12 March 2023

Revenge is Sweet @FeliceStevens Book Blitz! #FeliceStevens #RevengeisSweet @XpressoTours #XpressoTours

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Revenge is Sweet
Felice Stevens
Publication date: March 6th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

What do you do when your best friend runs off with your fiancée on your wedding day?
If you’re me, Lyon Elliot, you don’t get mad.
You get even.
Which means seducing my ex–best friend’s younger brother, Miles Halloran.
The quiet one.
The man I’ve known all my life but never paid attention to.
The one I was told to stay away from because he’s way too nice for someone like me. Maybe they’re right.
But see, this is where it gets a little more complicated.
Because the more time I spend with Miles, the more I like him.
Want him.
Now I need him and his sweet smiles in my life.
If this is still a game I’m playing…who’s fooling whom?
From Lambda-Literary award winning author, Felice Stevens comes a story of finding the love you never dreamed possible, from the person who was right in front of you your whole life…but never noticed.

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“I thought I told you to go away,” I grumbled.

“I’m hungry.” Miles chuckled.

I snorted but turned around to see him leaning that long body next to me, amusement brightening his eyes.

“You invited me to dinner, and I didn’t eat lunch in anticipation of a delicious meal.”

“You heard Uncle Harry. He’s right, you know. You should be long gone by now.”

“I did hear him. I know he loves you and knows you better than almost anyone. And it’s nothing I didn’t already know and say to myself as I was contemplating canceling meeting you tonight.” He folded his arms. “But I also heard you this week. I know you loved Dan and how badly he hurt you. And maybe you didn’t have that swoony type of love for Lindsey, but you knew her a long time. I’m sure you cared for her, and you were friends. It’s like losing a piece of yourself when you’re blindsided by someone you’ve known and cared about for so long.” He blinked rapidly, his eyes shiny and the brightest blue I’d ever seen.

Was he crying? For me? That rocked me to the core. No one had ever shed a tear over my feelings. Scott, much as he cared, while angry over Dan’s cowardice, was pragmatic and matter-of-fact about the broken engagement. Even Uncle Harry, who I knew loved me, was easily able to put that aside and count my faults out one by one like jelly beans. Only Miles seemed to understand how broken and lost Dan’s behavior had left me. He took it to his own heart and felt my pain.

And somehow, despite my outburst, my plan hadn’t gone awry. It wouldn’t take much to get Miles in my bed, and I grew hard, imagining what I could do to him. How I would wreck him for anyone else. I brushed at my lashes, surprised to find them wet. Damn, I was a better actor than I thought.

“It’s so hard. Thank you for understanding. I don’t like how angry this has left me.”

“I believe you. And I didn’t want to leave you, knowing how alone you must feel right now.” He hung his head. “I-I know what it’s like to be used.”

His words cut through my dirty fantasy of having him naked in my bed. Curious, I tipped up his chin. “What happened?”

He pushed away from my touch. “It doesn’t matter. It was in college. A long time ago.”

My lips thinned. “My parents fucked Scott and me over left and right while we were kids. If it’s Tuesday, it must be home with Mother. If it’s Saturday, it’s time to be with Father. Oh, wait. He didn’t show. Back to Mother’s, but she’d already gone away with her new husband, so off to Uncle Harry’s we go. It was long ago, and yet I still think about coming home to find it empty, no one there, not even the housekeeper.”

It struck me then that all my life, the people who should’ve stayed had left me. Over and over again.

And Dan’s leaving me was the hardest to take of all.

“That must’ve been hard on you and Scott.”

Sympathetic big blue eyes met mine, and I wanted to kiss him. Not because of any plan of revenge or to make him fall for me. I wanted to kiss him because he was sweet and caring and understanding.

He was Miles, and I wanted to kiss him, but I shocked myself by not following through because it didn’t feel like it would be right for him. I wanted him to want me.

Steadier now, I managed to insert the key and open the door. “About that dinner. They can send it here. If you still want to eat with me.”

His smile transformed the sadness in his face into shy happiness. I guessed it was a rare occurrence because in all the years I’d known Miles, I’d never seen it. It beamed from him like a torch lighting the darkness. And I liked it.

“Yes. I do.”

“Good. Come on in.”

He gazed around my spacious office that had a large sectional couch, a big flat-screen television, and a dining table in the far corner. It was set up like a studio apartment, and there were many late nights before the wedding when I’d fallen asleep on the couch.

“So is this what people mean when they say they’re entering the lion’s den?” Miles joked. “Should I be afraid?”

I grinned. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”


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.

 

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Broken Crowns by @empresschangromance Book Blitz! #BrokenCrowns #KingdomofLiesAndTruths #empresschang #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

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Broken Crowns
Empress Chang


(Kingdom of Lies & Truths, #1)
Publication date: March 9th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Mafia, Romance

Leandro was supposed to protect me. He failed me, covered me in blood and broke my innocence.

Leandro was to love me, but in the end, I knew we had no future.

So, I made a decision, and it has been five years since I last saw him. Now he stands before me, not only as my husband but as my Don.

My decision freed me but destroyed the Leandro I knew. This Leandro was covered by darkness and cruelty, and I was drawn to him like a bee to honey.

The more I get to know the man, the more it makes me question everything I know to be right and wrong.

But he is still the boy I knew and even though I needed him to love me, how long before I fall to the unmerciful side of Leandro Scavo, and truly love him?

*Broken Crowns is the first book in the Kingdom of Lies & Truths series and can be read as a standalone. It is a Dark new adult mafia romance that includes scenes that may be disturbing to some. (Mention of human trafficking, discussions of child abuse, graphic murder & torture scenes, strong sexual scenes, strong adult language and talks of blood). Recommended for readers 18+.

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I gave a soft snicker as we stared each other down. Her eyes blinked with humor. She would not make it easy to get answers. “Why did you leave?”

“I thought that reason would be obvious to you.” She took in every inch of the house, as if avoiding looking at me, then her gaze fell on the balcony as if she could see right through it . . . at someone or something out there. Waiting. Watching. Her eyes lingered there as she said, “I told you back in Florida that I lost my innocence and you that night. I was scared every time I was alone. Every sound had me jumping. The sight of a small cut on my hand along with the blood that beaded gave me panic attacks.”

“I just never got comfortable with blood the way you obviously have. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want the guns around, the men, the knowledge of knowing anyone I married in this life could easily be taken from me in some turf war. That I could be used again to get to the man I would end up marrying one day.”

I waited patiently as she zeroed in on me. “You brought me back to the worst part of my life, and I’m alone in it because my best friend and cousin fear you, while my parents hate me.”

Hearing a tremble in her voice and tears running down her cheek, I took her hand and guided her out of her seat to sit into my lap. She circled her arms around my neck and cried over my shoulders. “They don’t hate you. You hate me. You think your parents could ever feel what you feel toward me?” She shook her head. “Then stop saying that. Give Federico time and the doors of the estate will open to you again.”

Sniffling, her arms tightened around me. “But Faye and Eden . . . they’ll never welcome me again. I’m married to you . . .”

She whispered that last part, but all I could hear was her scheming ways to get me to absolve the girls of their role in her lie.

Unsure if I was more amused by it or annoyed, I threaded my fingers through her hair—pulling just hard enough to get a whimper from her—and forced her to meet my eyes.

“Then it’s a good thing you have me for company.” Sighing in defeat, Emilia loosened her arms around my neck, and before she could stand from my lap, I gripped her hips and kept her there. “Keep patronizing me, Emilia. You haven’t met Leandro the unmerciful yet.”

“I have a good idea who he is . . .” Raising her hand to my face, she sketched my forehead to my temple and over my cheeks and nose. Her right hand brushed my midnight shadow before slowly sliding over my parted lips. “He’ll take what’s his by right. He told me that two nights ago.”

The soft undertone of her voice was entrancing. Her delicate touch aroused me, but her condescending words burned me. “You are testing my affection for you,” I said, cupping her cheek with the hand I freed from her hair. My thumb mimicked her fingers, and when I brushed her smiling lips, she opened them and flicked her tongue against the tip.

Affection. Is that what you call it now?” she murmured, and I pushed my thumb into her warm mouth and exhaled when my dick pressed against my zipper and her ass. “Mmm.”


Writing under the pen name Empress Chang, she is referred to as an overly dramatic, outgoing yet shy individual by her friends and family. Half Chinese Jamaican, Chang was born and raised in Jamaica. She then migrated to the United States of America, three years ago where she is still scared of driving on the other side of the road!

Writing stories about her dogs and princesses at a young age, Chang discovered romance books in high school and started writing her own believing that romantic happy ever after’s are necessary for a healthy and happy life.

