Tag: fantasy

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Book Spotlight Thursday: Anansi’s Web by Derek Mola

I love folklore. So, spotlighting this Thursday is Anansi’s Web by Derek Mola. Anansi’s Web is a fantasy folklore anthology collection inspired by African culture. Curious? Let’s learn more!

Anansi’s Web


Publication Date: January 22, 2024


Genre: Black & African American Fantasy/ Fantasy Anthologies/ Folklore


As Kweku looked above, the room became illuminated by the sudden appearance of thousands of fireflies. An orange glow lit up the room, and a giant spider web was on the ceiling. The web glistened, and each strand was flowing with energy.

“This is the source of all stories, my boy. The source of all life, some may say. For what are we, if not a collection of stories? Each strand of this web is a different story. A story of love, a story of tragedy, a story of life, or a story of death. Sit on my throne, choose a strand, and begin the tale.” explained Anansi.

Anansi is the god of stories, and he has many to tell.

A young boy named Kweku has heard no new stories in a long time. So he travels to see Anansi, the god of stories, in the hopes that he will tell him some new stories. Luckily, he caught Anansi in a good mood, and the god decided to enchant Kweku with tales of magic and wonder. In these 10 stories tangled in a web, a Cowboy befriends a Jackalope, a Kelpie falls in love with a man, and a young boy’s grandmother leaves to live with Fairies. Anansi’s Web is a concoction of fantasy, folklore, and horror. Showing us the magic of the world, while reminding us of the terror it can cause. Like a man on death’s door receiving help from beyond or a woman who regrets her one wish.

AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Derek Mola was born and raised in Massachusetts, graduating from Emerson College, with a degree in Visual Media Production. Tired of the film industry, he became obsessed with horror and fantasy short stories.

Follow Derek at Derek Mola

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Book Cover Reveal: The Voyent and the Mark of Malice by Sadie Hewitt

Having spotlighted book 1 in The Aeglecian Seas Series I am super excited to help announce the cover reveal for book 2! Look out Below!

Drawing inspiration from The Legend of The Flying Dutchman and the enchanting world of Aladdin, The Voyant and The Mark of Malice weaves a captivating story of hidden dangers, action-packed adventures, and the unexpected, yet sizzling romance of two sworn enemies who are determined to outwit one another.

The Voyent and the Mark of Malice (Book 2 in The Aeglecian Seas

Series)


Expected Publication Date: April 29, 2024


Genre: Pirate Romantic Fantasy


Tropes:

*Cursed pirate ships

*Morally gray captains

*Trickster female main characters

*Possessive alphahole who falls first

*Enemies to lovers

*Djinn, Nasnas, and Ghouls

*Forced proximity


He may be clever, but she’s already a step ahead…

Kalia Salam is a Voyant, or a person with the ability to create mind-altering visions and project them into others. But when the punishment for having that ability is death, every decision becomes a strategic calculation to avoid execution. Unfortunately, that includes tethering herself to the continent’s most wealthy brothel owner and only using her magic to pad the madam’s pockets. That is, at least, until she needs it to protect those around her. But when Kalia uses her magic on the wrong client and is mistaken for a powerful djinn, one that the pirates have been meticulously hunting, she becomes ensnared in her most complex game of deception yet. Because, one way or another, she refuses to fall to the hands of a cursed captain.

Captain Rahmi Abada revels in collecting dying souls from the sea, particularly those burdened by guilt. But whispers of a tale have begun to swirl…a tale about a mysterious gemstone with innumerable abilities, including the power to shatter any magical bond. Consumed with the idea of sailing for eternity without his binding curse to Liddros, God of Sea, Rahmi enlists the help of the fiery djinn he forced aboard his ship. The only problem? The djinn harbors her own secrets, ones that threaten to unravel Rahmi’s carefully laid plans.

Preorder today!

Book 1 available now

About the Author

Author and full-time respiratory therapist, Sadie Hewitt grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan. She doesn’t claim a home anymore, rather chooses to travel the country with her football-fanatic husband and two feral, yet lovable, dogs. She loves to write in urban paranormal fantasy and fantasy romance, mostly about powerful women, morally gray men, found families, and a sprinkle (or pour) of magic and spice.

When she’s not thinking of ways to completely crush her readers, you can find Sadie scaling mountains around the world, catching up on her own TBR, and checking out the local coffee shops.

