Tag: fantasy

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Nocturne – K.G. Bolingbroke

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Nocturne is the type of gothic tale we live for at R&R Book Tours! This is the book for you if you love:

  • Arranged marriage
  • First person POV
  • Gothic vibes
  • Moral ambiguity
  • Political intrigue
  • Ottoman Empire
  • Vlad the Impaler

Nocturne

Release Date: March 25, 2025

Genre: Gothic Historical Fiction

After a series of humiliating betrothal rejections from princes throughout Europe, the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor gets engaged to the mysterious Prince of Romania. Wary of a betrothal to this enigmatic prince, she has no choice but to follow her father’s orders.

In a new land that borders the Ottoman Empire where hostilities and conflicts could escalate any moment, her new role is to help her husband secure political alliances. At the same time, she discovers that the prince she married is the son of the infamous Vlad the Impaler, whose atrocious actions are nightmarish. This shocking revelation is followed by a host of unfathomable and seemingly supernatural incidents, leaving her isolated and afraid in a foreign land.

Dreading to discover if her husband inherited the cruelty of his father, but unable to flee unescorted due to the looming threat of seen and unseen enemies, she must find out the truth behind the strange events in order to convince the Emperor to allow her return home. In her pursuit to return to the safety of Austria, she learns that there is more to her husband, his deceased father, and this land brimming with superstition and folklore.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

Trigger Warnings:

  • Violence 
  • Sexual assault 
  • Stillbirth
  • Adult innuendo

My thoughts: This was a really interesting take on Dracula, incorporating historical information about Romania in the 1500s, the way Europe was ruled (Hapsburgs, Holy Roman Empire), the war against the Ottomans, and the real Vlad Dracul, aka Vlad the Impaler.

A fictional additional daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor is sent to marry the Prince of Romania, son of the mysterious, and supposedly dead, Vlad. The country is at war with the Ottoman Empire and keen to have the might of the church behind it, the marriage is a political union, and as far as her new husband is concerned, that’s all it needs to be.

With few friends, and a limited understanding of her new home, our heroine, Shoshana, is understandably wary, of her husband, of his court, and of the stories about his father’s brutality.

I enjoyed the mix of real history and fantasy, this is the first in a new series, and considering the prologue, going to be quite a different take on the Dracula story Bram Stoker wrote, which will be interesting.

IG: @kgbolingbroke.author @rrbooktours

TIKTOK: @k.g.bolingbroke @shannon_of_rrbooktours

Tags:

#rrbooktours #rrbtNocturneTour #nocturne #historicalfiction #gothicfiction #ottamanempire #vladtheimpaler #supernaturalbooks #historicalfictionbooks #dracula #vampirebooks #booktours

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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Cover Reveal: Foxes & Poisons – Adina Chiles

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We’re thrilled to present the cover for Foxes & Poisons! This is the first book in a brand-new series by Adina Chiles! Pre-order today!

Foxes & Poisons (The Queen’s Favor #1)

Expected Release Date: November 13, 2025

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

🦊 Predominantly Black Cast
🌿 Seamstress Turned Spy
🪻 Rival Kingdoms & Political Intrigue
🦊 Cozy Vibes Meets High-Stakes Adventure
🌿 Asthmatic Rep
🪻 Banter, Swoon, and Slow-Burn Tension

To escape an arranged marriage, asthmatic seamstress Ariah Tyddle strikes a deal with the Queen of Haymel. In exchange for her freedom, she joins the Foxes— skilled individuals trained in espionage—and struggles to keep up in her new life.

Proving her worth, Ariah is assigned to get close to a rival prince. As she gains his trust and secrets, she unexpectedly, gains his heart. But love for a Fox is forbidden, and when Ariah’s feelings for the prince become requited, she toys with a dangerous fate.

