Blog Tour: Review and Excerpt from Kiss the Flame by Christopher Rice

Author:Christopher RIce
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc
Date of publication: November 2015

In a standalone novella that combines the worlds of THE FLAME and his novel, THE SURRENDER GATE, New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice returns you to a mysterious candle shop in the New Orleans French Quarter where the scents of passion provide the courage to embrace your heart's desire.

Are some risks worth taking?
Laney Foley is the first woman from her hard working family to attend college. That's why she can't act on her powerful attraction to one of the gorgeous teaching assistants in her Introduction to Art History course. Getting involved with a man who has control over her final grade is just too risky. But ever since he first laid eyes on her, Michael Brouchard seems to think about little else but the two of them together. And it's become harder for Laney to ignore his intelligence and his charm.
During a walk through the French Quarter, an intoxicating scent that reminds Laney of her not-so-secret admirer draws her into an elegant scented candle shop. The shop's charming and mysterious owner seems to have stepped out of another time, and he offers Laney a gift that could break down the walls of her fear in a way that can only be described as magic. But will she accept it?

Light this flame at the scene of your greatest passion and all your desires will be yours...
Lilliane Williams is a radiant, a supernatural being with the power to make your deepest sexual fantasy take shape around you with just a gentle press of her lips to yours. But her gifts came at a price. Decades ago, she set foot inside what she thought was an ordinary scented candle shop in the French Quarter. When she resisted the magical gift offered to her inside, Lilliane was endowed with eternal youth and startling supernatural powers, but the ability to experience and receive romantic love was removed from her forever. When Lilliane meets a young woman who seems poised to make the same mistake she did years before, she becomes determined to stop her, but that will mean revealing her truth to a stranger. Will Lilliane's story provide Laney with the courage she needs to open her heart to the kind of true love only magic can reveal?

My thoughts:

Kiss the Flame is part of the 1001 Dark Nights series that multiple authors have been participating in over the past few years.  It is also takes place in the  world of the author's book, The Surrender Gate.  I haven't read that book and after reading this, I kind of wish that I had.  The story involves Laney, who is a scholarship student at a prestigious college in New Orleans.  She is pretty much a loner and has worked hard to be where she is today. She also has a secret crush on her teaching assistant.  The best part is that Michael feels the same way.  But Laney has been hurt too much to trust.

I was really liking the story up through the point where Laney finds the candle shop.  Then, the story started getting confusing.  I'm still not sure I understand who Lilliane is and how she came to be.  I'm assuming more of the story would have come out in the previous book.  But, ignoring that part of the story, I loved watching Michael and Laney fall for each other.  I wish that the story had been a little longer though as I wanted more background on Laney before college.  

So this is worth checking out.  I'm taking off a star for not really holding up as a stand alone, but the romance was worth the read!

Excerpt:

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” These words are the first sounds Bastian makes as he materializes on the roof of St. Louis Cathedral. No doubt he’s referring to the expansive view. Lilliane studies the vast shadowed square below.

At night, the high wrought iron gates, which usually grant admittance to the center of Jackson Square, are closed, leaving the proud statue of Andrew Jackson astride his horse alone in a sea of shadows. Outside the fence, the tarot card readers and street musicians she stood among only seconds before look like small, animated dolls. And just beyond the stream of traffic on Decatur Street, a cargo ship as tall as a high-rise office building glides past the city on the inky black waters of the Mississippi River.

“And to think, most will never see it,” Bastian says.

“See what?”

“The view, darling. It’s not like there’s a viewing platform up here.”

“Don’t attempt to mollify me with talk of my powers,” Lilliane says quietly. “I’m not in the mood, Bastian.”

“Mollify you?” he asks, sounding genuinely hurt. “What a curious word.”

She hands him the suitcase with enough force to knock a normal man back on his heels. But he is not a normal man. At what point are you allowed to stop referring to a ghost as a man?

Bastian is suddenly silent as he hefts the suitcase. He goes about his usual routine; caressing the handle slowly, carefully running his fingers along the array of inset jewels along the top. To a curious onlooker he would look like some kind of leather fetishist. The truth is far stranger. Bastian cannot slip through the cracks in human time carrying any object he hasn’t handled for at least ten minutes. It’s one of the few rules of his existence he’s shared with her.

About Christopher Rice:

After publishing four New York Times bestselling thrillers by the age of 30 and being declared one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive, award-winning writer Christopher Rice became the first author to make his erotic romance debut part of the 1,001 DARK NIGHTS series. THE FLAME: A Desire Exchange Novella kicked off a steamy new series set in New Orleans, featuring magical candles and a sexy new breed of supernatural beings, The Radiants, who are devoted to helping heroes and heroines realize their heart’s desire. THE FLAME earned accolades from some of the biggest names in erotic romance and was quickly followed up by THE SURRENDER GATE: A Desire Exchange Novel, available from Evil Eye Concepts as a Blue Box Special. Aside from authoring eight works of dark suspense, Christopher is also the co-host and executive producer of a streaming Internet radio show he launched with his best friend, New York Times bestselling author Eric Shaw Quinn. Each Sunday at 8 PM ET/ 5 PM PT, THE DINNER PARTY SHOW WITH CHRISTOPHER RICE & ERIC SHAW QUINN brings you a new episode at TheDinnerPartyShow.com.

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Buy Links:

 Amazon eBook ** Amazon Paperback