Book Review: ‘The Stranger’ by Anna del Mar

The Stranger is the second book in Anna del Mar’s Wounded Warrior series. However, each book is standalone with new, different characters.

Having read the first book, The Asset, all I can say is that The Stranger is another tour de force from del Mar. Once again, she delivers an addictive romantic suspense read with a compelling, emotionally charged plot and engaging, likable characters whom you will root for—not to mention an explosive, passionate love story filled with dangerous twists and turns.

Treacherous circumstances related to the fact that her sister has gone missing bring sassy, hot-tempered architect Summer Silva to the Alaskan wilderness, only to end up freezing and stranded in the middle of a fast-approaching snowstorm.

Enters former military pilot Alaskan native Seth Erickson, who happens to be passing by in his truck on his way to his cabin when he spots Summer and comes to the rescue. However, it isn’t that easy. From the minute our alpha hero speaks with her, he becomes suspicious of her presence there, and quickly assumes she’s been sent there to spy on his family business. But he’s found a match in Summer, for she’s as quick to deliver comebacks as he is…and as quick to surprise him, too. That same night, as a result of her rare “condition,” Seth ends up having more than he bargains for. Soon after, Summer discovers that someone is trying to murder her.

The Alaskan wilderness, a cold-blooded killer on the loose, and murder bring them together, but they will need to trust each other if they want to get of this alive, something that doesn’t come easy for either of them.

This was a fabulous fast-paced read, simply addictive. Sexy, with a touch of darkness, and humor to boot! But the best are the strong, sympathetic, multi-dimensional protagonists and the way their love evolves. If you haven’t discovered Anna del Mar’s books yet, you’re missing something.

Cover art published with permission from the author. 

Originally published in Blogcritics.

The Story Behind The Stranger’s Cover, by Anna del Mar

If you ask me, the cover of The Stranger is a combination of different types of gorgeous. There’s nature’s beauty, of course, nicely displayed in the background as the legendary Alaskan Range rises over the tundra and reflects on a glassy lake. Very appropriate, since Alaska is the third protagonist of this epic romance.

And then there’s the human gorgeousness, the hunk who graces the cover and still to this day makes me swoon every time I set my eyes on him. Yes, just in case you were wondering, we romance authors are particularly appreciative of the visual assets that cover designers bestow upon the heroes that rule our imaginations.

The Stranger is my newest romantic suspense and the second book of my Wounded Warrior Series, following on the heels of my Amazon bestseller, The Asset. The cover began as Art Fact Sheet, the input mechanism that my publisher, Carina Press, uses to ensure that an author’s perspective is represented in the cover’s creation stages.

I like to be prolific with my descriptions in my AFS, giving the cover designers as much information as I can about my main characters and my settings. I add lots of pictures that come straight out of my notes and storyboards and babble away with all kinds of crazy ideas. Inevitably, my amazing editor, Kerri Buckley and the incredible team at Carina make some sort of sense out of my jumbled AFS. And here’s the funny thing: They always come up with something better, MUCH better than I could imagine in the first place.

In the Case of The Stranger I was blown away when I got my cover concept from Heather Goldberg, Carina Press’s truly impressive Digital Marketing Coordinator. Heather manages to keep a complex process that involves many people, opinions and departments running like a fine oiled machine. The kicker is that she also manages to keep finicky authors like me deliriously happy.

The Stranger on the cover is Seth Erickson. Seth is a powerful Alaskan tycoon dealing with a quarreling family and a hostile takeover attempt. As the cover also implies, he’s a wounded warrior, a helicopter pilot struggling to recover from injuries he sustained while serving in Afghanistan, a man haunted by his past and fighting his own demons. Seth is your classic alpha, blunt, systematic and precise, always cool and in command, a man who despises emotion and sticks to his icy logic… until he meets my heroine, Summer Silva.

The adventure that ensues is beyond the cover, along with the details of Seth and Summer’s hot and sexy romance. For more on that, click here. But I’ll share this. The cover designers chose just the right physical type. The details, according to the story, are right on. The Seth on the cover matches the Seth in my mind. The cover is a perfect merger of storytelling and marketing savvy. Now ask any author out there. That’s hard to do and a total credit to the talented team at Carina Press.

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Here’s a first review of The Stranger. And it’s an awesome one!

http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=22690

 ABOUT THE BOOK

When her sister runs away with a guy she met on the internet, a warmth-loving Miami architect chases her reckless sibling to Alaska and finds her life in danger from more than the elements. Only a stranger, a wounded warrior who is also Alaskan tycoon with a quarreling family as complicated as her own and no time for a lady in distress—let alone one who walks on her sleep—can save her from disaster. Together, two strangers from different worlds and opposite spectrums of the thermometer must unravel the intrigues that threaten their lives to chase after a new dream, together, in majestic Alaska. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anna del Mar writes hot, smart romances that soothe the soul, challenge the mind, and satisfy the heart. Her stories focus on strong heroines struggling to find their place in the world and the brave, sexy, kickass, military heroes who defy the limits of their broken bodies to protect the women they love. Anna enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, and the sea. Writing is her addiction, her drug of choice, and what she wants to do all the time. The extraordinary men and women she met during her years as a Navy wife inspire the fabulous heroes and heroines at the center of her stories. When she stays put—which doesn’t happen very often—she lives in Florida with her indulgent husband and two very opinionated cats.

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Wounded-Warrior-Novel-ebook/dp/B01EF3MHSU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469123810&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Stranger+by+Anna+del+Mar#navbar

Carina Press:

http://www.carinapress.com/shop/books/9781459294301_the-stranger.html

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-stranger-anna-del-mar/1123670965?ean=9781459294301

Kobo Books:

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-stranger-69

Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Anna_del_Mar_The_Stranger?id=j7T-CwAAQBAJ

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Embedded links:

http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/books_stranger.html

http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/books_asset.html

http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/books_brink.html

http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/home.html

Guest post: "How The Asset’s Cover Came to Be" by Romance Author Anna del Mar

When I signed my contract with Carina Press, I wasn’t sure how they would go about designing the cover for my debut romance, The Asset. I will confess to a little anxiety. I knew nothing about covers. What works? What sells? But still, I wanted to be involved. Much to my delight, I soon learned that

there was a way that ensured that my thoughts and opinions were incorporated into the creative process. It started with the Art Fact Sheet.

The AFS is a tool that collects all kinds of art-pertinent information about the novel, including the tone and mood of the story, location and specific setting details, sensuality level, character descriptions and significant visual elements. As I worked on The Asset’s AFS, I tried to retell the story from a visual point of view.

The AFS went to my editor at Carina Press, the extraordinary Kerri Buckley. She delivered it to the team, which comprised the talented cover design artists plus members from the marketing team. A few weeks later, a cover concept hit my inbox, the sexy cover you see today. I loved it! Relief. The bliss of working with an outfit that knows what they’re doing.

The Asset is the story of a woman desperate to escape her dangerous past and the Navy SEAL who would lay down his life to save her. It takes place in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, which is why the art team placed that gorgeous scenery that you see on the upper right corner. The cover artists drew on my character description to select the warrior’s image and capture the story’s mood. Readers’ reactions? They often describe the cover as “yummy.” I think that’s success. Don’t you?

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Title: The Asset

Genre: Romantic suspense, Contemporary romance, Military romance, SEAL romance.

Author: Anna del Mar

Website: http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/home.html

Publisher: Carina Press

Purchase on Amazon

About the Book:

Ash Hunter knows what it is to run. A SEAL gravely injured in Afghanistan, he’s gone AWOL from the military hospital. Physically and mentally scarred, he returns home to his grandmother’s isolated cottage—and finds a beautiful, haunted stranger inside.

Like recognizes like.

Lia Stewart’s in hiding from the cartel she barely escaped alive, holed up in this small Rocky Mountain town. Surviving, but only just. Helping the wounded warrior on her doorstep is the right thing to do…it’s loving him that might get them both killed.

Soon, Ash realizes he’s not the only one tormented by the past. Pushing the limits of his broken body, testing the boundaries of her shattered soul, he’ll protect Lia until his last breath.

About the Author:

Anna del Mar writes hot, smart romances that soothe the soul, challenge the mind, and satisfy the heart. Her stories focus on strong heroines struggling to find their place in the world and the brave, sexy, kickass, military heroes who defy the limits of their broken bodies to protect the women they love. She is the author of The Asset (Carina Press), the first novel of her Wounded Warrior series and three other novels scheduled for release during 2016.

A Georgetown University graduate, Anna enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, and the sea. Writing is her addiction, her drug of choice, and what she wants to do all the time. The extraordinary men and women she met during her years as a Navy wife inspire the fabulous heroes and heroines at the center of her stories. When she stays put—which doesn’t happen very often—she lives in Florida with her indulgent husband and two very opinionated cats.

Connect with Anna on the Web: 

Anna@annadelmar.com

http://www.annadelmar.com/pages/home.html