Author: Marie Higgins
Genre: Regency Romance
Date of Publication: April 2014
Synopsis:
Katrina Landon’s life is about to change. The wealthy father she has never known wants to meet her, but she has to travel from the slums of Boston through the Amazon rainforest to his plantation. As if that’s not bad enough, her guide is the handsome, self-assured, too confident for his own good, Mr. Knightly, who immediately stirs her temper.
Felix Knightly isn’t looking forward to escorting a spoiled rich girl through the jungle no matter how much her father pays. Yet when he meets her, he finds Katrina’s distracting innocence and charming demeanor unsettling. She makes it nearly impossible to concentrate on his job—a problem he’s never had around women. He’d rather fight off the fire ants, howler monkeys, and crocodiles than risk losing his heart to her, since he’s never met an honest wealthy woman.
As they delve deeper into the shadows of the rainforest, they discover they weren’t just wrong about each other, they were wrong about the dangers of the jungle. Someone wants them dead and they have to find out who and why before it’s too late.
Excerpt:
“Mr. Knightly?” Katrina whispered only for his ears. “What is wrong?”
He turned toward her and grasped her wrist. His hold wasn’t tight, but his actions still worried her.
“What you see in those trees are howler monkeys,” he spoke in a low tone.
His voice was calm, yet his expression didn’t match the tone. “Howler monkeys?” she asked. “That’s an odd name for them.”
Extremely hairy and mostly brown in color, they were odd looking primates, but it was their heads that had her really studying the creatures, because their faces appeared almost…orange. At first she wondered if they had all been slapped with orange paint, but then she realized that was what they were supposed to look like. Their tails were longer than their bodies, and were the very things keeping them attached to the tree branches, while their hands and feet clutched different branches—almost forming a spider web. Dozens of them filled one tree alone, yet all the trees held about the same amount of monkeys.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like it before,” she continued. “I suppose they are cute in an odd sort of way—”
“Listen closely,” he cut her off with a slow but steady voice. “Do not make any sudden movements. You might think they are cute, but they are easily irritated. Making them upset is not wise, because they have been known to attack.”
A surprised gasp stuck in her throat. They would attack? They looked harmless. But as she watched his crew cautiously prepare for the battle they thought could possibly happen, she realized she’d better follow Felix’s warning this time. “Attack?” her voice squeaked out.
“Mostly they will urinate or fling their um…waste…on us. However, there have been a few times I’ve witnessed them springing out of the trees and physically beating a person to death.”
“Oh, dear.”
He loosened his grip on her arm. “Stay by me and I’ll protect you. We don’t want to do anything to agitate these wild primates.”
“All right,” she whispered as fear slowly seeped into her body.
One of Felix’s crew members slowly approached him and passed him a machete. He gripped the handle and stepped closer to Katrina. All talking—and even whispering—on the small vessel stopped as the barge crept underneath the trees. Panic knotted in her throat as she switched her attention from one monkey to the next, trying to study their eyes. They all appeared to be watching her and the rest of the crew with great intent, and she prayed they could pass beneath the trees without any disturbance. Even the thought of them flinging their…unmentionables…on her or urinating made her want to gag.
Her heart hammered, and she tried not to get too frightened. Felix promised he’d protect her, so she must trust him.
He took careful steps, shifting even closer to her. “Katrina,” he whispered, “you’re breathing too loudly. Try to calm down.”
Silently she groaned. How in heaven’s name could she calm down when everyone around her was on guard for a battle to the death?
From one of the trees, a monkey rose higher than the others as if the animal was ready to pounce. She held her breath. Oh, please don’t! The grip Felix had on her wrist tightened. He, too, must be preparing for something to happen.
Without being able to stop it, a small peep escaped her throat as fear consumed her.
“Shh…” he said softly.
The barge inched its way underneath the watchful monkeys. They only needed to pass two more trees before they were out of harm’s way.
Her body shook, and for the life of her, she couldn’t control it. Felix released her wrist and gently slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her against his frame. The warmth from his body brought a strange sense of comfort to her.
“We’re almost there…” he said.
Purchase on Kindle - http://amzn.com/B00JST2I0O
Marie Higgins is a best-selling, multi-published author of sweet romance; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. Visit her website / blog to discover more about her – http://mariehiggins84302.blogspot.com
Find her on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/marie.higgins.7543
Twitter - @MarieHigginsXOX
Watch the book trailer – http://youtu.be/b4CtWmHz1Ic
This sounds like a delicious period romance.
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