Category Archives: Blog Tour

Giveaway – The Ghosts Of Thorwald Place by Helen Power @iReadBookTours @helenpowerbooks

Posted on by

 


Book Details:

Book Title:  The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power
Category: Adult Fiction, 416 pages
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Publisher: Camcat Books
Publication Date: October, 2022
Content Rating: PG +M: There isn’t any particularly graphic content, but the story does revolve around a woman who is murdered, and there are some more mature topics touched on, primarily domestic abuse.
Book Description:

Trust No One. Especially Your Neighbors.

Rachel Drake is on the run from the man who killed her husband. She never leaves her safe haven in an anonymous doorman building, until one night a phone call sends her running. On her way to the garage, she is murdered in the elevator. But her story doesn’t end there.

She finds herself in the afterlife, tethered to her death spot, her reach tied to the adjacent apartments. As she rides the elevator up and down, the lives of the residents intertwine. Every one of them has a dark secret. An aging trophy wife whose husband strays. A surgeon guarding a locked room. A TV medium who may be a fraud. An ordinary man with a mysterious hobby.

Compelled to spend eternity observing her neighbors, she realizes that any one of them could be her killer.
Buy the Book:
CamCat Books
Amazon ~ B&N
Indiebound ~ BookShop ~ BookBub
add to goodreads
Continue reading →

Giveaway – Embracing Love by Sara Ohlin @XpressoTours @SaraOhlin222

Posted on by

Embracing Love
Sara Ohlin
Publication date: October 25th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

When a broken woman risks her heart for the neighborhood hottie, heat rises from the ashes…

Once broken and abused, Sasha Kincaid is slowly rebuilding her life in the quiet town of Corvallis near her brother, his new wife and their group of friends. She’s content to work quietly at the bakery she secretly owns while learning to rebuild her trust in people. But when she starts to have steamy feelings for Connor Duggan, Sasha doesn’t know how to handle her emotions.

Neighborhood hottie and town favorite, general contractor Connor Duggan has only had eyes for Sasha Kincaid ever since she stepped foot in Corvallis a year ago. When she gives him an opening, he jumps at the chance to make her his, no matter how long it takes her to feel comfortable.

Connor’s warmth and patience allow Sasha to fall into a friendship, then an amazing sexual relationship with him—but believing it will be temporary and that’s all she’s worth. As they grow closer, Connor realizes he must win over her heart, not just her body, meaning he must push past his own insecurities of being rejected to battle Sasha’s fears and ghosts.

But the biggest obstacle is Sasha herself. Can she learn to trust again, and believe that she deserves a beautiful life with Connor?

Reader advisory: This book contains references to an abusive relationship, physical cruelty and violence, as well as mentions of non-nurturing parenting.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

SNEAK PEEK:

Connor grabbed the pastry out of the bag, took an enormous sniff, and this time when he looked at her, his eyes were darker, piercing, like she’d offered him her body as the warm tasty treat. I mean could it get any hotter out? Sasha tugged at the front of her T-shirt, sweat dripping down her back, from the sun, from nerves, she didn’t know.

“I…uhm…added caramel and nuts and dark brown sugar, so it kind of gets all sticky and gooey.” Her words felt thick coming out. Someone had stuffed her mouth with cotton and she didn’t know how to move her lips or her tongue.

“Sticky and gooey,” he said reverently. “My favorite.” Without taking his eyes off her, Connor devoured the caramel pecan pinwheel in three enormous bites. Savoring each taste, she imagined, as it burst on his tongue. When he finished that last swallow, she was unprepared for it, for the show to be over. But it wasn’t. He licked his lips, peered into the empty bag as if he might dare to find all the secrets of the universe. Then, then he took a step closer.

She should have stepped back, but she couldn’t, frozen in place by his sparking brown eyes, by the force of him. She was tall, but not Connor-Duggan tall, so she was forced to either stare at the baby attached to his chest or look up. She knew what the safer choice would be. But somehow her body didn’t care right this minute as a warm breeze swirled around them, as if they were the only two people in the park, no neighbors, no babies, no dogs, no responsibilities, no pasts.

