Ocean's Edge by Denise Townsend

In the search for justice, she could find love and maybe a little magic

In the year since the attack that nearly killed her, Rachel has worked hard to recover despite the fact her assailant was never caught. Countless hours of self-defense training have rebuilt enough courage to approach the sea that spit her out like a piece of meat. Complete healing? Not even close.

Then Conleth, an honest-to-god selkie, emerges from the sea, offering a magical friendship that begins to unearth the carefree woman she used to be.

The first time Rachel's tiny foot connected with his balls, Jake cheered from his foetal position on the floor of his dojo. As he's coached this incredibly brave woman, he's kept to himself the growing feelings he knows she'd reject. But that hasn't stopped him from privately digging for the evidence to reopen her cold case file.

With Conleth's gentle guidance, Rachel begins to rediscover the part of herself who isn't afraid to love. Until a rose appears on her doorstep along with a cruel reminder that her attacker is still tracking her every move.

Rachel moved to her dream town but after being attacked she's found it hard to trust and has become a bit of a hermit. Conleth, feeling her pain, comes to help her regain her trust in men and also realise she can love but Rachel being seen with another man brings her attacker back out of the woodwork.

I've liked the Selkie books from Townsend so far and this one is no different. They always follow the same premise but aren't so alike to one another that it drags.

One thing I'd say about this book is that I figured out who the attacker was pretty early on and I don't know if it was meant to be obvious or if I'm just a super sleuth!! (I'm really not a super sleuth).

The books are always pretty short but Townsend does a good job of writing the character back stories. You really get into Rachel's head space because you can imagine how horrible it must be to have to live in the same town you got attacked in with your attacker and having the local police brush your case under the rug. All it took was for Conleth to help build her confidence back up so she wasn't afraid to leave the house anymore and even think about having a relationship.

I'd definitely recommend this series to anyone on the lookout for a new read.


Amazon UK: Ocean's Edge

Ocean's Surrender by Denise Townsend

When a lonely woman has lost all trust, it takes an otherworldly creature to restore her faith in mankind.

River is still recovering from the attack by an ex-boyfriend a year ago that left him dead, and her grievously injured. Damaged emotionally and physically, she is continually tormented by her attacker’s brother, who blames her for it all. Worse than his blame, though, is her own—River believes she was at fault for letting the attack happen.

Fen can sense River’s emotional pain like a beacon in the night. A selkie, he is compelled to help her on her path to healing, both emotionally and physically. Leading her on a journey to claim her own strength, he also helps her draw closer to Leo, the paramedic who saved her life that dark day…and who has never forgotten her.

River was attacked by her boyfriend a year ago and died, she was brought back to life by Leo, her attacker died and her brother got put in jail for his murder. Since then she'd felt guilty about making her brother look like a monster in front of the rest of the town. Fen is drawn to her pain and guilt to help her overcome it, and he does so in a VERY interesting way!

As much as I liked River, I sort of grew bored of her guilt. She was too "Oh what have I done?" for my liking, so I was glad when she eventually realised that what happened had fuck all to do with her. OK, so she needed a man to help her do this but it's better than nothing.

I really love her brother, Jason is just a big gentle giant that saved his sister's life. In doing so he broke her attacker's neck but I think that can be overlooked since it was a case of he would have killed his sister if he didn't. But he has to live with knowing that what he did is what's making his sister guilty and a bit of a shut in. She doesn't go out and enjoy herself, doesn't have friends and she holds the one guy she has feelings for at arms length 'cos she's afraid to trust anyone.

In short, the book was a fun, light read. Unfortunately I have no empathy for the whole "it was my fault" mentality of some women and it made me not connect to the main character. But I enjoyed the story, how Fen got her to finally tell what had happened and then FINALLY realise it wasn't her fault and getting her to trust again. So it's definitely worth a read.


Amazon UK: Ocean's Surrender

Ocean's Touch by Denise Townsend

A lonely widow and a handsome artist have a chance for happiness ... with the help of a sexy selkie, that is.
After the death of Meredith's husband many years before, she allowed his legacy to take over her life. A shell of a woman, she finds little joy in her day-to-day tasks. Drawn to her pain, the empathic selkie Dylan knows she's ready to live and love again, and he knows that he's just the man for the job.
As Dylan draws Meredith out of her shell, he realises that to truly free her, he needs to help her accept her budding love for Alexander, an artist who challenges Meredith on every level: intellectually, emotionally and sexually. To achieve a true happy ending, Dylan must help his chosen humans break down their emotional barriers in order to grab the happiness they so deserve.
Warning: This book features a lonely widow, a hot artist waiting in the wings, and the sexy selkie who brings them together ... in every possible way.

Knowing this was written by Nicole Peeler in her alter ego of Denise Townsend, I knew I'd be getting sexy stuff but man, oh man ... even I wasn't expecting this! You want hot, passionate, sex where nothing is held back? Read this book right now!

Dylan is a super sexy selkie who is drawn to women in need of a change, so he's drawn to Meredith. In her widowed life of keeping her husband's estate and charity work running, Meredith has never lived for herself. Even when she first married her husband at 21, she was never really herself, she was what he wanted her to bed. So Dylan is exactly what she needs, in every sense. He opens her up personally and sexually, and lets her see her true self, as well as her true feelings for Alexander.

The storyline is mostly comprised of sex, sex and hot hot sex. But, you know, if I'm forced to read that for the sake of writing reviews, I'll buckle down and force myself to read it. (Yeah, right!) One small irk of mine is an entirely personal thing about Scottish characters. They never speak right to me, I get that they have to come across as Scottish but a lot of the things they say never seem to fit in with the rest of what they're saying. Obviously I read the dialogue in a Scottish accent and a non-Scot can never find the right balance between Scots slang and normal English. But happily, this is never enough to put me off reading a story unless the story is also poor. And believe me, THIS is not poor!

Get it read now, you won't be sorry.


Amazon UK: Ocean's Touch