blog tour, books

Blog Tour: Power in Betrayal – Kirby Ann


Step into the captivating world of Andrea de Laney, leader of the DeLaney Mob. In this gripping tale, Andrea finds herself entangled in a web of personal and professional challenges as her organization faces relentless attacks. Amidst the chaos, she unexpectedly encounters Valerie Cross, a resilient young woman whose own past traumas resonate deeply with Andrea. As their connection deepens, Andrea begins to realize the void that has long existed in her life.
As DeLaney prepares to engage in a fierce showdown against their rivals, The Fury and Ban Jack Mafia, Andrea assumes the role of a cunning mastermind, strategizing to outmaneuver them all and emerge victorious. However, the stakes are higher than ever, and survival becomes the ultimate goal.
Join Andrea de Laney on a suspenseful journey where loyalty, ambition, and unexpected love converge. Will she navigate the treacherous path ahead and emerge triumphant, or will the odds prove insurmountable?

Amazon Goodreads


Other books in the series:
Book 2: Power In Vengeance
Book 3: Power in Justice


Kirby Ann has always been captivated by the world of literature. From a young age, her love for reading laid the foundation for a lifelong passion for storytelling. It wasn’t until her twenties that she took up writing seriously, embarking on a journey of self-expression.
Away from writing, she finds joy on trips with friends and family, drawing inspiration from the new landscapes and cultures she encounters. When in need of a break, she immerses herself in the world of online gaming, finding both relaxation and creativity in the virtual realms.
In 2023, she took a bold step forward, deciding to share her works on a larger scale. As her professional writing career takes its first steps, she is filled with optimism and high hopes for the future. With a unique blend of Texas spirit, a love for storytelling, and a supportive network, she looks forward to weaving more tales that resonate with readers and leave a lasting impact.


Website Instagram

Extract;

Andrea’s stomach flip-flopped as the main door closed behind Valerie. She wondered
how she let this get so out of hand. Scarlett had tried to kiss her while Valerie was in the apartment with them. Of all the stupid things her friend had done this week, that was the lowest of them all. She knew Scarlett was just using a tactic they used before where they fought and made up many times over the years, but today was the last time she could ever allow that to
happen.
Before Andrea could bring herself to turn around and give Scarlett an ultimatum the
redhead started speaking. “The Fury are trying to kill you. Your own brother hired them. Bryan betrayed you on every level. We chased a man in the tunnels where you were shot, and Allie literally pulled a bullet out of your arm. You have a very important city council vote tomorrow
about a project that means a lot to you. You need to name a new number two and we have to find an accountant you can trust. That doesn’t even include all the other businesses DeLaney has and the things that need to happen with them this week. I mean fuck Andrea, on top of all of that you
decide this 26 year old, who is 12 years younger than you, who you’ve known for less than a week, is suddenly your great love or something?” Scarlett chuckled darkly and Andrea heard the rustle of fabric behind her. She didn’t turn around though, she knew she wasn’t finished. “You
know what giving her that necklace is going to tell everyone and what they are going to say don’t you?”
Andrea turned and looked directly at Scarlett who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
“That she is mine. That if someone, including you, so much as touches her, looks at her wrong, or threatens her, I will kill them. I knew what it meant when I did it and if you think for one second that I didn’t you don’t know me at all.” She straightened her shirt again and fixed her belt while trying to gather her words. “A few days ago you told me I could handle a million things at once better than anyone you’ve ever seen. Now you think I can’t handle any of it because of Valerie?” Andrea laughed and rolled her eyes. “If it weren’t for her this week, I would’ve
already killed Asher, blown up half the city trying to eliminate Brody and The Fury, and I would have met with the mayor and told him to get behind my proposal or I’d kill him next and run this city the way my grandfather did.”
“So what? I should be thanking her for preventing all out war?” Scarlett ran her hand over the sheets and rolled her eyes too. “You don’t want war and I know that. You should’ve just fucked her and sent her on her way that first night like you do everyone else!” Scarlett ran a hand
through her hair and sighed. “Now that I think about it, maybe the fact that she’s not satisfying your needs is the reason you’re so pissed.”
She wasn’t going to play these games anymore. Andrea stepped closer and in a tone that left no room for questions as to what it meant, she said, “You have until I walk into that meeting with you and Victor downstairs to figure out if you can handle this. Because none of the other things you listed are relevant to you if you can’t get over yourself and move past my relationship with Valerie and your own misguided feelings.” Andrea grabbed her jacket off the dresser and slipped it on. “And if you can’t, I suggest you get the fuck out of this building and out of my city
because I’m not kidding, Scarlett. I’ve given you more leeway than I would give anyone else, but you are testing my patience and the limits of our friendship. Now, get out and make your choice.”
Scarlett swung her legs down to the ground and stood from the bed. She looked around the room. “Well, once again whatever Andrea de Laney says is the final word huh?” As she passed Andrea, she let their shoulders brush. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

As soon as she heard the door close, Andrea sat on the bed and took a deep breath. This wasn’t how she wanted to start her morning. There were actual problems she needed to solve and plans she needed to make. The last thing she needed today was this drama with Scarlett.
Remembering the pain in Valerie’s eyes made her stomach drop. Andrea wondered just how much her girlfriend had heard and how far this whole scenario would set them back. With another deep breath to calm down a bit further, she stood and headed for the main door, but when
she opened it there was no one in the hall. Bril was gone as was Valerie, and her heart started racing.

