Title: Away. The Folk, Book 1.
Author: Meg Benjamin
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book Blurb:
His job is keeping secrets, but she needs the truth. Even if it destroys them both.
Grim Morrigan, Guardian of the Ward and part-time private detective, polices the Folk, the clans of fairies who live in the foothills outside Denver. But his main job is concealing their true nature from the mortals around them.
Enter mortal Annie Duran, who hires him to look for her brother Richard, missing and presumed dead for ten years. Annie has seen Richard in the parking lot of the nightclub where she works. Now she wants answers, and Grim’s supposed to find them. The quest for Richard ensnares the two in a sinister conspiracy, but they also discover their own overwhelming attraction.
When Annie herself disappears, Grim’s need for answers is even more urgent. With the help of a dissolute prince and a motley crew of unlikely fairies, Grim confronts a rebellion among the Folk. And it may take more than just magic and luck to save both Annie and Grim this time.
Excerpt:
Around ten o’clock, a man at one of the front tables began to glow.
Annie tried not to stare. The glow seemed to be coming from the man’s shoulders, encircling his dark curly hair, almost like a halo.
The Threshold could be a very weird place, even on weeknights.
She checked the tables near Mr. Glow. Nobody else seemed to notice him.
Moretti, the manager who also served as the bartender, narrowed his eyes. She probably should make a circuit through the room, taking orders for refills.
“You checked on the tables against the wall? Those college boys could use another pitcher.”
She nodded. “I’ll do it.”
“Got something else you need to do first. Take these to that table.” He placed two margaritas and a cosmopolitan on her tray and pointed at a table full of women near the center of the room.
Fortunately, there was nothing weird about them, unless gorgeous was weird. Long, glossy black hair, flashing eyes, lips like crushed berries. Their breasts were the size of melons, but their waists were tiny. They chattered to each other in an unfamiliar language.
Annie placed the margaritas and the cosmopolitan on the women’s table, and waited while the beauty queens giggled together, digging money out of their purses and counting out spare change. One of them glanced at her, dark eyes glittering like mica. “You’re very pretty,” she purred. “Are you new here?”
Annie couldn’t quite place her accent. “Thank you. I’ve been here for a couple of weeks.”
The woman’s eyes widened, her lips spreading in a faintly lewd grin. “You’ll enjoy working here. We could show you some other places, too, my friends and I. Great parties.”
Annie’s shoulders tensed. Somehow partying with these women sounded a little creepy. Something was off about their glittering eyes. She fought down a quick shudder. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll join you. Sometime.”
She started to back away until she remembered she hadn’t collected the money for the drinks.
The woman pushed some bills at her, showing a hint of teeth. As Annie started to take the cash, the woman rubbed her fingers across her palm, leaving a quick trail of heat. Annie stared at her hand and at the woman’s laughing face. What the hell?
“Go on, mortale,” she murmured. “Go count your money.”
Annie walked to the bar, the sound of mocking laughter rising behind her. Her palm throbbed.
Moretti glanced at the women’s table, his mouth twisting. “Goddamn Folletti. Troublemakers. Forget it.”
Annie headed for her other tables. She had another bunch of college boys at the table near the center, a couple at the two-top near the door, and a solo guy at a table on the far side.
A very interesting solo guy, in fact. Six feet tall at least, probably more. Dark hair, broad shoulders, built a little like a distance swimmer. Looking sort of amused. The corners of his mouth edged up as he studied Mr. Glow.
Her friend Carolyn brushed by, her tray on her hip. “I see the detective’s here.”
“The guy at the side? He’s a cop?”
“No. Private. He works for the Ward agency. They’re the security company for the club, so I guess he’s sort of like a bouncer.” She loaded three bottles of beer on her tray and headed for the other side of the room.
Annie glanced at the detective again. His dark brown hair spilled down around his shoulders, like poured silk. His deep-set eyes studied her as his smile widened. A quick shiver of awareness danced over her skin. Hot. Definitely hot.
Grim studied the front table. Bertie was still glowing. The faint light surrounding him emphasized his dark curls, his full lips. He was probably working on the women at the table with him.
Grim considered telling him to cut it out. Somebody had to do it, and it was supposedly part of his job. Bertie wasn’t exactly causing a disturbance, but he might arouse unnecessary curiosity among the mortals. On the other hand, Bertie’s glow didn’t seem to be affecting the women at the table. It would take a lot more than the dim candlepower he was currently putting out to wow them.
Grim did a quick inventory of the other customers. The clans were out in force—unusual for a weeknight.
Three Barbegazi sat near the fireplace. Their clan compound was in Clear Creek Canyon, although they usually spent the summer at higher altitudes since they were sensitive to heat, the last remnant of their lives in the Italian Alps before the Great Migration.
Five or six Folletti sat at the table in the center, drawing attention with a lot of success, given their natural attributes. They couldn’t do much inside the club without breaking a few rules, but they were definitely working it.
He returned his attention back to Bertie, glowing like a half-hearted lightning bug. The mortal women still hadn’t noticed, or they didn’t care.
Shaking his head, Grim caught Bertie’s eye. His full lips spread in a pout, but a faint hint of radiance still shimmered around the edges of his shoulders, not enough to cause talk. Let him glow. His current wattage wouldn’t do much more than help the women read the wine list.
Grim did another quick sweep of the room. With the exception of Bertie, everyone was okay. He didn’t need to stay at the club to keep the peace.
Someone moved across the edge of his vision. The new waitress. He wasn’t sure how long she’d been at the Threshold; he hadn’t been aware of her until now. Brown hair, maybe green eyes, although he couldn’t tell from this distance. Her Threshold T-shirt hugged the curve of her breasts with a suggestion of nipples. A quick flash of arousal slid through his body, surprising him. He usually avoided mortal women on general principle.
And you should do the same thing now. The further he stayed from mortal entanglements, the better for all concerned.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4efOaf2
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Meg_Benjamimn_Away?id=B34gEQAAQBAJ&hl=en_US
Bookbub:
Goodreads:
What makes your featured book a must-read?
I had so much fun writing the Folk trilogy. I got to do a deep dive into fairy lore and then translate it into contemporary Colorado. If fairies were humans with a few special powers, where would they live, how would they behave, how would they keep their magic a secret? Away kicks everything off with a mysterious disappearance that leads to all kinds of unexpected twists and turns. And, of course, there’s a hot romance between a member of the Folk (i.e., the fairies) and a mortal. Or is she? After your introduction to Grim, Annie, Prince Bertie, and Teran, you can strap in for a wild ride as the Folk confront their demons in Unseen and Found, Books 2 and 3. And stay tuned for more Folk adventures in the future.
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Author Biography:
Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’s Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Her new cozy mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Along with romance and cozies, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Meg’s indie line. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, the Carly Crown Jewel of Books from the Mid-America Romance Authors, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers.
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