Spotlight: Gilded Ruins by Chantal Gadoury

The Story Continues. . .

Summer and Darce are summoned by the order of Zeus himself to travel to the home of the Gods: Mount Olympus, where they’re to face even more ancient Gods and Goddesses.

Summer braces to confront her mother again, illuminating secrets about the truth of her tragic pasts, while also persuading Zeus to allow her to stay with the God of the Underworld, her true love – Darce.

Aboard Poseidon’s luxury yacht, Summer meets her mythological family, while also uncovering what exactly happened to her past lives – and the true roles her mother and Darce played.

When Darce and Summer suddenly find themselves separated, Summer must find her inner power and unite them together, before her mortal time runs out.

Excerpt

“Summer,” a warm, gentle voice whispered against my ear. Their breath fluttered across my flush skin like the wings of a butterfly. It was warm and sweet smelling. I curled deeper into the blankets, turning my chin into the soft pillow.

“Summer,” the voice said again, as a soft hand slid over my hip, and down around my stomach. It pulled me back against it, crushing me tenderly into a cushioned wall. Lips brushed over my exposed neck, leaving a small kiss in its wake.

I slowly opened my eyes, taking in the darkness of the room. What time was it? I felt the strength of the arms around me, holding me tightly. Darce.

“Darce?” I asked groggily.

“Hmmm…” he hummed, nestling my neck. My body began to react, welcoming the warmth of him. Everything inside of me wanted him, invited him—all except my brain. It screamed for me to turn around, to confront him about the stunt he had just pulled out on the dance floor. Minthe. Dancing. Her wicked, smug grin.

“What—” I untangled myself from him, turning to my side to face his dark silhouette. He sucked in a breath as I pulled the blankets up around myself. “What are you doing?”

“He pulled a hand through his hair; I could feel his gaze on me even in the darkness.

“You disappeared.”

“You were occupied.” I didn’t even try to hide the venom in my words.

“I was doing what I had been asked to do,” He retorted curtly.

I didn’t know how to respond. I remained still, curling my fingers into the blankets.

“Do you think I enjoyed a moment of it?” He asked after a long, silent moment. The rumble in his chest vibrated against the bed as his voice deepened. I shivered and bit my bottom lip. Of course he hadn’t. I had known but. . .

“I saw you both and it felt like. . .like you were allowing her to win.”

“Win?” Darce asked. I shook my head, though, I knew he couldn’t see me.

“She knew what she was doing.”

“As did I,” Darce interjected.

The sound of my heart was racing in my ears, and I pushed myself up to sit. After a moment, I finally found my voice again. 

“But why?” There were so many whys. Why had they asked him to dance with her? What did they have to gain from the interaction? What were they planning with Darce? With Minthe? With me? My head was spinning with so many questions that it was beginning to ache. I had already thought of a thousand different ways Minthe could have seduced him or touched him, and the whole thing made me even more angry. Jealous. I bet I could give Hera a run for her money in the jealousy department.

“Why?” He asked, echoing my question.

“Why did they ask you to? What did they. . .” but I couldn’t bring myself to continue. I couldn’t become like her. I had to trust Darce, now more than ever. I felt the smoothness of his hand slide over my knee and come to rest there.

“I will do whatever is needed to bring peace. To bring us the freedom to—”

“She wants the Underworld,” I interjected. “There is no peace with her around.”

“She just wants your throne,” he corrected.

“Just,” I scoffed. “She wants you too.” I added, drawing my knees up to my chest. I wrapped my arms around my legs and lowered my chin to the tops of my knees.

“She can’t have me,” he replied softly, drawing me closer against him. He tugged at my waist, drawing me underneath him. “I belong to no one but you.” 

His whisper was husky and warm against my cheek, and it sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine. I gasped with surprise as his hands drew my legs to rest on either side of his. He was so warm, and I felt myself melting into him. I knew what he was doing, and my body suddenly craved his. It felt strange to want him as I did, all the while being surrounded by Gods and Goddesses who were seemingly plotting against us.

“All of this is such a dangerous game,” I murmured as I felt his thumb hook around the waistband of my sleeping shorts.

“I like dangerous games,” he said with a chuckle as he pressed a tender kiss against my stomach. I sucked in a breath, trying to concentrate on what I wanted to say. We were walking around on this boat with targets on our backs. We were far from safe—and he knew that. We wouldn’t be until we reached the depths of the Underworld again.

