Enjoy!
ASIN: B0BSG85QQL
Publisher: Strong Hold Publishing
Release Date: 01-20-2023
Length: 304pp
Source: Author for Review
Buy It: Amazon/ B&N/ IndieBound
ADD TO: GOODREADS
Overview:
I lost my family, career and everything I knew when I came to Nowhere, but I’m rebuilding a life for myself in this strange new reality.
I’m working as a tinker for my mysterious boss Kaden when my past drives a wedge between us, and I’m once again left with nothing. Things are already spiraling out of control when my darkest secret comes to light, and the people of Nowhere turn on me as well.
Now it’s not only my job and friends I could lose, but my very existence is in peril. It’s time to find out who’s loyal and who will leave me for dead.
Read an excerpt:
Chapter 1
When I’d opened the birthday gift Kaden had given me and
found a key, I hadn’t expected this. I thought it was for the outpost—not
that I’d ever seen one used. Or a key for a studio, or maybe a small apartment
at most. But no. That wasn’t how Kaden worked.
I gazed around the town house, my town house, at
least for the time being. It was nearly as large as his. The architecture and
design was clean and simple, as if he’d somehow known exactly what I’d like.
The colors were neutral and calming. It wasn’t furnished, as if he’d known I’d
prefer to do that myself. There was only one huge, glaring problem. This town
house was right next to his.
It would almost be like living with him. He’d know
every single person who came and went. Every. Single. One. Gram wouldn’t stand
a chance of slipping past him to get to me here. It had to be the reason he’d
gotten me this place. Why else?
I’d given my word that I wouldn’t act against him, but he’d
taken out an insurance policy on me for the price tag of a town house. It
appeared as if he trusted me about as much as I trusted him. Was there a chance
he’d done it because I was wholly unprepared for all that dwelled in Nowhere?
Maybe, but taking one glance over at him gave me the distinct impression that
was not the case.
Kaden was leaning against the counter, watching me. His dark
hair was pushed back and his light eyes nearly glowing as they watched me. The
angle of his body, the slight arrogance of his expression, was of someone who
thought they had it all under control, the writer of the play we were all
acting out per his direction. Yep. There was a reason he was keeping me close,
and it had nothing to do with benefiting me. This was nothing but a potential
trap.
When certain things came to light, certain relations,
this wasn’t the place I’d be able to hole up. Only a lunatic would hide in
plain sight of the person who was hunting them. I hadn’t needed to know Kaden
long to know that hell might be preferable to his wrong side.
“What’s wrong? You said you wanted to live in Nowhere, and
yet you don’t appear happy about this?” he asked.
“I am. I’m definitely happy.” I smiled so hard my cheeks
wanted to break. I made a show of looking around the place before my face
cramped from strain. “It’s very generous, but…maybe too much? I did only just
start with the company, after all. I’m not sure this is appropriate?” I laid a
hand on the railing that led upstairs, keeping my gaze on anything but
him.
It really wasn’t fair that I had to perfect my lies with
someone who’d surely lived for centuries. I’d barely made it two and half
decades and hadn’t started practicing deception until much more recently.
“I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end. Not to mention
there wasn’t that much available, so it’ll have to.” He was leaning and
smiling, plotting and maneuvering—it was all working out exactly as he wanted.
We’d see about that.
“Is there a realtor or someone who handles these things?
Maybe something else will open up?” I stared down at the wood flooring,
admiring the grain as if the finish were my biggest concern in life at the
moment.
“Sure. I’ll get you his number. He should be back in a few
months or so.” He strolled over, stopping not far from where I stood at the
bottom of the stairs. “I’d get settled in while you wait. No rush, right?” He
dug into his pocket, pulling out a key. “A spare, not that you need to lock it.
No one would dare break in here.”
Just as I figured. This place was literally an extension of
his town house. I nodded, taking the key, too aware of even the most casual
brush of hands.
