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Shattered Sisters #4
Hollow
A substantially revised and expanded version of The Bride Wore A Forty-Four.
She’s empty inside…
While celebrating her engagement with her fiancé in Africa, a bomb in a marketplace steals Kira’s life away.
Kira wakes from a coma with a steel plate in her head, and not a lot else. And it’s too easy to let herself flow in the current of her mother’s tender care. Her wedding plans go merrily on and she can’t work up the least bit of enthusiasm about it.
In fact, she only starts to feel alive again in the presence of her gorgeous wedding planner.
Eventually she goes in search of her old life and finds a wardrobe of denim and leather, and a small arsenal.
Who was she, before the bombing? She asks it of her reflection. And suddenly there’s a bad-ass version of herself looking back at her, and she wonders if she really wants to know.
“Maggie Shayne's books have a permanent spot on my keeper shelf. She writes wonderful stories with page-turning thrills, and I highly recommend her.” —NY Times Bestselling Author, Karen Robards
She’s empty inside…
While celebrating her engagement with her fiancé in Africa, a bomb in a marketplace steals Kira’s life away.
Kira wakes from a coma with a steel plate in her head, and not a lot else. And it’s too easy to let herself flow in the current of her mother’s tender care. Her wedding plans go merrily on and she can’t work up the least bit of enthusiasm about it.
In fact, she only starts to feel alive again in the presence of her gorgeous wedding planner.
Eventually she goes in search of her old life and finds a wardrobe of denim and leather, and a small arsenal.
Who was she, before the bombing? She asks it of her reflection. And suddenly there’s a bad-ass version of herself looking back at her, and she wonders if she really wants to know.
“Maggie Shayne's books have a permanent spot on my keeper shelf. She writes wonderful stories with page-turning thrills, and I highly recommend her.” —NY Times Bestselling Author, Karen Robards
131 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 14, 2012
196 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Shayne
270 books2,584 followersI live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY, (Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 5, 2019
An enjoyable romantic suspense novella with an interesting plot. I was surprised at the turn of events and sometimes the odds got a bit unrealistic. It had a good type of romance for a short story. Kira pretty much lets her mother run her life and plan her wedding while she is unsure about her fiance and her life before an incident she doesn't remember.a
September 12, 2025
#368 His eyes roamed her face for another moment, and then he lowered his head and kissed her. His mouth covered hers, and then his tongue nudged her lips apart, and she opened to him, eager to explore the memories that had tormented her for so long. She held him harder as her heart pounded and her breaths stuttered.
BOOK: Hollow
SERIES : #ShatteredSisters , Book 4
AUTHOR: #MaggieShayne
GENRE : #romancesuspensethriller #fiction
RATING: 4.2
A short and sweet read with some action packed sequences described , this book is the story of Kira , who loses her memory 6 months back and struggles to find herself. Her mother doesn't reveal much about her past, but she starts getting her memory back in bits and pieces all of a sudden. She is engaged to Peter , but she doesn't feel anything for him, any affection at all. But she is very much interested in the wedding planner and she can't guess why. The story takes a twist when her wedding day arrives. #suggested to readers who liked the movie Mr and Mrs Smith , because I felt like reading this book felt a little like that . If you are into heavy action based movies about police or agents and fights then this not your cup of tea. Bt if you are into romance action and suspense stories then this is for you.
#bookstagrampost
#hollow
#bookreview
#bookstagram
#kiraandmichael
#mafia
#memoryloss
#awedding
#agents
#dea
#familysecrets
#happyending
#partners
#love
#action
#goodreads
#reviewer
#fiction
#fictionnovel
BOOK: Hollow
SERIES : #ShatteredSisters , Book 4
AUTHOR: #MaggieShayne
GENRE : #romancesuspensethriller #fiction
RATING: 4.2
A short and sweet read with some action packed sequences described , this book is the story of Kira , who loses her memory 6 months back and struggles to find herself. Her mother doesn't reveal much about her past, but she starts getting her memory back in bits and pieces all of a sudden. She is engaged to Peter , but she doesn't feel anything for him, any affection at all. But she is very much interested in the wedding planner and she can't guess why. The story takes a twist when her wedding day arrives. #suggested to readers who liked the movie Mr and Mrs Smith , because I felt like reading this book felt a little like that . If you are into heavy action based movies about police or agents and fights then this not your cup of tea. Bt if you are into romance action and suspense stories then this is for you.
#bookstagrampost
#hollow
#bookreview
#bookstagram
#kiraandmichael
#mafia
#memoryloss
#awedding
#agents
#dea
#familysecrets
#happyending
#partners
#love
#action
#goodreads
#reviewer
#fiction
#fictionnovel
November 26, 2017
Kira Shanahan.... DEA agent... gorgeous... married to DEA partner, though didn't tell mom... dad DEA and her role model - until she finds out he isn't her biological father... she pulls away from husband, and is angry and starts taking risks...
Undercover she is engaged to Peter - a drug lord... though the real target is his boss/supplier...they are in Nairobi (husband shadowing her, father, and fiancé)... and in the market place there is bomb explosion... and she is thrown against tree, cracking her head... and she crawls to her father who tells her he loves her, and that he isn't her biological father - she should hear it from him... and he dies... and she wakes up a month later, with a metal plate in her head and no memory...
she passively allows her mom to guide her, planning the wedding, going along... and Marshall Waters is the wedding planner (her husband Michael, though she doesn't remember and mom never met him)...
and the day before the wedding, her kick-ass self starts 'speaking' in her head... and she explores the boxes packed up from her apartment and finds her guns/knives/clothes... and her memory comes bit by bit...
as wanting to talk to marshall, and 'groom' waiting for her... buns fire... and she's kidnapped... and Marshall shows up and they escape together... taking out the bad guys...
to live happily ever after...
Undercover she is engaged to Peter - a drug lord... though the real target is his boss/supplier...they are in Nairobi (husband shadowing her, father, and fiancé)... and in the market place there is bomb explosion... and she is thrown against tree, cracking her head... and she crawls to her father who tells her he loves her, and that he isn't her biological father - she should hear it from him... and he dies... and she wakes up a month later, with a metal plate in her head and no memory...
she passively allows her mom to guide her, planning the wedding, going along... and Marshall Waters is the wedding planner (her husband Michael, though she doesn't remember and mom never met him)...
and the day before the wedding, her kick-ass self starts 'speaking' in her head... and she explores the boxes packed up from her apartment and finds her guns/knives/clothes... and her memory comes bit by bit...
as wanting to talk to marshall, and 'groom' waiting for her... buns fire... and she's kidnapped... and Marshall shows up and they escape together... taking out the bad guys...
to live happily ever after...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2022
I felt I was skimming along the surface with this one and not really digging very deep into the characters or their problems which were mostly with their job. And there were definitely times when I was thinking, "Oh, stupid, stupid, stupid" which is never a situation I am happy with. Not to mention that once again injuries seem to evaporate when sex rears its head. Also, stupid, stupid, stupid.
October 30, 2021
A short, easy read where once again the protagonist is suffering from memory loss and trying to remember her past. This is an unlikely, action filled romance that provides an escape from reality.
The ending leaves room for a sequel but this does mean that it is a bit unsatisfying.
Overall a solid 3 stars.
The ending leaves room for a sequel but this does mean that it is a bit unsatisfying.
Overall a solid 3 stars.
August 10, 2022
From explosive beginning to the bullet riddled ending a must read series!
Another Shattered Sister that does not live the quiet life! Kira will find herself well matched when she and her love find their way to the family fold! These half sisters are definitely made of sterner stuff than their biological father!
Another Shattered Sister that does not live the quiet life! Kira will find herself well matched when she and her love find their way to the family fold! These half sisters are definitely made of sterner stuff than their biological father!
March 20, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Kira lost her memory during a trip to Africa with her fiancé or so she believes when she comes out of her coma. The thing is something doesn't feel right her wedding planner givers thought no engaged woman should be having. She doesn't feel right in her clothes so go in search of her things and finds a picture of what the old Kira was. What she finds is a shock but fills right and her memories are coming back but all to soon disaster strikes again and she takes control on autopilot. The book is intriguing and I love the chemistry. It doesn't end so I'll have to wait until the next book to see if they can tie up the lose ends.
July 26, 2021
Noooo I need more
Noooo, I can't believe I already came to the end of the book already I need more I want more haha I hope to see somebody else's story in this upcoming book but I'm sadly thinking it might be the last book in the series :-(
Noooo, I can't believe I already came to the end of the book already I need more I want more haha I hope to see somebody else's story in this upcoming book but I'm sadly thinking it might be the last book in the series :-(
December 25, 2019
Good Read
This book was suspenseful and thrilling but won't make "Talk doggy to me" status! I liked this book but it did have some scenes that didn't make sense.
This book was suspenseful and thrilling but won't make "Talk doggy to me" status! I liked this book but it did have some scenes that didn't make sense.
January 12, 2020
Good story, but needs editing
I enjoyed the story and Kira is a great character. Unfortunately there was a lot of missing punctuation and run on sentences.
I enjoyed the story and Kira is a great character. Unfortunately there was a lot of missing punctuation and run on sentences.
May 29, 2013
I wasn't sure what this was about when I started this book but I must say it was AWESOME! My only problem with it is I WANT MORE!!!! Kira is a shy timid woman letting her mother control every aspect of her life, including her wedding. But nothing is as it seems at all! I can't say more without spoiling it except the its action packed and a book you can't put down!
June 5, 2014
I love me an amnesia trope! Seriously love that trope. This one was actually not done too badly. The story itself was entertaining and very very quick. It's a quick read and gets pretty fast paced. I'd recommend it to people who don't take their action-romance TOO seriously. This isn't an earnest thriller. It's good though and I would recommend.
September 3, 2017
What a great read I was hooked from page one till the very end.
Fast paced and very hard to put down
A must read read if you like your la day's with a mind of there Owen and Sponk.
I really enjoyed this one it was short and great.
Fast paced and very hard to put down
A must read read if you like your la day's with a mind of there Owen and Sponk.
I really enjoyed this one it was short and great.
March 29, 2017
Kira is is Africa celebrating her engagement with Peter..When an explosion rips apart the marketplace in Nairobi they are visiting..
The explosion rips away her memories...And kills her father.
Back in the states several months later, Kira is planning her wedding to Peter, with her mother's help..But things just don't seem right..Her memory is coming back in bits and pieces...Why does she have guns and leathers packed away in the attic?
Why is she attracted to the wedding planner Marshall? When she is about to marry Peter?
She has a whole life to remember...
The explosion rips away her memories...And kills her father.
Back in the states several months later, Kira is planning her wedding to Peter, with her mother's help..But things just don't seem right..Her memory is coming back in bits and pieces...Why does she have guns and leathers packed away in the attic?
Why is she attracted to the wedding planner Marshall? When she is about to marry Peter?
She has a whole life to remember...
April 11, 2017
Loved the story. wish it was longer
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews