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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Cover Reveal: Hotheaded Heart by Anna Alkire

(Waterfall Canyon, #1)
Publication date: June 25th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

A fun sexy story, with a dash of suspense, about not hiding from yourself and letting love in. This steamy, laugh-out-loud, enemies to lovers romance pits an annoying prankster, turned small town cop, against the woman forced to live with him.

I’m finally back in Waterfall Canyon, after leaving for a decade, when one-night changes everything. I sort of snapped and beat up my stalker with yard debris. That creep didn’t know who he was messing with. Except, I was the one put in the patrol car.

Sometimes the worst mistake of your life calls for desperate measures—like accepting help from one of the cops that arrested you.

Beau Martin is a police officer, a slob, and also a man that’s promised to never settle down. He’s my best friend’s older brother. We had a history—of him tormenting me ten years ago. Now he leaves me flirty notes, wants me to believe he’s always liked me, and thinks we should blow off some steam.

Torn between Beau and an unrequited work crush, pursued by my increasingly creepy stalker, and fighting to save my career from the fallout of my mistake, I stumble into organizing a bachelor auction for charity. Everything depends on the support of our small town—and how much I can sacrifice for my own heart.

From award winning author Anna Alkire, comes an unforgettable new series that mixes the spice of Meghan Quinn’s A Not So Meet Cute, and the unexpected fun of Lucy Score’s Things We Never Got Over. Anyone looking for banter, cuteness, and a bit of suspense will find it in this steamy contemporary romance with a romantic comedy spin. Grab your copy of Hotheaded Heart today!

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About the Author

Anna Alkire has been a long-term college student, a business owner, and a world traveler. Now “settled”—with a sigh and a cup of decaf—Anna lives in Washington state, where she splits her time between a husband who thinks the North Pole would be a great place to live, chasing her hurricane of a son, learning new handicrafts, and creating worlds full of the kind of romance and fun she most wants to read. Find more about her (and grab a freebie or two) at her website, annaalkire.com.

Connect:

https://www.annaalkire.com/

https://www.instagram.com/anna.alkire

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22469671.Anna_Alkire

Spotlight: Sly As A Fox by Wendy Koenig

Sylvia Wilson’s brother, Aaron, is working with a joint bank robbery task force. When he goes missing, she joins forces with the FBI to search for him.

But nothing is what it seems.

With very little time left, Sylvia will burn Heaven to the ground to find her missing brother and bring him back alive. FBI, be damned.

Excerpt

I walked out to the parking lot. The night smelled crisp and new. The snow that had been held prisoner in the clouds was now free and drifting down in fat wet flakes. I scuffed to my Jeep, shivering despite my dense parka. 

At least I had a new ragtop on the Jeep, courtesy of my family at Christmas. Growing up in Iowa, winter hadn’t seemed so bad. Then Aaron and I had moved to Texas. We’d acclimated quickly. Now my blood congealed at the hint of cold. This was my second winter in St. Louis and it seemed my body would never get used to snow and ice again. 

Snowflakes in my headlights zoomed toward me like they were stars and my vehicle was a starship at warp speed. The highways wouldn’t be slick yet, but I predicted my neighborhood streets would be. My feeble heater whined louder with each minute. I’d intended to replace it before winter, but hadn’t gotten around to it.

Almost all of its own, my Jeep drove to Olive Street. A thick blanket of snow covered the  burnt scar where Smugglers had stood. I imagined Tom screaming, limbs and body aflame, even though Gideon had assured me much later that my friend had already been dead before the fire. Tom had been a good employee: hard-working, honest, eager. He’d been a student at WashU with a bright future ahead. His mother wouldn’t even look at me at the funeral. 

Though alone, I now whispered to her, to everyone, to the universe, “I’m so, so sorry.”

I took a deep sigh to scatter the image, pulled away from the curb, and headed home. As  predicted, the highways were decent for travel, but the snow was starting to build up along the shoulders. Also, as foreseen, my neighborhood streets were slick. Point in fact, my Jeep slid right through a stop sign and was in the middle of the intersection before halting. Thankfully, I was the only fool out trying to drive.

Lights flickered from TVs and whatnot inside homes as my neighbors played games or watched shows, waiting out the weather. My house lights would soon be doing the same thing, but for now, they were dark. Ominous. My Jeep skated past my house. Deciding it was my intention to park in back anyway, I fishtailed around the corner into the alley and skidded to a stop in my parking space, inches away from destroying my storage shed. 

I blinked once. Twice. Filled my lungs with a deep breath and blew it out through pursed lips. My scolding sent puffs of icy vapor onto my windshield, “Good job, Sylvia. Do you think you’re made of money?”

I opened my glovebox and found my Colt Python. There had been a gun constantly near me since the psychopath, and though one pistol had burned in the bar and was currently at the gun shop, there were still four hidden around my house. This one should have been in a glass cabinet; there was provenance that it was used in the Dirty Harry movie, though sadly not by Eastwood’s character. But it was the one that made me feel most steady. Hence, it went everywhere with me.

My headlights lit my backyard and into my house, where I could see the shadowy silhouettes of my two dogs pacing inside the sliding glass backdoor. My gaze roved the yard and looked deep in the bushes along the fence for any sinister shapes, but found none. Satisfied, I turned off the Jeep and the headlights, climbed out, and went through the back gate toward the house. Even though a square of light from my neighbors’ windows spilled over the tall wooden fence that surrounded my backyard, it was pitch black most places. My heart thudded against my skull and my finger tapped against the side of the trigger.

I was about one-third the way up the walk, too far from the house for the security light to kick on, when the front gate to the yard opened and carefully clicked closed. My heart came to a screeching halt. The Python automatically raised into a double-handed grip, pointing toward the sound.

“Whoever you are, you should know I’ve killed a man before and right now my gun is pointed your direction.”

“It’s FBI Agent Dawes,” came the soft response. The tall, Black man slowly stepped forward, hands wide open out to the side. He moved close enough to my house that the security light kicked on, ricocheting snowflake-speckled light across his dark features. Inside, my pooches went ballistic. Now the whole neighborhood would know someone was creeping in my backyard. Again. 

I lowered my hands. “What’s happened to my brother?”

“Not here. Inside.”

The Python lifted again. “Now. I’m not playing around.”

“We don’t know. We lost contact with him. Our last message was over a week ago. Has he contacted you?” Snowflakes were settling on his shoulders and uncovered head. How could anyone go out without a hat in this weather?

“I’ve heard nothing.” Aaron had told me he wasn’t supposed to be in contact with anyone but Dawes while on the mission.

The FBI agent exhaled loudly through his nose. “Help us. We know he texted you. Four days ago he sent you, ‘All good.’ Has he contacted you in any other manner?”

Well damn. They’d probably duplicated his phone or something. I’d be sure to tell Aaron about it when he was found. I shook my head, not caring that he probably couldn’t see it. “Do you think there’d be a gun pointed at you if I weren’t worried about him?”

“No, I don’t.” He hesitated, looked up at the falling snow, brushed his hand across his bespeckled hair, then asked, “Can we go inside to talk, now?”

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About the Author

Wendy Koenig is a published author living in New Brunswick, Canada. Her first piece to be printed was a short children’s fiction, Jet’s Stormy Adventure, serialized in The Illinois Horse Network. She attended University of Iowa, honing her craft in their famed summer workshops and writing programs. Since that time, she has published and co-authored numerous books and has won several international awards.

Website: http://www.wendylkoenig.com

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Spotlight: Finding Love by Julie Navickas

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Who says you can’t find love over a plate of mushroom ravioli?

Rachel Prescott has always dated the wrong men.Each relationship begins with hope, but within months ends with “nope.”The harder she tries, the harder she fails. That is, until the new owner of Pier Ninety-Two, Miguel Rodriguez, spots her wallowing over her latest dating disaster in his restaurant.

Easily smitten with the brown-haired beauty, Miguel offers her his heart. Or at least, what’s left of it. Because Miguel has had his own troubled past finding the right woman. With the echo of lost love still haunting his heart, he convinces himself he’s ready to move on—and who better with than the spunky, sexy, and strong-willed, Rachel Prescott?

Over a bottle of wine (or two), Miguel and Rachel instantly connect. And by the end of the evening, it’s more than their shared plate of mushroom ravioli left steaming.

Best-selling and award-winning author Julie Navickas tugs at your heartstrings in her second book in the Clumsy Little Hearts trilogy about love and letting go of the past. Fans of KG Fletcher’s The Reining Hearts Series and Katie Cotugno’s How to Love will find a new one-click buy with Ms. Navickas’ romances. Fall in love with imperfect, but perfect for the right person. 

Excerpt

Beside him, she released a heavy breath and lifted her gaze. The deep hues of blue sparkled, each eye coated in a thin layer of tears. 

“Wait, is something wrong?” Ryan frowned and propped his body up on an elbow. 

She shook her head and smiled. Dragging a hand down the side of his face, she paused on his cheek. “This happened really fast, didn't it?” 

You’re not wrong. 

Ryan gripped her hand and pressed a kiss on her palm. “It did,” he muttered. 

“One minute we’re picking out a paint color and the next we’re sleeping together beneath the stars.” 

Their relationship flashed before his eyes, each smile on her lips gripping his heart as affection and desire built within his soul. 

“It may have been fast, but that doesn’t make it any less real for me.” 

A single tear slid down her cheek and dripped onto his arm. It rolled, falling to the blankets and dissolving into the material. 

“It’s real for me, too.” She sniffled. “Maybe too real.” 

A twinge gripped his gut. “What’s that mean?”

“Like, when is the other shoe going to drop?” She snorted. “When does the dream end, or the bubble burst?” 

Just as cynical as me. You’ve been hurt just as bad, haven’t you? 

Ryan sat up and reached for her sandals in the corner of the tent.

“What’re you doing?”

He pressed the first shoe into his chest. “I promise, I won’t drop it.” Holding the second sandal out to her, he placed it in her hands and guided it to her chest. “If you won’t.” 

Her smile melted his heart. Eyeing a blonde curl falling in her face, he tucked it behind her ear as a shiver zipped along his spine—inspiration striking once more. “How about another adventure this morning, Ms. Browning?” 

“Clothes on or off?” 

With a wink, he pressed a kiss on her forehead. “That’ll be your choice.” 

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Paperback

About the Author

Julie Navickas is a best-selling and award-winning, nationally recognized contemporary romance novelist, known for her keen ability to tell heart-wrenching, second-chance love stories through relatable characters with humility, humor, and heroism. She is also an award-winning university instructor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. Julie earned master’s degrees in both organizational communication and English studies with an emphasis in book history, as well as a bachelor’s degree in public relations, graduating cum laude from Illinois State University. She is a mom of three and has been happily married to her high school sweetheart for twelve years. 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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Spotlight: Every Scar Tells a Story by Rayna York

Publication date: June 15th 2024
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Synopsis:

They say time heals all wounds, but they never mention the scars left behind.

Serena McNeal, outgoing and ambitious, is ready to escape her small town as soon as she graduates high school. Knox prefers to live in the shadows, finding comfort in his anonymity. As their worlds collide and the ghosts of Knox’s troubled past resurface, more than their newly-created bond will be tested. Because now, every decision made could be the difference between sharing a future together or facing a reality where neither one survives.

Excerpt

“Are you listening to me?” Rowan grips me by the shoulder, stopping me in the middle of the hallway as students continue around us like water around a boulder.

“What did you say?” I’m only half listening because my mind is racing through all the things I need to get done after I finish work today. Her mouth falls open. “Kidding,” I say. “I’m kidding. I don’t have an opinion either way.”

“But you have to,” she says half-hysterically, throwing her hands in the air. “It’s prom! The theme is everything. And I just think ‘A Night Under the Stars’ is absurdly unoriginal. They should have had a vote with the entire school, not just the student council. They’re all a bunch of geeks, anyway.” 

