Category: blog tour

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Blog Tour: How to Slay at Work – Sarah Bonner

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When your boss is at a conference in a city where there’s a suspicious death, it’s unlucky.

If it happens twice, it’s odd.

But when she’s in the same city at the same time as a third unexplained death . . .

Could she be a stone-cold killer?

Millie’s always known her boss Freya is a psycho – the demanding and ever-changing coffee orders, the cryptic instructions, the apparently expected mind reading and don’t even start on the insistence that Millie wears heels . . . All. The. Time.

But it only extends as far as exacting office standards. Right?

As Freya’s assistant, Millie has privileged access to her diary and travel history and when a pattern emerges of men (who seem to have no connection to each other) dying in cities where Freya is travelling, Millie is determined to figure out what’s going on.

After all, a stone-cold killer could be exactly what Millie needs . . .

A sharp, funny and deliciously dark thriller that fans of Katy Brent, Bella Mackie or Killing Eve will love.

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Sarah Bonner is the author of several bestselling psychological thrillers.

Facebook: @sarah.bonner.35574
Twitter: @sarahbonner101
Instagram: @sarahbonner101

My thoughts: Millie’s boss is demanding, exacting and something of a nightmare. But is she also a serial killer?

Getting a promotion (with no pay rise, or new job title) means suddenly having to travel to Paris, where Millie sees something a bit odd, why is her boss scaling the hotel balconies?

Doing some digging into a series of deaths that match Freya’s travel plans and even the hotels she’s stayed in leave her with more questions than answers, so she starts snooping. 

Millie has her own secrets and plans, and this might actually work in her favour, if her boss doesn’t kill her first.

This is really funny, pitch black humour, which I love, it’s smart and a bit silly. I really enjoyed it. Millie’s not a great detective even though she does uncover some interesting things. But Freya is genuinely stone cold, terrifying psychopath material. There’s a lot of twists, especially towards the end, as things head to a point of no return. Great stuff.

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

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Blog Tour: City of Mist & Ash – Madeline Rose

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We are thrilled to share City of Mist and Ash with you all this week. This beauty comes out on September 26th!

City of Mist and Ash (Kingdom of Mythrend Book 1)

Expected Publication Date: September 26, 2024

Genre: Fantasy Romance/ New Adult

  • Enemies to lovers
  • Forced proximity
  • Morally gray MMC
  • Strong FMC
  • Slow burn
  • Powerful magic
  • Funny banter
  • Plot twists

A sketch artist with a secret, a vengeful warrior, and a love to tear kingdoms apart.

As a sketch artist with the city’s Golden Guard, Paisley is tasked with drawing crime scenes. She has spent years trying to avoid attention, but late one night when she’s returning home from a sketching session, the city of Golden Mist is attacked. Hiding from the violence, Paisley runs into Taner, a dark fae enemy warrior. They discuss the merits of her staying alive, but Paisley is able to escape with the aid of a cache of tools she hid long ago. Luckily she will never have to see him again.

The attack signals a new era in Golden Mist, one where the magical mist called the Convergence that protects the city is losing its power. For years the magic has protected not only the city, but the secrets hidden within it. Once the Convergence starts to weaken, more change than anyone bargained for follows.

As the magical shield weakens, more secrets are revealed. The search begins for a powerful warlock heir who has been in hiding for many years. Both Taner and the Captain of the Golden Guard want the shatteringly powerful warlock found, and Paisley is assigned to help Taner in the search.

The Captain holds the future of Paisley’s little brother over her head, and now her brother’s well-being is also tied to the dark fae warrior, her kingdom’s enemy and now her working partner and her only chance at protecting her family.

All Paisley ever wanted was to stay hidden and keep her family safe, but as Golden Mist is attacked and the magical aura of the city crumbles, danger lurks around all corners, and from above and below. Betrayals are rampant, and it seems that no one can be trusted. As her world is shredded, Paisley will have to weave together a new fate from the ashes of her old life – if she survives.

The Kingdom of Mythrend series follows Paisley, who has only ever had one rule: always run. A feisty fighter who has been forced to hide herself away for years, she must break that rule after she meets a mysterious dark fae warrior. As she works alongside her enemy she will face the consequences of claiming her power, and standing against a writhing evil.

Plot-heavy and character-driven, this epic NA fantasy romance series is packed with amusing angst, barbed banter, shocking magic, epic romance, and deadly battles. A City of Mist and Ash is book one in the series. There is more to come and soon – you have been warned.

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Blog Tour: Adella of the Campos – A.M. Portman

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Welcome to the tour for Adella of the Campos, an epic fantasy adventure by A.M. Portman!

Adella of the Campos (Legends of Andolin #1)

Publication Date: February 2021 (First Edition)

Genre: Epic Fantasy/ Mythical Creatures

Tropes:

Epic quest, travel adventure, ancient prophecy, witty banter, betrayal, morally grey love interest, slow burn enemies-to-lovers, pirates, apocalypse

A WOMAN IN A DESPERATE SEARCH

Adella’s life had been peaceful on the frontier of Valenna. But when mysterious raiders attack and burn her town down, her brother goes missing. Leaving everything behind, she sets off in a desperate ride across the plains to find him.

A MERCENARY IN DIRE NEED OF HER HELP

Kol, a highly-skilled Sornian soldier, needs Adella’s help if he wants to live to see another day. A traitor to his country with nowhere else to turn, he agrees to guide Adella across the wilderness of the Campos.

A HIGH-SEAS ADVENTURE

When Adella is captured by the enemy, she inadvertently lets a powerful artifact fall into the wrong hands. Risking everything to find her, Kol takes a gamble and joins forces with the mysterious Captain Declan, a notorious reaver known for plundering Sornian ships.

Each must face the same choice: Save the life of someone dear to them, or retrieve the artifact and prevent the awakening of Mundil and the rise of the Twelve Calamities…

In a world of intrigue, mystery, and betrayal, will the choices they make lead to disaster?

Legends of Andolin: Adella of the Campos is the first in an all-new series that takes you on a captivating adventure filled with excitement, danger and, most importantly, sea serpents.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

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Blog Tour: Saved by the Caladrius – Mary E Jung

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We’re celebrating the release of Saved by the Caladrius with a book tour this week! Read on for more details!

Saved by the Caladrius

Publication Date: September 17, 2024

Genre: Monster Romance/ Spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

  • Wings and Fancy Peen
  • Size Difference
  • Fated Mates
  • Spicy Mating Ritual
  • Nesting (they are a bird species)
  • Plus size FMC
  • He nurses her back to health

Elora’s chronic ailment of her thyroid has not been successfully treated. She needs a miracle or tomorrow might not come for her. Luckily, there’s a cure on a magical island.

The catch? She needs to receive the cure from a monster.

Osias is duty bound to save the sick. As a rare Caladrius, he has magic healing abilities. What he doesn’t expect is to fall madly in love with his charge.

Will these two bridge their differences and find love? Or are they doomed to pine for what they can never have forever?

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

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Blog Tour: The Torments – Michael J Malone

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Hiding from the world in her little white cottage on the shores of a loch, Annie Jackson is fighting to come to terms with the world of the murmurs, a curse that has haunted female members of her family for centuries.

While she is within the ancient, heavy stone of the old dwelling, the voices merely buzz, but the moment she steps outside the door they clamour to torment her all over again, bringing with them shocking visions of imminent deaths.

Into this oasis comes her adoptive mother, Mandy McEvoy, begging for Annie’s help. Mandy’s nephew Damien has gone missing, after dropping off his four-year old son at his mother’s home. Unable to refuse, but terrified to leave her sanctuary, Annie, with the help of her brother Lewis, is drawn in to a secretive, seductive world that will have her question everything she holds dear, while Lewis’ life may be changed forever…

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit.

The Murmurs, first in the Annie Jackson Mysteries series, was published to critical acclaim in 2023. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.

My thoughts: Annie has finally found some peace, but then her cousin goes missing and she and Lewis team up to look into his disappearance. What they end up tangling with is way more complex and scary than they expected. Annie’s gift – those whispers in her mind might help but they could also put her in harm’s way. 

There are dangerous people who believe in some dark things, who have caused terrible harm to others because of it, and now they have Annie in their sights.

Annie and Lewis aren’t detectives, they’re not equipped to go around asking questions of some of the more troubling and dangerous people who they come across. They’re also aided though by a few good souls, thankfully.

Darker and more twisted than the previous book, Annie is dragged into a world of the Occult and dark magic beliefs. I can’t imagine that she and Lewis will survive intact after this and all the tragedy they find. But it’s totally compelling and gripping to read.

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

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Blog Tour: Journey to 2125 – Gary F. Bengier

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Welcome to the ARC tour for Journey to 2125 by Gary F. Bengier. Read on for more details!

Journey to 2125

Expected Publication Date: September 30, 2024

Genre: Sci-Fi/ Dystopian

The story of a family facing our future

It’s 2125 when a long-separated grandson suddenly arrives on his doorstep looking for answers. Max MacGyver retells their family story and secrets, revealing a century of challenges that they’ve faced. Journey to 2125 is one family’s touching story, across generations, of adventure, rivalry, loss, survival, and resilience.

