Songs of Insurrection by J.C. Kang blitz with giveaway
Songs of Insurrection
J.C. Kang
(Daughter of the Dragon Throne #1)
Publication date: January 6th 2017
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Princess Kaiya’s voice could charm a dragon.
Had she lived when the power of music could still summon typhoons and rout armies, perhaps Cathay’s imperial court would see her as more than a singing fool. With alliances to build and ambitious lords to placate, they care more about her marriage prospects than her voice.
Only the handsome Prince Hardeep, a foreign martial mystic, recognizes her potential. Convinced Kaiya will rediscover the legendary but perilous art of invoking magic through music, he suggests her voice, not her marriage, might better serve the realm.
When members of the emperor’s elite spy clan– Kaiya’s childhood friend Tian and his half-elf sidekick (or maybe he’s her sidekick?)– discover mere discontent boiling over into full-scale rebellion, Kaiya must choose. Obediently wedding the depraved ringleader means giving up her music. Confronting him with the growing power of her voice could kill her.
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EXCERPT:
CHAPTER 1
Not-So-Chance Meetings
If marriage were a woman’s grave, as the proverb claimed, sixteen-year-old Princess Kaiya suspected the emperor was arranging her funeral. Entourage in tow, she shuffled through the castle halls toward the garden where General Lu waited. Given his
notorious dislike of the arts, the self-proclaimed Guardian Dragon of Hua had undoubtedly envisioned a different kind of audition when he requested to hear her sing.
After all, she was dressed like a potential bride.
She buried a snort. The Guardian Dragon—such a pretentious nickname. The only real dragon, Avarax, who lorded over some faraway land, might make for a more appealing audience. A quick trip down his gullet would spare her a slow death in a marriage with neither love nor music.
And it wouldn’t matter what she wore.
The gaudy dress compensated for her numerous physical imperfections, but stifled the only thing that made her special. How was she supposed to sing with the inner robe and gold sash squeezing her chest, in a futile attempt to misrepresent her woefully underdeveloped curves? The tight fold of the skirts concealed her lanky legs, but forced a deliberate pace. At least the short stride delayed the inevitable, while preventing her unsightly feet from tripping on the hanging sleeves of the vermilion outer gown.
At her side, Crown Princess Xiulan glided across the chirping floorboards. Kaiya suppressed a sigh. If only she could move with the nonchalant grace of her sister-in-law, or even the six handmaidens trailing them. She dug her nails into clammy palms. Through this choreographed farce, appearances had to be maintained, lest she embarrass her father, the Tianzi.
Chin up, back straight. A racing heart threatened to ruin her already meager semblance of imperial grace. Eyes forward. Servants knelt on either side of the looming double doors, ready to slide them open. She forced a smile, with her best approximation of feminine charm. If only she’d lived before Dragon Songs had faded into legend, she could’ve sent the realm’s victorious hero fleeing with the song he supposedly wanted to hear.
An aging palace official stepped into her line of sight.
Singular focus on the doors broken, she blinked. Her fluttering pulse lurched to a stop as she blew out a breath.
His blue robes ruffled as he tottered forward with averted eyes and a bobbing head. He creaked down into a bow. “Emergency, Dian-xia,” he said, using the formal address for her rank. “The Tianzi commands you to greet a foreign delegation in the Hall of Bountiful Harvests.”
Author Bio:
JC Kang’s unhealthy obsession with Fantasy and Sci-Fi began at an early age when his brother introduced him to The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Star Trek and Star Wars. As an adult, he combines his geek roots with his professional experiences as a Chinese Medicine doctor, martial arts instructor and technical writer to pen epic fantasy stories.
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Charmed by Chocolate (Love at the Chocolate Shop #6) by Steena Holmes
Charmed by Chocolate by Steena Holmes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Leah has returned to her hometown of Marietta, MT mostly to hide from the press out of embarrassment with an incident on a dating television show that her friend in California has talked her into going on. Leah is hoping that no one in the small town will hear of what happened but it doesn’t take long to see that won’t be the case.
Leah had only gone on the show to help out her friend because Leah actually has feelings for her best friend in Marietta, Wade Burns. But unfortunately Wade didn’t seem to return her feelings when he ignored her telling him she was in love with him a month before so now Leah must also face Wade and her feelings for him.
Charmed by Chocolate is the sixth book in the Love at the Chocolate Shop series set in the small town of Marietta, MT with all the books having some sort of tie in with Sage’s Chocolate shop in the town. As usual with this series this book features a new couple and it’s not necessary to have read the previous to understand the main story line and their relationship. However for those fans of the series there are mentions of previous characters and the small town charm that all Marietta books hold.
For me this edition of the series just seemed to be filled with a bit too much angst for my taste to be honest. The entire plot is one of those huge misunderstandings dragged on throughout the entire book which really drives me absolutely bonkers. I’m usually OK with a bit of drama in a romance read at some point but lifetime friends to not be able to communicate and resolve the dilemma at hand just didn’t seem to ring true to me. But on the plus side I still enjoyed the book as a part of the series and just keeping up with the small town charm even if this couple wasn’t one of my favorites of the series.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Ares Road by James L. Weaver blitz with giveaway
Ares Road
James L. Weaver
(Jake Caldwell, #2)
Published by: Lakewater Press
Publication date: March 2nd 2017
Genres: Adult, Thriller
With his days as a mob enforcer behind him, Jake Caldwell’s trying to go straight.
