Last year we had a big snowstorm where I live and I was looking out the back window of the house and saw this guy hanging out in a tree.  He looked so beautiful, I had to get a picture.  He rode out the storm in that tree and graciously let me take as many pictures of him as I wanted.  He flew off after the snow stopped and I have not seen him since, but I still love this picture.

For the past couple of years, as a special thank you to our service members and their families, I have held a contest just for Military Wives. It turned out to be an incredibly rewarding experience. I had the privilege of meeting several incredible women and their beautiful families. It’s so easy to forget that there are real people who are deeply affected by the conflicts overseas. Hearing the personal stories of these families helped me remember that our troops are husbands, fathers, brothers and sons who are immensely loved and sorely missed.

This contest will run from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend but start sending those entries in now!

Who is eligible? Wives of any U.S. military service member may enter. Retired or active-duty.

How do you enter? Send an email to info@novelromance.net with a picture of you and your family member in uniform. Tell us a bit about what branch he serves in, where you’ve been stationed, challenges and so forth. We want to hear your story! Please put “4th Annual Military Families Contest” in the subject line.

Once a week, beginning Memorial Day weekend, I will pick one entrant to be highlighted on my blog. These weekly entrants are semi-finalists. Labor Day weekend I will select three winners.

Second Prize: A $25 Amazon Gift Card, Signed copies of Unleashed and Untouched

First Prize: A $50 Amazon Gift Card, and signed copies of Unleashed and Untouched

Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon Gift card and signed copies of Unleashed and Untouched

For more information about the contest and Sara Humphreys, please visit http://sarahumphreys.com/ and follow Sara on Twitter, @AuthorSara.

Check out the Huffington Post Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-taney-humphreys/military-families-_b_1533949.html?ref=tw

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sara Humphreys has been attracted to the fantasies of science fiction, paranormal, and romance since her adolescence when she had a mad crush on Captain Kirk. An actress and public speaker, Sara lives in Bronxville, New York with her husband, who is very considerate of her double life, and four amazing boys. For more information about the contest and Sara Humphreys, please visit http://sarahumphreys.com/

Title:

Author: Laurie London

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

Release Date: February 21st, 2012

Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the battle for supremacy rages on between two Vampire coalitions:Guardian enforcers sworn to protect humanity, and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors….

He might be known for his effortless charm, but Guardian Jackson Foss is hiding a terrible secret. For months, he has battled the emergence of his dark nature—deadly urges that threaten to consume him. And those cravings only intensify when he meets Arianna Wells, the human he’s been assigned to protect. Smart and perceptive, Arianna doesn’t seem like a dangerous temptress. Yet she awakens in Jackson an unstoppable need that, if left unchecked, will brand him a traitor…a crime punishable by death.But soon their bond may be Arianna’s only hope. For stalking her in the shadows is a merciless enemy—one who will stop at nothing to claim her completely…

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: I have been looking forward to this book since the first time we met Jackson! He really stood out for me in past novels and I relished the opportunity to be in his head. He is currently struggling with life because he fears her is reverting to the violent ways of his ancestors. He tries to play off his fear by letting others think he is a player, but really he is just getting energies from the women he meets and not much else. He battles control every day and worries that he is on the brink of becoming something truly terrifying.

Arianna is a human who lost her mother to vampires at a young age and has never forgotten what happened. She only saw shadows when the attack happened, but she is convinced there is something paranormal connected to the event. She has grown up believing in the paranormal and runs a blog feeding into these beliefs. She is also watching after her cousin, Krystal, who unbeknownst to her is a sweet-blood. Arianna meets Jackson when he comes in to save Krystal from some Darkbloods trying to capture her.

Since Jackson is used to women just falling at his feet, I liked that nothing really happened between him and Arianna for a while. Once they do finally get together it is hot, but I liked the slow build between them. I also adored how Jackson was trying so hard to make everything special for her and he did not want Arianna to feel like just another girl. He wanted things to be different with her. It was very sweet.

I also loved that we got to see characters from past books come into play here. Laurie wove them into the plot perfectly. Characters we have come to know and love came back as critical influences in the plot not just useless cameos. It was nice to see Laurie use their strengths to move the plot forward and aid Jackson and Arianna in their journey.

The threat of Darkblood is always running through the background, but the focus of the story really is on Jackson and Arianna, especially Jackson’s journey to try and discover who he truly wants to be. I did like the danger that was there though and it did keep the story exciting. There were quite a few revelations about who is behind the Darkblood attacks and what they plan to do next and I will be interested to see that explored in future books.

Overall, this is another fantastic addition to this series. I was looking forward to this book for quite some time and it definitely delivered! I loved Jackson and watching him go from a lost soul to someone who had someone who appreciated him for who he was. I am looking forward to the next book with Santiago which is due out later this year!

FTC: Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book through NetGalley.