Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Sunrise Over Brasov by Stephanie Burkhart (Spotlight, excerpt, review and GIVEAWAY) GFT




by Stephanie Burkhart

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Rosa Getzi lives a life of intrigue at Poiana Brasov with Clement, a werewolf, and Cassandra, the witch. Her past doesn't matter to her – until she discovers what it holds.

Prince Michael Sigmaringen joins his sister-in-law, Caroline, and the vampire prince, Darius, in a daring rescue, igniting Rosa's desire to find her family. However, all is not as it appears. Rickard, Rosa's friend, escapes with her. Clement will go to any lengths to get Rosa and Rickard back.

At Darius' fortress, Michael soon discovers Rickard is a new breed of werewolf – one who can control the change, and Clement hopes to exploit Rickard's abilities.

Michael's courage, strengths, and convictions will be tested like never before. Can Michael and Rosa find true happiness and the rid the lupine haunting of the Sigmaringens once and for all?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~





EXCERPT


Some inner voice encouraged her to leave with him. It was the right thing to do. "Turn
around," she said quietly. "Why?"

"So I can change."

"I don't trust you." His reply was quick. "Leave your chemise on." He walked to the window and glanced outside, then checked his pocket watch.

Rosa figured that was the most privacy he was willing to afford her and unfastened her robe. Quickly, she stepped into the winter dress without putting on a corset. "I need you to lace up the back."

Michael approached and tied up the stays with familiar ease. There was that word again -- familiar. Rosa shivered. What did it mean? How was he familiar when she couldn't recall seeing him before? She found her boots and slid them on. They were lined with fur and went up to her knees. She couldn't articulate her compliance, but could say an instinctual desire drove her to do his bidding. Yes, there were clues, but no easy answers.

He was a witch, like her. She responded to his kiss, enjoying it far too much, though she wouldn't admit that to him. He hadn't hurt her, and he knew her mother. The thought of finding her mother filled her with a sense of comfort. In all honesty, Rosa, however, couldn't remember her life before coming to Poiana Brasov, but she hated to think that Clement and Cassandra, who had been so kind to her, had deceived her. Rosa wouldn't deny her instincts and decided to follow the clues. When there was a minute, she intended to get her answers from Michael.

Her boots secure, she slid her arms into her winter coat. Michael grabbed a scarf and gloves from a shelf in her closet, presenting them to her. His face betrayed nothing -- not one hint of pleasure or dissatisfaction. Instead, he grabbed her gloved hand and led her out of the room.

Rosa noticed the noise continued outside of the fortress. Just on the other side of her door, Andrei lay crumpled on the ground. His chest rose and fell. Thank Corvinus he appeared to be sleeping.

Michael moved with unnatural speed. His grasp on her hand was tight, tugging her behind him. They proceeded down the hall toward the servants' staircase.

The inner fortress remained quiet. Several candles in wall sconces had burnt down to the stubs, casting long, inky shadows over the stone walls.

Reaching the staircase, Rosa paused. "I need to check on Rickard."

"There's no time. We delayed too long as it is." Michael dragged her down the stairs.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:


Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD.  She was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.  After serving 11 years in the US Army she currently calls Castaic, California her home. Stephanie was married in Denmark in 1991 and has two young sons. She adores chocolate, is addicted to coffee and enjoys early morning walks.  She's also an assistant den leader for her son's Cub Scout den and is a Boy Scout mom. She writes paranormal, contemporary, and steampunk romance and has two children's books published with 4RV Publishing.



FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:





***********************


GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here


**************************


REVIEW

3.5 out of 5 stars

Sunrise Over Brasov by Stephanie Burkhardt is the third book in the ‘Moldavian Moon’ series and  is an adult paranormal story that features a complex relationship between witches, werewolves, and vampires that has its basis in blood elements called ferons.  There is a synergistic relationship which allows some witches to help manage the feral nature of wolves, but mutations have also affected both the power and the behavior of those in the three lines and further diversify them from their common origins.  The rescue of a witch and a werewolf who have been imprisoned for nefarious purposes is complicated by their ignorance of their previous lives and the interconnections with the royalty of several Eastern European regions.  The alliance between vampires, werewolves and witches will be tested even as experiments are being performed that may change all of their lives forever.

An intriguing premise forms the underlying framework for this imaginative tale that blends science and fantasy.  There are nice twists on some of the conventional wisdom about the types of beings involved, including the shapes that vampires can assume.  It was a little difficult to keep up with the implications of the different relationships that are described as so many of the characters seem to be royalty or related to royalty of different countries and I suspect that it would help to have read the other books in the series because there are all kinds of conflicts and secrets that are alluded to.  I have a few issues with some of the action in the story, including the fact that the heroine is prized for a certain type of magic that she can produce yet there doesn’t seem to be strong consequences when her status changes, which is puzzling.  It also might help to have an appendix to delineate how various characters are connected.  I think that this is an entertaining glimpse into a complicated society, and would be enjoyed by those who like sensual tales involving werewolves, witches and vampires.  

A copy of this title was provided for review 

23 comments:

  1. Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is an interesting question, Mai. I hope Stephanie has someone else proofread, because one thing I have found as an editor is that no matter how many folks read the story...there are ALWAYS errors still there!

      Delete
    2. Mai, thanks so much for your patience. Yes, the publisher usually goes through 2 rounds of edits and then there is a proof reader. Still, I find like ELF, there's always something that gets missed. Sigh...

      Steph

      Delete
  2. Great excerpt!! Sounds like an awesome book..thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked it, Victoria, thank you for visiting!

      Delete
  3. Thanks for sharing the excerpt and the honest review

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome, Shannon. I always write my honest opinion, but I work really hard at not being mean or hurtful. Thank you for dropping by!

      Delete
  4. I really enjoyed this fascinating and unique excerpt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy you enjoyed it, Jane. Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  5. I have enjoyed learning about the book. Thanks for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to share it and happy that you liked learning about it, patrick. Thank you for popping in!

      Delete
  6. Thanks so much for having me here today. I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My apologies for taking so long to greet you, Stephanie. I am dealing with jury duty this week, so life is a little interesting. Thank you for sharing your imaginative story and for taking the time to come by and visit.

      Delete
    2. No worries. I've been off this week, but it's summer vacation and I've been busy entertaining the boys. Sigh... I hope jury duty was interesting. I've gone a couple of times, but I was never selected.

      Smiles
      Steph

      Delete

  7. The cover grabs your attention and then the excerpt finishes reeling you in! Thank you for the great post and contest!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice analysis, Betty. Happy you liked everything. Thank you for taking the time to visit and comment!

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Mary. Thanks for popping in!

      Delete
  9. Sounds like a really good book, I enjoyed the excerpt!, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy that you found it enjoyable, Eva and I am always willing to share. Thank you for visiting!

      Delete