Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Blog tour ~ Alaina Claiborne by MK McClintock (Excerpt/10's list/ giveaway)










































 





                          Alaina Claiborne by M.K. McClintock





My rating: 4 of 5 stars
                         Genre: Historical Romantic Suspense
                         Source: Received kindle copy to review

Book Description:  How far would you go to avenge your family and save the one you love?

​In nineteenth-century England, Alaina Claiborne had a loving family, a cherished friend, and devoted servants. She spent her days riding across the grassy hills of the English countryside, joyful and at peace.

Then tragedy strikes and her world is forever changed. Searching for those responsible is her only focus . . . until she meets Tristan.

Tristan Sheffield, a man of many talents, searches out those who don’t want to be found. His past is filled with secrets and deeds he would rather leave deeply buried. However, when his life unexpectedly entwines with Alaina's, he soon discovers they share more than a mutual desire to catch a murderer.

On their hunt for a man driven by greed, Tristan and Alaina find that love is the greatest weapon against evil, and they'll stop at nothing to survive.

My thoughts:  The first thing that inspired my interest to read this book is the first name, Alaina. It's not one that I see often. It happens to be the first name of my sister-in-law who died several years ago. I also love historical romance.

Alaina is an orphan raised by her aunt and uncle. She was in a carriage that overturned while being chased by bandits. She witnessed the murder of her parents and lost her best friend in the tragic event.

Ten years have passed and Alaina meets her new neighbor, his name is Tristan and he is handsome and mysterious. Their lives intertwine as he is investigating the murder of her parents. It doesn't take long for the romantic feelings to blossom.

Alaina has repressed her memories of her parents death and Tristan is trying to get her to remember. Her nightmares begin and she starts to unravel the cloak shrouding her mind.

This book has action, mystery and romance. It didn't take me long to read, and I did enjoy it. There is some intimate moments that don't go into a ton of detail, I would recommend this book only to adults.





Read an Excerpt: 
*********************
 Across the acres, darkness enveloped another, her surroundings illuminated by the flickering flame of a lamp. Alaina moved around in the attic, searching through trunks of the items that had come from her mother’s cottage in Ireland. It was difficult to see so many memories that reminded her of her parents, but she also found it calmed her. She had avoided these things since they had been delivered years ago, but now her fears became secondary. She hoped that something from her parents’ past would shed light on what was happening in the present.          
      Alaina rummaged through a trunk of some of her mother’s clothes, pulling them out and smelling them, hoping for a faint whiff of the soft rose scent her mother used to wear. There was something lingering around the old clothes, and it took Alaina back to a time when she was a little girl. Nevertheless, the memory ended there. She paused for a moment, as if the scent reminded her of something else besides her mother. She subsequently released the memory when she saw the bottom of the trunk was not as deep as it should have been. She pulled out the remaining dress and ran her fingers along the bottom and edges. She next looked on the outside of the trunk. Nearly six inches of extra space remained near the bottom on the inside.
Alaina felt along the inside edges and became excited when she found a gap. Slowly reaching her fingers into the hole, she simultaneously pushed down on the other edge for leverage and surprised herself when the bottom tilted to reveal the extra space beneath. Removing the thin board, she set it aside and gasped when she turned back to the trunk.
“Oh, Mother. What did you do?”
********************

MK's  partial bucket list!

What are 10 items on your bucket list?

Ride an elephant
Go on a horseback safari in Africa
Visit my friends in Ireland
Walk through Eilean Donan Castle
Learn to speak Gaelic
Walk along the entire length of Hadrian’s Wall (what’s left of it)
Make a life for myself that doesn’t require a cell phone
Have a photograph published in National Geographic
Write a book Oprah would want to recommend
Make a difference


About MK ~  McClintock is an over-worked entrepreneur, baker of decadent desserts and all things chocolate, photographer of beautiful places, and most importantly, a writer. 

She dreams of a time when life was simpler, the land rougher, and the journey more rewarding. With her heart deeply rooted in the past and her mind always on adventure, McClintock will always call Montana home.

McClintock is a member of Romance Writers of America, Montana Romance Writers, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, and Women Writing the West.






Tour Giveaway
Three Winners!
1-$25 Amazon Gift Card
2 Autographed copies of "Alaina Claiborne"  
 

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced here, as well as emailed, and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter, or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 
  

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting me on your blog Lisa!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Only advice - where long pants when riding an elephant. When I was young a florist was having a grand opening during the summer. I had on shorts and boy are the hairs on the elephant scratchy

    ReplyDelete
  3. This book sounds SO good! The excerpt is very good and the 10 list is quite interesting really. :)

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    ReplyDelete

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