Book Blitz: In the Shadow of a Dream

In the Shadow of a Dream
Maci Aurora
(Fareview Fairytales, #3)
Publication date: January 30th 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

With the promise of finally learning her mother’s secrets, Brinna Fareview and her family gather together. Only somewhere between the truth and lies, Brinna wakes to find she’s trapped in a space in between the world awake and the nightmares of her family. All of them are asleep. Learning she has the ability to move from dream to dream, Brinna tries to find a way out of the dream world, but she’s stuck, unable to fix what’s ailing her family. But then an unexpected thing happens, Lucian Uraiahs, god of day and light, walks into her dream.

While Lucian decided a long time ago that Brinna Fareview was a blight on his peace, he can’t seem to avoid her. She pops up at every turn, all because his brother is god-yoked to her sister. All Lucian wants is to disappear into the oblivion of the cosmos amidst his shame and guilt, but the unbidden feelings he has for Brinna can’t be contained. When Lucian is stripped of his powers for refusing to bend to his father’s will, he is imprisoned with only his guilt to keep him company. Except when he falls asleep, he dreams of Brinna and somehow becomes the only link to saving her, her family, and his brother from a spell that could destroy them all.

Brinna and Lucian must work together to uncover the secrets they need to break the sleeping spell, but the longer they share their dreams, the more they realize time is against them.

Join the Fareviews in book three of the Fareview Fairytales series, In the Shadow of a Dream, to discover the truth that has them trapped behind the hedge.

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EXCERPT:

Luc grumbled and turned back to look at the hedge once more, walking its length when he heard women’s voices—sweet and lilting—coming from inside. He stepped back, searching for the elusive entrance.

“Remember when we were talking to Tarley the other day? About the man in the woods?” Aurielle—he knew her voice—replied.

“So romantic…” the other said, her voice soft and whimsical. Which left only two possibilities: Luc’s woodland fairy or the other sister, the one with the dark, soulful eyes. “Why are we doing this again?” she asked.

He wondered which one was with Aurielle and suppressed any hope it might be his singer.

“Well, I’ve met someone.” Aurielle snapped the words, because the other one seemed to be antagonistic about being dragged out into the woods.

He grinned at their bickering. Relatable.

“I have so many questions! You’ve been behind the hedge since–” The sister’s voice cut off abruptly, then she shouted, “The Great Nap Escapade?”

“So,” Aurielle said, drawing out the word, “you’re doing this for true love. And I promise, Brin, you won’t have to wait long.”

[…]There were words spoken Luc couldn’t discern, followed by Aurielle bursting from the hedge. She called out for Nix and disappeared across the road through the bramble.

“What if someone comes?” Brinna called, then groaned. “Annoying.”

He was going to talk to her! He swallowed as he thought about what to say. “Couldn’t agree more.” Luc couldn’t see her; she was still hidden within the hedge.

She gasped. “Who’s there?”

“The brother.”

Her head—like a disembodied apparition—appeared from the hedge, turning to look for him.

When she saw him, her eyes widened. It was the first time he realized her eyes were gray. “Whose brother?”

He hummed but said, “Since we’re both on lookout duty, we could make it interesting.” “Who are you, exactly?” she asked, stepping from the hedge.

Luc’s breath stopped up, caught up by both disbelief and utter excitement. […] “There you are,” Luc said, finally finding his voice.

She demanded his name.

“Lucian,” he said, turning slightly toward her, his shoulder leaning against the hedge—a terrible choice. He straightened and wiped the leaves from his shoulder.

“And you’re not here to meet my sister?”

“Stars, no,” he said, allowing himself to truly look at her as he shook his head, grateful, suddenly, that Nix asked him to be his unnecessary companion. “That would be my brother. Come closer.” He gave her a slight grin. “I don’t bite. Usually.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m fine right here, thank you.”

“You know my name, which gives you power. Will you not offer the same?” Though he already knew it, he wanted her to offer it freely.

“Brinna,” she replied and disappeared back into the hedge.

“Wait,” Luc called. “Where did you go?” The hedge didn’t have an entrance. “Where are you?” “Here,” she whispered, as if daring him to find her. Despite the low volume, her voice reached him, and he wondered, strangely, if it always would.

He used his godlight to sneak through the magical threads of the hedge, and his arms passed through, allowing him to grasp Brinna. Using her as leverage, he pulled himself inside.

She squealed—a cute little sound that seemed as if she was trying to be quiet about it—and stumbled into him, her palms pressed against his chest. Heat seared his skin underneath his clothes where her hands rested.

“What are you doing?” she demanded. “Unhand me.”

He did. Immediately. Swiping his hands over the place she’d touched to wipe away the sensation.

He hated the added impulse of wanting to wrap her up in his arms.

Ridiculous. He told himself he was curious about this hedge, given he’d never seen anything like it on his Roam.

He walked deeper into an arched passageway that stretched out in front of him with no end in sight, as if it curled in on itself. Surprised by the muted light inside, Luc glanced over his shoulder, where Brinna now stood framed by an arched entrance.

She followed him. “What is wrong with you?”

His internal glow warmed the darkness inside the hedge so he could see her features, which pinched with her frown. He wanted to press his thumb against her mouth, run the pad of it across her lips, but he swallowed the urge instead and looked away.

