#BookReview: A Curse of Gold (A Touch of Gold #2) by Annie Sullivan

Synopsis: Gold in her hands.
A contract on her head.
A kingdom on its deathbed.

After barely surviving thieving, bloodthirsty pirates and a harrowing quest at sea to retrieve King Midas's stolen treasure, Kora finds readjusting to palace life just as deadly.

Returning as a cursed princess who has angered Dionysus, Kora’s people have openly turned against her, threatening to overthrow her as heir to the throne. When Dionysus puts out a challenge to kill the girl with the golden touch and burn down her kingdom, it’s not just her future on the throne that is in danger: Kora’s life and entire realm are now on contract.

Kora has no other choice. She sets out to find Dionysus, the very person who is trying to kill her, focusing on his home on the mysterious disappearing island of Jipper.

If Kora wants to save her kingdom and have any chance at reversing her father’s curse, she will have to enter into a deadly game with Dionysus, the greatest trickster the world—or the underworld—has ever seen.

#ReviewTour: When You Were Mine by Ida Brady #TheIndiePen

A spicy second chance romance...

Hollywood hunk, Jack Davies is back in his hometown, desperate to escape the clutches of fame and fortune. Not even his brother’s upcoming wedding can distract him from the mess he left behind, or his inner demons. But a chance encounter with his first love, Seraphina De Lotto, changes everything. Jack can’t think of a sexier diversion. In fact, he can’t think at all.

But the sultry Sports teacher isn’t a wide-eyed teenage girl anymore. Sera’s tormented by her own guilt, and the memories of an innocent life she couldn’t save. Committed to helping the disadvantaged youth in one of the poorest suburbs of Melbourne, she has no time for the smooth-talking star and his tantalizing kisses.

With his agent demanding answers, Jack must face hard truths about his career and mental health before time runs out. If he wants Sera in his life, he must prove that there’s more beneath the surface than his killer body and a penchant for playing it cool.

But Sera’s not certain she can trust him to stick around this time. She’s convinced it’s far better to protect her heart, than listen to it. Little does she know, Jack has major plans...

The million-dollar question is, will she accept?

#BookReview: Twin Daggers (Twin Daggers #1) by MarcyKate Connolly

Synopsis: Aissa's life is a web of carefully constructed lies. She and her twin sister, Zandria, are Magi spies, magic users most believe to be extinct. And they're on a mission for revenge. 

By day, Aissa and Zandria play the role of normal young Technocrats eager to fulfill the duties of their new apprenticeships. By night, they plot their revenge to retake their city from the Technocrats. But then Aissa is given a new mission: find the heir to the Technocrat throne, who is rumored to be one of the Heartless, and kidnap her. Born without a working heart, the Heartless survive with a mechanical replacement.

Aissa is more likely to be caught than to be successful, but she's never been one to turn down an assignment, even if the hunt is complicated by a kind Technocrat researcher who is determined to find a cure for the Heartless. But when Zandria is captured by the Technocrats, Aissa will do anything to get her sister back. Even if it means abandoning all other loyalties--and missions--and deciding whether or not it's worth risking everything on getting help from her sworn enemies.

#CoverReveal: Hotheaded Heart by @AnnaAlkire @XpressoTours

Hotheaded Heart
Anna Alkire
(Waterfall Canyon, #1)
Publication date: June 25th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

A fun sexy story, with a dash of suspense, about not hiding from yourself and letting love in. This steamy, laugh-out-loud, enemies to lovers romance pits an annoying prankster, turned small town cop, against the woman forced to live with him.

I’m finally back in Waterfall Canyon, after leaving for a decade, when one-night changes everything. I sort of snapped and beat up my stalker with yard debris. That creep didn’t know who he was messing with. Except, I was the one put in the patrol car.

Sometimes the worst mistake of your life calls for desperate measures—like accepting help from one of the cops that arrested you.

Beau Martin is a police officer, a slob, and also a man that’s promised to never settle down. He’s my best friend’s older brother. We had a history—of him tormenting me ten years ago. Now he leaves me flirty notes, wants me to believe he’s always liked me, and thinks we should blow off some steam.

