Children of the Dead Fall Series by Susan Trombley

GabbyMy bestie, Valerie, offered to hook me up with a quirky oddball of a man she met at the gas station where she works. She insisted that he would be perfect for me, because he’s into the paranormal so much that he has modified his appearance to look like a vampire, complete with fangs, pointed ears, and inhuman eyes. She knows I love anything paranormal or supernatural—or just plain weird—and honestly, her description of Vincent certainly had me intrigued... moreGabbyMy bestie, Valerie, offered to hook me up with a quirky oddball of a man she met at the gas station where she works. She insisted that he would be perfect for me, because he’s into the paranormal so much that he has modified his appearance to look like a vampire, complete with fangs, pointed ears, and inhuman eyes. She knows I love anything paranormal or supernatural—or just plain weird—and honestly, her description of Vincent certainly had me intrigued.Though she managed to talk me into taking Vincent to her New Year’s Eve bash as my blind date, I had my reservations, but one of my New Year’s resolutions was to take risks and try new things in an effort to live my life to its fullest, instead of just existing. Starting that resolution early seemed to pay off when I met my date. Vincent turned out to be as gorgeous as she’d described, and his body modifications were certainly as unusual as she’d promised.Then he took me back to his place, and I discovered that his body wasn’t modified at all. He’s not pretending to be a vampire.He is one—and an alien one at that!****VincentWhen it came time to seek my mate, I knew I would end up traveling to another dimension through the Nexus to find her. Wanting the kind of forever-love that my parents enjoyed, I focused on my half-human side and decided to search for a human mate on a world much like the one my own mother, Evie, was abducted from so many years ago.To my surprise, I was able to hide in plain sight amongst the humans, who believed my Fayi features were a result of artificial body alterations. As long as they never saw me with my shirt off, they wouldn’t guess that I had six deadly, venomous claws the Fayi call “claudas” that extended from my chitinous spine. Unfortunately, being unable to take my shirt off until I knew I could trust a woman not to freak out when she saw my claudas made dating more complicated.Then the manager of the gas station where I stopped in every day to satisfy my sweet tooth told me all about her best friend—a woman named Gabby who loved the unusual and paranormal. Gabby sounded exactly like the kind of woman who would embrace my inhuman nature—and allow me to embrace her with my claudas.I just hoped she would be prepared to leave her world behind forever and return with me to the Dead Fall to become the most important part of mine. less

SherakerenI made a critical mistake when I helped my brother and sister abduct two human females from a parallel dimension. I never imagined they would end up stranded in our world, nor did I expect to lose access to the Nexus dimensional portal, and NEX itself.Now, my brother, Vincent, has his mate, Gabby, but that still leaves her best friend Valerie with no family and no future in a world to which she did not volunteer to come... moreSherakerenI made a critical mistake when I helped my brother and sister abduct two human females from a parallel dimension. I never imagined they would end up stranded in our world, nor did I expect to lose access to the Nexus dimensional portal, and NEX itself.Now, my brother, Vincent, has his mate, Gabby, but that still leaves her best friend Valerie with no family and no future in a world to which she did not volunteer to come. At first, she was merely my responsibility, since it was my fault she was trapped here, but I quickly learned that Valerie was far more than a stranded damsel in distress. Her extroverted manner and playful nature endeared her to our family—and has disarmed me, breaking through all the protective emotional shields I’ve erected. Now, I can’t stop myself from “feeling” things, and I’m losing my composure the more time I spend with her.My growing fascination for Gabby’s beautiful best friend has made me start dreaming again about one day finding a mate. As the Ancilla Blooming Festival approaches, bringing with it a day of celebrating uninhibited love, I want nothing more than to feel free to love Valerie. Unfortunately, allowing myself to feel love—or feel any strong emotion at all—doesn’t just open me up to getting hurt. Because of my telekinesis, any high emotions I feel could cause me to hurt everyone around me.Including the woman I want more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.Author’s Note: This book is part of a three-book story with the same heroine. Each book will focus on a different hero who will become one of her mates, while advancing the story and the growth of her family. She will have all three mates by the end of the three books. These books are best read in order, starting with Sherakeren’s First Date (this book!). Alexander’s Nest and Friak’s Spark will come in March and April. less

