Haunted by Your Touch [Mass Market Paperback]

Jeaniene Frost (Author), Sharie Kohler (Author), Shayla Black (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 26, 2010

USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost seduces readers into a forbidden new world as she teams up with romance stars Shayla Black and Sharie Kohler for a sizzling collection of original novellas featuring fallen angels, anarchistic demons, warrior wizards, and irresistibly dangerous creatures of the night.

Enter the dark realm of Nocturna in Jeaniene Frost’s redhot tale, where blisteringly sexy Raphael dominates the demons of a lawless dimension and tries to help a beautiful young woman avenge her cousin’s disappearance. In the shadowy world of Shayla Black’s Doomsday Brethren, magical warrior Raiden vows to protect his woman and their unborn youngling from evil—and deliver her safely to another man. But once he’s saved her, can he let her go? Lycans rule the night in Sharie Kohler’s suspenseful story, as a fiery woman stalks mysterious Luc, the undeniably hypnotic being she believes can save her from turning . . . if she kills him. Danger beckons in these captivating paranormal tales that will tempt readers to the edge and leave them begging for more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There's a lot to digest in this dark fantasy romance anthology. Black's "Mated," linked to her Doomsday Brethren series (Possess Me at Midnight, etc.), is sexy and exciting, featuring a well-matched couple in a world of warrior magicians trying to protect themselves and mankind. Even newcomers to Kohler's Moon Chasers series (No Soul to Keep, etc.) should be able to dive into "Darkest Temptation," but despite the intense connection between the leads, there's not enough atmosphere to keep things interesting. Frost's lengthy and complex contribution, "Night's Darkest Embrace," has the opposite problem. As it stands alone and takes part primarily in dimensions other than our own, extensive world-building involving demons, partial demons, and the Fallen may leave readers feeling overwhelmed. This is definitely one for knowledgeable fans of paranormal romance. (Nov.) (c)
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About the Author

Jeaniene Frost is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Night Huntress series and Night Huntress World novels. She lives with her husband and their very spoiled dog in Florida.

Sharie Kohler is a New York Times, USA TODAY, and internationally bestselling author who also writes historical romances and a paranormal young adult series under the name Sophie Jordan. Visit her website at SharieKohler.net.

Shayla Black is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty sizzling contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances, including the Doomsday Brethren novels Tempt Me with Darkness and Possess Me at Midnight. Her novel Decadent was nominated for Best Erotic Romance of 2007 by Romantic Times. She lives in Texas with her family. Visit her website at www.shaylablack.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star; Original edition (October 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439166765
• ISBN-13: 978-1439166765
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #727,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 2 out of 3 for me November 3, 2010

By Avid Reading in NV VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Jeanine Frost - Nights darkest embrace
THE STORY - half demon Mara lost her cousin seven years ago in Nocturna, a demon realm. She hasn't stopped searching for her killer. Full demons feed on half demons and fallen angels feed on full demons, so the food chain goes. The leader of Nocturna is Rafael. He has always known Mara is his mate, now he must show her. Mara has had a crush on Rafael since she met him, but nothing will detour her from finding the killer.
Thoughts - This is totally different from Frost's vamp series. It was fun short story, I could see this turning into a series easily. It's fast paced. Rafael and Mara are fated, they have this deep connection. I enjoyed reading this. This is the longest book in this.

Shayla Black - Mated
THE STORY - Ronan and Raiden are twins that recently joined the Doomsday Brethren. Ronan has a free short story called Fated on Shayla's website. Raiden's family was cursed to not know when they've found their mate. Raiden figures mating is not for him. For a couple of months he broke his one time only rule with Tabitha- now she is pregnant with his child. Tabitha's family were killed, Raiden finds her beaten up at his house. He must protect her and find out why her family was killed, then he is suppose to hand her to someone else to mate. Ronan and Tabitha try to dissuade him from making that monumental mistake.
THOUGHTS - This was my favorite of the series. I actually read Entice Me at Twilight first, then this. I did it backwards. It made more sense to read this first, then the fourth novel. Tabitha and Raiden have electric chemistry. This is the first word of pregnancy in this series, so that is a fascinating aspect to me. This was highly enjoyable read for a short story.

Sharie Kohler - Darkest Temptation
THE STORY - Luc finds Lily sneaking into his yard to supposedly kill him. She was told if she killed Luc she wouldn't turn into a werewolf. She was given ignorant information. Luc decides to help her acclimate to her new self. He also has someone searching for her real alpha - to gain her life back. During her time with Luc though they fall in love.
THOUGHTS - this is the shortest of them all. It was okay, but I felt that it was surface stuff, not deep enough. Whether its because its so short or whatever I don't know. I liked reading Luc and Lily's time together. They complement each other, help one another be complete. It just felt like fluff to me, could have been more.Good idea tho

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Three authors, three novellas - no exorcists required October 29, 2010

By melindeeloo TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Nothing spooky about this trio of paranormal romance novellas, while I was expecting ghostly themed romances, all the stories were instead 'mate' hookups. But since most of the pairs had a history, the mate bond didn't have to do all of the work. And even though these were short, all of the authors fit a decent amount of story and world building in their offerings.

Jeaniene Frost leaves her Night Huntress world behind (so no Cat and Bones) and introduces a new world in her tale "Night's Darkest Embrace" - Seeking to avenge the death of a beloved cousin, half-blood demon Mara crosses back over into Nocturna, a world of eternal night . Though he saved her from her cousin's fate, the gorgeous ruler Raphael is hiding something and despite her attraction to him, Mara is determined to discover just what that might be - Raphael's secret adds an element to his claiming of Mara that I really liked.

Shayla Black's "Mated" is a Doomsday Brethren short. Raiden is from a defective branch of the Brethen, his family has lost the ability to sense their mates and they no longer settle down with just one woman. And Raiden has no intention of breaking family tradition despite his attraction to the one woman he just can't get out of his mind. And when this former lover becomes the target of the evil enemy of his people, Raiden will struggle with his sudden need to keep her close to keep her safe when he knows that keeping her with him puts her in just as much danger = - this one works fine as a standalone, but Black starts out by reminding us of her villain's sadistic proclivities and that is one thing that keeps me from being a huge fan of her series - it's just a few lines though, and I liked the rest of the story. (If you liked this one, you may also want to check out Raiden's twin's story Fated - A Doomsday Brethren novella - or it may still be available as a free read on the author's website.)

Sharie Kohler offers a Moon Chasers short, "Darkest Temptation". As a half-blood `were' Luc, has the power to control his wolf, but his life is an isolated one until a newly bitten woman enters his territory. Even knowing that he will have to kill her to keep her from becoming a ravening beast come the next full moon, the lovely Lily stirs something inside his lonely heart. - Both of the leads in the story were just so sympathetic and appealing, that even though it was animal attraction that forged their initial connection, I couldn't help but hope for pair to find their way to a happily ever after.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars One good, one great, one did not work for me January 6, 2011

By J. Markovic

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
[...]

This anthology hinges around the forbidden and irresistible; the compelling touch of the person you know you shouldn't be with but just can't deny. Of the three stories presented, Jeaniene Frost did not disappoint, Shayla Black's story didn't work for me, and Sharie Kohler's Darkest Temptation led me to add her other books to my TBR pile. All in all, a well balanced collection and an enjoyable read.

Night's Darkest Embrace by Jeaniene Frost (154 pages)

There are always neighborhoods where parents warn their children away, places with enough danger to be attractive to predators and prey alike. Jeaniene Frost's Night's Darkest Embrace is a novel twist on this concept, as this "bad neighborhood" is the gateway dimension Nocturna, an enticing middle ground between Earth and the wide multi-verse that can only be accessed by those with demon blood. The danger that drives the heroine, Mara, back to Nocturna also forces her into contact with Raphael, the powerful demon who raises both her suspicions and her heartrate. Night's Darkest Embrace seemed like a great set up to a full length novel, showing us only a few parts of the Nocturna and the bumpy beginnings of Mara and Raphael. I would have preferred more detail and breadth, but what was there just whetted my appetite for more. 4/5 stars

Mated by Shayla Black (122 pages)

Mated was strike two for me with the Doomsday Brethren series (this short story falls as #3.5 in the series). Both it and ENTICE ME AT TWILIGHT include characters that have significant self-worth/trust issues, which can be a hard sell for me under any circumstances. When said characters go ahead and get halfway into a relationship before their issues kick in, the author has pretty much lost me. I really didn't like that Raiden had allowed himself to get involved enough with Tabitha to father a child, but wouldn't go any further without much jaw clenching and fence sitting and unprotected sex (Hey, you can only get knocked up once!). While his reasoning for wanting to leave Tabby is sound (he doesn't want to endanger her by making her a target for his enemies or abandon his brothers-in-arms by "leaving" the conflict), the whole situation was a major turn off for me. Still keeping an eye out for future books that will feature Shock, but I no longer have any desire to read through the back catalogue. 2/5 stars

Darkest Temptation by Sharie Kohler (106 pages)

By far my favorite story in the book, Sharie Kohler creates a fabulous mix of old-school werewolf myths and the more modern flavor of romance and redemption. I read this short story twice, and have put MARKED BY MOONLIGHT on my TBR list to get more of this series (and I hear "Sharie Kohler" is the pseudonym of Sophie Jordan, which adds FIRELIGHT to my list as well!). I loved Kohler's take on the werewolf transition, human DNA dying and being supplanted by the lycan strain, and the ending of this short story was completely unexpected. In between that beginning and ending, there's lots of "mindless attraction" (as well as the more sweet, emotional variety) to keep things spicy. 4/5 stars

Sexual Content: All three of these short stories have explicit sex scenes.