#BookReview: Rhapsodic (The Bargainer #1) by Laura Thalassa

Synopsis: From bestselling indie author Laura Thalassa comes the newly revised and edited first book in her smash-hit dark fantasy romance between a siren and the “bargainer” she owes countless favors to.

Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past.

For the last seven years Callie has been wearing a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she once received. Only death or repayment will fulfill her obligations.

Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want … at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects. But for Callie, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now.

When Callie finds the Bargainer in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s admitting a truth—a single bead’s worth—acknowledging the attraction between them. But the Bargainer is after more than just rekindling their connection. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one, and only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to her breast.

For the Bargainer to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. If she can forgive him.

#BookBlitz: Rough Edges by Elsa Jacobs @XpressoTours #Giveaway $20 Amazon gift card

Rough Edges
Elsa Jacobs
Publication date: April 25th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Two teenage boys’ shared love for basketball brings their single parents together.

Laura Fields, a spirited head nurse, juggles the demands of her work life and the tough work of single motherhood. Her history with relationships isn’t great. But maybe the secret crush she has on a colleague will be different…

Bennett Keller, a ruggedly handsome supervisor at the local paper factory, sports inked skin that tells a tale of love, loss, and a vow to never love again.

So when their boys become fast friends on the court and off, the parents find themselves seeing a lot of each other. As Laura and Bennett’s lives entwine, they navigate the delicate balance of new love while honoring the memories that shaped them. In Meadows Creek, with its tranquil charm and supportive community, two people find themselves with a second chance at love. But will they take the risk of getting hurt again?

Get ready for a love story with a slam dunk!

#BookReview: Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

Synopsis: Secrets, deception, and passion consume two pen pals in the TikTok sensation from New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas, now with exclusive bonus material!

They were perfect together. Until they met.

In fifth grade, Misha’s teacher set him and his classmates up with pen pals from a different school. For the next seven years, Ryen was his everything. She kept Misha on track and accepted him as he is. They only had three No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. There was no reason to ruin the good thing they had going…until Misha runs across a photo of a girl online named Ryen. He knows he has to meet her. But he didn’t expect to hate what he finds. 

Ryen has gone three months without a letter from Misha. Did he die? Get arrested? Knowing Misha like she does, neither would be a stretch. She needs to know someone is listening to her. But really, Ryen knows this is her own fault. She should’ve gotten his phone number, or picture, or something.

As a mysterious vandal leaves messages in Ryen’s school, she’s possessed by the handsome new student who knows just how to hurt and heal her. But she can’t stop thinking of Misha. He could be gone forever. Or right under her nose, and she wouldn’t even know it…

#BookBlitz for Uncaged Summer by Colet Abedi @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Uncaged Summer

Author: Colet Abedi

Genre: Chick Lit/Romantic Comedy

Release Date: April 9, 2024

BLURB

“Best new book to read.”—New York Post

“... a wonderfully witty chronicle of awkward first dates, with Avalie slowly coming to understand what makes a relationship work, guided along the way by a supportive network of friends.... Abedi’s emotionally charged portrait of what it takes to heal from heartache resonates. It’s an uplifting ode to self-love.” —Publisher’s Weekly

Newly heartbroken, a woman embarks on a glamorized summer of couch surfing to rediscover herself and learns that though life may not go according to plan, there is magic in the unexpected.

Avalie Monfared has a theory about saying “I Do”—that the magic ends there. After thirteen years of magic-free marriage to her high school sweetheart, she’s discovered where it went: gambling and prostitutes.

Now, Ava is on a quest to rediscover herself—and men. Her soul-searching finds her living on a succession of friends’ and family’s couches, which happen to be in some of the most luxurious zip codes in and around Los Angeles. What follows is an unpredictable summer full of shamans, attack birds, awkward dates, sizzling flirtations, and unsolicited advice—especially from her traditional Persian family members, who are eager to see her remarried. With every laugh-out-loud adventure in each locale, Ava finds more solace and wisdom. And while it’s not how she planned to spend the last year of her thirties, Ava learns that there is power in letting go.

Uncaged Summer is a loosely based memoir about my couch-surfing summer with different friends after my divorce. Post Hill Press and Simon & Schuster distributing. Jenna Mattison, the screenwriter for two of Sophie Kinsella's novels (one is at Netflix), as well as the writer for a James Patterson series is attached to adapt. Giuliana Rancic, my best friend, is attached to producer and it's being packaged now.

#BookReview: An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson

Synopsis: Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from Sunday Times bestselling author S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.

On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

#BookTour: The Year of Return by Ivan Akotowaa Ofori @RABTBookTours @_Akotowaa

 

Horror / Fantasy

Date Published: May 21, 2024

Publisher: Android Press

 

In December 2019, as Ghana's vibrant streets buzz with the climax of the "Year of Return," an initiative marking 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were forcibly taken to Virginia, Adwapa, a Ghanaian journalist living in the U.S., decides to journey back to her homeland. Accompanied by friends, she seeks to reconnect with his roots during this historic commemoration, unaware that the trip will lead them into the heart of a mystery that transcends time and reality.

As the celebrations reach their zenith, the Atlantic Ocean, witness to untold horrors of the past, begins to stir with an ancient and restless energy. From its depths emerge the spirits of the enslaved, those who perished in the harrowing Middle Passage, returning not in peace but in turmoil. Their emergence sends shockwaves around the globe, transforming the "Year of Return" into a haunting spectacle of reawakened histories and unresolved grievances.

As the line between the living and the dead blurs, Adwapa finds herself caught in a whirlwind of supernatural events and historical reckonings. With each passing day, the ghosts grow more powerful, their centuries-old sorrows manifesting in a series of chilling, vengeful acts that threaten to unravel the very fabric of the present.

#BookReview: The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy #1) by Nora Roberts @lexilikestoread

Synopsis: #1 New York Times bestselling author of the epic Chronicles of The One trilogy returns with the first in a brand new series where parallel worlds clash over the struggle between good and evil.

Breen Kelly had always been a rule follower. So when her father left when she was twelve years old, promising to return, she waited. Now, more than a decade later, she needs to move forward. She can wait no longer. A summer trip to Ireland seems like the perfect next step. She never dreamed it would lead her through a portal to another world, where her latent powers of magick will be awakened, her true ancestry revealed and an epic battle against evil fought.