I scrunch up my face in distaste. “No, they’re not.”

“She didn’t mean it like that.” Tish gives Rowan a dirty look, concerned for everyone’s feelings, as usual. 

“Yes. She did,” I snap. “Just because someone is intelligent or doesn’t conform to social norms doesn’t make them a geek. And why are you just commenting about this now? They announced it months ago.”

Rowan shrugs, the messy top knot of black coils bobbing on top of her head as she does. “I just noticed the posters.”

“A student vote would have been better,” Tish throws out, probably to stop an argument from unfolding. “The student council could have picked four theme ideas, and the students could have voted.”

At the ridiculousness of this conversation, I roll my eyes away from her and see an unmistakable figure in a dark-hooded sweatshirt and jeans walking past us. Seeing him this close, I realize the guy is not only huge but seriously muscular.

“It’s him!” I smack Rowan’s arm several times in excitement.

“Ow.” She bats my hand away, annoyed. “Why are you hitting me? It’s who?”

“The guy.”

“What guy?” Tish follows my line of sight.

“I’ll be right back.” I can’t believe he goes to our school and I’ve never seen him before. Maybe he’s new to town. It would explain why he suddenly appeared on my radar. 

Why do I even care? He’s just another guy with his head downcast, hands jammed into his front pockets, trying to be invisible. 

No, there’s something vaguely familiar about him, which doesn’t make sense. I’ve never even seen his face.

“Hey,” I say, coming up beside him. 

He doesn’t respond. Just continues walking. 

Maybe he’s shy? 

He could have impaired hearing. 

I try again, this time, gripping his forearm. “Have you been following me?” I tease, thinking he’d recognize me from the other day. When he stops short and glacier-blue eyes bore into mine, I quickly realize my mistake and drop my hand immediately. “Sorry,” I say, my heart beating double time. 

A loud noise causes both our heads to turn down the hall. Two guys are pushing each other—a fight is ready to explode. When I turn back, the guy has disappeared into the crowd.

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About the Author

Rayna York grew up with hippie parents who liked to adventure. Where change was the norm, books were her constant—a way to escape. As an adult, many careers came and went, but writing has always been her passion. Her contemporary, coming-of-age love stories are often inspired by dreams, which she captures in her notebook with barely an eye open. When she’s not hidden away in her writing shack, Rayna enjoys playing pickleball, losing herself in a good book, or watching a movie. 

Connect:

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19177616.Rayna_York

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Spotlight: A Collection of Lies by Connie Berry

In USA Today bestselling author Connie Berry’s fifth Kate Hamilton mystery, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton follows bloodstained clues to discover the truth about the murder of a modern-day Victorian gentleman.

As Kate Hamilton and her new husband, DI Tom Mallory, honeymoon in Devon, a local history museum asks them to trace the provenance of a bloodstained dress said to belong to a Victorian lacemaker accused of murder. If genuine, the dress and its puzzling connections to a nineteenth-century Romani family who camped on Dartmoor will be the centerpiece of a new historic crimes exhibit—exactly Kate’s kind of mystery. But matters turn deadly when a shot is fired during a fundraising gala, injuring the man who donated the dress.

The injured donor, Gideon Littlejohn, is a cybersecurity expert who lives and dresses as a Victorian gentleman, but everyone believes the real target of the attack to be another attendee—a controversial politician intent on rooting out local corruption. This belief is overturned when Gideon is found dead in a pool of blood. But then the politician receives a death threat.

Who was the real target? Who would want to kill both a man with an obsession for history and a tough-on-crime politician? When asked to assist in the investigation, Kate races to discover the truth, as it becomes clear the killer isn’t going to come quietly.

Excerpt

Thursday, January 2 

The Old Bell Inn, Devon, England 

“Murderers can be perfectly ordinary people.” Tom was stretched out atop the duvet, bare chested and wearing his navy sweatpants. He looked at me over his reading glasses. “I’m serious, Kate. They’re often people you’d never suspect. Small irritations build up, and then one day they just snap. I once arrested a pensioner for stabbing her neighbor to death with a garden trowel because she was sure some of the weed killer he was spraying had drifted onto her prize roses.”

I started to laugh, and my coffee went down the wrong way. 

“That’s not funny.” He looked slightly hurt.

I thumped my chest, trying to breathe. “I’m sorry, but do you think all newlyweds chat about murder on their honeymoon?” 

To be fair, the topic was hardly surprising. Tom was a detective inspector in the Suffolk Constabulary. But I was an antiques dealer and appraiser. Not a particularly treacherous profession. 

“I was leading up to something.” Tom reached over and placed his mug of coffee on the bedside table. He picked up a blue folder. “We’ll be on Dartmoor tomorrow. It’s time to think about our investigation. Listen to this: ‘Of all the crimes in Devon’s history, the most mysterious may be the case of Nancy Thorne, a thirty-year-old lacemaker from the lost Dartmoor village of Widdecombe Throop.’”

“Wait a minute,” I interrupted him. “What do you mean by ‘lost village’? How can an entire village be lost?” 

“Lots of reasons. Climate change, for one. Settlements that thrived during the Medieval Warm Period were abandoned as the climate cooled. And during World War II, there were villages that—” 

I gave him a playful shove. “In other words, you don’t know. Keep reading.” 

Tom grinned at me. “‘At one AM on the night of seventh September 1885, Nancy returned to the cottage she shared with her sister, a seamstress, in a state of incoherence. Her hair was disheveled. Her dress was torn and soaked with what appeared to be blood. For reasons never explained, neither the village doctor nor the local constable was called.’”

 “This happened in 1885?” I propped myself on one elbow. “When was the piece written?” 

“Nineteen forty-two. It’s the script of a radio documentary on crimes in Devon.” 

“Hardly an eyewitness account, then. Go on.” I kissed his shoulder. 

“‘Witnesses testified that Nancy arrived as usual for the six o’clock service at the village church but left soon afterwards. The vicar, Edward Quick, assumed she had been taken ill. Later, concerned for Nancy’s well-being, he called at the cottage, where her sister, Sally, told him Nancy had not returned home. She wasn’t concerned, however, as Nancy often stopped after evening service to visit a friend, a local widow who’d been housebound. The widow, when questioned later, said she had indeed been home but had not seen Nancy Thorne in several days. When Nancy finally did appear, she claimed to have no memory of the events of that night and could offer no explanation for the blood on her frock. The police launched an investigation, but as no person in the surrounding area had gone missing and no body, human or animal, was ever discovered, the case was closed. Nancy died at the age of forty-six without ever speaking of the events that occurred that night.’” Tom closed the folder. “Well, that’s the case.” 

“Please don’t tell me we’re expected to solve a hundred-and-forty year-old murder.” 

“No.”

“Well, then, what does Grahame Nash expect us to do?” 

Nash, Tom’s friend from his early days in the Suffolk Constabulary, ran an international private investigations firm based in Toronto. He’d been trying for at least a year to convince Tom to take early retirement from the police force and join his firm—an idea that appealed to me no end. When I weighed the dangers of discreet private investigations against drugs, domestic violence, organized crime, and terrorism, there was no contest. I had a new husband, and I didn’t want to lose him.

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

About the Author

Connie Berry is the author of the Kate Hamilton mysteries, set in the UK and featuring an American antiques dealer with a gift for solving crimes. Like her protagonist, Connie was raised by antiques dealers who instilled in her a passion for history, fine art, and travel. During college she studied at the University of Freiburg in Germany and St. Clare's College, Oxford, where she fell under the spell of the British Isles. In 2019 Connie won the IPPY Gold Medal for Mystery and was a finalist for the Agatha Award's Best Debut. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America and is on the board of the Guppies and her local Sisters in Crime chapter. Besides reading and writing mysteries, Connie loves history, foreign travel, cute animals, and all things British. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable Shih Tzu, Emmie.