We are thrilled to share the second epic installment in the Heroes of the Empire series, The General by Israh Azizi!
The General (Heroes of the Empire Book 2)
Publication Date: November 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy/ Epic Fantasy
THE EMPIRE IS CRUMBLING, AND THE FATE OF A KINGDOM RESTS IN THEIR HANDS.
Tropes:
Morally Grey Characters, Mistaken Identity, Royal Intrigue, Multiple POV, Chosen One, Slow Burn Romance, Found Family, Warring Kingdoms, Forbidden Love, Hidden Powers, Character Driven
Mordon dedicated his life to his father; his only dream was to prove himself worthy of Verin’s general. But with the ruthless Tariqin attack comes a brutal awakening. Captured by enemy forces and dragged into a war camp full of the people he was trained to kill, his hopes of proving himself worthy are dashed to pieces. When the enemy offers him a chance for a grand future, he’s faced with a test that stretches him beyond his limits.
Coralie’s burden has never been heavier. After the Dark Lord Prolus’s recent assault and her uncle’s declining health, it is up to her to keep her kingdom together. The inevitable return of the Tariqin army lurks at their doorstep and her time is running short. Coralie turns to the newest residents of Verintown for assistance. Branded traitors and hated by many in the castle, they may very well be her downfall. Using their pledge for change in her favor, she tasks them with a mission most would consider a death sentence.
Two determined warriors separated by a river of blood. Mordon must risk everything to become the man he yearns to be, and Coralie must fight to become the queen she was born to be.
When an eccentric widow claims she is being stalked by her former lodger, Detective Jack Warr is the only person who believes her wild claims.
Days later, she is found brutally murdered in her home.
When the investigation uncovers an international drugs operation on the widow’s property, the case grows even more complex. And as the hunt for the widow’s lodger hits dead end after dead end, it seems that the prime suspect has vanished without a trace.
To find answers, Jack must decide how far is he willing to go – and what he is willing to risk – in his search for justice. Because if he crosses the line of the law, one wrong move could cost him everything . . .
My thoughts: Book three and a rather peculiar case for Jack and his team. Avril is a pain in the neck for her local police station, and now she’s claiming her former lodger is stalking her, breaking into her house, stealing odds and ends. Jack gets asked to speak to her and see if he can’t make some sense out of all her strange stories.
Then she’s murdered, and now it’s much more serious. Especially when they discover a greenhouse full of weed and a secret basement pill plant. Who was Avril really and was this her lodger’s business?
Taking in organised crime, the drug squad, forcing Jack to once again work with other teams, as he hunts down the lodger and unravels Avril’s life in the search for her killer. This is another brilliant, clever, compelling case with the truly interesting detective.
His moral compass is wobbling, will he cross the line and conceal things from his colleagues, giving into the criminal biological father he never knew but feels lurks inside him, or stay true to who his adoptive parents raised him to be? A father himself now, he has to wrestle with his conscience and do what is legally right or what he feels is morally so?
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Freya and Carole are back on an antique hunting adventure in the sequel to the international bestseller, The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder.
When a painting vanishes from a maritime museum, and a dead body is found nearby, the newly established Lockwood Antique Hunter’s Agency, Freya Lockwood and her aunt Carole, are called to investigate. Following a lead that takes them aboard a glamorous antiques cruise sailing toward the Red Sea in Jordan, they quickly discover that the ship‘s art gallery is filled with stolen antiquities.
Each antique is also listed in Freya’s late mentor’s journals that detail unsolved cases. In chasing a murderer with a stolen painting, they may have found something more sinister than they could’ve imagined . . .
Their hunt soon turns deadly when they learn the enigmatic and dangerous art trafficker named The Collector could be on board. But on a ship full of antiques enthusiasts – plus some unexpected familiar faces – will Freya and Carole be able to discover The Collector’s identity and stop his murderous plans before the ship docks? Or will the killer strike again?
