False Haven by Rebecca Rook blitz with giveaway
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False Haven
Rebecca Rook
Publication date: February 13th 2024
Genres: Horror, Young Adult
False Haven is a young adult horror novel for fans of Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Asylum by Madeleine Roux, and Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff.
Seventeen-year-old Vivienne Barston’s life has fallen apart.
With her mother recently dead, her father disappears into his grief – leaving Viv to deal with her sadness and anger alone. Viv turns to destructive behaviors like petty vandalism, but after a disturbing stint in a juvenile detention center frightens her, Viv agrees to a court mandated service opportunity designed to expunge her record. The deal: work for six weeks with a trail conservation crew in the rural woods of southern Oregon, and she’ll be free with a clean slate.
She knows it’s her last chance to fix her life.
When Viv arrives at the small town of Hard Luck, Oregon, she meets her motley crewmates, all with troubles of their own. The unusual group travels to Grafton Stake, a remote and derelict former asylum with a haunted history–and now Viv must face the ghosts of the past while fighting for her future.
Don’t miss this inventive horror novel where Holes meets The Haunting of Hill House!
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EXCERPT:
“Morgan! She’s here, oh my god, she’s here.” Cat tried to push past Viv.
Viv flung up an arm to bar Cat’s movement. “Stop,” Viv hissed through gritted teeth. “Look.”
Cat stopped. She saw. And fell back, almost behind Viv.
“Oh my god,” Viv heard the other girl whimper from behind her.
But she couldn’t take her eyes off the scene before her.
Morgan stood several feet away, near the center of the graveyard. Dressed in a white gown that
gleamed like bone in the twilight, Viv saw that the garment was old-fashioned, with flounces at
the hem and on the chest. The hem trailed in the wet grass at Morgan’s feet. Long sleeves
covered her arms, and Morgan’s long hair draped down her gown and around her body like
ropes, the ends of her hair coated in a sticky fluid. Viv’s eyes trailed over the gown. Red stains,
etched in symbols that resembled keys, were traced across the fabric. Morgan’s hands were
coated in red, and Viv realized, in a distant corner of her mind, that the red was blood.
More blood dripped from her scalp, a gory crown that haloed her white face and wide eyes. Her
lips were stained red, and more fluid dribbled from her mouth as Morgan’s face stretched into
the familiar too wide, grotesque grin. Feathers, blue and black and red, rested on the ground at
Morgan’s feet, also stained with blood.
Morgan turned from the sky and focused on Viv. The grin grew wider.
“Hello.” The high, thin, childish voice was back.
“Have you come to join us?”
Author Bio:
Rebecca Rook designs tabletop games, manages a little free library dedicated to sequential art and comics, and lives in the Pacific Northwest with two wonderful dogs. She writes young adult fiction in the fantasy, thriller, and horror genres.
A 2021-2022 Hugo House Fellow in
Seattle, WA, she also attended the 2021 Tin House YA Fiction Workshop in
Portland, OR. Rebecca was selected as one of the 100 invited writers to participate in the Write Team Mentorship Program’s curated Pitch-a-Thon event before being chosen as a Mentee for the 2021 Program. Prior to this, she completed the wonderful Yearlong Workshop for Young Adult and Middle Grade Fiction at Hugo House.
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The Master of Midnight by William Michael Davidson blitz with giveaway
**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**
The Master of Midnight
William Michael Davidson
Publication date: May 10th 2024
Genres: Adult, Thriller
Finding bodies is part of the job for Detective Otto Haines, but when a victim’s limbs are found in two public parks miles apart from each other, he is utterly confused. Most speculate that it must be some sadistic killer, bent on mutilating his victims and leaving his “calling cards” behind in the ghostly hours of the night.
And there are problems along the way. As Detective Haines tries to hunt down this killer, he must also deal with his rookie partner, Serena Grimm, while trying to keep a secret from his past out of the spotlight. As the trail to the killer becomes a labyrinthine search with shifting suspects and no end in sight, the impossibly horrific nature of these crimes forces Otto to reconsider everything he has known about good and evil.
