Spotlight & Giveaway: Enchant Me by J. Kenner

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author J. Kenner to HJ!

Hi Julie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Enchant Me!

 
Thanks for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Enchant Me is the final full-length novel in the bestselling Stark Saga that began with Release Me and features former tennis pro turned billionaire Damien Stark and his now wife, Nikki Fairchild Stark. In this installment, as Nikki and Damien are about to renew their vows, they are shocked to learn that Damien may well have an illegitimate son who is holding a powerful grudge, and is determined to destroy Damien!

I love writing this couple, and while this book is the last full-length story, Nikki & Damien will continue to appear in other Stark World books such as the Stark Security series (and it’s a good bet they’ll still get a holiday novella now and then!)

This is a great time to dive into the series, too. The reading order (that includes the novellas) is on my website at http://jkenner.com/Stark.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“I turn as she races toward him, then leaps into his outstretched arms. He’s in a freshly pressed suit and looks like he could have stepped off the pages of a men’s fashion magazine. I wince, certain that our daughter is going to wrinkle him. But he doesn’t even flinch. Just balances her on his hip, kisses her forehead, then meets my eyes, the force of his love so palpable it takes my breath away.

Damien. I take a moment to let my gaze linger on every perfect feature. That strong jawline, clean-shaven but already with a slight shadow even though he shaved only a few hours ago. The raven-black hair with a hint of gray at his temples that only makes him look more powerful and dashing. And those dual-colored eyes that are examining me with such intensity that it’s all I can do not to melt.

All these years—all the hours we’ve spent together, the life and family we’ve built—and it doesn’t matter at all. With Damien, every time I see him is like the first, and he completely takes my breath away, my entire being flooded by love. And, yes, with desire.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• it’s the final full-length Nikki & Damien novel
• the idea came to me when I was in Paris in 2019 (and yet Paris has nothing to do with the book!)
• there are several hints in the book about who will be getting a spin-off story!
• The first few words of the book are the exact same as book 1, Release Me, which no one but me will probably notice, but I thought it was a cool way to start 🙂

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

In this book, they’ve been married now for over a decade, and what is so great about Nikki and Damien is what a perfect fit they are to each other. Despite her history of cutting, Damien has always seen a strength in Nikki, and the passion of their relationship has only grown!

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Several had me crying, but they’re at the end … and I don’t want to bump up against spoilers. So here’s a snippet that had me blushing … yeah, it’s NC-17, folks…

“Baby,” he said, but it was the only word he could manage before he had to claim her. His mouth closed over hers in a wild, violent kiss, all teeth and tongue and need and desperation. He wanted to get lost in the feel of her, the scent of her. She was his everything. His love, his life.
Most of all, she was his way back home. A tether to keep him grounded. A rope, to pull him out of this dark, black pit.”

“He kissed her deeper, his hand sliding between them to cup her sex through the thin athletic shorts she’d pulled on this morning. He slid his palm up her thigh, relishing the soft moan as his thumb stroked her tender skin. He deepened the kiss, lifting his hand in time with the way his tongue was fucking her mouth. Aching for the moment when his finger grazed her soft folds, slippery with desire.

He thrust his fingers inside her, then groaned as her body tightened around him. She moaned with pleasure, her body arching back as she silently begged him to go harder, deeper. He complied, wanting to make her wild. Wanting to watch her face as she came, knowing he took her there.

But he wanted so much more right now. Hell, he wanted everything. Wanted to take her. To claim her. Even more, he wanted her desperate for him. Wild and needy, unsatisfied until he decided it was time to let her come. He needed that, craved it. To experience the power and control she so willingly gave him, even when the rest of the world seemed steadfast in its attempt to defy him.

Readers should read this book….

Because of the intense emotion, the compelling mystery, and because it’s part of an international bestselling series you don’t want to miss! (But if you’re new, start with Release Me!). And most of all because I love these characters sooooooo much and want everyone to meet them, too!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m currently working on two things: The fourth book in my Saints & Sinners series, which features characters who appeared in the Fallen Saint Trilogy. It’s called Sinner’s Game and is a sexy and pulse-pounding romantic suspense coming in January! I’m also working on a six-book series of paranormal romantic suspense/thrillers that I am so exciting about! Coming mid-2022!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A signed paperback of Release Me, the first book in the Stark Saga!

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What’s your favorite romance couple that extends over multiple books?

 
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Excerpt from Enchant Me:

“I didn’t tell you all of it,” he says, his voice flat. His eyes not quite meeting mine.

“You don’t have to. I know enough to understand how he hurt you. Hell, how he broke you both. But, Damien, please don’t forget that you healed. You fought back, and your wounds only made you stronger. I believe that. And it’s because of your strength that Sofia did as well as she did. She really was getting better.”

“And now she’s dead.”

“That’s not your fault,” I say. “You wouldn’t blame me, would you?”

His answer comes hard and fast. “God, no.”

“Even though I was the one she took a bullet for?”

“Don’t even—”

“That’s my point. It wasn’t your fault, either. If anything, it was Richter’s. But I don’t want to give the bastard that much credit for anything.”

The corner of his mouth curves. Not so much in a smile, but maybe in agreement.

“Thank you,” he says.

“For what?”

“For understanding that I might not want to tell you all of it. And honestly, I’m not sure I do. I spend enough time looking into those dark spaces, and I hate the thought of dragging you down, too.”

I watch his throat move as he swallows. “But the truth is, I can stand the dark when I’m with you. Without you, it eats away at my soul. You came into my life, and I felt real for the first time.”

“I know what you mean,” I tell him, because hadn’t I been little more than my mother’s living Barbie doll until I’d met Damien? “And I will go wherever you need.” I offer a small smile. “Whatever you need, Damien,” I say, repeating the words he has so often told me. “Whenever you need it.”

“How?” he asks. “How can you see the darkest part of me and still love me?”

“I look down at our joined hands and then back up at him. “Because the darkness isn’t all of you. I don’t see you with rose-colored glasses, Damien Stark. I know exactly who you are. Dark and complicated and brilliant and loving and self-sacrificing and tender. I know you, Damien. Just like you know me.”

For a moment, he simply looks at me, an enigmatic combination of love and wonder in those dual-colored eyes. He holds my gaze, as if I’m the strength he needs to get the words out. And the miracle is that I know it’s true. We really do need each other that way.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

***It was supposed to be a new beginning for billionaire Damien Stark, his wife Nikki, and their family…***

I thought I knew everything about my beloved husband, Damien Stark. In our years together, I’d heard all the rumors, faced all the dark secrets, and survived the danger that comes hand-in-hand with loving a powerful magnate like Damien.

After all we’ve been through, I believed we were finally free of the past, of the darkness, ready to move into the light of our future together. As we stand ready to renew our vows in front of our friends and family and move on to the next chapter of our life together, I am giddy with joy and love.

I am unprepared for the devastation that steals my happiness and threatens our future in ways I never imagined. Given our past, I should have expected it. But how could I when Damien didn’t either?

This man has come from nowhere, and he says he’s Damien’s son. Everything is chaos, Damien is wrecked, and I don’t know where to turn. The worst part? I think I believe him.

And he has promised to destroy everything we love.
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Meet the Author:

J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over one hundred novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.

Though known primarily for her award-winning and internationally bestselling romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and #1 internationally, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of wide variety of genres.

JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A six time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s RITA award, JK took home a RITA trophy in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me and again in 2017 for her novel, Wicked Dirty.

In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.
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