We’re thrilled to share the cover for the next book in Catalina Matei’s Vials of Fate series, The Imminent Return of History!
The Imminent Return of History (Vials of Fate Book 2)
Expected Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Dragons
Fated mates
War
Found family
Hidden truths
Banter
Strong FMC
Dual POV
Magical creatures
In a world shaped by the rippling effects of war, free will became the chain that tied a king’s vanity to his greed.
Having survived her trials, Tiadola discovered that appearances were deceiving. As secrets unravel, she must navigate the darkness clouding her mind while fighting for a chance at happiness with Zadrohn.
History repeats itself as magic and power intertwine, shifting the tides in King Tuddn’s favour. The looming war between humans and Soronians is inevitable, and every conflict demands a victor.
Outnumbered and overpowered, yet resolute, can Tiadola and Zadrohn secure the human nation’s independence, or will their efforts crumble under the weight of forces beyond their control?
Andi Glover loves nothing more than a good book. Any book in fact because when you’re raised by unconventional parents who think school’s for squares, alongside a deeply conventional sister who escapes home as soon as she can, fiction is eminently preferable to reality. The only problem is that fiction isn’t the best way to learn about the real world.
When Andi starts her new live-in job at Templewood Hall for the eccentric Lady Dawe and her enigmatic son Hugo, it’s tempting to think she’s fallen into the pages of one of her favourite gothic novels. But the plot twists at Templewood Hall are stranger than fiction and it’s not long before Andi questions if she’s living in a romance novel or a whodunnit. Bumps in the night, a missing heir, ghostly apparitions and secrets that have been kept for generations – the mysteries mount up. Then there’s the inscrutable gardener who seems to appear when needed – is Andi right to hope for a happily-ever-after end to her story?
Jane Lovering is a bestselling and multi-award winning romantic comedy writer. Most recently Jane won the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel Award in 2023 with A Cottage Full of Secrets. She lives in Yorkshire and has a cat and a bonkers terrier, as well as five children who have now left home.
My thoughts: This was a lot of fun, I liked Andi, and her job cataloguing the dusty and neglected library is pretty much my dream (although the dust is a health hazard, I’m asthmatic!) accompanied by resident feline, The Master.
She’s supposed to be looking for the diaries of the house’s one time master, grandfather to Hugo, Lady Tanith’s father-in-law, with whom she is obsessed. But the diaries don’t seem to be anywhere Andi can find, and Lady Tanith is not happy.
What Andi does find is a whole heap of secrets, and considering that there’s only a few people in the house, it’s impressive that they’ve managed to keep them. She also finds a deaf gardener, Jay, with whom she develops a slightly awkward relationship. He almost drowns her in the fountain, she catches him peeing in the bushes, it’s very rom-com esque.
She’s slightly worried that Lady Tanith will either sack her or marry her off to poor Hugo, who doesn’t really want that either. Although he does need a friend. His mother is completely nuts and horrible.
As Andi’s time at the house is under pressure, and she’s still sort of falling for Jay, things take a few twists and turns. It’s lots of fun to read, but probably quite stressful to live, so maybe I won’t hire myself out as a librarian archivist just yet.
*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 present the cover for Roar of the Sky: An Asian Romantasy Story by Calla Zae!
Roar of the Sky (Infinara Dragons #1)
Expected Publication Date: October 23, 2025
Genre: Asian Romantasy
Age-Gap Relationship
Slow Burn Romance
Morally Gray Alpha
Mentor/Mentee
Vengeance Driven
Found Family
Steam and Suspense
Magical Connection
Happily Ever After
Hardened by heartache and too many bloody battles, General Wen Hung is focused on protecting his land and nothing more. When a beautiful healer uses a unique skill to save him from a deadly attack, she shifts something inside his heart. Now, he wants something that both terrifies and comforts him.
Determined to pave her own path, Zhao Mei Su is a talented healer with the passion of a warrior. But she has no teacher to educate her until she dares an adept warrior much older than her to give her lessons. The more she practices, the more her energy field transforms, connecting her to a cosmic realm she never knew existed. When a dragon roars for her, confusion and wonder set in as the unavoidable battle between the dark and the light erupts.
As darkness intensifies around them, Su and Hung join forces with the dragon realm to protect something more precious than they could ever imagine.
