TWICE CURSED

CURSED BY BLOOD SAGA BOOK TWO

by MARIANNE MOREA

Genre: URBAN FANTASY

Publisher: COVENTRY PRESS LTD.

ISBN: 0988439603

ASIN: B009RYG86U

Number of pages: 310

Word Count: 111,000

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Book Description:

Psychic investigator, Lily Saburi is no stranger to the supernatural. Tough as nails, she’s a hunter in her own right, a once self-proclaimed vigilante that has joined forces with the man she once sought to kill, and now can’t live without. Sexy, Sean Leighton, Alpha of the Brethren of Weres. Their passion surpassed every obstacle set in front of them, yet in the wake of a mysterious virus threatening everyone they love, they are embroiled in an unforgiving scheme of political double dealing, hidden agendas and assassination, with Lily and Sean as primary targets. To stay together, they are forced apart.

But treachery follows hard on Lily’s heels when she returns home to find New York City bathed in a series of bloodbaths. Baffled, the police have no leads, so they call in their last line of defense to work the case. Lily.

Thrown together with homicide detective, Ryan Martinez, dangerous sparks fly as the two uncover the undead truth behind the killings. Long hidden secrets are revealed, as are truths too unbelievable to accept when Lily is kidnapped and Sean and Ryan have to work together to find her.

Revenge and the struggle for power all play a part in this urban fantasy suspense, taking you from the rocky coast of Maine to the heart of New York City, the NYPD and the vampire underground, where Weres and Vampires are forced to work together to solve the mystery of what’s tearing their veiled world apart from the inside out.

My Thoughts: Twice Cursed is the second book in the Cursed by Blood Saga. Though I wish I’d read the first in the series, I really liked this book. It was well written and kept me glued to it by never knowing what was going to happen next!! I like a book that’ll make me think.

Excerpt: 

NEW YORK CITY February 9th, Four a.m.
“Fuck! It’s cold,” Detective Ryan Martinez muttered, blowing on his hands. He stepped lightly, picking his way through the shattered glass and wood covering the street. Even to an untrained eye, it looked as if the bar had exploded from the inside out.
He shook his head, his lips pressed together in a grim line, watching as CSI began their initial investigation inside what was left of the bar. Most of the victims had their throats ripped open, and there was so much blood and debris, it looked like a gangland war zone.
Outside, three victims lay prone on the sidewalk, their bodies bent and unnatural in the dirty snow. The red glare of flashing patrol lights gave the grisly scene a surreal appearance. Nobody in their right mind wanted to be out tonight, least of all for a mess like this.
Patrol had already cordoned off the area, but the ghastly scene attracted rubberneckers even at this ungodly hour. God bless the city that never sleeps, he thought grimly, while uniformed personnel busied themselves with crowd control.
Martinez caught sight of his dour faced superior. Detective Sergeant Michael Shaw flashed his badge and crossed the police barrier, nodding to the uniformed officers operating the perimeter. He crouched under the yellow police tape, stepping carefully to avoid the frozen footprints dotting the sidewalks like potholes. With a grunt, he stood up, straightening his coat. “Whadda we got, Martinez?”
The young detective his notebook open, his breath puffing out in clouds of wet smoke. “Multiple homicide, Sergeant. Nine bodies, six inside the club and three out on the sidewalk. Injuries appear to be severe with possible D.O.A.s. The paramedics are still calling it.”
Wind gusts cut down the street like a razor, slicing into the back of his neck and setting his teeth to chatter. He turned his collar up and brushed the snow from his hair and shoulders, leaving his shearling suede coat dotted with damp splotches. Melting snow had mixed with freezing rain, turning most of the East Village into a gray, slushy puddle. Plummeting overnight temperatures had left the normally vibrant streets coated in black ice. If the cops weren’t careful, some of their own would head to the hospital along with the victims from this latest bloodbath.
Inside what was left of the bar, the CSI unit sifted through the rubble, recording evidence, and a thick tension  pressed down on everyone while they waited for additional ambulances to arrive. It was a sure bet, a call was put out to more than one EMS Corps based on the look of things.

