Queen of Fate by Annie Anderson

Queen of Fate & Fire
Annie Anderson
(Rogue Ethereal #6)
Publication date: July 28th 2020
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy

A crown I don’t want. A bargain I can’t take back. A life I refuse to sacrifice.

After four hundred years on my own, one would think I’d be able to walk away and never look back. I’d done it a thousand times before with nary an inkling of guilt. But with my brand new predicament, there is no way I can turn down the offered bargain—not if I want everyone I love to stay alive.

Now, all I have to do is trek through the very realm I nearly died to keep sealed. Sure. Because there’s no way that could go wrong.

Unseelie Court, here I come.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

They say the first year of marriage was the hardest. If the blade to my new husband’s throat was any indication, they—whoever they were—would be right.

But this wasn’t my husband—not really.

Sure, this was Alistair’s body, and sure, he was probably hidden somewhere, crouched low in the recesses of his own mind, but the man looking through Alistair’s eyes, and wearing Alistair’s skin was not my husband. He was some kind of dark Fae, and he’d taken over.

“What have you done with him? Where is he?” I’d meant it to come out as commanding, but I didn’t quite hit the mark. I was a frantic mess at best, and the monster wearing my husband’s skin knew it.

This was what I got for coming to Faerie. Literally every single person with any lick of sense said demons could get possessed here. They said it was too risky. They said Alistair was in danger by following me to this place.

Did I listen?

Of course not. I smiled, nodded, and did whatever the fuck I wanted to anyway, and look where we were. Look at what happened to the man I loved.

I should have known something was off the moment I saw Alistair fall in the gorge. We’d been trying to keep the Unseelie Fae back. We were trying to stop Verena and whatever cracked plot she was trying to carry out. I’d thought we’d succeeded. Peering into the strikingly blue eyes of Alistair’s hijacked face, I’d say we missed one.

I saw the lie cross his face before he opened his mouth. No. Not today, buddy.

“Think very carefully about what you say next.”I could practically feel my molars cracking from how hard I was clenching my jaw, and if my blade happened to nick his neck, well, it was just a sign that I meant business.

And yeah, this was far too close to home for me. Not just that it was Alistair—not that it was the man I loved being used in such a fashion. No, this was Maria all over again. This was everything I’d buried bubbling up to the surface.

And if Alistair’s face wavered a little due to some unshed tears, well, I’d say I’d earned them.

Not-Alistair took that moment to pounce, bringing the sword from his scabbard up and knocking my blade away from his neck.

I scrambled back a step, before our swords clashed—or rather my athame went from dagger-sized to short-sword sized after I pressed the rune on the handle, and I attacked. My fencing skills were weak at best, but no-rules swordplay? Aidan had once said I was a natural.

Still, this guy was parrying every single strike like he was humoring me rather than fighting for his life.

“I am not your enemy,” Not-Alistair’s mouth said, but his voice was no longer my husband’s. It had a burr of something else I couldn’t place. A smokiness that had never been there before—not even when he’d been phased.

“Really? You got a funny way of showing it.” My frustration bubbled up inside my chest as I slashed and parried. I couldn’t say why I didn’t want to use the power that roiled beneath my skin, but I didn’t.

I could kill him.

I could hurt him.

But I didn’t want to.

Author Bio:

Annie Anderson is a military wife and United States Air Force veteran. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a southern girl at heart, but has lived all over the US and abroad. As soon as the military stops moving her family around, she'll settle on a state, but for now she enjoys being a nomad with her husband, two daughters, an old man of a dog, and a young pup that makes life... interesting.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest

GIVEAWAY!

I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch

I Kissed Alice
Anna Birch
Published by: Macmillan
Publication date: July 28th 2020
Genres: LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult

For fans of Leah on the Offbeat and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Anna Birch’s I Kissed Alice is a romantic comedy about enemies, lovers, and everything in between.

Rhodes and Iliana couldn’t be more different, but that’s not why they hate each other.

Rhodes, a gifted artist, has always excelled at Alabama’s Conservatory of the Arts (until she’s hit with a secret bout of creator’s block), while Iliana, a transfer student, tries to outshine everyone with her intense, competitive work ethic. Since only one of them can get the coveted Capstone scholarship, the competition between them is fierce.

They both escape the pressure on a fanfic site where they are unknowingly collaborating on a webcomic. And despite being worst enemies in real life, their anonymous online identities I-Kissed-Alice and Curious-in-Cheshire are starting to like each other… a lot. When the truth comes out, will they destroy each other’s future?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

Iliana

It was the end of our junior year when everything between Rhodes and me came to be as it is now.

It was May, and we were at a pop-up installation on the edge of campus. Clouds of heavy, weed-scented smoke hung up around the light fixtures of an old gas station with bars on the windows, and rain was falling in through a spot where the roof had caved, leaving puddles on the dirty tiled floor.

Behind each ancient cooler door was an installation: women with tape over their mouths. Women with their hands bound. Women dressed like schoolgirls, and dressed like moms, and dressed like frumpy old ladies with curlers in their hair. There was a gas station attendant behind the dilapidated old counter, a girl barely older than us with shiny red lip gloss and breasts begging to escape from a Play- boy Bunny costume. Word around campus was that participants had to be eighteen so they could sign the liability waiver provided by the lead artist.

Men wandered from one cooler to the next, shopping quietly, selecting someone to take with them along with six-packs of beer and packs of beef jerky.

Rhodes and I had become friends, sort of.

We weren’t talk-on-the-phone friends, or even text-on-occasion friends.

But Sarah had been my best friend since the third grade, and Sar- ah and Rhodes had become completely symbiotic during their first and second years as roommates at the Conservatory. It had taken weeks of begging for Sarah to even suggest to Rhodes that I come along—no matter what I did, Rhodes thought my work was “pedestrian.”

She didn’t think I’d understand the show—called Quickies at the Kwickee Mart, clever them—or that the art installation would speak to me the way it spoke to her and Sarah.

But by some force of nature, I had been the one to win a scholar- ship at the Savannah College of Art and Design only a week before. My art wasn’t an existential crisis played out with paint and canvas, and it didn’t make any grand political statements, but it was going to pay for my college—and apparently it meant I was allowed to play with the big girls now. Only two days later, Rhodes invited me along herself.

A week after that, we stood side by side, stoned out of our minds and attempting to make sense of the little theater that played out in front of us. Some of the girls in the cases were seniors at the Conservatory, and I knew about half of the people standing around us from campus as well. The rest were unimaginably sophisticated, worldly looking artist types—people with ink-stained hands and tattoos that crept up from under the collars of their shirts and onto their necks.

If my perception hadn’t been completely altered, I would have thought to be a little embarrassed by my own clothing choices. I felt so metal sneaking out in my tattered-on-purpose Slipknot T-shirt and my tattered-on-purpose acid-washed shorts and my tattered-on-pur- pose pink-and-white-striped tights.