Don’t forget to check out her latest series, Within the Solstice Cages, today!

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Book Spotlight Thursday: Beauty and the Blade and Little Red Shadow by S.C. Grayson

I love fairy tales and spotlighting today are two talented fairy tale fantasies. Think Bridgerton meets Peaky Blinders in Beauty and the Blade and Little Red Shadow by S.C. Grayson. Now available!

Beauty and the Blade (The Talented Fairy Tales Book 1)


Publication Date: January 5, 2024


Genre: Gaslamp Fantasy/ Fairy Tale Fantasy


Most London socialites dream of marrying for love or status, but Contessa’s wedding is about justice—and revenge.

Nathanial Woodrow is known on the streets of London as the Beast, leader of the fearsome Lion gang who mark their victims with three slashes on their face. Since her mother was found dead with the signature slashes years ago, Contessa has wanted nothing more than to see her murderer brought to justice. However, the Beast has been impeccable at maintaining his façade as the high society Mr. Nathanial Woodrow, and nobody has been able to gather enough evidence to convict him. When the Beast unexpectedly asks Contessa’s father, the Chief of the Royal Police, for her hand in marriage, Contessa and her father hatch a plan to bring him down from the inside.

As Contessa enters the lion’s den in search of evidence to convict the Beast, she finds that not everything is as she once thought. Her father’s work, hunting down Talented that use their magic to rule the criminal underworld, is thrown into question with each glimpse of the kind-hearted man beneath the mask of a hardened gang leader. As Contessa navigates her search for justice, she finds herself questioning what side she’s really on, and why she finds herself drawn to a man she’s supposed to hate.

Available Now on AMAZON

Little Red Shadow (The Talented Fairy Tales Book 2)


Publication Date:  January 5, 2024


Genre:  Fairy Tale Fantasy Romance/ Gaslamp


The Wolves are out for blood, but Scarlett doesn’t intend to let them catch their prey.

When Scarlett’s friend Georgette starts receiving death threats from the Wolves, a powerful street gang, she sets out uncover why they want a prominent socialite dead. As a Talented gangster herself, Scarlett goes undercover. Instead of a hardened murderer, she discovers the charming younger son of a Duke, Benedict Pearce, is the would-be assassin. Clearly not a killer at heart, Scarlett decides to trust the handsome rogue, and they join forces to put a stop to the Wolves mysterious machinations and save her friend.

As the pair begin their investigations, as well as a fictitious courtship to throw the Wolves off their trail, Scarlett must reckon with a past she prefers to keep hidden. Benedict, constantly jovial and flirtatious, slowly chips away at the shadows Scarlett has built around her heart.

Still, as the search uncovers deeper levels of deception, their ruse becomes increasingly dangerous. When facing down the Wolves, Scarlett is forced to confront how far into the shadows she is willing to go to protect the ones who have her heart.

AVAILABLE NOW ON Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S.C. Grayson has been reading fantasy novels since she was a little girl stealing books from her older sister’s shelves, and that has developed into a love of writing and storytelling. Her writing is currently focused on fantasy and paranormal romance. When she is not sitting in a local coffee shop writing and consuming an iced americano, Grayson is a nurse working towards a Ph.D. in nursing with a focus on breast cancer genetics. She lives in Pittsburgh with her loving husband and their two cats, who enjoy contributing to her work by walking across her keyboard at inopportune moments (the cats, not the husband).

Learn more about Grayson and her books. Follow her on Instagram @s.c.grayson

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Book Spotlight Thursday: Scars of Sacrifice and Seduction by J. Ember Hintz

Catching my reader’s eye this Thursday is Scars of Sacrifice and Seduction by J. Ember Hintz. Book two in the Dark Eden sci-fantasy series, where the lines between enemies, allies, loyalty, and love blur beyond recognition.

Birth made her a slave. Love made her a martyr. He’ll make her his queen...

SCARS OF SACRIFICE AND SEDUCTION 

Publication Date: October 28, 2023

Genre: Sci-fi Fantasy with Spice/ Enemies to Lovers

🖤Enemies to Lovers

💘Fated Mates

📜 Ancient Prophecy

🌶️ Cult Rituals

💕 Multiple Couples

🪦Touch Her and 😵 Vibes

🫶🏻 Found Family

💀Afterlife Mythology

🤐 Forbidden Knowledge

👽 With with x2 🍆

💥 Supernatural Powers

😈 Villain’s POV

➕Addiction & Recovery Rep


Birth made her a slave. Love made her a martyr. He’ll make her his queen.

Welcome to Eden. Born without magic into a brutal world where mage abilities determine survival, Vaza didn’t think her life as a breeder-queen could get any worse.

Not until a cult leader declares her identical twin must be sacrificed to resurrect a dead god. Vaza plans to destroy the prophet’s credibility by seducing him into breaking his sacred vows. To get close enough to ruin him, however, she’ll need to infiltrate The Order and do the one thing she fears most-open her heart and allow Brex to claim more than just her pleasure.

Meanwhile, in the prison world of the dead…

All his life, Liam Riley has been told he’s an abomination. Turns out it’s true. He never asked to be cursed with the powers of a living god, but now that he has them, he’ll use every one of his new gifts to protect his soul-bonded mate. Even if it means locking her up to keep her from discovering the truth about the entity holding them hostage.

Too bad Renae has no intention of being kept in a cage. Not when she sacrificed everything to save him. The version of Liam she finds in the Void isn’t the same man she fell in love with. A decade of solitary confinement in the Void has turned him into something more. Something inhuman.

Okay, put this one under my Christmas tree! Told in two colliding and scorchingly hot timelines that will leave readers questioning who the real monsters are.

Scars of Seduction and Sacrifice is currently available on Amazon

Amazon ( Link may earn author commission)

But.. Before it all began there was.

Available on Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. Ember Hintz writes sci-fi and fantasy romance. She loves building dark contemporary worlds and lush alternate realities ripe with mythology and magic.

You’ll meet ghosts, gods, and monsters in her stories, but never a damsel in distress.
Her debut novel was a 2022 Book Life Prize by Publisher’s Weekly Quarter Finalist and 2021 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence Finalist.

Fun Facts: J. Ember is her real first initial and middle name. She goes absolutely feral from enemies to lovers, grumpy protector/bodyguard romance tropes, and whatever the opposite of a meet-cute is. A meet-disaster? She also believes the villain or antagonist is the most important character in every story.

She lives near the ocean with her husband, two rescue poodles, and the occasional ghost. Her alter ego enjoys a successful career in the wedding industry. Job perks include an unlimited supply of cake, champagne, and IRL HEAs. When she’s not making dreams come true, or breathing life into fictional characters, you can find her in the studio throwing paint at a canvas and hoping for the best.
To learn more about her upcoming releases, visit https://jemberhintz.com/ or follow her author life shenanigans on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Find all her social links at

J. Ember Hintz

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Book Spotlight Thursday: Song of Dark Tides by Beka Westrup

In today’s spotlight is a twisted take on the Little Mermaid tale, with a delicious cover to boot. Let us now fall under the Song of Dark Tides by Beka Westrup.

SONG OF DARK TIDES

Publication Date: November 28, 2023
Genre: Very Dark Fantasy Romance / Fairy Tale Retelling

Viola is a sea witch cursed by Triton. Cast aside from the glittering city of Atlantis, she starves for power and a real life above the surface-two hungers her curse will never allow her to satiate. She patrols the sea she’s claimed for her own and the nearby human city, feeding on unjust men and oceanfolk alike.
When she meets Aric, Triton’s firstborn son and heir to the throne, she decides to forge her own future from his suffering. She could finally be free of her curse… if she can only manage to trick the heartless siren out of his soul.

Available NOW on click my affiliate link below

Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beka Westrup is a genre-hopping author of fantasy and romance. The Seldom Wings is her second full-length novel. She lives in the PNW with her husband and two children, collecting more books than she’ll ever be able to read and drinking copious amounts of iced coffee.

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Book Spotlight Thursday: The Audient and the Phantom Night by Sadie Hewitt

Caught in Today’s spotlight is the recently released pirate fantasy The Audient and the Phantom Night by Sadie Hewitt. Let’s read on me harties!

The Audient and the Phantom Night (The Aeglecian Seas #1)
Publication Date: November 21, 2023
Genre: Romantic Fantasy/ Pirate Fantasy
☠️ Grumpy/ Sunshine
☠️ Touch Her and D$%
☠️ Forced Proximity
☠️ Cursed Ships
☠️ Outlawed Magic
☠️ Spicy
The Legend of the Flying Dutchman meets Beauty and the Beast in this action-packed fantasy filled with searing romance, outlawed magic, and seafaring danger.

Fenna Terrigan never expected to leave her seaside village. She was too quiet, too gentle, and far too kind to take on life outside of the bookshop she works at. But when her brother shows up on her doorstep begging for aid, with a pirate lord hot on his tail, Fenna will do anything to protect him.
Devlin Cato is the captain of a cursed ship and can step foot on land for one day every seven years. Once again, he’s found himself using it to chase a deserter across the continent. His hunt is short-lived when Fenna agrees to take on her brother’s twenty-five-year debt in exchange for leaving her smoldering city to heal.
As Fenna spends more time aboard The Phantom Night with the ship’s mysterious and seductive captain, she soon finds herself caught between loyalty to her brother and her fiery passion for Devlin Cato. But the path to ending the curse isn’t as easy as it seems when Fenna’s dark secret is discovered– a secret that threatens the very foundation of the continent’s stability and one that anyone would be willing to kill for.
Add to Goodreads

Available now on Amazon

About The Author

Sadie Hewitt is the author of stunning, fantastical mysteries that keep readers on their toes. She is an avid fantasy and thriller reader. Sadie is especially passionate about diverse representation and mental health recovery in fiction, allowing her to create wonderfully vivid and relatable characters who jump off the page.

When she’s not writing or working as a full-time respiratory therapist, she travels the world, spends time with her two dogs and husband, and scarfs pizza like it’s going out of style.

Learn more about Sadie at Sadie Hewitt

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Book Release Blitz: The Death Bringer by Christy R. Harrill

Celebrating the release of the third installment in the Blood Vier series Death Bringer by Christy R. Harrill. Let’ check it out.

The Death Bringer (The Blood Vier Series #3)

Publication Date: November 21, 2023

Genre: YA: Epic Fantasy

A Shadowy Throne.

A Lurking Assassin.

A Game of Survival in a Harrowing War.

Still reeling from the events that transpired in the tower, Vladimir struggles between doing what is right or what is easy for the kingdom, and Taryn is left questioning her future and its consequences. When an attack upends the security of the capital, her mother’s past comes haunting, trapping Taryn in a game of riddles that leads to imminent death. Loyalties are tested while destruction closes in, and the hungry beast of war prowls about, devouring every shred of hope and demanding the greatest of sacrifices.

Available today on Amazon  Get a  Signed Edition * Or visit the website The Blood Vier

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christy R. Harrill is the book-loving and anything medieval fantasy-obsessing author of the Blood Vier series. She lives in Oklahoma where she enjoys hiking with her dog Hank and devouring every book she possibly has time for. Christy loves winter and still hopes to attain the dream of getting snowed in with four feet of snow one day. She thinks that the only good thing about summer is wearing sandals, and has a weakness for buying pretty notebooks—even though she already owns far too many blank ones at home.

Follow Christy at Christy R. Harrill

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Book Spotlight Thursday: Kindred Spirits by Lynn Eldridge

Who says the spookiness has to end on Halloween? In the spotlight, today with its beautiful cover and alluring tale is the newly released Kindred Spirits by Lynn Eldridge. 

Kindred Spirits
Publication Date: October 31, 2023
Genre: Paranormal Romance

A captivating paranormal romance that embarks on a journey of newfound love… and the everlasting effects of grief.
After a devastating accident, young billionaire Jack Malone is left wanting for the family and life he lost. Closing his heart off to the world in fear of feeling the same heartache, he has become a notorious recluse and landlord to several houses in St. Augustine. But despite his best efforts to keep people at arm’s length, his carefully constructed world is about to crumble.
When teacher Sydney Crane blows into town, she doesn’t expect her first encounter with her landlord to involve property vandalization—and unexpected nudeness. Off to a rocky start, she is determined to change Jack’s opinion of her. But after the unexplainable shakes her world and she finds herself in his protective embrace…she worries she may have ventured too far.
As Jack and Sydney’s connection deepens, so do their supernatural encounters. Navigating past heartache and an increasingly haunted house, their pursuit of love becomes a race against time that even they fear they won’t survive.
Will Jack and Sydney be able to unravel an ancient murder before their chance at love evaporates faster than a fleeting apparition?

Get swept away by this heart-wrenching paranormal romance that showcases the strength of one couple’s resolve and their key to happily ever after. 

OUT NOW AND AVAILABLE HERE AND ON AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynn Eldridge is a former president of the West Virginia Chapter of Romance Writers of America and earned an honorable mention in their Golden Heart Contest. Lynn is the author of several historical and contemporary romance novels, including Desire in Deadwood, Remember the Passion, Tame the Wild, and Skyrocket to Surrender. Her latest novel, Hearts and Mountains, is a 2023 Spur Award Finalist. In addition to her writing career, Lynn is a licensed clinical therapist and dedicates one day a week in an outpatient behavioral health facility in Charleston, West Virginia.

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Book Spotlight Thursday: Cynosura 99 by Sam Weiss

Shining a light this week we are happy to spotlight the release of Cynosura 99 by Sam Weiss. Think Stranger Things meets Donnie Darko. So happy book release week to Sam Weiss and let’s check out Cynosura 99.

Cynosura 99 (The Altered Planes #1)
Publication Date: October 9, 2023
Genre: Dark Fantasy w/ Sci-Fi Horror Elements

“The night the moon bleeds is the night the world will end. There’s death in the moon. And the moon is you.”
Atra Hart has spent the last seven years locked away in Vanishing Plains Psychiatric Hospital. In that time, her shadow has transformed into its own entity and is growing stronger by the day, threatening to devour her mind. She calls that shadow Dread, and only her missing father knows what it is.
When a fire breaks out at the asylum, Atra makes her way to freedom just in time to see an electric-purple rift sunder the sky. Like Dread, the rift is only visible to her.
Atra’s already loose grip on reality unravels when she learns the rift is a gateway to the world of the dead. And the Queen, an ancient evil lurking on its fringes, wants Dread for her own.
Even worse, Atra can’t tell if any of this is really happening. She might have escaped one asylum, but the closer she gets to unearthing answers about Dread, why her father knows it’s there, and its role in the Queen’s plans, the more she risks getting trapped inside her own mind forever.
Maybe some truths are meant to stay buried.

Now Available on Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sam was named after a dog, a fact her mother disputes to this day.

While she’s terrible at writing “About Me’s “, she’s been told she’s great at writing about what fictional people do. The more miserable she can make them, the better. Her love of horror films from the 80s, sci-fi shows from the 90s, and alternative music from the 00s have inspired her to write what she’s calling “Dark Science Fantasy” although she’s kind of making that up as she goes along.

When she’s not ready to pull her hair out after discovering another plot hole she’s created, she goes camping with her husband as far away from society as possible. So far, this tactic has been mostly successful, and she’s only had to physically converse with a grand total of nine people this year. Next year, she hopes to get that number down to six.

Visit Sam and her works at Sam Weiss

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Book Spotlight: How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster) by Marie Cardno

The title of this book says it all as to why I am spotlighting this baby. In celebration of its sequel release book 1 How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster) by Marie Cardno is currently on tour with @rrbooktours and is on SALE NOW for only .99 cents!

How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster)

Publication Date: July 2022

Genre: Cozy Fantasy Romance/ Sapphic Romance/ Romcom

Life is tough when you’re an eldritch abomination.

Trillin isn’t technically a person. She’s a tiny breakaway piece of consciousness from the all-devouring Endless, doomed to eventually rejoin it. But when a human witch stumbles into her world, Trillin suddenly has a new reason to figure out individuality–one shape-shifting tentacle at a time.

Sian is sure important magical discoveries are just around the corner if she can just get her portals to work reliably. Reaching the dimension of the Endless without being eaten on sight is a dream come true, and Sian is determined to explore every bit of it. For science, of course, not for the strangely adorable life-form who keeps popping up and trying to… flirt?

But Trillin’s world can be a dangerous place, and keeping Sian safe might risk drawing the attention of the Endless itself–which will swallow Trillin up along with all her dreams of humanity. Together, can this unlikely duo escape the Endless, figure out the optimum number of appendages, and maybe even find love?

Add to Goodreads

Get it HERE!

How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster) is a sapphic cozy fantasy romance between a witch scientist and a shape-shifting Cthulhu monster. HEA guaranteed!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marie Cardno loves cozy fantasy. She lives halfway between the sea and a French bakery on the south coast of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, and writes stories about love, magic, and strange and wonderful worlds.

Follow @ Marie Cardno