R.E. Hargrave's Blog, page 7
December 10, 2022
NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Moon Tamed by Audrey Greene
Moon Tamed
Audrey Greene
Publication date: December 6th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Coraline Patten enjoys nothing more than facing new challenges, but when she’s asked to evaluate Moonriver’s ruling faction, she worries she’s bitten off more than she can chew.
Allasandro Stephans has reigned since she’d been a child, unwavering in his dedication to Moonriver. His heir, Calden, has supported him every step of the way. Together, the shapeshifting widower and his son appear to be the perfect men for the job of preserving and protecting their home.
When Moonriver’s heir asks her to free his father from the burden of leadership, Coraline is determined to do what is best for her people, even if it costs her the love of her life.
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EXCERPT:
Sila snickered. “With that comment, you just guaranteed your selection. That is what normal people call testing their luck. Have you worked for the Hunters before?”
“No.” With Sila, short and to the point worked the best. If I gave her a single opening, she would talk me to death and force me to regret my decision to be her friend.
Sila meant well, however, even when she drove me mad.
My friend rubbed her hands together. “They’re pretty nice to work for. While most of them are predatory shifters, they’re respectful of time and energy. It helps they can smell fatigue and frustration, and they understand a happy worker is a better worker. They stop problems before they become problems as a general rule. The male temps get the short straw—they get into pissing contests with the Hunters. Us women? We already know how to avoid the pissing contests. We win when we don’t play the game.”
When Sita started spouting sexist nonsense, it often sourced from a bad night with her latest suitor. “Did you have a bad date last night?”
“It was horrible. Who knew a Legacy researcher could be so clueless? I educated him, but there won’t be a second date. He was so dry I thought about asking him to do my laundry.”
The few times I’d dated a Legacy member, I’d emerged better educated but lacking in the basic relationship department. Members of Legacy lived for the pursuit of old knowledge. Intellectual company appealed, but I also longed for the other facets of a good relationship, including physical affection, sweet nothings, and someone I could be near in safety and comfort.
Still, Legacy members could be taught, and I’d met more than a few who were kind to a fault but oblivious. “Maybe you should give him a second try, Sila. You bothered to educate him. Why not benefit from your tutoring. Is he nice?”
“He is disturbingly nice,” she complained.
Well, some problems had simple solutions. “Teach him to get a little rough with you, then.”
“I might. He texted me this morning. I replied that I was getting my work assignment. You think I should try him again?”
“He’s nice and can be taught, Sila. Find out if he cooks and cleans. If so, he might be the perfect man.”
“You make a good point.” Sila sighed, dug out her phone, and tapped at the screen. “There. I told him that, assignment allowing, I’m free most nights this week if he’d like to get together. This might be for the best. I was about to hit up someone from Moonward.”
I winced. Of Moonriver’s factions, Moonward attracted the most ambitious men and women with an interest in magic. Witches made up most of the membership, but they accepted all types. “Dangerous dates are not wise, Sila.”
“I’m looking for love. That is dangerous.”
No kidding. Before I could reply, our manager rang his little silver bell so he could deliver the news—and reveal who would assist the Hunters. “I’ll keep this as short as possible, as we have a busy day. I already drew the name for the Hunter contract while you gossips talked up a storm.”
When Almon Friarin went the route of serious efficiency, we had a higher number of requests than normal.
“Today is going to be fun,” Sila predicted.
I huffed and refrained from cursing. “Sure. It’s going to be about as fun as a lobotomy.”
Before I could further embarrass myself, our boss said, “Line up for your assignment. You’ll just have to accept I won’t be turning our job into a circus today. Maybe tomorrow. The Hunters of Moonriver have asked for discretion.”
“Well, this sucks,” Sila muttered. “He lured us all here so nobody would skip out on a crazy day.”
“You’re probably right.” My fellow co-workers queued up to receive their assignments, and I joined the line, dragging Sila with me. “Be grateful it’s not a parade. Or worse, a positive reinforcement day.”
