Virtual Insanity by Kevin Klehr Book Tour and Giveaway! @ninestarpress @indigomarketingdesign #LGBTQIA+ #SciFi

 

Title:  Virtual Insanity

Series: TAYLeR, Book Two

Author: Kevin Klehr

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 08/30/2022

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 51500

Genre: Science Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Sci-fi, cyberpunk, new adult, bisexual, social media, augmented reality, revolution

Add to Goodreads

When Tayler is sent to Beta City to help its citizens disconnect from the all-knowing Social Media Central, he becomes the target of a deadly game.

Augmented reality players wearing head to toe gaming suits believe he is the Enemy Alien, and they shoot to kill. So Tayler is forced to hide in a secret bunker, trapped, with no way to escape this urban nightmare.

And as his friends hatch a plan to get him back home, they find the person toying with Tayler’s life is more AI than human.

Watch the Trailer!

Kevin Klehr © 2022
All Rights Reserved

I heard a song from the 1960s. An American singer asserted “we’re talking but we’re not communicating”. Someone played it on a radio stream while I’ve been here at Cradle Edge, and it got me thinking.

For the last month, I’ve been meeting people simply to get to know them. Getting to know what makes them tick. What their quirks are. How they use their charm to make me part of their circle.

And as they got to know me better, they shared their opinions while remaining open to being challenged. Plus, by this stage, I understood why they thought the way they did because I knew their backstories.

This wasn’t the case back home in Astra City. Opinions were first and foremost linked to someone’s brand, thanks to Social Media Central. We knew avatars or profile pics but never met the person. Never drank with them, laughed with them, or shared mutual stories. And even if we spoke through a video hook-up, it was always for less time than I spent with someone here in the bars at Cradle Edge.

Okay, to be fair, I was doing the same thing with the Social Media Socialites, my small friendship network back home. But I was one of the chosen few.

At the same time, I was navigating two relationships and losing myself in the process. Madeline Q, or Madi, as she liked to be known, was very persuasive. Every time I wasn’t sure who I wanted to stay the night with, the sun was coming up before I knew it and she was waking in my arms.

Mike brought out my wild side more than Madi. My carnal desires overrode my cautious temperament when I was with him. He led me down paths I never imagined I’d delight in. It was not that Madi wasn’t wild. She provided the equilibrium from my boys being boys sessions with Mike. I liked the balance in the bedroom I was getting between these two individuals.

So here I was four weeks without them, learning to love the most important person I’d discovered—me. And although it’s nice to be desired, it’s nice to hear yourself. I was arising from a state of mind that was controlled from the outside. Bombarded by the cyber world.

Cradle Edge was a small town of open fields and brick buildings. Nothing like the steel and glass jungle of my home. I needed this time away.

They have these things in everyone’s homes called phones. They’re like a device without screens. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are novelties, as in the shape of a cartoon animal. Some stand upright while some are low set and bulky. You can contact anyone here if you know their “number”. A number is a set of six or so digits that makes someone else’s phone ring. And if you don’t know their number you can press three numbers that let you talk to an “operator”. The operator can look up anyone and connect you.

There are also “phone booths” on various streets where you can go if you need to contact someone when you’re not home. What’s really cool about this is you get a sense of anonymity when you’re out and about. No one knows where you are. It’s a really odd yet addictive feeling.

And there were shops! Stores I’d never seen in Astra City. People liked giving ornaments as gifts, as many homes were full of knickknacks that told you a lot about who lived there. And people regularly groomed. They got haircuts and made new clothes. Back home, folk were only getting used to the idea of dressing to be noticed. Too many years acting anonymous behind a screen robbed many of developing a sense of style. A sense of self.

Now I fully understood me, and I’m no puppet for anyone’s algorithm.

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Kevin lives with his husband, Warren, in their humble apartment (affectionately named Sabrina), in Australia’s own ‘Emerald City,’ Sydney.

His tall tales explore unrequited love in the theatre district of the Afterlife, romance between a dreamer and a realist, and a dystopian city addicted to social media.

His first novel, Drama Queens with Love Scenes, spawned a secondary character named Guy. Many readers argue that Guy, the insecure gay angel, is the star of the Actors and Angels book series. His popularity surprised the author. The third in this series, Drama Queens and Devilish Schemes, scored a Rainbow Award (judged by fans of queer fiction) for Best Gay Alternative Universe/Reality novel.

So, with his fictional guardian angel guiding him, Kevin hopes to bring more whimsical tales of love, life and friendship to his readers.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

 

Welcome to the Mommy's Playbook 9th Birthday Bash! $100 PayPal Cash Giveaway!

 

Hosted By: Mommy's Playbook

Co-Hosted By: Versatileer AND Deliciously Savvy

Join us in celebrating NINE YEARS of Mommy's Playbook!

That's nine years of recipes, mommy tips, homeschooling articles, reviews, holidays, and GIVEAWAYS!!!

ENTER TO WIN!

$100 PayPal Cash!

The giveaway is open US/CAN Only, 18+

The giveaway ends 9/16 at 1159 pm est

Be sure to come back daily for more chances to win.

   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mommy’s Playbook Giveaway Rules: This giveaway is Sponsored by and hosted by Mommy’s Playbook. Participating bloggers and co-hosts are not responsible for prize fulfillment. No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. By entering this giveaway you are giving the giveaway host and/or event sponsor permission to retain your email address for future communication, you may choose to opt-out of such communications at any time. This giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by any social media outlet including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Only authentic accounts are eligible to win. Dummy/fake accounts are not eligible for entry and will be blocked. Entrants who have created social accounts purely to enter competitions or sweepstakes will not be eligible to win. All social accounts used must be public. See Rafflecopter for official rules. Please contact Victoria (at) MommysPlaybook.com regarding any questions you have pertaining to this giveaway.

