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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Once Upon a Midnight Walk by Tetyana Walker

Spotlighting this Thursday is the intriguing “Once Upon Midnight Walk“ by Tetyana Walker. In a kingdom where the sun never sets, and only men are born with magic, Agnes Peregreene had to grow up entirely too soon… Let’s read on!

Once Upon a Midnight Walk

Release Date: April 24, 2026

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Featuring

⦁	Strong and cunning heroine
⦁	Forced partnership
⦁	Slow burn romance
⦁	Enemies to lovers
⦁	"Who did this to you"
⦁	A LOT of bickering & yearning
⦁	Angst and tension with historical romance undertones

After her mother’s death, Agnes devoted her life to caring for her younger sister. Bound by a vow she refused to break, she ensured no price was too great for Solomia’s well-being. But when Solomia is betrothed to a known wife-killer, Agnes is forced to confront the reality of her own powerlessness.

Before Agnes can find a way to save her sister, she is handed a death sentence of her own.
Desperate to buy time, she strikes a frantic bargain with the Aclanian king—she will venture into Nocturna, the realm of ever-night, and retrieve a long-lost talisman in exchange for her life and her sister’s freedom.

Lost in a realm unlike any other, Agnes must rely on her cunning mind to survive. Determined to return home successful, she sets on a path of discovery, unraveling secrets that a mysterious and wealthy man named Odeon Nox has spent years trying to keep buried.

Secrets that come with a price neither one of them is prepared to pay.
Step into this standalone fantasy romance, set between a realm of sunlight and castles and a world of night and cities rivaling 1920s New York.
Every choice has a price, and every heart hides a secret.

The book is filled with art and images to help immerse you in this story. If you’re a fan of Jane Austen, Sarah J. Maas, and V.E Schwab, this book is a worthy read!

AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tetyana Walker was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. In 2012, she moved to the United States to attend college and pursue a degree in business. Today, she is a proud wife and mother with a successful career in software sales.

Tetyana has loved reading for as long as she can remember. Growing up, she spent her summers in a tiny rural village in Kyivska Oblast with no internet, cell service, or even indoor plumbing. Her days were spent helping her grandparents care for their small farm, and every spare moment was dedicated to reading outside in the quiet countryside.

Her world changed completely when she read the Harry Potter series at the age of eight and discovered the magic of fantasy. She hasn’t looked back since.

Today, Tetyana is a self published author, who enjoys writing character-driven fantasy filled with strong women, unbreakable female friendships, and slow-burn romance between enemies, all set in all kinds of magical worlds.

Follow Tetyana on Instagram @theukrainiangirl

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ARC Book Review: DON’T LET IT OUT by N.A. Betts

First, a big thank you to the author for giving me an ARC  copy of DON’T LET IT OUT to review.  

Version 1.0.0

Don’t Let It Out

Publish Date: October 13th 2026

Publisher: Legend Forge Press 

Genre: psychological thriller, horror, Eldritch horror, Cosmic horror

The assignment was simple: contain the forest. Don’t let anything out.

FBI Agent Daniela Rojas arrives with a secret mission of her own. To uncover the truth behind Project Greenfall, a classified experiment buried by the Canopy Collective. RCMP Corporal Cade Mercer is there for a different reason. Two years ago, his wife vanished inside these woods. No body. No answers. Only the quiet certainty that something took her.

Now they stand watch at the edge of a quarantined wilderness that shouldn’t exist. The forest is changing. Spreading. Breathing. Time slips. Reality bends. And beyond the fence they are ordered never to cross, someone is calling to them. A woman tied to both of their pasts—a woman who should be dead.

As the pull of the forest tightens, so does the infection taking root beneath the trees. What waits inside isn’t just survival horror, it’s something far more intimate.

Because this forest doesn’t just infect the body. It gets inside you. Learns you. Remakes you.

And by the time Daniela and Cade understand what’s happening to them…it may already be too late to escape it.

REVIEW

Now, let me say, if they rebooted Tales from the Crypt for 2026, I think “Don’t Let it Out” would fit right in. It is the kind of story that has a message at the end. Mother Nature always wins.

Don’t Let It Out is an eco-horror thriller in which we meet our MC (Main Character). Dani Rojas, who was a Ranger assigned to guard a quarantine forest with her group. A forest no one should have gone inside, as Dani is the only one to come out alive. Traumatized, she tried to escape it, hide. She is now in an FBI position, but her past comes back to haunt her, and she is assigned to return there. PTSD kicks in big time, or so she thinks, but her nightmares, visions, and voices might just be real as she partners with Cade Mercer, who has ties to what happened in the woods as well. His wife, Sera, also went missing in those woods back then, too. And when they find her, Dani is shocked because she should not be alive… cause she had been the one to kill her.  Dani is now determined to find out the truth. Sadly, she might not survive even if she learns it.

This book is psychologically fast-paced until we get to the final fallout, where Betts lets it simmer in horrifically tense goodness. The outcome I was shocked yet satisfied, as I love it when an author doesn’t leave everything black and white. The ending is grey, oh so grey is all I can say.

Oh! And working the title of the book into the story, chef’s kiss!  My Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½   out of 5 stars.

DON’T LET IT OUT is set to release on October 13th, 2026

AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

N.A. (Nick) Betts is a Canadian author of epic fantasy with a love for timeless storytelling. A Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, he crafts sweeping tales of good versus evil, drawing inspiration from Tolkien and other classic works of the genre. His stories are filled with tropes such as coming of age, self-discovery, and found family, while exploring themes of physical perseverance and mental resilience. When he’s not busy creating new worlds, Nick can be found diving into stories of the unexplained or relaxing with some good jazz. He lives just outside Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife and their cats, Bandit, Carter, and Addley. 

Follow him and his books on Instagram @authornickbetts   

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: I Knew Her Once by R. M. Carpus

Featured in our spotlight today is the newly released I KNEW HER ONCE by R.M. Carpus.

I Knew Her Once

Release Date: June 2, 2026

Genre: Gothic Suspense/ Horror



Grieving novelist Rose Harper flees to the sleepy town of Griffin Bay to find a new muse, revive her writing career, and leave the past behind. She finds a place to stay, lands a job, and the plot ideas begin to flow. Things are looking up.

Until strange, unexplainable things start happening and she winds up entangled in Griffin Bay’s poisonous web of lies. There’s something not quite right about her new home, and it isn’t long before she realizes that some stories, like secrets, were never meant to be told.

I Knew Her Once is now available on AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

R. M. Carpus is the co-founder of Wraith House and a member of the Horror Writers Association. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and professional writing from Saint Joseph’s University and lives in Seattle, always on the lookout for orcas, Brandi Carlile, and Eddie Vedder. Her forthcoming Gothic suspense novel, I KNEW HER ONCE, releases summer of 2026.

Follow her on IG: @rmcarpus & TIKTOK: @rmcarpus

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Against All Waves by Chelsea Ray

A YA high-seas fantasy adventure is in the spotlight today with Against All Waves by Chelsea Ray! Providing the perfect mix of a slow-burning romance with scheming crewmates, deadly sea creatures, and found family with a dash of magic. Let’s read on!

Against All Waves

Release Date: August 2025

Genre: YA Fantasy

Featuring
⦁	Slow-burn Romance
⦁	Scheming Crewmates
⦁	Deadly Sea Creatures
⦁	Found Family
⦁	Magic

Shes a pirate. He’s a prince.
Together they must conquer sea and land.

As a pirate, and only female crewmember, eighteen-year-old Elle fights daily to prove her worth despite being deemed bad luck. Facing dangerous waters, she secretly searches for her mother who had mysteriously disappeared. But she must tread carefully, for the tyrant captain of The Turbulence, her father Velis Whitlock has one rule: never to speak the name of Elle’s mother.

Axel Ardanian’s life has been laid out for him since birth. Soon to be ruler of the peaceful island of Glendora, he decides to share what the island has produced for centuries: a remedy known to cure any sickness. But during his travels to other lands, he witnesses the harsh realities of poverty and greed, which he fears will threaten the land he loves. To protect Glendora, the council and his father agree that Axel must unite with one of the kingdoms through an advantageous marriage.

When The Turbulence targets and attacks Axel’s ship, his and Elle’s lives are suddenly intertwined. In the end, both will have to choose to face their fears and protect what they hold dear to their hearts but also the truth that lingers between them.
GET NOW ON AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chelsea Ray is a hopeless romantic who is addicted to iced lattes and all about happily ever afters. She writes fantasy adventure with swoon-worthy banter and heroines who persevere, which you will find in her debut novel, 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑾𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔.

When she’s not writing, you will find her training horses, playing with her corgi, or spending time with her husband on their small Kansas ranch.

Learn more and follow Chelsea at IG: @chelsearaywrites TIKTOK: @chelsearaywrites

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: The Girl Who Dreamed in Thorns by Rebecca L. Garcia and Dawn Darling

Releasing today, THE GIRL WHO DREAMED IN THORNS by Rebecca L. Garcia and Dawn Darling is in the spotlight! A lovers-to-enemies Peter-Pan-inspired bully romance, set against the grim, death-filled backdrop of Never, where wickedness lurks beneath every fairy-dusted leaf, innocence demands sacrifice, and a broken heart can kill you.

The Girl Who Dreamed in Thorns: And So She Withers (The Never After Duet Book 1)

Release Date: May 21, 2026

Genre: Dark Romance/ Bully Romance/ Dark Fairytale

Featuring
⦁ Bully Romance
⦁ Dark Fairytale
⦁ Lovers to Enemies
⦁ Peter Pan Reimagining
⦁ Villain gets the Girl
⦁ Unhinged MMC
⦁ Found Family to Enemies


One year ago, Holly returned home with no memories, a bloody scar, and a torrent of nightmares.
On the night of her debut into society, a mysterious stranger offers her the answer to the question that has haunted her since her return: What happened to Wendy Darling?
Desperate to find her sister, she goes with him to the thorny island from her dreams. Except, Never has changed. The forest is rotting. The faeries are dying. And Kit, the handsome, brutal Wyard who she once loved, hasn’t forgotten her betrayal.

Caught between the boy who wants to punish her and the pirate begging to save her, Holly begins to suspect that the most dangerous thing on the island was never the magic or the one who controlled it. It was the moment she allowed him to feel anything at all. Because very few lived long enough to break the heart of a Wyard, and none survived it.
AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

CW: This book contains dark themes and is intended for adults 18 and over, including murder, death of a character, kidnapping, bullying, degradation, torture, death of a child (off-page, mentioned), graphic violence, orgasm denial, profanity, breath play via drowning, and sexual content.

Follow on Instagram: @dawndarlingauthor @rebeccagarciabooks

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Vitalia by Eliza Benner

The circus welcomes you, but will you survive?

VITALIA by Eliza Benner is the first book in The Circus of Souls series!

Vitalia (Circus of Souls Book 1)


Release Date: February 2026


Genre: Spicy Fae & Dragon-Shifter Romantasy


Spice Level: 3 Peppers

Features
⦁ Competent FMC
⦁ Morally Grey MMC
⦁ Dragon-shifters
⦁ Fae
⦁ Slow Burn
⦁ Enemies-to-Lovers
⦁ Forced Proximity
⦁ Touch Her and Die
⦁ “Who did this to you?”

Synopsis
The King’s Circus doesn’t come to villages like hers. Or, at least, it didn’t until now. Naevyn just wishes she’d stayed the hell inside. When the performers lock the crowd in place and shift into dragons, ripping souls from bodies to feed an immortal king, Naevyn should be dead alongside everyone else. Instead, she’s dragged into a centuries-old rebellion because her blood does something it shouldn’t—it kills.

She’s supposed to be human. A girl from Xardon who just wants to keep her family safe. But in the fae realm, nothing about her makes sense, and the prophecy everyone whispers about marks her as their salvation. Then there’s Cairos—a dragon-shifter with centuries of blood on his hands and a smirk that makes her want to strangle him. Cursed to collect souls for the very king he used to serve, Cairos is powerful, lethal, and, unfortunately, the only one who can help Naevyn survive. She should hate him for the atrocities he’s committed.

She should definitely fear him. So why does he feel like the one thing she can’t stop wanting? To save her family and shatter the cycle of death, Naevyn will have to trust a monster, face what she really is, and get close enough to a king to destroy him. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes that everything she thought she knew about herself was a lie.
Love has a price. Prophecies have power. And this one demands blood.

GET NOW ON AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eliza Benner writes dark-ish romantic fantasy filled with dangerous curses, morally gray heroes, and heroines who refuse to stay powerless. Her stories blend high-stakes adventure with slow-burn tension, fierce loyalty, and enemies-to-lovers romance.

She is the author of the Circus of Souls series, a spicy romantasy featuring fae, dragon-shifters, rebellion, and a heroine who discovers she may be far more than human. She has also authored a young adult urban fantasy series titled Wings of Shade and Starlight featuring angels, demons, and epic adventure. Her books explore power, identity, and what happens when love collides with destiny.

Eliza lives in Minnesota with her husband and their five children, where she spends most of her time writing, reading, and dreaming up new worlds filled with dangerous magic and complicated love stories.

Learn more about Eliza and her books, follow her on Instagram @elizabennerwrites

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Brake Me by Athena & Marluxia Bliss

This week’s Book Spotlight is spicing up with the very SPICY BRAKE ME by Athena & Marluxia Bliss! Let’s read on! 

Brake Me
Release Date: April 24, 2026
Genre: Very Spicy MM/ BL Romance

Featuring

⦁	Possessive Love Interest
⦁	Only One Who Understands Me
⦁	Slow Burn to Obsession
⦁	Forbidden Love
⦁	Found Family (Garage Edition)
⦁	Touch-Starved Meets Touch-Hungry
⦁	Machine With a Soul
⦁	Love from the first Vroom

Buying a 1992 Fox Body Ford Mustang might have been a terrible idea, but Al loves that damn car so much. He just doesn't expect him to love him back.

Two idiots who can't keep their hands off each other at 100MPH? Sounds like a recipe for distaster.

CONTENT WARNING THIS BOOK IS RATED 18+

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Athena lives in beautiful Gisborne, New Zealand with her husband Marly and their daughter.

Immigrating from Russia to New Zealand in 2001, Athena grew up in a household full of bigotry, racism, and hateful ideology. Given the chance to move out on her own at 18 she leapt for it, putting an ad out on deviantart.com seeking a flatmate to share a house with in Auckland. Her future husband reached out to her on just as much of a whim, and they moved in together a month later.

They began dating the moment they moved in together in 2007, and continued to date even as Marly came to terms with being transgender and began to transition from female to male. Athena supported him every step of the way and they wed in 2014 and welcomed their daughter to the family in 2015.

Despite several attempts to connect across the years Athena has chosen to remove herself from her biological roots and has embraced a found family of misfits and weirdos, and has been embraced as ‘one of us’ by Marly’s mum and siblings.

In her free time, when she isn’t writing, Athena is a talented artist with a unique style that is in high demand. She proudly illustrated every image in The Sons Of Echidna, and her art has been featured in several published works.

Today she celebrates a sense of belonging in a diverse and happy group that love her passion and creativity.

Athena is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, is of Ainu descent, and supports a free Ukraine.

Learn more about Athena and her books, as well as the full content warning, visit https://www.athenabliss.com/

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Clean Beauty Gift Ideas For Mother’s Day

Taking a Book Spotlight Break to let you know tomorrow is May, and that means Mother’s Day will soon be upon us! I a mother totally forgot.😓 To help and support small businesses at the same time, I recently published some lovely gift ideas that any mother will adore! All deal in clean beauty and wellness made with clean and natural ingrediants.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE FEATURED ON

medium.com/@jannycwriter

And feel free to leave a clap if you enjoyed.

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Riley Doesn’t Want to Fight Evil by D.R. Mills

Happy Thursday! As I bring you the horror comedy RILEY DOESN’T WANT TO FIGHT EVIL. This book looks hilariously fantastic! A YA comedy horror that you’re gonna like, whether you like it or not. Let’s read on!

Riley Doesn't Want to Fight Evil (Book One)

Release Date: October 2025

Genre: Horror Comedy

Riley Thomas is the main character of this story – whether he likes it or not.
Riley Thomas has always been a normal, regular, average guy. He has a crappy job, a few friends, and a boring homelife–and that’s just fine with him.
Unfortunately for Riley, fate has other plans.

Death gods, immortal psychopaths, haunted dolls, and serial-killer neighbors are only a handful of his problems. So far, he’s managed to sidestep his responsibility as the main character, but all that changes when he finds himself wrapped up in a prophecy that holds the fate of the world in the balance.

An ancient force of Hell is rising up. Reckoning is coming.
The path of a hero is a hard one, but with enough tenacity and quick thinking, Riley might be able to stay completely out of it. Or at least, he’s going to try.
Available on AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

D. R. Mills is a young-adult horror author who is currently hard at work on his debut series, MONSTERS. He was born and raised in Wyoming, where he’s still lurking around somewhere. When he isn’t writing, he’s playing video games a borderline unhealthy amount or spending time with his beautiful wife.

Follow D.R. Mills and their books at @author_drmills on Instagram

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Bride of Ash & Dust by Meredith Hart

Thrusting into the spotlight this week is the newly released BRIDE OF ASH & DUST by Meredith Hart! Featuring tension so thick you can cut it with a knife, let’s read on!

Bride of Ash & Dust
Book one in the Snake & Crown series

Published: April 10th, 2026

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Features
*Arranged marriage
*Forced proximity
*Political intrigue
*He falls first… and harder
*Morally gray MMC
*They meet on their wedding day
*Sleeping in the same bed… but not touching
*Emotional support weapons

Princess Lilias has one day to pack her life into trunks before her wedding to a man she's never met. They call him the Snake of Vsenrog: assassin, spy, and the foster son of a ruthless king. Everyone tells her to be terrified. They're right. But not for the reasons they think.

Because Zarek isn't cruel. He's careful. He sleeps with daggers strapped to his body but refuses to touch her when she's drunk. He climbs through windows but asks permission before his fingers brush her thigh. He walks through palaces and slums like he owns them, but avoids their bedchamber. Keeping her safe, he claims, means keeping his distance.
And Lilias learns that the worst torture isn't fear. It's wanting.

But when their honeymoon tour becomes a trap, staying apart is no longer an option. As Vsenrog's armies gather, Lilias and Zarek realize their forced marriage might be the opening move in a war neither of them saw coming. And in a palace where mirrors are windows and lovers are spies, falling in love isn't romantic. It's a weapon.
And someone's waiting to use it against them.


BUY NOW ON AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raised by wolves in the mountains of Colorado, Meredith Hart traveled the world to seek her fortune, fell in love with a half-elf ranger, and now lives in a cabin deep in the Maine woods where she writes steamy fantasy romance with snarky, reluctant heroes and the warrior women who love them. She also writes Loki-inspired paranormal romance under the pen name Samantha MacLeod.

Learn more about Hart at https://writermeredithhart.com/

And follow her on Instagram and TikTok @writermeredithhart