Winter's Touch

Immortal Touch #1

by Allie Gail

Second-year college student Evangeline Spencer has learned over the years how to cope with the disturbing dreams that have plagued her since childhood. But now, fifteen years after his startling revelation, the nightmare from next door has returned to claim her.

Swept away to a remote location in Oregon, Eva has become the possession of someone incapable of compassion or remorse. Julian Winter is a vampire with the face of an angel, a ruthless killer whose sole intent is to staunch his craving for her blood. And to survive, she'll have to search the remotest depths of his soul for any remnants of humanity. Can she make his resurrected heart feel again?

Or will the crux of her life be slowly consumed?

Genres: Vampires, Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance

276 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2014

About the author

Born and raised in rural Alabama, Allie Gail currently resides in sunny Florida with her very own blue-eyed Prince Charming and a hyperactive hamster named Toot-Toot. Always an avid reader, she took to her keyboard on a whim in 2012 and that was the last anyone ever saw of her. (Just kidding...I did venture out of the house that one time back in 2014, but only because I was tricked into it. Stupid hurricane.)

Her genres of choice are rom-com and paranormal romance, featuring goofy but headstrong heroines and the sexy, snarky men who love them. When she isn't busy obsessing over the lexicon of her latest project, Allie can usually be found snuggled up to her hubby watching cheesy B-movie horror, helping out with the family business or playing online RPG games while indulging her hopeless sugar addiction.

Fun facts – she loves the sound of thunder, can't stand coffee, is known to randomly start laughing in her sleep, and is irrationally creeped out by H.R. Pufnstuf. (Seriously, have you ever seen that thing? Why is its head so big? Agh!)

You can also find her on Facebook, so stop by and say hello. She would love to hear from you! Just make sure your profile pic isn't a giant yellow puppet.

http://www.facebook.com/alliegailauthor http://twitter.com/alliegailauthor

Reviews

[Michelle Cornwell-Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will forgo the normal recap, and go straight to my thoughts on the read. First the entire time reading, I had this image of Julian in my head, whether it was the image the author intended I am not sure…but it was in my mind for this character the entire time!

Jamie Campbell Bower


I had recently seen Mortal Instruments (movie) and so this actor was fresh in my mind…,lol that being said, for my to take the time to locate a picture, this shows how much, I loved the characters in Winter’s Touch!!… Julian and Eva were so wonderful together:O) I enjoyed the dialogue and the interaction between them. Winter’s Touch was very well written, a wonderful pace and flow, no lag tag. I enjoyed the seeing the growth and the evolution of Julian. How the author showed him going from a creature of habit, firmly rooted in his beliefs and then comes Eva and turns everything upside down!

I loved the scenes of five year old Eva and Julian, the moment when he first encountered the young woman who will grow up to change his existence. The scenes were so very funny how the spunky child was able to wrap vampire Julian around her little finger…

There was humor laced throughout the book…I actually was laughing out loud at parts….also the author incorporated the perfect balance of adventure, sprinkled with twist and turns and searing romance.

This was really a great read, and I have become a true fan of Ms. Gail’s works:O)

I fully recommend for anyone that is a fan of Paranormal Romance, and Mystery! (Best for Older Teens and Adults)

[S. Policar · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received this book from the Author via Hardcover Therapy in exchange for an Honest Review*

This book follows Eva Spencer, a girl who has apparently never known fear. After a visit to her next door neighbor when she wa five, she begins to have horrific nightmares of the neighbor murdering people once a month. Fifteen years later, she learns why she has them.
The story was definitely different than most of its genre. I absolutely enjoyed how well the author was able to slip between the characters and their distinct accents. From American, to British, to Scottish, the reader can easily hear every inflection of the words spoken.
I found a total of one error in the book, and the one was so small it's no wonder it was overlooked.
I truly look forward to reading Fire & Ash which is the second book in this series.
I give this book 5 of 5 paws

[Kyra Dunst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Eva. From the moment the precocious five year old wandered onto the page, to her witty repartee with her vampire captor as an adult, she was such a joy to read about. I could actually see my fearless little one reacting in much the same way (which is why I keep her well away from wandering around the neighborhood looking for vampires to befriend). Jules is also a great character. Sure, he is twisted and broken when he first appears, but he didn't kill a five year old when she wandered in at dinner time, so he couldn't have been completely bad even at his worst. At first glance, this romance might be a case of Stockholm Syndrome, but I truly think that Eva and Jules go beyond that since their connection started in Eva's childhood and subsequent meetings.

I would definitely read more from this author.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's called a "vampire love story", and it is, but it's a little different in that it's got more of the vampire's viewpoint than you usually find. I found it to be not only a story of love, but of redemption, hope and loyalty. I'm looking forward to the second book in the series.

[Tonileg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contemporary Vampire romance with some twisty twists because this is not a love at first sight plot but the 'friendship' is one sided and more then a bit demented when a beautiful English vampire moves in next door to six year old Eva. Eva definitely holds her own against a much older stronger man even though she is so young in the early few moments that they interact. Don't worry there isn't any weird pedophilia because Julian keeps his distance until he suddenly moves away when Eva is ten because his mind control clearly doesn't work well on the girl. So we skip ahead in time and Eva is almost 21 and having an epic bad day when she is kidnapped by Julian and slowly we get the bigger picture about how 'living' as a vampire works which is different and makes sense to my superstitious mind.
I loved the little baby girl Eva who was sure that she was going to marry Julian 'Mr. Winters' one day and just blurts in out, it may have saved her life or ended it.
The twisty moment is at the Portland Airport (no spoilers!) because I was really surprised at what goes down and that brought the story from a 2 star to a clear developed meaty 3 star story! Although this clearly is going to be part of a series because there is some shady characters added at the very end which will obviously threaten the happiness of the cute new couple. **nearly clean book with some sexual moments with some crazy murder/violence.
200ish pages of well edited story and a kindle freebie (costs $0.99 and I would have bought it because it is a good read).
3 stars

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to give this author credit for one thing: She owned the fact that she was writing about a vampire. The guy wasn't a "vegetarian" vampire, he couldn't drink stale blood from donors, and he wasn't the same man he had been before he died. He had lost all sense of emotions, of a sense of right and wrong, and he killed once a month for food.

This book was well written and quirky -- and I don't mean "quirky" in a bad way. I'm quirky myself. In fact, I don't consider this a "reader beware" two-star review. This is a "not for me" two-star review.

Here's the thing: The vampire is a sociopath. Eva, the heroine, thinks he's a contradiction because from time to time he isn't a total jerk, but it is not a contradiction for a sociopath to occasionally be nice. A sociopath is, quit simply, someone without a conscience. It's not as "inhuman" as people think -- there are many sociopaths in the world. It is one of a vast variety of human personality types.

It is not, however, one I find the least bit romantic. I find it disturbing, and that is ultimately why I put the book down at about halfway through. I didn't want the heroine to "save" him because I already didn't believe it. I didn't like him and didn't have any reason to want to see him redeemed.

I also put this book down because it was kind of boring. I think it needed more than the relationship between the hero and heroine to sustain it.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK. It started out kinda morbid, but didn't bother me too much.

The hero, Julian, is a vamp and kills without remorse, guilt, feelings etc. He meets the next door neighbor 5 year old Eva and is brutally honest with her. Tells her he kills etc. Even takes her on a ride to one of his kills. Sometime during the first meeting Eva ingests a tiny bit of his blood, so is tied to him, has nightmares of him killing people (which he really was) Then some years later decided to move because Eva (10 years old now) can not seem to hold onto his mind control tricks. Now 10 years later present time he decides to kidnap her.

Then the story slows down. No real angst. Kinda became boring. I think if it was more geared towards the adult genre I would of liked it more. I wanted some Angst, Sex, (what!??! yes fade to black sucks ass - and that was what happened ), More conflict, Excitement, On the edge of your seat or something. The idea of the story was good, but that idea in this book just didn't work out for me. Just wasn't for me.

