Raleigh – Tudor Adventurer (The Elizabethan Series, Book 3) By Tony Riches @tonyriches @maryanneyarde @tonyriches. author @coffeepotbookclub #Elizabethan #Tudors #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub

 

Book Title: Raleigh – Tudor Adventurer

Series: The Elizabethan Series, Book 3

Author: Tony Riches

Publication Date: 1st May 2022

Publisher: Preseli Press

Page Length: 332 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Tudor adventurer, courtier, explorer and poet, Sir Walter Raleigh has been called the last true Elizabethan.

He didn’t dance or joust, didn’t come from a noble family, or marry into one. So how did an impoverished law student become a favourite of the queen, and Captain of the Guard?

The story which began with the best-selling Tudor trilogy follows Walter Raleigh from his first days at the Elizabethan Court to the end of the Tudor dynasty.

Available on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Link: mybook.to/Raleigh

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09Z98J183

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Z98J183

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09Z98J183

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09Z98J183

 

Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of best-selling historical fiction. He lives in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the lives of the Tudors. He also runs the popular ‘Stories of the Tudors’ podcast, and posts book reviews, author interviews and guest posts at his blog, The Writing Desk. For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website tonyriches.com and find him on Facebook and Twitter @tonyriches

 

Blog: https://tonyriches.blogspot.com/

Website: https://www.tonyriches.com/

Podcast: https://tonyriches.podbean.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonyriches

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyriches.author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyriches.author/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/tonyriches

Tour Schedule Page: https://maryanneyarde.blogspot.com/2022/04/blog-tour-raleigh-tudor-adventurer.html

The Right Kind of Unexpected by @rayna.york Book Blitz and Giveaway! #TheRightKindofUnexpected #raynayork ⁣⁣⁣⁣ #XpressoTours⁣ @XpressoTours⁣

 

The Right Kind of Unexpected
Rayna York

Publication date: June 18th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Tess hasn’t experienced many kindnesses in her eighteen years. When her boyfriend abandons her at a small-town gas station, it’s just one more crappy event to add to the pile. Without a car, money, or cell phone, her options are limited, and calling her parents isn’t one of them. So when the family that owns the business throws her a lifeline, she grabs hold. Because even the worst situations can have a silver lining, and this one is a town called Jasper Creek, a diner everyone calls Earl’s, and a young mechanic named Colten Reed.

Rayna York’s standalone novel gives readers the small-town romance they crave with enough feels to make the heart sing. It’s the perfect feel-good, summer romance.

Goodreads / Amazon

I rush to the bathroom at the side of the building and lock the door behind me. I can’t deal with this anymore. I grip the sides of the pedestal sink and drop my head, breathing deep. In, out, in, out, fighting for calm.

Why? Why did I think this was a good idea?

Three days ago, Dax and I were on our way to a gallery opening when I mentioned I’d never been to Disney World. He said he hadn’t either. I commented on how it would be fun to jump in the car and go. High school graduation was over, my parents were in Europe, I didn’t have any plans for the summer, so the next afternoon we were on the road.

Bad idea.

Horrible.

The worst.

I lift my sunglasses to the top of my head and startle at the red-rimmed, brown-eyed zombie staring back at me. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since we left, and I forgot to take my makeup off last night, then Dax was in such a hurry this morning.

Maybe our relationship was always a mess. I don’t know. We’ve only been together for six months. In New York, Dax and I got along great. There were parties, restaurants, people, and places to fill our time. Now, without the distractions and being stuck together in mostly confined spaces, I realize we don’t have as much in common as I thought. But it’s more than that. He needs to be right about everything and nags me until I concede to his views. I never noticed him doing that before. There are a lot of things I didn’t notice before.

I use a little soap and water on a paper towel and clean the black smears from around my eyes. It cleans the makeup off perfectly, but the dark circles and puffiness remain. I slide a hair elastic from around my wrist and pull my brown mop of humid-induced frizz into a messy bun.

With a deep sigh, I slide my glasses back over my eyes and push the door open into the bright sunlight. I take in the beautiful field dotted with wildflowers behind the gas station, then close my eyes and lift my face to the sun, disregarding the intensity on my pale skin. I breathe in the fragrant smell of green that only a sweltering heat can produce.

It’s time to put an end to this impromptu adventure. It ceased being fun after the first five hours. And it’s my car, my time, my money. With renewed strength, I turn on my heels, ready to confront Dax and get my car keys back. I’m heading home with or without my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. I can drop him off at a bus station if he wants to continue the trip.

I round the corner of the building. Wait, what? Where is it?

I walk to the two ancient gas pumps and turn in a circle, taking in the white building with peeling paint, and everything else in the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree radius, but the car is nowhere in sight. I walk to the other side of the building, thinking he might have parked in a different location while getting something from inside, but the car isn’t there either.

Rayna York grew up with hippie parents that liked to adventure. Where change was the norm, books were her constant—a way to escape. As an adult, many careers came and went, but writing has always been her passion. Everything I knew to be true is her first published novel.