Author Marketing Experts:
Twitter: @Bookgal
Instagram: @therealbookgal

books

Cover Reveal: First Comes Death – Avrah C. Baren

We’re pleased to share the cover of First Comes Death by Avrah C. Baren. Coming this spring!

Ebook

First Comes Death

Expected Publication Date: April 15, 2024

Genre: Sci-Fi/Superhero Fantasy/LGBTQ+

A power for every death…

When a black hole anomaly rewrites the rules of life and death, Dina resurrects from a fatal crash into the Chesapeake with an uncontrollable tie to water. Trapped in a cycle of vanishing and reappearing across the world at the water’s whim, all Dina wants is to rid herself of this connection and have control of her life again. But with every new resurfacing, it becomes clear she has a worse crisis on her hands: she’s being followed by a monster.

Drowning may not be a natural cause of death, but neither is murder. And when Ivy resurrects with the ability to produce bone daggers from her own body, she’s hungry for revenge. But between her distrust of her new, supposed allies, puzzling encounters with a woman with powers of her own, and the soul devouring creature on their tail, attaining vengeance is looking a lot more difficult than dying in the first place.

As Dina and Ivy’s inexplicable bond pulls them together time and again, they find something neither expected in their afterlife: someone worth living for. But they’ll have to find a way to annihilate the monster at their heels before time runs out on their second lives. Because without another anomaly to bring them back, this time death will have its due.

PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON

Pre-order amzn.to/48g16xH

eARC Invitation Link  bit.ly/3wmiG64

Cover Reveal Organized By:

RRBookTours Button

R&R Book Tours

blog tour, books, reviews

BBNYA Blog Tour: Sorrow’s Forest – Kaitlin Corvus

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 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 @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Sorrow’s Forest teems with beasts, some ugly, some beautiful, all unnatural. A ban restricts travel beneath her branches, existing for as long as Lakeview Township has, and most who disobey do not return.

To win a bet, twelve-year-old Mackie King enters the forest, and in its depths, he discovers a boy-like devil. Then he steals him from the trees.

In as little as an hour, the devil names himself Blue and fits seamlessly into the Kings’ life. No one seems to remember he wasn’t always there. Only Mackie knows the truth.

Now, Mackie and Blue are grown, Queen Sorrow has awakened, and she wants her devil back. She’s willing to tear the town apart to reclaim him. Mackie has always been resourceful, but it will take every bit of ingenuity he and Blue possess to thwart Queen Sorrow and her minions, save the town, and free themselves from the shadow of the bittering forest.

Amazon: Canada USA UK Goodreads  StoryGraph

Kaitlin Corvus is from Ontario, Canada. The north holds the best part of her. She writes about nobodies, monsters, and gutter glitter, loves the stars, the deep dark sea, and a good horror mystery.

My thoughts: when Mackie steals a forest devil, Blue, from Sorrow’s Forest, she doesn’t forget and eventually she wants to claim back what’s hers. The forest consumes the missing, and never gives them back.

But Mackie is afraid, afraid of the forest and increasingly of Blue. He is exhibiting strange power over people and events, and keeps spending time with his school bully, in what Mackie thinks is an abusive situation. Blue has always been openly gay, and the relationship between him and Mackie is shifting into something different, something more.

As the forest attempts to assert its power and draw Blue back to it, Mackie fights harder to keep his brother/friend/lover with him. Meanwhile his father is dying and more people are being swallowed up by the forest.

An intense bond and a story that draws you into it, as the forest does the two young men. What will become of them if the forest succeeds or indeed, if it doesn’t?

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

blog tour, books

Blog Tour: To Kiss The Sea – C.H. Carter

ToKisstheSea copy

Welcome to the tour for To Kiss the Sea by C.H. Carter. Read on for more details!

cover

To Kiss the Sea

Publication Date: October 31, 2023

Genre: Sapphic Fantasy/ Fairy Tale Fantasy

🌊 Fairytale retelling
🌊 Mermaids, pirates, and spies – Oh my!
🌊 Force proximity
🌊 Enemies-to-friends
🌊 LGBTQ/Queer normative society
🌊 Found family
🌊 Mental health rep
🌊 Multi-POV

In the Birde Isles there’s a saying: You cannot take what the sea is not willing to give.

