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Saturday, May 13, 2023

Forged In Lies The Monarch Series Book One Raven Dark and Jenna Stirling

 

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Forged In Lies
The Monarch Series 
Book One
Raven Dark and Jenna Stirling

Genre: Dark Dystopian, Why Choose MC Romance
Publisher: Raven Dark
Date of Publication: April 23, 2023
ASIN:  B0C3CYFH5B
Number of pages: 348
Word Count: 106,428 words
Cover Artist: Raven Dark

Tagline: This world is full of deadly beasts. And I might be worse than any of them…

Book Description:

This world is full of deadly beasts. And I might be worse than any of them…

I remember life before the solar flare destroyed society. And I remember pieces of the dystopian hellscape that followed.

But my memories are fractured. Full of holes and inconsistencies.

How I managed to slit the throat of a biker twice my size is a complete mystery.

But I did. Easily and without thought.

Now, the dead man’s four ruthless MC brothers want me as their captive plaything in the bedroom, and their assassin in the outside world.

I should hate them. Fear them. But I don’t.

My attraction to these sexy savages is as inexplicable as my nagging feeling that something—or someone—is coming for me.

All I can do now is hope the sleeping beast inside me is ready to kill when I need it…and that the brutal men I’m falling for don’t get caught in the crossfire.

“Forged in Lies, book 1 in the Monarch series, is a dark, post-apocalypse why choose romance featuring a strong heroine, and the merciless alpha males who love her. (Think The Handmaid’s Tale meets Sons of Anarchy, mixed with a dash of Firefly, but with more happy endings and spicy times.) Download today and hope your e-reader doesn’t go up in smoke.

***WARNING***This book contains sexual situations and dark scenes that may upset some readers. If you have triggers, please do not buy this book. Cliff-hanger ahead. HEA at end of series.


Excerpt:

Havoc’s grip tightens, unmistakably possessive. His eyes gleam down at me. “Back off, Twig. I choose who she’s with. And you won’t be on the list.”

Twig’s brows go up in surprise.

Havoc looks at me and blinks, apparently caught off guard by his own words. “Relax, pretty girl,” he adds, pushing past Twig. “You belong to me now. No one will touch you unless I say so.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I mutter.

And yet my sex slicks at his sheer possessiveness.

“Not sure how you’re getting to me, but you’ll pay for it later.” His voice is suddenly gruff.

“You better count on a rough night.”

My pulse stutters. What’s with this guy? One minute he sounds as if he wants to keep me all to himself, and the next he wants to pass me around. How many guys are we talking here?

Trying to distract myself from Havoc’s effect on me, I dig the bread out of my pocket and nibble on it. I look at Sage. Not sure what I’m hoping for, but his expression tells me nothing. It’s as if I’m frozen out, and something between us has evaporated.

“Havoc, Sage,” a guy shouts, striding over to us. He’s tall and athletic-looking like Sage, but with blond hair pulled into a ponytail. “What the fuck took you two so long? Venom’s pissed.”

“That’s nothing new.” Havoc grabs a beer from a barrel near him, and Sage does the same.

“What happened at Gore’s?” Ponytail smirks, watching me eat. I don’t like the way he’s looking at me. “And what’s up with the strange?” he adds.

My gaze zeros in on the patch on his cut. I take in the acronym, committing his rank to memory. Second In Command.

At his tone, Havoc’s hand moves to my nape. I could swear Sage stepped closer. Ponytail’s smile widens.

“Gore’s dead,” Havoc says, guzzling his beer. “Couldn’t pay his dues.”

“Fuck. Another one? This’ll put the Keep in a hell of a mood. What about his women?”

“Dead too,” Sage says. “They were gone by the time H found them.”

“Shit. They would have fixed a lot of problems. All right, Sage, send a couple guys out there to scavenge.”

“You got it, Hutch.” Sage heads over to a group of guys standing with Twig.

“So, who’s the bitch?” Ponytail—Hutch—asks, nodding to me.

