#BookReview: One Jar of Magic by Corey Ann Haydu

Synopsis: From the critically acclaimed author of Eventown comes a hopeful and empowering tale set in an enchanting world of magic and mysterious family secrets—perfect for fans of Anne Ursu, Rebecca Stead, and Wendy Mass.

Magic is like a dream. Delightful. Terrifying. Unreal.

Rose Alice Anders is Little Luck. Lucky to be born into the Anders family. Lucky to be just as special and magical as the most revered man in town—her father. The whole town has been waiting for Rose to turn twelve, when she can join them in their annual capturing of magic on New Year’s Day and become the person she was born to be.

But when that special day finally comes, Rose barely captures one tiny jar of magic. Now Rose’s dad won’t talk to her anymore and her friendships have gotten all twisted and wrong. So when Rose hears whispers that there are people who aren’t meant for magic at all, she begins to wonder if that’s who she belongs with.

Maybe if she’s away from all the magic, away from her dad telling her who she’s meant to be, who she has to be, Rose can begin to piece together what’s truly real in a world full of magic.

#BookBlitz: Alpha by @SybilBartel @XpressoTours #Giveaway $50 Amazon gift card

Alpha
Sybil Bartel
(The Alpha Elite, #1)
Publication date: May 24th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

Billionaire.

Mercenary.

Navy SEAL.

The Teams trained me to be a killer. War taught me to be ruthless. Then an ill-fated mission proved I was human. Combat wounded, The Navy cut me loose. I had a choice. Fade into obscurity or use the skills I had.

Alpha Elite Security was born and three years later, my company was the most sought after security contractor in the world. Five global locations, ten company jets, every one of my employees military trained—we were the best of the best. Overseeing operations, I didn’t have time for women, or anything other than growing my company. My success rate unmatched, I’d never lost a client.

Then I got a call, the only call that would get me back in the field. She was missing. The woman I’d left behind seven years ago. Now I had one objective.

Code name: Alpha.
Mission: Extraction.

#BookBlitz: Gambit by @CaryDenault @XpressoTours #Giveaway $25 Amazon gift card

Gambit
C.L. Denault
(The Prodigy Chronicles, #1)
Publication date: April 3rd 2021
Genres: Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult

The Core wants her DNA. She wants her freedom. Let the game begin.

In Earth’s battle-ridden future, humans have evolved. Those with extraordinary skills rise to power and fame. Those without live in poverty.

Sixteen-year-old Willow Kent believed she was normal. But when a genetically-advanced military officer shows up in her village and questions her identity, long-buried secrets begin to emerge. With remarkable skills and a shocking genetic code the Core and its enemies will do anything to obtain, Willow suddenly finds the freedom she craves slipping through her fingers. Greed, corruption, and genetic tampering threaten every aspect of her existence as she’s thrust, unwilling, into the sophisticated culture of the elite Core city. To ensure peace, she must leave the past behind, marry a man she’s never met, and submit to the authority of a relentless officer with a hidden agenda of his own.

Her life has become a dangerous game. How much will she sacrifice in order to win?

#BookReview: The Flipside of Perfect by Liz Reinhardt

Synopsis: What happens when her two worlds collide?

AJ is a buttoned-up, responsible student attending a high-achieving high school in Michigan. She lives with her mother, stepfather, and two younger half sisters.

Della spends every summer with her father in Florida. A free-spirited wild child, she spends as much time as possible on the beach with her friends and older siblings.

But there’s a catch: AJ and Della are the same person. Adelaide Beloise Jepsen to be exact, and she does everything she can to keep her school and summer lives separate.

When her middle sister crashes her carefree summer getaway, Adelaide’s plans fall apart. In order to help her sister, save her unexpected friendship with a guy who might just be perfect for her, and discover the truth about her own past, Adelaide will have to reconcile the two sides of herself…and face the fact that it’s perfectly okay not to be perfect all the time. 

#BookReview: Brambles (Dauntless Path #0.5) by @BooksByIntisar

Synopsis: In the kingdom of Adania, everyone knows what Princess Alyrra did to earn the court's contempt, her mother's disdain, and her brother's hatred.

She betrayed her own.

Yet, the truth hides another story, one of honor and honesty, of a princess gambling her own life for another's. It's a tale of courage and consequences, and a choice that can never be undone.

