Today I’m really happy to be featuring Natalie Owens and her new book, Something to Live For.  I was lucky enough to be asked to review the book, so first I’ll tell you about the book and then give you my review…

What it’s About:

Fifteen years ago, one fateful day bound the lives of two perfect strangers…

 Melita Saari-Quinn is living the consequences of a traumatizing psychic event that turned her adolescence upside down. Now, disillusioned with her job as a psychotherapist and desiring a change from her lackluster existence, she hopes that something out of her  ordinary sphere of existence – something totally uninhibited and spontaneous – will renew her zest for life.
Alex Moncado seems to have it all – good looks, a successful business, and a fun life in “party central” of the Mediterranean: the island of Malta. Except for one day in the year when he can’t help but remember a tragedy that never should have been. One day he’d rather forget, because if he doesn’t, the guilt will consume him.
Can one passionate night together banish the ghosts of the past and give two lost souls a second chance?


Only Fate can tell…


EXCERPT
The solid wood front door was slightly ajar so he didn’t have to use his key. Discarding it on the inlaid wood console table by the entrance, he walked into a welcoming, classic modern sitting room steeped in earth tones. He stepped on an expensive-looking brown and beige Persian rug that covered most of the floor.

Someone had put money into this place. After looking at the outside, one wouldn’t think that such luxury and comfort waited inside. It was a two hundred year old structure, painstakingly renovated with a welcoming, state-of-the-art interior.

The large room flowed into an L-shape that carried beyond a large teak dining table with seating for six.
“You can close the door behind you,” said a lilting voice from the back of the L-shape.
His stomach made a flip like that of a schoolboy’s with a budding first crush. Laughing inwardly at the thought, he clicked the door shut and walked past the chocolate leather couch, around the table, toward the beautiful voice.
He found her sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen counter. A couple of large trays laden with cold meats, cheeses, and assorted appetizers sat untouched in front of her.
She turned toward him and looked straight into his eyes. Her eyebrows drew together.
“You must be starving,” she said.
Upon meeting her gaze, his belly did a bigger flip and he had difficulty swallowing the big lump that lodged in his throat.
God, she was beautiful.
He stared at her. Soft burnished locks flowed richly around her oval face to just below her collarbone. Tall and trim, she wore a simple silk green sheath dress that stopped above the knee and unpretentious flat gold sandals.
 An artist’s muse.
The best part of her, though, were her eyes. Fine jade eyes that looked at him, into him, through him. There was something infinitely alluring about that light green gaze. It was unique, and frightening. It was… intense. Would any man be able to keep secrets from this woman?
A deeper frown creased her brow. “Is something wrong?”
His gaze fell to her full lower lip that she was now biting on. “No.”
Boy, was he charming tonight. If he went on this way, she would think him a dunderhead and call off the whole thing.
“I was saying that you must be hungry,” she tried again, while she extended a hand toward him.
“As a matter of fact, I am.” He was at her side in two strides and took her offered hand as he sat on the stool next to her. It was supple and warm against his. He briefly rubbed his thumb above her knuckles and raised her hand to his mouth to drop a light kiss on it.
She laughed, a sweet, musical sound. “Men haven’t done that in centuries.”
“Does it matter?”

“No, but you don’t need to seduce me. We both know why we’re here.”

My Review

4.5 Stars:  15 years ago Alex and Melita both experienced traumatic events on the same day.  And this year they want to get away from the pain of those events.  Both go to the Moonlight Dating Service to escape that pain through a night a mind bending sex.  Their attraction to each other is immediate.

This story had me from page one.  I love Natalie’s writing.  I really enjoyed the paranormal/supernatural undertones, and the little surprise in the middle caught me off guard, but made it terribly apparent why these two people needed to be together.  This is a great short read.  My only complaint with the story is it felt a little rushed for me, and I would have liked to see it go longer!

Now go buy it!

Amazon

Amazon UK