Rage, Sex, and Teddy Bears: Cinderella (Demon Tales, bk #2) Guest Post/Giveaway

Torc knew he owed his brother a huge debt. Because of Brigg, he no longer lived his life as a beast. It was due to Brigg, that the evil curse had been lifted and he was now the handsome Rain demon of his youth. Unfortunately while Torc and Brigg had lived in exile, his people had scattered and their fortunes were lost. In order to repay his debt and restore the Rain demons wealth, Torc has resigned himself to marrying one of the daughters of the Sun demon king. After all he has no destined mate, and the one woman he dreams of nightly can not be found.

Rose was delivered to her uncle, the Sun Demon king's doorstep as a child. Rejected by her mother, her place in the Sun demon realm was that of the lowliest servant. Hated by the queen, she was sorely abused.

As she reached adulthood, Rose had accepted her lot in life, but held one shining memory to her breast. The imprisoned Rain demon she had freed from a dungeon. She knew he could never be hers, but she cherished his memory. Preparing for a grand ball to introduce the intended of one of her beautiful, but horribly spoiled cousins, Rose is horrified to realize the her handsome Rain demon is the guest of honor.

Well Torc, I must say that you were not my favorite character after your attitude in Beauty and the Beast. Your willingness to sacrifice yourself to a marriage of convenience lifted you to acceptable hero in my eyes. BUT THEN you turned all butt munch again for awhile. However, in true pantymelter fashion you became the luscious male you were born to be. I actually had this conversation with Torc in my head. He of course told me where I could stuff my opinions. Rose has the only opinions that matter to Torc. *sigh* I do love a devoted male.

As you can no doubt deduce, I consider these characters my very good friends. They are written so well, that they seem real to me and we feel free to express our opinions quite bluntly. In this book of the Demon Tales, we get a bit more of the conflicts going on in this magical world. The reader, by the end of this book, has a much heavier emotional investment, and a deeper knowledge of the characters personality quirks and feelings. I love the fact that Kerrianne Coombes can create characters who are incredibly damaged and have them remain likable. Too, too often characters with issues seem to enjoy wallowing in their angst. This has the effect of making me want to throw them in front of a speeding semi. Even though there is a fair amount of darkness in this series, I always end up with a smile, an awwwww, and usually more than one LOL episode.

Rose in particular won my admiration. For someone with no hope of a decent future, no concept of being treated with the least amount of respect, and bore daily abuse with a dogged stoicism, she had amazing integrity and honor. She knew in her heart that there was good in the world. In the end, Rose not only attains her hero, she attains herself. You really, REALLY MUST avail yourself to these books. Each one is better than the last, and if you think I love Brigg and Torc, just wait until I get to Sam (Lord have mercy!!!).

Cinderella The Demon tale.

This book came tome like a bolt of lightening when I was writing the last
chapters of Beauty and the Beast. Briggs brother, Torc was a character I just had to write. Put under the same curse as Brigg, he was not only bitter but also reckless with his life. Torc being the younger of two brothers, was seen as the mess up--the lad who doesn’t take anything seriously. Brigg shouldered all of the guilt and sorrow while Torc threw his hands up and said "whatever".

So, in this book, Torc promises to "come good" and be selfless by marrying a princess from the adjoining kingdom in order to secure safety for his kingdom. But when he arrives to ‘choose’ which princess to marry, he spies Rose, the little slave—a woman he cannot have.

This book is so filled with excitement, I adored writing it. From the nasty, evil
sisters, to the cruel queen—to meeting Blane--a demon who would become the
star in Rapunzel. It was just a joy to write.

Rose, the poor dear, suffers so. But she really does show us what courage is.

It was the story of Cinderella that proved to me that Fairy Tales can be dark and twisty, but also full of love.