But it seems his past won’t let him go.
His first job working as a private investigator turns up a teenage girl screaming down a dead man’s cell phone, and Logan, his mentor and the only man with answers, beaten into a coma.
Now Jake’s taking it personally.
The only clues Jake has to unravel the mystery are a Russian with a stolen, silver briefcase and three names: Snell, Parley and Ares. Teaming up with his best friend Bear, the Sheriff of his home town, and an attractive FBI agent, Jake quickly discovers they’re not the only ones looking for the briefcase and its deadly contents.
It’s no longer about seeking revenge.
The thrilling second book in the Jake Caldwell series is a heart-stopping ride that won’t disappoint fans.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble
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EXCERPT:
“How do you know, Mr. Logan?” a uniformed cop named Murphy asked Jake while a couple of young paramedics tended to Logan. Murphy had a low forehead and wide-set eyes, and spoke like he’d been dropped on his head multiple times as a child.
“We work together.”
“You a PI, too?”
“Sort of. I was learning the ropes from Jack. Don’t have a license yet.”
Murphy jotted in a notebook. Paramedics wheeled Logan out of the office on a stretcher, and Jake wondered how they would get him down those three flights of narrow stairs. A rail-thin, black detective with a shaved head and a cheap, tan suit slipped into the room. His polar opposite partner squeezed through the door, red faced with beads of sweat rolling down his jowls from the three-flight climb. The fat one was as tall as he was wide and waddled into Logan’s office. The bald one talked to Murphy, took some notes, and turned to Jake.
“I’m Detective Ogio. You know Jack Logan long, Mr. Caldwell?”
“Three years,” Jake answered. “We were supposed to meet tonight.”
“To do what?”
The detective waited with raised eyebrows for an answer. Ogio’s acorn eyes were hooded, giving him a sleepy look, but there was light there. The guy wasn’t stupid. He was suspicious of Jake, which pissed him off because he’d given them no reason to be suspicious. Plus, Jake couldn’t tell the cop the truth because it would start a whole line of questions he didn’t want to answer. He had to stonewall them.
“We were going out to dinner,” Jake lied.
“Where?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does if I’m asking the question.”
“I didn’t do this,” Jake said.
“I didn’t say you did. You’re a big guy, though. Six two and what…two hundred twenty pounds?”
“Six three, two thirty. Like that matters. Why would I beat the shit out of him and then call you guys?”
“Like I said, I didn’t say you did. Why are you getting defensive?”
“You think I’m being defensive?” Jake asked.
Ogio’s head ticked to the side. “A little.”
“I’m worried, that’s all. My buddy just got his ass kicked.”
“What were you guys working on?”
Jake shifted, tired of answering these banal questions.
“We were between jobs.”
“Must make it tough to learn the ropes.”
“What ropes?”
Ogio’s thin lips pressed together. “The ones Officer Murphy said you were learning from Mr. Logan.”
“A bit. We done here? I want to go to the hospital.”
“Why do you think Mr. Logan’s office was trashed?”
“Somebody was looking for something.” Jake hoped the detective caught his sarcasm. He laid it on pretty thick.
“You think? Maybe you should be a detective.”
“Maybe you should too.”
Ogio grinned. He clearly had a good nature. “He say anything to you about anyone being after him?”
“He said he did a lot of divorce cases. Maybe someone looked for photos of their cheating wife.”
“Always possible,” the detective said. He handed Jake his card—Thomas Ogio.
“Where are they taking Logan?”
“Truman Medical Center,” Ogio answered, flipping his notebook shut. “You got my number. Call me if you think of anything else. Stay reachable.”
Ogio headed toward Logan’s office to join his partner. Jake strode out the door, down the steps, and out into the early March evening. He stood on the sidewalk wondering what to do. Did Logan meet with his contact that would lead them to Voleski? Did the contact do this to him? Was this about another case? Somebody wanted something up there and it wasn’t divorce photos. What did Logan say? The less you know on this one, the better.
Jake rubbed his hand over the day’s growth on his face. The one person who could answer his questions and give him a direction to go was Logan. Jake jumped in his truck and headed toward Truman Medical Center.
Author Bio:
James L Weaver is the Kansas City author of the Jake Caldwell series featuring IAN Thriller of the Year finalist Poor Boy Road and soon to be released Ares Road from Lakewater Press. He makes his home in Olathe, Kansas with his wife of 19 years and two children. His previous publishing credits include a six part story called “The Nuts” and his 5-star rated debut novel Jack & Diane which is available on Amazon.com. Author note: a handful of the raters are actually not related to him.
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The Game Begins by Victoria Danann blitz with giveaway
The Game Begins
Victoria Danann
Publication date: February 27th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult
When it came to the attention of the old ones that their creations, the Earth gods, had been playing games at the expense of humankind for millennia, they put a stop to it. But the rebellious gods were far too addicted to their games to give them up. After several summit meetings, they voted to use their own children as players and locate the playing field in the most treacherous environment in the known universe. High school.
To make it even more interesting, they would strip their children of their memories and withhold the rules of the game. The players believed they were ordinary kids until they were transferred to R. Caine High School. When odd things begin to happen, the players gradually realize they have special gifts or attributes. But that doesn’t mean they can’t die.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
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EXCERPT:
My name is Ever Moore.
I know. It makes me wince every time I say it. When I’m eighteen, I plan to have it legally changed to something that doesn’t make people laugh. But right now I’m stuck.
My dad thinks puns are the highest form of humor. He calls it ‘word play’. That’s right. I’m the spawn of nerds. My dad creates video games. My mother is an ethics professor at UCLA who thinks the battle between good and evil begins at home.
If you want to know just how weird it can get at the Thanksgiving table, I can go one better. My grandfather was a big deal rock star in the seventies. You wouldn’t know the name of the band. So there’s no point in name dropping. After a visit, he exits with a two-finger peace salute like all the other well-adjusted hippie grandparents, but he doesn’t say, “Peace.”
He says, “Rock steady.”
Ugh!
My family is big on manners. They’re too strict to let me say what I think, especially about Buzz’s love life. My grandfather doesn’t want to be called Grandpa or Grandad or Gramps or anything close to normal. Oh no. He wants to be called ‘Buzz’. I have no idea why. That is not his name.
Anyway, the best protest I can mount is rolling my eyes. I keep trying to get his attention and roll my eyes back further into my head when he does the ‘rock steady’ thing, but he will not be deterred.
Anyway I was leading a completely typical and deliciously angsty teenage life in Austin, Texas when my parents were suddenly offered jobs in the LA area at the same time. It was weird, but weird is part of my normal. Always has been.
Since my grandad, the rocker, still lives in LA with the latest girlfriend who’s barely legal – she’s two years older than I am and her name is Charmin, yes, like the toilet paper. If that was my name, I’d have the decency to go by something like Charm, which would really be making lemonade from lemmons. But not Charmin. I don’t think she’s bright enough to understand what people are thinking whenever they say her name. Anyway, with the jobs and the fact that ‘Buzz’ lives there, moving seemed like a good idea.
To them.
Author Bio:
New York Times bestselling authorof seventeen romances including paranormal, scifi, fantasy, contemporary, and teen. Victoria’s Knights of Black Swan series won BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES and PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOVEL OF THE YEAR the past FOUR YEARS IN A ROW. This past year two of her series took the top two places and two of her books took first and second place Paranormal Romance of the Year category. – Reviewers Choice Awards, The Paranormal Romance Guild.
Victoria is co-host of the popular ROMANCE BETWEEN THE PAGES podcast.
→ http://www.romancecast.comWEBSITE: → http://www.VictoriaDanann.com
FACEBOOK: → http://www.facebook.com/victoriadanannbooksThe rich characterizations come from being a lifelong student of behavior, casually, and a serious student of behavior academically. She has also studied comparative religion, myths, and Dark Ages history.
Victoria lives in The Woodlands, Texas with her husband and a very smart, mostly black German Shepherd dog.
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Pin Me Down by Holly Dodd blitz with giveaway
Pin Me Down
Holly Dodd
(Brewhouse #2)
Publication date: February 28th 2017
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Mia Reynolds isn’t interested in relationships. She refuses to follow the same troubled path her codependent mother traveled. Now that she’s graduated from college and has a real job, paying her loads of money, the world is hers for the plucking. She doesn’t need a man at her side, keeping her from having fun. Especially Regi, whose brandy brown eyes and gravelly voice have haunted her since high-school. Together they’re gunpowder and fire, explosive but dangerous. She’s only willing to give him her body, but never her heart.
Regi O’Connell has been concealing his heartbreak for years. Despite the endless parade of women in his bed, throwing panties at him like confetti, there’s only one who girl who has claimed him heart and soul. But Mia refuses to give him a chance outside of the sheets. He’s her dirty little secret, one she has no plans on revealing to the world.
Sometimes all it takes is one incident, one flash of regret, to change who you were, and become who you are meant to be. Mia’s heart is unyielding, a lock-box without a key. She needs to let him in, or let him go. He’s giving it one more shot to show the women of his dreams that love doesn’t make you weak, but stronger than steel.
This second chance new adult romance novel features a commitment phobic heroine, and the alpha male who loves her despite it. As always in a Holly Dodd book, there is NO cheating and a HEA guaranteed.
Author Bio:
Holly Dodd is an award-winning author. Her novel Covet won the 2016 RWA Beacon award for Romantic Suspense. A member of the Romance Writers of America, her stories are often spicy, with everything salacious right on the page. Ranging from the contemporary anti-hero, to paranormal and futuristic, she loves an Alpha Hero in any setting and a woman destined to keep him on his toes.
Calling Pennsylvania home, she loves autumn, the beach, and beautiful weather. When she’s not writing, reading, or baking, she’s wrangling her three psychotic felines, and wondering where her muse will take her to next.
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