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EXCERPT:
Otto Haines climbed out of his black Dodge Charger and noted the time. It was nearly one o’clock in the morning. The crime scene tape had already been set up and blocked off a section of Marina Vista Park. Crime scene technicians worked beneath the ocher-colored glow of streetlights and the briny ocean mist that rolled in from Marine Stadium, only a stone’s throw away.
Officer Dave Hemelrick of the LBPD greeted Otto as he strode toward the perimeter.
“Finally made it, huh?” Dave asked. “And no partner tonight? Already scared off the rookie?”
“She’s on another call,” Otto said without telling him the full story: two incidents had been called in, nearly back-to-back. The other was a few miles away, in front of Wilson High School. It was unusual, for sure. Two homicides called in minutes apart from each other was an aberration. Otto couldn’t remember another instance of it.
“Any witnesses here?” he asked, and Hemelrick’s expression darkened as he cleared his throat.
“We got two. One homeless, probably on drugs. We have a young woman too. She’s the one who called it in. Finishing up questioning now.”
“Good. I’d like to speak with both—especially the woman. Have them wait.”
“Will do.”
“Any ID on the victim?”
A similar, grave expression passed over Hemelrick’s face. The flashing lights of the emergency vehicles reflected in his large, dark eyes.
“No, no ID. Not much of a body either.”
Otto understood what Officer Hemelrick meant only a few moments after showing his badge to several officers along the perimeter and ducking below the crime scene tape. Where Otto normally would have found a body—shot, stabbed, or strangled—there was only an arm on the sidewalk, mere inches from the grass. Nothing more. For a moment, it didn’t look real. While a technician snapped photographs of the scene, Otto bent down to examine the grotesque sight.
There was a very small splatter of blood on the sidewalk near where the arm had been severed, which was just below the elbow. It appeared to be a grisly, jagged dismemberment; if this were a horror movie and not a crime scene, Otto might have guessed the arm to have been bitten off and spat onto the grass by some foul creature.
He was able to determine a few things. This appeared to be a male. Thick arm. Dark hair. Caucasian. It took him a moment to note by position of the thumb that this was the left arm. The fingers were ringless.
“Where’s the rest of him?” Otto asked without turning around. When Hemelrick didn’t respond, Otto turned to him.
“That’s what I’m saying. That’s all we’ve got.”
Author Bio:
William Michael Davidson lives in Long Beach, California. A believer that “good living produces good writing,” Davidson writes early in the morning so he can get outside, exercise, spend time with people, and experience as much as possible. He is a writer of suspense and speculative fiction. If he’s not writing, he’s probably at the beach.
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Plucked by the Orc by Jenna Larkin blitz with giveaway
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Plucked by the Orc
Jenna Larkin
(Regency Monster Romances, #1)
Publication date: February 5th 2024
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance
Carnival Row meets My Fair Lady with a steamy sensibility. Welcome to the first Regency Monster Romance, in which the Lords of the Hidden Realm have a place in Society but never in the hearts of London’s fine human ladies.
Until Now.
Scratching by as a flower girl, Iris Gabbert speaks first and asks questions later. All the better to survive the rough and tumble East End streets. So if an odd-looking bloke knocks over a basket brimming with a girl’s means of making a living, what else is she to do but give him a tongue lashing he won’t soon forget? Even if it was an accident. Even if his lordship dresses like a right dandy. Even if he is more alluring than any gent who has passed her way before.
Broad of shoulder and abrupt in manner, the infamous Lord Barrington presents a proposition that promises all the honey with none of the bee’s busy work. And no one ever accused Iris Gabbert of passing on an opportunity. Especially not if it brings her one step closer to her dream of buying a shop. For the small price of improving her manners and donning gorgeous gowns, no less.
Duncan Higgins, Second Duke of Barrington, prides himself on his astute observations of human behavior. All the better to mask the pain of never truly belonging in their sphere. Rejected by the woman he’d hoped to woo, Duncan has withdrawn from Society to focus on his anthropological magnum opus: The Curious Customs of the Human Ton. But when his mischievous younger brother Albion presents him with a dare, Duncan quickly embraces the challenge.
