Book One in Paranormal Romance series.
Seven sisters are entwined in a legacy, one originating back from the time of the Italian Wars in the 1500s. One by one, they will find their mates from the immortal Valendite Breeds and secure their place in history.
Seven sisters are entwined in a legacy bigger than anyone ever expected. One by one, they will find their mates from the immortal Valendite breeds and secure their place in history. Each sister embodies one of the seven deadly sins only to be cast aside once claimed. But claiming comes at the price of separation, causing a weakening of their combined powers, which none want to happen... until Layla, holding the sin of lust within her body, locks eyes with Madden.
Madden is one of the strongest of the Valendite Breed, a group of near-immortal men originating from the Italian Wars in the 1500s. Today, the Valendite Breed serve as the Terrorist Elimination Unit (TEU), an invisible arm of the CIA. Their only weakness is their need for a mate to carry on the Breed. So now that Madden has found Layla, he will never let her go.
With forces mounting up against the Breed, Madden and Layla will need to rely on all of their powers combined to get them to their Pronouncement.
Excerpt
The library was her favorite room in the house. Designed as her haven, she spent hours here surrounded by the friends she found in all the books she read. It was simple for Layla to live a quiet life. Some might say she didn’t live a life at all, but that’s not how she saw it.
Completely aware of her own reluctance to mate, Layla guarded herself against any potential sensual cravings. She was all too aware when the moment came for her to find her mate and her body allowed her to feel lust for the first time, her future would belong to another. She couldn’t lust without sacrificing her soul, and until she had seen Madden tonight, she hadn’t been prepared to make that sacrifice. Even now, she still wasn’t certain.
Layla’s writing career, though unconventional for a member of the Magdalena Circle, fit her perfectly. Alone in this room, she created the most amazing adventures, the most wonderful romances and worlds people typically called fantasy. Only Layla knew better. She wrote of the world she lived in. Now, most certainly, her stories would take on a different flair.
“Your scent is all over this room. I don’t smell the others so strongly here,” Madden looked as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.
“This room was designed for me. We each have our favorites and this is mine. It’s my office.” She smiled at the thought of him already knowing her scent. Her mother used to tell stories of her father being able to discern her in a room filled with women by her scent alone. She craved that kind of love. She was ready to have her mate but so terrified of the unknown. Why hadn’t she taken more care to learn the history as her mother had tried to teach?
“Ah, you like to read,” he smiled down at her.
“Yes. And I write,” Layla paused for his reaction but seeing nothing more than a nod, she asked, “Do you like to read?”
“Yes,” Madden answered as he looked along some of her shelves, “but unmistakably you and I do not read the same things.” He was holding one of Layla’s books with a scantily dressed cowboy on the front, clearly teasing her. His smirk brought light to his pale face and made her laugh aloud. Delight showed in Madden’s silver eyes as he watched her. They flashed green as she looked away. Layla’s heart thundered for a brief second before she regained her composure. She was not going to let Madden control this mating. Who was stronger would be determined tonight.
She walked over to the wet bar she had installed for her convenience and grabbed two bottles of beer. She handed one to him and sat in the chair closest to the fireplace. “How old are you?” Layla asked him.
“Is it important?” Still perusing her bookshelves, Madden didn’t bother to turn to her as he answered. However, when she didn’t answer him, he turned to her.
“To me, it is. I want to know everything about you,” Layla acknowledged, hoping to lure him in to answering her questions.
“I’d prefer not to sit in an interrogation.”
“And I’d prefer not to be mated with a man I don’t know just because I lusted after him. Guess neither of us is going to be happy tonight.” She scrunched up her nose in a way only her father thought was endearing, but Madden didn’t even blink as he walked closer to her. He chuckled once and leaned down to stroke his finger along her nose.
“Not going to work, Layla Love.” He laughed again as she just stared up at him. How’d he know? And why exactly didn’t it work? Would none of her powers work on him? Crap. She never did see her mother use magic on her father. He shook his head and smiled.
“I think I like you,” he said as he turned and moved to sit in the chair across from her.
“What a beautiful thing to say to the woman you’re trying to seduce.”
“Oh, but aren’t you mistaken? There is no seduction necessary. We are destined.”
“Are you calling me easy?” she blurted out without thinking. He was messing with her senses again.
Madden laughed loudly at that, a full belly laugh. His laugh echoed into every corner of the room. Layla liked how she could make him laugh. She actually thought she might like this man, too. Though he was no pushover—on the contrary, he seemed like an alpha hero she liked to write into her books—the challenge he presented her with would be quite frustrating, she was certain.
Once he stopped laughing and realized that she sat stoically waiting for his teasing to end, he said, “I truly do like you, Layla, smart mouth and all.”
She rolled her eyes but kept her smile. “I think I could try to like you,” she teased.
Madden smiled and nodded his head, taking a sip of his beer and watching Layla over the bottle. It seemed that he never really took his eyes off her and it was unnerving. She felt naked or at least like he was picturing her naked. Flushed with rosy cheeks, Layla couldn’t decide which was worse. She adjusted herself in her chair, uncomfortable with such intense attention.
“Are you picturing me naked?” she squealed, her voice sounding high even to her.
He raised his eyebrows, which made him look even sexier. “Why would you ask that?” He sounded so innocent; though his emotions were still new to Layla she could read Madden well enough to know innocence was not a word to describe this man.