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Cardinals by Ian Conner Book Blitz and Giveaway! #IanConner #Cardinals #XpressoTours⁣⁣⁣ @XpressoTours⁣

 

Cardinals
Ian Conner

Publication date: June 1st 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

Nine Hundred years before Christ, God has cast his wife, Asherah, out of heaven and condemned her to roam the earth as the first vampire. Over the centuries, she created other vampires. There are also those that she left for dead but survived her attack without being completely turned into vampires. These survivors are called Cardinals. Scottish Countess Kellena Donnachaidh and Lady Suzette Allard, our protagonists, are among these cardinals. They are searching out Asherah for a final conflict.

Asherah has discovered a way back to heaven so she can exact her vengeance. Using the Amulet of Cassiel she can call the Flaming chariot of Israel to return to heaven and exact her revenge on God.

Now, 3000 years later, the Vatican and other groups are working to destroy Asherah and the vampires., fearing their own destruction if she ascends, simply want to stop Asherah using the Amulet of Cassiel to re-enter heaven. The race and intrigue to recover the Amulet is full of intrigue, betrayal.

A completely new twist on Stoker’s tale.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Shortly after, Yasmeen finished her call with Sharit, first-class boarded. Another round of the third degree at the gate and she was finally shown to her seat. The first-class flight attendant was Lebanese.

“Traveling can be such a trial for us these days,” she said.

The flight attendant returned with a large glass of orange juice.

“That is a beautiful niqāb!” she said, admiring the gold and lace.

“Thank you. That’s most kind and thank you for this,” motioning to the juice. “I’m famished.”

“We’ll serve dinner once we reach altitude. Enjoy your flight. I’m Nalia Khoury. Buzz me if you need anything at all.”

Yasmeen thanked her in Lebanese. Bringing smiles to both their faces. She took out a laptop and continued reading about the Scottish woman. The file was extensive. She started over at the beginning again. She frowned.

“Born 1283 AD.” she whispered.

Math was never her strong suit; lazily she used the computer’s calculator function.

Seven-hundred-forty years, nothing compared to Sharit’s two and half eons, but still impressive. she thought.

She stood suddenly, angrily turning to find a white-haired man staring at her. Yasmeen wished mightily her khopesh was at her side.

“Who is this guy?” she said to herself.

A plane was no place for a brawl. She knew.

“That explains the smirk on his face.” she said, yawning. Her privacy curtain closed. A moment later, there was a knock on her chair by the flight attendant.

“Is everything alright?” her new Lebanese friend asked.

“It seems I have gained a stalker.” Yasmeen looked back at the white-haired man.

“Hmmm, not our first complaint about him. Wait one moment.”

She disappeared into coach and a minute later she returned with what appeared to be an Air Marshall. They stopped at the white-haired man’s seat.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me to coach for the rest of the flight, then to security when we land.” the Marshall said.

“But I didn’t…”

“We can do it the easy way or the hard way.” The Marshall told the white-haired man, flashing his cuffs at him. Blondie knew when he was beaten. He glared at the flight attendant and looked toward Yasmeen’s seat.

“Pal, she is not the problem. You keep your eyes back there. Don’t be giving her any dirty looks for doing her job. Go!” the Marshall said tersely.

After they left, the attendant shrugged her shoulder at Yasmeen, then returned to where Yasmeen was sitting.

“See, easy as pie. No more loutish behavior from him.”

“Thank you.” Yasmeen touched the attendant’s hand.

“Really, I appreciate you heading off trouble.”

“That’s one less goon to. I have to be nice, too. I hope you like steak. I’ll be back soon.” Nalia told her.

Yasmeen was truly relieved that the attendant headed off the confrontation. Sometimes her temper got the better of her. She gave up on reading and waited for dinner service. The smell of the meal filled the cabin. The attendant was right. The steak was excellent and the smell of the meal filled the cabin.

“Thank you, Nalia. That was a much-needed distraction.”

The attendant’s eyes lit up when Yasmeen used her name and she flashed a brilliant smile, too. Yasmeen was finally noticing how very attractive she was. Later, she came by after dinner.

“Are you staying in London or connecting?” she asked.

“I live there.”

“Oh, how wonderful! I have another three-day layover after this flight.” Nalia said with her brightest smile.

“Perhaps we could…” Nalia left the sentence unfinished.

Yasmeen smiled back just as brightly. The possibilities behind that unfinished sentence improved her mood substantially.

“I have some work when I land, but later I could meet you. Where are you staying?”

Nalia removed a slip of paper from her blouse pocket, placed it in Yasmeen’s hand, and then gently closed her fingers around it.

“I look forward to it.”

Yasmeen enjoyed the rest of her meal. Nalia visited several more times as Yasmeen read Kellena Donnachaidh’s files. Each time, Nalia found somehow to brush against Yasmeen. Be it a simple touch of the hand or reaching across Yasmeen. Each contact was like a jolt of electricity, destroying her concentration. It was like a game for Nalia.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re beginning our descent to Heathrow,” The Captain announced.

Yasmeen was so flustered by Nalia’s scent and touch that by the time that announcement was made she snapped her laptop shut and surrendered. She could remember nothing she read, only the scent of Nalia and the feeling of Nalia’s breasts brushing against her arms. Yasmeen took out her cellphone and called her boss.

“Is there anything you need from me after I arrive at Heathrow?” she asked Sharit Hagel.

“Why, Yasmeen Obiad, have you found a pleasant diversion?” Sharit asked.

“Diverting is exactly the word that I would use.”