Ally Kingfisher never gave it much thought until she experienced the sea’s wrath firsthand. But after a near-drowning leaves her with a deeply ingrained fear of the water, Ally still finds herself inexplicably drawn to its depths. As if something is calling to her from beneath the waves, and it only grows louder each year.

Pasha is being punished for something she didn’t do, sentenced to a life of solitude until her kin return. But mermaids aren’t meant to live alone. Desperate for companionship, Pasha makes a deal that goes spectacularly awry, affecting the lives of everyone on the Isles for years to come.
When a pirate captain kidnaps Ally’s mother and demands Ally deliver the ransom personally, she is forced to leave land for the first time. Turning to Pasha, the one creature whose help she doesn’t want but whose power over the water she needs, Ally strikes a new bargain to get her to her mother. But she’ll have to confront more than her fears along the way…
Because even those in favor are still at the mercy of the sea.

Amazon * Kobo * Barnes & Noble * Walmart

Book Tour Schedule

December 18th

http://rrbooktours.com – Landing Page

https://www.instagram.com/authormariereed/ – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/betterthantherapy?igshid=MzMyNGUyNmU2YQ&utm_source=qr – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/naileycormier?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA&utm_source=qr – Feature

https://instagram.com/the_bookish_cave_of_wonders?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== – Feature

December 19th

https://www.instagram.com/sharingthebooklove – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/acourtofsaltandsnow/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/ychg_?igshid=MW5ldGdla3czODR4bw%3D%3D – Review

https://www.instagram.com/squeakeysundergroundlibrary/ – Review

December 20th

https://www.instagram.com/samanthainfantasyworld/ – Feature

https://darkfantasyreviews.wordpress.com – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/literary_dystopia?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D – Review

http://ramblingmads.com – Feature

December 21st

https://www.instagram.com/mythicmelancholy/ – Review

https://rissreviewsx.wixsite.com/website – Review

https://www.instagram.com/junebug_reads/?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA – Feature

December 22nd

https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/ilovebooksandstuffblog/ – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/amanda_coffee_books/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/beastreader/ – Review

Book Tour Organized By:

RRBookTours Button

R&R Book Tours

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: A Power Unbound – Freya Marske

Jack Alston – Lord Hawthorn – would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. He renounced magic after the death of his twin sister. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual risking every magician in Britain, he’s drawn reluctantly back into that world.

Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping its owner Violet track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross. Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. He’s loud in his hatred of the aristocracy and their unearned power . . . and unfortunately, he happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package.

When a plot to seize unimaginable magic power comes to a head on Jack’s own family estate, Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets and bloody sacrifice – and the foundations of magic in Britain might be torn up by the roots before the end.

Filled with magic, murder and romance, A Power Unbound is the thrilling third book in The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske. Start the series with A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth.

My thoughts: all good things must come to an end, and so we come to the final book in the The Last Binding trilogy. The gang is all here, and all trying desperately to stop their enemies from finding the last piece of the Contract – the knife, and stealing magic from the magicians.

Jack, Lord Hawthorn, has seen what can happen when you do just that, but he can’t tell anyone, thanks to a fiendish spell. But having to return to his ancestral home, the scene of his sister’s death, might change things.

As events begin to get worse – and they’re all threatened with arrest, Jack must stop his evil cousin George, and Edwin’s horrible brother Walter, on home turf.

But he’s distracted by the journalist Alan Ross, aka Alonzo Rossi, who infuriates but also bewitches him. Could this man, with the ability to negate magic, be the love he’s needed for so long? And can they stop the scheme and save magic?

Delightful, very spicy, full of the humour and adventure this trilogy is known for, as the gang attempt to out-think and out-scheme their enemies with some disguises and misdirection. A fitting end to a series I have thoroughly enjoyed.

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

blog tour, books

Blog Tour: How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster) – Marie Cardno

To celebrate the release of the sequel, we’re touring the first book in the series, How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster) by Marie Cardno! It’s on sale for only $0.99 right now!

How To Get a Girlfriend cover copy 2 cozy

How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster)

Publication Date: July 2022

Genre: Cozy Fantasy Romance/ Sapphic Romance/ Romcom

Life is tough when you’re an eldritch abomination.

Trillin isn’t technically a person. She’s a tiny breakaway piece of consciousness from the all-devouring Endless, doomed to eventually rejoin it. But when a human witch stumbles into her world, Trillin suddenly has a new reason to figure out individuality–one shape-shifting tentacle at a time.

Sian is sure important magical discoveries are just around the corner, if she can just get her portals to work reliably. Reaching the dimension of the Endless without being eaten on sight is a dream come true, and Sian is determined to explore every bit of it. For science, of course, not for the strangely adorable life-form who keeps popping up and trying to… flirt?

But Trillin’s world can be a dangerous place, and keeping Sian safe might risk drawing the attention of the Endless itself–which will swallow Trillin up along with all her dreams of humanity. Together, can this unlikely duo escape the Endless, figure out the optimum number of appendages, and maybe even find love?

How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster) is a sapphic cozy fantasy romance between a witch scientist and a shape-shifting Cthulhu monster. HEA guaranteed!

Add to Goodreads

Excerpt

In the constantly changing void of the Endless Dimension, there is no such thing as people. There is only one person – or perhaps ‘being’ would be a better word. The constant, hungering entity that both is and fills the entire dimension: the Endless itself. Fragments of the Endless sometimes fracture off, spattering free like bubbles in a galactic pot of porridge, but they are quickly absorbed again, and anything they learnt or thought or felt while they were separated is gobbled back up into the hungering one-ness.

Except for one.

She didn’t remember how it had happened. One moment, she hadn’t been anything at all; the next, she was. She had edges. Something between the Endless and this new, separate thing that was her. And with those edges and this new her-ness, a sudden and desperate desire not to be sucked back into eternal, omniscient obscurity.

The Endless wanted her back, no question about that. But she (she! An individual!) was still very small, and as long as she didn’t do anything particularly noticeable, it was apparently difficult for the Endless to notice her.

The first time an interdimensional portal opened into the Endless, she thought it would provide good cover. The portal was very noticeable; next to it, she was even more likely to be overlooked. Even when the Endless manifested enormous eyeballs to peer at the portal, its gaze slid over her as though she didn’t exist.

Excellent.

She didn’t pay much attention to the portal the first few times it popped in and out of existence after that. It was enough that it attracted attention away from her, as she experimented with her edges and what she could do with the body – her body – inside them.

The Endless was full of shapes. It made and remade itself constantly, and fragments of it were forever sloughing off, devouring one another, and being reabsorbed by the whole again. She remembered a lot of the shapes from when she’d been part of the Endless, but none of them were right, and not just because it turned out to be very difficult to make your own shape when there was only you to make it.

None of the shapes she remembered were her. She didn’t even really know what she was going to be, yet, but she was fiercely, confusedly jealous of it. And each experimental skin and limb and sensory apparatus brought her closer to herself.

One day, just as she had succeeded in creating a tentacle and was waving it around, the portal flared. The rippling surface between the five points that outlined its shape against the Endless changed colour as a shadow formed at its centre. The shadow darkened, grew larger, and something pushed through from the other side.

Not something. Her edges sparked. A … a someone.

A someone with a flattish, paleish face, one blunt nose, two lidded eyes and a crest of dark hair. The bottom half of her face split, but not like aspects of the Endless split, forming and reforming along seams that changed position from moment to moment. This was an existing hole in the face, stretching wide as she stepped through the portal. Stepped through on legs. A body! A living body that moved through the world without changing its form!

She was suddenly, horribly self-conscious. She manifested another eyeball on the end of her tentacle and used it to look down at herself. Her body was … not like the newcomer’s. It had too many limbs, to start with. Small skittery limbs. She’d made a lot for practice, but now they were too many.

And her body had too many eyes, too, if the two the newcomer had were the number people were meant to have.

And a tentacle.

The newcomer didn’t have any tentacles.

She skittered down until only her tentacle-eye was visible over the solid surface in front of the portal. From there, she watched as the strange new being twisted its head this way and that, its mouth still stretched wide and its eyes darting around as though it were searching for something.

“Fantastic,” the creature breathed, and stepped back through the portal.

Her heart thudded. She suddenly had a heart to thud. It seemed to fill her entire body.

All at once, she knew two things.

First, she needed to make herself a new body. Something more like the urgently, wonderfully active creature she had just seen.

Second … she had to see that creature again.

Despite being separated from the Endless, the fragment still had its memories. At least, as many of them as could fit in her far smaller mind. She rifled through them as the portal dimmed. Before long, she found what she was looking for.

The portal-creature was what was known as a human.

Get it HERE!

About the Author

profile pic marie cardno

Marie Cardno loves cozy fantasy. She lives halfway between the sea and a French bakery on the south coast of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, and writes stories about love, magic, and strange and wonderful worlds.

Marie Cardno

Book Tour Schedule

October 2nd

http://rrbooktours.com Kick-off

https://www.instagram.com/isabellesbookshelf/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/mommyandherbooks/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/zoms_reading_nook/?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg%3D%3D – Review

https://www.instagram.com/sharingthebooklove – Feature

October 3rd

https://www.instagram.com/happily_undignified/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/a_lyttle_book_blog/?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg%3D%3D – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/kmartbooks/ – Review

https://www.ladyhawkeye.com – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/kellyatx/ – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/tinasbooknook/ – Feature

October 4th

https://www.instagram.com/demigodreading19/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/birddbookss/?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg%3D%3D – Review

https://www.instagram.com/page_turning_mama/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/hmylek/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/authormariereed/ – Feature

