A Time to Live

by Kathryn Loch

The chemo didn’t work, neither did the experimental therapy. When Nikki Matthews learns she is dying of lung cancer and has only has six months to live, she abandons Los Angeles and flees to Shadow Mountain, Colorado…a place where she always wanted to live…a place where she can die in peace. Despite her intentions of no friends and no attachments, she meets Michael de Roumare. Half French and half Arapaho, the residents of Shadow Mountain treat Michael with hatred and contempt. Nikki is not sure why and try as she might, she cannot deny her growing attraction to the handsome young man.

Michael has known only hell the past year, falsely accused of rape and disfiguring a young woman, the jury found him not guilty but he was tried and convicted in the press – a vicious, backwater half-breed. Then, to his horror, someone starts killing the women in Michael’s life and framing him for their murders. The residents of Shadow Mountain now fear a serial killer walks among them and they are certain the vicious murderer is Michael.

Nikki came here to die. She never planned on finding a righteous goal, she never planned on fighting for the truth, but she has found that with Michael and perhaps…just perhaps…she might find something more in the short time she has…as long as the killer doesn’t reach her first.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Native American, Suspense

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 19, 2013

About the author

Kathryn Loch has been active in the publishing community since 1996. She has actively held offices such as president and treasurer in her local writer's guild. The guild hosts an annual writers conference bringing in respected NY editors, agents and published authors to educate, network, and inform. She published her first novel, Primal Entities: Chaos, a medieval fantasy romance, in 2001 and is now exploring the market with e-books.

Kathryn is not only an award winning author but a successful table-top gaming miniature painter. While trying to paint the eyeballs on something smaller than your thumb is never easy, Kathryn enjoys the creative endeavors of both industries and challenge they provide.

Reviews

[Hbeebti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this didn't get better reviews. I really liked it. It was so easy to get into. I was instantly drawn into the story and intrigued by the characters. Nikki moved to Colorado with months to live. She moved to where she always wanted to go and wanted some peace. Her first night there she encounters Michael who is such an enigma.

Now there is a lot going on in this one.Romance, mystery and murder. Michael who is wrongly accused again and again but there is never enough evidence. But the whole town is against him. But Nikki is instantly drawn to him and they become friends pretty quick. Besides all of that there is Nikki's illness and of course the feeling that these two have for each other. But Michael is so protective and he wants her no matter what. Days? Weeks? Months? He never falters with her, even when she tries to push him away. I loved him. In the end the baddie wasn't all that hard to figure out. But again it didn't spoil the story for me.In fact there is a certain character who ended up being a great surprise, and I hope that this author will write a book about ??

[~ Becs ~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just didn't work for me :-(

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A serial killer & a fraudulent diagnosis of cancer entwined with a love story. Enjoyed it & didn't lose interest. Like & will read author again. TTS-enabled.

[Petula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read much contemporary romance, it's not my favourite flavour.  With this one I only picked it up  because it is  written by an author whose work I know I usually enjoy. I was right to do it.

Nikki has left her life in Los Angeles,  to spend her last few months in the clean mountain air. She buys a fixer up cabin and finds herself right in the middle of trouble between the locals.
Michael is Nikki"s next-door neighbour and a suspected serial killer. Nikki is drawn to Michael and can't understand why the locals treat him the way they do. The murderer is still killing. The sheriff pulls Michael in but can't prove he did it. Someone is prowling around Nikki's home.

Even though Nikki is very sick the story is exciting and a good who dunnit. I loved the secondary characters as well. I think Rory might have a book soon.

[Suze · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, well paced read that at first meeting Michael I thought was going to be shifter, but actually he is just really attuned to nature (as Nikki said, he can feel the force!).
Nikki has run away to the mountains to live out her last months and stumbles across Michael, the horrrid Rod and a whole cast of characters :
Michael - yum
Josh -  ? Bad or good
Sanders - ?good or bad
Rod and cronies - horridly bad
Sherriff - rotten
Doc - good 
Denise - mad (angry)
Bradley - mad (insane)
Nikki has to learn who she can trust with the rest of her life. 
Enjoyed the story, would have loved a bit more depth to the characters to really get invested in their exploits, and some of the dialogue between Michael and Nikki was a bit too cheesy for me.

[Donna Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story. Nikki is dying from lung cancer and she leaves the big city and goes to the town she really loves to die. She goes to Shadow Mountain, Colorado. She loves this small town and she buys a home that sits against the mountain. She meets her neighbor, Michael when she is run off the road on her way to town. A drunk driver hits a wolf and she goes in a ditch. She gets out to help the wolf and Michael appears out of no where. He picks up the wolf and carries it off. Nikki tries to get her car out of the ditch and she can't. Michael comes back and pushes her car out. She doesn't know that Michael is her neighbor. He is also tormented in town by people who use to be his friends. He has a dark secret. You will love this story

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to have to add a half-star to this one.

A simple, sweet novel of mystery and romance with a heroine, who for once, didn't irritate the hell out of me (don't you hate it when they do?), and of course, the sexy, muscular, tall, gorgeous hero with great lips. The author does a good job with some of the secondary characters as to how evil they are without having to go into too many details. The verbal insults were so awful I wanted to beat them up myself. I took a stab at guessing who the killer was early on and was spot on. My only issue with the killer, he wasn't evil enough. Though predictable, still entertaining.

