Review – Rejected by M C Frank @mcfrank_author #rejected

GOODREADS

M C Frank’s books have some eye catching covers and Rejected is no exception.

As Josephine St Claire and her two sisters grow older, her sisters leave the next. Josephine is fine right where she is, but she also knows that her best friend, Theodore Lawrence, will leave her too. She spends a lot of time feeling sorry for herself…and I think she is in denial.

Sometimes what we want is right in front of us, we just aren’t able to see it.

I have been enjoying the Rakes and Ruin series, but Rejected is not one of my favorites. That’s okay, it as still worth the reading to find out more about Josephine and what she wants out of life. 

The POVs switch from her writing letters to her deceased sister, Beth, and current events. Sometimes I felt her despair and other times I just wanted to tell her to get over herself. The pages ooze angst, and I guess, if you think of the times, it may be more realistic than I originally thought. At least Josephine was able to live her life the way she wanted, not being forced into a marriage she didn’t want. Love is messy and it takes her the entire book to figure it out. I’m glad Rejected was a quick read, because it lacked the depth of plot that I love so much, yet I was satisfied with the end result.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

“Everyone I love will leave me,” Josephine St. Claire whispered to herself.

“Wrong,” an annoying voice said behind her ear. “ I won’t leave you.”

She turned around to behold the unbearably handsome yet immensely irritating face of Theodore Lawrence, Lord Lowry, or ‘Teddy’ to his long-suffering friends.

“You don’t count, Teddy—wait, is your mouth full?”

“Indeed it is,” Teddy replied, with said mouth spitting crumbs of cake. “And, may I ask, why do I not count?”

Josephine sighed. “Because you are my best friend.”

He was wrong; she’d been right. He did leave her. But not before he had ruined everything by kissing her.



Josephine St. Claire prefers to be called ‘Jo’.

Unruly, with more interest in books, writing, and swordfights than in corsets and slippers, she is struggling to find her place in Regency London’s marriage mart. Her one comfort in life, her three sisters and one roguish brother, are slowly slipping away into adulthood, leaving her behind. And she, at nineteen, is horrified by the idea of looming romance and marriage.

At least she still has her best friend, Laurie. Or, as he now likes to be called, ‘Teddy’. She can rely on him not to succumb to any silly romantic ideas.



Theodore Lawrence, Lord Lowry, used to be called ‘Laurie’ when he was a child.

He is not a child any longer. He is about to step into his title and his responsibilities, and leave away the comfort of his early boyhood for good. Orphaned at infancy, he has been blessed with a found the St. Claires. Four sisters and a boy slightly older than him were the ones who saved his life when he was lost and alone. And his friendship with Jo has continued to save him, every day since.

Too bad he is about to utterly wreck it.

Because Laurie has a he has been in love with his best friend for years. And if he doesn’t do something about it soon, he is going to lose his mind.

Laurie is about to propose to Jo.

It is going to be a resounding disaster.

And that, by far, is not the worst thing that’s about to happen.



Rejected is a Jo and Laurie rewriting. This story is not a retelling of the book in its Just of the Jo and Laurie part. We are going to remake their story into a Regency era swoon-fest. And we are going to get it right this time.

Or not.

Bring tissues

……

This short and dark Regency retelling of Jo and Laurie’s story is for everyone who has shipped them so hard, they wished for a better ending. Do you think we might get it with this story?

Rejected is a quick, short read, but don’t let its length fool It’s packed with drama, romance, heat, darkness and light, and it will make you cry and swoon, and then cry again.

This one is for the Jo and Laurie endgame fans.

  • Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Fiction, Regency Romance, Romance
  • 257 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published May 11, 2025
  • Series: Rakes And Ruin

Welcome to the world of M.C. FRANK’s books, where characters aren’t going to have an easy time of it: They will find themselves in icy-cold dystopian worlds where kissing is forbidden (among other things), or in green forests ruled by evil Sheriffs. If they’re in Jane Austen’s England, they have to be running away from a traumatic childhood, or if they are in our contemporary world, they’re scared they’ll die before they have finished high school. That sort of thing.
Don’t worry, though, she knows we all need a little hope and joy in our lives, so there’s a good dose of those as well in everything she writes.
M.C. Frank (writer, reader, designer, physicist and teacher, to name a few) has been living in a world of stories ever since she can remember (that’s before she knew how to write). She started writing them down when she could no longer stand the characters in her head screaming at her to give them life, and while those first scribblings weren’t exactly good (nor were they books, although she insisted on calling them that), they were enough for her to discover her passion in life.
She got her university degree in physics a few years ago (yes, she’s like Sheldon, only a bit crazier!) and is now free to pursue her love of reading and writing, as well her free-lance job as editor-in-chief. She lives with her ‘dude’ in a home filled with candles, laptops and notebooks, where she rearranges her overflowing bookshelves every time she feels stressed.
Which is often, since (as you might have noticed) she doesn’t pick the easiest subjects for her novels.
Learn more about her and her New Adult, Young Adult, scifi, Greek mythology and historical novels at mcfrankauthor.com

  • Website: mcfrankauthor.com
  • Twitter: @mcfrank_author
  • Instagram: @mcfrank_author
  • Tumblr: @litlereddoll
  • Facebook Page: M.C. Frank
  • Goodreads: M.C. Frank
  • Youtube: M.C. Frank
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Product images are linked/I am an Amazon affiliate.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

$25 GC – Between The Living And The Dead by Sophie Jupillat Posey @goddessfish

BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

Sophie Jupillat Posey

GENRE:  Young adult paranormal mystery

BLURB:

The dead won’t leave her alone. For Cavilla, it’s one case after another…

Cavilla Ramirez is an average Peruvian teen, tethered to the 1990s rhythm of clarinet rehearsals, dog-eared Agatha Christie novels, and low-stakes schoolyard mysteries. But when a hit-and-run claims her two best friends, her world implodes—and then restructures itself in a seemingly impossible and unnerving way. Her friends aren’t gone. Their ghosts linger, needing her help in solving their murder so that they can cross over. And it’s not just them. Ghosts are everywhere, and somehow, she’s the only one who can see them.

With a protector in the form of a god-turned-cat, Cavilla becomes a reluctant guide between Peru’s realms of the living and the dead. Solving murders and helping the dead find closure becomes her new normal. But every answer she uncovers tugs loose something else: long-buried secrets about her own heritage, secrets her aunt Tia Luz would rather keep six feet under.

And as Cavilla finds out, not all ghosts need guidance. One presence stands apart, watching her… waiting.

And he isn’t asking for help. He wants her – or something she has.

EXCERPT

I knew something was wrong when dusk wasn’t followed by night. It was happening again; my third time this year. The sun just set over the hills, but the light froze, as if a greedy hand had seized it and squeezed it. The motes of ashen light trickled through the violet clouds into my bedroom window. I passed my hand through the dull sunbeam, my brown color paling as it mingled with the dusk. Even my gold leaf bracelet lost its luster and glow. The hoarse calling of Tia Luz Marina for dinner time quieted and softened until her always angry-sounding voice was nothing but a hush.

That time, I held still and breathed slowly, slitting my eyes until my vision doubled. Focus on the intangible, I coaxed myself. The withered light impregnated every corner, every detail of my messy room. It turned into ghosts the coloring books, the woolen dolls, the half-empty bottles of acrylic paint. When it fell on the spirits of my deceased friends, Niko, and Angelica, sitting on the floor by my bed, it brought them further into focus.

The queer dusk light slipped into my short bathroom hallway and vanished. I stared at that dark entryway, convinced there was something more there. For years, I’d been telling Tia Luz Marina

that there were ghosts in the bathroom, but she tossed the notion aside. She said believing in ghosts was a gringa thing. Yet, when I pressed her on ghosts and gods from stories of our Peruvian culture, she shied away.

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sophie Jupillat Posey has an enriched passion for writing and music that allows her to captivate audiences with her unique style in poetry, novellas and novels. As she lives her life around the beauty and art and the inspiration from others, Sophie manages to create worlds that her readers will find themselves immersed in. With her passion for the arts, she has also studied music and writing at Rollins College, which can be found as guiding pieces in her works. She is the author of several pieces, including the YA fantasy “The Four Suitors”, the short story sci-fi collection “The Inside Out Worlds: Visions of Strange,” several bilingual children’s books and a poetry chapbook. Having lived in the US for many years, Sophie now calls France her home, bringing more of her passion for the arts in her books.

