Tag: 1

Posted in #BookTours

Playing With Fire

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Playing with Fire
R.J. Blain
(a Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count), )
Publication date: January 31st 2017
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Paranormal, Romance

Warning: This novel contains excessive humor, a fire-breathing unicorn on a mission of destruction, magic, romance, and bodies. Proceed with caution.

Catering to the magical is a tough gig on a good day, but Bailey has few other options. Spiking drinks with pixie dust keeps the locals happy and beats cleaning up the world’s nastiest magical substances. She could live without serving Police Chief Samuel Quinn most days of the week, especially after destroying his marriage.

But when she’s targeted with a cell phone bomb containing gorgon dust capable of transforming her home into a stone tomb, she’s tossed head first into a mess with her sexiest enemy. Add in his ex-wife angling for revenge, and Bailey must use every trick up her sleeve to survive.

The last thing she needs is to fall in love with Manhattan’s Most Wanted Bachelor. Saving Manhattan will be tough enough.

Goodreads / Amazon / Audible / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Audiobook – Apple / Audiobook – Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

No one in their right mind would ever license me as a private investigator, but that didn’t stop people from coming to me when they needed something found. Fortunately, I liked my job as the only human barista at Faery Fortunes Coffee and Book Shop. Most came for a cup of joe and left too buzzed to read a thing, but who was I to complain? People paid top dollar for their pixie dust infused latte, and they tipped me well not to judge them.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t so fond of Chief Quinn. When he walked through the door, bad things usually happened to someone—me. For him to come in five minutes after opening, long before the sun even thought about rising, he needed something, and it wasn’t a cup of coffee. Why couldn’t he want coffee? I could deal with making him a drink, and I’d double his dose of pixie dust to keep him happy.

I gave the espresso machine a defiant swipe of my cleaning cloth before stepping to the counter to deal with Manhattan’s Most Wanted Bachelor. Without my help, he’d still be married, too.

What a way to start the day.

And to think people wondered why I refused to help find anything for anyone anymore. The reason stood across the counter from me. Chief Samuel Quinn, aged thirty, hotter than sin, and my heaven and hell rolled together in one smoking tall, dark, and handsome package, hated me for good reason. It was his fault, too. He had been the one to ask me for help finding his wife. I had found her all right, right in the middle of teaching a college stud the nuances of the reverse cowgirl.

If no one asked me to find something or someone again for the rest of my life, I’d be a very happy woman.

“Chief Quinn, what a pleasant surprise,” I lied. “Can I get you something? A dark roast, cream, no sugar, light on the dust?”

Why couldn’t I have been blessed with forgetfulness? I knew my worst nightmare’s favorite drink, and I had to make it for him first thing in the morning. Of course I knew it. He came in at least three times a week to torment me. Screw it. Who was I kidding? Instead of the coffee, he could take me instead. If I had to put up with the hassle of dealing with him, why couldn’t I enjoy it, too?

“Cream, no dust, and make it a large, Bailey.”

Alarm bells tinkled in my head. Since when did Chief Quinn address me by my first name? On a good day, he snapped my last name like he worried it would contaminate him. “Of course, sir.”

The faster I made his coffee, the sooner he’d go away. I’d love every second I spent watching him go. In less than a minute, I had his drink ready, and to lower the risk of him spending any extra time with me, I chirped, “It’s on me today, Chief Quinn. Have yourself a nice morning.”

If it meant we parted without incident, it’d be well worth the five bucks.

He saluted me with his cup, flashed a hint of a smile, and walked out the door. Facing him was hell, but I glimpsed the heavens when he left, and if my panties hadn’t caught on fire under my jeans, I’d be very, very surprised.

“You’re drooling, Gardener,” my boss squeaked. The moth faery, with just enough pixie heritage to dust glitter when she wanted, fluttered over my shoulder, her tiny arms crossed over her chest. “Reverse cowgirl.”

“Stop reminding me!” I wailed, slumping over the counter. “He hates me. Worse, all I think about when he struts in is taking off my clothes and giving him my panties. I think they caught on fire this time, Mary. Why couldn’t he have had one of his cops find his wife instead?”

“You just want to indulge in some guilt-free fantasizing like every other hot-blooded American woman in the city.”

“Exactly. This is why no one in their right mind asks me for help. I ruin everything.”

“Except my coffee, which is a miracle. Now that we’ve had our daily dose of excitement, can you handle the shop on your own for an hour? We’ll call it even on the coffee.”

Was she serious? Alone for an hour on a Monday morning forty minutes before rush hour? If she thought I’d be all right alone, she was completely cracked. I could already hear her if I dared to complain about my shift. What could possibly go wrong in an hour? Didn’t I like my job? The list went on and on and on. I smiled so I wouldn’t cry. “Sure, Mary. I can last an hour.”

“You’ve gotten better at lying. Your smile didn’t even slip that time. Try not to die while I’m gone. Good humans are so hard to find.” Mary zipped out of the shop through the pixie door and dove through the window of an idling sports car.

Wait.

Sports car? Red, convertible, top up despite the nice summer morning? I leaned over the counter and squinted. Yep. My boss had just ditched me for a ride in Chief Quinn’s car. Sometimes life really wasn’t fair.

Author Bio:

RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until satisfied.
AI is never used in the creation of RJ’s novels.

Website / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok


GIVEAWAY!

Playing with Fire Blitz

—

Posted in #BookTours

The Amalfi Wish

Posted on by BookReviews

The Amalfi Wish
Rosie Donlin
(The Lucky Year, )
Publication date: October 31st 2026
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Women’s Fiction

Laurel McBride knows how to make other people’s dreams come true. She just has no idea what to do with her own.

As an event planner at a Florida resort, Laurel can rescue beachfront weddings, soothe impossible clients, and solve disasters before anyone notices. But six weeks after she and five other women split an $84 million lottery jackpot, she is still answering emails, fixing everyone else’s problems, and postponing her own life.

So Laurel does something wildly out of character: she walks away from work, crosses the Atlantic, and spends July on the Amalfi Coast with the other winners.

The plan is simple—sunshine, spectacular food, beautiful views, and one glorious month in which nobody needs anything from her.

Then she meets Tore.

With him, Laurel cannot hide behind schedules, competence, or the carefully controlled version of herself who always knows what to do. And as the women settle into their lucky year, Laurel begins to wonder whether the dependable life she built was ever truly hers—or whether being needed has simply kept her from risking what she really wants.

For the first time, Laurel has enough money to choose almost anything.

Now she must decide what would actually make her happy.

Sun-drenched, romantic, and full of friendship, food, and second chances, The Amalfi Wish is the first interconnected standalone novel in The Lucky Year series.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

The condo was quiet at seven, and the orange was still on the cutting board.

Laurel McBride had paid four ninety-nine for it at Whole Foods, then left it there for days, sticker still on the peel. She hadn’t eaten it or put it away.

Outside the sliding door, the courtyard sprinkler was drowning the same azalea again. Laurel caught herself planning what to tell the superintendent, then remembered she wasn’t at Mariner’s Crown. The superintendent could handle the azalea on his own.

Over Memorial Day, a storm at Mariner’s Crown had stranded six women at the Compass Bar long enough for them to buy a Powerball ticket and make a promise. The ticket had left each of them with fourteen million dollars. The promise had given them a year of places to go together, beginning with Laurel’s month on the Amalfi Coast.

Six weeks after the money reached her account, Laurel still hadn’t bought herself a thing. She had paid bills, shifted money among accounts, and stared down every question about what came next. Then she’d spent four ninety-nine on an orange and left it on the cutting board like incriminating evidence. Fourteen million dollars, and produce made her nervous.

She’d been excellent at spending other people’s money. Give Laurel a wedding budget and she could tell you where to save, where to splurge, and which upgrade a bride would remember after the flowers were gone. This money belonged to her rather than a client, free of deadlines and finalized floor plans. It was hers whenever she chose to want something.


Author Bio:

Rosie Donlin writes destination women’s fiction about complicated friendships, second chances, and women figuring out what they truly want. Her books blend escapist settings, grown-up romance, humor, memorable meals, and plenty of reasons to pour another glass of wine.

Rosie lives in San Francisco.

Website / Instagram / TikTok




The Amalfi Wish Blitz

—

Posted in #BookTours

Beneath the Burning Sky

Posted on by BookReviews

Beneath the Burning Sky
Ruby Valladares
(The Ashfall Trilogy, )
Publication date: October 6th 2026
Genres: Adult, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance

He never wanted a wife. But marrying her is the only way to keep his little sister alive.

Five years after the world ended, David has one job: keep Grace alive.

Food is rationed. The water is contaminated. Marauders roam beyond the fences. And the Drange is turning ordinary people into violent, purple-veined monsters.

When a deadly infection breaches their refugee camp, the rumored Sanctuary may be her only chance of survival.

There’s just one problem: Passage is reserved for families.

So David makes an impossible choice: he marries his nemesis.

She doesn’t trust him. He doesn’t trust her. Their marriage is supposed to be nothing more than a means of survival.

But once they leave the fences of Camp Orange, surviving each other becomes the least of their problems.

Because the wasteland is hungry.

Beneath the Burning Sky is a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel blending survival horror, a deadly outbreak, infected humans, forced marriage, reluctant allies, and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

So this is what the end of the world looks like.

The thought ran through David’s mind as he trudged along next to his father and sister, bumping shoulders with hundreds of other desperate survivors who had escaped the wrath of Yellowstone.

Just fourteen days ago.

His dad had driven them hundreds of miles before the gas stations ran out of fuel.

It hadn’t been far enough.

They’d been walking ever since.

They’d crossed into Kentucky two days ago, but it didn’t look any different than Wyoming. Any different than Missouri four days before that.

The fingers of devastation reached here as well. The volcanic eruption had come out of nowhere, shattering the land and blanketing everything in gray.

Ash rained down from the sky, a silent, relentless shroud that smothered everything in its suffocating grip. The smell of sulfur and smoke lingered in the air, a constant reminder of the chaos and destruction that had been unleashed upon the world.

David opened his bag and pulled out a granola bar. Three days ago the group had run into a military unit handing out bags of food, urging them to keep going.

“We’re setting up camps in the south,” they’d said. “We’ll have shelter, food, everything you need until we can get back on our feet.”

David counted the bars he had left. Five. That was it.

He dropped the bar back into his bag.

His feet dragged through the ash like freshly fallen snow, leaving deep imprints behind. The horizon was filled with ruins of buildings and broken trees, the sky a gloomy mix of gray and red as the sun attempted to peek through.

East. Go east. And then south. Get to Georgia, Alabama, Florida.

That’s what everyone around him said. Like somewhere magical and untouched by the eruption existed if they just went far enough.

His home, his entire life, had been taken from him in an instant.

His mom.

Don’t think about what you’ve lost.

Fabric stained with soot and sweat covered his mouth. He trudged on, his mind numb and his body achingly tired.

Thirteen days of walking.

Author Bio:

Ruby Valladares writes adult speculative fiction filled with catastrophic disasters, impossible choices, complicated relationships, and ordinary people discovering just how far they’ll go to survive.

Her worlds are dark. Her characters are messier. And hope—when it comes—has to be fought for.

Website / Instagram / TikTok


GIVEAWAY!

Beneath the Burning Sky Blitz

—

Posted in #BookTours

Naked Brews

Posted on by BookReviews

Bottled Up Chemistry
Christi Snow & Sarah Nego
(Naked Brews, )
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

A reformed conman and a sarcastic beauty both want the same mountain brewery.
He’s holding lies and she’s barely holding it together.
What could possibly go wrong?

Lake always had a plan. Finish college, move back to Colorado, and run Naked Brews with her dad. Her plan went down the drain when her dad died and left the brewery she called home to her absent maternal figure. Now Lake will have to convince her impossible-to-please mother to sell her the brewery, sweet talk the bank into a loan she can’t afford, and turn her dad’s small town dream into a thriving business.

Walsh thought the plan was simple. Pretend to be his millionaire best friend, buy a failing brewery, and honor their fallen military brother. But simple went down the drain the minute he met the sassy and beautiful brewery manager who clocked him as enemy . Now he’s stuck between his growing attraction to the loud-mouth sarcasm factory and knowing he’ll break her heart when he takes her brewery.

Bottled Up Chemistry is a small town romance with found family and moderate spice.

This book was previously published as Deliciously Smooth by KB Jacobs (a pseudonym used by Sarah Nego and Christi Snow).

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Lake

“There you are.” Melissa ran up to me as I wrenched the door open. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Well, I’ve been everywhere. The bar was a mess, Hops on Top is almost out, and Barb is late.”

Melissa fluttered her hands in front of her in the most Melissa-like movement possible. “I have something I need to talk to you about. It’s really important.”

“Can you talk and walk?” I hefted the kegs on to the dolly and tilted it onto the wheels to head back to the bar.

Melissa trotted after me, wringing her hands like she was trying to kill a chicken. “This is really important. Did I say that?” She stayed hot on my heels as I wheeled back through the brewery and toward the bar. “We should go to the office. Actually, maybe pour a beer first and then come to the office.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I eased the dolly down and pulled out my phone. Five minutes until the open sign flashed on unless I wanted a mob of local guys beating down my door.

“This had better be Barb.” I pulled up my text messages, and sure enough, Barb had sent a quick note saying she was running late. “No shit, Sherlock.”

I shoved the phone back into my pocket and angled the dolly back up again.

“Really, Lake. We need to talk.”

“Really, Melissa. This is not the time.” I pushed through into the beer cooler. “Barb is late, so now I’ve got to run the bar and the food until she gets here. I’ve got a keg about to blow, and I still haven’t hooked up the new on-tap offering. “

“I know, I know.” Melissa stood to the side while I offloaded the back-up kegs. “It’s just, this really can’t wait.”

“Is the bar on fire?” I sniffed, inhaling nothing but the scent of burnt french fries and hops. “Nope, didn’t think so.”

Outside, the first rumbling diesel engine pulled into the parking lot. There wasn’t enough time to take the dolly back, which meant I’d have Harlan bitching at me in an hour. I hauled ass back through the kitchen. The fryers were hot and ready, but I had no idea if any of the food I’d need today was prepped or even here. I mentally added kitchen inventory to my to-do list.

Melissa tailed me as I marched into the front of the pub. The lights needed to come on, and I’d just have to pray that Barb would be there soon.

“Lake, I just need a few minutes. This really can’t wait.”

I flipped the light switch that powered the neon tube sign in the window, alerting all of Aspenridge the best beer in Colorado was now available, served cold and fresh. “Dammit, Melissa. I love you, but can’t you see I’m trying and failing to do the job of three people right now? What is so frickin’ important that it just can’t wait one more second?”

Melissa squared her shoulders and looked me dead in the eye. “You don’t own the brewery.”


Author Bio:

As an avid reader her entire life, Christi Snow always dreamed of writing books that brought to others the kind of joy she felt when she read. But…she never did anything about it besides jot down a few ideas and sparse scenes.

When her husband retired from the Air Force, Christi decided it was time to chase her dream and she started writing. She hasn’t stopped since. With twenty-two published books in various romance genres, she’s found her passion. Now she spends her days with her laptop writing about sexy, alpha heroes and the loves of their lives.

Writing, Christi has fulfilled her dream… filling the world with more romance and suspense.

Her tagline is… Passion and adventure on the road to Happily Ever After. She loves this adventure and has truly found her tribe!

Website / Instagram / Goodreads


GIVEAWAY!

Naked Brews Blitz

—

Posted in Cover Reveals

The Reports of Silas Killian #CoverReveal

Posted on by BookReviews

The Reports of Silas Killian, Beleaguered Space Station Beat Cop
AJ Sherwood
(Selarion Station, )
Publication date: December 18th 2026
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Unfortunately, this is my circus, and these are my monkeys.

When Silas graduated from the police academy, he expected a certain level of crazy. People were people no matter the age, race, or location–they were going to get into shit. Somehow, Selarion Space Station took it all up a notch, and it can’t all be blamed on the Qax’asins who don’t believe in wearing clothes.

Factor in Ruan, who’s part owner of that very space station, and from a race that can tell on sight when they’ve met their mate, and Silas’s life goes from crazy to absurd. Ruan is adamant that Silas is his.

Silas very much begs to differ.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order


Author Bio:

AJ Sherwood believes in happily ever afters, magic, dragons, good men, and dark chocolate. She often dreams at night of delectable men doing sexy things with each other. In between writing multiple books (often at the same time) she pets her cats, plays with her dogs, and attempts insane things like aerial yoga.

She currently resides in Michigan with aforementioned dogs and cats. Being in snow country gives her the excuse to stay inside and watch bl dramas, which suit her perfectly.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook Group / Facebook Page / TikTok


—