Tag Archives: Xpresso Book Tours

Giveaway – Curses And Chaos by Annie Anderson @XpressoTours

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Curses and Chaos
Annie Anderson
(Arcane Souls World: The Lost Witch, #1)
Publication date: May 23rd 2023
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

If the ABI finds me, I’m dead.

Agent or not, when your dad is the head of the most notorious arcane crime family in the country, no one believes you when you say you didn’t open that gate to Hell on purpose.

Now, I’m practically glued under enough null wards to hide a god and stuck with a stupidly sexy shifter of a jailer who hates my guts.

When my former employer comes sniffing around, not only does my captor keep me alive, but we find out that our pasts are far more connected than either of us realize.

And the lies we’ve been told could kill us both.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” a rumble came from the dark recess of the doorway at my right, a familiar voice that should in no way be here. The athame in my hand was at Theo Acosta’s gut before I ever really gave my hand the command to move.

Theo Acosta was the biggest pain in my ass, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get rid of him. As second in command of the Acosta pack, Theo had been in my business since the day we’d met. I’d managed to avoid him while in the middle of my little murder spree, but if he was here, the jig was up.

“I’m looking for a job,” I quipped, tilting my head to the side like I was a little soft in the head. I mean, we were in a strip club, after all. “The ABI can’t pay all the bills, you know.” That was a bald-faced lie, but given my glamour and outfit, it sure as shit looked like the truth. How he could see through said glamour was a little concerning, but I couldn’t think about that right then.

He gripped my wrist as he plucked the blade from my fingers like he was taking it away from a toddler, moving into the harsh illumination of the club’s neon mood lighting. He’d gotten a haircut since the time I’d seen him last. His usual shoulder-length locks were cropped close to his head in the back and left a little longer in the front highlighting his strong jaw and fabulous cheekbones.

It suited him, the bastard.

I’d never met someone so pretty and so shitty all at the same time.

“Bullshit, Jacobs. You’re up to something.” The green of his wolf lit in his eyes, showing me just how pissed off he was. “You’re always up to something.”

In two and a half years, Theo hadn’t trusted me one bit—not that I’d given him a reason not to. He had some beef with all witches—Wren excluded—so him warming up to me just wasn’t going to happen. The rest of the Acostas loved me. Mari and I painted our nails together. Dayana and I shared dessert recipes. And his mama? She adored me.

But Theo? No such luck.

“Of course, I’m up to something, you dope. I’m trying to get enough power to break the Fae in your dungeon, or did you forget about him while you were being so judgy? So why don’t you go home, mind your business, and I’ll get the answer to all our problems, mm-kay Pumpkin?”

Those green eyes narrowed to slits as his jaw solidified. “Eleven witches are missing, Jacobs. No one has found the bodies, but I know they’re dead. You planning a takeover? Expanding the coven for dear, old daddy?”

I ripped my wrist out of his hold as well as the blade. “No, you moron. I’m getting enough power to make that Fae do what we need him to do before Nico decides to get himself killed. How many packs would love to take over Savannah, hmm? Five? Ten? And how well will your pack fare without a true Alpha when they come? How long do you think Nico will hold on without Wren?”

“Bull—”

The tip of my athame was at his throat in a blink. “No coven will help me—help us,” I hissed. “And no, I didn’t ask my daddy for help because the last thing we need is Josiah Jacobs in Savannah.”

Author Bio:

Annie Anderson is a military wife and United States Air Force veteran. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a southern girl at heart, but has lived all over the US and abroad. As soon as the military stops moving her family around, she’ll settle on a state, but for now she enjoys being a nomad with her husband, two daughters, an old man of a dog, and a young pup that makes life… interesting.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest


GIVEAWAY!

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Giveaway – Of Light And Shadow by Tanaz Bhatherna @XpressoTours

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Of Light and Shadow
Tanaz Bhathena
Publication date: May 23rd 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

When they don’t give us our birthright, we steal it.

Roshan Chaya is out for justice. Abandoned by her parents at birth and adopted by the kingdom of Jwala’s most notorious bandit before his brutal murder, she is now leader of the Shadow Clan, a gang of farmers-turned-bandits impoverished by the provincial governor’s atrocities and corruption. Roshan’s goal: to avenge her adoptive father and earn back rights and dignity for her people.

Prince Navin has always felt like an outcast. Second in line for the throne, he has never been close to his grandmother, Queen Bhairavi of Jwala. When a night out drinking with friends leads to his capture by the infamous Shadow Clan, Navin schemes to befriend Roshan and use her as a means to escape. His ploy, however, brings Navin closer to the corruption and poverty at the heart of Roshan’s province, raising questions about its governor and Navin’s own family.

