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Nine Inches of Snow and the Ebony Princess [A Siren Adult Fairy Tale]
by Gracie C. McKeever
Category: Erotica/Erotic Romance/Romance
Description: An empathic young nurse driven to help and heal others since childhood after watching her mother languish for months before finally succumbing to cancer, Aziza Lopez abhors cruelty and suffering in any form. When she is assigned comatose patient David Healey, Aziza is confronted with the depth of her abilities for the first time since her mother's death and has a chance to contribute to a patient's recovery when modern medicine fails. But can she convince anyone else outside of David's family that she knows who is responsible for his injury when she's finding it hard to deal with the knowledge herself? The youngest of five brothers, David Healey comes from a close-knit, no-nonsense family of psychics and shapeshifters. He has never suffered fools--or demanding, jealous girlfriends--lightly. But on the eve of a bitter break-up he realizes he is about to suffer a woman scorned when he glimpses his ex behind the wheel of a car careening towards him. Now Aziza and David are in a race to pull him out of his coma before Aziza's vengeful stepmother can get to him and finish the job she started on a dark road. [Erotic Urban Fantasy/Interracial: Contains graphic sexual content and adult language.]
eBook Publisher: Siren-BookStrand, Inc./Erotic Romance, 2007 March 2007
eBookwise Release Date: May 2007
 
77 Reader Ratings:
Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [90 KB]
Words: 16286
Reading time: 46-65 min.
4.5 Flags: "Gracie C. McKeever delivers another fantastic paranormal tale of intrigue! Nine Inches of Snow and the Ebony Princess is a quick read that has an easygoing flow to it. In the beginning of the book, what I noticed was the establishment of the characters' voices. Aziza speaks with slang while David is acting in a way befitting to his upper crust upbringing. This is most certainly a well written new-styled fairy tale. One thing is for sure, when you read a Gracie C. McKeever book: you'll always get a delightfully crafted story with her guaranteed special twist! If you haven't read a title by the author you are missing out. Nine Inches of Snow and the Ebony Princess is one book that I unquestionably recommend."--Chantay, Euro Reviews
4 Hearts: "With different slang and fewer modern day references, a reader might imagine that they were reading any one of Grimm's Fairy Tales with a decidedly sexy bent. Ms. McKeever has drawn elements from several traditional fairy tales and given them her own trademark twist. Who would have ever though that the big bad wolf would turn out to be a hero? Or that Sleeping Beauty would be male? Because it is presented as a fantasy tale, this reviewer was immediately able to suspend any sense of reality and enjoy this bon-bon of a tale simply for what it was--another fantastic story by the great Ms. McKeever. Aziza and David are an extremely likeable pair and the reader will find themselves rooting for them as one does a favorite sports team. Their sexual chemistry is absolutely combustible, and David's grandfather is a hoot! The only complaint this reviewer had about this tale is that it was too short, though the story was definitely complete! Recommended to all fairy tale lovers!"--Leah, Love Romances and More 4 Stars: "This adult fairy tale is a cross between Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. David and Aziza instantly connect at the fundraiser; both know by instinct that they belong together. Aziza is a strong woman who does not take anything from anybody including David. David is a man who is used to being in charge and getting what he wants. It was wonderful to read about Aziza and David finding their happily ever after. Ms. McKeever has written an excellent fairy tale."--Racine, Ecataromance 4 Champagne Flutes: "Oh wow ... Liking this tale more and more as I read along ... The book is written in such a way that it seems entirely natural that a man can be a wolf, sniff out his mate and find out where she lives and then go to visit her. I liked that aspect of this story. It was a natural progression in the tale ... [Philomena, the stepmother] is totally creepy and utterly weird. I love the way she is shown in this book. I keep getting goose bumps when reading about her...I feel the need to race through and see what's going to happen. Good job ... Shape-shifters, mind readers and bunny boilers. Just my cup of tea. I am so glad I read this book. I haven't been given the chills like this with a character for quite some time."--Wilga Hill Boomerang, Cocktail Reviews "Sassy and sizzling from the get-go, Nine Inches of Snow and the Ebony Princess is an entertaining tale. Aziza and David are both engaging characters who practically jump from the pages. However, it's David's ornery grandfather who just about steals the show. Toss in a bit of a mystery to add to the romance and you have a short and sweet pick-me-up to begin or end the day with."--Phillipa Ann, Romance Reviews Today
"Someone call 911!" "Did you see that? The car just ran right over him and didn't even slow down!" "Is he dead? He has to be after that." "Did anyone get the license plate?" David saw and heard everything clearly--the people hovering over his body, their words of concern and cries for help. He just could not respond. He was trying to figure out whether or not this was a bad thing when he realized he was in wolf form and outside of his body. Oh, fuck. Something had gone wrong, something he'd never encountered or heard of before. He'd started to shift when he saw the car coming at him and recognized Philomena behind the wheel. It was a natural reaction, his body instinctively changing to another form to avoid maximum damage, or at least trying to change. She'd come at him so fast, it was a wonder he'd had time to react at all. It was a wonder, too, that he'd seen her face. But he had. There'd been no mistaking that long, platinum blonde hair or hateful green-eyed glare. She'd meant to kill him. David trotted over to his body to see if she'd succeeded, nuzzling his neck and releasing a howl at the non-response. He gaped up at the spectators and realized when none of them reacted to his presence that they couldn't see or hear him. Double fuck. Either he was dead, or he wasn't. Either he was wolf, or he was man. He couldn't be both, could he? David had never heard of a split or bilocation of this nature. He needed to get to his father or grandfather to find out what was going on. Would either of them be able to hear or see him any better than the spectators could? He glanced up at the nearby apartment building, drawn to his original destination, the question momentarily moot. Something beckoned him. Someone. Aziza was close. He could feel her. David stepped back when an ambulance sped to a stop outside the circle of spectators and parked. The surrounding crowd opened their ranks to make room for the two EMS technicians who rushed to his body with a stretcher and other equipment. He stayed with his body for the several minutes it took them to stabilize and prepare him for transport and watched them head back to the hospital, sirens wailing and red lights flashing in the night. David eyed the back of the departing ambulance longingly, torn between following or going to his new mate. He chose his mate. * * * *Aziza jerked awake in her favorite corner of the sofa. The textbook she'd buried her nose in when she drifted asleep fell to the floor with a thwack. She wondered what had startled her out of her sleep until she spotted the large timber wolf standing on the threshold of her living room, staring at her. He had azure eyes! Not that she was an expert in such things, but she had never heard of this in a wolf before, especially not so human a shade, so human an expression. She wasn't sure how she knew the animal was a wolf and not a big dog or a coyote. There was just something too majestic and extraordinary about him to be either of those. Where had he come from, and how in God's name had he gotten into her apartment? Aziza shook herself, wondering whether she had conjured him from her subconscious and not that she was still asleep and dreaming or going crazy. She had a second to question the vision and release a small yelp when the animal slowly advanced, paws surprisingly silent against her polished wood floor. Don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you. She froze and gaped at the animal. I came to warn you. Watch your back. Your stepmother is on the warpath. "No shit." She immediately heard a familiar deep chuckle at this and peered when the wolf came closer. Aziza assured herself none of this was real--the wolf was just a manifestation of her longings, an animalistic symbol of her wildest desires--even as she reached out a hand to touch him, strangely unafraid. She expected to encounter the softness of his dense-looking pelt, palm tingling right before her hand went straight through the animal.
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