She is a huge believer in the simple things in life, and her life’s main goal is to be happy. This includes sunny beaches and junk food (of course)!

When Chang is not writing, she is usually reading, watching a series that has hooked her attention and demands to be binged, or is spending time with her supportive, loving husband.

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11 March 2023

Dearly Beloved Departed: A PIP Inc. Mystery by Nancy Lynn Jarvis Virtual Book Tour!

 

Dearly Beloved Departed: A PIP Inc. Mystery

Cozy Mystery 4th in Series 

Setting - California

Good Read Mysteries, an imprint of Good Read Publishers 

Number of Pages: 241

Pat is hired by attorney Jason Forman to “get some dirt” on his daughter’s fiancé. Before she gets very far in her investigation, the young man is murdered. Did his past catch up with him or is what Pat fears, that there’s a serial shooter going after Christmas Eve grooms, the reason he was killed? Pat and her fiancé, Detective Sergeant Tim Lindsey, are planning a Christmas Eve wedding which means, if she’s right, he’s on the shooter’s hit list.
 

Nancy Lynn Jarvis left the real estate profession after she started having so much fun writing the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries series that she let her license lapse. She’s enjoyed writing about Regan and her husband, Tom, but decided it was time to do a new series. PIP Inc. introduces protagonist downsized law librarian and not-quite-licensed Private Investigator Pat Pirard. “The Funeral Murder” is the second book in the series. After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, Nancy worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News. A move to Santa Cruz meant a new job as a librarian and later a stint as the business manager for Shakespeare/Santa Cruz at UCSC. Currently, she’s enjoying being a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Santa Cruz Women of Mystery. 

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March 1 – I’m Into Books – CHARACTER GUEST POST

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March 4 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 5 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

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March 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT


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Every Bit a Cowboy by @jenniemartswriter Book Blitz! #jenniemarts #everybitacowboy #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

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Every Bit a Cowboy
Jennie Marts


(Creedence Horse Rescue, #5)
Publication date: March 7th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

“Filled with humor, heart and real love.” —Michelle Major, USA Today bestselling author

USA Today bestselling author Jennie Marts proves there’s nothing quite like a cowboy.

No matter how swoony the cute cowboy is, romance is the last thing on Carley Chapman’s mind. But it’s hard to ignore Knox Garrison and the spark of attraction she feels every time he’s near. When a water line break floods her building, she’s forced to move her salon out to the Heaven Can Wait Horse Rescue ranch, and Knox shows up to help. But things get even more complicated when Carley’s no-good ex comes sniffing around and Knox “fixes” the problem by telling him they’re engaged…

Praise for Jennie Marts’s cowboy romances:

“Funny, complicated, and irresistible. Sometimes a cowboy isn’t perfect but you got to love him anyway.”—JODI THOMAS, New York Times bestselling author, for Caught Up in a Cowboy

“Full of hope, humor, and undeniable swoon.”—A.J. PINE, USA Today bestselling author, for How to Cowboy

“Deliciously steamy but still sweet, with a secret at its heart.”—JOANNE KENNEDY, award-winning author, for Wish Upon a Cowboy

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Carley gestured to the kitchen island where she’d set out mini quiches, fruit, yogurt, and a mimosa bar. “Before we get started, you all make yourselves some plates. And I’ve orange juice and champagne if you all want mimosas.”

“I’m down for that,” the third bridesmaid, who Carley didn’t recognize, said, as she strode into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of alcohol. Already gorgeous, with her long blond hair pulled up in a ponytail, she wore a bright teal Western-cut shirt, jeans tucked into tall, embroidered cowboy boots, and a rhinestone-studded belt held together by a large, shiny rodeo championship buckle. “I may not be able to make fancy invitations or frost a million cupcakes, but I make a mean mimosa that will either land you on your butt or in the lap of a hot cowboy, and I’m making one for all of you.”

Chloe nudged Carley. “That’s Stacey, Colt’s cousin. She’s a barrel racer, and the rumors you’ve heard about them are true.”

“But you love me anyway,” Stacey said then let out a whoop as she popped the champagne cork.

“Yes, we do,” Chloe agreed, laughing with her. “But I’ve already got my cowboy, and the last thing I need is to land on my tush at the wedding tonight, so make mine light on the champagne.”

Carley laughed, even as she couldn’t help thinking about how she wished all it would take was a mean mimosa to land her in a certain hot cowboy’s lap. “I want you all to have a good time this morning. I’ll do Quinn’s and Tessa’s hair first, then work on the bride’s, and then finish with Stacey’s.”

“Perfect,” Chloe said, accepting one of the mimosas Stacey was handing around.

“Here’s to the bride,” Stacey called out, holding up the last glass. “Now, let’s get this party started.”

An hour later, Carley was just starting on Chloe’s hair when the front door opened, and Knox walked in. He held up two boxes of Twinkies. “Who needs a little sugar?”

“Oh my word,” Stacey squealed as she bolted off the sofa and charged towards him. “Chloe, you little devil. You got us a stripper.” She circled around Knox looking him up and down as she went. “And da-amn, is he ever a good-looking one.” She gestured to his service weapon. “Hey handsome, are you going to show us your big gun? Is it already cocked?”

“What? No…I mean…this is a real gun,” Knox sputtered, putting his hand protectively over his holster.

“I’m sure it is, baby,” Stacey crooned, leaning forward and giving him a little shimmy. “How much extra for a lap dance? Because I’ve got an hour still to get my hair real mussed up, and I’ve got money to burn.”

“Stacey. Stop it,” Chloe said. “He’s not a stripper.”

“Good try,” Stacey said. “Look at those muscles. I know a stripper when I see one.” She gave Knox the “Matrix come forward” gesture with her fingers. “Come on, baby, show us what you got.”

Knox looked at Carley, as if hoping she’d save him. She’d never seen the deputy so tongue-tied, but he seemed completely flummoxed as he held up the cardboard boxes. “I just brought some Twinkies.”

“We know. And we want to see ’em.” Stacey hooted then let out a long wolf-whistle.

“Listen now,” Knox tried again. “I’m a deputy sheriff, and this is my official uniform.”

“Great,” Stacey said. “Now take it off. Then can I touch your gun?”

“What did I tell you?” Chloe said, shaking her head. “Barrel racers. You can’t take ‘em anywhere.”

“Sorry ladies,” Carley heard herself say as she stepped around Chloe and in front of Knox. “This one’s mine.”

Mine? Since when did she consider this man hers? Apparently as soon as some hot barrel-racer started flirting with him.

Knox stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her waist. Either her declaration or the steadiness of his hand holding her hip must have given him some of his composure back because his voice changed back to his normal charming tone. “Yep, that’s right. I belong to this one. Sorry ladies. Carley’s the only one I’m stripping for.” He grinned down at her. “Too much?” he asked quietly, before turning back to Stacey. “And she’s the only one who gets to touch my gun.”

Carley barked out a laugh then covered her mouth. “I knew I shouldn’t have had a mimosa.”

“I haven’t had nearly enough,” Stacey said, heading toward the kitchen. “I’m making another round. You in for one, Mr. Official Deputy Sheriff?”

Knox shook his head. “No thanks. I just stopped by to bring you all some snacks and to offer to help.”

Carley’s heart melted a little. “Aww. That’s so nice of you.”

“I was worried you would be having a rough time being out of your normal element and thought maybe I could do something. You already know my skills at washing hair. Do you need me to shampoo anyone?”

“No thanks,” Carley said. “I appreciate the offer, but updos work best when you start with dirty hair.”

“I’ve got dirty hair,” Stacey piped up. “In fact, I’m real dirty. So, you can shampoo all of me.”

“Stacey, seriously dude, you have to stop,” Chloe scolded. “Knox is Carley’s fiancé. He is not a stripper.”

“What?” Aunt Sassy asked from behind them as she pushed through the door of the bunkhouse. “You all got a stripper? I didn’t know you were getting a stripper. I would’ve skipped my dentist appointment entirely and come straight here if I’d known. Did he start yet?” She snapped open her handbag. “I know I have some cash in here. Do I need one-dollar bills, or do you think he can make change?”

Chloe raised an eyebrow at Stacey. “See what you started?” Then she called out to the other woman. “Sorry, Aunt Sassy, there is no stripper.”

“Dang,” she said, snapping closed her purse. “Is it too late to get one?”

Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”

She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.

Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, or Twitter at @JennieMarts. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.