“Any witnesses or statements yet?“ Shaw asked, stepping over broken glass and bodies, careful not to step in any of the blood. Dark smudges were evident under the Sergeant’s eyes, despite wind-reddened cheeks and at least a day’s worth of stubble. His mud brown hair looked as if frustrated fingers had raked through it a hundred times.
“No, not one, and the bartender’s dead too. No security camera either. It’s as if someone came in and went postal on the whole damn place, then disappeared without a trace. Inside, it’s tore up pretty bad as well, blood everywhere except in each vic…” Martinez stopped short.
At Shaw’s raised eyebrow, Martinez cleared his throat. He wasn’t being a wiseass, nor was it mere speculation. He knew the victims had been drained dry. The young detective frowned, wincing a bit at what Shaw would think after the medical examiner’s final report confirmed what he let slip. How would he explain himself? A good guess? He didn’t think so.
Martinez’s hand went to his mouth, and he gagged slightly. Christ! What the hell was that stench? He knew it was more than just the blood and gore. It was happening again. There was something underlying all this, something beneath the obvious that didn’t seem to register with anyone else.

About the Author:

Marianne Morea is a New Yorker, born and bred, and for the most part her stories and characters embody the grit and complexity of the city. An avid traveler, she uses her experiences from around the world in all her books. There isn’t a place her characters live or travel that she haven’t been herself, and through her words, tries to transport my readers. Like most authors, her love affair with the written word started as a child with the books she read. Even today, she loves to read almost as much as she loves to write. Marianne’s favorite stories are the ones that transport her, that bring her to places and introduces her to characters that leave readers breathless…the ones that spark the fire of her imagination, allowing her to dream in the world of ‘what if?’ She’s always been a scribbler, and from the time she could write her name, Marianne has been making up stories. So it was no surprise to family and friends when she earned degrees in both Journalism and Fine Art, but after working in the trenches of Madison Avenue as a Graphic Artist, she decided to do what she loves most fulltime. Write.

Her dark paranormal romance, Blood Legacy, is the first book in her Legacy Series, and takes you from New York City to the Costa del la Luz in Spain, to foggy London and the romance of Rome. The story also takes you back in time 300 years to a place rife with conflict and brutality, bringing an historical edge to my vampires, their lives, a love that spanned the centuries and the search for absolution and redemption that carries death in its wake. Hunter’s Blood and Twice Cursed are books one and two in Marianne Morea’s contemporary shifter series, Cursed by Blood. The story is set on the east coast of the U.S., taking you from the rocky coast of Maine to the heart of New York City, the NYPD and the vampire underground. Revenge and the struggle for power all play a part in this urban fantasy suspense, where Weres and Vampires are forced to work together to solve the mystery of what’s tearing their veiled world apart from the inside out.

In the meantime Marianne is also a founding member as well as a former President of The Paranormal Romance Guild, a not-for-profit organization for readers and authors of the genre. She’s now a PRG Board Member and Co-Chair of the PRG Event/Marketing Team. She is still writing, and when not sitting ‘bichok’ (but in a chair hands on keyboard), she’s spending time with her husband and three kids, traveling to exciting, romantic places …for inspiration, of course! Who says dreams can’t come true?

Visit with Marianne:

http://www.mariannemorea.co

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16092311-twice-cursed

http://www.mariannemorea.com/

https://www.facebook.com/mariannemoreaauthor

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cursed-by-Blood-Series-by-Marianne-Morea/120410728010356

https://twitter.com/MarianneMorea

Enter the Giveaway for your chance to win! 5 Winners! Open internationally. Must be 18 to enter. Prizes are:

2 US prize packs with signed copies of Hunter’s Blood and Twice Cursed along with the water bottle and tote bag

3 international prize packs featuring both ebooks with Kindlegraph signatures
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