Spotlight: Crown of Wings and Thorns by Mary Ting

Publication date: April 4th 2024
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

A fight for a throne that will rewrite history

The demon King Asmodeus has taken over the mortal world. The Order of Angel warriors have a mission to take him down, but many have died or joined the enemy. When Evangeline’s team is ensnared in a web of deception, she has no choice but to form an alliance with King Victus, a vampire ruler with a reputation for killing angels. Can the two set aside the past and take down Asmodeus? Or will they turn on each other first?

Michael is a half-breed angel who wants no part of the nonhuman world. However, his immense power makes him a target. King Asmodeus wants him to join his army, and so does Order of Angels, but Michael dreams of settling down, not going to war. He may not have a choice. When his family’s lives are at stake, he’ll have to pick a side or lose everything.

Excerpt

I’d heard tales that vampires had an uncanny ability to beguile their prey. Their attractive faces and bewitching scent, partnered with their commanding voices entranced victims, making them do whatever was asked of them. 

He must be using the same supernatural powers to captivate me. Despite his effort, I prevailed and pushed the horrendous thought to the far recesses of my mind. 

“Never in peace.” He growled, his hot breath fanned the shell of my ear. “You are my enemy.”

“Fine. You want to die here, right now?” I gritted the words through my teeth as I slowly released my feathers, my chest rising and falling just as fast as his.  

He made the mistake of pulling back just enough for his eyes to lock with mine. I pushed off with the strength of my feathers, taking him with me. His back thumped the opposite wall and I trapped him with my body and wings.

Victus’s eyes grew wide, stunned. With an ear-piercing snarl, his feet tangled with mine to launch us into a wild spin, and then he pushed me against the wall with such force that all of the air was knocked from my lungs with an oomph.

“I loathe your kind,” he hissed, baring his teeth.

“And I despise everything about you.” I clenched my jaw.

“My hatred for you is greater.” The tendrils under his eyes throbbed. 

We were thrown into a battle of push and shove, taking turns on who would be on top of our chaotic tumbling until we eventually stopped at the opposite end of the room, panting.

With my back to the wall, he took a fistful of my hair and yanked my head to the side, exposing my neck. His hot breath and his sharp fangs grazed down my skin. 

I shuddered and every vein in my body seared. I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or from the heated tussle and our bodies colliding.

“If you believe I’m your enemy, then bite me.” I took a chance by saying the latter. Since he found me revolting, he would likely release me.

He gripped my hair tighter and snarled

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About the Author

Born in Seoul, Korea, author Mary Ting is an international bestselling, multi-gold award winning author. Her books span a wide range of genres, and her storytelling talents have earned a devoted legion of fans, as well as garnered critical praise. She is a diverse voice who writes diverse characters, often dealing with a catastrophic world.
 
Becoming an author happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother and inspired by a dream she had in high school. After realizing she wanted to become a full-time author, Mary retired from teaching. She also had the privilege of touring with the Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book: No Bullies Allowed.

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Spotlight: Rescued by the Single Dad by Whitley Cox

What happens when the brewery prince falls for the mermaid and ends up endangering his entire kingdom?

Welcome to San Camanez, a humble, peaceful little island in the Puget Sound and home to the McEvoy brothers. Four sexy single fathers—and one childless snack with a beard—who run a brewpub on the beach, raise their kids together, and hope to find love and happiness in the chaos that is life. This is Clint’s story ...

Single Dad and brewmaster Clint McEvoy went down to the beach to drink and wallow. He never expected to find a Hollywood starlet naked and unconscious on the rocks. Nor did he expect to learn that someone wants her dead. He’ll do whatever he can to keep Brooke safe, even if that means risking his heart and his family’s peaceful life to do it.

Brooke Barker didn’t see it coming. One minute, she’s on a yacht, celebrating the release of her latest film, the next, she’s fighting for her life in the frigid Puget Sound. Waking up on Clint’s couch was a blessing she’s not sure she deserves. Now, she needs to figure out who pushed her while allowing the world to think she’s dead. One thing that’s alive and well, though? Her attraction to Clint, and her growing affection for his young daughter.

Can Brooke keep her heart out of the equation, and also keep the McEvoy family safe? Or will hiding on the island and in Clint’s bed bring danger to their doorstep?

Excerpt

He cupped it gently, and she pushed forward, encouraging him to get a little more forceful. 

Taking the nipple between his thumb and finger, he gave the nub a small tug, and she moaned again. 