“If I keep walking, what will I find?” he asked, ignoring her question for one of his own.

“The cottage. Where I live.” She paused, then said, “You truly couldn’t see me? That seems… unbelievable.”

He hummed and looked around. “Perhaps if it wasn’t enchanted.”

“Enchanted!” She scoffed, an unflattering kind of snort, but Luc found it… cute. “You must be mistaken.”

He snorted back at her, incredulous. “I am not mistaken. Not about this.”

“You don’t make mistakes?” She offered a sharp laugh.

He’d begun to think this—trapping himself in proximity to her—was one. “Absolutely not,” he lied. The very large mistake in his immediate past had nearly cost him his brother, but she didn’t need to know about that.

“I highly doubt that.” She crossed her arms, her dark eyebrows arching over her pretty eyes. “Now, why are you glowing?”

“Why is this hedge enchanted?” he countered, realizing he should have doused his godlight so his father wouldn’t know, but he didn’t with her attention finally fixed on him.

They stood facing one another, the hedge seeming to close in around them. He only needed to take a step, and he’d be close enough to draw her into his arms, lean forward, and kiss her. The shrinking hedge and his overpowering urge to touch her made him feel like he couldn’t take a deep enough breath.

“How do you get out of here?” The shrinking hedge unnerved him, even if it was an illusion…Then he realized he couldn’t see the opening any longer. It had disappeared. He was trapped.

“I need to go,” he gasped.

Author Bio:

Romance author.

Lover of stories.

Maci Aurora has been writing stories since she was a child. When she was eleven, she fell in love with reading Sunfire Historical Romances about girls who made a difference in their lives and still fell in love. In high school, a friend introduced her to Lavyrle Spencer and Judith McNaught, and from there, her writing journey was cemented in telling stories about love. Having already published many novels (all of which are threaded with romance as upper YA and New Adult titles) under the pen name, CL Walters, Maci Aurora wanted to write stories that offered the same attention to story and characters but with additional steam.

Maci writes in Hawaiʻi where she lives with her husband, their children, and their fur-babies.

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Book Blitz: Zealot by C. Vonzale Lewis

Zealot
C. Vonzale Lewis
(Blood and Sacrifice Chronicles, #2)
Published by: Parliament House
Publication date: March 22nd 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

Nicole Fontane thought her demons were buried deep enough. She was wrong.

After barely escaping the blood bath of the Harvest ritual, Nicole and her vigilante compatriots learn that there are others practicing blood magick on Tulare Island.

Hired to rid the island of the remaining blood magick users, Nicole and her allies come face to face with The Better Day Church and the mysterious Young Family, whose nefarious behavior is well known on the island. The murky organization stirs old memories of a cult buried deep in the Louisiana bayou—flickers of Nicole’s traumatic past and the altar she barely escaped.

But when Nicole receives an invitation to the Young family’s private residence to attend a secret meeting with The Daughters of the Vine—an elusive sect of women led by Gavina Young—she knows there is no escaping her fraught history with cults.

The invite is clearly a trap, but it’s also an opportunity to take down the church. Nicole soon learns that the sickness lurking behind the walls of the Young family’s manor runs far deeper than the banal allure of blood magick. The church’s matriarch harbors a predatory interest in Nicole’s power—barely disguising her desire to harness it.

Nicole must unravel the mysteries of her newfound abilities, or her first job may be her last. Worst of all, she may end up on the altar again.

Goodreads / Amazon

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PRAISE FOR ZEALOT:

“For those who read Lineage, be prepared for Zealot’s wild ride…The twists were great, the writing fabulous…It’s a sequel not to be missed!”
– Candace Robinson, Best Selling Author of the Faeries from Oz series.

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“Ms. Lewis kept us on a fast track with everything that was happening.”

–Rita Smith, Goodreads Reviewer

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“Could. NOT. Put. It. DOWN!!!”
–Kelli Lea, Goodreads Reviewer

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“This story is full of exciting twists, turns and mystery sure to suck in many avid readers.”
–Elizabeth Chapson, Goodreads reviewer

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“A definite must read.”
–Thomas Lake, Goodreads reviewer

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“I love this series.”
–Shell Moore, Goodreads reviewer

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“Lacing magic and demons, the author takes us on a freefall ride of terror and violence as Nicole and her friends take on the monsters that hide and feed on the innocent.”
– Dave Wickenden, Author of Homegrown

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MEET SOME OF THE CHARACTERS!

Author Bio:

My name is Carla Vonzale Lewis and I like my martinis shaken… never stirred.

Carla was born in Georgia, but please don’t mistake her for a Georgia peach. She’s more like a prickly pear. Speaking of being born, someone asked her recently if she remembered her birth. And she had to say, “Yes, I do remember that handsy doctor pulling me out into the cold. Right Bastard!!!”

Despite being born in the South, she grew up in California. Every once in a great while she gets to experience all four seasons. But mostly, it’s just heat.

When not writing, Carla enjoys reading, binge watching shows on Netflix, and trying to convince her husband that getting a dog is a wonderful idea.