Crow by @cmmarinauthor Book Blitz and Giveaway! #cmmarin #Crow #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

 

Crow
C.M. Marin

(The Sinful Guardians MC, #1)
Publication date: August 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

CROW

One minute I’m content just enjoying life with my club, running one of the businesses we own, and the next a woman sneaks her way under my skin for the first time in my life.

I never saw her coming.

Wild hair, almost black, and dark brown eyes star in my fantasies, but Paisley keeps herself out of reach. She’s shielded behind a solid brick wall that I want to knock down more than I’ve ever wanted anything. As I get to know her, my hero complex grows as fast as the chemistry burning between us. Maybe it’s just the former soldier and the sergeant at arms in me talking, but I want to protect her from both my past and whoever sent her running to Montana.

And I will protect her, because this woman is mine.

PAISLEY

Three months ago, I found out how much cruelty can flow through someone’s veins. My whole world collapsed, and suffocating fear for the most precious thing life has ever given me sent me running.

Now, Montana is my new home. For how long? Only time will tell.

But when fate puts a sturdy, intense biker in my path, everything changes. The connection between Seth and me is palpable, and it grows stronger every day that I get to know him. It lures us together despite my efforts to stay away. And clearly, I fail at staying away. Because soon, what scares me the most is no longer the dreadful ghost of my recent past.

Now, I’m terrified I’ll have to run away again and lose the man I’m falling in love with.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

I know that staring down at the nasty mush of food splashed across my kitchen sink is going to awaken the urge to vomit the rest of the lunch I ate three hours ago—most likely before I even manage to get my breathing under control. My churning stomach is the only proof I need. But for a long couple of minutes, the loathsome prospect of a repeat doesn’t set off enough motivation for me to move. But maybe motivation isn’t the problem. Maybe I’m simply not sure it’s wise to take the leap yet. If my legs shake with as much fervor as my hands when I try to walk away from the repugnant smell, the chances of cracking my skull on the hard, light gray tiles of my kitchen floor are sky-high. It doesn’t help that my brain has started to race despite myself, trying to come up with an explanation for the discovery that forced me to puke into the sink, the sickness arising too suddenly to allow me to race to the bathroom. It’s searching for any explanation that would give me even the slightest flicker of hope that the past fourteen months of my life haven’t been a pure lie.

A complete sham.

But as I finally push off the countertop and stagger back to the kitchen island despite the risk of collapsing on the way, my gut, my heart and my head are all on the same page. When my gaze falls back to the few papers that literally made me sick, every part of me knows that the last fourteen months have come to an end. There can’t be many explanations for the papers I found hidden under a loose board of the living room hardwood floor ten minutes ago.

These papers have changed my life. It sounds dramatic, but it’s not. It’s a fact.

My eyes stay anchored to the passport displaying the picture of the man I’ve loved for the past fourteen months, despite the need to fight back a new wave of nausea as more food threatens to make its way up my throat. Through my frenzied heartbeat, my trembling body, and my roiling stomach, I keep reading the name adjoined to the very familiar face with sharp features and soft blue eyes, topped with a mop of light brown hair. The first name is the same I’ve always called him. Brendan. But the last name isn’t his. At least, it’s not the one I thought belonged to the man that I thought was the love of my life until about fifteen minutes ago. And now, the face I’m staring at is the one of the man I love, but strangely, it also isn’t.

If not for the three other pieces of paper I found with the passport, I could have let my mind wander through far-fetched explanations like how the man I’ve shared so much with was some kind of secret agent who had to keep me in the dark for safety reasons. I might have let my love for him convince me of that. But the other papers are spread out here, right before my eyes, and two of them drape a layer of cold chills all over my skin, worsening the shaking that’s taken over my body. The two train tickets scheduled for the same day Brendan booked me a spa day don’t leave much doubt as to what’s going on.

Just for you. You deserve a long day of being pampered.

Those were his words when he gifted me the thoughtful spa day a few days ago, kissing me like I was a treasure. His treasure. But I’ve never been a treasure to him, and he’s never been some undercover hero fighting the most dangerous criminals in the world. I’m a fool, and he’s a fraud. A fraud that is intending to leave Oregon in less than a week.

Why is this happening? Why is he doing this? To me? To us? The possible answers to those questions send an even stronger wave of sickness rolling through me than the papers in front of me, so I’m not even going to think about it. At least not now. Does knowing why matter anyway? To me, in this moment, it doesn’t. All that matters to me is that the man I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with is planning to rip away from me the most precious thing life has ever given me. The last piece of paper on the counter is proof of that. I didn’t even know it had arrived yet. The past three weeks have been nothing but adjustment and trying to sleep when I can, so it’s no surprise that administrative stuff hasn’t entered my mind once. But it has been on Brendan’s, obviously. Now I’m back to staring at one of the last names appearing on the document; Travis. Brendan Travis. I’m then reading my own name again, not knowing if it’s a consolation or not. I don’t know much anymore, except that the man who is now a stranger to me is planning to do something heartless and unfathomable. But so help me God, the only way I’m going to let that happen is if I’m dead. And when the door of my apartment opens and footsteps get closer before I have time to put away the incriminating documents, I’m sweating with the thought that something irreversible is really going to happen.

C.M. Marin is an author of romantic suspense and contemporary romance.