I needed to start dating. If my life weren’t in complete
upheaval, it would be easier to do so, but my hormones didn’t care that I was
in a mess. They seemed to want to fixate on the closest source of testosterone
around, and that was Kaden. It didn’t help that he had so damned much of it.
He watched me as if he could sense my thoughts. He couldn’t,
but even the possibility warmed my cheeks. I took a step back, taking a spin
around the living room and putting a healthy buffer in between us.
The door swung open, and Cookie, the biggest mood killer and
my savior, barged in.
Kaden nodded to us both and left, swaggering out. Of course
he’d be feeling his oats. He’d worked me into a corner, gotten his way, and we
were both well aware of it.
Cookie walked in and spun around, curling up her lip. “Man,
this place is sterile. It’s going to need a lot of work to make it livable.”
She patted the air in my direction. “Don’t worry, though. I know a guy. He owns
the place I got the furnishings for the outpost. He’ll hook you up.”
Oh no, not that. This place would look like a seventies
sitcom set after its twentieth season of use.
“Yeah, that’s really nice of you, but I can’t put you out
like that. I can manage.” For once in Cookie’s life, please let her be
easy about something and not dig in. It was bad enough I was going to be
stuck here under surveillance. Couldn’t it at least look pretty?
“You’re my girl. I can’t let you live like this.” She was
shaking her head, throwing her hands in the air and circling. “You’ll die of
depression coming back here night after night. I know no one likes my taste
that much, but I’m telling you, you’ll come to see the wisdom of my design
aesthetic. You just need to give it a few decades to grow on you. You don’t
like it after that, do whatever you want and I won’t say a thing.” She made a
motion of zipping her lips.
A few decades? She was staring at me, waiting for some
acknowledgment. Hopefully I wouldn’t be here more than a few weeks, so it
wouldn’t matter. I gave a nod and the best smile I had left, which didn’t say
much.
Connor walked in, glanced around, and shrugged. Having given
his stamp of approval, he headed over to the kitchen, opening up the empty
fridge. “Any food in this place?”
Connor had to eat constantly to feed all those muscles.
“Not yet,” I said.
Cookie was walking toe to heel across the living room area
counting, but stopped long enough to say, “Dice is bringing some.”
How much time did I have? Would she go shopping without me?
It didn’t matter. I had to keep remembering that this was temporary.
Dice walked in a minute later with bags and boxes in hand,
following Connor’s earlier path.
“Nice place,” he said, dropping all his goods on the kitchen
island. “But I can’t believe you want to live right next door to Kaden. He’s
going to know every single thing you do. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I kind of figured.” Which was why instead of grabbing
a slice of the weird-looking pizza he was pulling out of the box, I wanted to
slam my head into the stone counter. It wasn’t as if I didn’t want the town
house. It just wasn’t compatible with my long-term survival.
Cookie grabbed a slice of the black dough coated with what
appeared to be some sort of melted cheese. “It’s got decent bones, but I’ve got
to help her make it livable.”
Both of the guys laughed, Connor looking like he was choking
on his pizza.
“Screw you both. I have good taste.” Cookie pointed at Dice.
“You think black tie means to polish all your guns for the affair.” She turned
to Connor. “And you. I don’t know what shit you’re taking, but you can’t even
put those arms down anymore. You won’t have any shirts that fit soon. Time to
quit it.”
Connor, usually either silent or nodding, actually looked
offended for the first time. “Hey! I’m in good shape. I care about my
body.”
Cookie planted both hands on the island and leaned toward
him. “Why? We. Don’t. Die. At least not from poor health. You’re the only
tinker I know who morphs and still has the same crazy body. Take a day off once
in a while.”
She spun to go at Dice again, but he cut her off first.
“Oh no, you ain’t talking more shit about my guns after how
many times they saved your ass.”
She shrugged. “Fine.” The room fell silent before she looked
at the food. “I’ll leave the guns alone, but a little stingy with the food, no?
What, Kaden cut your pay or something? Too many hookers this week?”