But his mouth was so hot against my skin and it was bliss. 

“Not me,” I said, shaking my head, pressing my hands against his bare chest. 

“Them! The game they’re playing. The things I’ve learned. . .” I sighed as he nipped my hip bone. Tears welled in my eyes as I sucked in a breath.

“I just want to go home.”

Darce paused, his warm palm cupped my cheek.

“I know,” he said tenderly and leaned forward to press a kiss against my temple. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, burrowing my nose into the crook of his neck.

“We’ll go home, I promise,” he said gently.

“Together,” I reiterated as I traced a line down the length of his back. He tensed and nodded beside me.

“Together,” he finished as his hands went to work, swiftly removing my shirt and shorts. I let myself sink into him, and the temporary comfort he could provide. It was easier to hide the truth in the shadows of the night. And in the darkness of his arms, I allowed myself to disappear.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48639956-gilded-ruins

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About the Author

Amazon Best Selling Author, Chantal Gadoury, is a 2011 graduate from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing. Since graduation, she has published several titles, including "The Songs in Our Hearts" with 48Fourteen Publishing, and "Between the Sea and Stars," "WinterDream," and "Blinding Night" with Parliament House Press. Chantal first started writing stories at the age of seven and continues to love writing today. Chantal is also the Co-Founder and Senior Editor of the Parliament House Press. Writing and sharing books with the world has become a dream come true! When she's not working, she enjoys painting, drinking lots of DD Iced Coffee, and watching Disney classics. Chantal lives in Muncy, Pennsylvania with her family.

Connect:
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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8059023.Chantal_Gadoury

Spotlight: Dates for Beholden by Rebecca Sharp

💜💜 HOT NEW RELEASE 💜💜

Beholden by Dr. Rebecca Sharp is LIVE! Don’t miss this heartwarming standalone story of love and loss in the Carmel Cove series. #One-click today!

𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞.

The loss of her parents took her from Carmel Cove and the loss of her grandfather brought her back. Unexpectedly inheriting the shambles of her family’s coffee shop, her first instinct is to run. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦.

So, Laurel makes a plan: fix up the business, sell it, and get out of town. And it would’ve been perfect… if the building hadn’t come with a condition: a stubborn, broody, and distractingly sexy contractor. 

Eli Downing made a promise to look after Laurel, and offering to repair the coffeeshop is just the start. He’s not going anywhere whether she likes it or not. And for as many walls as she pays him to fix, he’s determined to tear down the same from around her hardened heart. 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧. To her family’s legacy. To her loyal hometown. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.

Unfortunately, Carmel has only given Laurel one outcome she can rely on. And when loss draws another line in the sand, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦?

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About the Author

Dr. Rebecca Sharp, while using a pen name, is actually a doctor living in Pennsylvania with her husband - the love of her life.

She enjoys working in her practice with her father as well as letting her creativity run free as an author. Growing up she's always loved a good love story and finally decided to give writing one of her own a go.

After graduating with her doctoral degree, she now enjoys spending that thing called free time traveling with her husband, cooking, and knitting.

Connect:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/drrebeccasharp

Reader Group: http://bit.ly/BecomeASexySharpie 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/drrebeccasharp

Twitter: www.twitter.com/drrebeccasharp 

Mailing List: http://bit.ly/StaySharpSignUp

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/drrebeccasharp 

Amazon: https://goo.gl/bxuLPd 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rebecca-sharp

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate the release of Beholden, Rebecca Sharp is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card! Head to her Facebook page to enter: https://www.facebook.com/drrebeccasharp/

Spotlight: Dare To Resist by Carly Phillips

Release Date: May 12

He’s about to find a baby on his doorstep … and his assistant in his bed. 

Austin Prescott is a lot of things. Ex football player. Sports agent. And as of this morning? Father. Finding a baby on his doorstep should have been a joke but the pink sticky note and baby carrier she came in is deadly serious.What’s an out of his depth bachelor to do? Call his tempting and beyond gorgeous executive assistant and beg her to move in.Quinnlyn Stone agrees to help Austin until he can straighten out his messy life. It’s just another item on her very long To-Do list. It’s absolutely not because she’s attracted to her very single and extremely handsome boss.Close quarters. A baby. Undeniable chemistry. What could possibly go wrong?

Buy Links:

Kindle: https://smarturl.it/DTResistKindle

Nook: https://smarturl.it/DTResistNook

Apple: https://smarturl.it/DTRestistApple

Kobo: https://smarturl.it/DTResistKobo

Google Play: https://smarturl.it/DTResistGooglplay

Paperback: https://smarturl.it/DTResistAmazonPrint

Meet Carly Phillips:

NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestseller, Carly Phillips gives her readers Alphalicious heroes to swoon for and romance to set your heart on fire. She married her college sweetheart and lives in Purchase, NY along with her three crazy dogs: two wheaten terriers and a mutant Havanese, who are featured on her Facebook and Instagram. The author of 50 romance novels, she has raised two incredible daughters who put up with having a mom as a full time writer. Carly’s book, The Bachelor, was chosen by Kelly Ripa as a romance club pick and was the first romance on a nationally televised bookclub. Carly loves social media and interacting with her readers. Want to keep up with Carly? Sign up for her newsletter (below) and receive TWO FREE books at www.carlyphillips.com.

Connect with Carly Phillips:

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/carly-phillips

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10000.Carly_Phillips

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlyphillips/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlyphillips

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlyphillipsfanpage

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Carly-Phillips/e/B001I9W0MS

Spotlight: Ambush Before Sunrise by B. J. Daniels

Wrangler Angus Savage has come to Wyoming to help Jinx McCallahan get her cattle to high country¬. He’s signed on for the dangerous drive, eager to reconnect with the woman he knew when they were kids. Now in the wilderness the no-nonsense cowboy and the strong-willed rancher must navigate the trail’s many hazards—like her treacherous ex who wants her back…or dead.

Excerpt

JINX WATCHED ANGUS GO. She still hadn’t figured out why he seemed so familiar. Nor had he said anything. She sighed and rose to take her dishes back to Max.

“I can take those for you,” Brick said, shooting to his feet.

She smiled but shook her head. “Stay here by the fire with Ella.” She was glad when he sat back down. She needed to be alone. Brick was sweet and a good wrangler. He amused her with his blatant attempts to charm her, but he was wasting his time. While he resembled his brother, they didn’t seem to be anything alike. Angus was a mystery to her.

The more she was around him, the more she felt a strange sense that they’d been here before. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew this man, as in another life. It was crazy. Sometimes she’d find herself studying his face as if a memory was so close she could almost touch it.

“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” Max asked, startling her. She hadn’t realized that she’d reached the chuck-wagon. Her mind had been miles away.

“Pardon?” she asked, turning to face him as she conjured up her most innocent face.

Max laughed. “You were staring at Angus Savage—and not for the first time, I might add.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was…thinking.”

“Thinking? I can just imagine.” He turned back to his cooking.

She didn’t want to know what he’d imagined. Nor did she want to continue this conversation. Still, she asked, “Have you ever run across someone you felt as if you knew in another life?”

He chuckled. “That your story?” 

“I’m serious.”

Max turned to look at her. “I can see that. I suppose it’s possible the two of you met before. Your mother and his were good friends.” The cook frowned. “I think she took you with her up to Cardwell Ranch once years ago.” So that could have been it, she thought. “You don’t remember?”

She shook her head and yet as he said it, she had an image come to mind of mountains shooting up from a green river bottom and a large red barn set against a wall of rock and pine trees. A memory teased at her. “How old would I have been?”

“Eight or nine,” he said as he turned back to his cleaning up. “You didn’t stay long, just overnight, I think. That’s probably why you don’t remember.”

But she did remember a little. Now it really nagged at her. It wasn’t just that she’d seen him before. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something had hap-pened during that visit; she was sure of it.

She turned to look at Angus again. He’d rejoined his brother and cousin on a log by the fire. His face shone in the campfire light. Max was right about one thing; the cowboy was handsome as sin. Had he re-membered her? He would have been a little older than she was by a couple of years at least.

“Why don’t you just ask him?” Max said with a laugh. “Otherwise, it’s going to drive you crazy.”

He was right about that, as well, but what if Angus didn’t remember her? She’d feel foolish. Then again, what if he did? What if he was just waiting for her to say something?

“While you’re making up your mind, why don’t you hand me your dishes?” Max said with a shake of his head as he took them from her.

