Ander Forrest renounced blood magic to become a nurse-healer in his rural hometown, far from the drama of wizardry and espionage his sister Kate craved. When Kate goes missing in action, Ander finds himself the legal guardian of her gifted twins and receives a cryptic warning from Kate’s husband to protect them before he, too, disappears.
Six months later, his former lover crash lands in the kids’ bedroom via a spell only Ander’s sister could have cast. Druid Cai Piper doesn’t remember how he got there, but he knows he never stopped loving Ander, and that he was sent to protect him and the twins. Cai is strangely drawn to Forrest House and the land it stands upon.
With the secrets of a clandestine wizards’ order hanging between them, Cai and Ander must remember how to trust each other as sinister forces move against the Forrest family—magical terrorists who want to exploit their rare sorcery and bring the world to its knees.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning author Elisabeth “E.M.” Hamill is a nurse by day, unabashed geek, chocoholic, sci-fi and fantasy novelist by night, weekends, and whenever it’s possible to steal quality time with a laptop.
Lisa lives with their family, two dogs, and a cat in the wilds of eastern suburban Kansas, where they fend off flying monkey attacks and prep for the zombie apocalypse.
Eighteen-year-old Billie-Ashley arrived at Thornes University with a secret and an envelope, containing a promise of a life-changing amount of money and to learn more about her past once she completes a task.
The problem? The task wasn’t stated.
She planned to be a wallflower. But within minutes that plan becomes a tangled mess. She is placed in the room once occupied by the girl who disappeared a couple of weeks prior.
Thanks to a handsome stranger, who is now wearing her iced mocha, Billie-Ashley learns the value of friendships. She intertwines herself within a group of guys while secretly gathering tidbits of information even when a warning turns deadly.
With the threat breathing down her neck, can Billie-Ashley keep her secret and complete the task?
When fellow author Rissa Blakeley came asking if I’d do an ARC review of her new book, “I’m Not Sorry,” I was more than happy to. My kindness almost killed me, though, as I piled too much on my work plate. By some miraculous grace, I did manage to finish the book just in time for its release day tomorrow (October 14th), and oh my gosh, what a book! Blakely writes with a nice contemporary realism that carries you through this suspense thriller mystery. We met a college-age Billy- Ashley. Someone gave her a ton of money to attend the specific Thorne University. It could hold the secrets to her twin sister’s disappearance. Billy-Ashley was just going to be a wallflower while she searched for the truth, but when she was greeted and welcomed by the welcoming Rex and his crew, Billy-Ashley could not help but feel accepted for the first time in a long time.
Billy-Ashley wasn’t there to make friends, though. When Billy-Ashley investigates the school’s recent mystery of a former student whose room she now occupies, she uncovers a connection to the cold case of her missing sister. Danger ensues for Billy-Ashley and her friends.
“I’m Not Sorry” is beautifully written. A haunting story that will linger in your soul long after you have read it. It’s a mix of a stealth murder mystery thriller with a dash of supernatural, which hooked me instantly. Every character is essential and written to be well-rounded and believable.
It also made me think. If you read Blakeley’s introduction before reading, you will discover how this story was personal and a struggle for her to write. Keeping this in mind, while reading, I thought I’d see the revelation, but I didn’t. It was not until I read the acknowledgment that I understood why this story was personal to Blakely. Which made me wonder what this means about myself? All I saw was a beautiful story with beautiful characters and an engrossing murder mystery. I did not see this as an LGBTQ themed story. It was just a story, and a darn good one. It’s also a story about friendship and feeling accepted, which I think everyone on earth can relate to, yet we exclude so much in this world.
Therefore, I give “I’m Not Sorry” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rissa Blakeley is the author of a fantasy paranormal series, Corvidae Guard, a post-apocalyptic series, Shattered Lives, and a horror short, Grammy’s Supper.
As a native New Yorker, Rissa is now a Georgia transplant, who is completely addicted to black coffee and La Croix. When Rissa isn’t writing, she can be found procrastinating on social media.
Back in May, I spotlighted the first book in the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series, A Chain of Pearls. Well, I am back with AME to spotlight books two and three in the series, which are making their debut! The Wraith’s Return and Widow’s Walk!
