Celticlady's Reviews

28 September 2023

I Spy With My Little Die by Helen Golden Blog Tour!

I Spy With My Little Die

Uncovering a web of conspiracy that intertwines past and present, can Lady Beatrice and DCI Richard Fitzwilliam catch a killer and unveil the truth of her husband’s death at long last?

BREAKING NEWS Second Senior Police Officer Dies Within a Week

A senior officer from the Protection and Investigations (Royal) Services died unexpectedly yesterday. His death comes hot on the heels of Detective Inspector Ethan Preece (43) from City Police, who died of a suspected heart attack last week. Although he’s not yet been named, the dead officer was a greatly respected public figure, who had served in policing for over thirty years. A PaIRS spokesperson has confirmed that ‘neither men’s death is being treated as suspicious at this time’.

With the senior PaIRS officer dead, so is any hope of reopening the inquiry into Lady Beatrice’s husband’s accident fifteen years ago. Unless, of course, there is something that links the two men to the earl’s fatal car crash?

Can she and Fitzwilliam, along with their friends, work together to unravel the mystery and catch a killer before the truth is buried forever?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Right-Royal-Investigation- Mystery-ebook/dp/B0C2D19H1D/

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Right-Royal-Investigation-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0C2D19H1D/

I Spy With My Little Die by Helen Golden — Celticlady's Reviews

Intro

Lady Beatrice and her business partner Perry Juke are at Gollingham Palace, the official residence of Lady Beatrice’s uncle, King James, managing the redesign and refurbishment of several guest suites. Meanwhile Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam is in his office in the security wing of the palace contemplating the difficult conversation he had with Bea a few days prior when he’d told her that Chief Superintendent Tim Street was no longer prepared to investigate further into her husband James’s death that happened fifteen years ago. Then he gets a shocking call from his boss…

Extract

In his corner office, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam gazed out the window at the palace gardens below. He wished he was down there right now instead of stuck here with a mountain of paperwork. His mind meandered off to his conversation he’d had with Lady Beatrice on Friday. He still couldn’t quite believe he’d told her about the breakdown of his marriage. He never really spoke of it to anyone. And yet there he’d been, blurting out that his wife had run off with another man.

He huffed. Lady Beatrice had clearly been slightly shocked at his confession. Had she also thought to herself, I’m not surprised? Maybe. He knew from their clashes in the past that her opinion of him was that he was high-handed and ungrateful for her help. And yet...he’d thought he’d seen a flash of sadness in her eyes. Had that been for him or for herself? He’d had an urge to reach out and take her hand to comfort her, but he couldn’t have done that, of course; it was his job to protect her, not make a grab for her.

He rubbed the back of his head. She looked hurt and lost whenever James’s betrayal with Gill Sterling was mentioned. He wished he could help her find closure, but with Street unwilling to pursue their new leads, it was unlikely he could do any more. Her sad green eyes flashed before him, and he sighed. Should he tackle Street again? Be more insistent about the new information needing investigating? The office phone on his desk beeped, and a button lit up green.

Fitzwilliam shook his head to clear it and returned to the present. He leaned over his desk and grabbed the handset. “Yes, Carol?”

“Chief inspector, I have Superintendent Blake on the phone.” She lowered her voice to an almost whisper. “And he doesn’t sound happy.”

That's just want I need — an unhappy boss. What was it now? Had he or one of his team upset his exacting superior? Or had Lady Beatrice stumbled over a dead body while she was here at Gollingham Palace? He wouldn’t put it past her. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time. She really is a trouble magnet…

He suppressed a sigh. “Thanks, Carol. Please put him through.”

The line clicked, and the deep voice of Superintendent Blake filled Richard’s ears. “Richard, I have some extraordinary news,” Blake said in a sombre tone. “Detective Chief Superintendent Tim Street is dead.”

Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.

I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It's very early in my life as an author, but so far I'm loving it.

