Welcome to the blog tour for A CHEF’S KISS, the first book in the adult contemporary romance series, Small Town Secrets, by Nina Crespo. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
A CHEF’S KISS (Small Town Secrets Series #1) by Nina Crespo
Synopsis A satisfying, sexy romantic story from Harlequin’s Special Edition Imprint
A welcome second chance…Or a recipe for disaster?
After their ill-fated fling quashed her dreams, small-town chef Philippa Gayle’s onetime rival-turned-lover Dominic Crawford upended her life. But when Philippa’s forced together with the celebrity cook on a project that could change her life, there’s no denying that the flames that were lit years ago were only banked, not extinguished. Can Philippa trust Dominic enough to let him in…or are they just cooking up another heartbreak?
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Excerpt Philippa fastened the last black button on her crisp new lime-green kitchen jacket. So much for a simple staff presentation. Not only was she expected to introduce Dominic, per Zurie’s request, she now had to stay for his entire cooking demonstration.
She snatched the empty packaging for the jacket from her desk. Underneath it was the bio for Dominic that his publicist had dropped off not too long ago.
Chef extraordinaire. Bestselling author. Star of an acclaimed cooking show. A pampered chef focused on his public persona. Was that who she was dealing with for the next few weeks?
As she stepped out of her office into the kitchen, a few of the staff walked by.
“I don’t care what he makes,” one of the servers said. “I just want to hear his voice as he describes it. He could make mud pies sound irresistible.”
Philippa kept her face neutral as she followed behind them, but inside, she gave an inner eye roll”
“I’m just glad he’s not like some celebrities,” a kitchen helper responded. “The way he stood up for us about where we could sit in the dining room proves he actually cares about people who work in the kitchen.”
Stood up for them? Was there not enough seats?
Philippa flagged down Quinn. “I heard something about there being a problem with seating for the demo. Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yes, it’s fine now. There was just some mix-up with the publicity person. She said all the Pasture Lane employees would have to sit in the back and let everyone else sit up front. But Dominic set her straight.”
As Quinn rushed into the dining room, Philippa hung back and peered through the window near the top of the right-hand door.
“How does it look out there?”
The resonant tone of Dominic’s voice coming from behind ignited a frisson of awareness that moved along Philippa’s spine and tingled across her nape.
“It’s a full house.” She calmed an unsteady breath and faced him.
Up close, he looked even better than he had in the lobby. But hints of fatigue were in his eyes. She hadn’t taken his present work schedule into consideration when she’d asked him to do the cooking demo.
“Thank you…”
“I’m sorry…”
They both spoke at the same time.
Dominic gestured for her to speak first.
“I appreciate you adding this to your full schedule. And for making sure my staff have front-row seats. If they weren’t already fans of chef extraordinaire, Dominic Crawford, they are now.”
“Chef extraordinaire?”
She’d meant to tease him, but from his slight wince, her attempt had fallen flat. “That didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I was just referring to the intro Amber gave me.”
“I should have guessed.” He smiled, but as he glanced at the paper in her hand a shadow of discomfort moved across his face. “You don’t have to say all that. Owner of Frost & Flame is fine.”
“And have Amber come after me? No, thank you.”
Dominic gave a low chuckle. “Yeah, she’s insistent.” He took a step forward and the subtle notes of his cologne wafted into the space between them. “About the changes with the demo. I—”
The door opened behind Philippa, pitching her forward, and her hand with the paper landed on his solid chest.
Dominic took hold of her arms. “You okay?”
As she looked into his eyes, familiarity washed over her. The automatic desire to lean into him almost overwhelmed her.
Amber peeked past the door. “Chef Gayle, good. You’re right where you’re supposed to be.”
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Author Nina Crespo
About the Author Nina Crespo lives in Florida where she indulges in her favorite passions — the beach, a good glass of wine, date night with her own real-life hero and dancing.
Her lifelong addiction to romance began in her teens while on a “borrowing spree” in her older sister’s bedroom where she discovered her first romance novel.
Let Nina’s sensual contemporary stories and steamy paranormal tales feed your own addiction for love, romance, and happily ever after.
Stay connected with Nina on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or through her newsletter.
Today is release day for A CHEF’S KISS, the first book in the adult contemporary romance series, Small Town Secrets, by Nina Crespo. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
A CHEF’S KISS (Small Town Secrets Series #1) by Nina Crespo
Synopsis A satisfying, sexy romantic story from Harlequin’s Special Edition Imprint
A welcome second chance…Or a recipe for disaster?
After their ill-fated fling quashed her dreams, small-town chef Philippa Gayle’s onetime rival-turned-lover Dominic Crawford upended her life. But when Philippa’s forced together with the celebrity cook on a project that could change her life, there’s no denying that the flames that were lit years ago were only banked, not extinguished. Can Philippa trust Dominic enough to let him in…or are they just cooking up another heartbreak?
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Excerpt Philippa fastened the last black button on her crisp new lime-green kitchen jacket. So much for a simple staff presentation. Not only was she expected to introduce Dominic, per Zurie’s request, she now had to stay for his entire cooking demonstration.
She snatched the empty packaging for the jacket from her desk. Underneath it was the bio for Dominic that his publicist had dropped off not too long ago.
Chef extraordinaire. Bestselling author. Star of an acclaimed cooking show. A pampered chef focused on his public persona. Was that who she was dealing with for the next few weeks?
As she stepped out of her office into the kitchen, a few of the staff walked by.
“I don’t care what he makes,” one of the servers said. “I just want to hear his voice as he describes it. He could make mud pies sound irresistible.”
Philippa kept her face neutral as she followed behind them, but inside, she gave an inner eye roll”
“I’m just glad he’s not like some celebrities,” a kitchen helper responded. “The way he stood up for us about where we could sit in the dining room proves he actually cares about people who work in the kitchen.”
Stood up for them? Was there not enough seats?
Philippa flagged down Quinn. “I heard something about there being a problem with seating for the demo. Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yes, it’s fine now. There was just some mix-up with the publicity person. She said all the Pasture Lane employees would have to sit in the back and let everyone else sit up front. But Dominic set her straight.”
As Quinn rushed into the dining room, Philippa hung back and peered through the window near the top of the right-hand door.
“How does it look out there?”
The resonant tone of Dominic’s voice coming from behind ignited a frisson of awareness that moved along Philippa’s spine and tingled across her nape.
“It’s a full house.” She calmed an unsteady breath and faced him.
Up close, he looked even better than he had in the lobby. But hints of fatigue were in his eyes. She hadn’t taken his present work schedule into consideration when she’d asked him to do the cooking demo.
“Thank you…”
“I’m sorry…”
They both spoke at the same time.
Dominic gestured for her to speak first.
“I appreciate you adding this to your full schedule. And for making sure my staff have front-row seats. If they weren’t already fans of chef extraordinaire, Dominic Crawford, they are now.”
“Chef extraordinaire?”
She’d meant to tease him, but from his slight wince, her attempt had fallen flat. “That didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I was just referring to the intro Amber gave me.”
“I should have guessed.” He smiled, but as he glanced at the paper in her hand a shadow of discomfort moved across his face. “You don’t have to say all that. Owner of Frost & Flame is fine.”
“And have Amber come after me? No, thank you.”
Dominic gave a low chuckle. “Yeah, she’s insistent.” He took a step forward and the subtle notes of his cologne wafted into the space between them. “About the changes with the demo. I—”
The door opened behind Philippa, pitching her forward, and her hand with the paper landed on his solid chest.
Dominic took hold of her arms. “You okay?”
As she looked into his eyes, familiarity washed over her. The automatic desire to lean into him almost overwhelmed her.