She’s a small-town girl all the way. Quiet and nature are all she really needs… as long as there are books and a box full of assorted teas within easy reach!

She hasn’t found her own happily ever after yet, but she sure loves to write about falling in love and finding forever. With a touch of suspense, just the right amount of sexiness, and plenty of love, she writes books for every lover of romance around the world!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Bookbub / Newsletter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

Bride of the Corpse King by @emilybshore Book Blitz and Giveaway! #BrideoftheCorpseKing #EmilyShore #XpressoTours @XpressoTours⁣

 

Bride of the Corpse King
Emily Shore

Publication date: September 1st 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

~From Bestselling Kindle Vella Author Emily Shore

“I will have you on my throne. And worship you like the goddess you are.”

Flowers have followed Isla Adayra her whole life. Things are no different in the City of the Dead.

After volunteering to be Bride of the Corpse King to save her family, Isla sets a course to woo the God of Death. From seducing him with her corpus roses to accepting his mark of Death, Isla must keep him from reaping her soul.

With Death in his cursed form, the Corpse King, Allysteir, meets his match with Isla and her passion. It isn’t long before his feeble heart falls for the girl who eats forbidden fruit and grows roses and thorns from her flesh. But could she truly tempt Death? And break their land’s Curse?

For fans of A Touch of Darkness comes a dark and rapturous fantasy retelling starring a brooding and tortured Corpse King and a heroine strong enough to conquer the God of Death…

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

—

As a bestselling Kindle Vella Author, Emily Shore, for fantasy romance, I love to feature strong, badass heroines, dark, tortured love interests, spicy romance, and queer inclusivity. My past work includes a Top 100 YA anti-trafficking dystopian: The Uncaged Series.

After finding my voice late 2020, I am celebrating my newer debut works. Bride of the Corpse King: A Hades and Persephone Retelling and Bride of Lucifer are my top Kindle Vella books. Learn more at “Emily’s Vella Verse” on FB or connect with me on any social media pages, especially Tiktok!

An abuse survivor and trained advocate, I’ve worked as an awareness speaker all over Minnesota including the MLA and MEA conferences attended by hundreds of educators and librarians. As a recently out and proud bisexual feminist, my passion through my advocacy work and writing is to celebrate and normalize queer characters, showcase trauma-overcoming themes, and to empower female audiences, including my two daughters.

Please subscribe to Emily’s newsletter at - www.emilybethshore.com - to keep up with my series projects, author promos, and contests to receive fun prizes!

Emily lives in Saint Paul with her husband and two daughters. When not writing enemies to lovers with sex positive and empowered females smashing the patriarchy, Emily is pursuing grad school for domestic abuse advocacy.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Pinterest / Amazon

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

Rogue Wolf Hunter by @kait. ballenger Book Blitz and Giveaway! #RogueWolfHunter #kaitballenger #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

 

Rogue Wolf Hunter
Kait Ballenger

(Rogue Brotherhood, #1)
Publication date: August 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

A sexy wolf shifter romance like you’ve never seen before! – Perfect for fans of Supernatural!

Hunters of the paranormal, the Rogue Brotherhood are an elite group tasked with protecting humanity…but what happens when danger collides with desire?

Jace McCannon has one loyalty: the Rogue Brotherhood. Despite his mixed blood, his hatred for the werewolves he hunts is legendary. But in his search for a sadistic killer, Jace finds himself face-to-face with a stunningly seductive packmaster…and longing for a night with his mortal enemy.

Nothing can stop Frankie Amato from defending her kind – or from catching the rogue responsible for killing women in her territory. For that, this alpha female needs Jace’s skills more than she wants to admit. But as their investigation exposes evil truths, need burns into a passion that dare not be fulfilled. For to do so will have deadly consequences for them both….

Rogue Wolf Hunter is the first in a sexy paranormal romance series by Kait Ballenger filled with powerful alpha males and the sexy independent women who bring them to their knees…

The Rogue Brotherhood Series:
1. Rogue Wolf Hunter
2. Cold Demon Hunter
3. Dark Witch Hunter

“Kait Ballenger is a treasure you don’t want to miss” – NYT and USA Today Bestseller Gena Showalter

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

“Okay. Now do whatever feels comfortable.”

Jace bent his knees and arched forward like a large animal waiting to pounce.

“Channel your energy wherever its strongest. Focus on pushing all your energy there.”

He raised a single brow. “What energy?”

“What do you mean, ‘what energy’?” She sighed, exasperated with him.

She’d been more than a little on-edge lately. A combination of her lonely nights, working with Jace, Amarok’s unintentionally oppressive presence, and the knowledge that there was still a killer on the loose in her territory. Something had to give. And soon.

“You keep saying focus on the energy and I don’t feel any energy.”

She sighed and walked to his side. “Straighten up again.”

He rolled his shoulders back to stand at his full height, towering over her. The closeness of his body to hers sent a fresh wave of heat straight through her. “It’s the energy inside you. The kind you feel when the moon is full. That sort of stirring. Right here in your chest.” She placed her palm over his solar plexus. She looked up, and their eyes locked.

Something heated flared in his gaze, feral and untamed. But she couldn’t address it.

Not without revealing how much his absence from her bed had affected her.

Apparently when the lingerie hadn’t worked, he’d taken a different approach and ghosted her.

Like he was bidding his time until she came to him.

And from the fire in his eyes now, he had no doubt she would. Eventually.

Her will wasn’t made of titanium, though she wanted it to be.

