Aubrey Wynne's Blog, page 38
June 27, 2022
Her Dark Reflection by Hailey Jade with a giveaway
Welcome to my stop for this gorgeous dark fairy tale retelling by Hailey Jade called Her Dark Reflection! Read on for more info and a chance to win a great giveaway!
Her Dark Reflection (The Dark Reflection #1)
Publication Date: June 15, 2022
Genre: Dark Fantasy/ Dark Romance/ Fairytale Retelling
Midnight Tide Publishing
“They called me the Whore Queen. Some even called me the Evil Queen. But they could call me whatever they wanted. I was still queen.”
Rhiandra Tiercelin hungers for power and her charm has always been her sharpest weapon in hunting it. So when a brutal attack leaves her physically scarred, desperation drives her to make a deal with Draven, a magic-wielding stranger who is inexplicably compelling and definitely dangerous. She knows she can’t trust him, but he when he offers to make her a queen, the temptation is too enticing to resist.
Armed with a glamoured face and an enchanted apple, Rhiandra is determined to scheme her way into a crown, even if it means risking the deadly punishment for unsanctioned magic use. But Draven is playing a bigger game, and she is just one piece on the board.
Can she keep her wits about her long enough to uncover his secrets, or will he lure her down a path she will come to regret?
Her Dark Reflection is the first book in a new dark romantic fantasy series perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy, Jennifer Armentrout and Sarah A. Parker. If you like cunning, ambitious heroines, morally ambiguous men and romance that toes the line between love and hate, then you’ll love Hailey Jade’s dark reimagining of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
Add to Goodreads
Chapter One
The Winking Nymph was always flooded with patrons after the Burnings.
The atmosphere wasn’t the same as it would be on a busy night at a regular tavern; the dim lighting fed rather than banished the shadows, encouraging them closer, leaving pockets of space where patrons could lurk without being recognized. Men – and the occasional woman – drank, sometimes in groups, but for the most part they didn’t engage themselves with singing bawdy songs or telling dirty jokes. Perhaps the place was debauched enough on its own and so they didn’t feel the need.
Women drifted in and out of the shadows, flirting with the light as it caught on their spangled wrists and ankles and throats, and at the front of the room a beautiful redheaded girl sang with a voice as sweet as sun-warmed strawberries. It was going to be a big tipping night; the city was beginning to bulge with visitors attending the treaty celebrations, and the moon cycle holiday had beckoned them all to the streets, thrilled by the morning’s violence and drunk on bloodlust.
I was eager to get out on the floor, but Madam had saddled me with initiation duties, so I was instead lingering in a corner by the bar, doing breathing exercises with the novice.
Aalin’s perfume was thick, a ghastly confection of jasmine, violets and something sugary that made my head ache. I could pick a new girl a mile away – they wore thick makeup obscuring their faces, chains and sparkles everywhere one could hang a jewel, and gowns in gaudy colors that revealed more than they concealed. They thought they were channeling desirability, but in reality, all the decoration was just a screen to hide their nerves behind.
I was long past those sorts of naïve assumptions. I’d worked at the Winking Nymph long enough to know that calculated vulnerability earns more than donning the generic armor of maisera. Aalin wasn’t ready to hear that, though. That night she just needed to feel like she belonged, and all that perfume was a part of the uniform.
‘They’re just men,’ I soothed as she chewed on her lip and smoothed her dress over and over again. ‘And they’re mostly drunk men. They want to be pleased. And they’ll be excited to see a new girl.’ I tucked a lock of wiry hair back into her updo.
‘I don’t think I know how to be sexy,’ she admitted in a small voice. ‘I thought I did, but now that I’m standing here…’
Available on Amazon
About the Author
Hailey Jade has tried to quit writing, but alas, the characters who live in her head will not stop yammering. She’s hoping that building them ink-and-paper homes will make them pipe down long enough for her to get some sleep. She likes creating fantasy worlds populated by complicated, morally-grey characters who try to resist their attraction to other complicated, morally-grey characters, but who inevitably fall in love, because everyone needs a Happily Ever After.Hailey has completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Teaching at Flinders University, and spends her daylight hours trying to convince reluctant teenagers to love books. She lives in regional South Australia with her partner, bouncy baby boy, and feline overlord.
Hailey Jade | Amazon | Instagram | Goodreads | Newsletter
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June 23, 2022
The Commoner’s Destiny by Fred Yu
I am so excited to let you all know that the next exciting instalment in The Red Crest series is now available! Read on for more info about The Commoner’s Destiny and grab a copy today!
The Commoner’s Destiny (The Red Crest Series #2)
Genre: Epic Fantasy/ Historical Fantasy/ Asian Fantasy
Publication Date: May 5th, 2022
His past is dark. His intentions are cloudy. When lies pull him out of hiding, can he fight off imminent destruction?
Ancient China. For Chen Han, honor sits above all. So when his name is unjustly slandered and his former brothers-in-arms rise against him, he doesn’t hesitate to counter the falsehoods. But his heart burns for vengeance after he learns his beloved father figure has been murdered by a hidden villain…
Joining forces with a beautiful archer, Han treks to a dangerous island only to spring a deadly trap. And as he discovers a plot that could drive the entire Middle Kingdom into civil war, he must become the very traitor he swore to destroy in order to save his people from slaughter.
Will he submit to disgrace to stop countless deaths?
The Commoner’s Destiny is the astonishing second book in The Red Crest Asian historical fantasy series. If you like emotionally wrought heroes, heart-pounding twists, and epic battles, then you’ll love Fred Yu’s sword-slashing story.
