I almost didn’t come. Even with the free champagne, the five-star resort, the promise of closure. Even though it’s fifteen years since we all finished high school.
But now I’m here. Snowed in. And someone’s already dead. It should’ve been a reunion. Laughter. Memories. Old friends — even if they never really saw me. But our old prom dates are waiting tables. Our teachers are lurking in corridors. And one by one, the people I once called friends are acting like we’re back in school. There are eight of us.
There were eight of us then. But one vanished after prom. And someone knows what really happened that night. They invited us here for a reason.
And they’re not going to let us leave.
Sonya Bateman is an award-winning copywriter and novelist, a mid-eighties to late-nineties fantasy movie enthusiast, coffee hoarder, and collector of cool rocks who spent a not-insignificant portion of her childhood climbing trees in order to read books in peace. She grew up in Central New York, where the seasons are Winter and Road Construction and “not the city” is officially part of everyone’s address. Sonya currently lives in a big house in a little city, still in Central New York (not the city), with her husband, son, and feline overlords. She writes twisty, shocking psychological fiction that may leave you suspicious of your friends and neighbors—and sleeping with the lights on.
Survival is more than living. It is a desire… A will… Something that burns deep in one’s soul…
Raella’s husband, Brian, is taking her on a vacation to celebrate her fortieth birthday. She decides to take a solo excursion, only to find herself at the mercy of the Armas Locas, one of the most dangerous and influential Mexican cartels in the area. She becomes the prized possession of their leader, and the prime obsession of their second in command. Can she find a way to survive the emotional entanglement, the physical harassment, and sexual urges of two seriously powerful men and still manage to free herself?
Segundo is second in the Armas Locas cartel. When Raella is brought in, he knows, deep in his soul, that she has to be his. But everything in the cartel is controlled by the Boss, El Ratón, and Raella is worth money. Can Segundo manipulate his controlling boss so he can keep what is undoubtedly his? And convince her to give in to the attraction they both feel, all while protecting her from El Ratón’s violent nature?
Join Raella and Segundo on their spicy, lusty adventure. Is it love or just a fairy tale nightmare? Could she possibly stay—for him? If the Boss finds out—will he kill them both?
This book contains adult content and is meant for people 18+ Trigger warnings can be found in the beginning of the ebook or on my website.
Annie and Lewis search for the son of an old enemy, who may hold the key to ending Annie’s curse. Their investigations lead back to the past, uncovering something that could destroy the most powerful people in the country. The compelling, chilling next instalment in the Annie Jackson Mysteries series…
Two men, centuries apart, dream of being a wolf.
One is burned at the stake.
Another is locked in a psychiatric hospital for most of his life.
And Annie Jackson is about to find out why…
Vowing once again to remove herself from society, Annie is back living alone in her little cottage by the shores of a loch. But when an old enemy – now locked up in a high security hospital – comes calling, begging her to find the son that she was forced to give up at the age of seventeen, Annie is tempted out of seclusion. The missing boy holds the key to ending Annie’s curse, and he may be the only chance that both she and Lewis have of real happiness.
Annie and Lewis begin an investigation that takes them back to the past, a time etched in Scottish folklore, a period of history that may just be repeating itself. And what they uncover could destroy not just some of the most powerful people in the country, who will stop at nothing to protect their wealth and their secrets, but also Annie’s life, and everything she holds dear…
Dark, immersive, and utterly compelling, The Howling is a story of deception, betrayal, and misplaced power, and a reminder that the most public of faces can hide the darkest of hearts…
The Saltwater Curse is now available and if you love the Hades and Persephone, Avina St. Graves has given us a beauty inspired by it but with a whole lot more tentacles!
The Saltwater Curse
Release Date: June 5, 2025
Genre: PNR/ Monster Romance
🐙 Hades & Persephone inspired
🐚 Stuffing
🐙 POVs from the animal companion
🐚 Captive x Captor
🐙 Fated Mates
A woman escaping her past…
Kristy Gallagher has slayed a monster before. When she could no longer live with her husband’s abuse, she plunged a knife into his neck. Then, she fled his family’s criminal empire—changing her name and traveling to the far reaches of the world, before finding her safe haven in Bali.
She’s used to looking over her shoulder but nothing could prepare her for the monster that lurks beyond the shore. Sharp claws, grasping tentacles—Krakens are real, and their King has decided she’s to be his bride.
A monster trying to end a curse…
Ordus is King of the Dead Lands, the last Kraken of his bloodline, and the final hope to break a terrible curse that plagues his lands. He must find his destined bride, his soul mate, and marry her to save his kingdom.
His fated mate shouldn’t be a human, but something about her calls to him like no other creature ever has. He drags her to his island, kicking and screaming, begging to be returned to the mainland.
Ordus must convince her he’s not a monster to be feared, but her soul mate who will protect her from anything and anyone who means her harm.
Including his own people.
A dark and delicious tale about what makes a monster—THE SALTWATER CURSE is inspired by the Hades/Persephone myth. Only with a lot more tentacles.
Stretching, sex, unconsented voyeurism, cannibalism (Depending on how you look at it), murder, gore, death by tentacles, shark attack (kind of?), kidnapping, health issues, toxic characters, trauma, PTSD, racism (by krakens toward humans).
1922. Twenty-four-year-old Eleanor Mackridge is horrified by the future mapped out for her – to serve the upper classes or find a husband. During the war, she found freedom in joining the workforce at home, but now women are being put back in their place.
Until Eleanor crosses paths with a member of the notorious female-led gang the Forty Elephants: bold women who wear diamonds and fur, drink champagne and gin, who take what they want without asking. Now, she sees a new future for herself: she can serve, marry – or steal. After all, men will only let you down. Diamonds are forever.
In Poor Girls, Clare Whitfield exposes the criminal underbelly of 1920s London – but this isn’t a morality tale, it’s an adventure for the willingly wicked.
Clare Whitfield was born in 1978 in Morden (at the bottom of the Northern line) in Greater London. After university she worked at a publishing company before going on to hold various positions in buying and marketing. She now lives in Hampshire with her family. Her debut novel, People of Abandoned Character, won the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and is also published by Head of Zeus.
My thoughts: The Forty Elephants were a real gang made up of female thieves in 1920s London. The First World War tipped the previous social order on its head and women like Eleanor no longer wanted to stay in their prescribed place. Having worked during the war in jobs that might traditionally have gone to men, she has no desire to be a house maid to a wealthy family.
My great-great-grandmother was in service and apparently it was no picnic. Low pay, long hours, early starts and as many houses didn’t have running hot water and central heating didn’t yet exist, back breaking chores like lugging hot water up the stairs for baths and cleaning all the grates. Fun. Not.
I can see why Nell doesn’t want that life, and the appeal of the Forty Elephants too. Although I’m not criminally minded, seeing other women just like you dressed up, wearing diamonds and appearing to have a great life, well why wouldn’t you want to try it?
I liked Nell, she’s an interesting character, she wants more from life and is willing to do almost anything to get it, a modern women in a modern age, not wanting to be held in place by social class. She does risk getting sent to prison, as many of the Elephants were, but for her it’s almost worth it, just to break out of her expected role.
I enjoyed the snapshot of a different London, the dark underbelly, the way working class people lived, as opposed to the upper classes more often depicted. The contrast between the different stratas of society fascinates me, so this was very interesting and entertaining reading.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
The investigation into a young woman’s disappearance in 1989 falters as Yugoslavia unravels in war.
Beautiful Silva doesn’t come home. Young cop Gorki Sain discovers that she isn’t what she seemed–she dabbled in drugs and dealt in heroin. But Gorki soon finds himself out of a job as Yugoslavia plunges into a fratricidal war. Yet her brother stubbornly continues the search, amid the upheavals of Croatian society, from the fall of communism, through the 1991-1995 war, to the explosion of tourism with its toxic land speculation and corruption. Much happens as if we were witnessing vengeful providence at work in an ancient tragedy, in this case, set off by a sordid crime.
Jurica Pavičić (born 1965) is a Croatian writer, scriptwriter, and journalist, living in Split. He has written seven novels, two collections of short stories and essays. His work has been translated into five languages, but Red Water is his first novel to be translated into English.
Matt Robinson, born in the UK in 1978, lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Formerly a foreign correspondent with Reuters, he now works as a freelance editor and literary translator. Red Water is the second novel he has translated.
My thoughts: When seventeen year old Silva doesn’t come home from a local festival, her parents think she’s with her boyfriend, but he was away the night before. Where can she be? As her family search for her, worry grows. The police detective, Gorki Sain, assigned to her case is stumped too. There seem to be no witnesses to anything. But Silva had secrets.
As Yugoslavia falls into civil war and splits apart, only Silva’s father and brother Mate continue searching for her. Travelling further and further afield following possible sightings. A witness did eventually come forward, claiming to have spoken to Silva at the bus station.
As the years go by and people’s lives change, her family remain haunted by her absence. Even the former detective wonders what happened to her. Will they ever know?
Clever and interesting, blending the family’s lives with the history of Croatia in the late 80s to present day, as Silva’s absence leaves its mark on many lives. This gripped me and didn’t let go. The ending was unexpected and the twists to the tale enjoyable and satisfying. Brilliant.
*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 single man can change the course of history. At the heart of the harshest of its winters, at the heart of the bloodiest war in its history, Finland saw the birth of a legend. The legend of Simo Häyhä, the White Death.”
Three months after the beginning of WWII, in November 1939, the Soviet Union invaded their tiny and relatively defenceless neighbour Finland. So began what is known as the Winter War. Against overwhelming odds the makeshift Finnish army not only resisted the Red Army, they forced it to offer terms for peace.
Olivier Norek’s breathtaking novel is the story of one company at the heart of the defence of its country in the face of a horrific invasion. The Russians so far outnumbered their enemy that but for the almost unimaginable folly of their commanders and but for the heroism of the Finnish Army their neighbours would have been overrun. Nor had they taken into account the spirit of the defenders.
There are countless stories of courage and some of unmatched heroism – among them the record of Simo Häyhä, who became known as the White Death and whose skill as a sniper will perhaps never be matched.
We love a good gothic mystery and An Insidious Inheritance by Amelia West checks all the boxes!
An Insidious Inheritance (Clara Dawson Book 1)
Release Date: January 28 2025
Genre: Paranormal Suspense/ Gothic/ Mystery
Haunted house
Isolated setting
Small town secrets
Inheritance
Slow burn romance
Complicated family dynamics
Some secrets refuse to stay buried…
Upstate NY, 1933. When Clara Dawson learns of her estranged father’s death, she’s relieved to close that chapter of her life for good. But as his only child, Clara unexpectedly inherits Hollowfield House, a remote inn at the edge of a small town that she didn’t even know existed. Selling it could help her escape her mounting financial troubles, but first, she must confront the chilling mysteries that haunt its halls.
Arriving at Hollowfield, Clara is unnerved by eerie encounters that leave her questioning her sanity—a mysterious locket, an unsigned letter, and the apparition of a young woman who seems tied to the inn’s dark history. As these unsettling incidents escalate, Clara begins to suspect that her father’s death may not have been as straightforward as she was led to believe.
Her search for answers draws her into the tangled web of the inn’s haunted past, revealing a truth more sinister than she could have imagined. Someone—or something—is determined to keep the past buried, and they will stop at nothing to silence Clara before she uncovers the truth of Hollowfield House.
For readers who crave a historical ghost story woven with romantic tension and gothic suspense, An Insidious Inheritance is a supernatural mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page.
Tomorrowland, known globally for their larger-than-life themed music festivals and organizer of the second biggest social media live entertainment event in the world after the Olympics, have penned a fantasy trilogy to bring the unique magic of the festival alive in story form, together with their core values of unity, hope, love and nature.
Teaming up with genre publishing experts Black Crow, they will be working on building their brand in the publishing sphere, working closely with booksellers, influencers and readers who love fantasy fiction.
The Great Library of Tomorrow, book 1 in the trilogy, is out now in HB, audio and ebook, with the paperback scheduled for September, just ahead of the November release of the sequel, The Sky of Sacrifice. More info/pre-order: www.thegreatlibraryoftomorrow.com
THE GREAT LIBRARY OF TOMORROW – Book 1 in The Book of Wisdom trilogy – Helia has served as the Sage of Hope for the Great Library of Tomorrow for centuries. She is one of the chosen few who embody and protect the values of humanity across the numerous realms of Paperworld, which are connected within the Library itself via magical Portals controlled by the Book of Wisdom. But even Helia’s hope is tested when attacked and confronted by a deadly figure known as the Ash Man. Surrounded by destruction in the famous Rose Garden of Silvyra, and its dragon protector missing, Helia must return home to warn the other Sages. But there she finds the Book of Wisdom—always a guide to the Sages—eerily silent. With the Ash Man gaining strength, Helia soon finds herself in a race against time, searching for clues to the origins of their foe—and any possible way to defeat him. THE SKY OF SACRIFICE – Book 2 in The Book of Wisdom trilogy – As the Great Library of Tomorrow prepares for a momentous celebration Nu embraces both newfound love and her role as the Sage of Truth. However, if fresh nightmares prove to be the harbingers of Suttaru’s malevolent forces, romance must take a back seat to her responsibilities. When a savage act sends shockwaves through the Great Library, the return of an old friend brings to light a hidden relic from the Book of Wisdom’s past. To stop the enemy, the Sages must pursue multiple paths. For Nu and Robin, this means travelling the realms in search of a mysterious figure from long ago. Meanwhile Veer and his companions brave a realm of darkness and despair, where even the strongest can become undone. . .
The Princess plays a fatal game, and the stakes are higher than she ever could have imagined.
Princess Asherah Delmar, the former heir to the throne of Atlantis, makes a heart-wrenching sacrifice as she embarks on a perilous journey into the enemy realm of Corenathia. Under the cunning guise of Prince Lux Nacan’s betrothed, she must retrieve the goddess’s artifact. One only she can find.
As Atlantis slides further into darkness, Asherah leaves behind her unbonded mate, Commander Draevyn Eliron, and risks the lives of the humans in Atlantis, a decision she does not take lightly.
When Asherah arrives in Corenathia, she discovers a treacherous world that will challenge her integrity and shake her will to stay silent. But with help from the most unlikely of allies, she’s determined to find the hidden artifact and escape Queen Sessi’s realm in time to save Atlantis and solidify the bond with Draevyn.
Though Asherah doesn’t realize she’s playing a deadly game with a wicked queen who holds all the cards.
Including hers.
The Forever Queen is the second book in the Heir of Atlantis series and is intended for readers ages 18+. It is recommended you read the series in order, beginning with The Veiled Heir. Trigger and Content Warnings are listed in the front of the book and on the author’s website. Please read with care.
ramblingmads 