Nalia looked directly at Yasmeen and rubbed her fingers together in a tsk, tsk manner, scolding her for using her phone as they landed. She smiled, laughing. Yasmeen smiled back as she explained to Sharit she would not be coming in when she landed.

“Describe diverting,” Sharit told her.

“Lebanese, 5’3, high cheekbones, cute as hell, smart, courteous, beautiful…”

“Alright, alright” Sharit interrupted. “There’s nothing so important it can’t wait until Wednesday. Be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Wednesday morning, 10:00 a.m.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Yasmeen said excitedly.

Ian Conner is retired and spent most of his adult life as a Marine and Army Infantry Sergeant. Now living near San Diego California with his wife Bonnie, a cellist, and their two dogs, Cookie and Issabella. Conner spends his days fostering kittens, gardening, crafting beautiful stained glass and creating worlds on the page.

Conner has authored other novels The Price of Partisanship, The Long Game, Coopers Ridge, Solaris, Cardinals and Ghost Witch.

After a lifetime of destruction the thought of creating something tangible and lasting holds great appeal. He found art cathartic and a way to redefine himself both in his eyes and the eyes of others.

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Mates: Minerva by @bridgetebaker Book Blitz and Giveaway! #bridgetebaker #MatesMinerva #XpressoTours⁣⁣⁣ @XpressoTours

 

Mates: Minerva
Bridget E. Baker

Publication date: June 15th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

Fans of the television series FRIENDS will love this supernatural romp on the magical side of NYC.

Forget Murphy—it should be called Minerva’s Law.

Paranormal affairs officer Minerva Lucent has always wanted to stand out by making a difference in the supernatural world. Unfortunately, she’s only managed to stick out—like a sore thumb. Her stun spells often misfire and freeze people by mistake. Her magical restraints have been known to pull objects to them like magnets. And last week, her truth spell caused a perp to start singing in verse.

But when a coveted guardian position opens up, Minerva’s determined to finally show everyone that she’s the witch for the job. She makes a plan to redeem her reputation, and she’s about to set it in motion, when her old finishing school pal, Roxana Goldenscales, shows up on her doorstep in dire need of assistance.

Can Minerva enact her plan and help Roxana (knock on wand!)? Or will she have to choose between becoming a guardian and being a good friend to her old mate?

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

—

EXCERPT:

Most mistakes in life are no big deal, even the big ones. After an apology, restitution, and a little time or training, eventually everything is fine.

But occasionally, a tiny error can land you in hot water.

Or boiling water, in my case.

Three months ago, while trying to apprehend a vampire who was feeding on blitzed people in a hot tub on the rooftop of a residential building, one of my spells misfired. Instead of a freeze spell, I let off a heat flash. . .and everyone in the hot tub boiled like lobsters. Thanks to a few strong potions, everyone survived, and were mostly fine within 48 hours, but the vampire I was trying to arrest, well. He was the son of their Sublime Chancellor.

Yeah, it’s a really stupid name. Magical organizations are kind of famous for those.

But vampires vote as a bloc, and the New York Paranormal Affairs Chief is an elected position. So when his daddy called my boss, Chief Lumos had to do something.

I’ve been on probation ever since, and let me tell you, having to take remedial magic courses really sucks. Usually magic is fun—spell casting, potions, circles, wards, I like most all of it. But getting sent to remedial magic class is like a plumber being sentenced to spend three months unclogging toilets. Boring, embarrassing, and it stinks.

If I’m being honest, the class hasn’t even really fixed my problem. My magic has been erratic and unreliable since I was a baby. These classes may have helped me learn how to mask my failures more effectively, but I’m pretty sure the real reason I was finally cleared is that my instructors got sick of me.

Until I’m cleared, I have to earn my paycheck somehow.

Which is how I got stuck as the NYPAD liaison to initiates from the human world. In general, the sharpest crayons are not assigned to coordinate departments.

“You’re saying that there are cops out there running around who are actual vampires?” The chunky man with ruddy cheeks leans back in his chair, his disbelief palpable.

There’s an art to explaining the supernatural world to people who only know about parodies, like Twilight or Interview with a Vampire. I usually start with vampires, because most humans want to believe they exist. It makes for an easier transition.

But sometimes, like with this guy, it’s better to just rip the Band-Aid off.

“I think I got ahead of myself.” I sigh. “A war has been waged for more than a thousand years.”

“A war has been waged? Isn’t that a little melodramatic?” He looks around the room. “Are you recording the introduction to Star Wars here?”

Do not smack the fat, rude human, Minerva, not when you’re already in trouble. “This is real.” I cross my arms, expecting another interruption.

He, miraculously, stays quiet.

“The akero, embodiment of all that is light and good, and the daimoni, the epitome of all that is dark and evil, have clashed over and over and over. You’d think they’d have realized the futility of it, but they never did. It’s like an epically bad marriage, where the husband and wife are both taking out life insurance policies and making plans.”

Officer Stevens drops the front feet of his chair back to the ground. “Wait, are you actually serious about this?”

I pull out the laminated photos of the akero, who look like the most gorgeous angels you could imagine, and drop them on the plastic card table in front of him. “I’m not a stand-up comedian.”

He splays the cards out and hunches over them, finally stopping to stare at the most predictable card, the image of Raguel, the akero who embodies joy. The priestess who snapped the photo managed to catch a shot where she has her arms raised, her face upturned toward the Northern Lights, her expression rapturous. It’s a moving photo. I’ve seen grown men cry while looking at it.

