Category: books

books

Book Blitz: The Legend of Rosa – Jasmine Hernandez

ramblingmads

We have a fantastic book rec for you all today! Check out new release, The Legend of Rosa by Jasmine Hernandez!

The Legend of Rosa (The Rosa Chronicles Book 1)

Release Date: October 10, 2025

Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy

Cover Artist: @alrun.art

  • Superhero Origin Story
  • Magical Realism
  • Crime/Thriller
  • Romance
  • Revenge Story

In the shadows of Tampa, Florida, a ruthless gang leader known as El Cazador wreaks havoc, leaving a trail of terror and cryptic tarot cards at each crime scene. The Tower card, a haunting omen of destruction, is his sinister signature.

Florence, a determined and sharp-witted attorney, is thrust into this dark world when her fiancé, Kevin, is brutally murdered on the night of their engagement. Devastated and fueled by vengeance, Florence discovers her engagement ring now holds mystical powers, transforming her into Rosa, a fearless and powerful superhero.

With her newfound powers, Rosa vows to avenge Kevin’s death and dismantle El Cazador’s reign of terror. By day, Florence continues her investigative work as an attorney, gathering clues and intel. By night, Rosa takes to the streets, using her magical abilities to protect the innocent and bring justice to Tampa.

From the sun-kissed streets of Tampa to the darkest corners of the underworld, Rosa’s quest for vengeance becomes a legendary force. Will she outsmart El Cazador and shatter his grip on the city, or will his cunning prove too powerful?

The Legend of Rosa is a thrilling tale of love, loss, and redemption, infused with magical realism and Latin American culture.

The book contains mature themes, violence, and murder.

AVAILABLE HERE

BOOK BLITZ ORGANIZED BY:

R&R BOOK TOURS

books, reviews

Book Review: The Curious Case of the Midnight Spectre – Moriah Chavis

ramblingmads

She can see ghosts, but can she catch a killer?

Stornshire, England – 1890

Leighanna Pauley barely escaped consumption. Now, she’s claimed by both Life and Death. Fascinated by justice and why she survived when so many others haven’t, she has a new obsession: the murder of a fellow socialite. But the police have no leads.

The investigation emboldens Leighanna to attend the first ball held at the Carmine Estate. When midnight strikes, the unimaginable takes place. Time stops for everyone but Leighanna. Before her stands the ghost of the dead girl, pleading with Leighanna to catch her killer before someone else is murdered.

In a race against time, Leighanna hunts for clues across Stornshire. Will she be able to solve the case before the murderer strikes again, or will she become just another forgotten victim?

My thoughts: Although Leighanna was fairly exasperating at times  – listen to your friends! I quite enjoyed her investigation into the death of a young woman at a party. Leigh wasn’t there as she was sort of dying of TB at the time. Life and Death were both with her, and she hovered between them. Anthropomorphic personifications of Life, Death and Time pop up to move things around as they wait to see which way Leigh will go.

But Leigh is very busy living and trying to solve a murder. She finds clues that the police missed – like a very special pocket watch, and comes to suspect her brother’s best friend, and her nemesis, Casper. But has she got the right man?

Her friends try to help her, but she doesn’t always listen and puts herself in danger, being so quick to make decisions, she doesn’t consider any of the risks.

It’s a fun little mystery, and Leigh is a headstrong young woman in the wrong era – the 1800s are not prepared for a woman detective and neither is society.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books

Blog Tour: A Shadow Called Sunshine – Nicole Cherie Hesse

ramblingmads

This week we are pleased to share a unique story that while fictional, is based on the author’s journey!

A Shadow Called Sunshine

Genre: Dark Psychological Romance

Tropes/ Themes

  • Hero’s journey
  • Major characters killed off
  • Unlikeable victim
  • Self discovery
  • Righting past wrongs
  • Time twisted Love triangle
  • Forbidden love
  • Soul life journey

He doesn’t see himself as the villain.

She can’t believe he is, until it’s too late. But the damage is undeniable.

Charismatic, composed, and deeply controlled, the shadow of the man at the center of this haunting story has mastered the art of perception. Yet beneath his carefully curated surface lives a long lineage of suffering, sabotage and choices that ripple far beyond what her doting eyes can see.

When their worlds begin to unravel, their souls are pulled into a surreal, subconscious descent—where memories blend with illusion,
time folds into itself, and lives once lived rise to the surface.

What emerges is not just the unraveling of one man’s mind, but a blinding revelation: that every choice casts a shadow that we carry from one life to the next.

