#BookReview: Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings @StMartinsPress

Synopsis: A sapphic opposites-attract romance with Mazey Edding's signature sparkling voice!

Winning the lottery has ruined Opal Devlin's’s life. After quitting her dead-end job where she’d earned minimum wage and even less respect, she’s bombarded by people knocking at her door for a handout the second they found out her bank account was overflowing with cash. And Opal can’t seem to stop saying yes.

With her tender heart thoroughly abused, Opal decides to protect herself by any means necessary, which to her translates to putting almost all her new money to buying a failing flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina to let the flowers live out their plant destiny while she uses the cabin on the property to start her painting business.

But her plans for isolation and self-preservation go hopelessly awry when an angry (albeit gorgeous) Pepper Smith is waiting for her at her new farm. Pepper states she’s the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom Farms, and isn’t moving out. The unlikely pair strike up an agreement of co-habitation, and butt-heads at every turn. Can these opposites both live out their dreams and plant roots? Or will their combustible arguing (and growing attraction) burn the whole place down?

This title will be released on April 16, 2024.

#BookReview: Crown of Earth and Sky (Secrets of the Faerie Crown #1) by Emberly Ash

Synopsis: What do I want?
A quick death.
Barring that, I only dream of one thing—revenge.

Veyka Pendragon was crowned queen in a farce fit for any circus. Now, as her traitorous court plots around her, the new Queen of the Elemental Fae must take revenge on the humans who betrayed her while also guarding a dangerous secret.

The arrival of her betrothed, the storied Brutal Prince, is merely another cog in the wheels of time and space spinning around her.

Arran Earthborn is the strongest terrestrial fae in millennia. If Veyka wishes to keep the peace her ancestors fought and died for, she must join with him soon.

But the Brutal Prince has not earned his name by playing nice. The torture he exacts will enrage and enflame her—and endanger a secret that would rip their world to shreds.

The days are slipping by.
Very soon I will have to choose…
The crown that destroyed my life but protects my kingdom…
Or settling the scores that haunt my every step.

Crown of Earth and Sky is a twisted mythology retelling of the Arthur legend. It is a high-steam fantasy romance with dark elements.

#BookTour: Ivy Hill by Arthur Ruben and Eleanor Cooney @RABTBookTours

A Novel inspired by True Events

 

Coming of Age / Fiction

Date Published: November 28, 2023

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group

 

What happens when a loving family man dies suddenly and a stranger takes his place?

IVY HILL is a thoroughly American coming-of-age story set in the mid-20th century. Earthy, realistic, and mordantly funny, it is rich with details of that iconic era. It is also a timeless, universal tale of redemption, morality and conquering adversity, with nearly-mythic elements anyone from any century and virtually any culture would recognize: there's a wicked giant, a good grandmother and a bad one, a "ghost" or two, and even, in a manner of speaking, a dark potion.

And at the center of the story, an innocent child.

Love, death, danger and fate intertwine in this novel, which was inspired by author Arthur Ruben's actual life. It takes place in Brooklyn from 1952-1957, then Newark from 1958-1970. Ruben's protagonist, five-year-old "Eddie," is devastated following the death of his beloved 34-year-old father. He waits in vain and with a slowly breaking heart for Daddy to return. His mother's disastrous remarriage, plus the family's wrenching move from Brooklyn, NY, to the Ivy Hill section of Newark, NJ, turns Eddie's life inside out. Over the next thirteen years, he is transformed from helpless brokenhearted child into an entirely different creature. The post-war society he was born into is also transformed: the repercussions of that potent and turbulent time, still in living memory-Viet Nam, Woodstock, the Mansons, and especially now, civil rights-are with us to this day, and will resonate with millions of readers.

#BookBlitz: Drawn to Murder by Sarah Vernon @XpressoTours #Giveaway

Drawn to Murder
Sarah Vernon
Publication date: January 31st 2024
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery

Sam Green is a newly minted art school graduate, excited to attend her first artist residency. But the pretty, serene Vermont surroundings soon turn sinister.

