SOUTH OF SURRENDER by Laura Kaye

Book name: South of Surrender

Author: Laura Kaye

Website: http://www.laurakayeauthor.com/

Series: Hearts of the Anemoi Series #3

Category: M/F

Heat level: Sizzling

Release date: May 28, 2013 (ARC furnished through Netgalley)

Available at: Amazon   Barnes & Noble   iBooks   Kobo

BLURB: She's the only one who can see through his golden boy façade to the broken god within... Chrysander Notos, Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer, is on a mission: save Eurus from his death sentence and prove his troubled brother can be redeemed. But Eurus fights back, triggering vicious storms that threaten the mortal realm and dangerously drain Chrys.
Laney Summerlyn refuses to give up her grandfather's horse farm, despite her deteriorating vision. More than ever, she needs the organized routine of her life at Summerlyn Stables, until a ferocious storm brings an impossible—and beautiful—creature crashing down from the heavens.
Injured while fighting Eurus, Chrys finds himself at the mercy of a mortal woman whose compassion and acceptance he can't resist. As they surrender to the passion flaring between them, immortal enemies close in, forcing Chrys to choose between his brother and the only woman who's ever loved the real him.

Shonna's review:  Hoping to change the future that awaits his brother Eurus, Chrysander Notos, the  Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer, becomes engaged in a furious battle with him, leaving Chrys wounded and vulnerable upon the barn floor of a nearly blind woman during a raging storm. Enduring emotional issues that scar his soul, Chrys detests the feel of touch and demands control to help contain his unwillingness to trust. Yet as he absorbs the warmth and tenderness through her skin that night, he craved more, knowing the connection was conveyed with a feeling of genuine  passion, and not deceit or malice. 

Laney Summerlyn stands resolute, despite being diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease. Maintaining her grandfather’s farm, as best she can, she forces herself to check on her frantic horses out in the barn during a destructive storm. With her hands leading her way, something touches her fingertips that changes the course of her life forever. A new world unfolds that exceeds her wildest imagination, while her heart is captured by a being that is more than a man. With a growing love that is beyond measure, together they weather the storms and come to understand a future that is never without sacrifices.

Siting here in front of my keyboard, I have so much to say about this book, (and series) I just don’t know where to start. How do I condense all that I am busting to say about this UNBELIEVABLY FANTASTIC story in just a few short lines.   The truth is, there is no way to express how AMAZING this work is (wish I could think of a better word to express here) and how I absolutely am in awe and in LOVE with the world Laura Kaye has created. Please start at the beginning of this series (not that it’s necessary to understand what is going on in the third installment but) because this is well worth your time. Never boring, never a stalling moment, and to top it off, a huge twist in SOUTH OF SURRENDER that had me crying (one of many times throughout this series) and numb because of the way Laura Kaye effortlessly absorbs you into this tale, you will not want to put down. You honestly become a part of the words on the pages. A new fork in the road now, with all of the characters, new and old, places a spin that I did not see coming for future books, and put me on pins and needles to see where it all goes. I hope this series never ever ends. This *placing my hand over the last page of the story*  is what reading and enjoying a book is all about.

 Thank you Laura Kaye. 

My Rating: a Big Fat 5 

Excerpt: Unable to resist the draw to her any longer, Chrys claimed her mouth, devouring, searching, taking. Laney froze, then was right there with him.
Their tongues met, dueled, twirled. He fisted his hand in her hair and guided her, deepening when he wanted, restraining her when he needed.
Her hands slid up his chest toward his neck.
Chrys gasped into the kiss, but fought the reflexive desire to pull away. Instead, he pushed her back one step, then another, until her back encountered the door. He grabbed her arms and pressed them to the surface over her head. The control flooded relief through him and fueled his arousal another notch.
“I want to touch you,” she whispered around a kiss.
His brain scrambled for a moment, and then he wedged his body in tighter, the ridge of his cock coming in snug against her belly. She unleashed a strangled moan as Chrys plundered her mouth, relished her sweet taste, bathed in her life-giving heat.
Good gods, her body was absolutely alive with her arousal. She clenched and unclenched her hands, her arm muscles flexing where he restrained her. Her abdomen writhed against his, creating a maddening friction against his erection. Her thighs shifted and squeezed.
It was only with the barest of restraint that he resisted willing her clothing away, turning her to face the wall, and tugging her hips out so he could bury himself deep.
Lost in the imagery, Chrys didn’t notice the change in her movements until she slowly dragged her injured leg up the outside of his. Her wrists pressed against his hold and a yearning moan worked up her throat. “Chrys,” she whimpered, her thigh moving higher and wrapping around.
His pulse lunged into a sprint. Damnit. He pulled back and stepped away, the phantom feeling of her flesh trapping his spiking fear through him. “I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing his lips, regret a rock in his stomach. He could still feel her, taste her. Making sure she was steady on her feet, he dropped his hands from holding hers.