Meredith Hart's Blog, page 2

ARC Applications are Open!

Sexy, snarky, and fast-paced, Monster of the Deep Forest is an epic fantasy romance adventure with dual point-of-view (his and hers) and characters who think, act, and curse like adults.

This steamy romantasy about the man who killed a god and the woman sent to hunt him is perfect for readers looking for their next magical romance.

And, if you’re interested in receiving an Advance Review Copy of Monster of the Deep Forest in exchange for your honest review of the story, my ARC team is now open for applications!

Click here for the ARC Application

Sneak Peek at Monster of the Deep Forest 👀

I remember two things from the day a monster killed the god of our mountain. Fire and him.

R’then Kylargha, the lord’s son, with his wide smile and dancing eyes. R’then, reaching his hands toward me, pulling me from the lake as flames streaked across the sky and ash rained down on the water, hissing and spitting against the ebony waves.

Our forest burned when the god died. We only survived because our lord led us to the water. We huddled together in the waves as flames devoured everything we had once held sacred. Our hunting grounds. Our shrines. The fields we’d managed to carve from the mountainside, catching precious water as it ran from winter snowfields to fill the lake and then the rivers that snake across the wide plateau.

How long we were in the lake depends on who you ask. The lord said it was three days and three nights, the same amount of time the Hero Twins spent in the underworld, but my mother would shake her head and snap her tongue. A smattering of hours at most, she says. It only felt like forever.

And, she would add, I should remember. I was not a child when the mountain burned; I remember the shrines, the fields that were destroyed. I remember what it felt like to walk beneath trees, not the massive columns of the Deep Forest, but pale, slender aspens and tall, spindly brush pine. I even, in my dreams, remember the battle that followed, when our brave lord faced the monstrous Godkiller and broke the instrument of his destruction.

But my memories of the fire are like shards of broken pottery, jagged and useless, good only for slicing my palm. No, for me, my adult life began in flames. There has only ever been the blackened shore, the quiet sobs of people who’ve lost everything, and R’then pulling me to safety.

Of course, my mother laughs at that memory too. Why would the son of the lord choose to rescue me, the fatherless, the lowest of the low-born children in the village? Why would R’then choose that moment to show the first signs of bravery in his entire life?

Still. I know my own mind. R’then pulled me from the water, like a second birth, and the path of my adult life was laid down before me. I would follow the man who saved me. His victory would be my victory, and his defeat would be my defeat.

So, when R’then was given the quest that no other would accept, it was also given to me. Even if he didn’t realize it. I listened in the shadows outside the courtyard as the lord and his advisors conferred. I knew what they would announce even before R’then knew. And I knew I would follow him, even if I had to steal away to do so.

Which, it turned out, I did not need to do. When the village assembled to wish R’then well on his hero’s journey, my mother met me with a pack in her hand and a small, resigned twist to her lips, and I realized she recognized my destiny as well. I was meant to follow him.

That was my mother’s farewell, a pack containing her favorite cooking pot and her only silk dress, and the wet press of her tears against my shoulder as she hugged me. It was just another step down the path that was set for me when the lord’s firstborn son pulled me from the waves, a path I’ve never questioned.

Until today.

Monster of the Deep Forest comes out on September 17th!

Click here to preorder Monster of the Deep Forest

Review of the Week: Flame & Blade

Read. This. Book.

I read hundreds of books a year and this one is absolutely fantastic. Magical without specificity (Irish, Nordic, etc) but the structure of magic makes sense in the story. Strong but flawed main characters who fall in love during a difficult quest (always fun). Ends at a point that leads to the next book but ends this quest.

Click here to read the review of the week on Amazon

Thank you so much for your review! I’m incredibly honored and grateful for the chance to share these worlds with you.

In the Deep Forest, the deadliest monsters steal your heart…

Inira is hunting a monster.

To take her place in her village’s inner circle, she must find the man who murdered the old god of her village. But her mission looks like it’s destined to fail when the terrifying White Riders attack her in the Deep Forest. Now, her only chance of success is the mysterious stranger who claims he saved her life. But what does he really know about the Godkiller Inira sacrificed everything to find?

Aveus knows the woman came for him.

She’s wearing a piece of the weapon he used to kill an old god, and he saved her from the White Riders who trained him to use that deadly magic. After years of hiding from the Riders, saving her risks his safety and his freedom. He should drop her on the edge of the Deep Forest and be done with his past forever. 

But as the connection between them deepens, Aveus decides to help her instead. Together, perhaps they can undo some of the damage he wrought years ago.

As long as she doesn’t discover he is the killer she’s hunting.

Monster of the Deep Forest comes out September 17th!Click here to preorder Monster of the Deep Forest

In the Deep Forest, the most dangerous monsters are the ones who steal your heart.

Inira wants nothing more than to take her place in her village’s inner circle.

For that to happen, she must find the monster who murdered the old god of her village and burned their mountains. But after two years of searching, she’s no closer to finding the Godkiller. Worse, her companion is ready to abandon the mission. And, when the terrifying White Riders who invaded her village after the god’s death find Inira in the Deep Forest, her companion abandons her too.

Aveus knows the woman came for him.

She’s wearing a fragment of the amulet he used to kill an old god, and he saved her from the White Riders who brought him across the ocean. After years of hiding, saving Inira risks his safety and his freedom. He should drop her on the edge of the Deep Forest and be done with his past forever.

But as the connection between them deepens, Aveus wonders if he should help her instead. He knows what the White Riders do to the people they capture. And perhaps, together, they can undo some of the damage he did years ago.

As long as she doesn’t discover he is the killer she’s hunting.

Monster of the Deep Forest comes out September 17th!Click here to preorder Monster of the Deep Forest

Review of the Week: Monster of the Dagger Mountains

Super sweet

This was such a surprising little gem!

Witty and refreshingly devoid of shadow daddies, prince/princesses, over the top drama, or nonsensical romantic pairings. The relationship development here was top notch-so much realism and depth packed into a short read/span of time.

Fun banter and flirtatious moments and proper steam with a simple, easy to follow plot that never lost sight of the heart of the story. Great cozy read.

Click here to read the review of the week on Amazon

Thank you so much for your review! I’m incredibly honored and grateful for the chance to share these worlds with you.

Review of the Week!

Super sweet

This was such a surprising little gem!

Witty and refreshingly devoid of shadow daddies, prince/princesses, over the top drama, or nonsensical romantic pairings. The relationship development here was top notch-so much realism and depth packed into a short read/span of time.

Fun banter and flirtatious moments and proper steam with a simple, easy to follow plot that never lost sight of the heart of the story. Great cozy read.

Click here to read the review of the week on Amazon

Thank you so much for your review! I’m incredibly honored and grateful for the chance to share these worlds with you.

Those Two Magic Words…

THE END!

The first draft of Monster of the Deep Forest, the third (and maybe final?) book in the Killers of the Towers series, is finished! 

I’m so excited to share Aveus and Inira’s adventure with you!

Like the other books in the Killers of the Towers series, Monster of the Deep Forest is an epic, steamy, stand-alone romantasy adventure.

The events of MotDF happen after the previous books, and while Reznyk and Kira (from Monster of the Dagger Mountains) and Syrus and Veloria (from Monster of the Silver City) show up in this book, you don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy this one.

I don’t have a preorder link yet, but watch for Monster of the Deep Forest sometime this September.

Wild Things

The wild strawberries are ripening in my backyard, which always reminds me of that scene in Flame & Blade, the very first Meredith Hart novel.

 I set F&B in the spring just so I could include that moment (well, and as an excuse to have a lot of rain… with demons).

And to celebrate, I’ll share that scene here…

“What took you so long?” Lyria demanded.

“Close your eyes,” I answered, with a grin. “And open your mouth.”

Her scowl deepened. “What, are we four years old now?”

“I have something for you. You’ll like it, I promise.”

She wiped a hand across her forehead and rolled her eyes. The rain picked up, hammering down the leaf-laden branches above us.

“Vethe—”

“Come on,” I said. “Trust me.”

Her hand dropped to the dagger in her belt. I took a step backward.

“Or, don’t,” I said. “And spend the rest of your life wondering what I was going to do.”

Lyria stomped her heel in the mud, a habit I strongly suspected she’d picked up from her donkey, Theo. “Oh, fine.”

After another enormous eye roll, followed by an expression of utmost disdain, Lyria closed her eyes. Her soft, full lips parted. My insides twisted with a strange, sharp, and almost pleasant rush of longing. I slipped my fingertips between her lips and placed the largest of the wild strawberries on her waiting tongue.

Her eyes opened, and her lips closed. I watched as she fought the smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

“Oh,” she finally said.

I opened my palm, revealing the handful of ruby fruits I’d hastily gathered from the hillside. A shadow crossed her face.

“Are those poisonous?”

I slipped one between my own lips. “Very.”

“Ha. Ha,” she said, carefully enunciating the syllables so I’d miss none of the sarcasm.

“They’re wild strawberries,” I offered.

She leaned closer, frowning. “Those are strawberries? They’re so tiny.”

“Wild strawberries. About a quarter of the size of the other kind, with ten times the flavor.”

Delicately, she took one from my hand. Her fingers brushed my skin, sending another current of energy through my body. She pressed the fruit between her lips and, for just a moment, I had a fierce desire to be a strawberry. Her mouth closed. She looked almost meditative as she chewed the tiny berry.

“Wow,” she finally said. “They’re good. Why are they so different?”

The scowl had vanished; now, she was looking at me with an expression of open friendliness that made my chest ache. It reminded me of when we’d shared the Mage Fire, or when she’d spread the liniment over my chest. The expression burned me, but I didn’t want to look away.

“Wild things are usually sweeter,” I said, my voice dropping. “Don’t you think?”

Click here for Flame & Blade

Cover Reveal!

Monster of the Deep Forest, the third (and maybe final?) book in the Killers of the Towers series, is coming this September.

And the cover is fabulous!

I’m so close to finishing this one, and it’s been a wild ride. The massive, magical deep forest – inspired by this thought experiment on Tumblr – is now one of my all-time favorite settings.

Plus, Aveus, the lute-playing, forest-dwelling, badass bard and Inira, the woman hunting the monster who killed the god of her mountain, are two of my new favorite characters. Watching them grow and progress has been incredible.

(Yes, I watch my characters do their thing and then I write it down – they don’t listen to me.)

I don’t have a preorder link or a set-in-stone release date yet, but watch for Monster of the Deep Forest this coming September.

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