AlexanderI left New Omni and struck out into the Dead Fall in search of a place where I could feel content, hoping the growing restlessness driving me would finally come to an end once I found my “nest.” I felt so certain that my destiny lay somewhere out in the ruins, now that the path to my father’s homeworld was gone. I was so sure I would find a nest that I could feed and protect as a proper Fayi male should.But the new nest I found didn’t bring me fulfillment, nor peace... moreAlexanderI left New Omni and struck out into the Dead Fall in search of a place where I could feel content, hoping the growing restlessness driving me would finally come to an end once I found my “nest.” I felt so certain that my destiny lay somewhere out in the ruins, now that the path to my father’s homeworld was gone. I was so sure I would find a nest that I could feed and protect as a proper Fayi male should.But the new nest I found didn’t bring me fulfillment, nor peace. I realized too late that I had already found my home—in the arms of my best friend Valerie, the human woman I had abducted from her own dimension after mistaking her for my brother’s mate.Only, Valerie had grown tired of my philandering ways and would not risk her heart on a male who couldn’t settle down and commit only to her. She’d put an end to our “friendship with benefits” relationship—and broke my heart in the process.It was my fault she’d rejected me, because I had not offered what she needed most. When I returned to New Omni after realizing that what I needed most was her, I discovered that she had already chosen a mate—my own brother, Sherakeren.Was it too late to convince her that she was the only woman for me? Even if I could, would my big bro accept me into their nest?Author’s Note: This book is part of a three-book story with the same heroine. Each book will focus on a different hero who will become one of her mates, while advancing the story and the growth of her “nest.” She will have all three mates by the end of the three books. These books are best read in order, starting with “Sherakeren’s First Date.” This book is the follow up, with “Friak’s Spark” as the third. less

FriakI spent years in a parallel dimension, jumping to serve the whims of a female I’d believed to be my one true mate. Then I learned the truth about her the hard way after failing to complete a mission she’d given me. I discovered that she had only been using me—and turning me into a monster in the process.After my actions led to my Uncle Gray having to destroy the Nexus dimensional portal, it ended up stranding a human woman named Valerie in our world... moreFriakI spent years in a parallel dimension, jumping to serve the whims of a female I’d believed to be my one true mate. Then I learned the truth about her the hard way after failing to complete a mission she’d given me. I discovered that she had only been using me—and turning me into a monster in the process.After my actions led to my Uncle Gray having to destroy the Nexus dimensional portal, it ended up stranding a human woman named Valerie in our world. When I sought her out to apologize for her circumstances and my unwitting part in them, I was stunned to feel my flame stirring in the ashes left behind by my former spark.It seemed that I had somehow been given a second chance at love with a new spark. Such a thing was unprecedented for my father’s people, the Histri’i, and could only be a gift of fate. The only problem was that I could not accept that gift. I was unworthy of my new spark after all that I had done for the previous one. Valerie deserved better than me, and the only way I could convince her of that was to make her hate me enough to keep me at a distance.When fate proved determined and thrust us back together again in a situation we couldn’t escape, I realized that all my efforts to deny my spark were futile. I needed her, more than I needed my next breath, and I couldn’t resist her any longer. I had to claim her as mine—and once I did, I would never let her go.Even if it meant reconciling with my cousin—who had threatened my life the last time we spoke.Author’s Note: This book is part of a three-book story with the same heroine. Each book will focus on a different hero who will become one of her mates, while advancing the story and the growth of her “nest.” She will have all three mates by the end of the three books. These books are best read in order, starting with “Sherakeren’s First Date,” then “Alexander’s Nest,” and finally, this book. less