Series Title: Bright Light Series

Titles: Under the Lights ~ Sundown ~ Under the Stars

Author: Tia Louise

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

A thrilling, romantic suspense series from USA Today bestselling author Tia Louise…

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Heroes don’t last long around here…

Fall in love with the sexiest girl in New Orleans?

Check.

Prepare to die for her?

Double-check.

Larissa is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

She’s the rising star of the Pussycat Angels, the hottest burlesque show in the French Quarter.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw her.

The curve of her breast outlined by sparkling rhinestones.

Slim hips wrapped in black fishnets.

Long, dark hair…

She’s the Dark Angel who stole my heart.

Her body is intoxicating, our love overwhelming.

Cat eyes and blood red lips.

Sizzling fingers on white-hot skin.

I couldn’t keep my hands off her…

But her fame had a dark side,

A sinister shadow lurking under the lights.

I would do anything to save her…

He would do anything to see me dead.

Strangers on a train; names on a list.

It’s a simple job.

In and out, instant karma.

Then he appears to derail everything.

He’s the boy I haven’t seen in five years.

He’s the boy who wanted to be my hero, who I thought died fighting the demons.

Only he didn’t die.

He survived, and now he’s a man.

Worse, he’s a cop.

He’s gorgeous and strong, and the best sex I’ve ever had.

He’s my dream come true…

But this train has left the station, and there’s no turning back.

Payback arrives at sundown.

(Sundown is a novella that should be read between Under the Lights and Under the Stars.)

All around us was darkness and night…

I’m not a hero. I’m a survivor.

I had one way out, and I took it.

Now all I want is peace,

A place to pick up the pieces and start over.

But she wants justice.

Names on a list, faces in the crowd.

I vowed to help her, but it’s taking us back to the demons.

Until he appeared.

I thought he died in the fight.

I was wrong.

He’s here.

Stronger, more powerful… Sexier.

And dangerous.

The boy I loved is now the one man we have to fear most.

When he tried to save me, he had no power.

Now everything has changed, and he’ll never stop until I’m his.

Tia Louise is the USA Today best-selling, award-winning author of When We Touch, the “Bright Lights,” “One to Hold,” and “Dirty Players” series, and co-author of the #4 Amazon bestseller The Last Guy.

After being a teacher, a book editor, a journalist, and finally a magazine editor, she started writing love stories and never stopped.

A lover of the beach, sexy romance, dark chocolate, and sparkling wine, Louise lives in the Midwest with her trophy husband, two teenage geniuses, and one grumpy cat.

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Under The Stars by Tia Louise

Under the Stars, the stunning conclusion of the thrilling, white-hot second-chance Bright Lights Duet from USA Today bestselling author Tia Louise is available NOW!

Under the Stars

All around us was darkness and night…

I’m not a hero. I’m a survivor.

I had one way out, and I took it.

Now all I want is peace,

A place to pick up the pieces and start over.

But she wants justice.

Names on a list, faces in the crowd.

I vowed to help her, but it’s taking us back to the demons.

Until he appeared.

I thought he died in the fight.

I was wrong.

He’s here.

Stronger, more powerful… Sexier.

And dangerous.

The boy I loved is now the one man we have to fear most.

When he tried to save me, he had no power.

Now everything has changed, and he’ll never stop until I’m his.

Under the Stars by Tia Louise

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've had the chance to follow Tia Louise for quite some time - her genres vary from book to book and when she came out with her Bright Lights Duet, it was something completely different from all her previous published works. It was edgy. Captivating. And it had that suspense aspect that i hadn't noticed in her previous books. I started with Under The Lights, couldn't comprehend how these two characters, Mark and Lara, could go through so much and it end the way it did. What i didn't do, however, was read Sundown, which is found in the The Vault Vol One Anthology found here on Amazon and only on Hardcover:

Now, i may own the Anthology on my kindle, but i haven't had a chance to get to it, and i wish i did before getting into this one. 5 years have passed since the first instalment of the book and Under The Stars - while i doubt it would have impacted that greatly my experience with this book, i have a feeling that it would have made things a bit more understandable. I would have gotten a much better idea of what happened to Mark, Lara and Molly - and i'm thinking some of it is explained in Sundown (can we say that i'll be getting my butt in gear to reading the whole series once again? Absolutely!!)

