RELEASE BLITZ for Eminently Elf (D’Vaire Book 13) by Jessamyn Kingley (excerpt)

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Eminently Elf (D’Vaire, Book 13)

Author: Jessamyn Kingley

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: LJ Anderson of Mayhem Cover Creations

Release Date: July 25, 2019

Genre/s:  M/M Urban Fantasy Romance

Trope/s: Fated Mates

Themes: Love, Courage

Heat Rating:  3 flames

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Even for a legend, victory has a price.

Blurb

Emperors Chrysander and Ellery Draconis are in love and looking toward the future. Ellery is the first hybrid to survive a dragon shift, becoming a legend. Chrysander couldn’t be happier with his elf dragon, and for the first time he is truly savoring life. Despite the demands of their schedules as the leaders of the Council of Sorcery and Shifters, the pair have also managed to find balance. But not everyone is happy to see the leader of the dragons with a half-elven mate.

As the two go about their daily business, those sworn to protect them work tirelessly each day to ensure the safety of their emperors. They lived through the horror of the previous rulers being murdered and are all too aware of the dangers that lie in wait. Nothing is left to chance, but regardless of their dedication, not even they can prevent evil from rising from the mists.

On a seemingly ordinary day, an unexpected attack shocks everyone. A matebond is taken to the brink and the limits of magic are tested as the strongest forces unite to try to repair the damage. It will take time, patience, and perseverance for good to prevail. Chrysander and Ellery will once again overcome the odds and emerge victorious, but in the end, nothing will ever be the same.

 

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US Author Page 

Amazon UK Author Page

 

Excerpt

Ellery tugged the linen top of his pajamas over his head and crawled into bed. There was noise from the sitting room that told him Chrysander wasn’t ready to join him yet. With a shrug, Ellery picked up the tablet on the nightstand and went through the notes Zane sent him regarding the next vote in the Main Assembly Hall. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chrysander stalk into the room and keep going until he’d shut himself into the bathroom.

When he emerged several minutes later, he still had a loose pair of black pants on that he’d donned when they got upstairs. 

“Are you all packed?” Chrysander asked as he climbed up onto the mattress and crawled over Ellery.

Setting his tablet aside, Ellery smiled at the handsome dragon as he got closer to him. “Yes, I think so. It is so strange to think of moving into a hotel tomorrow.”

Chrysander kissed him and settled his weight comfortably over Ellery. “Damian’s probably going to stay up all night memorizing the floor plans. He’s not going to be happy until we get back here and the condo is finished.”

“He has been very pleased that he and your brothers are in charge of the security features in this place.”

“And that we gave them carte blanche. It kind of scares me how much technology Damian is going to put in this place. I don’t want to have to do a retinal scan to use the bathroom.”

Ellery slid his hands into Chrysander’s thick hair. “That would be inconvenient.”

“We’re going to have to wrestle more control from Wesley. He can’t skip informing our security about things like having a giant-ass buffet at the back of an enormous throne room, blocking the main doors.”

Ellery didn’t want to talk about Wesley. The truth was, he could hardly stand the office assistant, and he would bet all Tiri’s swear word money that the feeling was mutual. “He has been too comfortable in his role, perhaps.”

“He does a good job. He just needs to be reminded of the rules. I was so damn busy before that I truly had no choice but to pass a lot of things off to him. Our schedule’s lighter now, and the royal family should be making these decisions.”

“Other than the food fiasco, I thought the ceremony went well.”

“Poor Tiri looked terrified.”

“He gets nervous that he will disrespect Zane in some way.”

Chrysander lifted an incredulous brow. “How could he ever do that?”

“I have no clue. He is amazing, and he loves Zane very much.”

“I should tell you something.”

“What’s that?”

“I love someone very much as well.”

Ellery eagerly accepted Chrysander’s kiss. “That is interesting. Is it anyone I know?”

“You might’ve heard of him.”

Lifting his chin so Chrysander could better nibble Ellery’s neck, he tried to keep the thread of their conversation going while his body hummed with the desire that always rested just below his skin for his other half. “Can you be more specific?”

After leaving a trail of soft kisses over his jaw, Chrysander tongued the two earrings Fate left in Ellery’s ear after they were mated, which always drove him wild inside. “He’s an elf.”

Ellery wasn’t sure why everyone insisted on focusing on that part of him first, but his dick was hard, and he wasn’t going to get into a disagreement with Chrysander over it. “Just an elf?”