Leaving camp, she checked the cattle, glad that Brick and Royce had volunteered to take the first shift. She didn’t expect trouble. Not tonight. T.D. was angry and vengeful, but he never planned ahead. He knew she was taking the herd up into the high country for summer grazing today. Maybe he would even wait until she returned to continue threatening her, rather than try to catch them. His laziness might pay off for her.

But unfortunately, she also knew that her being up here in the mountains put her at a disadvantage. T.D. wasn’t stupid. He would realize how vulnerable she was up here. Anything could happen in the mountains on a cattle drive. People got injured. Others died. And T.D. was desperate to get his hands on her ranch. He would come after her.

In the distance she heard a coyote howl. Another answered, then another. She was more worried about wolves and bears, than coyotes. But she could only protect her herd so much. It was the nature of the business.

The camp was quiet as she walked back toward the fire. From out of the dark shadows, she spotted a lone figure still illuminated in the flames. Ella gave her a nod as she pulled up the log next to her again. The heat of the blaze felt good this high in the mountains since it was only early June.

Jinx could feel the long day in the saddle in her muscles. She yearned for sleep, but it had been hard to come by for some time now. It wasn’t just T.D. who haunted her dreams.

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About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author B.J. Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and three springer spaniels. When not writing, she quilts, boats and plays tennis.

Connect:

Website: http://www.bjdaniels.com/ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48829281-ambush-before-sunrise 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bjdanielsauthor?lang=e

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BJ-Daniels-127936587217837/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.j.daniels/?hl=en

Spotlight: The Silent Daughter by Claire Amarti

The Silent Daughter
Claire Amarti
Publication date: May 7th 2020
Genres: Adult, Psychological, Suspense

Schoolgirl missing, the ticker reads, and the camera cuts to a girl’s face. Blonde hair waterfalling over her shoulders, serious eyes, lips a little parted like she’s about to speak. That’s when I realize I’ve been holding my breath, because the gasp when I inhale almost chokes me.

Sadie Kelly has lost her job. Until last month, she was a teacher at Horton College – the same high school she went to ten years ago along with her best friend, Fiona. But Fiona died in an accident on their graduation night, in circumstances Sadie’s spent the last ten years trying to forget, and since then nothing’s been the same.

Now Sadie’s back where she grew up, jobless, and living temporarily with Fiona’s mother. But when she hears that Devon Hundley, a Horton schoolgirl, has gone missing, everything changes. Devon’s the daughter of Philip Hundley, a man Sadie knows all too well, and Sadie can’t stop thinking about the last time she saw Devon. It was the day Sadie left Horton for good, and heard Devon murmur four little words as she walked away. Four words Sadie prayed she had misheard:

I know your secret.

A gripping page-turner for fans of Kerry Lonsdale, Diane Chamberlain, and Liane Moriarty.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

I lower my gaze to the grey headstone before us.

Kennedy, Fiona.

Beloved daughter.

Loyal friend.

The familiar nausea churns in my stomach. Beside me, Jan kneels down and starts pulling small weeds from the headstone. The weeds are only ever small ones, because Jan comes here regularly. She watches over this little patch of earth. The lettering on the headstone is sharp and clear – I hear they carve them with lasers these days. I think for a moment what it might be like to be a gravestone carver. Quiet, I decide. Peaceful. The right kind of life for someone like me, the hermit I’ve become.

Jan places the little clump of pink freesias underneath the stone. She’s always calm and matter-of-fact when we visit her daughter’s grave, no tears. She just sees to the weeds and clucks her tongue whenever there are signs of youths drinking in the cemetery, empty cans or cigarette butts. She treats it like a living room that needs cleaning but it’s hard to know what she really feels – how much she’s recovered or ever will recover from the loss. It’s the one thing – okay, one of the two things – that I will never talk to Jan about. I just don’t have the words. And if I’m honest I probably don’t want to know what exactly she feels now. I can’t bear the guilt.

‘Okay love, we’ll be off now.’

I don’t know if it’s me or Fiona she’s talking to. The wind whips around her words, moving across the grass and shaking the spruce trees by the cemetery wall. Jan plants her hands on her thighs and levers herself back up from the ground. We link arms and I steer us back towards the parking lot.

