Sheik Defense
by Ryshia Kennie
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GENRE: romantic suspense
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BLURB:
Tossed overboard, Ava Adams had been left for dead,
drifting at sea. But security specialist Faisal Al-Nassar was determined to
find her. He owed her father a great debt and had never forgotten the
connection he and Ava had once shared. Yet after rescuing Ava he discovered she
barely remembered him.
Amnesia had left Ava uncertain of who had tried to kill
her. She did know, however, that Faisal was a man she could trust. The sheik's
embrace was familiar and enticing…and possibly even more dangerous. How could
she succumb to feelings for her protector when what she didn't know could get
them both killed?
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EXCERPT:
Ava Adams
opened her eyes. Her head ached and something deep inside her hurt. That hurt
was overshadowing the thumping that seemed to want to break her skull. Yet it
wasn’t pain. Not a physical pain but something more emotional. Fear. Anger. She
didn’t know what. Instead, she shivered. She was alone and she wasn’t on the
yacht. Where was she?
The yacht
was gone. She had no idea what had happened to either it or her father. It had
disappeared while she’d slipped out of consciousness. She had no idea how long
she’d been unconscious. Nothing held any relevance, not time nor space—nor
anything that had happened. All of it was a frightening blur.
The breeze
ran light, cool fingers across her damp skin and she shivered. She didn’t know
how long she’d been unconscious, all she knew was that she was alone and there
was no land in sight. Her head pounded and her vision was blurred. She couldn’t
see clearly no matter how hard she tried. She was fighting to remain conscious
so that she could make that promised call to get help. Her father was counting
on her.
The thought
made her prop herself up despite her shaking limbs. She tried not to look at
the dark water. There was only a thin layer of rubber and canvas between her
and it. She couldn’t think of it any more than she could contemplate the fate
of her father. All she knew was that the yacht was gone and with it her father.
She didn’t know when it had disappeared or if her father was on board or if he
was even alive. She struggled to sit up and the world spun. She took a deep
breath and passed out.
The next
time she came to, she could see that the sun was higher in the sky. It was
behind her and she guessed that she might be heading west. She had no idea what
that might mean about where she would end up. Or if she would end up anywhere
except maybe at the bottom of the ocean.
Fear
threatened to overwhelm her even as her gut knotted along with her fists. Her
head spun and she had to fight not to black out again. She needed to think and
yet she was fighting not to lose consciousness again. She needed to get help
not just for her but for her father. He needed her. He was alone.
That
thought collided with another. Was her father alive? She’d heard the gunshot as
the life raft had slipped away from the yacht, carried by the ocean current.
There had been silence after that as she’d drifted farther away.
The gunshot
had echoed long after the actual event. The haunting reminder was like an omen.
She could die out here and her father could already be dead. Those scenarios
were ones she couldn’t, wouldn’t consider. Not anymore. She refused to think of
him as anything but alive—just as she was determined to reach land, one way or
another.
She took a
deep breath and again she fought to sit up. The life raft rocked, threatening
what stability it had as water sloshed in the bottom. She wasn’t sure how it
had taken on water unless it had been in those first moments as it had gone
from the yacht to sea. The sea had been rough. It hadn’t calmed much since
then. It was cloudy and the breeze was picking up, only a bit of sun peeked
through the otherwise dreary sky.
She had
nothing. She looked down. She was virtually naked. The skimpy sleeping outfit
had been a bad choice. Fortunately, her father had thrown his jacket over her.
Who would have known that a trip that had begun as a lark would end like this?
It wouldn’t
end.
Determination
shot through her chilled body. She had too much to do with her life. She had a
new career that had yet to begin. Again she repeated that promise to herself
and to her father. They would live. He would live. They had to.
Something
cold pressed against her hip. She slipped her hand under the waistband of her
panties and pulled out her father’s phone. She’d forgotten it was there.
Her heart
stopped. She remembered that he’d handed it to her. It was a miracle that
it had not dropped to the bottom of the dinghy, into the water that was
gathering there.
She held
it, the memory of her father handing it to her clear in her mind.
“Call
Faisal.”
She knew,
as did her father, that if anyone could help them, it was Faisal. He headed the
powerhouse investigative company run by his family, Nassar Security. At least
he was in charge of their Wyoming branch.
The phone
slipped in her damp hands.
My Review:
What I Liked:
1.I thought the hero Faisal, the head of an international security firm, was dreamy. He was brave, strong, and truly cared for his clients. He is friends with the heroine and her family so when trouble strikes he's all too willing to help. He and the heroine have a long history of friendship between them, and he wants it to be more. (So does she.)
2.I like suspense so this romantic suspense novel appealed to me.
3.It was a quick and easy read that kept me turning the pages.
4.I like stories where someone has amnesia.
What I Didn't Like
1.The author has a tendency to repeat herself. In the first few pages it was mentioned many times that the hero and heroine had a history together.
2.The heroine acts rather stupidly. Fearing for the hero to become involved in the plot against her life, she runs away to try and handle everything by herself, totally forgetting that Faisal is the head of an international security firm and is well able to take care of himself.
All in all, I liked the book, and I'm glad I read it. If we were giving stars I'd give it a 4 stars.
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AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
The Canadian prairies are my home and while the prairie landscape
is blessed with beautiful blue skies, it also has four seasons that come on
full throttle – especially winter and because of that I like to travel. Often on those trips, stories are born.
In
2011 I won my city's writing award, and was the first romance writer to do so
since its inception. In 2013 my romantic
suspense was a semi-finalist in the Kindle Book Awards. Published in historic romance and paranormal
romance as well as romantic suspense, in February 2016, my first novel was
published by Harlequin Intrigue.
There’s
no lack of places to set a story as my imagination and the too long prairie
winters may find me seeking adventure. The memories of those worlds
both near and far, the words of a stranger, the furtive look one man gives
another, often become the catalyst for a suspenseful story with a deadly
villain and an intrepid hero and heroine who must battle for their right to
love or even their right to live.
When
not dreaming of other stories, I can be found scouting out a garage sale
or two, dusting off my roller blades or just thinking about the next adventure
that may be miles away or in my own backyard.
Buy
Links:
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Ryshia
Kennie will be awarding a signed copy of Sheik Defense (international) to a
randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Jim was first published in an English School Textbook in 1987. He won a competition to draw a dog-walking machine. Having won an art competition the year before, he felt that at the age of eleven he had peaked and consequently retired from art.