Book buy links:

https://books.google.fr/books/about/Between_the_Living_and_the_Dead.html?id=S7gI0QEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

  • Website: www.sophiejposey.com
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spjposey/
  • Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@spjposey
  • Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/p/Sophie-Jupillat-Posey-Writer-100063449271165/
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Review Fatal Intrusion by Jeffrey Deaver & Isabella Maldonado @jefferydeaver @isabellambooks

A SERIAL KILLER SPINS A WEB OF DECEPTION

GOODREADS

I have read numerous novels by Jeffrey Deaver, but this is my first experience with Isabella Maldonado and I was not disappointed. Fatal Intrusion brings together Carmen Sanchez, a Homeland Security agent, and Jake Heron, a security expert. Carmen is by the book, but Jake…not so much. I love the combination.

Jake owes Carmen a favor and she is calling it in. The peripheral characters who surround them are all important players and each has their own talent to contribute to the investigation.

I love a book that draws me in from the opening pages, making it impossible to put the book down and Jeffrey and Isabella make it look easy. I love a feisty, kickass female lead. The tension was high and the pacing furious. Danger oozes off the pages and I rapidly flip them, having to know what comes next…and I sure didn’t anticipate where they took me. I do love a story that twists and turns and keeps me guessing.

I want to thank Thomas & Mercer and MB Communications for the opportunity to read and review Fatal Intrusion by Jeffrey Deaver and Isabella Maldonado.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

As a wave of murders grips Southern California, an unlikely pair must untangle the mysterious patterns of an elusive killer. A propulsive new series by New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado.

Carmen Sanchez is a tough Homeland Security agent who plays by the rules. But when her sister is attacked, revealing a connection to a series of murders across Southern California, she realizes a conventional investigation will not be enough to stop the ruthless perpetrator.

With nowhere else to turn, Sanchez enlists the aid of Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert who, unlike Sanchez, believes rules are merely suggestions. The two have a troubled past, but he owes her a favor and she’s cashing in. They team up to catch the assailant, who, mystifyingly, has no discernable motive and fits no classic criminal profile. All they have to go on is a distinctive tattoo and a singular obsession that gives this chillingly efficient tactician his nickname: Spider.

Over the next seventy-two hours, Sanchez and Heron find themselves in the midst of a lethal chess match with the killer as they race to stop the carnage. As the victims mount, so do the risks. Because this spider’s web of intrigue is more sinister—and goes far deeper—than anyone could possibly anticipate.

  • Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
  • 434 pages, Kindle Edition
  • First published August 6, 2024 by Thomas & Mercer
  • Series: Sanchez & Heron, Book I

#1 international bestselling author of over thirty novels and three collections of short stories. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme, The Bone Collector, was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. He’s received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world.

Website

Wall Street Journal bestselling and award-winning author Isabella Maldonado wore a gun and badge in real life before turning to crime writing. A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in her police department, she retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. During more than two decades on the force, her assignments included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. She uses her law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing, which includes the Special Agent Nina Guerrera series, the Special Agent Dani Vega series, the Detective Veranda Cruz series, and the Sanchez and Heron series (co-authored with Jeffery Deaver). Her books are published in 24 languages. For more information, visit www.isabellamaldonado.com.

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

$25 GC – Shopping For A Highlander’s Elopement by Julia Kent @xpressotours @jkentauthor

Shopping for a Highlander’s Elopement
Julia Kent
(Shopping for a Highlander, #3)
Publication date: June 10th 2025
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

I didn’t expect to fall for a Scottish footballer so annoyingly sunny you need shades to be around him.

I didn’t expect to say yes to his heart-felt, if loopy, proposal while he lay injured on the pitch, blathering on about banana pudding and sparkly unicorns.

What I definitely didn’t expect?

For our engagement to explode into a paparazzi circus, our mothers to turn into wedding bulldozers, and for our wedding protector’s perfectly reasonable elopement plan to spiral into a road trip escape.

So here we are.