“Damn.” His voice was hot and hushed, pure disbelief in his words. “That was the best thing I’ve ever tasted. In. My. Life.”

He had a dusting of brown sugar at the edge of his lip, where his tongue hadn’t reached. He didn’t speak, didn’t say anything else after his last words whispered around her, but still his body spoke to hers. She reached up without a thought and brushed the sugar off his mouth. “Sugar,” she whispered.

Neither one of them moved, and when she started to pull her hand away, he caught it in his large, warm one. Sasha sucked in her breath and watched as he carefully ran his thumb over her fingers, studied them with his intense focus.

“There’s something special here, in these fingers, that can create something purely outstanding.” He met her gaze again. “Something that tastes so good it makes a man swear.”

Sasha huffed out a laugh, not feeling one bit humorous. “Damn is hardly a swear.”

“Trust me.” He rocked her world again with those hooded eyes. “It takes something pretty serious to get a damn out of me.”


Author Bio:

Puget Sound based writer, Sara Ohlin is a mom, wannabe photographer, obsessive reader, ridiculous foodie, and the author of the contemporary romance novels, Handling the Rancher, Salvaging Love, Seducing the Dragonfly and Igniting Love.

She has over fifteen years of creative non-fiction and memoir writing experience, and you can find her essays at Anderbo.com, Feminine Collective, Mothers Always Write, Her View from Home, and in anthologies such as Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak about Healthcare in America, Take Care: Tales, Tips, & Love from Women Caregivers, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Although she’s the author of many essays about life, grief, motherhood and the connections we make through delicious food and shared meals, Sara loves creating imaginary worlds with tight-knit communities in her romance novels. She credits her mother, Mary, Nora Roberts and Rosamunde Pilcher for her love of romance.

If she’s not reading or writing, you will most likely find her in the kitchen creating scrumptious meals with her two kids and amazing husband, or perhaps cooking up her next love story.

She once met a person who both “didn’t read books” and wasn’t “that into food” and it nearly broke her heart.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter


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!

Giveaway – A Spying Eye by Michelle Cox @iReadBookTours @michellecox33

Posted on by



Book Details:

Book Title:  A Spying Eye: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+), 256 pages
Genre:  Historical Mystery
Publisher:  She Writes Press
Release dates:   Oct 25, 2022
Content Rating: R: There are some swear words peppered throughout (not many) and 2 explicit sex scenes (tasteful, but more than a PG-13 scene)


Book Description:

In A Spying Eye, Clive and Henrietta return to Europe in an attempt to resurrect their failed honeymoon. While in London, they are approached by their old friend, Inspector John Hartle, who convinces them to search for the missing panel of the Ghent Altarpiece, a famous Renaissance painting, of which Hitler’s top men are also in pursuit.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Oldrich Exley threatens to cut off financial support for the entire Von Harmon brood if Elsie continues with her plan to marry Gunther―a situation made worse by the sudden appearance of one Heinrich Meyer, who claims to be little Anna’s father and threatens to take her away. Desperate, Elsie seeks the help of Clive’s sister, Julia, who is herself the victim of domestic abuse and who has fallen under the spell of a handsome Texas millionaire bent on acquiring a rare painting from the Howard collection.

Clive and Henrietta’s search takes them to Chateau du Freudeneck in Strasbourg, France―the ancient seat of the Von Harmons and home to three eccentric distant relatives. What begins as a wild goose chase turns decidedly more deadly when several Nazi officers also arrive at the chateau in search of a “valuable item.” When Henrietta and Clive attempt to flee after Henrietta uncovers a shocking truth, they are forced to trust themselves to a suspicious French servant who seems all-too willing to help . . .

Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ Apple ~ B&N
BookBub
add to goodreads



Meet the Author:

Michelle Cox is the author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. Her books have won over 50 international awards and have been praised by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Foreword, Elle, Redbook, Brit&Co., POPSUGAR, Buzzfeed, and many others.

Unbeknownst to most, Michelle hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also marmalade. She lives in Chicago with her husband, three children, and one naughty Goldendoodle and is hard at work on her latest novel. 

