Crave Her Touch by A.K. Leigh (Spotlight, review, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT ADULT

Crave Her Touch

by A.K. Leigh

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense

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BLURB:

Jennifer “Jenny” Abrahams has three goals: to teach women about mixed martial arts, become North Carolina’s first female mixed martial arts champion, and find true love. Two things stand in her way: the stalker intent on claiming her for himself and her emotional insecurities.

At a crossroads in his career as a witnesses protection minder, Peter “Pete” Gandry, is given the opportunity to return to the scene of his only failure––Smithfield, North Carolina. The assignment is familiar: he must keep an eye on Diana King. He agrees, hoping it will help him find redemption and ease the guilt he feels.

Odd things begin to happen to Jenny. At first, she dismisses them as over-reacting to memories of a stalker from her past. Until, she receives an unsettling note. Four words stand out: I crave your touch . . .

Increasingly, the evidence points to someone she knows. Who can she trust? And, who is this mysterious newcomer who has ignited long buried passion within her?

When the sister of an old nemesis arrives in Smithfield, Pete is forced to expose his true identity. The town quickly turn against him and Jenny refuses to see him. Just when he thinks it can’t get worse, the stalking evidence begins to point to him.

Can he clear his name and save Jenny from the real stalker in time?

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EXCERPT

She stepped inside the room marked “Staff”. As she retrieved her black purse from the locker, a slip of folded white notepaper fell to the floor.

“Oops.”

She picked it up and righted herself. As she read, she felt her eyes bulge. Her heart leapt to her throat and stayed there. Reflex made her drop the note, as if she’d been touching a burning coal.

She screamed.

Nick was at her side a moment later, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

She managed to point to the floor. Nick crouched and scooped up the discarded paper. She watched him skim the words.

His gaze darted to her face, “I’m calling the police. Sit down, Jen. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

That was a distinct possibility. The blood felt like it had drained from every vein in her body. She wrapped her arms across her chest in a self-hugging gesture as she took a seat on the nearest office chair.

In the background, she could hear Nick on the phone. “Somebody put a note in her bag.”

The rest of the conversation faded away as her mind repeated the words that had been on the paper: “I crave your touch, Jennifer. One day soon we will be together. I love you . . .”

Buy Links

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A.K. Leigh is a multi-genre romantic suspense author, sometimes blogger, huge Michael Jackson fan, martial arts movie buff, ex-professional Astrologer, mystic, vegan, and identical triplet. She holds a post-graduate degree in counselling, which enables her to create rounded, believable, and complex characters in her writing. When she’s not reading or writing, she is running around after three energetic children. Though her stories are set in North Carolina, USA (because she loves the state!), she actually lives with her children and one grumpy cat in Queensland, Australia. She is a proud member of Romance Writers of Australia. Visit her on the web at www.fallinlovewithleigh.com and find her on social media at www.facebook.com/AuthorAKLeigh and @AKLeighAuthor on Twitter.
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My review:

3.5 out of 5 stars

Crave Her Touch by A.K. Leigh is the second story in the ‘Smithfield’ series. This romantic suspense tale follows Peter Gandry/Brooks, as he attempts to expiate the guilt from his previous botched assignment and protect the newlywed Smiths from danger. His inexplicable attraction to Jenny Abrahams complicates his task, particularly since she is not only wary of him, but also has her own issues which seem to become more dangerous every day. Pete must find a way to complete his tasks while keeping everyone safe, including the woman who becomes increasingly important to him.

There are a myriad of storylines to follow in this exciting story, some of which I suspect would be easier to understand if one has already read the book that comes before this one. The general gist of things is explained, but the backstory is still a little sparse, despite the sometimes ponderous recap of salient details. There are two different threads of increasing danger, although I am not quite clear on the reason for the ‘hit’ that threatens the Smiths, and I didn’t feel the abrupt change of heart of a certain female rang true, even though I suspect it provided an opening for subsequent stories. I like the connection between Jenny and her friends, and the red herrings helped ramp up the tension, but I am not a big fan of the multiple points of view and the writing style was a bit casual for me. I think that those who like small town stories with an element of danger who are in search of a quick light read will appreciate this tale, but my advice would be to read the first story in the series before this one.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review