We’re celebrating the release of Selfish Desires by Michelle Hall this week! The big day is August 23rd!
Selfish Desires
Publication Date: August 23, 2024
Genre: Contemporary Romance
❤️Second Chance
🧊Morally Gray MMC
❤️Spice in Ch2
🧊Light BDSM
❤️Destroy her to protect her
🧊Groveling
❤️40 Somethings
🧊“Good girl/sl*t/wh*re”
❤️Third act oopsie baby
The love of my life, the person I trusted most, abandoned me in the worst way possible. There was no warning, not a single clue—just pure, devastating abandonment. I was left to pick up the pieces of my shattered heart.
To survive, I fled. I left behind everything and everyone I knew and loved, all in the desperate hope of forgetting him.
But then Vincent came back, and all the healing I thought I had achieved crumbled in an instant. He begged for my forgiveness, claiming he had no choice in what he did. Yet, I knew he always had a choice—and he chose wrong.
He said everything he did was to keep me safe. But safe from what?
Emotions I thought I had buried resurfaced, and while my mind screamed no, my heart whispered otherwise.
How could I give a second chance to the man who ruined me? How could I even consider it?
We’re celebrating the upcoming release of Ocean Song this week! Pre-order a copy early a get one on August 27th!
Oceansong
Release Date: August 27, 2024
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romantasy
🧜🏼♂️Merfolk Mythology 🌊Ocean-based magic ⚔️Enemies-to-lovers 💘Forbidden & Slow Burn Romance 👨👩👧👦Asian family dynamics 😒🌞Grumpy (female) x sunshine (male) 💞HEAs 🥧Cinnamon roll male LI 🤨Prickly, snarky female MC who’s a softie inside 🏘️Small-town settings (Alaska)
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
OCEANSONG is an Adult Contemporary Romantasy that is an Asian Romeo & Juliet meets The Little Mermaid, set in the grittiness of the real world.
Fish are mysteriously disappearing, starving the people in Angie Song’s Alaskan hometown. Angie, an aspiring marine biologist and dock worker, enthusiastically joins the hunt to find out where the fish are gathering. When her family and the villagers discover that merfolk are responsible, they vow to destroy every last one. In the midst of the conflict, Angie faces off with a merman and fails to pull the trigger.
Inquisitive Mer-Prince Kaden is just as snarky as Angie, but he’s willing to talk and stop the brutal massacring of his people. The two form a cautious alliance to broker peace between the humans and mer before any more of them die.
As tensions clash between the two races fighting to control the sea’s resources, Angie and Kaden’s forbidden relationship ignites. And as she learns about the mer’s mysterious world and the reason why the fish are gone, Angie starts to question who the true monster is, and where her loyalties lie. Taking the wrong side means choosing between family and her job, or the man she’s fallen for and the merfolk she’s come to respect—or losing it all.
Anyone who is a fan of this time period and aesthetic will love the cover for the prequel companion novel in Elanor Miller’s Flappers & False Gods series.
NEON IS THE COLOUR OF VENGEANCE
✨MM Mafia Romance❤️🔥 ✨Enemies to lovers 🔪 ✨Spicy🌶️🥵 ✨Tragic💔 ✨Reveņge plot🩸 ✨Set in a futuristic Gatsby era🍸 ✨John Wick/Peaky Blinders vibes🔫
He loved. He lost. He killed.
NEON IS THR COLOUR OF VENGEANCE is a dark MM mafia romance about a hitman who fell in love with the man he was supposed to kill only to have that man murdered by the people he trusted most.
It’s a tale of love, death, grief and vengeance with no happy ending.
By night or neon light, he will have his revenge.
NEON IS THE COLOUR OF VENGEANCE can be read on its own, or as a prequel to the main series as it features new characters
Lady Ashby is grieving the death of her beloved husband just two years earlier. Although still young and beautiful, Isabella is resolved never to marry again, and plans to leave London, return to her parents’ Yorkshire house, and resign from society before the year is over. But first, she wants one more taste of life…
Isabella has written a list, the contents of which, if discovered, would create a scandal that neither she nor her family would recover from. A list of things she would like to experience, just once more, before she surrenders herself to the life of a widow. And she knows just the man to help her: her friend, handsome and honourable Captain Leo Winterton.
But Captain Winterton has a secret of his own. He is in love with Isabella – and when she makes her most improper proposal to him, he is powerless to resist her, even if she is resolved never to love again. Can he persuade her they are destined to be together? Or will their impropriety be discovered, to the ruin of both?
Emma was born in Salford and studied English Literature at the universities of Edinburgh and York. Her first job after graduating was as a Copy-Editor at Mills & Boon, where she met her husband in a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. Emma has worked behind the scenes in television and as a Literary Agent, and in 2020 started writing Georgette Heyer fan-fiction.
My thoughts: There’s a belief that the Regency period was really buttoned up and unsexy but the king and queen had 15 children, what did people think they were doing? The Prince Regent was infamous for his behaviour (he couldn’t stand his wife, but he did have lots of lovers) so in a way, although people weren’t openly having sexual relationships, there was plenty going on as long as you kept it quiet, especially in the ton.
Lady Ashby has been widowed for two years and after recovering from a breakdown following her husband’s death, she’s determined to do things on her own terms – she doesn’t want a husband, she would prefer a no strings lover, she’s got a list and wants to get through it.
She’s picked handsome Captain Leo Winterton (who served with her husband in the wars against Napoleon) to be her first option – if he says no, she also has a list for that. Thankfully he agrees to a discreet, private arrangement.
This is a very sexy book, there’s lots of sex scenes, but thankfully they’re not too cringe worthy. And of course keeping the feelings out of it, doesn’t quite work out.
I really enjoyed this, Isabella was a very modern protagonist – she knows what she wants and she goes for it. Which I loved, she’s no shrinking violet. I also liked Leo, he’s the one dealing with feelings for once and it’s a refreshing change to the female lead with the crush.
*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 newly released debut romantasy novel by Jodie Angell with a book tour this week! Make sure you grab a copy today!
Crimson Kiss (The Ancient Spells Trilogy Book 1)
Publication Date: August 5, 2024
Genre: Romantasy
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️
✨ forced proximity
✨ he fell first
✨ it was always her
✨ cinnamon roll MMC
✨ four horsemen of the apocalypse reimagined
✨ elemental beings
✨ spice
A mage. A knight. A destiny…
When the Orcs lay siege to the Eyre, Evalyn’s family are murdered, and she finds herself the last surviving heir to the kingdom of Arogath. She has no choice but to flee the only place she’s called home. With Felix, a sworn bodyguard by her side, she desperately seeks refuge.
It’s not long before Evalyn discovers the brutal lengths the Orcs will go to in order to expand their territory, and with her people’s lives at stake, she is forced to unearth a long since buried magic. As she grapples to control her volatile powers and fill the role of queen, enemies rise in all corners of the kingdom—some with carefully curated disguises. And they are much closer than she thought.
Despite it all, Felix remains a constant. Her childhood friend, her loyal protector. With a war raging around them, she finds herself falling for him. And the cost of saving her people from a terrible fate might just be her heart.
We’re gearing up for the release of A Throne of Wings and Embers by Emilia Jae and thought it would be fun to go back to the beginning!
The Dagger And The Forbidden Heir (The Forbidden Heir Trilogy Book 1)
“Throne of Glass meets House of the Dragon”
Tropes:
❤️🔥 enemies to lovers
🗡️ touch her & you 💀
🗝️ lovers to enemies
🌙 forced proximity / one bed
⚔️ fae & human war
🐉 mythical creatures
✨ fated mates
🗣️ fun modernized banter
🤍 found family
🩸 revenge
Can they survive the truth of their war?…Can their hearts?
A century ago, an exchange was proposed: a life saved for a war of revenge.
For Captain Lia Solus of the fae army, and the secret bastard daughter of the king, she’s reminded of those consequences daily. Unable to claim her heritage or her throne, she’s powerless to stop the innocent bloodshed that her birth ushered in.
On the other side of the lines, Commander Jace Cadoria gladly fights the war of his ancestors to slaughter the fae who have terrorized the humans of their realm for generations. And with a cunning plan to trap them, the end could finally be in sight. Except it quickly spirals out of control, leaving Lia and Jace, enemies of opposite sides, stranded together in a dangerous terrain.
Engaged in an intimate battle of their own, both warring to take control, they’ll need their wits now more than ever to survive. Because this fight could cost their lives—and their hearts.
The Forbidden Heir Trilogy is a fun and chaotic new take on fantasy, featuring enemies-to-lovers, fun modernized banter, dragons, heartache, adventure, and dark sorcery that grows throughout the series. This is written in multiple, 1st person POV, including the villains, and is a character-driven romantic fantasy. The story will be enjoyed by lovers of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Carissa Broadbent. Throne of Glass meets House of the Dragon.
CONTENT WARNING:
Please note that this book is not intended for readers below the age of eighteen (18). This warning is due to explicit language, violence/gore, mentions of past child abuse, and mentions of sexual assault.
A bond that even time cannot break Storm Berger has never forgiven himself for his younger sister Madison’s disappearance. Suspecting she’s travelled back to the ninth century in the footsteps of other family members, Storm can only make sure she’s safe by going after her.
Raised unconventionally as her father’s only child, Freydis has never been content to simply accept her fate. So, when she’s promised in marriage to a tyrant, she’s determined to find a way out of the arrangement. Help comes in the form of a mysterious and attractive stranger stranded on her island’s shores: Storm. The only way Freydis can truly be free is for Storm to marry her himself. But that would mean entwining lives that, until now, have been separated by centuries. . .
Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a Vice President and former Chair and of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. LEGACY OF THE RUNES (time travel historical romance published by Headline Review 15th August 2024) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
My thoughts: This final book in the Runes series has Maddie’s brother Storm head into the 9th Century looking for her (see Tempted by the Runes for Maddie’s story)
Of course things don’t go according to his plan, on the way to Iceland, the ship he’s on is attacked and has to put in to Orkney. There he meets Freydis. She’s trying to find a way to get out of a marriage that’s been arranged for her against her will. Meeting Storm, there’s an instant connection. Might he be the way to escape her life?
I have really enjoyed this series, and it was really nice to have all the members of Mia and Haakon’s family’s (foster son and daughter’s best friend included) stories come full circle, with them happy either in the 9th or 21st centuries. Storm was an interesting protagonist – he’s trying to make up for his mistake, even though in the end Maddie wasn’t in the danger he feared. Falling in love with Freydis certainly wasn’t part of his plan. But I loved Freydis – raised more like a son by her late father, she doesn’t fit in in the 9th Century, and her mother is a miserable cow who doesn’t want her only daughter around. Meeting Storm changes her whole life in a really good way – and the 21st century suits her better.
I’m a bit sad this series has ended (although the author did say in her note at the end of the book that you never know!) but I’m excited to see what Christina writes next.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
For fans of Diana Gabaldon and Philippa Gregory, courtly rivalry and intrigue…
He is tasked with the most dangerous of missions. She is only there from duty. But in the face of treachery and injustice, might they need each other more than they could know…?
1613: Scotland and England, unified under one crown, are reeling from the sudden death of King James’ popular eldest son, Henry, as rumours swirl that the prince was poisoned. Andrew Logan, one of the King’s Messengers, is sent north with secret orders to find and arrest the man the king suspects.
Phoebe Westaway cannot abide Andrew Logan. But when her ageing father is tasked with helping Logan, Phoebe finds herself with no choice but to join them in their quest to capture Sir David Moray, once Prince Henry’s trusted courtier, and carry him to London to stand trial for the prince’s murder. It’s a journey rife with complications.
Sir David has no intention of allowing himself to be delivered to London, and as he draws them deeper into the dark web of court alliances and rivalries, Phoebe realises she might have more need of Logan than she believes. A story of justice, honour, truth and love – and survival against impossible odds…
New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley is a former museum curator who loves restoring the lost voices of real people to the page, interweaving romance and historical intrigue with modern adventure. Over 1.5 million copies of her books have been sold and have been translated into over 25 languages.