This is the story of a family facing our future. A small boy escapes war in Asia. A young woman flees catastrophe driven by climate change in Africa. Some family members build technology companies, while others deal with the trauma of jobs lost to automation. A young couple fight for privacy and democracy. Lives are positively transformed by biomedical science and threatened by it.

At its heart, Journey to 2125 is the story, told over a single day, of a young boy and his grandfather. Why did his parents decide to move to the Commune? What family secrets will his grandfather share?

Parts political drama, family saga, and hard-science speculative fiction, Journey to 2125 is the story of how humankind might collectively weather the tragedy and chaos that we can expect from accelerating change. What will it feel like to live during these next one hundred years? Take this journey with Max MacGyver and his grandson, as they reveal their family history, and the road ahead for you and yours.

“One family’s consequential journey through the trials and triumphs…A must read for those who seek to understand how technology and humanity will shape the coming century.”

GARY F. BENGIER

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Blog Tour: Within the Embers – T.A. Reilly

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We’re celebrating the upcoming release of Within the Embers, the second book in T.A. Reilly’s Scattered Destinies series! Available September 21st!

Within the Embers (Scattered Destinies #2)

Expected Publication Date: September 21, 2024

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Steam/Heat Level
● 2-3 🌶
● A few explicit, open door scenes

Tropes:

✨ One Bed w/ a Twist
✨ Found Family
✨ Who Did This To You
✨ Magic Training
✨ Sassy Banter
✨ Bonded Mates

Sought after answers are never as they seem.

When Kateya awakens with no memories, in an unfamiliar land, she knows two things for certain: she’s in danger, and she’s traveled back in time . . . again. Only this time, icy darkness lurks in the sky, revealing how different things truly are.

All magic demands balance.

Kateya’s memories begin to surface, haunting her with a past—tainted by dark magic—carved into her skin. As raging embers of magic begin to burn within her, the King of Avyon realizes she’s not only incredibly powerful, but a danger to everyone . . . including herself.

Alliances become weapons of war.

Past and present collide and bonds are forged through passion and hatred, forcing Kateya to question everything she believed she knew about those she loved. She must learn to harness the power rising within her, while determining who she can truly trust.

A fate written in the stars.

Harrowing truths are revealed that hold the power to not only alter the destiny of those prophesied, but change the future of the Vanaiyer Realm. As Kateya fights for freedom, she realizes not all knowledge is power and magic can’t always change the inevitable—including the tides of war.

The darkness is creeping closer . . . will they be able to hold it off?

PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON

Triggers/Content Warnings:
Mentions of abuse, harm, profanity, violence, blood, capture, and death

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Blog Tour: Black Hollow – Rachael Holyhead

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Derbyshire, England 1977

Marie is a girl with strange obsessions and a free and often wayward spirit.

Anna is shy and bookish, kept on a short rein by her repressive parents.

An unlikely alliance. A friendship forged in blood. Families intertwined forever.

Autumn 2010

A brutal murder is just the case chain-smoking detective Kate Fox has been waiting for, except her nemesis has other ideas.

Newton is struggling to live up to his own high standards. As he grapples with chronic pain and a hidden phobia, his wife leaves him and things begin to unravel.

As Anna comes to terms with her father’s murder, Marie returns after more than 30 years, sending her well-established drink problem spiralling out of control.

Set in a fictional town in Derbyshire, England, this gripping saga takes you on an emotional journey, with an abundance of twists and turns…

Goodreads Purchase

Rachael Holyhead was born in the industrial heart of Sheffield. She grew up in South Yorkshire, at the edge of the Peak District.

She attended Carter Lodge Comprehensive School and read History at the University of Liverpool.

A lifelong Sheffield United supporter, she also loves snooker and is an all-round armchair sports fan.

Still passionate about history, she has eclectic reading tastes, enjoying everything from the Brontës and Wilkie Collins to more modern writers of mystery, horror and crime.

As a child, Rachael began writing stories and letters for her Uncle, who was stationed overseas with the army.

She considers Liverpool her second home and loves the city’s music, culture and maritime heritage. Her roots remain in Sheffield, where she lives with her sons and her pet cat, Luther.

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Blossom Spring Publishing

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My thoughts: the murder of a local business owner has complicated links to the past for his daughter Anna, who has never quite put the past behind her.

The police are looking for someone with a reason to kill, and after a neighbour also dies, seemingly of a heart attack, Kate I’d sure something more complicated and connected to the secrets that lie in the past.

Anna’s friend Marie has returned to town, armed with knowledge Anna doesn’t have, does she have any connection to the deaths or at least some idea of who Anna’s father really was.

A clever, knotty story with lots of twists, moving back and forth as the truth slowly reveals itself, both Anna and Kate are drawn into the things bubbling below the surface of the town.

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

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Blogathon: Little Sister – Isabel Ashdown

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After sixteen years apart sisters Jessica and Emily are reunited. With the past now behind them, the warmth they once shared quickly returns and before long Jess has moved into Emily’s comfortable island home. Life couldn’t be better. But when baby Daisy disappears while in Jess’s care, the perfect life Emily has so carefully built starts to fall apart.

Was Emily right to trust her sister after everything that happened before?

My thoughts: I’m a big sister and while my younger sister sometimes drives me nuts, I would do anything to keep her safe. I think it’s why I found Jess and Emily’s story and their relationship at times hard to believe, especially what happened between them as teenagers. 

Daisy being kidnapped is absolutely awful, but none of it was Jess’ fault, if anything Emily has a not insignificant role in what happens – as does her husband, who isn’t as wonderful and trustworthy as she thought.

But as the story unravels and the long separation between Jess and Emily – sixteen years – and the reasons why – or the reasons that Jess thinks and what Emily did turn out to be very different. That was what was shocking. As an older sister, yes sometimes I have wanted to get rid of sister – maybe not permanently, and resented her, of course. But I would never stoop as low as Emily did, never drive a wedge between parents and child.

I think I had such a strong reaction to this book not just because of my own sibling relationship, but because I am surrounded by sisters. My mum is an older sister, my dad has two older sisters, many of my friends are older (and younger) sisters. And even at their worst, I can’t imagine any of them doing what Emily did. She’s monstrous. But it’s all hidden so well behind a veneer of charm, success and happiness. The ending might be quite twisted, but a part of me can’t blame Jess for wanting to put Emily in her place, for taking a sort of revenge.

It’s also incredibly well written, moving back and forth between the sisters, creating empathy and antipathy as you learn more, the darkness of Emily’s cruel behaviour, Jess’ own plotting to finally get one over on her sister.

Cassie (Emily’s step-daughter), a big sister herself, is contrasted against the nasty relationship between Emily and Jess, is more empathetic. There’s a big age gap between her and Daisy (I have a friend with a similar one, it does complicate things sometimes) but Cassie doesn’t resent her sister, the way Emily does hers.

The book is excellent, the writing strong and the plot intense, something I’ve really come to enjoy in Isabel’s books. A real pleasure to read even as I sort of hated Emily!

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

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Blog Tour: Song of the Dark Wood – Sheila Masterson

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We are getting ready to celebrate the release of this beauty on September 20th, and what better way to do that than with a book tour!

Song of the Dark Wood

Publication Date: September 20, 2024

Genre: Gothic/Fairy Tale Romance

😍 He falls first
👻 Girls who see ghosts
🙅🏻‍♀️ Bodily Autonomy
😡 Feminine Rage: The Fairy Tale
🌳 Haunted Forest
🩸 Wound Tending
💀 Touch her and dye
🎶 Music based magic system
😠 A grumpy god of death
😈 He can make me worse > i can fix him

For centuries, the people of remote Ballybrine have kept the peace with their gods by sacrificing a Red Maiden to ferry souls from the Mother’s realm of the living, through the Dark Wood, to the Wolf’s realm of the dead. Soon it will be Rowan’s turn.

Ripped from her family as a young girl, Rowan Cleary has been forced into a cloistered life learning to please the wolf and wield her spirit-enchanting voice. Though none of the previous maidens have survived their five-year term, Rowan is determined to beat the odds and protect the women who have become family to her.

When a deathly blight breaks out in the Dark Wood, and the acting maiden is murdered, Rowan vows to strike a new bargain with the god of death to ensure her survival. The Wolf has always been someone to fear—even more so now that the townspeople blame him for the blight—but he’s far from the vengeful death god she expects.

To unravel the mystery, Rowan must seduce the Wolf. Soon, the attraction between them grows into a relentless magical force, threatening to shatter the delicate balance between realms and unleash a darkness eager to swallow their world.

SONG OF THE DARK WOOD is a standalone gothic fairy tale fantasy romance that blends a fractured Red Riding Hood retelling with a hint of Hades and Persephone. This “coming of rage” character-driven romance follows Rowan Cleary as she tries to free herself from an oppressive cultish religion and seduce the grumpy god of death Wolf. This atmospheric, spicy, dark romantasy is perfect for fans of feminine rage, strong female friendships, unique magic systems, angsty romance, and ominous mysteries. This book will appeal to readers who enjoyed Rachel Gillig’s ONE DARK WINDOW, Rebecca Ross’s A RIVER ENCHANTED, and Hannah Whitten’s FOXGLOVE KING.

PRE-ORDER HERE

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