We’re honored to present this beautiful cover for upcoming release, The Knowing Witch by M.M. Parks!
The Knowing Witch (Omnis Book 1)
Expected Publication Date: June 20, 2025
Genre: Dark Romantic Fantasy
*Second chance
*Forbidden love
*Lovers to enemies
*Smart FMC
*Morally grey MMC
*Based on Greek mythology
*Witches & daemons
A dark gift…
Ena prides herself on being one of the most talented witches in her Coven. She does what is expected of her and stays on her path, serving her goddess and maintaining the balance of life and death. On her twenty-seventh birthday, like all witches, Ena is gifted a magical power from her goddess, only to find that her Gift is dangerous and forbidden.
A broken heart…
Ena wrestles with her uncertain future with the Coven as she struggles to overcome a painful heartbreak from her past. Can she finally put it behind her and move on?
A dangerous scheme…
When three strange men show up searching for something in her village, she gets dragged into their schemes. Old wounds are reopened, and Ena begins to question what she knows as she is tempted further and further from the path before her, towards the unknown.
The Knowing Witch is the first book in the Omnis series, a brand new 18+ dark fantasy romance series with second chance, enemies-to-lovers romance, a unique nature-centric magic system, and distinctive world-building perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, From Blood and Ash, and the Broken Kingdoms series.
With her Curiosity Shop open for business, Alice Carroll is finally settling into life in the picturesque Cotswold village of Little Pride. But then her old life comes knocking…
Alice’s ex boyfriend, Steven, who dumped her to travel the world, has run out of money and asks Alice to sell off his collection of chess sets. Alice decides to host a tournament to showcase the boards, and her plan seems to be working. That is, until chess pieces begin to mysteriously disappear. And when a body is discovered outside the tournament, Alice realises that the victim was a pawn in another, far more dangerous game.
As the host of the event, Alice is eager to help the police investigate. She doesn’t know why anyone would be interested in stealing random chess pieces, let alone willing to kill for them, but she’s determined to find out. Can she solve the case before someone else gets hurt? Or will this be one gambit too far for Alice?
Debbie Young writes warm, witty, feel-good contemporary fiction inspired by life in the English village where she lives with her Scottish husband and their teenage daughter. Her Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series begins with “Best Murder in Show” and the first seven books run the course of a calendar year in the life of a classic English Cotswold village. Originally intended to be a seven-book series, further books will follow, due to reader demand. She also writes the romantic comedy mystery series, Staffroom at St Bride’s, set in the staffroom of an English girls’ boarding school. The series will eventually be six books long, running the course of an academic year, and the first book is “Secrets at St Bride’s”. Her books were shortlisted in 2020 and 2021 for The Selfies Award, given to the best self-published adult fiction in the UK. She also writes short stories and has published three themed collections, “Marry in Haste”, “Quick Change”, and “Stocking Fillers”, and had stories included in many anthologies. When she’s not writing, she does other bookish things, such as speaking or reading her work at literary events, such as Crimefest, the leading international crime writing event, the Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival, the event that she founded for her local community. She’s a member of the Society of Authors and the UK Ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors. She loves reading, bellringing, singing in the local choir, gardening, knitting, sketching and travelling with her family in their camper van. Her many hobbies mean she is never short of ideas for her gentle tales of rural life.
My thoughts: I was in the chess club at school, mostly because we could eat our lunches in the classroom and not have to brave the playground and the soaking wet foam footballs being violently kicked at you. Thankfully there were no murders.
When Alice decides to organise a showcase and auction to sell some of her ex-boyfriend’s chess sets, she certainly doesn’t expect it to end in death for one of the attendees. He was also stealing chess pieces, and not even from the more expensive, antique sets, but plastic replicas of the Isle of Lewis figures. Very strange.
And the case gets stranger, a man wanders into Alice’s shop in the middle of the night, and when she tries to locate the original seller of the set, she gets hung up on.
Clearly there’s more going on here than first appears, luckily there are clever local coppers on the case, as well as Alice and her friends. A bit of bellringing and a set up to catch the culprit. It’s all very action film in a country village! Great fun as always from Debbie Young.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Magic, history, ancient artifacts, and yes, romance. You’ll find it all in S.C. Grayson’s new release, Monsters in the Museum!
Monsters in the Museum: A Contemporary Fantasy Romance (Defenders of the Light Book 1)
Publication Date: March 4, 2025
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Secret Societies
Cinnamon Roll MMC
Dual Timeline
Star-crossed Lovers
Magical Artifacts
Greek mythology
Academia Setting
A hidden world of magic lurks in the shadows of history.
Nora is gunning for a promotion at The Chicago Field Museum. The discovery of two ancient Greek weapons unlike any she’s seen before might be her big break—but the artifacts are more than they seem, and the secrets they hold could upend Nora’s world completely.
Trying to uncover their history, Nora enlists the help of professor of ancient languages, Dr. Adam Scott, an undeniably handsome man of intrigue. Nora finds herself drawn to the professor, who seems to be overflowing with charm—and secrets. Trying to uncover what he’s hiding, Nora discovers that Adam is actually an immortal sorcerer and a member of a secret society that has been in hiding since the days of the Greek Empire.
When Nora’s work draws the attention of the Shadow, a powerful force that feeds off fear and negative emotions, she finds herself thrust into a perilous world of myths and monsters. Complicating things further is her undeniable desire for Adam and the feeling that he may be concealing more than his status as an immortal sorcerer. Now it’s not just Nora’s job on the line as she races to uncover the mysteries of the past—it’s her life.
This book was previously published under the title Spears and Shadows. This new version has significant additions and has been freshly edited to provide an expanded story and enhanced reading experience.
Jemima Flowerday combines her skills as a dressmaker and sleuth to solve crime in the crumbling stately homes of 1920s Britain.
December 1922, and society dressmaker Jemima Flowerday receives a letter from Lady Hamlash of Merry Beggars Hall, requesting three new gowns for the Christmas season. Lady Hamlash does not travel, so Jemima will need to visit the Hall in deepest Suffolk to work in situ.
The commission appeals to Jemima for more than one reason. It will bring her some much-needed income. More interestingly, the remote manor house was the scene of a grisly murder earlier that year, when Lady Hamlash, inspecting her plants in the walled garden, found a man’s severed head beneath a terracotta asparagus cloche. The murder was never solved.
Jemima, addicted to mystery novels and with a proud history of solving crimes in her own world, is sure she can crack the case. That ambition becomes a little more complicated when, within hours of her arrival at Merry Beggars Hall, the household cook dies in front of her…
Kay Blythe, who also writes as Natalie Meg Evans, is an award-winning historical author on both sides of the Atlantic, having reached the New York Times top 100 list with her debut novel, The Dress Thief. Writing crime as Kay Blythe fulfils a long-held ambition.
My thoughts: Jemima has a sharp mind and is keen to dig into the strange discovery of the butler’s brother’s head under the asparagus cloche. For starters, where’s the rest of him and how did his head come to be in Suffolk when he lived and worked in London?
There’s definitely something a bit strange going on at Lady Hamlash’s house, and even more so when the temperamental French chef drops dead in front of Jemima. Was she murdered or is there more to it than just someone hating the woman? And who could hate her enough to kill?
Digging into the events, and utilising her ability to move between the classes as a guest but also a dressmaker, someone who isn’t entirely a servant but also due to her connections (her in-laws are titled) welcome among the family, she is perfectly situated to ask questions and look into things.
She is however at risk herself after drawing the attention of the killer, but working in tandem with the police, who she hands the evidence she’s found over to, and another interested party, can Jemima solve the case and stay one step ahead of a desperate murderer and solve both the body-less head and the chef’s death?
Clever, enjoyable, and with a fiendish explanation to the events that’s far more complex than it might first seem, this is a cracking piece of historical crime fiction.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
It’s cover reveal day for Arrow of Fortune! Book 3 of the Raiders of the Arcana series is perfect for readers itching for a historical fantasy adventure packed with magical artifacts, real history, witty banter, slow burn romance, dastardly villains, and all The Mummy vibes.
This time, Ellie and Adam are off to India to keep the most dangerous artifact of the Ramayana from falling into the wrong hands. But of course, they’re also bringing along her haplessly academic stepbrother, Dr. Neil Fairfax, and her danger-loving bestie, Constance Tyrrell.
Expect haunted forests, sprawling royal palaces, a highly excitable dog, new lessons in practical chemistry, a shocking lack of shirts, and more than a few monsters–including the kind that walk around on two legs.
Arrow of Fortune is coming later in 2025. Sign up for Jacquelyn’s newsletter to be notified when preorders are available.
THE FIRST CHILLING NOVEL IN THE ACCLAIMED ROBERT HUNTER SERIES
When the body of a young woman is discovered in a derelict cottage in Los Angeles, Robert Hunter is thrown into a nightmare case. The victim suffered a terrible death, and on the nape of her neck has been carved a strange double-cross: the signature of a psychopath known as the Crucifix Killer.
But that’s impossible. Because two years ago, the Crucifix Killer was caught and executed. Could this therefore be a copycat killer? Or could the unthinkable be true? Is the real killer still out there, ready to embark once again on a vicious and violent killing spree, selecting his victims seemingly at random, taunting Robert Hunter with his inability to catch him?
Hunter and his rookie partner, Garcia, need to solve this case and fast.
My thoughts: This first book in the Detective Hunter series doesn’t start off softly, the murders Hunter and Garcia investigate are brutal, the violence is nasty and the descriptions not for the faint hearted. Even Garcia gets sick at the sight of their first victim.
Hunter doesn’t believe this could be The Crucifix Killer, he helped put that person away, but certain clues, things never released to the public, suggest otherwise.
So now Hunter must revisit his old files and with Garcia as a new pair of eyes, start searching for a killer he thought he’d never have to deal with again.
Gripping and expertly written, this will haunt you a bit and make you look forward to the next one, or at least it did for me. I’ve been reading crime fiction for a very long time (starting with Agatha Christie at about 10 years old) and it’s not often that I get completely hooked in like this. But this series, buckle in. It’s shocking, thrilling and takes you into the darkest parts of some pretty terrible people.
Hunter is a genius, a paper he wrote is taught at Quantico (FBI school) and he’s the go to detective for these horrific sorts of cases, assisted by Garcia, who is slightly in awe of his partner and represents a more normal, average cop, married to his sweetheart, Anna, and he reacts like most of us probably would to the crime scenes they visit. As the series and their relationship continues, this duo really grow on you, trust me.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Helen Appleby just wants a quiet life. Recently released from prison for the manslaughter of her partner, she’s trying to forget her past mistakes – all of them – to rebuild her life and move on.
When she decides to open a bookshop, she’s certain this is the perfect new start. Here, amongst the quiet shelves of her shop and between the covers of her books, she can hide away from the real world and begin again. The world of books the perfect place to find happiness – even if it is all lies.
But the past can never stay hidden…
As she settles into life as an apparently timid bookseller, it seems that someone is determined to sabotage Helen’s new life and ruin everything she’s built. But Helen has killed once before. And to protect her future, she could be willing to kill again…
Don’t miss another page-turning, nail-biting read from the queen of psychological thrillers, Valerie Keogh!
Perfect for fans of J.A. Baker, Keri Beevis and Nina Manning.
Valerie Keogh is the best-selling author of The Nurse. She lives in Wiltshire with her husband and a huge black cat, Fatty Arbuckle. She grew up reading Agatha Christie and initially wrote crime novels – she now writes psychological thrillers. The Little Lies was shortlisted for the Crime Fiction Lovers Award 2021 Valerie has a BA in English and an MA in American Literature. She is currently published with Boldwood Books.
My thoughts: I know you’re probably not supposed to empathise with a murderer, but I really liked Helen. She killed her partner in self-defence and sentenced to four years, only served two, released on good behaviour on license.
She’s decided to use her inheritance to open a secondhand bookshop near her home and put her past behind her, as much as she can. Her meddling probation officer is driving her a bit mad, and she’s paranoid about her business’ friendly neighbours. Struggling to trust people after her time in prison, she’s relying on her sister and despite all her big plans, keeps wondering if it’s worth it.
Someone seems out to sabotage her, both her shop and home get broken into and ransacked, she’s fast running out of money and her PO keeps threatening to send her back to prison.
But slowly she starts to learn to trust again, first her neighbours at the pizza place, then a student she hires to help out. And the business is doing well, the set backs can be overcome and she’s an intelligent woman, capable of standing up for herself when threatened.
I really enjoyed this book, the optimism that, despite the ups and downs, there is life after prison, that Helen is not just what she did, but who she can become now.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
We have the most gorgeous book rec for you today! If you love Beauty and the Beast retellings with Gaslamp vibes, read it now on Kindle Unlimited!
The Musician and the Monster (The Castamar Duology Book 1)
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Genre: Gothic Romantic Fantasy
💖 Forbidden love
☑️ Morally grey MMC
⚔️ Determined heroine
🎶 Music is powerful
🔥 Slow burn to steamy
❄️ Wintertime
🥀 Gothic vibes
❤️🩹 Hurt/comfort
🗡️ Touch her and 💀
✨ Magic
🎭 Masquerade
Music says things words never can. I love you. I miss you. I’m sorry I killed you.
Every night, Ceridwen Kinsley plays music on her rooftop for the spirit of her dead mother. A peaceful if odd ritual, until she witnesses a murder by something not quite human. The monstrous encounter earns her notoriety within the city and a visit from the reclusive Lord Protector Drystan Winterbourne.
Charged with protecting the backwater city of Teneboure by the king, Drystan is failing at his task, and he can’t afford another slip up. But when fate and the very monster he means to conquer bring Ceridwen to his notice, he seizes the opportunity and presents her with an offer: play music for him at his manor in exchange for the money her impoverished family desperately needs. Music eases the strain of his magic, and who better to hire than the woman whose tunes he secretly listens to at night?
At first, Ceridwen is put off by Drystan’s unkempt appearance and harsh demeanor, not to mention the odd ailment that plagues him. But as he embraces her passion for music and she draws the recluse out of his lonely tower, the two develop an unlikely attachment. Class lines begin to blur as fearful indifference shifts to unexpected desire, and Ceridwen yearns to help Drystan subdue the monster as well as provide for her family. However, the monster prowling the night isn’t their only enemy, and as terrible secrets come to light, protecting those they love may risk their lives and their hearts.
This retelling of Beauty and the Beast incorporates themes and motifs from Phantom of the Opera, and is set in a gaslamp fantasy world with strong gothic vibes. It should appeal to fans of romantic and atmospheric retellings and fairy tales by authors such as Hannah Whitten, Tessonja Odette, and Stephanie Garber.
We’re thrilled to present the cover for A Fate Drawn to Flame by Skylark Melody. Pre-order a copy today!
A Fate Drawn to Flame (Realm of The Halo Book 1)
Expected Pub Date: April 8, 2025
Genre: Romantasy
• A dark, slow burn epic fantasy romance and a bit of spice.
• A unique premise and delicious angst with a genre-blending, multi-layered plot.
• A soft but confident FMC and a strong but conflicted MMC.
MORE TO LOVE:
Found family
Fated mates
She falls first/he falls harder
A Fate Drawn to Flame is the first book of the Realm of The Halo series and ends with a satisfying cliffhanger.
Is their love fated in forever, or will it be the beginning of the end?
Marked by a life of tragedy and sorrow, Araxia Arevin’s search for a new start begins with a harrowing accident in a place filled with old memories and ancient mysteries.
While she recovers, Arax meets the mercurial Konstantine. Cold and harsh, he wants nothing to do with her, but she is drawn to him.
Who is this man? What is this place? And why, of all things, does she feel most at peace by his touch?
An alpha meant to rule since birth, Konstantine has had a life filled with political turmoil, betrayal, and loss. To deny himself almost everything for the sake of duty means survival, including keeping the one destined for him from being dragged into the uncertainty of his world
When a teenage couple go missing, the police aren’t too concerned. Young lovers often make bad choices.
Then a body is found near a Suffolk lighthouse, and shortly after, two girls seem to vanish into thin air.
Freshly promoted DI Ashley Knight knows she has a battle on her hands to keep the public safe, and she’s going to need expert help. Ashley turns to her old protégé, Hector Fade, seconded from The Met to analyse an avalanche of data. But neither Hector nor Ashley are prepared for the chilling connection his work uncovers to the body by the lighthouse.
Ashley, Hector and the team must break down a fiendishly complicated network of people smugglers, but another victim is found at Horsey Mere and their worst suspicions are realised. A member of the gang has gone rogue and is taking lives for fun. When Hector uncovers a pattern in the choice of victim, time is against the detectives to stop the murderer killing again.
Ross Greenwood is back with a brand new, heart-pounding case for DI Ashley Knight, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Ian Rankin and Peter James.
I was born in 1973 in Peterborough and lived there until I was 20, attending The King’s School in the city. I then began a rather nomadic existence, living and working all over the country and various parts of the world.
I found myself returning to Peterborough many times over the years, usually when things had gone wrong. It was on one of these occasions that I met my partner about 100 metres from my back door whilst walking a dog. Two children swiftly followed. I’m still a little stunned by the pace of it now.
My first book Chancer was written after I decided to do something challenging while my knees permitted. No skydiving for me. I became a prison officer for four years. Ironically it was the four a.m. feed which gave me the opportunity to finish the book as unable to get back to sleep I completed it in the early morning hours.
It’s surprising for me to realise I’ve written sixteen books now. There are three strands, one where the books concern lives affected by prison, and then my detective series starring DI John Barton.
The first Barton book, The Snow Killer hit the coveted number one spot on KOBO and AUDIBLE, with the rest of the series not far behind. I’ve also written four detective books in a Norfolk series now, starting with Death on Cromer Beach. There are two more planned.
My publishers kindly told me I had reached over half a million sales with them in five years in July 2024. I hope you enjoy reading what I’ve written. Please feel free to get in touch on Facebook, Insta or Twitter
My thoughts: I really like Ashley, and this series puts her front and centre, leading the team as they investigate serious crimes in Norfolk, full of sleepy little villages but also dark deeds.
When a fisherman finds a body floating in Horsey Mere, it shows the police they’re dealing with something much bigger and more serious than they thought. The missing couple and the kidnapped teenagers are part of a larger, horrific criminal network, people traffickers who have been kidnapping women and forcing them into the sex trade. But now one of the gang’s members has started killing.
Determined to put a stop to it and bring the victims home, Ashley and her team work closely with the team from the NCA that includes former colleague Hector. Liaising with Dutch team working that end of the case gives them the knowledge that East Anglia is where the gang has fled, having lost several of their number in mainland Europe.
As they tighten the net around the remaining people smugglers and work to identify their killer, big risks are being taken and the team risks losing someone they used to work closely with.
There’s lots of action, even car chases, which in the quiet Norfolk lanes is pretty uncommon, it just isn’t a place that you imagine being a crime hot-spot, at least not the bits I’ve visited. But that’s probably the point.
There’s a brief cameo from DCI Barton too, as some of the case requires operating on his patch in Peterborough, and in the prison there too.
I really enjoyed this book, I’m a fan of the author’s work so this was basically just a delight for me. Ashley is shaping up to be a really impressive detective and her team (even Barry) are great too.
*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 