#BookReview: The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos by @MelissadelaCruz

Evan Saatchi can’t keep his eyes off his new co-worker, Dalisay Ramos. Newly arrived from Manila to lead their travel app’s Asia division, nothing matters more to Dalisay than tradition and family. When Evan asks her out, she soundly rejects him for his cheek. Evan learns from his Filipino friends that Dalisay expects more from potential suitors. If he wants a chance with her, he’s going to have to go through the Five Stages, the same courtship ritual that lovers in the Philippines have performed for generations. At first, Evan is skeptical—what, exactly, does “servitude” entail? And he has to sing?! But when Dalisay bets Evan that he doesn’t have the nerve to make it through the stages, the game is on. As Evan attempts to prove to Dalisay that he can win her heart—and the bet—Dalisay is driven to distraction by Evan’s sexy labors, and soon their “courtship” turns into a sizzling secret. But when modern love and family expectations collide, Dalisay and Evan must find a way to carry a rich history into a shared future.

#BookReview: Dark and Shallow Lies by @stageandpage

A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.

This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World--and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.

Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something - her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.

When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou - a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town's bloody history - Grey realizes that La Cachette's past is far more present and dangerous than she'd ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn't know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent--and La Cachette's dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.

#BookBlitz: Inked in Blood and Memory by @MsAllisonIvy @XpressoTours #Giveaway $20 e-gift card for Barnes & Noble

Inked in Blood and Memory
Allison Ivy
Publication date: December 3rd 2024
Genres: Horror, LGBTQ+, New Adult

Recluse Sophie Vanguard’s winter cabin retreat turns ominous when blue flowers mysteriously appear. They’re everywhere. On her front porch, in kitchen cabinets, and even on her pillow. It isn’t long before chilling whispers echo in the halls, and her journal repeats seven unsettling entries.

Enter the bloodied and beautifully eccentric Ly Thi Ren. Though Ren seems familiar, Sophie refuses to believe the girl’s insistence that they are trapped inside a book.

In a land of fiction, truth and lies blur together, clear decisions are marred by doubt, and shared family trauma lurks just below the surface.

Can Ren and Sophie make it out alive? Or will they end up nothing more than words inked in blood and memory?

With elements of gothic horror, splatterpunk, romance, and fantasy, Inked in Blood and Memory is a self-aware LGBTQ+ horror that wraps its clutches around the reader and doesn’t let go.

#BookBlitz: The Mockingbird and the Moon: A Dark Academia Romantasy by Antonia Montclair @RRBookTours1

If you like romantasy with dark academia vibes, we have a book rec for you! You can read The Mockingbird and the Moon now on Kindle Unlimited!

The Mockingbird and the Moon: A Dark Academia Romantasy

Publication Date: October 31, 2024

Genre: Romantasy/ Dark Academia

-Love Triangle
-Dark Academia
-Enemies to Lovers
-Academic Rivals
-Magical University
-Romantasy

When two rival academics are forced to compete against each other for a reward that could change their lives forever in an elite magical academy, they must choose between their loyalties or their growing temptations in this dark academia fantasy perfect for fans of BABEL, A STUDY IN DROWNING and THE NIGHT CIRCUS.

Vivienne Meira is a Silvertongue, a rare user of magic so powerful she can convince people to do anything - theoretically that is, if only she could speak Silver. When she is accepted to the prestigious Linguistics program at Hattenstowe University, she must face the dark legacy her family left behind: a magical disease so deadly it makes all infected perish into madness. Vivienne knows that Rowena, her mother’s former protege and the head of the Linguistics department, possesses a rare artifact that could cure her mother of the disease permanently, but she protects it as she would her own life. And Vivienne has competition: Rowena’s only other student, a Silvertongue prodigy named Julian, as powerful and talented as he is cold and distant. Vivienne must infiltrate the program to track down the cure, but she is challenged by a cunning Rowena and ruthless Julian at every turn. When Vivienne begins to suspect that Julian may have the same goal of finding a cure, they must compete against each other and their animosity turns into a full-blown duel of wits.

But as Vivienne’s magic grows stronger, she discovers more about Julian’s past, blurring the lines of rivalry into temptation. Soon, secrets about her family, Julian, and Rowena come to light and make clear the danger Vivienne is in. She must decide whether it really is everyone for themselves, or if two Silvertongues are better than one.

#CoverReveal for Wedlocked by Cambria Hebert @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Wedlocked

Series: Westbrook Elite #9

Author: Cambria Hebert

Genre: New Adult College Romance

Tropes: M/F, M/M, Winter Break Antics

Skiing Bros, Drama

Cover Design: Cover Me Darling

Release Date: January 14, 2025

BLURB

It’s no secret that, over the past couple years, Elite has been through it. For real, when I look around, I think, Two billion years of evolution for this?

But even with the heaping pile of crazy tossed at us on the regular, we still have each other’s backs and are stronger than ever. With Westbrook’s winter break coming up, it’s time Elite got their relax on. Leaving our Speedos behind, we load up the Jeeps with skis to spend an entire week in a private chalet at White Pine Summit.

Bro, yeah!

It’s also the perfect time for me to finish some unfinished business.

Remember that rock I put on my girl’s finger? It’s blinding all these bros around here. They act like they don’t even see it, telling me I can’t call Jess my wife because we aren’t actually married.

I’m sick of reminding everyone I’m not boyfriend or even fiancé material. I’m one hundred percent husband. And a snowy getaway is the perfect time to make good on my promise of forever.

The entire fam, a gorgeous venue, and a week out of the pool… What could possibly go wrong?

Knowing Elite… probably something.

But it doesn’t matter. Whatever winter break has in store for us, we’ll handle it just like everything else. No amount of drama or snow is gonna keep me from wife-ing up.

By the end of this vacay, Jess and I (and who knows who else) will officially be Wedlocked.

#BookTour: Lion of Zarall by Eddy Rose @RRBookTours1

Welcome to the tour for Lion of Zarall, a brand-new adult, dark fantasy by Eddy Rose!

Lion of Zarall (Twilight of Blood Book 1)

Publication Date: December 3, 2024

Genre: Dark Fantasy/ Gladiators

• Gladiators
• Dark fantasy
• Arena battles
• Action-packed
• Forbidden romance
• Hidden Identity
• Slavery
• One bed
• Forced proximity
• Morally ambiguous
• Gritty
• Bred to kill
• Injury care

A gripping dark fantasy featuring gladiators, morally ambiguous characters, forbidden love, and gritty settings.

In a kingdom built on slave trade, slaves are bought and sold like property. Among them is Lion, a purebred beast who was bred for the blood-soaked arenas. A man who exists for violence and entertainment.

A man whose life hangs by a thread.

Olira, a simple farmer, never wanted to own a slave. But when she finds herself entangled with a shady slave merchant, she reluctantly becomes the owner of an injured purebred beast. Renowned for their unwavering obedience and lack of emotions, purebred beasts are stripped of their humanity from birth, making them the perfect tools. As Olira grapples with her principles and the harsh realities of her world, she soon discovers that the slave has a deadly secret.

Can a beast learn to love?

Can a gladiator threaten a kingdom?

Can a man filled with hatred hold the key to unleashing the horrors of Darkhome?

Lion of Zarall is a fast paced dark fantasy novel that will captivate readers who enjoy complex, morally ambiguous stories that explore the themes of power, consent, and the blurred lines between humanity and savagery, making it a perfect fit for fans of gritty, thought-provoking fiction.

Please note that Lion of Zarall is an adult dark fantasy and deals with some heavy subject matter that some readers may find triggering. Please refer to the full list of content warnings, available on author's website.