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Phantom #4
Phantom Promise: Sexy Paranormal
In the fourth book in the Phantom series, a powerful love begins with a promise…
When a Gypsy curse transformed Paxton Forsyth from man to phantom, he vowed revenge. But upon awakening from a centuries-long slumber, he finds himself confined within a chateau in war-torn France. He has one shot at freedom, if he can seduce the enchanting woman who’s ventured into his lair.
But Jeannette Rousseau is no easy target. Though orphaned and alone, she’s promised her heart to an enemy spy. Only by calling on the magic does Paxton entice her…and once their tryst is exposed, they become pitted between the consequences of a forbidden love and the forces plotting to take over the world.
When a Gypsy curse transformed Paxton Forsyth from man to phantom, he vowed revenge. But upon awakening from a centuries-long slumber, he finds himself confined within a chateau in war-torn France. He has one shot at freedom, if he can seduce the enchanting woman who’s ventured into his lair.
But Jeannette Rousseau is no easy target. Though orphaned and alone, she’s promised her heart to an enemy spy. Only by calling on the magic does Paxton entice her…and once their tryst is exposed, they become pitted between the consequences of a forbidden love and the forces plotting to take over the world.
279 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 30, 2014
3 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Julie Leto
117 books135 followersAlso Knows as Julie Elizabeth Leto
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie Leto is the multi-published and award-winning author of over forty-five novels for publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Penguin and Harlequin who has now turned her attention to independent publishing. She pens the popular “Dirty” sexy suspense series starring kick-ass, ex-gang girl Marisela Morales and the sensual paranormal “Phantom” books, as well as the crossover series, “Dirty Dare.”
Julie lives on the west coast of Florida with her daughter, a brand-new Border collie mix rescue, a haughty Russian Siberian cat and a wide range of relatives all within driving distance. Readers can find her at www.julieleto.com, on Facebook and as @JulieLeto on Twitter.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie Leto is the multi-published and award-winning author of over forty-five novels for publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Penguin and Harlequin who has now turned her attention to independent publishing. She pens the popular “Dirty” sexy suspense series starring kick-ass, ex-gang girl Marisela Morales and the sensual paranormal “Phantom” books, as well as the crossover series, “Dirty Dare.”
Julie lives on the west coast of Florida with her daughter, a brand-new Border collie mix rescue, a haughty Russian Siberian cat and a wide range of relatives all within driving distance. Readers can find her at www.julieleto.com, on Facebook and as @JulieLeto on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 2, 2014
I very much recommend this book, and I probably will be reading it more than just once! Usually I devour books - but this one I savored. Paxton Forsyth who when he "goes bump in the night" a woman wants to scream - his name!
As you can tell by the title this is a Paranormal Romance, part of Ms. Leto's "Phantom series" - but it is both prequel and sequel to the first three books. (The 3 book boxed set has been recently released!) That being said, I haven't read the first three Phantom books and I really wasn't as lost as I thought I'd be - in fact, it was almost a stand alone novel. Both the Prologue and the Epilogue are set in the current time, but the meat of the novel is a Historical/Paranormal Romance.
In the Epilogue, we meet Ben Rousseau. His grandfather, Pascal Rousseau, born Paxton Forsyth, is in very quickly deteriorating health. Ben and his lover Catalina (Cat) Reyes are extremely concerned because up until this time Pascal has aged at a slower rate than most people. Something has happened recently that has "shaken him" and caused him to lose his faith in love, and his ability to trust, so he has just given up. So Cat, who has her own physic abilities, has an idea to help Pascal/Paxton to use his 'psychometric' abilities, (the ability to touch an item and identify where they came from, who they were owned by, and potentially where to locate the owner of the item) to go to the past to when he, himself was once a phantom and was released by his true love Jeannette. So they get the leather strap that Jeannette wore when she first came into contact with Paxton, the Phantom.
It is in Chapter 1 that we are catapulted into 1943 war-torn unoccupied France, the French militia (Milice) battering their way into the crumbling, cursed Chateau d'Argent, which lies next door to her small farmhouse. It is here that Jeannette, the novel's heroine, is hiding a German man, Rolf, who claims to be neither soldier nor spy, but doesn't say what he is either however she knows he won't hurt her. He hides her in a small crawl space, ties the strip of leather to her wrist, and tells her not to make a sound no matter what she hears. The loud, angry sounds of shouts, gunfire and breaking glass so she presses herself as deeply into the small space as she can. All of a sudden the atmosphere changes, the sounds fade away, there was a gleam of light and a sharp draft that curls around her. She heard a whisper, "They will not find you. I will not let them." She begins to doubt her sanity because she feels she's heard that voice before.
As a phantom, Paxton Forsyth, can only feel Jeannette's fear, even though he could whisper to her he had no lips, there was no way for him to calm or comfort her other than surround her with his essence. The noises from upstairs have stopped and Jeannette realizes everyone is gone and she is trapped, the grate covering the crawl space was screwed tight into place. She begins to panic and scream and that is when Paxton feels the same feeling as he did when he was released from previous 'prison'. And now he can feel Jeannette's body pressed intimately against his, her quivering limbs and his hands against her cheeks.
It's these opening intimate opening chapters, with Paxton's whispers, and gentle touches in this tight enclosed space that draws you in. His desire to protect her and his obvious love and concern for her makes him, for lack of a better word, 'dreamy'. Paxton is a delicious hero. He is a gentle, romantic and seductive man. As a phantom he is; mesmerizing, an invisible, sensually masculine voice whispering in your ear. A corporeal man protectively holding you tightly against him only to dissolve and cocoon you in a protective mist. There are some steamy passages because Paxton has been attracted to Jeannette and in love with her for years but he's also been ethereal for 200 years so his sexual restraint is 'razor thin'.
Jeannette, in my mind's eye, seems like the typical WWII beautiful French woman, only more innocent. She is 17 year old with inky black silken hair and onyx eyes. She is a contradiction, she is a romantic but strong, she is fanciful but not gullible. Jeannette has suffered a lot of loss in her life, and wants to experience the act of making love, if not being in Love. She knows how dangerous life is during war times, more than ever, in German unoccupied France. Jeannette also finds Paxton fascinating: his sky blue eyes, his unfashionably long hair, his horrible French is charming. She finds that she is equally effected by him; their attraction is not rational, it's elemental and undeniable.
The "Happily Ever After" is hindered by the French Milice, the French resistance, Rolf and of course German soldiers.
In the Epilogue we are then flung forward to the contemporary timeline. We learn what happened after the HEA and more of the menace that hinders Pascal/Paxton and his brothers, the other phantoms in Ms Leto's popular series.
The good news, that always makes this 'Book Series Addict' a happy girl, there are more phantoms to come! So buy this book and the boxed set so you are ready for the next release! Well ... go on.
www.lightningcitybookreviews.com
As you can tell by the title this is a Paranormal Romance, part of Ms. Leto's "Phantom series" - but it is both prequel and sequel to the first three books. (The 3 book boxed set has been recently released!) That being said, I haven't read the first three Phantom books and I really wasn't as lost as I thought I'd be - in fact, it was almost a stand alone novel. Both the Prologue and the Epilogue are set in the current time, but the meat of the novel is a Historical/Paranormal Romance.
In the Epilogue, we meet Ben Rousseau. His grandfather, Pascal Rousseau, born Paxton Forsyth, is in very quickly deteriorating health. Ben and his lover Catalina (Cat) Reyes are extremely concerned because up until this time Pascal has aged at a slower rate than most people. Something has happened recently that has "shaken him" and caused him to lose his faith in love, and his ability to trust, so he has just given up. So Cat, who has her own physic abilities, has an idea to help Pascal/Paxton to use his 'psychometric' abilities, (the ability to touch an item and identify where they came from, who they were owned by, and potentially where to locate the owner of the item) to go to the past to when he, himself was once a phantom and was released by his true love Jeannette. So they get the leather strap that Jeannette wore when she first came into contact with Paxton, the Phantom.
It is in Chapter 1 that we are catapulted into 1943 war-torn unoccupied France, the French militia (Milice) battering their way into the crumbling, cursed Chateau d'Argent, which lies next door to her small farmhouse. It is here that Jeannette, the novel's heroine, is hiding a German man, Rolf, who claims to be neither soldier nor spy, but doesn't say what he is either however she knows he won't hurt her. He hides her in a small crawl space, ties the strip of leather to her wrist, and tells her not to make a sound no matter what she hears. The loud, angry sounds of shouts, gunfire and breaking glass so she presses herself as deeply into the small space as she can. All of a sudden the atmosphere changes, the sounds fade away, there was a gleam of light and a sharp draft that curls around her. She heard a whisper, "They will not find you. I will not let them." She begins to doubt her sanity because she feels she's heard that voice before.
As a phantom, Paxton Forsyth, can only feel Jeannette's fear, even though he could whisper to her he had no lips, there was no way for him to calm or comfort her other than surround her with his essence. The noises from upstairs have stopped and Jeannette realizes everyone is gone and she is trapped, the grate covering the crawl space was screwed tight into place. She begins to panic and scream and that is when Paxton feels the same feeling as he did when he was released from previous 'prison'. And now he can feel Jeannette's body pressed intimately against his, her quivering limbs and his hands against her cheeks.
It's these opening intimate opening chapters, with Paxton's whispers, and gentle touches in this tight enclosed space that draws you in. His desire to protect her and his obvious love and concern for her makes him, for lack of a better word, 'dreamy'. Paxton is a delicious hero. He is a gentle, romantic and seductive man. As a phantom he is; mesmerizing, an invisible, sensually masculine voice whispering in your ear. A corporeal man protectively holding you tightly against him only to dissolve and cocoon you in a protective mist. There are some steamy passages because Paxton has been attracted to Jeannette and in love with her for years but he's also been ethereal for 200 years so his sexual restraint is 'razor thin'.
Jeannette, in my mind's eye, seems like the typical WWII beautiful French woman, only more innocent. She is 17 year old with inky black silken hair and onyx eyes. She is a contradiction, she is a romantic but strong, she is fanciful but not gullible. Jeannette has suffered a lot of loss in her life, and wants to experience the act of making love, if not being in Love. She knows how dangerous life is during war times, more than ever, in German unoccupied France. Jeannette also finds Paxton fascinating: his sky blue eyes, his unfashionably long hair, his horrible French is charming. She finds that she is equally effected by him; their attraction is not rational, it's elemental and undeniable.
The "Happily Ever After" is hindered by the French Milice, the French resistance, Rolf and of course German soldiers.
In the Epilogue we are then flung forward to the contemporary timeline. We learn what happened after the HEA and more of the menace that hinders Pascal/Paxton and his brothers, the other phantoms in Ms Leto's popular series.
The good news, that always makes this 'Book Series Addict' a happy girl, there are more phantoms to come! So buy this book and the boxed set so you are ready for the next release! Well ... go on.
www.lightningcitybookreviews.com
August 27, 2014
I loved this book. I've been waiting a long time for the continuation of Julie Leto's Phantom series. She did NOT disappoint with this latest addition. Julie received her rights back on the first three books and re-released them herself. PROMISE fulfills the promise she made to her fans when the original publisher did not renew the series. Personally, I'm glad they didn't. Julie now has control and WOW! Just...WOW! Where do I even start? At the beginning, which in "hindsight," is PHANTOM PROMISE, even though it's book #4.Paxton Forsyth, aka Paschal Rousseau, is on a quest to find and liberate his brothers from a gypsy's curse. The Forsyth brothers were cursed into objects in the 1700s. In the first book in the series, PHANTOM PLEASURES, Paxton--now an old man--finds his oldest brother. In the two subsequent books, more brothers are found. We finally get Paxton/Paschal's story in PROMISE. Paxton was originally freed from his curse by the brave and beautiful French girl, Jeanette Rousseau, in the midst of World War II. At the opening of Promise, a disillusioned Paxton seems determined to die, but his grandson, Ben, and Ben's lover, Catalina, are just as determined to keep him alive, despite his advanced age. Thus begins the story. Using a form of psychometry (psychically reading objects), Cat helps Paxton return to the time when he first met his true love, Jeanette. What follows is a romantic tale of a sweet young girl's awakening sexuality in a horrible period of history. There's intrigue, scary moments, and the discovery of a love so true it spans the ages.
Start with this book, even though it is #4 in the series. Then read the author's re-released versions of the other books. Each one is a jewel. I can't wait for #5!
August 10, 2014
Phantom Promise
Phantom Promise
I waited so long for this book and I was not expecting this.after reading the first three I now can understand how Pascal turned out to be Ben's grandfather and how he met Jeanette.
Now, it has me to read the next book. The way Julie Leto weaves the storylines has you glued. NOW ...with this book and with the glimpse of "Midnight Phantom" waiting til sometime in 2015 for it ...
Reading Phantom Promise now has me going to reread the first three because I have to recap on how each of the other Forsyth brothers were found.so that I can see and understand better the main characters were left off at the end of each book.
If you have never read Julie Leto, you have to get this series (Phantom Series) you will just love them and want to keep reading her books.
Please read them and you'll be as hooked as I am
Phantom Promise
I waited so long for this book and I was not expecting this.after reading the first three I now can understand how Pascal turned out to be Ben's grandfather and how he met Jeanette.
Now, it has me to read the next book. The way Julie Leto weaves the storylines has you glued. NOW ...with this book and with the glimpse of "Midnight Phantom" waiting til sometime in 2015 for it ...
Reading Phantom Promise now has me going to reread the first three because I have to recap on how each of the other Forsyth brothers were found.so that I can see and understand better the main characters were left off at the end of each book.
If you have never read Julie Leto, you have to get this series (Phantom Series) you will just love them and want to keep reading her books.
Please read them and you'll be as hooked as I am
September 13, 2014
The fourth book is the Phamtom series is about the brother than was awakened from his curse during the 2nd world war. It's the story of Pascal that so far was the first of the cursed brothers to be released. This is the story of his love affair with Jeanette. He has currently lost his will to live and Ben's girlfriend decides to help Pascal relive his love affair to try to force him to decide to live. I have enjoyed all of these stories.
March 3, 2025
I loved it! It kind of fills in the blanks about Paxton. It makes you wonder what happened to the rest of the brothers & their sister too. With the people who wanted Rogan's power always ready to pounce it is exciting. It also makes you wonder if Rogan trapped himself in an object to survive the siege & will show up somewhere to tell the followers who want his power to get lost & if the brothers will have to fight him to save their sister.
January 3, 2015
Paxton Forsyth was the first to be released from the magic that had imprisoned him for centuries. This is a sequel and a prequel at the same time. It begins where book 3 ended but the majority of the chapters happen in the past as Paxton who changed his name to Paschal relives his experiences with meeting his love, Jeanette, and working with rebel fighters during the war.
I only gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 like the other books in the series because Julie changed the name of Paxton's twin and I had time adjusting to that. I have the version for Nook but in the first three books Paxton has a twin named Sebastian. In this fourth book his twin is named Logan.
Other than that everything else was the same as the other books, a strong independent woman comes across an item that has one of the brothers imprisoned within, she touches it and releases him but only during the nights. She must find a way to release him from the magic curse for good and in the process falls in love.
I only gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 like the other books in the series because Julie changed the name of Paxton's twin and I had time adjusting to that. I have the version for Nook but in the first three books Paxton has a twin named Sebastian. In this fourth book his twin is named Logan.
Other than that everything else was the same as the other books, a strong independent woman comes across an item that has one of the brothers imprisoned within, she touches it and releases him but only during the nights. She must find a way to release him from the magic curse for good and in the process falls in love.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews