#BookReview: The Heartbreak Bakery by @ARCapetta

Synopsis: Teenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin’s queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical—and makes everyone who eats them break up.

“What’s done is done.”
Unless, of course, it was done by my brownies. Then it’s gettingundone.

Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies . . . breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.

This title will be released on October 12, 2021. 

#BookBlitz: The Soul of Love by @EXAlexander1 @XpressoTours #Giveaway

The Soul of Love
E.X. Alexander
(The Soul of Love, #1)
Publication date: August 31st 2021
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

For generations, the Greek gods have been at war with each other; fighting to sit on the throne of Mt. Olympus.
Eros, the god of love and the most powerful of the ancients, has been waging his own secret war. For eons, he has been looking for his lost soul mate, Psyche; her return marks the beginning of the end of the reign of the Olympians, and the restoration to power by the primordial gods. But she has been reborn as a mortal, with no memory of him.

Psyche holds the key to the throne of Mt. Olympus. With her and Eros’ enemies coming out of the shadows to stop them, it is a race against time. If she cannot reunite her soul with Eros, her powers, memories, and the lives of the gods and mortals alike will be forever lost.

Content Warning: This book contains some scenes with mild violence, sexual situations, and references to suicide.

#BookBlitz: Mafia Princess by Kennedy Slope @XpressoTours #Giveaway $50 Amazon gift card

Mafia Princess
Kennedy Slope
(Crowned Criminals, #1)
Publication date: September 27th 2021
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance

Once upon a time, Sasha Petrov had been a mafia princess. Safe and protected in the high-tower of her father’s mansion. She had known her place, and she’d been happy for it. That had been before her family decided to marry her off to their enemy.

Sasha Petrov knew it was her duty to marry, but she never expected her father to give her away to their enemy, the Blanchi family. She’d accepted that it was her fate to end the bloodshed that took her brother’s life, but at eighteen she’d rather be heading off to college than heading down the aisle.

Dominic “Dom” Blanchi saw an opportunity to save his brother’s life. He’d already lost so much, and he couldn’t imagine burying another beloved member of his family. He was certain that his marriage to Sasha Petrov would save his last remaining brother from the grave. Getting a pliant young wife in the deal wouldn’t be the worst thing, at least, that’s what he told himself. But when his family’s warehouses get hit and Blanchi men continue dying, Dominic wonders if his new wife is to blame.

Now, both must make a choice between love and family loyalty.

And Sasha will have to decide if she’d rather be a Mafia Princess or a queen.

#BookReview: Once More Upon a Time by @Roshani_Chokshi

Synopsis: Once upon a dream, there was a prince named Ambrose
and a princess named Imelda who loved each other...
But alas, no more.
"What a witch takes, a witch does not give back!"
their friends and family warn.
They resign themselves to this loveless fate...
A year and a day pass.
And then their story truly begins...

Embark on a perilous journey with Imelda and Ambrose as they brave magical landscapes and enchanted creatures on their quest to reclaim their heart's desire...But first they must remember what that is...

This title will be released on October 5, 2021. 

#BookReview: Some Faraway Place (The Bright Sessions #3) by @laurenshippen

Synopsis: Some Faraway Place, the third Bright Sessions novel from creator Lauren Shippen, features Rose, who has her humdrum life flipped upside down when she starts to travel into dreams.

Rose Atkinson’s mother can see the future. Her father can move things he doesn't touch. Her brother Aaron can read minds. And Rose, well, she makes a mean spaghetti bolognese.

Everyone else in her family is Atypical, which means they manifested an ability that defies the limits of the human experience. At nineteen, well past the average age of manifestation, Rose is stuck defending her decision not to go to college and instead working in the kitchen of a local restaurant, hoping to gain the experience she needs to become a chef.

When a rollerblading accident sends her to the hospital, she meets a girl she can't forget and she starts to feel like maybe her life isn't quite so small. But when she starts falling asleep mid-conversation, she thinks, then again maybe I’m doomed to never have good things.

Rose should be happy to learn that she’s Atypical after all—that diving into dreams makes her a part of her family in the way she always wanted. But the more time she spends in the dreamworld, the more complicated her ability becomes. Trying to balance her work, her power, and a girlfriend who doesn’t know about Atypicals, Rose seeks help. But she soon discovers that being Atypical comes with dangers she never could have imagined. Even her carefully constructed dreamworld isn’t safe.

This is the story of Atypical Rose, who discovers that your dreams coming true isn’t always a good thing.

#BookReview: The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles #1) by @laurieannforest

Synopsis: A new Black Witch will rise…her powers vast beyond imagining.

Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the Realm War. But while she is the absolute spitting image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else.

When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University to embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother’s legacy. But she soon realizes that the university, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is a treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch.

As evil looms on the horizon and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, everything Elloren thought she knew will be challenged and torn away. Her best hope of survival may be among the most unlikely band of rebels…if only she can find the courage to trust those she’s been taught to fear.