[Angarad · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would you do if you knew how long you had left before you die? Leaving everything behind and live your dreams seems like a good idea. And that what Nikki does, without knowing she is actually creating her future.
I loved this book. How string Nikki is faced with her cancer and everything that happens to her. She never gives up.
Michael is quite an unlucky guy in life and love but still goes for it after meeting Nikki.
I really liked that the suspens is kept until the end. You get an idea of the killer only quite far in the readying, which had to the mystery and you are more than surprised to discover there is actually more than one!!!

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's free on amazon so I'm giving it four stars, if I would have paid for it I would have given it three. While I really enjoyed the story and characters I hardly felt any excitement while reading it. It wasn't one of those "I HAVE to finish this book" books for me. I'm not sure if it was because the pace or what but... eh. If you want a quick read inbetween heavy books I would recommend this one.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I figured out who the attacker was early in the story, I thought this was well-written, and I really enjoyed reading the story. The chemistry between Nikki and Michael was engaging, and I liked the development of the plot. The additional twist concerning Nikki's cancer was unexpected for me and added an interesting twist. I thought the confrontation between Nikki and her ex-fiance was awkward and unnecessary but otherwise, I thought it was a great read.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK I'm giving up on this one. I am going to go to the last page a see if she does indeed die of Cancer. Its a good book if you are into sweet sappy hallmark movies.
I kept waiting for him to turn into a wolf ......until I re-read the summary and realized he is just intune with the wolves but not actually one. O well my bag! It is a cute but predictable love story where I'm guessing love quonquers all. I'm just glad I got it free on Amazon!

[Denise Koopman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seen this book last night at work on Amazon and I read an excerpt of it and said I want this book.I read it to my boss as well and she got it too.Well I read it already and wow...I loved this book.It was so sad but uplifting and I mean it was in parts funny and so much hope in it as well murder.It had all things in this book.I LOVED THIS BOOK...Read..Read..Read this book!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story! I loved this book. I adore Michael and Nikki. This is the first book I read from Kathryn Loch and I can tell you I would love to read anything she writes. It was a beautiful story - but it also had a lot of suspense - I definitely did not expect that twist! Please read this book immediately - you won't be sorry!

[Hollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The synopsis sold me on this book. I loved the concept of a woman in her moment of despair finding hope. It was a lovely story. It had a decent combination of suspense. I would have liked a little more steam, but it was still a sweet story. It was somewhat predictable, but I got this as a freebie and it was defiantly worth the read. A solid 3.5 star read.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery with a touch of action, death and romance. When I read the premise about the main character having cancer I expected a lot of grief, sadness and anger and there was all of that indeed but it was all more focused on life and the romance. How never to give up even when the future seems bleak and hopeless. It was a wonderful story of strength and love. Very enjoyable. Perfect HEA.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Storyline was well written, intriguing and suspenseful along with some heartfelt emotions and romance. It didn't take long for me to be wrapped up in the storyline and sitting on the edge of my seat. Loved Nikki and Michael's characters and chemistry. Loved how the author brings out how small minded and prejudice smaller towns can be in her writing. Would recommend.

[Jessica Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a good mix of mystery, murder, compassion, love and betrayal. The main characters were intriging and liked seeing the different sides of them. The story seemed to flow really well that held your attention and made you want to keep reading it all in one sitting.

[Kristy Ferraro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really great story. Started kind of sad and turned into a great love story. Lots of interesting parts with a couple of good twists and turns. I read it on one Sunday after noon, did not want to put it down.

[Jennifer Sweat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book. lots of suspense, mystery, and romance. to top it all off, it was free on Amazon. I would definitely recommend this book to friends and family. Read it! You will not be disappointed.

[Sarah Louise]

Free on amazon :)

[Jenny Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good story - kind of predictable, but still a tear-jerker

[Carla Tarnow-rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ups, the downs, the intrigue. Loved it all, just fell in love with both the main characters and cheered them on!

[Sharould · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was awesome ! I knew who the killer was right away . Heart felt story of hope and trust .

[Miss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely captivated me from the very beginning. Such a great love story with more than one mystery to solve! I am so glad I'm on grave shift so I can read great books like this one!

[Michelegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a lot. I can still see Nikki's cabin in the snow and Michael's love for Nikki. Really sweet one. And a great HEA.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautiful story!

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

FREEBIE!!!
this book was amazing
loved every bit.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's a good mix of romance and mystery.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great romance with some mystery

Michael is treated with hate as they accuse him of being a serial killer even though the jury found him innocent. Nikki has come to spend her last few months of her life in the Colorado Mts, she has given up on the painful treatments for lung cancer after being told she only has 3 months to live. She meets Michael at the side of the road after he helps her get her car going after a near miss accident. She becomes his neighbour and friend. Nicci was wonderful the way she stood up for him. Michael was gentle and loving despite his size. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.

[Glenda Bettin · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a great book