Reviewer's Rating:
4
4.0Overall score
Edgy, Dark, and Suspenseful
Title: Bound by Steel
Author: Connie Lafortune
Genre: Contemporary/Suspense Romance
Edited by: Peter Gaskin
Cover Design by: Hang Le
Release Date: March 19th, 2016
Lyra Harper
I was driving home to spend the holidays with my family.
But I lost control of my vehicle on an icy mountain road.
I slammed into a tree on the edge of Lake Lucerne.
I barely remember writing my name on the frosted windowpane.
The darkness had swallowed me whole.
I spiraled toward oblivion.
When I awoke from the gloom
I found myself in an old log cabin
With the devil’s eyes piercing fiercely into mine.
***
Ryker Steel
Up until four days ago, my life was tedious and tiresome.
Until I rescued a dainty girl with golden hair and hazel eyes.
She looks just like the one I’m trying to forget.
Now my life has turned upside down and inside out.
You see, I inadvertently revealed my true identity.
Now, she can never leave.
We will live in hell, until we take our last breaths, together.
Lyra was the one who insisted on playing the game.
But I have a gut feeling, I will be the one to lose…
I was driving home to spend the holidays with my family.
But I lost control of my vehicle on an icy mountain road.
I slammed into a tree on the edge of Lake Lucerne.
I barely remember writing my name on the frosted windowpane.
The darkness had swallowed me whole.
I spiraled toward oblivion.
When I awoke from the gloom
I found myself in an old log cabin
With the devil’s eyes piercing fiercely into mine.
***
Ryker Steel
Up until four days ago, my life was tedious and tiresome.
Until I rescued a dainty girl with golden hair and hazel eyes.
She looks just like the one I’m trying to forget.
Now my life has turned upside down and inside out.
You see, I inadvertently revealed my true identity.
Now, she can never leave.
We will live in hell, until we take our last breaths, together.
Lyra was the one who insisted on playing the game.
But I have a gut feeling, I will be the one to lose…
Reviewed by Deb
Edgy, Dark, and Suspenseful
Bound by Steel is a perfect rainy day, plant yourself on the couch, sipping hot chocolate (or a glass of wine) kind of book. At least, that’s what I call them; these dark, edgy, loaded with suspense stories. The stories that you know don’t come anywhere near real life but take you on a thrilling, Mission Impossible style journey nevertheless. It’s been quite some time since I’ve read one of these so it took me a few minutes to get my head in the proper mindset, let go of reality, and enjoy. This is the first book I’ve read by Connie LaFortune, therefore, I had no expectations based on her previous books. I will say, I found her writing style and voice were a great match for the dark and edgy.
If you love the mysterious, Alpha hero with a tragic past then Ryker Steele is your man. He’s a hardcore, DEA agent, who has been living off the grid for a few years. He’s also a tormented guy with a conscience that’s gone AWOL. He’d just as soon leave your sorry ass to die in a snowdrift in the middle of the woods than help you out. Although, it’s kind of a necessity when you’ve been considered dead for three years. No traces left behind and all that. But when his high-tech surveillance cameras pick up a car gone off the icy road, his gut tells him to break protocol. What he finds is a woman who catapults him back in time, and reopens wounds and feelings that haven’t quite been forgotten or healed yet. She also ignites his desire, unleashing a dirty talking, irresistibly sexy, and intriguing man.
Lyra Harper is also somewhat of a mystery. On the surface, she’s a beautiful young woman with a devoted boyfriend, loving parents, normal job. Her last thoughts were of succumbing to an icy death in her crashed car. She’s relieved when she wakes up in Ryker Steele’s cabin. She’s also scared out of her wits. The man is like the dark and brooding Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre. He apparently has secrets as well. Especially when he tells her she can never go back to her life. What the hell? However, while biding her time until she can escape, she learns there’s more to this harsh man than he lets on. On the one hand, she’s curious and drawn to him. On the other hand, she slaps that down as just plain crazy. I like that she’s not one to blindly fall into the arms of a man she knows nothing about, whether he saved her life or not. And yet…his pull is too strong, her attraction undeniable. She wants to crack that shell he’s built around himself. And let him do all sorts of dirty things to her. If I were in her shoes, so would I. That man is hot.
