Review: Diamonds

Diamonds
Stiletto Millionaire Club
By: Dawn Chartier
Categories: Erotic Romance, Contemporary
Word Count: 26,986
Heat Level: SCORCHING
Published By: Siren-BookStrand, Inc.


Self-made millionaire Holly Charleston has come a long way since her homeless days. Sometimes, she believes life would have been simpler before fortune and fame. With every man she meets imagining dollar signs, she yearns for the one man who sees the real Holly. A mysterious wealthy stranger may be the one, but she must control her sexsomnia and trust issues if she hopes for a real chance at love.

Professional thief Drake Davenport is ready to begin an honest life. However, his last assignment leads him to steal the heart diamond necklace from a woman known as Ms. Frost. But Holly guards her heart close and her assets closer. Once Holly thaws to Drake's seduction attempts, he finds himself in a position of protecting her from a hired mercenary or living the life he believes he earned. Drake realizes the challenge of stealing the diamond is nothing compared to the challenge of stealing Holly's heart.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Siren Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/dawn-chartier

About the Author

Dawn Chartier never knew she wanted to be a writer while growing up.  Sure her parents owned a book shop, and she was surrounded by bookworms, but she wasn’t one of “those” writers who started early.  No, Dawn was inspired by strange events in her life, one was a bitch named, Katrina. Yes, that hur-ricane. But a few months before the storm, Dawn read an article on Marie Laveau in the New Orleans local newspaper and it sparked an idea. She began researching the voodoo priestess, and then Katrina hit.

Out of destruction, ideas formed, characters spoke and plots twisted. One thing lead to another and an author was born. (Must have been something in the air, because a few authors were born out of Katrina’s wrath.)

Dawn Chartier sold her first paranormal romance book, (Not An Angel) to The Wild Rose Press, and her second book, a contemporary erotic romance (Diamonds) to Siren BookStrand. Dawn is a member of RWA, Sola-Writers, FF&P and Savvy Authors. You can find her chatting on Twitter and Facebook when she’s not buried inside of a book or writing her next one.

Dawn lives near New Orleans with her husband, two daughters, two golden retrievers, and plenty of wildlife.

Dawn’s website:  www.dawnchartier.com 

Blog: www.dawnthewriter.blogspot.com 

Facebook: www.facebook/dawn.chartier 

Twitter: @dawnchartier

RATING: 4 LIGHTNING BOLTS 

REVIEW:  Diamonds is a fast paced  romance with some sexy scenes involving Holly and Drake. It's a mean world out there, and Holly has come far from her childhood days. Drake is sexy, mysterious and she's drawn to him. Too bad he has his own agenda. The two will go to lengths to figure their true feelings towards one another, but not before a starling betrayal is revealed.

This is a quick novella, but filled with a lot of emotion, action, and love. It's a great story, and I enjoyed having the chance to read it. I give this a four lightning bolt rating.