In Love You, Maine, a town that celebrates Valentine’s Day every single day. We’re here to get married. Quietly. No drama. In disguise.

Although good luck hiding a 6’4” ginger Scottish striker wearing a knee brace and a perpetual extrovert smile.

Instead of being subtle and blending in? Our quiet escape is vibrating heart-shaped beds, mirrors on the ceilings, secret identities, interfering mothers, and one suspiciously enthusiastic moose that humps dumpsters.

This was supposed to be a simple wedding. Just me and Hamish. No fuss.

But nothing about us has ever been simple with us.

Still, this is what love is, right? It’s chaos. It’s compromise. It’s crying in a wedding planner’s office, then kissing in a hot spring.

It’s choosing each other again and again, even when everything goes sideways.

No matter what comes next… this is our comeback story, in more ways than one.

And no – that’s not a euphemism. 🙂

Shopping for a Highlander’s Elopement is a romantic comedy that blends the worlds of four bestselling series by New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Julia Kent:

– Shopping for a Billionaire

– Shopping for a Highlander

– Whatever It Takes

– Love You, Maine

If you love sports romance, surprise proposals, grand gestures, chaotic weddings, Scottish footballers, golden retriever/black cat energy, and characters who love too hard, mess up spectacularly, and always find their way back to each other with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments (and lovingly-used scrunchies) along the way, then this is your book.

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

EXCERPT:

Love isn’t a football game.

It’s a feeling.

A feeling that uses instinct as a tool.

I’m smarter than this. When everything felt off, I should have known that it was off for a reason.

“Jody,” I say softly, “I canna do this.”

“Of course you can. You just have the jitters. Amy’s a wonderful woman and–”

“I dinna mean the proposin’ part. That’s fine. I can do that. I mean doin’ it on the pitch.”

His turn to go green.

“You want to cancel the proposal?”

“Aye. Nae. No’ the proposin’. The doin’ it in public part. I love Amy wi’ all ma body and soul.” I frown. “She’d hate to hear me say it that way. Soul and body.” I wink at Jody. “But it’s really the other way around. Ma body knows more than ma mind.”

“I don’t need to hear every thought that pops into your head, Hamish.”

“I only tell ye the important ones.”

“Like not wanting the big spectacle we arranged for you?”

“I’m tellin’ ye now, aren’t I?”

“We have extra cameramen here for this. Your parents and siblings are in the crowd. Declan and Andrew McCormick are here. We doubled the security.”

“Is this about money? I can pay for all that.”

“It’s not–well, yes, some of it is about the money. But it’s more about publicity and planning. A lot of people put forth a huge effort to make today special for you and Amy.”

“And forty thousand of ma closest fans.”

He closes his eyes and sighs through his nose. “A better time to realize this would have been weeks ago. Not a huge US exhibition game.”

“Ma instincts told me then that this was right. Now ma gut says something else. It all feels off.”

“Your gut.”

I pat my flat stomach. “It’s gotten me this far in life. Good gut.”

He’s right. I know how much work all the coaches, teammates, stadium staff and administrators, sponsors–hell, even the car park attendants–have put into helping me today. I don’t have cold feet, and I love Amy to the moon and back, but something feels wrong.

As Amy says, hinky.

I can’t explain it. If I had words for it, I’d use them. It’s a feeling, and those don’t always line up nice and neat in words that make sense.

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Amazon / Bookbub / Newsletter


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway – Wistful Whispers by Kaylene Winter @xpressotours @kayleneromance

Wistful Whispers
Kaylene Winter
(Charming Irish, #3)
Publication date: June 9th 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Wistful Whispers is an irresistible battle of the wills where surrendering to forbidden temptation could cost them everything.

I never promised forever.
A good time? Absolutely.
Heartbreak? Only if they got too attached.

My reputation as a quiet playboy precedes me—women talk, and my ‘talents’ follow me wherever I go. But I’ve always been upfront. No commitments. No expectations. No complications.

Marcella Delgado is nothing but complications. Brilliant. Fierce. Eight years older. And the attorney trying to take down my boss in a malpractice case. She should hate me on sight—hell, she does. But that doesn’t stop the heat between us from igniting the moment we meet.

