#BookReview: Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale

Synopsis: From Shannon Hale, bestselling author of Austenland, comes Kind of a Big Deal: a hilarious, madcap story that will suck you in―literally.

There's nothing worse than peaking in high school. Nobody knows that better than Josie Pie.

She was kind of a big deal―she dropped out of high school to be a star! But the bigger you are, the harder you fall. And Josie fell. Hard. Ouch. Broadway dream: dead. 

Meanwhile, her life keeps imploding. Best friend: distant. Boyfriend: busy. Mom: not playing with a full deck? Desperate to escape, Josie gets into reading.

Literally. She reads a book and suddenly she's inside it. And with each book, she’s a different character: a post-apocalyptic heroine, the lead in a YA rom-com, a 17th century wench in a corset.

It’s alarming. But also . . . kind of amazing? 

It’s the perfect way to live out her fantasies. Book after book, Josie the failed star finds a new way to shine. But the longer she stays in a story, the harder it becomes to escape.

Will Josie find a story so good that she just stays forever?

#BookReview: The Court of Miracles (A Court of Miracles #1) by Kester Grant

Synopsis: In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city is divided between merciless royalty and nine underworld criminal guilds, known as the Court of Miracles. Eponine (Nina) Thénardier is a talented cat burglar and member of the Thieves Guild. Nina's life is midnight robberies, avoiding her father's fists, and watching over her naïve adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie). 

When Ettie attracts the eye of the Tiger--the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh--Nina is caught in a desperate race to keep the younger girl safe. Her vow takes her from the city's dark underbelly to the glittering court of Louis XVII. And it also forces Nina to make a terrible choice--protect Ettie and set off a brutal war between the guilds, or forever lose her sister to the Tiger.

Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris's criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution.

#BookBlitz: My Brother's Keeper by Courtnee Turner Hoyle @RABTBookTours @jancarolbooks

 

A Pale Woods Mystery: Book One

Mystery

Date Published: June 26, 2020

Publisher: Jan-Carol Publishing, Inc.

Seventeen-year-old Jerrod has struggled with the guilt of his actions for an event that took place almost a year ago. His friends have abandoned him, his family ignores him, and he lost his best friend. To make matters worse, he was unable to access records that may have revealed his father's whereabouts. His sister, Ella, guides Jerrod as he tries to learn and accept secrets his family has tried to hide. However, a sinister spirit may be influencing Ella's actions, and it has an agenda of its own.

Protecting Tova by Havana Wilder #Blitz with @XpressoTours #Giveaway

Protecting Tova
Havana Wilder
Publication date: December 4th 2020
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Escaping the tormenting demons of her past was all Tova wanted, but someone has other plans.

An Internally tormented girl
An Unexpected protector
One deadly hunt

Tova, sexually and physically abused as a child, lives in a territory protected by a thick forest and stone wall. She has no desire to leave, and not because of the savages and mutated beasts that roam beyond the walls…

On a quest to deliverance, her plan has always been to learn self-defense and to learn how to protect those who can’t protect themselves while overcoming the demons of her past.

Meanwhile, an unsuspecting heartthrob catches her attention. Not knowing the secrets that lay deep within, he anxiously wants to pursue her, but someone else has other plans for her.

In the midst of all the mayhem, does their relationship end before it can begin?

Protecting Tova is an exciting journey as Tova fights to forget her past in a dystopian world inundated by threats, mysteries, and treachery. 

***This is an adrenaline rush novel with a mixture of fantasy and paranormal/supernatural. Perfect for fans of sarcastic heroines, protective males, and instant attraction.*** 

#BookReview: Of Silver and Shadow by @jenngruenke @FluxBooks

Synopsis: Ren Kolins is a silver wielder—a dangerous thing to be in the kingdom of Erdis, where magic has been outlawed for a century. Ren is just trying to survive, sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting to get by. But when a wealthy rebel leader discovers her secret, he offers her a fortune to join his revolution. The caveat: she won’t see a single coin until they overthrow the King.

Behind the castle walls, a brutal group of warriors known as the King’s Children is engaged in a competition: the first to find the rebel leader will be made King’s Fang, the right hand of the King of Erdis. And Adley Farre is hunting down the rebels one by one, torturing her way to Ren and the rebel leader, and the coveted King’s Fang title.

But time is running out for all of them, including the youngest Prince of Erdis, who finds himself pulled into the rebellion. Political tensions have reached a boiling point, and Ren and the rebels must take the throne before war breaks out.

#CoverReveal for The Intern by @serenaakeroyd and @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: The Intern

Author: Serena Akeroyd

Genre: MM Romance

Cover Design: Paul Stevens

Photo: Wander Aguiar

Model: Lucas Loyola
Release Date: December 15, 2020

BLURB

Devlin 

Sex comes with a price tag. 

One I’m quite willing to pay. 

In fact, I prefer it. 

It’s easier that way, and in my life, I prefer ease. Prefer for most things to be transactional. 

So when the intern disrupts my day, I’m not happy about it. I have a dark and dirty little secret he knows about. One that could destroy my reputation in a world where reputation is everything. 

That makes him dangerous. 

He could ruin me professionally, wreck my life, but the touch of his mouth to mine, the feel of him in my arms—they’re all I can think about. 

I’m intoxicated. 

Drunk on him, when I’ve always been sober. 

Micah 

I’m gay. 

The freedom in admitting that is intoxicating. Enough to make me feel drunk with the relief of finally being myself. 

But what feels better? 

Devlin. 

He’s my boss. He holds my future in his hands in more ways than he knows, but he isn’t as free as I am. Doesn’t have the same freedom I do to own up to what he is. 

Because of that, I know I’m losing him. 

I can feel us becoming DOA. 

But is he worth fighting for when he won’t admit what I am to him? What we mean to one another? 

I guess you’ll have to read on to find out… 

THE INTERN is a standalone contemporary MM romance, with an easter egg for fans of Serena Akeroyd’s novels.

#ReleaseBlitz for Maverick by @serenaakeroyd and @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Maverick

Series: A Dark & Dirty Sinners' MC #6

Author: Serena Akeroyd

Genre: Dark & Dirty MC Romance
Release Date: November 24, 2020

BLURB

Alessa (Ghost) 

Maverick’s in love with a dead man buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where his heart might as well be buried too. My husband’s stuck in the past, lost in his fractured mind, and the last ten years are a blur to him, meaning I’m a blur to him. 

But I’m not a ghost. I’m a woman. I’m alive. I breathe. I hurt. 

Should I let go or hold on? 

My instinct is to let go, but I have family now. People who matter to me. A posse I’ll kill for. 

I’m no longer nothing, I’m something. 

I’m a Sinner. 

And I’ve found my ride and die… now I just have to get him to remember me. 

Impossible? 

I’ve beaten worse odds and survived. 

Game on, Maverick. Game on.

#BookBlitz: Book Endings by @SyntellSmith @RABTBookTours

 

A Call Numbers Novel

Literary Fiction

Published: September 2020

“Life is all about turning the page.”

Robin Walker is not used to the quiet life. As a library clerk at the 58th Street Library in Manhattan, the disruptions come from office politics. But when Robin’s grandfather, Jon Walker, is found collapsed on Robin’s living room floor, Robin must brace himself for the worst. As he reaches out to family members, he holds onto slim hope that his grandfather will somehow come through.

Robin tries to find solace in his co-workers. But when his supervisor Sonyai Yi is locked in a private battle with head librarian Augustus Chavez, loyalties are tested. He’ll soon realize its not easy knowing who to trust, especially when his job could be on the line. As the days grow long and his grandfather’s time dwindles, Robin is suddenly energized when he dates Shinju, a beautiful Asian woman he saw months ago. When Shinju becomes a part of his life, Robin tries to find joy wherever he can. But it won’t be so simple, secrets are revealed, causing a great disruption that leaves the branch shattered. When this motley crew of characters finally comes together, a sudden departure leaves the library in a different place.

Book Endings: Loss, Pain, and Revelations is an absorbing slice-of-life look at characters on interlacing paths – trying to discover themselves. In this thoughtful sequel, life is what you make of it. Like books borrowed from the library of the universe, we’re only here until we must be returned to the earth… because our time is borrowed.

#BookEndings #CallNumbers #SyntellSmith #Literary #BookBuzz

#BookTour: The Empathy Advantage by @LynneAzarchi @RABTBookTours

 

Non-Fiction (Parenting/Education)

Date Published:  November 4, 2020

Publisher:  Rowman & Littlefield

 

 

Bullying and cyberbullying is on the rise.  Face-to-face interpersonal skills are declining.  Narcissism is increasing.  Not only do studies show these distressing facts to be true, but we see them in the news and in our own lives.  Lynne Azarchi, Executive Director of Kidsbridge Tolerance Center, has the answer to these growing problems:  teaching our children empathy.  In her new book, THE EMPATHY ADVANTAGE:  Coaching Children To Be Kind, Respectful and Successful (Rowman & Littlefield; November 4, 2020), Azarchi provides the tools and strategies families can use to give their kids the gift of empathy – simultaneously setting them on the road for a more successful future and changing the world for the better.

#BookTour: Death's Legacy by @denniskcrosby #Giveaway @RABTBookTours @PublishingAcorn

 Urban Fantasy

Date Published: November 17

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

 

Twenty years ago, Reaper of Souls Kassidy Simmons battled Azra-El, the Angel of Death and won—or so she thought.

Now, a number of strange and unexplained deaths are afflicting Kassidy’s quiet New York town. She wishes she didn’t care. But she does.

Her empathic abilities are expanding beyond her control, and the intense emotions are tearing apart her relationships. They’re also degrading the magical wards put in place to protect her from other Reapers and the even deadlier Wraiths—onyx-eyed henchmen of Azra-El.

 Allied with her longtime mentor and a college professor with ties to her past, Kassidy learns that the untimely deaths are regenerating Azra-El, and that the only way to stop him is with the Scythe of Cronus, the legendary weapon of the God of Death.

To save her loved ones and reset the natural order, Kassidy must journey home and confront a past she’s been running from for two decades. She’ll face-off with enemies, old and new, and through a haze of fear and addiction, Kassidy will learn the secrets of her heritage, and challenge head on the one being she fears most—herself.

#BookTour: Sniper by Thomas A. Burns, Jr. #Giveaway @rabtbooktours @3Mdetectiv

 A Natalie McMasters Mystery, Book 5

Crime Fiction

Date Published: November 16, 2020

Publisher: Tekrighter, LLC

A crazed sniper. A loved one wounded, in danger of death. The unforgiving Fake News media. And a hidden villain more loathsome than any that Natalie McMasters has encountered before.

Nattie’s in the crosshairs as a series of seemingly random shootings terrorizes the city. She must fight to keep her polyamorous family from disintegrating, her emotions from running wild and her personal integrity uncompromised. This would be a formidable task for anyone, much less a twentysomething college student who just wants to graduate and get on with her life. Nattie must rely on old friends and new, but how can she even, when friends can become enemies in the blink of an eye? As Nattie nears an emotional meltdown, society collapses along with her, as the sniper’s depredations take their toll on the city.

Sniper! is a twisted, sexy, absolutely gripping descent into darkness jam packed with nail-biting suspense. Don’t miss it!