To further complicate things, the closer Roshan and Navin get, the harder it becomes to fight their growing attraction. But how can they trust each other when the world as they know it starts to fall apart?

Set in a magical world inspired by the badlands of 17th century India, this standalone epic fantasy novel by Tanaz Bhathena is packed with political tensions, dangerous schemes, and swoon-worthy romance that asks the age old question: can love conquer all?

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

EXCERPT

The morning of the raid Sunheri hung full and brassy in the sky, dappling the black water with a trail of gold. The blue moon, Neel, was invisible and would remain so until the night of the moon festival next year—a small blessing as far as Roshan Chaya was concerned. The light of one moon was bad enough, two moons together would have likely given away her position by the riverbank, along with every other member of the Shadow Clan.

Her breath fogged the air before her; nights were chilly here in Jwala’s westernmost province, no matter the time of the year. But tonight, Roshan barely felt the cold. She watched the vessel emerge from the darkness, a large cargo dhow slowly making its way across the gleaming river, its sails rolled up. The carved figurehead of the fire goddess gleamed eerily on the bow, protective enchantments lending it a dull blue sheen.

Roshan whistled: a passable imitation of a bulbul in a tree. An owl hooted back perfectly: confirmation that Governor Yazad Aspa’s weekly shipment of grain was on its way to the capital city of Prabha. Smack-dab in the middle of the river.

Completely out of reach.

Another hoot followed and Chotu rose into the air, small and wingless, his slender form slowly blending in with the sky. He would soon be invisible to everyone, except for Roshan, who knew exactly where to look. If she didn’t love the little boy with her whole heart, Roshan would have been envious of Chotu’s gifts. Levitation was hard enough magic without adding a reflector spell to the mix. Now she watched him float toward the dhow, his body but a blur against a scene that would have appeared tranquil—if not for the bloated corpse of a ruddy shelduck floating in the water nearby, its sour, peaty odor lingering in the air.

Without thinking, Roshan reached up to touch the amulet between her collarbones. Made of firebloom wood, it was a perfect, flat square embossed with a tree, the remnant of parents she had never known. That is . . . if it had been her parents who’d gifted her the one object that best amplified her magic—before abandoning her as a newborn eighteen years ago.

Do not dwell on the past, bitiya, Baba had told her whenever she’d asked him questions about them. It is best left behind.

It had been difficult for Roshan to drink in her bitterness. To leave thoughts of her parents behind. But for Baba, she’d done her best. Baba, who’d called her his bitiya, even though he wasn’t her father. Baba, who took her in, taught her to pick locks without magic, to fight. To kill, if necessary—and only if necessary.

After Baba’s death a year ago, Roshan had had no choice but to kill. As Bandit Bhim Chaya’s adoptee and favored successor, she had known that someday she would have to prove herself, even fight for the clan’s leadership. She had not expected a battle to the death mere hours after Baba was killed. Roshan still remembered the way her hands had locked around her rival’s throat. How she’d blocked his arteries with a magic normally used to fix broken bones, smooth bruised skin, and knit torn flesh. The world classified life magic and death magic as two separate things—the first wielded by healers and the second by warriors. But healers like Roshan knew that those who breathed life into a body or extended it with magic could also take it away.

Last year was the only time Roshan had used her life magic against a member of the Shadow Clan—an act that had earned her its leadership and also cleaved it in two.

She could hear some of the bandits behind her now: viperous susurrations followed by loud giggles, an intentional violation of her order for silence on this raid. Roshan hadn’t taken the bait before. And she wouldn’t tonight.

“When they don’t give us our birthright, we steal it,” she whispered.


Author Bio:

Tanaz Bhathena is an award-winning Zoroastrian author of contemporary and fantasy fiction. Her books include Of Light and Shadow, Hunted by the Sky which won the Ontario Library Association’s White Pine Award and the Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize, and The Beauty of the Moment which won the Nautilus Award for Young Adult Fiction. Her acclaimed debut, A Girl Like That, was named a Best Book of the Year by numerous outlets including The Globe and Mail, Seventeen, and The Times of India. Born in India and raised in Saudi Arabia and Canada, Tanaz lives in Mississauga, Ontario, with her family.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram


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Giveaway – A Seasonal Song by Dan Shaskin & Deb Wesloh @XpressoTours

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A Seasonal Song
Dan Shaskin, Deb Wesloh
Publication date: March 21st 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Discover love and music in the sultry streets of Miami with “A Seasonal Song.”