Torn between Beau and an unrequited work crush, pursued by my increasingly creepy stalker, and fighting to save my career from the fallout of my mistake, I stumble into organizing a bachelor auction for charity. Everything depends on the support of our small town—and how much I can sacrifice for my own heart.

From award winning author Anna Alkire, comes an unforgettable new series that mixes the spice of Meghan Quinn’s A Not So Meet Cute, and the unexpected fun of Lucy Score’s Things We Never Got Over. Anyone looking for banter, cuteness, and a bit of suspense will find it in this steamy contemporary romance with a romantic comedy spin. Grab your copy of Hotheaded Heart today!

#BookReview: The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Synopsis: In #1 New York Times bestselling author Casey McQuiston's latest romantic comedy, two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food and wine tour and challenge each other to a hookup competition to prove they're over each other—except they're definitely not.

Theo and Kit have been a lot of things: childhood best friends, crushes, in love, and now estranged exes. After a brutal breakup on the transatlantic flight to their dream European food and wine tour, they exited each other's lives once and for all.

Time apart has done them good. Theo has found confidence as a hustling bartender by night and aspiring sommelier by day, with a long roster of casual lovers. Kit, who never returned to America, graduated as the reigning sex god of his pastry school class and now bakes at one of the finest restaurants in Paris. Sure, nothing really compares to what they had, and life stretches out long and lonely ahead of them, but—yeah. It's in the past.

All that remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never happened, good for 48 months after its original date and about to expire. Four years later, it seems like a great idea to finally take the trip. Solo. Separately.

It's not until they board the tour bus that they discover they've both accidentally had the exact same idea, and now they're trapped with each other for three weeks of stunning views, luscious flavors, and the most romantic cities of France, Spain, and Italy. It's fine. There's nothing left between them. So much nothing that, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is totally game. And why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?

But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can't have.

#BookReview: Rebel Rose (The Queen's Council #1) by Emma Theriault

Synopsis: Happily ever after is only the beginning as Belle takes on the responsibility of becoming queen and learns to balance duty, love, and sacrifice, all while navigating dark political intrigue—and a touch of magic.

It’s 1789 and France is on the brink of revolution. Belle has finally broken the Enchantress’s curse, restoring the Beast to his human form and bringing life back to their castle in the province of Aveyon. But in Paris, the fires of change are burning, and it’s only a matter of time before the rebellion arrives on their doorstep.

Not so very long ago, Belle dreamed of leaving her provincial home for a life of adventure. But now she finds herself living in a palace, torn between her past as a commoner, and her future as royalty. While Belle grapples with her newfound position, there are those who would do anything to keep her from power.

When she stumbles across a magic mirror that holds a dire warning, Belle wants nothing more than to ignore the mysterious voice calling her to accept a crown she never desired. But violent factions of the revolution may already be lurking within her own castle, and doing nothing would endanger everything she holds dear. With the fate of her country, her love, and her life at stake, Belle must decide if she is ready to embrace her own strength--and the magic that ties her to so many female rulers before her--to become the queen she is meant to be.

Rebel Rose is the first in the Queen's Council series, an empowering fairy tale reimagining of the Disney Princesses-and the real history behind their stories-like you've never seen before.

#BookReview: We Were Restless Things by Cole Nagamatsu

Synopsis: From debut author Cole Nagamatsu comes an atmospheric contemporary fantasy about three teens coming of age in the wake of a mysterious death.

Last summer, Link Miller drowned on dry land in the woods, miles away from the nearest body of water. His death was ruled a strange accident, and in the months since, his friends and family have struggled to make sense of it. But Link's close friend Noemi Amato knows the truth: Link drowned in an impossible lake that only she can find. And what's more, someone claiming to be Link has been contacting her, warning Noemi to stay out of the forest.

As these secrets become too heavy for Noemi to shoulder on her own, she turns to Jonas, her new housemate, and Amberlyn, Link's younger sister. All three are trying to find their place—and together, they start to unravel the truth: about themselves, about the world, and about what happened to Link.

Unfolding over a year and told through multiple POVs and a dream journal, We Were Restless Things explores the ways society shapes our reality, how we can learn to love ourselves and others, and the incredible power of our own desires.