Connect with the Author:  website ~ facebook ~ twitter ~ instagram ~ tiktok ~ goodreads ~ bookbub


Enter the Giveaway:

A Spying Eye Book Tour 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!

    • Giveaway – Alpha Receptor by Karenna Colcroft @RoxanneRhoads

    Posted on by



    A Werewolf’s Thoughts on Werewolf Costumes

    Every year for Halloween, people don costumes to present themselves as various monsters. Because my brain tends to wander to odd places, I’ve sometimes wondered what those “monsters” would think of those costumes. Since I write werewolves, I decided to ask one of my characters what they thought. The following is a take from Kyle Slidell, the world’s only(?) gay vegan werewolf; although Kyle is not a major character in Alpha Receptor, he’s a main character in other books, and his story has a big impact on the main characters and plot of Alpha Receptor.

    Hmm. What do I, Kyle Slidell, think about humans dressing up as werewolves for Halloween?

    Honestly, I think it’s weird as heck. The costumes don’t even look like us, for crying out loud! They’re the movie-land version of werewolves, not the reality. We look like wolves.

    Since I live full-time as a werewolf, I don’t really get why anyone would want to pretend to be one. Shifting is about the least fun I’ve ever had. Not having a choice about shifting at least once every month also really sucks. The reality of being a werewolf isn’t something I would wish on my worst enemy. (Even though my worst enemy is a werewolf.)

    On the other hand, I completely get spending a night pretending to be something you aren’t. There have been plenty of times in my life when I’ve either done or wanted to do exactly that.

    Of course the costumes aren’t accurate depictions of werewolves, but I suppose for some humans, that’s part of the fun. They aren’t trying to actually be wolves. They’re just playing dress-up for a night, and for a lot of humans, that’s exactly what Halloween is for.

    So while I personally think humans dressing up like us—or like the film versions of us—is weird, I also fully support the whole “play pretend for a night” as long as everyone’s having fun with it. Just remember that the way most humans see werewolves isn’t our reality.



    Alpha Receptor
    Real Werewolves True Mates 
    Book One
    Karenna Colcroft

    Genre: Paranormal Romance
    Publisher: Vegan Wolf Productions 
    Date of Publication: July 14, 2022
    ISBN: 978-1958346006
    ASIN: B0B4T6FMPR
    Number of pages: 263
    Word Count: 72,300 
    Cover Artist: Winterheart Design

    Tagline: Can a “curmudgeonly” Alpha who has closed his heart to love open up when he finds his true mate?

    Book Description: 

    When Lara Jameson’s employer transferred her from Orlando, Florida, to Boston, Massachusetts, moving wasn’t as simple as just finding an apartment. As a werewolf, Lara also had to transfer to a new pack. And when she met Chal Torres, the Alpha of City Pack in Boston, she knew she had found not only a new pack but her mate.

    Chal Torres has resisted love since a dominance fight shortly after he was changed resulted in the death of the woman he believed he loved. Now, as Alpha of the largest pack in the United States, he allows no one close to him out of fear they might be used against him. But when Chal meets Lara and recognizes her as his mate, his resistance is no match for the call of the mate bond and of his heart.

    As Chal and Lara begin to build their relationship, Chal lets down his guard. But an attack on Lara during the pack’s hunt night and the reveal of a plot within the pack to take down Chal as Alpha lead Chal to begin putting up those walls again. Will he let Lara in, or will his fear end their relationship before it truly starts?


    When he was confident none of his pack remained among the trees, he went to the house and found Art already in human form near the back door. Art possessed the distinct ability to shift instantaneously with no pain or effects; for him, it was as fluid as breathing. Meaning Chal needed to shift rapidly and give no sign of the effects.

    Once back in human form, he straightened, towering over Art, who flinched. The reaction pleased Chal. The man deserved to be afraid.

    “You attacked a pack member,” he said.

    “Can…” Sweat beaded Art’s forehead as he frantically searched around for an escape. “Can we discuss this privately, Alpha?”

    “We cannot.” He spoke more loudly than he intended, not caring that he’d drawn the attention of the other wolves. “Lara is lower ranked than you. She wasn’t interfering with you. You had neither cause nor right to attack her. Go home, Art. You are confined to your apartment until I speak with you.”

    Art bowed his head. “I have no way to get home, Alpha. I rode here with others.”

    “Dave.”

    A small, wiry man hurried over to him. One of the trackers, second in command to Connor.

    “Yes, Alpha?”

    “Are you able to leave at this time?” Chal asked, continuing to pin Art beneath his gaze. “Art is going home.”

    “Yes, Alpha. I’ll tell Hillary to find another ride.” Dave grasped Art’s elbow. “Let’s go.”

    Art followed the other man without protest. But when he peered back over his shoulder at Chal, his eyes were filled with the same darkness weighing on Chal.
    It would be crucial to resolve the situation more permanently. For the moment, Art was dealt with. It was time for Chal to check on his mate.

    He found her a short distance from the house, lying on her side in wolf form, panting heavily.

    Tobias, in human form, sat cross-legged beside her. “Follow my voice, Lara,” he said in a low, almost hypnotic cadence. “It’s time to shift back. I’m here. Your Alpha is here. We’re both with you. Come back.”

    Painstakingly, so much so Chal trembled with sympathetic agony, Tobias guided Lara back into human form. When she finished the shift, she lay gasping on the ground.

    “I can’t do anything more for her,” Tobias said.

    “I can. Thank you, old friend.”

    Chal crouched and gathered Lara into his arms. She stirred and murmured something unintelligible. Ignoring the others around them, Chal carried her into the house and up to the second floor, to the bedroom where he and Tobias had spoken earlier. 

    Tenderly, he lay her on the bed. He wished he could kiss her, stay with her, but he still had a duty to his pack. He maneuvered the sheet from under her and covered her.

    “Sleep,” he said. “We’ll speak in the morning.” Quickly, he left the room.




    About the Author:

    Karenna Colcroft lives just north of Boston, Massachusetts, and has been in love with the city since childhood, though she has yet to encounter any werewolves, vampires, or other paranormal beings in her travels. At least none that she knows of. Though since in her non-writing life, under another name, she offers services as a channel and energy healing practitioner, it could be said that she herself is a paranormal being. The jury’s still out on that.

    Karenna is a polyamorous, nonbinary human who splits time between the home she shares with her husband and the one she shares with her committed partner. She also has two adult children and a bonus son, three grandchildren, and two and a half cats. (Half in terms of time the cat lives with her, not in terms of the cat itself…)












    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!

    Giveaway – Dainty Damsels Halloween Collection Coloring Books @RoxanneRhoads

    Posted on by



    Dainty Damsels: Halloween Collection 2022
    Dainty Damsels Coloring Books
    Book Twelve
    J.N. Sheats

    Genre: Fantasy Coloring Books 
    Date of Publication: 09/04/2022
    ISBN: 979-8849735702 
    ASIN: B0BD2RR74J 
    Number of pages: 72
    Cover Artist: J.N. Sheats

    Book Description:

    Spooky season is here and so are the Dainty Damsels with a new 30 page collection of illustrations by J.N. Sheats. 

    Grab your pens, pencils, and markers and get to coloring! 

    Amazon      Etsy








    About the Author:

    A creative mind trapped in a world of reality Jackie Sheats expresses herself in anyway that she can. From illustrating and writing to dancing like a mental patient while preparing dinner. Living in Maryland with her logic driven husband, their six cats, the dog, and a tank full of fish, Jackie spends her free time doing the backlog of housework. A movie junkie, video game addict, and lover of romance novels, she lives life under the idea that “if you don’t know how to do something, go learn it!”













    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 – Chaos and Cranberries by Joann Keder @XpressoTours

    Posted on by

    Chaos and Cranberries
    Joann Keder
    Publication date: November 1st 2022
    Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery

    Paranormal investigator, Feather Jones and her boyfriend, Tug have arrived in picturesque Piney Falls for their Christmas getaway. To their dismay, they learn that their suite isn’t available because the last guest, author Dash Vixen, never checked out.

    Dash was murdered when a copy of his own horror Christmas anthology was used to beat him to death.

    Coming to their rescue is local sleuth, Lanie Anders, who invites them to spend the holiday with her and her husband. Unbeknownst to all of them, the murderer has bigger plans. Soon Lanie, Feather and their respective other halves are embroiled in a mystery that will stretch them both to their crime-solving limits!

    This is a crossover book: Feather is a sleuth from the Charming Mysteries series and Lanie is a sleuth in the Piney Falls Mysteries.

    Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

    —

    SNEAK PEEK:

    Vem stood uncomfortably close and read aloud:

    Ivy Merrilee Globe was a prolific author, completing seventy-nine books in her twenty-six years of life. Her most recent, Snowily Severed, was a short story featured in the massively popular Christmas horror anthology, Strung by the Fire.

    She recently signed a contract with Brain Gravy Pictures to turn her short story into a movie.

    Driving home from physical therapy, she stopped for children crossing three blocks from her home, when her neighbor’s sleigh ornament slid off the roof of their home and through her car windshield, impaling her. Ivy herself couldn’t have written such a dramatic end.

    Ivy leaves behind three brothers and a cat named Ice.

    “She didn’t die on the twenty-second like the other two. Find the date of the Frosty attack, Lanie,” Vem urged.

    I typed in the information and when the page came up, our mood was somber. “Ivy was attacked on the twenty-second by the Frosty wannabe. They intended to kill her that day, and when it didn’t work, they came back to finish the job.”

    “Poor Ivy,” Vem lamented.

    My phone rang and I jumped up to answer. Even though we’d been together for several years, I was always expecting his call.

    “Babe?”

    “Mrs. Hill? This is the Tucson police department.”

    Author Bio:

    USA TODAY bestselling author, Joann Keder spent most of her years in the Midwest, growing up and raising a family on the Great Plains of Nebraska. She worked for sixteen years as a piano teacher before returning to school to receive a master’s degree in creative writing. A mid-life move to the Pacific Northwest led her to re-examine her priorities. She now creates stories about life and relationships in small towns while her ever-patient husband encourages her on.

    Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram


    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!

    The Spotlight Is On Good And Gone by Britney King @britneyking_

    Posted on by
    Title: Good and Gone
    Author: Britney King
    Genre: Psychological Thriller
    Release Date: October 20, 2022





    In this deviously volatile, deliciously creepy thriller from the bestselling author of The Social Affair and HER, a young woman must uncover the haunting truth about the turn of events that left her forever marked…

    On a crisp fall morning in Austin, Texas, it is a day no different from any other for young mother Hailey Adams. Until it is. She goes out for her morning jog and does not come back.

    When Hailey turns up weeks later with no recollection of where she was—and either unable—or unwilling—to explain what happened to her, those closest to her first question her mental status and then her motives. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media, as well as her loving husband, the popular fitness influencer begins to have flashbacks.

    But the more Hailey continues to dig, the more reasons she uncovers to keep the truth hidden—from the law, from the media, and especially from her family. She soon realizes she’s not the only one to recently disappear under mysterious circumstances—and her nightmare may be far from over.








    Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, a dog named Gatsby, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a peach tree.

    When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.

    Without a doubt, she thinks connecting with readers is the best part of this gig. You can find Britney online here:



    HOSTED BY:

    MY BRITNEY KING REVIEWS

    • 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 – Letting Go by Jacquie Biggar @XpressoTours @JacqBiggar

    Posted on by

    Letting Go
    Jacquie Biggar
    (The Defiant Sisters, #1)
    Publication date: October 21st 2022
    Genres: Coming of Age, Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

    A coming-of-age novel about the pain of misconceptions and learning from them.

    When life gives you lemons…

    Izzy

    Mom is barely in the grave and the prodigal child is here to pick the bones clean.

    I don’t want her here. My sister’s defection is a wound that won’t heal, and her return simply rubs at the scabs covering my heart.

    I’ve managed just fine without her. She can go back to her fancy college and forget about us- that’s what she does best anyway.

    If only I didn’t need her help. Or miss her so much.

    Renee

    The day my dad committed suicide I ran. I’ve been running ever since.

    Going home is supposed to be the answer. Instead, it makes me question every thoughtless decision I’ve made.

    My sister hates me. My little brother barely knows me. And Simon… is engaged.

    None of it matters- or so I tell myself. I’m here to make amends and face a past haunted by regret.

    As long as I can convince myself to stay.

    Letting Go is a young adult romance dealing with tragedy, restitution, and love in all its aspects. The story relates to sensitive topics that may be triggering for some readers.

    Goodreads / Amazon

    —

    SNEAK PEEK:

    Izzy

    The shock of finding Renée on the doorstep is fading, taken over by the sheer hypocrisy of her arrival. Why now? It’s a little late if she wants to make amends. Not a word for two stinking years and she shows up thinking I’m going to be grateful she’s here?

    Not in this lifetime.

    The warm sincerity of her embrace, though… it tries to weaken the resentment I’ve fostered since she walked out on her family, leaving me to pick up the pieces.

    “I don’t want you here,” I snarl, unable to hide my bitterness. I’d rather act as though I don’t care.

    Renée eyes me warily, rubbing a reddened palm. I feel a childish delight to have caused her even a minuscule amount of the pain she’s caused me.

    “I’m aware,” she says calmly, bending to pick up a bulging overnight bag. “But I’m here now, so let’s make the best of it—for Mom.”

    Red hot rage rises from the pit of my stomach to spit and steam from my ears. “Do. Not. Use Mom against me. You lost that right a long time ago.”

    Months of caregiving flicker behind my eyes. My father’s suicide did something to Mom. She shouldered the blame and wore it like a hairshirt, ripping the blinders away from their relationship to show the fractures in the foundation. She shut down. Stopped eating, washing, and caring. It was left to me to get Benjamin off to school, clothes washed, and a semblance of normalcy when everything was insane.

    “You should have called.” Renée’s empathetic gaze gets on my last nerve.

    I whirl away before I plant my fist in her face. “Your room is the way you left it. You can stay the weekend, then I want you to leave. Ben doesn’t need to get his hopes up.” And neither do I.

    Author Bio:

    Jacquie Biggar is a USA Today bestselling author of romance who loves to write about tough, alpha males and strong, contemporary women willing to show their men that true power comes from love. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and loves to hear from readers all over the world!

    In her own words:

    “My name is Jacquie Biggar. When I’m not acting like a total klutz, I am a wife, mother of one, grandmother, and a butler to my calico cat.

    My guilty pleasures are reality tv shows like Amazing Race and The Voice. Every Monday night, I can be in my armchair plastered to the television laughing at Blake’s shenanigans.

    I love to hang out at the beach with DH (darling hubby) taking pictures or reading romance novels (what else?).

    I have a slight Tim Hortons obsession, enjoy gardening, everything pink, and talking to my friends.”

    She has been blessed with a long, happy marriage and enjoys writing romance novels that end with happily-ever-afters.

    Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon / Pinterest / 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’.
    • Product images are linked/I am an Amazon affiliate.
    • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

    Giveaway – Deadly Paradise by Quinn Avery @XpressoTours @naumannbooks

    Posted on by

    Deadly Paradise
    Quinn Avery
    Publication date: October 18th 2022
    Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

    As a child, Nova witnessed the murder of her parents. She is whisked away in the middle of the night to start a new life, however Nova can’t stop questioning the circumstances surrounding her parents’ deaths.

    As a teenager, Nova lives a lonely and sheltered existence until fate delivers a handsome Greek boy into her world. Although forbidden to speak to him, the teens navigate through first love until she discovers he’s guarding a secret that unravels everything between them.

    As a woman, Nova finally goes after the answers that have plagued her entire life. Answers that involve her first love, throwing them both in danger when he returns to save her life. Can she risk the dark secrets of their tangled past to collide with what could become a deadly present?

    Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

    Get it for only 99c – this week only!

    —

    SNEAK PEEK:

    Nova was sixteen when Katerina Makris and her son, Nikos, came to work at the winery. The moment Nova first laid eyes on the mysterious boy with fierce eyebrows and a sharp jaw, her first crush manifested. From her secret perch behind the kitchen door, her knees literally shook as if the world was moving beneath her.

    She watched intently as Katerina and Nova’s uncle carried on a conversation in Greek. Nova remembered very little of the language since her father’s death, but her uncle was able to converse with Katerina at a comfortable level. Nova hadn’t known he was fluent in her father’s native language. She was even more surprised the way her uncle treated Katerina like an old friend.

    Both mother and son were striking, with eyes so dark they swallowed their pupils, olive-toned skin, stick-straight noses, and luxurious raven hair. Katerina’s loose waves bounced around her shoulders when she walked. Nikos wore his hair neatly trimmed around the sides, and longer on top. He was attractive in a way that made her belly swell. She held her breath, waiting for Nikos to speak. She was very interested in anything and everything the tall, handsome young man had to say.

    Later that afternoon, while Katerina was trained in the kitchen and Nikos cleaned tables, Nova perched on the walnut bar top where soon customers would occupy stools across from the small oak and steel barrels containing the award-winning varieties of wine. She studied Nikos from afar as he worked, appreciating his Led Zeppelin t-shirt and dark classic jeans paired with old-school skater sneakers. Although lanky, he moved with the confident swagger of a grown man, and the muscles in his arms flexed impressively as he scrubbed each table. She’d only seen him smile once, but the flash of his bright white teeth as straight as piano keys revealed behind his generously rosy lips was enough to make her heart swell and her stomach tingle with excitement.

    She was grateful she’d finally have someone around who was close to her age. Even better, she had a chance to talk to him without anyone else listening in. Her aunt was tending to the grapes that were nearing harvest, and her uncle was helping London perfect the pattern required for her next belt in Tae Kwon Do. The chef and other wait staff weren’t scheduled to come in for another hour, and the only other employee on the clock was in the kitchen with Katerina.

    When she thought about approaching Nikos, nerves bubbled through her like a sparkling wine. Most of what she knew about flirting came from years of watching her aunt and uncle’s disgustingly affectionate relationship, and the sappy romance movies she sometimes watched with her aunt. She wanted to believe in love, but she was also cynical that anything could end with a happily ever after. Her parents had been madly in love, and their ending was nothing short of a Shakespearian tragedy.

    “So, new guy,” she finally called out, hoping he couldn’t detect the tightness of her breath, “where you from?”

    Turning away from the table, his eyes nervously swept past the kitchen before meeting hers. Their alluring darkness caused her heart to flutter against her ribs with the force of a bird’s wings. She suddenly understood the longing she sometimes heard in musician’s voices when they sang about love.

    “Mykonos—ehhh…an island…in Greece.” His voice was as deep as her uncle’s, and his accent was rich. Every word he uttered sounded romantic. As they echoed through her head, she became motionless—all except for the widening of her eyes.

    “Wait, did you say Mykonos?” A flicker of excitement passed through her. “That’s where my dad was from.”

    Nikos’s dark, thick eyebrows rose. “Yes. Your father…he knew my mother. They were…ehhh…friendly. Since they were very young.”

    Nova’s pulse sped. What else did he know about her father?

    “Really?” Crossing her arms, she mirrored his high-browed expression. It seemed her uncle’s list of secrets was never-ending. “How did you and your mother end up here?”

    “Your uncle…very kind. When we leave Mykonos, he tells my mother…ehhh…he can help.”

    Interesting, Nova thought to herself. How did her uncle know her father’s childhood friend well enough to offer his help? For the first time since she had been torn from her family’s home in California, she believed she may actually have found an avenue leading to the truth about her parents.


    Author Bio:

    Quinn Avery is an award-winning author who has written over 38 novels, both romantic suspense and mystery/thriller. An avid fan of the beach, a good book, and Dave Grohl, she enjoys spending her free time with her favorite people and biggest fans–her husband and children.

    Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub



    Giveaway!

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    —
    XBTBanner1

    • 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!

    Giveaway – In The Shadow Of The Apennines by Kimberly Sullivan @XpressoTours @KimberlyinRome

    Posted on by

    In The Shadow of The Apennines
    Kimberly Sullivan
    Publication date: October 21st 2022
    Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Historical, Women’s Fiction

    An American divorcée. An Italian shepherdess.
    Separated by a century, united by common dreams.

