Aubrey Wynne's Blog, page 44

March 16, 2022

The Monster and the Doll by Jade West with excerpt and giveaway

The Monster and the Doll
Jade West
Publication date: March 15th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense


Heartless. Soulless. Relentless. Lucian Morelli is the heir to a powerful and corrupt business empire.


There’s only one problem: his reputation.


His father convinces the board of Morelli Holdings that he needs a wife.


Elaine Constantine is the party girl. The wild child. The eldest daughter in the Constantine family.


And the sworn enemy of the Morellis.


Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Bishop’s Landing, where we lay our scene.
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.


THE MONSTER AND THE DOLL is a collection of three full-length novels by bestselling author Jade West, including Heartless, Soulless, and Relentless.


CONTENT WARNING: This book is intended for readers ages eighteen years old and over. It contains material that some readers might find disturbing. Enter at your own risk…


Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

EXCERPT:

Constantines swarmed the place, billowing through the masses with their beautiful, blonde bullshit. Vivian, Keaton, and Tinsley herself were prancing around as though they were on a film set, but not nearly so much as Caroline. The matriarch was dressed up like an ice queen in a diamanté mask, smiling at everyone she passed.

It wasn’t Caroline who caught my attention.

No. It was the much younger woman in gold. She was beautiful, but there were plenty of beautiful women. There was something else about her. She was twice as alive as anyone else. Vibrant. Animated. Full of feeling, which is something I severely lacked.

She owned the room without even trying.

Elaine Constantine.

She wore a Venetian mask that covered so much of her face I could barely make out her features, but that didn’t matter. I didn’t need to see her face.

The visible parts of her were enough to drive me wild. Hair like silk and gold. I wanted my fingers in it—why? No explanation came to mind. I wanted to run my thumb over the soft pout of her lips while she watched me with eyes so big and blue they reminded me of a song.

Me.

A song. It was ludicrous, but that didn’t make it any less true.

I watched her from guest to guest, swigging back the fizz and laughing at each one like they were the most hilarious person she’d ever met. Her laugh was sexy and flirty, with enough husky lower notes to make me hard beneath my tux.

I wasn’t in the business of deep emotions. Didn’t allow them. Abhorred them. But the woman made me feel something. A pressure in my chest. A sharp curiosity. I wanted more than the usual pain and tears. I wanted more.

I couldn’t stop looking at her.

The gold silk of her ballgown was a perfect fit on a perfect body.

Sloping curves in a delicious hourglass—a gorgeous pedestal of glamor to highlight the elegance of her slender neck. Oh, how I’d love to feel her pulse there as I fucked her how she liked it. As I showed her how she liked it.

Rough.

Because, of course, in my head, Elaine Constantine was not well-mannered or well-bred. If she was to be my wife, she would learn to love kink. I’d make sure of that.

Her blonde curls were held up in twists that glittered with diamonds. Her fingers were perfectly manicured and glittering to match, sparkling under the chandelier lights every time she reached out a hand for some nobody to kiss it.

Lust had my cock throbbing.

Lust—and something else. I wanted to take her body.

Slowly.

Deeply.

Painfully.


Author Bio:


Jade has increasingly little to say about herself as time goes on, other than the fact she is an author, but she’s plenty happy with this. Living in imaginary realities and having a legitimate excuse for it is really all she’s ever wanted.
Jade is as dirty as you’d expect from her novels, and talking smut makes her smile.
She lives in the Herefordshire countryside with a couple of hounds and a guy who’s able to cope with her inherent weirdness.
She has a red living room, decorated with far more zebra print than most people could bear, and fights a constant battle with her addiction to Coca-Cola.


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Published on March 16, 2022 02:49

March 15, 2022

Highland Games by Evie Alexander #99cents sale

Highland Games
Evie Alexander
(Kinloch Series, #1)
Publication date: October 15th 2021
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance


‘Take it. It’s yours. Go have an adventure.’

Zoe’s done playing it safe. When she inherits a cabin in a remote corner of Scotland, she ditches the big city and heads for the Highlands. But reality soon strikes. The roof leaks, there’s no front door, and her scorching hot neighbor wants her out.


Rory’s a grumpy man-bear with nothing but problems. Kinloch castle is falling apart, and if he can’t make it profitable, he’s out of a job. He dreams of a quiet life, alone in the cabin he loved as a child, but a fire-cracker’s moved in and turned his world upside down.


Rory may want Zoe out of Scotland but she has no intention of leaving. As they clash over the cabin, things start heating up. Are they about to spark the hottest winter Scotland’s ever seen, or is everything about to come crashing down around them?


Let the games begin…


Highland Games is a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, with no cheating, no cliff-hanger, and a guaranteed happy ever after (HEA)

Goodreads / Amazon

Only 99c for a limited time!

♥♥♥ Praise for Highland Games ♥♥♥

★★★★★ A hilariously funny and sizzlingly sexy romp in the Scottish Highlands. This book had me crying with laughter and begging for more…’ Margaret Amatt, author of The Scottish Island Escapes series

★★★★★ ‘Is there a reason you’re just discovering Evie Alexander? Where have you been?! Evie’s writing crackles and pops with the most delightful characters and wit. And don’t get me started on the steam! I can NOT wait until the next book.’ Kelly Kay, author of The Five Families Vineyard series

★★★★★ ‘A fantastic, funny and oh so sexy story, full of Highland mischief and romance!’ Julia Jarrett, author of The Dogwood Cove series

★★★★★ ‘This book is bloody brilliant. It’s snortingly funny, honest, page turning and downright fabulous. As soon as the book starts you know you are in a safe pair of hands. The writing is tender and intelligent and moves quickly to engaging and provoking. I was hooked.

Zoe, Rory and all the characters are one hundred percent believable. The plot itself is a hoot and at no point is Zoe the helpless victim waiting to be rescued, no matter how many screw-ups she gets herself into. Even when she does have to be rescued, she turns it to her own advantage.

Highland Games has smoking sex scenes, and I mean the pages were on fire, but they are also fun. Evie Alexander writes sex like it’s fun and joyous and bouncy. Imagine two otters having the time of their lives in a bowl of trifle. If this isn’t the best rom com of the year then I don’t know what is.’ Liz Hurley, author of The Hiverton Sisters series



Author Bio:


Evie Alexander is the author of sexy romantic comedies with a very British sense of humour. She takes a method approach to her work, believing her capacity to repeatedly fail at life and love is what has given her such a rich supply of material for her writing.


Her interests include reading, eating, saving the world, and fantasising about people who only exist between the pages of her books. She lives in the West country with her family.


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Published on March 15, 2022 02:30

March 14, 2022

 Read an excerpt from Dear Isobel by Jinny Alexander and enter the giftcard giveaway

Dear Isobel
Jinny Alexander
Publication date: March 15th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary


Two marriages, a bucket full of dreams and a pile of broken hearts.


She’s not sharing her name. She’s been judged enough.


Once, she had it all: a supportive husband, lovely children, and a prestigious career revitalising failing businesses in the wake of Ireland’s recession.


When her friend Isobel suggested she take on a new job in their tiny rural community, she didn’t expect to fall in love.


Now she has become the other woman, the marriage wrecker, the cheat, and the betrayer.


When the illicit relationship ends, she’s stuck between the ruined affair and a crumbling marriage. Jobless and bereft, she must try to salvage what remains.


Will talking to Isobel help pick up the pieces or shatter their lives forever?


Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT:

I wonder whether Isobel would be sympathetic to me if it were anyone else I had fallen in love with. Either way, I feel a need to say to her, however far she runs or wherever she runs to, it will always be the same. Even across the sea, even in her own safe homeland, someone somewhere is sleeping with their friend’s husband, or their wife’s friend. She can’t hide from this. It is strange how I am still so shocked to hear of every other story.

As the friend I used to be to her, before I wanted to take her husband for my own, I want to warn her:

Dear Isobel,

Even over there in your homeland, in America, Land of the Free, you are not safe from cheats and liars. They are in every corner of the world. Even there, even where you feel safe on your home ground, there will be men who ‘take up’ with their wife’s friend, and break hearts, and make promises and break them as quickly. For when one promise is kept, another is broken.

I want to warn her also that, if, as she seems to want to hear and Charles seems to want to say, it all meant nothing to him at all, then,

Dear Isobel, dear, dear Isobel, surely, if it meant nothing, he will do it again.

I believe it is better to risk everything for someone who means everything than to risk everything for nothing—for a mistake. I became my best friend’s biggest mistake, for which he has said he is sorry, but sorry, by that point, is just another empty promise.

Dear Isobel,

If he could hold me in his arms and tell me how much he loved you; if he could kiss me; and tell me how much he loved you; if he could take me in his arms after a weekend away with you, kiss me, hold me, touch me, and tell me his weekend with you has shown him how much he still loved you, then why, oh why was he holding me in his arms?

It is not impossible to want it all.


Author Bio:


Jinny was first published in Horse and Pony magazine at the age of ten. She’s striving to achieve equal accolade now she’s (allegedly) a grown up. She secured a publishing deal in December 2020 and her first two novels will be released by Creative James Media in 2022.


Jinny teaches English as a foreign language to people all over the world, which gives her an endless source of new inspiration for stories. Her home for now is in rural Ireland, which she shares with her husband and far too many animals. Her two children have grown up and flown the nest – mostly. She quite likes to shut the door on them all and write.


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Published on March 14, 2022 03:56

March 11, 2022

Time Lies by Rowena Tisdale with excerpt and giftcard giveaway

Time Lies
Rowena Tisdale
Publication date: March 4th 2022
Genres: Adult, Romance, Time-Travel


She thinks he’s crazy, he thinks she’s a witch.
Of course, they fall in love.


Shannon Kellogg is a spoiled heiress. She’s shallow and self-centered, but after her third divorce, she vows to become a better person. Practicing kindness and empathy is her prescription for self-improvement.


As if on cue, a young man with a strange accent, dressed as a colonial cosplayer appears in her yard during a thunderstorm. He’s lost and confused, and something about him tugs at her heart. She sees an opportunity on her path to change, and decides to help him.


It turns out to be more of a challenge than she anticipated. Azariah Scott was unwillingly tossed through time and the only way to help him is to send him back to 1750. She doesn’t know how to honor her commitment to him; despite his belief she’s a witch, she doesn’t believe in magic.


As they work together to find a gateway to the past, love blossoms, and Shannon comes to regret her promise.


Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT:

He cried out, and jerked away from her outstretched hand, falling to the floor, cracking his head on the corner of the island. He went still.

“Well, damn,” she muttered, closing the door.

A puddle had formed where he’d been standing. Much to her relief, a glance down confirmed water, not blood, covered the floor. Barefoot, she stepped gingerly on the well-polished tiles.

Shannon squatted next to him, picking up his wrist and checking for a pulse. His eyes were closed, but his lips were moving. Unable to hear what he was saying, she leaned in, her nose crinkling with distaste as she got closer. Such a heavy costume in the hot weather required far more deodorant. Holding her breath, she put her ear near his mouth.

“I am cursed

Straightening, she pursed her lips. The whole situation was bizarre enough to be intriguing. She was curious about this strange man. What was his story? An actual interest in another was a bit foreign to her. A sign, no doubt, she was already becoming a better person.

Okay, but what did she do now? If she called the police, first, they would send someone to her house. It might be the same hot officer who had come a couple of months ago, and after assuring her no bobcat lurked in her backyard, had left a few hours later with more than a grateful “thank you.”

He’d come back once or twice, to play Criminal & Lady Cop, but she’d soon tired of him. Officer CuffMe was the last person she wanted to see when she had an unknown young man passed out in her kitchen. Awkward and uncomfortable at best, of questionable legality at worst.

Second, it would be straight to the psych ward if the police got involved. Probably the right call, but if he were whisked away, she’d never learn his story. Making up her mind, she strode decisively to the liquor cabinet. Bryce had kept an extensive, and expensive bar.

“Brandy, brandy, brandy,” she chanted as she skimmed the labels. She smiled as she wrapped her fingers around the neck of a bottle. She’d read enough romances with bare-chested sea captains on the cover to know when the heroine fainted dead away, the thing to revive her was a bit of eau-de-vie. Singing a Spanish song about brandy she opened her crystal cupboard.

How much?

The lines never said anything like, “He poured four ounces of cognac into an eight ounce snifter and lifted it to her trembling lips.” It couldn’t be much. The unfortunate lass was usually “spluttering and gagging at the first taste of the amber fluid.”

Settling next to the stranger on the floor, she assumed the Lotus position. He had stopped mumbling, but was still quite pale. She set the glass down, then shifted to her best approximation of “cradling his head in her lap,” and wondered how the mechanics of this worked.

She decided to check his pockets before reviving him. If she found his license, the mystery would be solved. His apparel was odd, she wasn’t sure where to look. A pat down revealed a muscular body but no phone or wallet in the expected places. There was a slight bulge over his chest. In the small pouch she pulled out, she found some old coins, and some paper which might be foreign currency, though she didn’t recognize it. There was also a large, intricate antique key. None of this was helpful. She slid the purse back into the concealed pocket.

Putting a hand on the back of his head, Shannon, surprised by the weight, carefully lifted it and angled him, as best she could, into a drinking posture. Then, she brought the glass to his mouth—

a very sensuous mouth

and poured the tiniest bit of alcohol over his lips. She laughed when he actually spluttered.

His head jerked, and his eyes flew open. Shannon drew back her hand, brandy splashing over the rim. She dropped his head, which unfortunately did not land back in her lap, but thumped heavily to the floor. A grimace of pain crossed his face, and she felt a tinge of guilt.

He fixed her with a baleful stare.

“What do you want of me?” he asked.


Author Bio:


Rowena Tisdale was born and raised in Michigan, sort of all over the state. As an adult, she moved south to Texas, and after living there for a bit, headed east, eventually returning home to her beloved “Mitten State.” She now resides nearby her favorite city, Detroit, with her son and a pair of feline companions.


A reader of romance from an early age, she remains an avid fan of the genre. Over the years, she began to wonder why the feisty heroines she’s always loved haven’t aged with her. Her stories are about older women, because she knows romance is not solely the purview of youth. Whether a single mother in her 30s, a crone who makes goddesses smile, or a spoiled socialite in her 40s, Rowena writes female characters who have the beauty and confidence of experience. She writes across genres, romance, chick-lit, and women’s fiction, but all her novels are love stories.


Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram



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Published on March 11, 2022 03:10

March 9, 2022

 An excerpt from A Warm Rainy Day in Tokyo by Kana Wu plus a giveaway

A Warm Rainy Day in Tokyo
Kana Wu
Publication date: March 31st 2022
Genres: New Adult, Romance


Bella Bell lives a perfectly ordinary life with a perfectly ordinary office job in suburban California, where she longs to break free from her perfect sister’s shadow. So when Little Bear Café chooses her to train its new franchisee in Tokyo for the summer, she jumps at the chance.


But even a dream come true can get complicated. From the moment she steps on the plane, she annoys her pompous, handsome seatmate, insults her apartment manager, and gets caught up in her new neighbors’ drama. And everywhere she turns, she keeps running into the arrogant stranger from her flight—and she can’t seem to get him out of her head.


Ryo Yamada is at the top of his game: a high-powered job, no shortage of potential girlfriends. But his life is turned upside down when his family asks him to return to Tokyo for good because of his sister’s failing health. And now he finds himself avoiding his childhood friend whose feelings he doesn’t return. And bumping into the irritating, pretty redhead from his flight—who may not be so bad after all. The last thing he expects is to fall in love.


As the new café opening and the end of Bella’s time in Tokyo draw near, Bella and Ryo grow close—until they discover their circumstances may tear them apart. Can they find their way back to each other for good?


Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT:

Bella

“Bella, Bella,” The gorgeous stranger whispered.

I let out a quiet sigh because I loved the way he called my name. His voice was gentle, like rustling leaves on a breezy night. With a smile, I tipped my head toward him. The moon hid behind a thin cloud, but its light was enough for me to see his chiseled jaw, long nose, and full, sexy lips.

“I love your baby blue eyes, Bella Bell,” he whispered again, lowering his face to mine. “Do you love me?”

“Yes,” I whispered back, my heart thundering in my chest as his hazel eyes looked straight at me. Oh my, he is going to kiss me? Yes … yes … Wait, maybe I have to be bolder. Swallowing, I placed my hands on his muscular hips.

“Bella,” he said, caressing my red hair before his hand stopped on the back of my neck and pulled me closer.

I closed my eyes, waiting for his warm kiss to touch mine, but nothing came. Clenching my jaw, I cupped his face with my hands and coaxed it toward me. Oddly, instead of kissing me, he called out, “Bella! Bella! Bella!” At the same moment, I heard loud sounds, like someone banging on the door. What the …

As much as I wanted to ignore the annoying interruption, I opened my eyes to find that the handsome, chiseled-jaw guy had disappeared, and my hands clenched my pillow a few inches in front of my face. It wasn’t real … but who dared to disturb my dream? I couldn’t moan for too long because the banging became louder, followed by my mom’s irritated voice. “Bella, how many times do I have to wake you up?”

Ugh, couldn’t Mom have woken me up a bit later, at least after I got my kiss? I groaned.

Jumping out of my bed, I opened the door to see my mom glaring at me. She was wearing a blue blazer and pencil skirt, ready for work at a local library as the senior librarian. In her late fifties, she looked great. She had fair skin and no wrinkles, and was a bit heavy at almost five feet tall. Her new hairstyle, short with blonde highlights made her look younger. I could see a flicker of jealousy in my dad’s eyes whenever a man glanced at her in awe. How I wished I had inherited her fair skin and would look like her when I was older. However, my older sister got our mom’s looks and I looked more like our dad. But thanks to the height from my dad, I was three inches taller than my mom.

A whiff of jasmine from her perfume hit my nose like the fresh air of spring. But my mom’s eyes and expression were far from gentle: They were more like a brewing storm.

“Bellalina Elizabeth Bell.” Her voice was loud and high when she called my full name—which she did whenever she was super upset. “You aren’t a kid anymore. You are almost twenty-two, for God’s sake. Why can’t you wake up on your own? I can’t believe that I have to wake you up like this in the morning,” she scoffed, and turned her body toward the kitchen. “Wipe your drool and brush your hair before going out.”

The corner of my mouth was damp as I wiped it with the back of my hand. As I followed my mom down to the kitchen, I tied my shoulder-length hair back with the hairband that was always around my wrist.

“That’s your fault,” I grumbled, and sat on the tall chair at the kitchen island where she’d already put a half gallon of orange juice, a box of cereal, breakfast sausages, six boiled eggs, and a pile of toast, jam, and butter. “I found an effective way to wake up without your help, but you complain about that.”

My mom almost rolled her bright blue eyes at me, but she restrained herself. “You set five different alarm clocks to wake you up every day. Five alarms, Bella. You refused to use your phone alarms and bought five metal twin-bell alarm clocks instead. And those are loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood.”

“But that’s effective,” I protested, helping myself to a glass of orange juice. “You know I’m not a morning person. Then when I found a way that works, you don’t like it.”

“Those damn alarm clocks can wake up the whole neighborhood,” she said slowly as if I didn’t comprehend her words the first time. I widened my eyes, and my mom sighed.

She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Mel’s entrance. Mel was willowy, five-ten with tan skin and freckles on her nose.



Author Bio:


Kana Wu, an autodidact author, has loved writing since her childhood. She used to work as an analyst and later an accountant before deciding to be a writer in 2018.


Her debut novel, No Romance Allowed, was published in October 2019, and it received two awards as Finalist in the 2020 International Book Awards and Reader’s Favorite Awards. It was also a winner in the Romance category for the 2020 TCK Publishing Readers’ Choice Awards Contest.


She lives in Southern California with her husband and her two rescued Jindo dogs.


Be the first to know when Kana has a special offer or a new book by checking her website or following her on social media.


Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram



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Published on March 09, 2022 03:13

March 8, 2022

The Lady Tempts an Heir by Harper St. George

The Lady Tempts an Heirby Harper St. George

Publication Date: February 22, 2022
Berkley Publishing Series: The Gilded Age Heiresses, Book 3
Genre: Historical Romance

A fake engagement brings together a lady with bold and daring dreams, and the heir whose heart she captured—perfect for fans of Bridgerton!

Tall, dark, and brooding—to say that American Maxwell Crenshaw stood out in the glittering ballrooms of London is an understatement. He vowed never to set foot in England again, but when a summons from his father along with an ultimatum to secure his legacy has him crossing the Atlantic for the last time, reuniting him with the delectable Lady Helena March, he can’t deny the temptation she presents. Or the ideas she inspires…

Lady Helena March is flirting with scandal. Instead of spending her time at teas and balls in search of another husband, as is expected of a young widow, Helena pours her energy into The London Home for Young Women. But Society gives no quarter to unmarried radicals who associate with illegitimate children and fallen women, and Helena’s funding is almost run out. So when the sinfully seductive Crenshaw heir suggests a fake engagement to save them both—him from an unwanted marriage and her from scorn and financial ruin—Helena finds herself too fascinated to refuse the sexy American.

As their arrangement of convenience melts oh so deliciously into nights of passion, their deception starts to become real. But if Max knew the true reason Helena can never remarry, he wouldn’t look at her with such heat in his eyes. Or might the Crenshaw heir be willing to do whatever it takes to win the one woman he’s never been able to forget…

Praise for The Lady Tempts an Heir

“With sizzling chemistry, brilliant banter, and an unapologetically strong, feminist heroine, Harper St. George sets the pages ablaze!”—Christi Caldwell, USA Today bestselling author of Along Came a Lady

“Harper St. George just gets better and better with every book, penning the kind of page-turning stories that you will want to read again as soon as you finish each one. Max and Helena are my new favorite couple in the series.”—Lyssa Kay Adams, author of Isn’t it Bromantic?

Excerpt

“Are you implying that you yourself were not born in luxurious surroundings?” Helena asked. “If gossip can be believed, your annual income far exceeds even that of Evan’s with his newly inherited gold mine.”

Maxwell sighed. “And yet we both know that income does not a gentleman make.”

“Apparently not.” She couldn’t believe how quickly her anger had taken hold of her. One moment she was anticipating the dance with him, and the next she was ready to storm from the room.

He glanced away, though his feet kept perfect time to the music. She could see the muscle working in his jaw as he got a handle on his own anger. After a moment, he appeared contrite as he said, “I don’t know what…I shouldn’t have lumped you in with them.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. Need I remind you that the entire reason this deception is going to work is because of my elevated status?

His expression softened a bit. “Point taken. I do appreciate your assistance.”

She sniffed and glanced toward the crowd as he led her along in the dance. He really was a good dancer. He didn’t exude grace, but he managed the steps easily without making it seem as if his large frame were weighting his every move. “I should hope so.”

“Truth be told…” He paused, prompting her to look at him in time to see an unlikely pink tinting his face and ears. He was embarrassed. She nearly stumbled at the realization, and only recovered because of his strong hand at her back. “I didn’t like the way your mother looked at me. Like I wasn’t good enough to dance with you.”

“She looks at everyone that way.”

“Not that Stratton fellow.” He looked down at her again, meeting her eyes, and for the first time ever she saw the hint of vulnerability in their depths. It was actually very charming. Before she could comment on it, he hurried on. “That doesn’t matter, though. It was no reason to take my irritation out on you.”

Speechless for the moment, she gave a small shake of her head. He was jealous. The knowledge made her unreasonably happy.

“You would make a lovely couple, however,” he added.

She missed a beat and managed to step on his foot. Glaring up at him, she opened her mouth to reply but paused when she saw how he was watching her. His eyes had narrowed slightly, drawing his brows into the beginnings of that furrow she so enjoyed, but the corner of his mouth tugged upward. “You’re baiting me.”

His expression didn’t change as he led them into a turn. When it was finished, he said, “Perhaps.”

“Why?”

He somehow managed to shrug while keeping his perfect form. “Because I like how you become exceedingly proper when you take offense to something. You’re adorable.”

Adorable. She hadn’t been adorable in at least two decades, and even then, no one had called her that. “I am an adult woman. That is hardly an appropriate—” She broke off when she realized he was still amusing himself at her expense. They went through two more turns as she attempted to calm herself. What reason did she have for allowing herself to get upset about his teasing, when she herself had done the same thing at the orphanage? There was something when they were together that led to this sort of immature chiding.

“This is precisely why this isn’t going to work.”

“Why?” His hand was on her back slightly lower than necessary. It had been there ever since he had helped to right her and hadn’t moved back to its appropriate position. It wasn’t completely improper, it was simply that she kept focusing on it.

“No one will believe that we’re in love when they see us constantly arguing with each other.”

His gaze became thoughtful as he watched her. The dance continued, but she could feel his scrutiny through every turn and step. Finally, he said, “I don’t believe the idea is to make them think we’re in love.” When her brow rose in question, he tilted his head slightly toward her to be heard over the music, but so he wouldn’t have to raise his voice very much. “That wouldn’t work.”

“Then what is the point of this charade?”

He gave her a slight grin, but there was something dark and devilish in his eyes now. “I’ve always thought lust is the more powerful emotion, and it gets mistaken for love far too often.”

“Lust?” She repeated the word stupidly, because she couldn’t understand what he meant. The woman next to them glanced over her shoulder at them, and Helena blushed, only then realizing that she’d been too shocked to lower her voice.

“Unfulfilled desire can cause men do forceful but ridiculous things. No, we don’t have time to convince them we’re in love. We only need to make them believe that I want you beyond reason.”

She swallowed thickly as every word she had ever thought died a slow death in her head. It was a good thing the music was dying away, because she probably couldn’t have continued to waltz.

Maxwell bowed over her hand and placed a chaste kiss to the back. “Meet me in the conservatory at midnight.”

Amazon | B & N | Books-a-Million | Bookshop | Hudson Booksellers | IndieBound | Powell’s | Target | WalmartAbout the Author

Harper St. George was raised in rural Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history, romance, and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance novel which combined all of those elements into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since.

She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband and two children. When not writing, she can be found devouring her husband’s amazing cooking and reading. She would love to hear from you. Please visit her website at www.harperstgeorge.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, February 22 Review at Chasing Leslie Guest Post at Novels Alive Excerpt at Bookoholic Café
Wednesday, February 23 Review at Michelle the PA Loves to Read
Thursday, February 24 Review at Books In Their Natural Habitat
Friday, February 25 Review at Bookworlder Review at Pinkcowlandreads
Sunday, February 27 Review at Debjani’s Thoughts
Monday, February 28 Review at Novels Alive Review at Anna’s Book Blog
Tuesday, March 1 Review at Fringe Book Reviews
Wednesday, March 2 Review at A Girl Reads Bookss
Thursday, March 3 Review at Dive into a Good Book
Friday, March 4 Review at The Literary Assistant Review at View from the Birdhouse
Monday, March 7 Review & Excerpt at Elodie’s Reading Corner
Tuesday, March 8 Excerpt at Aubrey Wynne: Timeless Romance
Wednesday, March 9 Review at Gwendalyn’s Books
Thursday, March 10 Excerpt at SplendeurCaisse Review at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Friday, March 11 Review at The Lit Bitch
Monday, March 14 Review at Cross My Heart Writing & Reviews
Tuesday, March 15 Excerpt at Lisa Everyday Reads
Thursday, March 17 Excerpt at Coffee and Ink Review at Bonnie Reads and Writes
Friday, March 18 Review at Reader_ceygo

Giveaway

Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 18th. You must be 18 or older to enter.The Lady Tempts an Heir

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Published on March 08, 2022 02:04

The Lady Tempts an Heiress by Harper St. George

The Lady Tempts an Heirby Harper St. George

Publication Date: February 22, 2022
Berkley Publishing Series: The Gilded Age Heiresses, Book 3
Genre: Historical Romance

A fake engagement brings together a lady with bold and daring dreams, and the heir whose heart she captured—perfect for fans of Bridgerton!

Tall, dark, and brooding—to say that American Maxwell Crenshaw stood out in the glittering ballrooms of London is an understatement. He vowed never to set foot in England again, but when a summons from his father along with an ultimatum to secure his legacy has him crossing the Atlantic for the last time, reuniting him with the delectable Lady Helena March, he can’t deny the temptation she presents. Or the ideas she inspires…

Lady Helena March is flirting with scandal. Instead of spending her time at teas and balls in search of another husband, as is expected of a young widow, Helena pours her energy into The London Home for Young Women. But Society gives no quarter to unmarried radicals who associate with illegitimate children and fallen women, and Helena’s funding is almost run out. So when the sinfully seductive Crenshaw heir suggests a fake engagement to save them both—him from an unwanted marriage and her from scorn and financial ruin—Helena finds herself too fascinated to refuse the sexy American.

As their arrangement of convenience melts oh so deliciously into nights of passion, their deception starts to become real. But if Max knew the true reason Helena can never remarry, he wouldn’t look at her with such heat in his eyes. Or might the Crenshaw heir be willing to do whatever it takes to win the one woman he’s never been able to forget…

Praise for The Lady Tempts an Heir

“With sizzling chemistry, brilliant banter, and an unapologetically strong, feminist heroine, Harper St. George sets the pages ablaze!”—Christi Caldwell, USA Today bestselling author of Along Came a Lady

“Harper St. George just gets better and better with every book, penning the kind of page-turning stories that you will want to read again as soon as you finish each one. Max and Helena are my new favorite couple in the series.”—Lyssa Kay Adams, author of Isn’t it Bromantic?

Excerpt

“Are you implying that you yourself were not born in luxurious surroundings?” Helena asked. “If gossip can be believed, your annual income far exceeds even that of Evan’s with his newly inherited gold mine.”

Maxwell sighed. “And yet we both know that income does not a gentleman make.”

“Apparently not.” She couldn’t believe how quickly her anger had taken hold of her. One moment she was anticipating the dance with him, and the next she was ready to storm from the room.

He glanced away, though his feet kept perfect time to the music. She could see the muscle working in his jaw as he got a handle on his own anger. After a moment, he appeared contrite as he said, “I don’t know what…I shouldn’t have lumped you in with them.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. Need I remind you that the entire reason this deception is going to work is because of my elevated status?

His expression softened a bit. “Point taken. I do appreciate your assistance.”

She sniffed and glanced toward the crowd as he led her along in the dance. He really was a good dancer. He didn’t exude grace, but he managed the steps easily without making it seem as if his large frame were weighting his every move. “I should hope so.”

“Truth be told…” He paused, prompting her to look at him in time to see an unlikely pink tinting his face and ears. He was embarrassed. She nearly stumbled at the realization, and only recovered because of his strong hand at her back. “I didn’t like the way your mother looked at me. Like I wasn’t good enough to dance with you.”

“She looks at everyone that way.”

“Not that Stratton fellow.” He looked down at her again, meeting her eyes, and for the first time ever she saw the hint of vulnerability in their depths. It was actually very charming. Before she could comment on it, he hurried on. “That doesn’t matter, though. It was no reason to take my irritation out on you.”

Speechless for the moment, she gave a small shake of her head. He was jealous. The knowledge made her unreasonably happy.

“You would make a lovely couple, however,” he added.

She missed a beat and managed to step on his foot. Glaring up at him, she opened her mouth to reply but paused when she saw how he was watching her. His eyes had narrowed slightly, drawing his brows into the beginnings of that furrow she so enjoyed, but the corner of his mouth tugged upward. “You’re baiting me.”

His expression didn’t change as he led them into a turn. When it was finished, he said, “Perhaps.”

“Why?”

He somehow managed to shrug while keeping his perfect form. “Because I like how you become exceedingly proper when you take offense to something. You’re adorable.”

Adorable. She hadn’t been adorable in at least two decades, and even then, no one had called her that. “I am an adult woman. That is hardly an appropriate—” She broke off when she realized he was still amusing himself at her expense. They went through two more turns as she attempted to calm herself. What reason did she have for allowing herself to get upset about his teasing, when she herself had done the same thing at the orphanage? There was something when they were together that led to this sort of immature chiding.

“This is precisely why this isn’t going to work.”

“Why?” His hand was on her back slightly lower than necessary. It had been there ever since he had helped to right her and hadn’t moved back to its appropriate position. It wasn’t completely improper, it was simply that she kept focusing on it.

“No one will believe that we’re in love when they see us constantly arguing with each other.”

His gaze became thoughtful as he watched her. The dance continued, but she could feel his scrutiny through every turn and step. Finally, he said, “I don’t believe the idea is to make them think we’re in love.” When her brow rose in question, he tilted his head slightly toward her to be heard over the music, but so he wouldn’t have to raise his voice very much. “That wouldn’t work.”

“Then what is the point of this charade?”

He gave her a slight grin, but there was something dark and devilish in his eyes now. “I’ve always thought lust is the more powerful emotion, and it gets mistaken for love far too often.”

