Blog Tour: Return of the Assassian by Donya Lynne

~ Synopsis ~

Malek and Gina are two vampires with big problems and pasts they can't let go of. Malek has never dealt with and accepted the death of his first mate, Carmen, and Gina has never been able to let go of the pain she suffered at the hands of her first mate, an abusive half-Dacian named Arman. But now that Malek and Gina have met, they had better start getting over their pasts, and fast, because Gina is Malek's new mate, and she's on the run from a pair of Dacian hunter-assassins out for blood vengeance.

Neither Gina nor Malek are eager to see her fill the role of mate, but biology and Mother Nature don't want to hear their excuses. The longer Malek and Gina fight the bond between them, the more they will suffer. Will they be able to get over their painful pasts and accept the healing they can give to each other before it's too late, or will they wait too long and lose each other forever?

 

 

 

 

~ Buy Links ~

Rise of the Fallen: Amazon

Heart of the Warrior: Amazon

Micah's Calling: Amazon

Rebel Obsession: Amazon

Return of the Assassin: Amazon

~ Our Review ~

4 Star Review by Melissa

Return of the assassin is book 5 in ATKM series . In this book we focus on Malek and Gina. They both have very problematic pasts, but with each other's help can they finally start to heal? 

 Assassin Gina Carson isn't looking for love especially not a mate. That is until she meets sexy Malek, an ATKM enforcer. She can't seem to get him out of her head. After she leaves him she begins to have debilitating panic attacks, leading her to believe it has something to do with Malek.

 Malek has never gotten over the death of his first mate centuries ago, that is until he meets Gina and mates with her. Still dealing with the grief and despair of his first mate and the pain of being apart from Gina he is left with two halves of himself ( figuratively speaking ). 

While trying to decide between his past or his future with Gina, she returns to Chicago fleeing a botched hit.  Now the clock is ticking and a decision must be made before malek loses a second mate and himself.

All in all this has been an amazing series thus far. The only reason I didn't like this book as much as the last was I felt like I knew exactly what was about to happen throughout.  That being said it doesn't take away from the wonderful story too much. I love how Donya's writing allows you to feel emotion the characters are feeling, it makes for such an enjoyable and sexy read.
I recommend this book for all fan of erotic and paranormal romance.

~ Special Holiday Scene ~

Sam nestled into Micah's body as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and settled against the arm of the couch. The fire in the fireplace sent warm, flickering light throughout the room, which went nicely with the colorful twinkle lights of the seven-foot Christmas tree in the corner.

Micah sipped his wine then kissed the top of her head. "I had fun tonight."

"Me, too." She smiled.

In the last twenty-four hours, almost ten inches of snow had fallen, and she, Micah, and the others had built snow forts in the backyard and had the snowball fight to end all snowball fights. More like a snowball war. Of course, she and Micah had been on opposite sides. It had been his brilliant idea to pit mate against mate for those who were mated. Miriam against Io, Malek against Gina, Sev against Ari, and her against him. He thought it made things more exciting and fun. He was right. The males were torn between protecting their mates and snow-bombing the hell out of them, and it ended up being a powdery white free-for-all until Trace went Power Ranger with that hand of his and destroyed one of the forts, and then all hell broke loose. In a good way, but definitely in a physical one. Never get into a snowball war with a bunch of vampire warriors whose job it is to protect both the human and vampire races. They tend to get a little ultra competitive.

"You didn't have to throw me in the snow, you know," she said, sipping from her mug of cocoa. Her toes were still cold, despite having changed into dry clothes, putting on a pair of fuzzy slippers, and covering her feet with a blanket.

He nibbled her neck. "I've always had this fantasy of doing it with a snow woman." He snickered.

She playfully slapped his arm. "You're bad."

"You did look mighty cute covered in snow," he said, chuckling.

"I'll bet." She tossed him an over-the-shoulder glance.

He snuggled her closer. "Besides, I like getting you riled up. It makes for incredible makeup sex."

"You are such a man."

"Male," he corrected. "And, yes I am, but only because you are such a marvelous female." He grew serious. "I wouldn't be half the male I am now if not for you, baby."

He always said the sweetest things…always knew just what words to say to make her melt a little bit more in love with him.

For a while, they sat in silence, him drinking his wine, her sipping hot cocoa, listening to the Nutcracker Suite soundtrack as the fire crackled. Sam stared at the Christmas tree and its winking lights and shimmery glass bulbs, the silver garland that looked like ice, the angel on top of the tree. This was her first Christmas as Micah's davala, his once-human-mate-turned-immortal through his bite.

"Why do vampires celebrate Christmas?" Did vampires believe in God the same way humans did? Well, most humans. Some didn't believe in any god at all, and others worshipped different deities altogether.

Behind her, Micah shrugged. "I don't know."

