Hot desert mystery romance!
Dust Born
Cambio Springs Book 4
New Adult, Adult, Shifter Romance, Paranormal Mystery, Magical Realism
Recurve Press, LLC
October 24, 2023
Kindle, Paperback
294
Sean Quinn returned to Cambio Springs to help his shifter clan find their way out of trouble, but before he can hit the road again, a new threat emerges on the border of his hometown. A threat that could leave Sean stuck in Cambio Springs when he's most desperate to escape. And one unsuspecting human might be stuck right there with him. Ever since Juniper Hawkins came to Cambio Springs to visit her big brother, strange things keep happening. Not the least was running into the man who'd almost made her change her wandering ways. Juni wasn't the kind of woman who settled down, even when the object of her affection was a tall, dark, and handsome photographer who kissed her senseless then abandoned her in Southeast Asia. Not that she was still irritated about that.
“Life is funny. It takes you in directions you never dreamed it might.”
It has been eight years since we have been to Elizabeth Hunter’s Cambio Springs and I can’t be more excited for this chance to be back in this small, desert community. Cambio Springs is the secret home to a number of animal/reptile shifter clans who made this Nevada desert oasis their final destination during their westward journey generations ago. Dust Born picks up with a murder that occurred in Waking Hearts which put the town on the radar of a very powerful but elusive global shifter with a chip on his shoulder for the Cambio Springs’ citizens. Sean Quinn and Juniper Hawkins are internationally renowned travel photographers who have worked together on and off for years and tried to manage the sizzling undercurrent of attraction between them. When family connections bring them both to Cambio Springs, the desert heat and mounting mystery cause sparks to finally start igniting between Juni and Sean as they try to protect this little town.
While Dust Born will be better experienced by reading the first three books in the Cambio Springs series, it can still be enjoyed by itself. EH does a fantastic job of subtly including backstory in a way that never makes you feel as if you are lost. Plus, since it has been years since the last installment you definitely don’t have to go back and reread the other books to start this one. But, with the delightful new covers you might want to grab copies of all four books any way.
“He was the smart choice. He was the best choice ever because he was the best man she had ever known and he tried so hard to hide it.” – Juni
Sean and Juni’s story in Dust Born will grab your heart. Sean has loved her from the moment he met her but did not want her dragged, not only into his secretive shifter world, but into his dysfunctional family that he has tried so hard to distance himself from. Juni always knew there was something between her and Sean, but never understood how he could walk away like he did time and again. But that all changes when ties to her family drag her into the turmoil that is simmering in Cambio Springs and they both realize that their love is the thing that matters, everything else they will figure out together.
Elizabeth Hunter is one of my go to authors. She recently posted an Instagram Reel questioning whether she was a specific genre author and her response was spot on, “I don’t know”. EH has written a lot of books that could fall under different genres: vampire, romance, shifter, murder mystery, and paranormal, but she definitely is not a one genre author. EH loves to meld genres into something that is totally unique to her and the stories she creates. She’s like a multi-tool author, pick any genre and she has the skill to write a great story in it! While you may be totally surprised by what she comes up with, the thing you can always be certain of is that she will give you a variety of realistic characters, relationships that bring the right amount of tension and culminate with toe curling heat, a smorgesbord of settings, a story that will keep you glued to the pages, and an ending that will leave you quite satisfied. At this point in my reading journey all you have to say is that Elizabeth Hunter has a new book coming out and I’m there for it!
Tanya’s love for books has been a lifelong passion that she likes sharing with others. Reading is also the thing that relaxes her after a day of juggling the many responsibilities that come with being being wife to an amazing man, mother to four great kids spread around the world, business manager, and farm hand on their place in southwest Missouri; home to Akaushi cattle and a menagerie of pygmy goats, horses, chickens, dogs and cats.