After a few months spent looking for the right project, Sam has landed a dream opportunity: three blissful weeks of working at a beautiful artist residency program in remote northern Vermont. But almost as soon as the residency begins, strange things start happening. Eager to settle into her work and make new friends, Sam tries to ignore the vaguely sinister feelings trying to warn her that something is afoot. But when a body is discovered, Sam can’t ignore what’s going on any longer.

If she has any chance of getting out of here – alive – Sam will have to figure out who the killer is.

#ReleaseBlitz for Evading the Enforcer by Jacob Chance @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Evading the Enforcer

Series: Charleston Coyotes #5

Author: Jacob Chance

Genre: Contemporary Hockey Romance

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers/Fake Engagement

Release Date: February 7, 2024

BLURB

My peaceful existence gets body-checked when a brooding, grumpy hockey player moves in next door…

The first time I meet Niall O’Rourke, he greets me, wearing little more than a scowl and a demeanor colder than the ice he skates on. My deeply ingrained Southern manners force me to give him the benefit of the doubt, but every interaction we share convinces me he’s a grade-A jerk.

I do my best to avoid him, that is, until he makes a proposition too good to refuse: I pretend to be his fiancée, and in return, he’ll appear on my local television show, which could give Bigfoot’s Hairy Tale the ratings bump needed for national syndication.

Despite our personalities clashing like hockey sticks, I discover beneath his brawny exterior is a man burdened by a complex past and a wounded heart.

But I’m not interested in “fixing” him. I’ve been down that road before, and it never ends well. If only Niall weren’t so hellbent on using his lips to convince me otherwise.

It’s going to take everything in me to evade the enforcer.

#CoverReveal for Heartbreaker Handoff by Lex Martin @authorlexmartin @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Heartbreaker Handoff

Series: Varsity Dads #5

Author: Lex Martin

Genre: Standalone Contemporary Sports Romance

Tropes: Forbidden Romance, Fake Dating, Small Town

Football Player/Cheerleader, Coach's Daughter

Cover Design: Najla Qamber Designs

Photographer: Lindee Robinson

Release Date: March 8, 2024

BLURB

Billy’s not my baby daddy, but he doesn’t mind pretending to be…

I’m a Division 1 cheerleader with hopes of becoming a sports broadcaster. None of my plans for college include getting knocked up by a cheating ex who just got engaged to another girl.

When my father finds out I’m pregnant, he goes ballistic. That’s when my BFF, bad boy Billy Babcock, comes to my rescue and agrees to “take responsibility.”

Billy and I solidify our contract on a napkin—he’ll pretend to be my baby’s father, and I’ll help him clean up his image. The only problem is my father, the football coach, hates Billy. He warned me off dating players a long time ago, and he thinks Billy’s the biggest player out there.

Now that we’re in a “relationship,” Billy thinks we should spend some quality naked time together, but I’m worried about crossing that line. Because athletic guys with big muscles, intricate tattoos, and sexy smirks are my biggest weakness, and Billy ticks off all those boxes.

Can my football player “boyfriend” walk the straight and narrow for me?

Or did I just get handed off from one heartbreaker to another?

Heartbreaker Handoff is an angsty, friends-to-lovers, forbidden romance featuring a sassy cheerleader, who’s about to be a single mother, and a criminally charming football player determined to prove he’s the man for her, one sizzling kiss at a time. Heartbreaker Handoff is a dual POV standalone in the USA Today-bestselling series Varsity Dads.

#AudiobookTour: Death Tango by Lachi @RABTBookTours

Scifi Horror

Date Published: 10/2/23

Publisher: Running Wild Press / RIZE

Narrator: Alexander V Cantrell

Run Time: 11 hrs 34 min

 

A half-bot, an empath, a punk, and a god walk into a 23rd century bar. The four team up to uncover who murdered their esteemed science professor to steal his dark research. The four headstrong misfits must overcome their own inner demons and move quickly to nab the culprit, as whoever has taken Ferguson's research has unleashed the doctor's synthetic plagues onto NYC. Humans and hybrids are going feral, eagerly infecting others with newfound agony. If the team can't work quickly to solve this threat, NYC will be devoured by this plague...which appears to be developing sentience.