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>
<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>
We’re celebrating the release of Tusks, Tails & Teacakes by T.L. Stone! If you like your romantic fantasy cozy with a healthy sprinkle of cottagecore, you’re going to love this!
Tusks, Tails & Teacakes: A Slice-of-Life Cozy Romantic Fantasy (Tales from the Tavern Book 1)
Publication Date: April 4, 2025
Genre: Cozy Romantic Fantasy High fantasy He falls first Cinnamon roll hero Low stakes Slow-burn romance Found family Cozy vibes Tavern makeover Coming home Mythical creatures Neurodivergent orc
A scoop of high fantasy, a spoonful of Hallmark rom-com, and a generous sprinkle of cottagecore coziness.
Welcome to The Tusk & Tail Tavern where the fire is always crackling, the meat pies are rich and savory, the air is filled with laughter and bard-song, and friends are like family. At least, it used to be…
Half-elf Lira is eager to return to The Tusk & Tail Tavern, where she and her companions set off on their adventures many years ago. But the rundown tavern is no longer the bustling hub where dwarf mercenaries and halfling farmers shared pints over a friendly game of dice. More crucially, what Lira came back for—what she buried in the tavern’s basement—is now bricked over.
What better way to stay close to her hidden treasure—and figure out a way to retrieve it—than to offer to restore the tavern? After all, her grandmother taught her to bake, and she still remembers the recipes—for the most part.
She doesn’t count on having to partner with a dwarf warrior named Sassy or have a surprisingly clever, winged ermine take up residence in her kitchen. And she’s grateful for the shy orc soldier who offers to fix her stove and everything else that keeps breaking in the tavern, but why does he seem afraid to talk to her?
As she and her rag-tag group breathe life back into The Tusk & Tail Tavern, Lira remembers the joy in an evening by the fire, the value of a true friend, and what it’s like to fight as hard for the quiet moments in life as the ones marked by glory and treasure.
But leaving your past in the past isn’t always so easy. Danger has a way of finding Lira no matter how far she runs, but now she has more to protect than herself. And if she wants to leave her days of deception behind her, she’ll have to reveal the truth to those she’s grown to love.
Tusks, Tails & Teacakes is a wholesome, low-stakes, slice-of-life cozy fantasy chock full of mythical creatures and magic. It features no kingdoms to be saved, no epic journeys or warring armies. Only gentle intrigue, the power of unexpected friendship, and the hope that you can make the world a better place one buttery teacake and warm cup of chai at a time.
My thoughts: If you’re like me and you’re waiting for the next Legends & Lattes, read this. I loved it. It’s a sweet and charming story of friendship, found family and falling in love.
Lira leaves her crew and returns to the village she grew up in, hoping to retrieve something she hid there. Unfortunately someone has concreted over it, in the cellar of the inn, the Tusk & Tail.
Things have gone downhill since the inn keeper’s wife died, and he longer serves food. Teaming up with dwarf Sassy, Lira sets to work cleaning up the inn and baking her grandmother’s recipes.
As the duo make changes, the customers come, including members of the town’s guards, an orc Lira remembers from her childhood. A few old friends make their way there too and soon Lira is building a new crew to help her retrieve her grandmother’s recipe book from under the inn.
This was so lovely and cute and I can’t wait to read book two!
Welcome to the tour for The Marigold Trail by Stefani Tanner. Read on for more details!
The Marigold Trail
Publication Date: February 13, 2025
Genre: Time Travel Romance/ Romance
Best friend’s brother
Childhood best friends to lovers
High Stakes
Agent MCs
Romantic Comedy
Secret Pining
Friends to Rivals to Lovers
13 Going on 30 meets Miss Congeniality in this time travel romantic comedy about an FBI agent trying to navigate her way through betrayal, love, and time.
Atta Suarez’s life consists of crossword puzzles and sampling appetizers while obliterating her friend group every couple of weeks in a battle of board game wits. That’s on top of being knee-deep in criminal cases at the Denver Bureau trying her best to keep up with Agent Ben Brown, her best friend’s brother.
Ben’s been around since elementary school, but for the last five years they’ve been working the same hours, living in the same apartment complex, and sharing the same FBI agent lifestyle. Their close connection is undeniable. Atta only wishes they could take it one step further. Because with Ben, it’s always been a romantic connection that she’s craved.
But when Atta finds herself under perplexing circumstances and becomes threatened by her own FBI department after stumbling upon a gruesome crime, Atta is separated from Ben by time. She finds herself in 1987 where helpful clues litter the mountains and streets of Colorado.
Navigating 1987 brings answers for the future and—by some miraculous twist of fate—an unexpected chance at love. With an opportunity to pursue her ‘perfect match’ and potentially take down the FBI threat from the past, Atta might be able to get everything she wants. But time is in her way and every decision has its consequences. And then there’s also the question of whether or not the rules of this alternate 1987 universe will even allow it.
A glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.
At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.
But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.
And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.
With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.
Incredible tests, impossible choices and deadly odds await both girls. But there can only be one winner.
Alwyn Hamilton was born in Toronto and spent her childhood bouncing between Europe and Canada until her parents settled in France. She grew up in a small town there, which might have compelled her to burst randomly into the opening song from Beauty and the Beast were it not for her total tone-deafness.
She instead attempted to read and write her way to new places and developed a weakness for fantasy and cross-dressing heroines. She left France for Cambridge University to study History of Art at King’s College, and then to London where she became indentured to an auction house. She has a bad habit of acquiring more hardcovers than is smart for someone who moves house quite so often.
Alwyn’s New York Times-bestselling debut, the YA fantasy REBEL OF THE SANDS, was published by Viking Children’s Books in the US and Faber Children’s Books in the UK, and in 14 other territories. The trilogy continues in TRAITOR TO THE THRONE and HERO AT THE FALL. Alwyn was named the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award winner for Best Debut Author.
My thoughts: With fairytale elements, this is both a murder mystery and a fantasy in which four cousins must compete to be named their grandmother’s heir, after the mother of one of them, Nora, is killed.
Nora joins forces with a journalist, August, to try to solve the mystery of her mother’s murder – that’s being called a mugging gone wrong, but doesn’t make sense.
Her aunt has produced an illegitimate daughter, Lotte, which complicates the succession trials, and Lotte, who is smarter than some of them realise, wants to find out more about her family and forms an alliance with Nora, discovering that at least one of her relatives isn’t a terrible person.
Meanwhile a resistance to her family’s wealth and power is getting stronger and starting riots in the streets, prompting reprisals from the authorities.
The Holtzfall family founded the town, and with their magic protected people from the creatures of the forest. But generations later, they’re now incredibly wealthy and corrupt. They hold too much power and the growing pressure against them is close to explosive as the inheritance trials the cousins are in demolish parts of the town and add fuel to the fire.
I loved Lotte and Nora, and rightly detested fhe rest of their awful family. Their grandmother is a monster and the rest are spoilt, entitled and selfish. But considering that each generation has been raised to see their siblings (and cousins) as competition, as well as being over-privileged in a place where no one ever questions their family’s dominance (at least not openly), it’s not surprising.
The story was clever, filled with references to the original Grimm versions of the stories we know so well. It’s a chunky book and I was surprised it was the first in a series, as opposed to a standalone at this size. I’m definitely intrigued to see where it goes next, considering the events of the closing pages.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Welcome to the tour for the third book on the Heroes of the Empire series, The Emperor!
The Emperor (Heroes of the Empire #3)
Publication Date: November 24, 2024
Genre: Young Adult/ Epic Fantasy
Character Driven
Found Family
Slow Burn Romance
Foretold Prophecy
War For The Throne
Unlikely Allies
Unique Magic System
Morally Grey Characters
Chosen One
“Because this is your destiny.”
The crown prince of the Empire, Honzio Hartinza, has become a prisoner within his own palace. Uluzar control has overtaken Hearcross, and with the Tariqin threat remaining too, the battle is far from over. To restore order, Honzio allies with a Savorian warrior and darkness itself in the form of a despised adversary, but it’s belief in himself that will be key to saving his land, people, and crown.
Velamir chooses between his great love and best friend, leaving Jax’s fate in Coralie’s hands until he can track down Natassa’s captors. His desperate search leads him to Devorin. In the icy kingdom, he encounters a group proclaiming him the hero they’ve been searching for and learns the last words of a father he barely knew, whose own past reveals the course of Velamir’s future and knowledge that could end the war and bind the lands forevermore.
Natassa evades her abductors and finds refuge with the Elders. She seeks the order’s aid in battling her shadows, but when she’s forced to wield them to her advantage, she learns of a pact made with them long ago. The shadows want something from her. The Golden Phoenix, the Elders call her, telling her of a prophecy. Natassa must accept her role in it and cross one of two paths: risk everything to destroy evil for good or open the portal to a realm of spirits and burn the world to ashes.
We’re celebrating the release of Even Vampires Bleed with a tour! This is the next book in The Even After series and if you enjoy paranormal/ shifter romance, you are going to want to read it!
Even Vampires Bleed (The Even Ever After Series Book 2)
Expected Publication Date: March 28, 2025
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
🦇She is a bat-shifter/he is a cockatoo
🦇Forced proximity
🦇One bed
🦇Who did this to you?
🦇Grumpy/sunshine
🦇Amnesia
🦇Female rage
They have deceived the humans, led them to believe they’re archangels, ruling over the world for far too long.
But the bird shifters have nothing angelic or good.
They maim, they torture, they kill.
When they don’t toy with people’s brains…
That’s what happened to my father. That’s what happened to my other half, Léandre.
I found the first, his skull open on an operation table, after he was taken prisoner, and the second still has a chip in his brain, ready to blow up his mind.
My world is one thread away from unraveling.
But I won’t let them win.
My name is Cassiopé. I’m a bat-shifter, a vampire, as humans like to call us, and those birds are going to pay for what they’ve done to the men I love.
We have a book that you’re going to want to bump to the top of your TBR list. The best part? The next book in the series is already out!
A Trial of Fate (Valdor Series Book 1)
Publication Date: May 24, 2024
Genre: Epic Romantic Fantasy
Found Family
Trauma rep
Strong FMC
Slow burn romance/ tension
Dying world
Shifters, fae, humans with magic.
Our world is dying.
Skylar Cathal is a twenty-two-year-old half-human, half-shifter with a curious mind and knack for bending the rules. Gilen Warrick, Skylar’s childhood friend and the next Alpha of the Solace pack, wants more than just her friendship– but fate has a will of its own.
When Skylar is marked as the shifter champion, she must overcome her darkest fears to leave her home and those she loves behind. Daxton Aegaeon, High Fae Prince of Silver Meadows, has sworn to protect Skylar as his ward, but only she can protect her heart.
One night can change your life… one decision can change everything.
A Trial of Fate is the first book in the Valdor Series, an epic romantic fantasy that follows a “spitfire” heroine who defies her darkest fears in order to save those she loves. This book will appeal to fans of character-driven adventurous romantasy tails such as Throne of Glass, From Blood and Ash, and A Ruin of Roses.
ramblingmads 
