April 5, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Blog Tour Dark Seed by Lawrence Verigin

Title: Dark Seed

Author: Lawrence Verigin

Genre: Thriller, Lab-Lit

Release date: December 1st, 2013

Released by: Promontory Press

Length: 289 pages

Blurb: A disillusioned journalist and the grieving daughter of a murdered scientist uncover an immoral and destructive global plot by the largest developer of genetically engineered seed and its parent pharmaceutical conglomerate.

Nick Barnes and Morgan Elles learn that the goal of the man behind these organizations is the complete control of human existence. He eliminates opposition and interference without hesitation or remorse.

The couple quickly find themselves fighting for their lives. And yours.

Grab hold for a wild ride with this exciting, high concept thriller that tackles one of the big issues of our time.

Author Bio

Lawrence Verigin’s goal is to entertain readers while delving into socially relevant subjects that need more attention brought to them. Since 1999 Lawrence has spent a considerable amount of time and effort learning the writing craft.

In his spare time Lawrence enjoys cooking good food, rich red wine, travel, running, reading and numerous rounds of golf.

Lawrence and his wife, Diana, live in beautiful North Vancouver, Canada.

Contact

Email: lawrenceverigin@gmail.com

Website: www.lawrenceverigin.com

Facebook: Lawrence Verigin

Twitter: @lawrenceverigin

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1qsWlJB

March 20, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Promo with Excerpt The Fisherman’s Lily by Suzanne Spiegoski

Debut author, Suzanne Spiegoski has recently released her crime thriller, The Fisherman’s Lily. This sounds like a fascinating psychological and emotional read as we follow the main character, an NYPD homicide detective, Lily Dietz, as she discovers murders that are a little too close for comfort…

Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it. -Thomas Jefferson

Title: The Fisherman’s Lily

Author: Suzanne Spiegoski

Genre: Fiction, thriller, crime

Release date: January 26th, 2015

Released by: TouchPoint Press

Length: 264 pages

Blurb: When Lily Dietz, an ambitious yet short-tempered Asian-American NYPD homicide detective, and longtime partner John Fremont begin to work a unique but gruesome murder case, cryptic clues in the evidence start to link with Lily’s dark and troubling past—one deeply imprinted with many psychological and emotional issues.

Borderline manic-depressive and a self-destructive alcoholic, Lily is strikingly beautiful and spoiled by her younger brother, CJ, a NBA All-Star basketball Knicks player, due to guilt uprooting from their own family history; separations of heart-wrenching losses and disappointments. The hunt for the killer escalates when the detectives discover more than one murder. Someone with cruel and twisted intentions motivated by a taste for sophistication yet also depravity is targeting and brutally mutilating Asian-American women. And somehow, the murderer knows Lily far too well.

Soon the game of cat-and-mouse becomes a thrilling chase from beginning to end, where Lily’s reality is skewed and the people in it begin to doubt her, not only as a detective but as a person. Who will be able to save this damaged soul? Or who will be the one to destroy it?

Author Bio

Suzanne Spiegoski is the author of, The Fisherman’s Lily and has been published in the Michigan State Press, Complex’d, L’Oeil de la Photographie, Westfall Music Group, Figure Skating in Harlem and Backstage. She grew up in Los Angeles and Detroit, and has a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University. She is also a photographer and professional figure skating coach. She lives in New York City with her husband and German shepherd, and is currently working on her second novel.

Social Media Pages/Website

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thefishermanslily

Twitter: SSpiegoski

Instagram: suzannespiegoski

Tumblr: SSpiegoski

Linkedin: SSpiegoski
Google+: Suzanne Spiegoski-Decamps

Personal Blog: https://suzannespiegoski.wordpress.com/

Personal Website: www.suzannespiegoski.com

Buy Links:
THE FISHERMAN’S LILY
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1CkqheP
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/19dhNN4
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1BSJpnu
Barnes & Noble: http://bitly.com/1ysUaF5
Booktopia: http://bit.ly/1GkdXPX

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1xzNdTi

EXCERPT

Prologue

The uproarious crowd clamored all the way from the nosebleed section down to the courtside seats. Nearly 9:15 P.M. on a Friday night at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks, trying to reclaim what was once theirs, battled with the Lakers along the court. It was the beginning of a very long season as trade-offs had been made and contracts dealt. Second-choice in the NBA draft three years before and now playing for the Knicks, CJ had established himself to become one of the first Asian-American basketball players in history.

Fairly small compared to his other teammates, the point guard had worked hard to become who commentators now claimed was the next Jeremy Lin. His dark, shaggy brown hair plastered onto his face due to the sweltering game. Eight seconds to half time CJ ran down the court drenched in his number fifteen blue-and-orange basketball uniform. He dribbled and eyed for a pass to one of his players. He got a look, stopped at the three-point line, and then faked it. He passed the assist for an alley-oop from his center player, who threw it down with a slam-dunk as the buzzer went off. The entire arena went wild, as he had just helped tie the game: 42-42.

CJ handed out high-fives to his teammates, who were also his friends, then reached for a towel to wipe off his sweaty face. While doing so, his eyes gazed among the seats, almost as if he was seeking approval. Slowly heading for the locker rooms, he was approached by one of the reporters, but seemed more concerned about something other than the game. He saw a woman sitting in one of the courtside seats.

In her mid-thirties, she scrolled through her iPhone with one hand while the other tucked her straight jet-black hair behind her ear. She was quite beautiful, clearly Asian, 5’4″, and had almond-shaped eyes and a very slender, toned athletic figure. She stuck out like a sore thumb, for she was not in the typical attire for a place like this. Her tailored all-black suit elongated her body as well as perfectly matched her spotless black leather boots. As she put away her phone, she proudly stood up and caught CJ’s glance.

She gave a very discreet wave, almost as if she did not want anyone to notice her. CJ did, however, see her, and knew her very well. He knew she had to leave. Though he was obviously disappointed by her departure, he gave her a wink after he wiped off his dripping face with his jersey. The woman reporter shoved her microphone close to CJ’s face and began the rapid interview on the status of the game.

As CJ made time to explain about his team’s strategy to win the game to the reporter, the woman jogged away and down the backstage halls to get through to valet parking, The air was filled with musty sweat and unclean socks. She took other familiar slanting stares from CJ’s coaches, as well as the technicians and other players. They all knew where she had to go, but their expressions seemed to reflect a grimacing discomfort. Confusion was yet another countenance surrounding them, as if it was almost a disappointment or lack of effort happening frequently. She brushed off their fixated looks and focused on getting to her car, which was already waiting for her. On her way to the lot, she had called valet to have it out and ready. Finally arriving to a young man in a maroon-colored vest, she didn’t even bother to thank him but instead dropped a twenty-dollar bill. Clearly aware of her stature he said, “Thanks very much Ms. Dietz.”

Not acknowledging his gratitude, she slipped into her black 1980 Jaguar XJ6. The leather seats were also completely black with a fine-charcoal trim, and included an installed GPS system and several cigarette butts within the ashtray. As she lit up her Dunhill cigarette, she jittered with her Zippo. She took a deep drag and relished the taste within her mouth. She was never the type to ever wait too long to smoke anywhere, but if she was at one of the games, she always made this exception.

As she started up the car and began to pull out, the tires squealed along the smooth and slippery parking lot. She quickly pulled out from Penn Plaza Drive and made a sharp right turn onto 31st Street. Without any given thought, she made another quick right turn onto Eighth Avenue, blowing numerous red lights. The signature sounds of honks and sirens were nearby, yet it was no profound distraction to her. She kept speeding all the way to 58th Street, arriving in less than ten minutes flat. Her cell phone continuously rang, but she ignored it.

She discovered near the Central Park entrances that the west entrance had been completely blocked off. Frustrated, she roared nearer to the Plaza Hotel, screeching her tires once more into a nearby parking area. She vigorously jumped out of the car, left her keys in the ignition, and wrapped a clip-on badge around her neck. Another parking attendant curiously ogled her while she began to run toward the main south-end entrance into the park.

“What’s the hurry?” he asked.

She unwittingly replied back, “Trust me, you don’t need to know.”

March 18, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Promo with Excerpt Twisted by Lola Smirnova

Inspired by real life events, Twisted is a fascinating story of vulnerability, courage and the art of making a living in the sex trade…

Title: Twisted

Author: Lola Smirnova

Genre: New adult, suspense thriller

Release date: January 26th, 2014

Release date: Quickfox Publishing

Length: 316 pages

Blurb: Back in the 90’s, the corrupt post-Soviet Ukraine with its faltering economy, is thrown into a devastating depression. Times are hard. Opportunities are scarce.

Three young and eager sisters – Natalia, Lena and Julia – dream of a better life and weigh their options: do they stay and struggle like their parents, or join scores of their compatriots in the sex trade in glittering western European cities, who earn in a night what they’d take several months to earn at home? Naive and tempted by the allure of ‘quick’ money, the girls set off on an adventure that changes their lives forever…

For sensible, resilient and calculating Lena and Natalia, the transition to the underworld of Luxembourg’s deceptive champagne bars is eye-opening, but smooth. But for fragile, brittle Julia, haunted by a childhood assault, the change is more than just vocational. Struggling to adapt, she turns to alcohol and drugs, exposing herself to increasing danger and depravity; and, ultimately, betrayal, when a deceitful client, who claims to love her, drugs her and cleans her out.

Despite her sisters’ best efforts to intervene, she finds herself in Istanbul – culturally a world apart – in an attempt to make back the money and self-respect she’s lost. Vulnerable without the protection of Luxembourg’s champagne bars, she descends into a hell of drugs and high-risk sex until, at the novel’s terrible climax, a kidnapping, brutal assault and one-sided justice system lead to her imprisonment and a threat of deportation.

How will Natalia and Lena save Julia?

Twisted is available for sale on Amazon in ebook and paperback.

Twisted is the first book in the trilogy. The second book Craved will be released soon.

Praise for Twisted:

“A gripping and mature story deftly woven by Lola Smirnova, “Twisted” is the kind of suspense novel that will linger in the mind and imagination long after it is finished and set back upon the shelf… “Twisted” introduces an extraordinarily gifted author to an appreciative readership looking eagerly toward her next literary effort.” – Midwest Book Review

“Charged with some disturbing sexual scenes (including rape), the book manages a steady, readable flow as it shines a light on the multifaceted world of the European sex trade.”  – Kirkus Reviews

“Smirnova takes us on a philosophical and pseudo-psychological pilgrimage through the sexual underworld as Julia, in first person narrative, describes her struggling introduction into a profession where she can ply the only skills currently marketable.” – 5 star review from Readers’ Favorite

“I highly recommend ‘Twisted’ to open-minded readers who aren’t afraid of a little blood, sweat and semen. It’s sure to shock and surprise you, with both its storyline and its literary value.” – 5 star review from Red City Review

“In the meantime, Smirnova hopes that Twisted will raise awareness to the problems of the sex industry… Kudos to Smirnova for an outstanding job achieving that goal!” – 5 star review from Pacific Book Review

“While the subject matter does not make for a light read, a breezy writing style and Julia’s willingness to fully and shamelessly lift the veil on her controversial lifestyle makes an irresistible combination.” 

About the Author:

Aspiring author from Ukraine, Lola Smirnova loves twisting a suspenseful tale through the dark lens of realism around the sexual underworld, so clocked in secrecy and shame. Lola’s work is inspired by real-life events and is meant for the open-minded readers who are not afraid of a little blood, sweat and semen.

Her debut novel Twisted was released in 2014. The book placed as Honorable Mention in General Fiction Category of The 2014 London Book Festival’s Annual Competition.

Whether you prefer to slide your finger across a touchscreen or turn a paper page, Lola’s thrilling tales will surely shock and surprise you, with both its storyline and its literary value.

Now living in South Africa, Lola is about to release her second novel – a sequel to Twisted – Craved, which proves just how many fascinating stories she has to share about the ordinary women in the global sex industry.

You can contact Lola via twisted@lolasmirnova.com

To learn more, go to http://lolasmirnova.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookTwisted

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

Excerpt – Chapter One

‘Sag es!’ he screams at me.

The heavy motorcycle helmet is so tightly strapped to my head that I can hear the blood rushing through my ears. The smell of stale sweat reeks from the worn padding inside it. I struggle to swallow. A drop of spit runs down the ball gag that has been shoved into my mouth, then down my chin, and drips onto the couch beneath my knees. My shoulders are screaming from the pull of the handcuffs, which force my hands together behind my back.

He stands in the middle of the small and gloomy room and I can see the outline of his large body. Two bloodshot eyes are firmly fixed on my exposed nipples. A fleshy tongue slides backwards and forwards through the gap in his teeth. He licks the sweat off his lips, moans, and starts rubbing his groin, rocking his wide hips back and forth. He increases the pace, while his moans get louder and louder. Next, he stops abruptly, moving his eyes from my chest to my face, scowls, and takes a few menacing steps towards me. I shrink instinctively, tensing my body …

‘I know him. Don’t be scared Jul. He’s a bit strange, but a harmless motherfucker.’ That is what my sister, Natalia, managed to whisper in my ear half an hour ago, before I followed this freak, with the brain bucket in his hand, upstairs.

Natalia and I were sitting at the bar counter when he walked in. He didn’t even have a drink; just stepped in the door, looked around, stopped his stare at me, and mumbled, ‘I want you. Let’s go.’

‘It’s time to work!’ teased Natalia. Her naughty look followed us all the way up the stairs.

‘Sag es!’ the crack-head screams again, which I think means ‘say it’ in Luxembourgish or German.

He grunts, and with a wild thrust shoves his hips right into my face. He doesn’t even bother to take his jeans off. A quick unzip and he pulls out a flaccid penis, puts one foot up on the couch and starts violently pumping it, so close that his clenched palm is punching the helmet. Lucky for me the visor is shut.

I sigh deeply and try to shift on the couch to get rid of the cramps, which start crawling up my legs and back.

A bit strange? Come on, Natalia! You could call him anything – cracked, insane, alien on Earth – but hardly ‘a bit strange’!

I glance at the half-empty bottle of champagne seductively chilling in the ice bucket. If I’d known what Natalia had meant by ‘a bit strange’, I would have finished it before he handcuffed me and shoved the damn ball into my jaws.

‘Sag es!’ brings me out of my thoughts again.

I peep at his red face … What the hell does this crack-head think he is doing? I wouldn’t even call it masturbation! He tortures his penis in a spasmodic exertion. The awful tongue tossing in his distorted mouth, the dark brown hair stuck to the film of sweat on his broad brow, and the whimpering noises coming out of his fat body make a disgusting spectacle.

‘Sag es!’

According to the instructions he gave me before we started this session, I was supposed to say ‘I love you, I forgive you’ through the gag.

I wonder what my seventh-grade teacher would say if she walked in the door right now? She always believed in me and encouraged: ‘You are going to come out on top, Julia … ‘Good shot, Anna Ivanovna. You were pretty close!

He shuts his eyes and wrinkles his forehead in concentration. Frustrated, he drops his limp penis and squats next to the small table in the centre of the room. He pauses only to wipe the trickle of sweat from his forehead. Then he quickly snorts the line of blow on the glass table, and doesn’t get up for a while, staring deadpan at the wall.

Hey, fat boy, get on with it so we can have some time together after this. I think I deserve a little pick-me-up for my efforts here.

I wonder what could possibly have happened to turn his grey matter inside out like this. A few hours later, when I kick my ‘labour hour’ around with the girls, they will tell me some rumours about him having had a motorbike accident. Apparently, he was riding ‘under the influence’ with his fiancée in tow. She died there on the street, in his arms, in a puddle of mud. With the last beats of her heart, he stared at her wide-open eyes, full of terror, and at her bleeding lips that breathed in agony: ‘Please, baby, I don’t want to die.’

I shudder. I don’t know if he was injured in the accident, but after this short time we’ve spent together I can assure you that his brain was nowhere to be found after that crash.

‘Sag es!’

Yeah, whatever …

He finally comes back to the couch, pulling and beating his poor half-dead cock in front of my plastic shield. I try to say what he demands – anything to get this over and done with, and me out of here – but ‘I love you’, that forms beautifully in my throat, dissolves into an incoherent mumble as it hits the ball.

His small eyes devour every inch of my naked body, which is truly just skin and bone with boyish nipples where there are supposed to be breasts. The only reason why any man would choose to fuck me (aside from being a paedophile, of course) would be my big blue eyes and long blonde hair.

‘Sag es!’

His whole face is scrunched up in an ugly leer and his bottom lip is quivering as he makes a weird whining noise.

Oh please! Don’t tell me you are going to cry now! Pathetic, sick, even disturbing, but not just ‘a bit strange’, Natalia?!

He keeps on yanking and jerking and thrusting like a maniac – harder and harder. He’s going to pull that thing off if he doesn’t stop!

‘Sag es! Sag es!’ he whines over and over, then forcefully flips the visor up and pulls the bottom of the helmet so close that his soft crotch hits my face. I shut my eyes a second before the first squirt of semen hits them.

‘It’s over’ slips with warmth and ease into my head, then streams down through my body, echoing the semen on my face. My eyes are closed but I can still hear him sobbing, sniffling and mumbling.

I can’t believe this fucker just ruined my make-up!

All I’ve got from this pathetic episode is an experience I will never be able to share with my grandchildren and €60 with no promise of a tip.

March 14, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Promo with excerpt Noise by Brett Garcia Rose

NOISE, by Brett Garcia Rose, is a thriller/mystery centering on a deaf character’s search for his missing sister. It’s short, violent, but ultimately it’s about love. Noise was published in June 2014 and is available for sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Title: Noise

Author: Brett Garcia Rose

Genre: Action adventure, mystery, thriller

Release date: June 17th. 2014

Released by: Velocity Imprints

Length: 147 pages (Kindle edition)

Blurb: The world is an ugly place, and I can tell you now, I fit in just fine.

Lily is the only person Leon ever loved. When she left a suicide note and disappeared into a murky lake ten years ago, she left him alone, drifting through a silent landscape.

Or did she?

A postcard in her handwriting pulls Leon to the winter-cold concrete heart of New York City. What he discovers unleashes a deadly rage that has no sound.

A grisly trail of clues leads to The Bear, the sadistic Russian crime lord who traffics in human flesh. The police—some corrupt, some merely compromised—are of little help. They don’t like Leon’s methods, or the mess he leaves in his wake.

Leon is deaf, but no sane person would ever call him disabled. He survived as a child on the merciless streets of Nigeria. He misses nothing. He feels no remorse. The only direction he’s ever known is forward.

He will not stop until he knows.

Where is Lily?

Praise for Noise:

“A staggering, compelling work of fiction…mind-blowingly perfect. It has everything. Exquisite details, world-weary voice, and people worth knowing. It is truly amazing!” – MaryAnne Kolton, Author and Editor of This Literary Magazine

“Strong, compelling, raw and human in the best sense. Beautifully written.” – Susan Tepper, Author of Deer and Other Stories

“Perfect, compact and explosive, closing with the gentlest word.” – James Lloyd Davis, Author of Knitting the Unraveled Sleeves

“Wow. Beautiful and wonderful and sad and real.” – Sally Houtman, Author of To Grandma’s House, We . . . Stay

“Frighteningly good.” – Meg Pokrass, Author of Bird Envy

“Superbly explosive. The rage escalates and careens out of control. Amazing.” – Ajay Nair, Author of Desi Rap

About the Author:

Brett Garcia Rose is a writer, software entrepreneur, and former animal rights soldier and stutterer. He is the author of two books, Noise and Losing Found Things, and his work has been published in Sunday Newsday Magazine, The Barcelona Review, Opium, Rose and Thorn, The Battered Suitcase, Fiction Attic, Paraphilia and other literary magazines and anthologies. His short stories have won the Fiction Attic’s Short Memoir Award (Second Place), Opium’s Bookmark Competition, The Lascaux Prize for Short Fiction, and have been nominated for the Million Writer’s Award, Best of the Net and The Pushcart Prize. Rose travels extensively, but calls New York City home. To learn more, go to BrettGarciaRose.com, or connect with Brett on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

https://twitter.com/BrettGarciaRose

https://www.facebook.com/brettgarciarose

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8307465.Brett_Garcia_Rose

http://www.brettgarciarose.com/

Excerpt:

Twenty-Eight

The sounds I cannot hear: The whistle of the hammer as it arcs through the air. The wailing of pain and the begging of The Bear. The dripping of blood from thawing meat onto the wet concrete floor. The beautifully crude threats.

My own hideous voice.

I drag The Bear into a walk-in freezer by the hook sunk through his shoulder and toss him into a corner on the floor. When I reenter the freezer, dragging the oak table behind me, The Bear is hard at work on the hook, trying to muscle it out, but it’s sunk deep, through the tendons. Hope is adrenaline, fear masks pain, begging helps no one.

I yank him up by the hook and then hold his hands outstretched, one at a time, as I nail his wrists to the table with railroad spikes. I put all of my 240 pounds behind the hammer, but even so, it takes several swings. His body shakes, the nails sink further into the wood, his face is pain. He screams, but I cannot hear.

The building above burns a deep blue hue with my smuggled-in accelerants.

The sound of the hammer into The Bear. The pain in his eyes. I have never seen so much hatred. It is beautiful to me, to reach this center, this uncomplicated base, to disassemble the past and honor a new history. It is another film, also homemade and rough, an overlay, an epilogue. The Bear is broken but I have spared his face, and to see those eyes, that is what I needed; to see his hatred flow into me, my own eyes sucking down the scum like bathtub drains. His life whirls into me and I taste the fear, the hope, the sharp sting of adrenaline pumping and the reeking muck of despair. His pain soothes me, a slow, thick poison. We will all die.

I know it now; I am a broken man. I always was. I imagine Lily watching me, Lily keeping score, making lists, balancing all. As a child from far away, she was the queen, even more so than her mother. But she didn’t survive. The world was not as we had imagined, not even close. The world is a cruel, bastard place, Lily cold and lost somewhere, me hot and bleeding and swinging my hammer. Life as it is, not as we wish it to be.

The sounds I cannot hear: The laughter of the watchers. The groan of my sister as The Bear cums inside of her, pulling her hair until the roots bleed. The Bear screams and shits himself inside the dark freezer. Lily’s wailing and cursing and crying. I scream at The Bear with all my mighty, damaged voice, swinging the hammer at his ruined hands, hands that will never again touch anyone. Lily at the end, beaten and pissed on and begging to die.

Lily is dead. I am dead. It will never be enough.

I remove the stack of photos from my wallet that I’d printed at the Internet café a lifetime ago and place them face down on the table in front of The Bear. I draw an X on the back of the first photo and turn it over, laying it close to the pulp of his ruined hands.

The Bear offers me anything I want. An animal can feel pain but cannot describe or transmit it adequately. The Bear both is and is not an animal. I lack hearing, so the Bear cannot transmit his experience to me unless I choose to see it. His pain is not my pain, but mine is very much his. I swing the hammer into his unhooked shoulder, and then I draw another X and flip another photo.

His lips move, and I understand what he wants to know. Five photos.

In my notepad, I write: you are a rapist fucking pig. I put the paper into the gristle of his hands and swing the hammer against the metal hook again. It’s a sound I can feel.

Anything, The Bear mouths. He is sweating in the cold air of the freezer. Crying. Bleeding.

In my pad, I write: I want my sister back. I swing the hammer claw-side first into his mouth and leave it there. His body shakes and twitches.

I turn over his photo and write one last note, tearing it off slowly and holding it in front of his face, the handle of the hammer protruding from his jaw like a tusk. You are number four. There are a few seconds of space as the information stirs into him and I watch as he deflates, the skin on his face sagging like a used condom. He knows what I know.

I turn over the last photo for him. I turn it slowly and carefully, sliding it toward him. Victor, his one good son, his outside accomplishment, his college boy, the one who tried to fuck him and they fucked my sister instead.

I remove another mason jar from my bag, unscrewing the metal top and letting the thick fluid flow onto his lap. I wipe my hands carefully and light a kitchen match, holding it in front of his face for a few seconds as it catches fully. He doesn’t try to blow it out. He doesn’t beg me to stop. He just stares at the match as the flame catches, and I drop it onto his lap.

The Bear shakes so hard from the pain that one of his arms rips from the table, leaving a skewer of meat and tendon on the metal spike. I lean into his ear, taking in his sweet reek and the rot of his bowels and, in my own hideous voice, I say:

“Wait for me.”

March 11, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Review Round-Up – March ’15

Hello readers, we hope you are all well, and reading plenty of gripping stories, of course! Wow – I have to say I was shocked myself when writing this post up, due to the amount of reads that Tina and myself have reviewed over this past month! From Christmas and Valentine’s box sets, to full length novels, and through to short story serials, we really do have more than a mixed bag here!

With many of our ratings now being 5* I am convinced the writing is getting better and better! And, we haven’t even finished with March yet – making for a brilliant year of reading!

Here are our latest reviews, covering our many genres; romance, paranormal, sci-fi, erotica, historical, drama, dark reads, crime and thrillers. We hope you enjoy them just as much as we have. And, with Easter just around the corner – why not treat yourself to a read or two?

(Please click on the titles for our full review posts.)

Love to all our readers, Caroline & Tina ❤

Naughty List by The Naughty Literati’s, erotica, romance (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: The Naughty Literati are a group of authors who’ve come together to showcase their epic talents in stories filled with powerful eroticism and satisfying romance. Our tales range from heartwarming and sweet to scorching hot erotic; medieval to futuristic; humans to aliens and shape-shifters; vanilla committed couples to kinky ménage fun. Keep an eye out for more of our steamy boxed sets coming soon. Thank you for joining us on this naughty journey!

The Nightwind’s Visit by Charlotte Boyett-Compo: Be careful what you wish for. The NightWind hears every whisper, every sigh, every need and he’s coming to grant your every wicked, wanton desire.

Dear Santa…I Want a Man for Christmas by Marianne Stephens: Frustrated with untrustworthy men, Melissa orders a man doll. When delivery guy, Nick, shows up, she has second thoughts about how to satisfy her needs.

Prelude to a Most Unusual Marriage by Katherine Kingston: Guilty secrets torment widowed Elizabeth Fitzhugh. A Christmas visit to the Earl of Chisenholm offers redemption, if she can find the courage to grasp it.

No Gentleman by Francesca Hawley: Librarian Abby Kelly comes west finding a roguish shapeshifter who desires her. Will Goldwolf is no gentleman, but Abby discovers he’s just what she wants.

Jewel’s Menage Christmas by Berengaria Brown: The excitement has left Jewel, Donovan, and Oscar’s relationship. Jewel plans to spice things up, but will Donovan and Oscar rise to the challenge?

Tune Me Up by Lainey-Jo Charles: Jason catches Dani having an intimate moment with a recording of him singing to her, and is ready to move them from friends to forever.

On the Eighteenth of January, ’78 or, A Night at Valley Forge by Regina Kammer: During the infamous winter of ‘77-‘78 at Valley Forge, two soldiers fanboy over their charismatic leader, General George Washington.

The Christmas Leopard by Lynne Connolly: Two gorgeous Italian hunks save art restorer Sandi when she accidentally summons an ancient evil from a mosaic. Their methods are unconventional—and scorching hot!

Christmas Bad Girl by Trinity Blacio: She only had one wish this Christmas. To find the one man who was strong enough to master her in bed and out.

How the Alien Stole Christmas by Belle Scarlett: On board a deep space station Christmas Trent learns her sexy cyber lover, who may not be human, wants to steal her for his own.

Merry Christmas, Kitten by Nicole Austin: Sirena Petra wants one thing for Christmas—an orgasm. And sex toy expert Kenyon Fort has exactly what the lion shifter needs to find more than just her happy place.

Viking in Tartan by Suz deMello: Medieval romance from the Highland Vampires series. A Viking raider brings change to little Clan Kilbirnie, especially to the chieftain’s daughter, Rhona.

Holdin’ On by Alexa Silver: Rock star Max is terminally ill. When Aislin falls into his life, rocking his world, everything changes. Is she his Christmas miracle?

Naughty Hearts (boxed set) by the Naughty Literati, erotic/dark fantasy, paranormal, contemporary, sci-fi (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: Twelve Naughty Valentine’s Short Reads including Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, Menage, M/M, M/M/F, M/F/M, New Adult, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Steampunk & Time Travel from Amazon bestselling authors.

Naughty Balls by Suz deMello: Two college basketball players find themselves alone on V-Day evening. M/F)

Love Potion #69 by Alexa Silver: When Keith and Jenna accidentally fall under the spell of one of her Valentine’s Day love potions, lust is in the air!

My Valentine Lovers by Nicole Austin: All I want for Valentine’s Day is to get barbed by a feline shifter and act out a few of my naughty twin fantasies getting me hot and bothered.

Valentime by Belle Scarlett: Valerie buys a South Carolina plantation and discovers a Valentine addressed to her from a previous owner who bids her to return to him in 1865.

Delia’s Heartthrob by Regina Kammer: Gadzooks! Valentine’s Day is fast approaching – what’s a scientist to do? Edward knows naught of romance. Can steam power prevail over chocolates to win Delia’s heart?

Two Into One Goes Great by Lynne Connolly: A booker at a top model agency learns she’s anything but ordinary when two sexy photographers point their lenses—and more—at her.

Under the Hood by Lainey-Jo Charles: How do you choose between an online crush you’ve never met and a secret crush that you have? Maybe you don’t have to…

Buy Me a Rose by Francesca Hawley: Jessica and Nathaniel Whitewolf celebrate their thirtieth anniversary as True Mates but they’ve lost their bond. Now a hot couples’ retreat will get it back.

Chocolate-Coated Reunion by Berengaria Brown: Jake refuses to talk to Matt after he was very late on Christmas Eve. Matt’s determined to reconnect with Jake on Valentine’s Day.

Cupid’s Curious Case by Marianne Stephens: Alan’s last job as Cupid 84 involves neighbor Amy and a special box of candy. Both secretly desire the other. Can they find true love?

Fifty Shades of Valentine’s Day by Katherine Kingston: Dumped on Valentine’s Day! Melissa only thinks the day can’t get any worse. Until she damages her hot neighbor’s car, and he demands unexpected compensation.

The Reaper’s Valentine by Charlotte Boyett-Compo: Sometimes a Reaper has to do what a Reaper does. It would be wise for a life-mate to remember that!

Werewolves of Shade (Beautiful Immortals #2 & #3) (short story series) by Tim O’Rourke, paranormal romance (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: When the entire population of Shade go missing, investigative reporter Mila Watson knows this could be the big break she has been waiting for. Setting off into the mountains to the village of Shade, Mila soon learns that the village isn’t as deserted as she first believed it to be and that creatures lurk in the shades…

For readers 16+

Werewolves of Shade (Beautiful Immortals #2)

Werewolves of Shade (Beautiful Immortals #3)

Deception/Escape/Penance (Dark Alpha #3, #4 & #5) (short story series) by Alisa Woods, paranormal romance (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: Shifters live in the shadows of Seattle, just under the skin of the alpha male, dot-com billionaires who are building a new Silicon Valley in the Emerald City.

Deception (Dark Alpha #3) blurb: Jak has a plan to free Arianna without the witch’s help… but the best laid plans of wolves and men rarely turn out as they hope.

Escape (Dark Alpha #4) blurb: With Arianna’s family looking for her, Jak’s plan to flee the state just got a lot more complicated. But before he can worry about that, he has to break her free of Mace’s hold.

Penance (Dark Alpha #5) blurb: Jak’s plan is a dangerous one… but will he even get the chance to carry it out?

Is love stronger than magic? Or will breaking an unbreakable bond destroy them both?

Willow (Secret Confessions: Sydney Housewives #9) by Christina Phillips, erotic romance (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: Meet the Housewives of Sydney. They are wealthy, elegant, poised, and constantly in the public eye. But what goes on behind closed doors, in the private homes and parties where the cameras and paparazzi aren’t welcome? Delve into the most personal details of their relationships, their friendships and their lives. The only question is: can you handle the heat?

Willow has loved Seb for as long as she can remember, but he has a past that she can’t handle, so she’s never done anything about it. But to not have him in her life is unthinkable, so she holds on to him the only way she can – through friendship. Now his writing career is taking off, and Willow finds herself increasingly jealous of his groupies and increasingly unable to keep her feelings to herself.

An unexpected visit leads to an unanticipated kiss – and Seb and Willow end up in her bed. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to Willow, but can she trust that Seb wants more than a bit of afternoon delight – and can she trust herself to let go of the past in order to gain a future?

Love Bites: A Collection of Short Stories by Valeria Kogan, contemporary romance, dark read (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: Love Bites is the provocative debut collection of short stories by Valeria Kogan. From heartbreak to redemption, Love Bites provides a spellbinding interpretation of love and friendship, glamour and guilt, secrets and deceit.

Each story provides a captivating insight into the world of love; its profound impact and effect; and how women relate to their partners.

This cleverly constructed collection of short stories will leave you tantalized and yearning for more. Love Bites is a must-read for every modern woman, reader of romance and romantic enthusiast.

Kissed at Midnight by Samantha Holt, historical romance (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: August Avery, a renowned civil engineer, has found himself the sole custodian of his cousin’s six month old daughter and he needs assistance—fast. He understands how to build railways, to construct bridges and to save the railway tycoons thousands of pounds. He doesn’t understand, however, how to care for a child.

When Ivy Davis turns up at his door looking for work, he believes his prayers are answered. If only the exotic, exuberant young woman did not prove to be such a distraction from his busy workload.

Unsure if she is even up to the task of looking after a baby, Ivy finds herself swayed by the handsome and slightly desperate August into working for him. With her singing career failing before it even started and no other talents, she decides looking after a young child cannot be so hard, surely?

But the child may turn out to be the least of her worries. Her handsome, brooding master seems to keep her awake more than the baby. Add to that her desire to achieve her dreams of singing on stage and the machinations of the indomitable Mrs. Pepperwhite who sees her as competition for August’s hand, Ivy finds this simple job growing harder by the day—as does her desire for her master…

Devil in Duke’s Clothing by Nina Mason, erotic historical romance, (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: Maggie York, a convent-raised foundling, knows the Duke of Dunwoody’s sexual tastes are a shade or two darker than normal, but marries him anyway—partly because she has no other prospects and partly because, try as she might, she can’t seem to exorcize her desire for the dashing ducal devil. Two years ago, she watched him swive and spank her lady’s maid, luring her from the garden of innocence into the orchard of fleshly delights–and she’s been hungry for more ever since.

Robert Armstrong, the duke, is a Roman Catholic whose extreme devotions as a child warped his desires as a man. He’s also a slave to the times in which he lives–and to his king. Everything he is, everything he holds dear, depends on staying in Charles II’s good graces. Unfortunately, Maggie isn’t the bride the king selected for him. Now, to make amends, the duke must choose between the lesser of two evils: whore his wife or be reduced to a penniless commoner.

Whose interests will Robert choose to serve, his own, the king’s, or the woman he loves?

Cautious Surrender (Unearthly World, book IV) by C.L. Scholey, sci-fi erotic romance (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: Adan went from a living hell on Earth, only to be thrown into a new purgatory. The Zargonnii vessel she’d thought was her savior is blown to bits in an alien war attack. A wormhole sends Adan and her warrior protector to an unknown world. Her only hope of surviving the ungodly planet is in the hands of Blu, whom she loves. Unfortunately, Blu has another agenda.

Blu’s body burns for the little human female, but his entire adult life has one purpose, to father a son and create a family. If he mates with Adan and makes it back home, he’ll need to keep her close to his side, protecting her from his dangerous life. Human females only produce female offspring in Blu’s world. If they survive this planet, Blu has to decide if he’s willing to give up one dream for another.

Three Rules by Marie Drake, dark mystery drama, romance (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: Hope Wellman has a childhood full of horrific memories, a bone chilling recurring nightmare, and a persistent paranoid sense of being followed that she would rather keep repressed. Is evil reaching from beyond the grave to capture the tattered remnants of her soul once and for all, is it only a machination of her disturbed mind, or is there something happening more sinister than even she can imagine?

Attending the funeral of her abuser is the first step in putting her life back together. She struggles with the fact she never told anyone what happened to her, and that the grave they are mourning over is empty. She’d find it a lot easier to move on and believe in the future if he were in the box, ready to be covered with dirt. She fears the last thread of her sanity has snapped when she sees Lucas everywhere she turns, and can’t escape a recurring nightmare. Is her tormentor alive, or is she imagining it? Is her dream triggered by past fears or is it a prediction of the future?

The Color of Happiness by K.P. Gazelle, young adult contemporary drama, romance (reviewed by Caroline)

Book Blurb: Faith Lane is the girl who has everything. At least, that’s what everyone thinks when they see her rocking a killer dress while laughing with her best friend, Tiffany. But Faith’s life is far from flawless. Her peers torment her relentlessly, and her parents expect her to be the epitome of perfection. Criticized and pressured at school and home, Faith retreats into silent acceptance and finds an escape in her passion of dancing. Then she meets Alex – quirky, forever with a pass, and concealing a mysterious secret of his own. And through his encouragement, Faith starts believing in her gift for dance and gains courage to stand up for herself. But will she be able to keep her footing when the events of one night consume her with the need to jump off the rocky cliffs near her coastal home? And what has pushed her to the edge of reason?

Her Gaze (short story) by Angel A., romantic suspense (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: At that moment, Gabe knew he had fallen for her. The first time he laid eyes on Sofy he knew that she was for him and he was hers. However, she was already taken by a dangerous man. A man that would kill before letting her go. But Gabe was willing to put his life in harm’s way to be with the woman he was in love with.

This suspenseful and sexy short story is full of excitement. It gives joy to the imagination and makes the heart beat a little faster.

In Expert Hands by Lily Harlem, erotic BDSM romance (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: Imogen White has it all—a high-flying career, a prestigious London home and friends she knows will fight her corner. She’s going up, and she’s in control, she’s also got the hots for one very important, very sexy client.

Kane Ward is a self-made billionaire whose determination to be the best of the best has left him alone. He has everything money can buy, yachts, jets, and villas in all four corners of the globe, but even he can’t buy time to suit his needs.

And his needs are very specific, his desires a particular shade of kink and his tastes anything but vanilla. So when he sets his sights on Imogen it’s a given that things are going to get dark, that pleasure will be laced with pain and determining his success will be measured by her blushes and gasps and cries of delight. But Imogen doesn’t need to worry, she’s in expert hands and her every fantasy is about to come true—and then some she’d never imagined even in her wildest dreams.

Fallen (Coyote Moon #1) by Ann Simko, action thriller, crime, sci-fi paranormal (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: Dr. Dakota Thomas isn’t prepared for the gunshot victim who rolls through his emergency room doors. Michael Ricco looks like a young Marine in a world of trouble, his dog tags, however tell a different story.
How could the military have no record of him? Why was he shot in the back in the middle of the desert, and why were thirteen people murdered to keep his secret? More than that, how could he have a birth date of 1898?
In a world where genetic experimentation pushes the boundaries of what someone would do to live a little longer, the question may be, how many will die in order to keep one person alive?

Yesterday by Sheila Norton, period/historical drama (1960’s), mystery, crime, romance (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: During the riots between the Mods and Rockers in the early Sixties, teenager Cathy finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the events which follow will haunt her for the rest of her life. Forty years later she’s forced to revisit her past, deal with her unhappy memories and try to find out exactly what did happen back in 1964.

Love the Way You Lie by Skye Warren, dark, erotic romance (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: A dark romance about the lies that lead us down…

I’ll do anything to get safe, even if that means working at the scariest club in town.

I’ll do anything to stay hidden, even if it means taking off my clothes for strangers.

I’ll do anything to be free. Except give him up. When he looks at me, I forget why I can’t have him. He’s beautiful and scarred. His body fits mine, filling the places where I’m hollow, rough where I am soft.

He’s the one man who wants to help, but he has his own agenda. He has questions I can’t answer. What are you afraid of?

You.

March 10, 2015 by Caroline Barker

REVIEW Fallen (Coyote Moon #1) by Ann Simko

Title: Fallen (Coyote Moon #1)

Author: Ann Simko

Genre: Thriller, action, crime, mystery, sci-fi paranormal

Release date: June 12th, 2014

Released by: Uncial Press

Length: 224 pages

Blurb: Dr. Dakota Thomas isn’t prepared for the gunshot victim who rolls through his emergency room doors. Michael Ricco looks like a young Marine in a world of trouble, his dog tags, however tell a different story.
How could the military have no record of him? Why was he shot in the back in the middle of the desert, and why were thirteen people murdered to keep his secret? More than that, how could he have a birth date of 1898?
In a world where genetic experimentation pushes the boundaries of what someone would do to live a little longer, the question may be, how many will die in order to keep one person alive?

REVIEW

*Please note there are some slight spoilers for the first half of the book*

Fallen is an extremely gripping, fast-paced action thriller, written well and with passion – it is an exciting read that will keep your adrenalin flowing throughout. We first meet Ricco, shot and injured in the desert, where it is unclear exactly what has happened to him. This is a super beginning as the reader is drawn into this guy’s ordeal and immediately asks questions that we need to find the answers to. Who is shooting at him? What has he done to deserve this? Will he survive? And to add more mystery, we are then told about his dog tags reading 1898 as his birth year!

When in ER, as Ricco is attended to by Dr. Dakota Thomas, Dakota tries to work out the mystery surrounding him – just who is Michael Ricco? After bringing in the local Sheriff and him having contact the military, who have no record of him, and the local Deputy going missing in the same place Ricco was found, it is then that Dakota reaches out to his private investigator brother, Montana, to do some digging. Reluctant at first, it isn’t too long before Montana changes his mind.

As another is attempt is made on Ricco’s life whilst in hospital, Montana, a former Army Ranger, makes arrangements for Ricco to be escorted to a safehouse. And, with Ricco still needing medical care, and Dakota wanting answers on who he is, Dakota accompanies them. Matters soon turn even more serious as we learn that Ricco was kept in bunkers underground against his will and has been experimented on for years, used as a lab rat, and seen many others die for this cause. It is clear to Montana that the people Ricco has escaped from will want him dead for fear of him revealing their secrets.

The Governor is the villain of the piece. He is in charge of the lab testing and experiments, believing that the death of a few could save millions in the future. Seeing nothing wrong with what he is doing and being brutally violent, it has a little Nazi-esque feel to it.

“… I’m a fucking hero to every cancer patient who prays that a cure will be found before they die, to every twenty-year-old victim of arthritis, to every human being who might die of Avian Influenza… I am God, Dakota Thomas, minus the moral fiber.”

With military working as his staff, he has the support and help he needs to carry out his testing, help defend his fort and prevent anyone from escaping. The only exception to the rule thus far has been Ricco’s escape. He will go to all lengths necessary to retrieve Ricco, as he has proven to be an interesting case, managing to survive so much more than others treated similarly.

The story takes an even more serious turn as Dakota finds himself being taken, and in the hands of The Governor. From the Governor’s point of view, surely Dakota, being a doctor, would welcome such experiments in the name of medical research? Having Dakota helps the Governor to redeem some power: he can now use Dakota to experiment with and possibly offer a trade with Montana – Dakota for Ricco! Will Dakota survive his ordeal? Will Ricco land right back from where he escaped? And just what is Montana’s next move going to be?

“Montana Lee Thomas was not a patient man, nor was he a tolerant one… He had taken lives in the past, but killing was not an easy thing for him… Never had he willfully, wantonly, taken a human life. There had never been the need or the desire.

Until now.”

Fallen is written in such a way that it makes the story very easy to visualise. It would make a great movie with kidnapping, a perfect villain, explosive action, gunfights, brawls and also brotherly love. And, just when you think they’re out of the woods – there is more action to come. You’re never quite sure what will happen next, or who will be hurt. This makes for a fantastic book of surprises – and I LOVE that. Of course, I want the heroes, the Thomas brothers in particular to be safe and live through these events, but I also enjoy an unpredictable, gritty and possible more realistic story. I like the danger, the fear and the intensity, and Ann Simko surely has brought these to the story.

As well as the physical injuries to Dakota, there is also the way in which he is affected mentally by what he is going through. This creates some compassion in him for Ricco as they have been through a very similar experience. Albeit, Ricco’s lasted almost a century and any family he once knew have been long gone. But, as the story moved on I saw Ricco as another brother to Dakota and Montana. They build trust from the very beginning, with Dakota patching him up and Montana showing that he will put his life on the line for him.

I would strongly recommend this read to anyone who loves a fast-moving, easy flowing action adventure/thriller. It will definitely keep you on your toes and it has it’s share of explosive moments. However, there are also some beautiful emotive and touching scenes, especially towards the end. I would certainly like to read more of this series!

A copy of Fallen was provided by the author in return for an honest and fair review.

Fallen (Coyote Moon #1) is available at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

The sequels, Through the Glass (Coyote Moon #2) and The Coyote’s Song (Coyote Moon #3), are available with Broken (Coyote Moon, book 4) being released on March 13th, 2015.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

AUTHOR INFO:

When not writing, Ann Simko works as a nurse. She lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband who puts up with her over active imagination, two scary teenagers who try to ignore her, three very large dogs, six cats and five extraordinarily large lawn ornaments otherwise known as horses. She has six published novels and is currently contracted for one new book.

March 4, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Caroline’s Current Reads – Feb ’15

It has been almost four months since my last current reads post, and as I have read all but one book from then, as well as snuck in some amazing short stories, I wanted to keep you posted on my following reads!

As well as continuing with the short story paranormal series Dark Alpha by Alisa Woods and Tim O’Rourke‘s Werewolves of Shade, I will also be reviewing many full-length novels covering the genres thriller, periodical drama, paranormal, sci-fi and fantasy.

I hope you enjoy checking them all out! (Please click on the titles for either our promo post or Goodread’s link!)

Have a great week!

Caroline 🙂

Fallen (Coyote Moon #1) by Ann Simko, action thriller

Dr. Dakota Thomas isn’t prepared for the gunshot victim who rolls through his emergency room doors. Michael Ricco looks like a young Marine in a world of trouble, his dog tags, however tell a different story.
How could the military have no record of him? Why was he shot in the back in the middle of the desert, and why were thirteen people murdered to keep his secret? More than that, how could he have a birth date of 1898?
In a world where genetic experimentation pushes the boundaries of what someone would do to live a little longer, the question may be, how many will die in order to keep one person alive?

Available at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Yesterday by Sheila Norton, periodical drama

During the riots between the Mods and Rockers in the early Sixties, teenager Cathy finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the events which follow will haunt her for the rest of her life. Forty years later she’s forced to revisit her past, deal with her unhappy memories and try to find out exactly what did happen back in 1964.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Creedor (The Reglon Empire Series #1) by Gail Morgan McRae, sci-fi fantasy

Dr. Simon Slogar and Commander Michael Camdus have been given the task of stopping an epidemic on Creedor. It is only after they arrive on the windswept planet that they discover there’s a much greater threat.

Creedorians are being snatched from their homes, leaving survivors to fend for themselves. One brave woman, Mara Tonlin, decides to find her husband and rescue him or die trying. Her story intertwines with the original mission, leading Camdus and his men into even greater danger.

Intruders, wizards, changelings, and a subspace particle Rider all intersect with Slogar, Camdus and his men in Creedor, the first book of the Reglon Empire Series.

Available at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

The Girl In Between (The Girl In Between #1) by Laekan Zea Kemp, young adult, paranormal romance, fantasy

Blurb: Bryn Reyes is a real life sleeping beauty. Afflicted with Klein-Levin Syndrome, she suffers episodes of prolonged sleep that steal weeks, and sometimes even months, from her life. But unlike most KLS patients, she doesn’t spend each episode in a catatonic state or wake up with no recollection of the time she’s missed. Instead, Bryn spends half her life in an alternate reality made up of her memories. For Bryn, the past is a place, until one day a boy she’s never met before washes up on the illusory beach of her dreams with no memory of who he is.

But the appearance of this strange boy isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Bryn’s symptoms are worsening, her body weakening as she’s plagued by hallucinations even while awake. Her only hope of finding a cure is to undergo experimental treatment created by a German specialist. But when Dr. Banz reveals that he knows more about her strange symptoms than he originally let on, Bryn learns that the boy in her head might actually be the key to understanding what’s happening to her, and worse, that if she doesn’t find out his identity before it’s too late, they both may not survive.

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

November Lake: Teenage Detective (The November Lake Mysteries #1) by Jamie Drew, mystery, crime

When 18-year-old police recruit, November Lake, joins training college, her curiosity and desire to solve mysteries soon has her investigating a series of creepy and chilling crimes.

With the help of her friend and colleague, Kale Creed, November is soon caught up in a dark world of strange and inexplicable mysteries, each with a deadly twist.

Three novella length mysteries in one book:

The Dead Girl In The Room

The Kidnapping at Blackwater Farm

The Menacing Stranger

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US. (FREE for Kindle at the time of posting. Prices subject to change.)

Wherewolves by John Vamvas and Olga Montes, horror, thriller, paranormal

For ages 16yrs+

Using a fun, explosive style, full of new slang and fresh dialogue, WHEREWOLVES is the story of a group of high school seniors, most “military brats”, who are headed for an army-type survival weekend.

The underdogs, Jeffrey and Doris, do not want to go as they fear for their safety among the disdain and cruelty of the popular students. Sergeant Tim O’Sullivan, their teacher, as well as their dysfunctional parents pressure them into going, but it is an unforgivable act by their peers that propels the pair to go. Likewise, Elie, a student resented because of his Arab roots, is even more determined to prove himself this weekend. In the background, a news report cautions of a wanted couple with alleged super-human strength supposedly brought on by a new drug on the streets.

In the woods, the students hike, hunt, camp, and soon act in unity as the forest brings them closer together. But does it? O’Sullivan leaves them alone for the night. The students bond, chant, tell campfire tales, and quickly lose their fears and inhibitions. HOO-AH! Though sexual tensions are high, it soon turns to violence and everything quickly turns sour.

When the kids start disappearing one after the other, the remaining begin to unwittingly “act like the natives” carving spears, ready to face whatever is out there. What has gotten into them?

Amid the blood-curdling growls and the gruesome deaths, the story’s underlying layers are revealed. We see how misconceptions, prejudice, greed, fear, and hatred bring out the worst and best in them.

What is out there? Can it really be werewolves?

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Dead Push (Keira Hudson Series Two, Book 7) by Tim O’Rourke, paranormal

When two enemies push back together!

“…Most of them just sit as if waiting for someone to join them on their impending journey. Others are rushing for their train as if late for some important meeting. They can’t wait to board one of those trains below ground. When I first discovered this place, I don’t know how long I sat here watching the dead hustle and bustle about, queue at the ticket office and take drinks from the vending machines. Like any new place you visit, like your first day at a new school or in a new job, you soon figure out how things work. I knew I was dead…”

Available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Stunner (A Ronnie Lake Mystery #1) by Niki Danforth, mystery, crime

Beautiful. Bright. And possibly deadly…

That’s all Ronnie Lake knows about her soon to be sister-in-law, Juliana. But Ronnie is determined to find out the truth about her wealthy brother’s new lover—before he throws away his happiness, his fortune…maybe even his life. Who is this mysterious woman, and where did she come from? What is she hiding? And how deep could the deception go?

First the family receives strange phone calls. Then a disturbing package appears at their estate outside New York City. Ronnie—a divorced, downsized, 50-something—seems an unlikely detective. But she soon finds she’s got an instinct for this type of work, as she falls ever deeper into a sinister world where people will do anything to escape their past. And Juliana may be the most desperate of them all.

Available at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

March 4, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Promo: FREE story A Shilling Life by Phil Lecomber

You may remember our promo (with Q&A and excerpt) of Phil Lecomber‘s period crime mystery thriller, The Mask of the Verdoy (A George Harley Mystery #1). This series has started off with some fantastic reviews, and I am looking forward to the read myself at a later date. With Book 2 due to be released later in the year, the author has decided to share a FREE short story, A SHILLLING LIFE, with you to whet your appetites!

Blurb: A Shilling Life opens with Soho veterans Benny Levine and Sammy Shapiro reminiscing in their 1960s cabaret bar about the dark days of the 1930s, when the East End was living under the threat of Sir Pelham Saint Clair’s fascist BBF movement (as featured in MASK OF THE VERDOY).

The conversation prompts Benny to begin to pen a firsthand account of the time (THE CHRONICLES OF GREEK STREET) and the first subsequent ‘story within a story’ is a stark record of the effects that extremist movements such as the Blackshirts can have on the lives of everyday folk.

Here’s a sample of the first few paragraphs:

Soho, London – 1963

For the third time that morning Benny returned to contemplate the photograph on the front page of the newspaper. Through the air vent above his head there wafted in a heady mix of piquant aromas and the industrious clamour of a Soho readying itself for another weekend’s revelry—a task that, to the casual passerby, might seem daunting in the stark light of day, without the feverish neon to flatter its glamorous squalor.

Outside in the bright autumnal morning brooms were pushed, steps hosed and canopies raised; liveried Austin vans squeezed down the narrow backstreets to deliver the raw materials for the coming night’s entertainment: livid cuts of meat and iced shoals of silver for the restaurants; crates of knocked-off spirits and wines of dubious provenance for the clip-joints; and stacks of Scandinavian delicacies (baled in brown paper wrapping) for the pornmongers.

In steamy coffee bars, slumped over sticky Formica, the victims of card sharks stared into the milky froth of their cups, numbed for the moment from the size of their losses by cheap whisky hangovers. And from anonymous-looking doorways furtive working girls slipped out into the streets to play at normal life for a few hours. All this to a soundtrack played out by the jangle of the Wurlitzer and the sigh of the Gaggia … 1960s Soho in all its truculent glory.

But cosseted in the subterranean gloom of Sammy’s Cabaret Bar, Benny Levine was lost in a different decade; transported back thirty years by a piercing stare which, although diminished somewhat by age, still held its aristocratic threat of superiority and entitlement …

And here’s the link to the download (it’s available in 3 formats – MOBI, EPUB & PDF):

http://www.georgeharley.com/books/short-stories/a-shilling-lifeI will be reviewing The Mask of the Verdoy, book 1, later in the year, but if you would like to check it out now, here is the blurb:

LONDON, 1932 … a city held tight in the grip of the Great Depression. George Harley’s London. The West End rotten with petty crime and prostitution; anarchists blowing up trams; fascists marching on the East End.And then, one smoggy night …The cruel stripe of a cutthroat razor … three boys dead in their beds … and a masked killer mysteriously vanishing across the smoky rooftops of Fitzrovia.

Before long the cockney detective is drawn into a dark world of murder and intrigue, as he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the very security of the British nation.

God save the King! eh, George?

For our promo on The Mask of the Verdoy, with Q&A with Phil Lecomber and an excerpt, please follow the link below:-

*Promo w/Q&A and Excerpt* The Mask of the Verdoy (A George Harley Mystery #1) by Phil Lecomber

Purchase links for the Mask of the Verdoy:-

Amazon UK Link

Amazon US Link

February 20, 2015 by Tina Williams

SUPER SALE! The Photographer Trilogy Boxed Set, by Sarah Robinson

ღ THE PHOTOGRAPHER TRILOGY BOX SET ღ

FIRST TIME ON SALE EVER- Only $0.99! ONE WEEK ONLY!
The boxset contains the never-before-read bonus scene!

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…

Tainted Bodies (Book 1) is FREE for one week only exclusively through Ever After Romance! Go grab your free copy of the first book now! This is the ONLY time this book has ever been (and probably will ever be) completely FREE!

WHAT! Did I hear that right???

YES! The first book is FREE on Ever After Romance for anyone and the boxset is only $0.99 EVERYWHERE!

Check out the synopsis for the series below:

He takes a picture of every woman he kills.

She takes nothing from anyone.

Kate Jackson is a woman haunted by her past with no direction in life, and surviving only on her close relationship with her sister, Annie. Until she meets charming lawyer, Derrick Kane.

Just when she thinks she might have found the key to learning how to live again, maybe even how to love, The Photographer rips it all away from her with one click of his camera.

Somehow she survived, determined to rise above the trauma life has dealt her. Yet, she doesn’t get away that easy, The Photographer isn’t done with her yet.

The infamous serial killer begins dropping menacing hints at every turn.

Reminding Kate that he owns her. That he broke her body.

The small, quiet life that Kate Jackson had built for herself is over. Pulverized by the twisted workings of the notorious serial killer and the agony of being betrayed by the one man she had trusted her heart to. Trust had never come easily to her, yet she had given it to Derrick. And he destroyed her with it.

Kate is a fighter and refusing to allow a sadistic killer to take everything from her yet again, she delves into the police investigation targeting The Photographer and finally revealing his true identity. Kate is fighting for justice while fighting to reclaim the man she loves, and somehow learn to trust him again.

But when an innocent life is on the line, the cost of justice could be more than love can afford. Kate quickly learns that finding the face behind the mask, doesn’t make you safe.

Monsters are only uglier in the light of day.

**Please note that there is no cliffhanger at the end of this series and everything is fully wrapped up. This box set also includes a never before read, deleted scene about The Photographer’s childhood! DISCLAIMER: Due to violent and dark subject matter, this story is intended for readers over the age of 18 years old.

Click on any of the retailers below to purchase the ebook boxset for only $0.99!

To get the first book, Tainted Bodies, FREE, click on the Ever After Romance button below or here! For Android users, click here! For iPhone users, click here!

Paperbacks: Tainted Bodies (Book 1) | Tainted Pictures (Book 2) | Untainted (Book 3)
*The final paperback does also include the bonus scene from the boxset. Paperbacks are not discounted. The $0.99 is for ebooks only.

Click any site below to follow Sarah Robinson on social media!

Join Sarah Robinson’s Fan Club on Goodreads or Facebook… or both!

Do you like The Photographer Trilogy? Check out the other books by Sarah Robinson currently available or coming out soon!

♬ Sand & Clay Rocker Series ♬
Contemporary romance surrounding the life of Logan Clay, famous rockstar!
Purchase now at one of the retailers below!

♬ Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks ♬

Coming soon–
Kavanagh Legends, from Random House Penguin’s Loveswept!
Add to your TBR on Goodreads now!

Breaking a Legend | Saving a Legend | Becoming a Legend

Sarah Robinson is the Amazon Bestselling Author of the contemporary Rockstar romance series Sand & Clay, as well as the very popular romantic suspense thriller series, The Photographer Trilogy. All of her novels have reached Amazon’s Bestseller Rank in Crime, Crime, Thriller, Contemporary Romance, and/or Romantic Suspense.

In regards to future publications, she is with the Seymour Literary Agency and has recently been contracted by Loveswept, a Random House Penguin imprint, to begin a new contemporary romance series in late 2015.

Sarah Robinson is a native of the Washington, DC area and has both her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in criminal psychology. She is newly married to a local police officer, Justin, who is just as much of an animal rescue enthusiasts as she is. Together, they own a zoo of rescues, as well as volunteering and fostering for multiple animal shelters.

February 11, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Review Round-Up – February ’15

Hi readers, we hope that you are all well and looking forward to the arrival of Spring, as Tina and I are. We want to say goodbye to the cold and gloominess, the bugs and viruses, and welcome some clear, blue, sunny skies to wake up to and motivate us to get out and about. I’m sure if it wasn’t for certain responsibilities I would just hibernate with my books and laptop throughout the winter months!

With Valentine’s Day just a few days away I hope that you are all in the mood for love! We have been reading many great romance novels, whether they are contemporary, historical, paranormal, comedy or erotic, and so there are more than enough reads to bury your head into to prepare you for the weekend of love!!

Amongst our latest, thirteen reviews we have two thrillers and a non/fiction travel and food book – if you are planning to go away, or want to try something new to eat, this is a fab read of first-hand accounts with recipes at the end of each chapter!

We hope you enjoy our selection. And whatever your plans, have a lovely Valentine’s weekend! (As always, please click on the titles for our full review!)

Caroline & Tina ❤

Torment (Dark Alpha #1) and Pleasure (Dark Alpha #2) by Alisa Woods, paranormal romance (reviewed by Caroline)

Torment (Dark Alpha #1) – short story

New Adult Paranormal Romance serial

Shifters live in the shadows of Seattle, just under the skin of the alpha male, dot-com entrepreneurs who are building a new Silicon Valley in the Emerald City.

Jak enjoys the female human population of Seattle as much as any wolf, but his heart belongs to a female shifter who’s already mated. Worse, she’s the mate of his alpha’s brother.

Arianna was captured from her pack when she was only twenty and mated to a wolf whose dark side takes full advantage of her unbreakable bond to him. Her nights belong to him, but her days are free to explore other things… including feelings for a wolf she can never have.

Is love stronger than magic? Or will breaking an unbreakable bond destroy them both?
Torment (Dark Alpha 1) is 60 pages or 15,000 words. It’s the first of six episodes in the Dark Alpha serial.
Adult content. Ages 18+.

Pleasure (Dark Alpha #2) – short story

Blurb: New Adult Paranormal Romance serial

Shifters live in the shadows of Seattle, just under the skin of the alpha male, dot-com entrepreneurs who are building a new Silicon Valley in the Emerald City.

Jak and Arianna have found something special in each other’s arms… but is it something they can keep?

Is love stronger than magic? Or will breaking an unbreakable bond destroy them both?

Pleasure (Dark Alpha 2) is 60 pages or 15,000 words. It’s the second of six episodes in the Dark Alpha serial.

Adult content. Ages 18+.

Guildhall Guradian: Thamesian (Thamesians #1) by Aidan Ladsow, paranormal romance, mystery (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: SHE HAS JUST FOUND THE ADVENTURE SHE CRAVED FOR

Italian Art Graduate Gioia Di Terzi has left Rome for England, upsetting all her plans of a future as a Museum administrator. Now working as a civil servant, she settles into a British working-class routine which comes nowhere close to her dreams of English Gothic tales.
That’s before she discovers the Medieval Quarter of the city and steps into its Guildhall, a building which instantaneously fascinates her.
Little does she know she just crossed the supernatural underworld’s threshold…

AFTER CENTURIES AS A GUARDIAN HE MUST COME OUT AND FIGHT

In 1430, Roydon Thamesian made a pact with Vampires who saved his life and became the powerful Guildhall’s guardian.
Ruling the Medieval Quarter, he doesn’t know humanity anymore.
Until Gioia Di Terzi stumbles into his life and he becomes the target of unmistakable attacks from a Hunter…

Plea From a Stranger by Derek A Barrass, thriller, slight paranormal (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: A young woman’s casual visit to a garage accompanied by her young daughter; becomes her worst imaginable nightmare when the owner tricks her and locks them in his basement. June, who was once a nude model for lad’s magazines, is the dream-girl he believes has been sent by fate to be his. He is a psychopath who has killed his wife and the man she left him for. He also hides other crimes from his past which he believes he was entitled to do if anyone crossed him.

Songs of the Maniacs (novella) by Mickey J. Corrigan, new adult, psychological thriller, dark drama, urban crime, romantic suspense (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: Who are we when we lose everything, including our personalities? From her office at a mental health institute in the tropics, a troubled young woman counsels deeply disturbed clients while coping with her own heightening concerns. These include frightening consciousness lapses, violent memories of a high school sexual relationship, a menacing stalker, and an annoyingly arousing visitor who may or may not be insane. All this on a single stormy day at a time when a new mental health disorder has become epidemic and is threatening to distort memory and identity, unmooring the validity of reality itself.

A seductive and chilling novella, Songs of the Maniacs takes readers on a fascinating descent into the abyss beneath the lush surfaces of contemporary American paradise.

Broken Dolls by Kitty Thomas, literary erotica 18+ (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: Mina Calloway always finds herself in the hands of the wrong master: Gentle at first, then brutally sadistic and abusive. She no longer believes it’s possible to find a man who will be gentle with her. After seeing a kink-friendly therapist for months, the doctor makes her an illicit offer she isn’t yet smart enough to refuse: “Let me find you a good master.”

Brian Sloan is a borderline sociopath with a dark and brutal past. Only taking his sadistic urges out on the women at a submissive training house allows him to sleep through the night. When Brian sees Mina, she should be ripe for the picking, but her damage is too similar to his own. Can he fight past his demons to protect the one person he considers worth saving?

Note: This book happens in the same world as Guilty Pleasures with reoccurring settings and characters. However, it is not a direct sequel and it isn’t necessary to have read Guilty Pleasures first. If you enjoy this book, however, you may also enjoy Guilty Pleasures by Kitty Thomas.

Travel Bites by The Hungry Traveller, non-fiction, travel, food (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: Travel Bites is a collection of short stories that criss-cross the globe. It is the first work by The Hungry Traveller who has combined his two great life passions: travelling and eating!

The Hungry Traveller has been travelling for the last fifteen years and, along the way, has experienced many different sights, tastes, smells and cultures. Central to his travel experiences has been the role of food. Through his unique and very personal style of storytelling, you too can share in the highs and the lows of his stories from around the world. At the end of each story is a recipe for a dish inspired by his adventure.

Travel Bites will capture your imagination and curiosity; and will leave you yearning to plan your next holiday, adventure or escape!

The Hungry Traveller is a travelling enthusiast who loves to eat! When travelling, he enjoys meeting new people and engaging with locals to learn about their culture, history and the food that they eat. He is ‘currently between trips’, saving money, but always has his passport on hand, ready for his next adventure! He always likes to hear about other peoples’ travel experiences and your thoughts on his book!

The Lady Smut Book of Dark Desires, erotic, paranormal, humour (reviewed by Tina)

The Immortal Longing of Brenna Bang by Liz Everly

When a vampire materializes through her computer, successful vampire-romance romance author Brenna Bang finds herself marked for inescapable passion with a tech savvy bloodsucker.

The Lying, the Witch & the Wardrobe by Margery Kempe

Jeanie tries to figure out how to unlock her grandmother’s wardrobe and uncover what happened all those years ago when the goblins came to offer their sensuous erotic fruits.

Sexsomnia by Madeline Iva

Jenny needs to unravel the mystery of what she does at night and who she does it with in order to subdue the sexual demon inside her.

Divine by Elizabeth Shore

Locked in an abandoned mental asylum, an ambitious filmmaker soon discovers she’s trapped with a Dionysian god. He offers her a glimpse of astounding future artistic success—but it will only come true if she’ll perform an erotic ritual to free him.

Concealment (The Cassano Series) by Scarlet Wolfe, contemporary, erotic, romantic suspense (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: Victoria Hart is supposed to be the enemy. She is an undercover detective who infiltrated my hotel and casino as an employee to take down my illegal enterprise. What she doesn’t know is I am fully aware of it. The operation I’m orchestrating is monumental compared to anything her mind could envision.It’s the burning desire I feel when she’s near that I didn’t see coming. An unwavering draw to touch her, and the need to break down her walls is testing my restraint; however, nothing can stand in the way of my ultimate goal. She could destroy everything my brothers and I have worked toward to avenge our father’s death.To keep the upper hand, it is vital to know your enemy. How deeply can I go, peeling back her intriguing layers while still concealing the truth? How much of Victoria can I claim before she’s too close … too close for me to let her go? This novel ends in a cliffhanger and is for a mature audience due to harsh language and descriptive sexual scenes.

A Desperate Wager by Em Taylor, regency historical romance (reviewed by Tina)

Blurb: Nathaniel Spencer, the Fourteenth Duke of Kirkbourne wakes up with an almighty hangover and a wager note in his pocket stating he has agreed to marry the Earl of Brackingham’s daughter. And he can’t even remember ever meeting the chit. Clearly his drinking has got out of hand.

Lady Sarah Steele is horrified when her father announces that the Duke of Kirkbourne has agreed to marry her and even more horrified that her father wagered her hand in a game of cards. Not only that, but the earl has not told the duke of the riding accident that left Sarah paralysed when she was sixteen. But he’s dying and she knows he wants to see her settled before the inevitable happens.

Despite Nate’s drinking and Sarah’s possible complicity in the earl’s plan, they agree to marry. But when accidents start to happen, the newly-weds must deal not only with the fact they are practically strangers, but they must find out who is trying to kill one or both of them. Nate’s drink problem and Sarah’s disability are only a couple of the hurdles they must face to find lasting love.

Werewolves of Shade (Beautiful Immortals #1) by Tim O’Rourke, paranormal romance (reviewed by Caroline)

Note: This ends in a cliff-hanger. Part Two will be released 13th February 2015 and is now available for pre-order.

For readers 16+

Strands of Sollus by Cheryl Suchacek, fantasy, erotic (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: A contract from the Order of Aurora sends Myst in pursuit of a stolen magic sword. The job soon finds her partnering with Lotus, the rightful owner of the sword, as well as two beings bound to each other, Tol and Grayoch.

In the course of their mission, the group uncovers that behind the theft are sinister forces bent on resurrecting the dark lord, Maridon, in order to overwhelm the forces of light and take over the world of Sollus.

Facing their enemies, Myst finds that not only does she have to contend with Maridon and his minions, she also has to deal with the growing complications of her relationship with Tol and Lotus.

Tequila & Tea Bags by Laura Barnard, contemporary, romantic comedy, chick-lit (reviewed by Caroline)

Blurb: Sent to live with her cousin Elsie in the Yorkshire countryside, Rose has only one thing on her mind; joining her friends as a club rep in Mexico.

When she hears about a council incentive offering the promise of free flights to the person who clocks the most volunteering hours at the local care home, she’s got her plan set.

But she doesn’t plan on bonding with the old ladies, going after the village bad boy and trying to persuade Elsie not to become a Nun.

Soon she’s questioning who her real friends are and whether her old life is one she wants to return to.

Can the village win her over and will she win the chance to leave it behind? Will she even want to?