Meanwhile, Prince Iann, the youngest son of the Queen’s sworn enemy, arrives in Haymel with a secret. Iann is on a mission to end a feud and secure access to Farella Isle, where a mythical flower, said to grant immortality, lies hidden. But his growing feelings for Ariah threaten to derail everything.

In a world where secrets bloom like poison and love is the deadliest risk, Ariah and Iann must choose between each other or everything else.

PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON

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Blog Tour: Madame Elridge’s Peculiar Home for Unruly Boys – Benjamin Ryan

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Madame Eldridge’s Wayward Home for Unruly Boys was the 5th place finalist in BBNYA 2024!

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads. 

Deep in the heart of Virginia’s dense backwoods, the Wayward Home for Unruly Boys hides more than just troubled youth. Under Madame Eldridge’s watchful eye, three strict rules govern their behavior

1. What happens here stays here.

2. You must complete all eight steps—no exceptions allowed.

3. Forget your name; you’ll be known only by your problem.

But, there’s one unspoken rule that sends shivers down the boys’ never enter the forbidden third-floor bedroom of the boy who vanished, leaving nothing behind but whispers.

When Vandalize and Stealer defy this warning, they uncover a treasure trove of bewitched artifacts, each with a strange and powerful ability. Using these relics, the boys tackle Madame Eldridge’s whimsical—and often bizarre—challenges, only to learn magic always demands its price.

Amidst the chaos, Fibbsy stumbles upon a peculiar object that sends him hurtling back in time, revealing an unfathomable truth about Madame Eldridge, the eerie town, and the missing boy’s fate. But who will trust the words of a liar?

Bound by the house’s darkest mysteries, Fibbsy, Defiance, Slob, and Secret form an unlikely friendship as they race to unveil the shrouded secrets surrounding the Wayward Home. Together, they confront their deepest fears, uncovering that the real magic lies in facing their own personal demons—and each other.

Amazon Canada USA UK 

Goodreads The Story Graph

Once upon a time, there was a military brat named Benjamin Ryan, who traveled the world and embraced every unique experience he encountered. Being the new kid in town wasn’t always easy, and as he struggled with weight issues, he also had to deal with the hardships of teasing, male friendship, and acceptance. But, he was determined to find his place in the world and used his love for writing to create adventures that would transport him to a different world, where he could see things from a new perspective.

Through his writing, Benjamin Ryan discovered his authentic self and found a way to inspire others. Armed with degrees in Art History, Education and World Religions, he became a New York City public Special Ed teacher, where he uses whimsy, creativity, and acceptance to inspire the youth of tomorrow. And thus, Benjamin Ryan was born—an author that embraces the power of storytelling to inspire and create change. With a deep understanding of the struggles that come with being different, Benjamin Ryan creates content that speaks to the heart and soul of their audience. He is active on twitter in the writing community (@BRClothwrites), hosting writing prompts, engaging with life’s unique perspectives, and inspiring others to create their truths.

My thoughts: This was a really interesting and fun book about being different, finding your strengths and making friends. A group of boys is sent to a residential home to make them “better”, all of them are what their parents and teachers consider bad. But in Madame Eldridge’s Home they learn that they can use those bad behaviours, and do something else instead. Set a series of challenges and required to work together, a number of the boys form a bond and discover the house’s secrets.

They’re bright, resilient and in working together, learn their strengths, rely on one another and become true friends, it seems that Madame Elridge isn’t who she claims to be and the boys are more special than anyone has ever told them.

I really enjoyed this book and I think there’s plenty of readers out there who would too. We’ve all been made fun of, got into trouble for things I’m sure, so learning that actually you’re good for something is a pretty important lesson.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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Book Blitz: Storms of his Wrath – Zoey Ellis

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Storms of His Wrath is now available which means the Myth of Omega trilogy is now complete for your reading pleasure!

Storms of His Wrath by Zoey Ellis (Myth of Omega: Wrath Book 3)

Release Date: June 10, 2025

Dark Fantasy Romance

  • Enemies to Lovers
  • Kidnapping/Captivity
  • Fated Mates
  • Forced Proximity
  • Jealous/Possessive and Obsessive Anti-Hero
  • Touch Her and Die
  • Only I Can Hurt Her
  • Hurt/Comfort
  • Hero With a Tragic Past
  • Chosen One
  • Warring Kingdoms

Bound to the storm of his obsession.

Torn from Akoro’s palace, Naya awakens in a hidden world that shatters everything she thought she knew about her brutal Alpha King.

Their bond hanging by a thread, Akoro will stop at nothing to bring her back. Not ancient secrets, not the Omegas who shelter her, not even Naya’s own devastating rejection—will keep him from what belongs to him.

As a deadly magical storm barrels toward his kingdom, their passion burns hotter than ever.

Each time he claims her, Naya faces an impossible choice: surrender to the Alpha who ruins her with obsession, or walk away forever to protect the empire that depends on her.

Time is running out. The storm is coming. And Naya must decide—will she surrender to the Alpha who refuses to let her go, or claim the crown she was born to wear?

GET IT HERE

Trigger Warnings

  • Dub-con
  • Violence
  • Depiction of torture and immediate wounds
  • Death (not main characters)
  • Graphic threats
  • Kidnapping and captivity
  • Explicit language
  • Depictions of PTSD Symptoms

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Blog Tour: Loving Spirits at the Vintage Teashop – Sharon Booth

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The beautiful Cotswold village of Rowan Vale is run as a living museum, allowing tourists to see history in action. But there’s more to the place than any visitor would guess…

Fifty-something Shona grew up in the village and now runs its vintage, 1940s-themed teashop. Not everyone knows that the previous manager, her great-aunt Polly, still lives there too… as a ghost!

When newcomer Max arrives, hoping to find out more about the place where his German grandfather was a prisoner of war, both Shona and Polly are unsettled. Shona, because handsome, interesting Max is the first man to catch her eye since her divorce, and Polly, because she must finally confront the terrible truth about her past.
A 1940s-themed weekend planned for the village brings the families’ connections to a head and tragic secrets to light.

Can Shona help her ghostly great-aunt to find love and forgiveness once more, while also creating her own happy ever after?

The second in the comforting, feel-good, romantic series with a dash of fantasy that started with Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall.

Purchase


Sharon Booth is the author of feel-good stories set in charming, quirky locations, and now writes cosy romances with a magical twist for Boldwood. She lives with her husband in East Yorkshire, England.

Facebook: @sharonboothwriter
Instagram: @sharonboothwriter
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Bookbub profile: @sharonboothwriter

My thoughts: There’s mystery, tragedy, romance and a happy ending in this book, I really enjoyed it and went back and read the first book in the series (which is on KU).

Shona runs her family’s 1940s teashop in the magical living history village Rowan Vale. Her great-aunt Polly is an ever-present ghostly figure that only a few people (including Shona and her dad) and see. The village has lots of ghosts for some reason but only certain people even know they’re there.

When Max, whose daughter works at the farm as a land girl, comes to the village on the trail of his grandfather’s time as a PoW,  it stirs up a lot of feelings, especially for Polly, she knew Gerhard, and it might be time to reveal how she died.

With a 1940s themed weekend planned for the village, complete with music and a tea dance, Polly can’t avoid her past, she died in the 1940s. Can Shona help her unravel the secrets she’s held for so long?

Funny, clever and highly enjoyable, this was a truly lovely read, I liked getting to know more of the village’s residents, living and otherwise, as well as the mystery of Polly’s death being resolved and Shona and Max finding a second chance at happiness.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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Book Blitz: Whispers Among Thorns – Cassandra Aston

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Happy release day and congratulations to author Cassandra Aston on the release of Whispers Among Thorns, the first book in the Deadly Fae duology!

Whispers Among Thorns (Deadly Fae Duology Book 1)

Release Date: June 24th (ebook) & June 25th (print)

Genre: A Dark Fantasy Forbidden Romance

💀 Enemies to Lovers‬
🌿 Slow Burn‬
💀 Forbidden‬
🌿 Age Gap (she’s older)‬
💀 Morally Grey FMC‬
🌿 Cinnamon Roll MMC‬
💀 One Kelpie/One Horse‬

Quicksilver meets Throne of Glass in a New York City setting, where she’s the centuries old fae and he’s the son of her enemy.

There’s only one rule that truly matters. Never fall in love with a human. Break it and die.

Banished to the human realm, stripped of her magic, and bound by the unjust laws of the Inter-Species Alliance, Sav is forbidden from harming humans… or loving them. Now she’s meant to live quietly, obey the rules, and forget the power that once throbbed beneath her skin.

When the leader of the anti-fae movement destroys her home in an attack on her people, she’s captured and brought to their headquarters. The only thing standing between her and freedom is Jack. Sharp-edged, unafraid, and entirely off-limits, he stirs something in her she thought long buried. Something that makes her question everything she knows.

Darkly gripping and dangerously addictive, Whispers Among Thorns is a story of forbidden love, fractured loyalties, and a girl who was never meant to follow the rules.

GET IT HERE

Visit the author’s website for print copies!

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Cover Reveal: Jeweller to the Blessed – Jillian Witt

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We have an absolutely gorgeous cover reveal for you all today! Check out Jeweler to the Blessed by Jillian Witt! You’re going to want to pre-order this one!

Jeweler to the Blessed (Champions of Chaos #1)

Expected Release Date: Aug 19th

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

– Bodyguard romance
– Succubus like mood ring magic
– Meddling goddesses
– Deadly forest
– Touch her and die

In a kingdom where touch drains emotions for power, Emberline masks hers, but when she becomes the key to the Blessed’s magic, her broad-shouldered, irreverent guard could make her feel too much.

His touch would be her undoing.

With a single touch, the ruling Blessed could realize Emberline Arkova is immune to their magic. She’s determined to leave the kingdom in search of answers, because every day she remains is a risk.

But her uncle’s sudden disappearance upends her plans. Thrust into his role as jeweler, she’s gone from avoiding the Blessed to becoming the center of their world. Uniquely able to identify the gems required for their magic, she’s now their most precious resource.

To protect their prize, Hart, a broad-shouldered guard with particular irreverence, is assigned to keep Emberline safe. His motives may be murky at best, but he’s not as loyal to the king as a Blessed should be, and now, putting her trust in him is her best bet to escape without discovery.

Hart may be one of them, but he awakens long-restrained feelings within Emberline. She can’t fall for a Blessed; his touch would expose her secret. But as she unearths the mysteries of magic and politics in the isolated and restless kingdom, Emberline is faced with a choice: flee her fate and hide her feelings—or embrace it and unleash them.

The swoon-worthy tension of From Blood and Ash meets One Dark Window’s unique magic system and rich world-building in this new adult romantasy.

PRE-ORDER HERE

Triggers: death of a family member- classism- dubious consent

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Cover Reveal: Wicked Onyx – Debbie Cassidy

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We’re thrilled to present the cover for Wicked Onyx, the first book in The Veritas series by Debbie Cassidy!

Wicked Onyx (The Veritas Legacy #1)

Expected Release Date: February 10, 2026

Genre: Dark Academia/ Romantasy

You don’t graduate Nightsbridge Academy—you survive it.

Born into a sorcerer bloodline, cursed, and cut off from my power, I was accustomed to being an outcast. For generations, my bloodline carried the weight of a crime committed by our ancestor. But my mother’s death changed everything. She left a clue that could prove our innocence: an ancient text hidden deep beneath Nightsbridge Academy.

The Academy is a fortress of power, housing the most dangerous incantors and sorcerers, conscripted to keep Horrors and Echoes at bay. And as the last surviving Onyx, I’m owed admission.

My plan is simple—find the book and expose the Imperium as the liars they are.

But I didn’t plan for the whispers that haunt my dreams. Or the complication of feelings I shouldn’t be capable of—stirred by two men bound to the very institution I’ve come to destroy. One sees too much yet says too little. The other is steady, protective, and always in my corner.

I can’t have either.

Yet when I’m in their presence…my curse begins to crack.

If they discover my true purpose, I’m dead.

But some truths are worth dying for.

The Imperium cursed my bloodline. Stripped us of our magic. Branded us as traitors. And now they will pay.

PRE-ORDER HERE

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Book Blitz: Vessel – Poppy L. Roberts

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Happy release day to author Poppy L. Roberts! Check out Vessel, a sapphic horrormance you will want to add to the top of your TBR!

Vessel

Publication Date: June 20, 2025

Genre: Sapphic Paranormal Romance/ Horrormance

  • Cults
  • Ritual Sacrifice
  • River Baths
  • Morally Gray FMCs
  • Hand Necklaces
  • Dark Secrets
  • Forced Proximity
  • Demons and Dark Magic

The hollow waits.

Harper is lost—drowning in a life that feels hollow, disconnected, and disenchanting. Technology, consumerism, and monotony have drained the world of meaning, leaving her restless and yearning for something real. Then one day in her search for feeling, she stumbles across an obscure online forum whispering about Saint’s Hollow, an off-grid commune hidden deep in the mountains. They promise her a detox from the bog of her overwhelming life and reconnection with herself. They promise belonging.

Desperate for escape, Harper sells everything, erases her old life, and follows the invitation that simply reads: We’ve been waiting for you.

Saint’s Hollow is beautiful, untouched by the decay of modern life. Its people are warm, and its leader, Naamah, is intoxicating. But the deeper Harper sinks into their world, the more her reality fractures. Strangeness seeps into every crevice of life in Saint’s Hollow. Shadowed figures haunt her movements and the darkness whispers back.

As Harper unravels, she faces an impossible choice: fight for her fading humanity or surrender to the darkness that has always been waiting.

Because Saint’s Hollow doesn’t just want her dreams.

It wants all of her.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

CW:
This book is intended for adults and may contain graphic or distressing content, including graphic on-page violence, death, gore, and explicit sexual content. A detailed list of content notes can be found at authorpoppyroberts.com.

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Blog Tour: The Dragon Favourite – Onika Howdyn

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Welcome to the tour for The Dragon Favorite, a dark fantasy by Onika Howdyn! Read on for more details!

The Dragon Favorite: Beginnings Duology

Release Date: March 10, 2024

Genre: Dark Fantasy

  • Robust world-building and lore…
  • A mother’s struggle with mental health…
  • Dark themes and equally dark villains…
  • Forbidden love and loyalty…
  • Spicy yet poetic adult themes…
  • An underground realm of magic and its wielders…
  • Reading between the strands of fate and prophecies
  • Dragons… (that’s a given)

Welcome to Jöro…

…a land once teeming with the majestic presence of dragons, known as the Draughtrìnd, now reduced to ashes by the insatiable greed of a malevolent king. Though the war between man and dragon has faded into the past, the lingering aversion towards magic and its wielders remains.

In the river city of Rau, Amalya dreams of adventure beyond her father’s cozy farm. When she stumbles upon a wounded dragon with the farmhand, Wesley, her dreams of adventure take flight. As the years pass, love and family gradually fade that memory into the background of her life, becoming the only remaining beacon of hope.

Now, Amalya finds herself trapped in the clutches of depression, forced to observe the vestiges of her joy in the eyes of her son. The realization that she will never genuinely reclaim that joy plunges her further into the depths of despair.

When a mysterious man arrives to help on the farm, Amalya feels an unexplainable sense of familiarity. Could he be her only chance to break free from the torment that has haunted her since motherhood? And what consequences must she face to reclaim her light?

GET IT HERE

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