To escape the dysfunction of city life, Demi Fedora leaves behind everything she knows to move to her deceased grandfather’s derelict cabin in the wilds of Alaska. There she encounters true adversity that puts her life in danger more than once.
Irresistible Freedom
Land of the Free Book 1
by Mimi Barbour
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Adventure
Escape… a new beginning.
That’s what Demi Fedora
yearns for. And so, she leaves everything and everyone she knows to
move to her deceased grandfather’s derelict cabin in the wilds of
Alaska, the one he left her in his will.
Meeting Whittaker
Hart isn’t in her plans. Though the ruggedly handsome gold
prospector does everything to win her over, she keeps her distance
until her need to survive a life totally foreign to her nature
overcomes her desire to do everything herself.
After
rescuing a young drunk and taking on the tough life of a greenhorn,
she realizes one thing. Between fixing up the place to make it
livable for the coming winter and learning how to exist in a land
filled with vicious storms and treacherous wildfires, she can’t
cope alone.
No matter how much she yearns for
independence, she needs help…. a lot of help.
Unforgettable Freedom
Land of the Free Book 2
Demi has been consistently warned that the northern winter would be
perilous, yes. Yet nothing in her wildest imagination could prepare
her for the reality. In book two, she will go through incredible and
frightening adventures where the little bastard (as she calls her
wild wolf pup) will be instrumental in not only driving her crazy but
saving her life… more than once.
Her ongoing belief that Whit will survive being lost in the fire he and Glen went to fight becomes a huge conflict. She refuses to accept any other ending… but should she?
And Glen, the
young native friend she saved in book #1, will be a challenge that
can’t be ignored. Life isn’t easy by any means. Thankfully, the
awe-inspiring land, many call God’s country, has a way of soothing
those in need.
Ultimate Freedom
Land of the Free Book 3
Conquering conflicts and battles, Demi and her Alaskan family face more unexpected adventures. Battling for her life is just the beginning. Before she has a chance to catch her breath, she’s deep in a fight for her best friend’s future.
Nothing comes
easy in this wild country. Even with the support of the handsome gold
prospector, her new brother, and her wolf, life in the North
continues to challenge her every step of the way.
If she fights
with everything in her, will she finally find the peaceful existence
she craves?
Excerpt for the first book - Irresistible Freedom:
From time to time, Demi sense that reality was just
on the other side of her closed eyelids, but she refused to let it in. Instead,
she soaked in the sensation of floating. Maybe she did it as a defense from
having to face the brutality again. She didn’t know. When she heard voices, she
pretended not to.
Periodically,
she felt a cool cloth on her face, washing it and bathing the swelling that had
finally stopped burning. Hands would also clear away her hair from tangling
around her shoulders. Gentle hands. Hands that soothed and made her sigh with
contentment. She loved those hands.
Only when the
room was empty did she finally allow herself to open her eyes. Darkness
surrounded her, and she loved the safety of concealment. Hadn’t that been her
go-to as a young girl after that brutal attack when she was thirteen?
If it hadn’t
been for Tanner, her foster brother and best friend at the time, who knows what
might have happened. He’d taught her to fight back. Given her the confidence
she’d needed to care enough to do so. He’d instilled in her a spirit of battle
where one didn’t give up. And she hadn’t… not during that fight. It’s what
saved her.
But afterwards,
when she’d hidden for days in any dark space she could crawl into, that’s when
she’d let her weakness take over. Tears of self-pity had poured out until she’d
drained them all. Then began the questioning to God of why her? Why had it happened?
What had she done?
Eventually,
Tanner had found her hiding spot and asked her why she’d run away. She hadn’t
been able to talk about it then. Though confused by her behavior and more than
willing to take on her demons, he’d finally taken her at her word that she was
fine and dropped the subject.
Wiping the sweat
from her brow, she arched her body, the discomfort beginning to make itself
felt. It’s then she sensed she wasn’t alone. A tall figure came to her side of
the bed and had seen her eyes open before she could pretend she hadn’t woke up.
Whit sat
carefully on the side of her bed, his hand reaching out to gently push her hair
over her shoulder. “How are you?”
In this
atmosphere of safety, she couldn’t find her battle gear, her sarcasm, or her
uncaring, pissy attitude. In a small voice, she whimpered. “I must be a bad
person. If not, then why do I seem to draw all these maniacs into my world?”
“No way, Demi.