Amber peeked past the door. “Chef Gayle, good. You’re right where you’re supposed to be.”
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Author Nina Crespo
About the Author Nina Crespo lives in Florida where she indulges in her favorite passions — the beach, a good glass of wine, date night with her own real-life hero and dancing.
Her lifelong addiction to romance began in her teens while on a “borrowing spree” in her older sister’s bedroom where she discovered her first romance novel.
Let Nina’s sensual contemporary stories and steamy paranormal tales feed your own addiction for love, romance, and happily ever after.
Stay connected with Nina on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or through her newsletter.
Welcome to the book blitz for IMPERFECT, a standalone adult contemporary romantic suspense by Holly Carr. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis She isn’t looking for love. He’s running from it.
A workplace crush is supposed to be light-hearted. Frivolous, even. Just some daydream inspiration to make the hours go faster, or to fill in twenty boring minutes.
Sam isn’t ready to develop actual feelings for someone. Not with Logan still looming so large in her heart, and especially not when the subject of her infatuation is her new employer.
Alex doesn’t plan to fall in love ever again. Not after what happened with Victoria.
But fate seems determined to begin an unwanted love story, and a tentative romance blossoms as Alex and Sam battle the malicious sabotage of a rival company.
That is, until Alex’s evil ex-wife re-enters his life, threatening to take custody of their daughter.
Sam’s determination to help the desperate man stand up for himself brings the two would-be lovers closer, but Victoria’s antics only highlight to Alex the dangers of leaving himself vulnerable.
Can Sam convince him to set aside eleven years of stanch celibacy and give into his feelings?
And just how did he get that mysterious scar on his face?
This contemporary romantic suspense novel is perfect for readers with a soft spot for a hesitant love story, a single dad, and a relatable heroine.
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Excerpt #2 Belatedly comprehending that her shock must have registered on her face, Sam placed her hand on his shoulder and tried to relax. A smile came tentatively to her face, but Alex’s returned expression was more distracted than anything. They began swaying in time to the music as he finally spoke.
‘Sorry if you didn’t want to dance,’ he apologised. ‘I didn’t want to talk to anyone else, and this seemed like a good way to keep people from interrupting.’
Sam shook her head. ‘Don’t apologise,’ she reassured him. ‘I like to dance. You just surprised me.’
Alex’s answering smile was more convincing than his last attempt. She became aware of his closeness as they moved through the throng, her thoughts straying back to their kiss. Her lips, jawline and neck were cool and tingling, contrasting against the rest of her heated skin. She felt vulnerable, like the private sensation on her skin was visible to him in some way.
Was he thinking about their kiss too, or was he preoccupied with their failed mission? Surprisingly, he soon revealed he was thinking about neither.
‘Where did you learn to tie such a perfect a Windsor knot?’ he asked.
Sam’s answering laugh was perhaps a tad giddy. She was relieved he hadn’t picked up on her neediness. ‘YouTube,’ she said. ‘My husband was terrible at it, so I had to learn how to do it for him. He claimed having little hands helped me, but really I think he just didn’t have the patience.’
She’d mentioned Logan without thinking, and almost stepped on Alex’s foot when her words caught up with her. She rarely spoke about her lost love, let alone so casually. The ease of her intimate admission overwhelmed her so much she almost missed Alex’s surprise entirely.
He’d gripped her hand a little tighter at the word ‘husband’, and she prayed he wouldn’t focus on her slip. To her relief, he didn’t mention it.
‘You do have small hands,’ he mused after a small pause. ‘And long fingers, come to think of it. Do you play an instrument?’
Sam chose to fall back on humour to mask how off balance she still felt. ‘That depends on your follow-up questions,’ she said. ‘Are you going to ask me to audition for your band, or are you just in the mood for a soulful rendition of “Three Blind Mice” on the recorder?’
Alex laughed out loud at this, attracting the attention of a few other couples around them. One woman seemed especially interested in their joke, forcing her dance partner to turn around so her back was no longer to Alex.
She was unpleasantly attractive, in the sort of way that was a little too well groomed. Her thin body was perfectly draped in an expensive silk dress, and her impeccably dyed and coifed hair was crowned by a fascinator Sam was sure at least one animal had died to contribute to.
The woman smiled predatorily at Alex, her talon-like nails gripping the shoulder of her dance partner a little tighter. Fine lines crossing her hands made a mockery of her too smooth face. She seemed decidedly more used to looking down her nose at people than smiling at them, however obnoxiously.
‘Alex,’ she said, nodding condescendingly.
Sam realised they knew each other, and she swiftly looked back at Alex.
He’d stopped dancing, his hand going limp and clammy in hers. His face was similarly slack with shock, and she suspected he wasn’t breathing. Whoever this woman was, Alex wasn’t pleased to see her.
The unpleasant woman’s smile widened at his obvious discomfort, and she pointedly turned her gaze to Sam. She sneered a little while looking the younger woman up and down, evidently not impressed with what she saw. Feeling defensive, Sam reminded herself she preferred to dress according to her own tastes, and not to suit the demands of current fashion. This skirt was her favourite piece.
‘Bit young for you, isn’t she?’ asked the woman, lazily. ‘Better get her some Botox if you want her to stay that way.’
Still visibly shaken, Alex didn’t respond.
The woman’s dance partner had a chuckle though and turned to smirk at them. His gaze lowered to Sam’s cleavage and lingered a moment, before looking back up at Alex. ‘Not going to introduce us?’ he asked, his face widening into a grin to rival the woman’s.
They both laughed at this, and Alex flinched.
Frightened of his reaction and sick of being sneered at, Sam let her big mouth do what it did best. ‘Excuse me,’ she said sweetly to the woman, gesturing to her fur and feather headdress. ‘Did you know your cat has caught a bird?’
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Author Holly Carr
About the Author Holly Carr was born in Victoria, Australia, where she still lives today with her husband and a cat with no sense of personal space. She graduated from Deakin University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts (Public Relations), majoring in Literary Studies.
Holly first began writing creatively while she was at university, only setting aside her incomplete manuscript due to time constraints. It took ten years before she finally sat down to write again, and her first completed novel ‘IMPERFECT’ practically wrote itself. She enjoyed the experience so much she has already begun work on another.
When she takes a break from writing, she enjoys occasional visits from her grown-up son, pole dancing, eating far too much Mexican food, and pretending to know a lot about wine.
You can get the first two chapters of her forthcoming novel ‘UNLUCKY’ for free at her website www.hollycarr.com.au, or follow her on Facebook @hollycarrauthor and Instagram @holly_ylloh_holly.
Entangled Amara and USA Today bestselling author, Michelle McLean are revealing the cover to THE GUNSLINGER’S GUIDE TO AVOIDING MATRIMONY, the second book in the adult historical romantic comedy, releasing July 26, 2022. See below for the cover, information on the book and series, preorder links, and a link to add it to your Goodreads TBR.
THE GUNSLINGER’S GUIDE TO AVOIDING MATRIMONY (Gunslinger Series #2) by Michelle McLean
Synopsis This gunslinger has two rules, and he’s about to break both of them for her in this next installment of the laugh-out-loud western romcom from Michelle McLean.
About the Author USA Today bestselling author Michelle McLean is a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who is addicted to chocolate and Goldfish crackers and spent most of her formative years with her nose in a book. She has degrees in history and English and is thrilled that she sort of gets to use them. Her novel Truly, Madly, Sweetly, written as Kira Archer, was adapted as a Hallmark Original movie in 2018.
When Michelle’s not working, reading, or chasing her kids around, she can usually be found baking, diamond painting, or trying to find free wall space upon which to hang her diamond paintings. She resides in PA with her husband and two teens, the world’s most spoiled dog, and a cat who absolutely rules the house. She also writes contemporary romance as Kira Archer.
Welcome to the blog tour for SIDE EFFECTS, the fourth book in the adult contemporary romance series, Ripple Effects, by L.J. Greene. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
Ally Michels is fresh out of her MBA program at Cal and has landed her dream job at hot, up-and-coming video game developer, Jet Stream Studios, all thanks to her uncle, Jet’s largest venture capital investor. She’s feeling pretty good about her future until an inadvertent blurt in a company meeting brings down upon her the dangerous attention of Jet’s co-founder and chief developer, Marcus Abby.
Beautiful, brilliant, and vicious, Marcus is every bit the arrogant, deceitful founder her uncle warned her about. But in the power-fueled world of venture capital investing, things aren’t always what they seem. When Ally finds herself caught up in a play for corporate control, she must work with Marcus to save the company and an ideal she believes in, while navigating perilous family loyalties and fighting to hold onto her own integrity.
For Ally, there’s just one rule: never, ever trust Marcus Abby. Because the one man she needs to stop a high-stakes plot is the one man who has every reason to want her gone.
SIDE EFFECTS is an adult contemporary, twisty, underhanded, certainly unscrupulous . . . romance.
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Excerpt #2
For the first time I struck a blow. I could see it in his face for just a moment before the reaction was quickly shuttered.
As usual he turned the tables with another question. “What are you going to do?”
“What am I going to do?”
His response was a hard stare.
And then it dawned on me—the murderous look in the board meeting when I started to speak up about the game wasn’t about me. I was partially right that he didn’t want me to defend him; he didn’t want them to know what I’d seen. He was worried about that. Was still worried about it. That’s why he’d sought me out.
I probably should have gone to Julian. After all, I loved this job, this company. I wanted to see it succeed and to contribute to that success over many years. These charades Marcus was playing—whatever they were—could threaten everything. There was good reason to think the things they were saying about him were true. And he certainly had no love for me.
So maybe it was just bizarre empathy for someone who probably struggled as I did to fit in in a world that told us we had to be an athlete or a supermodel or a jokester to be considered enough. Or maybe it was because we were the same age, both fighting to be taken seriously despite the obvious handicap of our youth. Or maybe I just respected him and what he’d accomplished, even if I didn’t like him.
It must have been that. Some Midwest sense of fairness that said a man should be judged on the full merits of his work.
I was certain of one thing, if nothing else. “It’s not my place to tell them, and I won’t.”
Marcus studied my face, hard, as though this answer was somehow suspect. But the long, searching look wasn’t quite laced with the usual hostility. It felt surprisingly . . . unguarded.
“Marcus, what are you doing?”
But that question was one bridge too far. I saw the moment he shut down, his expression closing to something significantly more restrained. His usual.
So fine, whatever was going on here, whatever repercussions may come to him, this was a situation he had brought upon himself, and he had no one else to blame for it.
“Never mind,” I said into the silence. “You don’t trust me.”
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About the Author Romance author, obsessive multi-tasker, California native, music lover with no apparent musical talent, travel enthusiast, and cheese connoisseur...
Welcome to the book blitz for RETURN ALL, the second book in the adult contemporary romantic comedy series, Rebirth, by Eve Dangerfield. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis Hundreds of women have tried to win Derek over, but the only girl he’s loved is nowhere to be found…
Derek Hardiman has been crowned a football prodigy—but success came at the cost of his dorky high school sweetheart, Mara Temple. A decade after she left town, he still can’t imagine marrying someone who isn’t her…
Traveling for most of her twenties, Mara has returned home with a designer wardrobe, a sweet puppy, and a new last name. What better to keep her surly ex-boyfriend from recognizing her?
When Mara and Derek are thrown back into each other’s lives the obsession that began when they were teenagers returns in full force. Derek can hardly believe the goddess his once-awkward lover has become, and he’s determined to win her back. But Mara is determined not to give in to the hype surrounding her bachelor superstar ex. Unfortunately, Derek has always lived up to the hype. After all, a girl only has one daddy…
Should true love get a second chance?
Return All is a standalone second chance romance by critically acclaimed author Eve Dangerfield.
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Excerpt #2 Buoyed by her secret, Mara padded toward the darkened door. Trance music pounded behind it. A low, almost violent sound that matched her panicked heartbeat. She imagined Derek pacing behind the door like a wolf. She knocked, her skin burning with excitement. She hoped he wasn’t there. And then the door swung open.
Derek wore his dark suit with the inelegance of men who were more comfortable bare-chested, but that only added to his power. He glowered at her like it was her fault he was so gorgeously penned in. His tattoos curled over his collar and cuffs, straining at his civility. His cologne smelled of wood fire and cherries and as he watched her, his gaze locked on her breasts, Mara was sure he was going to snap, tear her coat off and take her.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Nice jacket.” He leaned against the doorway, looking her up and down. “What’s underneath it?”
Mara’s tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
He laughed. “I guess I’ll find out, huh?”
She moved to walk past him, but he pressed a hand to the other side of the door frame. “Where’s my hello?”
“Hello?”
“Not that.” He turned his face to the side tapping his cheek. He was throwing down the gauntlet already.
She looked around. No one was in the hall. Why did it matter if she kissed Derek on the cheek? She stood on her toes, pressing her lips to him, and felt the stubble beneath his skin. His cologne mixed with his raw, dizzying animal scent and she exhaled, feeling dizzy. Then she caught a whiff of something she couldn’t place. She inhaled.
“Are you smelling me?”
She grinned. “You still smoke.”
He scowled. “Not all the time.”
“But tonight?” She pointed to the balcony she could see behind him. “Out there maybe?”
He looked away.
“I can’t believe it! You’re an athlete. You’re a role model.”
“That’s enough,” he growled, sliding a hand around her. “Get in here, Little Miss.”
Mara allowed herself to be bundled into the room. It was a lovely suite, white with a cream carpet and floor-to-ceiling windows. Derek directed her to the living room where a red velvet couch waited in front of a flat-screen TV. The coffee table was laid with platters of fresh fruit, cupcakes, and cookies. The hostess in Mara admired the effort, the girl wondered how much she was going to be expected to eat. She hated wasting food. Maybe Derek had arranged a secret orgy. Maybe seventeen other girls were due to arrive in matching bodysuits.
“Like the room?”
She could feel Derek staring at her ass, albeit through the coat. “It’s nice.”
A small huff. “You think it’s too expensive, don’t you?”
“No,” she lied.
“Glad to hear it.” He strode to a standing ice bucket where a bottle of Dom Perignon waited. “Drink?”
Mara swallowed. She wanted champagne, but not the time spent sitting around drinking it. “Maybe we could just…?”
“Go into the bedroom?”
She nodded.
Derek raised a dark brow. “You can’t even say it, but you want me to drop everything and fuck you like you’re some whore I booked for the night?”
“I… yes?”
Derek shoved his hands in his suit pockets. “Lemme get this straight. We used to try and grab fifteen minutes together before Maths and now we’ve got all the time in the world and you want to be strangers hammering away at each other again?”
Mara plucked a strawberry from one of the platters. “Pretty much.”
“What about what I want?”
Mara nibbled the strawberry. Tart sweetness spread across her tongue. “What do you want?”
“I want us to spend some time together before I take you into the other room and turn you out.” Derek’s jaw was set, his dark eyes unblinking. He had his game face on, and God only knew what that meant for her body. She needed to shift the vibe of this encounter, fast. She flashed him a smile. “But your card said—”
“It said to meet me here at 7. Not meet me here at 7 so you can get fucked and run out on me again, little girl.”
Mara ignored the surge of heat between her legs. “You sent me lingerie. You said you’d wear a suit. We both know what that means.”
“What does it mean?”
Damn him. He knew she couldn’t say it. She picked up a gingerbread cookie and bit into it, tasting spice and sugar. “Whatever. You lured me here under false pretenses.”
“What did I promise that I didn’t deliver?”
“You sent me an eye mask and ropes.”
“And I’ve yet to see either of them. Or the bodysuit. Where’s the proof you’ve got it on?”
Mara opened the coat, swishing it back and exposing the bodysuit beneath. A muscle leaped in Derek’s jaw. “The ties?”
She held out her Givenchy bag. “In here. Can we go to bed now?”
“Not yet.” He moved toward her, letting his feet hover before each step. He was teasing her, stalking her like a hungry animal. But she wouldn’t let him win. She’d keep snacking until he gave up and took her to bed.
A ghost of a smile passed over his face. “What am I going to do with you, Mara?”
She took another small bite of the cookie. “You make a deal with me?”
“That would set a bad precedent.”
“Why?”
He looked her over, his gaze dragging across her nipples. “Anything I want from you, I’ll take.”
She swallowed, almost choking on her biscuit. “Okay, well, anytime you want to start, I’m here.”
His face softened and that was scarier than his hulking presence in the doorway. “Mara… I know it’s been forever and a day, but come on. It’s me.”
He said it as though she should know which ‘me’ he meant. As though he wasn’t standing in front of her in a ten-thousand-dollar suit with a decade worth of new tattoos and stories she didn’t know. It struck her, how much of a stranger he was. The way he stood without slouching.
The way he talked, saying ‘precedent’ and ‘forever and a day.’
So much of what she remembered about Derek had frozen at the age of eighteen. To have him moving and talking in front of her was unnerving. It had been so much easier when he was screwing her brains out at the Sofitel. He’d been like a 3D printout of the man who’d driven her wild as a teenager.
“Mara?”
She saw him kneeling on her grandma’s couch, looking at her with the same imploring eyes. ‘You’re the only person who’s ever meant anything to me, baby.’
To her horror, Mara found she was about one second away from crying. She stuffed the rest of the gingerbread cookie in her mouth, casting a quick glance at Derek. His face blurred between the boy she knew and the man everyone knew. She recalled the famous photo of him, walking out of a Vegas Casino with a stunning blonde on his arm. He’d a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and his sunglasses on. She’d only been able to endure that photo because she knew he’d gone beyond her. But now he was here, buying her underwear and strawberries and trying to talk to her. That wasn’t okay. She had nothing to say to this uncanny blend of man and myth. She wanted to exist in her own little world with minimal brush-over from his.
She squared her shoulders. “Derek, I’m wearing a bodysuit and heels. I came to your hotel room at night. I know you have… feelings about us. But I didn’t come here to talk about the past.”
His jaw tensed. “Okay.”
“I don’t want to sound rude. But I don’t want to go there.”
She flinched as he strode toward her, but he merely grabbed the champagne from the ice bucket. “So, you came here to get some dick, did you?”
Mara tried to smile. “Something like that.”
“So that’s all you want it to be between us? Just fucking?”
She recalled the laughing blonde under his arm in Vegas. “Yes, I do.”
He stood motionless and Mara wondered if he was going to ask her to leave. Then he tore the foil from the neck of the champagne. “Fine. Start acting like this is about fucking.”
About the Author Eve Dangerfield has loved romance novels ever since she first swiped her grandmother’s paperbacks. Now she writes her own stories about complicated women and gorgeous-but-slightly-tortured men. Her work has been described as ‘genre-defying,’ ‘insanely hot’ and ‘the defibrillator contemporary romance needs right now’…and not just by herself or those who might need bone marrow…OTHER PEOPLE! She lives in Melbourne with her boy and a bunch of semi-dead plants. She can generally be found making a mess.
Author Deirdre Riordan Hall is revealing the cover to TWO TRUTHS AND ONE LIAR, the first book in the young adult mystery/thriller series, High School Murder Mystery, releasing December 28, 2021. See below for the cover, information on the book, preorder links, and a link to add it your Goodreads TBR.
TWO TRUTHS AND ONE LIAR (High School Murder Mystery Series #1) by Deirdre Riordan Hall
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited
Title: TWO TRUTHS AND ONE LIAR Series: High School Murder Mystery Series #1 Authors: Deirdre Riordan Hall Release Date: December 28, 2021 Genre: Young Adult Mystery/Thriller Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis Knives Out meets One of Us is Lying with a hint of the Inheritance Games. Like the original whodunnit, Clue, this suspenseful mystery also has three possible endings explaining what could have happened.
They all have secrets. They all have motives. They all tell lies.
Every year, at a prestigious boarding school, Professor Groff hosts the Midnight Masquerade. But this year, before the festivities, he’s discovered dead in his office. Yet six students still receive invitations. The same six students who’re questioned about his murder.
The show must go on. At the Masquerade, two additional students claim to know the truth. The lights go out and when they come back on, one of them is dead. Anyone could’ve been at fault.
Francisca blind in one eye and deadly on the rugby field. Toshi a number ninja and the campus punching bag. Taz who struggles with anxiety and lingers in the shadows. Fish the golden boy hiding wounds and not only in his heart. Caroline the heiress and the image of perfection. Gorgeous George the resident Greek God with nothing to lose.
The six receive anonymous notes, making them question themselves and the assumptions they’ve made about each other. Brought back together, they must prove their innocence before the all-school meeting the next morning, otherwise, they risk humiliation if their secrets are exposed exposed—and worse, if they’re found guilty.
It’s a long night of theft, danger, and threats by a secret society that shows Professor Groff was right during his final lecture.
Everything that can go wrong will.
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Author Deirdre Riordan Hall
About C.A. Rene Deirdre Riordan Hall is the author of the contemporary young adult bestsellers Sugar and Pearl as well as the High School Murder Mystery series. She’s in an ongoing pursuit of words, waves, and wonder. Her love language involves a basket of chips, salsa, and guacamole, preferably when shared with her family.
Welcome to the book blitz for IT’S A WONDERFUL LIE, the first book in the adult contemporary holiday romance series, Heaven on Earth, by Wren Michaels. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIE (Heaven on Earth Series #1) by Wren Michaels
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited
Title: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIE Series: Heaven on Earth Series #1 Author: Wren Michaels Publisher: City Owl Press: Mystic Owl Release Date: December 9, 2021 Genre: Adult Contemporary Holiday Romance Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis He was sent to save her life, but ended up losing his heart, memories, and clothes.
Eden Credere should be in Barbados with her new husband. Instead, it was like she married Murphy and his law was ruining her life. She’d lost her dad, her job, her best friend, and her fiancé. After drowning her sorrows with rum and eggnog on Christmas Eve, she takes a tumble in a tree lot with a Douglas Fir, sending Eden over the edge.
Theliel has watched over Eden her entire life, from her first steps to her latest, where she dove in a tree lot. He’s always been there to save her, and this time should have been no different—until it was. As her guardian angel, he’s not supposed to be seen, but one corporeal slip-up later, and he’s got a lot of explaining to do.
As Theliel works to convince Eden why the world is a much better place with her in it, he finds himself the one falling, and it’s Eden who catches his heart. In a twist of fate, Theliel must not earn his wings, but his humanity by convincing Eden they’re meant to be together.
The only problem is neither of them remember who he is when he wakes up on Christmas morning in a snowbank with no memories and no clothes. With the magic of Christmas in the air, love in their hearts, a vision of yoga pants, and maybe a little help from their “friends”, all they have to do is believe.
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Excerpt #1 Swiping my tearstained face, I made my way over to the myriad of trees and tried to make a quick decision. I had to get out of there fast. I couldn’t “people” anymore today. I would either end up a blubbering mess under the blow-up lawn ornaments or in jail from high-fiving the heartless cashier right in the face who couldn’t fork over thirty cents to help a kid buy a Christmas wreath.
In my unstable mindset, I made the poor choice to go for the nine-foot Douglas fir. As I yanked the leaning tree from the fence, little did I know I held a death trap in the palm of my sticky hand. The laws of physics mocked my existence as the tree toppled over, taking my five-foot, six-inch frame with it.
It’s completely true how your life flashed before your eyes in those last seconds of mortality. Mine happened to be stuck on repeat of Grayson stuffing Suzie as I cursed his name in all six languages I spoke. If he hadn’t cheated on me, I’d be in Barbados as Mrs. Jilani, not splattered on the floor of Trees-R-Us as the jilted Eden Credere.
Instead of hitting the cold, snow-covered ground, something strong cradled the back of my head, radiating a warmth that caressed my skin and soothed what should have been my shattered bones. I would have sworn there were no customers around me as I hid my ever-blackening soul in the back forty of the tree lot. No one could have caught me that fast. Then again, one hundred pounds of Douglas fir swallowed my face, so my vantage point skewed a bit.
“Thank you, Lord,” I whispered on the breath that whooshed out of my lungs.
A melodic yet husky chuckle vibrated around me, filling me with the same warmth that held my head in some bubble of safety. Maybe I did hit the ground, and the warmth was a pool of my own blood. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities with as much rum and eggnog as I’d consumed earlier.
“Believe me, I am not the Lord.” A voice surrounded me, and heat tingled straight to my toes, as if his tone resonated just for my ears.
“Oh good, because if you were, I’d be really upset that I’m meeting him in yoga pants and no makeup.” Sometimes the things that came out of my mouth missed the sanity filter in my brain.
Another chuckle vibrated against me before it halted, followed by a sharp intake of air. “You heard that?”
With pine needles burrowing into my closed eyelids, I couldn’t be sure I was actually talking to another person and not just myself. “Heard what?”
“What I said. I didn’t mean for you to hear it.” Worry strained his words as he softened his voice.
“You didn’t exactly whisper it, and seeing as how you caught me like a ninja, you had to be nearby. Which reminds me, I still have a tree on my face. I don’t suppose you’d help get it off me? I’ll buy you a coffee or a beer or something.”
“I’m so sorry. Of course. I…I was caught off guard. Let me help you up,” he stammered.
“Well, I suppose anyone would be caught off guard while having to dive for some stranger being eaten by a tree. Unless you’re like a lumberjack and see that kind of thing all the time.” The spiked eggnog I’d had for breakfast now seemed like a really bad idea as the stupid tumbled out of my mouth in droves.
His harmonious chuckle returned and enveloped me again, like tiny ripples of pleasure bouncing off my body. I loved this man’s laugh, and I hadn’t even seen his face. In the span of thirty seconds, I’d developed some freaky fetish where all I wanted to do was have him laugh near me so I could swaddle in the warmth and happiness of his voice.
Shit, what the hell did I put in that eggnog? Was it expired?
“Hold still,” the mystery man said.
He eased me to the ground. Cold snow soaked the back of my head, my hair sucking it up like a slushy. I cursed the blasted New Jersey winters in three ancient tongues. I’d probably pay for that later, but as an archaeologist, I rarely got to use all the dead languages I studied. Now seemed like a good time.
The tree whisked away from my face, and I blinked my eyes open. The gasp that followed sucked in so much cold air, an erratic series of hiccups erupted. Another sign I was more than likely drunk—Thor hovered over me, or at least he could have passed for his twin brother. Thick blond locks of hair danced across his broad shoulders in the light breeze, framing his marble-smooth, chiseled face. The bluest eyes I’d ever seen sparkled like an ocean, and if I stared into them long enough, I was sure they’d take me to a whole other world. Those eyes looked hauntingly familiar. Where had I seen them before?
“You’ve got quite the naughty mouth, Eden,” he said, warming me with his voice and a smile that probably dropped a lot of panties. He slid his arms under my back and lifted me from the ground as if I weighed nothing. Boy, would he have a backache in the morning.
“How do you know my name? Have we met before?” I blinked again, reassuring myself I hadn’t passed out and that I was indeed alive, awake, and in Thor’s arms.
“Um, your driver’s license was on the ground. Must have fallen out when the tree landed on you.” He glanced away from my inquiring stare.
Hmm, plausible, since I had stuffed my debit card and license in my pocket instead of carrying a purse today. I only planned on getting a tree and going right back home. I dared not go anywhere else on Christmas Eve with all the crazies on the road.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and found both cards there. Did he put it back? Surely I would have felt it. But it had been a while since I’d had a man’s hand in my pants. Grayson and I stopped having sex about six months before the marriage that never happened. He wanted the wedding night to be special. Yeah, so special because he was basting the neighbor.
Wait, he said I had a naughty mouth, meaning this dude knew I cursed in a dead language. Or maybe he assumed it was cursing, since Aramaic and ancient Greek sounded a lot like my angry Italian mother.
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Author Wren Michaels
About the Author Wren hails from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin where beer and cheese are their own food groups. But a cowboy swept her off her feet and carried her to Texas, where she promptly lost all tolerance for cold and snow. Fueled by coffee, dreams, and men in kilts, Wren promises to bring you laughter, heart-fluttering romance, and action that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Author C.A. Rene and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Yolanda Olson are revealing the cover to MIMIC, a standalone adult post-apocalyptic dystopian romance, releasing November 14, 2022. See below for the cover, information on the book, preorder links, and a link to add it your Goodreads TBR.
Synopsis The world died before I had a chance to take a breath.
There’s a small number of survivors scattered around what was once Los Angeles. At least, that’s what I think this piece of land used to be called. I can only go by what I’ve been told, and the one person that guided me and kept me safe died seven years ago.
With her last dying breath, she told me that I’m special. That I can fix this, and so I hunt. Scavenge for the scraps that haven’t been turned to poison, for the animals that can provide a meal for the ones I’m hiding in my home. But that’s a dangerous thing now.
I’ve stumbled across a family that hunts more than just animals. Anything they see as a threat, they’ll take down. Find the cure or watch what’s left of humanity die. I have to take this burden on my shoulders because I promised her that I would. I just didn’t know how difficult things would get until I saw them.
Because he has something I want, and I won’t stop until I take it from him.
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Author C.A. Rene
About C.A. Rene I like to write about twisty dark things, you know… since my life is lollipops and rainbows. The computer screen is my canvas and the keyboard my brush, thank you for viewing my masterpieces.
About Yolanda Olson Yolanda Olson is a USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author. Born and raised in Bridgeport, CT where she currently resides, she usually spends her time watching her favorite channel, Investigation Discovery. Occasionally, she takes a break to write books and test the limits of her mind. Also an avid horror movie fan, she likes to incorporate dark elements into the majority of her books.
Welcome to the book blitz for THE MAGI MENAGERIE, the first book in the young adult/new historical adult fantasy series, The Magi Menagerie, by Kale Lawrence. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway. For a limited time, you can pick up the eBook for just $1.99.
THE MAGI MENAGERIE (The Magi Menagerie Series #1) by Kale Lawrence
For seventeen years, Ezra Newport and his parents were habitual immigrants, traveling from their Ottoman Empire home across 20th century Europe. As the Newports migrate to Belfast, Ireland, Ezra wants nothing more to settle into a consistent life and lay the foundation of his architectural dreams. But after a strange, mechanical bounty hunter murders his mother and prompts the disappearance of his father, Ezra discovers that his parents had actually been on the run. Now, their enemies are targeting him, and they won’t stop until he is dead.
In a moment of desperation, Ezra’s fate collides with the Third Order of the Magi, a secret society dedicated to using their supernatural powers to protect their communities. With increasing violence around the world, the Magi are fairly certain they know who’s behind the attacks on Ezra and his family since the same group could also be threatening their own existence.
Both Ezra and the Magi’s survival hinges on knowledge only Ezra’s father has and the key to saving them could be buried within history itself. In a race across continents and time, both Ezra and the Magi must secure an ancient Babylonian artifact before hell is unleashed on the world. And, against all odds, Ezra must decide where his allegiances truly lie, despite what is written in the stars.
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Excerpt #3 Diego
Not very many things had the power to piss off Diego Montreal.
Disloyalty? Naturally.
Being held back? Of course.
Jonas’ embitterment toward his relationship with Stella? Without question.
Failure?
Failure had to be the worst offender. Nothing could make him feel more incompetent than defeat, especially if that defeat had anything to do with Time Manipulation.
Diego screwed up his face in concentration, squeezing the edges of the quartz wand into his palm. Usually illuminated with natural light, the chief constable’s office was now shrouded in shadows, too tenacious for the weak desk lamp bulb and the evening gloom. The Souvenirs—the ring and the electric torch—had been laid out before him, alongside Norman’s heavy scrutiny.
This time, it had to work.
“Forgive me for my lack of understanding, but I honestly don’t see why this situation is different than the rest,” the constable grumbled as he lit a cigar and propped his feet upon the desk. “This should have worked the first time. After all, you’ve managed to view crime scenes before.”
Diego lifted his burning gaze to his boss.
Despite his flagrant tone, the constable spoke the truth, as much as Diego hated to admit it. Previous attempts had gone without a hitch. But for some unknown reason, these crime scenes proved resistant to his abilities. What seemed like the simple work of a madman with a fondness for the word “quietus” had an impenetrable exterior. Every time Diego turned back Time to view these events, a thick darkness cloaked whatever evidence remained. He had never seen anything quite like it in any of his Time Excursions.
Either his abilities were somehow being drained or someone was erasing history. Both scenarios did not sound particularly thrilling.
“Yes, well, I wouldn’t expect you to understand the technicalities of it,” Diego muttered.
“No, I don’t,” huffed Norman, “but there’s something I do understand, and it is that now, we aren’t the only ones dealing with this madness.” The constable reached into his top drawer and dropped a newspaper on the workspace, further disrupting Diego’s focus.
His eyes skimmed the recent headline but backtracked when he realized it was in French. What Diego could not ascertain from the print, he translated from the front-page photograph.
Plumes of fire and coal dust disrupted what once was a mining operation. Lifts, splintered planks, and glass fragments littered the work site, while flocks of ravens dotted the chaotic skyline. While the photograph neglected to show any of the dead or injured, it did provide a glimpse of something far more impactful: the painful emotion in their comrades’ faces, streaked amongst the grime.
Whatever had just taken place not only rattled the northern French countryside. It had shaken survivors to their cores.
La catastrophe de Courriéres.
“They’re saying more than a thousand people are dead,” said the chief constable. “What they are not saying—in the papers, at least—is that authorities discovered the word quietus painted in red across one of the communal shacks. I suppose you can understand why this is a bit higher of a priority now that it has crossed international boundaries.”
Diego gritted his teeth and pushed the newspaper away from the Souvenirs. “So, the Irish Republican Brotherhood is out of the question, I assume?”
Norman narrowed his eyes. “Most likely.”
“Right. Well, there’s only one thing we can do,” Diego began, once again tracing the Star of David in the air with his quartz wand. “Pray my theory will hold strong enough for me to bring something back.”
“Best of luck, kid,” Chief Constable Norman said through a puff of smoke. “Do me proud.”
Diego saluted him and pressed the crystal tip to the face of his pocket watch. Focusing on the time and date written on the scraps of paper beside its corresponding Souvenir, Diego internally beckoned the power of the stars to navigate to the exact moment when the Dunmurry boy lost his life. The clock hands wound backward in a savage spiral. The present world faded away, like streaks of paint drowned in torrents of water. He was now a sailor amongst the Sea of Time, directing the helm toward imminent disaster.
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Author Kale Lawrence
About the Author Since the early age of 6, Kale Lawrence knew she either wanted to be an astronaut or an author. Obviously, the astronaut gig didn’t work out, so instead, Kale turned to fantastic fictional worlds. When Kale is not writing creatively, she works as a Marketing Manager at a pet product company, and pretends she’s an Olympic swimmer at the gym. She has also served as a board member for the South Dakota Writes organization.
In addition to books, Kale has lent her writing prowess to television, and her writing has been featured on nationwide PBS television programming, NBC newscasts, ABC newscasts, and the Travel Channel.
Kale currently lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with her feisty tortoiseshell calico cat, Emma Bug and sassy Siamese, Seattle Bean.
Cinnabar Press and author S.R. Cronin are revealing the cover to SHE’S THE ONE WHO WON’T BEHAVE, the sixth book in the adult historical fantasy series, The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters, releasing July 8, 2022. See below for the cover, information on the book and series, preorder links, and a link to add it your Goodreads TBR.
SHE’S THE ONE WHO WON’T BEHAVE (The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters Series #6) by S.R. Cronin
Synopsis The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters:
It’s the 1200s in Ilari, a small mythical realm somewhere between Europe and Asia. Peace and prosperity have reigned for generations. That doesn’t mean every citizen is happy, however.
In the outer nichna of Vinx lives the seven troublesome daughters of an intellectual farmer and his ambitious wife. Ilari has no idea how lucky it is to have this family of misfits, for the Mongols are making their way further westward every winter and this prosperous realm is a tiny plum ripe for picking. Desperate, the seven sisters will devise a way to save their realm. Can their preposterous ideas possibly work?
She’s the One Who Won’t Behave:
Gypsum, the sixth of seven sisters, has always been a rebel. Yet no one thought she would go so far as to join the reczavy, a group living in tents on the edge of the desert and known for their sexual promiscuity and playful ways.
But as the date of the Mongols’ return draws near, Ilarians of all types must work together if they are to have any hope of surviving. And the reczavy, for all of their odd ways, do have plenty of tricks up their sleeves. Well, up their sleeves whenever they are bothering to wear clothes, that is.
Gypsum is touched when her oldest sister Ryalgar comes to call, and brings an olive branch with her. Ryalgar recognizes that the reczavy have as much to lose as anyone, and as much to contribute. Will Gypsum accept a key role in the plan to stop the invasion? Of course she will.
Unfortunately, her playmates don’t all feel the same sense of urgency. Many would rather simply enjoy the time they have left. A few claim to be allergic to long term planning. And some are too busy with their own poorly-timed plans to overthrow the government Ilari already has.
Good thing needlepoint is the one traditional skill at which Gypsum has always excelled. She will need to thread a fine needle in order to coax this recalcitrant group into becoming life-saving warriors of a very different kind.
About the Author Sherrie Cronin is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction novels known as 46. Ascending and is now in the process of publishing a historical fantasy series called The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the synopses of her books makes it obvious she is fascinated by people achieving the astonishing by developing abilities they barely knew they had.
She’s made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up just fine, both despite how odd she is.
All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case.
Welcome to the book blitz for WHAT HAPPENED TO COCO, a standalone young adult thriller, by V.B. Furlong. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
WHAT HAPPENED TO COCO by V.B. Furlong
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: WHAT HAPPENED TO COCO Author: V.B. Furlong Publisher: Darkstroke Books Release Date: December 4, 2021 Genre: Young Adult Thriller Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis When a girl disappears, long-buried secrets resurface…
Coco is missing. Her room’s a mess, and her phone is left behind in her dorm at Lainsbury Hall School
Ella, Coco’s childhood best friend, is desperate for her to return, although she knows that if she ever sees Coco again, there’ll be a lot of explaining to do.
Bea knows that her new group of friends attracts drama, and she thinks she has the last shred of common sense between them all. Only, if that was true, she would leave Genevieve, her toxic ex, well alone.
Conrad is confident that Coco will return safe and well. Only, the way his secrets are unravelling, he’s worried he won’t be when this is all over.
Harrison and Coco are the perfect couple. Everyone knows that. But looks can be misleading. Even the smartest boy in school can make a terrible mistake.
In order to navigate the web of secrets and lies that Coco leaves behind, her circle of friends needs to unravel a few of their own.
But the question remains: What happened to Coco?
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Excerpt #1 In the misty darkness lit only by a blue streetlamp, Ella knew that she was not alone. She turned and saw the faceless figure far down the drizzly street. It came towards her at speed. It didn’t seem to be moving, but she knew that it was gaining on her. She started to run, but her legs would not move. She was stuck, as though in quicksand.
When she dared check over her shoulder once again, the figure was only about five steps away, and she could see raspy breaths escape the black silhouette in a wispy white cloud. The scene whirred in front of Ella as she pulled on her legs, sobbing, begging them to move. But they would not. All she could hear was the breathing, slow and rattling, as though it was the figure’s very last. Four. Three. Two.
It was the skeletal hand on her shoulder that woke her. In the darkness of her room, she was alone. She turned her alarm off and felt uneasy in the silence. She was soaking wet, her back from sweat, her face from tears.
She washed her face, hardly daring to open her eyes and look into the mirror above the sink. She felt watched, hunted. As she brushed her teeth, she turned on all her lights and opened the dreary brown curtains that Lainsbury Hall School had placed in all the dorms. But even in her bright vanity lamps that took over her dressing table, drowning her in bright white light as she did her make up, her eyes darted around the corners of her mirrors, checking all angles of the room in the reflection for the faceless spectre. She was not herself today. Then again, she hadn’t been herself yesterday, either.
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Author V.B. Furlong
About The Author VB Furlong is a trainee lawyer and writer of young adult novels living in Berkshire, UK. She wrote her first “novel” at aged ten and has not stopped since then. Through her writing she aims to explore many of the issues she faced herself growing up, in the hopes that others facing the same issues feel some solidarity. Her friendships are a huge part of her life and consequently is a major theme in her writing, exploring the way in which we interact with each other, especially in difficult times.
Originally from Mumbles, Swansea, VB Furlong enjoys the sun and the sea, and walking her three dogs across the cliffs. These walks have offered her inspiration for many pieces of writing, including What Happened to Coco which she is excited to introduce as a coming of age boarding school thriller.
Welcome to the book blitz for LICKING HER CHRISTMAS COOKIES, a standalone adult contemporary romantic romance/romantic comedy, by Alina Jacobs. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
LICKING HER CHRISTMAS COOKIES by Alina Jacobs
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: LICKING HER CHRISTMAS COOKIES Author: Alina Jacobs Release Date: November 16, 2021 Genre: Adult Contemporary Holiday Romance / Christmas Romance / Romantic Comedy Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis In hindsight, opening a Christmas tree ornament shop in a small town was a terrible idea. The Thanksgiving turkey is still warm, and I’m already up to my eyeballs in debt from my failed business. To make matters worse, my knight in flannel never appeared—you know, the guy, the one who was tall, dark, and plaid, who had a friendly yellow lab and a truck and sold firewood, the one who showed the big-city heroine the true meaning of love and Christmas.
Yeah, he did not come rescue me. Instead, Matt Frost showed up like the Prince of Winter to yell at me about the rent I owed him. He did not feature in any of my Christmas fantasies. In fact, he was exactly the type of Christmas-hating alphahole billionaire in a suit I left Manhattan to escape. I can’t worry about him. I need to fix my life. I have to make a bunch of money before Christmas Eve or I’m a toasted marshmallow. No ornament will be left off this Christmas tree of desperation!
Gambling on the Christmas raffle that lets you win either ten thousand dollars, a giant snow globe, or a snack-addicted reindeer? Spin that roulette wheel and bring it on. Moonlighting as an elf for an irate Santa? Mama’s gotta get paid. Entering in The Great Christmas Bake-Off in hopes of winning the grand prize? Fetch me my custom elf apron. I so have this bake-off wrapped, ribboned, and in my Christmas stocking. Except when I’m paired with Matt the Grinch, I see my dreams of a debt-free Christmas going up in Yule log flames.
Matt Frost and I are not compatible baking partners. Especially not after he licks the frosting off my Christmas cookies while I scream. Not like that! He’s a Christmas-hating Scrooge who ruined my bake-off entry. I am not in the market for a Christmas romance. Especially not with a six-foot-five guy with ice-blue eyes and washboard abs. No, not even when he’s covered in frosting, standing in front of a decorated tree, and looking better than an edible Christmas card. Nope, not even then.
‘Tis the season for holiday romance! This is a full-length standalone holiday romantic comedy with nonstop Christmas and romance. If you love over-the-top small-town Christmas festivals, overbearing but well-meaning great-aunts, and smoking hot guys in nothing but a Santa hat who will melt the snow off the roof of your house, snuggle up with a spiked hot chocolate and get in the Christmas romance spirit!
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Excerpt #2 “Now,” I said, waving the chocolate-covered spoon at him, “are you going to let your ex walk all over you or are you going to pick up a whisk and win this competition?”
His mouth was a thin line. Then his face relaxed in understanding.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he said, giving me a flash of teeth. “You think you can play to my ego and help you bake. Too bad.”
“You need to help me!” I shrieked, finally giving up on the candy thermometer. Could you blame it? Who didn’t want to take a bath in a pot of warm chocolate?
“I need this win. You can’t do this to me.”
“I absolutely can.”
I picked up the pot and slammed it on the counter.
“You better fish that candy thermometer out of there,” Matt said in a mocking tone, stepping into my personal space bubble. “You might make someone sick.”
He was making me sick. I turned back to the stove to grab my fork. I had to win. The cheesecake had to go into the oven soon. We were running out of opportunities for him to help. I looked at the clock then the other bakers.
Ugh. Everyone else’s cheesecakes were already out of the oven and cooling.
My dish was a mess.
It won’t matter how good or bad it is if you get disqualified.
I couldn’t give up now.
I stepped up behind Matt, reached around him, and grabbed each of his hands.
He made a strangled noise as I pressed the full length of my body against him.
I think I severely miscalculated.
I was height challenged. And Matt was six feet five with long arms and huge hands that I could barely reach. I smooshed my boobs against his back… his very muscular, hard back.
Unghn.
“Get off of me,” he growled.
“We’re baking,” I squeaked.
I laced my fingers in his left hand, and before he could throw me off, I pulled the pot of melted chocolate closer. Then, with his right hand, I picked up one of the truffle balls and plopped it into the melted chocolate. His hands were large under my own, the tendons fluttering against my palms as he let me manipulate his arms. I adjusted myself against him, and he grunted slightly.
You really should have just stood next to him to do this baking puppetry, my mind chattered as I inhaled his scent, my nose pressed against the back of his suit jacket.
This was way too close. I forced his right hand to grab a fork and fish the truffle out of the chocolate.
“There. Now you participated,” I said as the truffle dropped onto the cooling rack with a plot. My voice sounded a little raspy.
It’s the weather—all this cold, wet air.
Matt turned back to me, eyes a deep blue.
“Was that so hard?” I asked.
“I don’t know. You were the one feeling me up. You tell me.”
“I have to get this cheesecake in the oven,” I blurted out before I could say something like “You’re hard enough to be a nutcracker.” Which would, one, be an idiotic thing to say and two, make Matt think I thought he was attractive, which I certainly did not.
I quickly made the rest of the truffles, keeping an eye on the clock.
Matt wasn’t even pretending to look at his phone. He was just watching me work. Periodically he would steal one of the truffles right as I finished it. The third time he did it, I tried to stab him with a fork.
“Too slow.”
“You could help,” I snapped at him.
“I already helped.” He gave me a smug look. “And now I’m just exhausted.”
“Guess someone doesn’t have any staying power.”
“I absolutely have staying power.”
“I doubt it. I bet that was why your ex left you,” I snapped back at him.
“You—” He bit back the curse word. He was probably going to call me a bitch. Which I probably was. That had been a low blow.
But I was stressed! Everyone else was done and putting the elegant finishing touches on their cheesecakes because they actually had a partner who would help. We had another hour left on the clock. It took a cheesecake that long to bake at minimum.
I was facing a loss. Not just my pride but everything. And it was all because of Matt fucking Frost.
“Or maybe it wasn’t your staying power,” I said shrilly, giving the cheesecake batter one more stir. “Maybe it was because you just stood around while she did all the work.”
“Fine, you want me to do the work?” Matt snarled at me. He snatched the bowl of batter out of my hand and emptied it into the springform pan, sending some of it splashing off the sides.
“You’re doing it wrong!” I protested.
Matt scooped up the rest of the truffles and dumped them in the batter where they sank in a lump off to one side.
“They have to be artfully arranged.” I tried to shove him aside so I could salvage my cheesecake.
Matt picked up the pan, holding it aloft while I jumped around him like a Chihuahua trying to rescue my cake.
“You’re ruining it.”
“I’m helping,” he taunted. He opened the oven and practically threw the pan inside. “You’re welcome.”
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Author Alina Jacobs
About The Author If you like steamy romantic comedies with a creative streak, then I’m your girl!
Architect by day, writer by night, I love matcha green tea, chocolate, and books! So many books…
Sign up for my mailing list to get the free novella, AFTER HIS PEONIES, along with special bonus content, giveaways, and more!
Welcome to the book blitz for THE JOURNEY, the first book in the new adult fantasy adventure series, Death Island, by Kelsey Ketch. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway. For a limited time, you can pick up the eBook for just $0.99!
THE JOURNEY (Death Island Series #1) by Kelsey Ketch
Synopsis With her family name tainted by her great-grandfather’s crimes, Meriden Cummings could only dream of fleeing her oppressive life. Then she unearthed a piece of tanned skin, and her blood revealed an ancient map adorned with Mayan glyphs, launching her on the journey of a lifetime. However, she finds herself bound to the map, and there is a cost to her newfound freedom. One that will torment her mind as well as her soul.
After being shanghaied by pirates, Gregory Wilson escapes to a small English village where he runs into an obnoxious auburn-haired beauty. When he learns she is about to set sail on dangerous waters, he signs up to join her crew, hoping to defend her from the pirates seeking her great-grandfather’s treasure. But, will he be able to protect her from the ghost that haunts her or the curse running through her veins?
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Excerpt #2 Gregory
I thought back to the night Baker had cornered us in the pub, rerunning every moment in my memory. “Meriden, there wasn’t any driver. The horse wandered into the alley on its own.” Though, I had to admit to myself, that seemed convenient.
“I know.” Her voice was barely audible. “But I saw him. His entire body is like my hand in my dreams, and his eyes are completely black.” She shivered, probably from a combination of her story and the cold breeze that whipped by. “And this wasn’t the first time. I’ve seen him in my village as well. I thought he was one of the Railings’ gardeners that died in the attack. Now, I think there’s something more to it. Like I’m either cursed or mental.”
God, she must’ve been terrified if she was confiding such things to me. “I doubt you’re either,” I told her. Yet something brought to mind what Baker had said.
“Her blood is cursed, Mr. Wilson. Tainted by her family’s greed. Much like your own.”
“When did you say you started seeing the ghost? Was it after the pirate attack?”
Meriden’s head shot up. “Yes, but not right after. I’d been out for weeks because . . .” She trailed off, momentarily. “Because of the map, which was created from my blood.”
By the look on Meriden’s face, she had drawn the same conclusion as I had. Bloody hell. Baker had been right. Her blood had been cursed, which was probably why she saw her veins turning black. I took the hand she kept rubbing and flipped her palm toward the starlight.
Nothing visible, yet knowing it was there made me sick with grief. I pulled her trembling body closer and gently stroked her hair.
“Whatever this is, curse or otherwise, we solve it together. I promise.”
Meriden only nodded. Her mind focused on other things. I looked in the direction of the star she often wished upon, thinking of making a wish of my own—a wish that Baker was wrong—only to see a shadow in the distance.
“Meriden, toward the northeast.”
Meriden gazed over at the horizon. Without a word, she pulled a spyglass from a sack tied to the guardrail, extending it to its full length. “Frigate,” she said under her breath, then leaned over the rail to call into the night. “Sails!”
About the Author Kelsey Ketch is a young-adult/new-adult author, who works as a Wildlife Biologist and Data Analyst. During her free time, she can often be found working on her latest work in progress. She also enjoys history, mythology, traveling, and reading.
Award-winning author, Cambria Hebert, is revealing the cover to MERRY MISFITS, the fifth book in her adult contemporary romance/fairytale retelling series, House of Misfits, releasing December 10, 2021. See below for the cover, information on the book and series, and a link to add it your Goodreads TBR.
MERRY MISFITS (House of Misfits Series #5) by Cambria Hebert
About the Book
Title: MERRY MISFITS Series: House of Misfits Series #5 Author: Cambria Hebert Release Date: December 10, 2021 Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance / Modern Fairytale Retelling / Holiday Romance Links:Goodreads
Synopsis Once upon a time…
A lost prince was robbed of the magic of the holiday season. Ribbons, glitter, tree-trimming, and love all denied for hateful reasons. What once was lost is now wondrously found. And, naturally, holiday shenanigans will abound.
New York City is blanketed in pure white snow, the perfect date night setting to make your heart grow. Beneath the twinkling lights, the scent of fresh pine mingles, and the warmth of chocolate-filled mugs chase away any grinchy-grinch tingles.
Zip up your coat and tug on your hat because spending this holiday season with your favorite misfits is where it’s at. For even the grumpiest grump of the bunch will have to admit ‘tis the season to be a merry misfit.
Experience the magic of New York City at Christmas with Fletcher and the rest of the misfit family as they create family traditions and memories through special dates and holiday fun. Be prepared for lots of fluff, laughter, grumbling grumps, swoony romance, and surprises! Merry Misfits is a special House of Misfits holiday novella featuring the entire misfit family and is told in alternating POVs from some of your favorites.
Merry Misfits is approximately 48,000 words and is book five in the series.
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MERRY MISFITS (House of Misfits Series #5) by Cambria Hebert (Full Cover)
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Author Cambria Hebert
About the Author Cambria Hebert is an award winning, bestselling novelist of more than twenty books. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair.
Besides writing, Cambria loves a caramel latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching movies. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of chickens (yes, chickens). You can often find her running on the treadmill (she’d rather be eating a donut), painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails), or walking her chorkie (the real boss of the house).
Cambria has written within the young adult and new adult genres, penning many paranormal and contemporary titles. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense. A few of her most recognized titles are: The Hashtag Series, Text, Torch, and Tattoo.
Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC..