It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes

Insta:www.instragram.com/helengolden_author

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/helengoldenauthor

TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@helengoldenauthor

27 September 2023

Hey Jude by Kathleen Stone Book Tour! #KathleenStoneWriter @SilverDaggerBookTours #SilverDaggerBookTours #SDBookTours

#BookPromo #AuthorPromo #BookBlogger #Bookstagram #bookish #bookclub #MustRead

Jude Hastings is one bad decision away from being forced into rehab until she meets four-year-old Shea Sullivan, a deaf child who saves her with a spiritual connection she cannot explain.

Hey Jude

by Kathleen Stone

Genre: Contemporary Romance

2021 Indies Today Award finalist

“Nice to meet you…?”

“Jude.”

“Like Judith?”

“No.”

“Like Judas?” he teased.

“Like hey,” I finally said.

In 1985 eighteen-year-old Jude Hastings loses her deaf twin sister to a brain aneurysm. A year later her longtime boyfriend dumps her for taking too long to grieve. Jude’s relationship with her parents is more volatile than ever because she’s the child who lived. The next four years see Jude on a path of destruction, leaving a trail of alcohol-induced nights and a laundry list of nameless men in her wake. Love simply doesn’t exist in her world.

Until she meets Shea Sullivan, an unreachable four-year-old deaf boy who steals her heart when she is hired to be his full-time nanny, based solely on her sign language skills. Things on the surface are not as they seem, as Jude quickly learns that Shea is a very troubled little boy with a history of violent behavior, uncontrollable outbursts and a cold, overbearing and curmudgeonly father. There’s no denying the connection Jude shares with Shea, but is it enough to keep her working in his unbearable father’s home?

“Hey Jude” is the story of a young woman and a child who desperately need each other, with outside circumstances fighting against them at every turn. It’s a story that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you question everything you know about connections of the spirit.

**Celebrate the International Day of Sign Languages on 9/23 & World Day of the Deaf on 9/24!!**

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

Celeste opened the door and we walked into the massive room filled with every toy a child could ever dream of. As we entered I looked across the room to see a woman I assumed was Amanda reaching for a small child who was climbing a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. As soon as he was secure in her hands and she pulled him off of the shelf above her head he began struggling against her, his arms and legs flailing, fighting her at every step. The sounds that came from him were alarming; grunting and groaning like… a gremlin.

Wide-eyed in fear I took a step back and fell into a wingback chair that was patterned in all colors of the rainbow. I watched in horror as the child fought so hard she dropped him to the ground where he landed in a heap and didn’t move. I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth, and that’s when she noticed me and seemed to wilt before my eyes.

“Don’t take this job,” Amanda warned me, wild-eyed. “It’s like working for Satan himself.”

I was speechless as she stormed out of the room in tears. I watched as the little boy rolled over and got to his feet, then glared at me. I’d seen all those demonic child horror movies and here was one in the flesh, headed right toward me.

Shea stood in front of me, staring up innocently enough with his big hazel eyes, button nose, chubby cheeks and a mouth fit for an angel. I held my breath as he got closer, then climbed onto my lap. He curled up in my arms and lay silently watching me, wiping his bangs out of his eyes. A tiny smile crossed his lips as a single tear fell from his eye and disappeared down his cheek and out of sight. And then he closed his eyes and fell fast asleep. I stared down at the little boy curled up in my arms, then glanced up at Celeste, who was gawking with her mouth open.

“Jude, I don’t know what to say. This… this is not typical behavior for Shea.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but I could find no words. Tears burned my eyes as I looked up at Celeste, and I knew in that instant this child needed me as much as I needed him.

In order to break myself from the emotions I was beginning to exhibit, I walked into the room and as soon as Shea saw me he jumped back into bed, hiding under the covers completely. I walked over to the bed and pulled the covers off of him, finding it hard not to laugh at his curled up body giggling out of control. I poked his belly and he rolled over, then got to his feet and started jumping up and down on the bed. I managed to grab hold of his hands to stop him from jumping and he grinned at me like he was the keeper of the greatest secret in the entire world.

“What are you smiling at?” I asked.

::You::

“Me? Why?”

He held his little fingers to his lips and scrunched up his face in giggles.

::Happy birthday::

Every part of me was warm with a feeling I couldn’t begin to describe. How could he possibly know it was my birthday?

“Who told you that?”

::JoJo::

“JoJo?” I was a bit lightheaded trying to figure out where all of this was coming from, and where it was going.

::And P::

My hands trembled as I sat down on the bed, then fell onto my back. Shea crawled onto my stomach and wanted to play patty cake, but my brain was numb as my hands mindlessly followed through with the motions. I stopped his hands and looked up at his cherub-like face.

“Who’s P?”

::Sister::

“Whose sister?”

He pointed directly at me.

“How do you know her?”

::JoJo::

“Is that who you were talking to when I came in here?”

He nodded, smiling happily and nibbling on his fingers.

“Did you talk to P?”

He nodded.

“What did she tell you?”

::Happy birthday::

::Miss you::

::Eat brownies::

This was hitting me hard in itself, but what really pushed me over the edge was he didn’t sign to me in our regular language. He signed to me in the secret language that Prude and I used since we were old enough to communicate with our hands. A memory of the handbook flashed in my head of the nannies complaining they didn’t always understand what Shea was signing, implying that he didn’t always know what he was doing. How was it possible that he knew our secret sign language? And how did he know brownies were our favorite birthday treat?

I was numb, trying to understand what was happening. Who the hell was JoJo and how did Shea know about Prude?

Kathleen has been a freelance writer since 1999 and now writes full time. Her work has appeared in Doll World Magazine, Apolloslyre.com, The Lake County Journals, Trails.com; USA Today (travel), Livestrong.com (lifestyle), Essortment, eHow, Answerbag, Examiner.com, Suite101 and YahooVoices. She is the author of Heatherstone, the award-winning novels Hey Jude, Tell Me You Love Me and Whispers On A String, and the Head Case Rock Novel Series (Head Case, Whiplash and Haven). She also has short stories published in the Secrets: Fact or Fiction I & II anthologies.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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The Sight of Heather Ally Stirling Blog Tour! @authorAllyS @cathiedunn @authorallystirling @thecoffeepotbookclub

Book Title: The Sight of Heather

Author: Ally Stirling

Publication Date: September 15th, 2023

Publisher: Author Ally Stirling

Page Length: 338Genre: Historical Women’s Fiction / Scottish Folklore

For centuries, the fae folk and spae women of Scotland were feared – and persecuted.

Life in the 1800s countryside, with its unforgiving climate, was both magnificent and harsh – testing cultures, beliefs and the loyalties of crofters.

The first in this series, The Sight of Heather, begins a journey of allegiance, sacrifice, and fortitude in a land of bold, resilient women.

Jessie’s ideal life spirals when she learns she is a first daughter in a biological line of ‘spaes’ endowed with unique gifts of spiritual sight and healing, aided by powerful ancestral stones.

Backed by a vindictive priest intent on charging Jessie with murder and witchcraft, the new owner of the Cruachan Manor plots to rout the spaes and destroy their beloved forest.

Despite grave warnings and family conflict, Jessie determinedly pursues her skills and powers, plunging her family and village into danger.

Resolute in uplifting her fellow women, Jessie consults her stones.

Faced with those who deem her evil, she must choose to relinquish her craft, or sacrifice herself to protect her culture and kin – and Lily, the next first daughter – the future of the spaes.

In the shadow of a Munro scarred by aeons of frozen waterfalls, a glorious moon fired shards of light across a cloudless sky, through bare tree branches, and into a room where three women gripped the hands, and wiped the brow of a friend as she laboured. Their chanting pulsed within the walls, choreographing the candle flames in a shadow dance as they beseeched their spirits and guides.