“Lust?” She repeated the word stupidly, because she couldn’t understand what he meant. The woman next to them glanced over her shoulder at them, and Helena blushed, only then realizing that she’d been too shocked to lower her voice.

“Unfulfilled desire can cause men do forceful but ridiculous things. No, we don’t have time to convince them we’re in love. We only need to make them believe that I want you beyond reason.”

She swallowed thickly as every word she had ever thought died a slow death in her head. It was a good thing the music was dying away, because she probably couldn’t have continued to waltz.

Maxwell bowed over her hand and placed a chaste kiss to the back. “Meet me in the conservatory at midnight.”

Amazon | B & N | Books-a-Million | Bookshop | Hudson Booksellers | IndieBound | Powell’s | Target | WalmartAbout the Author

Harper St. George was raised in rural Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history, romance, and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance novel which combined all of those elements into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since.

She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband and two children. When not writing, she can be found devouring her husband’s amazing cooking and reading. She would love to hear from you. Please visit her website at www.harperstgeorge.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, February 22 Review at Chasing Leslie Guest Post at Novels Alive Excerpt at Bookoholic Café
Wednesday, February 23 Review at Michelle the PA Loves to Read
Thursday, February 24 Review at Books In Their Natural Habitat
Friday, February 25 Review at Bookworlder Review at Pinkcowlandreads
Sunday, February 27 Review at Debjani’s Thoughts
Monday, February 28 Review at Novels Alive Review at Anna’s Book Blog
Tuesday, March 1 Review at Fringe Book Reviews
Wednesday, March 2 Review at A Girl Reads Bookss
Thursday, March 3 Review at Dive into a Good Book
Friday, March 4 Review at The Literary Assistant Review at View from the Birdhouse
Monday, March 7 Review & Excerpt at Elodie’s Reading Corner
Tuesday, March 8 Excerpt at Aubrey Wynne: Timeless Romance
Wednesday, March 9 Review at Gwendalyn’s Books
Thursday, March 10 Excerpt at SplendeurCaisse Review at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Friday, March 11 Review at The Lit Bitch
Monday, March 14 Review at Cross My Heart Writing & Reviews
Tuesday, March 15 Excerpt at Lisa Everyday Reads
Thursday, March 17 Excerpt at Coffee and Ink Review at Bonnie Reads and Writes
Friday, March 18 Review at Reader_ceygo

Giveaway

Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 18th. You must be 18 or older to enter.The Lady Tempts an Heir

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Published on March 08, 2022 02:04

March 7, 2022

Betrayed in the Bluegrass by Virginia Slachman with giveaway

BetrayedintheBluegrass

This week we are celebrating the release of Betrayed in the Bluegrass by Virginia Slachman. Read on for details and a chance to win a $25 Amazon e-gift card!

Betrayed for Ads

Betrayed in the Bluegrass
Publication Date: January 15th, 2022
Genre: Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller
Lexington Thoroughbred racing’s “power couple” Harper Hill and her husband, Detective JD Cole unite in this, the second in Slachman’s “Bluegrass” horse racing series. When a mysterious man, beaten and tortured, stumbles into the police precinct asking for JD, then dies before he can divulge his secret, a series of events are set in motion that will put the couples’ detecting power to the test and Harper’s life in grave danger. Soon after, Aubrey Lowen, Harper’s second cousin, is found severely beaten by the side of the road. Hospitalized, he hovers between life and death as Harper heads to Keeneland’s backstretch to keep an eye Lowen’s head trainer, Henley Smythe, who seems up to no good. As Harper tries desperately to uncover the culprit and help Aubrey’s wife Millie save their once-successful Thoroughbred farm, a dangerous character from Harper’s past shows up on the backstretch. Amid the dark pool of danger swirling around Harper, JD announces that the Feds have stepped in, preventing the couple from continuing their investigation. Undeterred, the two work under the radar to stop a killer bent on destroying the Lowen legacy and anyone who gets in the way. As murder and greed haunt every step they take, the couple knows that buried deep in Keeneland’s chaos the killer lies in wait—but uncovering the murderer just may cost Harper her life.
Now Available on Amazon

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Blood in the Bluegrass
Harper had put the past behind her. Or so she thought. Fleeing the flashy, high dollar world of Kentucky horse racing for NYC, she’d been content living the life of a successful painter. But escape isn’t an option after the accidental death of her sister sends her back to the Bluegrass, a horse racing world filled with hope and heartbreak. As the body count rises as Eden Hill, Harper becomes convinced her sister’s death was no accident. Probing more deeply, Harper realizes Paris’ death is tied to a dark and deadly secret, one she discovers is why her racehorses are dying. Solving her sister’s murder and saving her family’s stud farm will take every ounce of Harper’s wit and courage. When seven skeletons are discovered on the grounds, and the barn with her best Kentucky Derby prospects is set on fire, Harper bears down to find the killer. The problem is, the culprit could be anyone: Is it JD, her childhood sweetheart, Marshall, their long-time trainer, or is it their nasty neighbor Red Cole, in partnership with her family for generations?

Someone is on a killing spree, and though Harper doesn’t know why, she is sure of one thing–the murderer is someone she’s known and trusted her whole life.

Amazon

About the Author

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Virginia Slachman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and has taught creative writing and literature at the college level for over twenty years. The recipient of numerous awards and fellowships for writing, she’s published several volumes of poetry; Many Brave Hearts, a memoir about her family’s experience with PTSD; and most recently Blood in the Bluegrass and Betrayed in the Bluegrass, the first two books in her mystery series set on a thoroughbred breeding farm in Kentucky.

Virginia Slachman | Instagram | Facebook a Rafflecopter giveaway

BetrayedintheBluegrass

Book Tour Schedule

March 7th

R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

Timeless Romance Blog (Spotlight) https://aubreywynne.com/

March 8th

B is for Book Review (Spotlight) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com

Breakeven Books (Spotlight) https://breakevenbooks.com

Nesie’s Place (Spotlight) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com

@fle_d (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/fle_d

March 9th

Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.com/

Ravenz Reviewz (Spotlight) http://ravenzreviews.blogspot.com/

The Faerie Review (Spotlight) http://www.thefaeriereview.com

March 11th

@theenchantedshelf (Review) https://www.instagram.com/theenchantedshelf/

@infinite.readlist (Review) https://www.instagram.com/infinite.readlist/

@gryffindorbookishnerd (Review) https://www.instagram.com/gryffindorbookishnerd/

Books + Coffee = Happiness (Spotlight) https://bookscoffeehappiness.com/

Book Tour Organized By:

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Published on March 07, 2022 01:47

March 4, 2022

Everyday Magic by Charlie Laidlaw

EverydayMagic

Welcome to the book tour for Charlie Laidlaw’s novel Everyday Magic. Read on for more info and a chance to win a paperback copy of the book!

Everyday Magic Front cover FINAL

Everyday Magic
Publication Date: May 26th, 2021
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher:Ringwood Publishing
Carole Gunn leads an unfulfilled life and knows it. She’s married to someone who may, or may not, be in New York on business and, to make things worse, the family’s deaf cat has been run over by an electric car.

But something has been changing in Carole’s mind. She’s decided to revisit places that hold special significance for her. She wants to better understand herself, and whether the person she is now is simply an older version of the person she once was.

Instead, she’s taken on an unlikely journey to confront her past, present and future.
Everyday Magic is an uplifting book filled with humour and poignancy, and reminds us that, while our pasts make us who we are, we can always change the course of our futures.

What Readers are Saying…
Everyday Magic’ serves as a wake-up call for us readers to find the sparks of joy we have lost along the way and live while we can‘ – Zany Bibliophile
‘It’s an uplifting read that shows us that if we want to change then we can but we have to do it for ourselves… [it might] help people realize they are not alone‘ – Echoes In An Empty Room
Charlie writes stories that touch a reader’s soul… I highly recommend you to read this book. Witty, thought-provoking and charming story‘ – Rekha,
Goodreads Add to Goodreads

Chapter One


When Carole was little, she found a magic clearing in the woods near her home. She had been exploring, surrounded by oak, birch, and hazel trees, picking her way carefully between bramble and nettle. There was birdsong, squirrels darting across branches, and patterns of sunlight on the woodland floor. She had been looking for bilberries, and her hands were full of small black berries. She stopped to sit on an outcrop of rock by a wide stream that, in winter, could quickly become a torrent of brown water. In summer, it was comforting; in winter, treacherous. She ate her bilberries, the stream cascading over a small waterfall; the sound of water in her ears. It was summer and the stream bubbled crystal clear. The woodland rose in folds from the stream, and she climbed steadily upwards. Here, the trees crammed in on her; it was darker. When she looked up, she could only see sunlight trapped on leaves far above. It was a part of the old woodland that she’d never been to before, but she pushed on, feeling that she was on an adventure and might suddenly come across a gingerbread house or wizard’s cottage.


At the top of the hill she found herself in a small clearing. It was only a few yards across, framed with oak trees, and perfectly round. Sunlight from directly above made the clearing warm, and she stood at its centre, wondering if she was the first person to have ever discovered it. Each of the oak trees around the clearing seemed precisely set, each one a perfect distance from the next, and she walked around them, touching each one, wondering if someone had planted the oak trees, or if the clearing really was a magic place. She still sometimes believed in magic. Then she stood again at its centre, wondering at its symmetry and why a long-dead sorcerer might have planted the oak trees. Then, realising that the sorcerer might not be dead, and that she had walked uninvited into his private domain, she hurried away, not sure whether to be frightened or excited. It was a place she often went back to that summer, and on following summers, sometimes alone and sometimes with her little brother. They would sit in the centre of the woodland circle, eating bilberries, hoping to meet the sorcerer who had built the clearing. She wasn’t frightened of him anymore; the clearing was too peaceful to have been made by a bad wizard. It was their secret place, but mainly Carole’s, because she had found it. It was a comforting place: it was somewhere she would go if she was sad or angry about something, because the woodland circle and its shifting half-shadows offered calm and new perspectives. She could almost hear the trees speak to her, the wind in their branches making the leaves whisper, but so softly that she couldn’t understand. She would listen, eyes closed, the leaves rustling, but she never understood what they were saying. The circle of trees stood solid and immovable, dark and stoic, old and wise, and each one the colour of stone.


Available on Amazon Ringwood Publishing

About the Author

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Charlie Laidlaw lives in East Lothian, one of the main settings for Everyday Magic. He has four other published novels: Being Alert!, The Space Between Time, The Things We Learn When We’re Dead and Love Potions and Other Calamities. Previously a journalist and defence intelligence analyst, Charlie now teaches Creative Writing in addition to his writing career.

Charlie Laidlaw | Facebook | Twitter
Click the link below for a chance to win a paperback copy of the book!
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Book Tour Organized By:

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Published on March 04, 2022 04:38

March 1, 2022

Sign up for the Historical Times today for FREE to read my article on Merlin!

Sign up for the Historical Times today for FREE to read my article on Merlin! Click Here:  https://online.1stflip.com/dssx/3hvd/ 

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Published on March 01, 2022 04:20