Saturday, December 02, 2023

#BookReview: Curse of the Soul Collector by Cara Blaine






Synopsis: When a prince appears on a witch's doorstep, lost and injured, she lets him into her home...

But she is determined that her heart will remain tightly locked, and he will never have the key.

In a kingdom where magic evokes both awe and fear, Alma’s rare magical affinity causes the witch hunters to descend on her family, forcing her to abandon all she knows. For a decade, Alma conceals herself, estranged from a world that misconstrues her powers.

Prince Lorenzo grapples with the duties and expectations of his position, including the expectation that he marry a princess. In an attempt to appease his royal parents, he embarks on a rescue that strands him in haunted woods, injured and alone.

Fate or misfortune guides Lorenzo to Alma's sanctuary, where a fragile bond blooms between the prince and the wary witch. Yet, societal strictures and Alma's self-imposed barriers threaten to sunder them. Their hearts yearn to travel a forbidden path, but it is not to be. Lorenzo's inevitable departure and Alma's subsequent capture shatter their tentative hopes, as well as Alma’s heart.

While Alma grapples with her grief as well as her magic, she also must face her long held guilt about the death of her parents. Amid deceit and disloyalty, Lorenzo confronts the ultimate dilemma: duty versus true love.



Content Warning Note: This book is for the intended audience of NA (New Adult). It does contain:
explicit s3x
overtly threatened S/A
knife torture
bound prisoner


#BookReview: Rock, Scissors, Paperbag by @elizbethgodley






Synopsis: Rock, Scissors, and Paperbag are the bestest of friends! Paperbag is afraid of everything, Rock is a talented musician, and Scissors is an excellent Orange Ball player. After the school bullies, The Bucket Kids, steal Scissors’ fake orange-ball, the kids decide to get back at the bullies. What if they could get a real orange-ball from The Great Orange Tree? That would show The Bucket Kids! 

Recalling the local legend, they embark on a fantastic adventure to find The Great Orange Tree. However, while solving the riddle within the ancient map, they encounter a cave monster, a tornado of rapping cooties, and the horrid Land of Smells. How will they face each challenge? Will they end up back home with a real orange-ball? And if they do, will they share it? 

Throughout their adventure, Rock gains confidence, Paperbag conquers his fears, and Scissors makes peace with being imperfect. Best Buds! 

Winner of the 2023 International Firebird Book Award, Rock, Scissors, Paperbag is a spellbinding tale of friendship, fantasy, and adventure. A perfect book to be shared and treasured.


#CoverReveal: A Change of Location by @MargaretPorter @XpressoTours


A Change of Location
Margaret Porter
Publication date: April 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Hannah Ballard’s most successful relationship: her career.

Her superpower is an uncanny ability to discover perfect movie settings while avoiding the limelight herself. Promoted from location scout to location manager, she’s involved in pre-production for a film based on a bestselling historical novel. A chance meeting with an aristocratic landowner leads her to Somerset and his estate in picturesque Milver Vale—the ideal backdrop for a period drama.

Martin Latimer, Marquess of Milverston, believes the release of a high-profile motion picture can increase tourism and bolster the local economy. And he hopes to spend more time with its intriguing location manager.

After Hannah suffers a professional setback, she accepts Martin’s invitation to attend the annual village festival before flying home to hunt for her next job. Proximity and mutual passion propel the couple into an exhilarating affair. But Hannah’s discovery that Martin is a magnet for the scandal-hungry press forces her into a painful and damaging decision.

Powering through heartbreak is hard. Especially when coping with unemployment—and dealing with members of her fractured family. For their protection, she must part from the nobleman asking her to stay with him. Who makes her believe that, at long last, she actually could be falling in love.

#ReleaseBlitz for Wicked Ends by @IVaughn_Author and @GiveMeBooksPR








Title: Wicked Ends
A Dark College Sports Romance
Series: Hidden Valley Elite #8
Author: Isla Vaughn
Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance
Tropes: Bully Romance/Enemies to Lovers
Release Date: November 30, 2023


BLURB

Deceived by my heart.
Drowning in fractured memories.
Taken against my will.

Shane Bennett used me, and for nothing more than revenge.

I was a victim, and in turn, I made him one. But that was then. I’m different now—is he? Or is this the moment when everything comes crashing down.

The connection between us twists and stretches from the past to the present, abused and strained but undeniably intact.

Something—someone—is coming for me. As each threatening note is delivered, the secrets in my mind break free.

It’s in Shane’s arms that I feel the safest. But trusting him means that I’m putting everything in my life at risk.

Is he worth it?

Wicked Ends is an enemies-to-lovers, new adult, bully romance with plenty of angst and a HEA. This is the conclusion of Wicked Games, and Winter and Shane’s duet. This book contains mature content that some readers may find disturbing.

#BookReview: Take Me Home Now by @obyaligwekwe @XpressoTours




Take Me Home
Oby Aligwekwe
Publication date: November 21st 2023
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller

Four adventure seekers win an all-expense paid trip to Costa Rica through an advanced dating game, but things take an unexpected, sinister turn in this short psychological thriller series.

With each swipe right on his Q phone, Eli dreams of a chance to escape his lackluster life with Jesse and find new love. But as his dreams near realization, he begins to wonder if the contest organizers have revealed everything there is to know about the prize.

When the contestants arrive at their destination, their lives converge in unsettling ways. They discover they are at the center of a lethal plot with more far-reaching implications than they could ever imagine. As the situation escalates, their survival depends on who they choose to trust. But will it be too late?




#ReleaseBoost for Mustang by @dmdavisauthor and @GiveMeBooksPR






Title: Mustang
Series: Black Ops MMA #5
Author: D.M. Davis
Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance
Tropes: Why Choose Romance/Love Triangle
Release Date: November 16, 2023


BLURB

My mangled heart beats for her, but hers beats for him… And maybe me.

I’ve never been one for norms. I fight and bake for a living.
Why should I expect my sex-life to be any different?
And I don’t mean love-life. I don’t do love.
I’ve been there. Done that. My heart is mangled for a reason.
My best friend, Walker, and I like to share… As in together.
I'm a transactional, one-time only kinda guy.

Then we met her.

She set off a seismic tremor that threatened to crumble the wall around my heart.
She haunts my thoughts, sinking under my skin like a demon.
Unrelenting.
Remorseless.
I hate how easily thoughts of her sway my body and mind.
It’s a constant battle of wills between what I want and what I can have.

She’s not meant for me. I’m not her forever, regardless of Walker or my treacherous heart trying to convince me otherwise.

I’m her right now—that’s all I can ever be.

D.M. Davis' MUSTANG is an angsty, heart clenching, why-choose, contemporary sports romance that has Jess fighting his desires, Walker praying he won’t be forgotten, and Berklyn willing to lose them both because she won’t choose one over the other.

Buy now to get lost in this steamy why-chose romance with all the feels.

MUSTANG is Book Five and the last in the Black Ops MMA series.

Black Ops MMA Series:
NO MERCY ~ ROWDY ~ CAPTAIN ~ COWBOY ~ MUSTANG

#ReleaseBlitz for Never Plan a Billionaire's Wedding by @jkentauthor and @GiveMeBooksPR









Title: Never Plan a Billionaire's Wedding
Series: Whatever It Takes, Maine #1
Author: Julia Kent
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy
Tropes: Forbidden/Billionaire/Mistaken Identity
Second Chance Romance
Release Date: November 28, 2023


BLURB

Rule #1: Don’t fall in love with the groom

Stalker exes. Momzillas. Drunk uncles. Hurricanes. Jealous siblings. Paparazzi.

You name it, Kari Whitevelt has seen it all.

And that’s why brides and grooms hire her.

Because she makes it all go away.

Wedding Protectors, Inc., is here to make sure that special day stays special.

Whatever it takes.

No matter what.

But when her newest client turns out to be her own long-lost high school sweetheart, rising tech star billionaire Caleb Mikelmas, suddenly Kari’s not sure whether she’s protecting the wedding couple —

Or her own heart.

Tech billionaire Caleb never thought he had a chance, much less a second chance with his first love and high school sweetheart, Kari. When a case of mistaken identity turns their reunion into one big misunderstanding, unraveling his feelings about the one who got away while supporting his brother’s nuptials means facing old demons.

And kissing Kari.

He likes kissing Kari far more than that whole demon thing.

But if kisses were enough, Kari would already be his wife.

Maybe it’s time to revisit the past and right some wrongs.

One vow at a time.

Welcome to the Whatever It Takes series:

Every bride needs something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue -

But you know what brides don't need?

Complications.

Welcome to Wedding Protectors, Inc. Have a spritzer or a latte or some lovely Zen tea and sink into a comfortable chair in our sunlit offices as we listen to your wedding problem – and form the perfect solution to every possible contingency.

We plan for everything.

Except our own love lives.

But that's not your problem. ;)