I Knew Her Once by R.M. Carpus Release Date: June 2, 2026 Genre: Gothic Suspense
A twisted tale of betrayal and romance.
You can’t bury the past.
Grieving novelist Rose Harper flees to the sleepy town of Griffin Bay to find a new muse, revive her writing career, and leave the past behind. She finds a place to stay, lands a job, and the plot ideas begin to flow. Things are looking up.
Until strange, unexplainable things start happening and she winds up entangled in Griffin Bay’s poisonous web of lies. There’s something not quite right about her new home, and it isn’t long before she realizes that some stories, like secrets, were never meant to be told.
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We’re proud to present the cover for The Nymph King: A Dark Fantasy Romance of War, Fractured Magic, and a Fight for the Crown by Jacquelyn Gilmore!
The Nymph King(The Plot of the Six Saint Series Book 3)
Expected Release Date: July 21, 2026
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Shadow Mama & Fire Daddy
Villain Queen,
Court Intrigue
Witch Hunts
Stolen Throne
More Betrayal
Royal Heist
Sentient Forest
Trials
Corrupted Magic
Enemy-to-Lovers
Hunted and crowned in blood, the queen rises from the ashes of her ruin to become the monster they fear—and she’ll set the world on fire before she kneels.
When Imani returns to Essenheim, her kingdom is no longer hers—and barely recognizable.
Fractured magic hums through the air, unstable and alive. Fabric events tear open the sky, riots ignite across the territories, and mercenaries and covens scour the land for the missing heir—offering her head to the imposter king who now rules with unholy strength.
Tanyl—once Imani’s closest friend—has crowned himself savior and tyrant, purging dissent and binding witches to his cause under pain of death. Whispers coil through the streets that he is gathering magic wielders to forge a weapon powerful enough to rewrite the balance of the realm. And Kiran’s final warning—of the allies standing behind Tanyl’s throne—echoes in Imani’s mind like a curse she cannot outrun.
When wanted posters bearing her face appear across the kingdoms, and an unholy alliance between Essenheim and Niflheim moves to ensure her destruction, Imani’s last refuge vanishes. To reclaim her throne and save what remains of magic itself, she must defy exile and enter the most dangerous territory in the realm—the Draswood Forest.
There, in the seat of Vathis, the elusive High Sentinel of the Norn elves will decide her fate.
Crown her.
Condemn her.
Or force her to become something far worse than either.
Book Three of a dark fantasy romance series where power fractures kingdoms, loyalty becomes lethal, and the war for the crown finally turns personal. The Nymph King combines high-stakes political fantasy with emotional grit and atmospheric worldbuilding, perfect for fans of The Serpent and the Wings of Night, One Dark Window, Trial of the Sun Queen, The Shadows Between Us, From Bloodand Ash, and A Dawn of Onyx.
As the sticky heat of August settles over Florence, Dan Armstrong is ready for a well-earned break— sightseeing with fiancée Anna, daughter Tricia and her fiancé Shaun. But when a British man is found dead inside the city’s magnificent Duomo, Dan’s plans quickly change.
The victim, Tristan Angel, is a super-wealthy arms dealer with a saintly name and a devilish reputation. But what was he doing in the cathedral, and who decided to make it his final confession?
At Angel’s opulent villa in the hills of Fiesole, Dan and Commissario Virgilio encounter a colourful cast of suspects—each one hiding secrets and none too eager to talk. As tempers rise and the heat outside grows ever more intense, Dan and his four-legged sidekick, Oscar, must sniff out the truth before the killer strikes again.
T. A. Williams is the bestselling author of the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mystery series. Trevor studied languages at University and lived and worked in Italy for eight years, returning to England with his wife in 1972. Trevor and his wife now live in Devon.
My thoughts: Yay! Another case for Dan Armstrong and the true hero, canine Officer Oscar (it’s official, Virgilio says he’s a vital part of the police) and he does of course find an important piece of evidence, and is rewarded with steak.
When the owner of an arms company is shot in the confessional of the Florence Duomo, the stunning cathedral, the Santa Maria del Fiore, there are almost too many suspects, and the international spy agencies (the ones with names like MI6 and CIA) are very interested. Angel’s company had some, interesting, clients.
But the main suspects are the group of people he brought with him. Almost all of them are employees of the company in one way or another, and some of their relationships go a long way back. Oh, and his not very happy ex-wife just happens to be in Florence too.
Dan can’t help but get involved, even though his daughter and her fiancé are visiting, as well as Anna and her daughter too. He’s supposed to be looking at wedding venues, not catching criminals. I always feel a bit sorry for Anna, Dan’s priorities go; Oscar, crime, Anna.
Obviously I really enjoyed this – I love this series, and this one reminded me I really must go back to Florence and have a proper look around – I was 14 last time and don’t remember much of our day trip to the city other than how hot and crowded it was!
So join Dan and Oscar on another fiendish and clever case, filled with some larger than life characters (Eddie), spies, weapons dealers and a very patient fiancée in Anna.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
We’re thrilled to announce the Kickstarter launch of The Red King & Gray Queen his & hers luxe special editions!
This duet features: His Crimson Mask Novella Halloween Novella 5 New Chapters From Nikolai’s POV Two-Page Full-Color Chapter Headers NSFW and SFW art Custom Sprayed Edges Custom Endpaper Art Two-Page Full-Color Chapter Headers Grab The Red King… with black pages
Head over to Instagram to win a copy!
The Red King & Gray Queen Duet Genre: Dark Vampire Romance Author: Dani M. Ward
Tropes: Fake Relationship Marriage of Convenience Touch her and Expire Stalking on Both side Blood Play Knife Play Snowballing Toy Play Mirror Scenes Period Play Somnophilia Necromancer/Vampire Enemies to Lovers Primal Play Obsessive Hero One Bed
As a necromancer, homicide Detective Ayameko “Meko” Shi is used to being unwanted, unloved and hated by all beings, especially vampires. Vampire King Nikolai is a centuries-old ruler whose name alone strikes fear in anyone around him. Ruthless and enigmatic, he’s used to solving problems with blood deaths. But lately, two things haunt him: the mysterious disappearance of his kind… and the necromancer he swore to kill but can’t seem to stay away from. When Nikolai offers Meko a deal she can’t refuse, she’s thrust into his world as his fiancée. Together, they must find the missing vampires in a city full of the dead.
On All Hallows Eve, the Red King and the Gray Queen will unite in matrimony, tying vampires and necromancers forever. Ayameko Shi never imagined she’d find herself in a situation like this. How could anyone anticipate her needs before she does? After a lifetime of loss and horror, she never thought she’d meet a man willing to protect her with his life, killing anyone who dares to stand in their way. Vampire King Nikolai is violent, bloodthirsty, and certifiable. Ayameko is his, she has been since the moment they met. But even the wedding of the undead can’t go smoothly
This haunting/erotic tale of power, obsession, and forbidden love will be brought to life through duet-style narration by Star Williams and Aquarian. A performance that promises to capture every ounce of tension, heat, and danger lurking within Hollow Ocean.
Your support will help us bring this dark, sensual mystery to life with the high-quality production it deserves. It’ll be a listening experience fans won’t soon forget.
Triggers: Child Abuse Murder Suicide on Page Suicidal Thoughts/Tendencies Matricide Blood Gore Extreme Violence Extreme Codependency Irrational Jealousy Threats of Violence Domestic Violence Decapitation Death Emotional Abuse Nudity Stalking Bullying Other Woman/Man Drama (No Cheating) Sexual Situations Unprotected Sex (No Pregnancy) Cutting Unprotected Sex Murder
A killing like no other. A killer more twisted than he’s ever seen before. A case that will test him to the limit. Has Robert Hunter finally met his match?
‘Do you believe the Devil exists, Detective?’ the officer at the end of the line asks. ‘Because if you don’t . . . I’m sure you will once you get here.’
Robert Hunter is called to the most vicious crime scene he has ever attended. It is made even more disturbing when the autopsy reveals a poem, left by the killer, inside the body of their victim.
Soon, another body is found. The methods and signature of the murder differs, but the level of violence used suggests that the same person is behind both crimes. Hunter’s fears are confirmed when a second part of the poem is found.
But this discovery does more than just link the two killings – it suggests that this is the work of a serial murderer.
With no forensic evidence to go on, Robert Hunter must catch the most disciplined and systematic killer that he has ever encountered, someone who thrives on the victims’ fear, and to whom death is a lesson that needs to be taught.
From #1 Sunday Times and multi-million copy bestselling author, Chris Carter, comes the most compelling and ruthless Robert Hunter thriller yet.
My thoughts: Called to a truly gruesome murder Hunter and Garcia find even their stomachs turning, and they’ve seen some grim things.
As this case unfolds, they’re truly stumped, there appears to be absolutely no connection between the victims, and no explanation as to the motive driving the killer. Each crime scene is even more disturbing than the last and the MO is different each time, the only link is a line of some sort of poem left with each victim. But it isn’t something that was published, so it continues to leave them puzzled. Until Hunter spots something in a crime scene that might just help them solve this one…
Another disturbing, and awful, but ingenious case. A sort of sins-of-the-father reasoning and a murderer who wants to deliver a lesson that no one will forget.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Alesha Dykema is a thirty-something-year-old author of thriller novels.
She lives in the dreadful Midwest with her strange husband, head-banging toddler son, a neurotic dog, and warden cat.
Besides writing, Alesha loves to read (like every other author in the world). Alesha is also a health and fitness junkie and a dabbler in furniture refinishing. She is extremely anti-social and wishes she lived off-grid in the middle of the woods, but her husband hates good ideas and happiness and won’t allow this to happen.
Even though she’s pretty anti-social, she still likes to make new friends and have casual chats about people’s childhood traumas.
My thoughts: With a controlling father who won’t let anyone make their own decisions – he even decided who his children should marry, it’s not surprising you might just reach the end of your rope. But there are secrets, things that a man who has to manipulate everyone, will go to great lengths to protect.
The narrator is one of this man’s children, a woman who will do anything to protect her daughter from ending up like her, controlled and manipulated by a bully. When she makes a new friend, things don’t add up, and when she learns the truth, it’s a shock and only adds fuel to the fire of her determination to put an end to her father.
This is a dark story about a family completely under the control of the patriarch that only murder seems to be the solution. I enjoyed it, if you can say that about a book narrated by a murderer!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own
We’re thrilled to announce the release of Bound by the Sky by Megan G. Elisabeth! Be sure to get your copy today!
Bound by the Sky (Aether & Industry Book 1)
Release Date: January 28, 2026
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Sky pirate romantasy
Steampunk world
Found family
Morally grey MMC
Touch her and die
Dual POV
Forbidden romance
Treasure Planet vibes
The sky brought them together.
The storm could tear them apart.
While pirate ships and floating cities soar overhead, Amaya Sinclair’s feet are planted on the ground. But when a violent tragedy results in her abduction by a villainous Sky Lord, her once-clear path vanishes underfoot. In its place, she finds a beautiful, unforgiving world that challenges everything she believes about herself and her future.
William Lexington has spent over a decade carving out a space for himself among the clouds, at the cost of his identity and ideals. When a twist of fate lands Amaya on his airship, he writes her off as a pretty inconvenience—until he realizes she’s the only thing standing between his monstrous former mentor and a brutal new era.
Caught in a fight to live on their own terms, Amaya and Will’s growing connection calls every priority into question. As the enemy’s looming shadow darkens, their race to control forces best left untouched reveals that much more than their lives are at stake.
Welcome aboard the Maelstrom. Enjoy the view—and don’t get killed.
Treasure Planet meets Final Fantasy in this fast-paced romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Rebecca Yarros.
A murdered beauty influencer. A buried secret waiting to surface. A killer who’s already one step ahead.
In the picturesque Warwickshire town of Queensbridge, a retired nurse escapes to her hotel room looking for peace from the chaos of her great-nephew’s rowdy thirtieth birthday party. But to her horror she witnesses a brutal crime from her balcony — a young woman strangled in the room opposite.
Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy — staying at the same hotel after attending a nearby wedding — is first on the scene, and quickly realises this isn’t a random attack. The victim, glamorous beauty influencer Candy Goodhope, was living a double life — and everyone close to her has something to hide.
Roy’s boss, DCI Gavin Roscoe, takes charge of the investigation, and as the pair follow the trail, another brutal killing tears through the town. Roy is sure there’s a link between both murders, but Roscoe isn’t convinced.
But as Roy digs deeper, she closes in on a secret so dangerous someone will kill to protect it. Because in this town, the past never stays buried — and even the dead still have a voice.
Tony Bassett is a former journalist who worked on regional and national newspapers in Britain for more than 40 years. He mainly reported on crime, show business, human interest and consumer topics. Now retired, he writes crime fiction. Tony is best known for his series of novels set in the West Midlands featuring Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Roscoe, an experienced detective and family man, and his sergeant, law graduate and resourceful problem-solver Sunita Roy.
His latest novel, VOICES FROM THE DEAD (Book 8) begins in the picturesque Warwickshire town of Queensbridge where a retired nurse escapes to her hotel room from a rowdy birthday party, looking for peace. But to her horror, through a window, she witnesses a brutal crime — a young woman being strangled in the new wing of the building. Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy —attending a wedding in the same hotel — is first on the scene, and quickly realises this isn’t a random attack. The victim, glamorous beauty influencer Candy Goodhope, was living a double life — and everyone close to her has something to hide.
The fifth book in the series, HEIR TO MURDER, was judged first in the Mystery and Suspense (Police Procedurals) category in the American Fiction Awards in June 2024. The full list of books in the series (in order) are: MURDER ON OXFORD LANE; THE CROSSBOW STALKER; MURDER OF A DOCTOR; OUT FOR REVENGE; HEIR TO MURDER; IT NEVER RAINS; NOT MY VALENTINE; and VOICES FROM THE DEAD.
A collection of the first seven books was published in October 2025 under the title DETECTIVES ROY & ROSCOE MYSTERIES 1 – 7. The whole series has been released by London publishers The Book Folks, now part of Joffe Books.
Tony has also written a stand-alone thriller, SEAT 97, about a man shot dead at a London concert hall (published by The Book Folks) while two further works (the crime novel Smile Of The Stowaway and the spy novel The Lazarus Charter) were published by The Conrad Press.
Tony first developed a love of writing at the age of nine when he produced a junior school magazine. A few years later, his local vicar in Tunbridge Wells staged his play about Naboth’s Vineyard. At Hull University, Tony was judged Time-Life Magazine student journalist of the year in 1971.
Tony, who has five grown-up children, is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists. He lives in South-East London with his partner Lin.
My thoughts: Witnessing a murder through her hotel window is a shock, but the witness, a retired nurse, has the presence of mind to call for help. Luckily DS Roy, Sunita, is at a wedding in the same hotel and is first on the scene. A young woman has been strangled.
She’s a local hairdresser and influencer, last seen very drunk in the hotel bar earlier that day. The police find DNA linked to a supposedly dead man at the scene, which sends them in the wrong direction, but they quickly get back on track.
Why would anyone want to kill Candy? She might not have appealed to everyone, but she wasn’t a terrible person. Her two friends/employees are at a loss. Her husband and her boyfriend have alibis, and her husband would more likely do away with his rival than his wife.
It must be someone in her circle. Could it date back all the way to her school days?
When a retired teacher from the same school is found murdered in her home with a nail gun, the police wonder if there is a link between the two killings. It seems slim, but as they dig into the past, certain things come to light that suggest someone with plenty to hide.
A satisfying ending, with twists and turns along the way for the team of detectives. The motives are dark and the means rather ad hoc but they get their man in the end. Very enjoyable.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
We’re thrilled to announce the release of the final book in The Prophecy of Sorin trilogy, To Rise & Rebel!
To Rise & Rebel (The Prophecy of Sorin #3)
Release Date: Jan 31, 2026
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
6-POVs
Fated Mates
Fantasy Mystery
Political Intrigue
Forbidden Romance
Second Chance Romance
Meddling Gods
War is Coming
Prophecy
Rebel against the fear and lies, For deep inside, the truth must rise.
Newly stripped of her powers, Evelyn has been branded a traitor — but so has Kade, plagued by foreboding nightmares and wrestling with a magic he fears. All the while, the Blood Goddess is tightening her hold on the north, as division and chaos rise in Sorin.
When a brutal attack forces them on the run, Kade and Evelyn go in search of a way to recover her magic. But even if they can, their enemies have a head start…and unless Kade can master his own power, evil threatens to swallow him whole.
Still bound by a prophecy they feel ill-equipped to fulfil, the pair venture to the depths of truth in their increasingly desperate quest. And as the darkness presses at every door, there is only one path forward: rebellion.
Trigger Warning/Author’s Note (this encompasses all 3 books):
This series contains material that may be upsetting to some readers, including violence, murder, mature language, death of a loved one (mentioned and depicted), suicide (mentioned), anxiety, explicit sexual content, imprisonment, captivity, and war. It is intended for adult audiences and not recommended for readers under the age of eighteen.
The only thing more dangerous than the truth is the lie she told to hide it.
After years of struggle, Raven Kendrick is giving up on her dream of a theater career in New York. Returning to her hometown, she moves back in with her parents and resigns herself to a quiet life.
But that humble dream is shattered when her tyrannical father is murdered. Even worse, Raven is convinced her beloved mother killed him while sleepwalking. So instead of calling the police, she decides to cover up the crime.
But as detectives close in, Raven’s carefully constructed lies begin to crumble. Her alibi isn’t holding up and her father’s business partner is asking way too many questions. And she’s pretty sure her mother knows more than she’s saying.
With the police circling, Raven is shocked to find that she herself has become suspect number one. She needs to get to the truth of what happened that night—and fast.
But as she digs, Raven uncovers a tangled web of buried resentments and festering revenge.
And behind that web, a horrifying secret that will change her life forever.
Brian R. O’Rourke has been writing stories since he was eight years old. A lifelong, avid reader, Brian believes that fiction has the power to change the world. He enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, playing the violin, and golfing.
My thoughts: Raven is desperate to learn the truth about her controlling father’s death, but she also wants to protect her mother – who she thinks killed him while sleepwalking.
The police are circling, neither Raven or her mother has a very convincing story and the evidence doesn’t add up. It doesn’t help that Raven is trying to cover up what she thinks her mum did.
She’s not exactly a criminal mastermind, and her own investigation isn’t really going anywhere. Moving back to her hometown and reconnecting with her ex-boyfriend really isn’t going too well.
I liked Raven, she’s just trying to protect her mum, her dad was a controlling bully and didn’t treat her mum very well, and the murder while sleepwalking is a clever idea, although in the end the truth is more than Raven could imagine.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 