Every day she faces nightmares. He just wants her to dream.
Astri Ingebrigtsen has no time for romance. A member of an elite team of trollhunters, tasked with controlling and concealing the troll population, her days are too full to focus on anything else, so filled with nightmarish brutality that her nights have become dreamless. So when hot researcher Kai joins the crew to help them in their latest job, hunting a mountain troll, Astri ignores the chemistry between them—something her jealous teammate Micke fails to do.
Astri knew Micke was a jerk, but even she never expected him to send Kai up into the mountains alone to face the troll, unaware that she was asleep in the trailer. Now, trapped in the mountains with a destroyed car, she and Kai need to work together to confront the creature, and their bond grows—but even if they get out alive, can Astri trust Kai with her heart?
General Release Date: 2nd June 2015
Rain spattered the windows of the café, mist making the sunlight bleak. At a table by the wall a man was sitting with a breakfast tray, a small stack of paper on the seat beside him, oblivious to the sideways glances given by the other customers. His messy beard, tousled brown hair and heavy duffel coat gave him the appearance of a slightly cleaned-up vagrant.
“This place is too expensive.” Astri Ingebrigtsen dropped her food on the table and sat down across from him, throwing her dark hair back out of her face. “At this price these eggs should be gold-plated.”
“Get Micke to pay.” Otto grunted, looking down as he dug through his paperwork. “He wanted to stop here.”
“I did. He moaned.”
Otto rolled his eyes just as Micke appeared beside him, breakfast in hand. Without a word Micke picked up the papers then dumped them unceremoniously on Otto’s tray before sitting down with his own.
“Paying for Lise’s too?” Astri asked casually.
“Get lost,” Micke snapped.
As Lise joined them with her own food, Astri turned her attention to her breakfast, smiling to herself. Micke was so easy to wind up.
But God, it had been a miserable week. She cast a rueful glance out of the window to where their trailers sat in the car park, each attached to a Jeep. They were a necessity when they were on a job that required travel, but try as they might, it was impossible to keep them properly warm inside, even with the help of space heaters and extra blankets.
And this had been a long job. Traveling every day, out hunting every damned night. She was beginning to think it would never be over.
Otto was spreading a map out on the windowsill, eating his svele one-handed as he ran a finger along the road markings. The shrill ring of a mobile phone cut through the air and he cursed, dropping his fork and burrowing his hand into his coat pocket.
“Otto here.” He paused. “Not yet. We left Trondheim this morning.”
Astri exchanged glances with Lise. This sounded important.
“We should get there around two. We’ve booked ahead. Tell him to wait in our cabin.” Otto hung up the phone and eyed Astri and Lise, who looked back at him innocently.
“That was Gunther. Our new addition will be meeting us in Orkanger.”
“What did you say his name was?” Lise asked through a mouthful of bread.
“Kai. Kai Amundsen.” Otto glared at Micke, who had let out a dismissive snort. “Enough, Micke.”
“We don’t need more people.” Micke twisted in his seat to face Otto, his mouth twisted in disgust. “Too many of us attracts attention. And we don’t need a greenhorn holding us back.”
“We’ve been over this. We need his research to capture it.” Otto held up a hand to forestall any further response. “This is not negotiable. Eat.”
“He’s right, Micke,” Lise cut in. “We’ve been chasing it for weeks. This could mean we finally catch it.”
Micke slammed his fist on the table, making the cutlery jump. “I do not need some college student to tell me how to do my job. When he’s never in his life caught a tr—”
“Micke!”
About to snap back at Astri, Micke caught her eye and shut his mouth. Astri hastily scanned the room to see if anyone had overheard.
It didn’t seem like it. A few heads had turned at his outburst, but apparently nobody had picked up on that last dangerous word.
I first started writing seriously when my tutor on a creative writing course pointed me towards the Romantic Novelists' Association and their New Writers' Scheme. Thanks to them, my debut novel "The Hand He Dealt" was accepted by Totally Bound in 2011 and was nominated for the Joan Hessayon Award for 2012. I haven't stopped writing since.
This year I'm working on my new series “Rock My World” plus the upcoming release of my back collection as audiobooks.
When I'm not writing, I love to read historical fiction and non-fiction as well as anything paranormal. I love to visit the theatre, watch horror movies and go to rock concerts. I also have two cats who like to destroy the house at night.
Find out more about Tanith at her blog and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Reviewed by Lisette E. Manning
While this is a short read, it packs quite a punch. Tanith has done a beautiful job in taking the lore surrounding trolls and presenting it in such a way that that you honestly want to know more about...
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Reviewed by Natural Bri
You are still a part of this gorgeous and intricate world of folklore and fantasy, with action and consequence swirling around you, but stick in the middle is this triangle of relationships, fuelling the f...
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Tanith Davenport - BTSe Mag feature
If you ask my husband what it’s like being married to a writer, he’ll have a few answers ready. The times he’s been queried about his role in my latest sex scene would probably spring to mind, as would the hours spent on the computer hammering away at the keyboard or on the couch feverishly writing notes for tomorrow’s writing.
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