Category: blog tour

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Blog Tour: The Silver Ones – Charlotte Mallory

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Welcome to the book tour for the first novel in The Silver Ones duology by Charlotte Mallory! Read on for more info and a chance to win a signed copy of you own!

The Silver Ones_FINAL PRINT_EBOOK

The Silver Ones (Silver Duology #1)

Expected Publication Date: October 23rd

Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance/ Werewolves

When she has to convince the Alpha of Warden to pick her as his mate, she finds herself frustratingly captivated by the domineering male…whose language she doesn’t even speak.

Women are unexpectedly waking up with silver hair and blue eyes—humans who harbor innate magic in their veins. It’s a power that shifter wolves are hungry to utilize… to the point of abducting Rem Walker right from her home on her family farm.

Her life no longer matters when an Elder Witch ensnares Rem in a binding death curse, threatening the life of Rem’s younger brother as leverage. The only way to break the curse is to meet its demands: convince the Alpha of Warden to choose her as his mate before he chooses another Silver.

The Alpha is shrewd, however, and he suspects things are not as they seem. When a romance buds that’s as steamy as the hot springs she visits, Rem is torn between loyalties, making life-threatening decisions with the hopes to somehow untangle herself from a web of pack betrayals.

In the midst of all this chaos… Rem can’t stop asking: Why her? Why must she be chosen one to bear this curse?

Why does the Elder Witch demand that she mate Alpha Ronan?

And why does Rem enjoy the touch of the Alpha so much, when she has to betray him?

This is a slowburn fantasy romance story, so not for those seeking an instalove connection… although the romance is still just as satisfying!

Content Warning: Rated 18+ for violence and steamy scenes.

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Excerpt

The wind continued to blow, Ronan’s scent filling Rem’s lungs. She wanted to get closer to him, to breathe him in. The Alpha cautiously glanced up at the moon and then back at her. A darker expression overcame him. She truly smelled him for the first time and she failed to hide that she was enamored by it.

And he knew it.

The moon caught his eyes at just the right angle, and they flashed white like it would for a wolf, reminding her of the beast within. The overwhelming knowledge of being alone with him, in the woods, under the moon, with these changes coursing through her, melted away any barriers that remained between them.

He took a small step forward, his eyes laced with a cunning curiosity. The more she stared at this male that loomed over her, the more she became entrenched in everything about him.

She could feel his power. She could feel that he was an Alpha. She couldn’t explain the novel sensation, but it was a knowledge that she knew, like an instinct.

Ronan’s stolid face gently broke, a hint of a smile forming. He was enjoying watching her gain a new sense of her surroundings.

Rem was turning into one of his own.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

20220327_155125

Charlotte Mallory is eager to share her love for Dark Fantasy Romance stories, and dabbling in a few Contemporary Romances. What she enjoys most is taking well loved tropes and adding her own take on them. Right now, she greatly enjoys anything with Fantasy or Contemporary with an Alpha male lead, paired with a female lead that can absolutely handle her own! In her spare time, she enjoys nature, bonsai trees, coffee, and taking random art classes.

Charlotte Mallory

International Giveaway: Win one of 3 signed copies of The Silver Ones

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Book Tour Schedule

November 21st

R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://www.rrbooktours.com

@over.on.my.bookshelf (Review) https://www.instagram.com/over.on.my.bookshelf/?hl=en

@margiebythebookcase (Review) https://www.instagram.com/margiebythebookcase/

@alexis.reads__ (Spotlight) https://instagram.com/alexis.reads__?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Stine Writing (Spotlight) https://christinebialczak.com/

I Love Books & Stuff (Spotlight) https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

November 22nd

@amber.bunch_author (Review) https://www.instagram.com/amber.bunch_author/

Bunny’s Reviews (Review) https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/

@accio_mischief (Review) https://www.instagram.com/accio_mischief/

@tiffany.marie90 (Review) https://www.instagram.com/tiffany.marie90/

Liliyana Shadowlyn (Spotlight) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/