October 5th

https://www.instagram.com/ameliaveganreader/ – Review

https://bakingupgoodreads.wordpress.com/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/molina_lovestoread/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/inkspit.blog/ – Review

http://ramblingmads.com – Feature

October 6th

https://www.instagram.com/mythicmelancholy/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/nerdydreamer107/ – Review

http://www.thefaeriereview.com – Review

https://freelancewriterjannyc.com/ – Feature

https://www.thesexynerdrevue.com – Feature

Book Tour Organized by R&R Book Tours

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Fayne – Ann-Marie MacDonald

‘I knew from a very young age that I was wrong in the world. And the idea of looking through the eyes of somebody who’s born with an intersex trait has been quite compelling to me for a very long time. It’s not an exotic quality. That’s why I’ve decided not to treat it as a “spoiler”. That’s just who Charlotte is, that’s her body. That’s normal. It’s the world that has a problem and is going to make it a problem for her’ ANN-MARIE MACDONALD

In the late nineteenth century, Charlotte Bell is growing up at Fayne, a vast and lonely estate straddling the border between England and Scotland, where she has been kept from the world by her adoring father, Lord Henry Bell, owing to a mysterious ‘condition’.

Charlotte, strong and insatiably curious, revels in the moorlands, and has learned the treacherous and healing ways of the bog from the old hired man, Byrn, whose own origins are shrouded in mystery. Her idyllic existence is shadowed by the magnificent portrait on the landing in Fayne House which depicts her mother, a beautiful Irish-American heiress, holding Charlotte’s brother, Charles Bell. Charlotte has grown up with the knowledge that her mother died in giving birth to her, and that her older brother, Charles, the long-awaited heir, died at the age of two. When Charlotte’s appetite for learning threatens to exceed the bounds of the estate, her father breaks with tradition and hires a tutor to teach his daughter ‘as you would my son, had I one’.

But when Charlotte and her tutor’s explorations of the bog turn up an unexpected artefact, her father announces he has arranged for her to be cured of her condition, and her world is upended. Charlotte’s passion for knowledge and adventure will take her to the bottom of family secrets and to the heart of her own identity.

In Fayne we meet an irresistible young queer character whose curiosity and joy collide with the frustratingly arbitrary gender dichotomies in the world. Even with all her gifts – intelligence, wit and strength of character – can Charlotte overcome the violently enforced boundaries of society to claim her own place in the world?

©️ Lora McDonald

ANN-MARIE MACDONALD is a novelist, playwright, actor, and broadcast host. She was born in the former West Germany. After graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, she moved to Toronto where she distinguished herself as an actor and playwright. Her first play won the Governor General’s Award, the Chalmers Award and the Canadian Authors’ Association Award. In 1996, her first novel Fall on Your Knees became an international bestseller, was translated into nineteen languages and sold three million copies. It won the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Fiction, the People’s Choice Award and the Libris Award. In 2002, it became an Oprah’s Book Club title. In 2003, The Way the Crow Flies appeared, and in 2014, Adult Onset, both of which also enjoyed immense international success. In 2019 Ann-Marie MacDonald was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contribution to the arts and her LGBTQ2S+ activism. She is married to theatre director, Alisa Palmer, with whom she has two children.

My thoughts: I adore Charlotte, she’s incredibly clever, brave and longs to be a doctor at a time when being female is something of an impediment to that. Except Charlotte isn’t female or male – she’s intersex. And this is her story. But it’s also the story of Charlotte’s mother, Lady Marie “Mae” Bell, originally from Boston, Massachusetts. She marries Lord Henry Bell, Baron DC de Fayne, after meeting him in Rome.

They return, first to Edinburgh, where Henry’s sister the Honorable Clarissa, lives in the family’s town house, and then to Fayne, a wilderness of bog and fen. Where Charlotte grows up, wild and curious.

The story moves back and forth between Charlotte and Mae, as we learn more about the Bells and Fayne. There are so many secrets and lies that Charlotte will have to uncover as she ages and grows up. The absence of her mother, the death of her brother Charles, why they’re so cut off at Fayne and she doesn’t have any playmates and only a handful of servants remain.

This isn’t a short book, it’s a hefty tome, but it needs to be as there’s so many layers to the story of this family and especially Charlotte. I felt for her, I was delighted by the later chapters, as Charlotte asserts herself and finds happiness. The lonely grief of the earlier sections was well rewarded. Ghastly aunt Clarissa, so bitter and so conniving, what a shame she wasn’t the Baron. And Mae, oh poor, sweet Mae. Her story is heartbreaking. Have tissues handy, like many 19th Century women, fate was not kind to her.

This is an incredible book, powerful, moving and heartening. My mum used to be a midwife and has delivered intersex babies, the decisions families have to make at what should be a joyous time, can be very tough. Depending on their baby’s situation. As we know now, gender isn’t one thing or another, it can be a lot more complex than that and so is biological sex. I could write whole essays on the various in-between states – from the Disputed County of Fayne itself, to Charlotte, something for a new generation of literature students. I imagine this will be a future classic.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Ravensong – TJ Klune

Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves.

It should have been enough.

And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack . . . and won.

Now , a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the w itch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that how ls between them.

But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s craw ling from within.

Some bonds, no matter how strong, w ere made to be broken.

Ravensong is the second book in the Green Creek series by bestselling author TJ Klune.

My thoughts: filling in some of the gaps from Wolfsong, this starts with Gordo and the Bennett brothers away from Green Creek hunting down the murderer of their father – Richard Collins.

Gordo’s story, especially his relationship with Mark, is filled in with flashbacks, bringing us up to date with the complicated situation before they return to Green Creek and Gordo sees Mark again.

More trouble is coming, because the Green Creek pack seem to attract it, and they will be betrayed by someone they should have been able to trust. They will have to fight, not just for their own lives, but those of every human in town and in the process their secrets will be laid bare.

I really liked Gordo, he’s a complicated person, way too much responsibility was laid on him when he was far too young, but he’s mostly borne it well. Except for when the Bennetts left him alone in the town and went East. Then he rebelled, against them, against his assigned destiny, against his bond with Mark. I don’t really blame him, it was a terrible situation.

But he built his own family, with his friends, Rico, Tanner and Chris. And added Ox years later. They sustain him, even as they tease him mercilessly.

Reconnecting with the Bennetts will take time, something neither he nor the pack really has, and it’s a struggle for him. Ravensong is told from his perspective and it’s interesting to read all his internal wrestling and confusion. The threat they face is big, but he can do it, he’s tied to the land, just like the wolves, and is more powerful than his enemies realise.

Another wonderful visit to Green Creek and the wolves there. Bring on Heartsong, aka book three!

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

blog tour, books

Blog Tour: A Plague of Hatred – Jeremiah Cain

APlagueofHatred copy

Welcome to the tour for dark, epic fantasy A Plague of Hatred by Jeremiah Cain. Read on for more details!

cover-a-plague-of-hatred-by-jeremiah-cain

A Plague of Hatred (The Encroaching Chaos #1)

Genre: Dark Epic Fantasy/ LGBTQ2+ Rep

Publication Date: June 13, 2023

“This dazzling epic fantasy is packed with memorable characters in black, white, and gray.” — BookLife Reviews

On the verge of adulthood, Roslyn’s dreams are simple: Marry Jon and become a healer.

But on the world of Perdinok, the capture of the Church of Deagar by hate-filled fanatics puts Roslyn and all other followers of the blue God Karulus at risk. Soon, soldiers arrive to assassinate Roslyn’s mentor and priest. Dreaded Silthex knights lock eight hundred of Roslyn’s fellow villagers in the local inn–intending to burn them alive. Roslyn must act quickly and grow up quickly.

Years later, having become the legendary resistance leader known as the Blue Rose and an ambassador rallying forces against the repressive Empire, Roslyn is given another assignment: Find out how Chaos energy has been allowed to leak into Perdinok from the Plane of Chaos.

Now, on the slopes of Mount Triumph, Roslyn must call upon all her skills as an Azerent Mage to wrest truth from the twisted temptations and taunts that spew from the mouth of the devious Harpy that she has called up from the Nightmare Realm. Unless she can distill the tint of truth contained in the Harpy’s obscure prophecy of doom, her very planet may be at risk.

Excerpt

She kept walking, continuing unhurriedly down the thin dirt road through the dark woodlands. Her legs ached from the extensive journey, yet she could not risk a carriage driver knowing her destination. Nocturnal insects provided the only sound she’d heard in hours. A hooded cloak, long and forest green, hid all that she was. The constant need to hide had become a crucial necessity.

For over a decade, the Church of Déagar had stood as the one and only legal church within the Dayigan Empire. The worship of God Karulus, her God and savior, was punishable by death.

Nevertheless, Roslyn would not bow.

And so it came to be that, on this cool early spring night of her thirty-second year, she arrived in the shadowy yard of a moonlit cabin.

She knocked five times on the simple wooden door and waited five seconds. She knocked twice more.

A square panel at eye level opened within the door, and a young man peered out. “Bit late, innit, miss? Who may I ask is calling?”

She drew back her hood, showing a thin face with delicate features. Sadness lingered in the blue of her eyes and a frown crossed her lips. Her hair, dirty blond in both color and state, hung limp, retreating into her cloak.

“My name is Roslyn.” Even as she talked to him, she did not meet his gaze. Instead, she kept her eyes, as well as her head, lowered, as was proper. “I’ve come to sail the Veiled River. Will you allow me passage?”

“Sorry, miss. If such a river did exist, ’twould be unsafe to travel.” He began to close the panel.

“But yet, I have my ticket here.” She removed a folded note from a purse on her belt and held it to the hole.

The man pulled in the page and closed the panel door, leaving her in dark silence.

Roslyn waited. As nervous as she was, she remained calm. In the unlikely event that she was being watched, the observer should see nothing but an unsuspicious woman at an unsuspicious door. Luckily—or sadly—she’d had much practice in this sort of thing.

Finally, the door opened and the same young man showed her in. “Welcome to Port Lytel, miss. Lord Karhelm will see you.”

By flickering candlelight, he led Roslyn down a slight, tight hall.

“In here, miss.” He opened a final door, but did not enter with her.

This room was better lit. A fireplace cast a glow supplemented by a tin candelabra on a simple table. Its tallow candles streamed thick lines of black smoke.

A tall, well-built man in his mid-thirties stood in the center of the room.

Even as Roslyn entered, his face gave no sign of salutation.

“I was told you wished to see me, my lord,” she said, keeping her head at a downward tilt.

“You are the Azerent Mage sent by Father Hanugfrie.”

“Azerent Master Healer, my lord. I primarily perform the magic of my specialty and have taken a vow to do no harm. But I trained under Father Hanugfrie for three years and studied at Azerent College for five. Afterwards, I served God Karulus as a healer in multiple ports, during which time I received accolades for skill and merit from both the Order of Azerents and the Karulent Church. Also, I received multiple awards from the Veiled River Commission for bravery as a healer and as an evacuation coordinator, both under life-threatening conditions. I am pleased to join your port, and I know I will be an asset to your team.”

“Quite a mouthful.” He paused without expression and looked her up and down. “At least your appearance is adequate,” he said. “They warned me you’d be a woman. You should know, I find it obscene. A woman casting magic.”

“The Déagrians would say the same of all who practice magic.”

He crossed his arms. “I assume that was meant to be humorous. It wasn’t.”

“Actually, I meant it to be accurate, which it was.”

“Regardless, you are here. Let us hope God Karulus keeps you strong, for in this desperate time, we have no other choice than to utilize your gifts.”

“My thanks, my lord, for allowing me to serve our God.”

“I prefer that you call me Lieutenant.”

“An army rank? You are a soldier?”

“Once, at twenty, I was an honored Dayigan soldier with a royal commission and on my way to commanding thousands. But in an hour, I became a despised criminal. I continue to use the rank to remember that the world can change in a moment. You’d do well to remember the same.”

“Lessons I’ve learnt quite well on my own, Lieutenant.”

Available on Amazon

About the Author

author-pic-jeremiah-cain

Jeremiah Cain is a dark epic fantasy writer of a vivid world that BookLife Reviews called, “rich with detail and myth-lore that traipses brightly through the darker themes.” He served as an army medic and has a BA in Communication with a minor in English. In addition to reading and writing, he loves video games, particularly RPGs. 

Jeremiah Cain

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Button

R&R Book Tours

blog tour, books

Blog Tour: I Promise You Pain – Bart Baker

I Promise you Pain copy

“Not your daddy’s Jack Reacher, Cordon Finn is a different breed…”

Welcome to the book tour for I Promise You Pain by Bart Baker. Read on for more details!

bookcover I Promise You Pain

I Promise you Pain (The Cordon Finn Vengeance Series #1)

Genre: Crime Fiction/ Action Thriller/ LGBTQ2+ Books

Publication Date: May 11, 2023

Hired by a Chicago billionaire to pluck his runaway son from the Palm Springs compound of a wealthy pedophile, former military extraction and information specialist, Cordon Finn, believes it will be a simple snatch-and-go job with a big payday. But Cordon discovers that his quarry isn’t the billionaire’s underage son, but rather his trans-daughter, Lucious, whose father wants her dead. After fighting off assassins, Cordon vows to keep Lucious alive. But when the billionaire kidnaps Cordon’s girlfriend and comes after his family and friends, Cordon takes the fight back to the billionaire’s door. With the help of Lucious and his sister, Annie, Cordon craves vengeance, even if the cost is his own life.

I PROMISE YOU PAIN contains brutal violence as well as raw language, consensual and nonconsensual sex. There are trans and gay characters. Not your daddy’s Jack Reacher, Cordon Finn is a different breed. Fascinating, faceted, damaged but relatable, Cordon seeks vengeance for those who can’t.

Add to Goodreads

Excerpt

“I got money,” Lucious says. “Whatever you’re getting paid for, whatever you’re doing, I can get you more.”

“Shut up,” Cordon demands, pushing Lucious behind him as Cordon plots their escape. As he calculates the route out, Cordon is snapped back to the moment when he hears Luscious behind him.

“I’m at Wayne’s! This fucking lunatic is kidnapping me! He about killed Way—” Lucious barks into his phone as Cordon whips around. Yanking the cell phone from Lucious’s hand, Cordon smashes it against the wall. Dropping the pieces to the floor, Cordon stomps on it.

“What the hell!? That’s a brand-new iPhone!”

“Hear me and hear me good, knucklefuck. You pull any bullshit, you call for help, try to signal someone, anything I don’t like, I will rip that little swimsuit off your ass and gag you with it. Understand?”

“Yeah, but—”

Cordon slaps his hand over Lucious’s mouth. “Shut! Up! You talk, you die. You keep your mouth shut, do as I say, you will come out of this alive, Lucas,” Cordon warns in a harsh whisper as he takes his hand away from Lucious’s mouth.

“Lucious! My name is Lucious! She! Her!”

Again, Cordon slaps his hand over Lucious’s mouth again, his face getting close to hers.

“Don’t! Care!” Cordon snaps back.

Lucious glares into Cordon’s eyes, fighting her rage. She carefully reaches up and pulls Cordon’s hand away from her face. “Why are you kidnapping me?”

Cordon’s finger gets right in Lucious’s face, ignoring her question. “We’re going down those stairs together, our arms around each other, and right out the front door. Remember, you try to alert anyone, I will punch you in the head so hard you will wake up in the hospital if you wake up at all. If I’m clear, nod.”

Lucious defiantly does as asked. As Cordon turns back to the door, Lucious seizes the moment and grabs Cordon’s hand, putting a lock on Cordon’s thumb, slamming her elbow into a pressure point in Cordon’s neck. More startled than injured, Cordon’s free hand comes up fast, right into Lucious’s solar plexus, the air blasting from Lucious’s lungs.

Staggering back, Lucious recovers quickly, jumping into the air and surprising Cordon with a kick that connects with his head. Cordon wobbles a step, his fist coming up defensively. Lucious strikes, pummeling Cordon with kicks and punches, her skill as a fighter remarkable but not

unexpected. Cordon knew the kid was a champion and prepared himself for Lucious to fight back.

Blocking Lucious’s attack, Cordon finds his back against the wall. He drops to the floor and sweeps out Lucious’s legs. Lucious hits the floor hard but startling Cordon, Lucious kips back to her feet, ducks under Cordon’s meaty swing, pile-drives a few punches into Cordon’s rib while screaming for help, hoping someone can hear her over the blasting music.

Cordon shoves Lucious back hard into the dresser, but Lucious comes back swinging and kicking. Cordon continues to block most of Lucious’s blows as Lucious continues to scream for help with each swing and kick. The music continues to drown out her pleas.

“I. Should. Be. The. One. Calling. For. Help!” Cordon barks, as he blocks the flurry of Lucious’s punches from doing any damage.

Needing to batter Cordon back long enough to escape, Lucious leaps in the air, her hips jerking hard as she comes around with a furious spin kick to Cordon’s head. But Cordon catches Lucious by the calf and slams her leg into the wall, holding her there, the leg up around Lucious’s face as the barrel of Cordon’s gun jams into Lucious’s balls.

“Hit me again, I’ll open you up like a can of fish,” Cordon snarls into Lucious’s face.

Slowly letting Lucious’s leg drop, Cordon grabs hold of the dozens of necklaces Lucious wears, many appearing homemade, dangling with a charm or amulet, tightening his grip until the necklaces dig into Lucious’s skin, choking her.

“Turn around,” Cordon orders, spinning Lucious towards the wall.

In the small black bag over his shoulder, Cordon pulls out a two zip ties. “I didn’t want to do this,” Cordon says as he binds Lucious’s hands together with the ties, and then grabs the necklaces again to maintain complete control over the kid. Yanking Lucious’s body against his, Cordon holds her tightly, sliding the gun barrel up to Lucious’s cheek. “This is how serious I am about this. I want to get out of here. And unless you want half your pretty face blown off, you’re going to do what I say. I feel you so much as tense a muscle, I’m going to send you home to your family in a plastic trash bag.”

“My father would like that.”

“Let’s not find out, Bruce Lee.”

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Bart Baker headshot (2)

With seven novels, two seasons of a Kindle Vella story, SCRAPS, eight plays, and 19 produced film and TV credits, Bart has been writing for over 40 years. Starting in the theater, the film rights to Bart’s play, RELAY, were bought by Warner Bros., which led him into screenwriting. Bart has had two feature films produced (LIVE WIRE and SUPERCROSS,) eleven produced movies for television for CBS, ABC, USA, Family Channel, and Hallmark as well as work on four television series including DIRT, starring Courtney Cox. Bart’s novel, HONEYMOON WITH HARRY was a critical and commercial success with the movie rights purchased by New Line/Warner Bros when the book was in galleys.

Bart lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with his husband, Joe Elvis, and two children, Isaiah and Emmanuel. Besides writing, Bart is a lifelong swimmer and gym rat. Follow Bart on Facebook, on Twitter at @firstBartBaker, on Instagram @thefirstBartBaker, IMDB as Bart Baker, or his website http://www.bartvbaker.com.

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Button

R&R Book Tours