Clarissa Bianchi, a talented violinist, lands her dream internship with the Miami Orchestra, but little does she know that she will also discover the love of her life. Jack Williams, a rugged rock guitarist with a broken heart, meets Clarissa and is instantly drawn to her beauty and passion for music. Despite their different musical backgrounds, their mutual love for music brings them together on a journey filled with passion, growth, and unforgettable memories.

As the summer draws to a close, Clarissa and Jack must navigate their intense feelings for each other and determine if their love is strong enough to withstand the distance between Miami and Boston. Will their hearts play a different song, or will the romance come to an end?

“A Seasonal Song” is a love story that will leave you humming a sweet tune long after you turn the last page.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Current Year

Clarissa gazed at the horizon as she sat on the beach. The breeze provided little relief from the oppressive heat and humidity. Her cotton shirt clung to the contours of her body as sweat dripped down the back of her neck. The wind and humidity disheveled her long brunette hair.

She paused and whispered under her breath. “Here I am, again. Back in Miami.”

They say history repeats itself. From her perspective, she concurred.

So much heartache, so much love, and such beautiful memories. The smell of the ocean brought a tear to her eye. The tear slowly trickled down her cheek, dropping from her chin into the ocean.

She smiled as she thought of her last summer in Miami. Some would categorize it as a summer fling, but the passion and intense emotions they shared were real.

Jack was twenty-seven and designed custom yachts. She was twenty-one, a sophomore at Berklee College of Music. An unlikely pair, but perhaps their paths collided for a reason.

She strolled to the water’s edge. The sand stuck to her feet, leaving deep imprints on the beach. The waves crashed against her legs, throwing her slightly off balance. She steadied herself as she walked back to her towel.

Her mind drifted back to her job last summer at the Purple Penguin Café. Where it all began.

As she remembered when she first met Jack, her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing became slightly labored.

Last summer at 6:30 p.m. on June 25th Jack walked into The Purple Penguin. She chided her silliness for remembering the exact date and time, but she did, and the memory was as crisp as if it had happened yesterday.

Last year

All teal chairs and tables were occupied at the eclectic-furnished café. Loud conversations inundated the room.

Several people waved, trying to get her attention. She was exhausted, and her feet ached. She wished her shift would end.

As she served a table, he entered the café and waited to be seated.

A table soon opened, and the hostess assigned him to her section. She finished serving her current table and approached him, greeting him warmly.

“Hi. My name is Clarissa. What can I get for you?”

His warm brown eyes glanced up from the menu and met hers. “Hi, nice to meet you, Clarissa.”

It surprised her to hear her name. Although she always introduced herself, the customers rarely repeated her name.

“What’s in that silver penguin shaker thing I saw you take to the other table?”

“Shake Your Penguin, our signature cocktail. It’s a mix of Absolut Vodka, pomegranate juice, lime soda, and berries. It’s very popular and tastes great. I should know. I’ve sampled a few of them.” She winked and laughed.

He smiled. “I’ll take your word for it. Let’s start with one of those Shaky Penguin things.”

She returned a few minutes later with his drink.

He took a sip. “Wow, this is good!” Jack continued. “Listening to your accent, you don’t seem to be from around here. Sorry, I don’t mean to pry. You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want.”

Clarissa laughed, “It’s okay. The short answer is, I’m from everywhere.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“Well, when I was growing up, I was an Army brat. Between the ages of two and nineteen, I lived in eight states, and three years in Stuttgart, Germany.”

Jack smiled at her. “Sie müssen dann fließend Deutsch sprechen?”

Clarissa smiled. “Yes, I speak German, but fluent is an exceptionally strong word. Let’s just say I can converse in German with few errors.”

She found him intriguing. Perhaps it was the warm manner he talked to her. She calculated he was slightly older than her, maybe in his late twenties. He had a sincere smile and kind eyes.

“Most of our clientele are tourists and stay at the Purple Penguin Hotel next door,” she said. “We don’t get many locals. Are you from around here?”

“I’m originally from Boerne, Texas, just northwest of San Antonio. I’ve lived in Miami for five years. A business client is staying at the Penguin Hotel. I just dropped him off, saw the restaurant, and here I am. Never been here before.”

“How’d you get from Texas to Miami Beach?” she asked.

“I’ve always loved the ocean. Growing up, I spent my weekends in Aransas Pass hanging out on the beach. I’m experienced in construction, saw an opening in Miami, and here I am.”



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Cover Reveal – In The Moment During by C G Coppola @XpressoTours

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In The Moment During
C.G. Coppola
(The Coyote And The Claw Companion Series, #2)
Publication date: June 23rd 2023
Genres: Adult, Romance, Urban Fantasy

After an unexpected hookup, I end up dating Grayson Knight—my former mortal enemy. We still argue constantly, and I’m sure we’ll break up at some point, but after a family dinner goes well with Dad—the city’s Police Sergeant—I have hope.

Then I start noticing things. Like how Grayson gets called away at odd times, or how skilled he is with gymnastics. Then there was the fight at school—the one where he dominated his opponent. None of it seems important until we’re attacked by a monstrous creature—and Grayson springs into action. It’s almost like he knows what to do…like he’s done it before.

Knowing something is off, I confront him about his unusual behavior, but he dismisses it. Not satisfied, I decide to discover the truth for myself. Because Grayson has a secret—and I’m going to find out what.

Pre-order


Author Bio:

C.G. Coppola is the author of the sci-fi adventure series, Arizal Wars, and the contemporary romance series, Better Than This. In addition to stories that explore magic and the paranormal, she writes realistic fiction set in fantastical universes, usually with a lot of kissing. Married with two fur-babies she spoils rotten, C.G. Coppola lives in Florida where she grew up and attended college. When not writing, she can be found decorating the house, bantering with her husband, or dancing to Meghan Trainor–sometimes all at once.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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Giveaway – Call Sign: King by Livia Grant @XpressoTours

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Call Sign: King
Livia Grant
Publication date: May 8th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

He got cocky. Let his guard down.

Now the love of his life is paying the price.

For a moment he’d forgotten there were men who wanted him dead. Men who lived their lives in the dark, who could reach out of the shadows he used to live in, and he’d been naive to think the light inside her would keep her safe.

She was too bright to hide away though, made for the spotlight, and he’d felt warmer just by being near her… then everything went cold so fast.

In a breath she was gone, in the hands of his enemies, and he’d seen first hand what happened to women who crossed paths with the Volkov Bratva. They’d touch her, hurt her. She’d be afraid, suffering.

All because of him. All in the name of vengeance.

But that was their mistake, because in the maddening darkness her absence has put him in, a beast was sleeping… and they woke him up. Now everyone will pay.

Black Sky Ops – Danger for Hire

This network of global mercenaries stay in the shadows, going on the impossible missions no one else will take. The elite soldiers of Black Sky Ops aren’t afraid to break the rules as long as it’s for the greater good — and the paycheck is high enough. But sometimes the line between right and wrong gets blurry, especially when protecting the people they love.

Note: The Black Sky Ops series is made up of full length novels with no cliffhangers and guaranteed happily-ever-afters. Each book is a standalone and the series can be read in any order.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

It was on the sideline of the theater he literally bumped into Trevor — the only other man on the planet he felt confident leaving his wife’s safety too.

“That was one of her best performances,” Trevor said. “I knew when they were filming last year it was special.”

“Yeah. She better damn well win this year.”

“She will,” Trevor said sounding as proud as Ryder felt. “And while she deserves it, each notch she raises on the ladder of fame makes our job just that much harder.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Ryder groused, as aggravated today as he had been four years before by the impossible love match between an international celebrity and a deep-cover agent. “As much as I love being here with her tonight, I can’t shake the feeling that it was a mistake to come.”

Ryder tried not to share his fears with Khloe, but he hid nothing from Trevor McLean, his queen’s Royal Guard.

“Your contacts at the CIA gave you a clean report last month, right?”

“Just because the Volkov’s have been wounded, I’ll never count them out — not until Alexi runs them into the ground for good.”

Just thinking about his last mission in Russia before he burned his cover put him on edge.

“You said yourself he’s a weak leader compared to his dead cousins. But if he’s still a threat, why not just have BSO take him out?”

Trevor asked a question Ryder had found himself contemplating more often these days.

He sighed. “Because killing him would be just another ‘whack a mole’ mission as the team likes to say. Someone new would take his place… maybe even someone worse. At least I know him — understand how he thinks. And anyway, the Volkovs are just one of a dozen crime families that would love to see me six-feet under. I can’t very well take hits out on all of them,” Ryder groused, never taking his eyes off his beaming wife.

“Why not?” Trevor asked.

It was a simple enough question, and in all honesty, it was a solution he had the means and resources to pull off.

“I guess because despite all of the fucked up shit I’ve done, my moral compass has always pointed squarely in the good-guy direction. Voluntarily taking out dozens of marks I haven’t interacted with in years just so I can get a better night’s sleep seems like a slippery slope.”

“I get that, and even respect that, but at the end of the day, they’re the bad guys — not you. And certainly not Khloe. I love seeing her this happy. You being here made that happen.”

Author Bio:

USA Today bestselling author Livia Grant lives in Chicago with her husband and furry rescue dog named Max. She is fortunate to have been able to travel extensively and as much as she loves to visit places around the globe, the Midwest and its changing seasons will always be home. Livia’s readers appreciate her riveting stories filled with deep, character driven plots, often spiced with elements of BDSM.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub


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  • 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.
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Giveaway – Of Blood And Light by C Monk @XpressoTours

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Of Blood and Light
C. Monk
Publication date: April 30th 2023
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Arthurian legend, bodice-ripping, and capybaras: welcome to Thule.

A girl with a secret . . .
In the back of an ambulance, River Greer counts each breath her little sister takes until the final one: Sage’s body is giving up, ravaged by a mysterious illness. The late-night rush to the ER, however, turns into a surreal nightmare when River is abducted and ferried across the universe to the fabled Thule: a world beyond worlds, where Victorian mores collide with magic and Arthurian legend.

. . . meets a knight on a mission to save his world.
There, his grace Hadrian Landevale of Caid is fighting losing battles of his own: to recover Isolde, his runaway wife, and against the blight that threatens the ichor, the source of all life on Thule. To add insult to injury, the captured fugitive Thule pathfinders just brought back from Earth is not his duchess but an eerie doppelgänger.
When it becomes clear that someone on Thule will go to any length to silence River, Hadrian offers his protection to this enchanting, obstinate stranger . . . whose secrets might be the key to saving Thule’s most precious treasure: the light in its blood.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

“I have a lot more questions than you,” I murmur, tracking the movements of a pair of lone figures across the lawn. A man in farm clothes and a woman wearing some sort of maid outfit carry buckets and packages from a carriage stationed on a gravel path. They mill around, seemingly unbothered by the fractured moon and massive misty planet looming over their heads.

By the time the two strangers disappear, I realize Hadrian is still supporting me, one arm curled over the front of my torso while the other rests around my waist. I cautiously pry myself from his hold. He lets go and takes a step back, allowing some salutary distance between us. “What is this place?”

“Thule,” he reasserts.

“I heard you the first time, but that’s not what I’m asking.” I stagger away from the windows, unable to tear my gaze from the foreign sky outside. “Are we in space?”

One of his eyebrows rises a fraction. “Miss Greer, everything is, by essence, in space.”

“Are we in space elsewhere than on Earth? Like . . . how far?” I urge, desperate for tangible facts to hold on to as I plummet down this rabbit hole.

He motions to the evil chair he used to trap me earlier. “You seem quite overtaxed; would you like to take a seat?”

I shake my head to signal I’m never sitting in that thing again. “How far?”

“We’re approximately two hundred and ninety light-years away from Earth.”

A tremor snakes up my legs; I grip one of the bedposts for support. “How is that . . . No. No. It’s not possible.”

“The paths connect our worlds, as they have since the very first breath of time. The Dekwenn Tīrr, through which Eliud ferried you, is one such path. That is how you came to be here.”

“But it only took a second!” I shriek, the chaos of my thoughts coalescing into something cold and dark. Was it truly a second, or have I been asleep in that bright void for years and lost everything?

“Time and space are quite altered within the paths,” he notes.

“What do you mean? How long have I been here?”

He pulls a gold pocket watch from his waistcoat, flicks it open, and checks the dial. “Slightly over six hours.”

My initial rush of relief becomes a leaden sensation in the pit of my stomach as I recall the twisted physics of Miller’s planet in Interstellar—where severe time dilation caused by a neighboring black hole turns every hour into seven years.

“How long has it been on Earth?” Please let it not be forty-two years. Please.

A crease forms between his eyebrows. “The same amount of time, one should expect.”

“Exactly the same? So six hours? A quarter of a day?”

“A tenth, rather,” he corrects. Seeing my face scrunch in confusion, then panic, he adds, “While I’ve never had the privilege of visiting Earth, it is my understanding that solar days there are quite short.”

One-tenth . . . I whip my neurons into action and do the math, the room spinning around me as I process this new level of weird. “Sixty hours. Your solar days last sixty hours.”

“Indeed. It is past midday—” He checks his watch again. “Precisely thirty-two o’clock.”

“Give or take a light-year.”

“As I’ve already explained to you, the rules of time and space do not apply within the paths. Nothing does, in truth,” he adds, like an afterthought.

The room is warm, but I’m trembling, freezing. “I can’t be here. Please let me go home. Take me back through one of those paths!”

The lines bracketing his mouth deepening as he turns to face me once more. “I cannot.”

His earlier conversation with Eliud rings back in my ears: under arrest for the illegal crossing of an unregistered path . . . crimes for which even the wife of a knight must be held accountable.

“You can’t because it’s forbidden even to you.”

A single nod from him. “All paths have been strictly regulated for centuries. Only pathfinders are permitted to cross them freely. Thule’s legislation on the matter is enforced with the greatest severity.”

Centuries. That might explain why Thule hasn’t yet caught up with Earth’s latest fashion and tech and, instead, appears suspended in this weird Victorian bubble. “How severe are we talking?”

“Death.”

Author Bio:

Visit camillamonk.com for signed books, updates on upcoming titles, free reads, and giveaways.

C. Monk grew up in a Franco-American family and rose to dubious fame with a romantic suspense series starring an OCD-ridden hitman and a wide array of strange and occasionally angry animals. These days she shares her writing time between high-octane adventures in the same vein and fantasy, her secret love (but with weird animals, too.)

In another life, she lived in Paris and Tokyo, and spent ten years in advertising, building rickety websites for M&A boutiques and hedge funds. All of that somehow landed her in Montréal, where she keeps a close watch on the squirrels and complains on a daily basis about the egregious number of Tim Hortons.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram


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ENTER TO WIN HERE!

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  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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  • 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’.
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  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Cover Reveal – Girl Of Asture by Keeley Holmes @XpressoTours

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Girl of Asture
Keeley Holmes
Publication date: June 2nd 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

My world controls when I can use my wings.

They control everything.

I’ve always felt trapped by the Order in Asture.

Quite literally.

You can’t escape unless you fly, or you defy. There’s no way out of this nightmare, not one without losing my family and everyone I love. I must follow the rules, align to their expectations. Time is running out. The constraints of the Order are pushing me in a direction I’ve always felt I would fight against. My rescue comes in a unique form.

An Otherworlder.

Ironically, the cage I hate so much is the only way I can see him. It’s our only way to be together.

To change the way of Asture, one must overthrow those who rule, but I’m not sure my level of rebellion and trickery can save everyone from the way of life enforced upon us.


Author Bio:

Keeley Holmes is the author of romance books. Lover of vegan food, herbal teas and chocolate, she advises that her books comes with a warning because there’s a high chance you’ll become best friends with the characters she creates. So, if fictional BFFs are your jam, so are her books! She lives in beautiful Yorkshire, where sometimes she leaves the house and appreciates the beauty, before crawling back into her cave to write.

Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram


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Giveaway – Starseer by Katya Hernandez @XpressoTours

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Starseer
Katya Hernández
Publication date: April 22nd 2023
Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Young Adult

A fate traced by the stars…

Fifteen-year-old Etar can see the future in the stars—a rare skill even among magicians. But while other Starseers before him have become the stuff of legend, Etar has never predicted anything more exciting than the weather. Orphaned at age five and living under his uncle’s disapproving gaze, he yearns to prove his worth.

Disaster strikes when, in defiance of his uncle’s orders, Etar breaks into the Starseeing Dome—an ancient structure built to potentiate the powers of Starseers. Aided by the Dome, the stars send Etar a vision of ironclad warships destroying Skalland, the tiny island he calls home.

Hunted by a bloodthirsty admiral who seeks to enslave his newly awakened powers, Etar will have to fight to protect his friends while grappling with his past, his out-of-control magic, and a budding friendship turning into something more.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

Etar didn’t have time to process any of what Hans had said before he went back to the hallway to let someone in—and whatever Etar had been expecting, it was nothing like the man that walked in.

The stranger walked with a step so light Etar could barely hear it on the floorboards of his room. His long black hair caught light like flowing water, and his eyes were distant in a deep, wistful way, blue and luminous even under this morning’s gray light. He wore a black silken tunic embroidered with the most marvelous iridescent threads. Starbursts, suns, and moons, all decorated with tiny gemstones, crowded every corner of the fabric. Etar couldn’t help staring at his jewel-decked hands. He had long, delicate fingers, as though made for minute tasks like building watches.

As soon as Hans closed the door, the man bowed, a gesture Etar had never received from anyone. “Starseer,” he said, soft and reverent.

Panic rose in Etar’s chest. How did this man know he was a Starseer? “Um. Hello?” he said, his mind struggling for coherent thought.

“It is such a great honor to finally meet you. I have been looking for you far and wide.”

Etar couldn’t parse the words from this man’s mouth, so he gaped instead of replying. His eyes pivoted from him to Hans in search of explanations, but Hans only fell back into a corner of the room.

“My name is Áehd, and I am an alchemist,” the man said.

An alchemist. A trade Etar only knew through books. To his knowledge, there had been alchemists and magicians in this castle long ago, but his uncle had expelled them all.

Etar supposed he should introduce himself, but he was too stunned to act properly. “How do you know I’m a Starseer?” he blurted out. No formal salutation. No bowing to receive his guest. It showed so glaringly that he hadn’t been raised as a royal.

The alchemist offered a gracious little laugh and pulled something out from between the folds of his tunic. When he opened his hand, a butterfly flew out of it.

At first, Etar thought it was a real butterfly because of how dainty its legs were and how its wings broke light, but on closer inspection, it was made of metal and colored crystals. It emanated a soft, bluish glow from under its belly.

“My constructs respond to energy, and no energy is more attractive to them than that of a Starseer,” Áehd said.

The butterfly kissed Etar’s face, making him flinch when it came close to his eyes, but he was afraid of breaking it if he flapped it away. Its glow intensified whenever it grazed his skin, and Etar could feel warmth wherever it alighted. After a while, the alchemist caged it in his fingers and put it away in his tunic.

The butterfly dredged out a memory of one such toy Etar had since childhood but which no longer possessed this butterfly’s agency.

Author Bio:

Katya is a writer, illustrator, and graphic designer who lives with her partner, two cats, and two dogs in sunny El Salvador.

Her cats are her harshest critics, but she loves them all the same.

When she’s not writing or drawing the fantasy worlds that live in her head, she’s cosplaying as the creepiest monsters from all her favorite horror movies.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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Giveaway – Undertaking Love by Megan Montgomery @XpressoTours

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Undertaking Love
Megan Montgomery
Publication date: April 1st 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Bethany West upgraded her lucrative career as a sex worker for her dream job as a death worker when she partnered at Smythe & Co. Mortuary. She expected her eco-friendly innovations and death positive attitude to blow the roof off the Victorian-era relic. But that was seven months ago, and during that time, she’s only managed to piss off her embittered business partner, George Smythe, a man dead set on maintaining the status quo and driving Bethany out of his namesake business.

When the pair reluctantly travel together to a mortuary conference in New Orleans—and compete in dueling embalming demonstrations—George finally recognizes the value of Bethany’s business model for the first time. He’s also starting to recognize a growing attraction to his blonde bombshell business partner. Meanwhile, Bethany learns the truth behind George’s cold contempt, and it’s much worse than she thought, stemming not from a single incident, but from the constant on-call status, the compassion fatigue, and the overwhelming stress of the job.

Bethany has 4 days to crack open his tough outer shell to reveal the compassionate man she knows is inside, and she has a plan, but unless George learns to open his heart and lean on her, at the risk of succumbing to their cremation-level attraction in a dangerous way, he’ll jeopardize both the business and their hearts by refusing the true partnership they both need.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT

Bethany

My body was broken.

I blinked hard to lubricate my eyes, struggling to stay awake behind the wheel. The vent blasted tepid air into my face, trying its damnedest to desiccate my skin and sabotage the efforts of my latest hyaluronic acid injections.

My stomach churned from too much coffee and too little sleep.

A sweat broke out under my arms and boobs.

Great. Now I could smell all that coffee excreting from my pores and ruining my favorite silk blouse.

I glanced at the man in the passenger seat.

George’s pores were looking perfectly dry, as usual. He wouldn’t think of sweating, even from the most strenuous effort.

I’d seen him pull a rotund, decomposing man out of that impossible space between the toilet and the bathtub and plop him on a mortuary cot in an un-air-conditioned, third-floor apartment in the middle of August without breaking a sweat.

The man never had a hair out of place, was never not freshly shaven, and he never forgot to button his suit jacket when he stood, or unbutton it when he sat.

And he was a consummate professional—as long as you didn’t work with him.

And as long as your name wasn’t Bethany West.

I breathed in a lungful of stale air. Even now, in the mortuary van, George managed to smell fresh, yet intensely masculine. The faintest notes of sandalwood and citrus wafted toward me as he fiddled with his ear, pushing his earbud deeper in.

I suspected he wasn’t listening to anything producing actual sound; the earbuds were just a tactic to try to keep me from making “unnecessary” conversation.

I was almost too tired to care.

I stifled a yawn, hoping he wouldn’t catch it.

He did, of course.

I saw the tick of his jaw from the corner of my eye. Glaring at the screen of the laptop balanced on his crossed legs, his flexed fingers hovering over the keyboard, a ballpoint pen clutched in his teeth.

I’d never seen the man smile except for a wince-like approximation of the real thing, and he saved that stingy expression for our clients.

After an entire life spent in the trenches of the funeral business, his handsome face was permanently etched into a show of bland sympathy—except when he scowled in contempt.

That expression was reserved exclusively for me.


Author Bio:

Megan Montgomery writes romance. Sometimes they’re funny. Sometimes they’re morbid, but all her characters have cool jobs. She and her husband, Johnathon Olavarria co-host Forced Proximity podcast, a weekly romance book and movie club.

Her debut novel, Well . . . THAT Was Awkward was inspired by her homesickness for southern Maryland. She now lives halfway across the US on the prairie with her husband, son, and mom.

When she’s not writing, reading, lifting weights, or cooking dinners her son won’t eat, you’ll find her toiling in the garden or brewing potions from her medicinal herbs.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub


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Giveaway – Stay With Me by Tam DeRudder Jackson @XpressoTours

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Stay For Me
Tam DeRudder Jackson
(The Balefire Series, #5)
Publication date: April 27th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Garrett

I’ve made a few mistakes over the last decade, but the one I regret most was letting Olivia Carter go. When I see her again, the past crashes over me, reminding of everything I ever wanted and gave up when I let our dreams separate us.

Managing Balefire into the world’s biggest rock band came at a personal cost—walking away from my only love. When fate brings her back into my life, I’m determined not to screw up again. After Balefire hires her studio to produce their next music video, I have a second chance to rewrite our song—if I can convince her I’m a changed man.

Olivia

Ten years ago, Garrett Phillips chose to go with “his boys” and leave me in the dust of a ratty old tour bus. Now I’m working my ass off to make a name for myself as a Hollywood music video director. Unfortunately, my fledgling studio is bleeding money, and my only hope of saving it is to make a video with the biggest rock band on the planet. Too bad that means working with the man who tore my heart out of my chest when he chose his rock ’n’ roll dream over me.

He says he’s grown up. He says we can make things work. But can I truly trust that this time he will stay for me?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

Garrett’s nostrils flared, and he shifted on his stool. His eyes remained locked on mine as he slid his headphones from his head and set them aside. Cursing the tiny tremor in my hands, I removed my headphones and set them somewhere on the control board beside me.

“Olivia.”

My name on his lips rasped over me like calloused hands over my skin. Involuntary shivers rippled through me, and I clamped my thighs even tighter together.

I stopped whatever he wanted to say next with my finger pressed to his full lips. For a long moment, neither of us moved. Then he reached up and smoothed his fingers up my palm and higher along the length of my fingers. His eyes dipped to our hands. Though we barely touched, sensations like electric currents sparked every nerve, beginning in my hand and arcing up my arm to trip my heart nearly into arrhythmia. My breath caught as he slid his fingers through mine, up and down, up and down, before he twined our hands together with a gentle squeeze. I closed my eyes and worked to find some air.


Author Bio:

Tam DeRudder Jackson’s love of all things Celtic led her to write the Talisman Series. Steeped in Celtic mythology, these steamy, fated mates, paranormal romance adventures are set in the mountains of Tam’s native Montana and the Highlands of Scotland. Rogue, the most recent book in the series, was named a best romance of 2022 by the Independent Book Review.

An avid fan of rock music, Tam never misses a chance to see a live show, especially if it’s Shinedown, one of her favorite bands. Her love of rock music inspired her contemporary rock star Balefire Series, a sexy fun ride following the lives and loves of the members of a fictional mega-band. Readers of this series consistently give the books five-star reviews.

Tam earned her BA in English from Montana State University and her M.Ed. in literacy from Lesley University. After a short teaching stint in Bath, England, she settled in the wilds of Wyoming where she taught adolescents all about the Celts and a bit about writing before she stepped out of the classroom to pursue her writing career full time.

When she’s not writing, you can find her working her way through her mountainous TBR piles, alpine skiing, or traveling to some new place on her ever-expanding bucket list. To stay up to date on her adventures, connect with Tam on her website www.tamderudderjackson where you can subscribe to her newsletter.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram


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  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
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