If you’re looking for a VERY dark MM romance with Fight Club vibes, From Best to Bested is now available!
From Best To Bested
Publication Date: January 13, 2025
Genre: Dark MM Romance/ Fighting
Pitch Black Romance
Hero to Zero
Forced Proximity
Fight Club Vibes
Roman Grayson has turned his prison stint into an opportunity of fame by becoming the reigning champion in an underground fight club. But when he’s dethroned by a new inmate, Roman quickly loses everything that made his incarceration bearable. From the extra perks of being champion, to the authority of keeping fellow inmates in line, all the way to his best friend being forced to room with the man who stole everything from Roman.
In a desperate attempt to win back his title and respect, Roman challenges the new reigning champion to a rematch, but Ezra Delgado only wants one thing from Roman. His pride. Roman has more enemies than he can count in the form of hostile inmates, angry guards, and a corrupt warden who’d gladly see Roman dead so long as it made a profit. If he wants to survive, Roman will have to decide how much of himself he’s willing to sacrifice for Ezra’s entertainment.
A cosy mystery with a dash of romance set in the vibrant world of jazz.
During an interview with reclusive jazz singer Betty Brown, journalist Virginia Farrell is shown priceless tapes from the iconic 1957 Thelonious Monk-John Coltrane gig at the Five Spot. When Betty is found murdered, Virginia is determined to recover the tapes and uncover the truth behind Betty’s death.
In the spirit of Nancy Drew, Virginia teams up with her six-foot blonde roommate to investigate the various suspects. Detective Robert Smith from the Hoboken Police Department joins the case, quickly becoming absorbed by an unsolved murder possibly linked to Betty Brown’s death, as well as an undeniable attraction to Virginia.
Dashiki is a cosy mystery laced with romance, immersing readers in the captivating world of jazz, where musicians, journalists, scholars, and enthusiasts intersect in an entertaining whodunit.
Florence Wetzel was born 1962 in Brooklyn, NY. Her novels include the thriller The Woman Who Went Overboard and the Swedish mystery The Grand Man.
She has also authored horror short stories, a book of poems and memoir essays, and co-authored jazz clarinettist Perry Robinson’s autobiography. In July 2024, she published Sara My Sara: A Memoir of Friendship and Loss.
Giveaway to Win a Paperback copy of Dashiki by Florence Wetzel (Open to UK / US / Canada only)
My thoughts: I like some jazz music and have certainly heard of a lot of the musicians mentioned in this book, which centres around the murder of Betty Brown – who was part of the jazz scene when John Coltrane’s star was in the ascendant.
Now living quietly in New Jersey, she agrees to an interview with reporter Virginia, who is thrilled to speak to her. Only later that day, tragedy strikes.
Despite the police investigating, Virginia decides she should also try to find out who killed Betty and why. A box of tapes from a Coltrane gig with Thelonious Monk was stolen at the same time – a priceless box, which jazz fans would possibly do anything to hear the tapes. No other recording of the show exists.
As Detective Robert Johnson investigates, Virginia, with the help of her flatmate Socks, is also on the case. She knows the jazz world, he the criminal. Who will find the killer and does it have anything to do with the tapes, or possibly something else in Betty’s past?
I really liked Virginia, she’s passionate about jazz, but also about finding Betty’s killer, she liked talking to her and wanted to help her, seeing this as a way to do so. I also liked the detective, desperate to avoid being a walking cliche – no doughnuts, but he’d given in to the power of Sinatra! Both characters were relatable and well written, I could picture them clearly in my mind and enjoyed their developing relationship. Perhaps there’s further adventures in store for them?
Witty, entertaining and clever, this was a fun, musical, whodunnit.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
** Terms and Conditions –UK / US & Canada entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.**
As dawn breaks, four people are planning journeys that could change their lives forever…
Kara McIntyre is supposed to be jetting off to her destination wedding in Hawaii. However, a last-minute hitch appears to have left her without a job, home and, more importantly, a fiancé.
TV sensation Ollie Chiles and Kara always have each other’s backs. But when his wife goes viral in a compromising clinch with another man, Ollie must choose between supporting his best friend in her hour of need or going home to save his marriage.
Alice Brookes is flying away to a new life after surviving a horrendous marriage and a very public scandal… until a stranger brings a letter from the past that could change everything.
After saying goodbye to someone he loves, Zac Conlan should be heading back to Dublin. Now a shocking discovery is threatening to change his plans and his future.
When weather delays their flights, Kara, Ollie, Alice and Zac discover that storms are brewing… and the turbulence is about to shake their worlds.
Shari Low is the #1 bestselling author of over 30 novels, including My One Month Marriage and One Summer Sunrise and a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So. She lives near Glasgow.
My thoughts: I love these interconnected stories of Shari’, set in Glasgow, with a cast of delightful characters, Val (who I adore) and Alice (from One Long Weekend) are back, it’s been a year since those events.
Alice is planning to move to Reading to be near her son Rory and his girlfriend Sophie, Val’s planning to drop her at the airport. But then Alice learns that an old friend has died, she has just enough time to attend the funeral before she needs to leave. There she meets Zac, her childhood friend Morag’s son, and he has some questions.
Meanwhile Kara has just quit her job and ditched her unsupportive fiancé, and still has to get to the airport to fly to Hawaii and see her sister Drea down the aisle, even while wallowing in her self-pity. Her best friend, Ollie, is also heading there, while his spoilt wife becomes an online sensation and he has to make some big decisions.
As all these different people hope the heavy January weather doesn’t delay their flights, stories collide and the past, present and future hang in the balance.
I enjoyed this so much, I loved seeing Alice’s story finally get its happy ending, and Val still roaring around in her yellow jeep. Kara, Ollie and Zac also get to make some huge decisions and change their lives, hopefully for the best.
*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 Jude Gray and DI Binnie Khatri join a local walking group, their expectations for a peaceful outing to the Malvern Hills takes a grim turn. Arguments abound, and the hike ends in tragedy when one of the walkers is found dead in her car. Initially ruled as an accident, Jude’s instincts tell her there’s more to the story.
As Jude and Binnie dig deeper, they uncover tensions and secrets within the group. From hidden affairs to longstanding rivalries, it becomes clear this death was no accident. With each revelation, the danger grows. Can Jude and Binnie unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again?
A gripping addition to the Malvern Farm Mystery series, perfect for fans of Frances Evesham, Merryn Allingham, and Faith Martin.
Kate Wells is the author of a number of well-reviewed books for children, and is now writing a new cosy crime series set in the Malvern hills, inspired by the farm where she grew up. Boldwood will publish the first title, Murder at Malvern Farm, in August 2023.
My thoughts: Malvern is supposed to be very beautiful but considering the number of crimes, especially murders, that Jude and Binnie come across, I think I’ll skip visiting!
This time Jude is invited by Binnie to join a local walking group with her dogs, led by the rather strident former police detective Joyce. She seems to upset a few members but she isn’t the first victim of this killer, that’s another member, Becca, who is forced off the road in her car.
Is the walking group cursed? Or is something else going on? As Jude (unofficially) and Binnie (officially) investigate the deaths, and the members of the group as that seems to be the link, they uncover a series of secrets hidden under the sensible waterproof jackets and walking boots.
Clever and full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing, enjoyable as ever and with changes coming to Jude’s farm and life, will crime solving keep her from worrying about that?
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Title: Born of Blood and Shadows by Jamye Smith (The Heirs of Elysium Book 1)
Author: Jamye Smith
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Tropes:
Morally Grey FMC/Anti-hero
He Falls First
Fae Bargains
Bonds
Elemental Magic
Political Intrigue
Shadow Daddy
Magic is dangerous. Bound magic is deadly.
Left vulnerable to relentless witch hunters, Ameris will go any length to unbind her magic. Even bargain with Xander, the dangerously attractive fae heir. Caught in a whirlwind of ambition and lust, Ameris agrees to save him in exchange for learning fae magic.
Allies are scarce. Trust is a luxury.
With the witch hunters closing in, Ameris and Xander enact a blood bond, transporting them to the fae kingdom of Elysium. In a world torn by ancient vendettas and ruled by the shadow king, Oberon, Ameris discovers her unbound magic may be key to the throne.
Unbound & used for her power.
Xander will use any tool in his quest to rule – including the sexual tension between them, magnified by their blood bond. Oberon will do whatever it takes to keep the throne and make Ameris his. And he’s not afraid to play dirty to win.
The throne is the prize. Lust is the game.
Captured by Oberon, Ameris is seduced by the very darkness she’s warned about. Torn between the intoxicating allure of Oberon’s shadow magic and her intense bond with Xander, Ameris is left with no choice:
A once-famous dancer faces a heartbreaking choice in this thrilling novel set in the cutthroat world of Russian ballet
‘Outside the rounded window of the plane, the lights of St Petersburg glimmer through the clouds… The city is utterly familiar and unknown at the same time; it is the face of someone you used to love…’
Prima ballerina Natalia Leonova was once celebrated across the world, her signature bravura in demand on stages from St Petersburg to Paris and New York. But at the peak of her career, a devastating accident forces her to retire.
Injured and alone, the ghosts of Natalia’s former life begin to resurface: her loving, but difficult mother, her impoverished childhood, the friendships destroyed by her single-minded ambition. Above all, she remembers the two gifted dancers, Dmitri and Alexander, who were responsible for her soaring highs, her darkest hours and, ultimately, her downfall.
When Dmitri resurfaces with a tantalising offer for Natalia to make a comeback in her signature role of Giselle, she must decide whether she should risk everything for the chance to dance again.
Painting a captivating portrait of a world in which ruthless determination, romantic desire and sublime artistry collide, CITY OF NIGHT BIRDS unveils the making of a dancer with profound intimacy and breathtaking scope.
Juhea Kim was born in South Korea, raised in Portland, Oregon and now lives in London. She is the author of the novel Beasts of a Little Land, (Oneworld 2021) which has sold over 20,000 copies. It won the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award, Russia’s largest annual prize in literature, and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. She received a BA in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University, and her writing has been published in Granta, The Times Literary Supplement, the Independent, Zyzzyva, Guernica and elsewhere. Ballet has been a passion all Juhea’s life. She studied ballet from the age of nine and took it up again while writing City of Night Birds.
My thoughts: This was so, so good. I was completely drawn into Natalia’s world, the rigidly controlled, intense world of Russian Ballet, the passions and jealousies, the complex and often messy relationships between the dancers and their art.
Looking back over her impoverished childhood, the strict training at the Mariinsky company and the heights of her career as a soloist at the Bolshoi and Paris ballet companies, Natalia (Natasha to her friends, in the Russian tradition), charts the friendships, rivalries and romances that she has never fully understood or emotionally dealt with, either on stage or off.
I am familiar with both St Petersburg and Moscow, as well as Paris, the locations Natalia lives and loves in. Her mother’s Soviet era crumbling apartment building, the opulence of the theatres where she performs, brought vividly to life through the incredible writing of Juhea Kim, detailed and compelling.
I am a huge ballet fan, and love books written about the art form – both fiction and non-fiction, but I think even someone with little or only a passing interest in dance would enjoy this for the very human emotions – set in juxtaposition to the rigidly enforced rules of Russian ballet. The characters are beautifully rendered, their claustrophobic world, where the only people they really see are other dancers, the quasi incestuous nature of their tangled relationships are just *chef’s kiss*
We’re only in January and already I know this is going to be a reading highlight of 2025 for 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.
We have a great book recommendation for you today! Shadowborn Sorceress by Mandi Oyster is now available and if you love fated mates, clean romance, and a strong FMC, you’re going to love this!
Shadowborn Sorceress: A New Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Shadows of the Loess Hills Book 1)
Publication Date: October 25, 2024
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Tropes:
Chosen One, Fated Mates, Snarky Cat Familiar, Clean Romance, Hidden Magic, Good vs. Evil, Strong FMC
The past always comes back to haunt you.
On her eighteenth birthday—half-demon, half-sorceress—Molly Ravenwood, flees her cabal, leaving magic and abuse behind. She embraces a mundane life in Glenwood, Iowa, trading the arcane for serving lattes at Harvest Moon Coffee Shop. The only reminders of her past are the shadows that torment her and Schmendrick, her snarky immortal cat.
When Caelan, her former friend and guardian from the cabal, shows up with news that her mom has been kidnapped, Molly is dragged back into a world of magic and monsters.
As dark forces and old wounds resurface, Molly must confront her demons, literally and figuratively, to save her mother—and learn to accept herself—before it’s too late.
Welcome to the tour for Kay Clancy’s witchy fantasy, Spells & Spices! Read on for more info!
Spells & Spices
Publication Date: October 1, 2024
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Witchy
Spells and rituals
Witches
Lots of food
Magiked cupcakes
Caribbean culture
Romance
Hold on to your broomsticks and get ready for a magically delicious ride in “Spells & Spices,” a tale brewed in a Caribbean cauldron!
Join Aditi Crawley, a spirited young witch of Caribbean descent, as she teams up with her crafty grandmother, an eclectic coven of six, and her trusted corgi familiar to unravel ancient secrets and face off against a dark evil threatening Raven’s Peak, Georgia.
Amid whispered hexes and magicked cupcakes, Aditi’s path entwines with Alexander, a mysterious celestial witch with secrets as potent as the strongest potion. Together, they brew up a slow-burn romance sparked by a shared desire to do what is right and an exploration of each other’s cultures through food. But watch out – danger lurks in the shadows, ready to cast a spell on their newfound love.
Get ready for a spellbinding adventure brimming with intrigue, laughter, self-discovery, and family bonds, all seasoned with Caribbean flavors. It’s a witchy delight that’ll leave you craving more magic and mystery!
Morwenna Mutton should be living the quiet life of a librarian and grandmother in Cornwall’s beautiful Seal Bay – if only dead bodies would stop turning up…
After the excitement of her last investigation, amateur sleuth Morwenna is looking forward to things getting back to normal. When local DJ Irina asks to meet however, desperate to share information she has discovered regarding nefarious goings-on, Morwenna can’t resist. But Irina never arrives for their drink – instead her body is washed up on the beach, an apparent victim of an accidental drowning. At once keen wild bather Morwenna knows something is amiss as Irina was a strong swimmer who knew the local conditions well. What had Irina uncovered and who would want her dead?
When the local news dubs Irina’s murderer The Cream Tea Killer in honour of Cornwall’s famous delicacy, the clock starts ticking. Now the murderer knows Morwenna is on their trail, no one in her family is safe. She must get to the truth before the killer gets to her…
If you love The Thursday Murder Club, Agatha Christie and Richard Coles then you’ll love The Morwenna Mutton mysteries.
Judy Leigh is the USA Today bestselling author of The Old Girls’ Network and Five French Hens and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.
My thoughts: This is a really fun series set in a fictional village in one of my favourite parts of the country – Cornwall (don’t tell my Devonian relatives but I take my scones the Cornish way – jam first!)
Morwenna is up to her eyeballs in this case as a friend, local radio DJ Irina is found killed, hours after telling Morwenna she was onto something and needed her help. Morwenna’s reputation as an amateur sleuth and someone with her ear to the ground means that newly arrived DCI Blessed asks for her help to catch the killer. But what Morwenna uncovers goes much further than a single death.
Despite the heavy subject matter, the tone of this series is always light and there’s plenty of humour and Cornish-ness too. Morwenna’s granddaughter is still after a puppy and promises the practice the way of peace, rather than punching annoying bullies, in order to twist her family’s arms into getting one. Always very funny.
A gripping and entertaining read from first to last page, more please!
*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 celebrating the ‘sinfully’ spicy release of Summer’s Seduction by C.L. Briar. You’re going to want to bump something on your TBR for this!
Summer’s Seduction: A Sinful Seasons Novel
Publication Date: December 31, 2024
Genre: Dark Romance/ Dark Fantasy Romance
Witches
Greek Gods
Vampires
Blud Play
Dark & Spicy
Mental Health
Morpheus couldn’t be trusted. He was the son of Hypnos, the god responsible for aiding Demeter, killing witches, and stealing my little sister. Morpheus had the rest of them fooled with his smug grin, sharp cheekbones, and golden eyes glinting with sex and privilege, but I saw through his cocky smirk.
Hades thought Morpheus would keep me in line, prevent me from making thing worse for The Underworld in this war, but neither of them realized just how far I was wiling to go to save my sister.
The first hint of her fear scented the air. A piece of me crumpled at the knowledge that I was the cause of it. I wished to the depths of my soul that this could’ve been different. In another life, another rebirth, perhaps we might’ve stood a chance.
ramblingmads 