Not Officer Derpey here, but you know, emotionally intelligent ones.

“You’re saying the angels and demons are here? On Earth?”

“I haven’t explained that part yet.” He’s wrecking the rhythm of this, and that kind of thing matters with stories. “Their most epic battles happened in many different places. They’re so evenly matched that neither side could gain any advantage. It was sort of like two kids leveling each others’ sand castles, over and over and over.”

“Sand castles?”

Mental note: analogies are wasted on Officer Derpey. “Something shattered the delicate balance between light and dark, and neither of them will fess up to what that was.”

“Something?”

“That’s when the angel Gabriel, their leader, directed the akero to flee for the first time. And of course, the daimoni have doggedly pursued them ever since.”

Bridget loves her husband (every day) and all five of her kids (most days).

She’s a lawyer, but does as little legal work as possible. She has three quarter horse geldings, a Holsteiner (jumping) horse, and she spends too much time riding and not enough time writing. (Or too much time writing and not enough time riding, depending on your perspective!)

She has more chickens than she’ll admit to having, two lions head rabbits, a cat, two dogs (one bouncy and one yappy). She makes cookies waaaaay too often and believes they should be their own food group. In a (possibly misguided) attempt at balancing the scales, she kickboxes daily.

So if you don’t like her books, her kids, her horses, her chickens, or her cookies, maybe don’t tell her in person.

B.E. Baker is the romance/women's fiction penname for Bridget E. Baker, who also writes fantasy, end of the world, and dystopian books that add a little magic to the world.

Please sign up for Bridget's fantasy or romance newsletters on her website at www.BridgetEBakerWrites.com or click Follow on her bio above to get notices and updates when she releases new books!

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Monterey King by @clairepmarti Book Blitz and Giveaway! #ClaireMarti #CaliforniaSuits #MontereyKing #XpressoTours @XpressoTours⁣⁣⁣

 

Monterey King
Claire Marti

(California Suits, #3)
Publication date: June 16th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

When former Army Major Cameron Taylor comes home a hero from his deployment in the Middle East his scars run deep – both physically and emotionally. But he’s starting over, running a luxury hotel with his best friends. And Lucy Goodwin, apparently…his high school sweetheart who he’s never quite managed to forget.

There’s only one reason Lucy’s been engaged – and walked away – three times and now he’s standing right in front of her. Cameron Taylor is the man she’s never stopped loving, even when he left her “for her own good” all those years ago. There was nothing good about it, that’s for sure. Just like there’d be nothing good about trying to break down Cameron’s walls now. But that doesn’t mean she’s not tempted to try…

***Monterey King is the third book in award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Claire Marti’s spin off contemporary romance series, California Suits. The series will follow the adventures of five best friends who are opening a string of luxury boutique hotels from La Jolla to Monterey to Beverly Hills as each one finds true love…usually where he least expects it. Each book is a standalone.

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—

EXCERPT:

But sharing the conference table with the hotel’s Managing Director, Cameron Taylor, who she hadn’t set eyes on since he’d dumped her thirteen years ago? Yeah, that explained why her pulse pounded in her temples like the massive surf crashing on the nearby Monterey shore. She paused in front of the closed conference room door, taking a moment to gather her composure.

“The door isn’t locked.” An unmistakable voice rasped from beside her.

She spun around and her throat tightened the moment her eyes locked with Cameron Taylor’s arctic blue gaze.

How could someone look so familiar yet like a stranger? Lucy studied his lean, angular face. His strong, slightly crooked nose was the same, as was the determined squareness of his jawline. Small lines fanned out from his arresting eyes and grooves bracketed his chiseled mouth, which was pressed into a firm line. His posture was ramrod straight––even more rigid after a dozen years serving overseas in the Army.

“Cam.” How many times had she imagined what she’d say if she ever saw him again? How many impassioned speeches had she rehearsed before moving on with her life?

He inclined his head. “Hi, Lucy.” His crisp tone was as remote as his stony expression. The voice of an acquaintance––not the man she’d shared the love of a lifetime with until he’d broken her heart.

Through impeccable self-control, if she did say so herself, she forced her lips to curve upward. “So… how are you?” Awkward, but it was the best she had to offer. She hadn’t expected to encounter him one-on-one, at least not yet.

“Fine, but we should go in. Ryan and Charlie are waiting.” Cam reached for the mahogany wooden door’s carved brass handle at the same time she did.

His long, blunt fingers brushed hers. A flash of heat sparked up her arm and she snatched her hand back. Muscle memory? Of course, Mr. Poker Face didn’t flinch as he pushed the large door open.

Bright light flooded the conference room and bathed the expansive space in a golden glow. Lucy blinked. January on the Monterey coastline wasn’t celebrated for clear blue skies, but the cloudy gray morning had cleared, and rays of sunshine exposed the rugged Pacific coastline beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Claire Marti is an award winning and USA Today Bestselling author of swoonworthy Contemporary Romance novels set in Southern California, including the Pacific Vista Ranch series and the spin-off California Suits series. She lives in San Diego with her husband, silly dog, and two clever cats.

Claire started writing stories as soon as she was old enough to pick up pencil and paper. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in English Literature, Claire was sidetracked by other careers, including practicing law, selling software for legal publishers, and managing a non-profit animal rescue for a Hollywood actress.

