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Tina McIntyre is wealthy beyond most people’s dreams, but her wealth has come from unpleasant events: first from a civil lawsuit resulting from a violent gang rape Tina was subjected to as a teenager, then from the deaths of her parents in a plane crash. Refusing to live off her millions, Tina works for a real estate firm, living quietly with a loyal housekeeper and a tough female bodyguard. She does not expect to fall in love, suddenly and irrevocably, but that’s what happens when she meets Cliff Stinson, construction supervisor for a new office project. The feeling is mutual, and the two soon embark on a sensual, very erotic love affair. But there is trouble brewing. A dark figure from Tina’s past is poised to destroy her happiness.
First time author Marchela Wells has created a gutsy heroine with a soft heart, capable of passionate cravings, but possessed of a fierce determination that helps her keep on track when everything in her new and happy life is suddenly under threat. Rising from the Ashes has just about everything an avid reader of romantic thrillers could ask for: beautiful but bruised lady, charming and fearless man, and a very nasty villain trying to tear them apart. Though there are a few too many pat solutions and the supporting cast lacks depth, Wells’ book will please her intended audience, spiced as it is with lubricious sex scenes and peppered with plenty of intrigue. There’s even a built-in trailer at the end that presages a sequel. This initial offering features a steamy romance, danger and a thrilling climax, seen though the eyes of a woman capable of both fighting evil and yielding to love.