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AUDIO Book Spotlight Thursday: ARMORED HOURS by Stephaine Hansen

Jazzing it up this week as I am spotlighting the audiobook version of ARMORED HOURS by Stephaine Hansen! Set in 1920s Paris of the Plains, Armored Hours is a thrilling tale of love and mystery interwoven with hints of magical realism.

Armored Hours (Reincarnated Souls Book One)


Release Date: July 7, 2026

Genre: Historical Fantasy


Narrators: Eric Smies & Elise Arsenault 
@blush_audiobooks @tantoraudio

Featuring

⦁ Historical romantasy
⦁ Girl squad
⦁ Opposite sides of the track
⦁ Loveable rogue
⦁ Prohibition era
⦁ Matchmaking mother
⦁ Dandy friends

The girls had forged a bond together like iron that could not be broken. Claudia, Kiersten, Lina, and Florian were on the brink of making history with their powerful feminist movement, but then they suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Alexander was a desperate bootlegger who was willing to risk it all to search for them. Not only were they in cahoots with him to help smuggle feminist contraband and forbidden booze, but Claudia had also unknowingly captivated his heart. He vowed to find them at any cost, but little did he know that their disappearance was part of a much bigger and sinister plot from the upper echelons of society.

AUDIBLE/ Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie Hansen is a PenCraft and Global Book Award Winning Author as well as an Imadjinn finalist. Her debut novella series, Altered Helix, released in 2020. It hit the #1 New Release, #1 Best Seller, and other top 100 lists on Amazon. It is now being adapted to an animated story for Tales. Her debut novel, Replaced Parts, released in 2021 through Fire & Ice YA and Tantor Audio. It has been in a Forbes article, hit Amazon bestseller lists, and made the Apple young adult coming soon bestsellers list. The second book in the Transformed Nexus series, Omitted Pieces, released in 2022. Her debut spicy paranormal romance, Ghostly Howls, released 2023. Her debut historical magical realism, Armored Hours, released 2024. She is a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community, so she tries to incorporate that into her fiction.

Follow Stephaine and her on Instagram @stephaniehansenauthor TikTok: @stephaniehansenauthor

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Bounty of Blood and Nails by N.K. Brown

Shining out spotlight this week, we have the thrilling dark fantasy BOUNTY OF BLOOD AND NAILS by N.K. Brown. A tale of magic, betrayal, and forbidden love… Is being the bad guy worth losing everything?

The Bounty of Blood and Nails (The Devil’s Huntress Book 1)

Release Date: March 2026

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Features

🩸Feminine Rage
🌙Morally Grey Characters
🩸Dark magic
🌙Forbidden magic
🩸Grumpy x Sunshine
🌙Love Triangles
🩸Spicy Romance
🌙Hidden Villains

Tam is a heartless, ruthless bounty hunter—or so her handler would have you believe.
With her ability to use forbidden blood magic, Tam tracks and captures her prey. The same blood magic that curses her to a life of servitude under a cruel handler—one wrong move and not only her life, but her family’s will be at stake. But when she’s sent to a remote, superstitious northern town where even a glimmer of magic will send you to the gallows, she’s forced to confront the darker consequences of her work.

After the murder of her bounty, innocent townspeople are blamed—and Tam’s conscience begins to stir. But there’s no turning back. Her handler raises the stakes, and her next mission is even more dangerous: infiltrate the royal castle and capture the enigmatic Prince Bellinor. Disguised as a maid, Tam is drawn into a world of deadly secrets, where her words are whispered into the prince’s ears through an ancient magic she’s never faced before.

To get close to the prince, she befriends his loyal bodyguard, Clement, but the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that Clement’s destiny is tied to the prince. With time running out and the castle tightening, Tam is forced to watch the trial of the people blamed for her own prior actions. But will she complete the mission—or risk it all as she falls in love with the person whose life she must destroy?
AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

N. K. is a veterinarian and a proud mother of three. Originally from Stratford-Upon-Avon, she now lives outside of Boston.

Finally ready for the career change she has always wanted, she joined Jericho Writers and is an alumnus of their Ultimate Novel Writing Course 2023/24. She loves to write in the SFF genre, usually with a dark and speculative twist. An animal or two will usually pop up somewhere in her writing!

When not reading or writing or reading about writing, you can find her out on a long run, lost in her imagination (or in a good audiobook) as she plans her next novel.

Learn more about N.K. and her books on Instagram @nkbrownauthor

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A Slice of Japanese Culture In Little Rock, Arkansas, with Otaku Takeout

When I am not writing about books, I write about new small business people might be missing out on over at Medium.com. Currently living in Arkansas, I attended our local Comic Con, SPA-CON, back in May, and set out to check out and write about the small-business vendors there. That is where I encountered OTAKU TAKEOUT. If you are a lover of Anime or Japanese pop culture, this store is your god.

I love trying out different cultural foods, so this place was so neat! They have authentic Japanese snacks, drinks, and other goodies. They even have a karaoke party room you can rent (just like in Japan!) For me, I’ve always wanted to try a Red Bean Paste Bun.

They had them there, and they are actually GOOD!

READ my full experience and the full article below.

MEDIUM

View at Medium.com

While you’re there, give it a like, clap.  Haisha moushiagemasu!😄🙏

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Between Blades and Vows by Neena Laskowski

A reluctant king. A temporary guard. A threat neither can outrun. Let’s dive into the recently released BETWEEN BLADES AND VOWS!

Between Blades and Vows: A Reverse Bodyguard Romantasy

Release Date: June 24, 2026

Genre: Romantasy

Featuring
🤍 Reverse bodyguard
🌿 Mental health rep (PTSD, depression, & anxiety)
⚔️ Training sequences (but SHE trains HIM)
🤍 Forcêd proximity
🌿 Touch HIM and ☠️
⚔️ Tension & angst


The war might be over, but King Rian Dronias knows peace is fragile. He just didn’t expect his biggest problem to arrive in the form of his new bodyguard.

When the captain of the King’s Guard goes on his honeymoon, Rian reluctantly holds a competition to find a temporary replacement. The winner? Erualys Valora, a renowned warrior from a neighboring queendom with a reputation for being unstoppable…and insufferable. She’s the last person he wants guarding him—and the only one bold enough to call him out when she discovers the threats he’s been hiding.

But as danger closes in, the king and his temporary guard will have to face the truth: the deadliest risk might not be the assassins in the shadows, but the spark igniting between them.
GET NOW ON AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neena Laskowski lives in Michigan with her husband and their two pets. She earned her master’s in Secondary Education and bachelor’s in English and Classical Studies from the University of Michigan. When she is not reading or writing about morally grey characters, you can find her camping, painting, or spending time with her family and friends.

For upcoming ARC opportunities and to be among the first to see cover reveals, character art, and more, be sure to join Neena Laskowski’s newsletter or follow Neena on social media @neenalaskowski

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Starfire’s Heir by Megan Phillips

Debut author Megan Phillips is caught in our spotlight today. Starfire’s Heir is book one in her new The Soul of Serentyn series, where “Destiny called her. He awoke her.”

Starfire's Heir (The Soul of Serentyn Book One)

Release Date: June 23, 2026

Genre: Romantasy

Cover: @mariaspada.design

Featuring

⦁	Slow Burn
⦁	Romantasy
⦁	Found Family
⦁	Fated Mates
⦁	Long Lost Princess
⦁	Hidden Magic
⦁	Prophecies
⦁	One Bed
⦁	Sword Wielding FMC
⦁	Fierce FMC


Lexa Andrever has always believed she was nothing more than a farm girl. But when
a stranger reveals she is the lost heir of a distant realm, Lexa discovers she alone
stands between the kingdom and the deathly darkness pressing at its borders.
Written into an unsettling prophecy, carrying a responsibility she never sought, Lexa
sets off for her homeland with Griff Narvene, the warrior sworn to protect her.

 As she grapples with her new role as prophesied savior, the inscrutable soldier stirs
something deep within...

To keep the shadows at bay, Lexa must harness the powers of her birthright to
protect the people and home that demand her duty. With the fate of the
kingdom-and a fragile new love-at stake, can she survive long enough to save
them both?
CW: 18+
AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Megan grew up in Maryland and now calls Virginia home—though her heart sets up camp wherever her characters drag it. With a degree in sociolinguistics and an ear for the way language shapes identity, she has spent years sketching voices, lives, and entire kingdoms in her mind. When she’s not writing, she shares her days with her husband, young son, Newfoundland dog, and horse. Starfire’s Heir is her debut novel.

Follow Megan and her debut novel at @meganphillipsauthor on Instagram.

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY: Curse of the Moonflower by Sam Dorsett

Cursed. Hunted. Coveted… Caught in the spotlight this week is the dark fantasy CURSE OF THE MOONFLOWER by Sam Dorsett. Let’s read on!

Curse of the Moonflower (Scars of Somnium #1)

Release Date: April 21, 2026

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Featuring
⬇
⦁	Werewolves, Witches, Vampires & Demons
⦁	Multiple POVs
⦁	Traumatized FMC & MMC
⦁	Fated Mates (Multiple perhaps?)
⦁	Found Family
⦁	Reluctant Allies to Lovers
⦁	Touch her and d!e

An ancient curse runs through Vessa Lemaire's veins—the gods have destined her to wed the banished vampire ruler of the Underworld, who will stop at nothing to seize his betrothed. She discovers this only days after the horrific death of her mother, forcing her to leave her shattered life behind. 

For three years, she lives under the protection of a werewolf and his mate, an oracle. Until one day, a vision befalls the seer—a chance for her to find permanent asylum, right alongside the man who despises vampires most.

Axe Skornokovy is a soldier of vengeance, hell-bent on eliminating vampires and the powerful demigod from which they were sired. As Vessa tries to find her place among his pack of feuding wolves, she must keep her secrets close. She must come to terms with the fact that Axe is more than capable of turning on her, even as it grows difficult to ignore the tantalizing force which conspires to bring them together. For if they give into it, they will spark a war destined to bleed into the realm below.
AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sam has been obsessed with wolves since she was eight. Growing up in Missouri, when she wasn’t sketching them in her notebooks, she was weaving stories in her mind where bold heroines would run alongside them. Nowadays, when she isn’t writing, listening to metal music, or picking flowers, she devotes herself to a menagerie of ten animals (and counting).

Follow Sam and her books on IG: @authorsamdorsett, and TIKTOK @sam_dorsett

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mini BOOK REVIEW: Buried Secrets by C.S. Dixon

Buried Secrets

Published: March 18th 2025

Genre: Thriller/ YA horror/ horror/ mystery suspense

Length: 30 min read

Tom and his wife, Mary, visit a cemetery to find her father’s grave. What they encounter there are terrible revelations and dark forces beyond their comprehension! 

AMAZON

REVIEW

I cracked open my Kindle TBR list, and “ Buried Secrets” by C.S. Dixon was at the top of my list. I got it back last year during an ebook sale, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. It was a book I got to read for pleasure, not business. Well, the wait was worth it.  Coined a 30-minute read, Dixon managed to hold your attention on every word.

Buried Secrets gives you that old-fashioned horror mystery anthology vibe. Meaning it’s a short story that would fit perfectly into those horror anthology shows. Think UK’s Hammer House of Horror Anthology, Tales from the Crypt, or Twilight Zone. I loved it. It was a perfect short read while I was sitting waiting in the doctor’s office. It left me craving more. 

 Therefore ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars

MEET THE AUTHOR

Hi all, this is me, Author of 19 books, ALL 5-star rated. “Shadow” “Fly on the Wall,” “Dead and Buried”, “Talk of the Devil”, “Still Life”, “The Cabinet”, “Gateway of Death”, “Dead of Night”, “Terror Beach”, “Vengeful”, “The Forest -horror”( Mystery/occult), “The Making of Melissa”, “Shoe Horny”, “Oral Examination”, “Opening Up”, “Executive Positions”(erotica.) “Micro Musings” (Micro Erotica-poetry), “Walter Worm Finds a Friend”( a story for children.)

I was born in a small town in Northumberland, England. Lived & worked in Newcastle for many years in a variety of careers. Worked as a freelance sports journalist/broadcaster for numerous magazines/newspapers & radio stations from the early 1980’s to the early 1990’s. Also Deputy Sports Editor for what was then BBC Radio Newcastle, as part of ten years freelancing for the BBC.

A wide writing portfolio includes business/food/travel/lifestyle & education, in addition to sport.

Also a qualified teacher, lecturing in Communications/Media studies at a college in Newcastle for five years.

Other hats worn include HR Manager/professional actor/salesman/market researcher.

I got the travel bug around 2002 & went to live & work in Taiwan/Greece/Czech Republic & Bangkok for much of the next ten years, teaching/editing/writing. After living in Swansea for almost three years, I returned with my wife in March 2015 to live & work in Bangkok again, where I continue to write & teach.

I have many passions: cricket/writing/music/movies/food/photography/reading/swimming/social media.

My music and reading tastes are eclectic, ranging from easy listening to jazz/disco, and soul, and authors/writers include: Dickens/Wilde/Shakespeare/Chandler/Lovecraft/Tolkien/Voltaire/F. Scott Fitzgerald/Dorothy B. Hughes/Poe/McCreet & Robotham, to name but a few, jostling for space on my bookshelves!

Join me on Goodreads, LinkedIn,                                                                                                                                                              

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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