Ryker and Lyra each take turns telling this story from their point of view. Which also serves to make you wonder just who’s telling the truth and what’s really going on. Seeing things from these two perspectives works to slowly unfold the story, taking us along on a twisty path until *bam*. I never saw that one coming! There were times I did the squinty eye thing, wondering just how “that” could have happened. Bound by Steel has its moments of unbelievability as far as plot goes. But remember, this is Mission Impossible stuff here. And Ms. LaFortune has an answer for every twist and turn, wrapping it all up in a neat box of escapism reading.
♥♥♥♥
O Factor:Scorcher
Music: “Surreal” composed, arranged,
performed and produced by Nathan McCree
Copyright © 2013 Nathan McCree
Video editing and Production by Nathan McCree
IMDB: Nathan McCree (Composer: Tomb Raider I, II, III)
Twitter: @nrpmccreeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanmccree
performed and produced by Nathan McCree
Copyright © 2013 Nathan McCree
Video editing and Production by Nathan McCree
IMDB: Nathan McCree (Composer: Tomb Raider I, II, III)
Twitter: @nrpmccreeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanmccree
Also by Connie Lafortune:
THE CLAIMING OF CALLAN
Recommended for mature audiences only.
My name is Logan Black… I’ve always known I was different, that something dark and twisted lurked just below the surface of my skin. Waiting, for her… Five years of passion and pleasure so intense, we begin and end together. Until one dark and rainy night, my life is forever changed… A heartbeat, a breath, or the blink of an eye, that’s how quickly your perfect life could cease to exist. In a few short weeks, everyone I love is slipping through my fingers… Now, how can I possibly choose between the woman who owns my heart, and a family that needs me? Walking away is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I’ve convinced myself she’s better off without me, but the monster inside ache’s for her… Callan will always be the light to my darkness. A year has passed by and I still crave her touch, her body tangled with mine. Until, one phone call changes everything. Now it’s time to claim what’s always been mine. The Claiming of Callan is a passionate and compelling novel—a riveting story of love, heartache and one man’s struggle to live without regrets about decisions he cannot change.
BECAUSE OF YOU
Recommended for mature audiences only.
For 21-year-old Hunter Davis, being a lifeguard on one of South Carolina’s most popular beaches has its benefits. With his chiseled body, panty-dropping good looks, and penetrating blue eyes, he’s every woman’s dream and every father’s nightmare. So why would he want to commit to one woman? Love is not in his vocabulary. For 18-year-old Riley Hamilton, it’s just the opposite. Her father left when she was six years old, and her mother has been angry and bitter ever since. Riley finds solace in the thought that one day she will be worthy of someone’s love. So when her father calls—out of the blue—asking her to move to South Carolina with a free ride to USC, how can she refuse? When Hunter and Riley are suddenly thrown together, Hunter wonders if the demons from his past will come back to haunt him—or is the woman with the face of an angel the only one who can save him? Because of You is a sensuous and powerful debut novel—a story of love, loss, and the tragedy of holding on to family secrets.
Connie Lafortune
Connie Lafortune is a shift supervisor by day and an author at night. She loves spending time with her family and friends, taking walks along the beach, and listening to music…If she’s not in her office writing, you can bet she’s curled up on the couch with her nose buried in a book. Connie lives in Connecticut with her husband, Alan.Connie is a true believer in love conquering all… This being the reason why she loves writing romance novels. She wants to create a story based on strong, believable characters. One’s that will make you laugh, cry and feel every emotion under the sun. Connie wants to leave you breathless and begging for more…
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