As seen in the July issue of Uncaged Book Reviews
Uncaged: You released In Fair Brighton in February, can you tell readers more about your Star-crossed Mafia series?
In Fair Brighton was inspired by Romeo and Juliet, though my main characters do not meet the same tragic end. They feel a deep connection to one another the moment they meet, neither of them knowing that they are the children of two of the most powerful Russian mob families in Brooklyn. Readers will need to take a bumpy ride before my couple gets their happily ever after. The rest of the series will build off of the first book, continuing with the Star-Crossed theme and rival mob families and the next books will have to deal with a circumstance from the first book.
Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?
Right now, I am working book 6 in The Beyond The Veil series I co-write with my awesome writing partners, Maia Dylan and Sarah Marsh. I am also working on book 3 in my Pack Warrior series, titled Beta Wars which picks up after the pack wars in book 1. More on that to come soon. I am hoping to get to book 2 in my Star-Crossed Mafia series shortly after those projects are done. Book 2, titled, Of These Two Foes, is already outlined and ready to be written. I can’t wait to share Nikita and Rose’s story with my readers. They may be two of the most stubborn characters I’ve ever written.
Uncaged: What are the advantages of joining your Street Team group on Facebook?
So as I mentioned, I have two amazing writing partners I co-write a series with. We also run our street team together. Our members get a sneak peek into what the three of us working on, we run monthly contests exclusive to the group, and we have a blast in there with random topics and games, and tons of yummy eye candy. We even have a theme song. Be warned: shenanigans often ensue. 😉
Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?
I try not to, but sometimes it’s hard to resist. The main thing I always take away is being grateful that someone took the time to read my book, whether they liked it or not.
Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?
My boyfriend thanks you. 😉
Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?
The writing part is my favorite. I get to do what I have wanted to do since I was a kid. Turning my ideas into full-fledged stories is beyond amazing. The negative part is pretty much what we’ve all been experiencing lately in the book world. The fact that there are those who can’t play well with others and want to take advantage of the system is an ugly thing to witness.
Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?
I love spending time with my daughter either binging on something cool or family game night. We recently just got back from Florida where she got to go to Disney for the first time, and though I’ve been before a few times, getting to experience this with her was by far my favorite time. And you can throw Disney and Universal up there as some of my favorite places. And then this past October I went to Australia for a book signing in Brisbane and totally fell in love with the country. I’m a tv, music, and bookaholic, I love to travel, and hoping to one day be able to travel at least twice a year.
Uncaged: What can you tell us that is very unique about you?
I used to do gymnastics when I was younger and can still twirl a ribbon like nobody’s business. I am also a natural speed reader and was reading at college level in elementary school.
Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?
My readers are the absolute best! I thank you for taking the time to read my work. They can follow me here: Twitter: https://twitter.com/elenakincaid1
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/elenakincaidthree
[symple_box color=”black” fade_in=”false” float=”center” text_align=”left” width=””]Elena Kincaid is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author. She writes Paranormal and Contemporary Romances with alpha males who stop at nothing to protect their women, heroines who are anything but damsels in distress, and stories where the only love worth fighting for is the forever kind of love.
She was born in Ukraine and raised in New York, where she currently lives with her daughter. Her desk is constantly cluttered with journals, sticky notes, and torn-out pieces of paper full of ideas. When not working, Elena loves to spend time with her family, travel the globe, curl up with a good book, and catch up on her soaps.[/symple_box]
In Fair Brighton
Elena Kincaid
Mafia Romance
Sasha Palmer, a travel writer, never stays in one place long enough to find even the possibility of love. The baggage of her family keeps her closed off from everyone, but one day, love finds her in the form of strong arms, wrapping around her, and pulling her to safety from oncoming traffic. One look at Rome, and she’s a goner.
Roman “Rome” Valentin is a killer … and a good one at that. He leads a life he detests, full of self-loathing until the day he meets Sasha. She barrels into his life and steals the heart he didn’t know he still had … and then she vanishes.
Their two families have been at war for decades. Will a chance meeting and a passionate growing love end the bitter feud or spark a battle that may destroy them all?
Excerpt
Verona, Italy
The heavens were about to open up and pour. Sasha downed the last of her cappuccino and then threw down money for the bill. Her hotel was only five blocks away. “I can make it,” she mumbled.
