We’re celebrating the release of The Sundered Stars with a tour, and we’re thrilled to announce that it’s now available!
The Sundered Stars (The Starborne Saga Book 1)
Publication Date: May 19, 2025
Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy
Comps: Guardians of the Galaxy x Star Wars
Tropes & Story Elements:
🌌 Bounty hunter FMC with chronic pain
🗡️ Tattooed warrior MMC with healing magic & a kind heart
✨ Space empires at war
☄️ Magic AND energy weapons
🌌 A hunt for lost divine artifacts
🗡️ Ragtag found family you’ll adore
✨ Dislike to allies to slow burn lovers (it’s about the yearning 🤌)
☄️ Epic—if not chaotic—battles
🌌 She’s overly protective of her ship
🗡️ He falls first
Betrayal is just the beginning…
After a decade of hunting the Federation’s deadliest criminals, Mora “Mo” Cevi is done risking her life—but she needs a way out. So, when a lucrative military contract lands in her lap, she takes it despite her mistrust of the government.
Steadfast leader Ezra Lyre has dedicated sixteen years to the Federation Space Command, climbing the ranks to become one of the military’s most revered Vanguards. But when he’s assigned to protect a group of archaeologists on a remote dig, he’s confused. The Federation is at war, and he should be on the front lines, not babysitting scholars.
Mo has been fighting Ezra’s orders for days, until a group of traitors steal a treasured artifact, and he needs her to help him bring them to justice. With the Federation rejecting their concerns, they pursue the thieves on their own.
But as their manhunt tangles them in a web of dangerous conspiracies, Mo and Ezra find themselves racing to stop a threat that could destroy the Federation—if their enemies don’t destroy them first.
Skylark in the Fog was the 9th 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.
So when the universe falls to pieces, it doesn’t mean your life has to, right? That comes later.
Jeane Blake, captain of the spaceship Skylark, makes her living by looting dead worlds, planets fallen prey to naturally occurring wormhole-like rifts plaguing the cosmos. She survives the only way she knows how: avoiding commitment and arguing with her dead foster father’s ghost. But when her crew stumbles upon an alien device that could collapse the wormhole network and wipe out all sentient life, they catch the hungry eyes of the Union, a tyrannical empire hunting the sinister tech.
As she flees the Union’s brainwashed agents, Jeane is forced to take on a shady mission and gets stuck assisting the runaway monarch of a technocrat planet. Queen Maura Tholis is seeking the aid of an interstellar resistance to reclaim her war-torn world, with another trouble-magnet device as her bargaining chip: a glove that allows her to command AI systems. Jeane couldn’t care less about the whole deal, but things become personal when the Union annexes the place she calls home. And it might be her fault.
Reluctant to become weapons in the hands of power-hungry militants and desperate rebels, smuggler and queen join forces. But to save their homes, they must redefine themselves, work with the enemy, and face personal traumas they’d buried long ago-and only stars know which challenge might break them in the end.
Helyna L. Clove (she/they) is a lover of the written word, hot comfort drinks, a universe full of stars, and all things neat and kind. She was born in 1988 in Hungary, and was raised in a small village a few miles off the shores of Lake Balaton. Described as someone always having “her head in the clouds”, she spent the first fifteen years of her life mostly consuming books from her dad’s home library, watching some great 90’s sci-fi series and movies, slowly working on her eclectic music taste, and dreaming about being abducted by cool alien friends.
After the arduous years of acquiring her astrophysics degree (because if they were not coming for her, she would damn well at least try and spy on those aliens) she worked as a researcher in Budapest, moving onto the green pastures of South-France in 2018, then Wales in 2022, where she currently lives with her small family of a wonderful boyfriend and Puddle, the tortoiseshell cat. She spends most of her time commandeering telescopes, staring at molecular spectra, writing/reading, cooking, playing video games, and trying her hand at different crafts.
Although she has been, as the Hungarians say, writing to her desk drawer since she was a kindergartener, it wasn’t until 2019 that she stepped out into the world with her stories. In the hell-year of 2020 she finished her first full-length novel, Skylark in the Fog, a light-hearted but honest space opera featuring a grumpy spaceship captain and her wayward friends on a quest to find their metaphorical (and maybe literal) homes, and, if everything goes well which it rarely does, to save the universe as well.
Her current projects include Imbued and Untwined, a new adult/adult dark fantasy duology about magic and love and how those might break the world, a paranormal horror about a team of demonhunters, several other speculative story ideas, and the so-far-untitled sequel to the adventures of the Skylark-crew.
My thoughts: I loved this, it’s exactly the kind of sci-fi I enjoy, a crew of misfits, an impossible mission, chaos, adventure, secrets, overthrowing the evil empire. And it was just lots of fun. Jeane was my favourite, after ALU, that little tin can with its mysterious origin, love of helping and strong bonds of friendship, too cute.
Although if I’m really honest, I loved the whole gang – not a duff character among them. And poor Skylark, definitely here for Skylark 2: Taping the ship back together.
Jeane takes on a quick pick up job for an old friend, while avoiding the Union (evil empire) who are hunting their ship, because of the super secret alien tech they previously collected. Then they get involved in about three wars all at once. Everyone is forced to reckon with their families and upbringing, Jeane almost dies inside an AI system, the evil empire keeps trying to kill everyone, some stuff explodes, some people die (boo!) and then the gang goes their separate ways…which I did not like.
I really hope when book 2 arrives, my new pals are reunited, the evil empire is less evil and Jeane gets to smile occasionally, even though her permanently grumpy mood is very funny. Look, I loved this, it filled a sci-fi hole that I didn’t know I had.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
The Hero Virus tells the thrilling story of Chris Taylor, who is hanging on to life by a thread. Recently widowed, his only reason to carry on is his faithful Labrador, but even that doesn’t stop his willingness to gamble with death every day. When his companion suffers a violent demise, Taylor thinks he has nothing left to live for, until he discovers he has chanced upon a precious gift… when he gets very ill.
The sickness gives him powers and, fairly soon, the authorities are swooping on to the ever-increasing list of cases. The Hero Virus might be different to other illnesses, but it’s no less dangerous. The effect it has on the world, though, is wildly different to any other virus that has come before. The unique reaction of the human body to infection means that everyone wants it. And some will do anything to get it.
How do you stop a pandemic when there are people who will kill for the virus? How do you stop people getting infected when they’re willing to die for it? How do you stop the infected when they have abilities nobody has ever seen before?
The Hero Virus is the second novel from Russell Dumper, after releasing Britannia Rises to widespread acclaim last year, winning him three categories in the 2024 Bookstagram Awards, for Debut Author, Thriller and Historical Fiction. He lives in the east of England with his family and still has many more books in the pipeline. Next, he will be concentrating on The Britannia Series, more of which will be released in the near future. Instagram handle – russ2000_uk
My thoughts: Chris has had a really terrible time, his wife and unborn baby were killed by a drunk driver, he’s struggling to find meaning in his life and then his beloved dog dies too. Falling ill is the last in a long line of bad things, and then he wakes up. Four days have passed and he’s bizarrely strong. Like super hero strong.
As more and more people become infected with this strange new virus – 50% develop powers, the other 50% tragically die, scientists are trying to solve it. A vaccine, a cure, anything, as it’s getting out of control. Some of the powers people develop are truly rubbish, others are extremely dangerous. And one man discovers he can absorb others’ new gifts. Could he be a cure? Or will he become a megalomaniac intent on world domination? Can Chris stop this from happening and will the scientists ever find a way to halt this virus and save lives?
I liked Chris, he never loses his humanity, despite being patient zero and developing this new super strength. He just wants to live his life quietly and for as short a time as possible, considering his losses. Instead he’s being poked and prodded in the name of science, and then asked to basically save the world. Can a man be miserable in peace?
The virus at first seems amazing, but people continue to be people, and are the worst. Trying to get infected in case you’re in the 50% who don’t die, and then your power is that you can make people piss themselves if you touch them? Sounds rubbish. (If you’ve seen the show Extraordinary you might see what I mean, some people’s powers are really crap).
And when they’re rounding up infected people and putting them into comas while the scientists try to unravel the virus? That’s not exactly better. I think I’d rather not bother.
This is an interesting exercise in what happens to people, some get greedy and one goes way, way too far, power corrupts and all that. But Chris remains a bastion of genuine niceness in all of this, yes being super strong is pretty cool, but it doesn’t make him an arrogant monster, and that’s really intriguing.
*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 ARC tour for The Lies that Hide Within! Pre-order now for only $0.99!
The Lies That Hide Within
Expected Publication Date: March 25, 2025
Genre: Dark Dystopian Sci-Fi
If Black Widow & Captain America got together…
Villain redemption arc
Even more steamy slow burn romance than Book 1 (but still a subplot)
Only one tent
Plot twists that make you go😱
Feels like an action movie It’s 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑬𝒗𝒊𝒍 with the found family & humor of 𝒁𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅, the ragtag team & heists of 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓, the mind-bending plot twists of 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑰𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅, & the quirky, fast-paced action of 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒍𝒆.
Penny finally has the one thing she’s always wanted—her brother, back from the dead.
Problem is, he hates her guts—and he should, after the tragedy she brought upon him. Voted “most likely to stab someone in the face” in high school, making nice was never Penny’s strong suit. But for her little brother? She’d do anything.
Even team up with the ever-present thorn in her side and her brother’s favorite human being on f*cking planet Earth, Mal, the giant, hulking, infuriating general. And, unfortunately, her general.
I’d rather punch myself in the face than work with that thunderous oaf.
The Lies That Hide Within is perfect for fans who wonder what it would be like if Black Widow and Captain America ended up together…Book 2 of The Darkness Duology blends Resident Evil with the humor & found family of Zombieland, action/adventure like Kingsman: The Golden Circle, unlikely allies & heists like Baby Driver, and mind-bending twists like Shutter Island.
We’re proud to present the cover for The Sundered Stars by H.E. Bauman and we can’t wait for the tour later this year!
The Sundered Stars (The Starborne Saga Book 1)
Expected Publication Date: May 19, 2025
Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy
Tropes & Story Elements:
-Bounty hunter FMC with chronic pain
-Green flag fire daddy MMC with tattoos and healing magic
-She’s grumpy, he’s more sunshine
-Ragtag found family
-Space empires at war
-Magic and energy weapons
-Ancient gods & divine artifacts
-Dislike to allies to slow burn lovers
-Epic battles
-She’s overly protective of her ship
-He falls first
-Mutual saving of asses
-Dual POV
Betrayal is just the beginning…
After a decade of hunting the Federation’s deadliest criminals, Mora “Mo” Cevi is done risking her life—but she needs a way out. So, when a lucrative military contract lands in her lap, she takes it despite her mistrust of the government.
Steadfast leader Ezra Lyre has dedicated sixteen years to the Federation Space Command, climbing the ranks to become one of the military’s most revered Vanguards. But when he’s assigned to protect a group of archaeologists on a remote dig, he’s confused. The Federation is at war, and he should be on the front lines, not babysitting scholars.
Mo has been fighting Ezra’s orders for days, until a group of traitors steal a treasured artifact, and he needs her to help him bring them to justice. With the Federation rejecting their concerns, they pursue the thieves on their own.
But as their manhunt tangles them in a web of dangerous conspiracies, Mo and Ezra find themselves racing to stop a threat that could destroy the Federation—if their enemies don’t destroy them first.
Welcome to the tour for eMortal by Steve Schafer. If you’re a fan of Ready Player One and The Lunar Chronicles, this one’s for you!
eMortal
Publication Date: November 19, 2024
Genre YA Science Fiction
The 2024 Page Turner Awards SCI FI BOOK OF THE YEAR that’s “unputdownable.”
She made him. He’s just code. She’s almost sure.
…But what if he’s real?
When Liv entered a contest to code an advanced AI, she never anticipated what her creation might become-Breck is thoughtful, self-aware, and incredibly. . .human. And she certainly never intended for him to learn the truth about his existence or the fact that his world ends when the contest closes in six days.
But he does learn. And he revolts.
Liv’s efforts to save him fall on deaf ears. Nobody believes her. Breck’s efforts to outrun his fate only complicate his situation.
What neither of them know is that someone else is watching. Intensely. When they get involved, both Liv’s and Breck’s worlds are turned upside down. . .
I am so, so excited to share this cover with you. This series has been incredible to read, and if you haven’t already, then you really need to meet Sandy. You’ve got till next August to catch up. Buy the first two from Orenda Books or your usual bookshop.
It’s been eighteen months since the traumatic events of The Collapsing Wave, where the Enceladons escaped the clutches of the American military intent on exterminating the peaceful alien creatures.
Lennox and Vonnie have been lying low in the Scottish Highlands, Ava has been caring for her young daughter Chloe, and Heather is adjusting to her new life with Sandy and the other Enceladons in the Arctic Ocean, off the coast of Greenland. But fate is about to bring them together again for one last battle.
When Lennox and Vonnie are visited by Karl Jensen, a Norwegian billionaire intent on making contact with the Encedalons again, they are wary of subjecting the aliens to further dangers. But when word arrives that Ava’s daughter has suffered an attack and might die without urgent help, they reluctantly make the trip to Greenland, where they enlist the vital help of local woman Niviaq.
It’s not long before they’re drawn into a complex web of lies, deceit and death. What is Karl’s company really up to? Why are sea creatures attacking boats? Why is Sandy acting so strangely, and why are polar bears getting involved?
Profound, ambitious and immensely moving, The Transcendent Tide is the epic conclusion to the Encedalons Trilogy – a final showdown between the best and worst of humanity, the animal kingdom and the Encedalons. The future of life on earth will be changed forever, but not everyone will survive to see it…
Afua is a promising acolyte of the Shanta Order, on the densely forested planet of Nuafri.
She volunteers to educate orphans – her lively ophanti – every ninth day. When one of her wards goes missing in a dangerous area full of sinkholes and deadly fauna, Afua knows the authorities won’t do anything about a single lost child. Luckily for the orphan, Afua will.
She is armed only with her knowledge of wildlife, and implanted augmentations that can sometimes deter attacks. But she is not alone. The sentient, insect-like Dooga she has bonded with, named Akalie, will follow her anywhere, despite being heavily pregnant.
An unforgettable Amazofuturist adventure about compassion, courage, and finding your way in life.
Karl Drinkwater writes dystopian space opera, dark suspense and diverse social fiction. If you want compelling stories and characters worth caring about, then you’re in the right place. Karl lives in Scotland and owns two kilts. He has degrees in librarianship, literature and classics, but also studied astronomy and philosophy. Dolly the cat helps him finish books by sleeping on his lap so he can’t leave the desk. When he isn’t writing he loves music, nature, games and vegan cake.
Christoffer Petersen lives in a small forest in Jutland, in southern Denmark. He hasn’t always been Danish; in fact, he borrowed his pseudonym surname from his Danish wife, Jane. Chris writes all kinds of stories in different genres, but is best known for his crime books and thrillers set in Greenland. While living in Greenland, Chris studied for a Master of Arts in Professional Writing from Falmouth University. Chris graduated with a distinction in 2015. He has been writing full-time since January 2018.
My thoughts: Set in the same universe as Karl’s Lost Solace books (which I’m a big fan of) Afua is responsible for a group of young orphans. When one goes missing, despite the dangers of the forest, she sets off with only her insect-like Dooga, Akalie, to help.
Chased by a monstrous creature, the duo follow the scent of the missing child into a hole in the ground, finding a mysterious object buried and forgotten. Could it be one of the strange Lost Ships Afua has heard of? What she’s discovered will change her entire life.
While this fits into the Lost Solace stories very nicely, with references to some of the other stories (indeed Afua is mentioned in at least one!) I think it can easily be read as a standalone novella about living on a future world and the way humans have adapted to survive. Although I also recommend diving into the Lost Solace series.
*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 celebration the release of Neon is the Colour of Vengeance: A Tragic and Spicy MM Mafia Romance by Elanor Miller!
Anyone who is a fan of this era and aesthetic will love the prequel companion novel in Elanor Miller’s Flappers & False Gods series.
Neon is the Colour of Vengeance : A Tragic and Spicy MM Mafia Romance (Flappers and False Gods)
Publication Date: November 5, 2024
✨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.
The year is 2423, and the Jazz Age is in full swing—again.
Hugo Ford is the most dangerous man in Tenebrium City. A mafia hitman with a singular focus, born and raised to do one thing—and he does it very well. He completes every mission. He cashes every chit. He never misses and he never fails…that is, until he’s tasked with killing Evan Carter.
Inexplicably drawn to the man, Hugo finds himself unable to kill him. Never before in his life has he disobeyed one of his boss’s orders, but there is just something about Evan Carter. Forced to form an uneasy alliance, the pair strike a deal to save Evan’s life and cover up Hugo’s failings hoping to deliver them both from a grisly fate at the hands of Tenebrium’s mafia and Hugo’s own family.
Enemies at first, unsure of who to trust and where to turn, it isn’t long before they have to confront their feeling for one another. On the streets rival families war as the pair fall irrevocably, desperately, in love. But their secret won’t stay secret forever.
Far too soon all is laid bare with deadly consequences and Hugo must ask himself: how far is he willing to go for revenge?
Beware this is 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 is set in the same futuristic Gatsby era as my Flappers & False Gods series and can be read as a standalone or prequel companion novel as it features entirely new characters.
Lovers of John Wick and Peaky Blinders will find a home in Tenebrium City’s dark underworld.
Happy publication day to author Bri Eberhart, and congratulations on the release of Strangers in Our Hearts!
Strangers in Our Hearts
Release date: October 22, 2024
Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy/YA Science Fantasy
Audience: Upper YA 16+
Discovering special powers
Found family
Power and technology
Pre-dystopian setting
Social and political turmoil
Theo Goodwin is used to running, while Gemma Roberts wants nothing more than to find somewhere to call home—someplace to belong. With the threat of the Authorities looming, despite their strange connection and a shared desire to protect their family, a compromise between fight or flight is no easy feat. As they traverse a new shared life together, they must learn to understand one another for the survival of not only themselves but also those they hold dear.
When a new group swoops in with their own unique powers and motivations that threaten to ruin everything Theo and Gemma have worked toward, the invitation into their broader community has its appeals but equal drawbacks. Tension simmers within their crew, testing their bonds and questioning their unity. As they navigate this delicate balance, they’ll discover the world isn’t what it seems and finally put a word to what they are—mutants. More are found every day, with abilities far beyond what they thought possible. And the Authorities are doing more than hunting them down.
With mutants on the precipice of war with the government, will they decide to join the cause and fight or continue to run and hide?
ramblingmads 