveling in the clean taste of lemon and tea.
Loupe moaned and
wrapped her arms around his neck. The sound of her voice and the press of her
body against his sent a fresh wave of heat through his veins. Etienne groaned
and crushed her against his chest, delving his tongue into her mouth to taste
as much of her as he could. The hard length of his cock strained his pants. She
was so warm, so willing…
Review
Loupe holds a secret that could end her life immediately if her stepmother found out. Poaching wolves, her stepmother has made Loupe skin the animals in order to sell their skins, but one of those wolves was not dead and turned Loupe into a werewolf that she can't control. All of her dreams of marrying one day are out the window, how could she be with a man if he ends up killing him in his sleep.
Prince Etienne has been cursed, each day his wolf is disappearing and if he does not find a cure soon he will lose his wolf to humanity. When he happens upon Loupe he can't stop thinking about the woman who was safeguarding wolf pups, but as the moon calls his only priority should be finding the one person who could possibly save his wolf instead.
A paranormal retelling of Cinderella. I thought this was highly imaginative and an enchanting read. Etienne is charming and their is a protective instinct to him when he is with Loupe. I felt for Loupe, you can feel her panic of what she is and you can't wait to read what happens next in the story. Excellent retelling of a classic.
About the Author:
Jennifer
Blackstream is a psychology enthusiast with both a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology.
Her fascination with the human mind is most appeased through the study of
mythology and folklore as well as all of Terry Pratchett’s novels.
Jennifer enjoys
listening to Alice Cooper, trying new recipes (to which she will add garlic
whether it calls for it or not), watching television with her family, and playing
with her woefully intelligent four year old son.
Jennifer spends
most of her time drinking coffee from her X-Men mug and desperately trying to
get all her ideas written down before her toddler can find that all magical
button on her laptop to make all her work vanish.
Website: http://www.jenniferblackstream.com/
Mailing List: http://www.jenniferblackstream.com/contact-me.php
One copy of Before Midnight will be given away, leave comment to enter.
Thanks for the excerpt, I'd love to read this! bobbyehopebooth@yahoo.com
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