All that aside, wow. I can't wait to find out what else Tia Louise is going to come up with because every time she starts writing, you simply can't guess where she's going with it until that pivotal moment and your brain goes 'what. The. Hell?!?'. As a reader, i live for those moments. They are those moments that make these books and stories so much more memorable!

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8063169-kathleen-r

View all my reviews

Excerpt:

~ Lara ~

We stop walking and turn to face the emerald waters. The briny air pushes her hair back and around her shoulders. Tendrils spin around my face, and the inescapable sorrow filters through my chest.

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“Yes, you can.” Her voice is flat, and she bends to put Pierre on the dry sand. “I’m going up. How much longer will you be out here? Celeste is making Quiche Lorraine for breakfast.”

Another sigh. “I’ll be up in a bit. I’m finishing my exercise.”

“Don’t stay out too long or I’ll eat all the food! Come, Pierre!”

I watch her run up the tall staircase, her little dog at her heels, thinking of the reasons she has to run. I remember her as a small girl on the street, in the dark alley behind the theater. She was thin and starving and hunched in the corner waiting to die.

She was so malnourished, I thought she was younger than her actual age, which was twelve. I remember carrying her inside and fighting with Rosa. I remember Rosa boxing my ears and telling me the first time that kid cried, she’d throw us both in the alley with the rats. I remember the terror I felt that night and Molly falling asleep so quietly with her head on my chest.

She needed me. She loved me, and I loved her fiercely in return.

I remember her running around the theater, a sweet and innocent kid never suspecting the hawk was circling above, watching her, closing in to steal her soul and warp her future. I’ll never forgive myself for what happened to her. I’ll never forgive myself for not being there to protect her.

A flash of pain moves through my stomach, and I remember someone saying the same words to me not so long ago…

Walking to the edge of the water, I look out at the surf, at the waves rushing in and out. I think about how nothing bad can happen here. The sins of the past are far, far away from this beautiful place.

Only it’s a lie.

The sins of the past are never far away.

We carry them with us in our hearts wherever we go.

No matter how far we run, we can never outrun ourselves.

Tears are in my eyes, and I blink them away. My emotions are so close to the surface these days. I squat and wrap my arms around my knees, holding my insides together and wishing…

My wishes never come true.

“Lara!” A strong male voice cuts through the breeze.

For a moment I don’t believe it. It’s a wish caught on the wind and carried away out to sea.

“Lara!” It’s louder this time, closer.

Nervous anticipation floods my chest. I stand and look up and over my shoulder. The staircase where Molly descended is empty. The one ahead of it is empty as well.

Was it a dream?

Another shout, and I realize it’s coming from behind me. Turning, I see a tall figure jogging down the steps. He’s alone, and he’s moving fast. I look around, and no one is here. I have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

My heart alternates between beating out of my chest and dying. I’m back on that train, seeing him for the first time out of the blue, completely caught off-guard, alternately panicking and rejoicing… He’s alive!

He’s wearing faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt. His caramel hair is a little longer, but not much. It moves in the breeze as he approaches me.

He’s strong and pure and gorgeous as ever, and the way we touched, our glorious reunion is stronger and hotter in my memory than the sun climbing higher in the sky.

I want to cry. I want to sing. I want to hold him…

But now everything has changed.

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Start the series with UNDER THE LIGHTS for only 99¢!

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About the Author:

Tia Louise is the USA Today best-selling, award-winning author of When We Touch, the “One to Hold” and “Dirty Players” series, and co-author of the #4 Amazon bestseller The Last Guy.

She loves all the books (as long as they have romance), all the chocolate (as long as it’s dark), strong coffee and sparkling wine.

After being a teacher, a book editor, a journalist, and finally a magazine editor, she started writing love stories and never stopped.

Louise lives in the Midwest with her trophy husband, two teenage geniuses, and one grumpy cat.