#BookBlitz: The Heroine’s Labyrinth by @douglasaburton @XpressoTours

The Heroine’s Labyrinth
Douglas A. Burton
Publication date: March 24th 2024
Genres: Non-fiction

For decades, the hero’s journey has had a major influence on storytelling and story structure. Now, Douglas A. Burton presents a groundbreaking new paradigm for writers everywhere. Sourced entirely from heroine-led fiction—a stunning new narrative form takes shape with familiar archetypes in a never before seen outline. Burton adds something original and fascinating to the world of storytelling. Discover the dynamism of story, conflict, character development, archetypes, and heroism in an entirely new light. From myth to literature, from TV to film, The Heroine’s Labyrinth explores recurrent themes and patterns modeled by heroic women in fiction. The labyrinth model has the potential to turn conventional understanding of story structure upside down.

Inside, you’ll encounter 18 archetypal designs that form a distinctive narrative arc, each one rich with profound insights and powerful new perspectives. Discover how stories are constructed through powerful archetypes such as the Masked Minotaur, the Sacred Fire, the Beast as Ally, the Poisoned Apple, and more. Novelists, screenwriters, RPG gamers, and memoirists will gain waves of creative inspiration while reading The Heroine’s Labyrinth. You won’t be able to put it down.

“Douglas Burton has cracked the code.”
—Christopher Vogler, author of The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers

“Burton’s prose is accessible, lucid, and concise without sacrificing detail: He moves quickly through the traits that make up his “Heroine’s Labyrinth,” substantiating his theories with more than 200 examples from texts, from the Bible to Barbie. “
—Kirkus Reviews

“The Heroine’s Labyrinth is a must-read for storytellers seeking to expand their craft and embrace the transformative potential of female-centric storytelling.”
—K.C. Finn, author of the Shadeborn series

#BookReview: Belladonna (Belladonna #1) by Adalyn Grace

Synopsis: The  New York Times  bestselling author of  All the Stars and Teeth  brings to life a highly romantic, Gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal. ​

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
 
However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.

#ReleaseBlitz for When Kings Rise by Vi Carter @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: When King's Rise

Series: The O'Sullivan's Brides #1

Author: Vi Carter

Genre: Mafia Romance

Tropes: Harem MFFF/Billionaire/Cult Romance

Release Date: June 7, 2024

BLURB

My rivals are Dons; I am a King.

Three brides have been chosen for my pleasure and displeasure. One of them will become a King’s consort; the others will be discarded.

Until my decision is made, I get to feast on them all.

They are mine.

After the demise of my uncle, the O’Sullivan family has yet to choose the new Don. With two brothers and a vengeful, unhinged cousin also vying for the position, tension is rising in an already dangerous business.

Especially since no one knows that I’m responsible for my uncle’s disappearance.

Enter the Hands of Kings, a global cult with the ability to replace CEOs, Presidents, and Popes. And their leader, Victor, has his eye on me.

Few men were made to be Kings and Victor has plans for me, plans that do not require my approval.

But an unseen enemy is hiding and they know my secrets. They are manipulating the people around me with the intention of taking my crown.

A King is not so easily dethroned, especially when threats are made toward me and mine.

No one shall have my brides.

When Kings Rise is a dark mafia romance, intensified by the presence of a cult, with mature themes, mature language, and very mature steam.

#BookReview: Hate (Madison Kate #1) by @TateJamesAuthor @Read_Bloom @lexilikestoread

Synopsis: "Madison Kate Danvers was murdered tonight." Those words changed my life, and not for the better. They were wrong, of course. I wasn't dead. But I was set up. After being framed for a deadly riot, charged with a string of offences, and being made into an example by my politically minded father, I'm eventually released back into Shadow Grove. I could keep my head down, but I only have one thing on my mind. Hate. The boys who framed me are going to pay for derailing my carefully laid-out future. They're going to catch the full force of my revenge. Except when I arrive back in town, thanks to my father's shiny new girlfriend, I find all three of them living in my house, right down the hall. Archer, Kodiak, and Steele are secretive. Untrustworthy. Dangerous―and dangerously magnetic, too. But I'm not falling for their games. Not after what they did to me. Archer D'Ath and his boys messed with the wrong chick, and they're about to learn just how cold Madison Kate's hatred can run.

#CoverReveal: The Ocean Hugs Hard by Eric Avedissian @RABTBookTours @angryreporter

 

Horror/Mystery

Date Published: 06-24-2024

Publisher: Shadow Spark Publishing

 

Surfside City, New Jersey. 1966. Cub reporter Harman Bass is cutting his teeth in the fast world of local journalism and getting out-scooped by the competition. Facetious, cocky, and always quoting Nietzsche, Harman isn’t making any friends both in and out of the newsroom.

All that changes when the daughter of a prominent family is found dead on the beach, handing Harman the juiciest news story of the year. But she wasn’t any old beauty pageant queen; she was his high school girlfriend. Harman’s dogged reporting into the young woman’s death reveals pushback from the authorities and pulls the newshound into the resort’s darkest corners.

After one of his sources is murdered, the routine story becomes dangerous and personal. Something watches Harman from the shadows, something ancient and hungry, worshipped by powerful men who kill to keep their secrets. Harman’s job and life are soon threatened, and the once brash reporter must battle his boss, rival journalists, and his own sanity before filing what could be his last story.

THE OCEAN HUGS HARD is a mystery with the salty whiff of the ocean, a tinge of nostalgia, and a dollop of mind-shattering eldritch horror.

#BookReview: Good Girl Complex (Avalon Bay #1) by @ElleKennedy @ReaderLatte

Synopsis: She does everything right. So what could go wrong?

Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot is a people pleaser. Her demanding parents. Her prep school friends. Her long-time boyfriend. It’s exhausting, really, always following the rules. Unlike most twenty-year-olds, all she really wants to do is focus on growing her internet business, but first she must get a college degree at her parents’ insistence. That means moving to the beachside town of Avalon Bay, a community made up of locals and the wealthy students of Garnet College.

Mac’s had plenty of practice suppressing her wilder impulses, but when she meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley, that ability is suddenly tested. Cooper is rough around the edges. Raw. Candid. A threat to her ordered existence. Their friendship soon becomes the realest thing in her life.

Despite his disdain for the trust-fund kids he sees coming and going from his town, Cooper soon realizes Mac isn’t just another rich clone and falls for her. Hard. But as Mac finally starts feeling accepted by Cooper and his friends, the secret he’s been keeping from her threatens the only place she’s ever felt at home.

#ReleaseBlitz for Sheltered by A.K. Evans @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Sheltered

Series: Harper Security Ops #15

Author: A.K. Evans

Genre: Military Romantic Suspense

Tropes: Private Investigator/Opposites Attract

Release Date: May 28, 2024

BLURB

Harlow Stout has lived a quiet and sheltered life. Needing something else, something more, she decides to break out of her shell and do something impulsive for once. She just never anticipated she’d find him.

Blaze Matthews has seen and done it all. Working for Harper Security Ops, there’s no shortage of excitement in his life. But when he meets Harlow, he thinks it’s time to start considering settling down.

Unfortunately, someone isn’t very happy with the town’s elite private investigation and security company. And they’re unwavering in their quest to take Harper Security down by any means necessary.

Just as things heat up between Blaze and Harlow, everything else starts crashing down. And when Harlow gets caught in the crossfire, she wonders if seeking a thrill was her smartest move.

Blaze has to find a way to hold onto Harlow and keep her safe from the danger while he figures out who wants to destroy them.