The weary mother-to-be cried out to the spirit of Cailleach to bring forth the child she’d wrestled for twenty-one hours, and in the moment of birth a tidal wave of relief dumped its weight. A child wailed, women whooped, and a mother cried. Fingers and toes counted, and a kiss on each eyelid confirmed her blessings. In the moments of respite and euphoria, a screech sliced through the air. Another child demanded to be born, oblivious to the exhaustion draining the life from her mother.

Ally Stirling is a Fiction writer of Scottish origin, currently living in Cape Town with her Braveheart husband, awesome children, the happiest dog in the world, and her menacing cat (aka 'Devil Cat').

An unexpected gift resulting in a prophetic message prompted Ally to give her passion for writing the time it demanded, and in 2018 she joined Cathy Eden's Working with Words writers group. She credits the love, support, and inspiration of this group of talented women, her 'writing tribe' for encouraging her to put words on paper. She also joined (ROSA,) and while Romance is not her genre, this association has been an invaluable source of knowledge and insight into the indie publishing world.

Allowing her imagination freedom to roam resulted in various short stories, before one in particular rooted itself, evolving into her first full-length novel. This book has now become first in a series, with the second and third ready to follow, four and five in the planning stage. Who knew her characters would be so demanding.

Her love of writing fiction stems from her belief that it transports us to magical places when life gets too real.

Addicted to her friends, coffee, every colour of wine, and any type of chocolate, she describes her clan as the family and friends who have built her castle and keep her sane, without whom she'd be short on humour and drinking games.

#HistoricalFiction #WomensFiction #ScottishFolklore #BlogTour #CPBC #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Pity Party by @whitneydineenauthor is book 2 in her Pity series and it's out NOW! ⁣⁣#whitneydinee #PityParty #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

#booknerd #nowavailable #mustread #authorsofinstagram #bookblogger #amreading

Pity Party
Whitney Dineen

(Pity Series, #2)
Publication date: September 26th 2023
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Melissa

I should have used my college degree to become a lawyer, politician, or heck, even a Time Lord—hey, it worked for Dr. Who. But no, I had to own a bridal boutique. Turns out that’s a terrible idea for someone with my lousy dating history.

Every day, I’m surrounded by the trappings of the perfect wedding, and I’m starting to resent all the smug almost-marrieds. I shouldn’t want to throat punch the brides, right?

Then Jamie Riordan moves to Elk Lake with his twelve-year-old daughter. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a guy—tall, gorgeous, successful, and clearly devoted to his kid.

Too bad his grumpy highness wants nothing to do with me.

I may not be his dream girl, but does he have to be so insulting about letting me know?

Goodreads / Amazon

“Your total is two thousand forty-eight dollars,” I tell the beaming bride-to-be who’s nearly blinding me with her over-the-top white teeth. She’s like Ross Geller from that one episode of Friends.

I used to dream of being just like her—hopeful, excited, no visible baby bump while planning my impending nuptials. Unfortunately, life has kicked me in the teeth often enough that I’m slowly stepping away from that fantasy. Instead, I’m focusing on the fact that women like her are probably more stressed out than your average sky diver during a tornado.

Will he say yes? Does his mother hate me as much as I think she does? Should we really be spending this kind of money on one party? And the most important—Does he know I was serious when I said I don’t clean toilets? The list goes on and on.

“You’re the best, Melissa!” the petite blonde with the unnatural orange tan gushes. She says this like I just brought her bail money at two in the morning. As she hands me her credit card, she adds, “You must love owning a bridal shop! I mean, could there be a better job?”

I didn’t think so ten years ago when I became my mom’s partner at Bride’s Paradise. I had recently graduated from college and was so full of hope and anticipation about my own wedding I couldn’t imagine anything better. Not that I was engaged or even dating anyone at the time, but I was raised on television shows like Say Yes to the Dress, Bridezilla, and David Tutera’s My Fair Wedding. I’d fantasized about my big day for over a decade at that point.

For a generation that is meant to believe there’s more to life than marriage, we sure spend a lot of time dreaming about it. Being fed a constant visual diet of what our big day is supposed to look like wreaks havoc with expectations. Somehow a wedding has become more about the show and what we wear than about true love.

Had I only gotten hooked on Law and Order or Dr. Who, I might have become a lawyer or even a Time Lord. Note to self: investigate the kind of credentials needed to become a Time Lord.

I hand the credit card back to Brooklyn as her wedding party circles around her. Her maid of honor squeals—loudly—“Oh, my GOD, Brook! This is it!! You said yes to the dress!” We’ve already taken pictures with the requisite signage and hashtags to ensure that everyone the bride has ever met will know where she bought her gown. Hashtags are the backbone of my business. #BridesParadise #ElkLakeWisconsinWeddings #LoveIsInTheAir #ImSoSickOfMyJobICouldSpit

Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries -- not always in that order.

Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.

She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.

Gold Medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2017.

Silver medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.

Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.

Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017.

Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards, 2017

Finalist Top Shelf Indie Book Awards, 2017

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Redeeming Rabbit by @harleystoneauthor Book Blitz! #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

⁣⁣#harleyston #RedeemingRabbit #bookstagram #instabooks #bookish #booklover

Redeeming Rabbit
Harley Stone

(Dead Presidents MC Book 11)
Publication date: September 25th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rabbit:
They say combat trauma can be the noose you hang from, the cross you bear, or the cliff you scale to survive. But I was a f*ck up long before my Army enlistment and the resulting PTSD. Thanks to the veteran MC that took me in, I’m coping with my condition. Mostly.

Until her.

The Complete Package. She’s way out of my league. I shouldn’t have a chance in hell with Elenore, but I got a peek under her hood and the sexy scientist has a screw loose.

Good thing I’m the best damn mechanic in Seattle.

Elenore:
I never once contemplated murder until my sister showed up bruised and bloody on my doorstep. Now, my intellect has overridden my morals to create an extermination plan with a 98.3% success rate.

Relax, I won’t actually kill anyone. Probably.

But he might.

Who knew I’d find a kindred spirit in my self-appointed tattooed biker bodyguard? Rabbit’s alarmingly protective but the most fascinating person I’ve ever met. And the sight of his bare chest just made the lock on my bedroom door spontaneously combust.

A tempest on the outside with a soft, gooey center, he could be the one.

If I’m strong enough to love him.

The Dead Presidents MC is a brotherhood of military veterans formed to help vets reintegrate into civilian society. They’re the good guys… mostly. Complete, standalone HEA love stories. No cheating, no cliffhangers.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

Warning: Language

Rabbit

Elenore hadn’t flipped out on me for invading her privacy. Nor had she asked me to leave. If she dropped her towel and started dressing right there in front of me, I’d likely cream the inside of my jeans. She was perfect. And not just because she was brainy, beautiful, and had her shit together, but because she was fucking weird. I’d been through her entire apartment, and nothing was out of place. Her closet was arranged by color with pictures of her goddamn outfits to keep them straight. Nobody was naturally this clean, organized, and meticulous.

Elenore had a screw loose.

Which meant I might actually have a chance with her.

“You left the door open,” I blurted out, sounding like a fucking idiot.

“To my apartment. Not my bedroom.”

“It wasn’t locked.”

She added pants to the pile of clothes in her arms and turned to face me. “I need to get dressed.”

I wanted to tell her to go right ahead but decided not to push my luck. Still clutching the sexy photos I’d filched, I said, “These are mine.”

International bestselling author Harley Stone specializes in imperfect characters, realistic storylines, scorching hot sex scenes, and fun, witty dialogue. She's always up for a good adventure (real or fictional), and when she's not building imaginary worlds, she's dipping her toes into reality in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their five sons and two dogs.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok

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$20 Amazon gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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