[Kaemea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I thought I would when I first started it. Found it refreshingly different with a plot that was simply enjoyable to sink into. Julian might not be my favorite vampire heroes, but he quickly climbed to good standing. The legend that author used as a plot point is intriguing, I'm looking forward to delving into research on it. I also enjoyed the slow build from anger to love that the characters exhibited. Too often, in romance novels at least, lust and attraction are utilized to invoke true love. The meandering trail Julian and Eva take on their way to love everlasting is satisfying in its realism. They aren't instantly "in love"; indeed there's a fair amount of hatred on either side before attraction pokes its head out and the couple slowly realize it's there.

While the writing is not superstar quality, the book is a truly satisfying read. Don't hesitate to pick this one up.

[Xunaira J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-constructed plot with the right kinds of twists and turns, Winter’s Touch had me gripped and captivated from the first page. As the story unfolded from the childhood of Evangeline Spencer who has a rather peculiar neighbour, the little girl wins our hearts with her inquisitive nature and innocence.

Read full review at http://reviewmybooks.revampinglife.co...

[Dena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was intense a morally corrupt. A dagger that makes vampires without emotions. That was what happened to Julian winter and he has a hunger for Eva.

I loved how Eva never coward towards Julian she was constantly at him no matter what. I thought she was brave, determined and confident. This is a good start to this series.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good vampire book. I like how there wasn't an instant love-at-first-sight plot. I would really like to read book 2.

[Samayra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one surprised me, Good book! Loved little Eva...

[Nicole Naranjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it! want more please!

[A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered Allie Gail when I found her The Price of Brimstone and after I read the synopsis, I wanted to read it. I made sure to remember it seeing as how it’s not out yet, but I thought while I was waiting I would try out some of her other books. I decided on Winter’s Touch because it’s the first book in the Immortal Touch series and it sounded exactly like my kind of book.

I’ve been in somewhat of a restless mood lately and when I first started reading Winter’s Touch, I almost stopped with the intention of going back to it later. There wasn’t anything wrong with the book, it just had a different voice than I’m used to, but I told myself to stick with it. Plus my eyes wouldn’t let me stop reading and Winter’s Touch turned out to be really great. It was intriguing, a little dark, sweet, and heartwarming. I really liked it and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!

~ Sonja, 4 Stars

[Bonnie Mancuso · Rating 4 out of 5]

GREAT STORY!!!
This is my first book by Allie Gail and I thought it was great. I love her writing style. The storyline is intriguing. The characters come to life. Julian and Eva have great chemistry. I can't wait to see where their story goes from here.

[Lissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book thoroughly captured my attention in the first chapter when an incurably curious 6 year old Eva wanders unwittingly through the open door of the house belonging to her uncommonly handsome and isolative neighbor, Julian Winters. When he informs her casually that he kills people "sometimes" and she reacts fearlessly and begins inundating him with questions- like Julian, I felt surprised amusement and I was immediately interested in her as a character.

The book morphs into something of a vampiric Beauty and the Beast after Julian abducts the adult Eva for his own selfish purposes which have nothing to do with romance, which develops slowly from icy indifference on Julian's and outright hatred on Eva's, first to sexual chemistry and then love. This is actually my second time reading the book (I read it for the first time about 3 years ago) and I devoured it with just as much enjoyment as I did the first time.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked how this book began when the female main character was a young child. An innocent gesture of a very curious little girl causes a blood bond to be formed between herself and a vampire who lives next door. Everyone he kills while feeding she has a nightmare about the act. The vampire feels the little girl'suick girl's knowledge of his true nature is threat to him but can't seem to make himself 'ttake care of the problem'. Years later he kidnaps her and curiosity turns to budding romance. The vampire is soon feeling emotions he thought had died the night he became a vampire. This was quick read consisting of around 100 pages. I liked the charaters and felt they worked well together. NOT A CLIFFHANGER (Yes there is a second in the series but the story doesn't just stop and require you to read the next book to know what happened with the main couple). I am curious to see where the next story takes us.