Available on Amazon
The Orchid Farmer’s Sacrifice (The Red Crest Series #1)
Publication Date: October 5th, 2021
Genre: Asian Fantasy/ Epic Fantasy
He was born of prophecy. If he can’t embrace his destiny in time, his country is doomed.
Ancient China. Spoiled and overconfident, eighteen-year-old Mu Feng relishes life as the son of an honored general. But when his sister is abducted and his friends slaughtered, he flees home. He soon discovers the mystical birthmark on his body has attracted an enormous price on his head.
Pursued across the Middle Kingdom, Feng finds allies in two fierce warriors and a beautiful assassin. When he learns his ultimate enemy plans an incursion with advanced weaponry, he must call on his friends and his own budding military genius to defend his country. His plan is desperate, and the enemy outnumbers him twenty-five to one…
Can Feng fulfill a duty he didn’t know he had and unite the empire against a terrifying force?
About the Author
As a lifelong student of martial arts, and growing up watching martial arts flicks in the 80s and 90s, Yu decided early on that he would write in this genre. Inspired by George RR Martin’s work, he decided he would write a series in English in this centuries-old Asian genre. Yu has written three previous novels, The Legend of Snow Wolf, Haute Tea Cuisine and Yin Yang Blades. Yu has a BFA Film and Television from NYU Tisch School of Arts. He was born in Guangzhou, China, but presently lives in New York City.Book Blitz Organized By:
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June 22, 2022
The Laughbox by Julia Kent – new release sale with a giveaway
The Laughbox
Julia Kent
Publication date: June 21st 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
The Laughbox contains SIX full-length novels so you can start all of New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Julia Kent’s series, plus get an ALL NEW NOVELLA you can’t find anywhere else.
Get a taste of billionaires, small towns, rock stars, office romance, secret bosses, second chances, first crushes, enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, and so much more.
Each series is wildly different from the others, with varying heat levels, different hijinks, but always, always – a heartwarming world you want to live in, with heroes who make you swoon and heroines who make you laugh – and cheer on in their quests for happily-ever-after endings.
This boxed set includes:
Shopping for a Billionaire (a New York Times bestseller)
Fluffy (a USA Today bestseller)
Love You Wrong
Random Acts of Crazy (a New York Times bestseller)
In Your Dreams
Maliciously Obedient (a USA Today bestseller)
and an ALL NEW novella, Shopping for a Billionaire’s Anniversary, featuring Declan and Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, as they celebrate their anniversary with affection, heat, and a hilarious set of awkward mishaps that still manage to be conquered by love.
Sink into seven fun stories that leave you with all the feels, loads of laughs, and strange looks from people around you as you read, giggle, and fall in love.
Note: each of these are series starters. Some are standalones (Fluffy), others end with the main characters together but with more books in the series as I follow their relationship (Shopping for a Billionaire, Random Acts of Crazy), others are prequels (Love You Wrong, In Your Dreams), while Maliciously Obedient has a cliffhanger. Full, up-front transparency for readers.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play
SPECIAL RELEASE PRICE: 2.99 until 6/26 when price goes up to 9.99!
—
EXCERPT:
Declan
Here.” My executive assistant, Dave, shoves a perfectly wrapped present at me, with a card and a small envelope. We’re in my office, the sun shining on this beautiful spring day, and I am finishing up work before taking a vacation.
Yes–vacation. It’s for one night, but it counts.
“What’s this?”
“Your anniversary gift for Shannon.”
The note card is blank.
He notices me noticing this and his face sours, the corners of his mouth dropping in scorn, pulling his beard down so he looks like an angry leprechaun.
“I draw the line at writing sweet nothings to your wife and signing your name, even if my rendition of your signature is far superior to your own,” he says dryly, reaching down to square a pile of papers on my desk.
“My signature is my signature. No one can best it, Dave.”
He just snorts.
I shake the box lightly. “What’s in here?”
“Leather.”
“Leather?”
“Ninth-year anniversary gift. Leather is flexible and represents durability.”
“I am well aware of what leather represents. What does it have to do with my marriage?”
He snorts again.
I frown and ask, “Just leather? What is it, a wallet?”
“No! Of course not. The traditional gemstone for ninth anniversaries is lapis. I had a jewelry artist set chunks of lapis in gold, then stitch them onto a leather cuff bracelet.” Dave holds his phone up to me, showing a picture of the piece.
“That’s incredible.”
A short sigh of contentment, then a clipped, “You’re welcome” is how Dave takes a compliment. He doesn’t feed off praise.
He feeds off his own hypercompetence. If efficiency were a drug, Dave would be Al Pacino on Scarface, covered in the fine white powder of his own brutal excellence.
“The lighthouse is reserved for the evening?” I inquire, reaching for my briefcase.
“Yes. Your suit’s in the car already.” Dave eyes me. “Where will you change?”
I’m wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a Lacoste polo shirt, all Shannon’s favorites. The dark green shirt is a nod to my eyes, which she has spent almost a decade raving about.
Author Bio:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.
From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).
She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.