@read.em.if.you.got.em (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/read.em.if.you.got.em/

November 23rd

@its_b.e.l.l.e (Review) https://www.instagram.com/its_b.e.l.l.e/

@booksaremysirensong (Review) https://www.instagram.com/booksaremysirensong/

@takealookatmybookshelf (Review) https://www.instagram.com/takealookatmybookshelf/

@romanticbookwyrm (Review) https://www.instagram.com/romanticbookwyrm/

Books Blog (Spotlight) https://www.booksblog.co.uk/

Rambling Mads (Spotlight) https://ramblingmads.uk/

November 24th

The Librocubicularista (Review) https://thelibrocubicularista.wordpress.com/

@witchinglybookish (Review) https://www.instagram.com/witchinglybookish/

Black Raptor Books (Review) https://www.blackraptorbooks.com/

Book Reviews by Taylor (Review) https://www.bookreviewsbytaylor.com/

@sadiesspotlight (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/sadiesspotlight/

@_toris.thoughts_ (Review) https://www.instagram.com/_toris.thoughts_/

November 25th

@hazels_bookstagram (Review) https://www.instagram.com/hazels_bookstagram/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Lady Hawkeye (Spotlight) https://www.ladyhawkeye.com/

@kellyatx (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/kellyatx/

@latishaslowkeylife (Review) https://www.instagram.com/latishaslowkeylife/

@caffeinatedbibliophilia (Review) https://www.instagram.com/caffeinatedbibliophilia/

@authortaylorkillpack (Review) https://www.instagram.com/authortaylorkillpack/

Cocktails & Fairytales (Spotlight) https://www.facebook.com/CocktailsFairytales

Book Tour Organized By:

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R&R Book Tours

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Coming Darkness – Greg Mosse

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Paris, 2037. Alexandre Lamarque of the French external security service is hunting for eco-terrorists. Experience has taught him there is no one he can trust – not his secretive lover Mariam, not even his old mentor, Professor Fayard, the man at the centre of the web. He is ready to give up. But he can’t.

In search of the truth, Alex must follow the trail through an ominous spiral of events, from a string of brutal child murders to a chaotic coup in North Africa. He rapidly finds himself in a heart-thumping race against chaos and destruction. He could be the world’s only hope of preventing THE COMING DARKNESS . . .

My thoughts: this was a really interesting, thought provoking geopolitical thriller set in the near future. Some countries have pursued isolationist policies, but others, in this case, France among them, are more connected than ever, sharing resources, energy (mostly renewable) and battling enemies that mean to bring them down from the inside.

Cyrenia is a breakaway new country, formerly part of Libya. They are very close to France politically and it is a French intelligence agent who puts the pieces together. Connecting the opening of a new satellite base in the desert near the border with the isolationist Egypt, to a conspiracy involving murdered children and corpses tattooed with a sequence of letters in several locations across France.

Alex is a brilliant agent, but in hunting the people behind this conspiracy he is hampered by someone interfering with his comms, by not seeing all the details and by his mother being ill. People close to him are both involved and at risk, and time is running out.

Absolutely gripping and intelligent, this sends a shiver down the spine at the thought of what a terrorist group with this kind of reach could do – they could completely destroy what we know and bring in the coming darkness. Hopefully a real Alex could stop them in time!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Blitz: For Richer For Deader – Helen Golden

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Is the Wedding Between Sir Hewitt Willoughby-Franklin’s Step-Daughter and Billionaire’s Son Off?
Rumours are that the recent death of Kelley Lindsell (29), the personal chef of tycoon Rudy (68) and Sheri Trotman (65) at Sir Hewitt’s Fawstead Manor country estate in Fenshire, has spooked Sybil
Bransgrove (36) so badly she’s considering cancelling her nuptials.
Meanwhile the bride and her mother, Lady Grace (61), are being supported by family friend Lady Beatrice (36), the Countess of Rossex, who, alongside her business partner Perry Juke, is currently
managing the project to refurbish the Manor House and Lodge on the estate.
Not again! Now that Lady Grace has asked Lady Beatrice to liaise with the police during the investigation into Kelley’s death, she’ll have to cooperate with boorish Detective Chief Inspector
Richard Fitzwilliam whether she likes it or not. Her only relief will be solving the murder with the help of her friends Perry and Simon and her dog Daisy to get rid of him faster. But with so many wedding party guests staying on-site, any one of them could be the killer. Can they find out who it is before Sybil calls off the wedding…

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Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two
dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.
I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it.
It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a
lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes.