“I feel different when you look at me.”
“Hmm. Different how?” He was stalling. She knew it. Why must he answer all her questions with questions? That had to stop.
Professional Reviews
Keep An Eye On This Author
Lustful Cravings is only 96 pages but do not let the length of the story fool you. This story introduces us to a new series that promises to be good. The plot isn’t complex yet it gives us a glimpse to what’s to come. The Valendite Breed isn’t your typical vampire breed. There is uniqueness to them. They are known to exist yet the knowledge of their existence is well protected. They live and walk among humans and serve a very specific purpose. I liked the story because it is different from other paranormal vampire series I have read. Their role is to help humans and their destiny is to find their mates which are possessed by one of the 7 deadly sins.
The Valendites Breed was created by scientists, genetically altered men for the main purpose of winning a war. These men were later given gifts that would change their future and the future of their species. I totally think this new concept of generically engineer sort of vampires brings the most needed change to an already saturated genre.
Madden is a very powerful breed and his power comes in many forms. He is in charge of an immortal organization that forms a secret branch under the CIA. One of his many talents is that he is immune to certain type of magic. Because of the nature in which they have lived and moved throughout the world the chances to finding a mate is slim. When he finds Layla he knows she is the one. Layla knows she found her mate when her body can hardly contain the lust she felt when she met eyes with Madden.
I found these two characters so loving and cute. I totally enjoyed Layla’s character. She is smart, beautiful and sweet. Madden is sexy, intelligent and very manly and will not stop until he has made Layla his mate. There is an awesome twist to this story; it will make the reader wish they had their own Tre Adoro.
The characters are likable, their dialog flows easily. There interaction is believable and their love and dedication to their mate will make your heart ache. I really enjoyed the author’s writing style. It is witty, imaginative and creative. I am looking forward to reading more from Paloma Beck an author you want to keep an eye on.
Gripping and Sexy!
What a fabulous beginning to a new series from first time author Paloma Beck. She has created a world with new and different paranormal characters with unique abilities. She packed a LOT of story into 100 pages and left me wanting more.
Madden is a member of the Valendite Breed, which is a race of immortals who have some vampire characteristics, in that they take blood to sustain their immortality.
Layla is a member of the Circle of Magdalena a race of women who are the destined mates of the Valendites with powers and a curse all their own. Each Magdalena woman has one of the seven deadly sins as her soul sin and depending on that sin has either had to fight to control it or has never experienced it.
Layla's soul sin is lust and it is a feeling that she has never experienced in her life until the night that she runs into Madden at a bar on a girls night out with her sisters. Panicked, Layla runs from Madden but there is no denying what she feels for him and Madden is letting her get away that easily.
What you think is a love story between two people becomes a rare Tre Adoro between Madden, Layla and Anton, who is a Valendite, but a different kind. They have a symbiotic relationship and one that is so strong no one could survive without the other two.
There are so many layers to this book that you will find yourself at the end wanting much more. I had so many questions that weren't fully answered that if I could I would buy the next book right now just to learn more about these people. It's not just a love story, there are elements of suspense in the TEU storyline that I hope are brought out more in the following books.
If you are looking for something different, gripping and sexy then pick up the first in the Sin Sisters series, Lustful Cravings and indulge.
A Little Bit Magical
Say what you will about the paranormal genre being repetitious and overdone - Ms. Beck puts that rumor to rest. Creating a who new world of paranormal creatures (the Valendite Breed) - a little bit magical, a little bit vampy and a whole lot of alpha male sexy! Combine that with a race of women (the Circle of Magdalena) with powers of their own, bound by their "soul sin", you have that blissful concept of a pre-destined mate tempered with the modern need to have trust, affection and love earned.
Never shy about venting my frustrations with the world building that normally occurs with the first book in a new series - Lustful Cravings manages to weave a spell that leaves the reader with a general understanding of who the players are and what their world is about without being overly descriptive or over-divulging as many first introductions are. Ms. Beck provides the reader with enough information about these Sinster Sisters that every single one of their hopefully HEA stories is a tantalizing morsel one is willing to wait for. There are still enough mysteries about the Valendite Breed and their covert missions for TEU that upcoming story lines should be surprising and exciting as well. Thankfully, the next in the series will release soon so the wait wont be terribly painful!
As for characters themselves, Layla is an interesting choice for a first story - the youngest and embodying possibly the most complicated soul sin of lust - she's a virgin who has never felt the need to connect outside her family home because her sin has never kicked in until that fateful night she spies Madden in a crowded club. Watching Madden go completely alpha to get the mate he wants and needs is sexy and intense. That he actually takes such care to ensure it isn't the traumatic experience it could have been is endearing.
The added complication of Anton into the mix takes the story from a sexy read to a sizzling read. The concept of the rare Tre Adoro between Madden, Layla and Anton, a different type of Valendite Breed, makes for one supremely hot symbiotic relationship. Like the perfect triangle, all three sides are equal and derive strength and support from each other and cannot do without any one piece missing. Find that in a menage relationship and you have the makings of sheer brain candied heaven!
Well written, cleverly crafted, strong but appealing characters and a unique story line with sizzling hot erotic love scenes - this is a new author to watch out for!
Who knew the Wright's had a trunk full of hidden family secrets? Searching for treasure and hidden family secrets is one way to fuel the flames of passion.