A short story prequel to her multi-starred fantasy, Thorn, Intisar Khanani's "Brambles" gives Alyrra's account of what really happened all those years ago, and how a few critical days turned her life into a daily fight for survival.

#BookBlitz: Ethan’s Empire: Laying Down the Rules by @rvgarner1 @XpressoTours #Giveaway

Ethan’s Empire: Laying Down the Rules
R.V. Garner
Publication date: February 15th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Welcome to Ethan’s world, where the suspense is heart-gripping, and the romance will leave you desperate for more.

At an age when most girls have the world at their feet, Olivia Crosley is just trying to survive, bouncing from one borrowed bed to another to find a place to lay her head at night. With all the odds against her and strength beyond her years, she has managed to carve out a section of life she can call her own.
​
​Then she meets Ethan Grant. The first time she laid eyes on him, he was a complete mystery, an unlikely hero in a perfectly tailored suit. His stoic demeanor told her to keep her guard up, but there is a reason he saved her, and she needs to find out why. From the moment he pulled her into his car, she became a prize to be hunted. She soon learns that his enemies are fully engaged in the game.
​
​Olivia finds herself immersed in guards, guns, and more money than she could ever imagine. Each moment brings its own sense of danger as she struggles to determine whether her heart or life is on the line.

#BookBlitz: The Monster Keeps Me Safe by @kitty_thomas @XpressoTours #Giveaway

The Monster Keeps Me Safe
Kitty Thomas
Publication date: May 19th 2021
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance

At some point, right before my memory clicked off, the nightmare fairy must have paid the world a visit. Everything is just… gone, a tangle of blank confusion.

And now I live in a castle. Every little girl’s dream, right? Except it’s not. It’s twisted and abandoned and fake. I’m supposed to be safe here with my husband, but how can I be safe when I don’t remember him? How can I be safe when he feels so wrong?

Then a new monster comes to take me to a new life and a new cage far from the castle and the promise of safety.

#BookReview: The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

Synopsis: A new take on Jane Austen's classic Emma.

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma's sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers...those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma's senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma's idea, accusing her of meddling in people's lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma's code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there's nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

#BookReview: Set Fire to the Gods (Set Fire to the Gods #1) by Sara Raasch, Kristen Simmons

Synopsis: Ash is descended from a long line of gladiators, and she knows the brutal nature of war firsthand. But after her mother dies in an arena, she vows to avenge her by overthrowing her fire god, whose temper has stripped her country of its resources.

Madoc grew up fighting on the streets to pay his family's taxes. But he hides a dangerous secret: he doesn't have the earth god’s powers like his opponents. His elemental gift is something else—something that hasn't been seen in centuries.

When an attempted revenge plot goes dangerously wrong, Ash inadvertently throws the fire and earth gods into a conflict that can only be settled by deadly, lavish gladiator games. The fights put Madoc in Ash's path, and she realizes that his powers are the weapon her rebellion needs—but Madoc won’t jeopardize his family, regardless of how intrigued he is by the beautiful warrior. 

But when the gods force Madoc’s hand, he and Ash uncover an ancient war that will threaten more than one immortal—it will unravel the world. 

#BookBlitz: His Billion-Dollar Takeover Temptation by @GraysonRomance @XpressoTours #Giveaway

His Billion-Dollar Takeover Temptation
Emmy Grayson
(The Infamous Cabrera Brothers, #1)
Published by: Harlequin Presents
Publication date: May 25th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

In debut author Emmy Grayson’s sexy workplace romance, will the Spanish CEO be able to resist giving in to desire?

He will claim her company
But can he claim her, too?

Everleigh Bradford won’t simply hand over control of the family vineyard she expected to inherit. She’s lost too much already. If she must confront internationally renowned new owner Adrian Cabrera, she will! Even if she has to fight her red-hot response to the brooding Spaniard.

Bringing Everleigh home to Grenada to prove he’ll protect her heritage is essential to their working relationship—but it’s dangerous. Innocent Everleigh is intoxicating. And she deserves everything that Adrian’s past and his iron self-control won’t let him give her. No matter how tempting it is…

From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.

#BookReview: I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre

Synopsis: A sweet and funny debut novel about falling for someone when you least expect it . . . and finding out that real life romance is better than anything on screen.

Emma is a die-hard romantic. She loves a meet-cute Netflix movie, her pet, Lady Catulet, and dreaming up the Gay Rom Com of her heart for the film festival competition she and her friends are entering. If only they’d listen to her ideas. . . 

Sophia is pragmatic. She’s big into boycotts, namely 1) relationships, 2) teen boys and their BO (reason #2347683 she’s a lesbian), and 3) Emma’s nauseating ideas. Forget starry-eyed romance, Sophia knows what will win: an artistic film with a message.

Cue the drama. The movie is doomed before they even start shooting . . . until a real-life plot twist unfolds behind the camera when Emma and Sophia start seeing each other through a different lens. Suddenly their rivalry is starting to feel like an actual rom-com. 

#BookReview: Spells Trouble (Sisters of Salem, #1) by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Synopsis: Double double, twins spell trouble…

Hunter and Mercy Goode are twin witches, direct descendants of the founder of their town of Goodeville. As their ancestors have done before them, it is now time for the twins to learn what it means to be Gatekeepers–the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds, ancient portals between their world and realms where mythology rules and nightmares come to life.

When their mother becomes the first victim in a string of murders, the devastated sisters vow to avenge her death. But it will take more than magic to rein in the ancient mythological monsters who’ve infected their peaceful town.

Now Hunter and Mercy must come together and accept their destiny or risk being separated for good.

#BookBlitz: Royal Trouble by @jbondswrites @XpressoTours #Giveaway $15 Amazon gift card

Royal Trouble
Jennifer Bonds
Published by: Entangled: Amara
Publication date: May 17th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

It’s time for everyone’s favorite bad boy, Prince Alexander Stanley, to clean up his act. Given the rare opportunity to lead a new royal program that aids veterans and their families, Xander can’t afford to be making scandalous headlines anymore. He has only two months until the program launches. No more overindulging. And definitely no more women.

Then halfway into it, his good behavior streak is threatened by a devil in a fuchsia dress.

Everly Wilson has kept a secret for years. She was the mastermind behind the celebrity dirt website Royals Gone Wild, which exposed some of her home country of Valeria’s juiciest secrets. But once she was out of school, she left the website and her past behind, moved to New York, and became a serious writer.

A seriously broke writer. If she doesn’t find a fresh story to earn her top dollar, she’ll be out on the street, with nothing but her laptop and a stack of unpaid medical bills to keep her warm at night.

But when a friend’s wedding brings her back home, it seems like the fates have aligned to deliver her the scoop of the year. Prince Alexander is suddenly on a mission to clean up his act, avoiding the escapades he once embraced—and she’s determined to be the one to catch his inevitable screwup. So when things between them start to heat up, and Xander’s walls start coming down, Everly might be the one royally in trouble this time…

#CoverReveal: Forbidden Obsession Duet by @AuthorLynnBurke @XpressoTours

Wanting
Lynn Burke
(Forbidden Obsession, #1)
Publication date: September 7th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Gideon is a big bad wolf who doesn’t bother with sheep’s clothing, an overbearing jackass who hates our combined families as much as I do.

I shouldn’t secretly love his possessiveness over me at school.

I certainly shouldn’t enjoy the unwanted way my body reacts to him.

My sweet sixteen culminates in the first kiss that I always dreamed of. The nightmare that follows, however, leaves me cold and aching.

I go from wanting…to needing.

But Gideon is gone and I’m about to face the real threat to my innocence.

Alone.

WARNING: Wanting is the first book in the Forbidden Obsession Duet and does not end happily ever after. It’s a forbidden romance that contains triggers and mature themes. Recommended for 18+.

#BookBlitz: The Weight of the Sky by @carolineschley @XpressoTours #Giveaway $20 Amazon gift card

The Weight of the Sky
Caroline Schley
Publication date: May 20th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

For every important decision in her life, fifteen-year-old Chris Miller relies on silence rather than courage. In her rough Bridgeport neighborhood, Chris bites her tongue when her best friend gets sent to juvenile detention for a crime she didn’t commit. As a scholarship kid at St. Catherine’s Prep, Chris acquiesces to ‘drinkstagram’ at tony sleepover parties. At home with her overbearing mother, she swallows her questions about her father’s identity. Chris understands that quiet insecurity isn’t the most valiant approach to life, but it gets her through the day unscathed. Until she’s sexually assaulted.

In the aftermath, Chris’s tenuous happiness crumbles alongside her grades, yet she can’t find the courage to report the assault. At a crossroads, Chris is forced to volunteer at an afterschool program for low-income families to maintain her scholarship. Catapulted back to the very neighborhood she struggled to escape, Chris finds her family thrust into the crosshairs of a gang war. When one of the students from her afterschool program is put at risk, Chris discovers just how much damage her silence can cause. Ultimately, she must decide if she will remain quiet as others call the shots and remain a victim or if she can forge the strength to stand up, speak the truth and call herself a survivor.

#BookReview: The Knockout Rule (Showmen #4) by Kelly Siskind

Synopsis: Siskind’s latest slow-burn romance is stay-up-all-night addictive and proves love hits when you least expect it…

Growing up with an adoring father for a boxing legend isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It looks more like hospital visits, bloody noses, and cracked ribs.

Isla Slade now works as a physiotherapist, helping athletes heal their bodies. Except for boxers. She has no interest in reliving the stress of her teen years. Dating someone in the boxing world? She’d rather snort wasabi powder. 

Until she meets Preston Church. 

Preston manages heavyweight boxing darling Brick Kramarov. A brute who’s built tougher than his name, with a cocky attitude to boot. She wants nothing to do with either man, but her father begs her to help them prepare for a huge Vegas fight.

She doesn’t expect Preston to recite romantic poems and slowly break her resolve. His fascinating mind gets under her skin, even if his star athlete reminds her how much she hates boxing. 

Too bad it’s Brick coaching Preston how to woo Isla, falling for her from the sidelines. Once she finds out, she’ll have to decide if she can risk loving another man who puts it all on the line for the knockout.

#BookReview: From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash #1) by @JLArmentrout

Synopsis: A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

#BookBlitz: Seven Little Secrets by @K_L_Gore @RABTBookTours @BookBuzznet

 

Young Adult

Publisher: Reedale Karma Press

Seven popular high school cheerleaders. Seven distinctive lives. Seven little secrets. And the truth that haunts them all.

The Janes have everything: beauty, brains, a secure future. So why did co-captain Natalie Greene trade her perfect life for eternal sleep? Her teammates hold pieces of the puzzle, but putting the parts together means revealing defects and vulnerabilities.

And when you're a Jane, you're flawless.

An afternoon of mourning turns into a day of disclosures. A day that challenges the teammates to discover the true meaning of friendship.

WINNER OF THE YOUNG ADULT NOVEL CATEGORY IN THE 2018 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS

#BookReview: Follow Your Arrow by @jessverdi

Synopsis: For fans of Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, this is a riveting and irresistible take on love, life, and identity -- both online and off.

CeCe Ross is kind of a big deal. She and her girlfriend, Silvie, are social media influencers with zillions of fans and followers, known for their cute outfits and being #relationshipgoals.

So when Silvie breaks up with her, CeCe is devastated. She's lost her first love, and now she can't help but wonder if she'll lose her followers as well.

Things get even messier when CeCe meets Josh, a new boy in town who is very much Not Online. CeCe isn't surprised to be falling for a guy; she's always known she's bi. And Josh is sweet and smart and has excellent taste in donuts... but he has no idea that CeCe is internet-famous. And CeCe sort of wants to keep it that way.

But when CeCe's secrets catch up to her, she finds herself in the middle of an online storm, where she'll have to confront the blurriness of public vs. private life, and figure out what it really means to speak her truth.

#BookReview: Her Last Breath by Hilary Davidson

Synopsis: From the bestselling author of One Small Sacrifice comes a suspenseful thriller about a dead woman who predicted her own murder—and the sister who won’t let the truth be buried.

When her beloved sister Caroline dies suddenly, Deirdre is heartbroken. However, her sorrow turns to bone-chilling confusion when she receives a message Caroline sent days earlier warning that her death would be no accident. Long used to being a pariah to her family, Deirdre covers her tattoos and heads to Manhattan for her sister’s funeral.

The message claimed Caroline’s husband, Theo, killed his first wife and got away with it. Reeling from the news, Deirdre confronts Theo on the way to the cemetery, and he reveals both his temper and his suspicion that Deirdre’s “perfect” sister was having an affair.

Paranoid and armed with just enough information to make her dangerous, Deirdre digs into the disturbing secrets buried with Caroline. But as she gets closer to the truth, she realizes that her own life may be at risk…and that there may be more than one killer in the family.