#BookReview: Shadow of the Hawk (Master of War, #7) by @davidgilmanuk

Synopsis: Winter, 1364.

The King is dead.

Defeated on the field of Poitiers, Jean Le Bon, King of France, honoured his treaty with England until his death. His son and heir, Charles V, has no intention of doing the same. War is coming and the predators are circling.

Sir Thomas Blackstone, Edward III's Master of War, has been tasked with securing Brittany for England. In the throes of battle, he rescues a young boy, sole witness to the final living breaths of the Queen of Castile. The secret the boy carries is a spark deadly enough to ignite conflict on a new front – a front the English cannot afford to fight on.

So Blackstone is ordered south to Castile, across the mountains to shepherd Don Pedro, King of Castile, to safety. Accompanied only by a small detachment of his men and a band of Moorish cavalrymen loyal to the king, every step takes Blackstone further into uncertain territory, deeper into an unyielding snare.

For the Master of War, the shadow of death is always present.

#BookReview: A Time for Swords by Matthew Harffy

Synopsis: Lindisfarne, AD793. The life of a novice monk will be changed forever when the Vikings attack in a new historical adventure from Matthew Harffy.

There had been portents – famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came, no one was prepared.

They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom's most sacred site.

It is 8th June AD793, and with the pillage of the monastery on Lindisfarne, the Viking Age has begun.

While his fellow monks flee before the Norse onslaught, one young novice stands his ground. He has been taught to turn the other cheek, but faced with the slaughter of his brothers and the pagan desecration of his church, forgiveness is impossible.

Hunlaf soon learns that there is a time for faith and prayer... and there is a time for swords.

#ReleaseBlitz for Tongue's Target by @klsavage_author and @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Tongue's Target

Series: Ruthless Kings MC #11

Author: K.L. Savage

Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense/Organized Crime

Release Date: February 23, 2021

BLURB

I don’t live in the shadows anymore.

Daphne has dragged me into her light.

At first, it was bright, and I didn’t know how to live in it.

I’m… adjusting.

Life for the most part is better than I ever dreamed.

But not better for her dreams.

Especially when dreams tread the line of reality.

When she tells me the truth, it sends me into a quiet place.

A place where I plan, a place where I figure out who her father really is and what he did.

A place where I hone in on my target.

He is the reason for her mind to be lost.

And when she gets lost, I always find her and bring her back to me.

That is until she leaves because life loves to shred my soul.

She’s Gone.

And now I’m the one lost. I’m in the shadows and for the first time, I don’t want to be here.

I need my comet’s light.

Only to find her…

And she doesn’t remember us.

Or me.

I’m a stranger.

How can I make her fall in love with me all over again?

She’s my wish upon a star.

And I’ll kill her father for taking my wish.

I can’t tell anyone.

Or my wish won’t come true.

And I wish for her love again.

#ReleaseBlitz for I Thee Take by @NatashaKnight13 and @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: I Thee Take

Series: To Have and To Hold Duet #2

Author: Natasha Knight

Genre: Dark Mafia Romance

Release Date: February 23, 2021

BLURB

Scarlett

Cristiano is my enemy. He’s also the only man with whom I’ve ever felt safe. Protected.

But I have to remember that he married me with one purpose in mind. Revenge. I would be the bridge to his real enemies.

I can’t let myself forget that he isn’t the hero of this story. His hands are covered in blood. I saw that with my own eyes.

Cristiano

I thought I knew Scarlett’s past, but I didn’t know anything.

I thought I knew the worst of monsters, but I hadn’t seen anything yet.

Sometimes you have to lie to yourself to survive.

Sometimes it’s those closest to you who will bury their knives in your back.

Too many times it’s the innocents who pay for your mistakes. For your refusal to see.

I can’t let Scarlett pay for mine.

But I may be too late to stop it.

#CoverReveal: The Lightning Crashes Duet by Marla Holt @XpressoTours

Temptation
Marla Holt
(The Lightning Crashes Duet, #1)
Publication date: March 23rd 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Broke and widowed, Rachel Ferrer has already lost so much that when her tarot reading roommate pulls The Tower card, Rachel isn’t phased. What are upheaval and chaos when the worst had already happened? When Rachel’s late husband’s childhood best friend, Nicolas, reappears in her life and brings a handsome friend along with him, Rachel forgets the cards. She takes a chance on Blake even though she can’t stop thinking about Nicolas. It isn’t settling if the person you want is married, right?

Nicolas Rivera has always been a man of faith. His marriage and his job at the church have been his pillars, but when the foundations of both begin to crumble, doubt and a forbidden attraction tempt him to seek comfort in the one woman he shouldn’t go anywhere near.

Nicolas and Rachel have been on the periphery of each other’s lives for years, but as circumstances push them together, lightning crackles between them. WIll they be able to resist the electricity or will they get burned by Temptation?

Temptation is the first volume of The Lightning Crashes Duet. Volume one is a slow-burn forbidden romance that ends on a cliffhanger. Volume 2, Absolution, will be available April 20th, 2021, complete with all the happily ever afters.

#BookBlitz: The Silent Speak by Val Collins @XpressoTours #Giveaway $30 Amazon gift card + 10x ebook copies of The Silent Speak

The Silent Speak
Val Collins
Publication date: February 23rd 2021
Genres: Adult, Thriller

“There’s a lunatic out there who butchered five innocent people and nobody is looking for him.” 

Aoife Walsh has plenty keeping her busy—finalising her divorce from her manipulative husband, settling into her still-new relationship with Detective Conor Moloney, and trying to win the trust of his teenage son. So for the moment, her fledgeling career as a freelance journalist has been put on hold.  

Then comes the horrific news that an entire family has been slaughtered in their own home. Aoife is shocked to discover two of the victims were members of her on-again-off-again book club. Even more disturbing is the revelation that the police believe it was a murder-suicide. 

That’s when Aoife receives a tantalising offer. Lisa, the main suspect’s sister, will grant Aoife access to the victims’ extended family for an exclusive news story—if Aoife will help find the real killer. Moved by Lisa’s unwavering belief in her brother’s innocence, Aoife agrees to help.  

As she digs into the secrets of her fellow book club members, Aoife discovers potential suspects everywhere: people having affairs, a jealous husband, and a power-hungry business partner who’s clearly hiding something. 

Aoife keeps pulling at the threads of the story, untangling more and more deception. Is the killer really dead and buried? Is it someone Aoife already knows? Could the lunatic be closer than Aoife ever imagined? 

You won’t be able to put down this twisty thriller from international bestselling author Val Collins.

Badlands: Next Generation Collection (Badlands #5-7) by Natalie Bennett

Synopsis: Rege Satanas...

Badlands Next Generation Collection.

Contains:
Degenerates
Hellions
Renegades
Exclusive bonus content

*Must be read after Badlands books 1-4*

#CoverReveal: Holiday Fakeout by Boxed Set

Holiday Fakeout
Publication date: October 19th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Desperate for a *fake* date for the holidays? Oh Joy and Cheers! We’ve got you covered with 22 holiday tales to heat up your season!

Travel from small towns to cosmopolitan cities, snow covered mountains to gorgeous mansions. You’ll meet sexy billionaires, brainy tech gods, buff journalists, sinfully cocky athletes, and sizzling hot chefs. They’re naughty and nice (and everything in between) and they’re enough to fulfill any romantic fantasies.

These 22 swoon-worthy heroes are ready to be your plus-one at holiday events, from Christmas weddings to Chanukah and Kwanza celebrations. Each starts out as a charade, and though they might lie to family, friends, or co-workers, they won’t be able to fool themselves when a very real romance develops.

Escape into addictive tales of second chances, new beginnings, secret crushes, friends to lovers, love triangles, and forbidden rendezvous. Throw in a mix of suspense, laughs, passion, and temptation, and your holidays are set.

Download HOLIDAY FAKEOUT now to get your Christmashanakwanzika season started. The tingles, butterflies, and swoons brought on by these sweet and scorching stories will have you wondering which book boyfriend you should bring home for the holidays.

#BookReview: The Day My Husband Left by Amy Miller @Bookouture @Netgalley

Synopsis: The picture holds all the answers. But can she piece together the clues?

At the moment he knows he is dying, Johnny Eagle takes a photograph, which is later discovered by his heartbroken wife, Heidi. Heidi pores over the image and sees a busy street scene and a pavement full of strangers – she has no idea what this last message from her beloved husband could mean.

Heidi has spent her days – and her years – giving cherished old furniture a second chance. But there are some parts of Heidi’s own life she believes are beyond repair. Secrets that Heidi and Johnny kept throughout their long marriage. Things that they were never brave enough to speak about, not even to each other.

All Heidi knows now is that this picture of her husband’s final moments is where she has to start looking for clues, and when she visits the busy street from the photograph, Heidi finally comes face to face with the person she’s been waiting to meet her entire life. But are they ready to meet her?

#ReleaseTour: Broken by @WritesEvelyn #TheIndiePenPR

JULIA
I never saw Noah Weston coming. He swept into my life like an unexpected storm, but soon, he was everything to me.
Until tragedy struck.
One day I was planning the rest of my life with my soulmate, and the next I was picking up the pieces of a love so strong, it broke me apart.
It took three years to put myself back together.
Three years until I was ready to move on.
I’ll never forget it. The day he came back.
Can lightening strike twice? Maybe, but when I look into his eyes, all I remember are the last words he ever spoke to me.
The words that left me broken.

NOAH
I loved her before I knew her name. She was more than just my heartbeat. Julia Blake was a dream too good to be true.
When real life invaded the bubble we had created, I was left a broken man.
I survived, but I was dead inside. Half the man I used to be.
The half I needed had a new life without me.
Three years later, I’m back to reclaim what I’ve lost.
I’m back for her, only she wants nothing to do with me.

#BookBlitz: Tristan by Jennie Lynn Roberts @XpressoTours

Tristan
Jennie Lynn Roberts
(The Hawks, #1)
Publication date: February 22nd 2021
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

His redemption might be her downfall…

Tristan has nothing left to lose. His best friend’s betrayal cost him everything. Now, he’s going to take it back. All he has to do to get the Hawks reinstated to their rightful position at the palace is track down the traitor’s younger sister and turn her over for execution. But Nim’s not the girl Tristan left behind years ago; she’s a stubborn, loyal, beautiful woman, and he can’t stop himself from wanting her.

Nim fled with nothing when the king’s favorite came for her. All she has left is the conviction that her brother is innocent—and her determination to free him. She’ll do anything…even if it means convincing Tristan to help her. But the man he’s become is a far cry from the boy she fell in love with so long ago. He’s formidably stern and deeply untrusting. She’ll just have to hope he still has a heart under that battle-scarred exterior.

When love and duty collide, will Tristan follow his orders or follow his heart?

Tristan, book 1 in The Hawks series, is a sexy, steamy, adult fantasy romance full of swords, shifters (kind of), and tons of action. But fair warning: This book is intended only for readers who love slow burn romance, fast-paced adventure, soul mates and found family—and characters who curse when they fight for survival. If that’s you, happy reading.

#BookBlitz: Skeletons by Natalie Rodriguez @XpressoTours

Skeletons
Natalie Rodriguez
Publication date: February 26th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, Young Adult

When was the last time you confronted the skeletons in your closest?

Immediately following book one, “Elephant,” Matthew “Matty” Smith awakens from his coma and discovers that his worst nightmare is all true: his grandmother, Jamie, and Derek have gone missing and his mother murdered his father and grandfather years ago.

With the hospital placing him on lockdown, including no visitation rights by his loved ones such as his best friend, Lisa, Matty finds himself deteriorating into a state of the abyss, consumed with the secrets of his family. Convinced that it was the ‘stranger’ who kidnapped his grandmother and friends, no one believes him. The hospital only believes that Matty is slipping into a toxic mental state, repeating the cycle of his family.

Until one day, Lisa helps Matty escape the hospital.

On the run from Dr. Brown, Officer Barry, and the town of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Matty and Lisa set off to find their friends and Lucia and for answers on who the ‘stranger’ is. Once they unmask who the ‘stranger’ is, Matty continues to unravel the deepest secrets of what was supposed to be forever hidden in the Smith family as well as the town.

This story is for those who feel their voice is unheard and for children, teenagers, and adults who never had the chance to heal from their pain.

#BookReview: The Repeater Book of the Occult: Ten Tales from the Darkside by Tariq Goddard

Synopsis: A selection of Repeater authors choose their favourite forgotten horror stories for this new anthology, with each also writing a critical introduction for the story of their choice.

Edited by novelist and Repeater publisher Tariq Goddard and "horror philosopher" Eugene Thacker, The Repeater Book of the Dead is a new anthology of horror stories, selected and introduced by Repeater authors.

Includes selections from Repeater authors like Graham Harman, Leila Taylor, Carl Neville, Adrian Nathan West and Rhian E Jones, with forgotten horror classics from authors such as W.W. Jacobs, Mark Twain and Sheridan Le Fanu.

#ReleaseBlitz for Heartless Havoc by @CockyClub and @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Heartless Havoc

A Cocky Hero Club Novel

Author: J.L. Leslie

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: February 21, 2021

Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward are excited to bring you the Cocky Hero Club: original works from various authors inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling Cocky Bastard series.

BLURB

I have been called arrogant. Ruthless. Heartless. I don’t consider those characteristics to be insults. If I am arrogant, ruthless, and heartless, then people cower down. I make my own rules and call all the shots. I suppose that’s why people opt to call me by my last name.

Havoc.

It’s very fitting for me. I wreak havoc on anyone who gets in my way. Right now, that person is a beautiful redhead who refuses to play by my rules. Doesn’t she know I’m the only one who’s allowed to break them?

She came out of nowhere. Hit me a like a freight train. Now, she’s the one causing havoc in my life. Destroying everything I have worked for. Taking pieces of me I wasn’t aware I had to give.

They call me arrogant. Ruthless. Heartless. I guess I’ll have to show her exactly how heartless I can be. What kind of havoc I can wreak on her life.

Before she completely ruins me.

*Heartless Havoc is a friends to lovers/forbidden romance inspired by Stuck-Up Suit.

#BookReview: A Visitor's Guide To Jane Austen's England by Sue Wilkes

Synopsis: Discover Jane Austen’s England 

Immerse yourself in the vanished world inhabited by Austen’s contemporaries. Packed with detail, and anecdotes, this is an intimate exploration of how the middle and upper classes lived from 1775, the year of Austen’s birth, to the coronation of George IV in 1820. Sue Wilkes skilfully conjures up all aspects of daily life within the period, drawing on contemporary diaries, illustrations, letters, novels, travel literature and archives. 

•Were all unmarried affluent men really 'in want of a wife'?
•Where would a young lady seek adventures?
•Would ‘taking the waters’ at Bath and other spas kill or cure you?
•Was Lizzy Bennet bitten by bed-bugs while travelling?
•What would you wear to a country ball, or a dance at Almack’s?
•Would Mr Darcy have worn a corset?
•What hidden horrors lurked in elegant Regency houses?

Put on your dancing gloves and embrace a lost era of corsets and courtship!

#ReleaseBlitz for Tough Guy by @Jamiekswriter @CockyClub and @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Tough Guy

A Cocky Hero Club Novel

Author: Jamie K. Schmidt

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: February 21, 2021

Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward are excited to bring you the Cocky Hero Club: original works from various authors inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling Cocky Bastard series.

BLURB

My sister lives to ruin my life.

That isn’t fair. It’s not her fault our dance instructor called me fat and awkward, and our parents funded Lisa’s training because I had a better head for business.

So when Lisa went off the rails after her injury, it naturally came to me to track her down. The trail starts at the Spearmint Rhino —an upscale gentlemen’s club five minutes off the Las Vegas strip, where a group of hot Aussie soccer players are having a bachelor party. Hello, Chance Bateman! My sister still wears his jersey as a nightgown. However, Lisa's trail goes cold at Dalton’s, which is owned by a world-famous bouncer, Miles Carvello—six feet four inches of muscle, tattoos, and swagger. Combined with his intense green-eyed gaze, Miles makes my insides sizzle. I’m just not sure if Miles Carvello is the reason she’s hiding out or not. Danger seems to surround him.

How does a former Broadway hoofer wind up in Vegas as a stripper? I’m about to find out, since no one will talk to me because I’m an outsider. And besides, Miles thinks I’m too much of a prude to do it.

I need to find my sister. She’s in trouble. I can feel it. I keep running into the bachelor party as well as Miles while I'm out searching for her. And while both of them are a good time, they're not getting me any closer to finding Lisa. And I've got a terrible feeling that her time is running out.

***

I don’t remember Jackie Mitchell’s sister. Just another stripper with baggage in a long line of them. But Jackie? Damn, she’s the real deal. I don’t want to get distracted. I need to shoot this club into the stratosphere. I owe it to my uncle’s memory not to let the gangsters win. But she oozes sensuality that reminds me that I should take time to enjoy the finer things in life – like her long, toned legs wrapped around my shoulders.

However, the demons of my past are pushing into my future. If they’re going after my employees, as a way to get to me —they picked the wrong guy to mess with. And if they touch Jackie, all bets are off and I’ll put them in the ground—and to hell with the consequences.

Tough Guy takes place a year before the events of Cocky Bastard and features a few appearances by our favorite Aussie soccer player, Chance Bateman before he meets the love of his life, Aubrey.

*Tough Guy is a bad boy/road trip erotic romantic suspense inspired by Cocky Bastard.

#BookBlitz: The Wise One by @kt_anglehart @XpressoTours #Giveaway $25 Etsy gift card

The Wise One
K.T. Anglehart
(The Scottish Scrolls, #1)
Publication date: October 28th 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Mckenna’s never thought much of her nightmares, but on her seventeenth birthday, a vivid dream of burning at the stake awakens her dormant abilities, thrusting her into a world where faeries are real, spirits hold a grudge, and a High Priestess obsessed with a 16th-century prophecy is tracking her every move.

Now, her overprotective dads, Seán and Andre, are forced to tell her the truth—they know who her birth mother is, and her life is not the surrogate story she’s always been told. Abigail, Mckenna’s mom, is some sort of mystic, and Mckenna a Wise One.

Whatever the hell that means.

With the help of a persistent little wren and company of a newfound friend, Mckenna journeys to Ireland in search of her mother and real answers. Along the way, she learns to harness her innate magic and trust her intuition, as best she can anyway—Cillian, a kind and passionate delegate who crosses her path, is proving much harder to read.

Only her mother could truly help her halt her ill fate and prepare her for what’s to come . . . before she gives in to the darkness she knows is buried deep within.

#BookBlitz: Decide to Live by @ShirlAwriter @XpressoTours #Giveaway $50 Amazon gift card

Decide to Live
Shirley Anne Edwards
(Finding the Strength, #3)
Publication date: February 14th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

When it hurts too much to live, how does one find the strength to stay alive and find hope again?

Reiko Nakano has a charmed life. Not only does the twenty-three-old come from a life of luxury because of her celebrity parents and supermodel sister, she’s best friends with the biggest brother and sister pop duo in the world- Gio and Gem Grove. But what the public assumes is wrong different because of what Reiko suffers in private. She feels she’s an outcast in her own family because of her ptosis and her social anxiety. She then makes the biggest mistake of her life and tries to turn her lifelong crush on Gio into something more. His cruel rejection after she lets him take her virginity leaves her heartbroken.

Reiko hides in the least likely of places- the small town of Albee, Pennsylvania. There she enjoys her anonymity and enrolls in summer classes at Maison University. She hopes she can fit in as a student, but life continues to play tricks on her when she’s hit in the face by a football from one of the most popular boys on campus, Will Forest. But this accidental but memorial meeting will help heal her fragile emotions because Will shows her how special she is to those she meets, including him.

She isn’t sure what to make of Will. He’s too nice and sweet, and treats her like gold. She accepts his attempts at romance even though it’s only temporary. But as the summer flies by, she doesn’t want to give Will up, who doesn’t know the truth about her “vacation”. And when Gio arrives in town, and threatens to out Reiko, she has some hard choices to make. Does she come clean to Will so she can decide to finally live on her own terms and embrace the amazing woman Will thinks her to be?

#BookReview: Kink: Stories by R.O. Kwon (Editor), Garth Greenwell (Editor)

Synopsis: Kink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire, BDSM, and interests across the sexual spectrum, edited by lauded writers R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell, and featuring a roster of all-star contributors including Alexander Chee, Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, and more.

A Most-Anticipated book of 2021 as selected by * Marie Claire* O, The Oprah Magazine * Cosmopolitan * Time * The Millions * The Advocate * Autostraddle * Refinery29 * Shape* Town & Country * Book Riot * Literary Hub *

Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire. The stories within this collection portray love, desire, BDSM, and sexual kinks in all their glory with a bold new vision. The collection includes works by renowned fiction writers such as Callum Angus, Alexander Chee, Vanessa Clark, Melissa Febos, Kim Fu, Roxane Gay, Cara Hoffman, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chris Kraus, Carmen Maria Machado, Peter Mountford, Larissa Pham, and Brandon Taylor, with Garth Greenwell and R.O. Kwon as editors.

The stories within explore bondage, power-play, and submissive-dominant relationships; we are taken to private estates, therapists’ offices, underground sex clubs, and even a sex theater in early-20th century Paris. While there are whips and chains, sure, the true power of these stories lies in their beautiful, moving dispatches from across the sexual spectrum of interest and desires, as portrayed by some of today’s most exciting writers.

#BookReview: 400 Years of New York History (Vosk Time Travel Guide #1) by Sasha Vosk

Synopsis: Get to Know the Historical New York that You’ve Never Seen Before
A Time Traveler’s Journey through the Streets of 17th Century Manhattan

The first book in the VOSK TIME TRAVEL GUIDE series, this one-of-a-kind illustrated guide offers readers an opportunity to view the city’s history in a manner that has not been possible until now with the benefit of 21st century art technology.

* How Manhattan looked 400 years ago
* The way of life of Native Americans and the first Dutch settlers
* New Netherland becomes New York when the English take over

Sasha Vosk is an expert in photo-realistic imagery with over 30 years of experience. He created this book for everyone who wants to know much more about New York’s history than meets the eye on the streets of Manhattan.