‘You mustn’t worry about the job thing, Sadie,’ Jan says. ‘You know you can stay with me for as long as you like.’

‘I know,’ I say, and give her arm a squeeze through the raincoat.

‘Everybody needs a break sometimes,’ she goes on. ‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of.’

A break is a nice way to put it. She’s conveniently leaving out how I was asked to leave Horton College, and how I’ve been having periodic panic attacks since arriving back, jobless, to Milham. It’s frankly embarrassing. Jan’s house has always been a second home to me though. As for my actual home, Mom’s house is only a three-minute drive from Jan’s, but that door is closed to me these days.

‘I sometimes think that -’ Jan pauses. ‘I sometimes think it was my fault, Sadie.’

I stop walking, taken by surprise.

‘What do you mean? What was your fault?’

She sighs. ‘Well, you know. Driving you so hard. Pushing you. You never did ‘have a break’ growing up, did you? I was always pushing you to do more. You and Fiona. But Fiona was different. She never worked as hard as you did.’

She didn’t have to. Fiona was smart, smarter than me. Smarter than almost anybody. I touch the locket I always wear around my neck.

It’s true, Jan coached us, pushed us. But I always wanted to be pushed. I wanted to escape little Milham town every bit as much as Jan wanted me to. Everything she dreamed for us, I dreamed too. Harder than she knows.

I squeeze Jan’s arm again.

‘You were my fairy godmother. You still are. Don’t second guess yourself. And don’t worry about me. Something will come up.’

She turns her head just enough to look me in the face; her raincoat squeaks. She smiles at me.

‘You’re a good girl, Sadie.’ Her voice is kind, loving. ‘You always were.’

I drop my eyes from hers, focus on the parking lot. The drops are coming down thick now, enough that nobody could tell if it’s rain on my face or tears. I glance back. The wind is strong and the flowers are cheap, and there’s already a flutter of pink petals come loose, whipped up in the air like morbid confetti.

A good girl.

If only she knew.

Author Bio:

I’m an author who writes suspense stories about ordinary women – women like the ones we all know and love – who find out that their ordinary lives may not be quite so ordinary after all! My hope is that you will root for them, fear for them, and find yourself holding your breath when the action starts to get a little hairy!

When I’m not doing writing, I can be found strolling the streets of Brooklyn, New York City, my adopted home, dodging pigeons and traffic. I moved here a little over eight years ago – I hail from Ireland originally – and never looked back. To me there’s nothing more wonderful than that feeling of finding – or making! – a new home, that mixture of excitement at finding a place in the world, and the comfort of being able to come back to it time and again. That’s what reading feels like for me… and for you too I suspect! It’s also the same joy I get from writing. I hope my books can become a kind of home for you too: a place where you can trust that you’ll find a wonderful adventure, and then land safe and sound at the end of it all, ready to do it all again another day!

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Spotlight: Life Forgotten by Layne Deemer

Release Date: May 7

When you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, you’re bound to fall apart. Who will be there to help pick up the pieces?Nellie Campbell is a fixer. She’s selfless in her need to solve the problems of the people she loves. When her mom is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, she puts her own life on hold and dives head first into caretaker mode. Her days are spent consumed with the troubles of others—her mom, her wayward sister, the neighborhood stray cat, the single mom next door. She tackles every issue as though it were her own, ignoring herself in the process.Until she meets Jude Hargrove. After one brief encounter, he manages to awaken something inside of her that she had long left for dead. Herself.But is it too late for Nellie? Can Jude help her see her own worth or will she be destined to see herself as a problem that just isn’t meant to be solved?

Buy Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2yihjan

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/34HqFZs

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3b9ERNf

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2XHtUyK

Meet Layne Deemer:

Layne Deemer aims to push boundaries with her writing. Her stories deconstruct the ordinary until it becomes something else entirely. 

She has a degree in Communications with a minor in English and has worked in the fields of public relations, marketing, and advertising, but writing has always been her true passion. When she isn’t writing, she’s reading. Her wish list of books will take her a lifetime to get through. 

She resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, Adam, their two kids, Stella and Jasper, and their bulldog, Archie. In addition to Life Forgotten, she is also the author of Frayed, a psychological thriller.

Connect with Layne Deemer:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorlaynedeemer

Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorlayne

Instagram: www.instagram.com/authorlaynedeemer

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/layne-deemer