Her writing career began in 1993 when her then-unpublished novel Mariana won the Catherine Cookson Fiction Prize. Since then she has writen twelve novels and won various awards, and has twice made the final of Romantic Novel of the Year awards. She lives near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
My thoughts: This was so good, Susanna Kearsley brings the past vibrantly and vividly to life, the characters are well written and their lives are recognisable even though they lived so long ago and in a situation so unlike anything most of us would live.
Andrew Logan is a King’s Messenger at the court of King James I & VI and his Queen, Anna. He has been charged with travelling to Scotland and collecting Sir David Moray – who the King suspects had something to do with his son and heir’s death. Prince Henry has been somewhat relegated to a footnote in history – the drama of his younger brother’s reign (Charles I) overshadows his very existence in history books.
But the terrible period after his death, suspicion and mourning, the Royal couple estranged and the fact theirs may well have been a rather unhappy marriage, is brought to life here.
The story of the long journey back from Scotland, which now takes hours, took days on horseback, stopping at inns and houses along the way to spend the night, bring the travellers together. There’s not just Andrew and David, but also Phoebe and her father, a scribe, and a young boy who was definitely my favourite character, Hector. They survive being chased by David’s cousin and his men, the risk of robbery, the threat from other members of the King’s court, and tragedy.
There’s also a sweet love story, as Phoebe gets to know Andrew better, and realises he isn’t the person she thought he was. Andrew’s kindness, bravery and sense of justice shine through as he leads the small group from Scotland down through the body of England to the court in London, balancing his duty to the king with his growing admiration of Sir David Moray.
This was a truly fascinating, interesting book and I was totally drawn into the world of Andrew and Phoebe.
*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 thrilled to present the cover for A Corporate Arrangement by Shar Khan. Pre-order today!
A Corporate Arrangement
Expected Publication Date: February 14, 2024
Genre: Romance/ Second Chance
Second chance romance
Fake dating
Golden retriever mmc
Black cat FMC
“It was always you”
Love contracts
William Chu hates his job though he worked hard for his title. He didn’t think all his years of studying would leave him as an entry level journalist who does the work for ten people at the New York Times. He can’t complain…but does anyway. Especially when he’s finally allowed to write a piece for the paper only for it to be overshadowed by something bigger.
An overnight TikTok sensation known as “Billionaire Babe” has flooded every corner of the internet. Tasteful pictures of her Forbes 30 under 30 debut falling into the hands of YouTubers, influencers, reactors and even gossip columns has completely stolen the heart of every single person in the Newsroom. But not William. Not when he realizes that Billionaire Babe is, in fact, the girl he left behind when he sought bigger things.
Harper Lahiri.
When fate brings their paths together, the two find themselves leaning on each other again. Not as estranged friends who mutually seem to dislike each other, but two people in love. With a corporate arrangement settled between the both of them, William and Harper agree to the terms of a fake dating scheme bound to make them look every bit of America’s most treasured sweethearts while also humbling their families in the process.
In a world that long lost its moral axis, free will was the chain that tied a God’s vengeance to his entertainment.
With nothing but hope to keep her dark thoughts afloat, Tiadola waited for centuries for the preordained trials that would end her life to begin. But nothing could have prepared her for the moment they were set in motion by encountering the dragon compelled to hunt her.
When the stranger she thought the dragon had sent after her quickly becomes her friend instead, the lines between want and need become a blur as they embark together on a journey towards her imminent trials.
Caught between her desire to continue living in order to save the human realms and the mental warfare that the trials would entail, would she be able to become the first of her kind to win?
Triggers/CW:
Violence, existential angst, loss, death and sexually explicit content.
I write about existential angst in steamy fantasy novels.
Even though I started writing in high school, I never thought I’d get here and start an entire trilogy but here we are.
I’m a bookworm at heart and enjoy reading various genres from classics to pitch black horror romances.
I live in Romania and when I’m not working my full time job as a software engineer, I spend my days off on road trips through Europe with my husband and overprotective pug, reading and/or writing.
ramblingmads 