Pushing his hands under Ellery’s tunic, Chrysander slid his palm over the muscles of his belly. “No, he’s a hybrid.”

“That is certainly interesting,” Ellery managed as Chrysander toyed with one nipple.

“They say dragon mixes die at their first shift, but not my mate.”

Ellery spread his legs and bent his knees, cradling Chrysander’s hips between them. The thick length of Chrysander’s cock bumped into his and caused him to let out a moan. “I may have heard of him.”

“He’s the most beautiful dragon in the world.” 

Clutching Chrysander’s short locks tighter, the dragon brought his lips close enough to taste. Ellery dipped his tongue in, and their mouths were way too busy for words as he undulated against Chrysander, suddenly desperate for any kind of friction.

 

About the Author

Jessamyn Kingley lives in Nevada where she begs the men in her head to tell her their amazing stories which she dutifully writes it all down in what has become a small mountain of notebooks. She falls in love with each couple and swears whatever book she wrote last is her absolute favorite.

Jessamyn is married and working toward remembering to start the dishwasher without being distracted by the scent of the magical detergent. For personal enjoyment, she aids in cat rescue while slashing and gashing her way through mobs in various MMORPGs. Caffeine is her very best friend and is only cast aside briefly for the sin better known as BBQ potato chips.

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Release Blitz and Giveaway for Trusting The Elements by Elle Keaton

 

 
Length: 50,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Cate Ashwood
 
Cover Photo: Paul Henry Serres



Blurb


There’s nothing like a near death car accident to open your eyes. Otto Proulx decides surviving was a sign; he’s being given a second chance to claim the life he wants to live. For the past few years he’s been hiding in the shadows, vague texts from a troubled ex-partner keep him at home along with his general lack of luck in the romance department. This is his last chance, he’s certain, this time he’ll meet the man for him, the one he’s sure is out there somewhere.


Greg Trainor runs a specialty kite shop and helps his friends out when they ask. That’s the kind of guy he is, if somebody needs something, they call on Greg. He’s a big guy and no genius, but he’s dependable. So…yeah, when he sees a car precariously perched on the side of the road, he stops to help out; it’s what he does.


One night of passion leads to…several more and suddenly both men are searching around to define what they have together. Neither wants to scare the other off and neither wants to ask for more. Will the two men be able to set aside their fears and create a family together, trusting the elements are in their favor?

Thanks for stopping by, I’m Elle Keaton and I hail from the northwest corner of the US where we are known for rain, rain and more rain. I write the Accidental Roots series, set here in the Pacific Northwest featuring hot mm romance and the guarantee of a happy ending for my men. They start out broken, and maybe they end up that way too, but they always find the other half of their hearts.


I started writing way back when but only began publishing about two and a half years ago and now have nine books out. Each features a couple in my little universe, sometimes there is added mystery and suspense.


Thank you for supporting this Indie Author,


Elle


Find me, follow me, friend me:


Website: https://www.ellekeaton.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ElleKeatonWrites
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HighwayToElle/
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New Release Blitz and Giveaway for Out of the Office by Louisa Masters

“A cute short read…!”
Title: Out of the Office
Stand-alone Novella
Genre: M/M Romance
Word count: 18k

Whoever thought achieving career goals could be boring? Not Duncan Witten, but here he is at forty-one, in his dream job… and hating it. Throw it all away for a challenge? Yes, please!

If only Dunc had known his challenging new job came with Paul Hanks, a man who redefines “stubborn.” They need to work together to meet targets, but thanks to Dunc’s idiot predecessor, Paul won’t take his calls or reply to emails.

There’s only one solution: travel across the country and confront Paul face-to-face. It’s time to take things out of the office.

Just 0.99!

Continue reading “New Release Blitz and Giveaway for Out of the Office by Louisa Masters”

A MelanieM Review : What Lies Beneath (Lancaster Falls Trilogy #1) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

In the hottest summer on record, Iron Lake reservoir is emptying, revealing secrets that were intended to stay hidden beneath the water. The tragic story of a missing man is a media sensation, and abruptly the writer and the cop falling in love is just a postscript to horrors neither could have imagined.

Best Selling Horror writer Chris Lassiter struggles for inspiration and he’s close to never writing again. His life has become an endless loop of nothing but empty pages, personal appearances, and a marketing machine that is systematically destroying his muse. In a desperate attempt to force Chris to complete unfinished manuscripts his agent buys a remote cabin. All Chris has to do is hide away and write, but he’s lost his muse, and not even he can make stories appear from thin air.

Sawyer Wiseman left town for Chicago, chasing the excitement and potential of being a big city cop, rising the ranks, and making his mark. A case gone horribly wrong draws him back to Lancaster Falls. Working for the tiny police department in the town he’d been running from, digging into cold cases and police corruption, he spends his day’s healing, and his nights hoping the nightmares of his last case leave him alone.

What Lies Beneath (Lancaster Falls Trilogy #1) by R.J. Scott is a delicious dive into the first installment in a three part murder mystery series.  Told from two points of view and grounded so thoroughly in small town politics and “in your pocket” interpersonal relationships that you feel both the charm and the suffocation of the  Lancaster Falls atmosphere immediately.

RJ Scott builds a very accurate picture  of small town life, all the good and the bad, from the perspectives of two men, Chris and Sawyer, who have both grown up in such circumstances, albeit in different towns. It has left an indelible mark on both men, and it’s not exactly all great one.  But ironically it’s where both men have been drawn back to after the lowest moments in their lives. Chris, after a horrendous breakup now has the writer’s block to end all writer’s block and a contract deadline to meet.  Sawyer?  Well, he has his own multiple demons that haunt him. All from this past.  And it brought both men to Lancaster Falls.

How they meet, how RJ Scott builds this creepy mystery or mysteries,all while folding in the history of the town and  the reservoir that’s draining from the drought, its mud caked bottom being slowly exposed…it’s masterful!  It has the effect of sending chills up your body while making you lean forward towards your Kindle wanting to know, full of anticipation, what is going to happen next.

There’s the horror and empathy you feel towards the family and friends of the missing man.  The terror that starts to build as a clearer picture forms for the overall arc Scott is creating for  the trilogy.  Plus the intense connection  to the romance of Chris and Sawyer, one they fall into fast, lust to love but somehow it works with these two.

The descriptions set the tone, worthy of the horror writer that Chris is himself.  The pace RJ Scott sets for her characters and plot brisk and often heartstopping.  This is going to be one addictive trilogy and I’m almost, I said almost sorry I didn’t wait until they were all done, so I could binge read all the way through.  Now I have to wait until fall because where this stopped? Argh!  Perfect…if you love frustration.  Yes, I need that next story!

Yes, I love this story.  And the characters and now I want to pound on something because I want the next story.  But oh well.  Until I get it, I’m highly recommending this one to all who love M/M murder/mystery romances and of course, the writings of R.J. Scott.

 

Sales Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | KOBO | B&N | Apple Books | Smashwords  | Universal Link

Book Details:

ebook, 254 pages
Published July 16th 2019 by Love Lane Books (first published July 12th 2019)
Original Title What Lies Beneath
ISBN1 39781785641749
Edition Language English
Series Lancaster Falls Trilogy #1

 

A Chaos Moondrawn Release Day Review:Anhaga by Lisa Henry

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

This is written in the third person point of view of Aramin, or Min, who I wasn’t sure had anything to recommend his character except his adopted nephew Harry. This is the first clue that he has a heart in his cynical, morally flexible shell and if he lashes out in anger or bitterness, well it’s better than fear. His sass and wit are part of his charm. When Edward, the head of the Sabadine family, curses Harry to coerce Min into retrieving his grandson Kazimir from a seaside village called Anhaga, it starts a series of series of events that lead to tensions between the King of Amberwich and the Hidden Lord.

A large part of the book focuses on the morality or even fairness of what’s happening. I can’t help but think if the journey had taken longer, if the love had been fully actualized between Min and Kaz, it would have been more heart wrenching and interesting: a Sophie’s Choice, where random chance is morally preferable in the moral dilemma Min is caught in. It’s so close, but doesn’t quite get there because while there is lust, guilt, fascination, and attachment…it is not quite love yet in my opinion. Edward’s son, Robert, is also stuck between doing something reprehensible while doing his duty and being loyal to his father, or protecting his daughter. At first I wondered why Talys was even allowed/made to come on this journey and then I realized Robert probably thought it was the lesser of two evils rather than leaving her with Edward. There is a side love story with Talys and Henry. Of course, she is convenient for moving the plot along as are all the women in this story; they are strong, brave, and resourceful. Henry is sweeter than Min ever had a chance to be, and Min tries to keep him that way. Large parts of this show Robert in a bad light, but is Robert doing any less for Talys?

This book…was not what I was expecting. I was expecting high fantasy. I think it’s really a fairy tale. Sometimes I felt like it was trying to do too much and so it missed the opportunity to be great at any one thing. For instance, the scenery is described well, but not well enough for those who love fantasy world-building. There is nothing except what needs to be there at any particular moment. There is one well done love scene that shows you the possiblity of what Min and Kaz could be to each other, but the circumstances are not romantic. If looked at through the lens of a fairy tale, maybe I should just accept it is love, although to me that is what comes after the adventure. I thought this book was going to show the fae as beautiful and terrible as the lore does, only to have that change in the last chapter. Having said that, the creepy scenes are my favorite in the whole book–that feeling of catching your breathe and holding it. Once it gets going, the pacing is fast, as the plot moves from one point to the next. The book is foreshadowed well, but still manages to have a few surprises that are logical. Fairy tales get away with many things other stories do not, and this is so charming and satisfying as each layer of the story is revealed, I decided it was my expectations that were the issue, not the story. By the time of the final confrontation I was satisfied and if it was a little unbelievable, I didn’t even care because it is a fairy tale ending. The final chapter, which takes place four months later, gives the HEA everyone will want. I’m definitely going to reread it.

The cover art is by Tiferet Design. It is beautiful and striking. Now that I’ve read the book, it makes total sense and rather than just paying attention to the real buildings to give me a glimpse of setting, I should have also payed attention to the pastel, dream-like quality to give me a better hint of the story.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 220 pages
Expected publication: July 23rd 2019 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 139781644054642
Edition Language English

A Stella Review : Cold Pressed (Seacroft #2) by Allison Temple

RATING 4,25 out of 5 stars

No strings attached is all Oliver can offer. He’s hiding a broken heart that holds him back from diving into a new relationship, but he’ll go on a blind date to make his family happy. Just one date, though; he doesn’t have time for love to derail his plans.

Divorced and demoted to the night shift, Nick has his own problems. He’s got an ex-wife who needs him and a kid with one foot in juvie. The last thing Nick needs is to butt heads – or other body parts – with a tempting hipster who wears a sad smile on their blind date.

Their chemistry can’t be denied, though, in an argument or in bed. No strings sex is uncomplicated and that’s what Nick and Oliver need. But getting into bed together is one thing. Staying out of each other’s hearts soon becomes so much more complicated than either one imagined.

Cold Pressed is an 81k contemporary MM romance. It features a smoldering bisexual single dad, a broken-hearted hipster with a thing for beet juice, and a friends-with-benefits arrangement that blooms into the HEA you’ve been looking for.

I fell easily for Oliver and Nick, they had all the qualities I like my characters to have, brave, a little broken, with some heavy baggage on their shoulders. The first is nursing a broken heart, the second is trying to hold together his family made of his teenager son with an ankle bracelet and a lovely ex-wife. They come together unexpectedly and the chemistry is so strong, it is impossible to stay away from each other. And when things become more important and feelings are involved, it is amazing to see how strong they are to make space and fit the other man into their lives.

Cold Pressed is a lovely novel, easy and quick to read, I liked the plot a lot, although the characters are all so messed up like we are, there wasn’t too much drama to bear. Most of all the author did a beautiful job at showing me all the emotions that play the most importat role in this story, they come easily throught the words she wrote.

I loved this new release more than Top Shelf, the first title in the Seacroft series, it felt more complete and realistic to me. I so hope there will be more to come.

The cover art by Cate Ashwood is beautiful, I like this artist style a lot.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal LinkExclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 291 pages

Published July 15th 2019 by Allison Temple Books

ASIN B07THN4KJ9

Edition Language English

Seacroft Series
 
Book 1 – Top Shelf – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Love Fantasy? Check Out the New Release Tour for The Midspring Rebellion by Doreen Heron (excerpt and giveaway)

Title: The Midspring Rebellion

Author: Doreen Heron

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: July 22, 2019

Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 25100

Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, fairies, royalty, magic, mythical creatures

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Synopsis

Things are amiss in the fairy court, made worse one spring morning when King Oberon’s wife decides to leave him. His decision to gather his thoughts in the human realm lead him into the path, and arms, of workaholic human Nick Chandler. But when Oberon’s throne is threatened, will he be able to retain his kingship and his newfound love?

Excerpt

The Midspring Rebellion
Doreen Heron © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
As it always did, the Wheel of the Year continued to turn.

Midsummer turned to Midfall.

Midfall to Midwinter.

Midwinter to Midspring.

The seasons changed. The years changed. But life in the Fairy Court remained the same.

And this left Titania dissatisfied.

“It is time for a change,” she announced one evening over dinner. Oberon had known something was wrong the moment she dismissed the waiting staff. It had been over three hundred years since they had eaten alone, and even that was because Titania had wanted to discuss the idea of adopting another Changeling. Not that the idea had gone anywhere, of course. Oberon had learned his lesson about taking human children long before that, and he had not been keen to repeat the experiment. It was natural, then, that he held his breath when Titania spoke, and he waited for whatever she was about to decide. “We have become stale.”

Oberon found it impossible to disagree. Being married for a millennium was certainly an accomplishment by anyone’s count—especially when fairy marriages were annulled and then voluntarily renewed on an annual basis. But one thousand years of an arranged marriage was going above and beyond in his royal duties, of this, he was sure.

“What do you propose?” he asked, not entirely sure he wanted an answer. A separation from Titania might allow them both to pursue other interests, but there was no denying that a split in the Royal Court could rip the whole of his already unstable kingdom in half.

“A separation.”

He nodded. He’d known where this was going, and he couldn’t say he was particularly unhappy about it. But he had questions.

“Why now? We’ve been living this same way these last three hundred years. Why propose this now?”

“It is the best possible time. The kingdom is at risk of civil war…”

“…Which is exactly why we should be united.”

“Or is it why this is the ideal time for a split? We would not want to needlessly disrupt harmony in the kingdom. Ergo, if we split while there are already fractures…”

“…we guarantee a split in the kingdom.”

“We hurry along a split we already know is coming.”

Oberon closed his eyes and shook his head. Titania had always been ruthlessly logical. It was one of the reasons his father had chosen her as a perfect mate, and—more importantly—a future queen.

“But…”

“I have met someone else.”

Well, that was the clincher, wasn’t it?

“I have fallen in love.”

“Love?” Oberon frowned at his queen, unsure of exactly what he was hearing. “What of love? We are a king and a queen. Love need play no part in anything.”

“Oberon, even the mortals have abandoned that way of thinking now. It is time for us to catch up.”

Oberon grunted. It pained him to hear Titania speak of love. She’d not as much as breathed the word in five hundred years, not since his trick to cause her to fall for the human Bottom.

“This love. It is not the human, is it?” he asked. “The actor.” His voice dripped with venom as he spoke, though he himself wasn’t sure if he was jealous that she had fallen with such ease or angry that his own magic had been the cause.

“Oberon, humans lead short lives. Bottom died many, many years ago.”

“Then who?”

This time, it was Titania’s turn to shake her head, causing blossoms of pink and orange to fall from her hair and hit the ground.

“Not important,” she said. She stood and pushed her chair back under the oak table, before walking delicately over and taking her husband’s left hand. “I release you.” She smiled. She turned a hand over and undid the leather strap that was tied at his palm. “I release you.” She unwound the leather from his hand, uncrossing the straps that worked up his forearm. “I release you.” She pulled the leather from his bicep, taut with the tension and stress running through his body. She leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Good luck to you, Oberon.”

He stood at the window of his tower, having vanished the glass to get a better look at what was going on. He watched as Titania loaded her trunks onto the glass chariot. He watched as a male fairy, face obscured by some of Titania’s trickery to stop him from being identified, helped to pile the heavier pieces of furniture. He watched as the two of them climbed into the chariot, and as the dragonflies took flight, pulling it into the woods and out of sight.

He thought he should shout. He thought he should swear. He thought he should cry. But he found himself empty. For a thousand years, he had known he could be temperamental or selfish or immature and Titania would always be by his side. Because she had had to. They had vows. But she had met someone better than him, and she was gone.

“I don’t know what to do.”

