Rage, Sex, and Teddy Bears: Series Spotlight on The Guardians by Valerie Twombly

Created by the Gods to protect humanity from evil, these immortals will risk all from their destined mates.

Published October 18th 2013 by Resplendence Publishing

A woman he cannot have, a man who is only a dream...

When guardian Marcus Dagotto, discovers the gods have gifted him with a mate, he is pissed. He has no room for love and even less for a human who has no idea he exists.
Cassandra Jensen, has a shattered heart and has given up on men. Only one man can set her body on fire, but he is a fantasy that haunts her sleep.

Two worlds, one desire. When the two collide, fate will rip them apart and test their resolve. Will darkness and evil prevail? Or, will love conquer all?

So for awhile, I have been seeing the name Valerie Twombly on the pnr radar. It made the rounds of the blogosphere and there was quite the positive buzz and that this was an author to watch. It hung around in the back of my mind and I just "one clicked" Eternal Flame. I wasn't really in a rush and I had tooooooons of books to wade through in my tbr that were just languishing from neglect. Well a couple of weeks ago, I was in the mood for a new pnr series, so I started Eternal Flame. I was absolutely enraptured! The men, oh lordy, lordy the MEN!! I kid you not, there could be absolutely no romance, no mate connection and I would still follow this group of testosterone overload like a starving hound after a chicken bone. They were just so, so very much what males should be in a perfect world. Honorable, strong, loyal, faithful, I could go on for days, oh and lest I forget, so utterly gorgeous and sexy. Long before Cassie made her appearance, I had claimed these Guardians as mine, and was very, extremely, "pee on the furniture" territorial. So maybe it should come as no great surprise that I absolutely, to the very marrow of my bones, HATED Cassie. At first.......

I knew that it was deemed by the Gods that Cassie was the destined mate of Marcus. Huh, so what? Granted they were both healers to their people, and Marcus all but went up in flames over Cassie, but again, so what? It turned out I was right! Cassie hurt my Marcus and needed to suffer! (yes, I know it's a book and I shouldn't get so involved. Leave me alone, I like it!) Well, sadly, when Cassie suffered, Marcus suffered. (Well, damn!) So, it would seem in order for Marcus to be happy, the dratted Cassie must live. (Ugh!) OK, well then I would just have to adjust and try to see the positive in Cassie and give up my dreams of her heinous death. To give Cassie her due, she did FINALLY put on her big girl panties and step up to the suitable heroine plate.

This world of vampires, dragons, demons and other supernaturals just took over my psyche, and the impending war promises fodder for books into the twenty second century. (fingers crossed) The romance is "surface of the sun' HOT, and befitting of such fine male specimens. (Marcus does have a sister, so it's not ALL about the penis) Before I ever saw the blurb for Fatal Desire, or even knew who the book was about, I had a feeling about Caleb, but that is a tangent for another time. These characters are fun, likable, and guaranteed to steal your heart. There are some very, very dark aspects to this book and you will need the heat and the humor to pull you through. Thankfully Valerie Twombly seems to have all these in spades and I am extremely glad I jumped the line in my tbr. I have lost my Marcus, but there is always Baal. I do love a sexy demon. Well done, Ms. Twombly, bravissima!

Amazon/B&N/ARe/iBooks/Respelendence Publishing

Published March 12th 2014 by Resplendence

Caleb is dark, hot, and commanding in human form. As a dragon, he’s a force to be reckoned with. When he witnesses the slave Lileta being beaten by his Overlord Odage, he nearly comes unglued. Without understanding why, he asks to take the slave as his own, but soon realizes his longing is more than an attraction to a beautiful woman. In a sick twist of fate, the gods have given him a demon as his mate—one he can never touch unless he wishes his own death. His only choice is to grant her freedom.

Lileta wanted to kill Caleb, but when she is freed by this tempting male, her anger turns to a desire that can only prove fatal. Even if she could claim him as her own, her dark past makes her unworthy of his love.

When their paths continue to intertwine, spiraling them to the brink of passion, can they resist the yearnings burning within them, or will they submit to their fatal desire?

Resplendence Publishing/Amazon

As a child, Valerie would often get into trouble for peeking at her mother’s favorite TV show, Dark Shadows. She can still hear her mother saying “It will give you nightmares.” She was right of course, but that did not stop Valerie from watching. As an adult, her love of the fanged creatures never waned. She would watch any vampire movie she could find.

Being a true romantic, Valerie was thrilled when she discovered the genre of paranormal romance. Her first read was one of Lara Adrian’s, Midnight Breed Series and from there she was hooked.

Today, Valerie has decided to take her darker, sensual side and put it to paper. When she is not busy creating a world full of steamy, hot men and strong, seductive women, she juggles her time between a full-time job, hubby and her two German shepherd dogs, in Northern IL.