"...A humdinger of a story...Ms. Clark does an excellent job of keeping the tension as high as a tightrope walker as Jim and Lily have some harrowing escapades with life and death...A fast-moving plot that races swiftly along like some of the swollen rain fed rivers in South America that challenged Jim and Lily. I loved traveling to some exotic sites with wild birds, orchids, waterfalls and bathing pools. It was so romantic and so refreshing!...Kadar and some others from the marvelous Sons of Earth and Wind series make appearances...so lovers of this series are going to be very pleased to once again meet up with the tempting Kadar...Clark has a special brand of heroes and heroines that are unforgettable after you've finished her intriguing stories, leaving you craving more. Emerald Heat is fabulous suspense and danger encircling a woman in jeopardy with a life and death secret, and a man who is a superior warrior whose only desire is to love and protect her. Ms. Clark also brings back some dynamite characters from some of her past stories that are going to drive you crazy until you get the books and read their stories too. Get your heart set on action and adventure to die for, as you will simmer in Emerald Heat! Lucky readers will be able to purchase all of Barbara Clark's stories from Amber Quill Press. Ms. Clark has been a 'must read' author for me for years—she pleases, teases and sends your imagination soaring with her compelling stories and riveting characters. Take my word for it, you are in for some very special reading experiences in the natural and supernatural realms."—Suzanne Coleburn, The Belles and Beaux of Romance & Reader To Reader Reviews

"Spicy 4 ½ Roses!...A gripping tale that pulled no stops. Action and suspense literally ooze through the pages. The story is very detailed and readers can easily imagine themselves right in the thick of things with Jim and Lily. Lily definitely is no weak heroine, she shows true grit and determination. Jim exudes power and raw masculinity. Secondary characters are incredible, each having their own stories prior. Ones that I am definitely going to hunt down! This is the first time I have read one of Barbara Clark's books. The only thing I am sorry about is that I haven't read her before! She is an incredible talent, and one that is not to be missed! Emerald Heat is everything a reader could want in a romance and more."—Tami Sutton, Escape To Romance

...He felt a jolt. The chopper dipped. Jim realized someone or maybe two people had grabbed the landing skids. He hovered over the river and rocked the chopper to dislodge the unwelcome passengers. Two jolts upward told him they had dropped into the river. He pulled back farther on the collective and they were climbing to meet the clouds.

Bullets followed them into the night sky.

Lily noted, vaguely, that she could hear wind shriek through holes in the cabin.

The cloud cover had condensed into nightly rain with its rushing wind. The powerful helicopter bucked and shuddered under the double impact of wind and water.

Lily knew if anyone could keep them safe, it was Jim.

Her head was, surprisingly, still on her shoulders, but the unceasing, fevered pain was overshadowed by a massive thirst. Bemused, she stared at the rain water falling sideways across windscreen and window. A few drops spattered through the bullet holes. Placing her fingertip to one hole she was gratified to feel water. She brought the wet fingertip to her parched lips, soothing them with the liquid.

Jim wanted to check her condition. That was impossible. Still climbing into the night at more than 100 MPH, he ignored everything but the instruments. In the dusky shroud of storm clouds they were his only guides and means of control.

He sorted through his memory for a safe place to take Lily for medical help. Brazil and Peru were out. Don Phillips had too much influence.

Almost lost in the heavy clouds and rain, he barely glanced at the black hole spread out below. Daylight would disclose a vast green ocean of treetops. For now that was hidden in the rain-washed dark.

Blossoms of light in the clouds ahead showed lightning activity far enough away not to destroy his night vision.

He had another worry. The helicopter had developed an unhealthy sound. It shuddered and moved sluggishly. He kept it going with numerous tricks learned under enemy fire. To make it more interesting, he was losing fuel at a rate that said at least one bullet had found a vital part of the fuel system.

Forty-five minutes after they’d left the survey camp, Jim knew he’d have to set down in unexplored rain forest. The helicopter had developed a nasty hiccup. They were on a shorter trip with every rotation of the titanium blades.

All his attention was focused on keeping the helicopter in one piece in the air. He played a dangerous game of tag with the taller trees. He most definitely didn’t want to be, It.

Over the engines’ roar, he shouted, “Brace yourself,” to Lily. Then they were dropping, angling down to a silver line that marked another river or long lake.

Trees rushed up on all sides. Branches reached out like hungry hands to clutch and scrape the helicopter sides. The silver line developed into a long oxbow lake.

Sometime, in the distant past, a long loop of unnamed river had been closed off from the main rush of water. It was this slender curve of water that kept an opening in the midnight ocean of trees.

Night birds, disturbed by the falling metal bird, shrieked and changed their flight path. Broken branches and leaves tumbled through the high, rain-drenched canopy.

Misshapen shadows rushed up to meet the chopper as wind and rain threatened to propel it into the lake. Jim spied a narrow clear area at the lake’s edge. He’d run out of choices. This was it.

With one last choking spurt, the helicopter turned and settled on the muddy ground in the narrow clearing. Part of the bank gave way under the right skid. The helicopter tipped, like a bird dying of its wounds, and settled with the right side in water up to the middle of the cabin door. Everything not tied down in the cabin slipped and slid toward that door.