Royal blood can take a princess only so far in life. Sooner or later destiny will sweep her off her feet. If she's lucky, he's tall, blond, fun to push around, and helps her save their ice ball planet from a killer comet.
Excerpt
“Now, let’s try this again. Exactly, for the record, who are you?” Gunnar pinned her with his hardest stare and she didn’t look away.
“My name is Noreen Tibbetts.”
“I might believe Noreen, but I don’t buy Tibbetts. Try again. Where is your family from, and this time I want the name of a planet.”
“Noreen Elke Josephina Angelica Tibbetts…Audelhuk.” Her eyes widened even further as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just said.
“Audelhuk? As in the daughter of Bjorn Audelhuk, His Royal Majesty, the King of Nordia?” Gunnar narrowed his eyes further as he gazed into hers, now wide open in her pale face as her chin trembled.
Slowly she nodded as if fighting to keep from doing it. “What… are you doing to me?”
She tore her gaze from him to glance at the wine for just a bare moment before looking back at him as if compelled.
Well, she was. One of his more subtle features, eyes that encouraged people to not lie to him. Useful when it came to protecting the monarchy.
“There’s nothing unusual in the wine,” he spoke soothingly to cover his shock. “Are you the missing twin?”
Again she slowly nodded. “How did you know?”
“I’ve heard rumors for years. Especially the first summer I came to court. Ten years ago. I stumbled over many whispered conversations in the halls of the palace.”
“I left that summer… ten years ago…” she spoke slowly.
“Why? Why is your name never spoken? Why are you coming back now? And in disguise?” He fired the questions at her and bit back more when she shook her head slowly.
“Release me,” she ordered him, speaking slowly and deliberately.
She was fighting his compulsion! And winning! He sat back feeling stunned.
With a decided snap, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” she growled.
“I’m responsible for security and intelligence about any possible threat to the royal family. If you don’t give me some answers, I’ll use whatever means necessary to get them.”
Fascinated, Gunnar watched as without opening her eyes, she pursed her lips, set down the wine then pulled off her mittens and tucked them into her parka pockets. No one had ever shaken off his compulsion before. Yet, as he watched, she held her hands apart then brought the flattened palms together in a clap before her face. The sound he heard wasn’t the slap of flesh he expected. The sound rocked the small transport and sounded like… a steel hammer of immense size landing on an anvil of equally immense size. Just like the sound he’d heard this morning, only louder. Much louder.
He clapped his hands over his ears, his eyes squeezing closed as if they could shut out the ringing sound that shook his very bones.
A full minute later he lowered his hands from his ears and stared at the woman in front of him.
“What the hell was that?” he demanded as his communications center lit up with lights and beeps.
Noreen’s face relaxed into a smile as she reached for her wine. She smiled more as she sipped and looked mighty pleased with herself.
“You didn’t recognize it?” she asked sweetly.
“Thor’s Hammer, woman!” he snarled out the common curse and turned to the console.
“Exactly,” she replied calmly.
His hand holding the communications handset froze half way to his mouth. It couldn’t be… the loud squawk of his communicator made him shake his head.
“Duke Nordenskiold?” He heard the voice of Wilton Leebrick, his convoy commander, come from the small speaker. “You okay, Zaren?”
“Yeah, Wil, yeah, we’re fine. Did we upset the connection?” He ran a hand through his hair. It was long and needed cutting. Right after he figured out why this woman could call on Thor’s Hammer with her little hands. Only Bjorn, the King, and Coreen… no, the Crown… Princess… the communicator squawked, jolting him again as Wil’s voice came over the speaker.
“No, the connections are fine. That was some kinda rocking going on. Sounded like you got hit with a bolt of lightning but no one saw any.”
“Must have been a stray bolt. Freak storm. Keep an eye on the weather monitors,” he snapped into the mic then disconnected and turned back to the woman with impossibly red hair and brown eyes. “I’m going to ask again, just who in the hell are you?”
“I told you, I’m Noreen Tibbetts.”
“No,” he shook his head. “How do you fit into the royal family?”
“Oh, that. I’m the soon to be ex-Crown Princess.”
Professional Reviews
Author Review
A gripping story of love, duty, and courage. If you like peering into the future you will love Frozen. The twists and turns of interplanetary survival in the frozen tundra kept me on the edge of my seat, only to plunge into the scorching heat of a predestined and unquenchable love. The plot intrigues. The sex sizzles. The story flows. Enjoy.
~ Adriana Kraft www.adrianakraft.com
Manic Readers Review
MR Review
Frozen
by Morgan Q. O'Reilly
4 Stars / 5
Reviewed by Julia C.
An icy planet guarded by the embodiment of ancient Norse gods, a princess and a duke promised to each other in prophecy, a spoiled alien prince who will stop at nothing-including the destruction of a planet-to steal away the princess and a comet hurtling through space toward them all. A grim-sounding scenario, but Frozen also boasts a quirky but loving royal family, devoted (and sometimes bossy) servants, bickering deities, and enough heat between Princess Noreen and Gunnar to melt the permafrost.
This is author Morgan O'Reilly's second published novel, but I'm sure it won't be her last. Ms. O'Reilly has created a universe teeming with diverse cultures and settings, and sympathetic characters who excel at fast-paced banter and hot interaction. Throw in a plot line with a couple of interesting twists, main characters struggling with issues of prophecy vs. free choice, and personal desires vs. acting for the public good, and top the whole deal with enough passion to heat a sauna, and you have a 402 page novel that flies by all too quickly.
Frozen is an engaging tale of adventure, intrigue, and passion, peopled with warm, entertaining characters I wouldn't mind re-visiting. This one's a keeper, and I will look forward to reading more by this author.
4.5 Clovers from CK2S Kwips and Kritiques, by Anne,
Morgan Q. O’Reilly is a new author to me but it is obvious that she is a very talented one! If you are looking for a blazing hot erotica spiced up with a darn good science fiction story, then look no further than FROZEN. FROZEN is a guaranteed winner!
Reviewed by Anne