EXCERPT

Holly couldn’t sleep, so she took a shower and climbed back into bed. The phone rang just as she changed channels on the television. She answered. “Karen. I told you I’ll tell you everything later.”
“Everything?” Drake asked, his voice sounding sexy sleepy. “I hope not everything.”
Holly closed her eyes, mortified. “Of course not.” She paused. “I didn’t expect your call so soon.” 
“I can call you later if you like.” 
“No. Now is fine,” she said. Now was actually perfect.
He laughed, and the sound warmed her insides. “So what are you doing right now?”
“Talking to you.” Why was she smiling like a love-crazed teenager? She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t feel something for someone she’d just met. This was not like her. Nor was having sex on an island with a man she didn’t know without protection. This would never work out. It had heartache written all over it. 
“When can I see you again?” 
Damn her heart. She wanted to see him, too. She had a wonderful time with him. The best time in a very long time. And how could she not trust him after he’d found and then given her diamond back. If a man was after her money, he could have easily kept the diamond and she wouldn’t have known the difference. “Soon.”
“When?”
“I said soon.” She smiled.
“When?”
“You don’t give up do you?”
“No.”
She blew out a breath. “Hold on a sec.” She dropped the phone on the bed, stood, and bounced on the mattress like a ten-year-old, mouthing Yes! Yes! Yes! She calmly sat down and picked up the phone. “Um. Saturday looks open.”
“I can’t Saturday,” he said. 
Her heart stopped for a second. “Oh.” She really wanted to see him. She hadn’t realized how much until he said he couldn’t see her on Saturday. “I don’t know. Let me look…”
He cut her off. “What about now?”
She froze. “Now? Right now?”
“That’s what I hoped you’d say. I’ll be there in ten.”
“Wait.” The phone went dead. “You need my address,” she said to no one.
She put the phone down, and it rang again. “Hello.”
“I need directions.” 
She smiled, gave him directions, hung up the phone, and jumped out the bed. “What the hell just happened? You’re nuts, Holly.” She turned her straightener on, threw on a little powder and mascara, fixed the front of her hair, and twisted up the rest with a ponytail holder. Her mouth was full of toothpaste when the doorbell rang. She spit then pressed a button on the intercom system. “I’m coming.”
Holly threw on cotton shorts and a comfy T-shirt, then ran down the stairs. She swung the front door open and stared. Drake stood in front of her, sporting a leather motorcycle jacket, ripped jeans, and a plain white T-shirt. His black half-helmet hung in his hand. She peered around him. “You rode a bike? I didn’t hear you pull up.”
“Bev’s pretty sneaky.” He nodded toward his Harley. 
She gestured for him to come in. “You named your Harley Bev?”
“Of course. Doesn’t everyone?” He placed his helmet near the door on a chair.
She shrugged and said, “I haven’t known anyone who owned a Harley.” 
Drake took a step toward her. His fingers pushed a few loose hairs behind her ear, and she shivered beneath his magical touch. “Well, now you do.”
Her insides quivered. She wished he’d kiss her right now. The suspense was killing her. She inched forward and placed her hand on his waist. They studied each other for a short moment. His gaze swept down over her. She felt more comfortable, more alive with him than anything.
He raised her chin with his finger and lowered his mouth to hers. 

Here's a short interview:

Q: Are you a “day” writer or “night” writer?

A: Both. I try to write as much as I can on my days off from the day job, and I sometimes write at night, but only if everyone is sleeping or out of the house. Wish I could put the dogs out too, but that doesn’t work. I tend to venture to Starbucks when the house is full of distractions. For some reason, strangers don’t bother me like my family. :) 

Q: What inspired you to write a contemporary erotic romance about Sexsomnia? And what is Sexsomnia?

A: I normally write paranormal romance, but I wanted to try my hand at something different. I friend of mine loves writing them, so I thought I give it a try. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be. Nothing ever is, right? Anyway, I had a situation in my book where I needed a damn good reason for my character to do what she was doing, and I couldn’t come up with a logical reason, so I called out to my writing friends and one of them told me about an article she just read. Bingo. Sexsomnia fit perfectly.

I had no idea what Sexsomnia was either. I did research, and DIAMONDS was born. (Here is a definition from Wikipedia: Sleep sex aka sexsomnia aka sexual behavior in sleep is a form of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) parasomnia.  Sexsomnia can cause people to engage in sexual acts while they are asleep, such as masturbation, fondling and sexual intercourse.) --- See how this could be a problem.

I want readers to be aware that there is such a thing, and if they think they have it or someone they know has it, they should seek help. Go on the internet and research it.

Q: What do you want readers to come away with after reading your books?

A: It might be silly, but I want readers to learn something new. That’s what I enjoy when reading books, and I hope to pass this along to my readers. I hope my readers experience a happy ending right alongside of my characters.

Q: What books are you working now?

A: I’m plotting, PEARLS, the 2nd book in The Stiletto Millionaire Club series, and after PEARLS, I’m hoping to start on SAPPHIRES, the 3rd book in the series. After that I hope to finish writing a paranormal romance that’s been kicking my butt for far too long.

Q: Tell us something readers won’t find on your website:

A:  I love chocolate more than food and water. :) 

Buy the book: 

Diamonds on Nook