 “Gore tried to hide her when we showed up,” Havoc says. “She wasn’t his, though.”

“Stray pussy, is it?” Hutch’s eyes narrow on me. “I’ll take first crack at her.”

Havoc pushes me behind him. I think I actually hear him growl.

Hutch grins and lifts his shoulders. “Fuck, what’s with you? You’re like a dog with his food.

Well, you better bring her to Keep first before you stick your dick in her.” He’s laughing as he

turns and heads for the house.

I scrunch my brows at his retreating back, then glance up at Havoc. He knows I’m MC. Why didn’t he report it to his Second?

“This way,” Havoc orders me, heading after Hutch. “Wait until Venom sees you. He’s probably gonna want your ass first.” He pauses and leans down, lowering his voice to that growl that makes my blood heat. “And I’ll eat up every second, pretty girl. I bet watching would be almost as good as fucking you.”

Alarm bells ring in my head. I gotta get out of here now before this gets any worse. And I have to get to Charlie. As long as I’m here, I can’t do that.

Heart in my throat, I lower my eyes, searching for an escape route. Some of the bikes sit without men near them, keys dangling from ignitions. One’s a few feet away. Even if I could get Havoc to let go, he’d catch me before I reached it.

Still...

We’re closing in on the front doors, Havoc’s long strides eating up the grass. If I’m going to act, it has to be now.

I lurch, pretending to stumble. Havoc loses his grip. I whip around and sprint toward the nearest bike.

Havoc curses. Shouts ring out. Panting, I swing onto the bike, kick the stand up, and fire up the engine.

“Stupid bitch,” Havoc roars.

Out of nowhere, a strong arm snakes around my neck and I’m yanked off the bike. I land on my ass with a yell before I’m pulled to my feet and spun around.

I have about a half a second to see silver-blond hair before the guy swings his fist right at my face.

 
About the Author:

As a young girl Raven Dark dreamed of being abducted by a savage alien warrior, whisked away by a brutal pirate, or rescued by a cape-bearing hero. When none of these men came to claim her, she brought them to life in her stories. Then twelve years ago she met the man of her dreams. He doesn't wear a cape, fly a spaceship, or wield a sword, but sometimes she swears they've mind melded.

Raven lives with her dream man and their one cat that thinks she's a dog in the Mundane world's version of Ontario, Canada. When she isn't working on her latest erotic romance novels and crafting interesting worlds in which to set them, she's spending too much time with friends, feeding her Youtube addiction, or curled up on a couch watching favorite shows with her future husband.










Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Caio Limerent Series Book One LS Delorme

 


Caio
Limerent Series
Book One
LS Delorme

Genre: Paranormal, Romantic, Thriller
Publisher: Limerent Publishing
Date of Publication: Feb 11, 2023
ISBN: 979-8-9874880-1-3 Paperback
ISBN: 979-8-9874880-1-0  ebook
ASIN: BOBSGR1VB7
Number of pages: 294
Word Count: 114030
Cover Artist: Brittany Wilson

Book Description:

Sarah Baker is a paralegal in a law firm in modern-day Brooklyn. Her life is bouncing between her abusive lawyer boyfriend, the voices she hears in her head and her soul sucking work at the law firm. On a New York spring day, she meets Caio as he plays basketball on a street court. He is alluring, intriguing and young. Yet that’s the least of his mystery, for Caio was beaten, thrown into a hole and left to die. In 1905.

Sarah tries to understand this enigmatic stranger while juggling the dubious ethics of her law firm and the ghosts in her head. As she struggles with loss, grief, love, beauty and lawyers, she will need to summon the strength to break all of society’s rules, save several lives and step into a new and potentially magical life.

Caio is the opening book of a new series of supernatural romantic thrillers that will pull on your heart (strings), challenge your perceptions and lead you on a singular journey of discovery and revelation.

Books2Read      Amazon     

Excerpt:

How can you be as smart as you are and have no backbone, girl? or You’re not pretty enough to be able to expect a man to take care of you, so you better find an administrative job so you can support yourself, or Self-consciousness is just another form of vanity. It’s just you thinking about yourself too much.

That simply scratched the surface of what Sarah heard on a daily basis growing up. On the positive side, she could take criticism with the best of them. She had also learned to channel her sensitivity into an awareness of people’s motivations that coworkers called “uncanny.” On the negative side, when her parents died, she had absorbed their voices into those that already spoke inside her head, and now they were the loudest ones.

It was her heightened awareness that told her that something was not quite right with the Davies case. She wasn’t sure what, and she would need to be careful about how she researched, but it tickled her curiosity.

Sarah was lost in these thoughts as she left the grocery store and made her way home, past the park and toward the basketball courts. When she realized where she was, her heart started to race a little bit at the thought of seeing the boy she had seen last week.
There were some boys playing on the court. She scanned them for someone in grungy clothes, but from a distance, they all looked like they were wearing appropriate attire.

Sarah’s heart sank a little.

Don’t be ridiculous, she told herself. Although she wasn’t exactly sure what she was chiding herself about, it was nice when the voice doing the talking was her own.

As she got closer, she saw the tall, red-haired boy miss a shot and retake the ball. He was one of the regulars. When the red-haired boy landed, he jostled one of the other boys near him. That boy staggered, regained his footing, and in the process deftly stole the ball. When she saw his face, Sarah actually heard herself gasp. The boy who had been pushed, the one who now had the basketball, was the boy she had seen before. She hadn’t noticed him because his appearance was quite different. His shoulder-length dark hair had been cut. He had on a red-and-black striped shirt that didn’t look expensive, but did look brand new, as did the matching shorts. His sneakers were black with pristine white soles. And right at the moment, he was dribbling the ball down the court—straight at her.

Sarah froze. She was standing on the sidewalk behind the basket on the other side of the chain-link fence. She felt like her feet had grown roots as she watched him set up, jump, and make the basket. He came down right in front of her. As he landed, before turning to run back down the court, he stopped and caught her eye. His eyes widened ever so slightly, and he smiled.

For a moment, he looked directly in her eyes and she felt a strange dizzy feeling in seeing him and being seen by him. No one in her life ever seemed to actually see her. No one ever had.


About the Author: 

Lexy has lived an eclectic life.  As a 'navy brat', she grew up in various US states until her father retired to North Carolina when she was 14.   As an adult, she has continued this "tumbleweed" life, having since lived in 3 countries, 9 US states, and 21 cities around the world.  She has been a musician, scientist and attorney, and was one of the first employees at 23andMe.  But, through all this change, her love of writing has been the one constant whether it be songs, scientific writing, legal briefs, travel blogs or fiction.  Writing the Limerent Series allows her to combine all of this to help her create new worlds.  Lexy lives in Paris with her husband and two very cool sons.  

Caio is book one of 8 in the upcoming Limerent Series








The Roast Iconic Oracle Deck Marcella Kroll

 

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The Roast Iconic Oracle Deck
Marcella Kroll

Genre: Body/Mind/Spirit / Tarot
Publisher: Sterling Ethos
Date of Publication: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781454948759
ASIN: 1-4549-4875-2
Number of pages: Kit: 64 pages, 30 illustrated cards + booklet
Cover Artist: Marcella Kroll

Tagline: Sassy, snarky, and hilariously harsh, this oracle deck will tell it like it is.

Book Description:

When you do your one-card draw for the day, looking for a sign from the cards, what happens when you pull Fashion Witch? Bitch? Influencer? Red Flag? 

This intentionally sassy 30-card deck from well-known witch Marcella Kroll is a great way to get real talk from the Universe. 

Don’t settle for being coddled by the Rider-Waite-Smith. This deck will not hesitate to throw shade or tell you you’re trying too hard. If you’re tired of the mystic limitations of the Lenormand, get wrecked by Kroll’s hilarious hand-drawn illustrations.  

Direct, full of salt, and contemporary in its presentation and affect, The Roast Iconic is just what you need for days when you need your intuitive messages to be as direct as possible.
 
Whether used alone or as a fun party game with friends, The Roast Iconic will deliver blunt truths that make you laugh just as much as they make you think.

Amazon       BN      Bookshop





About the Author:

Marcella Kroll is a professional artist, intuitive, and workshop facilitator. She has been practicing her gifts since 1995. 

Marcella works in private practice with clients all over the world and was a program presenter for the Los Angeles Public Library for 14 years, leading public classes for teens on tarot and other divination subjects. 

She regularly holds healing circles, guided meditation groups, and empowering workshops for men and women in the greater Los Angeles area and around the United States, and hosts a podcast, Saved by the Spell. She is also the co-author of Tarot in the Library Esoterica series from Taschen. She lives in Los Angeles, CA.







Monday, May 8, 2023

Entwined Within the Darkness Within the Darkness Trilogy Book One Charley Black

 


Entwined Within the Darkness
Within the Darkness Trilogy
Book One 
Charley Black

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Publisher: Charley Black 
Date of Publication: September 4, 2022
ISBN: 979-8986887708
ASIN:B0BD577QKC
Number of pages: 310
Word Count: 95, 963
Cover Artist: MiblArt

Book Description: 

A wild evening goes demonically wrong…

Patience craves answers. Half a century after appearing on the steps of the witch academy, she was still no closer to recovering her lost memories and identity. Tormented nightly by visions of red eyes and burdened by dreams that, although connected, remain unclear. Patience, to distract herself, decides to defy the rules and enter the vampire club, Moarte, an act strictly forbidden for witches. Never expecting her best friend, Michael, to begin his transition into a full demon, Patience, desperate to save him, binds him to his vampiric lover.

To make matters worse, Lucius, the domineering brother of the vampire, whom Michael is now bound to, harbors a deep resentment for witches and especially for Patience. Even so, they must now work together to find a soul gem that will untether the bond before her best friend completely consumes his brother’s soul. As their unlikely alliance takes form and their attraction grows, Lucius’ presence draws out long-forgotten memories deep from within Patience. He may just be the key to unlocking her past—but will she be able to convince him that he needs her far more than he needs to kill her? Rediscovering her past and how it binds her to Lucius may just prove to be far more dangerous than either of them imagined.

Entwined, the first book in the Within the Darkness Trilogy, will leave readers in suspense. This enemies-to-lovers story will be filled with plenty of action, humor, and steam. So, prepare yourself, as the end of this novel leaves us with a cliffhanger, but not for long! Intended for 18+ readers, stay tuned to find out what lies ahead in this captivating trilogy.

Amazon      BN      Kobo       Google Play       Smashwords  

Excerpt 1:

A tremendous gust of wind came out of nowhere, blowing the umbrella out of her hands. She debated whether she should run the rest of the way home or chase after it when there was a sudden pull at her core in the direction her umbrella went. The sensation was strange, but her legs strode of their own accord toward the umbrella. She would usually fight this kind of enchantment, but her curiosity got the best of her. She wanted to know where it was leading her. It had to be an Allure of Soul’s charm, similar to the one found on the website, except this felt different. The pull was stronger than any charm she had experienced before.

She let the compelling force at her core lead her to the front of the double doors of an old industrial building. It looked like it was a nightclub. Picking up her umbrella, she saw a sign above the doors that read: Moarte.

Interesting. So this is Moarte. Club Death. Typical of vampires to name their club “Death.”

Strange creatures.

Realizing it had stopped raining, she folded up the umbrella. She must have become swept up in the enchantment because of the storm. Magic had a mind of its own sometimes. The weather constantly messed with enchantments, especially with lure charms.

Turning to walk away since the allure had done its job and got her here, she found her feet wouldn’t leave.

“What the hell?” She struggled to leave, thinking it was a fluke. She tried moving toward the door instead of away, and it worked. Then she tried to turn away again. Her feet wouldn’t move forward.

Fighting the enchantment became harder the longer she stood, so she gave in. Stepping up to the doors, she touched the handle. An image flashed through her mind.

It was too quick for her to see. A warm, familiar sensation washed over her, pulling at her memory. It ran through her body, brushing against her soul, then vanished as quickly as it came. She pulled on the door. It wouldn’t budge. She could unlock it, but there was a magical ward, and she didn’t want to risk drawing attention to herself by blasting off the door to a vampire club.

Vampires and witches were still mortal enemies. Even with the law outlawing the killing of witches in place, vampires were to be avoided.

This time, when she turned to leave, nothing stopped her. Her feet moved forward without incident.

Her thoughts traveled in a million different directions.

The first being, what the hell kind of enchantment was that if it wasn’t a lure charm? There were other enchantments that vampires used specifically to lure their victims into their clubs. It shouldn’t have affected her, at least not this strongly. She could blame it on the rain. Another possibility was something else was leading her there.

Following clues to her past wasn’t always easy. She went into many of her leads blind and knowing she would come out with disappointment. She always told herself she had at least had to try. Her instincts were telling her there was a clue in the club.

Walking up the stairs to her apartment, she knew they would go to Moarte tonight.

No… I couldn’t let that happen. She had followed too many clues already. Tonight was going to be about fun and doing something different. Remember: new energy in the air.

Though this differed from her dreams and nightmares, she had never seen a glimpse of memory before or that warm sensation. It never happened when she was awake before.

No, she wouldn’t think about it. Tomorrow was another day. She would chase it tomorrow.

She did this to herself all the time. All it did was add to her stress.

She promised herself she wouldn’t go anywhere near the club tonight


About the Author:

Charley Black is an up-and-coming writer and author who has been creating stories since she was twelve years old. Her early short stories dabbled in different genres, but her passion for romance novels — paranormal romance in particular — always shone through. Charley currently resides in Rhode Island, with her family and works at a local university. Debuting in September, Entwined will be the first of three novels set in the Within the Darkness universe.










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Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Bittersouls L.A. Morton-Yates

 

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Bittersouls
L.A. Morton-Yates

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Synthesis Press
Date of Publication: 12/17/2022
ISBN: 979-8-9866022-0-2 (eBook) 
ISBN: 979-8-9866022-1-9 (Paperback)
ASIN: B0BQFLM7D4 
Number of pages: 286
Word Count: Approx. 99,500
Cover Artist: César Pardo

Tagline: A Shade. A Storm. A Soul.

Book Description:

Cursed with forbidden knowledge, 19-year-old Dela must hide her secret from her nomadic tribe or face exile into the frozen wasteland of the Bitters. When she becomes separated from her people during a blizzard, a mysterious and dangerous wanderer named Talon promises to help her find her way back to them. She quickly learns that nothing is what it seems, that her curse may actually be a gift, and that the Bitters are far more dangerous than she could have imagined.

Packed with unexpected twists, Bittersouls is a mixture of survival, adventure, and slow-burn romance that is sure to get your heart pounding.


Excerpt:

Something moved at the edge of the horizon. It was like a shadow, black as a cloud but moving fast across the snow plain. Time seemed to stop, but Dela could feel herself sliding forward as if she were standing on a lake of ice. Freja was still yelling, but she couldn’t hear her. Her arms were flailing, but Dela hardly noticed.

A wave of lights moved in front of the thing, jumping and turning, quick as sparks. It was like a field of quails fleeing into the sky before a coming wolf, but the wolf—the shadow—followed them. The closer it got, the more the shiver racked her spine. She knew exactly what it was, though she’d never seen one. No one in the congregation had. There were no stories. No whisperings. Only a name.

“Shade.”

Freja stared at her, bewildered into silence. Perhaps she was going to speak, but then—

“Shade!” Dela reached for her friend, snatching her by the sleeve and pulling her toward her. They ran, berries forgotten even as the bags bounced in Dela’s grip. They were a dozen strides from the bush before she thought to secure them to one of her belt hooks. How could she even think of them at a time like this? They had to get to the camp. People had to know.

They skidded to a stop at the edge of the overhang they’d climbed. The tents were only a dozen feet below, and a handful of people had gathered at the commotion. They stared up at the two girls with confusion intermingled with irritation. They weren’t used to their evening being disturbed by shouting, and the long journey had people’s nerves worn thin.

None of that mattered. All that mattered was what they would do. What were they supposed to do?

“Shade coming from the east!” Dela yelled. “Get the Ministers!”

Chaos possessed the camp. People scrambled, yelling. Others just stood with disbelieving frowns. Some started running in no particular direction. As if that would save them.

Would it?

Dela knew nothing about Shades. She hadn’t put much thought into what they might be or do or want. All she knew was that whatever that thing was, it was one of them. And the lights? The things it was chasing? What were they?

Freja was trembling as she crouched and threw her legs out over the edge of the rocks. It was a maneuver she’d done a hundred times, and in colder weather than this. But for fear or anger or nerves, her grip failed. Dela lurched downward, chest striking hard against the rocks as her hand snapped out into the air—and caught her friend’s arm. She grunted as she swung the girl toward the rock wall, which Freja caught in an instant. They exchanged an important glance, but there was time for little else.

Dela stood again, scanning the snowfield for signs of the shadow. It was still gliding forth on nothing but empty air, like a nightmare in a dead sprint toward an innocent dreamer. But, she realized, it was not heading straight for them. It had deviated, aiming toward the empty field north of them, and if it kept going that way, it might miss them entirely.

Could it see? It didn’t seem to have eyes. Nor any other body part, per se. Did it smell, then? Or feel? How could it expect to find anything out here in the cold, white abyss of the Bitters?

Whatever rules it followed couldn’t be the same as what humans or animals followed. It didn’t make any sense.

Then she saw the reason. One of the congregation, maddened by fear, had made a break for it, out into the open Basin. The Shade wasn’t just going to miss the camp. It was going after him.

He’d made it a hundred feet from the camp, and showed no signs of looking back or slowing. From the angle of approach, the man couldn’t see the shadow coming. Couldn’t see it bearing down on him. Couldn’t see the impossibility of his flight.

The Shade engulfed him as though it was little more than a localized fog. He vanished entirely from view, and for one bizarre moment, the beast of a cloud seemed to stop.

Then they heard the scream.


About the Author:

A life-long lover of the magic of storytelling, L.A. wrote his first story at the age of 7 and has been writing ever since. Speculative fiction, particularly fantasy, has always held a special place in his heart for the uniqueness of the places and the questions it can address. Though veiled by apparent strangeness, he has always seen it as capable of revealing deeper truth about our own reality.

L.A. graduated from Montana State University in 2015 with Honors in Biochemistry and a minor in Music Composition. This helped nurture his critical thinking and research skills which continue to be instrumental to his writing.  During his collegiate years, he also met the love of his life, Julie, whom he later married. At once his greatest supporter and his staunchest critic (when he is wrong, which is more often than he’d like to admit), she has been an integral part of his creative process ever since.

In February of 2018, L.A. became the father of his first son, Griffin. His second son, Tiber, was born in December of 2019 and his third son, Malachi, was born in January of 2022. Though life has become considerably busier since he became a family man, L.A. continues to work on writing in what little spare time he can find. He hopes to one day pass on his love of literature to his sons.







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War of the Sea - Kickstarter Olympian Wars Book One Dana Claire

  War of the Sea - Kickstarter Olympian Wars Book One Dana Claire Genre: Fantasy Romance Publisher: Chamberlain Publishing House ISBN: 97989...