And one day, she will discover how many licks it actually takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

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Book Blitz: Ethan by Delaney Diamond

Ethan
Delaney Diamond
(Family Ties, #1)
Publication date: February 7th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

At the age of seventeen, Skye Thorpe lost her parents and yearns for a family of her own, and she’s certain Ethan Connor is the one to give it to her. After all, they’ve been together for seven years. One night she broaches the subject of marriage and learns the devastating truth. Ethan has no intention of marrying her.

Ethan married young and learned the hard way what it was like to be betrayed by the person he loved. After a bitter divorce, he promised himself he would never allow another woman to wreck his life again. So when Skye mentions marriage, he quickly shuts her down.

To get the life she craves, Skye has no choice but to end the relationship and walk away. But can she really walk away, if Ethan won’t let her go?

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EXCERPT:

They pulled up in front of the hotel, and before Halston could leave the driver’s seat to open the door, Ethan’s foot hit the pavement in anticipation of seeing Skye. He received unprecedented pleasure from watching her simply walk toward him.

She exited the doors, and he drew in a deep breath. After a rough couple of days, seeing her loosened the tightness inside him. The frustrations of the day faded and he immediately relaxed.

Skye Thorpe was a tawny-skinned goddess in an eye-catching cape dress in cranberry-red with gold heels. The red matched the red in his tie, thanks to the diligence of his personal assistant.

Her thick, lustrous hair was swept up on top of her head, and gold hoops adorned her ears. She had the type of body traditional media frowned upon, but he found irresistible as she came toward him with the sexiest damn walk he’d ever seen on a woman. His eyes ate up every curve of her voluptuous body—a body with breasts, ass, and hips galore. She strode toward him like the entrance was a runway, and he tossed around the idea of skipping the party and taking her to bed since they hadn’t seen each other for several nights. He longed to plant his hands on her wide hips and take his time sucking on her luscious breasts.

She’d put a spell on him. There was no other way to explain how, after seven years, she continued to capture his attention simply by making an appearance, much like she did the very first time he’d seen her in the hotel bar. She’d been upset and disappointed because some loser stood her up, and he’d become the luckiest man on the planet when he rescued her from a disappointing night.

Skye sidled up to him—a smile on plump red lips as inviting as a siren’s song—filling the air around them with the scent of her perfume. He slipped an arm around her back and drew her close, gazing down into her dark brown, upturned eyes.

She laughed, knowing he intended to kiss her, because he always did whenever they spent time apart. He had to kiss her. He had to touch her. He had to experience the full power of Skye.

“You’re going to mess up my lipstick.”

“Reapply it.”

He fastened his mouth over hers, kissing her with passion and the assurance of knowing this woman belonged only to him. He let a hand slide lower in a possessive grab of her bottom. Halston remained silent beside the car, eyes respectfully averted.

Skye moaned, and that little sound sent an electric charge straight to Ethan’s groin.

When he lifted his head, he still didn’t let her go. He pressed his hard length into her soft belly. “I hate I have to wait to get you home. It’s been too long.”

“It’s been two days,” she pointed out, a smile of pleasure brightening her face.

“An eternity,” he said.

“And whose fault is that? You’re the one who decided to stay at the office last night when you could’ve been here, in bed with me.”

“Too distracting, but maybe that means my priorities are all screwed up.”

“Yes, they are, but I forgive you.”

She swiped her thumb across his lips, removing the lipstick transferred from her mouth. “And please, shave all of that off as soon as possible.” She slipped into the car.

“Yes, ma’am,” Ethan said with amusement, following her.

Halston closed the door behind them, and they were on their way.

Author Bio:

Delaney Diamond is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sensual, passionate romance novels, and was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She reads romance novels, mysteries, thrillers, and a fair amount of nonfiction. When she’s not busy reading or writing, she’s in the kitchen trying out new recipes, dining at one of her favorite restaurants, or traveling to an interesting locale. To get sneak peeks, notices of sale prices, and find out about new releases, visit her website and join her mailing list. Enjoy free stories on her website at www.delaneydiamond.com.

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Book Blitz: Shadow Guardian by Jennie Lynn Roberts

Shadow Guardian
Jennie Lynn Roberts
Publication date: February 8th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Not all shadows are what they seem…

Kay swore an oath to use her Shadows to guard the light—an oath she takes very seriously. So, when a dark Shadow arises to terrorize London, she steps up and fights back. The last thing she expects is to find herself being patched up by a sexy paramedic who has no idea what kind of power he could control… or for her Shadows to recognize him as their perfect match.

Ethan doesn’t trust easily—not in matters of love, and certainly not in… whatever supernatural secrets Kay’s mixed up in. But the more time they spend together, the more he realizes he needs her with an intensity he’s never known before. Accepting her crazy, Shadow-filled world will be difficult. Opening his heart to her… he’s afraid that might be a step too far.

But the dark Shadows are growing. Their enemy is powerful—and closer than anyone realizes. Can Kayleigh and Ethan claim their happily ever after? Or will the darkness claim them first?

Shadow Guardian, the first book on the Blood Shadows Trilogy, is an adult paranormal romance for readers who love fated mates, fast-paced adventure and plenty of spice. Each book in the trilogy follows a different couple and has its own guaranteed HEA. The story concludes in book three.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

Kay picked her words carefully. “If you’ve never been in a Circle, how did you learn to Heal like that?” Having to figure out his abilities alone must have been extraordinarily difficult. He was obviously powerful, and extremely controlled.

Ethan shook his head defensively. “I’m a paramedic; that’s what we do.”

No. There was far more to it than that. Far more to him.

She wanted to know him, know his story. And it wasn’t just because she’d never heard of someone being missed like that before; it was Ethan himself. Something about him called to her and made the Shadows around her flicker uncertainly, almost as if they were reaching out toward him. She wished she could lean over and drown in his warm, clean scent.

Kay stifled a snort at her own dramatics. Clearly, the adrenaline crash was messing with her emotions. This wasn’t like her at all.

She was a Guardian, and it was her duty to help him. That was it. Nothing at all to do with the way his arm muscles flexed as he worked and how desperately she wanted to run her fingers along his tanned skin. Nothing to do with his aura of confidence and self-assurance, or his kindness, or the way his brown eyes focused on hers. Nothing. At. All.

She cleared her throat and looked away.

Ethan stood up, frowning, and started packing up. “I’ll just go and get that police officer for you; they’ll want a statement, I imagine.”

Kay’s Shadows fluttered somewhere deep in her chest, and before she’d thought about it, she found herself reaching out to take his hand; to stop him before he could turn away.

Her whole body was instantly filled with warmth and awareness. Like the first step into a hot shower after being outside on a cold winter’s day. The jolt as water hits skin, one minute freezing, the next burning with heat. Or the moment after opening her eyes into bright sunshine after sleeping on the beach, everything too bright and disorienting.

She pulled her hand back in surprise, flexing her fingers slightly as they tingled. Ethan looked just as stunned as she felt, his hand held out slightly away from his body. “What happened?” he asked roughly.

“I don’t know.” She genuinely didn’t. She’d heard of an instant, undeniable connection between two Shadow Weavers, but was this what it felt like? She had no idea.

Author Bio:

Jennie Lynn Roberts believes that every strong, kickass heroine should have control of her own story, a swoony hero to support her at every turn, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Because that doesn’t always happen in real life, she began creating her own worlds that work just the way they should. And she hasn’t looked back since.

Jennie would rather be writing than doing anything else—except for spending time with her gorgeous family, of course. But when she isn’t building vibrant new worlds, she can be found nattering with friends, baking up a storm, or strolling in the woods around her home in England.

If you want to talk books, romance, movies, reluctant heroes, or just about anything else with Jennie, feel free to contact her atwww.jennielynnroberts.com. But be prepared to settle in for a long chat if you bring up shifters, vampires, Star Wars, or The Princess Bride….

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Book Blitz: Unmeasured by Alyssa Turner

Unmeasured
Alyssa Turner
(Unmatched, #1)
Publication date: March 15, 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

SHE’s a good girl, or at least she tries to be. People think Samantha Hunter lives a fairytale life. Only this young, wealthy American in Paris has a secret. If she lets it free, there’s no telling what she’ll do. Being the wild child is one thing. Letting her dark fantasies run wild is quite another. How could she? The better question is…how could she not?

HE wears a suit, but he is not entirely civilized. Oleg Balashov is often hungry for something he’ll probably never find. His closest friends have similar appetites and the private club they own is the perfect place to feed their desires. Oleg is ready to pay an old debt with an arranged marriage, mafia style. Then Samantha appears on a bar stool with just enough curiosity to get her into trouble. She’s in way over her pretty head. Or is it the other way around? The Masters of Club Duval have a new pet and she isn’t so easy to tame. Samantha Hunter is about to rewrite all the rules for these Doms and nothing will ever be the same.

Trigger warning: Oleg owns a whip, and he knows how to use it. After the happily ever after ending, the epilogue of this book will be an introduction to the prologue of book 2, Unleashed.

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Only 99¢ for a limited time!

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EXCERPT:

Finally, he spoke. His voice was a raspy and feral version of itself. “Your safeword… Scream it loud. Scream it at the top of your fucking lungs, because I need your screams today for all the wrong fucking reasons.”

He cracked the whip again, and it snapped her shoulder blade with the thinnest of cuts, sounding like a gunshot, feeling like a hornet’s kiss.

“If I hurt you…” he said.

She turned around, and her gaze locked first on his trembling hand and then his tortured eyes. “I will survive you.”

“If you survive me, then you can have me, because truly I belong to no one else.” The whip cracked above her head.

“Turn the fuck around!”

When she did, he snapped a sideways strike across her ass. Her flesh lit with fiery agony. She balled her fists and inhaled deeply, trusting his control over the nine-foot length of braided leather.

Then a loud thud sounded, and a crash followed. She turned around to see Oleg stalking toward her, his whip strewn across the floor next to a broken vase.

Heavy, billowing breaths blew past his lips. He scratched his chin and then rubbed the back of his head. One last swallow, and he steadied himself. The worst of the storm had passed and she’d survived. In fact, she’d more than survived. Samantha had stood in the eye of the storm and remained on her feet.

“Where the hell did you come from?” he demanded, grabbing both of her shoulders, shaking her once, though she was certain he wasn’t concerned with the name of her hometown.

She didn’t flinch. His hold on her was nothing to fear. Then his thumbs swiped at the teardrops on her cheeks before he decided to sip on them instead. She melted right there. “How did you find me?” she asked the same unseen knower of all things.

God, how badly she wanted this man inside of her. She pawed at the chastity belt, angry at it so suddenly. Danger wafted off him in invisible waves, unspoken, ultrasonic, undeniably magnetic. The beautiful, broken monster had revealed himself, raw, untethered, and she devoured his anger, his pain. It had given her peace even as she hungered to know the limits of his pain, to be at the sharp edge of his despair with him. But why? What could be found in dark, bottomless pools that made her want to jump in? She’d been asking herself that question all her life and still didn’t have an answer.

Author Bio:

Alyssa believes that when characters speak to you, you've got to listen. She's been all ears and writing stories in all lengths since childhood. She only wonders where those notebooks of handwritten dramas ended up.

Almost everyone tags her romances as habanero hot, and with her proclivity for the ménage genre, Alyssa is often recognized for weaving complexity and emotional depth into her characters. She has so much fun writing, she can never be relied upon to put the wash into the dryer any time after 10 PM. Luckily, she is married to the most understanding husband in the world.

The Love Has No Regrets collection of novels by Alyssa Turner includes several series with familiar characters threaded into each story. Her LHNR world is ever growing, spanning from Manhattan to Paris, with Polyamorous love that answers only to the heart. Read more about Alyssa Turner and preview her published works on her blog.

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Book Blitz: Damaged Grump: An Enemies to Lovers Romance

Damaged Grump: An Enemies to Lovers Romance
Nicole Snow
Publication date: January 21st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Nicole Snow returns with a hysterical office romance where the grumpiest boss claims the good girl and loses his scorched heart.

Our meet cute was one big sip of ugly.
He pushed my hell-no buttons, wearing an indestructible smirk.
I offended his warped morals in front of his starry-eyed minions.
Then I got my sweet reward for doing the right thing.
I found out I’d be calling Roland Osprey “boss.”

A filthy rich tabloid king. Emphasis on filthy.
A gorgeous villain who sold his soul—if he ever had one.
A tyrant who stole my sensitive, uplifting music magazine.
Welcome to my bait and switch.

Apparently, disasters come in threes.
His perfect vests that leave me delirious.
The way he stares at my lips—painted for torment with an arsenal of lipstick.
Our shared love for sad songs that makes me cry.
So does the big fat secret assignment he drops on my head.

I hate that he has a good cause.
I wish I could hate the wicked ways he makes me feel divine.
When my guard slips, I’m in free fall.
One all-consuming kiss in an alley seals our epic mistake.
How many times can one damaged grump make me sing the blues?
How do you ever fall out of love with the bad guy?

Full-length enemies-to-lovers romance doused in biting words and sizzling slow-burn tension. The worst boss ever finds his missing piece in the woman who loathes him—and an unlikely Happily Ever After worth all the lumps to the heart.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

It’s ten a.m.

I was supposed to meet Roland fifteen minutes ago, and I’m still slumming around in a t-shirt and panties.

“Just a minu—ULP!” I yell, tumbling out of bed.

Legs, meet sheets.

Legs, get intimately acquainted with sheets.

Legs, dump me face-first on the floor when I try standing with the sheets tangled around my calves.

Yep, I basically just hog-tied myself.

I go down hard, groaning as another knock rattles the door. This time, it’s firmer.

“Callie? Are you all right in there?” Roland’s voice drifts through the thick wood.

Oh, boy.

“M’fine,” I mumble into the pillow that fell with me, thankfully cushioning my head smacking the floor. “Just tripped. Give me a sec.”

He doesn’t say anything, but his silence whispers skepticism.

Who could blame him?

I fight off the sheets, totter to my feet, and dump the bedding back on the mattress before snagging a pair of running shorts from the suitcase I’d left open in the corner easy chair.

Hopping on one foot, then the other, I shimmy into them, yanking them up over my hips. Then I stagger to the door and pull it open with my arms moving faster than my brain.

Eep.

One look at the bosshole makes me realize what a disheveled mess I am.

We’re talking oversized shirt falling off one shoulder, hanging down just long enough to hide my tiny shorts. Bedhead hair sticking up like a cactus—I’m surprised I don’t scare him—and I don’t even want to know what I look like without my makeup.

Especially not after sleeping with my face smooshed in a pillow.

He’s my total opposite.

How predicable.

Even dressed down, he looks so cool and collected and put together that he’d wreck a GQ model.

He’s just wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans with thick-soled black workmen’s boots—but it’s a designer shirt, designer jeans, designer boots in fine leather.

The dark-grey shirt clings to his chest like it’s painted on, pouring over his beastly pecs and dipping down sculpted abs in ridged patterns.

God. Even the stitching on the short sleeves strains against the rock-hard cut of his biceps like it’s struggling to hold them in.

Dark, faded jeans hang low on his hips in the right and oh-so-wrong way, held in place by a leather belt that just barely keeps them from dipping down to pure sin.

A little lower, and I know they’d reveal the narrow V of his pelvis.

