Spotlight: Brilliance by Sydney Jane Baily

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#5 Diamonds of the First Water Series

Historical Romance, Victorian Romance, Regency Romance, Steamy Romance

Release Date: April 27, 2023

Publisher: WOLF Publishing

In this sparkling early Victorian romance by USA Today bestselling Sydney Jane Baily, a reticent musician gets caught in the web of the one-of-a-kind diamond daughter.

She’s open-hearted and guileless, but he’s been fooled before. Twice!

Brilliance Diamond is one of a kind amongst her siblings. Unpredictable, some might say feather-brained, but always with the best intentions. Alas, when she says aloud things that others only dare think, she ends up in the suds time and again—until an impulsive act leads her directly into the arms of her prince charming.

Lord Vincent Hewitt, parliamentarian and pianist, seems to have an unerring ability to put his trust in the wrong person. When he meets a sweet lady who is both honest and candid, his battered spirit starts to heal. After all, she would never consider deceiving him. Would she?

Determined to help the reticent musician, Brilliance unwittingly sets off a chain of events leading to betrayal and lies… and her own devastating heartbreak. Will the treachery in Vincent’s past destroy any chance for their sparkling happily-ever-after?

Engaging characters, attention to period detail, and passionate romance with a touch of intrigue — you’ll find it all in the stories by USA Today bestselling author Sydney Jane Baily.

Diamonds of the First Water Series

Clarity (#1 Diamonds of the First Water Series)

Purity (#2 Diamonds of the First Water Series)

Adam (#3 Diamonds of the First Water Series)

Radiance (#4 Diamonds of the First Water Series)

Brilliance (#5 Diamonds of the First Water Series)

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About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Sydney Jane Baily writes happily-ever-after historical romance set in Regency and Victorian England, late 19th-century America, the Middle Ages, and the Georgian era.

Born and raised in California, she earned degrees in English and history on the East Coast and has traveled the world, spending a lot of exceedingly happy time in the U.K. where her extended family resides, eating fish and chips, drinking shandies, and snacking on Maltesers and Cadbury bars. Sydney currently lives in New England with her family — human, canine, and feline.

At her website, SydneyJaneBaily.com, you can learn more about her books, read her blog, sign up for her newsletter (& get a free book), and contact her. She loves to hear from her readers. To be notified of her new releases, please follow Sydney on BookBub or Amazon. Or you can connect with her on Facebook.

Connect:

Website: https://sydneyjanebaily.com/

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TikTok: @sydneywritesromance

Spotlight: One Kind Hand by Christine DePetrillo

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Genre: Contemporary Romance

About One Kind Hand: 

What would someone accustomed to the glamour of Hollywood and the bustle of New York think about tiny, simple Maplehaven?

Charlene Moyen isn’t looking for a nice guy. With her teasing barbs and badass chopper pilot skills, she needs someone who won’t flinch every time she unleashes her quick wit and daredevil instincts. Unfortunately, Charlie’s small hometown doesn’t have any guys like that. It’s probably for the best. Her parents’ relationship hasn’t provided a rock-solid example of what love is. She wouldn’t even know how to be someone’s true other half.

Charlie is an expert at maneuvering her helicopter though. When an opportunity to feature her chopper in a movie being shot locally arises, she enters her name. She never expects to be filming with her favorite action-adventure actor, Austin Rayhill. Austin is surprised as well. He thought having a female pilot in the movie would be a good marketing move, but Charlie proves to be so much more than that. She pulls him out of his Hollywood world and gives him the dose of reality he needs.

After Charlie lends a hand to Austin during an accident on set, the off-screen chemistry between them soars. Until Charlie’s extreme flying pokes at the one thing Austin fears most.

Is one kind hand enough to bridge two worlds?

One Kind Hand is a meeting-your-movie-star-crush, small-town, contemporary romance that features a tomboy heroine and a famous, big-screen hero who have more in common than they realize.

The One Kind Deed Series, contemporary romance

"The town, the people, the love story... a perfect romance."

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About the Author

Christine DePetrillo can often be found hugging trees, conversing with dragonflies, and walking barefoot through sun-warmed soil. She finds joy in listening to the wind, bathing in moonlight, and breathing in the fragrances of things that bloom. If she had her way, the sky would be the only roof over her head.

Her love of nature seeps into every story she tells. As does her obsession with bearded mountain men who build, often smell like sawdust, and know how to cherish the women they love. Today she writes tales meant to make you laugh, maybe make you sweat, and definitely make you believe in the power of love.

She lives in Vermont with her husband and many woodland creatures who defend her fiercely from all evils.

Connect with the Author:  Website | Newsletter | Bookbub | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tiktok

Spotlight: Undertaking Love by Megan Montgomery

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Publication date: April 1st 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Bethany West upgraded her lucrative career as a sex worker for her dream job as a death worker when she partnered at Smythe & Co. Mortuary. She expected her eco-friendly innovations and death positive attitude to blow the roof off the Victorian-era relic. But that was seven months ago, and during that time, she’s only managed to piss off her embittered business partner, George Smythe, a man dead set on maintaining the status quo and driving Bethany out of his namesake business.

When the pair reluctantly travel together to a mortuary conference in New Orleans—and compete in dueling embalming demonstrations—George finally recognizes the value of Bethany’s business model for the first time. He’s also starting to recognize a growing attraction to his blonde bombshell business partner. Meanwhile, Bethany learns the truth behind George’s cold contempt, and it’s much worse than she thought, stemming not from a single incident, but from the constant on-call status, the compassion fatigue, and the overwhelming stress of the job.

Bethany has 4 days to crack open his tough outer shell to reveal the compassionate man she knows is inside, and she has a plan, but unless George learns to open his heart and lean on her, at the risk of succumbing to their cremation-level attraction in a dangerous way, he’ll jeopardize both the business and their hearts by refusing the true partnership they both need.

Excerpt

George

I gripped the edges of the cot and crouched on the balls of my feet, taking a minute to steady myself, head hanging low on my shoulders. I gave myself two full seconds before standing up and getting to work.

No point in wasting time.

I removed my jacket and unbuttoned my shirtsleeves, rolling them up to my elbows, still thinking about what it must be like to walk through life looking like her, putting people under spells.

It wasn’t just her beauty, although I had to admit she was objectively beautiful.

Playboy beautiful. OnlyFans beautiful.

Men spent a collective fortune to look at still images of her. Or so I was told. I would never ever go to her site. Not even to satisfy a morbid curiosity. Why the hell would I? We were oil and vinegar. I spent every waking moment trying to avoid my business partner.

A body could only look so good naked.

I had to hand it to her though; the way she deliberately dulled herself to look more approachable, less intimidating for clients.

Wearing polo shirts and khakis for pickups didn’t quite work, though. There was nothing she could do to disguise her bone structure or her crystalline eyes. Or lips that were full and plump and pink even without her bloodred lipstick. The best she could do was drape her otherworldly figure in baggy, unflattering, generic workwear.

In those tight, vintage-glam, days-off dresses, her body was indecent, perhaps even downright obscene, the way her mountainous hips curved out from a tiny waist. If she wore those outfits around here, her giant boobs displayed alongside the caskets and urns, nobody would be able to get any work done. Who could make a decision around that?

She was cartoonishly drawn, the utmost decadence sprung to life in the form of a woman. Obscene beauty. It was too bad it was packaged into such an unlikeable creature.

Or maybe it wasn’t bad at all.

Because despite her extra helpings of bone structure and sex appeal, the woman posed not the slightest whiff of temptation. Not for me.

Sure, stunningly gorgeous women had once been my type. Just the thought of slipping my hands around a woman’s waist, moving lower as wide hips inched my fingers farther apart would make my dick hard. I used to love that overt type of femininity that threw back to a different generation, with heightened proportions, heels, lingerie. I liked to clutch a woman’s ribs and delicately trace the underside of heavy boobs.

Too Much, amplified by the confidence to own it definitely used to be my type.

Now I had no type. I was as celibate as my brother, Gus, in his last year of seminary. I was ruined by divorce, work, stress, and the feeling that nothing I ever did was good enough. The constant need to push myself further, do more for the clients, make things perfect at any cost. That drive was my mistress now.

I wasn’t a man, I was a granite statue, ensconced in my niche that was this home, this business. There was no blood or desire left inside me. My hands were plastered to my sides, unable to reach for the soft skin of another. Any hardness wasn’t in my cock but in my soul.

So, no. I wasn’t tempted. Temptation was for men who didn’t work eighteen-hour days, remaining on-call the other six. Temptation was for men who could allow themselves to be hurt again.

Temptation was for men who had a future.

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About the Authot

Megan Montgomery writes romance. Sometimes they're funny. Sometimes they're morbid, but all her characters have cool jobs. She and her husband, Johnathon Olavarria co-host Forced Proximity podcast, a weekly romance book and movie club.

Her debut novel, Well . . . THAT Was Awkward was inspired by her homesickness for southern Maryland. She now lives halfway across the US on the prairie with her husband, son, and mom. 

When she’s not writing, reading, lifting weights, or cooking dinners her son won’t eat, you’ll find her toiling in the garden or brewing potions from her medicinal herbs.

Connect:

https://www.meganmontgomerywrites.com/

https://www.facebook.com/meganmontgomerywrites/

https://www.instagram.com/meganmontgomerywrites/?hl=en

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/megan-montgomery

https://twitter.com/meganthraxm?lang=en

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20680329.Megan_Montgomery

Spotlight: Stars Like Gasoline by Jessika Grewe Glover

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Publication date: April 24th 2023
Genres: Adult, Thriller

Synopsis:

When Celia, a Florida art curator, purchases the haunted house of her brother’s deceased fiancé, the spirits threaten her life and her career. To rid the home of the malevolent ghosts, she enlists the help of her brother, Oscar, and Adrian, the best friend of Oscar’s late fiancé, who’d been killed as an Afghanistan veteran. The three are about to be thrown into a chasm of events involving a dead French artist, a Dutch aerospace heiress, and a missing Japanese painter who is presumed to be dead. Not to mention a stalker that begins to threaten Celia and Oscar.

The link between these events appears to be a hidden journal from the 1980s Celia discovers in the home, belonging to a dead, but revered French artist. As Adrian helps decipher the clues, an attraction burns between him and Celia, raising the stakes of the game someone is playing. A game that no one might make it out of alive.

Excerpt

“The blisters hurt like the devil when the water hit them, and the open sores on my ankles were screaming demons at me. The night was the kind of heat the air conditioning doesn’t quite hold the upper hand over. Every window was fogged over with moisture. A 2019 Kikumoto painting with no title was a rare find indeed. If I could only get the release for the other piece I’d found, I could bet the gala would draw art dealers and patrons from much farther than our usual guests. Strange that the Cesar acquisition had come from Fort Pierce. While it had a small arts community, the town just south of us wasn’t known for the careful upper-middle-class and bourgeois lifestyle of Vero Beach. Maybe I was tired, but it felt like I was missing vital puzzle pieces here. An anonymous donation of a huge Cesar collection, Kikumotos appearing out of nowhere, seemingly belonging to no one, and a Cesar having once been in my house but now missing.

      Cabinet doors slammed in the kitchen, and a thump preceded the sound of running water. I jumped in my seat, leaving my laptop open on the small writing desk, which sat facing the front window. Goosebumps ran a race up my legs and arms, chilling every inch of me. Clenched fingers opened and closed over my phone. Screw it. I texted Oscar.

      Something is in here. Don’t call Adrian. If you’re already home, no worries. Just letting you know.

      As I raised my eyes from the phone screen, a reflection caught in the fogged window. Silhouetted against the arcing bougainvillea was a man, standing directly behind me. The chair crashed to the floor as I stood like a jack-in-the-box. An icy touch reached out. I grabbed at the salt from the windowsill and tossed it at the shape, watching as the aberration in the room broke apart momentarily. A Spode Blue Italian salt bowl sat on the corner of the black spindle-legged desk. I cupped my fingers into the salt granules, pulled a handful, and spun in a quick circle, entrapping myself within the purported protection circle. I chanted an old Wiccan protection spell I’d found in an eighteenth-century grimoire in Boston and watched the spirit come closer and closer to the circle.

      “Elements of Day,

      Rays of Sun,

      Hear what I say

“Goddess of Night,

      Strength of Other,

      Goddess of Light,

      Protection of Mother.”

      God only knows why I had that memorized when I’d only seen the piece a handful of times. The Catholic side of the family would be appalled by my use of a Wiccan spell, but La Madre María hadn’t been working so far. ”

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About the Author

Jessika Grewe Glover is the author of Another Beast’s Skin, the first book in a contemporary fantasy trilogy. She grew up in Miami dreaming of magic and other realms in which to escape the heat. She currently resides in the Los Angeles area with her British expat husband, two kids, and the world’s fastest bulldog.

Connect:

https://www.jessikagreweglover.com/

https://twitter.com/jessikamittens

https://www.tiktok.com/@jessikagreweglov

https://www.instagram.com/jessikagreweglover/

https://www.facebook.com/JessikaGreweGlover/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21072121.Jessika_Grewe_Glover

Spotlight: Legends of Ash and Dust by Kate Cowan

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(Fearless, #1)
Publication date: January 24th 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

They forged her into a weapon. Now, she is the last.

Aerona was raised by legends. Her people, the Shae, are the closest thing this realm has to the supernatural: they train their entire lives to protect, forging their bodies like steel. They are the stories told to children in the night, the monsters who lurk in the woods. Or, they were — until the massive Red Wolf army attacked, slaughtering them all in a single night.

Now, Aerona is the last, and it doesn’t help that she is the only female Shae in history. Besides the revenge she has sworn to get, she has one final mission: to protect Niran, a handsome prince with secrets of his own.

In Niran’s home, the Palace of the Golden City, nothing is as it seems. Aerona’s enemies are lurking around every corner, the Emperor is blackmailing her into becoming his assassin, and an ex-Shae librarian is convinced that she has a long-forgotten Shae magic hidden on her skin.

Caught between two worlds, Aerona must kill, spy and betray… even if it means unlocking the magic this world has long been starved of…

Excerpt

"“What is it?” I demanded. “What’s happening? Kentric, I saw fire—“

“We’re being attacked,” Kentric said. Shouts and bangs and running footfalls filled the air, filtering in through the dark window.

“What?” I started for the door, but he pulled me back to face him. “We have to go, we have to fight—“

“There are too many, Aerona. Far too many.”

“Too many? We’re Warriors.”

“Fifty of us have already been slain in the Sanctuary,” Kentric said quickly. “More at the outposts and farmhouses. There are hundreds of them, Aerona, an army. We cannot win.”

“No,” I breathed. The world had been opening before my eyes that morning: now, it felt as if it closed in from every angle, crushing me.

Taking a step back, I looked to the glowing window, listened to the screams in the distance.

“We can fight them! Drive them off,” I was pleading, tears in my eyes, but there was ice in Kentric’s gaze.

He had stopped listening. From around his neck, he pulled something on a thin black cord out of his robes. It was small and silver, glinting in the faint light from the window. The symbol of the Shae—all of the Masters wore one, a hand-forged silver pendant. A mountain overlaid with two crossed swords, surrounded by a circle of four dragons. He pushed it into my hands.  

“No. I can’t,” I took a step back, looking shakily down at the heavy, cold pendant. 

“There’s no time for this. Listen to me carefully,” he took my shoulders, standing so close I could feel his breath on my face. “The prince is your responsibility now. He’s in the barns, Malik told him to meet you there. Take horses and get off the Shae mountain. Get far, don’t stop moving, and don’t use the gates to get past River’s Edge. Go through the river itself. Don’t come back here, don’t try to fight them. You are Shae. You are one of us. Never forget that. We will fight them as long as we can. Stay off the main roads and away from anyone until you reach Dothor.” 

I tried to suppress the tears welling up in my eyes, clenching my jaw and my fists, but my heart broke as Kentric wrapped me in a fierce hug. He was old, but like an ancient willow, he was supple and strong.

“Now go, Aero,” he whispered in my ear. “Go!” 

I knew I would regret it, Gods, I knew I would—but I did as Kentric told me. 

I ran.

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About the Author

Hi, I'm Kate Cowan. I'm an author, writer, painter, and illustrator. When I'm not writing or creating art, I love to take my three insane dogs out for hikes and explore the beautiful Niagara region of Canada, where I live. My passion is in telling stories that move people and capture their imaginations. I also strive to create art that is full of life and beauty. I love creating pretty things, both written and painted. I'm also a martial arts instructor, 3rd-degree black belt in Goju-Ryu Karate, and lover of badass characters (which I'm sure you can tell from my books!!) 

Connect:

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https://www.tiktok.com/@katecowanauthor

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Spotlight: The Last Dragonfly by E.G. Moore

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Publication date: April 25th 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

A magical dragonfly. A science-focused society. Only one can bring the land and her people from the brink of death.

Sixteen-year-old Governor’s daughter Etoiny longs to throw off her upper-class responsibilities and become the first female scientist of Taachat. When she accidentally wounds a thought-extinct dragonfly, she must race to find a bygone cure in order to present it to the Science Society for admission.

While she researches remedies for the dragonfly, she and the creature form a bond that can’t be explained by science. The dragonfly also revives dying blooms all Taachat’s citizens need to stay alive for the next three-year cycle. Her dead mother’s missing journal could offer insight if only Etoiny could find it.

She soon realizes two powerful people are on the hunt for the dragonfly and its healing ability. Just as Etoiny finds a way to save her dragonfly, she discovers horrors her father has allowed in the underbelly of Taachat and it makes her question who she wants to be.

Etoiny must decide whether to claim her place as a renowned scientist by offering the creature for experimentation or sacrifice her dream, team up with her animal friend, and fulfill their magical destiny.

Excerpt

She strode around the fence and out onto the orchard’s ground. The creature in her pocket shifted around and around and a growly squeak sounded. Etoiny lifted a pocket flap and peeked inside. The creature had curled up and growled again at the streak of light shining in. Streaks of weak steam puffed out.

“Please give me some space to think,” she told Morem without looking up. “Half a dozen steps, if you please.”

“No.”

Etoiny snapped her head up at Morem’s response.

“I need to know what’s going on with that thing.” He peered at her pocket. “You’ve not been yourself. Sure, you’ve always spent large amounts of time in your room, and this must be difficult for you.” He gestured to the figures walking away from them. “But you’ve brushed off those that care about you, hardly seen the sun, and it’s been two days since you’ve asked me for our daily riddle.” Hurt leached into the last part of his sentence. He bumped her elbow with his fingertips and directed her to a far blossom tree. “I discovered it with you. Don’t you trust me?” He’d not said so many words in one speech in a long time.

“Of course, I trust you. I just wanted to figure some things out before I told anyone about it. Before the Science Society’s admittance presentations.”

Morem stood straighter. “And have you?”

Etoiny glanced at her shuddering pocket. “Not a lot.”

“Don’t you think that if the two of us looked, we’d cover more ground? Gather more information?”

“Perhaps.” Etoiny drew out the word, thinking hard about Jaya’s actions. “Although, I have cause to believe someone knows and is trying to steal it.”

“Well, we won’t let them.”

Morem’s rich brown eyes and stoic expression swelled guilt in her chest.

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About the Author

E.G. Moore is an award-winning poet and children book author, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her essay Wearing Teresa’s Russet Boots was featured in Hope Paige’s Anthology on loss Breaking Sad in 2017, and she had several pieces published in an anthology honoring a local historic building in 2018. When she’s not telling “Mommy Made stories” to her three children or awaiting feedback for her latest manuscript, she can be found off-roading in North Idaho, baking something scrumptious, or on a plot-and-soul refreshing hike.

Connect:

https://egmooreauthor.com/

https://www.facebook.com/EmilyGMooreWriter/

https://www.tiktok.com/@emilymoore7888?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

https://twitter.com/egmoorewriter

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17913015.E_G_Moore