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My thoughts: this was a second fun and enjoyable outing for Lady Beatrice and Perry. Doing the interiors for her mother’s friend Lady Grace gets them embroiled in another murder case and once again DCI Fitzwilliam is sent to solve the case, involving as it does celebrity, aristocracy and Lady Bea. A series of threats left with dead animals ends in murder and chaos as someone is trying to stop Lady Grace’s daughter Sybil from getting married. But are the threats and the murder connected? There’s a lot of secrets to find out and sort through.

Obviously the duo of Bea and Perry are aided by Perry’s ex-detective turned writer and cook Simon’s knowledge and connections but so much of what they learn comes from Bea asking awkward questions and her connection to the family. People do seem very happy to tell her things. Accompanied by her terrier Daisy, she’s determined to solve the case so Sybil’s wedding can go ahead without more drama. Tremendous fun and very cleverly done.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Chaos at Carnegie Hall – Kelly Oliver

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New York, 1917. Notorious spy, Fredrick Fredricks, has invited Fiona to Carnegie Hall to hear a famous soprano. It’s an
opportunity the War Office can’t turn down. Fiona and Clifford are soon on their way, but not before Fiona is saddled with chaperon duties for Captain Hall’s niece. Is Fiona a spy or a glorified babysitter?
From the minute Fiona meets the soprano aboard the RMS Adriatic it’s treble on the high C’s. Fiona sees something—or someone—thrown overboard, and then she overhears a chemist plotting in
German with one of her own countrymen!
And the trouble doesn’t stop when they disembark. Soon Fiona is doing time with a group of suffragettes and investigating America’s most impressive inventor Thomas Edison.
When her number one suspect turns up dead at the opera and Fredrick Fredricks is caught red-handed, it looks like it’s finally curtains for the notorious spy.
But all the evidence points to his innocence. Will Fiona change her tune and clear her nemesis’ name? Or will she do her duty? And just what is she going to do with the pesky Kitty Lane? Not to mention swoon-worthy Archie Somersby . . .
If Fiona’s going to come out on top, she’s going to have to make the most difficult decision of her life: the choice between her head and her heart.
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Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in
WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She is bringing new titles in the Fiona Figg series to Boldwood, the first of
which, Chaos in Carnegie Hall, will be published in November 2022.

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My thoughts: I hadn’t read the previous books in this series, but it doesn’t matter, it works just fine as a standalone or as the beginning of Fiona’s collaboration with Kitty Lane.

Sent to New York on the trail of a German spy, Fiona becomes embroiled in several murders, a different potential spy, Thomas Edison, suffragettes, Dorothy Parker’s Algonquin set and escorting her boss’ annoying neice to college. She’s accompanied by the devoted, if long suffering, Clifford, rather against her will. And her beloved Archie keeps popping up everywhere – is he a double agent?

With a wardrobe full of disguises, some subterfuge, a cute but not fully toilet trained dog, Poppy, and some help from a crinkly concierge, Fiona decides to untangle all the various threads, solve the murders, and of course find out what Frederick Fredericks is up to. She might even get to enjoy the sights of the Big Apple.

Lots of fun, and a bit silly, full of real famous names, and some artistic licence, this was an enjoyable historical crime caper.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: To Steal the Sun – S.M. Carter

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ToStealtheSun copy

We’re so excited about this one! Check out To Steal the Sun, a thrilling heist fantasy by S.M. Carter!

CoverImage

To Steal the Sun

Publication Date: October 11th, 2022

Genre: Adult Fantasy/ Heist Fantasy/ POC/ LGBTQ2+ Representation
3 DANGEROUS rogues. 2 nations at WAR. 1 IMPOSSIBLE heist. Ocean’s 11 meets Game of Thrones. From one of the creators of WARFRAME!

THE KICKSTARTER SENSATION THAT WAS OVER 700% FUNDED.

When Raik, the most cunning smuggler this side of the desert, finds where the Ivory King vaults his magical runes—he builds a crew to execute an elaborate heist.

Among them is Kahli Mahanta, a religious assassin with blind ambition. A young rogue, Kirin, with wit sharper than his arrows ought to be. And Amara, the so-called Nightspirit, whose raven-hair conceals even darker secrets.

It won’t be easy. They’re opposed by the curved blades of the magic-deranged, watched by a paranoid king, and hunted by gaunt beasts that click in the cold desert night… All the while discovering that trusting each other might be the most dangerous mission of all.
To Steal The Sun is a tale of unlikely heroes thrust together in a new refreshing fantasy. One cast in vibrant silks, fragrant spice, and the relentless glare of a radiant sun.

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Raik

Raik never used to plan. Now it was all he did. And he was particularly proud of this plan. If it worked, he’d have his own personal thief.

As he walked, he calculated every step along the prison path. He’d been in places like these many times over his years. They always smelled of blood, stale sweat, and piss. This time, he was a guest, but the stink didn’t care how he came to be there.

Raik followed a white-cloaked and hulking rune knight through the humid tunnel system beneath the main building. Behind him trailed a guard and the lieutenant warden of General Revard Zol Prison.

The granite corridor narrowed and twisted, an umbilical cord leading them into the womb of the structure. The lower they descended, the higher the temperature. Raik tugged at the high neck of his red cloth coat, giving his skin room to breathe. He mopped his brow with the back of his hand and scratched at his thin beard.

“This would be an ominous walk,” he said. “I mean, if not for the wonderful company.”

The rune knight turned, armor groaning under the white cloak, and hissed, “Shut it, smuggler.” His breath smelled sickly sweet, a signature of those who used runes. As a devotee of Harkan, the man’s head was “cleansed.” The roots of his hair were seared out, and where his ears would normally be, were two white scared nubs that contrasted with his bronze skin—all in homage to the knighthood’s founder. Idiots. Harkan was no one worth imitating.

Raik faked calm disinterest at the knight’s words, but inside, his repulsion grew. The knight’s appearance conjured memories he’d rather avoid, but worse, it aroused a desire to kill. Kill the knight and take the runes no doubt embedded in his sword hilt. But his rules wouldn’t allow it.

Never kill.

Never use runes lest they use you.

They were simple, and they worked.

“Pick up the pace,” the knight growled. Raik concentrated on his rules because his desires screamed the opposite. Luckily, they reached their destination before his concentration ran out. The corridor led them to a larger room dimly lit by four braziers that emphasized the darkness rather than banishing it. Each of the three walls had a wooden door reinforced with iron bands sitting in their center. Sobbing drifted from the right door while a rhythmic snapping sound akin to a thick branch breaking, overshadowed it from the left.

Raik, along with the lieutenant and guard, followed the knight to the chamber’s center. From there, he was able to see the engraved images on the doors. The old Jaru gods. A rhino head for Kartajani, a crocodile for Sorasku, and a panther for B’sashti.

“Is this—”

The lieutenant interrupted him. “Yes the three doors of Zol do exist. One for each of the hells Kith buried the old gods in.” He snickered and spread his arms wide. “See for yourself.”

Raik resisted glaring at the man. “My lucky day.”

“Just open it,” the knight said through gritted teeth.

The lieutenant warden leaned against the entrance and unhooked a massive key ring from his belt. The multitude of keys varied in lengths and metals. He sorted through them quickly and found a smaller ring that contained only three keys, one for each of the doors of torture. Under the intense scrutiny of the rune knight’s glare, the lieutenant’s hands trembled. He dropped the ring. The keys clinked to the ground, and the guard—who was not a guard but Raik’s disguised apprentice—moved to pick them up.

Raid Press (Hardcover Edition)

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About the Author

S.M.Carter

S.M. CARTER is an author and game developer.

As an author he has contributed to multiple comic anthologies and writes the ongoing graphic novel, AARDEHN, with artist Eric Vedder. As a game developer, he is credited as creative director of THE DARKNESS 2, and is one of the creators of the smash-hit game WARFRAME.
He lives in London, Ontario, Canada with his wife and two children.
He once caught a fly with chopsticks.

S.M. Carter

My thoughts: this was a fun, fantasy heist with an interesting cast of characters – the smuggler, his apprentice, the assassin, the thief and the man who really runs the kingdom. They all have very different motives for agreeing to steal the rival country’s collection of magic rune stones. But not everything goes to plan, so new plan!

This was a very entertaining and enjoyable read, I liked the gang and their various takes on life, as well as how their individual stories wove together, and the links between them that they discover, good and bad. I have high hopes for the next book.

Book Tour Schedule

November 14th

R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com

@amber.bunch_author (Review) https://www.instagram.com/amber.bunch_author/

@pluvioreads (Review) https://www.tiktok.com/@pluvioreads

Pluvio Reads – https://pluvioreads.blogspot.com

@better_0ff_read (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/better_0ff_read/

@read.em.if.you.got.em (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/read.em.if.you.got.em/

The Faerie Review (Spotlight) http://www.thefaeriereview.com

November 15th

Liliyana Shadowlyn (Review) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/

@margiebythebookcase (Review) https://www.instagram.com/margiebythebookcase/

@authortaylorkillpack (Review) https://www.instagram.com/authortaylorkillpack/

@definitelynotreading (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/definitelynotreading/

Breakeven Books (Spotlight) https://breakevenbooks.com

November 16th

@hodophile_z (Review) https://www.instagram.com/hodophile_z/

@its_b.e.l.l.e (Review) https://www.instagram.com/its_b.e.l.l.e/

@witchinglybookish (Review) https://www.instagram.com/witchinglybookish/

@nerdyfoxreads (Review) https://www.instagram.com/nerdyfoxreads/

Cocktails & Fairytales (Spotlight) https://www.facebook.com/CocktailsFairytales

November 17th

@accio_mischief (Review) https://www.instagram.com/accio_mischief/

Sophril Reads (Review) http://sophrilreads.wordpress.com

Lady Hawkeye (Review) https://www.ladyhawkeye.com/

@kellyatx – https://www.instagram.com/kellyatx/

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

November 18th

Rambling Mads (Review) http://ramblingmads.com

@alexis.reads__ (Review) https://instagram.com/alexis.reads__?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Bunny’s Reviews (Review) https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/

Stine Writing (Spotlight) https://christinebialczak.com/

@tm_ghent (Review) https://www.instagram.com/tm_ghent/

Book Tour Organized By:

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R&R Book Tours

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: An Ear For Trouble – K.T. Lee

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Elise Butler is a wildlife biologist who enjoys her stable (if somewhat predictable) job in finance at the World Wildlife Trust. However, when the veterinarian at Riverbend Animal Conservation Center goes missing, Elise offers to help the unlucky wildlife Conservation Center get back on its feet. Not only will the job in Riverbend, Indiana let her get back to her roots of working with animals, but it’s also a short drive from her sister’s workplace at Riverbend K-9 Academy, a training center for some
of the FBI’s best explosive detection dogs.
FBI Special Agent Finn Cooper and his canine partner, Sedona, are chasing a well-funded animal trafficking ring. After an injury sidelines Finn from official FBI undercover work, he goes to work at
Riverbend K-9 Academy to stay busy while he recovers…and to investigate his only remaining lead in the animal trafficking case.
Just as Elise begins to settle into life in Riverbend, her sister asks her to help the K-9 Academy by fostering one of their puppies. Finn is eager to keep Elise focused on training Zeke, the enthusiastic German shepherd puppy earmarked to become Riverbend’s first wildlife detection K-9, and keep her well away from his quiet animal trafficking investigation. Zeke quickly proves himself an expert both
at chewing shoes and sniffing out clouded leopards. When Zeke starts finding scents where they don’t belong, Elise and Finn begin to realize that the Conservation Center may be more criminal than
unlucky. And if Elise doesn’t keep her nose out of it, she might be the next target.
An Ear for Trouble is Book 2 in the Riverbend K-9 Series. All books in the Riverbend K-9 Series may be enjoyed as standalone novels or as a series.

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K.T. Lee is a writer, mom, and engineer who grew up on a steady diet of books from a wide variety of genres. She’s the author of multiple books, including those in the Riverbend K-9 Series and The
Calculated Series.

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Giveaway to Win 10 x e-copies of An Ear For Trouble (Open INT)

My thoughts: back to Riverbend K9 training school we go! This time we’re with Elise, a wildlife charity’s accountant and biologist who’s trying to help out a struggling zoo, that might be at the heart of an exotic animal smuggling ring.

Determined to help the FBI stop the trafficking, as well as teaching puppy Zeke to stop eating her shoes, she’s quietly digging into the accounts and every day activity of the conservation centre, even though FBI agent Finn worries she’ll get caught.

Obviously any book with animals is automatically better (frequent followers will know my theory) and this one has a lot of them, from K9 trainees to clouded leopards and lots of other creatures. Animals in danger bothers me, as it should anyone, so I’m glad, in fiction at least, there’s lots of people like Elise and Finn looking out for them. A fun and entertaining crime story with a twist of romance and of course lots of puppy kisses.

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will
not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random
Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Urgent Matters – Paula Rodriguez

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A train crashes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, leaving forty-three people dead. A prayer card of Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent matters, flutters above the wreckage.

Hugo, a criminal on the run for murder, is on the train. He seizes his chance to sneak out of the wreckage unsuspected, abandoning his possessions – and, he hopes, his identity – among bodies mangled beyond recognition.

As the police descend on the scene, only grizzled Detective Domínguez sees a link between the crash and his murder case. Soon, he’s on Hugo’s tail. But he hasn’t banked on everything from the media to his mother-in-law getting in the way.

My thoughts:this is a short book but it packs a real punch as Hugo, suspected of murder, is involved in a terrible train accident. He escapes from hospital and goes into hiding, sort of.

His partner and daughter have no idea if he’s even survived and his mother-in-law sees an opportunity to get herself on TV. Seeking Hugo (but not for any particularly altruistic reasons) her family are suddenly all over the news, and the impact on Marta and her daughter is carefully and cleverly revealed.

This is an intriguing and complex narrative, peopled with a cast of newsreaders, sisters, assistants and stray dogs. A slice of unreal life really. Very interesting and enjoyable.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: The Stars Undying – Emery Robin

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LOYALTY, LEGACY AND BETRAYAL…

Princess Altagracia has lost everything. After a bloody civil war, her twin sister has claimed not just the crown of their planet Szayet but the Pearl of its prophecy, a computer that contains the immortal soul of their god. Stripped of her birthright, Altagracia prepares to flee the planet – just as Matheus Ceirran, Commander of the interstellar Empire of Ceiao, arrives in deadly pursuit. Princess Altagracia sees an opportunity to win back her planet, her god, and her throne . . . if she can win over the Commander and his distrustful right-hand officer, Anita.

But talking her way into Commander Matheus’s good graces, and his bed, is only the beginning. Dealing with the most powerful man in the galaxy is almost as dangerous as war, and Altagracia is quickly torn between Matheus and the wishes of the machine god that whispers in her ear.

For Szayet’s sake, and her own, Altagracia will need to become more than a princess with a silver tongue. She will have to become a queen as history has never seen before – even if it breaks an empire.

A spectacular space opera debut perfect for readers of Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice and Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, inspired by the lives and loves of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.

My thoughts: I only really know about Cleopatra and Julius Caesar from Shakespeare and a few other places but I do remember a few things like the carpet delivery and the incredible description of the royal barge Shakespeare lifted wholesale from a historical record.

Inspired by their romance and Caesar’s political machinations, this turns countries into planets and those clever Romans into the Empire of Ceiao, conquerors of the cosmos and bickering members of the Council.

There are a lot of political intrigues and plots, with various figures from antiquity becoming a new version. Marc Anthony becomes Anita – Ceirran’s right hand woman, but with blood just as hot as the original.

It’s all very cleverly done and you don’t really need to know anything about the notorious Egyptian Queen and her Roman lovers to enjoy it or get to grips with the sci fi and magical elements.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Legends & Lattes – Travis Baldree

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High Fantasy with a double-shot of self-reinvention

Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.

My thoughts: this book is a lot of fun. Viv is a great protagonist. All she wants to do is hang up her sword and open a coffee shop, but trouble has a way of finding her.

So she makes some new friends and deals with the trouble, gets her coffee machine working, and is in business. There’s also some time for romance and delicious baked treats! If you’re a regular fantasy reader you can play spot the tropes and enjoy the way they’re turned upside down in this funny, entertaining read.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: The Lost Metal – Brandon Sanderson

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Return to #1 New York Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with THE ALLOY OF LAW, comes to its earth-shattering conclusion in THE LOST METAL.

For years, frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian has hunted the shadowy organization the Set – with his late uncle and his sister among their leaders – since they started kidnapping people with the power of Allomancy in their bloodlines. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner, Wayne, find stockpiled weapons bound for the Outer City of Bilming, this opens a new lead. Conflict between the capital, Elendel, and the Outer Cities only favors the Set, and their tendrils now reach to the Elendel Senate – whose corruption Wax and his wife, Steris, have sought to expose – and Bilming is even more entangled.

After Wax discovers a new type of explosive that can unleash unprecedented destruction and realizes that the Set must already have it, an immortal kandra serving Scadrial’s god, Harmony, reveals that Bilming has fallen under the influence of another god: Trell, worshipped by the Set. And Trell isn’t the only factor at play from the larger Cosmere – Marasi is recruited by offworlders with strange abilities who claim their goal is to protect Scadrial…at any cost.

Wax must choose whether to set aside his rocky relationship with God and once again become the Sword that Harmony has groomed him to be. If no one steps forward to be the hero Scadrial needs, the planet and its millions of people will come to a sudden and calamitous ruin.

My thoughts: this is a heck of a way to end Era Two of the Mistborn series. A huge bomb might just destroy Elendel if Wax and Wayne (plus Steris and Marasi) don’t stop it.

There’s visits from Death, Harmony (God) and even immortal heroes like Kell (the Survivor from Era One), all bringing stark warnings of danger from beyond. If army Autonomy is building enters their world, nothing they do will stop this foreign god defeating Harmony and destroying their world.

Wax’s sister is deeply involved in these nefarious plots and he knows he might have to kill her to stop things escalating. But she’s not the only one under thrall to Autonomy, and out in the town of Bilming all sorts of strange things are happening. With new allies from other worlds, and new metals, they might just be the heroes this rusting world needs. But there will be loss and sacrifice too.

I am a huge fan of the Mistborn series and was very excited to read this one. I am intrigued by the project Sanderson is creating with this series. Each era moves a little further forward in time and technology. So the next story cycle will be more advanced than these books, and the next even more so and so on.

Which means saying goodbye to this set of characters – Wax, Wayne, Steris, Marasi and the others will go on but not feature again. Some will, since gods and kandra are immortal, I imagine a few will appear here and there, but not the human ones. The Lost Metal is a fantastic, high stakes, ending, full of all of the adventure and chaos you want. And while we wait for the Third Era, time to read the whole series so far, again!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.