“It’s, like, feminism—” Rhodes said.

Her brows were knit together; her cogs were turning.

She didn’t understand. I didn’t want to tell her otherwise, to ruin the night like I always do. It wasn’t enough to say it was about “like, feminism.” Anything can be about feminism, because in everything there’s an imbalance of power. There will always be one person in the room that has more privilege than the rest, and that person is almost always an Ingram.

It didn’t surprise me that Rhodes didn’t understand then, and it doesn’t now—she doesn’t really know what it means to be a little further down the food chain than everyone else. I’m not much further down than she is—I’m just as white, Christian-adjacent, abled, and straight-passing as she is—but I’m aware of it.

“Yeah, just, you know—” Sarah’s pupils were blown out. She held on to me for dear life, the way Rhodes’s barely-younger brother and then-dance-track student, Griffin, clung to Rhodes’s arm. Sarah liked Griffin then—she was infatuated, really. I think she thought he’d be an easy segue into being a fixture in Rhodes’s life forever.

She thought wrong.

“The motherfucking patriarchy,” said Griffin.

The motherfucking patriarchy. As if that phrase in and of itself wasn’t the purpose of the installation, the fact that women are continuously victims of sexual violence in Western culture, so much so that it has permeated our patterns of speaking and even the way we curse.

Rhodes sighed, and nodded appreciatively. Sarah sighed, and nodded appreciatively. Griffin sighed, and nodded appreciatively.

This is art, they communicated, with stoops in their shoulders and ennui-burdened frowns. This is life.

This is suffering.

Pot only ever makes me more philosophical. Everyone around me was melting into puddles, and I was practically writing ninety-nine theses on third-wave feminism on the back of a fifteen-year-old Kwickee Mart napkin that had been stuck to the bottom of my boot.

Author Bio:

Anna Birch is the author of I Kissed Alice. She was born 'n' raised in a rural area on the outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama. She traded thick forests and dirt roads for the heart of the city, where she lives now with her husband, three children, and dog. She loves knitting, brie, and hanging out with her family.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

For the Win by Raine Thomas

For the Win
Raine Thomas
Publication date: July 25th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Determination.

It’s what gets Jasmine Li out of bed every morning. She’s determined to overcome the injury that has derailed her career in ballet, the only love she’s ever known. She can’t afford to allow a baseball player to distract her, no matter how hot and persistent he might be.

Commitment.

Will Campbell defines the word. It’s what makes him a successful pitcher and it’s helping him learn how to be a single dad to a little girl with plenty of trust issues. Just his luck, the one person his daughter—and his heart—finally respond to is a stubborn, sexy ballerina with plans that don’t involve relationships or children.

But Will didn’t become the best closer in the majors by giving up. He knows what he wants and what his daughter needs, and he’s going to get it. Jasmine Li has met her match…and he’s playing for the win.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

—

EXCERPT:

The strains of some kind of classical music reached Will before he entered the room. He didn’t immediately see Katie and Jasmine. When he reached the chair he’d pulled down for himself, he saw them standing at the barre, facing the mirror.

He was pretty sure his eyes nearly plopped out of his head.

Jasmine was performing a standing split. Her long legs, now covered in tights rather than the baggy pants, made one straight vertical line. Her right hand grasped the barre while her left hand grasped her calf in the air, leaving her torso curved in an elegant arch.

“So that’s the second position stretch,” Jasmine said, lowering her leg. “But as I said, that will come later. Our barre work will be much more basic to start.”

She spotted him as he dropped down into his chair. He did his best to close his gaping mouth.

“All done?” she asked.

“Yep.”

Thank God she didn’t ask him anything else. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to find his voice again.

Jesus. She was magnificent.

There was no doubt Jasmine was a beautiful woman. She had dark, lustrous hair, a flawless porcelain complexion, high cheekbones, and almond-shaped brown eyes that hinted at Asian heritage somewhere in the mix. She was lithe and slender, her every movement a study in grace and precision.

And she had fucking killer legs.

Sure, she was beautiful. But now…good lord. Those tights and that leotard showed him just what her baggy clothes had been hiding. Combined with the refinement of her movements, it had his body responding in a completely unexpected way.

Which was crazy, he told himself, since her poise and control were the two traits he had initially disliked about her the most.

Life could sure be ironic.

He shook off his reaction and returned his focus to the lesson, doing his best to look only at Katie. He pulled out his phone and used his camera, both to take pictures and capture some video. His dad was going to want to see them later.

The lesson went over the hour by nearly twenty minutes. Will hadn’t even registered how much time had passed. Having the opportunity to watch his daughter learn something that made her happy had the time passing in a blink.

“I know going through the moves and positions is repetitive,” Jasmine said as she and Katie sat to change their shoes. “But these are building blocks to learning routines.”

Katie nodded sagely. It had Will’s lips twitching in amusement, especially when he observed how she was mimicking Jasmine’s posture and mannerisms.

“It seems you enjoyed yourself, huh, kiddo?” he said, walking over to her and giving her bun a gentle tug.

She smiled and nodded.

“Would you like to do this again?” Jasmine asked her.

Another nod, this one more vigorous.

Jasmine also smiled. The genuineness of it made her attractive on a whole other level. It revealed to him that she wasn’t just polished, poised, and aloof. There was passion inside her just waiting to be ignited.

Five minutes later, he locked Giuseppe’s doors and walked with Jasmine to the back of the Jeep so he could load the barre for her. She reached past him to toss her gym bag into the back and he caught her scent, something lightly floral and utterly feminine that once again made his libido take notice. And when she reached up, untwisted her hair tie, and released her glorious dark hair so it spilled down between her shoulder blades, there was even a moment where he forgot how to breathe.

“Call or text me when you’re ready to schedule another lesson,” she said as she closed the Jeep’s rear hatch.

“Sure,” he managed. Then, remembering he hadn’t paid her, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He handed her the hundred dollars plus an extra twenty for the additional time she’d given them. “Thanks again for doing this.”

“It was my pleasure.”

He and Katie waved her off and then climbed into his truck to head home. As he started the engine and backed out of the parking spot, he took a moment to reflect on how the lesson had gone.

He had started it with serious reservations about working with Jasmine because he hadn’t thought she would be invested in Katie, and he quite frankly hadn’t liked her very much. Now here he was ninety minutes later, having serious reservations about working with her for the exact opposite reasons.

He wasn’t at all sure what to do about that. When he’d come up with this idea, he’d had some expectation that he’d have to help protect Katie’s heart from being broken if this didn’t work out.

What the hell was he going to do to protect his own?

Author Bio:

Raine Thomas is the award-winning author of bestselling Young Adult and New Adult fiction. Known for character-driven stories that inspire the imagination, Raine has signed with multiple award-winning producer Chase Chenowith of Back Fence Productions to bring her popular Daughters of Saraqael trilogy to the big screen. She's a proud indie author who is living the dream. When she isn't writing or glued to e-mail or social networking sites, Raine can usually be found vacationing with her husband and daughter on one of Florida's beautiful beaches or crossing the border to visit with her Canadian friends and relatives.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon / Pinterest

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Hallow Gods by A.J Vrana

The Hollow Gods
A.J. Vrana
(The Chaos Cycle Series, #1)
Published by: Parliament House
Publication date: July 28th 2020
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Magical Realism, New Adult

Isolated in the forests of Western Canada, Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret. For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods with the help of wolves, and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: every now and again, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead.

When Kai wakes up next to the body of a recently missing girl, his memory blank, he struggles to clear his already threadbare conscience. Miya, a floundering university student, experiences signs that she may be the Dreamwalker’s next victim and finds herself caught between a supernatural kidnapping and a senseless murder. And after the death of a young patient, crestfallen oncologist Mason embarks on a quest to debunk the town’s superstitions, only to find his sanity tested.

Yet a maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas, and deadly secrets loom in the foggy forests of Black Hollow. Can three unlikely heroes put aside their fears, and unite to confront a centuries old evil? Will they uncover the truth behind the fable, or will the cycle repeat?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

When Miya returned from the dream, her eyes were already open, but she was unable to move—paralyzed even though she was wide awake. Her heart crashed against her ribs, and her breath caught in her throat, every tendon and muscle taut with desperation. She couldn’t open her mouth, scream, or even gasp for air. All she could do was look right in front of her.

The phantom woman from the dream hovered directly above her, her face inches away as she mirrored Miya’s prostrate form. Miya could see the mask clearly now—a hard, bone shell, shaped like a raven’s beak. It extended down her face in a sharp V, past her lips and over the edge of her chin. The mask was decorated with gleaming black and purple that swirled together like oil and water, slick against the smooth, flawless ivory. Her lips—quirked at the edges—descended towards Miya’s.

Miya squeezed her eyes shut, trying to kick and thrash—whatever she could do to get away. Her skin crawled with spiders, invisible parasites burrowing their way inside her until she was unable to fight the fear any longer. Miya implored the spectre, bargaining with the only thing she felt the woman might want.

I’ll go back to the dream, Miya told her. I’ll follow you—wherever you want. I swear. Please, just let me go.

Air rushed down Miya’s throat with such force that her lungs burned when she finally managed to gasp. Her eyes shot open, beads of sweat trickling down her face as she tore over every inch of her room. The apparition was no longer there.

Miya’s hand twitched as she flexed her fingers, testing her ability to move. She breathed in again, this time slower, willing herself to stop shaking but with little success. She’s no longer here, Miya repeated. Her mind was racing, her senses screaming, but she had, somehow, regained control.

Miya sat up, remembering what it was like to be inside her own body. She had the distinct sense of having gone somewhere she shouldn’t have—somewhere she risked never coming back from. A bizarre thought to have about a nightmare, but Miya knew in her bones that this was more than a dream. She’d looked into Medusa’s eyes and barely evaded turning to stone.

For a brief moment, the fog lifted, and she remembered the events of her first dream—the one that came before last night’s. Not only that, her knowledge of the fable had returned. In a frantic tumble, Miya threw herself at the bedside table and reached for her journal. She couldn’t afford to forget again; she had to write it down. She needed to know what came next. But the second the tip of her pen connected with the paper, Miya had no idea what to write. She stared down at the lines, her mind as blank as the page in front of her.

The dreams and the fable were gone.

Author Bio:

A. J. Vrana is a Serbian-Canadian academic and writer currently residing in Toronto, Canada with her two rescue cats, Moonstone and Peanut Butter. Her doctoral research focuses on the supernatural in modern Japanese and former-Yugoslavian literature and its relationship to violence. When not toiling away at caffeine-fueled, scholarly pursuits, she enjoys jewelry-making, cupcakes, and concocting dark tales to unleash upon the world.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wicked Devil by Daniella Romero Cover Reveal

Wicked Devil
Daniela Romero
Publication date: August 24th 2020
Genres: Romance, Sports, YA, NA

Roman Valdez is the Devil.
He sneers at me.
He hates me.
He wants to hurt me.

Let him try.

He thinks he’s untouchable. The self-appointed Devil of Sun Valley High.
But I’ve already lost everything and everyone I care about.
It’s me he should be afraid of. Not the other way around.
Because I have nothing left to lose, and he can’t break what’s already broken.

At least, that’s what I thought.

But when the Devil begins picking up the pieces, I realize while he might not break me. He can absolutely shatter me, heart and soul.
And I just might let him.

Wicked Devil is a stand-alone, high school romance with enemies to lovers/bullying themes. It deals with sensitive subjects some may find triggering and is recommended for mature readers 17+

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Author Bio:

Daniela Romero is a Snarky AF, Latinx Author, who happens to also be a Mom of 3. Born and raised in sunny California, she now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest and is happy to enjoy all four seasons even if the snow can sometimes be a bit much. She hates cheese--of all kinds--and yes that means she orders cheeseless pizza. Daniela is an ENTJ all the way which means she loves to talk (a lot) and is probably as extroverted as they come so feel free to shoot her a message, send a raven, throw up smoke signals. Whatever it may be. She love's chatting with readers so feel free to stalk her.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Reader Group / Newsletter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodnight by Guilia Lagomarsino cover reveal

GoodKnight
Giulia Lagomarsino
(Reed Security, #26)
Publication date: August 10th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

I f*@ked up when I killed that senator. I thought I was uncovering some dirty secrets.
But the things I uncovered could kill millions.
Lives are at stake, but none of that matters to me.
Not when they’ve taken my wife.
They held a gun to her head.
Now they’ll all die.
I won’t stop until I take them all out. Until she’s back in my arms.
Then I have to walk away. My family isn’t safe as long as I’m in their lives.
Sometimes to protect the ones you love, you have to walk away.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Author Bio:

I'm a stay at home mom that loves to read. Some of my favorite titles are Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Horatio Hornblower. I started writing when I was trying to come up with suggestions on ways I could help bring in some extra money. I came up with the idea that I could donate plasma because you could earn an extra $500/month. My husband responded with, "No. Find something else. Write a blog. Write a book." I didn't think I had anything to share on blog that a thousand other mothers hadn't already thought of. I decided to take his challenge seriously and sat down to write my first book, Jack. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed writing. From there, the stories continued to flow and I haven't been able to stop. I hope my readers enjoy my books as much as I enjoy writing them. Between reading, writing, and taking care of three small kids, my days are quite full.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bookbub / Newsletter

Cover reveal for the six month Lease by Melanie Munton

The Six Month Lease
Melanie Munton
Publication date: August 18th 2020
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Never have I ever…moved in with a guy after dating him for only three weeks.

Just kidding. That’s exactly what I did.

And like most of you are probably thinking, it inevitably blew up in my face when we broke up two days after signing our lease.

Now, I’m stuck living with my ex. The same man who turned my life completely upside down in record time.

For. Six. Whole. Months.

It doesn’t matter how many times he flashes those abs at me after a shower, or how close his bedroom is to mine. I will resist him because he’s simply not the right guy for me.

But if I thought he’d done a number on me before, that’s nothing compared to what happens after I finally learn the secret he’s been keeping from me this entire time.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

The hair on the back of my neck stands on end for about the seventeenth time in the past twenty minutes. So, I know that West is watching me from his position on the opposite end of the patio, where I know he’s been talking to a cute little redhead for the past four or so minutes.

Not like I’m keeping track or anything.

Not like he’s keeping track of me either.

His predatory eyes have not been stalking me through the crowd, his powerful, agile body moving like a lithe jaguar. Or a sleek panther. He’s not gnashing his teeth at every male who comes within five feet of me. And he’s certainly not resisting the urge to bound over here and piss a territorial circle around me.

He’s like a damn jungle cat.

Every man at this party might as well be his prey. His body language has signaled that he sees every walking penis as a threat. He might as well roar out his possessiveness and declare his rank in the food chain to the rest of the jungle.

When our gazes collide, something distinctly male and dominant gleams from his features. In that moment, I feel like I’ve been marked. Sirens start blaring in my head.

Danger! Danger! Danger!

“Would you please excuse me, Darren? I’m in need of a refill.”

He politely dips his head, just like the southern gentleman I’m sure his momma raised him to be. “Of course.”

Damn, he’s too nice. Why can’t I be into nice? I used to be. What the hell happened?

West.

That prick.

I find a quiet bubble where I can gather my thoughts at the far corner of the house. There’s enough seclusion that no one will accidentally stumble upon me, yet I can still hear the low hum of the party behind me. I’m staring down at my shadow in the grass when someone steps into the path of the patio lights, shrouding my secluded bubble in darkness.

Of course, he would follow me.

Because he’s become an expert at doing the exact opposite of what I want—like leaving me the hell alone. And the way his hulking shadow looms over mine is reflective of how little control I have over the situation.

West is like my own shadow.

Permanent. Trails in my wake. Undetachable.

When I twist around, I take a deliberate step back, needing that distance.

“Looks like I’ve caught myself a little social butterfly,” he grates in a low voice.

His eyes are narrowed. “Let’s talk, Harper.”

I push my hands into the pockets of my shorts, striving for confidence. “So talk.”

He snorts. “While I’ve loved your flare for exhibitionism in the past, let’s keep it private this time, shall we?”

He snags my arm and starts pulling me away from the patio before I can release the mile-long tirade poised on my tongue.

I am not an exhibitionist. We made out in an alley once. And he took some naked pictures of me on his phone once. Pictures he better have fucking deleted, or there’s going to be a nasty castration in his future.

Before we broke up, Sloane and Carter invited us over here for dinner a couple of times, so West knows his way around the property. Which is why he knows exactly where the lush gardens are and how to navigate their maze of foliage. Maintaining his hold on my arm, he drags us down the gravel path until the patio and party are no longer visible through the mass of palm fronds, hedges, and azalea bushes.

The only reason I’ve let him manhandle me up to this point is because I don’t want to make a scene at my friend’s party. I don’t want to be that couple. Not that we are a couple. Not even a little.

But no one can see us now.

And enough is enough.

I rip my arm out of his grip, my feet planting roots in the ground. “Knock it off, West. Isn’t this pissing contest routine of yours getting a little old?”

With his back facing me, he sucks in a deep breath and blows it out. The sight of his broad shoulders rising and falling with the movement mesmerizes me. I remember how sturdy those shoulders were whenever I used them as leverage to grind over his lap. It doesn’t help that the mint green button-down he’s wearing happens to be my favorite shirt of his.

A fact I know he remembers.

When his body whirls around to face me, his eyes are fierce and alert. “When have I ever given you the impression that I need to whip out a measuring stick just to get my dick wet? That pounding my chest and backing down every other man in the room somehow gets me off? Huh? When?”

“Are you serious? Uh, the night at the house in front of Emerson, for one. Tonight, for two.”

“The night with Emerson was about me not wanting to witness, in my own home, how badly other men want to fuck you,” he snaps. “My own friends.”

I swallow.

The edges in his voice are sharp. Sharp enough to cut me if I don’t maintain my distance. Which proves difficult when he starts advancing on me, forcing me to retreat.

“And tonight is about me losing control because I’m being forced to finally accept that other men do want to fuck you.” My back hits a tree. “And will fuck you. At some point in the future, it’s going to happen.” He slaps his hands against the bark, his arms caging me in. “Because I’m no longer the one who is fucking you.”

Author Bio:

Traveler. Reader. Beach-goer. St. Louis Cardinals fan. Pasta-obsessed. North Carolina resident. Sarcastic. Bit of a nerd.
Author of the Cruz Brothers, Possession and Politics, and Timid Souls series, Melanie loves all things romance, comedies and suspense in particular because it’s boring to only stick to one sub-genre! From light-hearted comedies to sexy thrillers, she likes to mix it up, but loves her some strong alpha males and sassy heroines.
Go visit Melanie’s website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hasty by Julia Kent

Hasty
Julia Kent
(Do-Over Series, #4)
Publication date: July 28th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

AN ALL-NEW STANDALONE FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR JULIA KENT

I never thought my perp walk would lead to true love.

Then again, I never thought I’d be arrested on RICO charges and hauled away in zip ties on camera for the world to see, minutes after closing the most amazing deal of my career.

And all of it in front of my biggest viral, billionaire wunderkind Ian McRory.

I am broke.

I am disgraced.

I am alone.

I am a sucker.

But the worst part? I have to go back to my hometown and live in my bedroom filled with relics from my childhood.

Lisa Frank never made me so mad before.

Just when I needed a rescue, I got one — in the form of help from my biggest rival.

He can’t bring back my money.

He certainly can’t bring back my reputation or my pride.

But there’s one thing he can bring back to me.

A sense of hope.

Maybe even love.

Ian sees something in me no one else does, and he’s relentless about making me see it, too. As we grow closer, I’m starting to see that while my entire life used to be a lie, the truth is staring me in the present — and it’s a truth I like very, very much, hot eyes and gorgeous smile and all.

But I have to be careful.

I can’t be too —

That’s right.

Hasty.

The final book in the USA Today bestselling Do-Over Series (Fluffy, Perky, Feisty), as Mallory’s sister, Hastings “Hasty” Monahan gets her turn at a happily ever after that starts off with an arrest.

Hers.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

Today is the best day of my life.

