Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. Readers can jump from one author to another who share hooks from their current WIP (work in progress) or any previously published books.
For this week’s edition of Book Hooks, I give you a teaser from Born Like This, book two in the Maizemerized series, a time-travel, historical romance. Be sure to check out other book hooks HERE.
She went back in time to rescue him. She never counted on falling in love…
Alma Whitecrow prefers hunting and fishing with men, not romancing them. But hearing about the roguishly handsome coureur de bois, who saved her sister from the Dakota, haunts her thoughts and dreams. Well-versed in surviving the wilds, Alma resolves to travel to the mid-eighteenth century, as her sister once did, to save the man from impending death.
Charlot Baudelaire thumbs his nose at society’s expectations, content living as a loner, trading with people he calls the Saulters. If he needs a woman for the night, there is always a willing maiden. What he doesn’t expect is a spunky and stubborn female warrior to challenge him.
Charlot is not the man Alma dreamed about, and Alma is not the kind of woman Charlot pursues. But the longer they are together, the more drawn to each other they become, until Alma faces the biggest decision of her life. Stay with a man who may never reciprocate her love, or return to her Ojibway home and bland existence.
Genre(s): Time Travel, Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, First Nations Romance, Paranormal Romance, Adult.
Heat Rating: Level 3
Publication Date: October 31, 2025
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Charlot hadn’t expected to find Arms Oneself with her clothes off. Mon Dieu! No wonder she sank beneath the water, only her lovely face—the color of a tomato—visible.
A gentleman would cover his eyes. Time ticked away before he finally forced his lustful gaze to agree with his brain, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Only a silly man turned away from a beautiful maiden in the lake without her clothes on. “I see you have no need for some ash.”
“I…” She cleared her throat. There was a splash.
He cracked open his lids slightly. “You have made some?”
“Y-yes.”
Her stammering was as lyrical as her native tongue.
“Very well. Enjoy your bathing.” He had to force himself to turn around, even when his body hollered at him to take advantage of the stunning lass by peeling off his own clothes and joining her in the water.
He forced himself to walk. As he moved along, the walking branch tapped against the rocks, creating distance between them that he did not wish for. He muttered under his breath, “Tu sot.”
Goodness, how was he supposed to sleep when Arms Oneself was without clothing? Her breasts weren’t very big, but he could imagine how stunning those bronze globes would appear with water streaming over them, even coaxing her nipples to a full erection. Sweet nipples, probably tastier than the berries the brother of summer blessed on the land. What about the hair between her legs? He could almost smell the aroma her womanly region gave off. Imagine her washing such a personal area. Her fingers gliding between her womanly lips, stripping her sheath of its natural flavor. A perfume he enjoyed sniffing while lying with a lovely mademoiselle.
It had been a long time since he’d last enjoyed bedding down with a woman. Most maidens were kept close to their families. But whenever he arrived at one of the villages or camps, one somehow slithered away from prying eyes to steal off with him. So far, he’d been lucky not to be challenged by a brother or father, probably because he always brought gifts to the Indians, something they enjoyed. And he’d be considered rude not to appear with gifts, since the Saulteurs expected as much.
He sat back on his bedroll, gaze wandering to the bush where Arms Oneself shielded herself from him. Was she washing her slim yet firm arms with a nice, lovely rounding of muscles? Such strength she possessed, but lean.
He glanced down at his breeches, his staff standing at attention, but he couldn’t help his arousal. Again, he peered toward the bush. A gentleman would stay put. But he didn’t wish to play the gentleman.
Maggie Blackbird 
Great excerpt! I love that he’s trying to look away but he can’t help picturing every detail anyway.
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