“Considering she doesn’t even have a plate or napkin for us,
I’d be happy there’s anything,” Dice said.
They all turned to me.
“He’s right,” Cookie said. “If you’re going to have us over,
at least have a couple plates, and maybe a chair wouldn’t kill you.” She was
already chowing down on another slice of pizza.
Oh no, they weren’t turning this on me.
“I don’t remember inviting any of you,” I said.
“You had to know we’d be showing up,” Dice said, as if that
had been the lamest excuse ever.
“Fine. It’s my fault,” I said with the tone of someone
saying shut the hell up. I took a slice before I didn’t get one. There
weren’t that many left, and it wasn’t looking as if they were going to save me
one. “Where do you get this stuff?” The flavor was a little strange, but in an
oddly intriguing way.
“Place a couple blocks away. I’ll show it to you tomorrow on
the way to the furniture store,” Cookie said, and then took her pizza back to
the living area and started doing her heel-to-toe measurements again.
Connor and Dice were looking at each other, choking on
laughter. They looked my way as if this were the funniest thing they’d seen in
a year.
“By the way, you are stingy with the food,” I said.
It didn’t so much as ding their smiles.
Chapter 2
“The surprise is here?” I asked, following Cookie upstairs
in my town house.
She stopped in front of the door to the master bedroom and
flung it open. “Ta da!” she said.
I braced myself for what I was about to see and then stepped
into the room. I should’ve taken a few more minutes to prepare. There was a
black dresser on the side that looked shiny enough to see my reflection in. The
patchwork quilt on the bed had colors that never should’ve touched each other,
ever. Then there was the pompom rainbow fringe.
“Is the bed…” I moved closer to make sure the strange color
combination wasn’t creating an illusion of a dent in the center. I reached down
to touch it but stopped short. It might be wise to put on a pair of gloves
before touching anything.
“Amazing? Yes. It’s already got a dent to roll right into.”
She followed me into the room, looking around and nodding. “Now this is comfy.
No throw pillows to fuss with. If you come home drunk, you won’t care if you
leave your boots on with this cover.” She dropped onto the bed, kicking up her
feet to demonstrate.
“You’re definitely right about that.” I wouldn’t care one
bit if this stuff fell apart. If it got stained, it would blend in with the
other ones it had.
“Give it a couple of decades. I’m telling you, it’s going to
grow on you.” Her smile was exploding with pride, almost to the point of
supernova. She was so pleased with herself that I couldn’t summon up a rain
cloud. “You’re shocked at how quick I can pull a place together, right? I have
had centuries of practice, though.”
“You do work quickly.” It had been one day. I’d planned on
dragging out my move from the outpost, but it wasn’t going to work out well if
she kept this up. Although it might offer me cover. No one would wonder why I
didn’t want to move in. They’d be more surprised if I rushed.
“Are you busy right now? We can go get some more shit.” She
jumped off the bed a little too quickly to be bluffing.
No way was I going to the origin of this stuff. This room
had been more than enough for one day.
“Actually, I wanted to head back to the outpost and start
packing a few things.” And it was going to take me a very long time to do so.
“That’s fine. I’ve got a couple more things to do around
here anyway,” she said as she followed me out of the room and downstairs.
She headed toward a box in the living room and pulled out a
pillow with moth holes and a ripped throw blanket. “I know you don’t have a
couch yet, but I couldn’t resist. It was such a good deal. Ninety percent off.
Can you even imagine? They were practically giving this stuff away.”
Unfortunately, I could. I didn’t want to see what else was
in that box.
“See you in a bit.”
I didn’t bother telling her to lock up on her way out. I’d
consider myself lucky if I got robbed.
I headed out, not sure where I was going, but anywhere was
better than getting dragged to the scary place she bought these items. I headed
down the streets of Nowhere, still feeling out of sorts roaming this place, let
alone having a home here. The eternal night, even with a sky full of swirling
stars, didn’t offset the strange feeling of the darkness at noon. But the night
fit this place. Its shiny black streets reflected the glowing lights from the
establishments, some of which seemed to be created right from stardust.
Everything felt alive, even the signs that would twist and turn or twinkle. The
people were even odder, almost as if this place was composed of carnies.
I tried to keep my gaze straight ahead, not meeting eyes
with any of them as I passed. I’d been warned by Cookie, Dice, and Connor to
stay on the main roads, not to engage. They said if I minded my own business,
I’d probably be okay.
Kaden hadn’t given me a warning of any kind. Cookie said
he’d warned all of Nowhere that I was officially part of his crew. Apparently
that carried more weight than anything else. As long as I didn’t look for
trouble, it most likely wouldn’t find me.
Or he’d find them.
Still, everyone else’s warning had me ready to launch into
an attack when a pair of hands landed on my back.
“Turn here,” Gram said before I could get my bearings and
swing.
“Gram?” I would’ve turned and hugged her, but she kept
steering me into the nearest dark alley.
The second she stopped, I threw my arms around her,
squeezing her tighter than her old bones could probably take. In this new
world, my closest friends were people I’d only known for a couple of months.
But she was a piece of me, my life, a person who knew me better than anyone. My
throat swelled and I dragged in a shuddering breath.
I held on to her as if she’d get taken away at any second,
but the longer we hugged, the more I noticed something odd. I’d hugged her more
times than I could count. I knew her hugs the way I recognized my own face. The
body I was holding didn’t feel like Gram, unless she’d gotten a grammy
makeover, and even then it was iffy.
I backed up and took in her frame. She still looked like
Gram, but there was something altogether different lurking underneath.
“Why do you feel…different?” I took another step back. Was
this Gram at all? My gut said yes. I could even smell an aroma of lingering
marigolds. But something wasn’t lining up.
“I didn’t want to alarm you, but I’ve upgraded a bit since
the last time I saw you. You want to see?” she asked, her voice shifting into a
higher and younger version as she spoke. She took a step back, smiling as she
put her hands on her waist as if posing her new look.
Did I? It wasn’t like I could say no even if I didn’t, the
way she was waiting.
“Yeah, sure.”
Gram melted away, and all of a sudden there was a drop-dead
gorgeous creature in front of me. She looked like a bombshell from the fifties
with bright red hair and curves that were high and round. This wasn’t the Gram
I craved when I was feeling lonely and down. This looked like a party friend.
I’d never been much of a partier, but it looked like I’d have to adjust.
“How exactly did you upgrade?” I asked.
“Don’t look at me that way. It’s completely normal. That old
lady’s body was dead and lying in a box back on Earth. I had to do it. Plus
it’s a bit of a perk from having the friends I have.”
“Where did you get a new one?”
“Had it ordered. They grow them on Omega Nine. I’ve got some
pull over there. But we’ve got more important things to talk about. I need—”
“We do. How do I get in touch with you if I need to talk to
you? Where are you staying? I have no way of getting to you.” There was no way
I was letting her disappear again with no option of getting in touch with her.
“You can’t. I’m not staying in Nowhere. This place is too
hot until we get some things settled.”
She spoke as if it weren’t a big deal I couldn’t get to her,
so I tamped down how jumbled up it made me feel. It wasn’t as if it made a
difference if I complained. If there was a way to get in touch, she would’ve
told me.
“Because of Kaden? What is the problem with you two?” I
asked.
“It’s a long story and I don’t have time to get into it. I
don’t want to stay too long. I can’t risk being spotted. I just wanted to let
you know I was around and that I’ll be back.”
She took my hands in hers. Even her grasp felt alien, her
bony hands gone and replaced with a young woman’s, complete with long, pointy
nails that sparkled.
I was staring at those hands as she asked, “I can depend on
you, can’t I?”
I glanced up. How could she even ask such a question? My
entire life, it had been Gram and me.
“You know you can,” I said, searching this new face for a
sign of why she’d even doubt that.