Flicking her gaze up to his, her nod barely discernible. But he saw it. 

Oh, fuck, did he see it. 

He dipped his head and brought the same nipple into his mouth, sucking and flicking it with his tongue as Brooke arched her back, letting her hair tumble down behind her. 

She pressed her breast into his face and another one of those sexy moans rumbled up from the depths of her throat as she rocked against him. 

She drove her fingers into his hair and held him in place. Held his face to her chest. His mouth to her nipple. All he could do was move to the other breast, sucking on that delicious raspberry and reveling in her moans and sharp inhales. 

“Clint,” she whispered, yanking on his hair, to pull his mouth free and his head up. “Please ...” She bit her bottom lip and glanced down between them to where they were dry humping, almost without even thinking about it. His hips rocked of their own volition, and it seemed hers did, too. 

He nodded, and she carefully climbed off him, removing the shorts she wore so that she was very quickly naked. It wasn’t like she wore much to begin with. Just shorts and a tank top. No bra, no underwear. 

He had a bit more work ahead of him and had to stand up and drop his jeans and boxers. He didn’t remove them completely, but once his cock was free—and much happier because of it—he sat back down. She went to climb on, but he stopped her. “I ... I don’t think I have any condoms.”

“I have an IUD, and as soon as I found Flynn cheating, I got tested and haven’t been with anyone since.”

“I’m clean,” he said, his voice gravelly as his hands found her hips and he guided her back into his lap. “I haven’t been with anyone in ... well, we had this discussion last night.”

Understanding dawned in her eyes. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” he breathed. “Might be a little rusty.”

Her smile took the last remaining molecules of oxygen from his lungs as she lifted onto her knees, reached between them and grabbed his cock, angling it to her center. 

When that first bit of wet heat hit his cockhead, he nearly came on the spot. 

Holy fuck. 

“Hopefully, it’ll be like riding a bike,” she said, all sexy grins as she sank down, taking all of him inside her. 

Her hands found his shoulders, and she started to lift and drop. 

It was heaven. Pure. Fucking. Heaven. 

She pressed her tits up toward his face, and he dropped his head to capture a nipple again, flicking it with his tongue. But she yanked on his hair hard enough to make him grunt and claimed his mouth again. 

This woman took control. 

He liked that. 

He liked that she initiated things. He wasn’t taking advantage of a confused and vulnerable woman. She was leading this. She was setting the pace. 

And Brooke’s pace seemed to be warp-speed, because as soon as their lips collided, she started to ride him less like a bicycle and more like a mechanical bull. 

And the woman knew how to ride a mechanical bull. 

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About the Author

A Canadian West Coast baby born and raised, Whitley is married to her high school sweetheart, and together they have two beautiful daughters and a fluffy dog. She spends her days making food that gets thrown on the floor, vacuuming Cheerios out from under the couch and making sure that the dog food doesn't end up in the air conditioner. But when nap time comes, and it's not quite wine o'clock, Whitley sits down, avoids the pile of laundry on the couch, and writes.

A lover of all things decadent; wine, cheese, chocolate and spicy erotic romance, Whitley brings the humorous side of sex, the ridiculous side of relationships and the suspense of everyday life into her stories. With single dads, firefighters, Navy SEALs, mommy wars, body issues, threesomes, bondage and role-playing, Whitley’s books have all the funny and fabulously filthy words you could hope for.

Whitley Cox Social Media Links:

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Spotlight: The Flirt by Layla Hagen

Being a single dad while managing one of the biggest businesses in New Orleans keeps me very busy. Any free time I have I spend with my daughter, Bella — reading to her, styling her hair, or choosing nail polishes appropriate for an eight-year-old.

But I’m okay with that because she is my whole world.

After my divorce, I made myself a promise: I wouldn’t date until Bella was older. Then all my good intentions go up in smoke when I hire our newest chef for the flagship restaurant in the French Quarter. Scarlett Jones is unlike any woman I’d ever met. She’s smart and beautiful and I can’t get enough of her.

For more reasons than one, I need to keep my distance. So when I begin flirting… surprising her with beignets and coffee at break time, then king cake after hours, I know I’ve gone too far. And when I join Scarlett on a ridiculous haunted tour of the city, I’m certain I’ve lost my mind. She’s become my addiction. I want to explore those curves, find out her deepest desires—and make them come true.

But it’s when she offers to teach my daughter how to bake, I know I’m in wayyyyy over my head. When the three of us are together, I get a glimpse of the family we could be.
The question is, are we both ready to put our fears behind us?

And to think, it all started with a little flirt.

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About the Author

My name is Layla Hagen and I am a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance.

I fell in love with books when I was nine years old, and my love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.

I write romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.

And I drink coffee.

Keep up with Layla Hagen and subscribe to her newsletter: http://laylahagen.com/mailing-list-sign-up/

To learn more about Layla Hagen & her books, visit here!

Connect with Layla Hagen: https://laylahagen.com/contact-layla/

Spotlight: The Phantom Enforcer by J. W. Jarvis

A supernatural journal. Two kids in over their heads. Can they lead a new Chicago police officer to success in the dangerous south side of the city?

Danielle and Noah’s curiosity gets the best of them when they find another magical diary about an officer’s second year in the country’s second-largest police force. While Dani comes to grips with being a minority female in a male-dominated profession, Noah joins the story as a phantom with unique magical abilities. They soon discover that their past trips have caused unforeseen historical consequences, including introducing an evil phantom with lethal powers.

They must now figure out how to return to the part of the story they interfered with and fix their mistakes. The kids seek help from the strange bookstore owner, but the spellbound solutions are risky and untested.

Can Noah master his newfound phantom powers to save the townspeople stuck in the books?

The Phantom Enforcer is the action-filled second book in the First Responder fantasy series. If you like adventurous kids, clever humor, and pages jam-packed with suspense, then you’ll love J.W. Jarvis’s blending of reality and enchantment.

3% of all book sales go to First Responders Children’s Foundation, which provides financial support to children who have lost a parent in the line of duty.

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Hardcover | Paperback | Bookshop.org

About the Author

J.W. Jarvis was born and raised in a suburb near Chicago. In his twenties, he moved to Northern California to escape the bone-chilling, spine-cracking winters. His full-time job is in Information Technology, but transitioning to full-time writing is his next life goal. He enjoys taking the ideas swirling around in his mind and putting them on paper in exciting scenarios while developing relatable characters. His goal is to entertain the reader, bringing their imagination to places they probably wouldn't ever experience in their real lives but might have dreamt of.

To learn more, please visit AuthorJWJarvis.com or follow him on Instagram @AuthorJWJarvis or Facebook @AuthorJWJarvis.

Spotlight: An Accident Waiting to Dragon by Abigail Owen

(Brimstone Inc., #3)
Publication date: March 26th 2024
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Synopsis:

It’s not the heat…it’s the pixie dust.

The day her brother died, Gwendolyn Moonsoar fled from her veil of pixies. Grief drove her away, but a broken heart made her stay gone for good. Lucky for Gwen, Brimstone Inc. was there to break her fall. Now, as a special courier transporting the most valuable and dangerous items of the supernatural world, Gwen is good at her job. Damn good. After all, disappearing is her specialty.

Dragon shifter Asher Kato will always be haunted by his best friend Goran’s death. Although a promise he made gave him no choice, Asher will never forgive himself for the role he played…or the fallout it caused with Goran’s younger sister, Gwen. Burying himself in his role as second-in-command of the blue dragons is his only escape. Unfortunately, the peace they fought so hard for isn’t meant for a warrior like him. So, when a courier transporting a rare basilisk egg goes missing, Asher volunteers to track her down.

Except Asher’s mission ends up stranding him on a deserted island with the only woman he’s ever wanted….a pixie who would rather vanish forever than spend a single second with him.

Excerpt

That kiss had been fourteen years, two weeks, and five days ago, but it felt like yesterday. Gwen could still feel the touch of Asher’s lips against hers, his hands against her cheeks.

She’d only had her wings a short time and had maybe been showing off for her brother’s best friend who she’d been in love with for…well…what had felt like eons at that point. Since hitting her twenties, she’d caught him watching her, a certain light in his eyes. More and more she’d caught those looks. Looks that had sent her heart fluttering around inside her. She’d thought maybe he’d hesitated because he thought she was too young.

Pixies and dragons aged similarly, about the same as humans until they hit their twenties, and then aging slowed significantly.

But that day, the day she’d gotten her wings, she wasn’t too young anymore, and she’d wanted him to know that.

In the moonlight, she’d flown out above the water of the loch near her home, wanting him to see her. Truly see her. But she’d overestimated her control to both fly and wield her power at the same time and ended up falling into the water.

Gods, even now her cheeks heated with mortification. 

Back then a shadow overhead had her jerking her gaze upward in time to see Asher shift to human and drop into the water close by. He’d surfaced right in front of her, wiping the water and his dark hair out of his deep blue eyes with a grin that he seemed to reserve only for her.

“I’m here to rescue you,” he’d teased.

And her heart had fluttered even harder.

Gwen had raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like I need rescuing?”

Asher had looked around them. “Can you fly?”

“No. My wings are too wet.” She hadn’t tucked them away in time, and they were waterlogged by then.

“But you don’t need rescuing,” he said, voice dropping as he swam nearer, closing the distance between them.

And the expression in his eyes, the way he looked at her, sent her heart flipflopping all over the place and a swarm of butterflies swirling through her stomach.

She couldn’t look away. “No.”

He’d cupped her face with his hands, their legs tangling in the water like they were now. “How about now?” he’d asked in a voice gone even lower, gruffer. Blue fire flashed in his eyes, his dragon so close to the surface. “Any rescuing needed?”

Only if dying of anticipation was a thing. “From you?” she’d whispered.

Asher had nodded slowly. 

“Nah.” She’d been unable to hold in her grin.

He’d moved his face closer, eyes twinkling, their breath mingling. “What about now?”

Was this really happening? she’d thought. Hells, she’d just about die of fluttery excitement. “I’m all good.”

He’d moved even closer still, nudging the tip of her nose with his. “And now?” he whispered.

“Well…” she whispered back. “Maybe…”

The slow smile that reached his eyes about stopped her heart. “Gwen, if you don’t want me to kiss you, say so now.”

She’d gasped, and his gaze had dropped to her lips.

Gods, she’d dreamed of that kiss for years. No way would she have said anything to stop him.

The way he’d closed the distance between their lips had been the sweetest torture. Slow. Agonizingly slow, while his gaze pinned her. He’d rubbed his cheek against hers, and then even slower, tilted his head until his lips had hovered over hers.

She’d given the tiniest whimper, and that’s when he’d kissed her.

And, gods, his kiss had been…everything. Soft and sweet to start, like he was making sure this was what she wanted too. But quickly, the tenor had changed. Still slow, like he was savoring every press of their lips, every sweep of his tongue against hers, and yet urgent at the same time.

And claiming.

That’s what had made her glow, her happiness triggering the moonlight buried in her very skin, lighting them up along with the water around them in a heavenly light.

Asher had slowed their kisses to pull back, staring at her in something like…awe.

“I have to do something dangerous for my king,” he’d said that day, gaze so intent on hers. “I won’t be able to see you for a while, but when I’m done...”

“What are you doing out there?” Goran had yelled from the shore.

Gwen and Asher hadn’t finished that conversation, and Asher hadn’t finished the promise he’d seemed to be making. Or maybe a question. One she’d answered in her heart. 

I’ll wait for you.

The next day he was gone.

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About the Author

Award-winning author, Abigail Owen, writes NA/YA romantasy and paranormal romance. She loves plots that move hot and fast, feisty heroines with sass, heroes with heart, a dash of snark, and oodles of HEAs!

Abbie has a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing) from Texas A&M University (gig’em Ags!), and an MBA from California State University-Sacramento. Prior to becoming a published author, she spent 15+ years using the other side of her brain in various tech- and business-related roles.

Other titles include: wife, mother, Star Wars geek, ex-competitive skydiver, AuDHD, spreadsheet lover, Jeopardy fanatic, organizational guru, true classic movie buff, linguaphile, wishful world traveler, and chocoholic.

Abigail currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own swoon-worthy hero, their (mostly) angelic teenagers, and two adorable fur babies.

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Spotlight: The Backup Princess by Kate O’Keeffe

(Royally Kissed, #1)
Publication date: April 4th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

When a Texas gal punches a prince instead of curtsying, you know this isn’t your grandmother’s fairy tale.

Taking the bull by the horns is child’s play compared to ruling Malveaux. Yet here I am, a Texas girl turned princess, swapping tacos for a tiara.

Then I meet Europe’s most eligible bachelor, the irritatingly handsome Prince Alexander, and accidentally deck him instead of curtsying.

Oops.

I’d feel bad if he wasn’t such a self-satisfied jerk.

Now, I’m racing against a royal clock that ticks with the urgency of a preening peacock, trying not to let down my newfound country or my own wild heart. Alexander? He’s a walking contradiction, with a smirk that heats my blood and eyes that tell tales of a depth I didn’t expect.

Decisions aren’t exactly my rodeo, but this time, my choice could cost me my new crown—or lead to a love story that rewrites my happily ever after.

Will this Texas girl rise to the royal challenge, or is this one fairytale destined to end with the slipper never found?

The Princess Diaries meets The Hating Game in this in this dizzyingly romantic modern royal romcom for grown-ups, where an American girl’s unexpected ascent to royalty collides with a fiery romance with a hot neighboring prince. The Backup Princess is a closed-door romance with all the sizzle but without the spice, and a guaranteed happily ever after. It’s Book 1 in the brand new series, Royally Kissed.

Excerpt

“Hello?” I fumble with my phone to locate the torch app, which suddenly seems to have disappeared. “Who’s in here?” I demand, half expecting to find a murderer or some kind of psychopath, wielding a knife, ready to attack.

“Who are you?” an indignant voice responds.

Finally, I locate the torch app and flick it on, scanning the closet.

I suck in a breath as it illuminates a woman, her features lined with fear as she squints at me, her hands held in tight fists in front of her chest.

I relax. She doesn't look like a murderer or a psychopath, or even a ghost. Well, a little like a ghost. The woman is rather pale.

But there's something recognizable about her. The look in her eyes is like a deer in headlights. A beautiful deer. A familiar deer.

I take a step closer to her.

“Get back!” she screeches. “I’m warning you; I know tai chi.”

I press my lips together to stop a smile. “You know how to do slow, controlled movements at sunrise?” If I tried to keep the amusement from my voice it wasn’t much of an effort.

“I meant… karate. I know karate and I’m not afraid to use it!” She unfurls her fists and brandishes her flat hands at me.

A laugh bubbles up, and I do my best to style it out as a cough. “I come in peace, I assure you.”

“How do I know that?” She does a chopping motion with one of her hands, presumably to demonstrate her karate prowess. 

“Why don't you put those weapons of yours down?” I reach for her hands to hold them in mine reassuringly. This woman is freaked out and I need to do something.

As my hands fold over hers she snaps them away, raises one in a fist, and before I have the chance to ask what she intends to do with that fist, she jabs it straight at my face. 

“Argh!” I call out, my eyes watering as my nose throbs in pain that pulses painfully across my cheekbones. I stagger back, clasping my nose “What did you do that for?” 

But no sooner have the words left my mouth when she yanks the cupboard door open and bursts from the room, her skirt billowing behind her as she rushes away from me down the hall.

“What the—?!” I trail after her, muttering in disbelief. Who punches someone in the face in a hallway cupboard when all they were trying to do was show they weren’t a threat? 

Through watering eyes, I blink at her as she tears away from me down the hallway—only to fall flat on her face, her skirt billowing up behind her to expose her plain white cotton underpants, and her tiara pinging off her head and bouncing across the carpet.

Who is this woman and what the heck is she playing at?

My instinct kicks in, and before I have the chance to second guess myself, I hurry down the hallway to her aid.

“Are you all right?” I ask. 

Her eyes are wild as she yells, “Stay away!” She clamors back to her feet, clutching her head.

“Are you hurt?” I ask, and she shakes her head, her eyes searching the floor.

She must be looking for her tiara.

“It’s over there.” I point at the tiara on the ground, still in one piece.

She grabs it and turns back to me. “I—please don’t tell anyone.”

“Okay.”

She doesn’t say another word, instead she turns on her heel and dashes away, rounding a corner and disappearing from sight.

I stand, rooted to the spot, my brain scrambling to make sense of what just happened. I sought a brief moment of refuge in a cupboard only to be attacked by a beautiful woman in a tiara with an American accent.

My nose throbs painfully as realization dawns on me.

She's Madeline, the American here to claim the throne. The woman a nation has pinned their hopes on. 

The woman who wields a strong right hook.

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About the Author

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Kate O'Keeffe writes exactly what she loves to read: laugh-out-loud romantic comedies with swoon-worthy heroes and gorgeous feel-good happily ever afters. She lives and loves in beautiful Hawke's Bay, New Zealand with her family and two scruffy dogs. When she's not penning her latest story, Kate can be found hiking up hills (slowly), traveling to different countries, and eating chocolate. A lot of it.

Visit kateokeeffe.com to sign up to her newsletter and you'll receive a FREE romcom.

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