To win the wager, Duncan must transform a humble flower girl into a lady “worthy” of acceptance in Society. His work is cut out for him. The girl he intends to slip into their ranks is uncouth. She refuses to soften her voice. Her favorite bonnet sits crooked on her head, and the rest of her wardrobe is appalling. Yet when Iris Gabbert emerges from her first bath at his elegant Mayfair townhouse, the power of Duncan’s desire ignites.
With sufficient income from his family’s mines to indulge her every whim, Duncan draws Iris into his private and luxurious world. Duncan intends to fulfill her every desire. Every last one. But as a newly refined Iris makes her debut, she catches the eye of the Season’s most eligible human bachelor, triggering Duncan’s deepest fears of rejection. Faced with jealousies, misunderstandings, and a treacherous social landscape, can true love—and lust—prevail?
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EXCERPT:
Duncan Higgins, the Second Duke of Barrington, tucked his muslin cravat tighter underneath his Parisian greatcoat. The evening performance of How You Like It had been crowded with patrons eager to see the new gas lighting at the Theatre-Royal. It was difficult to tolerate the stares his massive form and green-tinged skin attracted, but he could ensure his attire reflected the latest demands of the season.
Better to be respected, or even feared, than to find himself an object of scorn.
His father had stepped foot in London eighteen years prior, the first orc to do so. But Duncan’s height, the horns curling back on his head, and his unusual coloring—unusual on the streets of this city, at least—still drew stares. As in all things connected to the frivolous ton, no one stated anything outright. Rather, he was subject to the averted glances of children seeing one of his kind for the first time. Or the pursed lips of a mother with a daughter of marriageable age looking to catch a gentleman’s eye. A gentleman of wealth, manners, and title.
A human gentleman. They were not eager for their daughters to marry Duncan Higgins, even if he were five and twenty and met their other requirements. He’d learned that lesson well enough.
So be it. Duncan would remain at a distance, observing and taking notes on human society as a scientist would a colony of lemurs or some such.
His younger brother, Albion, would have deemed that too harsh. Albion and their mother came to London from the Hidden Realm two years after Duncan accompanied Father here. He didn’t understand what it had been like for Duncan in those early days. When grown women had screamed at the sight of orcs, no matter how fine their English clothes, and boys hurled rocks at their backs.
As he stepped out to the street this evening, an assortment of dandies packed the space outside the venerable theater, waiting on the carriages that would propel them to the next stop on their nightly rounds about the city. Despite the chill in the air, they left their greatcoats open, the better to showcase ruffled shirts, cravats folded crisply on the cross, and fitted trousers.
Albion often laughed at Duncan’s propensity for tracking human fashion, whilst Duncan argued that all manner of human customs were of interest. The apparel chosen for a particular season spoke to the values and aspirations of the ton. When living as an outsider, one could never know too much about a culture.
And Duncan was an outsider who literally stood out in a crowd. He ducked under the arches outside the theater’s foyer, side-stepping a matron with two daughters prancing before her. The ladies wore stunning multi-colored sapphires—pink, orange, amber, in every shade and gradient—sparkling on pendants hanging from the short pearl necklaces that were all the rage this season.
The rare gemstones originated in his land and were the source of his family’s wealth. Nevertheless, when the mother caught him glancing at her daughters ’jewels, she called them closer to her. Their finery was for the benefit of the human dandies. Not Duncan Higgins. Even if he could have made either of them a duchess.
At one time, such a snub would have caused Duncan great shame. Now, however, these women meant no more to him than the portraits he might examine at a public exhibition in one of the city’s galleries. He tipped his bespoke hat in their direction and continued, wanting only to locate a hackney coach so he might return to his townhouse in a timely manner.
Despite the indulgence of taking in a performance this evening, he wished to abide by his customary schedule, drafting three pages over a glass of port prior to retiring for the night.
Duncan aspired to publish a book in the Hidden Realm so the orcs who came to London in the future were better prepared than he had been.
Considering additional comments for his section on the shenanigans of human mothers, Duncan neglected to mind his feet. Distracted, he stumbled over one of the humans milling in front of the theater, tipping a woven basket filled with flowers over in the process. The blossoms hit the sodden ground in a colorful spray of wilting clumps—pansies, snowdrops, and clematis. He nearly tumbled down beside them.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered, reaching for his handkerchief, twice the size of those used by other gentlemen, to wipe away the mud that had spattered his new coat. And just as the French styles were once again making their way across the Channel. Thanks to that scoundrel Napoleon Bonaparte, London had been deprived of Parisian fashions for several years.
“Hey there, ‘ya big lug!” a female voice called, rising above the din of the humans still bustling out of the theater. “Watch where you’re putting them huge green feet of yours, kitten.”
Duncan had been called many names in his life, but “kitten” had never before counted among their number. It took him a moment to realize the young woman was addressing him.
She clicked her tongue between her teeth as she attempted to reclaim the flowers. “A girl’s tryin ’to make a living here, you know.”
Her voice held the distinctive tinge of the East End, an accent he sometimes heard from shopkeepers. This woman’s outlandish appearance matched the Cockney drawl. Her walking dress and pelisse, both of which might have been a startling bronze hue when in fashion five years ago, clung to her slender figure in an indecent manner. A flamboyant blue-purple iris, its petals shaped like the fleur-de-lis of the old French royal family, with a jagged shot of golden color in the center, topped her bonnet.
To make matters even more ridiculous, he found himself staring at this woman, whose delicate form and features were at odds with the boldest feminine voice he’d had the pleasure of hearing since he left the Hidden Realm. In Duncan’s homeland, women were not given to the performative modesty of the ton. What was that phrase he’d heard a human gentleman use to describe a beguiling young lady who had only recently arrived in London from the country? A diamond in the rough. At the time, the expression had confused him, but now he thought he understood what it meant.
Author Bio:
Jenna Larkin writes historical romance and fiction under different pen names. She is now ready to enter the world of monster romance with an alternate Regency era featuring the brash and powerful Lords of the Hidden Realm. Jenna lives in California with a spoiled tabby cat named Jonesy. When not reading or writing, she enjoys planning cosplay for the next San Diego Comic-Con, experimenting with vegetarian recipes (to mixed results), and obsessing over House Targaryen.
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Cover Reveal: The Love Lie by Kay Marie
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The Love Lie
Kay Marie
(The Love Match, #2)
Publication date: September 24th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
A city girl.
A country boy.
A fake engagement in front of 10 million viewers.
What could possibly go wrong?
To some people, a proposal in the Maldives would be an absolute dream. To Samantha Peters, it’s a certifiable nightmare. Because she’s pretending to be her identical twin sister on the set of a massively popular reality TV show and her potential fiancé is an annoying (and annoyingly sexy) cowboy who refuses to let her win a single argument. When a moment of temporary insanity leaves them accidentally engaged, they have no choice but to figure it out together.
Their plan is simple. Spend a week in paradise sharing the same bungalow so the producers don’t catch wind of the truth. Break up as soon as the cameras go down. And live happily never after.
There’s only one problem. Between jet skis, yacht tours, romantic dinners, and sunset parasails, these two opposites constantly at one another’s throats start to see each other in a new light. Maybe Sam is more than a workaholic with an iron heart. Maybe Cooper isn’t just a cocky cowboy with a restless spirit. But no matter how big the attraction between them grows, the rules are set. They absolutely cannot fall in love. Right?
The Unhoneymooners meets Flawless in this standalone second installment of The Love Match series, perfect for fans of fake engagements, enemies to lovers, cowboy romances, forced proximity, opposites attract, only one bungalow, reality television, tropical locations, and dual POV!
Kay Marie is hosting a giveaway via her Instagram!
Check it out @KayMarieBooks!
Author Bio:
Kay Marie writes swoony romantic comedies with a touch of spice. Her books are full of humor, heartache, and, of course, a HEA! Under the name Kaitlyn Davis, she also publishes YA fantasy. Publishers Weekly has said, “Davis writes with confidence and poise,” while USA Today has recommended her work as “must-read romance.”
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Kilo by Sybil Bartel blitz with giveaway
**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**
Kilo
Sybil Bartel
(The Alpha Elite, #9)
Publication date: February 8th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Breacher.
Navy SEAL.
Mercenary.
Being a breacher on the Teams wasn’t a job, it was my drug of choice. Detonating charges, the blast waves going through me, I lived for the rush of tactical explosive breaching. As long as I kept my brothers safe and didn’t eat a piece of frag, I never looked past my next mission… until I screwed up.
Miscalculating a blast zone, I took a hit. Then I was benched from active duty, told I’d taken one too many subconcussive blows, and forced into medical retirement.
Except the Navy wasn’t the only home for an explosives expert. Alpha Elite Security took me in, and I got to keep my addiction—right until a mysterious redhead walked into my blast zone and suddenly, I needed a new fix.
Code name: Kilo.
Mission: Detonate.
KILO is a standalone book in the exciting Alpha Elite Series by USA Today Bestselling author, Sybil Bartel. Come meet Kilo and the dominant, alpha heroes who work for AES!
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
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EXCERPT:
The elevator stopped on the twenty-sixth floor of the fifty-two-story hotel, and the doors opened.
I didn’t look at Alpha.
I didn’t need to.
We were both staring at the redhead as she barely glanced up and stepped onto the elevator.
Now I knew why the agent wanted to meet at the Four Seasons in Manhattan.
The target’s mistress. In the flesh.
I recalled that one line of intel I’d read.
Artist, depleted bank account, no recent address, born with dual citizenship, third acquired.
The elevator doors closed, and I did what that agent was incapable of.
I got real intel.
The smooth sheet of red hair was recently brushed. Her four-inch heels that were nothing more than a couple straps of thin leather were hurting her feet as she shifted from one foot to the other. The beige-colored dress, tight over her ass, was designer. The brand-name bag on her shoulder was more carry-all than purse, and she was fucking nervous.
Starving artists didn’t wear designer.
They also didn’t have perfect posture, smell like expensive perfume and look like they’d just walked off the runway of a fashion show.
This woman was well-bred.
Too well-bred to be mixed up with an arms dealer.
The doors opened. The noise of the lobby hit, and she slipped out, heading toward the restaurant.
I glanced at Alpha. We didn’t need to speak. My gaze quickly cut to the redhead. His chin tipped toward the opposite direction.
In a coordinated move we’d done countless times, we flanked out.
Alpha went right.
I moved left.
Heading away from the front entrance of the hotel, striding deeper into the crowd, my gaze was locked on her.
Everyone’s gaze was locked on her.
The crowd parted. Men stared. Women glared.
She looked past every one of them.
Head held high, back straight, shoulders proud, her hips and that sheet of silk hair swayed with every step in those high heels.
I closed the distance and hit her six.
Then I scanned the lobby one more time before I made my move.
She reached for the glass door of the restaurant.
I reached around her.
Covering her hand with mine, caging her in, I leaned down to her ear and issued an order. “Remember my voice.”
She flinched, her lush lips parted with a sharp inhale, and she lifted her head.
Amber eyes met mine in the reflection of the glass, and time fucking stopped.
Then she hit me with a soft, sexy voice. “Pardon?”
“You heard me.” Pulling the door open, I scanned the patrons in the restaurant before giving her the push she needed to start moving. “Walk inside.”
Slow, as if she was afraid to look, she started to glance over her shoulder.
I was already gone.
Author Bio:
Sybil Bartel is a USA Today Bestselling author of unapologetic alpha heroes. Whether you’re reading her deliciously dominant mercenaries, bodyguards or military heroes, all of her heart-stopping, page-turning romantic suspense novels have sexy-as-sin alpha heroes!
Sybil resides in South Florida and she is forever Oliver’s mom.
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