WRAITH'S RETURN ((Martha's Vineyard Murders Book 2)
Publication Date: August 22nd 2024
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Synopsis
London based lawyer Kyra Gibson returns to Martha’s Vineyard and the beach house she inherited for an extended summer holiday. Still reeling from her father’s brutal murder and the role she and the handsome detective, Tarek Collins played in uncovering it, Kyra is hopeful for some peace and quiet. But when a summer squall reveals the wreckage of the pirate ship, Keres, rich with rumored treasure, all hopes of peace are dashed. Conservationists and treasure hunters descend on the exclusive island to lay claim to the ship. When two of the salvagers are killed, Kyra and Tarek’s friend, pub owner and amateur historian, Gully Gould is arrested for murder.
Synopsis Attorney Kyra Gibson has a lot on her mind this Thanksgiving. She’s been working long hours on a multi-billion dollar corporate merger, her family is visiting from London, and her relationship with former police detective Tarek Collins is heating up. When she and her companions are invited by her aristocrat client to attend a formal gala at a historic mansion on Chappaquiddick, Kyra reluctantly agrees. But Chappy is more than just a playground for the wealthy. It’s a wild, remote place cut off from civilization. When the first body is found, the occupants are worried. Was it an accident or murder? When a second guest is brutally killed and then a third, there’s no doubt and the guests fearfully turn on each other. They are locked in a house with a murderer picking them off one-by-one. Kyra, her best friend Chase Hawthorn, and Tarek must survive the night and find the killer, or one of them could be next.
While part of the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series, each book can be read as standalone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raemi A Ray’s travels to Martha’s Vineyard and around the world inspire her stories. She lives outside Boston. When not writing or traveling she earns her keep as the personal assistant to the resident house demons, Otto and DolphLundgren.
The cover caught my eye, and the blurb was even more interesting, so happy to spotlight this baby with R&R BookTours. Enter TENEBRIUM It’s a romantic, dystopian, noir detective thriller set in a futuristic Gatsby Era by Elanor Miller. Think Peaky Blinders meets The Great Gatsby, with a dash of the game BioShock!
Tenebrium (Flappers and False Gods #1)
Publication Date: January 2023 Genre: Noir Thriller/Dystopian/Romance
Features
🏢Dystopian 🚬Noir 🕵️♀️Detective Thriller 🍸Set in a futuristic Gatsby era 🎷Jazz 👥Cults 🔫Mobsters 💔Forbidden Romance
The year is 2425, and the Jazz Age is in full swing—again.
Guys, dolls, gangsters and molls, drugs, and prohibition are just the tip of the iceberg for Detective Thea Williams and her mentor, Walt, as they struggle to solve a horrific series of murders, all the while dealing with the consequences and complications of their not-so-professional relationship.
Embroiled in the case and stymied at every turn by the corrupt District Attorney, who also happens to be her estranged father, Thea quickly discovers a much more sinister plot.
Thrown into a dark world of cults and corruption, Thea must fight for survival lest Tenebrium City eat her alive.
ALSO AVAILABLE CALIGO ( Flappers & False Gods Book 2)
This decopunk thriller is for lovers of The Great Gatsby, Blade Runner,and Altered Carbon will find a home in Tenebrium.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tenebrium is the debut novel from Glasgow-born Scottish author Elanor Miller. Elanor is an avid indoor climber, martial artist, and D&D player. She is also dyslexic. As well as a novelist, she is an award-winning screenwriter who has won several ‘Best Screenplay’ awards – many of which were for Tenebrium’s first iteration as a screenplay.
Elanor did NOT write the Fairfield Amish Romances, she just shares a name with the author!
Caught in the spotlight this Thursday is A Chain Of Pearls by Raemi A. Ray. A Chain of Pearls is the first book in the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series. The second novel, The Wraith’s Return, will be available later this summer, followed by Widow’s Walk in the fall.
A Chain of Pearls
Genre: Murder Mystery/Suspense/ Thriller
Published: April 9, 2024
The last thing she wants is to dig up the past…
When the body of a celebrated journalist is fished from the Edgartown Harbor, the official report rules his death accidental. But why was he alone on a senator’s yacht during a nor’easter? That’s only the first question London-based lawyer Kyra Gibson has when she arrives on the idyllic island of Martha’s Vineyard to settle her estranged father’s affairs.
She’s not looking for closure. She’s not seen him in decades since he left her with her aunt following her mother’s death. But as Kyra delves deeper into her father’s life, she learns he had many regrets and wasn’t as retired as she believed. The more Kyra discovers, the more questions she has. With the help of world-weary detective, Tarek Collins, they uncover a web of intrigue and corruption involving a powerful senator, a dubious energy company, and brutal murder.
As they chase down clues, Kyra and Tarek flirt with danger and race against time to solve the murders and uncover the dark secrets lurking beneath Martha’s Vineyard’s picturesque façade of old money wealth and privilege.
Raemi A Ray’stravels to Martha’s Vineyard and around the world inspire her stories. She lives outside Boston. When not writing or traveling, she earns her keep as the personal assistant to the resident house demons, Otto and Dolph Lundgren.
Follow Raemi at raemi.com. Visit her on Instagram @miss_raemi
It’s book release day! Out today is Finney and the Secret Tunnel by Jamie Lane Barber.
For adventure read on!
Finney and the Secret Tunnel (A Finney and Mathmysterians Adventure)
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Genre: MG Mystery/ STEM
Booby-trapped tunnels. Secret societies. Puzzles. A buried secret.
Finney’s sixth-grade math teacher might hand out too many worksheets and have a weird hang-toothed smile, but there’s something sincere about her that nudges Finney to follow her trail when she goes missing. Making her way through secret tunnels beneath the school, Finney’s now wrapped up in a secret society rivalry. In a race to solve puzzles and dodge dangerous boobytraps, can Finney uncover a world-changing secret left by one of the world’s greatest geniuses?
Jamie Lane Barber grew up in the southern California sun but enjoys her days now on the east coast in Virginia Beach. On top of writing and running a digital marketing agency, Jamie fills her time with shuttling her children between activities. Her kids and two crazy dogs help keep Jamie on her toes and always busy. Jamie enjoys karaoke nights with her husband, musical theatre, escape rooms, a tasty red wine, and, of course, reading.
Joining the blog tour for The Last Train by Michael Pronko let’s explore this thriller express!
The Last Train: A Tokyo MysteryGenre: Thriller/ Suspense
*Winner 2018 Shelf Unbound Best Independently Published Book
*Winner 2017 Book Excellence Awards Best Mystery Solo Medalist
Winner 2017 New Apple Awards for Excellence
In Tokyo, murder’s easy to hide.
Detective Hiroshi Shimizu investigates white-collar crime in Tokyo. When an American businessman turns up dead, his mentor Takamatsu calls him out to the site of a grisly murder. A glimpse from a security camera video suggests the killer might be a woman. Hiroshi quickly learns how close homicide and suicide can appear in a city full of high-speed trains just a step—or a push—away. Takamatsu drags Hiroshi out to the hostess clubs and skyscraper offices of Tokyo in search of the killer.
Hiroshi goes deeper and deeper into Tokyo’s intricate, perilous market for buying and selling the most expensive land in the world. He teams up with ex-sumo wrestler Sakaguchi to scour Tokyo’s sacred temples, corporate offices and industrial wastelands to find out why one woman was driven to murder. After years in America and lost in neat, clean spreadsheets, Hiroshi confronts the stark realities of the biggest city in the world, where inside information can travel in a flash from the insiders at top investment firms to street-level punks and teenage hostesses, everyone scrambling for their cut of Tokyo’s lucrative land deals. Hiroshi’s determined to cut through Japan’s ambiguities—and dangers—to find the murdering ex-hostess before she extracts her final revenge—which just might be him.
Michael Pronko is a Tokyo-based author who writes in three genres—murder, memoir, and music. He has written about Japanese culture, art, jazz, society, architecture, and politics for Newsweek Japan, The Japan Times, Artscape Japan, as well as other publications. He has appeared on NHK and Nippon Television doing video versions of his essays. He runs his own website, Jazz in Japan (www.jazzinjapan.com).
He teaches American Literature and Culture (novels, film, art, and music) at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo, and after discussing Kurt Vonnegut or Jackson Pollock is in the right frame of mind to wander Tokyo contemplating its intensity.