I know people say that, and they mean it, but they don’t mean this. My best day is better than anyone else’s. Trust me.

I know.

I’m sitting at a table at Essentialz, a five-star restaurant in San Francisco. Everyone at the table watches me as I tuck the signed paperwork away in my black Bottega Veneta woven leather brief bag.

I, Hastings Monahan, just signed a nine-figure investment deal on behalf of the venture capital firm I work for.

Full partner, here I come.

Of course, lawyers will handle the majority of this. The signatures are symbolic as much as they are legal. But the fellow diners at my carefully crafted table will go back to China with an exciting opportunity for their company, Zhangwa Telecommunications, to enter the North American market with climate-change technology projecting yields that are the best aphrodisiac ever.

As I sip from my glass of Montrachet Grand Cru, I catch the eye of Ming Bannerton, a consultant with Zhangwa whose father is a high-ranking U.S State Department official in China, a woman who has a hunger for financial success that I can spot in anyone in three seconds flat. There’s something special about a fellow hustler–and when I use the word hustler, I don’t mean it pejoratively.

People who hustle get things done.

We connect. We network. We pattern match. We ruthlessly apply what we intuitively feel to what we operationally know in order to produce optimal outcomes.

In short–we hustle.

And we win.

But in competition, there can only be one winner.

One.

Tonight, I’m it.

Her smile mirrors mine, red lips stretched over perfectly white teeth that are as straight as a new picket fence. The smile doesn’t reach her eyes, but an intensity infuses her. She’s about five years younger than me, with a knowing eye that tells me we need to stay in touch. Someday soon, she may shoot past me, and that’s where all the legwork pays off.

In this business, you network down as well as you network up, if you want to get anywhere.

And the manila folder resting in my brief bag, the one that feels like a warm gold ingot pressed against my lips? That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you get somewhere.

“Where is Burke?” Mr. Zhao Bai asks, his head at a slight tilt, a gesture of genuine curiosity as his eyes survey me, looking for information that doesn’t come directly from my mouth. He’s the youngest of the four men at the table, a fast talker who looks around the room like he’s a mob boss. Negotiating with him took a steady hand I didn’t know I possessed, but now I understand.

Burke is part of the deal, and I didn’t realize it.

The contracts are signed, though. That makes my husband an off-the-books addendum. No matter what, this is my accomplishment.

My husband, Burke Oonaj, is one of the hottest market makers in finance right now. Even he will have no choice but to be impressed by the deal I’ve just put together.

But the inquiry about my husband makes my uterus fall.

And it’s not like he’s around to catch it.

“Good question,” I say before taking another sip of wine, needing to buy myself a smidgen of space and time. I only need a split second.

Normally.

For some reason that I can’t explain, my emotions are tangling in my mind, and that’s an unpredictable variable I have to weed out.

Fast.

My heart feels strangely heavy in my chest, a sense of dread filling me that has no right to be here. This is MY night, I tell that sense of dread. This is MY deal. This is my culmination of six years of careful work, all coming together, right now.

Go away, dread.

But Mr. Zhao’s question is a good one, because Burke isn’t answering any of my texts or emails or phone calls, and hasn’t for the last three days.

My husband has disappeared.

Not literally, of course, because husbands don’t just do that. Business travel can be intense. Plenty of stretches of time have gone by without hearing from him. They involved twenty-four hours or less, though.

Not eighty-one hours and thirteen minutes.

Not that I’m counting.

I can’t admit any of this to anyone at this table, of course, so instead, I give what my pattern-matching brain tells me is the optimal answer, designed to make me look good.

“Burke’s fine,” I say with a grin, the glass of wine still full enough to make more sips look like an appropriate response. “He sends his best regards. He would have been here tonight, but… you know.”

Two of the men share a look I don’t like. It’s a fleeting glance, the type that is practiced and meant to look like nothing. You think I’m paranoid, that I’m inventing it all?

Wrong.

I’m in a state of hyperarousal.

No, not the sexual kind. Haven’t felt that in a long time, at least not with Burke. My hyperarousal is based around the stress hormones pumping through me from the excitement of what I just accomplished.

Me. Myself. Alone.

Independent of Burke.

As workday smiles stretch to become the more casual, intimate grins of people enjoying bottle after bottle of excellent wine, I loosen up. The answer I gave them sufficed. We can move on.

My body feels numb and excited at the same time. I’m on top of the world. The pinnacle.

I am Peak Hastings.

Which is why, when the maître d’ approaches my side, I don’t pick up on the gravity of his whisper. No one would. Because learning that my credit card has been declined for this business dinner is definitely not part of the plan, and the areas of my brain assigned to processing language literally can’t comprehend it.

“It’s what?” I whisper, standing carefully, legs still steady, my alcohol consumption measured, even if my tablemates have made their way through more wine than an entire wedding party back home.

The maître d’, José, gives me a wide-eyed but polite look. “I’m sorry, Ms. Monahan. This has never happened before when you’ve dined with us. But the credit card company was very firm. You cannot use this one.”

Mr. Zhao gives me an inquiring look. My stomach sinks. Did he overhear?

“Will you all excuse me?” I tell them, hating the disruption, my legs turning into two steel beams covered in chilled skin.

“Something must be wrong with the credit card processor,” I snap at the maître d’ as I hurry away from my group. I want to get the taint of this failure out of the way and get back to my stellar success.

Once we’re out of sight of my table, I rifle through my purse and find another business credit card. “Use this one. And let me be very clear, to you and to your boss, that this is absolutely, abjectly unacceptable.”

He inserts the card, chip side in. “I realize this, Ms. Monahan, but we cannot…”

Beep.

He stares at the credit card terminal.

I read the display upside down. “Declined!” I hiss. “This is impossible! That card has no limit!”

“Perhaps you’ve had your identity stolen, or there are fraud alerts on your account? Perhaps you’re the victim of a financial crime?” José suggests.

“I can’t be the victim of a financial crime!” I snap at him. “I’m a financial expert! This doesn’t happen to people like me. Here!” I shove a third company card at him. This one better work.

I only have one more.

My mind races ahead, conjuring contingency plans, even as my cheeks burn with shame.

Shame.

Why would I feel shame for someone else’s mistake? And yet, there it is, and I have to override it fast. Because if I don’t, it gets a toehold.

And that is the fastest way to lose your edge.

José closes his eyes and lets out a sigh through his nose, a split second before the display terminal beeps.

Again.

“Your computer system is down,” I declare, pulling out the fourth card and my phone, texting my office manager. Maybe something went wrong. Maybe José is right. Maybe we were hacked. But this is surreal enough to let the dread come inside me and have a seat, as it decides whether to become an overnight guest.

It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m staring at a mid-four-figure bill that I owe, right now, and have no way to settle.

This cannot be happening.

As he runs the fourth card, the main door opens. My spine straightens, calves stretching tall, and not just from the five-inch heels I’m wearing.

I know that man.

I hate that man.

And he’s the last person on Earth I want to see in the middle of this debacle.

Ian McCrory cannot see me like this.

PLEASE NOTE THAT BOOK 2, PERKY, is currently 99c for a limited time, and prequel, Little Miss Perky currently FREE

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 19 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French and German, with more titles releasing in 2020 and beyond.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Newsletter / Amazon

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Heir of Arcadia by Deborah Adams and Kimberly Perkins Review.

Heir of Arcadia
Deborah Adams, Kimberley Perkins
Publication date: July 24th 2020
Genres: Adult, Adventure, Science Fiction

Can Collins and Quinn call a truce long enough to survive?

Quinn’s hectic job as a special agent keeps her busy, but never busy enough to tamp out her inconvenient attraction to CEO billionaire Julian Collins. He is usually the biggest pain in her side, but he can also be recklessly charming. When Collins asks her to open a secret investigation into his company, she worries that extra time alone with him might test her resolve to stay away.

Julian Collins always dreamed of being on Arcadia, a fictional world from his favorite video game. But lately, he’s been seeing things from the game in real life. He feels like he’s losing his mind, and now is not the time to go crazy. His company is going to be split into a dozen pieces if he can’t discover the secrets hidden in the Special Projects division.

After three years of quasi-friendship, Collins and Quinn have honed arguing into a true art form. As far as he’s concerned, she’s off-limits, but also quick-witted and sexy as hell. She’s the perfect person for the job.

As Quinn and Collins delve deeper into their investigation, secrets will lead them to things no one on earth can explain. Will they discover that searing hot kisses can be even more fun than well-placed insults when a whole new universe is spread before them?

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

DEBORAH ADAMS and KIMBERLEY PERKINS are authors of the Award-Winning Waypoint series. They are friends and coworkers sharing a love of coffee, literature, and teenagers saving the world. Both live in Huntsville, Alabama, working by day for a contractor supporting the Department of Defense, and by night writing spectacular adventures. For more information about Deborah Adams and Kimberley Perkins go to www.adamsperkins.com.

REVIEW

I read Heir of Arcadia, not knowing that it had a sci-fi feel to it, I DON'T LIKE THOSE, But, and here comes the big but. I thoroughly enjoyed Heir of Arcadia because of the characters, Collins and Quinn, and the secondary characters, Simon, Riya, West and Alex, and not to forget the AI Delcey. Even Flynn with his tacky, think his ass doesn't stink, was written with such flair.

Deborah and Kimberly executed the plot beautifully and the planet...well, let's say when I discovered that the planet was based on a game Collins and his friends played, I was intrigued. 

It was also a beautifully written story, and these two ladies seriously have outdone themselves with sticking to the terms of space crafts object and even done an entire language for the Dracones. I salute you for that. 

Okay, now to get seriously into the book. I have to admit. I'm a very, very picky reader. It's hard to keep my attention, and the beginning of this book didn't do it for me, but once Quinn Lehi made her appearance and the relationship/friendship with Collins got introduced, I couldn't put the book down, even if the book had space in it. 

Collins is such an intricated character, looking after his little sister when their parents died. But he is adorable with her, and you get that big brother vibe coming from him. Quinn is the woman figure in Serah's life, Collin's sister, and sort of a can't have, for Collins. But it doesn't mean that he isn't trying, which makes their dialogue incredibly hilarious. 

You can feel the sexual tension between these two characters, it drives you nuts, but in a good way.

Quinn, on the other hand, takes no crap from anyone, she is an agent with a superior force, and I laughed so much when she got to the planet, by mistake (I'll wet myself) and a task to fixed object got assigned to her.  The way she is fixing these object was done masterfully. I wish something like that could happen to me.

But without saying way too much. I love all these characters. I was taken on a journey, meeting the Arcadians, which my favorite was Mo, an old lady that is like a doctor. She was by far one of my favorite secondary characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The descriptions were vivid, the secondary characters felt real, the main characters were so three dimensional that it was hard to finally said goodbye to Quinn and Collins, but they certainly did entertain me for a few days. And let me just say, Finn so deserved that ending. I laughed out loud.

If you like the John Carter movie, you will love Heir of Arcadia and I hope they would turn this one into a movie as I would definitely watch it.

I recommend this to everyone. I'm not too fond of space types of books but loved Heir of Arcadia. Deborah and Kimberly are two authors we need to keep an eye out.

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Man Down by Kate Leader

Man Down
Kate Meader
(Rookie Rebels #3)
Publication date: July 28th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Gunnar Bond is broken.

Three years ago, he lived through the car crash that took his wife and twins away from him—though “lived” barely describes his current state. Giving up professional hockey, going off grid, and drinking himself into oblivion are his coping mechanisms. Another is texting his dead wife about his days without her. Therapeutic? Doubtful. Crazy?
Definitely. But those messages into the ether are virtually the only thing stopping him from spiraling to even darker places.

Until someone texts back . . .

Sadie Yates is losing it.

Suddenly guardian to a little sister she doesn’t know and a misbehaving hound she’d rather not know at all, she’s had to upend her (sort of) glamorous life in LA and move back to Chicago. The nanny has quit, the money’s running out, and her job is on the line. The last thing she needs is her sister’s hockey camp counselor, a judgmental Viking type, telling her she sucks at this parenting lark. Thank the goddess for her sweet, sensitive, and—fingers crossed—sexy text buddy who always knows the right thing to say. In the same city at last, they can finally see if their online chemistry is mirrored in real life. She just needs to set up a meeting …

A ruined man who claims to have used up all his love is surely a bad bet, but Sadie’s never been afraid of a challenge … even one that might shatter her heart into a million pieces.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

She smoothed the skirt of her dress, a cute shift style she’d cut from an old Vogue pattern and paired with a fun, sparkly belt. Placing her hand on the door handle, she grabbed her Kate Spade, gift from her friend Peyton, only to stall at hearing her phone buzz.

“Hold your horses, woman,” she muttered, expecting to see an all-caps text from Allegra. Instead it was from someone rather unexpected.

LonelyHeart: It’s cold and miserable, like me. How about you?

More than twenty-four hours later, he’d texted back! About the weather, but she’d take it.

Sadie: Sunny with a chance of more sun. Like me!

She cringed at her ridiculousness. Sadie: Sorry, just being a goof. What’s going on? Forehead slap. He’s mourning his wife, that’s what.

LonelyHeart: I’ve been thinking about the 9 million numbers and how it is you have this one number. Of all the numbers. This one that means something to me.

She had no idea what to say to that. Maybe it’s fate? The goddess? Maybelline?

The dots started up again and she let him finish his thought.

LonelyHeart: Maybe it means we’re supposed to be talking.

Sadie: I think so. It has to be a sign.

LonelyHeart: So you don’t think it’s weird?

What? Talking to a man who wished he was chatting with the deceased love of his life. Nah!

Sadie: No, not at all. You don’t have to say anything, but I wanted you to know I’m here if you need to talk.

LonelyHeart: Not much of a talker.

Sadie smiled. This man—and she was sure it was a man—was much more of a “talker” than he claimed.

Sadie: Yet you can’t shut up in those texts J

LonelyHeart: Kind of chatty when there’s only four wooden walls.

Sadie: You have me now.

She sent it before she had time to think about how it would sound. Presumptuous. Needy. A bridge too far.

Allegra: SADIE, WHERE ARE YOU??!!!

Damn. She waited for LonelyHeart to respond, worried she’d scared him off. Her phone rang with Allegra’s high-energy smile on the screen (Allegra had energy degrees for her smiles. This one was an eight.) Sadie let it go to voice mail. It seemed incredibly important that she wait for his response. Just a second, just one more second …

LonelyHeart: I should let you go. I’ll check in later if that’s okay.

Sadie’s heart thundered. Definitely. I’m dying to hear about the wooden walls. Are you Amish? But a user of phones? An Amish tech-lover?

LonelyHeart: No. I live in a cabin. In a forest.

Sadie: Like the Unabomber? I’m not really into revolutionary anarchy but I can tell a million jokes about it.

LonelyHeart: Jokes would be welcome during the revolution.

Sadie: Awesome! I’ll get my arsenal of bad puns ready. (Arsenal? Revolution? Get it?) Prepare to be entertained.

LonelyHeart: Is that your way of discouraging me from checking in? Because I’m not easily frightened.

Sadie: Wait until you hear my A material.

Author Bio:

Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron, a fire hose, or a hockey stick, and she's there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Inherent Fate by Alicia Anthony

Inherent Fate
Alicia Anthony
(Blood Secrets, #3)
Publication date: July 21st 2020
Genres: Psychological, Suspense

A discarded asset stripped of her identity…

An emotionally scarred ex-agent…

An innocent life hanging in the balance…

Who would you trust if the world was out to get you?

Losing Liv Sullivan in a Bureau operation gone bad turned ex-agent Ridge McCaffrey into a broken man. So when fate reunites him with the woman he thought was dead, he’ll risk anything to make her part of his life again.

Liv Sullivan returned to the States with two goals: end the FBI’s corrupt GenLink psychic intelligence program and reclaim the life it stole from her. But when the case against GenLink exposes a threat against Ridge’s son, the cost becomes too great. Refusing to destroy more lives, she leaves Ridge, and the chance to reclaim her identity, behind.

But as a new generation of GenLink closes in, once-trusted allies become enemies, and long-buried secrets threaten.

Can Liv and Ridge end GenLink before echoes of the past destroy their future?

Inherent Fate is the compelling third installment in the Blood Secrets psychological suspense series. For fast-paced, emotionally intense story lines that keep you up past your bedtime, and intricate plots laced with romance, this award-winning series is for you.

Book 3 of 3. Series is best enjoyed in sequence.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

The unmistakable thunk of a body. The involuntary exhale of someone having the wind knocked out of them–female, if Ridge had to guess–was audible even from the window side of his hotel room.

“Christ, Evan, watch yourself.” Tony’s voice, loud and unmistakable, filtered from under the doorway as Ridge moved toward the door. “She’s not the enemy.”

Tightness gripped Ridge’s chest and he pushed the desk chair out of his way, toppling it to the floor as he brushed past.

“This was your choice, Olivia.” The words stopped him cold–the chill of the metal door handle colliding with the heat of his fingers sent a spiral of anxiety up his spine.

“You knew there’d be consequences. You can’t change your mind now. It’s too late.”

Ridge pushed the balloon of air from his lungs and rested his forehead against the faux wood veneer above the peephole. He forced reason to join the ranks of uncontrollable hope that swelled in his chest.

“No one ever said this would be easy,” Michelle continued. Only she and Tony were visible from Ridge’s fishbowl view.

“Let. Me. Go.” That voice, those words punctuated by restorative breath, stole every fiber of logic from Ridge’s body. He swung the door open and stepped into the hall.

His breath caught as he met her gaze. Real. Tangible. Here. A thump of blood rushed against his eardrums, silenced by the breath of her name sliding across his lips. “Liv.”

Author Bio:

Alicia Anthony’s first novels were illegible scribbles on the back of her truck driver father’s logbook trip tickets. Having graduated from scribbles to laptop, she now pens novels of psychological suspense in the quiet of the wee morning hours. A full-time elementary school Literacy Specialist, Alicia hopes to pass on her passion for books and writing to the students she teaches.

A two time Golden Heart® finalist and Silver Quill Award winner, Alicia finds her inspiration in exploring the dark, dusty corners of the human experience. Alicia is a graduate of Spalding University’s School of Creative & Professional Writing (MFA), Ashland University (M.Ed.) and THE Ohio State University (BA). Go Bucks! She lives in rural south-central Ohio with her amazingly patient and supportive husband, incredibly understanding teenage daughter, two dogs, three horses, a plethora of both visiting and resident barn cats, and some feral raccoons who have worn out their welcome.

When she’s not writing or teaching, Alicia loves to travel and experience new places. Connect with her on Facebook or Instagram @AliciaAnthonyBooks. She’d love to hear from you!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Game Maker by Kitty Thomas

The Game Maker
Kitty Thomas
Publication date: July 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance

I was too isolated. I was about to be evicted. I made a final desperate call to the man who ruined my life, but he didn’t come for me.

Someone else did.

And then there was Seven. When I first woke in the cell, I thought he was my captor, but he is a pawn, like me.

Seven is beautiful and kind. I want him so much I can barely breathe. He wants to protect me from our captor, but he can’t.

We are both locked inside a game neither of us can ever hope to win, and even though it’s wrong, I’m starting to want both men, not just the good one… the monster as well.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

My head is pounding when I regain consciousness. I can’t bring myself to open my eyes. I’m lying on a hard surface, which seems weird to me. At first I think I’m lying on the ground outside where I passed out, but there are no city noises. Instead, I hear classical music being piped in from a speaker above me.

And I smell… roses. One of those highly fragrant varieties. I must be at Andrew’s place. But why the fuck did he leave me on the ground? It’s at this point that I realize I’m naked. Also, Andrew doesn’t listen to classical music.

Instinctively, I want to bolt upright and cover myself, but I don’t have that kind of reaction time. And it’s a real struggle to open my eyes. When I do, I’m momentarily grateful to be in a dimly lit room.

“A-Andrew?” I croak out. I want to scream at him for dumping me on the ground in his apartment, but I can barely choke his name out. I wait for my eyes to adjust. Everything around me is dark gray, and there’s no furniture in this room.

Cell, my mind hisses at me. I am in a cell.

I push myself off the ground into a sitting position and wait for my vision to go back to normal so I can get a sense of where I am. Did Andrew put me in here? He’s a bigger bastard than I thought. This is when I finally realize I’m not alone.

There’s a large, dark figure sitting on the ground against the far wall.

“Andrew, you piece of shit. What are you doing?”

I probably shouldn’t speak to the person who rescued me from homelessness this way, but I don’t care. He needs to grow the fuck up. I expect him to yell at me or threaten to kick me out, but what I hear instead chills me.

“Who’s Andrew?”

This is definitely not Andrew’s voice. No accent. Plus it’s deeper and more frightening. Suddenly the adrenaline hits me, and I have a sudden burst of speed. I back as far from him as I can until I meet the opposite wall. I shield my breasts from his gaze and shift to a sitting position where he can’t see other private parts—even though I know he’s already seen everything. And possibly done more. I was unconscious after all.

As my vision clears further, it seems that the light in the room gets a little brighter. He’s wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, no shoes. His dark hair looks a bit disheveled. He’s very attractive. Heart-stoppingly beautiful, actually. It’s the kind of unearthly beauty that makes me feel relieved for a moment because I know I’m still passed out. This is a weird dream. I just know it is.

It’s not a dream, whispers the same evil internal voice that decided to tell me I was in a cell.

It takes several minutes before my mind is willing to accept what has happened. I don’t know if someone put something in my drink or if I was just that drunk. I don’t know how long this man stalked me before he took me, but I know I’m looking at the man who kidnapped me.

And now the tears come. It takes every ounce of willpower not to break down into hysterical sobs. This reaction is making a lie out of everything I thought I knew about myself. The strength and control I thought I had in my life. Even up to very recently, I thought I was handling things.

But this is the last straw. It’s the last tiny push I needed to find myself in a free fall.

Another dark thought pushes its way into my mind. No one is going to be looking for me. Does the man who took me know that? Andrew sure as shit won’t look or file a police report.

My landlady might not realize why I didn’t pack my things up first, but as nice as Carolyn is, she’ll just be glad she doesn’t have to have me forcibly removed. She isn’t going to report my disappearance to the police. What disappearance? I’ve been evicted. I’m not supposed to be there.

There is no reality now but me and my captor. I’m trying desperately not to think about the reasons this man took me. To rape me? To kill me? To torture me? He sure as shit isn’t going to let me go when he’s done with whatever’s on his nefarious agenda. I know you can’t appeal to a sociopath, and nobody normal does something like this.

Still, I can’t help begging. “P-please don’t hurt me.”

“I won’t,” he says.

Huh?

“You can let me go,” I say. “I won’t say anything.”

“I can’t let you go. I didn’t put you in here.”

“What?” For a moment, my confusion overtakes my fear. What does he mean he didn’t put me in here? Of course he did. Who the fuck can he blame? The invisible demon perched on his shoulder?

He shakes his head slowly. “I’m in the same boat as you, sweetheart.”

I glance back and forth between us. He has clothes on, and they don’t look like he’s worn them for days. Meanwhile, I’m naked. We are not in the same boat.

“I don’t believe you,” I say. “You’re playing with me somehow.”

Author Bio:

KITTY THOMAS writes dark stories that play with power and have unconventional HEAs. She began publishing in early 2010 with her bestselling COMFORT FOOD and is considered one of the original authors of the dark romance subgenre.

To find out FIRST when a new book comes out, subscribe to Kitty's New Release List: KITTYTHOMAS.COM

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Book and Main Bites / Bookbub

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Savage Beginnings by J.L Beck and C. Hallman

Savage Beginnings
C. Hallman & J.L. Beck
(The Moretti Crime Family, #1)
Publication date: July 31st 2020
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance

It started with a single look… my obsession, my desire, and need to possess the sweet, and incredibly naive Elena Romero.

Dark raven hair, and piercing green eyes. She would make a beautiful bride.

Ten-millions dollars and a forced signature later and she was mine.

Like a thief I came in the dead of night and stole her away from her protected castle and placed her in a gilded cage made of gold.

The deal had been settled.

She would become my wife.
She would bear my children.
She would bend to my will.

But most importantly she would help me destroy the man she loved most. The man who took everything from me: her father.

*This is a dark mafia romance that contains mature themes, graphic violence, and sexual content. This is a complete standalone that ends with a happily ever after. 100,000+ words long. There is NO cheating either.**

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

I’m so nervous for the rest of the day, I can’t even concentrate on math. I can’t shake the feeling that Marie is in danger and that it’s my fault.

When Julian finally comes to get me for dinner, I’m on pins and needles. As soon as he walks in, I bombard him with questions.

“Is she okay? Marie, I mean. You didn’t do anything to her, right?”

“Why would you ask me that? I told her it was fine to come in.”

“I thought…”

“You thought I killed her?” He arches a brow in questioning.

I feel ashamed to admit it, but nod since there isn’t any point in lying to him. Julian is cruel, sinister, and I know he wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone. Man or woman.

“I didn’t kill her… but your concern for her well-being is interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“Maybe that’s not the right word. Convenient would be better.”

“What that’s supposed to mean?” I’m almost afraid to find out.

“At the event I’m taking you to, I need you to behave. I need you to act a certain way and do things you might not want to do, but you will do them because if you don’t, Marie might get hurt.” The words slowly enter my mind, and I piece the puzzle together.

“You’re using her against me,” I growl angrily.

“Yes, but I will not harm her if you behave, and I will reward you. I will give you more freedom. All you have to do is prove yourself to me.”

“Prove myself? What does that even mean?” I toss my hands into the air. “I’ve never done anything for you not to trust me. I’ve played all your games, never fought you on anything. I let you keep me in your bedroom without complaining. I think I’ve proven myself enough… maybe you are the one who needs to prove himself to me.”

As soon as the last bit leaves my mouth, I regret saying it. Not because it’s not true, but because I don’t want to provoke Julian.

Author Bio:

J.L. Beck is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, she has written over fifty different romance novels. She started her journey of writing back in 2014 and hasn't slowed down a second since then.

She's captivated by real romance, and loves reading about strong "ALPHA" males, as well as sassy heroines that know or may not know what they want. She is best known for delivering a happily ever after but has ended things on a cliffhanger a time or two.

When she's not typing away at her next book you can find her being a mom to her two adorable kiddos and wife to her high school sweetheart.

She's obsessed with Starbucks, social media, and is definitely more of a dog person than cat.

Author links:
Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Born and raised in Germany, Cassandra moved to the United States when she was eighteen. She always had a love for reading, that love slowly transpired into writing. She put fingers to the keyboard and started writing about the dark side of romance.

Cassandra is one half of the international bestselling author duo Beck & Hallman, who are most knows for the writing the Northwood University series.
The pair also write under the pen name Jenna Reed.

Author links:
Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Bookbub / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway