Daily Archives: April 8, 2022

Loch Ness Monster – Shade and the Crystal Orb by Marilyn Peake #MarilynPeake

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Shade and the Crystal Orb is the finale for the series by Marilyn Peake. I have enjoyed my adventures with her and look forward to what comes next for Marilyn.

Shade and the Crystal Orb (Shade Series, #6)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Shade and Kai are off to school…senior year at Ocean View College. Shade is a Ghost Whisperer and Kai is an empath. They are BFFs.

We are off to a good start. Shade has the same roommate, Carrie, who went to Romania with her, and they are in the same dorm room, #58. The familiar gives her confidence, makes her feel more comfortable coming back.

I love going to dinner with them. The servers and guests…well, ya have to read it to enjoy it as much as I did. Put a smile on my face, cracking me up. Yeah, it does bring to mind Harry Potter, but that just makes it easier to visualize and makes it that much more enjoyable.

Shade will be studying Kelpies this year and is off to Scotland for a research project. Her friend Li will be accompanying her. Will they see the Loch Ness Monster?

Kelpies are shapeshifting spirits inhabiting the lochs in Scottish folklore. It is usually described as a black horselike creature able to adopt human form. I love the shapeshifter that can become whatever she wants, whether whale, dolphin, fish… We have selkies, which are seal shapeshifters. That’s pretty darn cool too.

“The magical world is as complex as the real world.”

Things are going too smoothly and I am waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. I hope my spidey sense are wrong, but what would be the story in that?

Then, POW. Marilyn, you rocked my boat. I am amazed.

Marilyn Peake’s writing is enthralling, riveting. I cannot look away.

There are six books in the Shade series and I am sad to see it end. The books are not filled with gore, erotica, or savagery, but draw the reader into circumstances and characters and we have to know how it will end…and talk about surprises…the stories about the Loch Ness Monster are true, but..

I love how Shade came full circle.

I cannot imagine how Marilyn Peake could have done any better. The finale hit all the buttons and I am sure my review did not do it justice. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED IT!

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Shade and the Crystal Orb by Marilyn Peake.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Crystal orbs are tricky things. They can be windows into the future or nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

During the first semester of her senior year at Ocean View College, Shade takes a class on the kelpies and begins researching their situation. This group of magical beings is confined to a very small area of the Earth: the lochs and pools of Scotland. The Blue Men of the Minch or storm kelpies are confined to an even smaller area: the stretch of water between the northern Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland. The kelpies are considered dangerous. Having the power to control weather, they’ve been blamed for storms and shipwrecks. Shade wonders if they’ve been falsely accused and turned into scapegoats.

At the beginning of their second semester senior year, Shade and her friend Li Zhang receive financial grants to go over to Scotland to complete a research project on the kelpies. While there, they meet a number of these magical beings. Things take a dangerous turn when Shade and Li get swept up in a situation among the kelpies and two other magical groups, the Fin Folk and asrai. When Shade and Li meet Nessie the Loch Ness Monster, things take twists and turns that forever change the lives of everyone at Ocean View College.

SHADE AND THE CRYSTAL ORB is Book #6 in a YA Paranormal Mystery / YA Urban Fantasy series. This is the final novel in the main storyline of the SHADE series.

ABOUT MARILYN PEAKE

Marilyn Peake

Marilyn Peake is the author of both novels and short stories. Her publications have received excellent reviews. Marilyn’s one of the contributing authors in BOOK: THE SEQUEL, published by The Perseus Books Group, with one of her entries included in serialization at THE DAILY BEAST. In addition, Marilyn has served as Editor of a number of anthologies. Her short stories have been published in seven anthologies and on the literary blog, GLASS CASES.

Awards: Silver Award, two Honorable Mentions and eight Finalist placements in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, two Winner and two Finalist placements in the EPPIE Awards, Winner of the Dream Realm Awards, and eight Top Ten Finisher Awards in the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll.

Stalk Marilyn Peake:  Website  /  Twitter

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Giveaway – My Forever by Tiffany Patterson @TiffanyPWrites @XpressoTours

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My Forever
Tiffany Patterson
(Townsends of Texas, #3)
Publication date: January 7th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Savannah

I was only eighteen years old when I thought I had found my happily ever after.

After the tragic death of my mother, I married the love of my life, Ace Townsend.

Yes, we were young and idealistic, but we had it all figured out. He was going to be a fighter pilot in the Air Force. I would go to medical school to become a doctor for people who couldn’t afford healthcare. People like my mother.

But, like everything else in my life, that dream fell apart when I realized Ace was better off without me.
So I left.

Sixteen years later, I’m forced to return to Harlington, Texas. Not for my sake, but to save the one person in my life who matters to me the most.

Even if it means confronting my estranged husband and abiding by his stipulation to move in with him temporarily. If that’s what it takes for him to sign the divorce papers so that I can receive my inheritance and save an innocent life, I’ll do it.

I just have to keep my heart locked away for the next six months.

That’s proving to be easier said than done.

My Forever is an interracial romance (BWWM) and is book three in the Townsends of Texas series. This book contains mature, steamy love scenes. Happily Ever After is guaranteed.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT

It suddenly felt as if the entire room stopped to turn and look in my direction.

Slowly, I let my gaze travel over the rest of the room. That was when I realized this wasn’t any ordinary night out at the bar. The streamers and signs congratulating Lena Clarkson on her album’s success hung in the distance.

I blinked, and Lena Clarkson herself stood before me. I knew her music well and was a big fan. Under any ordinary circumstance, I would’ve been elated to meet her.

This wasn’t an ordinary situation.

I could feel Gabriel’s eyes on me, but even his glare wasn’t what had my heart pounding and my blood pressure rising.

I could feel his brother nearby. Ace was somewhere in the room. The way the hairs on my arms and neck stood up and the zap of electricity in my stomach were my indications.

It astounded me that, even after all of these years, I could still feel him whenever we were in the same room.

I wouldn’t allow myself to look around to search for him. No matter how much I wanted to see his face.

I kept my gaze on Lena.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this was a party.” I paused, forcing myself to remember why I was standing there in the first place.

Aiden. My subconscious whispered to me, reminding me. I blinked. “I-I just need some help.” I didn’t know why I phrased it that way. I meant to ask for a phone.

But before I could correct myself, Lena moved closer, her face taking on a concerned expression. “Hi, it’s not a problem. Are you from around here?” she asked. “What’s your name?”

I opened my mouth to answer but got interrupted.

“Savannah.” Ace’s voice pierced through the crowd and music. He pushed past his younger brother and Lena, barreling down on me. “She’s my wife.”

My breathing halted altogether. The edge in his tone was so cold it could’ve iced over a Texas summer.

Author Bio:

I have always been fascinated by storytelling, books, and reading. After years of diving in between the pages of one romance book after another, I decided to try my hand at writing. I haven’t looked back since. I enjoy bringing my readers stories of hope, perseverance, and most importantly, love. When I’m not writing you can find me enjoying time with friends, hiking, or daydreaming about my next novel.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter


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Giveaway – Mirrors and Mysteries by Christine Bauer @CB_Bauer @XpressoTours

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Mirrors and Mysteries
Christina Bauer
(Fairy Tales of the Magicorum, #9)
Publication date: March 24th 2022
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Rapunzel meets Jane Eyre in the epic conclusion of this fairy tale romance!

Grayson Eyre has left her old life behind. She’s no longer stuck serving Lady R, a sadistic Rapunzel from the Lowood clan of elves. Instead, Grayson now teaches at the Thornfield home for shifter orphans. Even better, her boss is none other than the sexy alpha, Dex. It’s all good until a mysterious witch, Jocasta, appears in a nearby tower, demanding that Dex and Grayson discover the true nature of all Rapunzels. If not, Lady R will return to claim Grayson… and Thornfield will be wiped out by the evil Prism Master. Can Dex and Grayson discover the truth in time? And what will it mean for their growing attraction?

Secrets are revealed and feelings explored in this epic conclusion to the story of Dex and Grayson!

Fairy Tales of the Magicorum
Modern fairy tales with sass, action, and romance
1. Wolves and Roses
2. Moonlight and Midtown
3. Shifters and Glyphs
4. Slippers and Thieves
5. Bandits and Ball Gowns
6. Fire and Cinder
7. Fairies and Frosting
8. Towers and Tithes
9. Mirrors and Mysteries
10. Love and Ether

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play


MIRRORS AND MYSTERIES Excerpt #3

Fairy Tales of the Magicorum #9

DEX

The best part about being a wolf shifter? Kicking ass.

Clink, clink…

I know that sound.Two mirror guards are on their way.

My home territory sits beside the Prism Master’s land. Talk about unlucky. The Prism Master’s a sadistic freak who wants more room at any cost. Wulfhelm is his prime target. The Prism Master’s guards regularly patrol our joint boundary, looking for weaknesses. 

Although I’m blinded by a spell, I can still picture the scene perfectly. The mirror guards are both slender and pale with high cheekbones and long blonde hair. They’ll wear thin leather armor that’s painted to look like silver. Compared to the elves, I’m muscular and broad-shouldered with rough features. My long black hair is tied back with a scrap of leather. I wear human-style clothes, namely jeans and a dark Henley.

The two guards move closer. I’m ready for the worst, but I hope for the best. Out of all the Prism Master’s forces, there’s one mirror guard I trust: Captain Zoya. If I’m lucky, she’ll be on this patrol. 

“Looketh over there!” calls the first guard. It’s a male voice. Not Zoya.

“An intruder doth enter our midst!” announces the second guard. This one’s a she-elf, but not the Captain. 

Guess my luck isn’t changing yet. These two are typical mirror guards, which is to say, pompous idiots.

“Who disturbs my fellow guard and I?” asks the male warrior.

I stile the urge to groan. “It’s my fellow guard and me,” I clarify. “Not my fellow guard and I.”

If my correction affects the guards, they don’t show it. “Do mine eyes regardereth the Wulfhelm Alpha?” asks the female slowly.

I can’t help it. “Regardereth isn’t a word.”

There’s the clinking of armor followed by a whoosh. Something’s being thrown at me. Even without eyesight, I know the toss is too wide to make an impact. No need to dodge. 

“Perhaps yon dog is blind,” says the male guard. “He didst not twitch when I tossed a stone.”

“Only because thy throw sucketh,” I explain. 

The clink of armor grows louder as the pair steps closer. “Eureka!” That’s the female guard. “I doth detect some blinderyness in yon mongrel’s irises.”

This time, there’s no stifling. I all-out groan. “Blinderyness is not a word.”

“We’re elves,” calls the male guard. “When we say it, it becometh part of the jargon.”

“I think you mean lexicon.” I shake my head. “Look, I was raised by wolves and I know this stuff.”

“Silence!” calls the male guard. When he next speaks, it’s in a tone that he thinks I cannot hear. “Shall we attacketh him? What dost thou thinketh?”

I raise my hand. “I’d walk awayeth. Blind or not, I can defend myself quite well.”

“How did he hear you?” whispers the female.

I point to my face. “Wolf shifter.”

–End of Excerpt–

BUY NOW: Amazon / Apple / GooglePlay / Kobo / Nook

Author Bio:

Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too.

Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.

Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates

Blog / Website / Newsletter / Facebook / Twitter / Amazon / Instagram / LinkedIn


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Hosted by:
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  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!