Cover Reveal: A Guise of the Sea by Jenna Mandarino
A Guise of the Sea
Jenna Mandarino
Publication date: August 1st 2023
Genres: Adult, Historical, Women’s Fiction
Embark on a High-Stakes Adventure in “A Guise of the Sea” – A Swashbuckling Tale of Love, Betrayal, and Redemption
In a world of deception and danger, Emme Clark must unravel the mysteries of her past and navigate the treacherous waters of love, all while facing a deadly adversary with secrets of his own.
A Desperate Quest for the Truth
When Emme Clark’s husband mysteriously vanishes, she must obtain proof of his death to secure her future. But with no record of his demise, she has no choice but to follow him across the ocean by joining the crew of the privateering ship, the Bluebell. Under the command of the enigmatic Highlander-turned-privateer Captain Xander Lock, Emme must disguise herself as a man to avoid attracting attention from the British Crown.
A Dangerous Alliance
As Emme bears witness to a brutal murder committed by the ruthless Commodore Cobbe, she learns that Captain Lock has been hunted by Cobbe ever since the Battle of Culloden. In a daring gamble, Emme and Lock form an uneasy alliance, posing as betrothed lovers to get close to their common enemy. But their plans take an unexpected turn when Cobbe forces them into a marriage, leaving Emme with her proof of death but a new husband in tow.
A Love Unforeseen
As Emme and Lock navigate their unexpected union, they find themselves drawn to each other in ways they never imagined. But their newfound love is tested when they uncover a sinister plot involving missing soldiers from Emme’s late husband’s ship and the enigmatic Oak Island. As dark secrets come to light, Emme must solve the mystery of Oak Island or risk losing the love of her life forever.
Set sail with “A Guise of the Sea” and join Emme and Lock on a thrilling journey filled with danger, intrigue, and the power of unexpected love.
Author Bio:
Jenna Mandarino (JM) is a historical and fantasy women’s fiction writer usually incorporating romance and your favorite tropes. She is a freelance content editor having formerly worked at
small publishing houses. By day, she is a Teacher on Assignment and specializes in behavior interventions and is attending school for her Doctorate in Education. She lives in Southern California where she can often be found drinking champagne, cooking, speaking French, trying a new TikTok organization method, and with her husband chasing after her two sons.
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Resonate by Erin Wilkerson blitz with giveaway
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Resonate
Erin Wilkerson
(The Avalon Series, #1)
Publication date: May 1st 2023
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Sixteen year old Tamar Linsky has had enough!
After surviving twenty-two devastating quakes on an increasingly unstable Earth, she leaves the slow destruction of her world behind for an internship as far away from tragedy as she can get—humanity’s first lunar colony.
Lunar Base One is a high-tech research facility brimming with the brightest young minds from all over the world, but through it all, she will beat her peers and make a name for herself as a groundbreaking scientist. Even if a good-looking prankster threatens to distract her—knowing relationships are forbidden—bringing more secrets and drama than Tamar can bear.
Just when she thought she was getting a grip on the pressure, a geological catastrophe wipes out civilization back home.
Now cut off from the Earth she was desperate to escape, Tamar and her crew must find a way to survive on their own.
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EXCERPT:
River fell, grabbing a firm hold of the rovers bumper while hanging off the side of a hole in the moons surface. A deafening scream followed from the girl.
He caught her outstretched hand. The remote rover and core sample smashed into pieces below. She dangled in a frenzied panic. The rover shifted from their weight. “Don’t let go of me!” she screamed.
“I’ve got you!” he shouted back.
That calmed her a little, but she still whimpered. The rover stopped, hung halfway off the side of the cliff.
He studied it. It wasn’t going to hold much longer.
“Tamar! River? What happened?” Ringo cried out through the commlink.
“Stay back! It’s a cave-in!” River scoured the cliff for a spot he could jump for. If he just didn’t have the princess clinging to his arm, he could get out of here easy.
Big John, Ringo, and Ginger showed up at the edge of the rocky cliff. The three stood motionless.
“Hold onto her River!” Ringo’s frantic voice howled, with his hands on his helmet. Ginger began to radio the control room, explaining what happened.
“I’m trying.” River gripped Tamar’s hand tighter. “Are you going to do something?”
“Let me think!” Ringo screeched back, his hands tense at the sides of his helmet.
River’s eyes narrowed. “This thing’s not going to hold much longer.”
“Ringo, the trekkers!” Big John’s voice boomed. The two disappeared from the edge.
“It’s going to take them both to hold that beast.” Ringo explained through their steady huffs. River didn’t remember the trekkers being close, but at least they were doing something other than standing there.
He examined the pit below, studying the surface. Then, he spotted it.
“Okay listen to me,” he said to the girl, gazing down at her petrified face. “There’s a small patch of soft moon dust off to the right over there. I’m going to toss you onto it.”
“Over there? You can’t throw me that far,” she screamed.
“No, River. Don’t let go of her. We’re almost there,” Ringo shouted.
“Shut it, Ringo!” He softened his eyes, hoping she would understand. “Don’t listen to him, you’ll be fine.”
“River, stop! It’s too deep! We’ve got the trekkers,” Ringo shouted through Tamar’s constant screams and pleas. She murmured a weak, terrified wail, begging him not to do this to her.
Why was she acting like this? Did she think he was a monster? “You want to live, don’t you?” River yelled.
She nodded, gripping his hand so tight it went numb through his glove.
“Then listen to me!” The rover inched forward, its weight crumbling the rock side, and he no longer cared for her permission.
He swung his arm back, focusing on the point of impact, then tossed her toward the dust pile. She flew, screaming the whole way.
Her bottom landed safely, just as he said she would. But time had run out for him. The rover dove off the cliff, leaving him no other choice but to ride down with it.
Author Bio:
“Erin Wilkerson is a writer of YA fantasy and science fiction stories, which often feature fierce, comedic, and sassy female characters ready to take on the world and kick butt. She aspires to hole up somewhere with her manuscripts, writing in isolation for hours, but there is no way that’ll ever happen since she is the proud ringleader of this traveling troupe of rambunctious monkeys. Life swallows up her time, but it makes for hilarious stories to share with her readers. She resides in Texas with her circus. Her debut novel, RESONATE, is set to release on May 1st.”
— Written by close friend and fellow author Ari Augustine.
GIVEAWAY!
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Cover Reveal: The Art of Husbandry by Jay Hogan
**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 Art of Husbandry
Jay Hogan
Publication date: June 1st 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
When life drowns you in lemons, to hell with making lemonade. I wanted to burn the whole world. But eighteen months from the day my life was torn apart, I’m tired of the anger. Tired of the nightmares. Tired of putting one foot in front of the other just trying to survive.
Three months on a high country sheep station in the middle of nowhere is exactly the reboot I need. A chance to break free. To breathe again. To find a way forward. I put my entire life on hold and head south to Mackenzie Country.
But falling for the captivating young station boss was never part of the plan. Holden Miller might be smart and sexy and push all of my dusty buttons, but we come from two different worlds. I’m not looking for a relationship. I’m not interested in love. I’m done with all that.
But Holden doesn’t care about my rules. Nestled safely in the arms of the spectacular Southern Alps, on an isolated sheep farm at the top of the world, Holden begins knitting my battered heart together one careful stitch at a time. And with every pass of the thread, every braid of the river on our doorstep, I catch a tantalising glimpse of something I’d almost given up on.
Happiness, and maybe even love.
If I have the courage to reach out and grab them.
Author Bio:
Heart, humour and keeping it real.
Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.
She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She’s travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel
Find Jay in all the places: https://jayhoganauthor.contactin.bio/
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Four Charming Spells (Kitchen Witch Mysteries #4) by Lynn Cahoon #bookreview #mystery
**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.**
Title: Four Charming Spells
Author: Lynn Cahoon
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: March 28, 2023
Page Count: 267
My rating: 4 stars
About the book:
In this spellbinding continuation of the Kitchen Witch Mystery series by New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon, witchcraft trainee Mia Malone summons tasty dishes and unearthly murder suspects . . .
Before Mia Malone can sip tea at Time for a Cuppa, the charming new shop in Magic Springs, Idaho, her life changes course in downright supernatural ways. First her blossoming catering business and cooking school get a boost with the addition of an enchanting cake decorator. Then she catches the attention of the tea shop owner herself, local coven member Mahogany Medford, who’s set on immersing Mia in a twisted mystery that appears all but unsolvable without a special kind of help . . .
Still reeling from the recent loss of her mother and believing there was more to the abrupt death, Mahogany urges Mia to cast light on the truth. But old secrets might come back to haunt her in an investigation that demands conjuring up phantoms from the past on the property of Mia’s Morsels. Now, wearing Gran’s protective stone and empowered by a circle of trusted confidants, Mia must reveal who—or what—killed Ms. Medford as another deadly surprise brews!
Includes Recipes!
Four Charming Spells by Lynn Cahoon is the fourth full length book in the paranormal cozy Kitchen Witch Mysteries series. The Kitchen Witch Mysteries also have three novellas in the series along with the three full length novels which include a prequel to open the whole series. As with most cozy mysteries though each of these books does contain it’s own mystery that will be fully solved within the book so they can be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. There is character development that carries over from book to book for those that follow the series from the beginning.
In the prequel novella in the series readers were introduced to Mia Malone who had traveled back to her hometown of Magic Springs, Idaho at the urging of her grandmother who Mia fondly calls Grans. Magic Springs is a place where magic is out in the open and Mia’s family is far from normal with Mia inheriting her Grans magical abilities and she now uses that witchcraft to create her tasty culinary treats.
Since that trip back to Magic Springs though Mia’s world had fallen apart with Mia finding herself single when her boyfriend left her and also became unemployed. Mia decided that the best thing to do was to return to Magic Springs for good where she could use her magic in a gourmet dinner delivery business. Now Mia’s catering business is booming even with hiring a new enchanting cake decorator. However, Mia is asked by Mahogany Medford to help solve a seemingly impossible of just what happened to Mahogany’s mother and whether her death was murder.
Anyone following my reviews may have noticed that I’m a huge fan of Lynn Cahoon’s cozy mysteries. I follow several of her other series and have read the Kitchen Witch Mysteries from the beginning too. I was happy to jump back into this paranormal cozy series and loved returning to Magic Springs with these characters I’ve grown to love too. There’s plenty of laughs that I’ve come to expect from this writer’s cozies and always a fun mystery to solve so again after finishing this fourth installment I’ll be waiting my chance to return with the next in the series.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Find this book online:
About the author:
Lynn Cahoon is the author of the NYT and USA Today best-selling Tourist Trap cozy mystery series. She also pens the Cat Latimer series, the Farm to Fork series, and the Kitchen Witch series. Small town setting, big time fun with a bit of murder to keep it interesting. Romance novels are published under the pen name, Lynn Collins. She lives in a small river town like Mark Twain with her husband and three fur kids.
Sign up for her newsletter and get a free story at http://www.lynncahoon.com
Stay For Me by Tam DeRudder Jackson 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.**
Stay For Me
Tam DeRudder Jackson
(The Balefire Series, #5)
Publication date: April 27th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Garrett
I’ve made a few mistakes over the last decade, but the one I regret most was letting Olivia Carter go. When I see her again, the past crashes over me, reminding of everything I ever wanted and gave up when I let our dreams separate us.
Managing Balefire into the world’s biggest rock band came at a personal cost—walking away from my only love. When fate brings her back into my life, I’m determined not to screw up again. After Balefire hires her studio to produce their next music video, I have a second chance to rewrite our song—if I can convince her I’m a changed man.
Olivia
Ten years ago, Garrett Phillips chose to go with “his boys” and leave me in the dust of a ratty old tour bus. Now I’m working my ass off to make a name for myself as a Hollywood music video director. Unfortunately, my fledgling studio is bleeding money, and my only hope of saving it is to make a video with the biggest rock band on the planet. Too bad that means working with the man who tore my heart out of my chest when he chose his rock ’n ’roll dream over me.
He says he’s grown up. He says we can make things work. But can I truly trust that this time he will stay for me?
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
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EXCERPT:
Garrett’s nostrils flared, and he shifted on his stool. His eyes remained locked on mine as he slid his headphones from his head and set them aside. Cursing the tiny tremor in my hands, I removed my headphones and set them somewhere on the control board beside me.
“Olivia.”
My name on his lips rasped over me like calloused hands over my skin. Involuntary shivers rippled through me, and I clamped my thighs even tighter together.
I stopped whatever he wanted to say next with my finger pressed to his full lips. For a long moment, neither of us moved. Then he reached up and smoothed his fingers up my palm and higher along the length of my fingers. His eyes dipped to our hands. Though we barely touched,
sensations like electric currents sparked every nerve, beginning in my hand and arcing up my arm to trip my heart nearly into arrhythmia. My breath caught as he slid his fingers through mine, up and down, up and down, before he twined our hands together with a gentle squeeze. I closed my eyes and worked to find some air.
Author Bio:
Tam DeRudder Jackson’s love of all things Celtic led her to write the Talisman Series. Steeped in Celtic mythology, these steamy, fated mates, paranormal romance adventures are set in the mountains of Tam’s native Montana and the Highlands of Scotland. Rogue, the most recent book in the series, was named a best romance of 2022 by the Independent Book Review.
An avid fan of rock music, Tam never misses a chance to see a live show, especially if it’s Shinedown, one of her favorite bands. Her love of rock music inspired her contemporary rock star Balefire Series, a sexy fun ride following the lives and loves of the members of a fictional mega-band. Readers of this series consistently give the books five-star reviews.
Tam earned her BA in English from Montana State University and her M.Ed. in literacy from Lesley University. After a short teaching stint in Bath, England, she settled in the wilds of Wyoming where she taught adolescents all about the Celts and a bit about writing before she stepped out of the classroom to pursue her writing career full time.
When she’s not writing, you can find her working her way through her mountainous TBR piles, alpine skiing, or traveling to some new place on her ever-expanding bucket list. To stay up to date on her adventures, connect with Tam on her website http://www.tamderudderjackson where you can subscribe to her newsletter.
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