The fit hints at the power between his legs, from his thighs underneath to a piece of him I dare not imagine.

Not if I want to keep my last worn thread of sanity.

Author Bio:

Nicole Snow is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. She found her love of writing by hashing out love scenes on lunch breaks and plotting her great escape from boardrooms. Her work roared onto the indie romance scene in 2014 with her Grizzlies MC series.

Since then Snow aims for the very best in growly, heart-of-gold alpha heroes, unbelievable suspense, and swoon storms aplenty. With over a million books sold, she lives for the joy of making two people fight with every bit of their soul for a Happily Ever After.

Current fan favorites include her Enguard Protectors series, accidental love novels, plus long beloved MC romance thrillers like the Grizzlies and Deadly Pistols.

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Book Blitz: Awakened Dawn (Blood and Darkness Book 1) by Aria Storm

 Awakened Dawn (Blood and Darkness Book 1) by Aria Storm

Audiobook links:

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Purchase links:

Amazon Kindle Unlimited

Blurb:

Mavis was my name, and you could say I have had a bit of a tough go. Following a tremendous personal loss, I was entombed by my own daughter rather than allow me to expose our secret to the world.

I woke up in a mausoleum and two centuries have passed. All I want to do is drink a bit of blood and maybe find a beautiful modern maiden to entertain what's left of my soul. However, sinister forces are ever at play in my world. Even a queen who is two-centuries usurped cannot rest. Vampyrs are dying and the royals including my only surviving child are all in danger, as are the communities around us.

Set in modern New Orleans, this is the tale of the Lower Queen, Mavis Aubrey the mysterious vampyr who once led most of Britannia. Come follow Mavis as she struggles to learn how to function in the post-modern world and the vast array of new challenges rising to greet her.

Slow building poly lesbian romance.

Excerpt:

Prologue:

1820:

            Steam and fog mixed with the early humid winds as they swirled through the bustling morning streets of New Orleans. Humans humming and thrumming throughout their busy-work.

            This was one of the most honest times of the day for the little species. Their most dedicated and faithful workers were up while the masters of the town nursed whatever spirit had bitten them in the parlors or the bars of the city.

            While the light of dawn proved painful to my kind, I still forced myself to watch the bustling of the break of day. All the flow and the blood pumping and thrumming in time around me like my own personal feast.

            Even as old and wise as my people are, we have basic predatorial instincts like every other apex predator in the wild. The main difference being we have chosen to learn how to live in obscurity and hide amidst the human pack. We don’t kill without justifiable cause and we don’t condone the waste of precious human life. We have extremely self-serving reasons for our stance.

            “Mum, you’re going to ruin your sight if you keep at this.”

            Abigale, my tender younger twin daughter told me. She was just shy of her sixteenth year. If we were humans this might mean she was already looking for her suitors, but mercy upon me, we are vampyr and we do not often search for our eternal bonds, they find us in their own time.

            Being that we never age much beyond eighteen years, I have already been forced to pretend to the world that these are my little sisters and not my daughters.

            “Abigale, go shutter your window and bed down for the night, my child.”

            My voice was soft but stern. I was the matriarch of my line, and none except my own blood-born children dared to speak a cross thought against me.

            “But tis morning, naught the night, mum.”

            Abigale pointed out, and I turned and arched an imperial ginger brow in question at my youngest child. Mercy found harbor in my heart, for it had taken me over three-centuries to bare my daughters. I was gifted with Abigale who was just like me, ginger and completely spirited like a wild mare, and Alexia, named for her human father Alexander Smithfield. Alexia favored her father, they were twins, but not the kind who happened to look identical. Not that any mother born could ever see their children as duplicates. To me, their differences were vast and highly pronounced, even if most of the world at large would claim them to be similar in spirit and temperament.

            “Tis night for all that lives by the darkness of night, my daughter.”

            I told her, and Abigale snickered at me, and said, “That sounds a bit redundant and possibly conflictual to the laws Sir Newton presented us with.”

            My clever and cheeky child quipped to me, and I felt my bloody vision flash red in a warning. It was an instinctive response as a seasoned apex-being. I am not one to tolerate challenge lightly, however, I am discovering parenthood has tempered my wild Irish disposition ever so slightly.

            “Off with ye, Lass!”

            I dismissed her, and she decided she had pushed her poor mum as far as she intended for the night. I was certain my child would rediscover her jolly spirits at my torment in on the marrow.

            “You’re too stern with them.”

            I heard Alex as he walked up. He was the girl’s father, and he knew now that I had lain with him sexually for four straight months, simply because it was finally my cycle of fertility. Outside that window, I have no need or desire for the company of men. I just needed his seed to give life to my womb.

            “Alexander, remember your station here. I give you all, but never forget that I am the Lower Queen of the Vampyr of the Celtic people. Beholden to none, save fer her co-Ruling King of Britannia residing in London.”

            I reminded Alexander, not that I flung my station in his face often. The young man was now thirty-eight. He had been about the age I appear when we met. Our girls desired their daddy, so I brought him into the vampyr tribe as a human confidant. However, such intimate knowledge of my sex seems to let slip the weight behind my every word and whim.

            “Of course, forgive my loose tongue, Lower Queen Mavis Aubrey.”

            He bowed to me, part of it tasted of mockery, but I decided not to call him on his subtility. Alexander desired to be what I was, this was not lost to me. However, the tribes rarely bring in humans and the process is potentially fatal to the vampyr themselves. As Lower Queen, I am not allowed to risk my life on such a flight of fancy.    

              “There have been growing numbers of malcontents outside the gates of the estates, My Queen.”

            Alexander informed me, and I nodded to him and I looked out, past the yard, then the fields. Out beyond the cotton fields and the orchards. Beyond even the farthest grazing herds of my cattle. My eyes came upon a cluster of local farmers and other various seasoned men of their crafts. They were furious because a young woman ruled over these lands and managed them better by far than any other estate in New Orleans. Add to that the fact that we employed and protected freed slaves and refused to practice the unseemly cultural ways of mistreating dark-skinned humans.

            (These humans clearly have not grown up next to Darken Fae, and just how diverse that lot gets! Which makes the skin color thing exceedingly illogical from my or any other vampyr’s point of view. Beyond all else, we find blood tastes better when it is not imbittered by misery and oppression.)

            “Indeed, it appears they have themselves a rebel-rousing leader of some sorts. This happens on occasion; the menfolk get enough spirits in their bellies and they set their ire upon the wench ruling her own little fiefdom.”

            I told Alexander, and he hesitantly nodded his understanding.

            “My Queen, would it not be wise to try to keep them dispersed?”

            Frowning at the suggestion given question, I shook my head.

            “Nay, tis the lads being rowdy. If I go off in full keg blast every time, they were showing their public disdain for me, I’d never get any work done, nor would anyone on these lands. These folks have handled our presence here for over a hundred years now, so they will keep themselves on the other side of that fence.”

            (The few who didn’t, ended up vanishing without a trace and not even a banshee could find them to wail for their deaths. Not that I shared this sorted bit of fact with anyone.)

            Being born a Vampyr of high-birth had made me learn how to decern threat-levels. I could smell a truly violent thug before he managed to romp and fuss or do damage to me or mine. After all, if we simply killed everyone who disagreed with us, we’d be like the slave-driving lot of the southern plantation owners. Even my kind was far nicer to our prey. We learned a very long time ago not to kill the blood-font, simply to extract what was needed, which is about a chalice full a day.

            Humans are a deep mystery to me, how they behave and how they perceive themselves.

            “Alexander, I will keep my best men on the gates and the various points one might use to enter my lands. I never dismiss danger so close to our precious ones running about at night.”

            I told him, and he nodded stiffly and turned walking back into the house. He had plenty of reason to worry, considering his finite life-experience. He’d lived first as a wealthy farm owner’s son, and now as the father of the heirs of the entire Aubrey holdings. My name and wealth were not at all insubstantial. In fact, I am certain I possess more earthy treasures than I could possibly find a use for in any number of my lives. With all my wealth, came the burden of watching over every soul under my land and my banner--such as it was. I was born in a time where every house held a crest and the Aubrey name meant something in Ireland. We were ancient Celtic as sure as the mortal Celtic peoples. We lived in balance amongst the druids and the fair-folk most of the history of our lineage.

            “You should have dismissed that human years ago, My Queen.”

            The deep rocky tone of my old friend Olaf sounded. He had been the vampyr of the Viking lands, come to conquer with their raiding parties. Now, he was my most faithful servant and one of my only true friends.

            “He’s the girl’s father. It is bully for me I required his manhood to make them, but even his insufferable prattling is worth the reward of their delightful countenances.”

            Olaf grunted a masculine affirmation. He had one single soft spot in his entire persona, me and by extension, my daughters. To all else, he was a brute and a bit of a bully.

            “It’s not wise for one so great to keep someone so self-involved, this close.”

            Biting down on my lip lightly, my right fang protruded from my mouth.

            “He’s hardly so troubling as to warrant this appraisal. Not to worry, I will keep him in line, and he will eventually even out with age. It is mainly youthful exuberance that bursts forth from him. Even now, he is a young man still even by human standards. Many of his age would only have wee-children with a blushing young bride barely past her first cycle.”

            Olaf gave a loud snort at this, and he seemed to agree for the most part.

            “I am off for a fortnight, My Queen. I will travel across the Mississippi to tend to our interests with the native folk. They promised us unhindered hunting paths, but only if we keep more white folk from bothering them.”

            Olaf was still a bit of a stranger to my people, so he knew how to deal with sensitive matters like people as close to nature as the indigenous people of this dark wild continent. As far as I considered it, they had much more right to be angry with us than was being displayed. Sure, there were constant struggles and plenty of folks disappeared on both sides, but I’d not witnessed much unilateral warfare on their part.

            My heart broke every conflict drove them further from their original homelands. Being here from the inception of this American continental experience, I have a far different memory than that which is being re-told as our history.

            “Bring them offerings and give them every honor and dignity. I too will venture out to speak with their elders and chieftains when next we meet them. Continued kindness and honor may keep them from war.”

            Olaf was no stranger to battle, yet he too found himself ill at ease with the thought of conflict with the neighbors. My interests backed up to their territories, what was left of them in this area. I hoped to keep this as a buffer between them and the rowdy youth, like the ones eyeing my free workers as they began their days.

            “I’ll leave Jack for the guard of the estate, My Queen.”

            Olaf told me, and I nodded in agreement.

            “He has his father’s heart. I think he will prove to be a fine captain one day.”

            Olaf grunted and said, “Here we don’t have knights or captain of knights anymore. We just have shape-changing Lycans and terribly angry Indians.”

            He left me with that morbidly amusing final thought as he raced off to begin his journey. Olaf was ever a glutton for punishment and was known to travel by day, despite how brutally painful the sun and mid-day heat could be to our kind. 

About Aria Storm

Lover of magic, karate, and all things my twisted little mind deems "girly." A writer of very gritty, visceral worlds that can both be real and imagined at the same time.

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Book Blitz: Myrtle the Turtle by Chris Jones

Myrtle the Turtle by Chris Jones

Buy links: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NQF5BN6

Blurb 

Did you know there are only around 700 hawksbill turtles left on the planet? Myrtle is one such turtle. 

This beautiful children’s picture book tells her story and introduces us to the challenges climate change poses for these beautiful creatures. Narrated through perfect rhyme, Myrtle’s story blends positivity with a dose of realism.

Climate change is something none of us can ignore. Yet the story of Myrtle does not seek to scare or intimidate young minds. Rather, the message is of hope and inspiration.    

Explore this beautiful and heart-warming story that champions the beauty of our normal world and the wonders of conservation.

Recommended age group is 3-9.

Author Bio

For as long as he can remember, Chris has had a huge passion for storytelling. When his son Jesse was a young boy, instead of reading bedtime stories, they would make up their own far-fetched tales around the fictional superhero Deadly Derek. In fact, this has remained his main Google account name ever since, which means that upon joining Zoom calls, his name appears as "Deadly Derek" - much to the amusement of his network!

2021 has marked Chris’ entry into children’s picture book writing. And he’s been busy, publishing five fantastic books over the year. His talent for writing original and captivating stories around powerful messages is so evident – a rising star for sure!

Besides having a great story to tell, Chris believes the best children’s picture books have three key ingredients. The first is natural rhyme - words that feel like they should be there, not just because they match with another. The second is tantalising words and grammar - Chris’s books will stretch a younger reader’s vocabulary, and he uses a variety of tools to make the words roll off the tongue. And the final ingredient? Well, they must have beautiful illustrations to bring the story to life. For this, he relies totally on the genius of Becca Wain and her wonderful visual translation of his verses.

yearntolearn.co.uk

Book Blitz: Dancing With India by Bernadette Kane

Dancing With India by Bernadette Kane

Buy Links - https://amzn.to/31zRqSx

Blurb

From a Covid lockdown in Scotland to a fire-cracking adventure in a South Indian ashram, Bernadette Kane's debut novel, Dancing With India, Finding Shanthi, is the first part of a deep and engaging tale of one woman's search to uncover what ails her.

Prologue

Covid-19 is well into its second year when Marney McDonagh, finding herself isolated and alone during the endless lockdown, hits on an idea to help save her sanity. She’s going to start an online writing group. And she already knows what she wants to write.

At the start of the pandemic, she remembered Daniel Defoe’s old classic novel, A Journal of the Plague Year. That book had been written three hundred years before, way back in 1722, and Defoe had claimed it to be his own daily diary. He had kept a record, he said, of his experiences during the devastating Bubonic Plague of 1665, and his Journal was that record.

This Journal had been something of a sham though, as Marney remembered from her student days at Glasgow University. She recalled that Defoe had only been five years old at the time of the Great Plague, and that he had created his journal by reading other people’s accounts of it, and then presenting them as his own first-hand experiences.

Marney decides though, that she will keep a true, authentic record of one person’s life, her own, as well as track the worldwide battle against the virus. It would help her pass the time, she thought, and who knew, one day it might just provide an accurate account of these crazy days.

But when she sees the billowing clouds of smoke rising up from the makeshift crematoria springing up all over Delhi as the people of India become overwhelmed by the numbers of Covid dead, Marney finds herself plunged into a deep reminiscence of how her many years spent in that country all began.

From a Covid lockdown in Glasgow, Marney’s journal dives back fifteen years, to her arrival at Shanthi Ashram. Her stories of ashram life buzz with all the fire-cracking colour and passion of the Indian South, and the exotic band of characters whom she meets, with their deep joys, passionate intrigues and utter horrors, give her a glimpse into a new and fascinating world.

As Marney listens to the daily talks by Brother Joseph, the ashram’s Spiritual Teacher, and spends long afternoons with the Sadhu who lives in the forest, her knowledge and understanding of Indian spirituality grow, forcing her to look more deeply than ever before into what it means to be human.

Author Bio

Bernadette Kane is from Glasgow, Scotland, where she lives.  She spends her time writing, painting, and travelling to India.  Her love for the Loch on her doorstep, Loch Lomond, regularly draws her outdoors with her dog for wild camps and swims.  The incredible scenery of her native Scotland is a continuous source of inspiration, both for her writing and her landscape paintings.

She studied Theology and Literature at the University of St. Andrews, and was awarded their top prize for Excellence in Literature, the Lawson Memorial Prize.