Book Title: The Holiday Mermaid
by Alice Renaud
(Fantasy Romance)
Adam fell for surfer girl Rowena the second he saw her. But just as their summer fling was becoming serious, she left him without any explanation. Now, with Christmas just a few days away, she’s back… and Adam discovers that she’s a shape-shifting mermaid, from a Clan that hates humans. Can he love her as she is? Can she brave her family to be with Adam for good, not just for Christmas?
Excerpt:
A woman was sitting on her own by the sea. Adam strained to see through the mist and spray. She wore a dark wetsuit, and her long black hair streamed in the wind like a banner. A surfer? But who was mad enough to surf at this time of year?
She wasn’t moving. A tendril of concern snaked into his mind. What if she were injured? She’d get hypothermia if she remained sitting there. He’d better go check on her.
He walked out of his garden and down the stone steps that led to the beach. “Hi there! Are you OK?” he called.
She turned her head. It was Rowena.
Shock hit Adam like a ten foot wave. He stopped, winded. For months he’d prayed that she’d come back. Now that she had, he didn’t know what to think or feel. He stumbled towards her as if he were in a dream, or a nightmare. Why was she here? Had she been on her way to see him, and lost her nerve? Hope and fear played tug-of-war in his chest. Had she only returned to say goodbye?
Rowena turned away and hung her head down, as if ashamed to look at him. Perhaps she had come back to apologise for her behaviour. His sternum ached with the effort of containing his emotions. He forced himself to sound calm and polite. “Hi, Rowena.”
She didn’t answer, only hunched her shoulders even more, as if trying to hide. Was she afraid of him? No matter what she’d done, he’d never hurt her. He gulped some air and came closer. Damn it, he was an adult. He should be able to have a civilised conversation with an ex-girlfriend.
Her neck was so white and slender under the tangled black hair. Adam’s palms itched, as if they yearned for the feel of her satiny skin. The wetsuit clung to her every curve. His gaze glided down her back, to her bottom… the bottom he’d loved to squeeze, nip and kiss…
But a black appendage now lay over the cleft of her buttocks. A foot-long, flexible appendage… What a strange thing to have on a wetsuit.
Adam gasped as the realization dawned. Astonishment wiped out all other emotions. “Is that a… tail?” She couldn’t have grown a tail. This was demented.
Rowena made a strangled sound, like a sob. She was hugging herself, and now Adam saw what he should have seen earlier. He’d been distracted by his feelings, and he hadn’t believed what his eyes were telling him. What he’d thought was a wetsuit was her own skin, thick, glossy and black, like a porpoise. From the neck up she was human, but below she was… He walked around her and stared, numb with shock, at her long black legs that ended in webbed feet. Her hands, clutching her smooth black sides, were webbed too.
Rowena glanced up at him, her eyes full of anguish. “Yes. I am a mermaid.”
Purchase Links: https://amzn.to/3DYdQNE
Author the Author:
Alice lives in London, UK, with her husband and son. By day she’s a compliance manager for a pharmaceutical company. By night she writes fantasy romance about shape shifting mermen, water monsters and time-travelling witches. Her first book, “A Merman’s Choice,” was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in the Sea of Love fantasy romance series, inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. The second and third books, “Music for a Merman,” and “Mermaids Marry in Green,” are out now. Both the Sea of Love series and Mermaids Marry in Green won their categories in the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Award 2020. Alice has also contributed short stories for the BVS anthologies “Mystic Desire,” “Desire Me Again,” “Cowboy Desire,” “Rainbow Desire,” and “Dark Desire,” all available now. Alice loves reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!
Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alice.renaud.756/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicerauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18670218.Alice_Renaud
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alice-renaud
Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Renaud/e/B07L52P17B
Thank you for being a guest, Alice!