The sparkling NEW Christmas Romance from the author of A Wedding in Cornwall!
Quirky, creative, and dedicated to their work, window dressers Nina and Molly can’t believe the news from the upscale staging and design company which occasionally hires them as extras during the Christmas season: their tiny New York company has just been tapped to create a magical Christmas window and showroom display for London’s newest designer fashion boutique!
With their trusty assistant in tow, they catch a plane across the Pond, making their way to the historic former department store with a unique past in Parkleigh Square—and their once-in-a-lifetime chance to impress the ultimate client, legendary fashion designer Simone Van Stewart.
But a humiliating encounter with the London branch’s new frosty director reveals a tragic truth — the duo was hired by mistake. With time running out before the store’s unveiling, and the best window stagers already booked, however, Nina and Molly have been given a tentative trial period to prove they can do the job – and they’ll need a miracle to survive it. Battling deadlines, a delivery disaster, and their own personal doubts, it seems their dream assignment could soon spiral into their worst nightmare.
Not everybody at the exclusive store for Van Stewart is against them, however. Rugged, handsome fashion designer Vincent is supportive of their chances, and makes Nina’s heart race whenever their paths cross. Can she risk romance with an ocean between their two worlds, and with all her future plans and dreams at stake? Her friend Molly worries she’s getting in over her head—but Molly has her own complications to worry about, both personal and professional, as the dream team from Queens searches for the key to make Parkleigh Square’s newest business come alive with Christmas magic, which may just lie in histories both beloved and forgotten.
Filled with flurries of romance, friendship, humor, and heartwarming revelations, A Nightingale in Parkleigh Square is the must-read new release of the Christmas season.
Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller ‘A Wedding in Cornwall’. She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.
When Italy’s greatest opera singer, Rodolfo Argento, is killed in a terrible car accident, the police initially rule his death a tragic accident or suicide. But his elderly mother, Violetta, believes this to be poppycock! Her son was a brilliant driver and had too much to live for. She suspects foul play and turns to Private Investigator, Dan Armstrong to discover the truth.
A cheating spouse?
So Dan and Oscar travel to Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet, to find out what really happened. There Dan discovers Rodolfo’s private life could have come straight out of a Shakespeare play. Although now happily married, Rodolfo was a man with a reputation to rival Casanova, his past strewn with heartbroken women. Could his death have been a star-crossed lover determined to get revenge?
A family feud?
Or does the truth lie much closer to home? With his large inheritance still to be settled, the motive for Rodolfo’s murder could simply be greed. As Dan searches for suspects while staying at the Argento Opera Academy (where people randomly launch into operatic arias.) life for Dan is complicated by the fact that Oscar has a habit of joining in with the singing…
Can Dan solve the case before he and his tone-deaf dog get thrown out?
I’ve written all sorts: thrillers, historical novels, short stories and now I’m enjoying myself hugely writing romance and whodunnits. Romantic comedies are what we all need from time to time. Life isn’t always very fair. It isn’t always a lot of fun, but when it is, we need to embrace it. Murder mystery is all very well, but it needs to put a smile on your face, so that’s why I like to inject some humour.
My thoughts: I love this cover, with Oscar playing a canine Romeo in his smart yellow bow tie!
This time we’re in Verona, where Dan and Anna (and Oscar) are invited to stay at the Argento Operatic Academy while investigating the death of opera singer Rodolfo, whose family own the academy. He crashed his car into a tree, speeding, but his mother believes the police are wrong in assuming it was suicide or a tragic accident.
Dan asks a lot of questions and Oscar gets a girlfriend! All of his questions do seem to be leading to murder, and he’s got plenty of suspects to rule out, from family members, Rodolfo’s agent, staff at the Academy, various locals the singer either seduced or their husbands, it’s a lot to sort through.
Dan works with the local police to find out who the killer was and also why they killed Rodolpho. It almost leads to another death, and things get a bit intense, but thankfully things work themselves out. Though Oscar’s romance with fellow Labrador Elektra has yet to be resolved.
*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’re celebration the release of Neon is the Colour of Vengeance: A Tragic and Spicy MM Mafia Romance by Elanor Miller!
Anyone who is a fan of this era and aesthetic will love the prequel companion novel in Elanor Miller’s Flappers & False Gods series.
Neon is the Colour of Vengeance : A Tragic and Spicy MM Mafia Romance (Flappers and False Gods)
Publication Date: November 5, 2024
✨MM Mafia Romance❤️🔥 ✨Enemies to lovers 🔪 ✨Spicy🌶️🥵 ✨Tragic💔 ✨Reveņge plot🩸 ✨Set in a futuristic Gatsby era🍸 ✨John Wick/Peaky Blinders vibes🔫
He loved. He lost. He killed.
The year is 2423, and the Jazz Age is in full swing—again.
Hugo Ford is the most dangerous man in Tenebrium City. A mafia hitman with a singular focus, born and raised to do one thing—and he does it very well. He completes every mission. He cashes every chit. He never misses and he never fails…that is, until he’s tasked with killing Evan Carter.
Inexplicably drawn to the man, Hugo finds himself unable to kill him. Never before in his life has he disobeyed one of his boss’s orders, but there is just something about Evan Carter. Forced to form an uneasy alliance, the pair strike a deal to save Evan’s life and cover up Hugo’s failings hoping to deliver them both from a grisly fate at the hands of Tenebrium’s mafia and Hugo’s own family.
Enemies at first, unsure of who to trust and where to turn, it isn’t long before they have to confront their feeling for one another. On the streets rival families war as the pair fall irrevocably, desperately, in love. But their secret won’t stay secret forever.
Far too soon all is laid bare with deadly consequences and Hugo must ask himself: how far is he willing to go for revenge?
Beware this is a tale of love, death, grief and vengeance with no happy ending.
By night or neon light, he will have his revenge…
Neon is the Colour of Vengeance is set in the same futuristic Gatsby era as my Flappers & False Gods series and can be read as a standalone or prequel companion novel as it features entirely new characters.
Lovers of John Wick and Peaky Blinders will find a home in Tenebrium City’s dark underworld.
In a world that long lost its moral axis, free will was the chain that tied a God’s vengeance to his entertainment. With nothing but hope to keep her dark thoughts afloat, Tiadola waited for centuries for the preordained trials that would end her life to begin. But nothing could have prepared her for the moment they were set in motion by encountering the dragon compelled to hunt her. When the stranger she thought the dragon had sent after her quickly becomes her friend instead, the lines between want and need become a blur as they embark together on a journey towards her imminent trials. Caught between her desire to continue living in order to save the human realms and the mental warfare that the trials would entail, would she be able to become the first of her kind to win?
My thoughts: I really like dragons but I didn’t like the dragon in this. He’s compelled to hunt down and essentially psychically torture Tiadola to death, and he seems to find it very amusing. What Tia has to go through, in their mental battles, designed to kill her, is cruel and brutal.
There is a cute baby dragon too, and she was very sweet, but the old dragon is not. More cute baby dragon content please!
It’s also a very spicy romance too as Tia and her “stranger” fall hard for one another and with nothing to lose, as Tia is pretty sure she’ll be dead soon, they set to making the most of it. As one of my friend’s said about another book “there’s a lot of bonking going on!”
I found the politics and the different species a bit confusing to get my head round, I’m still not entirely sure what Made and Born means, but hopefully in the next book that will be expanded on more as change comes to the kingdom on the heels of war.
Triggers/CW: Violence, existential angst, loss, death and sexually explicit content.
When a ruthless gang burgles the home of a Premier League football player, DCI Gavin Roscoe and DS Sunita Roy suddenly have a murder and a kidnap on their hands. The footballer’s stepson, Marcel, is taken from the palatial property whilst it is being ransacked, and his bodyguard is shot, stone cold dead.
To help them with their task, DI Parkes from the National Crime Agency’s Kidnap Unit joins the investigation but he has very different ideas about how the operation should be run.
While rain lashes the surrounding countryside, tempers rise, as do the flood waters. Can the police track down this dangerous gang, unmask its malevolent ringleader, and reunite the boy with his family before it’s too late?
IT NEVER RAINS is the sixth book in the detectives Roy and Roscoe crime fiction series by Tony Bassett.
Tony Bassett is a former journalist who worked on regional and national newspapers in Britain for more than 40 years. He mainly reported on crime, show business, human interest and consumer topics. Now retired, he writes crime fiction. Tony is best known for his series of novels set in the West Midlands. They feature Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Roscoe, an experienced detective and family man, and his sergeant, law graduate and resourceful problem-solver Sunita Roy.
The fifth book in the series, Heir To Murder, was judged first in the Mystery and Suspense (Police Procedurals) category in the American Fiction Awards in June 2024. The novel concerns a peer of the realm’s son found axed to death after a row over loud music. Two years earlier, his older brother mysteriously disappeared while hiking in Spain. Here is the Amazon link The series is published by The Book Folks, an independent London publisher specialising in crime fiction.
Other books in the series (in order) are: Murder On Oxford Lane, The Crossbow Stalker, Murder Of A Doctor and Out for Revenge. His stand-alone thriller Seat 97, about a man shot dead at a London concert hall, has also been published by The Book Folks. Two further works (the crime novel Smile Of The Stowaway and the spy novel The Lazarus Charter) were published by The Conrad Press.
Tony first developed a love of writing at the age of nine when he produced a junior school magazine. A few years later, his local vicar in Tunbridge Wells staged his play about the Biblical story of Naboth’s Vineyard. At Hull University, Tony was judged Time-Life Magazine student journalist of the year in 1971.
Tony, who has five grown-up children, is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists. He lives in South-East London with his partner Lin
My thoughts: This was a very clever, interesting police procedural and DS Sunita Roy does tremendous work unravelling the case and finding the missing boy. Unlike the twit they’ve been landed with from the NCA’s Kidnap Unit – DI Parkes, who just seems to have useless ideas and get under foot. At one point I thought he might be the man on the inside, so inept is his involvement.
Thankfully the rest of the team, and DCI Roscoe aren’t idiots and follow the evidence. Which shows a much larger, and more complicated conspiracy than it first appeared.
Another great read from Tony Bassett, a man who knows how to write a gripping and intelligent story.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Fruit Woman is narrated by Helen Scutt, a quirky and naïve twenty-seven-year-old.
The image of the Fruit Woman has appeared to Helen at important times in her life, particularly in relation to her own sexual and spiritual awakening. But only now, while on holiday with her extended family, does she get her first warning message from the Fruit Woman.
Set in the l980s, Helen returns with her extended family, after a twelve year break, to spend a fortnight at their favourite holiday destination in Devon: Myrtle Cottages. Due to join them for the second week of the holiday are: Helen’s old friend, Bella, Bella’s brother, Dominic, and Helen’s cousin, Les. But shortly after the family have arrived on holiday, Helen’s mother announces that she has also invited along someone from church for the second week of their holiday: Christine Wigg, a friend of the family, and victim of a rape several years before.
In the context of the family holiday, where games of cards, scatological worries, and deep discussions abound, the story centres on Helen’s anxieties over the second week’s ‘guestlist’. She’s not seen Bella for years, she’s attracted to Dominic in spite of his religious beliefs, and she thinks it a bad idea for her mother to have invited Les, who was originally accused of Christine’s rape by her in-laws.
Helen’s concerns trigger off all sorts of childhood and adolescent memories, but as her anxieties mount, can she make sense at last of what happened years before?
Kate Rigby has been writing for many decades and is widely published. She’s mainly written novels, many of them hard-hitting and/or edgy. She’s been published by traditional and small presses before going independent and embracing the digital technology. She’s also written & published short stories, flash fiction and poems and is currently writing memoirs. She was diagnosed with autism and ADHD late in life which has been life-changing. She has started a Facebook group for autistic book lovers as well as a second blog called Authistic Words. She is also an M.E. and Fibromyalgia warrior, a hyperhidrosis and migraine sufferer and has suffered lifelong anxiety. Her other interests are reading, music, photography, cats & LFC.
TO STEAL A MAN’S FREEDOM ALL IT TAKES IS . . . CONVICTION
Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept before burning the family home to the ground.
When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could be the career making case she’s been waiting for. But only if she can prove Wade’s innocence.
A matter of days before the case, as Neve is travelling home for the night, she is approached by a man. He tells her she must lose this case or the secret about her own husband’s disappearance will be revealed.
Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about until she follows orders.
Neve must make a choice – betray every principle she has ever had by putting a potentially innocent man in prison, or risk putting those she loves in mortal danger.
For fans of Steve Cavanagh, Linwood Barclay and Gillian McAllister, introducing the latest novel from the master of the moral dilemma, Jack Jordan.
My thoughts: Neve has been handed the biggest case of her career – defending a man accused of murdering his family and burning his house down to cover up his crimes. Then she is told that she must get him convicted. His late wife’s family are willing to kill her’s to ensure this happens. They’re positive he’s guilty, and even if he isn’t, tough.
Neve is placed in a difficult position, an impossible one. Her client insists he’s innocent but Neve becomes less sure as the case goes on. Can she throw the trial and have an innocent man locked up or is he as guilty as his wife’s family says?
Clever, gripping and full of twists, this is another brilliant thriller from Jack Jordan, with a fascinating, conflicted protagonist and a complex moral dilemma at its heart.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Feisty country girl Annabeth Hope has sworn off men since her ex abandoned her. Juggling three resentful step-teens, a hyperactive toddler, a smallholding, and a herd of rescued llamas, she has her hands full. With the roof about to collapse on her crumbling New Forest home, she is desperate to find a way to hold her patchwork family together. The last thing she needs is an attractive distraction moving in next door.
Burnt-out inner-city doctor Rick Mahon has left London and his medical career behind in a moment of professional crisis. A malpractice lawsuit is on the horizon, and the cancel culture mob are snapping at his heels. His plan to stay under the radar is thrown off course when he meets his new neighbour and sparks start to fly. Annabeth and Rick couldn’t be more different, but maybe they hold the key to each other’s happiness…
“What more could we want from life? Family, friends, llamas, and hope… An excellent read.” Jenny Kane, author of the bestselling Mill Grange Series.
A former GP surgery manager, school librarian and art teacher, Alice May is mum to four not-so-small children. She is married to the most patient man on the planet, and they live in the New Forest. Alice started writing in 2016 and she enjoyed playing with words so much that now she can’t stop.
Choosing a publishing route for your manuscript, by Alice May
The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope is the first book in ten years of writing that I haven’t taken down the self-publishing route. Instead, I was offered a publishing contract by The Book Guild. While I have enjoyed the freedom of self-publishing in the past, it has been an enlightening experience working with talented publishing professionals on this new release.
My first book was a memoir. The House That Sat Down Trilogy is based on the time that my house fell down out of the blue one day and I ended up living in a tent in the garden with my children because our house insurance company refused to cover us. Once we had rebuilt our home and moved back in, I started writing to get my head around how that situation had unfolded. Before long I had a manuscript. I decided to self-publish through Amazon KDP. Every part of the process of putting that book together was driven by me. I had to source editing advice, cover creation expertise, technical advice, marketing advice, and then put it all together. There it was. My book. Publishing it had taken me on a huge journey of discovery. A journey that had inspired me to make writing my full-time career.
Having been bitten by the writing bug, I decided I wanted to write fiction. I wasn’t naïve, though, I knew I had a lot to learn. A whole series of writing courses followed, and then a period of time submitting manuscripts to agents and publishers with the inevitable painful rejections. Developing my work through constructive feedback was an enlightening process. Eventually the day dawned when an email fell into my inbox that wasn’t a rejection. My dreams had come true. The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope had found a home with a publisher. I had to read that acceptance email several times before I could believe it.
Given that self-publishing gives you complete creative control, I was more nervous than I expected handing over my Annabeth Hope book baby to the control of others, but I haven’t been disappointed. At each stage of the editing, typesetting, cover creation, production and marketing process I have been supported by positive and very patient publishing professionals. I ask a lot of daft questions. They explain everything clearly and help me negotiate my way. I thought I would not get any say in layouts, cover design or the overall look of my book, but that hasn’t been the case. My opinion counts too. I was even allowed to contribute some artwork to the cover. The silhouette of Annabeth with her daughter Grace that appears on the front cover is taken from a sketch I did of my daughter and granddaughter; and that makes me feel really connected with every part of the book.
Now, the question in the back of my mind is which route should I take with future books? (The sequel to The Mid-Life Trials of Annabeth Hope is nearly finished.) The short answer is: both.
On the one hand, I like the control and speed of self-publishing. On the other, I could get very used to the support and teamwork involved in working with a publishing house. I think it is good to have options, and depending on the needs of whichever project I am working on, I am open to using both publishing routes again. The important thing is to get stories out into the world for readers to enjoy.
I really hope you enjoy The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope. A story of families, friends, hope and love. There are llamas in it too. What more could you want?
Welcome to the tour for Bound Across Time by Annie R. McEwen. Read on for more details!
Bound Across Time
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Genre: Romance w/ Supernatural Elements/ Witches
For Fans of A Discovery of Witches & Practical Magic
CeCe Gowdie. Historian, rational, scorns the paranormal. When her boss orders her to convert her Welsh castle tours to ghost walks, she thinks that’s the worst that can happen. It is, until one midnight in the castle tower she meets Patrick—handsome, passionate, dead since 1761.
Patrick O’Loinsigh. Bastard son of an earl, brought from Ireland only to be murdered by his half-brother. The moment Patrick sees CeCe he claims her as his own, a claim neither of them understands but can’t resist.
CeCe’s body won’t survive loving a ghost, but losing him will tear her heart to pieces. Patrick can’t bear watching CeCe die by inches, but releasing her will hurl him back to a hellish half-life without her. Is there hope in the prophecy of an ancient Irish seer? The spells of Welsh witches? Or is the alchemy of love enough to bridge time and defeat death?
Happy publication day to author Elsa Jacobs and congratulations on the release of Runaway Hearts!
Runaway Hearts: Seduced by Danger
Publication Date: November 1, 2025
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Bad Boy & Good Girl (Turns Bad-Ass)
Action & Suspense
He Gives Her Control
Slow Burn
Dark Vibes
Marianne, a young woman hungry for a fresh start, can’t wait for her beach house getaway. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she picks up a mysterious hitchhiker on the way.
The irresistible stranger is the sole heir of a Japanese organization, and despite Marianne’s own anxiety struggles, she can’t say no to someone in need. As they travel together, swapping past traumas and dreams, love sparks. To heal her troubled mind, she must embrace her true desires, no matter how twisted they seem.
But as love deepens, an enemy from the man’s past threatens to pull them apart. In the midst of looming danger, Marianne must choose between sticking to her anxious ways or diving into the unknown for true love.
Get ready for a wild ride where each page brings new revelations and perils, leading to a destination unlike any other.
Runaway Hearts is a slow burn, steamy, contemporary romantic suspense with morally questionable characters and dark themes. HEA.
Runaway Heart is a spicy romantic suspense on the unconventional side. This novel contains themes and content that some readers may find disturbing or unsettling. It explores dark and intense subject matter, including but not limited to suicide, domestic violence, abuse, addiction, and mental illness. Reader discretion is advised. No cheating or non-con between MCs. For a list of all TW, please refer to the author’s website at Trigger Warnings.
ramblingmads 