“Good point. There is only so much public praise I can handle a year. A ten-minute lecture on how good I am at following basic instructions would break me today.” Sila made a show of shuddering. “Last time, one of the clients had sent him a photo of my work along with praise. I almost perished.”
I knew of one way to derail my friend before she delved deeper into the dark waters of her self-inflicted stress. “Did you get a raise?”
“Ten cents an hour for accomplishing perfection.”
Well, that backfired in a painful fashion. “I’ve never gotten a raise for perfection,” I informed her.
“I asked for it. Did you?”
The next time I got pulled into our boss’s office, I would make a point of asking. “Did the ten cents an hour actually help your budget?”
One of the distinct disadvantages of remaining unaffiliated was our pay; the factions made a point of paying their members competitive rates for their work. Migrant workers made up the majority of the unaffiliated, although holdouts like me existed.
I accepted lower pay and less say in the governing of Moonriver in exchange for flexibility and freedom.
“Every penny counts, except when it doesn’t.” Sila shrugged.
Author Bio:
Audrey Greene writes sweet paranormal and urban fantasy splashed with some romance and hints of science fiction. She lives in California, loves going to the beach, and appreciates taking the time to smell the roses.
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December 9, 2022
B@@K REVEAL: Queen of the Underworld by Felicity Heaton
Queen of the Underworld
Felicity Heaton
(A Guardians of Hades Series Prequel)
Publication date: January 31st 2023
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Hades, the wickedly dark god-king of the Underworld, needs a queen…
And he’s chosen Persephone.
All Persephone has ever desired is control of her own life, and someone noticing her once in a while. Kept in her mother’s shadow, and overlooked by the entirety of Olympus, her dream seems impossible… and now she’s doomed to wed a dull god of her mother’s choosing…
Until she crosses paths with a handsome, dark warrior who rouses wildfire heat in her veins—a male whose immense power is unmistakable, and who matches the fearful tales whispered in Olympus—stories of a cruel, heartless king who rules his realm of death with an iron fist.
When Hades abducts her and imprisons her in the depths of the Underworld, a dormant part of her awakens. And as she slowly discovers the truth about him, Persephone isn’t sure whether the snarling, dark beast of a king is her doom… or her saviour… but she knows one thing…
She will embrace the fire he awakens in her with every heated glance, and every vicious growl.
And use it to tame him and forge her dreams into reality.
Because, Persephone, the quiet, gentle goddess of nature, desires a king.
And nothing will stop her from claiming his black heart.
Queen of the Underworld is a forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers paranormal romance novel retelling the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, and a prequel in my Guardians of Hades series. In the vein of an adult beauty and the beast, it features a grumpy-sunshine pairing that will steal your heart, with a secretly cinnamon roll hero and a secretly fiery heroine, and a powerful forever kind of love. All Guardians of Hades books have no cliffhangers, a guaranteed happily ever after, and some strong language.
Author Bio:
I'm a NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY and International Best-Selling Author writing passionate paranormal romance books and series for adults.
I love to create detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! All of them alpha as you would expect in paranormal romance, and every book with a guaranteed HAPPILY FOREVER AFTER!
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Fans of paranormal romance books by authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter, Larissa Ione, Kresley Cole and Christine Feehan will love my books too.
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BOOK BLITZ: Resting Grinch Face by Alina Jacobs
Resting Grinch Face
Alina Jacobs
Publication date: November 17th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance
I might not be able to ruin his life, but I will ruin his Christmas.Yeah, I’m totally a grinch. But I come by it honestly.Because of Oliver Frost, I flamed out at Harvard in the most humiliating way possible.Now I’m back in my small town—just in time to suffer through a display of small-town Christmas cheer so festive it will make you puke your eggnog. But who cares about being home for the holidays when you live with your family like a loser and have to share one bathroom with seven other people?
I plan to spend my Christmas purgatory being tsked at by elderly residents and passive aggressively prodded by my mom’s friends about what I plan to do with my life.I don’t know, Deborah, work in the Christmas market and get screamed at by tourists because I didn’t put enough sprinkles on their little brats’ coffees? Seriously, who gives five-year-olds that much caffeine anyway?!
See? Like I said. A grinch.I hate Christmas.I set a nativity scene on fire.Got in a fistfight with an elf—I lost, by the way.And threw a vat of Snowman Surprise all over Oliver. Don’t ask. Small-town Christmas insanity.Sleigh what? Oliver is here???The man who humiliated me and ruined my life?Ho ho ho, fuck no.
He doesn’t deserve a quaint small-town Christmas.He doesn’t deserve a fancy Christmas tree from my family’s farm.And he certainly does not deserve to win a bottle of whiskey in the daily Christmas market raffle.Goddamn, I needed that drink.He should be haunted like Ebenezer Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Or at least the Ghost of Hookups Past.
Momma’s gonna have herself a very merry Christmas revenge.Swapping the salt and sugar so his Christmas cookies are ruined? Be still, my shriveled little heart.Spying on him so I can gather recon to ruin his holidate? Damn, I forgot how ripped his chest was.Sneaking down his chimney to steal all the presents under his tree? Amateur hour.Until I get caught…
Guess I’m spending Christmas in jail.But when he sees I’m not wearing a bra under my ugly Christmas sweater, Oliver smiles like Santa has come early.Crap! I knew I should have worn my good underwear.Hold on to your stockings because the eggnog is spicy and mostly booze. This is a fuck-second-chances, Santa-stalker, holiday-revenge romantic comedy. Featuring Christmas-hating heroines with poor decision-making skills, ripped guys who will leave a very large package under your tree, and adorable corgis dressed up as reindeer, this standalone book has a happily ever after, guaranteed!
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EXCERPT:
I slid like a squirrel straddling the roof peak, scooting along the ridgeline to the massive brick fireplace. I pried the round ceramic top off and stuck my head inside.
The Victorians liked their fireplaces.
While my parents’ wood-burning fire was more of a stovepipe, this house had been built to hold a massive fire.
I swung my feet over and shimmied into the chimney. Below me, Max must have figured out what was up because he was barking, the noise echoing up the chimney shaft.
“Dang, I can’t believe I fit,” I marveled. The cold air whipped my face, and I had a moment of clarity.
“Maybe this was a bridge too far,” I said and tried to hoist myself back up.
The chimney rim was slick with ice. My hand slipped. Then I fell down into the sooty black tube.
I stopped abruptly, my teeth knocking together.
“Help,” I squeaked.
I was stuck in the chimney, my arms wedged up above my head. Every time I let out a breath I slid farther down. My skirt was wedged under my boobs, and my sweater was wrapped around my head and neck.
“Help!” I rasped, kicking my legs. “Max, get help.”
The dog’s frantic barking changed to excited yips.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around my soot-covered thighs.
In any other scenario, I would have been really put out that Oliver was finally touching me only after I had flaked on working out the past year and developed a layer of winter flab. But I just wanted to be free. It was difficult to breathe.
“Save me,” I forced myself to whisper.
“Shit,” Oliver said, giving a solid tug on my legs.
I wedged down farther.
“I think you’re stuck in there.” His hands disappeared.
“Don’t leave me,” I begged.
His hand was back, his thumb stroking me reassuringly on my ankle.
“Don’t worry. I’m going to call the fire department. We’ll probably have to dismantle the chimney. I’m sure my neighbors will complain to me about it.” I heard the eye roll in his voice. Then his phone emitted beeps.
I kicked my feet. “Don’t you dare, Oliver Frost. Don’t you dare call the fire department. My mother will find out. I’ll be the talk of the town for years. Decades. It will be on my tombstone.”
“I can’t leave you here,” he said, voice echoing up the shaft.
“Oh, yes you can. I insist. I’ll be dead and done rotting in about three weeks. Then we can all just pretend this never happened.”
“Are you insane?”
Oh God. I had a horrible thought.
He can probably see straight up my crotch.
Was I wearing my nice underwear? Did I even own any sufficiently nice underwear?
“Please,” I begged. “My life is shit. Please just try pulling me out one more time?”
“I’m afraid to make you more stuck. Embarrassment won’t kill you.”
“It literally will,” I shrieked with my remaining breath.
Oliver muttered something that sounded like “God save me from this woman.”
“Fine,” he grumbled, moving the logs and the metal grate out of the way. “I’m giving this one shot. Then we’re going to host the fire department for the second time in as many days.”
After a rustling of fabric, his large hands slid up my bare legs.
“Sorry for manhandling you like this.”
His bare arms circled my waist, and I squawked as he wrapped them around my bare torso, connecting my body with his.
I could feel his bare chest against my thighs.
His head was somewhere in crotch vicinity, and he squeezed me tight.
Maybe I could just tell him to eat me out and then die happy.
Oliver gave a sharp hard tug. My sweater slipped up.
He adjusted his grasp and pulled, grunting hard.
“I think I’m moving,” I called.
He gave one more strong tug. My sweater ripped, and then I was free, tumbling down in a heap of ash and yarn on top of him.
He was covered in black soot. It was all over his pale skin, turning his hair a dark gray and making his eyes a startlingly bright blue.
“See,” I said, spreading my arms. “I knew you could do it. And you wanted to call the fire department.”
He didn’t say a word. He was staring at me, or more specifically my boobs.
I looked down.
“Elf balls.”
Author Bio:
If you like steamy romantic comedies with a creative streak, then I'm your girl!
Architect by day, writer by night, I love matcha green tea, chocolate, and books! So many books…
Sign up for my mailing list to get the free novella, AFTER HIS PEONIES, along with special bonus content, giveaways, and more!
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December 8, 2022
#RachelReviews SAURACORPS: SALVATION by Derek Borne
SauraCorps: Salvation by Derek Borne
Released November 01, 2022; 270 pagesSauraCorps.
Once a criminally covert operation for trafficking dinosaurs to the present, the reformed company now fights a seemingly futile battle to keep dinosaurs safe and out of the public eye.
High school grads, Kamren and Vivienne, are navigating their new relationship status while on a cross country vacation.
Until a dodo bird waddles into their lives.
Being thrust back into the world of prehistoric creatures and those who use them for nefarious purposes causes a rift between the teens.
What will it take for Kam and Viv to save the dinosaurs…and themselves?
Note: The Dino-Rift duet is set in the same universe as Derek Borne's "The Ultimate Agent" series.
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MY THOUGHTS
Borne is back... and he's done it again!
A year has passed since the enthralling yet nightmare-inducing days of the Rift. Vivienne and Kamren have graduated from high school and are looking forward to a dino-free future.
Or, are they?
A couples road trip over the summer before heading to college, best laid plans, and proposals are soon thwarted by the revelation that Viv hasn't been holding it together quite as well as Kam thought, and a curious, but adorable, Dodo bird.
Who does not belong in present day.
Most folks would find a way to convince themselves they hadn't seen what they had. That there was some plausible explanation. Viv and Kam know better, however. And whether they like it or not, they are once again involved in the thrilling yet dangerous underworld of time rifts and corporate espionage.
What follows is an edge-of-your seat page-turner of a ride, including a few new prehistoric friends.
"Hold onto your butts" for all the quirky and fun music and entertainment references, awesome dino-drawings, and of course, the perfect Hollywood Ever After.
While this can can be read as a stand alone, I highly recommend you start with the first book of the duet, Dino-Rift (ONLY 99c! at the time of of this review). Not only is it a fantastic rea, but it really does set the stage for SauraCorps.
B@@K REVEAL: A Draught of Ash and Wine by Kristin Jacques
A Draught of Ash and Wine
Kristin Jacques
(Midnight Guardians, #2)
Publication date: January 31st 2023
Genres: Adult, LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
Johnathan Newman is a changed man, and he has the claws to prove it.
Following their bloody confrontation in Cress Haven, Vic and Johnathan flee the town in search of answers. Johnathan’s human life has ended, but his journey has just begun. Grappling with violent instincts and a supernatural bond to the vampire he’s falling for is complicated enough, but a dangerous new enemy is hot on their heels.
The machinations of the Society reach farther than either of them realized. Their foe’s dogged pursuit forces the pair to seek sanctuary. Vic brings Johnathan to the Estate, a haven for creatures nestled in the wilderness of upstate New York. Taken in by the Estate’s unusual proprietors, Johnathan soon learns not even sanctuary is safe for one of his ilk. This haven provides the pair an opportunity to explore their burgeoning relationship, and Johnathan a chance to learn control- A skill he is desperate to master, no matter the cost.
Because time is not on their side. The Society’s Agents are catching up to them, armed with a weapon straight from the Heavens. With their enemy’s plans creeping toward fruition, humans won’t be the only ones they have to worry about.
For fans of Gail Carriger’s Supernatural Society, The Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, and The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee.
Author Bio:
Mother of two, caffeine addict, sleep deprived book eater.
Kristin Jacques writes primarily speculative fiction, dabbling with dark adventures, monsters, mayhem, and the occasional sarcastic zombie.When not at her computer spinning tales she is generally herding cats or snuggling with her gremlins.A Multi Award Winning Author of Fantastical YA & Adult Fiction.
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Copper Waters by Marlene M. Bell
Copper Waters
Marlene M. Bell
(Annalisse, #4)
Publication date: December 5th 2022
Genres: Adult, Crime, Mystery
A rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.
Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover.
Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.
But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue.
Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.
The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets.
As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.
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EXCERPT:
“Nothing’s sinking in.” I pass the note to Alec and prepare myself. “Would you mind reading it aloud?”
“She and Ethan traveled together.” He gazes at me.
“Okay, we’d considered that.”
“Kate has business to conclude in New Zealand before she returns to New York. She asks me not to mention this to you until she arrives in the States but didn’t give a reason. Kate says she’ll meet you in person when she’s ready.”
“Seriously? Where does she plan to live? With me in Greenwich? The Goshen farm could be sold by now. Does she mention Jeremy finding her another place?”
Alec scans the page randomly. “No, she didn’t.”
I scratch my scalp and shake my head. “Then my sheep station trip to New Zealand is perfect timing. I have to leave now and see if I can catch her before she skips out. Ethan must know where Kate is. If it’s all the same, we’ll hang on to the tickets for our April trip, and I’ll buy my own way for this flight.” Tugging at my sweatshirt with clammy hands, I take the note from Alec and sail it into the flames, watching paper crinkle and burn on the log.
He steps forward, his chiseled profile gawking at the fire in disbelief.
“Were you ever going to tell me about Kate’s message?” A sob chokes my windpipe. “If it weren’t for Ethan’s invite, I doubt that we’d be talking about Kate.”
“Babe, I thought by staying neutral…” He twists his lips and looks at his shoes. “Seeing your reaction now; it was a mistake not to tell you.”
“That totally blows.” I ball my hands into fists. “More like you were afraid that I’d run down there to find her.” I’m mad enough to send smoke signals, so I take slower, calming breaths.
“If I’d told you… Yeah, I worried you’d run off. The ordeal in Italy, then Peter Gregory terrorizing you, and Helga has had barely enough time to settle around here. Your safety doesn’t include encouraging you to hop on a plane to another country so soon after a trauma like that. Waiting for Kate’s return felt right to me. At some point, I hope you’ll see things from my side. Kate put me in the middle, but it’s you I worry about.”
Willing myself to relax, I take his hand to get him to focus on me instead of the floor. “I know that.”
Peter Gregory, an old coworker from my past job at another gallery, is responsible for a young woman’s murder in Lecce, near the Mediterranean Sea on Italy’s eastern shore. Alec and I went to Southern Italy for a working vacation that spun us into solving more than one homicide in order for Alec to sell his dad’s Signorile Corporation, a sports car company.
“After a shower, I’ll give your mom a call from the car on the way home. I might have trouble getting a flight out on the spur of the moment, but if I do, I hope you’ll help me.”
“Anna, we should discuss this.” He catches my wrist. “I’d like to go along. Say the word, and I’m on that plane with you. Allow what’s happened with Kate to simmer. You might feel differently in the morning.”
Grasping Kate’s locket beneath my shirt, I slide the chain over my head and cup Alec’s hand, dropping the necklace there.
“Hold on to my locket while I’m gone. It’s the most precious thing I own. That way, you’ll know I’m coming back to you.” On my tiptoes, our salty kiss calls a loneliness— In a flash, two people are about to have a hemisphere drifting between them from outside influences that want to manipulate us. “Gen will be here to see Noah in a few hours, and you have him until Sunday. Let me go, Alec, and please wait for me at Brookehaven. I have to make this trip by myself. If there’s the slightest chance that Kate’s with Ethan or he knows where she is, I have to go. I’ve already lost precious time.” I start for the drawing room doors and remember something left undone. “Oh, and sorry for the sticky mess in your stable office.”
In a dead run, I’m biting a quivering lip. On the way to Alec’s bedroom suite, I send Chase a text to hold Ethan’s box and note for me at the gallery. True to form, Kate shoves us all out of our comfort zones, where I’m certain to find a disaster waiting for me to book a ticket to New Zealand in a mad rush.
Author Bio:
Marlene M. Bell is an award-winning writer and acclaimed artist as well as a photographer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living and Sheep Industry News, to name a few.
Her catalog Ewephoric began in 1985 out of her desire to locate personalized sheep stationery. She rarely found sheep products through catalogs and set out to design them herself. Ewephoric gifts may be ordered online or request a catalog at TexasSheep.com.
Marlene and her husband, Gregg reside in beautiful East Texas on a wooded ranch with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large Maremma guard dog named, Tia, along with Hollywood, Leo and Squeaks, the cats that believe they rule the household—and do.
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December 7, 2022
NEW RELEASE BLITZ: The Unsolved Case of The Secret Christmas Baby by Hannah Byron
The Unsolved Case of The Secret Christmas Baby
Hannah Byron
Publication date: December 6th 2022
Genres: Adult, Historical, Mystery
A presumed dead baby who’s just turned fifty, a grieving widow on a mission, a female haberdasher hiding a scandalous secret
The Cotswolds, England, December 1895
Fifty-year-old Imogene Lynch has recently moved to the tight-knit community of Dartmond after her husband passed away.
In the decades of her husband’s job as chief constable of the neighboring Landdulton, the childless Imogene often assisted him in solving seemingly unsolvable crimes. On his deathbed Thaddeus Lynch has one last request to his wife: solve the secret Christmas baby’s mystery.
Overcome by grief, but with the promise as a stamp on her heart, Imogene sets out in her roundabout way to unearth Sir Finley Lowther’s mysterious origins. The first trace leads to Miss Eloise Platt, a well-respected Dartmond shopkeeper.
But when a baby’s skull is dredged up from the bottom of Tiverstock Lake and Miss Eloise confesses to the murder, Mrs Imogene Lynch faces a stalemate. While the Dartmonders squabble over Miss Platt’s fate, the widow-turned-detective worries she’ll never fulfil her promise.
To break through her impasse, she pays a visit to the elderly Lady Lowther in Ridgeview Asylum with far-reaching consequences. For Imogene, the mystery is now solved, but getting Miss Platt to tell the truth is another matter.
With her characteristic quirky style, Mrs Lynch confides in the most unlikely candidate in her arsenal, her landlord, Mr Richard Hopewell. If the mute bookkeeper can shed light on what he witnessed on that fateful Christmas Day in 1845, she has the ally she needs to confront Miss Platt.
After fifty-one years, Constable Thaddeus Lynch’s brown file on the Secret Christmas Baby can be closed for good. With Finley’s adoption mystery solved and Miss Platt redeemed, all Dartmond joins in the merry 1896 Christmas celebrations.
This first book in the Victorian Cozy Mystery Series introduces Mrs Imogene Lynch, a willy-nilly detective who talks too much and eats too little.
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EXCERPT:
“Now stop whining, Gertie, and just walk slowly down the stairs. Jasper isn’t even 2 stone. You carry heavier sacks of potatoes up the stairs.”
“But I carry the teddies up the stairs, Ma’am, not down. The dog is heavier than a three-year-old babber.”
A three-year-old baby? Have you ever heard of such an exaggeration? One day soon, that maid’s going to do me in. She shuffles down the stairs so slowly, I’m almost losing my balance, and mind you, these stairs are as narrow as a rabbit hole.
“Just hold him steady, will you, or you’ll scare him, and you know what happens then!”
But it’s too late. Jasper whimpers once, and the damage is done.
“Ma’am, he’s wee-weeing all over me dress.”
“Poor darling Jasper, we’ll sort you out downstairs. Don’t squeeze him so tight, Gertie, I told you a dozen times before. It frightens him. And keep moving now. You can change your dress in a minute.”
Dear Lord in Heaven, what is it with this maid? I can’t go through this every time with her and the dog.
When we finally land in one piece on the mat in the tight hallway near the glass-panelled front door, she puts poor Jasper on all fours. He looks up at me with those large, guilt-ridden eyes, but the stricken soul can’t help this. Enough is enough.
“It’s all right, Jasper dear. Gertie, I’ll ask if Neil Fritter wants to earn a little extra pocket money and carry Jasper up and down, all right? We can’t have you change dresses three times a day.”
“That’s gurt lush, Ma’am.”
“Nice of me? Well, it’s all right, Gertie. Now change and wash that dress. I’ll pop into Donald’s fish shop on my way back and see if Neil is available.”
“And I’m sorry for the mess, Ma’am.”
Don’t think that I miss the flicker of hope in Gertie’s grey eyes. Yes, Neil Fritter is a bit of a looker, so she won’t mind seeing him upstairs. I’ll make sure he delivers Jasper at my front door and doesn’t come in. I’m not against romancing, but I’ll not encourage it either in un-betrothed people. That’s not my style.
Author Bio:
“Ever since I could hold a pen, I’ve written stories and poems, and I’ll write till my dying day.”
Historical fiction author Hannah Byron's crib stood near the Seine in Paris, but she was raised in the south of Holland by Anglo-Dutch parents. In her bestselling WW2 historical fiction series, The Resistance Girl Series, Hannah's heroines also traipse from one European country to the next, very much like their creator.
Now a retired university lecturer and translator, the European traveler and avid researcher is about to cross a new border and settle down south of Dublin.
What started as curiosity about her family's connection to D-Day, evolved into an out-of-controlish study into WW2 history. To blame, or thank, must be Uncle Tom Naylor. If he'd not landed on the beaches of Normandy and help liberate Holland, her British mother would never have met her Dutch Dad after the war.
Strong women are at the core of her clean and wholesome romance novels. Every book is a tribute to the generations who started the women’s lib movement, got dirty in overalls, flew planes, and did intelligence work. Today’s girl bosses can but stand on the shoulders of these amazons.
Side-by-side with their male counterparts, Byron’s heroines fight for freedom, equality and… love.
In December 2022, Byron will launch her first Historical Mysteries. The Mrs Imogene Lynch Series stars the kind but opinionated Victorian widow of Constable Thaddeus Lynch.
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BOOK BLITZ: Hellfire Club by Becker Gray
Hellfire Club
Becker Gray
Publication date: November 29th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Meet the bad boys of the Hellfire Club in this exclusive boxed set!
The hottest guy in Pembroke wants the headmaster’s daughter…
The popular prince obsesses over the bookish girl…
The British heartthrob pursues the scholarship girl…
The heartless playboy toys with the aloof princess…
The villainous bad boy tempts the good girl…
“A forbidden romance full of angst and delicious desire. Wicked Idol is unputdownable and so scorching hot it will melt your kindle. You’re not going to want to leave Pembroke Prep.” – Amazon Top #10 bestselling author Ivy Smoak
HELLFIRE CLUB contains 5 full-length novels by bestselling author Becker Gray including Wicked Idol, Callous Prince, Brutal Blueblood, Ruined Sinner, and Sweet Devil. Walk the halls of the most exclusive prep school alongside the band of friends.
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Author Bio:
Becker Gray is the brainchild of two best friends who love rich boys in peacoats. The Hellfire Club is their first series together.
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GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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December 6, 2022
EAST TEXAS BOOK BASH
🎟️🎫TICKETS ON SALE NOW🎫🎟️
Authors, Wine, & Books... Need I say more?
East Texas Book Bash
Where: Mill Creek Ranch Resort in Canton, TX
When: December 10, 2022
GENERAL $5
VIP $10 - SOLD OUT
Wine will be served during the event!!
BUY Tickets HERE
Stop by my table to say hi, play some BINGO, and get a chance to win a stuffed raffle basket!
INCLUDES:5 books edited by me (Two Indians and A Dead Man C. Forrest Lundin, Shadowed Horizons by Reily Garrett, His Personal Assistant by L.J. Harris, It Started in Texas by M.B. Feeney, and Marking Her & Marking Him by Elena M. Reyes)
Coloring Book and set of colored pencils"Bless Your Heart" candleCustom Divine Trilogy flaskCustom Divine Trilogy facemaskThe Body Shoppe Moringa body wash and bath bombStriped SocksTea service with diffuser and a pack of looseleaf apricot ginger teaEssential Oil aromatherapy mix (diffuser not included)Assorted swag (stickers, pen, etc)
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B@@K REVEAL: Near Miss by C.S. Smith
Near Miss
C.S. Smith
Publication date: January 10th 2023
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense
He’s hostage to his past. Betrayal and death haunt former British Special Air Service captain Lachlan Mackay after a disastrous mission in the mountains of Afghanistan ends his military career. Now a civilian, his job overseeing security teams in Kabul brings the opportunity to topple a powerful warlord, avenge the dead, and free himself from the crushing guilt of trusting the wrong woman. However, his plans for revenge get derailed when someone from his past targets his beautiful new American colleague.
She has a secret that could destroy him. Sophia Russo wants to make a difference in the lives of the Afghan people. As the new director of Legislative Affairs at Landry Associates International, her job is to lobby Congress to support her company’s development projects in the war-torn country. But when her best friend’s father, a retired four-star admiral, tells her someone may be trafficking weapons to a warlord, she agrees to spy on the prime suspect, LAI’s head of Global Security. Lachlan Mackay is dangerously sexy and full of secrets, but after getting to know the Hot Scot, her heart refuses to believe he’s a criminal.
The past won’t stay dead. When Sophia is caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse between Lachlan and an unknown enemy, she teams up with him to help prove his innocence. The tables are turned when their hunt for the truth makes them the hunted.
To save Lachlan, Sophia may have to betray him, and Lachlan is forced to do the one thing he swore he’d never do again.
Trust a woman with his life.
Author Bio:
C.S. Smith writes steamy romantic suspense and paranormal romance featuring current and former special operations soldiers. She admits to having a thing for alpha males. The bigger and badder they are, the harder they fall!
While earning a Master's in National Security Studies from Georgetown University, she worked in and around the Pentagon surrounded by good-looking men in uniform, including the one she eventually married.
Her career as a writer took off in 2018 when her youngest child learned to drive and her days of micromanaging a family of five were coming to an end. Now she manages her husband of over thirty years and the family rescue dog - a supposed Golden Retriever that DNA tests revealed is really a lab, chow, boxer mix.
Her debut award-winning romantic suspense series, Dìleas Security Agency, focuses on three former elite special operators in a brotherhood forged by betrayal, blood, and death. If you enjoy hot alpha men and feisty women wrapped up in storylines full of danger and intrigue, be sure to look for Near Miss (Book 1), Missing in Action (Book 2), and Missed Opportunity (Book 3), coming in 2023.
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