Hello, all! Thank you so much for joining me for the last stop of The Soldati Prince blog tour. Today we have a special treat. We have Riley Murrough, our Soldati prince, and instead of me asking him a few questions, I decided I’d let Khalon’s best friend and second in command, Rayner, do the honors. Take it away fellas.
Rayner: *waves at Riley* Your highness, I’ll do my best to make this as painless as possible.
Riley: *narrows eyes* I don’t believe you for a second.
Rayner: *laughs* Why don’t we start off with an easy question? Who do you think is more handsome, me or Khalon?
Riley: Who do I think is more of a pain in the ass? The answer would be both. You are definitely both a pain in the ass.
Rayner: *looks amused* That’s not what I asked.
Riley: *arches an eyebrow* Really? Because that’s what I heard.
Rayner: I’ll admit, I can be a challenge, but as far as a pain in your backside, from what I heard coming from your bedchamber the other evening, I would say that Khalon—
Riley: Oh my God, shut up! *goes red in the face*
Rayner: *laughs* Very well. What was the first thought that crossed your mind when you saw Khalon?
Riley: I’m hallucinating.
Rayner: The second?
Riley: That’s a lot of leather.
Rayner: *chuckles* And when you were told who you were?
Riley: What did I think when I was told I was the intended mate and prince of some magical dude who changes into a tiger that lives in another world? Hm, let me think about that. *pretends to think* That someone is out of their damn minds, and it’s probably me. As you will recall, I was a little freaked out.
Rayner: *smiles* Perhaps a tad.
Riley: Sure. If a tad means flipping one’s mind. Then yes, a tad.
Rayner: And at precisely what point did you decide Khalon was not, in fact, a bastard?
Riley: I believe the word you’re looking for is “asshole”, and that took some time. *blushes* I don’t know exactly at what point. There was so much going on, what with the demons out to tear at my mortal flesh and harvest my soul, but at some point I realized that maybe he wasn’t such a jerk. That he was actually a good guy underneath all the growling and scowling.
Rayner: Are all humans that grumpy and inarticulate before coffee?
Riley: Yes. You have your magic, we have ours.
Rayner: *blinks* Coffee is magic?
Riley: Are you kidding? You yourself have witnessed its power to transform a zombie into a functioning human being. *points at himself*
Rayner: *laughs* Of course. And how do you feel about our illustrious king now?
Riley: *blushes* Um, he’s hot. Like, really hot. And his smile is pretty amazing. He’s pretty amazing. *shifts uncomfortably* He’s caring, and gentle, and sexy. Why am I telling you all this? Things are good between us. We’ve been through a lot together, and I’m looking forward to what happens next.
Rayner: As am I. *winks at Riley*
Riley: *rolls his eyes* I should get going.
Rayner: Left Khalon alone in bed, did you?
Riley: *stands up and narrows his eyes at Rayner* You know what, Rayner?
Rayner: Shut up?
Riley: *grumbles under his breath as he stalks away*
Rayner: *laughs* He is almost as easy to wind up as Khalon. *smiles wickedly* Almost.
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Gay Romance, Shifters, Demons
Series: Soldati Hearts
Length: Novella, 97 pages
Published: Nov 23rd, 2016
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
ISBN: 9781634775809
One moment, Riley Murrough is living a normal life working in a coffee shop, and the next, he’s running for his life from demons, learns he bears the mark of a shape-shifter king from a magical realm, and—worst of all—he’s destined to become the mated prince to the arrogant tiger-shifter he would rather strangle.
Khalon, the shifter king, is equally distraught at the idea of being bound to a human prince, and along with his Soldati warriors, he sets out to return Riley to his own world, where he belongs. On their journey, they might discover why the goddess brought them together—if they can escape the demons and make it to her alive.
First Edition short story published as The Soldati Prince in Charmed & Dangerous by JCP Books LLC, 2015. Second Edition has been re-edited and extended to novella length with new content.
DREAMSPINNER PRESS :: AMAZON :: ARe :: BARNES & NOBLE
OUT NOW!
I’ve always said that it is harder to write a novella than a full length novel. With a novella, the author has to make you care about the characters almost immediately, get to know them, and do all that in a limited amount of works. Charlie Cochet is a master at that, and The Soldati Prince is a perfect example of that.
I really enjoyed the storyline for this novella, even though as I’ve said many times before, I rarely read shifter books. But of course, when it is Charlie, I don’t hesitate. She has made me love shifters so much more than I ever expected (I’ll probably still never be a vampire or werewolf girl, but hey, its a start!), and she did that by creating characters with heart, and soul, and men that may be slightly broken in some way, but are made whole by the finding of their other half.
This novella does all that, and then adds in a ton of humor, which I was not expecting at all! Riley made me laugh out loud more than once. He did not take any crap from Khalon, no matter that he was King or not. The scene at the breakfast table, with the coffee (read it and you will get it) had me laughing and highlighting, and even going right back at the end of the scene and re-reading it. So funny!
These two circle each other, trying to figure out what being a mate with someone they didn’t expect (or even want) actually will mean for them, and its fun to see that Riley is Khalon’s equal in every way, despite Khalon’s best efforts to keep it from being so.
Another winner by Charlie, and of course, leaves me wanting more for a certain second in command. 😉
4.5 pieces of eye candy, for humor alone, not to mention the rest of the story!
Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters, to society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!
Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.
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BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE
Nov 21st – The Novel Approach
Nov 22nd – Joyfully Jay
Nov 23rd – Man2Mantastic
Nov 24th – Dreamspinner Press Blog
Nov 25th – Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
Check out the Soldati Hearts inspiration board on Pinterest.
What type of shifters would you like to see more of?
Ohhh, hmm. I would love to see a Chimera, Manticore, Hippogriff, Gargoyles, Kitsune, black eyed beings,Sylph,oh oh and a Thunderbird. ..I could so keep going lol but those are my top ones