Paperback: 236 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (5 Feb 2013)
Language: English
ASIN: B00ANBR4TQ
ISBN-10: 148230757X
ISBN-13: 978-1482307573
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 537 KB
Print Length: 236 pages
Purchase links -
Amazon US // Amazon UK // Smashwords
The story takes the reader on a path of high emotion as Aurora uncovers Jake’s secret life and her own internal conflicts as she matures to self-awareness. Narrated by Aurora, the novel's tone vacillates from irreverent humour to solemnity as she relates her previous life with Jake and her present challenges.
The title refers to the solar maximum which became the backdrop for Aurora’s conception when her hippy parents went to Canada to observe the Aurora Borealis. In name and in spirit, Aurora is connected to the observable and unobservable energy around us. With the help of friends, family, and the ghost of Viola Parker (her home's original owner), Aurora accepts her fate and the secrets revealed about Jake's true character. She realizes that in this life she will finally break the cycle of pain caused by her love for this man, Jake Stein, through the centuries.
Excerpt:
Although I had started to speak, I immediately fell speechless creating another awkward moment as his dark flame-throwing eyes studied my face. He was smiling and I could see dimples forming on either side of his mouth. We just stood there, apart, in silence, yet there was an unmistakable sexual tension gluing us together like Kelly McGillis and Harrison Ford in Witness or Omar Shariff’s Dr. Yuri Zhivago and Julie Christie’s Lara Antipova. When he finally spoke, he asked me if I could recommend a good restaurant nearby elongating his vowels in a cute Southern accent that I would later learn was peculiar to Texans.
“If you like French cuisine, there is a wonderful place right around the corner, La Grenouille. I believe it’s quite popular with some of the executives here,” I said no longer mute, and handed him a business card that was kept in a stack on the desk.
“Would it be too much trouble, ma’am, for you to call and make a reservation?” he asked in a faux subservient manner. “I can’t understand French accents, especially over the phone.”
“Of course… sir,” I said returning his request with sugary sarcasm. I was, after all, nobody’s secretary and certainly not of the vintage that brought forth ma’am from the lips of a virile stranger. When I got the restaurant on the phone, I looked up and asked casually, “For what time, sir?”
And then he paused, looked at me with a gleam in his eye and said quite softly, “Well, let’s see. What time is good for you?”
Shocked but not rattled, I responded without any hesitation, “Now,” I said steadfastly meeting his gaze, “Now is perfect.”
And that’s how I met Jake Stein and sealed a future that fate ordained. Life-changing events seem to come when you’re ready even if you’re not aware of their import. Intuition can nudge feelings into your conscious space making a seemingly ordinary encounter, like a dropped book, one of great significance. Somehow, I understood that then and I understand that now. Meeting Jake Stein was my dance with destiny.
We instantly harmonized, interacting on two levels. The overt reality of the commonplace chitchat, sexually charged banter, and frothy intellect contrasted with a covert reality, a place where everything had deeper meaning, connection, and familiarity. In some cosmic way, our unspoken language was far more important than the spoken. Scientists might describe our attraction as the interaction of airborne pheromones—chemical messages emitted through our skin conveying our primal sexuality. Indeed, we seemed to be enchanted at the deepest levels of our instincts. Two realties happening at once—the outer and the inner—one a slick manifestation of the intelligentsia, the other a calming and gentle journey afloat a timeless river.
Throughout our initial encounter, playing faintly in my mind was the music from the sappy but tender, A Man and a Woman, my mother’s favorite movie when she was a teenager and strangely at odds with her penchant for a counter-culture way of life. She played the album all through my childhood—sealing my connection with whispery French sounds to all things romantic. And so that haunting melody was my personal soundtrack as we walked to La Grenouille.
My prudent study of this man, this Jake Stein, as we nonchalantly strolled along, was intentionally unintentional—I absorbed him as if he were liquid. My senses were on high alert, a spy observing my target in secret. Now, wafting about my face and filling the air around me was a hint of soap and expensive cologne. Now, smooth fingertips lightly touched and guided my arm bringing an explosion of sensuality but also feeling like a safe harbor. Now, upon my ear, the pleasant cadence and timbre of his voice sounded like a sweet symphony. My darting eyes savored his honey-tanned and smooth complexion and nose of quality, straight and sharp (but not too sharp). Luxurious thick, jet black, wavy hair fell casually over intense brown eyes. There was strength, a physical strength to his tall, elegant, Jeremy Irons frame. A noble grace to this huckster businessman. And his sensuous lips with just a hint of fullness, lips that I could almost taste—wanted to taste—formed words so provocatively. Later, in the privacy of my own thoughts, I would relive, with a slow and deliberate progression, these mesmerizing details that stirred me to my core.
My review
“ I
was quite attracted to the synopsis on the book and thought it would really
appeal to me. I liked the main character Aurora who tragically lost the love of
her life, Jake. After his passing she found out he had many secrets and there
were areas of his life she knew nothing about. The story then takes many
psychological twists and I lost connection with the characters. My problem with
the story was the fact it kept going backwards and forwards and just didn't flow properly. If I went a day without reading the book, I completely lost
track of where I was and had to go back a few pages and re-read it.”
“I
have to say I didn't feel the book went into enough detail in places, and where
I would have liked the author to expand on something, she just skimmed over it”
“ I appreciate
how much effort would have gone into writing the book and I know many people
have given it a 5* rating, but it just wasn't for me. If you are a lover of
paranormal romances, you may enjoy it more than I did.”
This book was given to me by the author in exchange for my honest review.
Karen S. Bell continues to be in awe of the magical and wondrous phenomenon called life. As an observer and obvious participant in feminine values and approach to our human challenges, she brings this perspective to her work. Fascinated by the mysteries of the unseen forces that perhaps play a role in guiding our choices, she continues to search for answers in the mundane as well as in the cosmic forces that surround us. She is working on her third novel and lives in Ponte Vedra, Fl. with her husband and their two furry kids.
See Jera's Jamboree blog page for an interview with Karen
Click here
This book was introduced to me by Fiction Addiction Book Tours
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