When Claire's not writing, she's teaching yoga. You can find her sixty+ online classes on the international website www.yogadownload.com. A breast cancer survivor, Claire is a sought-after speaker on the power of yoga and meditation. She's been published in numerous magazines with articles on wellness and is the author of a memoir, Come Ride with Me Along the Big C, on her experience beating breast cancer.

Claire loves to hear from readers!

Reach out via email or sign up for her newsletter at www.clairemarti.com

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Queen Series: Hidden Earth, Book One J.S. Fields Book Tour and Giveaway! @ninestarpress @indigomarketingdesign #LGBTQIA+ #SciFi #booklover #bookblogger #bookaddict #romancereadersofinstagram

 

Title: Queen

Series: Hidden Earth, Book One

Author: J.S. Fields

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 06/14/2022

Heat Level: 1 - No Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 95200

Genre: Science Fiction, LGBTQIA+, sci-fi, action/adventure, lesfic, scientists, kidnapping/abduction, sand pirates, beetle riders, crazed bunnies, spaceships, AI shenanigans, grief/grieving, HFN, intersex

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Description

Nobody leaves Queen. On the tidally locked planet, a vulva and an authority problem are the only immigration requirements. Emigration is banned.

Ember spends her days cruising Queen’s endless sand dunes, hunting sand pirates and wallowing in memories of her dead wife. After an ambush, Ember is dragged to the pirate camp and learns her wife’s biggest secret—before her death, she’d joined the pirates, built an illegal spaceship, and plotted to leave the planet.

Ember, Nadia, and the sand pirates must take back the planet and expose the corrupt New Earth mining. Taming giant beetles, wrestling stinkhorn fungi, and enlisting Queen’s rabbit population in a high-stakes aerial battle are just part of the hijinks that will determine Queen’s fate as a galactic player, as well as the futures of all its conscripted inhabitants.

The newly minted outlaws must also grapple with Queen’s narrow concept of “womanhood” and where trans and intersex people belong in its future.

Excerpt

Queen
J.S. Fields © 2022
All Rights Reserved

Mornings on Queen always looked like blood. Ember stood at the edge of the habitable zone of the tidally locked planetoid. She scanned the crimson and rust horizon all the way to the perpetual sunrise. Her wife’s body was out here somewhere, buried in the coarse red sand. Desiccated, mummified, likely stripped naked by the roaming packs of sand pirates Ember was out here to track.

Well… Track. Kill. The line was blurry when it involved a spouse, and it wasn’t like the presidium—the administrative body of Queen—really cared one way or the other. Ember had cared, once, but she was on day seventeen of perimeter duty, and her whole plan of dealing with Taraniel’s death by shooting grave robbers was starting to look a little thin.

A rabbit shot across her field of vision, registering in a halo of blue inside the face shield of her envirosuit. TOPA—the suit’s AI—scrolled data across the screen, but Ember ignored it. Without thinking, she yanked one of the wide, flat stones from her exterior right thigh pocket (they were supposed to keep her calm, according to Nadia) and threw it at the flash of white, fluffy tail with precision honed from years of dealing with Queen’s nuisance rabbit population.

The rabbit’s hind legs skittered out from beneath it as it slipped on the sand. Ember wrapped her fingers around another stone, preparing to hit the head this time, when the damn thing started digging with its front feet, sand funneling around it, so that Ember lost her clean shot.

She stepped forward, grinding her teeth with an adrenaline surge that would again see no release if the little shit got away. She wiped sand from her face shield with a gloved hand, smearing red across her vision.

The area where the rabbit had dug settled flat with a slight pock. Tiny fans on the outside of Ember’s face shield blew the particulate from her vision.

The rabbit was gone and her stone along with it.

Ember cursed, the words bouncing around the inside of her rabbit-hide envirosuit, wasted on recycled air and a generic TOPA. Queen didn’t have stones like that—perfect for skipping over lakes that didn’t exist on the barren planetoid. Those she carried in her pocket were some of her last reminders of Earth. And the rabbit… Ember knelt at the soft indent in the sand. It’d descended into one of Queen’s giant beetle galleries. Of course, it had.

TOPA pinged as she reached a gloved hand into the depression. Ember debated the possibility of Queen’s native beetles—approximately the height of a small school bus and twice the length—grabbing her wrist and pulling her down in pulp-era sci-fi fashion. She dismissed the idea. If beetles hadn’t accosted her yet at this site, it meant the gallery was abandoned and being used by the feral European domestic rabbit population. They’d been brought over as food stock on the colony ships. Some had escaped. Big surprise.

Please read your notes, scrolled across the interior of Ember’s face shield, in lettering so large it blocked most of the landscape from view.

“The rabbit got away. I was stupid for throwing a rock that can’t be replaced. I wasted oxygen on the exertion. That about cover it?”

TOPA didn’t respond directly, but it did fire up a series of reports.

Landmass stability: within ten meters radius: moderate.

Sand for at least three meters below the surface with scattered hollow tunnels reinforced with clay from the temperate zone. Sand transitioning to silt loam noted in geographic surveys, with increasing occurrence toward the colony dome.

Silica content of the air: unbreathable.

UV index: ten point five.

Ember snorted. That did explain the suit smell.

She balled her hands as tightly as she could in the double-layered leather of her gloves wishing, not for the first time that day, that Gore-Tex was still a thing. Leather didn’t breathe, though both the buffer and the electrical linings of the suit were supposed to. Nothing from Earth breathed outside the habitable zone, and as much as the filters of her suit tried, they couldn’t filter out the smell of human, slowly marinating in her own sweat.

Awaiting input. Continue scan?

“Yeah. Sure. Why not?”

Ember stood, swallowing the dry air the suit pushed at her. The AI had a newly installed personality patch, but Ember would need to get a lot more bored before she turned it on. Instead, she pivoted on her right foot, keeping level with as much of the horizon as she could see, and let the suit feed data into the AI. Dunes and small valleys surrounded her, and TOPA disassembled each for content.

Silica: 100%

Silica: 97%, Chitin: 3%

Silica: 78%, Cellulose: 10%, Lignin: 10%, Chitin: 2%

Suggest moving 1.7 chains northeast for better visibility.

“Picturesque view?” Ember asked TOPA. Maybe a body?

“Hey, Ember!”

The red dunes faded into a semitransparent image of her sister, Nadia, displayed on the interior of the face shield. Ember clicked her right canines together to increase volume. The winds were too fierce outside the colony dome to hear much of anything without enhancement, even when the sound came from inside the suit. That wind was the same reason the damn rabbits tended to stay in the beetle galleries. Wind screwed with everything out here.

Nadia’s transmission showed her just outside the dome, her image picked up by one of her suit’s sleeve cameras. Sand licked her calves. Her goggles were up but her face shield down, and red soil caked her envirosuit. The only parts of her skin visible were her lips, chapped but grinning as she tapped the front of her shield and instructions scrolled across the inside of Ember’s own face shield. At the bottom of the message was a clear add-on from Nadia.

Your sentry duties now extend to Outpost Eight. Leave immediately.

–Dr. Narkhirunkanok

Hope you enjoy the sand. I’ll make you dune-nuts when you get home. Extra sprinkles. Served on a tablecloth of rabbit hide since you love the little shits so much.

Ember read the short message and scowled—a facial contortion Nadia would see in detail from the camera inside Ember’s suit. Puns and throwaway comments about the excess rabbit population had no place on an official director request. If Nadia was willing to deface government messages, it meant she was worried. But she wouldn’t say she was worried because, historically, the sisters’ ability to communicate was right around “bug and speeding windshield.”

“Leave for Outpost Eight? I’m supposed to be here for another three days.” Ember cinched her mouth into a caricature of a frown. “TOPA will be heartbroken. It hasn’t cataloged every dune within a one hundred-chain radius.”

“There’s been a change. Director Narkhirunkanok thinks the mella pirates are going to hit one of our storage units, the one where we keep sticking all the glassware we probably don’t need but can’t get rid of. We need a sentry. You’re the closest.” The wind whipped her words away, but the auditory sensors on Nadia’s suit caught them anyway.

This time, Ember did frown. It was one thing to watch for the mella and daydream about shooting one so you could avenge your wife, who didn’t actually need avenging because she’d been about to die from cancer and had chosen to walk into a sand dune. Chasing the mella to one of their targets, even if only to spy on them, so they could shoot you, was something entirely different. She didn’t have a death wish, just a need to see her wife’s body and maybe punch someone.

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Meet the Author

J.S. Fields is a scientist who has perhaps spent too much time around organic solvents. They enjoy roller derby, woodturning, making chain mail by hand, and cultivating fungi in the backs of minivans. Nonbinary, and always up for a Twitter chat.

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The Ruthless Groom by @monicamurphyauthor Book Blitz and Giveaway! #monicamurphy #TheRuthlessGroom #XpressoTours⁣⁣⁣ @XpressoTours

 

The Ruthless Groom
Monica Murphy

(Arranged Marriage, #2)
Publication date: June 14th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

I didn’t plan to marry a reclusive heiress. Lucky for me, I find myself attracted to my beautiful new bride. Our arranged marriage connects two powerful companies. That we’re compatible between the sheets is a bonus, but I didn’t bargain on her ex showing up at the wedding reception uninvited.

That pushed me right over the edge.

I protect what’s mine, and Charlotte is now mine, whether she likes it or not. Our honeymoon is a disaster in paradise. I’m angry. She’s resentful. All those swirling emotions explode in the most physical ways.

But even as I’m drawn closer to my new wife, there’s still a threat looming out there. Seamus McTiernan is determined to destroy what we’ve created.

I won’t let anything tear us apart.

He has no idea who he’s dealing with. I will end him.

Watch me.

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—

Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance.

She is a wife and a mother of three who lives in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere, along with their four cats and one crazy dog. She's a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to sometimes putting her characters through tough, angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.

Monica is also known as USA Today bestselling romance author Karen Erickson (http://karenerickson.com).

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Discordant Memories by Dee Rollings Book Blitz and Giveaway! #DiscordantMemories #DeeRollings #XpressoTours⁣⁣⁣

 

Discordant Memories
Dee Rollings

Publication date: June 14th 2022
Genres: Adult, Thriller

A car accident, amnesia, two supposed lovers, and many dark secrets. In a race against time, who will come out on top?

Catrina Banks wakes up with bruises on her body and no memories from the last six months. An illustrious painter, she feels as though someone has stolen the colors from her canvas.

Under the teeming hospital lights and white coats crowding around her, Catrina faces questions she has no answers to. How did she end up in a city far from home? What was she doing there? Where is her phone, her ID, and most of all: Who assaulted her?

Struggling with intermittent flashbacks, Catrina tries to piece her life together. Cradling a gray hoodie and wedding bands she has no memory of, Cat returns home with her boyfriend Danny.

Even after she’s safe at home, she can’t shake the weird feeling that something is off, nor can she ignore the haunting glimpses she gets of a different life with another man.

“Discordant Memories” is a gripping domestic thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, desperate to flip the pages to find out what happens next.

Follow Catrina’s story and find out if she can overcome the obstacles in her way and regain the memories she so desperately craves.

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—

EXCERPT:

I opened my eyes slowly, but as I reached up to scratch an itch on my forehead, pain shot through my side before my hand connected with whatever was stuck to my forehead. A bandage? I tried to sit up to shake off the weird dream I was having, but every muscle in my body protested. Pain shot through my ribs.

Something was wrong. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and realized I was not at home. I was in a hospital bed.

“Help!” I shouted.

Was I still dreaming? I called out weakly a couple more times before a nurse rushed in.

“You’re awake!” she said, helping me sit up. “Can you tell me your name?”

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“You were in a car accident. You are at Nashville General Hospital. Please tell me your name.”

An accident? The scene that played out so many times in my dreams began to have clarity. The sounds and the glass. It must have been a roll-over.

“Nashville? When did I come to Nashville? Oh God, my Chevelle!”

The only possession I actually cared about was the car my dad had given me before he passed away. I didn’t know what I would do if it was totaled. I put my head in my hands to clear my thoughts and try to focus.

The nurse rolled the computer cart up to my bed and started typing. She wasn’t exactly cold, but she didn’t offer much sympathy either. She let out an exasperated sigh. “Can you please verify your name so we can see how you’re doing?”

How was she so calm when I was falling apart?

“Catrina Banks. Please, tell me what happened.”

“I’ve sent for the doctor; he can tell you more when he arrives.”

“Is there anything you can tell me? How long have I been here?” I tried to keep my voice calm, but it was difficult.

She ignored my question and checked my vitals, then asked me to tell her where I was on the silly little pain-scale poster that hung on the wall. I told her it was a mix between the regular sad face and the crying face. She gave me no additional information. When the doctor finally came in, she gave me a pitiful look and rolled her computer cart off to the corner of the room.
“Ms. Banks, it’s nice to see you again. I’m Dr. Parker.” He offered me a sweet smile and a handshake. He was tall and had thick silver hair. He wore a white coat over a green collared shirt and plaid slacks, which looked more appropriate for the golf course than a hospital.

“Catrina, your accident happened a day and a half ago. You suffered a brain contusion and have been in and out of consciousness since then. The ribs on the right side of your body are bruised and you have some additional bruising in places we rarely see in these types of accidents. Do you remember anything before or after the accident?”

I shook my head as I rubbed my hand against my ribs. Now I knew why breathing was so uncomfortable. “I don’t remember even leaving my house. Maybe something inside the car hit me?”

He wrote something down on my chart and clicked his pen a few times, clearly thinking about something he didn’t want to tell me yet. “You’ve been getting a lot of rest, which is good, but you have been regressing every time you fall asleep. We aren’t sure how long it will continue, or if you’ll even remember this conversation later.” The way he spoke led me to believe it wasn’t the first time he had told me this. He paused, giving me a chance to interject, but I had nothing to say. “Do you know what today’s date is?”

“April 10th,” I blurted without even thinking.

Another one of those pitiful looks came my way, but this time it was from Dr. Parker. The room was silent for a few moments except for the sound of the nurse typing away on her computer.

The doctor clicked his pen three more times before replying, “Actually, it’s October 15th. I’m afraid you have some time missing.”

Six. Months.

How the hell was I missing six months of my life?

Dee Rollings was born and raised in the big city, but her heart lives in the forest.

She does her best writing on the porch of her tiny house in the woods when she’s not wrangling her kid and her dogs or having one-way conversations with chipmunks.

She has a gorgeous husband who resembles Paul Bunyan and builds the best campfires, which makes all her     dreams come true.

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Buck Up, Buttercup by Anna Alkire Book Tour! @anna. alkire #annaalkire #BuckUpButtercup #XpressoTours⁣⁣ @XpressoTours⁣

 

Buck Up, Buttercup
Anna Alkire

Publication date: June 30th 2022
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

All’s fair in love and war.
With Randi and Buck, it’s hard to tell the two apart…

An uptight, self-contained college girl, Randi Becker just needed one thing: a room. Somewhere she could study, and keep away from the things that most confuse and frighten her: people.

Unfortunately, the “nice quiet place” she reserved turns out to be a room in the campus’ most raucous house. A place seemingly designed to make studying impossible, made even worse by the other girls’ non-stop drama.

But then Buck, a fun-loving cowboy whom all the ladies love, shows up…and everything gets much worse.

Buck seems to have it all: friends, fun, and a never-ending line of admirers. But what he most desires is a break. So when Buck spots Randi, he figures she’s a perfect decoy: he can play up a “crush” on her that will take him off the market; buy him some breathing room. And if he can tease her a bit, and get under the skin of the uptight busybody? Well, that’s just gravy.

But Buck is about to find more than he bargained for. Randi’s strong-willed, opinionated, difficult—and maybe just what he needs. And Buck isn’t alone. Soon Randi wonders as well…if the world she wanted is really the world she needs. If her future is nothing more than a diploma on the wall. And if the most important thing in her world isn’t a grade, but the cowboy who’s planted his boots firmly in her heart.

Fans of Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare and Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game will delight at this mix of romantic comedy, contemporary romance, and cultures colliding in a campus town with a western flair. Grab your copy today, and fall in love with Buck Up, Buttercup!

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Anna Alkire has been a long-term college student, a business owner, and a world traveler. Now “settled”—with a sigh and a cup of decaf—Anna lives in Washington state, where she splits her time between a husband who thinks the North Pole would be a great place to live, chasing her hurricane of a son, learning new handicrafts, and creating worlds full of the kind of romance and fun she most wants to read. Find more about her (and grab a freebie or two) at her website, annaalkire.com.

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Into the Lion’s Den by @asgreenbooks Book Blitz and Giveaway! #asgreen #IntoTheLionsDen #XpressoTours⁣⁣⁣ @XpressoTours

 

Into the Lion’s Den
A.S. Green

(Secrets of the Northland Shifters, #1)
Publication date: June 15th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

It’s not just Shifters who lurk in the shadows.

Mountain lion shifter Reese Fitzpatrick never expected to be running his father’s business–a luxury resort hidden away in Minnesota’s Northland. But when his father is killed by a hunter’s bullet, it’s up to Reese to keep his father’s legacy alive.

The job would be hard enough without the arrival of Sarah McAvoy, a mysterious woman with secrets of her own.

While she quickly has Reese’s mountain lion purring inside his skin, she’s also such an irritating distraction he wants nothing more than to snarl and bite her.

But Reese has more to worry about than an accidental reveal of his animal nature.

If he and Sarah can’t get past their differences, overcome the slow-burn of their sexual tension, and make the summer a financial success, the Fitzpatrick land could soon be covered in parking lots and strip malls.

Turns out, Reese’s father wasn’t the competent businessman he always believed him to be. And those vulture real estate developers are already hovering. Just waiting for Reese to fall.

That is, if the hunter who killed his father doesn’t return to get him first.

Fans of K.F. Breene and Kresley Cole will love this hot paranormal shifter romance!

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Only 99 cents for a limited time!

—

EXCERPT:

A growl rumbled through the air, coming from outside the barn wall. An icy trickle of fear slid through my veins, and the hair on my arms stood at attention, even under the warmth of my sweater.

I held my breath as paralysis locked my legs. I had to be imagining it.

But the growl rumbled through the wall again, low and ominous.

“Please, go away,” I whispered to whatever was out there. “Please, go away.”

Wild animals were supposed to shy away from humans, right? It wouldn’t come near me unless it was provoked. And I hadn’t done anything to provoke it.

Unless… Unless it called this abandoned barn its home?

Shit. I needed to get out of here. But I was too afraid to move. And even if I could run, that might only make things worse.

Slowly, I pulled my phone from my pocket and hit Reese’s number. After our argument and my declaration that I didn’t need his help, this call would be humbling. He’d probably call me a city girl and tell me I didn’t belong up here. But at least he’d have the necessary information to later find my body.

Reese didn’t pick up. Instead, I got his voicemail. When I heard the beep, I closed my eyes and whispered, “Reese. Help. I’m in an old barn not far from the lodge.”

A low, menacing growl responded from just outside, and through the cracks in the barn wall I could see a large tawny animal prowling along the exterior.

I whimpered, walking backward toward the farthest right corner of the barn. My shoulder ran into a prickly bale of straw. There were two stacked on top of each other, and I ran around behind them, crouching low.

I sat with my back to the bales, facing the rear wall of the barn and drawing my knees to my chest.

I wrapped my arms around my legs and said a little prayer.

But it was too little too late. The animal was inside the barn. Its rumbling growl was louder now, and I felt rather than heard the whispery vibration of large paws slowly stalking across the wooden floor.

Sunlight streamed through the open barn door and projected the shadow of an enormous mountain lion against the back wall. Perhaps the shadow was distorted, but it looked to be unnaturally large—maybe four feet high at the shoulder.

Its tail twitched, and it turned its head in my direction.

Oh god. I closed my eyes and laced my hands behind my head, curling into an even tighter ball.

More soft footfalls.

It was now on the opposite side of my hiding place, and it rubbed the length of its body against the bales of straw, putting a heavy pressure against my back.

I squeezed my eyes closed as I sensed it round the end of the barrier, then the beast’s breath brushed against my cheek.

My whole body trembled and I swallowed my scream as a warm tongue rasped the length of my neck.

USA Today bestselling author A.S. Green lives in chilly Minnesota and spends the all-too-short summers on Lake Superior, which is the muse for her paranormal and contemporary romances. She writes complex characters, action-packed plots, and snarky in-your-face banter. And, of course, loads of steamy love scenes.

When she's not writing romance, she's probably watching Outlander or pleading (unsuccessfully) with her husband to don the kilt she bought him last summer.

You can find her on most social platforms at @asgreenbooks. For the latest news - and to get your hands on exclusive content - subscribe to A.S. Green's newsletter today (asgreenbooks.com)!

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