Once Upon A Tiger Blog Tour w Giveaway!

Hey everyone! Today I have something extra fun and a great giveaway to go with it 🙂 

Once Upon a Tiger

Tiger Shifters

Book One

Kat Simons

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: T&D Publishing

Date of Publication: December 13, 2013

ISBN: 9781311496140

ASIN: B00H9KEAKA

Number of pages: 75

Word Count: ~23,000

Cover Artist: The Killion Group

Amazon        Smashwords          ARe

Book Description:

She’ll never run.

Among the tiger shifters, Alexis Tarasova is regarded as fierce and dangerous, with a reputation that would make even the most daring tiger think twice about challenging her. Female tiger shifters may be rare and the mating run a critical part of their species’s survival, but Alexis is the only female Tracker and will not back down, even at the threat of tiger law. She will not be forced to mate. So when a handful of males band together to force her to participate in the run, Alexis chooses to stand her ground and fight instead.

He’s forbidden to run. 

Outcast from the tiger shifters after a vicious childhood attack left him mute, Victor Romanov has never taken part in the mate run. He’s never particularly cared, though, since the woman he loves refuses to take a mate. However, when he learns Alexis may be in danger, all bets are off. Nothing will keep him from her side. 

Together, they’re unmovable.

The chemistry between them burns wickedly hot and forges them into an unbeatable pair. Alexis knows that being with Victor means she will have to break another one of her people’s laws—a move that might push the tigers too far. But, for Victor, she will risk everything, including her life, and do what she thought she’d never do—run. 

Excerpt:

To Alexis’ surprise, Victor was standing at her door only a few minutes later. She swallowed and tried not to stare. He was magnificent, muscled and lean, with just the right amount of hair covering his human body. The hard cut angles of his face should have made him look harsh but somehow he just looked more compelling. Black eyes, closely cut dark hair, and a sexy half-smile that made her stomach muscles tighten, all combined to send her heartbeat pounding.

She’d never been around Victor when she was in estrous. In fact, since coming to terms with the knowledge that her obsession with him could never lead to a future, she’d made an effort to never spend time alone with him. He was the head security technician at the elders’ compound, so they crossed paths regularly. But she tried making sure there were others around to keep her from doing something stupid.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t always been successful.

She flashed on a recent memory of literally bumping into him in a corridor at the compound when she’d been too deep in thought to notice her surroundings. He’d held her arms while she caught her balance. The contact sent shivers of desire shooting through her body, forcing her to step back as soon as she could, then apologized.

He pulled a notebook from the back pocket of his dark jeans and wrote, You okay?

“Fine. The job I’m heading out on has me…” She shrugged. “It’s a tough one.”

A friend?

“No. Nothing like that.” She made the mistake of looking up to finish and got momentarily caught in the deep darkness of his steady gaze. Her stomach danced in giddy delight even as her heart tightened. Swallowing, she said, “The tiger I’m going after has something wrong with him. He’s started stalking children.”

Human or tiger?

“Human.”

Dangerous.

“Exactly.” Dangerous to their people if he were discovered by the humans. Also dangerous for her as her target couldn’t possibly be sane if he was hunting kids.

Has he hurt any yet?

“No. Fortunately. He came close twice, though. I have to find him soon.”

Do you want help?

She straightened. No one offered to help her. Not since she’d taken the Tracker oath. But he looked serious. And beneath the façade he normally wore, she sensed a hard core of intensity only a stupid person would challenge. His silence was intimidating enough, but for the first time, she saw a dangerous edge to him.

And he was offering to help her. The gesture touched her in ways she wouldn’t have expected. Suddenly, she was aware of just how alone they were and just how desperately she wanted him.

“I’ll be fine.” Even as she said this, her heartbeat quickened and she had trouble speaking above a whisper.

I know. But if you need me, I’m here.

Her pulse pounded loud in her ears as she read. Could he hear it? Did he realize just how much she needed him—just not for the hunt? She found herself staring at his mouth. The urge to lean in and taste him overwhelmed her.

Alexis blinked back the memory and realized she was once again staring at Victor’s mouth. This time, there was no one around to interrupt them and keep her from giving in to the years of wanting. During that previous meeting, a member of his security tech team had required his attention and he’d hurried away, leaving her breathless. She’d brought in the rogue tiger with a little more aggression than she might have normally. And then she’d taken herself off to her retreat here in the mountains to wallow in the frustration of having to resist the only man she wanted.

Now Victor was here. No one between them. And her hormones were making things infinitely worse.

His being naked did not help her control either—which was hanging on by a very tiny, thin thread.

My Reivew:

You know the saying “some like it hot.”? Well I do, and this is it! It’s a short novella, but it reads like a full novel! There’s a perfect amount of back story from both of the main characters and it’s not done in an info dump that slows down the story. It’s also maybe a little on the erotic side but it’s also got plenty of action, a little mystery plot, some HAWT tigers and a lovely romance to wrap it up nicely with a bow!

Our Female main character is Alexis. She’s a very independent, lethal tiger tracker. Meaning not only is she a tiger, but she tracks and kills the bad tigers. She’s a fighter, not a stay at home mommy and she refuses to give in to her people’s stupid rule of this mating nonsense. She does feel the need to help save her kind from literal extinction, but why right now? Plus, the one guy she wants she can’t have. Boo. And then when her people go behind her back and force her into a mate, it’s on. She’s a spitfire and damn if she doesn’t scare me lol! I love her. She’s kickass but responsible and has a good heart no matter her tragic past, so she’s cool no matter what. And she turns into a tiger for kitty’s sake!

Victor is a HAWT mess!! He’s perfect on the outside except he can’t speak, so they’ve labeled him “deformed” and he can never mate. Plus, the one girl he wants won’t ever mate, and she’s lethal enough to keep it that way. But when she becomes forced, he’s willing to stand by her side and help her fight her way through. Holy hell, this is THE PERFECT GUY!!! He’s absolutely gorgeous. He’s kind, he’s loving, he’s beautiful and he doesn’t talk, OR TALK BACK!! Lol I want him right now! And he’s a tiger! Yep he’s AWESOME!!

So, after some threats and a little cabin fever we got the totally cute romance, but well done on the little plot twist on how they came together! I look forward to seeing the rest of their actions unfold with the elders lol. And maybe meeting some of those other tigers who got their tales handed to them. I liked the writing style. I think it was excellently done. In such a short time, I’ve learned a lot and look forward to so much more!! Well done! And since I can’t say 5 wolf paws, I will say 5 great ROARING TIGER PAWS! Ooh and maybe some stripes too 😉

Guest Post: ONCE UPON A TIGER by Kat Simons blog tour

TITLE: What Shifter Would You Be?

I love this question because it’s so much fun to think about. Like answering the question what animal would you be? Turns out, whenever I take that online quiz, I end up being something like an owl or a penguin. LOL. But since I get to control what I think I would be with the shapeshifter question, I’m going to pick something I think suits me better.

Given I write about tigers, I love to swim, I love big cats, and I am just a bit of a loaner, you’d think I’d choose tiger. And actually, part of me thinks I’d make an excellent tiger shifter. They’re big. I’m big. They like to swim, I like to swim. They’re territorial. I’m territorial. *g*

But to be honest, I think I’d be a bear shapeshifter. I’m one big, mean momma. I’m cuddly right up to the point that I’m not. I love to eat and sleep (I’d love to be able to hibernate!). I let my boys play over the top of me. Even my roar is a bit bear like. I’d probably be a black bear, rather than a grizzly, but I could see being a grizzly too.

The only difference between me and a bear is the fact that I don’t particularly like fish. Though, I used to love fishing, so I have that in common with bears. (I stopped doing much fishing because I didn’t like to eat the fish I caught and that seemed entirely too wasteful for my nature loving conscience.)

Anyway, I see myself as a bit of a bear. I must admit, though, I’m glad we’ve started calling shifters “shifters” rather than “were” animals because were-bear just sounds entirely too much like “care bear” and that doesn’t do a thing to invoke fear! LOL.

Oh, oh, if I got to pick a mythical animal to be, I’d be a dragon shapeshifter! That would be sooooo cool, right? I’d be an awesome dragon.

So tell me, what Shifter would you be?

For me, I would say wolf in a heartbeat. They have been my favorite animal since I would like toddler little. They amaze me and are magnificent. I would also love to be a Tiger as my second choice, and as for that mythical being, I am so with you on the dragon front. I LOVE dragons!! 🙂

About the Author:

Kat Simons earned her Ph.D in animal behavior, working with animals as diverse as dolphins and deer. She brought her experience and knowledge of biology to her paranormal romance fiction, where she delights in taking nature and turning it on its ear. After traveling the world, she now lives in New York City with her family. Kat is a stay-at-home mom and a full time writer.

Website: http://www.katsimons.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kat-Simons/1430791730466744

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7554922.Kat_Simons

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kat-Simons/e/B00HCMVVN4/

Giveaway!

$30 gift certificate to winner’s choice of BN or Amazon. SO GO HERE NOW TO ENTER! 

Thank you all for hanging out today! I wish you all a wonderful rest of your week, and I also wish you good luck! 🙂 Happy reading and later gators!