In a world shaped by the rippling effects of war, free will became the chain that tied a king’s vanity to his greed.
Having survived her trials, Tiadola discovered that appearances were deceiving. As secrets unravel, she must navigate the darkness clouding her mind while fighting for a chance at happiness with Zadrohn.
History repeats itself as magic and power intertwine, shifting the tides in King Tuddn’s favour. The looming war between humans and Soronians is inevitable, and every conflict demands a victor.
Outnumbered and overpowered, yet resolute, can Tiadola and Zadrohn secure the human nation’s independence, or will their efforts crumble under the weight of forces beyond their control?
We’re celebrating the newly released romantasy A Desert of Bleeding Sand by Lucia Damisa!
A Desert of Bleeding Sand: A Rivals to Lovers Romantasy
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Genre: Romantasy
🏜️ Elite military academies
🏜️ Found family & witty banter
🏜️ Court intrigue & mythic races
🏜️ Slowww burn rivals-to-lovers
🏜️ Sprawling, desert world
In a glittering Sahara Desert palace, many have come to die…
I am Zair, reviled, half-blooded, and dangerous. Aziza magic coils in my veins like a curse, and for that, they fear me. But I will not stand by while traitors attack my academy and vanish with its students, especially as my sister is targeted.
They sent me to the palace as a student envoy to the king’s coronation, but I know the truth. I’m a weapon, a spy cloaked in silk and suspicion, sent to unmask those behind the disappearances. The air is thick with secrets, and the palace feels alive, pulsing with night magic and silent menace.
Then I meet him. Dathan. A rival spy from another academy—sharp-eyed, clever, cunning, and deadly. I don’t trust him, and I shouldn’t want him. But the pull between us is maddening, dangerous, a flame I cannot smother.
As more students vanish and shadows stir in every corridor, we have no choice but to join forces. Yet every moment spent together fractures my resolve.
In a palace where ambition poisons the air and betrayal hides behind every smile, I must unravel the truth before time runs out—while guarding my heart against the one man who could ruin more than the mission… he could destroy me.
<strong>We’re celebrating the release of A.N. Horton’s new release called The Third Ring! Available now!</strong> <p style=”text-align: center;”><strong><img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-68161″ src=”https://rrbooktoursblog.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/frontcover.jpg” alt=”” width=”775″ height=”1155″ /></strong></p> <strong>The Third Ring (The Sanctum Series Book 1)</strong>
<strong>Release Date: April 15, 2025</strong>
<strong>Genre: Dark Romantasy</strong> <ul> <li>Spicy</li> <li>Enemies to lovers</li> <li>Trials</li> <li>Strong FMC</li> <li>Brooding MMC</li> <li>Forced proximity</li> <li>Gods and mythology</li> </ul> <strong>Ten Trials. Two Oaths. One Chance.</strong>
To Adrian, the gods were never anything to be worshipped, just tolerated. But in the walled city of Sanctuary, whether through the religious fervor of the elite or the quaking fear of the poor, the Geist have always been served. And now it’s Adrian’s turn.
Born into power and raised for greatness, Dante stands for everything Adrian has come to despise, but he may be her only hope of survival. When the two of them are bonded against their will and forced to compete together in the Trials, the god’s ancient gauntlet of physical brutality and psychological torture, they have no choice but to set aside old prejudices and work together. Navigating religious zealots, a patriarch intent on breeding the pair for power, and the increasingly obvious cruelty of the gods, Adrian must come to terms with the fact that, whether Culled or Championed, we all serve the gods in the end. And, for her, betrayal has always been waiting just around the corner.
<strong>TWs: Open Door Intimacy, Violence, Amputation, Suicide, Religious Trauma</strong>
Two strangers meet in Manhattan and spend a perfect night together. In Tokyo, they have seven days to see if that one night might mean something more.
Landon’s living alone in Tokyo as a British ‘expat’, Louie’s visiting while he anxiously waits for approval on his US visa. Against the backdrop of a misty Tokyo Spring, their precious time together is spent wandering into side streets and coffee shops, sharing unmade beds and plates of food. But as the days tick by, Louie’s expectations start to overtake reality and he falls too deeply for a life that’s not yet his.
Breathtakingly tender, Seven Days in Tokyo is an astonishing debut about the intricacies of desire and a search for belonging. It is a lyrical, immersive portrait of how some things, however beautiful and profound, are destined to be as short-lived as the cherry blossoms.
My thoughts: This is a lyrical, but rather melancholy book, Louie is in Tokyo for a brief few days, where he sees friends, the cherry blossom and tries to fathom out Landon, the Brit he met in New York, but who never really shares much of himself.
Louie doesn’t want to go back to the Philippines for good, but if his American visa doesn’t clear, he will have to, and his brief relationship with Landon, with its deadline of a week, both captures him and confuses him. Landon pushes him away, treats him so casually, but yet, sleeps soundly in his presence and cooks for him, sharing a single plate.
The relationship Louie has with Tokyo, how he falls for the neighbourhood he stays in, with the things he discovers and learns, the beauty of the place, feels much deeper and on leaving, more heartbreaking than leaving Landon. He might well return to Japan, but not to the man.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
<strong>We’re proud to present the cover for the next book in the Afterlife Incorporated series, Hate to Haunt You by Alli Temple!</strong> <p style=”text-align: center;”><img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-68170″ src=”https://rrbooktoursblog.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/h2hy-ebook2.jpeg” alt=”” width=”420″ height=”640″ /></p> <strong>Hate To Haunt You (Afterlife Incorporated Book 2)</strong>
<strong>Expected Release Date: June 16, 2025</strong>
<strong>Genre: Sapphic Urban Fantasy</strong> <ul> <li>Slow burn</li> <li>Hurt/comfort</li> <li>Ghosts</li> <li>Grim reapers</li> </ul> <strong>You always haunt the ones you love.</strong>
First, I got stuck as a ghost in the suburbs of Toronto. Now my reaper roommate is dying. Dying! Reapers aren’t even supposed to get the sniffles.
Turns out, we’re connected, and I don’t just mean a shared love of pineapple on pizza. Kelly and I have a rare and dangerous bond that’s draining my favourite reaper’s very essence away. If we don’t figure out how to break the link, Kelly is headed for a permanent sabbatical.
Now we’re exploring creepy corners of Afterlife, making risky deals with paranormal weirdos, and—worst of all—I might be falling for the reaper I’m literally haunting to death.
Being dead has never been easy, and there’s no way in hell I’m facing it alone. It’s time to save Kelly, even if it means breaking my own heart in the process.
<strong>Hate to Haunt You is the second instalment in the Afterlife Incorporated urban fantasy trilogy. It cannot be read as a standalone. Kelly and Ember’s romance? Still a work in progress.</strong>
13 original tales to terrify in a brand new anthology showcasing the very best and bizarre in horror fiction Featuring horror legends and worldwide bestsellers Olivie Blake, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Tuttle, Tim Lebbon, V Castro, Ally Wilkes, Rian Hughes, Lindy Ryan, Susi Holliday, Lily Kade, TL Huchu, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Clay McLeod Chapman.
Be careful what you wish for. Whether searching for love, fame, money or revenge, remember that everything comes with a price. From stepping into an unknown in nature to ignoring the warnings of locals, to finding your perfect match or facing the hidden horrors of your past, beware. The thirteen stories in this brand-new anthology explore the dark side of human nature and take us into the hidden, terrifying recesses of a world we never see. Until it’s too late . . .
Following record breaking sales in horror fiction and the rise of new imprints focusing on the genre, the appetite for all things weird and wonderful is bigger than ever. Both a new venture and passion project, The Black Crow Book of Best New Horror combines stories from the biggest and best authors writing today, brought to you by industry experts, uber nerds and fans. Genre bookseller Matt Holland (The Broken Binding) and genre comms specialist Jamie-Lee Nardone (Black Crow PR) joined forces in 2024 to launch Black Crow Books; an agile and bespoke publisher and bookseller with a mission to publish the best new names in horror while also bringing out special editions of classics both old and new as well as subscription boxes. The Black Crow Book of Best New Horror Volume 1 is their inaugural anthology. Cover design, logo and typography by Rian Hughes. http://www.blackcrowbooks.co.uk
The Black Crow Book of Best New Horror (Volume 1)
13original tales to terrify in a brand new anthology showcasing the very best and bizarre in horror fiction
Publishing 07 October from @blackcrow_bks worldwide £17.99 | $27.95
Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city. But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer…
As events escalate and tensions rise – and his own life is endangered, as well as those he holds most dear – Byron is forced to play detective, to discover who is really behind these heinous crimes. Meanwhile, the scandals of his own infamous past come back to haunt him…
Rich in gothic atmosphere and drawing on real events and characters from Byron’s life, Dangerous is a riveting, dazzling historical thriller, as decadent, dark and seductive as the poet himself…
Essie Fox was born and raised in rural Herefordshire, which inspires much of her writing. After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, she moved to London where she worked for the Telegraph Sunday Magazine, and then book publishers George Allen & Unwin, before becoming self-employed in the world of art and design.
Essie now spends her time writing historical gothic novels. Her debut, The Somnambulist, was shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. The Last Days of Leda Grey, set in the early years of silent film, was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. Essie’s Victorian gothic novel, The Fascination, debuted at number 10 on the Sunday Times bestseller list, and was widely acclaimed.
Essie is also the creator of the popular blog: The Virtual Victorian. She has lectured on this era at the V&A, and the National Gallery in London. She lives in Windsor.
My thoughts: Growing up in Harrow, I developed a soft spot for Lord George Gordon Byron – who spent some of his happiest years at the eponymous school up on the Hill. His daughter, Allegra is buried there and there is a memorial plaque to him on the lookout point. He would have been buried there too, except the vicar at the time refused.
Essie Fox’s book explores some of his time in exile in Venice. Allegra was sent by her mother (Claire Claremont, Mary Shelley’s step-sister) to live with him, his servants and his collection of cantankerous pets (monkeys do not belong in palazzos).
Byron is weary, jaded and working on Don Juan, which will only add to Lady Caroline Lamb’s (another former mistress) assessment of his as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know”.
Dr John Polidori, once Byron’s personal physician, has resurfaced, and a lot of people mistake him for the English poet, despite the lack of a limp (Byron’s club foot was pretty noticeable). His book The Vampyre, inspired by a scrap Byron wrote on the infamous Lake Geneva trip with the Shelleys, is also being touted as Byron’s. Which sends him into a fury. How can anyone compare the two?
Then a young woman is found murdered outside a salon Byron attended, there are claims that he is a vampire, that Polidori’s book is Byron’s autobiography in disguise. Especially after another young prostitute is killed, while Byron sleeps beside her, in a brothel.
Byron knows he is no killer, but someone is out to frame him. He is arrested, thrown in gaol, unable to prove his innocence. Thankfully his good friend Hobhouse has come to visit, and with Polidori’s help, he escapes and begins to investigate these claims against him. They seem to centre on two women – a Countess and a courtesan turned brothel keeper. With the help of those loyal to him, gondolier Tita, an orphan he has taken in, and even a former mistress, he resolves to expose his enemies, clear his name and rescue Allegra who has fallen into the clutches of his nemesis.
This is a very clever, very enjoyable book, making much of a short episode in Byron’s not very long, but very eventful life. It is only a few years before he will die in Greece, pursuing another adventure. He comes across much more sympathetically than he is often characterised. His biographers aren’t very fond of him, admittedly he was a terrible cad. But the Byron here is a loving father, a kind man, fond of children and animals, hopeless with women, loyal to his friends. It’s an interesting version of the infamous Lord.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Meet Peter Maxwell: film buff, golden-hearted cynic, bow-tied eccentric teacher . . . and reluctant amateur sleuth.
A reality TV crew descends on Leighford High . . . and Head of Sixth Form Peter Maxwell braces for disaster — but not murder. The cameras pry into every corner of the school, exposing secrets better left buried. But when a member of the TV crew is found stabbed to death in the headteacher’s office, it’s clear the real drama has only just begun.
Then a second crew member is found sprawled in Maxwell’s office. Murdered with the same knife. As Maxwell unravels the truth he finds himself facing a chilling reality: the murderer is still watching, still waiting, and ready to kill again.
M J Trow (the ‘M’ as most people know by now stands for Meirion, a Welsh name few can manage, so he writes as M J, is known by all and sundry as Mei, rhyming with ‘my’) has been writing for many years, with his first book – The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade – being published in 1984 by Macmillan. More Lestrades followed and then some true crime and somehow it all snowballed so now he has many historical biographies and three other crime series (Maxwell, Marlowe and Grand and Batchelor, the latter two written with his wife, writing as Maryanne Coleman, though her name is Carol, actually!) to his credit.
He claims to be retired, but that’s just from teaching. In fact he has never been busier and is a sought after ‘ghost’ these days as well as historian and novelist, with many different subjects’ stories having been told through him. He has recently started collaborating on fiction projects (with someone other than his wife, that is) and finds it a really exciting and pleasurable experience.To relax he … actually, that’s a bit tricky, as he doesn’t really ever relax.
He has been known to garden, he is a keen cook and artist and likes to travel. This is rather easier these days as he is a popular speaker on cruise ships – in fact his profile picture was taken on a very gusty day in Cape Town, setting off on a long voyage home to Southampton through some of the scariest seas he and his wife have had the pleasure to meet! It really was the calm before the storm, despite being a Force 9 just leaving the Bay.
My thoughts: I can’t imagine anything worse than a film crew following you about your day, especially in a school. Although I admit I have found the end results quite intriguing (the Educating… series was quite good).
But murder, that’s a whole different set of problems. And a member of the film crew murdered in the head teacher’s office, isn’t a great start to this filming malarkey. In fact, the police pull the plug, at least for a while, and the teachers heave a sigh of relief, getting dozens of teenagers to just learn something isn’t easy.
But Maxwell, head of Sixth Form, history teacher, married to a detective, doesn’t leave it there. He does a bit more digging, unearths a few other secrets (gambling ring in the building manager’s office for starters) and gets clonked over the head for his troubles.
Then another member of the film crew is killed, in his office, while he’s off sick. What on earth is going on? He’s pretty sure even the most insufferable student isn’t a killer, but is it someone on the crew or closer to home?
Funny, clever and full of twists, I really enjoyed this and would love to know more about the mysterious Mrs B, computer genius and school cleaner.
*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 Hero Virus tells the thrilling story of Chris Taylor, who is hanging on to life by a thread. Recently widowed, his only reason to carry on is his faithful Labrador, but even that doesn’t stop his willingness to gamble with death every day. When his companion suffers a violent demise, Taylor thinks he has nothing left to live for, until he discovers he has chanced upon a precious gift… when he gets very ill.
The sickness gives him powers and, fairly soon, the authorities are swooping on to the ever-increasing list of cases. The Hero Virus might be different to other illnesses, but it’s no less dangerous. The effect it has on the world, though, is wildly different to any other virus that has come before. The unique reaction of the human body to infection means that everyone wants it. And some will do anything to get it.
How do you stop a pandemic when there are people who will kill for the virus? How do you stop people getting infected when they’re willing to die for it? How do you stop the infected when they have abilities nobody has ever seen before?
The Hero Virus is the second novel from Russell Dumper, after releasing Britannia Rises to widespread acclaim last year, winning him three categories in the 2024 Bookstagram Awards, for Debut Author, Thriller and Historical Fiction. He lives in the east of England with his family and still has many more books in the pipeline. Next, he will be concentrating on The Britannia Series, more of which will be released in the near future. Instagram handle – russ2000_uk
My thoughts: Chris has had a really terrible time, his wife and unborn baby were killed by a drunk driver, he’s struggling to find meaning in his life and then his beloved dog dies too. Falling ill is the last in a long line of bad things, and then he wakes up. Four days have passed and he’s bizarrely strong. Like super hero strong.
As more and more people become infected with this strange new virus – 50% develop powers, the other 50% tragically die, scientists are trying to solve it. A vaccine, a cure, anything, as it’s getting out of control. Some of the powers people develop are truly rubbish, others are extremely dangerous. And one man discovers he can absorb others’ new gifts. Could he be a cure? Or will he become a megalomaniac intent on world domination? Can Chris stop this from happening and will the scientists ever find a way to halt this virus and save lives?
I liked Chris, he never loses his humanity, despite being patient zero and developing this new super strength. He just wants to live his life quietly and for as short a time as possible, considering his losses. Instead he’s being poked and prodded in the name of science, and then asked to basically save the world. Can a man be miserable in peace?
The virus at first seems amazing, but people continue to be people, and are the worst. Trying to get infected in case you’re in the 50% who don’t die, and then your power is that you can make people piss themselves if you touch them? Sounds rubbish. (If you’ve seen the show Extraordinary you might see what I mean, some people’s powers are really crap).
And when they’re rounding up infected people and putting them into comas while the scientists try to unravel the virus? That’s not exactly better. I think I’d rather not bother.
This is an interesting exercise in what happens to people, some get greedy and one goes way, way too far, power corrupts and all that. But Chris remains a bastion of genuine niceness in all of this, yes being super strong is pretty cool, but it doesn’t make him an arrogant monster, and that’s really intriguing.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
When the family gardener is murdered near a site of legendary buried treasure, dog-lover and mystery-solver Cressida Fawcett is on the case!
1926, Sussex. The Honourable Cressida Fawcett is delighted to return to her parents’ rambling mansion to introduce them to her pug Ruby’s puppies. But when the pups go running off with Cressida in hot pursuit, they lead her to a bubbling stream – Hell’s Ditch. And the body of Bob the gardener is floating there, his outstretched hand clutching a soggy cheese and pickle sandwich.
Everyone assumes Bob died of natural causes. But when Cressida finds a glittering gold coin grasped in his other fist, she realises this is part of the long-hidden Saxon hoard. Was Bob struck down by the gold’s ancient curse? As Cressida interviews the colourful members of the local historical society, she learns that Bob had been boasting of new-found wealth, much to the annoyance of his wife, and perhaps deadly jealousy of the other members…
Luckily for Cressida, eminent historian Sir James Colston, friend of the family, arrives at the mansion with tantalising information on the whereabouts of the rest of the Saxon gold. He promises to tell all, but the very next day he collapses into his morning porridge…
To Cressida’s horror, Marian – Bob’s widow and her parents’ cook – is accused of poisoning both the porridge and Bob’s sandwich and is carted off to jail. But Cressida is sure the answers are buried in the past. Just how far would a history boffin or a hard-up local go for an ancient pot of gold? And can Cressida dig up the truth before poison worms its way into her family’s kitchen again?
An absolutely addictive, warm and witty whodunnit that will keep you reading late into the night, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Verity Bright.
Fliss Chester lives in Surrey with her husband and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1940s whodunnits, she helps her husband, who is a wine merchant, run their business. Never far from a decent glass of something, Fliss also loves cooking (and writing up her favourite recipes on her blog), enjoying the beautiful Surrey and West Sussex countryside and having a good natter.
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My thoughts: Cressida is back, and my favourite detective pug, Ruby, has had six adorable puppies (chugs? Porgies?) who are causing havoc at Cressida’s parents’ country residence. They keep escaping and running wild, and then rounding them up, Cressida and her mother find the gardener, Bob, floating in the stream running through the estate. Sadly, he’s dead, and it’s not natural causes.
Cressida is on the case, and with Dotty and Alfred down for a visit, and keen to help out, she’s soon looking into Bob’s life, and his claims to have come into a tidy sum. His wife, Marian, the cook, doesn’t know anything about this. And then a house guest keels over at breakfast.
There’s a poisoner on the loose, and poor Marian is the chief suspect! But why would she kill her husband and her employer’s guest, historian Sir James? It doesn’t make any sense.
As Cressida and co investigate further, they find the motive might go a long way back to two pairs of lovebirds decades ago and a killer who hasn’t given up on true love.
Another clever whodunnit, with the delightful Cressida, Dotty and Alfred getting to grips with the case, and trying to wrangle some very wriggly puppies at the same time! Delightful.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 