She tore her gaze away. She had to fight to get the words out. “It’s right here. It pulls at your whole being, like something connected to your soul.” She glanced at the floor. “Do you feel it?”

Jace placed his hand over hers, his voice an aroused growl. “Only when you touch me.”

Frankie couldn’t help herself. She met his eyes again, and her breath caught.

They stood in total stillness.

He stroked his thumb over the top of her hand. “I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want,” he said, barely above a whisper. “Not without ruining everything you need.”

She swallowed, trying to find the ability to speak. “I’m sorry, too.”

He kept staring, and Frankie wasn’t sure how to handle it.

Unintentionally, she inched closer.

Jace cleared his throat and stepped back.

Her hand fell from his chest to hang limp at her side. Yeah, she was an idiot. Thinking she could have him both ways. He wanted her. He’d made that much clear, but the distance he’d placed between them over the past few days said he wouldn’t play second-fiddle to Amarok. He’d only have her again if she was ready to go all in, and in the meantime, their constant flirtations were driving her wild—exactly like he intended.

It was all or nothing with Jace.

And he was playing to win.

She stepped away from him. Learn to take a hint, Frankie, she chastised herself.

Jace cleared his throat again. “I can feel it when the moon is full. But I can’t feel it now. So how am I supposed to gather it?”

“You’re going to have to learn how to feel it.” Her palm tingled from where she’d touched his skin. Her arms didn’t feel right hanging at her sides, so she crossed them over her chest. She wanted to wrap them around him. Instead, she tightened them around her body, trying to hold herself together. “You’ve probably suppressed it so long that you can’t feel it anymore. Can you think back to the last time it was there?”

“When I hunt.”

“What do you mean?” she said.

He stared at the wall as if he didn’t want to look her in the face. “When I’m out hunting… well, you know.” He glanced at her to gauge her reaction.

“Wolves? Our people?”

Jace frowned. “Only the criminal ones. Ones who hurt humanity,” he amended quickly, making it clear that despite all her darker dealings as a packmaster, he didn’t consider her to be one. “When I’m hunting, I can feel something stir inside me. Almost like an animal living under my skin. A beast.”

“Is there any way we can simulate the feeling you get when you hunt?”

He squared his jaw and rubbed his temples in slow circles, a slight smirk crossing his lips. “Not unless you bring Rock in here and let me tear into him.”

“Aren’t you funny?” she said coldly. “What’s your problem with him, Jace?”

“I have a problem with any man, wolf or otherwise, who has what I want.”

A moment of silence passed between them as he scanned the length of her body and her skin seemed to catch fire. He could caress her with one look.

“Come here,” he said.

Without thinking about what she was doing, Frankie shuffled forward a few inches, then stared into his eyes and froze.

He pulled her against his body. He laced his fingers through her hair, and a blush heated her cheeks.

“If you stand close to me, I might be able to shift.”

“Why does this strike me as an obvious ploy?”

“I don’t need a clever ploy to make you want to be in my arms, Frankie.” His grip on her tightened, and she could feel his erection push against the soft skin of her stomach. He leaned his face into hers, and she fought hard not to gasp as his lips lingered dangerously close to her ear.

His warm breath danced over her skin. “Just stay with me,” he whispered again.

Kait Ballenger is the award-winning author of the Seven Range Shifter and The Rogue Brotherhood paranormal romance series, where she weaves captivating tales filled with dark, sexy alpha heroes and the independent women who bring them to their knees.

When Kait’s not preoccupied writing “intense and riveting” paranormal plots or “high-voltage” love scenes that make even seasoned romance readers blush, she can usually be found spending time with her family or with her nose buried in a good book. She lives in Florida with her husband and two young sons.

Visit Kait's website or sign up for her newsletter at www.kaitballenger.com

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok / Newsletter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

Pleasure in Pain by Coda Languez Book Blitz and Giveaway! #CodaLanguez #PleasureinPain #ABeautifulLie #XpressoTours⁣⁣ @XpressoTours⁣

 

Pleasure in Pain
Coda Languez

(Birth of a Sin, #2)
Publication date: August 29th 2022
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Mafia, Romance

Originally on Kindle Vella!
If she couldn’t catch him with honey…Violence will have to do.
Power, Money and Beauty; Ira Dante had it all.
She was the woman of his dreams.
All Tristan had to do was say “yes” and she would give him anything he could dream of.
But all that money came from trafficked drugs, stolen weapons, and mountains of bloodied corpses. All that power lead to sadistic rages and nightmarish madness. Underneath her beauty was a monster that threatened to rip him apart.

Simply put:
Ira was batshit insane.

So Tristan refused; their relationship was built on pretty little lies hiding the hideous truth and as a vigilante, he spent years working against criminal empires like the Dante Family.
Unfortunately, Ira was a woman who never took ‘no’ for an answer and she has long learned that all is fair in love and war.

Goodreads / Purchase

Book 1 – A Beautiful Lie – is only 99c for a limited time!

Videos!

TikTok

Instagram

 

TikTok

—

EXCERPT:

Ira looked down at him from her perch on the table, her titanium fingers releasing those soft brown locks before lovingly brushing through the strands, “Oh Sweetie. You’re not going anywhere.” She smirked, licking her intact bottom lip; his bitter bite on her mouth was nowhere to be seen.

His electric blue eyes glared at her from under stringy brown bangs. “You psychotic whore! Let me-“

A loud BANG echoed in the room as Ira suddenly slammed his face against the steel surface. A white light seared his eyes, and his mind tumbled away from him. He gasped, grunting as tried to lift his head, only for that heated, monstrous, cybernetic hand to slam his face back down to the table.

“Here are some basic facts, ArchAngel…” She snarled, her lips close to his ears, her breath scalding his pallid skin, “You are NOT going anywhere.” She lifted his head by his hair as if to peel off his scalp. “You are in NO position to demand.” She jerked her wrist to the side, twisting his head to look up at her. Her eyes were pools of inferno, staring deep into his cerulean depths. “You. Are. MINE!” She let go of his hair, her thighs next to his throbbing head. The demonic digits of that abominable arm tapped on the steel surface. “Understood?”

Tristan shuddered, his shock, his rage giving way to fear, and somber defeat. “What do you want from me?”

She tilted her head as more tears escaped Tristan’s swollen eyes. “I have a very long list of things I want from you…”

She got off the table and pressed the index finger of her prosthetic arm onto the steel surface. A loud screech burrowed into Tristan’s ears as she dragged it around the table.

“FUCK!” If it wasn’t the pulsating thuds against his temples, it was now that scream of metal on metal tearing into ears. He clenched his teeth, feeding that agony into his returning rage.

Rage.

Sadness.

Mixing with a healthy dose of fear.

When the metallic screech halted, he lifted chin from the table, his lips quivering before glaring up at her.

Why was she looking at him like that?

Those fiery eyes gazed at him affectionately.

There was a slight smile on Ira’s face and a soft purr in her throat.

Not too long ago, he would’ve been nuzzling his face against her orange curls, kissing the top of her head, her cheeks, and those voluptuous lips for looking at him like that.

Now?

He hated it.

He hated the mixed feelings in his gut.

He kept silent, conflicting, turning deep within his stomach, his eyes narrowed in electric azure slits as Ira took a seat.

Her eyes burned with ravenous heat as she lowered her hand into a tote beside her stiletto boots. Her eyebrows lifted, and her smile widened into a demonic grin.

She lifted the sought after tool from the bag and set it on the table, red fingernails punctuating its presence with a delicate caress.

Sick and twisted curiosity forced his gaze downwards.

A pair of pliers came into view.

Long-nosed pliers that were impeccably clean, shining in the stark spotlight of the room.

He took in the sight of the clamped shut pliers before her voice, deep and laced with a predatory growl, penetrated through the cold silence.

“So let’s start from the very top of this list. Right now, I want to know you on a deeper level.” The metal fingers of her left hand strummed along the table surface, even measured taps echoing, “No more secrets, no more lies.”

Coda Languez is a Software Engineer by day and an Artist/Author by night. She is lover of all things anime, horror, and comic related, making her a true geek in all aspects. Heavily influenced by the works of Satoshi Kon, Kouta Hirano, Francesca Lia Block, and Clive Barker, Coda mixes black comedy, horror, magic realism, and dark romance into her works, creating an 'it's complicated' relationship between readers and her anti-heroic, even villainous protagonists.

When she is not programming in her day job or writing psychological terrifying romances and dark action comedies in the night hours, Coda often binges on anime, fantasy, and sci-fi sagas and indulges in competition reality tv (a guilty pleasure). She is the mother of an adorable toddler and his Pembroke Welsh Corgi brothers, and wife to an awesome and often exasperated husband.

For information on Coda's latest works, visit codemonkeyarts.com or connect with her on social media via @codemonkeyarts.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok / Pinterest

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

All the Broken Girls by Linda Bond Book Tour and Giveaway!

All the Broken Girls

by Linda Bond

August 22 - September 16, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

When one falls

Crime reporter Mari Alvarez was never able to solve her mother’s murder ten years ago. But when a woman is gunned down on the doorstep of her West Tampa neighborhood, Mari can’t shake the eerie sense of connection.

The others will break

Now there have been two murders in two days. Each crime scene awash with arcane clues―and without a trace of DNA from the killer. And for each victim, a doll. The first is missing an eye. The second is missing a heart. But are these clues leading to the killer…or messages for Mari?

Unless she plays the game...

Caught up in a maelstrom of Old-World superstition, secrets, and ties to her own past, Mari has only one option. Put the puzzle together before someone else dies―even if it destroys her career. But there’s no escaping the hungry spider’s web when it’s been made just for you…

Book Details:

Genre: Thriller
Published by: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: August 23rd 2022
Number of Pages: 368
ISBN: 1649372140 (ISBN13: 9781649372147)
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

I’m running fifteen minutes late after driving my Abuela Bonita to her doctor’s appointment. But that’s not bad, actually, for Cuban time. Of course my statement high heels click on the uncarpeted floor like my abuela’s disapproving tongue and all I can think of is that silly commercial with the tagline “Wanna get away?” Except I can’t escape. It’s my first day back at the TV station after two weeks at home with no work and no pay. I’m still on probation, and I need this job like I need water and air.

Speaking of which, the thought makes me notice how parched my throat is and I’m afraid my voice will crack when I talk. My lungs are so empty I’m not sure I can deliver any story pitches, even if my job depends on it.

Which, it does.

Reporting is in my blood.

But my paycheck—also a necessity.

I rub my right wrist. The red rope bracelet is there. The pea-sized, black gemstone dangles from it. I roll the azabache charm between my fingers, silently going through my routine: twist the stone three times to the right, three to the left. Six times in all. My lucky number. I swear I’ll never go to a crime scene again without the charm. I’ve learned my lesson. Asi es. Truth. That’s how it is.

I pull out the chair across from Mr. Payton and accidentally scrape the floor. It’s loud. Que escandalo!

More stares cut my way. The air conditioning kicks up a notch, but that means nothing to the sweat rolling down my back, sliding into the most inconvenient places. I ignore the wet tickle and stand even taller before taking a seat.

My boss drills me with that intense stare that says everything he’s not allowed to vocalize for fear Human Resources will reprimand him. “Thanks for joining us, Ms. Alvarez.”

“Had to drop off my grandmother at her doctor’s office. She doesn’t drive.” I sit and twist the water bottle on the table until the label faces me. I look at El Jefe and force the corners of my mouth up. Abuela Bonita always told me, no matter what’s going on inside, you can win over the world with a warm smile.

“Let’s continue.” Mr. Payton looks at Paul Johnson, our political reporter.

Paul clears his throat. “As I was saying, the governor is going to hold a press conference on the opioid crisis at a local…”

I cross my ankles to keep my leg from bouncing. It’s clear my boss doesn’t trust me anymore. Not since my serial killer story got the station sued.

I catch the ambitious, crime reporter wannabe eyeing me from the right corner of the room. Bet she’s dying to know what happened to warrant my suspension. She probably already knows. Secrets don’t stay secrets for long in a newsroom.

What the hell had gone wrong?

Abuela Bonita calls it mala suerte. She insisted I wear the azabache bracelet today to ward off the bad
luck following me. I find the charm again and twist.

I will fix this. Don’t know how. But I will repair my damaged reputation.

“Alvarez?”

I flinch in my seat.

“You have anything to add to the meeting?” El Jefe taps his engraved pen on the table in a slow, rhythmic pattern.

“Well, Mr. Payton.” He likes it when we use his last name. “I thought I’d do a feature on a young girl in New Tampa Hospital who needs a kidney transplant.”

“That from the crime beat reporter?” I hear the words he isn’t speaking.

“I know.” I answer in my head. “Eleven Emmys, and I still messed up that last crime story, didn’t I?” Out loud I say, “She’s an artist—truly amazing gift— and she’s willing to auction off her paintings to raise money so people can get tested to see if they’re a match. We could save her life by sharing her story.”

My boss nods but says, “Busch Gardens is showing off a new baby sloth this evening.”

My cheeks burn. I sit back. The heat floods down into my chest. “A baby sloth?” I’m pretty sure this is what a public castration feels like.

“We have enough crime, corruption, death, and destruction today. We need something positive after Weather. Sloth baby it is. Can’t go wrong with baby animals,” he says.

Can’t get the station sued again, you mean.

“You’re on that, Alvarez.”

“Gracias.” I close my eyes and visualize a sloth picking at El Jefe’s bushy, needs-to-be-cut eyebrows
with those two big claw-like toes. In slow motion, of course. “If our viewers see what I’m envisioning, they’re going to love it.” I smile. Warmly.

Whatever. It will keep me employed for at least one more day. My sister Izzy and Abuela are counting on me.

My phone goes off. I look down, fumbling it as I try to flip off the ringer. “Sorry. Sorry.” It’s not someone calling. It’s my home RING security camera alerting me. My pulse takes off like an F-16. Someone is at our front door. My heart stalls. And falls.

“An important source?” El Jefe asks.

A scoff from the right corner of the room. “Baby sloth police calling?” Crime reporter wannabe gets the room laughing.

Wannabe must have missed her café con leche this morning. I join the laughter and wink at her, despite the slow scalding heat I’m feeling. Abuela Bonita also taught me you get more with honey than vinegar. “No. No. Sorry.” Just my sister’s boyfriend of the week, who is not supposed to be at our house. I shake my head.

“Alvarez?”

My spine straightens. “Yes?”

“You can take the new photographer, Chris Jensen.”

That pulls me back to the moment. “But I always work with Orlando.” A big eyeball fills the RING camera at the front door, but it isn’t Izzy’s new boyfriend. His eyes are as blue as the Florida sky. Isabella’s are dark brown, so dark you can’t tell where the pupil ends, and the iris begins. Izzy pulls back and yells at the RING camera, “Stop spying on me! De conseguir una vida!”

My younger sister is telling me to get a life of my own.

Snickers flicker across the room.

Every hair on the back of my neck rises. The audio on my iPhone is still on. Wanna get away?

I glance at my friend Kiara. She smiles and shakes her head. I appreciate her support. Time to turn the sound off my iPhone.

“Everything okay?” El Jefe’s features remain constant. He doesn’t chastise me for my sister’s outburst, even though she interrupted his busy news meeting.

“Yes sir, I’m fine.” Wait till I get home, Isabella Alvarez! “I’m fine.”

He nods, but his eyes narrow.

I sit through one of his nerve-wracking, wish-I-knew-what-he’s thinking pauses.

He says, “You can take Orlando.”

I exhale.

El Jefe is throwing me a peace offering, I think. Or maybe he believes I can’t even handle an animal story with the newbie photog, so giving me Orlando is like tossing out a safety vest.

Wow.

Two weeks ago, I would have rolled my eyes at the insult of such an easy, nonrelevant assignment. I would have been deeply offended by the shade of making sure I had a veteran babysitter with me.

Tonight, I’m grateful for it.

Even though I know I can’t possibly screw up a baby sloth story, right?

***

Excerpt from All the Broken Girls by Linda Bond. Copyright 2022 by Linda Bond. Reproduced with permission from Entangled Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

By day, Linda Hurtado Bond is an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist. By night, she’s an author of James Bond like adventures and heart-stopping thrillers. Linda met her husband Jorge on assignment in Cuba, twenty-some years later they've raised a doctor, a nurse, a pilot, a paramedic firefighter, and an aspiring psychologist. A breast cancer survivor, she’s active in the Tampa community raising money and awareness. When not working she finds time for her passions, her husband Jorge, world travel, classic movies, and solving a good mystery. Visit Linda at lindabond.com.

Catch Up With Linda Bond:
www.LindaBond.com
Goodreads
BookBub - @lindahbond
Instagram - @authorlindahurtadobond
Twitter - @AuthorLindaBond
Facebook - @authorlindabond

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!

 

 

GIVEAWAY:

This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Linda Bond and Entangled Publishing, LLC. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

 

 

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Tours

 

 

Where You Are by @FeliceStevens Book Blitz and Giveaway! #WhereYouAre #FeliceStevens #XpressoTours⁣⁣ @XpressoTours⁣⁣

 

Where You Are
Felice Stevens

Publication date: August 29th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

Former model and B-list actor (B meaning really bad) Isaac Seidel is now a NYC firefighter on special assignment in the one-horse town of Serenity, Pa. But all work and no play makes Isaac a dull boy, and when he hooks up with the most explosive one-night stand he’s ever had, it looks like country life might not be so boring after all.
Especially when the guy he thought he’d never see again turns out to be one of the volunteer firefighters he’s expected to train.
Levi Everett is a master at pleasing everyone—except himself. He’s spent his whole life hiding who he is and what he wants. It’s a lot more complicated now that he’s going to be seeing gorgeous Isaac Seidel every day. How is he supposed to pretend he’s straight when he and Isaac can’t keep their hands off each other?
Isaac has made it clear he’s only interested in friends with benefits, so when he returns home to NYC, Levi knows he’s gone forever.

Until he isn’t.

Trust doesn’t come easily to Isaac—he’s been hurt and used before. But Isaac is unable to forget the man he left behind, and in a shocking move, he makes Levi an offer that could change their lives forever. Now it’s up to Levi to put himself first, risking the love of his family, to go after his dreams—dreams that were unimaginable before Isaac but are now within his reach.

Because love is wherever Isaac is, and it’s the only place Levi wants to be.

Where You Are is a sweet and steamy, age-gap MM romance featuring two smoking hot firefighters who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other or their clothes on whenever they’re together. It’s filled with found family, first time love, a swoony happily ever after, a well-meaning but nosy mother, and plenty of good old country fried chicken.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“Is this seat taken?”

Levi’s grip tightened on his bottle of Stella before answering the man who stood by his side. He was gorgeous—tall and dark-haired, with a gleam in his blue eyes and a slightly wicked but charming half smile tugging at his lips. He looked somewhat familiar, but Levi knew if he’d ever met him, he would’ve remembered.

“No. It’s not.” Anxiety sang through his blood as the man slid into the empty seat next to him.

“Great. My first time here. Seems like a cool place. Not many like it, I’m gathering.”

Levi swallowed. “Uh, yeah, me too. And I don’t think so.” Nervous and unsure what he should say or do, he kept quiet.

“Hey. Don’t worry. I’m not a serial killer or anything.” The man appeared to be nice, but Levi wasn’t taken in.

“Would you tell me if you were?”

The man laughed. “No, I suppose you’re right.” He pulled out his driver’s license and held it up. “See? That’s me.”

Isaac Seidel.

Levi noted the address in New York City and wondered what he was doing in the middle of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “I wasn’t fishing for information. My name’s Levi, by the way.”

“I know you weren’t.” Isaac signaled the bartender. “Another beer, Levi?”

Levi shrugged. “Sure. Thanks.”

He watched Isaac chat easily with the bartender as he opened their bottles of Stella. And despite his teasing about serial killers, Levi couldn’t help a frisson of fear. Was he crazy to do this? Maybe there was someone in town.…God, he hoped he wasn’t going to throw up from nerves. He hadn’t done that since he was a little kid.

“Here’s to new friends,” Isaac said, then raised a brow. “And maybe more?”

“New friends. And maybe.” He clinked Isaac’s bottle and took a swallow. Warmth settled in his belly, and he took another sip, feeling Isaac’s steady blue eyes on him. Seemed like Isaac had the same thing on his mind, and a thrill built up inside Levi at the thought of Isaac being his first.

“What do you do, Levi?” Isaac’s appreciative gaze ate him up, and Levi’s breathing accelerated. “You’re in fantastic shape.”

“I own a bar with my brother, so lifting all those cases of beer and liquor helps.”

“I’ll bet. No need for the gym.”

“We don’t even have one in my little town. You’d have to travel a few miles to get to one. But most of the young guys who work on the farms don’t need it, or they lift at home.”

“Makes sense. All that country living.” Isaac finished his beer. “In the city we can run in the park or work out, but most people belong to a gym.”

Figuring he needed to add something to the conversation to let Isaac know he was interested, he cleared his throat. “You’re in pretty good shape yourself.”

Isaac let loose that crazy, sexy smile. “Thanks for noticing.”

About to ask what Isaac did for a living, Levi froze when Isaac set his bottle on the bar and leaned in close. The cool scent of his aftershave sent a hot punch of lust through Levi, and he found himself swaying toward the man until their lips almost touched.

“Care to take a walk with me?”

Felice Stevens has always been a romantic at heart. She believes that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending around the corner. Her characters have to work for it, because just like life in NYC, nothing comes easy and that includes love.

Felice is the 2020 Lambda Literary Award winning author in best Gay Romance. She lives in New York City and has way too much black in her wardrobe. If she's not writing, you'll probably find her watching reality TV or procrastinating on FB in her reader group, Felice's Breakfast Club.

 

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Amazon / Pinterest / Bookbub

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

Welcome To Visanthe by @author_lmsanguinette Book Blitz and Giveaway! #lmsanguinette #WelcomeToVisanthe #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

 

Welcome To Visanthe
L.M. Sanguinette

Publication date: September 2nd 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

THE SHADOWS HAVE AWAKENED…

Raised on a small unassuming island in the Caribbean, with the kind of sleepy town lifestyle better suited to old fishermen than fiery young troublemakers, Savara believes she has her world all figured out—and hates it. Yet, on her eighteenth birthday—the anniversary of her parents’ death—she wakes up to find the only world she has ever known might have all been a lie.

An unexpected death and the appearance of a mysterious off-worlder force Savara to question everything she has ever known as she and Jasper—her “only adventurous in books” best friend—are thrust into a new world, faced with a task that will not only determine their fates, but the fate of an entire nation. The shadows of a long-forgotten past have awakened with a thirst for blood. Will she be able to stop them from devouring everything in their path? Or will she fall victim to her own demons?

Join them on their journey to a world of elemental magic, where the lines of good and evil have been distorted, and truth is most often paid for in blood.

Welcome to Visanthe.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

When she was younger, Savara used to listen to the stories her uncle would tell with rapt attention, wishing that they were real. Fantastical beasts, fires that lived, oceans that sang, people who moved like gods… Sometimes she even wished to be one of them, the people who could move stones with their mind, summon fire at the twitch of their fingers, create gigantic waves or powerful winds with the flick of their wrists, or even steal light from the world around them.

“My uncle used to tell me stories…” she said cautiously, unwilling to divulge too much of her memories. “I think they were about this place. About the creatures that call it home, and what they’re capable of…” When the man didn’t reply, she added, “They weren’t just stories.” Savara waited for an answer to the not-quite-question that might ease her worries.

His pause felt eternal. The flickering of the lamp’s flame filled the space where words should’ve been. Finally, he took a breath. “No.”

Back then, his stories seemed to resonate with something inside her, which she mistook for longing. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Besides, from what she now remembered, none of his stories ever ended well.

“They weren’t happy stories,” she continued.

“Not all stories are happy, no matter the world.”

Thinking back on all the strange tales her uncle had filled her head with over the years, she realised that part of the pleasure in stories is that they are just that, stories, things to imagine without facing consequences. No one gives a second thought to the monsters that lurk in the shadows so long as the hero is safe at the end. But hearing a story is different from living it. She couldn’t simply close the book when she got scared or skip to the end to know everything would be alright. Savara didn’t like the new sensation taking root in the pit of her stomach, the one that left her wondering what exactly it meant to not be human, and in Jasper’s case, to be one in a world that wasn’t.

L. M. Sanguinette was born on a small island in the Caribbean, where the palm trees watched over her like giants and the sea crept up to her feet to say "hello". Nowadays she can be found in one of the many hidden coffee shops of Madrid conversing with the spirits of the old city.

Website / Goodreads / TikTok / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

Wrapped Around My Heart by Heather Alexander Book Blitz and Giveaway! #WrappedAroundMyHeart #HeatherAlexander #XpressoTours⁣ @XpressoTours⁣

 

Wrapped Around My Heart
Heather Alexander

(The Kincaid Brothers, #1)
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: August 29th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Savvy New York designer, Emma Cole, inexplicably falls through time and into the arms of the most intriguing man she’s ever met—Wyatt Kincaid, a hunky cowboy living in 19th century Montana. Their attraction is instantaneous, but the secrets they each carry may keep the two apart.

When a mysterious string of fires set off a chain of events, the couple must come together to uncover the perpetrator.

Fate brought them together through time, but will their love be strong enough to keep them united through the centuries?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

—

EXCERPT:

A sudden crash outside the garage sounded like a car wreck at high speed or, more precisely, a head-on collision. The ground beneath Emma’s feet shook. She lost her balance and stumbled toward the door. Outside, she expected to see a horrible motor vehicle accident and bodies strewn everywhere.

But there was no crash.

No cars.

No one.

Nothing else, except the house and…

She turned back to the garage. Her breath caught in her lungs. What had been the spotless three-car garage was now a two-story wood barn. A buckboard sat to the side. A tall windmill towered behind the wood structure; on the opposite side, a horse grazed in a paddock.

And one very tall and handsome man with piercing blue eyes that rivaled the Montana sky stood before her. His thick blond hair caressed his forehead. He wiped his hands on a rag, then tucked it into the side of his denim overalls. His rolled-up shirt sleeves exposed tanned muscular forearms. Where did he come from?

She glanced at the house, at him, then back again, and trembled involuntarily. The house had suddenly changed. It looked different—the roof had shingles. Smoke billowed out of the chimney, the smell filling her head.

“Ma’am?” The man’s gaze swept over her from head to toe; a gentle smile touched his lips. Something akin to recognition flickered in his eyes. “Are you…lost?”

Who is this guy, why is he here, and how the hell did my life just get turned upside down?

Heather Alexander writes time-travel, contemporary, and historical romance.

Since she was a child, Heather has been fascinated with time-travel stories and the Old West. After visiting several ghost towns in Montana, she was inspired to combine the two and wrote her first time-travel romance, Wrapped Around My Heart. A Long Island native, she now lives in the south with her family and spends all her free time with her two beloved fur babies. She is currently working on the next book in the Kincaid Brothers series. More information about Heather and her writing is available at booksbyha.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by: