Blog Tour: Sweet Treason by Gail Ranstrom (Guest Post + Excerpt + Giveaway)

Love Saves the World welcomes Gail Ranstrom and her book, Sweet Treason!

Gail has put together some awesome prizes for her tour, including a $20 Amazon Gift Card, books and Swarovski Crystal Bookmarks made by the author herself!

For this stop, I asked Gail for her list of Favorite Spy Stories, here's what she wrote:

My Top 5 Favorite Spy Stories

I write ‘em, I read ‘em, I love ‘em! Spy stories are my favorite genre. I fell in love with Ian Fleming, Robert Ludlum and John le Carré when I was in my teens. Action, adventure, danger, mystery, suspense and romance. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? But only five? And how can I compare the driving action of THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, and all the James Bond series to the tension and sexual nuances in the Romance genre? Okay, I admit it. I like a slightly salacious story. So I think I’ll choose between some wonderful books from my list of about twenty-five—both historical and contemporary. I won’t do a book review, but I’ll tell you why I loved them.
So, without further ado, here are those favorite five (drum roll please):

#5 – THE BOURNE IDENTITY which I read long before the movies. I bought it after reading the back cover blurb. And I didn’t put it down again until I was done. It left me breathless, outraged, envious and determined to get every Ludlum ever written. Talk about non-stop action! And I loved the theme of the hero’s amnesia and how instinctively he responded to danger. I fell in love with Jason Bourne. And the ending was pitch perfect.

#4 - EDGE OF SHADOWS by CJ Lyons and Cynthia Cooke, last in the Shadow Ops trilogy, and also my favorite in the series. The heroine is driven by demons from her past and the hero has settled for less than he deserves. The high-stakes action doesn’t let up for an instant. And if you think you’ve got it figured out -- think again! The surprises just keep on coming. Revenge is sweet, and love is even sweeter. There’s a romance but this is mostly a Mystery/Suspense/Thriller at it’s core. (WARNING -- there’s no good place to put this one down and get some sleep. Plan on an all-nighter.)

#3 - SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME by Lisa Kleypas features a hero who, while not technically a spy, is a Bow Street Runner in search of the heroine’s identity -- almost as good, right? When the hero is summoned to the Thames one night to investigate a drowning victim, he thinks he recognizes her as a well-known courtesan. He knows she wasn’t the victim of an accident or suicide attempt because of the marks around her throat. She’s still alive, so he takes her home and discovers she is suffering from amnesia. In their search for the truth about what happened that night, they begin to fall in love while they search for a secret enemy who continues to threaten the heroine’s life. (And don’t miss another in this series, WORTH ANY PRICE, featuring Nick Gentry, a hero with, um, mad skills.)

#2 - THE DANGER OF DESIRE by Elizabeth Essex is a brilliant story about a man who is charged with catching enemy spies in England, and a clever little pickpocket who gets in his way. But when he decides to use her to help him trap a particularly dangerous spy, he gets more than he bargained for. Look for blackmail, revenge, hidden identities and swoon-worthy romance.

#1 - ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT by Connie Brockway (pauses to heave a deep sigh). Where do I begin? Jack and Anne—damaged and dark protagonists, secret identities, yearning for and fearing each other at the same time. Ms. Brockway breaks the all the rules, pushes boundaries and makes you love it. The hero is in the secret service of the king on a mission that, if it fails, could bring down the monarchy. His quarry is the heroine. The stakes are high, the tension is palpable, the romance is angst-y, uneasy and oh-so-hot!

So there they are. I know these are unusual choices, and since I don’t tend to keep lists like this, there are, undeniably, some favorites I’m missing. What about you? What are your favorites?

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Thank you , Gail! This is an awesome list!

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About the book:

Blurb:
Passion and deadly secrets ...
On the run from British troops, American Revolutionary War spy Ryan Straughn forces Emily Nevins to hide him on her English farm. But Emily already keeps secrets that could mean her demise if discovered. Nevertheless as the long night wears on, attraction sizzles and they give in to unexpected passion, sure they’ll never see each other again ...

Deception and desire ...
A chance encounter in London society stirs heated memories of their sensual night together. They begin a heady dance of suspicion and desire. Though sympathetic to the struggling Colonists, Emily cannot trust a traitorous spy who may expose her dangerous intrigues. And Ryan risks his very life by trusting a woman privy to his true loyalties. But they are unable to deny their need for one another, even as Emily’s secrets are about to be exposed, and the noose around Ryan’s neck grows tighter.

Betrayal and love ...
And now someone has discovered both their secrets. The price of silence? Betrayal. Of their causes, their love, their futures. In the end, lives will be lost and sacrifices made. Their choice is impossible. Which will they surrender—their lives ... or their hearts?

Excerpt:

The stranger lowered his head further to leave a path of soft insistent kisses from her earlobe to the well of her shoulder blade. The sensation was like nothing she’d felt before—intimate, urging, almost desperate. Heaven help her, Emily wanted more. He slipped his hand down her back, molding her against him. The hot, hard bulge pressing against her belly ignited an answering heat in hers. Naughty. Wicked. Exciting ...

He asked a question, his voice a deep vibration that reached to her toes. Her very flesh tingled, sending shivers of delight through her. Her breasts ached and became exquisitely tender. She gasped as he drew her even closer, his large hands moving along her spine.

“Yes ...,” she sighed, affirming her suspicion that this man’s arms would be heaven.

“Sweet ...” His voice was hoarse with desire as he lifted his head to speak as he brushed across her lips. “Are you the most courageous woman I know ... or the most reckless?”

Reckless. Unconscionably reckless ...

He nudged her robe open with his chin and lowered his mouth to the slope of one aching breast. She caught her breath and choked back another gasp when he captured one tingling crown with his lips and tugged gently. She tangled her fingers through his dark hair to hold him close. The sensation was so foreign, yet so completely delicious, that she wanted it to go on forever. She sighed. “Tell me your ... name, sir, that I ... may know who my dreams ...”

“You mock me?” he growled.

She gave a soft, husky laugh at his pretended outrage.

The deep vibration of his voice against her skin sent shock waves along her spine.

“By all that is holy ... I must be mad! Were it any night but tonight, I’d sweep this desk clear and take you here and now.”

Emily fervently wished it were any other night. She’d have yielded him anything -- everything -- when he nibbled a greedy path back up her neck and cherished the tender flesh at the hollow of her throat before lifting his head.

He brushed tendrils of hair back from her cheeks with this thumbs. “Now that you’ve seen my face, my only safety -- and yours -- lies in the fact that you do not know who I am.”

She did not bother to deny his accusation. But betrayal had been the furthest thing from her mind. She caught her breath on a gasp as he slipped his hand up her bare thigh, exposed in the gap of her robe.

She struggled free of his arms and moved away, fighting to regain her composure and recall the true nature of this man.
Blood-red splotches on his shirt sleeve reminded her that this man had murdered someone this very night. She would be fortunate if she escaped with her life. She pushed him away to gather her robe more closely around her. This had to end before she forgot herself again. She was breathless when she spoke. “Your ten minutes are up, sir. If you are a man of your word, you will leave.”

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Buy Links for the Book:

Amazon

BN

Kobo

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About the author:

Gail has been a seamstress making waitress uniforms for a German Beer Garden, Inventory Clerk at the UofM, an Advertising Account Coordinator and PR writer in a crazy high pressure office, and a Commercial Property Manager in the Los Angeles area. In between, she’s partnered in an Antique business -- don’t ask her about Antique Auctions.

Finally, she was tempted by a vocation where she was in control of the next crisis, and could solve it, too -- writing. She is the author of ten novels, three novellas and a brand new release, SWEET TREASON, from Entangled Publishing.

Website: http://gailranstrom.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gail-Ranstrom/71658681487
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GailRanstrom
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/MontanaGail

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Gail has three prizes up for grabs. Enter through the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway