E.G. Manetti's Blog, page 15

Indie Spotlight on Romance: Mobster Mystery

A fan of Pauline Baird Jones' Project Enterprise sci-fi series, I was curious about her contemporary mystery series set in New Orleans, The Big Uneasy .

As with the sci-fi books, I found this first volume to be imaginative, well-crafted, and the romance well developed relative to the overall story.

Crime solving is a family affair-and a Family affair-in the Big Uneasy.

Nell Whitby is starting over in New Orleans, getting a publisher for her children's book, sketching tourists in the French Quarter, and leaving the tragic death of her parents behind. When a handsome detective asks her for a date, her fresh start seems perfect...until a dangerous family secret bubbles up from the past and puts her life in jeopardy.

The oldest of thirteen children, detective Alex Baker has two goals in life: solve murders and avoid anyone under the age of ten. That is, until the day the quirky children's book author foils a carjacking, becomes a target for the mob, and makes his libido sit up and reconsider the whole no-kids thing. If he doesn't protect her, she'll be the next body to turn up in his homicide investigation.
As bullets start to fly, Nell can't resist her sexy bodyguard or ignore her past, and Alex must protect the irresistible kid-magnet who has them both in the crosshairs.

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Nightingale Needs Votes!

Super thrilled to have Nightingale and The Twelve Systems Chronicles nominated for Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Awards. Votes are needed to receive the award. Please follow the link. There are two places to vote: once for the series and once for the book. Just look for the Nightingale cover.

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Indie Spotlight on Romance: Aliens-Need-Brides Duo

The popular aliens-need-brides trope has a wide variety of approaches and heart-throb aliens. Authors Sue Mercury and Skye MacKinnon both use the intergalactic dating agency device but to very different results.

An alien mercenary in Scotland.
Thorrn only travelled to Earth to find women compatible with his species, even though he expects to stay alone for the rest of his cursed life. Broken inside and out, he's sure no female could ever want him. But that all changes when he sets his eyes on a sassy Earth woman with fiery red hair and a temper to match. With his mating instincts running wild, he will have to decide whether to claim her or return her to his planet to be studied by scientists.

A human businesswoman in search of love.

Jenny has finally managed to leave her abusive boyfriend and is ready to start a new life. Promoting a new dating agency seems like just the project to distract herself with. While meeting an alien who looks like a hot Highlander wasn't part of her plan, when he offers to protect her from her crazy ex, she's tempted to take him up on his offer. Besides, she really needs to know what he hides beneath his kilt.

But when she finds out that his people intent to study her like a lab rat, can she trust him any more than her ex?
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The otherworldly stranger is the biggest, fiercest looking alien warrior she's ever seen... and she's already agreed to become his mate.

Nadia knows if she stays on Earth, her mob boss ex-husband's goons will eventually find her. When the opportunity to become a Vaxxlian Mail Order Bride arises, she can't sign up fast enough. She's soon matched with a huge, fierce-looking alien warrior named Rozar who wants to mate with her upon their very first meeting. Whoa there. Slow down. She's desperate to escape Earth, but she also wants to be sure Rozar is a kind, decent alien before she commits to spending her life with him. She rushed into her first marriage and look what that got her--a one-way ticket into the Witness Protection Program. But the clock is ticking. The ship that brought Rozar to Earth departs in two weeks. Should she take a chance on the handsome otherworldly stranger whose kisses make her melt? Or should she rush back to her hideaway and hope for the best?

One glance at the little human called Nadia and Rozar knows she's the female meant to become his. Her bottomless blue eyes mesmerize him and her sweet demeanor calls up his protective side. He wants nothing more than to claim her and bring her back to New Vaxx. But the dark-haired beauty is reluctant to mate with him, despite his promises to always keep her safe and provide for her and their future offspring. Before he can convince her of his devotion, the little human disappears without a trace. Word of her dangerous past reaches him and he's more determined than ever to protect her, even if vanquishing her enemies means she no longer has a need to leave Earth. But he's just as determined to claim her as his, and Rozar will do whatever it takes to convince Nadia she's meant to be his female for all time.

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Thorn Bearer Cover needs Votes!

Thorn Bearer’s cover is included in InD’tale’s Creme de la Cover contest for the week the 1/23!

Please vote. Winning comes with free advertising and a shot at the monthly Creme de la Cover contest!

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Indie Spotlight on Romance: Space Gladiators

In Badari Gladiators a spin-off of her highly-rated Badari Warriors series, Veronica Scott has combined two of my favorite alpha-heroes; aliens and gladiators. And, as with all Ms. Scott's books, her heroine's do their fair sharing of rescuing and battling villains.

Kyden is the top ranked gladiator in the Five Systems but he’s hardly there by choice. Unscrupulous guards faked his death in the lab where he was created and sold him into slavery in the galaxy’s hinterlands. He has no idea where his home is or how many years have passed since he was condemned to a life of endless combat. Kill or be killed is the rule and a Badari never gives up. He’ll fight to stay alive until the Badari goddess sees fit to decree his death.

Elara Vasclavian is the daughter of a senator, as far removed from the life of a gladiator as a noblewoman can be until through the machinations of a political enemy, she ends up in terrible jeopardy. Abducted and given to a group of drunken gladiators for their amusement the night before the games, Elara vows to put up a fight but there’s no real hope of saving herself.

Until Kyden steps in, responding to the goddess’s commandment to protect those who are smaller and weaker. And discovers she’s his fated mate.

Rescued, Elara returns to her life of privilege but she can’t forget the man who saved her life. The gulf between their places in the Five Systems is unbridgeable, no matter how much Kyden longs for even a glimpse of her in the arena audience. No matter how much she feels the pull to be by his side. As matters stand, they cannot be together…Or can they?

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Indie Spotlight on Romance: 2021 in Review

For my last Spotlight of 2021, I'm revisiting a handful of favorites from the past year.

Marie Johnston's foray into contemporary romance with the Oil Kings lacks the good versus bad suspense of her other works, but it makes up for it in entertaining and only mildly angsty family drama.

I lost my job and got kicked out by my roommate, who happens to be my ex-husband, on the same day.

If I nail one interview, I can get my life back on track. I even get to fly on a private jet with my prospective boss's dad Gentry King, a widowed oil company CEO. We'll make one stop and once Mr. King's business is done, we'll continue on to Denver where I'll hopefully land a high paying job that'll keep me from moving back in with my parents. I'm not even thirty, I can't go backwards in life.

Mr. King is unbelievably attractive and intimidating, but it's a short flight and I never have to see him again after it's done. Only we don't make it to Denver. A snow storm strands us in Wyoming where the only hotel room available has one bed. Unlike me, Mr. King remains undaunted and continues to work remotely at the desk in the room, otherwise ignoring my existence. Until the power goes out and there's nothing for us to do but get to know each other.

Between our age difference, his adult kids, and his former mother-in-law who's still in control of the company, what happens in Wyoming might have to stay in Wyoming.

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Seven time SFR Galaxy Award Winner, Veronica Scott , writes fabulous scfi action-adventure blended with classic romance. Within her Sectors SF Romance series, the Nebula Dream trilogy re-imagines the Titanic disaster in space with two follow up stories about the survivors.

Welcome to the story of the greatest interstellar cruise liner disaster of all time (“Titanic in Space” as the Galaxy Express Blog termed it), one small group of survivors and what befell them in later years, as told in three novels.

Wreck of the Nebula Dream
Traveling unexpectedly aboard the luxury liner Nebula Dream on its maiden voyage across the galaxy, Sectors Special Forces Captain Nick Jameson is ready for ten relaxing days, and hoping to forget his last disastrous mission behind enemy lines. He figures he’ll gamble at the casino, take in the shows, maybe even have a shipboard fling with Mara Lyrae, the beautiful but reserved businesswoman he meets.
All his plans vaporize when the ship suffers a wreck of Titanic proportions. Captain and crew abandon ship, leaving the 8000 passengers stranded without enough lifeboats and drifting unarmed in enemy territory.

Star Survior
They survived an iconic spaceship wreck together. She never expected to see him again … especially not armed to kill her.

Return Voyage
As a child, she survived the Wreck of the Nebula Dream. As an adult, she cannot move forward with her life until she faces the past. On the edge of burnout, bodyguard to a celebrity should be like a vacation . . . but someone doesn't want the child to remember.

Each novel has been previously published on its own and all can be read as standalone tales. Although interrelated, each story is a standalone romance with an HEA.

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Omegaverse stories are premised on societies wherein humans are divided into a dominance hierarchy of dominant "alphas", neutral "betas", and submissive "omegas". *Wikipedia

Books in this subgenre are on the darker side and, as Alison Aimes demonstrates in her Ruthless Warlords series, ideal for blending with the popular 'mafia' romance trope.

He's out for revenge. She's out to escape. Neither intends to fall in love.

His instructions are simple: do not open the bag. To escape exile and enact revenge, crime boss Magnus Avitus agrees to play the part of errand boy. But when the volatile package he’s been tasked with delivering begins to squirm, he has to take a peek. He never expects to come face-to-face with her. Or to have everything inside him roar "mine."

Her plans are simple: escape the bag and those intent on using her. But when omega Amora Rose's prison is unpacked before she can free herself, she is claimed by ferocious, scarred warlord who makes her heart whisper "mine."

Except she has a secret that’s about to send all their simple plans up in flames.

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COMING JANUARY 1st

Indie Spotlight on Romance: Holiday Reads

With Christmas around the corner, I'm offering a few fun, Christmas themed reads.

A Holiday by Gaslight is a charming historical. 5-stars/1-flame

A Courtship of Convenience

Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He’s grim and silent. A man of little emotion—or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she’s ready to put an end to things.

A Last Chance for Love

But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn’t as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there’s Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What’s a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one last chance to win her? Only this time there’ll be no false formality. This time they’ll get to know each other for who they really are.

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Homeworld for the Holidays is an 'aliens among us' rom-com. The passage were the hero attempts to explain Santa Claus to his alien girl friend is laugh-out-loud funny. 4-stars/3-flames.

He wanted to spend Christmas with the girl of his dreams—but never dreamt they'd spend it in space!

Buddy never meant to stow away on an alien warship. He just wanted to surprise Nika, the girl of his dreams, with a holiday dinner she’d never forget. But now, he’s stuck aboard the Reckoning with his dog, of all things, headed to a star system far from Earth and the Christmas dinner where he planned to introduce Nika to his family.

Nika has enough on her plate building colonies, dome worlds, and space stations in the Sol system—all without Earth’s governments detecting their presence. With a war going on throughout the galaxy, it’s up to her to create sanctuaries for sentients who have lost their homeworlds. When she’s called aboard the Reckoning to track down odd system errors—and pulled from a holiday dinner with Buddy—she knows something’s gone very wrong. It goes from bad to worse when she finds Buddy and his dog on board.

Now, they have to work together to figure out how to fix the ship for good, keep Buddy and his dog hidden, and forge an alliance with a planet full of super strong warriors with impulse control issues. For a galaxy at war, can a chef, his dog, and a little holiday four-part-harmony pave the way to peace?

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Christmas with Angel is a fun and steamy holiday novella. Part of a larger series, but easy enough to follow if read as a stand alone. 4-stars/4-flames.

Cowboy firefighter, Cole Hatcher, is determined to do what’s right and take his fiancé with him to his mother’s annual holiday dinner party. After all, the two most important ladies in his life need to learn to get along and the sooner the better. Besides, the rest of the family will be there.

Lacey Winters can’t forgive her future mother-in-law for keeping them apart for eight years. While she loves Cole’s family, including the five they are living with, “Racy Lacey” wants to spend Christmas alone with Cole, preferably in her sexy Christmas present for him.

But there are worse things brewing than family drama. This Christmas day, nothing goes as planned…for anyone.
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Watching the holiday budget? Check out these sci-fi romance FREEBIES!

2022 Free Book Club for Red Gems Subscribers

For all my newsletter subscribers, something special each month of 2022--an exclusive free book! The book may be available elsewhere, but not for free. The contributors include several who have appeared in Indie Romance Spotlight; Veronica Scott, Cara Bristol, Lea Kirk, and Tasha Black. Those who haven't been in the spotlight may well be before 2022 ends.

Not a subscriber to my monthly newsletter, Red Gems? It is easy to do.

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Book Club Contributors:

Cara Bristol
Tracy Cooper-Posey
Nancey Cummings
Candice Gilmer
Lea Kirk
Tamsin Ley
E.G. Manetti
Skye MacKinnon
Sue Mercury (Lyndon)
Veronica Scott
Susan Smith

Which author will provide each month’s book will remain a surprise.

Indie Spotlight on Romance: Silver Fox Aliens

Welcome to the Silverstar Agency, specializing in intergalactic love matches for those over fifty.

Aliens need brides has been a popular scifi romance trope for at least a decade. Silver fox aliens need brides is the newest variation and a welcome one. Lea Kirk's Silverstar Mates Series follows three winged aliens as they attempt to woo and win earth women.

Love can be as elusive as stardust.
After thirty-five years married to a controlling husband, Robyn Martin Donahue now has her freedom, friends, and a job she adores. And there’s still room in her heart for a special someone. Where in the galaxy can she find a man who will love and respect her, not try to rule her?

By law, a monarch cannot govern alone.
Recently widowed Kyzel Raptorclaw, the remaining sovereign of his clan, is on the hunt for a new mate. This time he wants more than just an ally; he wants love. But breaking with his peoples’ ancient mating tradition comes at a personal price—one his new mate may not accept.

Can Kyzel convince Robyn they are better together, or will their happily ever after crash and burn before it has a chance to soar?

Welcome to the Silverstar Agency, specializing in intergalactic love matches for those over fifty.

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Indie Spotlight on Romance: Omegaverse

Omegaverse, also known as A/B/O (an abbreviation for "alpha/beta/omega"), is a subgenre of speculative erotic fiction. . . Stories in the genre are premised on societies wherein humans are divided into a dominance hierarchy of dominant "alphas", neutral "betas", and submissive "omegas". *Wikipedia

Books in this subgenre are on the darker side and, as Alison Aimes demonstrates in her Ruthless Warlords series, ideal for blending with the popular 'mafia' romance trope.

He's the most brutal Alpha crime boss in the galaxy—and she belongs to him now. Payment for a debt owed. Pawn for an act of vengeance. Property to be used, knotted, and bred.

Irresistibly gorgeous mafia king Nikolai Skolov is dominant, hard, possessive—and determined to bend innocent omega Dahlia Lundin to his will. But she is equally determined to resist. The lives of those she loves depends upon it.

Except Dahlia isn't prepared for the insatiable hunger the Alpha's discipline awakens. Or her soul's recognition that her new master is also her fated-mate.

As dangers mount and betrayals loom, all Dahlia knows is turned on its head. Allegiances are tested. Secrets exposed. Until Dahlia is not sure if her ruthless enemy is the monster who will destroy her or the only one left who can save her...

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Also available for 99c, a standalone novella from the same series.

He's out for revenge. She's out to escape. Neither intends to fall in love.

His instructions are simple: do not open the bag. To escape exile and enact revenge, crime boss Magnus Avitus agrees to play the part of errand boy. But when the volatile package he’s been tasked with delivering begins to squirm, he has to take a peek. He never expects to come face-to-face with her. Or to have everything inside him roar "mine."

Her plans are simple: escape the bag and those intent on using her. But when omega Amora Rose's prison is unpacked before she can free herself, she is claimed by ferocious, scarred warlord who makes her heart whisper "mine."

Except she has a secret that’s about to send all their simple plans up in flames.
99c Purchase Links
Amazon * Nook * Kobo * Apple

Prices reflect time of posting

Most Free, 99c, or KU