Nic's Nominations: April 2015

Louise (Book 1)

Diana Nixon

It doesn’t hurt to dream, unless you know your dreams will never come true

Since childhood, Louise Woods has wanted to become a dancer. The day she arrives at Le Papillon – a private cabaret club where men come to enjoy the beauty of women dancing, her life completely changes. Louise lives in the club and the rules of living and working there cannot be ignored or broken. Either you do your best to please the clients, or you are out. No flirting, no secret affairs, just dancing.
During her first public show, Louise meets a stranger who pays for the privilege to have her privately dance for him. He won't let her see his face, he won't even introduce himself, but he will make an offer that she won’t be able to refuse. He won’t make any hollow promises, but he will make her believe she is special… “I hate following the rules,” he’ll say, “but I do love breaking them.” Will she dare to risk losing everything she has, just to make the darkest of the stranger’s fantasies come true? Once the decision is made, there will be no way back…

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book the cover just made me want to read it so much more.

Louise has known nothing but survival and the inside of an orphanage her whole life... but one day that all changes when she is finally allowed out of her prison. unfortunately for her it is to find her new definition of hell. Forced to work as a dancer in a club Louise must play by a new set of rules where the price of disobedience is even higher. One day a stranger wants her to play by a whole new set of rules that can rather set her free from the club or destroy all that she has been working towards.

I loved the story behind this book a poor girl abandoned at birth forced to survive on her own in a mean world never really knowing freedom to finally get a little taste of it. As always with Diana's book i saw bits of it coming and thought " right i know what is going to happen" but as always there is little tricks and turns that you were not expecting.... in this case i was not expecting the whole last 3 chapters, i could not believe the end. There was parts brought in to the story that you would never expect. The book was brilliantly written and i found myself really getting involved with the characters.

I loved Louise as a character. She was a hard , tough female lead with just the right about of vulnerability. You really find yourself getting engrossed in her story. As for Will you cant help but love him. I think the story provides the perfect amount of danger and forbidden love.

Brilliant , Exciting , the perfect forbidden love with a fantastic twist

See below for a sneak peek

“Welcome to Jasmine Garden, Miss,” the driver, also known as the man in the suit said. At least there was one person I already knew.

“Excuse me, what’s your name, Sir?”

“It’s Christopher.”

“Can I ask you something, Christopher?”

“I’m not sure if I’m allowed to answer any more of your questions, Miss.”

“But I’ll still try… Am I safe here?” I didn’t know if I could trust the driver, but he didn’t look like a serial killer, or anything. In fact, he made me feel secure.

“Always,” he said without hesitation.

Okay, that was a relief.

Christopher got out of the car, went around it and opened the door for me. For the first time ever I felt like a princess arriving at the ball. I would probably need a dress for a real ball, but for now, I felt much better in my jeans and a sweater.

“My boss is waiting for you, inside.”

“Aren’t you going to come in with me?” I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be left alone.

“Trust me, Miss, you will be just fine without me.” Christopher smiled and went back to the car, leaving me on the porch of the most beautiful house ever.

Inhaling deeply, I took a step closer to the main doors. Even from the distance, I could see they were open. I came closer and gave the doors a push. They opened with a soft rustle and I found myself standing in the middle of a round hall, with a transparent ceiling and an endless staircase leading to the second floor.

“I’m glad you could make it,” the familiar voice said.

I tried to turn around, but my stranger wouldn’t let me. “Don’t,” he said, holding me by the shoulders. “You are not allowed to see me, remember?”

“No one knows I’m here.” The scent of his cologne reached my nostrils, I could feel him standing right behind me. What if I take a step back? Will he embrace me or push me away? I didn’t know where those thoughts came from. It just felt so good to be with him again…

“Are you hungry?”

“Not really,” I said, still dying to turn around. Maybe coffee was not enough to keep me alive for the rest of the day, but right then and there, I doubted I would be able to make myself eat.

“You need to eat... I don’t want you to faint in the middle of your dance next Sunday.”

“I don’t work next Sunday.”

“I know. But you will dance for me.”

“Why waste your time on a trip to the club if we can talk here and now?”

“I didn’t say anything about talking. I said I would come to watch you dance.”

“Then what am I doing here?”

“I wanted to ask you the same question… I didn’t expect you to come, even though I hoped you would… But you are here, and I can’t stop wondering what made you decide to accept my invitation?”

“Did I have a choice?”

“You always have a choice.”

“Your invitation didn’t sound like a choice, it was more like an order.”

The stranger leaned closer to my ear, saying, “If I had wanted to order your presence here, you would have been here a long time ago.”

About Diana

Diana Nixon, an International Bestselling Author of contemporary and paranormal romances, is a woman of contradictions. She was born in Minsk, Belarus, where she currently lives and works on her books. She has a Master of Law degree and speaks several foreign languages, including English, Polish and Spanish.
Diana’s writing career is like a roller coaster ride. It started with a fantasy novel named Love Lines, that was originally written in Russian and only later, it was translated into English. Diana had always wanted her story to be well-known all over the world, that’s why she started working with the US publishers, but it was not easy living in Belarus. The book needed to be translated, edited and promoted. After almost a year of hard work, Diana had finally received the first copy of Love Lines. Since then, she has published 12 more books, both of contemporary and fantasy genres. Today, she’s one of Nevermore Press’ authors, but she has never forgotten about self-publishing, she still thinks that becoming an Indie author is the best way to make your writing dreams come true.