Ultimately, he chose to do what many do when they find themselves bereft, and he began to prepare himself for bed. He removed his emerald-green robes and ran a damp washcloth across his torso. His muscles contracted at the cold, tightening and becoming more defined than they usually were when hidden beneath his loose robes. Usually, he enjoyed the feeling of his tightening body, but even that was little comfort in the light of being left alone. He unwrapped the leather strap that ran across his waist—a symbol of his perpetual commitment to his kingdom—and draped it across the wooden dressing table. He dipped the washcloth in the water again before removing his loincloth and washing the rest of his body. It was only right to be clean before entering the kingdom of the DreamWeaver, and he was not about to abandon formality and politesse just because he would be alone in his bed tonight. Naked, but dry after patting the water away with a towel, he knelt by his bed.

“I give thanks to the earth, which bore me and gave me life. I give thanks to the great unknown, who guides me and shapes my fate. I give thanks to my ancestors, from whom I descend and for whom I live a life which is not mine, but which belongs to my subjects. These are my thanks.”

He stood and climbed into bed, pulling his mouse pelt blankets over him, and curled up into a ball. Scrunching his eyes together, he willed himself to sleep. It didn’t come easily, as visions of Titania and her paramour danced through his head, but eventually he found himself drifting off.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Meet the Author

Doreen Heron is a writer who is finally living her dream in Cornwall, England. She is lucky to live in the county she loves, and to be using her writing to entertain her readers.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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Check Out the Review Tour and Giveaway for What Lies Beneath (Lancaster Falls Trilogy #1) by R.J. Scott

 
Length: 67,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Meredith Russell
 
Blurb



In the hottest summer on record, Iron Lake reservoir is emptying, revealing secrets that were intended to stay hidden beneath the water. The tragic story of a missing man is a media sensation, and abruptly the writer and the cop falling in love is just a postscript to horrors neither could have imagined.


Best Selling Horror writer Chris Lassiter struggles for inspiration and he’s close to never writing again. His life has become an endless loop of nothing but empty pages, personal appearances, and a marketing machine that is systematically destroying his muse. In a desperate attempt to force Chris to complete unfinished manuscripts his agent buys a remote cabin. All Chris has to do is hide away and write, but he’s lost his muse, and not even he can make stories appear from thin air.


Sawyer Wiseman left town for Chicago, chasing the excitement and potential of being a big city cop, rising the ranks, and making his mark. A case gone horribly wrong draws him back to Lancaster Falls. Working for the tiny police department in the town he’d been running from, digging into cold cases and police corruption, he spends his day’s healing, and his nights hoping the nightmares of his last case leave him alone.

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words review here.  We highly recommend it. 

USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott writes stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, a happily ever after.


RJ Scott is the author of over one hundred romance books, writing emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.


The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.


She’s always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers. Please contact via the links below:

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A MelanieM Releases Day Review: Absolute Heart (Infernal Instruments of the Dragon #1) by Michael Vance Gurley

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

Infernal Instruments of the Dragon

As the British Empire builds power based on new clockwork and steam technology, Ireland draws its might from its potent magical traditions. Only two boys with little in common can end the fighting between the two nations and prevent a terrible worldwide war.

Gavin Haveland’s dreams are in the sky with the airships, while his reality as a High Councilman’s son means hiding secrets that will get him executed if revealed.

Orion of Oberon is not just a powerful mage, he’s the nephew of the Irish queen, and the one she’s sent him on a quest for the ancient Dragon Stones that will bolster her fading power. In the process, he might restore his family to their rightful place in society.

With enemies determined to stop them by any means necessary and war or peace hinging on their success, Gavin and Orion must find a way to work together, despite the centuries of mistrust between their nations.

Absolute Heart (Infernal Instruments of the Dragon #1) by Michael Vance Gurley is the first that I read by this author and it won’t be the last.  If for no other reason then this story is but the first in a new series, something that thrills me for several reasons which I’m going to go into here.

Gurley spends a good amount of time within his novel world building and it pays off.  He has a world torn apart in the past by an all too powerful mage bent on world domination, the consequences of that horrific battle have come down through the ages, with an Ireland fiercely holding on to its magic and mystical energies and the land.  While in England and beyond, steam power and coal is driving industry and the Empire forward.   Such divergent natures and thoughts of living are written into every part of Gurley’s world, including those who would rebell.

Each side is represented by a young man.  Gavin,a would be pilot of steamships, the son of a Counselor of England’s most powerful.  And Orion, son of Oberon, mage, for the magical Ireland. Two sides of the coin of a broken realm that’s forever at battle with each other.

Gurley has laid them both with a giant tasks and several prophecies, only one of which is covered here, both are fated for greatness.  And as this fast paced plot shows there are so many elements here that the author has just become to reveal.I love how the author cobbles together a sort of misfit gang to backup Gavin on his flight across London and success in his journey towards fulfilling his destiny.  Oh my, Landa (a master artificer in a top hat quite won my heart), Wish, and what’s his name, right  Lucas.   Each with their own relationship issues with family and each other.  Landa a girl who dresses/identifies as a boy (it’s never clear) nor practically steals the novel.  I actually found Landa to be such a leading character, with such a strong identity and layered personality that she often put Gavin into the “pale” at times.  So did her relationship with Wish, another steely, persistent, almost loutish types who wins you over.   Then there is Lucas who just barely comes into his own at the end.  Most of the time I couldn’t remember his name.  The problem with this is that he’s the romantic other half for Gavin.  Or supposed to be.

Then Orion arrives.  And clearly that’s who Gavin is supposed to be with.  Excerpt the author wants Lucas, at least in this book.  And there is a Lucas wannabe named Riley for Orion back in fairyland.  Just as bland with with little backstory for us so meh.

As you can tell, my issues with this story are with the romance relationships.  Well four of the relationships. Gavin and Lucas.  Orion and Riley.  To be exact.

The rest of this novel?  5 stars worth  of fantasy steampunk action adventure.  That’s so well written and thoroughly enjoyed every word of it.

But when it came to write YA romance?  Well, excerpt for Landa and Wish who are at the “at least you  aren’t insulting me” stage anymore, the other two just don’t have any chemistry.  We are told they do.  But we don’t see it or at least I didn’t.   We don’t get any feel for Riley other than he follows Orion around like a puppy dog, ditto Lucas for Gavin.  In many respects you could switch those two out for each other.  Only Gavin and Orion had a semblance of spark between them.   It would have almost have been better to have left this without any romance but a total steampunk fantasy crossover.  That would, imo, have left me feeling better at the end instead of resigned at what I felt was a banal ending for two couples.

Maybe the next story will fix that.  Here’s hoping there’s still more to put aright with the world ….

Still, romance aside, the rest of this story is fantastic.  A great mashup of fantasy, steampunk, magic, and action/adventure.  I’m looking forward to the next installment  Pick up this story and see what I’m excited about.  And check out Landa!

Cover art, which is uncredited, show a disturbing trend in not matching the cover to anything that has to do with the subject matter of the story.  Which includes magic, fae, flying ships, swords, steampunk and battles over London.  Instead you get this with that metal heart. But really?   Considering where it is for much of the story.  Nah.

Sales Links: Harmony Ink Press | Dreamspinner Press (paperback) | Amazon |

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 288 pages
Published July 23rd 2019 by Harmony Ink Press

 

 

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Four ( Love By Numbers #2) by Tia Fielding

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

After fleeing from an abusive relationship, genderqueer Kaos is welcomed by friends Makai and Emil (book one – Ten) who give him a safe place to stay while he looks for part time work until he can get a Wisconsin tattoo license. There he meets veterinarian Padraig Donovan, a silver fox who lost his husband four years before and is still having trouble getting used to being alone.

Padraig is stunned when he meets Kaos (who happens to be more feminine that day) since he’s never given a moment of attraction to anyone with feminine qualities before. But everything about Kaos appeals to him and soon they’ve become friends, then friends who kiss and cuddle, and eventually more. But it takes a long time to get there and an equally long time for Padraig to come to terms with his grief and for Kaos to accept his own reactions to his second chance for love.

This is a May-December, slow burn, second chance love story. There’s a lot to like here and the author did a lovely job building the characters and allowing their relationship to develop. And there was plenty of puppy love as the couple adopted and trained a mutt so those who love men with pets stories should love this as well. On a dark note, there was an underlying dramatic turn of events involving a break-in at the vet’s office and a scene describing animal abuse.

But the overall story offers hope and a sweet romance so those who look for age gap and hurt-comfort MM romance should enjoy this one.

The cover by Garrett Leigh features a young blond man looking toward the camera, a hoodie/shrug over his head. This is a great representation of Kaos, and the overall look of the cover is eye-catching.

Sales Links:  Amazon | Dreamspinner Press

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 222 pages
Expected publication: July 23rd 2019 by Dreamspinner Press
ASINB07T8PCDHC
Edition Language English
Series Love by Numbers 

Ten

Four