But ending this book brought up a few questions.
Are you one of those people who like seeing everyone (from all or most of the previous books) show up at the end of the final book? Or have you read a book that did that and because you hadn't read every book in the series, you didn't know who some of the characters were so you ended up feeling a little out of the loop?
One of the things I liked about the Adrenaline Highs is that each book ended with two happy main characters (sometimes more). At the end of every book, I wondered if I should toss in a person or two from a past story or stories, but ultimately I wanted all of the books to stand alone, so I refrained from going overboard.
Honestly, I actually considered having some kind of party at the end of Always Dangerous... Something that would bring in all the characters from the previous books, but then I read a book deep into a series by a favorite author and she'd done something similar. In the end, I thought it didn't feel right. Not because she'd already done it, but I didn't want to leave any reader (who hadn't read all of the books) feeling left out.
Who knows...maybe I'll save the "party" for a free read down the line.
An excerpt was already posted a few dys ago, but I thought it might be fun to post a different (quick!) one today since it is release week.
Damn, he’d forgotten how much he liked
her. Their two-month separation had been good, because he’d been able to focus
on other things besides how much he wanted to be with her. Touching her set his
blood on fire. She blinked a few times, fast, as if their contact was another
shock to her system. And standing there, with his legs between hers, with their
mouths so close together, the only thought in his brain was kiss her. Now.
“Leo,” she whispered. Her lips seemed to
move in slow motion as he slowly bridged the gap between them.
“What?” he growled.
“I don’t think this is a—”
He kissed her before she finished the
sentence, because she was right. It wasn’t a good idea. But damn if he could
stop himself. She was his Achilles heel. His weak spot. The more distance she
put between them, the more he wanted her. He started slow, worked his way into
the kiss, waiting for her to push him away or move back. She did neither, so he
took it farther and tasted her lower lip with a gentle brush of his tongue. A
little moan vibrated from her throat as their lips stayed connected. She tasted
different…she tasted like a luscious cinnamon stick, all hot and spicy. “You
found my cinnamon gum in the shorts pocket, didn’t you?” he breathed against
her mouth. The gum was her fault. Whatever perfume she wore smelled like
cinnamon and he’d started to chew the gum. Whether to remind himself of her or
not was something he purposely hadn’t analyzed.
She barely nodded, her wet lips brushing
against his in an erotic glide. “I had nap breath,” she murmured.
He smiled against her lips before going
in for more. Still slow, still sexy as hell, still doing his best to inhale her
without scaring her off. They had history, yes, but her unpredictability always
threw him off. He missed the softness of her hair under his fingertips. The way
her pulse beat rapidly right before contact.
“Leo,” she murmured, her mouth still
moving against his as his hands moved down her thighs.
“Mmm,” he managed.
“We should stop. This isn’t going to get
either one of us anywhere.”
Just like last time, she was relying on
his will power to stay away. Hadn’t he failed that test already? In a colossal
way?
So, tell me… How do you like saying goodbye to a series?
With a full cast of characters or mainly the ones in the book you read?
You can find Dee J. at her website
4 comments:
Congratulations on the new release, Dee! Your Adrenaline Highs series is much like my Mindhunters, in that each book was an HEA, and I wanted to throw a party at the end. LOL In fact, I did write that scene, but took it out later, because the editor recommended I focus on the couple from THAT book. But I know all of the characters were partying in my head. LOL But yeah, I'm one of those readers who loves to follow a series, and see what happens to "older" couples along the way, even if it's just a line or two. ;) Love the idea of putting the wrap-up party on my website!
Hi Anne Marie,
Thanks! Yeah, sometimes we can lose focus when we want to bring back the other characters. And yes! I still need to write that pesky party scene, but if you have it, you should definitely offer it as a free read. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right? Unless it's long enough for its own novella. Haha. Thanks for popping in!
Congratulations, Dee on your new release. That's always a high! As for the kind of ending I like in a series? Don't really have a definitive answer. In my own series, Murders by Design, I had fun slowly . . . slowly . . . bringing the romance along in between the murders. Prolonging the heat wasn't always easy--it never is!--but it worked for the books overall and let me come to a big crescendo at the end of The Design Is Murder.
Hi Jean,
Thanks! Yes, I guess we have tons of choices when it comes to ending a series. Do we bring in all or some of the old characters or keep with the ones in the book? Ultimately, I think we do what works best for the overall story. Thanks for dropping by!
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