She’s heard the stories about me firsthand, right there in the depositions. She knows exactly what I’m good at, and even though she fights it, I can see the temptation in her eyes.

One night. One line crossed.
Now my future’s unraveling—and she might be the only thing I don’t want to let go.

For the first time, I want it all.

And I’ll fight like hell to be the man she can’t leave behind.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks


Author Bio:

When she was only 15, Kaylene Winter wrote her first rocker romance novel starring a fictionalized version of herself, her friends and their gorgeous rocker boyfriends. After living her own rockstar life as a band manager, music promoter and mover and shaker in Seattle during the early 1990’s, Kaylene became a digital media legal strategist helping bring movies, television and music online. Throughout her busy career, Kaylene lost herself in romance novels across all genres inspiring her to realize her life-long dream to be a published author. She lives in Seattle with her amazing husband and dog. She loves to travel, throw lavish dinner parties and support charitable causes supporting arts and animals.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.no
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Sherry’s Shelves – 6.1 – 6.7.25

Hi Everyone. It’s been a quiet week for me. Doing a lot of reading, now I’m concentrating on the reviews. Our weather has been mostly sunny with intermittent rain…a typical Florida summer. Eric’s been doing a lot of trimming. I hate that I am not able to help. I used to love spending most of the day outside, no matter what the temperature. It’s been 80 – 90 most every day. I used to thrive on the sun. but I now feel my age. Isn’t it funny (not funny ha ha, but funny odd) that when you look in the mirror you see your mother? 🙂 Have a super week!

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Giveaway – Wistful Whispers by Kaylene Winter
  • $25 GC – Between The Living And The Dead by Sophie Jupillat Posey
  • Review – Pearls Fight by Jane Blythe
  • The Spotlight Is On Cayman Conundrum by Stacy Wilder
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere….

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Product images are linked/I am an Amazon affiliate.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Review – Elder by Raine Thomas @Raine_Thomas

GOODREADS

Elder by Raine Thomas is book three of the Firstborn Trilogy and book six of the Estilorian series. I have loved each and every book in the fantasy series and Elder did not let me down.

“Angels are just one of the mythical creatures humans createdd based on their memories of Estilorians….”

We start out with Clara Kate and Ini-herit on Earth and they are madly in love. She is one of the eight that will be needed to activate the Elder Scroll. When they return to the Estilorian plane, she remembers their love, but Ini-Herit doesn’t. That makes working together difficult, but lives are at risk…and I can only hope that things will work out for them. They put their lives on the line and deserve to have a happy ending.

Zachariah has been one of my favorites since the beginning and I felt he held a special place in the series…seeing Raine Thomas put him through hell. 🙂

I have been spending a lot of time in Raine Thomas’ fantasy world and have loved every minute of it. The characters are vibrant and captivating, drawing me deeply into their world, and I don’t want the story to end.

Thanks, Raine, for the opportunity to read and review your fabulous stories.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

Clara Kate is one of the eight beings needed to activate the Elder Scroll, an ancient artifact causing tragedy and darkness on the Estilorian plane. She knows that her focus needs to be on finding the final piece and stopping the evil Mercesti, but Ini-herit isn’t making it easy.

He’s working closely with Clara Kate on the quest to stop their enemies…too close for her comfort. His presence serves as a constant reminder of the love they shared on the human plane, a love that he no longer remembers at all.

Her life and the lives of those she loves are at risk, and she knows she has to put aside her personal problems. So far on their journey, she’s endured heartbreak, terror, pain and loss. She’s even been brought to the brink of death.

She thinks things can’t get any worse.

She’s wrong.

  • Genre: Angels, Dystopian, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Supernatural, Young Adult
  • 269 pages, Kindle Edition
  • First published December 25, 2012 by Iambe Books, LLC
  • Series: Firstborn Trilogy #3, Estilorian #7

Raine Thomas is the award-winning author of more than 20 bestselling romances spanning contemporary romance, Sci-Fi romance, and YA fantasy romance. She’s a hopeless romantic with a background in the fields of mental health and wedding planning…two areas that intersect far more than one would think. She’s also a book fiend, grammar nerd, and editing Red Queen, depending on who you ask.

Be sure to follow Raine on BookBub (https://www.bookbub.com/profile/raine…) to be among the first to learn of any sales, and hop over to her website for your first free read!

Website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest / LinkedIn / YouTube

  • The Prophecy (Daughters Of Saraquel, Estilorian #1)
  • Becoming (Daughters Of Saraquel, Estilorian #2)
  • Central (Daughters Of Saraquel, Estilorian #3)
  • Foretold (Daughters Of Saraquel, Estilorian #4)
  • Defy (Firstborn Trilogy #1, Estilorian #5)
  • Shift (Firstborn Trilogy #2, Estilorian #6)
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

$25 GC – All The Silent Bones by Gregory Funaro @xpressotours

All the Silent Bones
Gregory Funaro
Publication date: June 9th 2025
Genres: Adult, Horror, Psychological Thriller

When they were boys, Ray Dawley, Eddie Sayers, and Matthew Kauffman were the best of friends. Then new kid Bobby “Bones” Bonetti fell through the ice at Blackamore Pond. The other boys saved Bobby from drowning, but something else came out of the water that day, something dangerous that would tear their friendship apart and set one of them on a dark path.

Forty years after the incident on the ice, Ray, a retired college professor, has moved back into his childhood home. Eddie is a retired homicide detective, and Matthew is a successful investment banker. Bobby, who is on disability from his job as a corrections officer at a juvenile detention center, has a secret: the darkness that found him under the ice when he was a kid has made him do terrible things.

Following a reunion at Ray’s house, Matthew is found murdered in his car beside the old pond. The killer includes a chilling message that only the three remaining friends would recognize. Could one of their own be a murderer?

All the Silent Bones, a tense and disturbing thriller told from alternating perspectives of morally complex characters, explores the lasting impact of childhood trauma and its influence on adult relationships.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Only $2.99 pre-order price! Grab yours today!

EXCERPT:

Ronnie Matarese felt a darkness descend upon him, even as he understood that it had always been there, pouring out from those eyes behind the sunglasses and into his apartment. A darkness as indifferent and as cold as the one that had greeted him when he’d returned home. A darkness that feared no light and could not be reasoned with. A darkness that was neither happy nor sad but just was.

Bobby “The Machete” Bonetti had not visited Ronnie to warn him or give him a beating. He had come to kill him. Ronnie suddenly knew this as surely as he was sitting there, and he was both terrified and furious that he hadn’t realized it sooner, when he still might have had a chance to escape. More than anything, though, Ronnie was sad. He wasn’t ready to die—he wasn’t even thirty—but there was no turning back from the elves at the bottom of these stairs. That was what this crazy SOB was trying to tell him.

Ronnie began to cry, softly at first then harder as Bobby finished his story.

“So my mother, she lets me go, but I just held on to the door- frame and didn’t dare look back. She was still there. I could hear her breathing. And in my mind, I watched her, mouth open and eyes blinking as she looked around like she usually did when she came out of one of her episodes. A minute later, I hear the sofa springs in the parlor. She’d been sleeping in there for weeks because the elves hid under her bed, she sometimes thought. But still, I didn’t move. I just stood there, staring down at the darkness in silence.”

Ronnie searched Bobby Bonetti’s sunglasses but saw only murder in the smudge of his reflection, light and shadows on a face that looked like a skull. This was not the way he was supposed to go out, sniveling on his bed like a pussy and not knowing why. And thatwas the hardest part. Not knowing why. Not knowing what he had done—no, not had done but would do. And just as quickly as the darkness had descended, Ronnie saw a light. It was faint at first but coming fast, like when he was speeding through the cross-harbor tunnel up in Boston.

“You said you were here because of something I would do,” Ron- nie said, making no attempt to hide the desperate, trembling hope in his voice. “Not because of something I did but because of something I would do. That’s what you said, right? What is it? Tell me what you think I’m gonna do, and I swear on the souls of my dead parents that I won’t do it. Please, I’m begging you, Mr. Bonetti. You have my word.”

“I would give anything to have that kind of silence again,” Bobby said. “A silence so precious that, when it’s broken, it stings you like a box of bees.”

Then Bobby shot him.