She was wrong. One block’s worth of a light drizzle, turned into a torrential downpour. Leave it to me to visit Verona during one of the wettest months of the year and not think to carry an umbrella. By the end of the second block, she was completely soaked through from her head all the way to her damn, adorable, Gucci, four-inch heels, which prevented her from making a run for it. Instead, she slowed down her gait and embraced the soak.
Another block later, with the rain easing only slightly, Sasha found herself standing stock-still, while in the middle of crossing the street, after a loud boom resonated somewhere around her. Was that a gunshot? Frantically, she looked around her for the source, but when finally, realizing that she needed to get out of the street, it was a moment too late. A car was headed straight toward her, brakes screeching, and as if trapped in a slow-motion movie, her brain had time to process that she would not get out of the way fast enough.
Strong arms wrapped around her, jerking her backward, landing both her and her savior with their asses on the pavement. Those same strong arms lifted her and nudged her forward.
“Over here,” the man said loudly to compete with the sound of the heavy rain falling. They ended up in a narrow alcove, the front of a little antique shop which was currently closed. “Are you all right?”
She looked up at the tall, brunet male, stunned by the color of his greenish-gray eyes, and nodded as droplets of water rolled down his face. Her heart still beat frantically, leaving her breathless and unable to speak just yet. When she finally managed to catch her breath, she said, “I heard … I thought I heard a gunshot.”
His face turned serious, concern written on his handsomely rugged face, his well-defined jaw tense. “No, sweetness. Just a Vespa backfiring. With so much going on in the world, I don’t blame you for thinking that.”
Sasha inhaled deeply and then noisily exhaled, slowly feeling her heart rate return to normal. “Thank you for saving me.” She managed to give the stranger a shaky smile.
His answering smile nearly took her breath away. A small gap in between his front teeth was even more endearing on his otherwise perfectly straight pearly-whites.
“What’s your name, sweetness?” he asked her.
“Sasha.”
“Well, Sasha.” He took her hand in his. “I’m very glad to have been in the right place at the right time.” He brought her hand to his lips. “I shudder to think what could have happened.
He released her hand, making her feel bereft of his touch.
“You didn’t tell me your name.”
He smiled again. “I’m Rome.”
She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. “All you need is an O at then of your name, and then you’re definitely in the right city.” She knew her joke was lame, but it got him to smile again.
His eyes sparkled. “Too bad your name isn’t Juliet.”
Oh my!
They stood staring at one another for some time after that, neither of them seemingly able to look away. For her, maybe it was sharing a life and death moment with this stranger, or the fact that her body had never had this intense of a reaction to someone she had just met, or ever for that matter. True, he was stunningly beautiful to look at, with his gorgeous face, and well-built, lean muscular body, but it was more than that. She felt an undeniable pull to him.
When the rain all but stopped, she realized she couldn’t simply walk away from this man and never see him again. “Can I buy you dinner?” she asked. She could feel her cheeks burning. She’d never asked a man out before. “To say thank you, I mean.”
“No, you may not,” he said with a smirk.
Disappointed and embarrassed, she was about to make her quick getaway, when he added, “My mother taught me from a young age that a gentleman never allows his date to pay for dinner.”
Date?
“Will you please allow me to take you to dinner tonight?” His smile faltered, as if he was suddenly unsure of what her answer would be, despite the fact that she had asked him first.
Meanwhile, she nodded her head, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, like some love-stricken teenager. When he gifted her with another heart-stopping smile, she figured making a fool of herself was worth it.
Uncaged Review
This is a good intro into a series, even though it’s a short read, the author manages to pack quite a bit into the pages. Two mafia families at war for a long time over the deaths of loved ones – and when two people fall in love from these families, will they be able to make it work?
I think the love story was too quick, and there wasn’t as much tension in the relationship as there could have been, but there was a bit of danger that you would expect from a mafia romance, and the author did a nice job with the story. I guess what I really wanted was for it to be longer, so I could get a better feel for Sasha and Rome, and the backstory. I wanted to keep reading in this world, and that’s a good thing and I’m looking forward to the next book. Reviewed by Cyrene
4 Stars