In the rugged wilderness of Dartmoor, school teacher Sophie Parsons vanishes without a trace during a weekend trek. For Detective Inspector Jacob Knox, Sophie’s disappearance stirs unsettling echoes of a previous case involving another woman who vanished in the same desolate moorland six months earlier.
As Knox delves deeper, he uncovers the complexities of Sophie’s personal life, including a secret affair with a charismatic colleague and a tense relationship with her long-term boyfriend, Peter. But Sophie’s tangled love life is just the beginning of Knox’s troubles. A local legend about a beast stalking the moors resurfaces, fueling public fear and media speculation. Is it just a myth, or could something more sinister be at play?
With time running out and the possibility that two women have been claimed by the moor, Knox faces his toughest case yet—one that will test him professionally and personally. As the case unfolds, Knox realizes the dark truths buried beneath the surface of Sophie’s life may be the key to unlocking the mystery.
Introducing DI Jacob Knox, Hollow Ground is a gripping crime thriller set in the eerie beauty of Devon’s Dartmoor, blending elements of mystery, suspense, and psychological depth to explore the blurred lines between human vulnerability and the unknown.
Freya Wallace is a crime writer based in Devon. Her debut novel, Hollow Ground, introduces DI Knox in the first book of an atmospheric new series set against the backdrop of her local area. A lifelong reader, she always wanted to see a gripping crime series unfold in the place she knows best. When she’s not writing or reading, Freya can be found walking her two German Shepherds along the local beaches.
My thoughts: This was a really good, tense, crime thriller. Women have been going missing on Dartmoor – not an easy place to find a missing person. The local police are up against it, not helped by rumours that the infamous beast of legend is roaming once more.
As DI Knox and his team dig into Sophie’s life, trying to work out what her connection to the previous victim might be, if any, and whether she was targeted or just convenient, they uncover her secrets, do either her longterm boyfriend or colleague lover have anything to do with her disappearance?
Knox’s personal life also becomes more complicated in the form of his troubled brother, he wants to help him but needs to focus on the case. There’s also potential romance with her dog walker, Lucy, but when does he have time to date, there’s missing women and a dangerous person to find.
Clever, twisting and totally gripping, this is a great start to hopefully a new series of crime set in Devon.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Download Unbound by Brittany Gossin Amazon for only $0.99 TODAY!
Unbound (Dragonflight #1) by @brittanygossinwrites
✨ Dragon shifters ✨ Stabby FMC ✨ Blood Witches ✨ Slow burn ✨ Forbidden love ✨ Quests and adventure ✨ Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️ ✨ Banter ✨ One bed ✨ Wingspan
What binds a Dragon shifter, a Princess seeking salvation in the North, and a desperate crime syndicate?
Welcome to Vicerona, a hub of debauchery ruled by crime lords, where Dragon shifters are imprisoned for crossing the wall, and Blood Witches threaten from the North.
Keagan Ragnor faces a dire threat: a plague ravaging Dragon shifters. To save his family, he must brave the perilous journey across the wall to secure the elusive Crimson Shard.
Princess Avalon Tremaine refuses to accept her fate of an unwanted marriage. With the Crimson Shard as her only hope, she must defy her destiny.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Thorpe, Rowena Blackridge, and Zedock Cannon—a trio of audacious criminals—embark on their most daring venture yet: the pursuit of the elusive Crimson Shard, a gamble that could erase their debts or seal their doom.
Six thriller authors. One writing retreat. You’d die to be on the guest list . . .
The Host Legendary mystery author J. R. Alastor’s books are sold all over the world, but no one knows his real name. After years hiding in the shadows, he has sent out six invitations to an exclusive murder mystery retreat on his private island.
The Assistant Mila del Angél has been hired to ensure the week runs smoothly. She has yearned for revenge on a ghost from her past for years – and this could be her chance to get it.
The Players The six bestselling thriller writers accept their invitations without question – it’s an opportunity any author would kill for.
The Game What should have been a week of trope-filled games takes a sinister turn when one guest is found dead, and the others find themselves in the midst of a nightmare drawn from Alastor’s dark imagination. They may have written thrillers – but now they and Mila must survive one…
ANDE PLIEGO began writing stories when she discovered she could actually wield her overactive imagination for good. A lover of stories with teeth, she writes books involving mind games, dark humour, general murder and mayhem, characters pushed to the edge of themselves, and most importantly, finding the hope in the dark. When not reading or writing, she can usually be found dabbling in art, scheming up her next trip, or making constant expeditions to the library. Born in Florida, raised in France, and having left footprints all over the globe, Ande is settled in the Pacific Northwest, USA, with her craftsman husband and little son.
My thoughts: I really, really enjoyed this. It was just a very “me” book, thriller writers on a murder mystery weekend that ends up in more murder than expected, on a deserted island. Hello, have you ever read any Agatha Christie? Ever seen the movie Clue? Do not go on this retreat.
Obviously as a reader I am delighted that authors continue to send their characters into red flag draped bad ideas. But I will not be accepting invitations to these things. People always get killed. Messily, and entertainingly, yes, but I want to live to read more blackly comic, twisted, fun things like this.
I’m still not 100% a Mila fan, I think she still needs to deal with some stuff, but I do love a Final Girl or two. Even a Final Boy.
There are twists galore, as the victims end up killed like their characters, and someone has a very personal vendetta. Can you work out who J.R is? I didn’t quite get there fast enough, and there are clues to how it’s all connected. But the characters don’t have all the pieces.
Lots of fun, really enjoyed it, cannot wait to see what Ande does next.
*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 are super excited to be touring The Bond that Burns by Briar Boleyn. If you have a dragon sized hole in your heart left over from Onyx Storm, this book is for you!
The Bond that Burns (Bloodwing Academy #2)
Publication Date: December 27, 2024
Genre: Dark Academia Fantasy Romance
🖤Fourth Wing meets Zodiac Academy 🖤Vampire Academy 🖤Slow-burn Dragons 🖤Vampire MMC with Draco Malfoy Vibes 🖤Steamy Enemies to Lovers 🖤Found Family 🖤Dual POV 🖤Bully Romance 🖤Trials 🖤Mean Girls 🖤Forced Engagement
At Bloodwing Academy, blood is currency, but a dragon’s legacy is priceless–and as dangerous as fire.
I thought surviving my first year in Bloodwing’s deadly halls would be enough. I was wrong.
I accidentally woke a dragon–a creature of myth, of death, of fire.
Now every highblood house wants control over me and the dragon’s legacy I carry. But here’s the truth: I have no control. I’m bluffing my way through every encounter, trying to keep everyone from realizing that I’m not the one pulling the dragon’s strings.
And then there’s Blake Drakharrow. I thought he was on my side, that I might even be able to trust him. But he betrayed me. Now I’m his only blood source. How messed up is that? In a place like Bloodwing, where power and survival are everything, this bond may well be the death of us both. Unless I can find a way to end it.
In this world of vampires, dragons, and lies, there are no happy endings. Just legends–and the darkness it takes to make them.
The Bond That Burns is a dark academia fantasy romance featuring a bully villain with Draco Malfoy energy who (eventually) gets the girl, all the tension and banter, and a tantalizingly dangerous blend of court and school intrigue all set in an intricately crafted world with unique vampire and dragon lore. If you’re a fan of original mythology, unique world-building, and character-driven romantasy books such as Crowns of Nyaxia, From Blood and Ash, and A Court of Thorns and Roses, you won’t want to miss out on this riveting new saga.
My thoughts: Read book one first or this will not make a great deal of sense as it picks up just as that ends. Do not make the same mistake I did.
Right, where were we. Oh yes, dragons. Also fluffins, which are little creatures a bit like Fennec foxes but maybe with smaller ears, or like Eevee from Pokemon. I think. This one’s called Neville, I already love him.
There’s more dragon in book two, and more sex, lots more sex (between human shaped people, not with dragons, I wish I didn’t have to explain this, but I do).
Medra has just about survived her first fun year at Bloodwing Academy, she still mostly hates Blake, she now has a dragon (with a nice line in sarcasm), who has only murdered one annoying vampire so far (I enjoyed that bit) and if she’s very lucky she might get to survive the second year. She still has no idea how she ended up here, and doesn’t seem too bothered about finding a way home. She’s finally got friends and is settling in, sort of.
Look, it’s messy, she’s basically the Promised One No One Wanted. She can do things no one else can, a lot of people would be happier if she was dead, she had to kill a friend at the end of the school year, and she’s still bonded to Blake. Who has his own issues to deal with.
It gets a whole lot messier before it gets better. Well, hopefully, it does in book 3. I also need a prequel, about Medra in the Camelot court and the fae.
Anyway, read this if you like dragons, mess, cute fluffy critters, friendships, complicated relationships, brooding men who need to grow up, conspiracies, and murder.
We’re proud to present the cover for the next witch tale in the Bird Girl Witches series, Winter Murder!
Winter Murder (Bird Girl Witches Book 2)
Expected Publication Date: April 16, 2025
Genre: Genre: YA Fantasy/Mystery
Tropes:
The Supernatural, Gothic Vibes, Witches, Animal Familiars, Mediums, Ghosts, Murder Mystery, The Chosen One, Hereditary Magic, Supernatural Detective, Summoning Evil, Ancient Curses, Magical Systems, Seances, Haunted Mansions, Poltergeists, Creepy Settings, Foreboding Atmosphere, Mysterious Things Are Happening, Backing into Darkness, High Stakes, Coming of Age, Family Secrets, First Kiss, First Crush, Ancient Secrets, Body Switching, Fantastical Creatures, Alternate Dimensions, Good vs Evil
In Winter Murder book two of the Bird Girl Witches series, ghosts have invaded Talus Hall and renowned 15-year-old medium Francesca LeGentil is just the person to exorcise them.
But she’s also been secretly hired to investigate a murder which happened next door at Talus Manor, a place where evil has taken root ever-more deeply.
Delving into the cursed history of the duelling Durr-Iggsby’s, Francesca uncovers a pattern to the persecution, tying it to the roots of the Dorojenja.
But when her sleuthing awakens a more ancient evil, no one in The Korvids is safe.
Starting now till February 15th, The Atlas Cliffs series (ebooks only) is on sale! Wandering Souls (book one) is free, Seeking Haven (book 2), is $0.99, and Braving Storms (book 3) is $1.99!
We’re also giving away all 3 signed books plus merch to one lucky winner in the US or Canada!
ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Atlas Cliffs series is a completed upper young adult to new adult, supernatural fantasy trilogy. These books are for readers who loved the soul mate vibes of shows like Vampire Diaries, but with witchy magic and ghosts, found family, and a strong FMC who must learn to trust after betrayal. If you adore the trope where the love interest calms her inner storm, you will discover a second chance, friends-to-lovers slow-burn romance woven within the pages, starting with Wandering Souls, gaining momentum in Seeking Haven, and ending with an emotional conclusion in Braving Storms.
When Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, finds a mysterious runic inscription on a Rune Stone in the graveyard of her husband’s village church, she unwittingly sets off a chain of circumstances that disturb their quiet lives in ways she never expected.
She, once again, feels the echoes of the past resonate through time and into the present.
Can she unlock the secrets of the runes in the life of the 6th century Lady Vivianne and in Viv’s own life?
Again, lives of the past and present intertwine alarmingly as Viv desperately tries to save them both, without changing the course of history.
Dr Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of resonances across time. She sees her author brand as a historical fiction writer of romantic mysteries that are character-driven, well-paced, evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners.
Her current series focuses on early medieval dual-time/time-slip mysteries.
Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language/ literature/ history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher.
Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s. She has also indie-published three other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her latest, Daughter of Mercia, is the first of a new series of Anglo-Saxon dual time mystery/romances where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries.
Her books will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘compelling character-driven novels’, ‘a skilled story-teller’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘incredible writing style’, ‘intricately written’, ‘absorbing and captivating’, and ‘an absolute gem of a trilogy’
My thoughts: and so we come to the last book in this series, The Rune Stone. Viv and Rory are back from Madeira and adjusting to life in their Derbyshire village when an unusual discovery in the churchyard sets off Viv’s time travelling adventures once more. This time Lady Vivianne is in trouble, faced with invaders, an advanced pregnancy and war rumoured to be coming from all directions, she reaches through the centuries to her descendant for strength. And despite the worry she might drop the baby while having one of her turns, Viv answers. The carved stone in the churchyard might just refer to Lady Vivianne. But what does eccentric Ivy have to do with it all and can Viv stop a predatory parishioner stealing her husband at the same time?
I really enjoyed this series, the blend of historical fiction and modern day Time Team style investigations – especially once Tilly gets involved. I liked the linking of ancient traditions with more modern ones and the need to put things back where they belong so the dead can rest easy.
*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 