Cara Miller started working life in publishing as an editorial assistant for her mother, Judith Miller, on the Miller’s Antique Price Guide to Europe before she went into hospitality and events. After she had children, she decided to follow her long-held dream of becoming an author and began writing full-time. She was an Undiscovered Voices winner in 2022 and was showcased in the UV 2022 anthology. She lives in a medieval cottage in Suffolk with her family.
This book was written in consultation with international antiques expert Judith Miller (1951–2023), a regular specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. Judith was also the co-founder of the bestselling annual Miller’s Antiques Price Guide, which started in 1979. She went on to write more than 120 books on antiques and interiors.
My thoughts: Freya and Carole are settling into their new lives in Arthur’s antique business and looking for their next case, which comes in the form of a stolen painting at a maritime museum. There’s also been a murder, but the police are dealing with that, so they can focus on the painting.
It’s listed in one of Arthur’s journals, and the trail leads them to a cruise down the Nile to Jordan, where several experts are due to give talks on antiques and a range of items is on display. Stolen items, including the painting.
Chasing it will lead them into danger, as there’s plenty of people on board with their own motives, interests in the antiquities and possibly even the mysterious Collector. Friendly FBI agent Phil also happens to be on board, along with furious thief Bella.
Freya has tech support in the form of new employee Sky, but is she who she claims to be, or is she somehow connected to the Collector?
Carole is even more flamboyant than ever in kaftans and neon, while Freya is having to overcome her natural shyness and give talks in Arthur’s stead, as well as risk her life to expose the criminals in their midst and attempt to get the painting back for the museum, even if it isn’t exactly authentic.
Arthur had a lot of secrets, and was probably double crossing some very dangerous people, some of which Freya encounters on this adventure – not that staying home is much safer, thank goodness for the villagers.
Great fun, funny and witty. I’m already looking forward to the next book, when they head off to Scotland following the next of Arthur’s journals and his list of stolen treasures.
*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 celebrating the release of Masquerade of Bones with a tour this week! This gorgeous fantasy romance is available February 25th in all formats!
Masquerade of Bones
Publication Date: February 25, 2025 (Print, ebook and audio)
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Villain gets the girl
Shadow daddy
Heists
Royalty,
Found family
Quest
One bed/horse/tent
Magic
Outlaws
Dragons
Vibes:
Six of Crows (but make it spicy) x Beneath Black Sails (but wild west outlaws instead of pirates)
A Blood Oath ~ A Botched Heist ~ A Dangerous Deal with the Enemy
Everly Thorn knew she was doomed when she came down with witch fever. She’s spent the last ten years hiding her symptoms and will do anything to keep her cursed gift a secret for fear of being conscripted into the military and used as a weapon to hunt others like her.
Reeling from the death of her parents and a broken betrothal, she’s racked up a fortune in gambling debts. Her job at the Menagerie of Magical Beasts doesn’t pay enough to keep the collectors from threatening to take her home—the only thing she and her brother have left.
Silas Drake is an infamous outlaw in need of a witch with a unique set of skills and exactly the kind of man Everly has vowed to stay away from—tall, dark, and deadly. He’s determined to steal a powerful dragon relic being held in the Menagerie’s vault.
When he discovers Everly’s secret, the ruthless shadow summoner presents her with an impossible choice—swear a blood oath to him and help his crew steal the relic in exchange for paying off her debts or be handed over to the crown.
Everly, however, is done with men who want to control her and refuses to accept her fate without a fight.
Lesley Hamilton is starting a new life in Florence when she discovers a dead neighbour. An inexplicable mistake leads her to Paolo Bianchi, an individual unaffected by usual human emotions. His involvement in crime leaves him living in the shadowy fringes of society where decisions are made for him. When he is left to his own devices, his actions lead to tragic consequences, not just for himself but also for all those lives he touches.
As Paolo’s life unravels, Gianfranco Valdi and his Caribinieri team must unpick the threads that lead to Paolo and his connection with organised crime.