Author Bio:

Gregory Funaro is the NY Times best selling author of Disney-Hyperion’s ALISTAIR GRIM’S ODDITORIUM (an Amazon Best Book of the Month for January, 2015) and ALISTAIR GRIM’S ODD AQUATICUM (2016), which received a Kirkus starred review. WATCH HOLLOW (HarperCollins, 2019) received starred reviews from School Library Journal and ALA Booklist, and was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. The exciting sequel, WATCH HOLLOW: THE ALCHEMIST’S SHADOW, was published in February of 2020. He has also written two thrillers, THE SCULPTOR and THE IMPALER, for Kensington/Pinnacle. Gregory is a professor emeritus and lives with his family in Rhode Island, where he is busy working on his next novel. Please visit his official web site at www.gregoryfunaro.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Amazon


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

$25 GC – The Lightslayer: The Vampire by Jack Townson @xpressotours

The Lightslayer: The Vampire Jack Townson
Jack Townson
(Everdusk, #1)
Publication date: June 3rd 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Prepare to be captivated by a dark fantasy epic that will consume your imagination.

Welcome to Draconia, a realm cloaked in shadows and intrigue, where ancient power struggles simmer beneath the surface. When the enigmatic Vampire Lord, Jack Townson, master of the Manor of Mystery, uncovers a sinister conspiracy threatening to ignite a supernatural war, he and his eclectic band of misfits-the Degenerates-must rise to the challenge. Together, they will navigate treacherous alliances, dangerous secrets, and a world filled with breathtaking magic and monsters.

Immerse yourself in a tale of supernatural action, dark romance, and fantasy adventure, where every page brims with danger, desire, and destiny. From spine-chilling battles to forbidden love, this novel takes you on a journey through a richly imagined universe where power comes at a price, and loyalty is tested at every turn.

Fans of spicy dark romance, vampire lore, and epic fantasy will be spellbound by Draconia’s intricate world-building, unforgettable characters, and pulse-pounding twists. If you’re a fan of Sarah J. Maas, Jay Kristoff, or Deborah Harkness, this is your next must-read.

Step into the shadows. Welcome to Draconia. Your adventure awaits. Mind your throat.

“A darkly Gothic romp through a dense and sinister world with the compelling and mysterious Jack Townson.” — Laurell K. Hamilton, New York Times Bestselling Author of Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT:

“They want a fight,” Townson growls, his voice steady but burning with conviction, “so we’ll give them one— but not

because we crave revenge!” His face contorts with emotion, locking eyes with his people. “Not because we thirst for blood!”

He raises a talon high into the air, his black claws curling into a fist with a loud, menacing crack. “But because we are family, and we stand together against any foe!”

Tears well in the eyes of many in the crowd, stirred by a fierce mix of fear and inspiration.

“BECAUSE WE ARE ALL DEGENERATES!” His voice erupts, a flash of fury in his eyes, as a supernatural wind howls from his aura. “WANTED BY NONE—” he roars, his words shaking the room, “AT HOME WITH EACH OTHER!”

Author Bio:

A 2023 Witchy Award nominee, Jack Townson, a multi-talented artist, is the heart and soul of the thriving FangFam community across various social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch. With an ever-expanding following that now exceeds four hundred thousand devoted fans, he’s left an indelible mark on the digital landscape, garnering an impressive 4.2 million likes under the #Fangfam hashtag.

Beyond his online presence, Jack is a versatile artist, encompassing the roles of actor, singer, and writer. His most celebrated work to date is “The Vampire Jack Townson,” an original story that first captivated audiences on TikTok and has been endorsed by New York Times bestselling author and 5-time Bram Stoker Award winner, Jonathan Maberry. This immersive narrative plunges into the hidden world of a supernatural being and the profound journey towards rediscovering one’s humanity.

Jack extends an invitation to his followers, beckoning them to peer into the psyche of an undead bohemian—an artist and a creature of the night, eternally ensnared in a world of nightmares. It’s a life devoid of sunlight’s warmth and the enduring embrace of true love, offering a unique glimpse into the enigmatic existence he portrays through his creative endeavors.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / TikTok


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Product images are linked/I am an Amazon affiliate.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!