“No, I mean really depend on you.” She moved her
grip to my shoulders. “This isn’t Earth. The stakes are a lot higher. I have to
know that you’ll step up if the time comes.”
Step up? A question I’d taken as innocent before was
suddenly feeling a little messier and more sordid. This wasn’t my older
grandmother asking if I’d be there to drive her to the doctor.
Was she… She didn’t mean to act against Kaden, did she?
Maybe not. Either way, I’d made a promise to him as well, and I’d meant it.
Unless he was actively trying to hurt her, I couldn’t imagine a way to justify
going against my promise. How to explain that to her, though? She’d never been
a fan of buts.
“You know that I would always be there for you in any way
you needed—”
“Shh.” She held a finger up to her lips as she turned her
head, listening for something. Her attention focused on a little mouse that was
standing on its hind legs at the edge of the shadows. “Gotta go. I’ll be in
touch soon.” She took off down the alley.
“Gram? What the hell? It’s just a mouse.”
She was already gone.
Gram 2.0 moved a lot quicker than the previous version, and
I was yelling at an empty alley. No wonder I’d been hanging on to her for dear
life. This was becoming a serious issue with her. Now when would I see her? I
hadn’t had a chance to warn her about the town house, although she probably
knew.
I stared in the direction of where she’d disappeared, not
finding any trace of her, just inky darkness. I continued to stare for another
few minutes as I replayed what she’d said, and everything about it made me want
to shudder.
We needed to have a long talk. Enough with these short
meetings. I needed to know what was going on between her and Kaden. I’d given
my word, and I hadn’t done that lightly.
I should probably get out of this alleyway, though. This was
exactly the thing the guys and Cookie had warned me about. If standing in a
dark alley wasn’t asking for trouble, nothing was.
I spun to leave and then stopped. Kaden was there at the
opening of the alley. He was standing so still that I wasn’t sure he was breathing.
The look on his face made my lungs stop working. My heart
seized and a tremor ran down my spine. Had he been somewhere close? Had he
heard me talking to Gram? How much had he heard? What had I said? I replayed
every word in my mind. If he’d heard only that last bit? It wasn’t good. No, it
was worse than not good. It was horrific. The more of the tail end of the
conversation he’d witnessed, the worse it all appeared.
Knowing him, that was where his mind would go. He wasn’t the
trusting sort. He’d think I was colluding with my grandmother and not just
reassuring the one I loved I’d always be there for them. If he wanted to, he
could twist that conversation into all sorts of horrible things—and from the
look in his eyes, he was already hard at work.
This was it. This was what had kept me up at
night, made me fear getting too close, too settled. From his expression, it was
going to be every bit as bad as I’d expected it to be. Every time I thought of
this moment, I’d gotten a knot in my stomach, and the reality felt a million
times worse.
If he’d hear me out, give me the benefit of the doubt… I had
to try, and I had to do it now, because he wasn’t going to give me another
opportunity from the looks of it.
I took a few steps toward him but then paused as his gaze
hardened even more on my approach.
“Kaden, I don’t know what you heard, but that conversation—”
“Do you realize who your gram is? That the one you assured
your loyalty to is the infamous Rathia?”
I wanted to declare that whoever he was talking about wasn’t
my grandmother, that he was mistaken. Except I’d heard that name before.
Grandpa used to call her that. I remembered asking him why he had, since it
wasn’t her given name. He’d said he didn’t know himself, other than it made her
happy.
“I don’t know what your issues are, but she’s not the
monster you think.”
“I guess that depends on what side of the line you’re on,
and you’ve made it very clear where you’re standing.” His voice was chillingly
cold.
“Don’t accuse me after what you’ve done. Why did you want me
at the town house if not to keep tabs on me? What are you doing now if not
spying on me?” Instead of keeping it cool, trying to talk to him, I was yelling
and throwing accusations back.
He stared my way, his anger filling the alley. “You need to
leave Nowhere tonight.”
That was it. I’d been judged and sentenced in all of a few
minutes. Why had I ever imagined anything else?
It didn’t matter. He could say whatever he wanted. It was my
life, and I was done taking orders.
“I’m not leaving,” I said.
“Nowhere is mine, and I want you out. You won’t have
anywhere to stay unless I allow it.”
He said that Nowhere was his. But it wasn’t. No one owned
Nowhere. Not even the king himself.
“I’ll figure it out on—”
He turned his back on me mid-sentence, not willing to hear
another word. That was it. We were finished.
I didn’t think we’d be best friends, but I’d
thought we’d formed some kind of relationship that would merit at least his
hearing me out. But this was it. I didn’t even get to attempt an explanation of
what happened. He just cut me off. Just tossed me out like last night’s
leftovers.
I stood there, debating my options until a fine drizzle
turned into rain. I was standing in a puddle as I sorted through what my
options were.
Gram hadn’t given me a way to contact her, so she wasn’t an
option. Did I pack a bag and go Topside? I still had money. I could find
somewhere to stay.
The clerk at whatever hotel I found might not remember me
for more than five minutes, but I wouldn’t be without shelter. It would just be
a miserable existence of no one ever knowing me. If I left here, I’d be doomed
to a life of invisibility. Every meeting would be a one-off. A life filled with
elevator conversations.
If my prospects Topside were bad, Nowhere was worse. I
wouldn’t even have a roof over my head in Nowhere because Kaden would surely
lock me out of the town house.
Unless I had a job, and a new position. I did have options.
There was always Alaric, but I didn’t want to show up there, wherever he was,
in the middle of the night, drenched and desperate.
So where did that leave me? With one option.
My Review:
Burning Bridges in Nowhere
Going Nowhere #2
Donna Augustine
Donna Augustine’s second in her Going Nowhere saga starts
off right where A Bridge to Nowhere Land ends, so after a few pages reader’s
memories will refresh and then it’s a speed of light read with non-stop action
drama, tragedy and a bit of romance thrown in to spice things up a bit. Readers
get to know Billy a little better and although at times she needs to be slapped
upside her head most of the time readers get a no-nonsense brave and at times a
naïve heroine and as a perfect yin to her yang Kaden is the obstinate and
disciplined, unless he’s dealing with Billy, and mostly unreadable hero who
watches and reacts as Billy does her share of Burning Bridges in Nowhere.
The plot is fascinating and the world building rocks as Donna gets the meat of
the story to her audience who after finishing will be anxiously waiting for the
next installment of this should be read in order series.
Once Billy Hendrick got over the fact that she fell down the
rabbit hole from Topside to Nowhere she’s finally feeling like she belongs
here. She’s made some good friends, she’s got her own place and yes there’s
that little problem about her grandma, the woman who Billy thought loved her
unconditionally all her life who as it turns out is a traitor, what
Billy’s pseudo boss, the uncrowned, pig-headed, King of Nowhere, Kaden
thought she was. The man who makes her heart beat faster, the same man who in
one second expelled Billy from Nowhere and in the next still had her back by
healing and caring for her after she suffered a terrible beating. Who even went
as far as to give her a part of himself to help keep her safe. Yet he’s the
same man Billy can’t quite convince herself to trust all the way. Not. Just.
Yet.
Donna Augustine is the USA Today Bestselling author of The Wilds, Karma and Ollie Wit. She enjoys writing new worlds, with unique twists. She enjoys complicated characters who are rarely perfect and sidekicks that are quirky. Her writing is fueled by liberal amounts of coffee and chai lattes. When she's not writing, she's either reading, caring for homeless cats or trying her hand at a home improvement project, which doesn't always turn out so well.
Thank you so much for posting about my book!
ReplyDeleteAs always it is my pleasure xo
DeleteI haven't read this author but this book sounds great!
ReplyDeleteit was Carole
DeleteSounds like an interesting one
ReplyDeleteas always
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