Spotlight: The Courage to Aspire by Chuks I. Ndukwe
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He Needed Peace…
Attorney Tom Finchley has spent his life using his devious intellect to solve the problems of others. As for his own problems, they’re nothing that a bit of calculated vengeance can’t remedy. But that’s all over now. He’s finally ready to put the past behind him and settle down to a quiet, uncomplicated life. If only he could find an equally uncomplicated woman.
She Wanted Adventure…
Former lady’s companion Jenny Holloway has just been given a modest independence. Now, all she wants is a bit of adventure. A chance to see the world and experience life far outside the restrictive limits of Victorian England. If she can discover the fate of the missing Earl of Castleton while she’s at it, so much the better.
From the gaslit streets of London to the lush tea gardens of colonial India, Jenny and Tom embark on an epic quest—and an equally epic romance. But even at the farthest edges of the British Empire, the past has a way of catching up with you…
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About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews (A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Fashion and Beauty, The Matrimonial Advertisement) writes both historical non-fiction and traditional historical romances set in Victorian England. Her articles on nineteenth century history have been published on various academic and history sites, including the Victorian Web and the Journal of Victorian Culture, and are also syndicated weekly at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes an Andalusian dressage horse, two Shelties, and two Siamese cats.
For more information, please visit Mimi Matthews’ website and blog. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, BookBub, Pinterest, Google+, and Goodreads.
Would you sell your secrets?
Catherine Carlisle is trapped in a loveless marriage and the threat of World War Two is looming. She sees no way out… that is until a trusted friend asks her to switch her husband’s papers in a desperate bid to confuse the Germans.
Soon Catherine finds herself caught up in a deadly mixture of espionage and murder. Someone is selling secrets to the other side, and the evidence seems to point right at her.
Can she clear her name before it’s too late?
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About the Author
TERRY LYNN THOMAS grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, which explains her love of foggy beaches and Gothic mysteries. When her husband promised to buy Terry a horse and the time to write if she moved to Mississippi with him, she jumped at the chance. Although she had written several novels and screenplays prior to 2006, after she relocated to the South she set out to write in earnest and has never looked back.
Terry Lynn writes the Sarah Bennett Mysteries, set on the California coast during the 1940s, which feature a misunderstood medium in love with a spy. The Drowned Woman is a recipient of the IndieBRAG Medallion. She also writes the Cat Carlisle Mysteries, set in Britain during World War II. The first book in this series, The Silent Woman, came out in April 2018 and has since become a USA TODAY bestseller. The Family Secret is slated for release in March 2019. When she’s not writing, you can find Terry Lynn riding her horse, walking in the woods with her dogs, or visiting old cemeteries in search of story ideas.
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France, October 1944. A Japanese American war hero has a secret.
A secret so awful he’d rather die than tell anyone–one so entwined with the brave act that made him a hero that he’s determined never to speak of the war. Ever.
Decades later his son, Daniel Tokunaga, a world-famous cardiac surgeon, is perplexed when the U.S. government comes calling, wanting to know about his father’s service with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII. Something terrible happened while his father was fighting the Germans in France, and the Department of Defense won’t stop its investigation until it’s determined exactly who did what.
Wanting answers of his own, Daniel upends his life to find out what his father did on a small, obscure hilltop half a world away. As his quest for the truth unravels his family’s catastrophic past, the only thing for certain is that nothing–his life, career, and family–can ever be the same again.
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About the Author
Andrew Lam, M.D., is the award-winning author of Repentance, Two Sons of China, and Saving Sight. His writing has appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Born in Philadelphia and raised in central Illinois, he graduated summa cum laude in history from Yale University, where he studied military history and U.S.-East Asian relations. He then attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by specialty training to become a retinal surgeon. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and resides in western Massachusetts with his wife and four children.
His newest book is Repentance, a historical novel and riveting family drama entwined with the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a group of Japanese American soldiers who fought valiantly in Europe during WWII while many of their families were incarcerated in camps like Manzanar at home. The 442nd became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.
Learn more at Andrew Lam’s website. You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Ruin
Nicolina Martin
(Russo Saga, #2)
Published by: Blushing Books Publications
Publication date: May 2nd 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
An innocent coffee. A dazzling stranger. What can go wrong?
Anna Raymond focuses only on her work at a little custom printing company in LA. She’s become a recluse after a traumatic experience that tore her life apart. Then Eric happens, barging into her life one morning at a Starbucks. By the time night falls, she has witnessed a murder, fought for her life, and revealed secrets she meant to keep buried forever.
Eric Reed is a hired killer, well aware of his effect on women and how to use it to his advantage. He’s in LA for one thing only: Finish the contract he’s been assigned. Anna was nothing but a means to an end, but he finds himself reluctantly drawn to the enigmatic woman, a mistake that can cost him everything.
That long, cold night trapped together, changes something fundamental between them. Anna must make a choice, will it be her path to happiness, or will the fervent Eric burn her to ashes?
This is book two in the Russo Saga but can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Publisher’s Note: This dark romance is intended for adults only and may contain triggers. This wild ride contains elements of danger, suspense, action, adventure, sensual scenes, adult language, power exchange and a guaranteed HEA.
—
EXCERPT:
I think about the strange girl in the cafe. More than a head shorter than I am. Dressed like… I don’t know what to call it, an eclectic mesh of hippie and Amish. Way too many clothes for a California girl. I know she works here. It’s unfortunate she works tonight, but her office is at the other end of the building. It shouldn’t be an issue. Russo will stand guard. I wonder what happened to her. Her big haunted eyes, that scar she tried so hard to hide, how she recoiled when I touched her. I glance at the imposing brute next to me and remember what he said he did. What crushes a woman, makes her implode until all that exists is a shell without content? Or with so much content it has to be tightly held in or she’d bleed out? Of course I know, even if she never said it. She wasn’t mugged. That’s lying bullshit. She was raped. I’m not entirely sure if that’s what Christian did to the girl he mentioned, or if it was something else, but I’m done prodding anyway.
I wonder what Anna was like before, if she was feisty and fun. Before someone like my partner came along and took it from her.
She was a delight to talk with, though. I don’t know what got into me. She’s at the complete opposite end of what I go for. I like them tall, long legs, a bit hardened. Much more fun to break than a meek little girl who’d probably run at the first sight of a rope.
I rub my forehead and try to make my mind blank. I need to focus at the task before us and can’t have cute little girls sneaking in, taking up space, no matter how much of an enigma they are. I do wonder if I can find her again, though. After.

Author Bio:
Nicolina Martin is a Swedish born author who escapes the long, dark winter nights by writing hot contemporary romance/suspense.
She's a mother of three teenage girls, a medical doctor, a quirky loner, and a social human being. She has traveled the globe, has had more lovers than she can count, has loved and hated, succeeded and failed, has gone through marriage and divorce. She has seen darkness and despair, as well as light and happiness.
All these experiences, she pours into her tales, taking her readers for a wild ride while twisting their minds. She loves showing that stories can be different even if the trope is the same.
Nicolina believes that life is too short for regrets and in looking forward, no matter what. She wants to enjoy every moment, and cherish life.
To find out more about Nicolina Martin, visit her official website.
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His Little Wife Lie
Sloan Storm
Publication date: April 26th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
IT’S NOT A LIE IF WE BELIEVE IT’S TRUE.
That’s what Griff Foster said right after he asked me to be his wife.
Sweet, isn’t he?Let’s be real: his proposal had nothing to do with romance. Falling in love isn’t in his DNA. With piercing blue eyes and a hard body to match, he goes through women like candy.
But he saved my life.
I promised I’d repay him. I should learn when to keep my mouth shut.
Griff needs a Mrs. Right Now, and he’s convinced I’m the perfect actress.In case I have any doubts, there are seven badly needed zeroes on a check with my name on it to help make up my mind.
Ugh.
We’re totally fake. Nothing but lies.
Except the way his lips feel on mine.
Except the way his touch sets my body ablaze.
Except the way my soul aches when he looks into my eyes.He says that without me, he loses everything.
But if I’ve got the upper hand, why does it feel like he’s in control?There’s only one thing missing from this arrangement.
What happens to my heart when it’s over?
—
EXCERPT:
That was it!
What kind of fucking game was he trying to play? I made a complete fool out of myself, then he tried to turn it around on me! No one was going to treat me like this, especially not him.
Once in my room, I raced toward the closet, grabbed my bag, and dragged it out. Fuck this place!
Tiny Me chimed in. No, no! Wait! What are you doing? The money!
“I don’t care about the money!” I yelped, clutching my fingers into fists. “Don’t you understand? I care about him!” Oh shit. No. No.
I sensed a presence in the doorway. “What did you say?”
“Stay away from me.” I spun in place, biting my lip and sputtering hate. “I’m leaving. You can’t stop me.”
He didn’t listen. Of course. I mean, why start now?
Marching right toward me, Griff continued, “You said you cared about me. Don’t try and deny it.”
Yeah, no kidding. You ass. “Of course, I do! Jesus! Do you know how many men I’ve offered my virginity to? Do you? Take a wild guess.”
Griff didn’t respond. What could he say? He already knew the answer.
I poked him in the chest. “Just one. Guess how that went over?”
Griff’s nostrils flared. His eyes narrowed. I was pissing him off. Well. Good! Now he knew how I felt!
“Move,” I snarled, edging past him.
I felt the handle of my suitcase rip free from my hand. By the time I turned to look and see what happened, he’d swept me up me in his arms, racing for the bed.
No!
“Put me down!” I floated in his embrace until he slammed me with a thump, pinning me beneath him. Struggle was useless, but I gave it everything I had, jerking from side-to-side until the instant his lips found mine.
Oh fuck. No! Yes. Yes. Yeeessss…
The passion from his kiss ripped through my body like wildfire, reigniting the embers he left smoldering inside of me with his refusal. Griff’s pelvis pressed into me, the impossible hardness between his legs threatened to reawaken my lust into an inferno until my wits returned.
“Stop!” I gasped, breaking my mouth free. My palms went flat, shoving against his torso. “Get off of me!”
His gaze gave me the answer. Never. Griff ignored my pleas and gripped harder, making me feel he’d crush me into dust if I uttered another word. Reaching up, I clawed and scratched, digging my nails into the steel of his thick chest. But my rage only stoked him, and he groaned, his mouth invading mine again, filling it with his tongue. My resistance turned to vapor, whisps of hate floating away from me while Griff took what he wanted.
At last, he pulled away. I looked at him, my vision glassy from the struggle, each of us fighting for a breath.
“We can’t.” I exhaled. “It’s a mistake.”
Wait. That wasn’t no. Was it?
He licked his lips and sank his pelvis deeper, driving it hard between my legs. I stifled a whimper.
“You’re right,” he hummed, reaching for one of my tits, cupping it in his grasp. Uhhh. My eyes rolled back in my head, his touch had me on the verge of blackout
“It’s the biggest mistake of all,” he warned. “No turning back. No way out.”
No way out. His words reached into my soul, giving me the answer my brain couldn’t. I don’t want one. Don’t give me one. If you do, I might take it.
Wordless, Griff moved over me, a shadow threatening the last shreds of my chastity. With my legs spread and my innocence at risk, I inched my mouth toward his lips when he whispered his final threat.
“At last.”

Author Bio:
Sloan Storm pens imaginative yarns based on dominant men and the women who challenge them. As such, power plays and passion are the heart of each and every story.
The writer's creative tendencies may drift as the mood strikes, but the essence of all tales told wind up back at the same place... the polarizing difference between the sexes.
After all, what else is there in life?
When not glued to a keyboard creating tales of whimsy, Sloan loves to talk to fans! If you want to connect, you can do it in any number of ways:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub
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