Thorns at Sunrise by Janeen Ippolito blitz with giveaway
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Thorns at Sunrise
(Janeen Ippolito)
Publication date: March 23rd 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
A young queen. Her imaginary friend. A kingdom on the verge of death.
She believes she’s crazy.
Queen Usilea has a secret–and he lives in her mind. Ever since she was six years old, her imaginary friend has been her closest companion, and her arranged marriage has been a great dread. When she learns her betrothed and the royal family have suddenly died, she feels obligated to attend the funeral in the foreign land of Absteph–and perhaps learn more behind their mysterious passing.
He only wants the truth.
Petar endures great pain to protect those he does not remember. His only solace is a shadowy woman who he loves–even though she denies that he exists. When a terrible tragedy occurs in his kingdom, that mysterious woman is his only hope of bringing justice to light. For the cage that imprisons him grows harsher every day, and he is losing the fight.
But there are thorns at sunrise.
Brought together on the barest thread of reality, Usilea and Petar must discover what really happened to the royal family. But Petar’s time is running out. Soon not even a Mender like Usilea will be able to save him.
This YA romance features a gender-swapped Sleeping Beauty in an original fantasy world on the brink of doom.
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EXCERPT:
Her imaginary friend was playing a new trick on her. This time, she would discern his meaning.
Usilea set down the quill on the paper, frowning at the words mocking her from the page. She pressed her lips together in thought. Thorns at sunrise? What could it mean? What was her mind trying to tell her?
“What do you think of my riddle?”
As usual, the voice didn’t come from within her mind directly, but somewhere outside. Yet were she to glance around, all she would perceive is the vaguest sensation of shadow and soul in the periphery of her vision.
And so, she refrained from looking. Instead, she focused on the words she had written, words he had spoken into her mind at some point in the night.
I think … you’re afraid.
“And what am I afraid of, goldenbird?” Amusement teased the edges of his words. She had known her friend was a male since the first time they had met, whenever that had been. Sometime after her sixth year. “Tell me, you who know me so well.”
I know you as well as I might any figment of my imagination.
“Likewise. That is not the answer to the riddle.”
A sigh escaped her. Usilea leaned back in her cushioned chair and rubbed the tense area around her eyes. You are afraid of being lost. You are afraid of being found. You are afraid of darkness, and you are afraid of light.
No answer came from the voice in her mind. A faint smile curved her lips. He only withdrew like that when she was right and he was bewildered. She had learned that pattern over the years as they had conversed. He liked keeping his mysteries, while he equally delighted in unveiling the mysteries of others. A curious behavior for her imaginary friend.
A strange, stabbing sensation pierced through her musing.
What did it imply about her that her closest friend wasn’t real?
Author Bio:
Janeen Ippolito writes about misfits who defy expectations, whether in fairy tale, steampunk fantasy, urban fantasy, humorous paranormal romance, or poetry. She also spreads wordtastic joy in her work as a fearless book strategist, nonfiction author, and coach. In her spare time, she swordfights and posts cute animal memes.
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Cover Reveal: Broken Dreams by Abbie Roads
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Broken Dreams
Abbie Roads
(Beautiful Nightmare, #2)
Publication date: May 9th 2023
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance
A stalker. A killer. A v!rg!n hero who will sacrifice himself to save the woman he loves.
FBI Special Skills Consultant Lathan Montgomery has a genetic anomaly that he uses to solve cold cases, but it forces him to live in seclusion. When he saves a woman from a roadside attack, instead of her presence causing him to lose control, she soothes him. For the first time in his life, he experiences love.
But someone is watching them and planning to make them both suffer.
Broken Dreams is the second book in Abbie Roads ’Beautiful Nightmare Series of dark romantic thrillers. It features a v!rg!n hero who never thought he’d find love. If you devour true crime and romance novels then you’ll love a series that combines both in a roller-coaster ride of danger, mind games, and swoon worthy love.
Buy this dangerously dark romance today!
Trigger warning: Depictions of SA and violence.
Previously published under the title Hunt the Dawn
Author Bio:
Abbie Roads is the best-selling author of the Fatal Dreams Series and the Fatal Truth Series. Her novels have been finalists in many prestigious contests including The Golden Heart, The Greater Detroit Booksellers Best, The Oklahoma National Readers ’Choice Award, The Write Touch, The Strut Your Stuff Contest, The Aspen Gold Contest, The Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, The Heart of Excellence Readers ’Choice Award, The Midnight Sun, The Kathryn Hayes Contest, The Chanticleer, The Daphne du Maurier, The National Readers ’Choice Award, The New England Readers ’Choice Contest, The Beverly Award, and The Maggie Award. Her debut novel Race the Darkness was Publishers Weekly Top 10 Pick for Fall and Never Let Me Fall is an Amazon Editor’s Pick.
By day Abbie Roads is a mental health counselor always focusing on the bright side. By night she writes on the dark side, putting her characters through the wringer before she gives
them their happily-ever-after. She loves a good inspirational quote and is a fan of true crime.
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Feeding My Addiction…
**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.**
It’s another week where I get to pat myself on the back for behaving yet again. Of course my behaving it still adding quite a few lovely new titles to my ever towering TBR so there’s eight new lovely reads to share this week! 😀
As always clicking the covers will take you to the book on Amazon!**
New additions from Netgalley Mar 19th – Mar 26th
The Maid meets The Last Thing He Told Me in this fun, fresh, and twisty debut whodunnit about a grandmother-mother-daughter trio who come together as amateur sleuths to solve a murder in their coastal California town.
Nothing brings a family together like a murder next door.
High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud of:her keen intelligence, impeccable taste, and the L.A. real estate empire she’s built. But when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepy coastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage—and hoping that boredom won’t kill her before the cancer does.
Then Jack—tiny in stature but fiercely independent—happens upon a dead body while kayaking near their bungalow. Jack quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Beth thinks Lana should focus on recovery, but Lana has a better idea. She’ll pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power.
With Jack and Beth’s help, Lana uncovers a web of lies, family vendettas, and land disputes lurking beneath the surface of a community populated by folksy conservationists and wealthy ranchers. But as their amateur snooping advances into ever-more dangerous territory, the headstrong Rubicon women must learn do the one thing they’ve always resisted: depend on each other.
A sun-soaked debut about love, sisterhood, and destiny, set in the glorious beach town of Kismet, Fire Island . . . Can Amy’s marriage survive Jo’s wedding?
For as long as anyone can remember, it has been Amy, Jo, and Ben. Amy and Jo, the inseparable Sharp twins who couldn’t be more different; and Ben, Amy’s childhood sweetheart turned husband.
But as this year’s Fourth of July weekend approaches, something feels off. Jo’s whirlwind engagement and wedding ceremony now eclipses the twins’ long-awaited thirtieth birthday. Recent arguments between Amy and Ben have left their marriage feeling more like make-believe than ever-after. And as the family beach town transforms for Jo’s wedding weekend, Amy’s trusted trio will be tested by the most unexpected hurdle yet: the arrival of a handsome, mysterious newcomer in a best man suit. One with a strikingly familiar face. A face that Amy had planned to never see again.
This holiday weekend, even the strongest SPF won’t protect the Sharp twins from all the secrets about to take center stage.
Secrets Never Die is a creepy thriller from New York Times bestselling author Vincent Ralph about four teens who all have secrets that are coming back to haunt…and terrorize.
We call it the Dark Place. I don’t know who built it or when but, for us, it’s special.
Every year Sam Hall and his friends hold funerals for their secrets in an abandoned hut in the woods that they call the Dark Place. But this year, their secrets are coming back from the dead…to terrorize them.
Sam is a former child star whose career went up in flames – literally. And no one, not even his best friend knows why. His friends each hold a secret pertaining to the night. A secret they would all like buried.
Now someone from the past is blackmailing them with their dangerous secrets. Sam isn’t sure who he can trust, who’s watching him – or how far he’s willing to go to bury the past once and for all.
When you’re alone in the dark, some things won’t stay hidden.
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis returns to Sunrise Cove with a beguiling, lighthearted story about fresh starts, second chances and true love.
When Harper Shaw’s life falls apart, she knows it’s time for a change. She removes everything that doesn’t spark joy—from her soul-sucking job to eating kale to making lists—and sets off for the last place she was happy, Lake Tahoe (who wouldn’t feel good there, right?) to fulfill her dream of opening her own bakery.
With her Sugar Pine Bakery in between a tavern, owned by sexy, grumpy Bodie Campbell, and a bookstore, run by her new BFF, she feels a peace she’s never experienced since…well, forever.. Then she meets Ivy, a teenage runaway, who barrels into her heart. She sees a lot of herself in Ivy and takes her under her wing, but the teenager has secrets…
When those secrets explode, it changes Harper’s new world, and she’ll learn, it’s never too late to start over, it’s never too late to figure out your life, and best of all, it’s never too late to let yourself believe in love.
Lorelai Jones had it all: a thriving country music career and a superstar fiancé. Then she played one teenie tiny protest song at a concert and ruined her entire future, including her impending celebrity marriage. But five years later, she refuses to be done with her dreams and calls up the one person who stuck by her, her dear friend and her former fiancé’s co-writer and bandmate, Craig.
Craig Boseman’s held a torch for Lorelai for years, but even he knows the backup bass player never gets the girl. Things are different now, though. Craig owns his own indie record label and his songwriting career is taking off. If he can confront his past and embrace his gifts, he might just be able to help Lorelai earn the comeback she deserves—and maybe win her heart in the process.
But when the two reunite to rebuild her career and finally scratch that itch that’s been building between them for years, Lorelai realizes a lot about what friends don’t do. For one, friends don’t have scratch-that-itch sex. They also don’t almost-kiss on street corners, publish secret erotic poetry about each other, have counter-top sex, write songs for each other, have no-strings motorcycle sex, or go on dates. And they sure as heck don’t fall in love… right?
Erin Hahn’s Friends Don’t Fall in Love is about long-time friends, taking chances, and finding out that, sometimes, your perfect person was right there in your corner all along.
Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.
Magic flickers.
Love flames.
Chaos reigns.
Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called an abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before.
Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about—appeasing her stepmother’s cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control—without having to deal with rumors of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily flustered young man named Han brings her into contact with a secret magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn, Zhara realizes there may be more to these rumors than she thought. A mysterious plague is corrupting the magicians of Zanhei and transforming them into monsters, and the Guardians of Dawn believe a demon is responsible.
In order to restore harmony and bring peace to the world, Zhara must discover the elemental warrior within, lest the balance between order and chaos is lost forever.
For fans of Laura Childs’ Tea Shop Mysteries and Ellery Adams’ Culinary Cozy Mysteries, the Amish Candy Shop series combines a fascinating look at Amish life with the fun of candy making and a hint of romance between chocolatier Bailey King and her law enforcer boyfriend.
Bailey King, star of TV’s Bailey’s Amish Sweets, is building her dream candy factory in Harvest, Ohio. But no sooner is the frame of the new building up than she finds the dead body of a surly contractor who has a long list of enemies—including people in the Amish community. To add to the drama, Bailey is being filmed by a crew for her upcoming show. . .
When Bailey’s TV producer pitched a reality show about building the factory, Bailey was shocked that the network picked it up. She’s not shocked that many of the Amish working on the jobsite refuse to be on camera. However, local community organizer Margot Rawlings is ecstatic—because the filming coincides with Harvest’s First Annual Blueberry Bash. Margot believes the media attention will make Harvest the most popular destination in Holmes County. But now, the county may become known for all the wrong reasons . . .
Bailey will have to sift through a crowd of angry villagers and thousands of blueberries to solve the murder, save her new venture, and protect her Amish friends. At the same time, she and her longtime boyfriend, Aiden Brody, are making big decisions about their future together—a future that may be in jeopardy if Bailey is the next pick on a killer’s list . . .
With a “beautifully described setting and a cast of charming, small-town characters” (Booklist), this delightful cozy mystery series set in a Cape Cod tea shop will be irresistible for fans of Laura Childs’ Tea Shop series.
Afternoon tea isn’t just about flavorful brews and delicious treats. It’s also about presentation—fine china teacups (never mugs!), with carefully coordinated saucers and plates. With her fragile stock running low, Lily has an excuse to indulge in one of her favorite hobbies: visiting an antiques fair for replacements.
Among other finds, Lily snaps up a charming Peter Rabbit-themed tea set in a wicker basket, perfect for children’s events. But a few days later, a woman named Kimberly marches into the tearoom, rudely demanding to buy it back—then later returns and removes an envelope hidden in the basket’s lining.
An acquaintance of Lily’s named Rachel is on the trail of the tea set too. Apparently, she and Kimberly are half-sisters, searching for their mother’s final will. To her annoyance, Lily is dunked into the middle of this mess—especially when her ex-boyfriend turns out to be involved. But it’s more than a storm in a teacup when one of the sisters is found dead on the grounds of the B&B owned by Lily’s grandmother, Rose.
Is this a simple case of greed boiling over, or are there other suspects in the blend? It’ll take some savvy sleuthing from Lily, Rose, and their allies to find the answers before a killer shatters more lives . . .
The Mixtape to the Real Me by Jake Martinez 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 Mixtape to the Real Me
Jake Martinez
Publication date: March 24th 2023
Genres: LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult
After a crazy summer of teenage drama and newfound love, Justin Ortega and Dominic Mendoza have decided to take things slower in order to really get to know each other. Both have dreamt of being with someone who truly understands them, but neither teen thought it would be this hard, especially when you have to keep your relationship a secret from the whole world.
Just when they think their lives will always be filled with sneaking around, along comes a new student who opens their eyes to some wonderful new possibilities. But the road to a bright future has some harsh realities, and not everyone is pleased to see the new couple roam the halls of Garza High. Things get especially tense for Dominic when an unwanted figure shows up wanting to see him.
Will Justin and Dominic be able to find a happy ending, or will their past and future collide in ways they never expected?
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
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EXCERPT:
Dominic
I know I shouldn’t be laughing. This isn’t the time. But oh, man, I can’t help it.
“Well, are you going to stop?” Justin asks. He’s not happy. I can tell because his lips are doing that thing where they kind of curl in.
I’m trying to tell him that I don’t mean anything bad. But I can’t breathe. I’m laughing way too hard. Probably harder than I should.
“I’m…I’m…I…” That’s all I can get out. He turns away from me and looks straight out the window. It’s starting to rain, and for some reason, the rain, dark clouds, and song are making me laugh even harder.
“Wow, I can’t believe you.”
“Ba…Ba…Babe, come…on. List…en.” I want him to listen. To really listen to it, and to look around.
“Listen to what, the song? I am.” He sounds annoyed. “No, re…really.”
He turns around and looks out the window again. His
arm raises, his hand headed straight for under his chin. Justin closes his eyes, and takes a few breaths. A moment later he snorts out a laugh.
“You…see.” I say, catching my breath a bit.
“Oh my God, that’s too perfect, isn’t it? The song that we can best relate to is a guilty pleasure from Grease 2.”
I’m finally calm enough to talk again. “Yeah, I mean, those words. Except for the stuff about Stephanie, but wow, it all fits. So much.”
It is good to laugh. Really good. I needed it.
“Is that going to be us on Monday?” I joke. “Are we going to be walking through the hall on our way to the office all sad while life keeps going on around us? The way the guy does?” Justin made me sit through the movie a few weeks back. I’m not into musicals, and I thought for sure this one was going to suck. But I kind of liked it. I could only tell Justin that. If I mentioned it to Lila, she would blow a fuse. She is a hardcore fan of the original Grease, and anyone saying that they liked part two more resulted in a punch to the arm. Only Justin, who likes part two better also, seemed to get away with it.
“There are worse things we could do,” he says with a playful smile. It takes me a moment, then I realize it’s a song from the first movie.
“You dork,” I say, rolling my eyes. I want to kiss him so bad right now. Just rip off the seat belt that I still have on, and move over there and get all over him. But even if we were a straight couple, I probably wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want people staring at us. I don’t know how those people from school can do that at the movies and other places.
Maybe we should have talked about what is bothering me now. But it doesn’t feel right, and I don’t feel too good. My stomach is still in knots, though not as bad. Not just from the dance, but from the letter. Okay, it’s mostly the letter. It took over everything. Even hiding it in my drawer didn’t do anything. I just kept staring at the dresser, wondering if the letter was still there. I think I was just hoping that it found a way to vanish. But when I went to pull out some underwear, there it was.
I want to talk about it with Justin. I need to hear what he thinks. Not now though. We need to get this done first. I know him though. He’ll drop everything to help me with this. Shit, why did this have to happen now? Why did that man have to write to me?
“Just let me know when you are ready,” Justin says. His eyes have changed. He looks worried now.
“I will, I just want to stay here for a moment. Get my thoughts together. Spend some time with you that isn’t focused on what happened.”
Author Bio:
Jake Martinez is a former South Texas resident who has found a new home in Chicago. He has been writing all his life but has only recently sought to be published. His debut novel, The Mixtape to My Life, reflects on life as a gay teen growing up in South Texas. Jake holds an MFA in Creative Writing and also loves to write plays and screenplays. Aside from writing, you can find him hanging out at home with his husband, their young son, and an eclectic group of fur babies.
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Lie With Me by Gwen Hernandez 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.**
Lie With Me
Gwen Hernandez
(Night Herons, #1)
Publication date: March 21st 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Old betrayals, new enemies, and a second chance at forever.
On a mission to expose the crimes of a powerful man, Emma Gallagher’s informant is killed before he can hand over the proof she needs. When the man who once broke her heart gets the files instead, she’ll use their fierce attraction, his guilty conscience…whatever it takes to recover the evidence to bring a murderer to justice.
Former special operator Jason Chin was hired to protect his wealthy client’s interests, but when an assassin attacks Emma, he’s forced to rethink everything he knows about the job, the choices of his past, and the woman he never stopped loving. On the run with her, he risks it all to outwit a deadly enemy and convince Emma to be his future.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play
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EXCERPT:
“This is your chance at fifteen minutes of fame.”
“I’ve already had mine.” Turning away from Nat with a sigh, he gave Emma’s hand a quick squeeze before letting go, and she immediately missed his warmth. “It’s someone else’s turn.”
He’d had far more than fifteen minutes. She cocked her head and squinted against the low sun to look up at him. “Did you like any of it?”
He laughed without humor. “Of course I did. All that attention, being treated like a superstar, it feeds the ego hard.” Removing his hat, he ran a hand through his short hair and tucked the cap into a side pocket on his shorts. “But I also hated it.”
“How come?” She knew part of the answer. He’d once explained to her the unique pain of being wanted for his looks and what he represented—the fantasy he could fulfill—rather than for himself. Or just as bad, being wanted as a stepping stone to someone else considered even more desirable. Unfortunately, all of that had played into their breakup.
Rolling his lips in, he hesitated. Before she could withdraw the question for being too nosy, he said, “Because there’s no privacy, no anonymity. You’re not a person anymore, you’re a commodity, an idea. Dumb jock, playboy, pretty face. Every party you go to, every stupid thing you do, people who claim to be your friends are taking notes, taking pictures, and looking for a way to take advantage. And that was before social media and a smartphone in every pocket.” He shuddered. “I can’t even imagine now.”
“The dark side of fame.” She’d hated how much attention he got when they were out, especially from the women, many of whom had felt like they could touch him freely because he’d let someone put a picture of him in his underwear on a billboard.
He glanced at her, maybe wondering if she was being facetious. “Obviously, it was a privilege to play football, and to have my tuition and everything paid. But there are a lot of expectations. By the time you and I met, I was mostly done with it, but football’s a full time job on and off the field. It’s not all roses and sunshine, and the modeling gig only exacerbated things.”
“I remember.” As someone who now spent her life trying to go unnoticed, just the thought of being in the spotlight made her shiver.
“So, what’s your excuse?” he asked.
“For not wanting to be interviewed?”
He nodded.
She shrugged. “I’d rather write the story than be the story.” True enough. “And whoever was behind the shooting…I’d rather not be on their radar, you know?” Probably too late, but the sentiment stood.
“Absolutely.”
They walked toward the Altstadt—Lucerne’s old town—in silence, skirting around the growing crowd of bystanders and media, her gaze skimming for familiar faces or watchful eyes. After three years in the business, counter-surveillance was becoming automatic.
Emma didn’t yet have a precise plan for getting the SD card from Jason, but she was surprisingly grateful for his presence.
She had sat in cars with lecherous old men happy to take money to betray their bosses, met informants in sketchy places, and been the only woman in a bar full of handsy trust fund bros. She could’ve dealt with today’s events alone too. But thanks to Jason, she didn’t have to.
They weren’t even talking about what had happened and she still felt better with him at her side. Guilty, and exhausted, and grumpy about having to lie to him, but…better.
Yet she couldn’t get caught up in the moment. She had to get the drive—preferably without him realizing he’d ever had it—try to determine if he or anyone in Renfro’s orbit was involved in Viktor’s death, and then she had to disappear.
With a sigh, she turned a corner and aimed for one of the less crowded cafés. Seconds later, a familiar face appeared in the reflection of a shop window and her pulse quickened.
Go time.
Author Bio:
Growing up, Gwen Hernandez never shared the stories in her head with other kids, but they usually involved intrigue and romance. She was raised in the Army and Navy, and married an Air Force engineer, so it’s natural that her Men of Steele series features military heroes and heroines who must overcome danger to find true love.
Blending writing with her tech background and love of teaching, Gwen has also helped thousands of writers all over the world find the joy in Scrivener through her popular online courses, in-person workshops, and books like Scrivener For Dummies.
In her off time, she likes to travel, read, jog, flail on a yoga mat, buy houseplants, and explore her current home of southern California. Find her online at gwenhernandez.com or scrivenerclasses.com.
Sign up for Gwen’s mailing list to be among the first to know about new books and giveaways: gwenhernandez.com/newsletter
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