Today on Waves of Fiction I am excited to join in the publisher blog tour for Cross & Crown by Abigail Roux! Ms. Roux writes one of my all time favorite series and I love helping out with her tours anyway that I can. For today's stop I have a very special cut scene to share, an amazing giveaway, and my review. I hope you enjoy!
Cut Scene!
Nick was silent as he looked out on the moonlit fields. They were peaceful now, but it seemed there were echoes of gunfire and cannon blasting, bayonets clashing, men and horses screaming in fear and pain.
“It doesn’t really matter why, or how history writes it down,” Nick said. “The only thing that matters is that every man out there believed in what he was doing. He was standing on this ground, willing to take a bullet fired by his brother, to protect something he thought was worth dying for. That country. That king. That ideal. That land back home. That flag. That man leading him. That man standing beside him.” Nick’s voice filled with emotion and he lowered his head. “The burden of death and bravery in places like this is heavy. I’ve always been able to feel it. Someone should feel it.”
“It doesn’t really matter why, or how history writes it down,” Nick said. “The only thing that matters is that every man out there believed in what he was doing. He was standing on this ground, willing to take a bullet fired by his brother, to protect something he thought was worth dying for. That country. That king. That ideal. That land back home. That flag. That man leading him. That man standing beside him.” Nick’s voice filled with emotion and he lowered his head. “The burden of death and bravery in places like this is heavy. I’ve always been able to feel it. Someone should feel it.”
Even if Kelly hadn’t already felt the power of this place, it came through clearly in Nick’s voice. It was holy ground, in its own way, bearing the gravity of the past up in what were now wild green pastures dotted with stone and tourists. The agony of it. The struggle. And Nick believed the same as those men, felt it down to his bones. Call it patriotism. Heroism. Integrity. Honor. That indefinable something that had driven so many men to die for something they felt more important than life also lived inside Nick. It had lived inside their team. And if what he believed in was threatened, he’d do the same as they had done; die defending it.
Kelly’s chest constricted as he looked at Nick’s profile in the moonlight. He had never believed that men like this still existed, not until he’d met Sidewinder.
Kelly’s chest constricted as he looked at Nick’s profile in the moonlight. He had never believed that men like this still existed, not until he’d met Sidewinder.
Nick’s breath billowed in front of him in the cold. His eyes were taking in the battlefield, seeing things Kelly couldn’t see, remembering things Kelly had lived with him. Kelly swallowed hard and set one hand lightly on Nick’s shoulder. He couldn’t think of anything to say, so he didn’t speak at all.
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: June 9th, 2014
Purchase: Amazon
When Nick O'Flaherty arrives at the scene of a double homicide to find he has a witness to the crime, he thinks it’s his lucky day. But when he realizes his witness is suffering from amnesia and can’t even remember his own name, Nick wishes he’d gone with his gut and put in for vacation time.My Thoughts:
Then Nick’s boyfriend and former Recon teammate, Kelly Abbott, joins him in Boston, and Nick finds his hands a little too full as the case and his personal life collide. The witness he’s dubbed “JD” is being tailed by Julian Cross, a retired CIA hitman. To complicate matters further, JD forms an attachment to Nick that Nick struggles not to respond to as they search for the key to JD’s identity.
Trying to determine whether JD is friend or foe as they investigate the crime puts them on the trail of a much older mystery. When multiple attempts are made on their lives, Nick is forced to turn to old enemies and new allies to solve a centuries-old crime before he and Kelly get added to the history books
I beginning to realize that I really need to acquire every book that Abigail Roux has ever written. I absolutely love this womans writing and characters! Cross & Crown is another great addition to my favorite shelf!
In Cross & Crown we get another dose of Nick and Kelly. These two are so different from one another, but they make perfect sense. Throughout their scenes together I really can see how they work and how they are just meant to be together. This story with them though was about more than just them discovering their feelings for each other. In this installment we got to go on an amazing treasure hunting story that I really did enjoy. We get to see how much of a history nerd Nick and you know what it was kinda hot I gotta say. I feel like this is a whole new side of him that I really needed to see. He isn't just a badass with a gun, he has depth behind those muscles. The story wasn't an easy one to figure out and I did like where it went. I won't lie though a lot of it went over my head so I wish the history would have been a little watered down, but I found that I could still enjoy the story even with all the history stuff passing me by. And I can't not mention Julian Cross! I really have to get my hands on this mans story! He is all kinds of awesome and I just want to find out more about him!!
Nick and Kelly are hot together. I wasn't sure how I would like them but I mean come on they can both hold their own in a fight and they are both good with guns what more do you need?? I like how they are really in tune with each other and I really appreciate the back storylines that the author has thrown in. It is a little strange that they haven't ever had any romantic interaction before but with the back stories we get to see why that line wasn't crossed and we even get to see that feelings were already developing back then. It is a little weird that this couple is so open with their relationship but I am just chalking that up to reading seven installments with Ty & Zane where things were hidden. I like that Nick is open and lets everyone see who he loves.
Another note to be aware of is that if you haven't read the eighth book in the Cut & Run series you might want to do that before diving into this one. I am holding that last book until just the right moment and in doing that I did hit some major spoilers for both couples in this one. I can say though I am definitely looking forward to reading that eighth book even more now because I think it holds a lot of those unanswered questions that popped up in Shock & Awe. I want to see what happened when everyone found out about Nick and Kelly and I want to know how they themselves handled the situation. I thought I was getting that in this installment but this one was more about them settling into their relationship and trying to figure out what that next step is for them. Who moves where, what kinda job should they do that kinda stuff. It was still good don't get me wrong, but I missed the inbetween stuff. I like the inbetween stuff.
Is this Ty & Zane no, but Nick & Kelly are very nice filler that will definitely keep me entertained while I wait for the next C&R installment. We all need great filler inbetween releases and well these two are the best filler ever. Heart pounding scenes. steamy cut scenes and amazing chemistry is what this book is all about! I can't wait to see what happens next with these two!!
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