That power, without awareness, breeds quiet devastation.

And our stories—spoken or not—bind us in spiraling patterns across generations, and even lifetimes.

Told through lyrical, dreamlike prose, A Shadow Called Sunshine is a psychological and spiritual reckoning— a mirror reflecting the shadows we all carry, and the karmic imprint of the pain we refuse to face.

This is not a story of survival.

It’s a story of consequence that explores the path from self-sabotage to self-sovereignty.

And it dares to ask:

What if self-sabotage casts shadows beyond the edges of this lifetime?

A Shadow Called Sunshine is a haunting psychological novel that explores the allure of narcissism, the rippling impact of abuse and the soul life journey that connects us all—even beyond the constraints of our current reality.

Told through dreamlike prose and a surreal, poetic lens, this story follows the spiral staircase timeline of three trauma tethered souls. A woman who trifles with the sharp knife of self sabotage, the man who wants to save her and the monster who never saw himself as the villain.

PURCHASE HERE

BOOK TOUR ORGANIZED BY:

R&R BOOK TOURS

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Hello, Transcriber – Hannah Morrissey

ramblingmads

Every night police transcriber Hazel Greenlee listens as detectives divulge Black Harbor’s gruesome crimes. Hazel, an aspiring novelist, believes that writing a book could be her only ticket out of this frozen hellscape. Her life isn’t exactly brimming with inspiration, until her neighbor confesses to hiding the corpse of an overdose victim.

With an insider’s look at the investigation, Hazel becomes spellbound by the lead detective, Nikolai Kole, and the chilling narrative he shares with her. Through his transcription, she learns that the suspicious death is linked to Candy Man, a drug dealer notorious for selling illegal substances to children.

When Kole invites her on a covert operation to help take the dealer down, the promise of a story calls to her. As the investigation unfolds, Hazel will learn just how far she’ll go for a good story — even if it means destroying her marriage and luring the killer to her as she plunges deeper into the city she’s desperate to claw her way out of.

Hannah Morrissey is the author of the Black Harbor suspense series which includes Hello, Transcriber, The Widowmaker, and When I’m Dead. A three-decade survivor of Wisconsin winters, Hannah enjoys putting her characters (and readers) in bone-chilling atmospheres that permeate beyond the page. Naturally, her books have carved out their own sub-genre of ‘Midwestern Noir.’

Between roles of bookseller and copywriter, Hannah was inspired to write her debut novel while transcribing reports for her local police department. Far from home in a grim, crime-ridden city, it was her job to sit alone in the dead of night, listen, and type as detectives divulged the city’s darkest secrets. There, she realized that every case was a story, and every story started with the same two words: ‘Hello, Transcriber.’

My thoughts: Hazel has taken a job transcribing police reports, listening to the detectives describing murder and suicide victims, in a “small city with big city crimes”. When a child’s body is thrown into a dumpster, following an overdose, detective Nikolai ‘Nik’ Kole is determined to find whoever gave the oxycodone to a child and put them away. There’s rumours of someone known as ‘The Candy Man’ selling the drug, if Kole can find them, he might have his man.

Being privy to all the details of the case through her work, Hazel is intrigued by Kole and wants to help, she keeps seeing the dead little boy in her mind. So she and Kole go on a very unofficial search of the suspect’s apartment. They also begin an affair. Hazel’s marriage is unhappy, her husband away hunting or fishing with his friends.

As things unravel and Hazel loses herself in both the affair and the case, it gets darker and more complicated. Can she find herself again and work out what she really wants?

An intriguing and compelling read, with complex characters, with messy emotions and realistic issues.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Winter Job – Antti Tuomainen, translated by David Hackston

ramblingmads

Helsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go – and no money – he’s desperate. A last-minute job offers a solution: transport a valuable antique sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland.

With the sofa secured in the back of his van, Ilmari stops at a gas station, and an old friend turns up, offering to fix his faulty wipers, on the condition that he tags along. Soon after, a persistent Saab 96 appears in the rearview mirror. And then a bright-yellow Lada. That’s when Ilmari realises that he is transporting something truly special. And that’s when Ilmari realises he might be in serious trouble…

Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published.

Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach, Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. It was released as a Netflix film in 2025.

The Rabbit Factor, the first book in a trilogy that includes The Moose Paradox and The Beaver Theory, is now in production for TV with Amazon Studios, starring Steve Carell. The Moose Paradox was a Literary Review and Guardian Book of the Year and shortlisted for CrimeFest’s Last Laugh Award. The trilogy was followed in 2024 by The Burning Stones. Antti lives in Helsinki with his wife.

My thoughts: Taking a last minute delivery job that turns out to be a complete nightmare, Ilmari the postman is determined to buy a piano for his daughter for Christmas.

The dodgy van he’s given guzzles fuel and isn’t exactly designed for driving through the snow. He picks up an old friend, and some unwanted followers  – a Lada and a Saab, both want the sofa in the back of the van and are prepared to do almost anything to get it.

This blackly comic tale of a desperate drive across Finland to deliver a sofa and the unpleasant surprise they find inside it, made me laugh, it’s quite silly and weird, which is very Tuomainen, whose books I really enjoy. The stakes are pretty high and the ending is rewarding, definitely worth a re-read, maybe at Christmas!

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

books

Book Blitz: Until the Last Page & A Diamond so Bright and Broken – Chantal Gadoury

ramblingmads

If you enjoy fairy tale retellings we have a couple of great recommendations for you! We’re also gifting one lucky ready hardcover copies of each book!

Until the Last Page

Publication Date: October 1, 2024

Genre: Fantasy Romance

  • Portal Fantasy
  • Fairytale Retellings
  • Witty Banter
  • Enemies to Friends to Lovers
  • For Fans of Princess Bride & Once Upon a Time
  • One Bed (A pillow, and a bowl of soup)

Discover what happens when a young woman unexpectedly finds herself inside a book of fairytales where she is charged with breaking a frog prince’s curse and searching for a way home.

Every good fairytale begins with “Once Upon a Time,” or they’re supposed to at least. But for twenty-five year old Josephine Hart, her “Once Upon a Time” began with her literally crash landing inside a book of fairy tales and nearly crushing a frog—who is actually a prince. An annoying, snarky frog prince named Aneurin, seeking the kiss of true love to break his curse. He vows that if Jo agrees to help him find his princess, he will get her home.

With every turn of the page, their adventure leads them deeper into fairytales familiar to Jo. Through their journey, they discover that despite their initial clashing, they’re both exactly what each other needs. It is only when they encounter a devious man with a talent for spinning straw into gold that they realize just how quickly their plot can take an unexpected twist.

AVAILABLE HERE

TW: Fantasy violence, intended cannibalism in Hansel and Gretel, poisoning and attempted murder in Snow White, depiction of drowning, classism, sexism

A Diamond Bright and Broken (The Gifted Mage)

Publication Date: November 5, 2024

Genre: YA Epic Fantasy

  • Tangled Retelling w/ FMC as Flynn Ryder Character
  • Ride or Die Sisters
  • Wheelchair Rep
  • LGBTQ+ Rep
  • Family Secrets
  • Biracial FMCs
  • Mages w/ Unique Magic

Discover the founder of Diversity is Lit Bookclub’s debut where one girl’s magical power is both a gift and a curse.

Sixteen-year-old Cadence was born with the ability to cry tears of diamonds–a secret talent her parents have abused to climb the royal ranks thanks to the infinite source of wealth. At their command, she cries diamonds to pay for the pricey treatments for her sister’s neuromuscular disorder. Regardless of the pain, she’ll do anything for her sister, who weakens by the day.

When the prince heckles Cadence at the King’s Summer Solstice Ball about her sister’s disability while dancing in the ballroom, she’s left on the verge of tears, threatening to expose her power. She is saved by a mysteriously charming girl who sweeps in to take the next dance—and the single diamond Cadence cried. The stranger reveals the Magi Queen sent her to tell Cadence that she’s a mage, and that her power is a curse.

Yearning to discover the secrets behind her powers, Cadence sets off for the City of Magi. To claim the life she wants, Cadence must embrace her power—before she loses the bright spots in her otherwise sad existence. After all, even diamonds can shatter.

AVAILABLE HERE

TW: Social inequality, classism, ableism, gaslighting, referenced (but not shown) physical abuse, on-page depiction of emotional and verbal abuse, confinement, death, murder, homophobia, stealing, and imprisonment.

BOOK BLITZ ORGANIZED BY:

R&R BOOK TOURS

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Thrill Kill – Cameron Curtis

ramblingmads

A defector on the run. A faceless assassin. Breed’s toughest mission.

When CIA operator Anya Stein offers Breed a job in Vienna, he arrives just in time to save her from Russian assassins led by a deadly blonde in dark sunglasses.
Stein explains the mission: protect defecting rocket scientist Dieter Kromik, who holds the secret to Russia’s devastating Oreshnik missile – a conventional weapon that delivers a
nuclear-sized punch.

The Russians already have elite teams on the ground – and they’ll do whatever it takes to find and kill Kromik. Spetsnaz teams and the enigmatic assassin Strelko hunt them through the streets of Vienna and escape seems impossible. Their only hope lies with the Magnificent Strang, an ageing Cold War-era magician who once smuggled fugitives across the Iron  Curtain.

With his beautiful granddaughter Liesl, Strang guides the group on a deadly journey from  Vienna to Prague to Berlin. Outnumbered and outgunned at every turn, Breed fights a running battle across Europe as the body count rises.

The bloody finale awaits in a smoky Berlin nightclub, where Breed and Stein must use every one of their lethal skills – and a few of Strang’s illusions – to survive against impossible odds.

Goodreads
Purchase

Cameron Curtis has spent thirty years on trade floors as a trader and risk manager. He was on the trade floor when Saddam’s tanks rolled into Kuwait, when the air wars opened over Baghdad and Belgrade, and when the financial crisis swallowed the world. Having written fiction as a child, he is the author of the Breed action thriller series.

My thoughts: For Breed, it seems the Cold War never really ended. He’s still facing the same foes – Russians with bad attitudes towards international relations. He’s assisting in transporting a scientist across Europe for Stein and the CIA. Unfortunately, that isn’t a popular decision for regular nemesis Orlov, who once again faces Breed, gun in hand.

As they attempt to escape their pursuers, Stein and Breed enlist an old friend of Stein’s grandfather, the illusionist The Magnificent Strang, who once smuggled defectors across the Iron Curtain. Can he do the same for them and get them safely from Prague to Berlin, where the plane awaits?

Fast-paced and with a rather large and messy body count across three countries, Breed is rapidly running out of places he’s welcome, and Stein has some colleagues who aren’t very helpful at all. Relying on essentially the kindness of strangers rather than fellow agents, she has no real choice either. There’s a little bit of time for sightseeing, which considering they’re on the run, is quite funny. But Breed enjoys seeing the world in between gunfights.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: A Wordsmith’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Plot – Elizabeth M. Hurst

ramblingmads
  • DO YOU STRUGGLE TO FINISH WRITING A NOVEL?
  • DO YOU RUN OUT OF MOMENTUM BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOUR STORY IS GOING?

The Wordsmith’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Plot is your trusted companion for turning story ideas into structured, compelling narratives. In this fourth instalment of the Wordsmith’s Guides series, Elizabeth M. Hurst takes you through popular plotting methods—including the Snowflake Method, Save the Cat Beat Sheet, and The Inside Outline—helping you choose the right approach for your writing style. You’ll also find practical advice on troubleshooting common pitfalls, crafting satisfying endings, and keeping your plan adaptable as your story evolves

Inside, you’ll discover:
 Clear explanations of proven plotting methods
 Guidance on choosing the right structure for your novel
 Tips for overcoming plot issues and staying on track
 Advice on writing satisfying, well-rounded endings
 A practical appendix full of tools and templates to support your planning process

Whether you’re a planner, a pantser, or somewhere in between, Planning the Perfect Plot will help you shape your novel with clarity and confidence.

Purchase

Elizabeth was born and bred in the picturesque harbour town of Whitehaven in the northwest of England, where the long, wet winters moulded her into a voracious reader of fiction to escape the
dismal weather.
She graduated with a degree in Business Studies and a string of jobs followed, after which she finally settled in the automotive industry, where she spent twelve happy years.
Having already started writing around the age of 40, she had begun to dream of a more creative lifestyle and set about creating her freelance editing and proofreading business, EMH Editorial
Services. In 2018, she quit the corporate world and concentrated her energy full-time towards her love of the written word.
Elizabeth now lives with her husband in the warm and sunny south of France, where the wine is cheaper than the water, and the cats spend their days hunting lizards and dreaming of the birds that
roost on the roof.

Facebook Instagram Website

My thoughts: Looking at the different techniques, methods and full of tips for the aspiring writer, this is a handy and friendly guide to getting your plot onto the page.

Written in an approachable and open style, designed for the novice or the slightly more experienced writer looking for some advice for next time, I can see that this will be very useful, whether you’re approach is meticulous planning or mad freewheeling scribbling (guess which one I am?). It breaks down the various methods different writers use, and helps you plan out your plot, examining the different stages of a narrative, across different genres, to gently aid you in your approach.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Just a Taste – Anise Starre

ramblingmads

The only thing personal chef Noelle Jones loves more than Christmas, is cooking. She has a roster of extremely wealthy clients including the elusive and stoic Alexander Hoxton. When he asks her to cook a last minute business meal he’s having, offering triple her pay for the short notice, Noelle jumps at the chance. It’s easy money, one of her favourite meals to cook, and will still leave her plenty of time to get to her family’s annual Christmas reunion.

Just a Taste is contemporary romance at its finest with the perfect blend of ingredients: sexy, angsty, endearing, feel-good and funny.

My thoughts: This was a fun, festive romance, with a grumpy love interest for bubbly, Christmas fan and amazing chef, Noelle (her twin is called Eve) who gets stranded by the weather in Alex Hoxton’s fancy mansion over Christmas.

Having catered a dinner for his Board members, Noelle is supposed to drive to her Gran’s house to celebrate with her large and excited family. But the weather has other ideas. Her client, Alex, doesn’t do Christmas. There’s no tree, no cards, no carols and no pudding. He’s the Grinch to her Whoville family (if you’ve seen the film or read the book, hopefully that makes sense) and she just doesn’t understand why.

Trapped together in his rather austere home, with a falling apart heating system, and not much else to do but cook and get to know each other better, with frequent phone calls from her family, you can guess what starts to happen…

Will Noelle help this grumpy festive refusenik find his Christmas spirit? Will Alex actually turn out to have a heart that isn’t two sizes too small? Will they fall madly in love? Well, anything can happen at Christmas!

Cute, funny and perfectly capable of making you hungry (so many descriptions of delicious food) and with a charming pair of potential love birds, this is a festive romance to curl up with instead of watching The Grinch for the 900th time.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: My Rock Star Neighbour – Kathy Strobos

ramblingmads


When a wary rock star and a cynical reporter fake date to bury a scandalous rumor, will true love be exposed as the real story?

Nick: I do my best songwriting while playing my guitar on the fire escape. Unfortunately, my in-bed-at-ten next-door neighbor, Maddie, is not a fan of my music. She clambers out on the fire escape to
yell at me about making “noise.” In bunny slippers, no less. But then she trips and falls into my arms.

That photo of Maddie plastered all over me hits the papers, just as my dream recording company wants to sign my band. Which is a problem, because an obsessed fan is claiming that I’m her
boyfriend and now the media is blowing up that I’m two-timing them both. Good-bye recording contract, unless….

Maddie: I’m supposed to cover the story. Not be the story! But when Nick begs me to fake date, I can’t resist the chance to be Nick’s girlfriend—even if fake—the opposite of my life as a city desk reporter. But my ex said I’m a terrible kisser, and there’s no way I want Mr. Hot Rock Star saying the same thing. Hence, clause 11 in our contract: There will be absolutely no physical contact.

Nick: When Maddie receives a threatening photo of the two of us with an X over her face, my desire to protect her suddenly feels all too real. It’s either a troll or her undercover investigation has been
compromised. With both our careers at stake, is breaking up the only way to keep Maddie safe?

Amazon US Amazon UK Apple Books

Kathy Strobos is an award-winning author living in New York City with her husband and two children, amid a growing collection of books, toys, and dollhouses. She took a break from working as a lawyer to write romantic comedies full-time and get in shape. She is still working on
getting in shape.

Born and raised in Manhattan, she loves writing about New York City and her smart heroines who live and fall in love there, amidst its vibrant energy and the aroma of homemade chocolate chip cookies. She is the award-winning author of: A Scavenger Hunt for Hearts, Partner Pursuit, Is This for Real?, Caper Crush, My Book Boyfriend, Love Is an Art and My Secret Snowflake.

Instagram Facebook BookBub YouTube
Goodreads Amazon Author Page Audible

My thoughts: This is a very cute romance, with a whole fake dating while actually really wishing it was real plot. Nick’s an up-and-coming rock star and Maddie is his journalist neighbour. A crazy fan is claiming to be his girlfriend, and the record label isn’t happy.

When a sneaky pap posts a photo that seems to imply something between the two friends, Nick decides to ask Maddie to be his fake girlfriend – just for a few months – and then they can break up.

Against her better judgment, Maddie agrees, as long as the terms are clear. She’s working on a huge corruption story for her paper and doesn’t really need the distraction, but Nick’s game to help her investigate. As the two don disguises and try to work out what’s going on, they find themselves falling in love for real…

Fun, charming and with an enjoyable subplot about Maddie’s investigation into corruption at city hall, you’ll wish you were in Maddie’s gang of pals for real.

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