You’re the bravest, most beautiful soul I’ve met in a long, long time. I don’t
know what happened in your past, and if you want to share, I’d be happy to
listen.”
She shook her
head. “I was terrified.”
“Yet you still
attacked that killer to save Glen and me. We’ll never forget it.”
His voice
mesmerized and seemed like the balm her sadness needed. She reached for him,
her good arm winding around his lowered head. She peered into eyes that shone
in the dimness, shone with a light that made her feel good. Actually, better
than good. He made her feel happy to be alive.
Moments passed
where they just took their time to search… to gaze. All she saw was hunger. She
pulled him closer, needing the touch of caring to wipe away that stench of
hate.
When he lowered
his mouth to gently caress hers, she let him. In fact, she’d unconsciously
reached for his lips. And when they met, she knew such gladness. All the
loneliness disappeared. She was alive. And she was desired.
Her arm
tightened more, pulling him closer. From time to time, she’d sense that reality
was just on the other side of her closed eyelids, but she refused to let it in.
Instead, she soaked in the sensation of floating. Maybe she did it as a defense
from having to face the brutality again. She didn’t know. When she heard
voices, she pretended not to.
Periodically,
she felt a cool cloth on her face, washing it and bathing the swelling that had
finally stopped burning. Hands would also clear away her hair from tangling
around her shoulders. Gentle hands. Hands that soothed and made her sigh with
contentment. She loved those hands.
Only when the
room was empty did she finally allow herself to open her eyes. Darkness
surrounded her, and she loved the safety of concealment. Hadn’t that been her
go-to as a young girl after that brutal attack when she was thirteen?
If it hadn’t
been for Tanner, her foster brother and best friend at the time, who knows what
might have happened. He’d taught her to fight back. Given her the confidence
she’d needed to care enough to do so. He’d instilled in her a spirit of battle
where one didn’t give up. And she hadn’t… not during that fight. It’s what
saved her.
But afterwards,
when she’d hidden for days in any dark space she could crawl into, that’s when
she’d let her weakness take over. Tears of self-pity had poured out until she’d
drained them all. Then began the questioning to God of why her? Why had it happened?
What had she done?
Eventually,
Tanner had found her hiding spot and asked her why she’d run away. She hadn’t
been able to talk about it then. Though confused by her behavior and more than
willing to take on her demons, he’d finally taken her at her word that she was
fine and dropped the subject.
Wiping the sweat
from her brow, she arched her body, the discomfort beginning to make itself
felt. It’s then she sensed she wasn’t alone. A tall figure came to her side of
the bed and had seen her eyes open before she could pretend she hadn’t woke up.
Whit sat
carefully on the side of her bed, his hand reaching out to gently push her hair
over her shoulder. “How are you?”
In this
atmosphere of safety, she couldn’t find her battle gear, her sarcasm, or her
uncaring, pissy attitude. In a small voice, she whimpered. “I must be a bad
person. If not, then why do I seem to draw all these maniacs into my world?”
“No way, Demi.
You’re the bravest, most beautiful soul I’ve met in a long, long time. I don’t
know what happened in your past, and if you want to share, I’d be happy to
listen.”
She shook her
head. “I was terrified.”
“Yet you still
attacked that killer to save Glen and me. We’ll never forget it.”
His voice
mesmerized and seemed like the balm her sadness needed. She reached for him,
her good arm winding around his lowered head. She peered into eyes that shone
in the dimness, shone with a light that made her feel good. Actually, better
than good. He made her feel happy to be alive.
Moments passed
where they just took their time to search… to gaze. All she saw was hunger. She
pulled him closer, needing the touch of caring to wipe away that stench of
hate.
When he lowered
his mouth to gently caress hers, she let him. In fact, she’d unconsciously
reached for his lips. And when they met, she knew such gladness. All the
loneliness disappeared. She was alive. And she was desired.
Her arm
tightened more, pulling him closer.
NYT & USA Today, best-selling, award-winning author, MIMI BARBOUR, has nine romance series to her credit. She also has a new Trilogy, many single titles and a huge number of box sets – her own and multi-author collections.
Mimi lives on the East coast of Vancouver Island with her small dog, Charli, and writes her various romances with tongue in cheek and a mad glint in her eye. She’s been known to say: “If I can steal a booklover’s attention away from their everyday grind, absorb them into a fantasy love story, and make them care about the ending, then I’ve done my job.”
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I love romantic suspense. This one sounds really good.
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