    The sleepy little Abruzzo mountain town of Marsicano seems about as far as Samantha can flee from her failed marriage and disastrous university career. Eager for a fresh start, Samantha begins to set down roots in her Italian mountain hideaway.

    At first, the mountain retreat appears idyllic, but an outsider’s clumsy attempts at breaking into the closed mountain community are quickly thwarted when the residents discover Samantha’s snarky blog ridiculing the town and its inhabitants.

    Increasingly isolated in her mountain cottage, Samantha discovers the letters and diaries of Elena, a past tenant and a survivor of the 1915 Pescina earthquake. Despite the century that separates the two women, Samantha feels increasingly drawn into Elena’s life, and discovers startling parallels with her own.

    Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

    —

    SNEAK PEEK:

    Pescina, Italy

    25 April 1914

    Where do I begin? Mamma blames it all on Father Ignazio. She says if only he had left me to the chores I was employed to carry out at San Berardo and the parish house, my cooking and cleaning would be much improved, and I would not be constantly scribbling on any piece of paper I could find and begging for books to read.

    She worries I will never find a husband.

    “What man wants a wife who only cares about book learning, when she should be tending the goats, washing the clothes, and baking the bread?” Mamma warns me every day.

    Mamma says no peasant girl should study beyond the first years of elementary school. Writing the letters to sign your name and computations for simple transactions are more than enough for a female in our region. She calls it getting above oneself. To mamma, this is the worst sin.

    Of course, we weren’t always peasants. We used to have some money, back before papà lost his property. It was never much, but our lives were so much easier back then. My brothers and I even had a tutor to teach us to read and write and to know our history and literature. Those hours were the highlight of my day. My tutor was very pleased with me.

    It was hard on us when we lost everything. Only mamma said maybe it was for the best – at least for me. Now she could insist I concentrate on what was most important for girls.

    I suppose I am lucky it was Father Ignazio who insisted I keep up with my learning. Mamma may often speak her mind, but she will never argue with our parish priest. She respects him too much, and she worries about punishment in the afterlife if she talks back to a priest. So mamma, who is quick to speak her mind on every occasion, bites her tongue until she draws blood whenever Father Ignazio praises my learning to her.

    Papà is proud of my reading and writing. He is the one who bought me this diary and the pen and ink for my birthday. Yes, I can hardly believe it, but today I am sixteen.

    Mamma is probably right that a girl who reads and writes would scare off the local boys. Boys in Pescina mostly work the land like their fathers or tend the sheep. But even if I am now sixteen and townspeople consider me a woman, I still feel like a little girl.

    All my friends talk about getting married, about preparing their wedding chest and living with their husbands. They make eyes at the boys returning with the sheep, the same boys we scrambled over the mountaintops with just a few years ago.

    My friend Concetta even has a sweetheart. She always goes to the fountain to gather the water at the same hour so that she can meet Domenico on his way back to town after a day working in the fields.

    Sometimes I see them together walking on the path back to town, the ruins of the castle watchtower above them in the distance. They look so happy in one another’s company, laughing and talking, finding excuses for their hands to brush together.

    When Concetta and I are together, sewing or baking bread, she always seems to have a far-away look in her eyes, and I sense that she does not hear what I say, that her thoughts are only for Domenico now. Mamma says one day I’lll feel that way about a boy, too, but I wonder if I ever will.


    Author Bio:

    Kimberly grew up in the suburbs of Boston and in Saratoga Springs, New York, although she now calls the Harlem neighborhood of New York City home when she’s back in the US. She studied political science and history at Cornell University and earned her MBA, with a concentration in strategy and marketing, from Bocconi University in Milan.

    Afflicted with a severe case of Wanderlust, she worked in journalism and government in the US, Czech Republic and Austria, before settling down in Rome, where she works in international development, and writes fiction any chance she gets.

    She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) and The Historical Novel Society and has published several short stories and three novels: Three Coins, Dark Blue Waves and In The Shadow of The Apennines.

    After years spent living in Italy with her Italian husband and sons, she’s fluent in speaking with her hands, and she loves setting her stories in her beautiful, adoptive country.

    Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Bookbub / Twitter


    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!