She thought about it. "Are you trying to fit in with human cultural behavior?"

"Maybe." He brushed his fingers up and down her arm. "Most humans in the United States celebrate Christmas, so it seems the right thing to do for those of us who live here." He dipped his head against hers. "And Christmas decorations are pretty, don't you think?"

"Yes, but it's about more than that, you know."

He smiled against the back of her head. "I know."

"It's about God, and Jesus sacrificing himself for us. It's about family and giving."

Micah shifted on the couch, slid his leg under and around her, and pulled her back into the cradle of his body. "Are you going to start preaching to me, female?" He set his empty wine glass on the end table and hugged her close.

Sam laughed. "Preaching? To you? I wouldn't dream of it," she said sarcastically.

"Now you're just being little Miss Sassy Pants." He kissed the back of her neck.

Micah was always so touchy-feely with her. He never seemed to get enough of holding her or kissing her, and she loved it. If this was what being a vampire's mate was like twenty-four seven then she was down with that.

She laughed at him. "I am not. I'm simply trying to have a serious conversation about the meaning of Christmas while trying to understand this new world I've landed in with you." She sat up and faced him. "I mean, do vampires even believe in God?"

His dark, navy blue eyes sparkled against the firelight. "We believe in God," he said, smiling. He looked amused.

"You do?" This was news to her. "Really? Do you believe God created vampires the same way He created humans?" Now they were talking.

Micah held his hands out in front of him. "Now, don't get carried away. We believe in God, but not necessarily the God Christians do."

"How so?"

"Our mythology is different, and our ancestors did a better job of preserving the truth than early Christians did." He sat up. "Vampires generally don't subscribe to an Adam and Eve type of story."

Sam tilted her head curiously. "How come?"

"Because vampires came to this planet from elsewhere."

Sam waited for the punch line, but Micah was dead serious. "What? Like aliens?" she said.

He nodded. "I suppose you could say that. The mythology that was passed down to my father, and that he passed down to me, stated that we came to Earth thousands of years ago as part of galactic exploration or some shit. This planet had an atmosphere similar to that of our home planet, and we resembled the dominant species, humans, which meant we could fit in without being obvious. By the way, according to the elder archives, there are a lot of planets which sustain humanoid life." He shrugged. "At any rate, we found that Earth could sustain us as long as we stayed out of the sunlight, which is much stronger here than on the world we came from."

Sam stared at him in disbelief. Was he seriously telling her she was sleeping with an alien? Talk about your alien abductions! "Where is this 'home world'?"

Micah shook his head. "I have no idea. Who knows how much of the story is true. This is the mythology, and even though it's purported to be strictly maintained and translated, who knows how much remains true to the original scrolls. Much like Christianity, how much is manmade? And how much is actual truth?"

All she had wanted was a conversation about Christmas beliefs, and yet another wrinkle of this new world Micah had brought her into unfolded, revealing that she still had a lot to learn about vampires, her role in their race, and how they fit into humanity.

He seemed to sense her dismay, because he slid his arms around her and pulled her back down with him as he leaned back against the cushions and said, "Enough talk about God and where vampires come from." He pressed his lips against her hair. "The point is, vampires believe in God, and we're integrated into all of humanity's traditions, Christmas included. We understand the spirit of the season, and we realize that it's about more than presents, decoration…and twinkle lights." He waved toward the tree.

"Twinkle lights rock," she said.

"Damn straight." His hands crossed over her stomach, and she felt his chest rise and fall against her back. "Have your feet warmed up, yet?"

She wiggled her toes in her fuzzy slippers. "Not yet."

His hands drove a little lower on his stomach and played with the waist of her flannel pajama bottoms. "I know a way to warm up your whole body." She heard the hint of mischief she'd come to recognize in his voice when he was feeling naughtily playful.

A flash of heat rolled down her spine. "Does it involve snowballs?"

He nuzzled the back of her neck then nipped her shoulder. "Not snowballs."

Sam turned over and lay down on him, facing him. "You're being naughty, Mr. Black."

"Yes, but my naughty is very, very nice." He kissed her. "So Santa won't mind."

She kissed him back and slid a hand up his shirt. "Neither will Mrs. Claus."

Whatever else she had to learn about the world of vampires, Sam knew one thing for sure. She was hopelessly, deeply, and forever in love with this powerful male who held such sway over her, and who seemed to live to please her, make her happy, and take care of her. For now and for every Christmas for the rest of her life, she would be thankful that they had found each other. Whether he and the others of his race believed in her God, their god, or no god at all didn't matter. She loved him. He loved her. And they would spend the rest of their lives believing in and helping each other.

And really, wasn't that the true spirit of Christmas? Or at least part of it?




Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year from the entire gang from the All the King's Men Series. May you and the one you love get caught under the mistletoe this year.