Laura Jane Smith began writing seriously in 2019 when she took early retirement after a 34-year career in education. She lives in Perthshire in Scotland, where she enjoys gardening, walking, theatre and going to the cinema, as well as cycling and cross-stitching. Her interest in writing came not just from her own reading but also from the process of teaching others about reading, writing and understanding the written word. The ideas for her first novel came from her experiences in education and travelling in Europe, as well as her enjoyment of a well-told psychological thriller. She focuses on human behaviour and individual motivation when faced with life-changing events and difficult decisions. Relationships are at the heart of the novels. The decisions made by the characters and the relationships they develop drive the plot. The inspiration for this first novel, Listen to Mother, came initially from a trip to Florence in 2011. However, the main inspiration was a desire for others to experience the world from the viewpoint of someone with highfunctioning autism whose struggles with the reality of life result in his joining a world in the shadows
My thoughts: This was a really interesting way of writing a crime novel, setting it both before and after the central crime, giving the perpetrator all the opportunities to stop and reconsider his plan, and then showing the aftermath, the investigation, the pain wrecked on the victims’ families and the almost inevitable end for the killer.
Lesley has moved to Florence, a stunning city, with the intention of writing a novel, but discovering the body of a neighbour sets into motion a terrible chain of events. I’m not sure I’d agree with her actions and the decisions she makes, bringing into contact with a killer and also with the detective she falls in love with.
Paolo, our assassin, is a strange man, obsessive and still following instructions left by his dead mother (hence the title). It is only quite far into the book before anyone says that he’s autistic, and while his condition isn’t why he becomes a killer, it does govern how he goes about his job and the way in which he behaves when events get beyond him. I found him quite sinister, not because of his autism, more the stalking behaviour and the wearing of black leather gloves, even to do the gardening.
I liked Lesley and Diego, their deaths are awful, but the detectives who investigate were pretty decent and I like Gianfranco and Violetta a lot, I hope we see more from them in a future book.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
A whirlwind romance inspired by Ferris Bueller’s Day Off about four friends whose hearts are broken and mended over the course of an epic senior skip day—from the bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules!
Grace, Isa, and Everett used to be an inseparable trio before their love lives became a tangled mess. For starters, Grace is secretly in love with Everett, who used to go out with Isa before breaking her heart in the infamous Freshman Year Fracture. And, oh yeah, no one knows that Isa has been hanging out with James, Grace’s brother—and if Grace finds out, it could ruin their friendship.
With graduation fast approaching, Grace decides an unsanctioned senior skip day in Philadelphia might be just what they need to fix things. All she has to do is convince Isa to help her kidnap Everett and outmaneuver James, who’s certain his sister is up to something.
In an epic day that includes racing up the famous Rocky steps, taste-testing Philly’s finest cheesesteaks, and even crashing a wedding, their secrets are bound to collide. But can their hearts withstand the wreckage?
K.L. Walther was born and raised in the rolling hills of Bucks County, Pennsylvania surrounded by family, dogs, and books. Her childhood was spent traveling the northeastern seaboard to play ice hockey. She attended a boarding school in New Jersey and went on to earn a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia. She is happiest on the beach with a book, cheering for the New York Rangers, or enjoying a rom-com while digging into a big bowl of popcorn and M&Ms. And listening to Taylor Swift on repeat, of course.
My thoughts: I loved this, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of my favourite films (I’m a massive fan of the director John Hughes) so I was hoping for a great read, and I got one.
A gender swapped, set in Philadelphia not Chicago, 21st Century update of Ferris, with multiple narrators that is very funny, smart, charming and great fun.
Grace is student president, a brilliant student, popular and well thought of, so her deciding to take the day off, is completely out of character, and dragging her studious, going to an Ivy League, best friend along for the ride, even more so. Isa doesn’t ever skip school or a test, so hopefully their lies hold up. Kidnapping long time friend Everett while dressed as the Phillie Phanatic, is not even the craziest thing they do all day.
Grace’s brother James, formerly the final corner to their square, is furious when we works out what’s going on, and even though he keeps the secret, he’s determined not to completely miss out on the day’s hijinks. He just has to avoid the school principal first.
I had a ball reading this, and I spotted all the Ferris Bueller references (I think!)
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Iceland, 1910. In the middle of a severe storm two sisters – Freyja and Gudrun – rescue a mysterious, charismatic man from a shipwreck near their remote farm.
Sixty-five years later, a young woman – Sigga – is spending time with her grandmother when they learn a body has been discovered on a mountainside near Reykjavik, perfectly preserved in ice.
Moving between the turn of the 20th century and the 1970s as a dark mystery is unravelled, The Swell is a spellbinding, beautifully atmospheric read, rich in Icelandic myth.
My thoughts: A powerful and fascinating story of sisters and family. In 1910 sisters Freya and Gudrun live on their father’s smallholding in Northern Iceland, when they rescue a young man from a sinking ship, his presence changes their lives.
Years later, Sigga, a teenager in a changing Iceland, spends time with her grandmother and learns a bit more about her life. She’s a survivor and raised her son, Sigga’s father, alone, after the deaths of her family, never naming his own father. Could the body recently found on a remote mountain near to where she lived, be someone she knew?
As Sigga struggles with her own brother and makes decisions about her own future, we see how the events of 1910 affect Freya and Gudrun, how their guest’s presence changes things in the village forever.
Moving back and forth, the two narratives, weave an inventive and captivating story of siblings and the complicated bonds between them. There is a third narrative of sorts too – a founding tale of Iceland, that weaves through the other stories. Sigga has won a prize for her version of the story, and the sisters refer to the same tale in their time too, adding to the interconnected nature of the book.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
An atmospheric and captivating old-house mystery, layered with romance and secrets.
Secrets lurk in the shadows at Rookswood House…
When Kate goes to look after her estranged sister’s children in their creepy old house, she takes a photo of what seems to be a ghost. Frightened yet intrigued, Kate undertakes to uncover the secrets of the house and the two mysterious sisters who lived there over a hundred years before.
But like the illusions of light and shadow in the sisters’ strange and disturbing Victorian post-mortem photography, Kate discovers that all is not what it seems. Someone – or something – has their own plans for Rookswood House – and for Kate.
With a potential developer circling around, her teenage niece in danger from an unseen force, and new love on the horizon, Kate must unravel the secrets and lies of her own and Rookswood’s past before she loses everything she holds dear.
If you like historical mysteries by Eve Chase, Rachel Burton and Harriet Evans, you’ll love Lauren Westwood.
My thoughts: I liked Kate, I felt awful bit sorry for her, estranged from her only family, but I know that sisters can be very hard work (personal experience has taught me that!) and that things are not always as they appear. When she steps in to take care of her niblings, while her sister gets better, she’s not entirely sure how to deal with teenagers.
Their dishy headteacher on the other hand, she’s intrigued by. And the crumbling old house her sister bought is also fascinating. Rookswood House was home to an earlier pair of sisters – one of whom was a photographer and worked with early special effects to create some unusual images. Victorians did some pretty weird things – like taking photos with their recently deceased loved ones as though they were still alive, but this early science and imagination also created some incredible things.
Ada might be dead, but part of her remains trapped in her home, unable to move on without her sister, lost to her years ago. Kate picks up on this energy and wants to help Ada move on, so Rookswood can too. Luckily headteacher, photographer and amateur historian Matthew does too. As the pair search for answers, they grow closer. Then Kate’s sister comes home and a few secrets and home truths need to be shared.
Pairing Kate’s story with Ada’s is interesting, the different relationships they have with their younger sisters, the struggles they both share as women who haven’t followed the expected paths in life (both unmarried, both working women) despite their different centuries. I really liked that aspect of the story – things don’t change as much as we sometimes would like.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Ex-intelligence agent James Ryker has done many things in the past he’d prefer to forget.
The last time he saw Gregor Minko – son to one of Ukraine’s most dangerous and politically influential arms dealers – Gregor was a scared 6-year-old boy in need of protection. But Ryker had to walk away. The boy wasn’t the mission.
Twenty years on Ryker is approached by two strangers in Antibes, France, asking for his help in finding Gregor – now going by the name of Gregor Rebrov. With a back catalogue of ‘crimes against the Russian state’, Gregor has escaped from a gulag in Siberia and is now in the wind.
Fuelled by old demons and painful memories of his own brutal actions in the past, Ryker finds himself once again in the thick of a complicated race against time and who knows how many of the world’s secret services, to find Gregor and get some answers.
As answers turn into more questions, they lead Ryker closer to home… and he can’t shake the feeling that he may be to blame.
Rob Sinclair is the million copy bestseller of over twenty thrillers, including the James Ryker series. Most recently published by Bloodhound, Boldwood will publish his latest action thriller, Rogue Hero, in June 2024 and will be republishing all the James Ryker series over the coming months.
My thoughts: James Ryker’s past as an undercover agent comes back to haunt him when he’s approached to look for a missing Russian prisoner. Gregor Rebrov escaped from a Siberian gulag and vanished. He’s an enemy of the Russian state, as was his oligarch/gangster father.
So Ryker heads to war torn Ukraine – the last place Gregor was seen. But he’s not been given all the information and Gregor isn’t an innocent by any means.
Ryker also isn’t operating with full cooperation of any government or agency, his boss Winter has agreed to give him some assistance, but he’s essentially on his own. And things do not go well.
There’s twists and turns, some harrowing moments and Ryker also relives his involvement with Gregor’s parents and the six-year-old Gregor in Cyprus. Gregor’s plan for revenge is pretty scary too – especially in a post-Covid 19 world and considering the way that things are at the moment, not too hard to imagine. Totally gripping, thrilling, will keep you on the edge of your seat!
*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 celebrating the upcoming release of Reformed, book one in The Rift Wars series by Holly Monroe! Pre-order or get it February 21st!
Reformed (The Rift Wars Book 1)
Expected Publication Date: Feb 21
Genre: PNR/ Why Choose/ Academy
– Why choose
– MFMMM
– Academy (prison reform school)
– Mythology and folklore inspiration
– Slow burn
– Virgin MMCs
– Shy cyclops
– Golden retriever reaper
– Hot for teacher
– Mystery to solve
– Politics and subterfuge
In a realm where being supernatural is all but illegal, Stella Mikers has hidden her supernatural spirit and done it well for over a decade. Up against the wire to produce a piece of hard-hitting journalism to solidify her career and no other ideas, she decides it’s time to come out of hiding and embrace what she truly is – a Valkyrie.
She dusts off her wings and goes undercover at Robert Sinclair’s Reformation Academy, the prison alternative that boasts the ability to turn supernaturals into simplynaturals, removing what makes them different and allowing them to better assimilate into society.
But there is something fishy about a vampire who can now be a phlebotomist and a necromancer who works as a mortician. Stella is determined to discover what is going on behind those golden gates and expose the Academy to the realm.
What she didn’t expect to find at the Academy were starving vampires who wanted to feed from her feet, a shy cyclops suitemate, or a reaper who is sunshine personified. Even one of her simplynatural professors draws her attention in a way she can’t explain. Stella’s plan didn’t include making friends, but now that she has, she’s dead set on doing whatever it takes to keep them safe.
Robert Sinclair’s Reformation Academy has a dark secret, and it’s up to Stella to uncover it before all of them are reformed.
Reformed is the first book in a planned four book why choose paranormal romance series, meaning Stella will not have to choose between her love interests. This slow-burn MFMMM book is intended for adult audiences and contains explicit content.
ramblingmads 