Born and raised in the forgotten and broken kingdom of Ashbury, Elora has spent years resenting the royals of Pumpkin Hollow, the kingdom that forced the fall of Ashbury and procured the town as its own.
Separated by a mysterious glass bridge, Ashbury is treated as the orphan kingdom, left to squander and starve, with only the promise of protection from King Jasper, preventing anyone outside their realm from searching for the magic that lay within the ashy valleys and red skies.
Because twenty-five years ago, the Cinder Fae arrived. As mysterious as the magic encompassing Ashbury, the Cinder Fae bargained for their lives by promising to keep the entire realm warm with their ability to mine mountainsides into coal.
But Elora and the Cinder Fae hold a secret that could bring the end to Ashbury and the mysterious winged creatures, who, despite Elora’s best efforts to pry, refuse to share where they came from or why they can’t return.
In her desperation to prevent the downfall of her kingdom and the death of her beloved Fae, Elora drinks from an enchanted spring, convinced she can make the prince of Pumpkin Hollow fall in love with her and guarantee their safety.
But magic takes to give.
And Elora didn’t realize her heart would be the sacrifice.
Whitney was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas and raised in Allen, Texas. She resides in a quaint little town in Arkansas with her husband and two children, along with her labradoodle, Simba.
Her love of reading came from the Harry Potter series when she was seven years old, and frequent trips to the most magical place on earth. Because of it, the fantasy realm has taken up residence in her brain for a very long time.
While her writings include real-life pain and angst, she is a fan of happily-ever-after’s and always strives to bring that forth in her stories.
A jaded girl. A persistent genie. A contest of souls.
Recent college graduate Dolly Jones has spent the last year stubbornly trying to atone for a mistake that cost her everything. She doesn’t go out, she doesn’t make new friends and she sure as hell doesn’t treat herself to things she hasn’t earned, but when her most recent thrift store purchase proves home to a hot, magical genie determined to draw out her darkest desires in exchange for a taste of her soul, Dolly’s restraint, and patience, will be put to the test.
Newbie genie Velis Reilhander will do anything to beat his older half-brothers in a soul-collecting contest that will determine the next heir to their family estate, even if it means coaxing desire out of the least palatable human he’s ever contracted. As a djinn from a ‘polluted’ bloodline, Velis knows what it’s like to work twice as hard as everyone else, and he won’t let anyone—not even Dolly f*cking Jones—stand in the way of his birthright. He just needs to figure out her heart’s greatest desire before his asshole brothers can get to her first.
COME TRUE: A BOMB-ASS GENIE ROMANCE is the romantic, fantastic second-coming-of-age story of two flawed twenty-somethings from different realms battling their inner demons, and each other, one wish at a time.
Brindi Quinn is a fangirling fantasy author from Minnesota specializing in world-building and romance. She is an advocate of quirky love and firmly believes that banter makes the heart grow fonder. Her main ingredients for a great read are spice, sparkle, and SWOON.
Since 2011, Brindi has written over a dozen young adult and new adult novels beginning with her debut epic fantasy series, Heart of Farellah. Her works often blur the lines between paranormal romance, science fiction, and fantasy, and her series have been hailed as unique, addictive reads by reviewers.
Brindi is an IT Project Manager by day and has a bachelor’s in communication-based studies from Southern New Hampshire University. She lives in suburban Minnesota where she likes to bike, indulge in video game lore, and spend time with her life partner, Kent, the world’s cutest pup, Burton, and the fluffle of cantankerous rabbits that hop around her house.
A queer revisionist retelling of the story of Hercules, for fans of The Song of Achilles, A Thousand Ships and Ariadne.
This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures… everyone’s favorite hero, right?
Well, it’s not.
This is the story of everyone else:
Alcmene: Herc’s mother (She has knives everywhere)
Hylas: Herc’s first friend (They were more than friends)
Megara: Herc’s wife (She’ll tell you about their marriage)
Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc’s labours (He never asked for the job)
His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims
It’s time to hear their stories.
Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.
My thoughts: I am a massive myths and legends geek, one of those it’s best not to get started, and I’ve enjoyed most of the retellings of recent years. These stories are designed to be recycled, retold, respun for a new age, for a long time most of them existed only in oral form. (Oops, see what I mean, special interest off!)
Hercules (or more accurately Herakles as the letter ‘c’ doesn’t exist in Ancient Greek but ‘k’ does) is probably the most famous Greek hero and one people frequently get wrong (I blame Disney – their Hercules is nothing like the myth).
This Herc, as read by his friends, family and lovers, is every bit as awful and blood soaked as much Greek tragedy. He murders his wife and children, and his punishment is those infamous twelve labours. Except in completing them, he becomes a hero. A selfish, rather stupid, often very drunk, hero. He joins Jason’s Argonauts, only to bail out before they get anywhere near the Golden Fleece, he may even be the cause of the Trojan Wars (although he dies before he can make that situation any worse).
We never really hear from Herc, only secondhand, but it’s enough. He doesn’t come out of this well. His fits of rage, his drinking, his unfaithfulness, his bad behaviour. If he was a 21st century man, he’d be in prison.
But it is interesting to have all these different views on him – some from people who love him, who think they understand him, but can they really? He believes he’s cursed by Hera, being one of Zeus’ many, many illegitimate children, but can he really blame all the death around him on the gods and not accept that he’s a thug?
Phoenicia Rogerson (who has the best first name) has created a rich and vibrant world, with its many tiny island kingdoms, its heroes and villains, gods, monsters and strange happenings. She brings it all vividly to life, and even though the language is modern, you can tell these are ancient stories.
Thank you HQ for sending me a beautiful hardback copy, you can Pre-order yours now, and it’s available at the end of August.
For almost a decade now, Brent Wright has been in prison for the murder of seven women – unless the surviving twin sister of one of his victims is right and Brent didn’t kill anyone at all.
She goes to Brent’s sister in her last attempt to prove that Brent didn’t kill Sunni.
In fact, Sunni’s alive … and she’s the real murderer behind everything.
If the theory is true, Sunni is dangerous and they should leave well enough alone, but neither sister will be entirely satisfied until they find out for certain.
Rebecca Frost is a published academic who researches and writes about serial killers. Her dissertation was about the history of written true crime in the United States. She is the author of three books published through McFarland on Jack the Ripper, H.H. Holmes, and Making a Murderer, is currently under contract for two books about the works of Stephen King, one through McFarland and one through Lexington. She is also the author of Psychological Thriller Not Your Mary Sue published through Aesthetic Press. BLOOD SISTERS is her second published title through Aesthetic Press. Rebecca uses her research into both real and fictional serial killers in order to realistically craft her own murderous characters.
My thoughts: the sister of a convicted killer teams up with the sister of one of his supposed victims – who might still be alive, and might just be the real killer.
With lots of twists and turns, this is a clever and twisted tale from a writer with an interest in serial killers that keeps you hooked.
Vanessa will do almost anything to prove her brother’s innocence, and Skye wants to prove that Sunni’s still alive, somewhere. The pairing is interesting and I felt for Vanessa, she’s only got Brent, (and her husband and his snotty family) her brother means the most to her and she never believed he was guilty. An enjoyable and compelling 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.
Happy publication day to B.D. Reeves! How amazing does this sound? And this cover? Beautiful!
Jemma and the Raven
Publication Date: August 26th, 2023
Genre: YA Epic Fantasy
A girl. A raven. A luminous adventure.
To everyone else, Jemma is nothing but a Wharf-thief. She scavenges for tokens in the wrestling dens and parades along the market lanes with a raven, Edgar, on her shoulder.
But she and Edgar have a secret. In a land where memories fade into the Shadows without the love of a Keeper, they scour the ruins of ancient memory palaces, searching for treasure that will buy them a passage to the great city of Adocentyn.
When Jemma steals a map and a golden blade, she sets in motion a chain of events that will tie her destiny to the survival of all who live in the light of Memory.
Can Jemma defeat the darkness she has unleashed, without losing herself? And who is the voice she hears, guiding her along the way? I am with you. Follow the lights.
Can Jemma defeat the darkness she has unleashed, without losing herself? And who is the voice she hears, guiding her along the way? I am with you. Follow the lights.
Jemma and the Raven is a massive feat of storytelling, a work of fabulous imagination, a fantasy inspired by historical realities. It will convey its readers on an epic journey that will both captivate and exhilarate them.ARNOLD ZABLE, storyteller and novelist. Author of The Watermill, Sea of Many Returns and Cafe Scheherazade.
B. D. Reeves is a Melbourne-based writer. His first novel “Jemma and the Raven” was published in 2023. When he is not reading and writing, B. D. Reeves teaches philosophy and literature, conducts educational research and is currently completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne. Loving to travel, he once camped in an old shepherd’s hut on a remote Greek island where he discovered the remnants of ancient frescos, the secrets of bees, and the friendship of a goat who followed him wherever he went. He has since adored the concept of animals in fiction.
Something a little different from Amber Palmer, and we are here for it! Check out the cover for The Night Runs Red! Coming this fall!
The Night Runs Red (The Wicked Dark Duology)
Expected Publication Date: Fall 2023
Genre: Vampire Romance/ PNR
🩸Arranged Marriage
🩸Forced Proximity
🩸Enemies-to-Lovers
🩸Grumpy/ Sunshine
🩸Spicy
When Calia Darrow, a descendant of fae royalty, learns she is to be wed to prominent vampyre Rion D’arcy, she accepts her fate—not that she has a choice. With an age-old curse binding their families together in an attempt to balance power, Calia and Rion must marry unless they wish to forfeit their lives.
After a tumultuous ceremony, Calia finds herself isolated in a sprawling gothic mansion with a husband who wants nothing to do with her. When a foiled abduction attempt leaves her vulnerable, Calia sees a glimmer of hope that perhaps there is more to Rion than she thought.
As the blood moon approaches, Calia must face an unknown enemy with only the assistance of the mysterious Rion D’Arcy. Will the truth come to light, or will the night run red with Calia’s blood?
Coming Soon!
About the Author
Amber Palmer is an American fantasy romance author. She was born in Arizona, but raised in Texas. She is the proud parent of three (evil) cats and one puppy dog, and when she isn’t nose deep in a spicy fantasy novel, she’s listening to her bookish Spotify playlists and making notes for her next project! A passionate advocate for mental health, Amber features characters processing various traumas in her work. She is an unapologetic lover of anything spicy, while also making time to game with her husband.
Adorable for the whole family, check out Rufus and Magic Run Amok by Marilyn Levinson!
Rufus and Magic Run Amok
Publication Date: June 13, 2023
Genre: Children’s Books/ Ages 6 – 12
Rufus Breckenridge is an ordinary ten-year-old with a best friend and a great comic book collection. He is not a witch like his mother, aunt and grandmother. Witches take lessons to learn how to control their magical powers so they can use them to help other people. Where’s the fun in that? Besides, witches are weird. At least that’s what lots of people think.
When Big Douggie, the school bully, chases Rufus home, Rufus makes him do a double backflip. He decides to keep his new-found magical powers a secret. But the more spells Rufus casts, the stronger his magic grows. Soon Rufus’s magic is running amok!
A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. Her juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice and has recently come out in a new edition. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. Her YA horror, The Devil’s Pawn, will be out in a new edition in January, 2024.
As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series.
Marilyn lives on Long Island with her kitties, Romeo and Juliet. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, and chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids.
Two very different lives. One shared hope for a brighter future. No time to waste. The flood is coming…
Eleven-year-old Norah Day lives in temporary accommodation, relies on foodbanks for dinner, and doesn’t have a mum. But she’s happy enough, as she has a dad, a pet mouse, a pet spider, and a whole zoo of rescued local wildlife to care for.
Eleven-year-old Adam Sinclair lives with his parents in a nice house with a big garden, a private tutor, and everything he could ever want. But his life isn’t perfect – far from it. He’s recovering from leukaemia and is questioning his dream of becoming a champion swimmer.
When a nest of baby birds brings them together, Norah and Adam discover they’re not so different after all. Can Norah help Adam find his confidence again? Can Adam help Norah solve the mystery of her missing mother? And can their teamwork save their zoo of rescued animals from the rising flood?
Offering powerful lessons in empathy, Norah’s Ark is a hopeful and uplifting middle-grade tale for our times about friendship and finding a sense of home in the face of adversity.
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.
Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.
Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com
My thoughts: this was a sweet and somewhat heartbreaking book about friendship, what constitutes a home and family. Norah and her dad are struggling to survive, he’s out of work, they’re bounced between hostels and B&Bs and can’t afford much in the way of food.
Norah is a wonderful creation, fierce and funny, determined and brave. She’s got so much heart too, loving all the stray and wild animals she meets. Cycling round and round the park while her dad is at the job centre or library, trying to find work. Theirs is a hardscrabble existence at the fringes of society, and sadly an increasingly common one.
Adam comes from a lot more privilege, a safe and loving home, two parents, and his mum doesn’t have to work. He has however, recently been declared in remission from leukaemia, and is struggling to move on. His mum is terrified he’ll get sick again and her anxiety is having an impact on her marriage and Adam. His dad wants to get back to school, swimming and seeing friends but it’s an uphill struggle.
When Adam and Norah meet and bond over their love for animals, both finally have a friend, but it isn’t easy. Gradually however, they build their friendship and their parents come round. But who is the lady who keeps talking to Norah’s dad? Is she from the dreaded social services or is she connected to the mystery of Norah’s mum?
While there are some very sad moments and Norah especially tugs at the heart strings, this is a redemptive and joyful book at heart. Friendship, family, safety and finding a home all provide the warmth and Norah’s sunny nature wins through. Perfect for younger readers who enjoy uplifting stories and are interested in the world and the environment.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
It’s 1965, and 18 year old Jess escapes her stifling English home for a gap year in Ghana, West Africa. But it’s a time of political turbulence across the region. Fighting to keep her young love who waits back in England, she’s thrown into the physical and emotional dangers of civil war, tragedy and the conflict of a disturbing new relationship. And why do the drumbeats haunt her dreams?
This is a rite of passage story which takes the reader hand in hand with Jess on her journey towards the complexities and mysteries of a disconcerting adult world.
This is the first novel in the acclaimed Drumbeats trilogy: Drumbeats, Walking in the Rain, Finding Jess.
For fans of Dinah Jefferies, Kate Morton, Rachel Hore, Jenny Ashcroft
Jess happily marries the love of her life. She wants to feel safe, secure and loved. But gradually it becomes clear that her beloved husband is not the man she thought him to be.
She survived war and injury in Africa, but can she now survive the biggest challenge of her life?
This is the second novel in the acclaimed Drumbeats trilogy: Drumbeats, Walking in the Rain, Finding Jess.
For fans of Dinah Jefferies, Kate Morton, Rachel Hore, Jenny Ashcroft
On the brink of losing everything, and still haunted by her past and the Ghanaian drumbeats that haunt her life, Jess feels that she can no longer trust anyone but herself. Then she’s mysteriously sent a newspaper clipping of a temporary job in Ghana. Could this be her lifeline? Can she turn back time and find herself again? And what, exactly, will she find?
Finding Jess is a passionate study of love and betrayal – and one woman’s bid to reclaim her self-belief and trust. It’s a feel-good story of a woman’s strength and spirit rising above adversity.
This is the finale of Jess’s story, the third novel in the acclaimed Drumbeats trilogy: Drumbeats, Walking in the Rain, Finding Jess.
For fans of Dinah Jefferies, Kate Morton, Rachel Hore, Jenny Ashcroft
Award-winning author Julia Ibbotson herself spent an exciting time in Ghana, West Africa, teaching and nursing (like Jess in her books), and always vowed to write about the country and its past. And so, the Drumbeats Trilogy was born. She’s also fascinated by history, especially by the medieval world, and concepts of time travel, and has written haunting time-slips of romance and mystery partly set in the Anglo-Saxon period. She studied English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language, literature and history, and has a PhD in linguistics. She wrote her first novel at age 10, but became a school teacher, then university lecturer and researcher. Her love of writing never left her and to date she’s written 9 books, with a 10th on the way. She’s a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, Society of Authors and the Historical Novel Society.
Welcome to the tour for These Thy Gifts by Vincent Panettiere. Read on for more details!
These Thy Gifts
Publication Date: June 5th, 2023
Genre: Historical Thriller
Enter the world of Father Steven Trimboli, an activist priest who fights for justice against immigrant discrimination and labor disputes in the 1960s. However, his struggle with the hierarchy leads to an insurmountable task – building a church in a remote area where he feels like a fish out of water. After surviving a fire, he finds comfort in a woman, but their moment of mutual passion has disastrous consequences.
As he seeks atonement, Father Trimboli becomes a chaplain in Vietnam, facing danger and struggling to maintain his faith in the face of adversity. Despite years of service and degradation, he finally receives the promotion he deserves – Monsignor and a parish of his own. However, his faith is tested once again when he confronts the darkest secrets of sexual abuse that bring him face-to-face with the devastating truth – that those children trust most, the church, can also betray them.
These Thy Gifts is a powerful and timely story that sheds light on the struggles Catholics face today. Join Father Trimboli on a journey through 50 years of his life – from the streets of Brooklyn to the jungles of Vietnam and beyond. Follow his unique perspective as an Army Chaplain and pastor, and be inspired by his unwavering fight for justice, faithfulness, and standing up for the oppressed.
Vincent Panettiere was not born in a trunk at the Princess Theatre in Pocatello, Idaho, but in Brooklyn, NY.
He graduated from St. John’s University and went to graduate school at Boston University. After college he became a sports writer for the wire service United Press International (UPI) and later wrote for the Boston Herald, a major daily newspaper in that city before Rupert Murdochized it.
After holding executive positions at Westinghouse Broadcasting, CBS and Xerox he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a screen writer. Four of his scripts were optioned but not produced, one by Twentieth Century Fox and the others by now-defunct production companies.
He became a licensed and bonded literary agent representing writers and directors in television and films. He made deals for writers and directors on TV series, including Xena, The Untouchables and Babylon 5. He was also instrumental in the production of two independent feature films and the sale of numerous indie/MOW film scripts.
During the same time, Panettiere was certified by the Major League Baseball Players Association to serve as an agent for major league and professional baseball players. Clients he represented played in the major leagues for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.
Objecting to the standard means of financing independent films, Panettiere sought non-traditional funding for his writer/director clients. His journey through the murky world of cyberspace was chronicled in his first book The Internet Financing Illusion published in 2007.
Next, Panettiere turned to fiction. In A Woman to Blame, Panettiere created the character of Chicago police detective Mike Hegan. This was followed by These Thy Gifts, a second novel featuring Hegan, The Scopas Factor and his latest, The Music of Women.
He continues to live in Los Angeles and has eaten dinner in Pocatello, Idaho.
ramblingmads 