She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Newsletter / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon
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June 20, 2022
THE ACCIDENTAL DETECTIVE Series by Kris Bock – with a giveaway
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kris Bock will be awarding Ebook copies of the first four books in the Accidental Detective Series – Something Shady at Sunshine Haven and Something Deadly on Desert Drive (out now), plus early copies of books 3 and 4, Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek (not available publicly until September 29, 2022) and Someone Missing from Malapais Mountain (not available publicly until February 28, 2023) – to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
The Accidental Detective book 1: Something Shady at Sunshine Haven
Injured in a bombing, Kate returns to her hometown in Arizona with new scars, a limp, and pain meds that give her brain fog. For the first time in her life, she’s starting to feel her age (49), even though she’s living like a teenager again: staying with her father, trying to understand why her sister resents her so much, and running into old friends who still think of her as Kitty.
Seeing her mother in an Alzheimer’s unit is the hardest part – until an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at that nursing home. Is a self-appointed “Angel of Mercy” killing patients to end their suffering? Are family members hastening their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and killing the witnesses? Kate uses her journalism skills to track clues, but the puzzle pieces simply won’t fit. If Kate can’t uncover the truth, her mother could be next on the killer’s list.
Kate has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?
The Accidental Detective book 2: Something Deadly on Desert Drive
Starting over at fifty might be hard, but it shouldn’t be deadly…
Still recovering from an injury that might have permanently derailed her career as an international war correspondent, Kate Tessler is living in her childhood bedroom and pondering her second act when another case lands in her lap. Kate’s father and his coffee group are worried. Their friend Larry married a younger woman who now insists he has dementia and won’t let any of his friends visit. They’re convinced that Larry’s wife and her two adult, dead-beat kids are out to steal his money. Can Kate help?
Soon Kate and her unusual gang of sidekicks are unofficially, officially investigating. But before they can dig out the truth, a murder raises the stakes. Now they need to prove Larry is both mentally competent and not a killer. They’ll have to find the real murderer—without risking their own lives in the process.
Praise Something Deadly
“I had such a lovely day reading your story. I could barely put it down. I am still in awe of how you manage to wrangle these three generations of sleuths without every going over the top or relying on stereotypes or cliches, and of course watching Kate start to come to terms both with her disability and potential inability to ever fully heal as well as her new life, aging, being back home again and reconnecting with her family—all while solving two crimes—definite multi-tasker! The story was so engaging and quite clever.” – Sinclair Jayne, author
Read an Excerpt from Something Shady at Sunshine Haven
The director’s office was behind the reception counter. A glimmer of familiarity hit me as the woman looked up from her desk. She was my age, with brown hair to her shoulders, a strong jaw, and dark eyes framed by laugh lines. She stood and extended her hand. “Kitty! Or I guess you go by Kate now.”
“Yes, I prefer Kate.” Technically, my name was Katherine. I’d grown up as Kitty, but I’d started using Kate the first year of college as it sounded more like a serious journalist.
She beamed as we shook hands. “I’ve followed your career. You probably don’t remember me.”
The vague familiarity wasn’t clicking into anything definite. “It was a long time ago.”
“Isn’t that the truth? I was two years behind you. I took journalism my sophomore year, when you were a senior.”
It was coming back. “You were on the school paper that year.”
“Right. Please, have a seat. I shouldn’t have kept you standing, with your leg. We were all horrified when we heard.”
I managed a tight smile. I wasn’t surprised my injury had made the local news, or the grapevine anyway, as I was something of a hometown celebrity simply for getting my byline in the papers via the Associated Press. I wasn’t supposed to be the news story, but at least I wouldn’t have to explain the limp over and over. I sat in the chair across from her and leaned my cane against her desk.
Heather glanced at the closed door. “Can I tell you something in confidence?”
My journalism senses, dormant and neglected for weeks, gave a faint tingle.
“It depends. I won’t spread gossip. I hardly know anyone around here to tell.” I smiled. “But if you confess to murdering someone, I’ll have to report you.”
“Ha. Nothing like that. I hope.”
I stared at her. “You’d better tell me what’s bothering you. If I can keep it a secret in good conscience, I will.”
“Okay.” She spread her fingers and pressed her hands on the desk. “Two of my patients died last week.”
My stomach churned. People came to this place for the ends of their lives. My mother …
Shut down that thought. Snap into journalist mode.
About the Author:
Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance, many with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material when you sign up for her newsletter. You’ll also get a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novelsKris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. Follow the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for our romantic comedy newsletter and get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. Or find the books on Amazon US or All E-book retailers
Website
Blog
Amazon Author Page
Amazon UK Author Page
Where to buy Something Shady at Sunshine Haven
Tule Publishing
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
iBooks
Kobo
Google Play
Amazon UK
Buy links for Something Deadly on Desert Drive
Amazon
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June 16, 2022
Celebrate Audiobook Month with the Earl of Brecken and a giveaway!
Are you an audiobook addict? June is audiobook month and there’s a huge event going on at N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Celebrate Audiobook Month. 31 audiobooks featured plus a chance to win a $75 Amazon US or CA gift card.
I’m thrilled to be a part of this event. My audiobook, Earl of Brecken, will be featured on June 16. Wait until you listen to my audiobook clip. My narrator nails the characters and I’m so proud of it. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.
Bookmark this festival and tell your friends:
https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/celebrate-audiobook-month
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June 15, 2022
Welcome to my stop on the book tour for The Man Who Came ...
Welcome to my stop on the book tour for The Man Who Came and Went by Joe Stillman! Read on for more info and a chance to win a signed copy of the book!
The Man Who Came and Went
Publication Date: March 1st, 2022
Genre: Mature YA/ Literary Fiction/ Magical Realism
Publisher:City Point Press
Distribution:Simon & Schuster
The Man Who Came and Went, a novel of the new west, is a magically realistic story for the modern era that will tease your understanding and beliefs, and draw you into the mysteries of the universe, from the brilliant mind of Joe Stillman, acclaimed Academy Award nominated co-writer of “Shrek.”
Fifteen-year-old Belutha Mariah, our storyteller, is the oldest of three kids from three different fathers. Her life’s goal is to keep her dysfunctional mom, Maybell, from procreating yet again and then to leave the coffin-sized town of Hadley, Arizona the second she graduates high school.
Along comes the new grill cook at Maybell’s Diner, Bill Bill, a mysterious drifter with the ability to mind-read orders. As word spreads in Hadley and beyond, the curious and desperate pour into this small desert town to eat at Maybell’s.
Some believe Bill knows the secrets of the universe.
Belutha figures he’s probably nuts. But his cooking starts to transform the lives of locals and visitors, and Belutha finds her angry heart opening, as Bill begins to show her the porous boundary between this life and what comes after.
In a normal American town, something new and strange, and yet achingly familiar, begins to unfold.
Joe Stillman has brought us an ensemble of empathetic characters, all in the elusive search for happiness in this witty and poignant exploration of love, expectation, and mortality. I laughed, I cried, I loved it. – D.J. MacHale, New York Times bestselling author
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Excerpt
The door opened with a DING from the bell that hung on it. No one noticed Bill entering. He was about average in height, but his skinny frame made him look taller. You could tell from his face that he was in his mid-20s, but those were hard years he had lived, and his body looked frail and geriatric. His clothes were old and clung to him like an extra layer of skin, with a smell that would never wash out.
The angles of his face were sharp and careworn. But his eyes, those were different. His face was hard and weathered, but his eyes were soft. They seemed brand new.
No one in the diner even looked. If they did they would have seen those eyes taking in every little detail: the people talking, forks carrying food, the string lights behind the counter, Dolene ringing up a check. But what drew Bill more than anything else was the grill. Harley, the grill cook, must have had four meals going at once, each with its own set of sounds and smells. Most of those meals involved eggs. His spatula made a metal-on-metal scrape as he turned them. Bill was riveted. He went to sit at the counter to watch.
Down the counter, a porkish-looking man named Earle—probably one of three men in town who had never slept with my mom—raised his empty cup. “Can I get a refill, Maybell?”
Maybell stopped and faced him. “Seriously, Earle? Is it so goddam much trouble for you to get up off your ass and get it yourself? Can’t you see I’m working here?”
“Well…” he stammered. “I just—was I—I was—”
Maybell pointed to the coffee pot. “How far away is that? Two feet?”
“Sure, I guess…”
“Am I your personal slave, Earle? Is that why God put me on earth?”
“No, I don’t think you’re—”
Maybell grabbed the pot and sloshed coffee in his Earle’s cup. “There. You happy now?”
He nodded meekly.
While she had the pot in her hand, Maybell filled the cup sitting in front of Bill. “I’ll be by to take your order in a minute, hon.”
Maybell walked on. Bill just sat there and stared at the coffee. For him, there was no diner anymore, no Maybell, no clanking dishes or dumb conversation. He leaned closer to that cup like it was the only thing in the world. And there he was, smelling coffee for the first time. And it smelled like life. Like a whole world. Like this is how a planet smells if you’re up in space and could take a deep breath. Bill was motionless for who knows how long. And then, when he was good and ready, he took his first sip.
Those eyes, the ones that didn’t belong on his head, they closed as if he was praying. No, more like he was hearing a prayer. The coffee was praying to be heard, and Bill heard it.
Amazon | B&N | Books-a-Million | Bookshop.org | IndieBound
About the Author
Joe Stillman co-wrote “Shrek” for Dreamworks which earned him an Academy Award® nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Annie and BAFTA Awards.
Other produced features are “Beavis & Butthead Do America”, “Shrek 2”, “Gulliver’s Travels”, “Planet 51” and “Joseph King Of Dreams”.
In television, he was co-producer and writer on “King of the Hill,” for which he received two Emmy Award® nominations. He was a writer and story editor for Nickelodeon’s “The Adventures of Pete and Pete” and a writer on MTV’s “Beavis and Butthead”. More recently he worked on Nickelodeon’s “Sanjay And Craig” and “Kirby Buckets” for Disney. Other TV credits include “Albert” for Nickelodeon, “The War Next Door” for the USA Network, “Clueless”, “Doug” and “Danger And Eggs” for Amazon.
Joe is currently working on a “Curious George” feature for streaming on Peacock.
Joe Stillman | Instagram | Facebook | Newsletter
Click the link below for a chance to win a signed edition of the book!
a Rafflecopter giveaway (US only)
Book Tour Schedule
June 13th R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com @hodophile_z (Review) https://www.instagram.com/hodophile_z/ @genoviareadingco (Review) https://www.instagram.com/genoviareadingco/ Latisha’s Low-Key Life (Review) https://latishaslowkeylife.com/
June 14th @amanda_coffee_books (Review) https://www.instagram.com/amanda_coffee_books/ Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.com/ @definitelynotreading (Review) https://www.instagram.com/definitelynotreading/ @gryffindorbookishnerd (Review) https://www.instagram.com/gryffindorbookishnerd/ Modest Hiccup (Review) https://modesthiccup.com/ @booklymatters (Review) https://www.instagram.com/booklymatters/ Breakeven Books (Spotlight) https://breakevenbooks.com
June 15th @aliciareviewsbooks (Review) https://www.instagram.com/Aliciareviewsbooks/ @allpagesandcoffee (Review) https://www.instagram.com/allpagesandcoffee @mels_booksandhooks (Review) https://www.instagram.com/mels_booksandhooks/ @bhaneereads_ (Review) https://www.instagram.com/bhaneereads_/ Timeless Romance Blog (Spotlight) https://aubreywynne.com/ Nesie’s Place (Spotlight) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com
June 16th @ofmoviesandbooks (Review) https://www.instagram.com/ofmoviesandbooks/ Cheryl’s Book Nook (Review) https://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/ @beastreader (Review) https://www.instagram.com/beastreader/ Riss Reviews (Review) https://rissreviewsx.wixsite.com/website Liliyana Shadowlyn (Review) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/ Bunny’s Reviews (Review) https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/ Dark Whimsical Art (Spotlight) https://www.darkwhimsicalart.com/blogs/news
June 17th @amber.bunch_author (Review) https://www.instagram.com/amber.bunch_author/ @jacleomik33 (Review) https://www.instagram.com/jacleomik33/ Dash Fan Book Reviews (Review) https://dashfan81.blogspot.com/ @wellread81 (Review) https://www.instagram.com/wellread81/ @itsabookthing2021 (Review) Http://www.instagram.com/itsabookthing2021 @better_0ff_read (Spotlight) http://WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/BETTER_0FF_READ/ Sadie’s Spotlight (Spotlight) http://sadiesspotlight.com/
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June 14, 2022
The Second Time Around by Kelly Collins – read an excerpt and enter the giveaway
The Second Time Around
Kelly Collins
Publication date: June 2nd 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
A swoon-worthy second chance romance with all the feels.
Brie Watkins had loved two men in her life. One abandoned her at the altar twelve years ago, and the other died in the war. She is no stranger to loss, but she’s still learning how to move on. When her sick aunt asks her to come back to Willow Bay to help at the family resort, Brie says yes. After all, she’s a southern girl at heart, and a southern girl never turns her back on kin. Brie sells her beloved home, quits her job restoring historic properties, and goes back to the last place she wants to be, only to find her aunt healthy, The Brown Resort thriving, and the man who left her at the altar living next door, looking as handsome as ever. Why can’t life be fair?
Carpenter Carter Kessler left Willow Bay a dozen years ago and never looked back, but he never forgot his first love, Brie. He’s spent the rest of his life regretting his decision to leave her all those years ago. After his father’s death, he reluctantly returns to find his family’s resort a mess. But it is not a total disaster – Brie is next door and as beautiful as ever. He talks her into helping him refurbish The Kessler Resort, but first she lays out the ground rules: they aren’t friends, they’ll never be lovers, and she’ll never stop hating him. As far as Carter is concerned, it’s a start.
But as summer heats up, so does their relationship. As they peel back the layers, what will they find hiding beneath the surface? Can what they started all those years ago be restored, or are some things better left buried in the past?
Find out in The Second Time Around…
—
EXCERPT:
She leaned on the suitcase. Even in the moonlight, and despite her frown, she still had the most beautiful blue eyes. Eyes as blue as the bay. The Texas coast wasn’t known for its clear waters. It didn’t have the blue of the Caribbean, but the way the reef protected the shore gave it a unique environment, and it had the bluest water. He’d forgotten how he’d thought of the bay as Brie blue, and paired with her chestnut hair, she was one of the prettiest girls in Texas.
He started back to the porch and his beer, but he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye, trying to stand. She stumbled over the suitcase and fell on top of it.
He raced toward her. “How much of that bottle did you drink?”
She looked at it and shrugged. “Not sure. Four or five.”
“Four or five what? Sips? Gulps? Gallons?” She rose and tottered back and forth. Her back end was high in the air. All these years later, she still had the finest derriere he’d ever seen. “Let me help before you hurt yourself.”
She wagged a finger behind her. “Stay away from me.” She shifted and grunted and righted her suitcase, only to lose her balance again. This time she landed on top of it like it was a lounger. She squeaked, then smiled and let out an “Oh, this isn’t so bad.” She opened the bottle for another drink.
“Is that wise?”
“What do you care?” She laid back and looked up at the twinkling lights of the willow tree. “Did you know when I woke that morning, Mama got me ready? She used an entire can of Aqua Net. I smelled like Ms. Cricket but looked like Miss America.” She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. “I had the prettiest braids going in every direction, but they all came together in the back.” The whiskey bottle fell into the sand, which was probably a good thing. “So pretty.”
“You were always beautiful, Brie.”
“Oh, what would you know? You didn’t even show up.” She blindly searched around for the bottle but gave up quickly.
He sat a few feet away from her. He had a lot to say, but all he’d do was listen.
“You know what the funniest thing of all was?”
“Tell me.” He scooped up sand and let it sift through his fingers. It kind of felt like how life was. It just got away from you.
“Mama wanted me to wear those fancy jeweled shoes. Those heels were four inches high and pinched my toes. I’m telling you, she had me practicing for days, and I was in pure agony. I refused to wear them and hid them at Tiff’s house, because I knew with the humidity, my feet would swell, and I wanted to dance under this tree with you. I didn’t want to have achy feet on my wedding day, so I bedazzled my Keds. I had the perfect shoes for running, and I wasn’t the one who ran.” She turned on her side, showing her back to him.
He thought about how he’d apologize. He wasn’t sure what she knew or didn’t know. It had been so long, and both her parents were gone. Did she know her mother had been unfaithful? Did she believe until their dying days that they’d been hopelessly devoted to one another? Her father had died of a heart attack on a yacht filled with half-naked drunk coeds. Though he’d been gone, gossip traveled fast, and he’d gotten the condensed version every time his mother talked to someone from town.
“Look, Brie, I did what I did for a lot of reasons, but mostly it was to spare you pain and embarrassment.”
“Mm-hm.”
This was going far better than expected. “I’m sorry for hurting you, but if you’d known what I did, you would have been hurt so much more. I was a coward for many reasons. I should have stayed and let the grenade explode. At least then, maybe we could have worked it out, but I didn’t have the maturity to face them or you.” A loud sound startled him, and he scooted closer. “Brie.” He reached out and touched her leg, only to realize she was snoring.
Author Bio:
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International bestselling author of more than thirty novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.
Kelly has sold more than a quarter of a million books worldwide, and in 2021 she was awarded a Readers’ Favorite Award Gold Medal in the Contemporary Romance category for A Tablespoon of Temptation.
You can learn more about Kelly at www.authorkellycollins.com.
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June 9, 2022
The Island of Summer Sunsets by Susan Sands – read an excerpt and enter to win a paperback!
The Island of Summer Sunsets
Susan Sands
Publication date: June 8th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Sail away with this heartwarming beach read about hope, family, and finding out who was meant for us.
Among the dunes and salty spray, off the South Carolina coast, where the daily tide swells and the minnow counts are the only news in town, something big might just change Janie Brooks’s life forever, for better or worse.
In the small southern village of Fripp, Janie’s life is moving along at about the same slow pace as the island—exactly the way she wants it. After the death of Janie’s husband, unable to find her own way, she spends her days with the seagulls and swallow-tailed kites, in the serene bliss of the Atlantic coast.
Until newcomer Ryan Kennedy and his teenage daughter move into the rental down the street, shaking up Janie’s well-ordered, simple life. Ryan has enough to deal with, being a single dad. All he wants is to move into a brand-new house in this quaint community and start fresh. But, with Janie down the street, that might be easier said than done.
Will Janie and Ryan find their own version of paradise? Or will one get in the way of the other?
A summer escape that will whisk you away to an island getaway and have you wishing for a seaside retreat with your feet in the sand and the golden sunset at your back. The Island of Summer Sunsets is perfect for fans of Robyn Carr, Brenda Novak, and RaeAnne Thayne.
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EXCERPT:
Chapter One
“Hey there, Janie-girl,” Joe Murphy called from atop the wood decking that wrapped around the old marina’s general store.
His gruff voice pulled Janie Brooks’ attention his way as she walked up. She waved, the salty air blowing between them.
“What can I get for you this morning?” he asked, wiping his large hands on a rag as a seagull squawked overhead in search of its morning meal.
Joe, owner of the general store at the end of Fripp Island’s seaside marina, towered over her. At five-foot-nothing, being towered over wasn’t unusual for Janie, but Joe was a giant of a man, with a steely-gray, grizzled beard that matched what was left of his hair. He reminded her of an ocean-facing house that had stood up to the salty sea air and endured the test of time. He was… weathered.
“Hey, Joe. I need a couple of bags of ice, some minnows, and Momma’s newspaper. How are the shiners today?” Janie asked, peering into the murky vat of bait minnows that lined the old clapboard wall of the building, trying to determine how active they were. Their smell was oddly comforting. It reminded her of going there as a little girl with Momma and Daddy. And then, with her late husband, Daniel. She loved visiting the marina before anybody else was up and around.
Something about the familiarity kept her thoughts on the day-to-day, not allowing her mind to move into memories that were still too painful to relive. The music of sameness filled her: the gulls, the glorious sunrise, and the smells of the island. Anything else put her into new territory, and Janie wasn’t ready for anything new. Even after two years.
“Just got ’em in yesterday. Should do you for a couple of days.”
Janie pointed toward the vat. “Momma wants two dozen, please.”
She noticed then that something was different about Joe that day; his manner was a little more distracted than usual. He’d looked over her head toward the entrance to the marina a couple of times already.
Joe pulled out the net, scooping up approximately twenty-four, then throwing in several more for good measure. Then he filled a plastic bag with water, dumped in the tiny silvery fish, and used a tube to inject oxygen from the tank before tying off the top with a rubber band. That would keep them alive until Janie got home and put them in the minnow bucket. He handed the bag over to her.
She looked up, shielding her eyes from the brightness of the morning daylight with her hand. It was early, but the sun was making a spectacular appearance over the water. The blaze of orange contrasted against the layers of cool blue in the sky just above. Below, the darker surf was almost glassy in its stillness, as it often was this early.
“Your momma fishing off the dock today, or y’all going out in the boat?” Joe asked.
“We’re going out tomorrow to hunt for driftwood on Pritchards Island’s beach. We’ve got some special orders for candle holders that could use a few more pieces.” Janie referred to her “sea treasures” business that she and Momma ran together. “She’s planning to do some fishing while we’re at it. Might throw a line in on the dock this afternoon.”
There was a limited window for maritime travel between tiny Pritchards Island and Fripp Island. Both were nestled among the string of more than one hundred islands from South Carolina down to Georgia, and if it weren’t for the stretch of ocean separating the two barrier islands, it would only be a half-mile walk between them. High tide happened twice a day, but the exact timing changed daily by roughly an hour. Tides were the gods of everything here, pulling the water from the canals that snaked through the marshes, so getting across by boat had to be carefully timed.
Joe’s gaze followed Janie’s. “Gonna be a good day for it tomorrow.”
They stood silently for a moment, looking upward at the sky, which had now transformed into a full-blown daytime blue.
“A perfect day, according to the forecast.”
Most days on Fripp Island were perfect days as far as Janie was concerned. But this day seemed to sparkle. Truth was, they lived in paradise on this tiny slice of an island many people west of Georgia and north of the Carolinas had never even heard of.
Fripp was quiet this early in spring since the lucky tourists who knew about the island invaded during the warmer months. The late March weather was warm but breezy, with a few puffy white clouds floating by. Being surrounded by nature’s beauty on a protected bird and wildlife sanctuary was all Janie wanted.
Janie carried over the bag of minnows and set them on the floor of her golf cart.
“I’ve got some of that sweet cornbread mix from the mill your momma always asks for.” Joe peered up the stairs toward the entrance of the general store.
Janie was extremely fond of Joe. He ordered specific things he knew his customers liked. “Then I’d better grab the mix too while I’m here.”
Janie started to follow Joe when someone caught her eye, causing her to turn instinctively. A tall, sandy-haired man had just parked a four-seater golf cart on the crushed shell lot and was walking over.
“Hey, Joe,” she muttered, just loud enough to get his attention.
“Yup?” He raised grizzled brows.
“Who’s that?” She nodded as furtively as possible toward the newcomer.
He was tall, dark-haired, lean, and moved with a grace that caught her eye. It was apparent the man wasn’t a regular resident because she’d never seen him before. Not only was he unfamiliar, but, dressed in faded jeans and a worn blue T-shirt, he was clearly a misplaced underwear/sunglasses model who’d washed up on their island out of season.
Joe lowered his polarized glasses and glanced over, his sun-damaged blue eyes having a look. “Hmm. Looks like he’s here earlier than expected.”
“Who?” she hissed, wanting to know before the guy got to them. It would be nice to have a clue what was happening around here.
Joe eyed her for a long second. “That’s my nephew, Ryan. Got some interest in our new resident, do you, Janie-girl?” Joe winked at her, grinning as she flushed a dark, beet red.
Janie knew she was doing this because it was the curse of being a redhead. And one with freckles, too. Her skin told the world her deepest thoughts. Like a flashing billboard.
Janie’s curiosity competed with her awkwardness over Joe’s nephew’s unexpected appearance. So she ignored his taunt.
“Resident? How did I not know about someone new moving in?”
Joe had mentioned his nephew a few times in the past, but they’d never met. And she would have remembered him.
“It happened pretty quickly. Must’ve slipped my mind the last time you were here.”
Judging by his smirk, she knew Joe had misinterpreted her reaction as interest instead of mortification. After last year, when Joe had tried to set her up and it had failed miserably, he, of all people, should have understood where she was coming from.
The nephew came closer. Joe raised a hand in greeting toward the man as he neared them. Janie eyed her golf cart and wondered if she could make it there fast enough to avoid saying hello, but then she realized how silly that was.
Joe let out a low rumble of laughter. “Come and say hello.”
Janie Brooks was no coward. Never that. And Joe was like family, so she had little choice.
“Fine. He’s your family, after all.” There. That would stop any ideas Joe had about possible interest in his nephew.
“C’mon then.” He grasped her shoulders gently and maneuvered her forward as if she were a child, causing Janie’s face to flame up like a flare gun, something that didn’t happen often but had happened twice in the last five minutes. But then again, in Fripp, she was rarely caught off guard…
Author Bio:
Susan Sands grew up in a real life Southern Footloose town in Northwest Louisiana, complete with her senior class hosting the first ever prom in the history of their tiny public school with half the town chaperoning. Is it any wonder she writes Southern small town stories full of porch swings, fun and romance?
Susan lives in Roswell, Georgia with her husband, Doug, their Labradoodle, Watson, and lots of material for her next book. Her three adult children are in various stages of finishing college and getting off the payroll.
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June 8, 2022
Stories My Grandmother Told Me: A Multicultural Journey from Harlem to Tohono O’dham by Gabriela Maya Bernadett
Welcome to the tour for this fascinating memoir by Gabriela Maya Bernadett, called Stories My Grandmother Told Me: A Multicultural Journey from Harlem to Tohono O’dham. Read on for more info!
Stories My Grandmother Told Me: A Multicultural Journey from Harlem to Tohono O’dham
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: City Point Press/ Simon & Schuster
The illuminating and deeply personal debut from Gabriela Maya Bernadett, Stories My Grandmother Told Me explores culture, race, and chosen family, set against the backdrop of the twentieth-century American Southwest.
In a hilly Southern California suburb in the late twentieth century, Gabriela Maya Bernadett listens as her grandmother tells her a story.
It’s the true story of Esther Small, the great-granddaughter of slaves, who became one of the few Black students to graduate from NYU in the 1940s. Having grown up in Harlem, Esther couldn’t imagine a better place to live; especially not somewhere in the American Southwest.
But when she learns of a job teaching Native American children on a reservation, Esther decides to take a chance. She soon finds herself on a train to Fort Yuma, Arizona; unaware that each year, the Bureau of Indian Affairs kidnaps the native Tohono O’odham children from the reservation and forces them to be educated in the ‘ways of the White man.’ It doesn’t take long for Esther to notice how Fort Yuma parallels her own grandmother’s story as a slave in the South—the native children, constantly belittled by teachers and peers, are forced to perform manual labor for local farmers.
One of two Black people in Fort Yuma, Esther feels isolated, never sure where she belongs in a community deeply divided between the White people and the Tohono O’odhams. John, the school bus driver and Tohono O’odham tribe member, is one of the only people she connects with. Friendship slowly grows into love, and together, Esther and John navigate a changing America.
Seamlessly weaving in the present day with the past, Stories My Grandmother Told Me blends a woman’s memory of her life, and that woman’s granddaughter’s memories of how she heard these stories growing up. Bernadett’s captivating narrative explores themes of identity, tradition, and belonging, showing what it really means to exist in a multicultural America.
Bookshop.org | Simon & Schuster | Amazon
About the Author Maya Bernadett grew up in California hearing the stories of her grandmother, Esther Pancho. She grew up in a multi-cultural household, as her father is Mexican American and White and her Mother is Tohono O’odham and Black. At the age of 18 she moved to New Haven, Connecticut to attend Yale University, from which she graduated in 2008 with a degree in the History of Science/History of Medicine. She lived in Tucson briefly, then moved to New York City, and finally returned to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona. She graduated in 2015 with a Master’s Degree in American Indian Studies with a focus on Education. She currently teaches GED classes at the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
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June 6, 2022
From Brick & Darkness by J. L. Sullivan
Welcome to my stop on the tour for From Brick & Darkness, a gritty YA novel steeped in djinn mythology. Read on for an exclusive excerpt and a chance to win a signed copy!
From Brick & Darkness
Publication Date: May 16, 2022
Genre: YA/ Modern Fantasy/ Retelling
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
The most powerful wishes aren’t said with words. Bax always fantasized something remarkable would happen in his life. So when a decrepit man with glowing purple eyes offers him a ring intended for his estranged father, Bax accepts.
The ring speaks to Bax in a dream, tempting him with a vision of a powerful djinn. Desperate to make his fantasies a reality, Bax unleashes a creature called Ifrit, but soon learns this djinn isn’t what the ring led him to believe. Feeding off the depths of his subconscious, the sinister demon fulfills what he thinks Bax wants by manipulating, threatening, and murdering. With everyone he loves in danger and a trail of crimes pointing back at him, Bax must scramble to solve the puzzle that will banish Ifrit forever.
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Excerpt
Neck bones popped as his head rotated toward me, his face eclipsing the rays of the streetlight. His irises were dull purple, glazed over with a foggy film, and deep-set wrinkles radiated from the corners of his eyes like arrows drawing attention to them.
A shudder caused the keys to slip from my hand and clank on the ground. My face burned with shame that the poor man’s appearance had startled me. My rudeness would have disappointed Mom.
“I’m sorry, but really—” I snagged my keys.
His hand slithered out of the brick-colored sleeve as his arm rose, trembling as he strained to hold the weight of his own limb. Gloved in loose, veiny skin, his skeleton hand had yellowed fingernails so overgrown they grew in on themselves like curly birthday ribbons. As his fingers unfurled, he revealed a ring nestled in his palm.
It was large. Too large. The ring resembled the toy jewelry Jason’s sister played with or something from a Halloween costume. Grimy gold with a single dull purplish jewel that matched his eyes.
His hand trembled under the heaviness of the ring. “Take it.”
Shifting my backpack to my other shoulder, I took it. “What is this?”
The corners of his thin lips curled into a grin as a gust of warm, dry wind cut through the chilly October night and swirled around me
Available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble
About the Author
J.L. Sullivan writes young adult stories inspired by gritty urban environments and the tales that percolate within abandoned buildings and desolate alleys. He lives in St. Louis with his wife, two daughters, and a dog named Princess Penelope Picklesworth.
J.L. Sullivan | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads
Click the link below to enter for a chance to win a signed copy!
a Rafflecopter giveawayBook Tour Schedule
June 6th
R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com
Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com
Timeless Romance Blog (Spotlight) https://aubreywynne.com/
Cheryl’s Book Nook (Review) https://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
@beastreader – https://www.instagram.com/beastreader/
Bunny’s Reviews (Review) https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/
The Faerie Review (Spotlight) http://www.thefaeriereview.com
June 7th
@bookscoffeehappiness (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/bookscoffeehappiness/
@jacleomik33 (Review) https://www.instagram.com/jacleomik33/
@genoviareadingco (Review) https://www.instagram.com/genoviareadingco/
Not a Bunny Blog (Review) https://notanybunny.wordpress.com/blog
@marie.sinadjan – https://www.instagram.com/marie.sinadjan/
Nesie’s Place (Spotlight) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com
June 8th
@amber.bunch_author (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/amber.bunch_author/
B is for Book Review (Spotlight) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
Riss Reviews (Review) https://rissreviewsx.wixsite.com/website
@rissreviews_xx – https://www.instagram.com/rissreviews_xx/
@takealookatmybookshelf (Review) https://www.instagram.com/takealookatmybookshelf/
June 9th
Freelance Writer, Janny (Spotlight) https://freelancewriterjannyc.com/
Liliyana Shadowlyn (Spotlight) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/
@tabithabouldin (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/tabithabouldin/
Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.com/
@mels_booksandhooks (Review) https://www.instagram.com/mels_booksandhooks/
Rambling Mads (Review) http://ramblingmads.com
June 10th
I Love Books & Stuff (Spotlight) https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com
@books_inthecity (Review) https://www.instagram.com/books_inthecity/
@gryffindorbookishnerd (Review) https://www.instagram.com/gryffindorbookishnerd/
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