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An Echo of Gods Series: Briar Constance, Book Two by Tallie Rose New Release Blitz! @ninestarpress @indigomarketingdesign #LGBTQIA+

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Title:  An Echo of Gods

Series: Briar Constance, Book Two

Author: Tallie Rose

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 03/07/2023

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 87200

Genre: Fantasy, Fantasy, family-drama, gods, blood magic, lesbian, bisexual, nonbinary, witches, fae, murder, death, prime minister

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The Gods are back. Briar knew it wouldn’t be easy dealing with Eliana, but she thought the other Gods might help her. This is their problem, after all. But they don’t want to answer her call, and when they do, it’s always the same answer—blood, sacrifice, loss. All the things Briar doesn’t want to hear. 

Still, with Bastianna and her group of Believers breathing down her neck, Briar has to figure out some way to banish the errant Goddess. She just hopes she can do it without losing everyone she loves.

An Echo of Gods
Tallie Rose © 2023
All Rights Reserved

Sunlight caught on the handle of Briar’s drugstore dagger, casting her room in hues of pink and silver, like a grotesque disco ball. She’d had the knife for years, an impulse purchase at the register. It was cheap, its handle made of resin mixed with glitter and delicate flowers, hardly the right choice to call on another God, but using a kitchen knife seemed even worse.

She sighed—and nearly choked on the heady fumes wafting from the marble bowl beside her. Soren had handed her the satchel the day before, saying he picked up the herbs from some overseas religious order and they would help clear her mind. Ten minutes in and Briar was pretty sure she was just burning drugs.

Fingers close to trembling, she picked up the knife and pressed the blade into the crook of her arm until it bit into her skin. Blood pooled and dripped, sizzling against the smoldering herbs. Words, ancient and harsh, spilled from Briar’s mouth and her body tensed. The dagger tumbled from her fingers and clattered against the floor.

She closed her eyes against the smoke, continuing to chant. Her power built until it was pressing on every inch of her skin, demanding to leave. She did not need to open her eyes to know she was glowing once again.

Now, she just needed someone to listen, to give her direction. The Gods had not answered their pleas in the weeks since the attack. They were lost, stuck watching the news every night, unable to help.

“Please,” she murmured into the empty space of her room.

The blood dripping down her arm ceased flowing and her skin stitched itself together. The air in the room grew brisk and an unfamiliar scent hit her nose. Mulled apples, fresh tilled earth, evergreen, and sandy beaches. Somehow it was not unpleasant. She opened her eyes.

The Deity was a vision of the highest order. Buds bloomed in the air around them, swirling and protecting them from Briar’s full gaze. The scene changed: autumn leaves, then summer rains that turned to snow and ice.

Briar’s green eyes locked on to those of molten silver. Their face was a work of art, golden skin, full sensual lips, and high cheekbones. All of it was crowned by flowing coppery-red hair. They smiled and Briar’s gaze dropped. The robe they wore was sheer, doing nothing to hide the swell of their chest or the strength of their arms.

The Deity opened their arms wide, a welcoming gesture, and Briar cleared her throat, feeling anything but pious.

Their nostrils flared and their eyes widened ever so slightly. The falling leaves turned green, and they chuckled and dropped their arms, one hand resting on a hip Briar had just been admiring. “Bold.”

Briar shrugged.

The Deity laughed again, and the buds of roses bloomed in their eyes. Their body changed, hair shortening, legs lengthening, but they didn’t seem to notice. “You requested an audience?”

Blinking to clear the haze from her mind, Briar nodded, enchanted by the beauty before her. “What’s your name?”

“Oh.” Their eyes flicked toward the ceiling as if it was a question they had to think about. “I haven’t spoken to a human in so long. Nilaja. Do you mind?”

Briar had no idea what they were asking but nodded. She’d give almost anything to them if they would help her find something she could use to send Eliana back to their realm, or even better, end her entirely.

With each passing day Eliana’s death seemed a better option. Tensions had grown between witches and fae; fights were breaking out, shootings and murders. The sudden uptick in violence had not gone unnoticed by the general population but no one knew what was causing it. And if anyone had suspicions they only whispered them, the footage of the dead Beishan president too raw in everyone’s minds.

Nilaja dipped a finger into the bowl of herbs and stepped out of the mist as though it was nothing, leaving behind the changing of seasons that had engulfed them. Briar’s breath caught in her chest, and the freshly healed cut on her arm twinged.

The experience of talking to the Gods was something she would never get enough of. Her life had been spent searching for them, and now she had the truth. But could she tempt one to help her? She hoped this God in particular would be the answer she was spending all her days searching for.

As though it was ordinary, Nilaja sat on the ground across from Briar, pulling their legs beside them, their robes fanned out around their body. They waved a hand over the marble bowl and the smoke disappeared. “That is quite vile and wholly unnecessary. It is blood the universe calls for, no drugs required.”

“I’m friends with idiots but I try to indulge them.”

Nilaja chuckled again, the sound like the crackle after lightning. They pressed their hands against the floor, eyes shuddering shut. Briar didn’t know what to feel looking at them. They were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, and power radiated off them. She knew she should be afraid but she was intrigued by them, by how casually they interacted with her.

Power danced in Nilaja’s eyes as they slowly opened them, burning silver like flashes of lightning. “So, Briar Constance, why am I here?”

“We need help with Eliana.”

Nilaja tilted their head and coppery leaves fell from their hair, disappearing when they touched the ground. “You have already spoken to Ivian. You know how she was contained before.”

“There has to be another answer, something that doesn’t involve sacrifice. It’s barbaric. That’s not how the world is now.” She and Soren had gone over it so many times, they’d talked until their conversations were nearly scripted, but there had to be something else. The world, the universe, could not be so cruel.

“Oh, sweets.” Nilaja reached out and brushed their thumb across Briar’s exposed knee.

Her whole body went rigid, every nerve on fire with the power blasting through her. It was pure magic, sharp and hot and intoxicating. She swallowed to keep from crying out, from grabbing them and demanding more, more, more.

Unaware or unmoved by the struggle inside Briar, the Deity continued, “The universe does not care how far you have progressed. It will always be old, cold, and uncaring. You want to stop Eliana, you will do it as your ancestor Cordelia did, by blood and tears. Eliana is too far ingrained in this world for the echo of our powers still left in this place to pull her out. She is a horror, and you will become one if you wish to destroy her.”

Despair pooled in Briar’s stomach.

“Oh, don’t look like that.” Wilted flowers piled in their lap, their petals crumbling to dust. “Maybe there is another way. What would I know, tucked away for eternity? There is much knowledge out there, things you have not dreamed of. I will hope you find another answer, but it is not one I know. We have no knowledge that we are hiding from you.” They stood and the air seemed to go with them.

Briar stood as well, the reverberation of their shattering power still clanging through her. She had so many questions she wanted to ask them. Could all Gods change their form? Did they watch the humans? And was there please, please, another answer? “Can I summon you again?”

Nilaja paused, a feline grin pulling their lips upward. “Why?” They took a step closer, and Briar’s body urged her both to move forward and to run, far, far away from the Deity she had summoned, one whose name she had never heard.

Struggling for words, Briar gave in to her desire, her head still swimming with whatever Soren had given her. Her body ached with each movement, spent from the power but craving more. She stopped a breath away from them. “I don’t know.”

Nilaja pulled at the bottom of one of Briar’s curls. “Well, isn’t that fun. See you soon.” They winked and were gone.

Briar fell backward onto her bed. What in Ortus’s fiery hell had just happened?

NineStar Press | Books2Read


Tallie Rose lives in Charleston, SC with two kids, five cats, two goldfish, and one dog. She spends her spare time thrifting, watching bad TV, and reading books.

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Lemon Curd Killer (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs Virtual Tour!

Lemon Curd Killer (A Tea Shop Mystery)

Cozy Mystery 25th in Series 

Setting - South Carolina Berkley (March 7, 2023) 

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages 

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593200926 

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593200926 

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B3HQFB3N

High tea and high fashion turn deadly in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning has been tapped to host a fancy Limón Tea in a genuine lemon orchard as a rousing kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week. But as fairy lights twinkle and the scent of lemon wafts among the tea tables, the deadly murder of a fashion designer puts the squeeze on things.

As the lemon curd begins to sour, the murdered woman’s daughter begs Theodosia to help find the killer. Tea events and fashion shows must go on, however, which puts Theodosia and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, right in the thick of squabbling business partners, crazed clothing designers, irate film producers, drug deals, and a disastrous Tea Trolley Tour.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links: WebsiteFacebook

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - IndieBound - PenguinRandomHouse -

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2 HARDCOVER COPIES OF LEMON CURD KILLER

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