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Roarke
They have to be lying when they tell her she was dead. With no memory of her past, and no idea who she actually is, Nora has little options. Alone, and at the mercy of the Mercenary Defense Conglomerate, she searches for clues into her past, and the truth about her supposed demise. If she is a prisoner, robbed of memory and held against her will, then she must trust no one. If she has, in fact, returned from the dead, then who could possibly help her? Armed with only her wits and her inexplicably
52 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2010
22 people want to read
About the author
Frances Pauli
141 books65 followersFrances Pauli writes books about animals, hybrids, aliens, shifters, and occasionally ordinary humans. She tends to cross genre boundaries, but hovers around fantasy and science fiction with romantic tendencies.
Her work has won four Leo awards, two Coyotl awards, and has been nominated for an Ursa Major award.
She lives in Washington State with her family, a small menagerie, and far too many houseplants.
Her work has won four Leo awards, two Coyotl awards, and has been nominated for an Ursa Major award.
She lives in Washington State with her family, a small menagerie, and far too many houseplants.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 18, 2014
Up front I'll say as a romance, Roarke will not be most people's typical story. This is more of a story about Nora trying to regain her memories and her life, what happened to her and why, then it is about a romance with Roarke. Nora slowly goes from a 'robot'--all instinct and calculated reactions, no emotions behind the actions at all--to a 'human' trying to maintain some semblance of control over a life she wants back, but is frightened of.
Told from Nora's point of view, in a present tense tone, we're floundering right along with Nora as she struggles to remember something, anything of her life at all. Fleeting impressions or thoughts, fuzzy images and a song that she hears in her mind, these are all she has to go on. Her doctor, Doctor Williams, is the one presence she trusts implicitly, as far as her health at least. She sense secrets, senses something is not quite right or missing, but can't fathom what it could be.
As her past unfolds, Nora evolves, though she fights against the memories a lot of the time. Roarke is her rock, he helps her remember, makes her feel agitated but not in a scared way. Evan, her 'fiancee', does his level best to make her think she should rely on him, but he's jittery. Afraid of her, afraid of who she is--or possibly was.
I wish there had been more about her and Roarke. We're given so little about their time before her accident, that even after explanations were had I still found it difficult to fully believe that he meant so much to her. This story worked well as a mystery, or a suspense story. What happened to Nora? Why were people hiding things? What was Evan hiding that made him alternately smug and frightened? I wanted to know so I kept reading. The ending came too fast for me, but I greatly enjoyed this short story nonetheless.
Told from Nora's point of view, in a present tense tone, we're floundering right along with Nora as she struggles to remember something, anything of her life at all. Fleeting impressions or thoughts, fuzzy images and a song that she hears in her mind, these are all she has to go on. Her doctor, Doctor Williams, is the one presence she trusts implicitly, as far as her health at least. She sense secrets, senses something is not quite right or missing, but can't fathom what it could be.
As her past unfolds, Nora evolves, though she fights against the memories a lot of the time. Roarke is her rock, he helps her remember, makes her feel agitated but not in a scared way. Evan, her 'fiancee', does his level best to make her think she should rely on him, but he's jittery. Afraid of her, afraid of who she is--or possibly was.
I wish there had been more about her and Roarke. We're given so little about their time before her accident, that even after explanations were had I still found it difficult to fully believe that he meant so much to her. This story worked well as a mystery, or a suspense story. What happened to Nora? Why were people hiding things? What was Evan hiding that made him alternately smug and frightened? I wanted to know so I kept reading. The ending came too fast for me, but I greatly enjoyed this short story nonetheless.
March 25, 2022
Haunting Short
Nora wakes up with no memory, no idea of her past. This story is short but powerful, and I loved it. When I finished it I went back and read it again, it's that good.
Nora wakes up with no memory, no idea of her past. This story is short but powerful, and I loved it. When I finished it I went back and read it again, it's that good.
March 19, 2010
Great read! If you like mercenaries, mystery, romance, and dangerously sexy mysterious strangers, you'll enjoy this one.
March 30, 2010
Wow, this was fantastic. I really enjoyed this story. Fresh and exciting. I'm looking forward to Frances Pauli's next story.
October 5, 2010
That first person, is very difficult to write in, but she pulles it off brilliantly.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews