What’s The Emergency Weekend Writing Warriors

Now taking excerpts from my newly published scifi romance COLONY UNDER SIEGE: INTERSTELLAR PLAGUE.

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

May be edited a bit from published version.

The excerpt: I’ve skipped ahead again, to the next day after the colony’s social gathering and Saffia’s ride with Micah the Chief Ranger. Now she’s at the clinic she runs, preparing for a day of seeing patients:

“Good morning, Dr. Mandell,” said Warby, her Medical Artificial Intelligence as she crossed the threshold into her office.

“Anything I need to know?” Tossing her jacket onto a chair, she sat behind the old fashioned desk.

“Other than test results you ordered yesterday, which have been uploaded to the proper patient files, there has been no event,” The AI’s voice sounded a bit wistful to Saffia although undoubtedly the effect was her imagination at work. This medAI wasn’t a registered sentient, only a specialized module.

“All right, I have to return a call and then we’ll commence with the appointments of the day,” She keyed the com.

Kayla Reff, her first friend here on Haven and manager of the spaceport, answered the call promptly, her image flickering a little. The equipment on the planet tended to be on the old side, well maintained but without all the modern enhancements. The fact both she and Kayla were from offplanet made for an extra bond between them. The colonists tended to be a bit standoffish toward those not born on Haven Two. Expression brightening, with a big smile, Kayla said, “Oh hey, doc.”

The rest of this excerpt: 

Seeing how relaxed her friend acted, Saffia sat back and let her initial worries about a crash or an explosion seep away. “You called? What’s up?”

“We’ve got a ship coming in, asking for the doctor. The Sparkling Streamer, how’s that for a name? From the details, seems to be an Inner Sector Socialite’s yacht.”

Saffia’s muscles tensed again at the mention of Socialites and drew a deep breath. She was the authority here. “What kind of emergency does the captain have?”

Kayla shrugged, blasé about the arrival of an elite ship. Of course she must see dozens of them during the tourist season. “He didn’t declare one but apparently they have a sick child on board. Wanted you to meet them at the spaceport.  The ship lands in about an hour.”

“I can’t abandon the clinic in the middle of the morning.”

colony under siegeThe blurb: Newly graduated from a prestigious interstellar medical school, Dr. Saffia Mandell has been assigned to the Haven Two colony on the galaxy’s outer rim as the only doctor for some 2000 human residents. She’s counting the days until her five years there is up, trying to adjust to rural living after life in the crowded Inner Sectors and fighting her attraction to Chief Ranger Micah Navonn. She’s dreading the upcoming tourist season when the rich and pampered will descend on the planet for the scenic wonders and novel sports opportunities and no doubt inundate her little clinic but the colony depends on the seasonal income to survive.

As the senior official for his people, the Calinurra, the indigenous inhabitants of Haven Two, Micah enforces the treaty, regulates the tourist permits, patrols the forests and resists his fascination with Dr. Mandell. He never expected to be involved with a human woman and doesn’t want to believe in the concept of a fated mate. He wants to keep his life simple and isn’t ready for any long term commitment. Besides Saffia keeps proclaiming she’ll be leaving when her appointment is up in four and a half years so why should he risk his heart?

Then a ship arrives unexpectedly carrying a very ill little girl and soon the deadly virus is spreading through Haven Two. The colony authorities are desperate to cover up the problem to preserve the all-important tourist season and Saffia and Micah have to work together to battle the outbreak, the local administration and their undeniable feelings for each other.

Can the colony survive? And will Micah and Saffia be able to move past their fears about entanglements to act on the mutual attraction?

An 87K word novel of the far future…

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo      Nook      Google Play

Interview: Anna Hackett on Completing HELL SQUAD #SciFi Series at 20 Books

This interview first appeared on the Amazing Stories Magazine blog…

When an author brings a successful series to a close after years of unspooling the continuing story, how does she feel? How do readers react? How hard is it to tie up all the threads? Anna Hackett has been writing the Hell Squad post-apocalyptic science fiction romance series since releasing Marcus (Hell Squad Book 1) in 2015. She recently concluded the series with Tane (Hell Squad Book 20). Since I’m in the middle of writing my own Badari Warriors series (currently on book fourteen), I was especially eager to ask her some questions about the topic. I’ve been an avid Hell Squad reader since the beginning. No spoilers but I will say I was more than satisfied at the way Anna wrapped the adventures up.

Here’s the beginning of the blurb for Marcus, from 2015: “In the aftermath of a deadly alien invasion, a band of survivors fights on… ”

Here’s the blurb for Tane (Hell Squad Book 20):  As the battle against the invading aliens reaches its endgame, a group of bad boy bikers and mercenaries will stand and fight for humanity’s survival…

Tane Rahia is good at one thing–fighting. Before the alien invasion, he fought as a mercenary in the worst jungle hellholes. Now, he’s the leader of Squad Three–aka the berserkers–and he’s fighting to protect his brothers, his friends, and the last of humanity’s survivors. It doesn’t matter if he dies, he knows he belongs in the shadows, doing the dirty work and taking dangerous risks so others don’t have to. There is no warm woman, no love, and no redemption for him, and especially no small, sweet alien woman who he struggles to ignore.

Abducted from her homeworld by the Gizzida, Selena endured captivity and torture. Then she found herself on a distant planet called Earth and rescued by tough, heroic humans. She’s recovered, made a new family for herself, and come into a power that she never knew she possessed. She’s determined to experience everything life on vibrant Earth has to offer and to protect her new home. And she discovers that one battle-hardened, intense man is the only one who ignites a passionate desire that leaves her breathless.

The humans have fought hard, but now the Gizzida have created three deadly, humanity-ending bombs. Tane’s not happy that Selena’s help is vital in the fight against the aliens, and nor is he ready to face her stubborn confidence nor the white-hot desire flaring between them. But as they enter their final make or break fight, Tane and Selena know they need to fight as one. They may not survive the final battle, but they have to try: for their friends, for the planet, for humanity.

Veronica Scott for AMAZING STORIES MAGAZINE: What were your major influences for doing the series itself originally? 

AH: Hell Squad started with this idea of a battle-hardened soldier facing off with a pretty former socialite. I wondered what it would take for two so opposite people to have to work together and fall in love. The answer was an alien invasion! I also drew on the influences of lots of TV shows (like Falling Skies) and games to put together my post-apocalyptic world of humans fighting back against alien invaders.

ASM.: Did you always know it would end this way, or at 20 books? If not, how did you come to the decision to write the ending? 

AH: I’m laughing right now. No, I never envisioned Hell Squad having 20 books. The first story, Marcus, was supposed to be a short story (called Darkest Before Dawn) that I was contributing to a sci-fi anthology. The anthology fell through and I knew there was more to the story. Clearly, things took on a life of their own. This series has always been very organic — I had no idea where it would end up or how it would end. I knew the fight couldn’t go on forever and I really wanted to give these heroic, tough characters the ending they had fought so hard for. Once I started writing the stories of Squad Three (the berserkers) I knew we were headed toward the final conclusion.

ASM.: Was it tricky to ensure we saw all the major characters in action in Tane? How did you juggle that when writing the book?

 AH: The Hell Squad books have always written themselves! I guess I knew this world so well and the characters came to life so vividly from the beginning, so ensuring we saw everyone in the final book wasn’t that hard. The thing I was conscious of was to make sure everyone had an important role to play, not just appearing for the sake of appearing. But these characters have always worked hard together to fight and survive, so again, it wasn’t hard at all.

ASM.: I really admired how you kept bringing in fresh challenges and new characters over the life of the series. Which was your favorite ‘big development’ and why? How did you decide what to add to the basic stories? 

AH: Each Hell Squad book has always showcased a mission against the invading aliens. Obviously, the main characters of each book have been critical to whatever that mission was. That means, the mission was always centered on whatever the strengths and skills of the hero and heroine might be. After that, I just let my imagination run wild! I have always worked hard as an author (in all my series!) to keep the stories fresh, interesting, and fun.

A big development in Hell Squad (and one that wasn’t planned) was the character of Selena. I never intended to introduce an additional alien species to the series, and I was just as surprised as Hell Squad when they rescued Selena and realized that she wasn’t human. She is the heroine in Tane’s book and a key part of the story.

ASM.: Over the entire series, who was your favorite character? Who was most difficult to write and why? 

AH: I can’t pick a favorite! I love each one of my characters for different reasons. Marcus and Elle were the first, so they will always be special to me. I loved the banter between kickass Claudia and sniper Shaw. I loved General Adam Holmes finding the love of his life in Liberty. I love the tough female fighters of Squad Nine. The wild, bad-boy berserkers are always a pleasure.

Like I mentioned, this characters have always come alive and the Hell Squad books have always been very easy to write. So none of the characters have been difficult to write. I did feel some pressure in Tane’s book, knowing it was the end and two very anticipated characters. I wanted to make sure I wrote a book that the readers loved, but once I started writing, I forgot about the pressure and got lost in the story.

ASM.: Was it hard for you to leave the series behind? What will you miss the most about Hell Squad? 

AH: SO hard! It was exciting to write the ending for these amazing characters, but at the same time, it was very bittersweet. These characters feel like family, so not writing more of their action-packed adventures will be hard. I’ll miss the intense feel of this series that is layered with grit, hope, survival, resilience, and love.

ASM.: What’s next for you? 

AH: Well, I’m busy working on books in some of my existing sci-fi series (Eon Warriors and House of Rone). I have a new (non sci-fi) contemporary action romance series called Norcross coming out in September (loosely linked to my Team 52 series). And I am really excited for a couple of new sci-fi romance series that I am currently brewing right now. I’ll be hoping to launch them next year.

ASM.: Is there a TV series or movie you’ve binge watched lately? 

AH: I don’t have a lot of time for TV anymore (that’s not counting kids shows as I have two young boys — their favorite right now is ‘Miraculous Ladybug and Cat Noir’, which is a fantastic animated superhero show!) I did recently watch a great limited series on Netflix called ‘Unbelievable’. It was different to what I usually watch (fast-paced action or sci-fi!) It was centered on two female detectives on the hunt for a serial rapist. It had a wonderful diverse cast and the qualities I love to see in my heroines: tough, never give up, and kickass in their own way.

ASM.: What’s on your To Be Read list? 

AH: I recently read Nalini Singh’s latest Psy/Changeling book, Alpha Night, and loved it. I’m looking forward to her next Guild Hunter book. I am also waiting (im)patiently for the next Pamela Clare romantic suspense and Ilona Andrews’ Emerald Blaze.

For more about Anna Hackett and her books visit https://annahackett.com/

New Releases in #SciFi #Fantasy and Paranormal Romance for Wednesday JUNE 24

As always, I recommend sampling before you buy! I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking a bunch as I prepare these posts LOL).

A big release this week of MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE BOOKS…

*************************************************

DAUGHTER OF THE ALIEN WARRIOR (TREASURED BY THE ALIEN BOOK 3) by Honey Phillips and Bex McLynn

Can a grieving alien warrior and a desperate mother overcome their painful pasts through the shared love of a child? 
One year ago, Jade’s husband was killed and the baby she had wanted for so long disappeared. She has been searching for her daughter ever since. Nothing – not even being abducted by aliens – is going to stop her. She doesn’t expect to find a daughter who doesn’t know her; one who clings to a huge, green alien instead. Despite her own attraction to the older warrior, she will do whatever it takes to get her daughter back. Inzen lost his wife and daughter many years ago in the terrible plague that threatened to destroy the Cire race. When his ship rescued a group of abducted women and infants, he willingly took on the care of one of the children. Then a luscious human female appears, demanding the return of her daughter and he is faced with once again losing a child. When danger threatens, can Jade and Inzen come together for the sake of the child they both love?

Amazon

THE HEALER’S HELLION (HOUSE OF KAIMAR BOOK 5) by Miranda Bridges

He wants to save me. Braxton is a physician and I’m sure that the feeling of wanting to heal people comes naturally to him. Too bad I’m not interested. All I want is to make sure my friend is safe and to find out what is going on with me physically. Braxton can help me with that, but from the heated glances thrown my way, I’m sure he wants to do more than examine me. His medical discovery will shock us both and I’ll find myself in the exact place I never expected – trusting him. Can he find a remedy to heal my wounded soul or will I push him away before he can actually see how broken I am?

Amazon

NOTHING TO DECLARE (THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMEWORLD SECURITY BOOK 13) by Cassandra Chandler

VS Note: This is a cute series!

She’s sure that aliens aren’t real—until she falls for one. Sabrina knows that aliens don’t exist, even if her grandpa keeps telling people stories about his best friend, Craig—the giant, white-furred, four-armed Lyrian. If one more person mentions the “Space-Sasquatch,” she’s going to start throwing things—even if that person is a gorgeous, mysterious guy skulking around her pet parlor late at night. With his pet iguana. Oh, and by the way, he says they’re both aliens, too. Yeah, right.
When Len volunteered to help Cyan, the Vegan’s xenobiologist, collect DNA samples from Earth cats, he had no idea it would be such a dangerous mission. He thinks he’s lucked out when the human who catches them turns out to be the granddaughter of their contact on Earth—until she starts throwing things. Who knew she’d be so sensitive about her grandpa’s friendship with a Lyrian? But their quest for cat DNA has caught the attention of another alien hanging around Sabrina’s home town—and this one isn’t looking to make friends. Can Len and Sabrina keep the people and pets of Harbor safe?

Amazon      Apple Books      Author’s Books2Read link

ROCKET CITY BLUES – BOOK TWO OF THE SOUTHERN SCIFI CHRONICLES by J Morgan Woodall

There’s always a morning after …When we last saw spacer Tiger Thomas and the anthropomorphic vixen, Amber, they’d found shelter at the home of Tiger’s old flame, Lulah Carter. But dawn has come, and none of their troubles have disappeared. They’re still fugitives on the run, wanted by the law, a family of vengeance-seeking backwoods criminals and worst of all, a relentless bounty hunter, who’s made this all personal. Tiger knows their only chance is to get out of Huntsville and disappear into the endless black void of space. Unfortunately, his spaceship has been impounded, his trusty Pegasus rocket truck crashed, and it’s only a matter of time before his enemies figure out Lulah was once his lover, putting her and her family in mortal danger. With time and options running out, Tiger desperately gambles on a far-fetched plan of escape that may be more dangerous than anything he’s faced so far. Around him, the Rocket City is exploding as his adversaries, old and new, driven by greed, revenge and brutality, will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Amazon

CORPORATE GUNSLINGER: A NOVEL by Doug Engstrom

VS Note: Not a romance but a scifi release of note. Review mentions “an ambiguous ending”…but also said it could be setting up for more sequels so…

Like many Americans in the middle of the 21st century, aspiring actress Kira Clark is in debt. She financed her drama education with loans secured by a “lifetime services contract.” If she defaults, her creditors will control every aspect of her life. Behind on her payments and facing foreclosure, Kira reluctantly accepts a large signing bonus to become a corporate gunfighter for TKC Insurance. After a year of training, she will take her place on the dueling fields that have become the final, lethal stop in the American legal system.

Putting her MFA in acting to work, Kira takes on the persona of a cold, intimidating gunslinger known as “Death’s Angel.” But just as she becomes the most feared gunfighter in TKC’s stable, she’s severely wounded during a duel on live video, shattering her aura of invincibility. A series of devastating setbacks follow, forcing Kira to face the truth about her life and what she’s become. When the opportunity to fight another professional for a huge purse arises, Kira sees it as a chance to buy a new life . . . or die trying.

Amazon      Apple Books

BOUND TO THE ALIEN (ROH’ILIAN WARRIORS SERIES BOOK 2) by Luna Kingsley

Khocin has been fighting the Yinean his whole adult life, so it sucks when he’s taken captive and wakes up on their ship. His plan to escape is complicated by his fellow captive – a human woman handcuffed to him. She’s the prettiest thing he’s ever seen, but she’ll only slow him down, and he needs to get back to his brothers.
Leah was barely coping with life on Earth, thanks to her strict upbringing, but everything really went to shit when she was kidnapped. She’s completely ill-prepared for life in her new surroundings and the alien warrior is her only hope. He wants to ditch her, and she can’t let that happen. The only thing worse than being taken from her home is being left behind to fend for herself. Khocin is determined to get Leah home safe so he can go back to hunting those who wronged his tribe long ago. Back to his life the way it was before she came along. When it comes time, will he be able to cut her loose and move on? Or has she become the calm to his chaos?

Amazon

BEYOND THE NEXT STAR (LOVE BEYOND BOOK 1) by Melody Johnson

An intolerable order. A desperate charade. A deadly secret…. Before Commander Torek Renaar can return to active duty, he’s ordered to purchase an animal companion to help relieve his PTSD symptoms. But having been a caretaker for and lost a loved one, keeping even one little human alive is a challenge he feels doomed to fail. It doesn’t help that his animal companion is the newest, most exotic breed on the market, demanding constant attention, daily grooming, and delicate handling. If she doesn’t die first in his incompetent care, she’ll be the death of him.

After witnessing the murder of her domestication specialist, Delaney McCormick allows her new owner to treat her like the pet he believes her to be. If anyone suspects she’s more intelligent than a golden retriever, her murder would be next. She endures the humiliation of being washed, the tediousness of being trained to “sit” and “come,” and the intrigue of hearing private conversations. But in Torek’s care, she finds something unexpected on this antarctic planet, something she never had in all her years on Earth while house-hopping between foster families: a home.
As companionship grows to love, must Delaney continue the charade, acting like an animal and hiding from the murderer waiting on her misstep? Or can she trust Torek with her secrets, even if the truth threatens everything he holds dear—and both their lives?

Amazon

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE by Sarah Pinsker

VS Note: Sounded intriguing and the sample read well so I one clicked. Horror maybe? Although listed in SF&F too…

Stella thought she’d made up a lie on the spot, asking her childhood friend if he remembered the strange public broadcast TV show with the unsettling host she and all the neighborhood kids appeared on years ago. But he does remember. And so does her mom. So why doesn’t Stella? The more she investigates the show and the grip it has on her hometown, the eerier the mystery grows.

Amazon      Apple Books

HELLA by David Gerrold

VS Note: Not a romance, hard scifi but sounds so good. Put it on my TBR List…

Hella is a planet where everything is oversized—especially the ambitions of the colonists. The trees are mile-high, the dinosaur herds are huge, and the weather is extreme—so extreme, the colonists have to migrate twice a year to escape the blistering heat of summer and the atmosphere-freezing cold of winter. Kyle is a neuro-atypical young man, emotionally challenged, but with an implant that gives him real-time access to the colony’s computer network, making him a very misunderstood savant. When an overburdened starship arrives, he becomes the link between the established colonists and the refugees from a ravaged Earth. The Hella colony is barely self-sufficient. Can it stand the strain of a thousand new arrivals, bringing with them the same kinds of problems they thought they were fleeing? Despite the dangers to himself and his family, Kyle is in the middle of everything—in possession of the most dangerous secret of all. Will he be caught in a growing political conspiracy? Will his reawakened emotions overwhelm his rationality? Or will he be able to use his unique ability to prevent disaster?

Amazon      Apple Books

TARKKAN (INTERGALACTIC SOUL MATES BOOK 4) by Annabelle Rex

Marta Kowalczyk should be on the Olympia with her friends. Instead, she’s babysitting her father, who’s fresh out of prison and resisting Marta’s attempts to keep him on the straight and narrow. She could do without any other frustrations in her life, including helping the grumpy head of Station security, Tarkken, who, for some reason, can’t stand the sight of her. Tarkken H’Arran would love to put violent anti-Intergalactic Community extremist, Nick Gillespie, behind bars before everyone returns from the Olympia. But to do it, he’s going to need Marta’s help. The only problem? Marta’s emotions project far louder than everyone else’s and play havoc with Tarkken’s Empathy. Being around her is almost intolerable. So why can’t he get her off his mind?

Amazon

THEIR HUMAN VESSEL: A DARK SCIFI ROMANCE by Lizzy Bequin

A dying planet. A conquered mate. I came to this godforsaken planet to uncover a dark secret. Nothing could have prepared me for what I actually found. Now, betrayed and stranded in an unforgiving wasteland, I can feel my life slipping away with each breath of poisonous air. Death is certain. Until the aliens find me. Horned warriors with glowing green eyes. They say they will save my life. The power to do so lies within their hard, savagely muscled bodies. But if I give in to their demands, I will be changed forever. Transformed. I will become one of them. There will be no going back. The aliens will dominate me. ..(more blurb on ebook seller page…)

Amazon

DEATH’S MATE (CHARYBDIS STATION BOOK 1) by C W Gray

VS Note: A spinoff of the BLUE SOLACE series…

Welcome to Charybdis Station! Dr. Verion Morrick is complicated. No, really. Not too long ago, Verion was simply a divorced research scientist on Frost Veil that wanted to reconnect with his estranged son. Now, a few years and one death and resurrection later, Verion is a new person – both Death the Crellic Element and Verion Morrick. One being that helped protect the galaxy from an insidious evil. With the war over, Verion isn’t sure where he belongs, but there is one thing he is sure of. His fated life mate is an adorable gentle giant named Valentine Philbert.
Val isn’t a complicated man. He spends his days working in maintenance and taking care of his teenage son. He has his friends and his family, and never thought to want more. He believed his chance at a lasting love died along with his wife years ago. Then he met Verion and knew the delicious scent of his mate immediately. In the midst of a galactic war, Val had to put their happiness on hold, but now the war is over, and Val wants his mate. Unfortunately, the path to happiness isn’t always easy. The citizens of Charybdis Station aren’t quite sure what to make of Death now that they don’t need him anymore. Can a weapon of war and a gentle maintenance man find their happily ever after?

Amazon

QIM (LYQA PLANET LOVERS BOOK 5) by Nikki Clarke

Half-Lyqa and half-Yuk, Qim has the best of both worlds—the brute strength of his father’s people and the kind, compassionate nature of his mother’s. He also has a First heart, which identifies his biological mate, Cris, while he visits Earth. After a traumatic first introduction, he finally sees her again, only to have a lurking danger force them back to Lyqa and the waiting judgement of his fight first ask questions later older brother, who has always wished Qim was less Lyqa and more Yuk. Faced with the pressure to protect his lehti, Qim has to decide which part of him will keep her safe without driving her away.
This is book five of the Lyqa Planet Lovers Series. Read the others first, or enjoy this one on its own.

Amazon

TRAPPING TRAZE (FIRST WAVE BOOK 13) by Mikayla Lane

VS Note: Although there’s no mention of a romance in the blurb, it’s listed in SFR and at least one review references a romance.

Their primary mission was over. The majority of the Relian scourge had been defeated, and all that remained were pockets of survivors hiding on Earth. Hundreds of hybrids had been rescued, and the survival of the Valendrans had been assured. The T’Alq brothers had all made terrible sacrifices to mitigate their guilt over who had bred them, and though Traze and Dagog still fought alongside the Dranovians, peace seemed to reign for Grai and Koda. Until their world is shattered by a betrayal so deep, it will call the brothers back to battle together again. Four brothers will stand against a force so dark, none will be left unscathed. Three will betray everyone the brother’s love, and all they hold dear. Two will not survive the final battle for the peace so dearly longed for. One will be the only hope to save their future. Witness the final First Wave. Nothing is ever as it seems – Grai T’Alq

Amazon

BITE, BLAZE AND ENCHANTMENT (VAMPIRE DRAGON SHIFTER REVERSE HAREM BOOK 3) by Zara Zenia

When my cousin Katie comes to visit from planet Etwan, I beg her to take me with her. I need a change. A break.
Instead, I find myself facing the same fate as my cousins and a truth I never expected. Two vampires and two alien dragon shifters claiming me as their mates. They need me to help save their planet, and I need them to help heal the wounds in my heart. But can I give myself over completely to these four incredible men? Or will the call to return home to Earth be too loud to ignore?

Amazon

CAGED PEARL (REAPER’S PET BOOK 6) by Athena Storm and Zora Black

I escaped cruelty and torture…with a beast. He would think twice before eating me. Everything else is fair game though. Worse, I think I want to belong to this feral male. Our story is so sick and twisted, it truly belongs in this galaxy. Me, a human woman. Him, a Reaper warrior. Together, we fall in love in our rust bucket of a ship.
It’s basically us against the galaxy and all those civilized people who think we’re trash. To survive, we’ll have to loot and plunder. We’ll have to kill and embrace the violence of the Reapers. But the more violence we indulge in
The hotter things get between us. It’s like a drug. An aphrodisiac in a galaxy filled with war. We might be sneered at.
Called unrefined. Even labeled monsters. If so, then Karviss is my monster. And I’m his. Together, we shall live the Reaper code. Reap. But do not sow.

Amazon

THE MERCENARY’S DAWN (RENEGADES BOOK 1) by L P Peace

Mercenary looking for a future. An escaped slave fleeing from the past. Their love will reshape worlds. When Alethia is kidnapped while trying to free slaves, it seems her deepest nightmares are coming true. Her ‘rescue’ by Thanesh, leader of the Protectorate, a group of hardened mercenaries, is short-lived when the past catches up to the mysterious alien leader, revealing things about both of them which will change their future forever. Thanesh and Alethia must now fight side-by-side or face the horrifying consequences.

Amazon

THE PET AND HIS DUKE by Beryll Brackhouse and Osiris Brackhaus

Robert is a pet, a human pleasure slave, and well past his prime. So when teenage Duke Thomar of Aylian buys him via mail order, Robert first suspects a dreadful misunderstanding. The duke is young, handsome and headstrong, and the very last thing he needs while struggling to secure his reign over his planet is an aging bargain bin pet by his side. Only, the more time Robert spends with Thomar, the more he learns that the young duke rarely makes mistakes. Unless, of course, Thomar dashes off on one of his mad adventures, which Robert increasingly becomes a part of.

Amazon      Apple Books

ALIEN GODDESS: EDEN (MAKAEN WARRIORS BOOK 3) by Zina Wes

Eden’s lifelong dream to join an off-planet archaeological expedition turns into a living nightmare when her vessel gets boarded by Makaen—the alien race humans have been at war with for more than a decade. She’s hunted down and taken prisoner by one seriously pissed-off and fierce-looking Makaen. To make matters worse, he even dares to accuse her of belonging to a smuggling ring. Okay, she was holding a stolen relic when they met, but that was nothing more than a big misunderstanding. It’s evident the alien doesn’t think much of her species. At all. Yet, there’s some kind of weird connection between them even her hyper-rational mind can’t explain, but it’s driving her crazy. The stoic alien has the ability to switch her brain off with just one smoldering gaze. And even though he’s doing his utmost to fight it, his eyes and actions tell her it’s affecting him too.

Damaen Bakan, governor of one of the Makaen colonies, lost the most important thing in his life by a cowardly act committed by humans. Lacking both empathy and compassion, he has no scruples about making every human he encounters pay. Until Eden crosses his path. The female is unlike any other human he has captured and interrogated. Damaen’s trying to withstand her gravitational pull, but it’s so incredibly strong he fears he might not be able to resist her for long. And that’s bad. Very bad. After all, aside from being human, she’s also a criminal of the worst kind. Two very good reasons to avoid her. The last thing he wants is for the female to revive something inside him he assumed was long dead and buried. And then there is the small matter of her possibly being a gift to him from his deity. Yes, the gods must surely hate him.

Amazon

CAGED WITH THE BEAST (DARK MOON PRISONERS BOOK 1) by Aline Ash

Marissa I’m in the hellhole known as Gerr’ a prison moon, light years away from home. My crime? Being abducted by an alien race who then deemed me useless. I might be small, but I am not fragile. When my cellmates threaten me, I fight back with fists blazing. But after the fight goes bad, the punishment I face is even worse…I am shackled and thrust into a cell with him — Kon, a killer given the moniker “Beast” by the other criminals. He’s big and intimidating, a predator everyone fears. I should despise him. I became a cop to put people like him away. Too bad he is also irresistibly hot and the more time I spend with him the more attached I’m becoming. Is this love?
Kon – One look at her small quivering body and I know she doesn’t belong here. It’s called a prison, but Gerr’ a is a kill or be killed game. All for alien entertainment. The more ruthless we are, the more points we get. She is completely at my mercy. Should I end her miserable life, or should I protect Marissa even if this means I risk everything? But as I enjoy my power over her, her power over me grows just as strong. I need to snap out of it. Now.
But can I?

Amazon

THE DESCARTES EVOLUTION by N J Croft

VS Note: Not exactly scifi but close…sounded  good. N J Croft = Nina Croft

A woman with a rare genetic illness must uncover her connection to a terrorist group before their next attack in this exciting new bio-thriller from the author of Disease X. Lucas Grafton has spent the last ten years hunting the Conclave, a secret organization who took everything from him, including his very identity. Now he has a lead—an imminent terrorist attack on London—code-named “Descartes”. But he can’t connect the dots until a seemingly innocent woman appears during his stakeout. Jenna Young can’t believe she was attacked and barely escaped with her life. Now she’s on the run with a stranger…and racing against the clock. With only a note left by her father after his death, telling her to use the code-word “Descartes” to get the pills that slow the progression of her illness, Jenna has only days before her body will start to rapidly deteriorate. Lucas and Jenna must piece together why she’s wanted by a terrorist group she’s never heard of. And why, despite her claims that she needs an unknown and presumably illegal drug to stay alive, she seems to be getting stronger by the day.

Amazon      Apple Books

TO TAME A DRAGON (VENYS NEEDS MEN) by Tiffany Roberts

The tribes have been dying beneath the desert sun for as long as they can remember. With fewer and fewer males birthed, there is little hope of survival. Humanity is doomed. The yearly blooming is a season of fertility and new life—and the time when the males choose new brides. But Elliya has no desire to become another wife amongst many to a spoiled man. She longs for more. She longs for love. When the Red Star appears in the sky on the night she is to be chosen, Elliya knows it is her chance to make her own choice. She ventures out beneath the blood moon to prove the old legends true—to claim a dragon as her mate. But even if she can forge the legendary bond with her dragon, can she win the most important prize of all? Can she conquer the dragon’s heart?

Amazon

THE KITCHEN WITCH SWITCH: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (KITCHEN WITCH ACADEMY BOOK 1) by Dawn Montgomery

I eat curses for breakfast. No, really. I’ve been cursed more than a thousand times and here I am facing another one. My twin sister ditched out on a cursed client and he’s definitely not happy. So now I’m stuck playing twin switch in the Kitchen Witch Academy, and I can’t cook. No really, I burn water. The curse isn’t like anything I’ve seen before, and neither is this crazy magical world I’ve been plunged into. I’m a cubicle queen, a meeting manager in the mundane world, not a witch. I don’t even have a familiar.  Scratch that. It looks like Baba Yaga decided I needed one to keep me out of trouble. I’m out of my element, but I know one thing for sure. No curse or distraction will keep me from getting back to my regular life. Well, okay, maybe one distraction. The handsome cursed client and CEO of a big deal Kitchen Witch family might play that role. I’ll have to use all my skills to navigate enemy territory and avoid my twin sister’s evil familiar while I’m at it. I know one thing. Once this is over, I’m due for a long vacation at a sunny beach, margaritas and brooding Kitchen Witch CEO’s welcome.

Amazon      Apple Books

FAITHFULLY WICKED: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (WICKED SERIES BOOK 4) by Teresa Gabelman

Twins, a sexy panther Shifter, a Rock n’ Roll cat with major issues, a tattoo shop and now add a bakery in the works means Wicked is a little on edge. The last thing she needs is a past, she thought had forgotten her, coming to Assjacket with one thing on its mind. Taking her back to what she ran from so very long ago, but the residents of Assjacket have a more wicked plan. Welcome back to the town of Assjacket for more wickedly hilarious mixtures of paranormal personalities.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE LION’S WITCHY MATE: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (THE WILDER CREW BOOK 1) by Elle Boon

It doesn’t matter where you came from or where you’re headed. What matters is that you’ve always got a place with the Wilder Crew. Thadd’s so much more than meets the eyeAfter witnessing the death of his mother along with the betrayal of his pride  that nearly broke him, he fled his native home. Now, ten years later, he’s found a sort of peace and a crew of misfits that’s more family than his old pride. Yet he yearns for more. Torrance isn’t your average shifter...She’s happy with her life and with her Pride, but she knows her mate isn’t among the males she’s met. However, she’s aware it’s only a matter of time before she either finds a mate, or has to tell her alpha and adopted brother, the truth about what she really is. Figuring out how to explain to her pride the truth about her nature is harder than she thought. When a lion meets his mateThadd isn’t one to ignore fate, especially when he dreams of a female night after night. Of course, the dreams aren’t lovey dovey sexy dreams, but nightmares he’s determined to prevent from happening, if he can just figure out who the gorgeous woman happens to be. If Fate sends you a beast…Torrance feels the pull to the male and knows nothing and nobody will stop him from claiming her. Not that she’s planning on pumping the brakes either. Now she just needs to ensure her Pride doesn’t kill the huge shifter before she claims him as hers. Can these two shifters who are more than meets the eye get their happily ever after, or will a demon from Thadd’s past destroy them before they get a chance to find true happiness?

Amazon      Apple Books

DRAGON DAYS, WITCH NIGHTS: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (MY CRAZY PARANORMAL ROMANCE BOOK 1) by Donna McDonald 

Jezibaba—aka Elenora the reluctant Dragoness—is tucked into her beach house and enjoying her retirement. After hundreds of years of protecting the nutbag magical community, she deserves a little peace and quiet. Right?  Wrong…What she doesn’t deserve is her dragon lover announcing their mating to all of dragonkind. Those crazy flying freaks consider her to be Damien’s pet human which is really not working for her. The least he could have done was warn her they were about to be summoned before the Council of Dragons to explain themselves. She also doesn’t deserve to have to worry about the wicked firebird mage, Zenos, trying to bed Damien’s mother. You’d think a couple of millennial-old creatures would keep their embarrassing wooing to themselves. Damien’s breathing fire over it and Goddess only knows what’s going to happen when the Council of Dragons finds out. The chaos she calls her life has her all fired up again. Retirement will have to wait. Something has to be done before her inner dragon decides to get involved and the witch hits the fan.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE WITCH ELEMENT: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE by Virginia Nelson

Savannah Snickersnee might prefer quiet country life, but she loves her sister enough to brave the city to swap places after a desperate plea from her twin. Once in Seattle, the bookish witch finds herself tangled with the two men her sister left behind. When both humans express interest in the dislocated Savannah, she needs to figure out what sent her sister running back to Assjacket with her proverbial tail tucked—and fast. If she doesn’t hurry, and she’s not careful, she might fall for one of the men Sadie left behind… but does he love her or the twin she’s impersonating? And what about the catastrophic cluster$%&* that is shaking the entire western seaboard, spilling puddles of random magic throughout Seattle and causing no end of mystical chaos? It might take more than one witch to solve this problem, but luckily for the universe… Snickersnees come in twos.

Amazon      Apple Books

SPELL ME ONCE: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (BESPELLED BY LOVE BOOK 1) by Cherie Marks

All she wanted was one more chance to get it right. Gemma Marolinia is a witch with regrets. Heir to the Linwynian throne, she has also been trained as an assassin. Gemma is blamed for an assassination attempt on her father the King, and she sees no way to clear her name. As a rule, when conflict arises, she believes in the flight philosophy. She who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Now, her past has caught up to her, and she can no longer run. She must face her fears and trust others, especially an attractive hunter who has been sent to bring her to justice. It’s time to right the wrongs of her past with a spell that will send her back in time. Maverick Waraxe promised the King he would find the princess and bring her home. Yet, Gemma refuses to come peacefully. He agrees to help her find the book of spells, but only if she comes with him to answer for her crimes. Of course, the more time they spend together, the more he falls for the dangerous beauty who surprises him with her capacity to care for others. She is a walking paradox, and if she gets her way, she might just unravel the very fabric of time. Sometimes you wish you could go back in time to change the things you did wrong, but you better only Spell Me Once because you might not get another chance.

Amazon      Apple Books

TOO HEXY FOR HER BROOM: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (HOT AND HEXY BOOK 1) by Susan Hayes

She thinks she’s ordinary. He thinks his assignment is temporary. Sometimes, two wrongs can make everything right. Exploding cupcakes and an unexpected birthday present send Breeze back to a place she can barely remember – home. Her mission: Take her place as the protector of Wyrding Way and unravel the mystery of her parents’ death. Her allies: A kleptomaniac raccoon and a hot as hell selkie secret agent whose smile could melt the panties off a saint. Her enemies: A flock of seagull Shifters with mayhem on their minds and a shadowy figure with no fashion sense. Her plan: Defend the town., decode the clues, and do not, under any circumstances, fall for the sexy Shifter, even if he does look amazing in a kilt.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE WARRIOR, THE WITCH AND THE WOMBAT: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE by Khloe Wren

What’s a witch to do when her Aussie slang talking wombat familiar leads her straight into the arms of a stinking hot Berserker warrior? One claiming to be her mate. She freaks out. Trust me, I totally freaked out, but then got down to business. There’s no time to weigh my options. It’s a matter of life or death. Not my life exactly, but still… I don’t want the death of the last Kangaroo shifter on my hands when all I need to do to save him is bond with a sexy as sin warrior and kick a Drop Bear’s butt. Choices, choices.

Amazon      Apple Books

BIG GIRLS DON’T SCRY: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE by Marianne Morea

What’s a bar-owning witch to do when a ghost with a grudge starts messing with her happy? Not to mention, messing with the love of her life over an ancestor everyone hates. She calls on her half-demon BFF, and a secret weapon she didn’t know she had—The Baba Yaga, a.k.a. the most powerful witch in the world. Tabitha Morgan is in for the fight of her life…well, for the life of her fiancée, when he’s taken over and taken hostage by a hostile witch ghost. History runs amok in this sorcerer’s suspense, set in the witchiest place on earth and the home of the magical pokey. Take a ride in a hail of purple smoke and rainbow sparkles, and the worst fashion sense since disco fever died, and see how this ragtag group works magic they didn’t know they had to save the day.

Amazon      Apple Books

COUGAR ON A HOT TIN ROOF: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE by Debra Dunbar

Cougar Shifter Gooper Pollitt left her home in West Virginia five years ago for the Big City, but a call from her brother has her racing back. Big Daddy is ill, and no matter how prickly things were when she left, family is family. When she returns, G finds that everything in the town and on the mountain is the same as when she left, except there’s a hot new man in town—a warlock who brews up a magical latte and makes donuts to die for. G’s family might have the vapors over her dating a warlock, but their attitudes toward Dev quickly change when he divines that Big Daddy isn’t ill—he’s been cursed. Can G and Dev find time for love while hunting for a would-be killer?

Amazon      Apple Books

HOLIDAY VACATION: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (HOLIDAYS IN ASSHAT BOOK 1) by Amy Gregory

Jenny Von Zuzle is a fabulous witch with a sweet personality and—oh yeah, a fear of using her most powerful skill in her arsenal of magic. Joshua Englewoodie is a warlock who was raised to blend in with mortals, living the high life along with some of the most rich and famous. Yet, he’s bored out of his mind. Opposites are supposed to attract, but complete polar opposites? It is definitely going to take some outside help and a little bit of witchcraft to get these two on the same page. Thank the Goddess above for the town of Assjacket and good friends who aren’t afraid of a little challenge.

Amazon      Apple Books

THIS OLD HAUNT: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (HAUNTED PROPERTIES BOOK 3) by Angela Roquet

I now pronounce you bat and bride!Margo West is finally marrying the batty beau of her dreams. After breaking a century-old family curse, laying ghosts to rest, discovering her power over the sky cauldron, and defeating a dirty dog Shifter, a wedding sounds like a piece of cake. Until their mothers arrive. Nessa West is not thrilled about her daughter’s plans to marry a fruit bat Shifter. Not when there are so many eligible warlocks waiting back in Kansas. The arrival of Dylan’s mother is no walk through the poppies either. Hermosa Hernández lost her husband and eldest son to a witch’s curse, and she’s convinced that Margo is much too wicked for her precious cachorro.  With their mothers stirring the cauldron at every turn, Margo and Dylan find themselves at odds and wondering if their love will survive the weekend. Some things just can’t be fixed with one of Mama Ellie’s sexy backyard rituals, but if they can’t get their mothers under control, Margo fears her and Dylan’s nights of making magic under the pawpaw trees will soon be over.

Amazon      Apple Books

UNWITCHABLE: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (THE CASE FILES OF DR MATILDA SCHMIDT, PARANORMAL PSYCHOLOGIST BOOK 10) by Cynthia St Aubin

Dr. Matilda Schmidt is used to handling the paranormal world’s most twisted cases. So when the Baba Yaga asks her to fill in for Roger the rabbit Shifter while he’s in wank-flick rehab, she’s more than happy to oblige. With her super mega genius seven-year-old daughter in tow, Matilda packs her bags and heads to Assjacket, where she learns that there’s a rogue Hexer hanging around town, and a series of attacks has the locals worried. When Matilda’s inaugural session with Zorro the fainting goat Shifter is interrupted by a leather wearing, white-haired, amber-eyed—and really hot—stranger, she’s shocked to learn that he’s been transported from another realm to hunt the Hexer. Together, they’ll have to uncover the real reason the Hexer has targeted Assjacket, even if it means confronting the troubling truth about Matilda’s own daughter.

Amazon      Apple Books

DRAGON’S GOT HEX APPEAL: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE by Sarah Saracino

When my parents confessed they’d sold me in service to Satan, I expected the Prince of Darkness to walk through the door when the clock struck twelve. Instead I got a hexed Dragon Shifter with a grudge against my mother and my newly purchased contract in hand. That sexy as sin Dragon might own me for the next twelve months, but I’m not falling for him no matter how many Twinkies he buys me. Throw in the Motherhumper of all Demons who wants me dead, a skunk Shifter with a loose stink trigger, a glorified outhouse to call Home Sweet Home–and I’m beginning to think I might as well be in Hell!

Amazon      Apple Books

WHERE MY WITCHES AT?: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE by Andris Bear

Murder, magic, and…a dragon? Oh my! There’s a new witch in town–she just doesn’t know it yet.​ Life just took a sharp up yours for Clea Fukuro. As one of the few humans in Assjacket, WV, Clea thought she knew who–and what–she was.  ​Until she’s accused of murder by the guy claiming to be her mate.

Amazon      Apple Books

THAT MULE’S GOT A KICK: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (MAIDENS OF MAYHEM BOOK 3) by Julia Mills

Take…One mysterious package covered in bright blue cartoon wrapping paper delivered by an Armadillo on a twenty-speed Schwinn racing by at a high rate of speed. Add…Forty-eight hours to save my friends, my momma, and Gram-Gram from a revenant relative returned from the grave. A seventeen-hour road trip to get help from the Almighty Shifter Wanker with my Queen-in-her-own-mind Eagle critiquing my choice in music and my inability to carry a tune in a bucket with a lid. One essential, crucial, and had-to-happen trip to Buck’s Stop-N-Go for cheesy puffs, black licorice, and a forty-four-ounce soda. A super sexy Mule who comes to the rescue, saves my bootay from inevitable demise, and steals my heart. And…You’ve got the life of Edna Easterwing, aka me. All I wanted was a quiet day with my coffee, paperwork, and the Sanity-Challenged Shifters of Bailmore Hall – Instead…I’m Feathered, Cursed, and Mated to an Ass…Midnight Margaritas, anyone? All I can say is buckle up, Buttercup, it’s time to  get FLOCKED’cause that’s how we roll in Tallulu Parish!

Amazon      Apple Books

WITCHIN TO SAY I DO: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (MAGICK AND CHAOS BOOK 11) by Isabel Micheals

Welcome to the Dark Forest, where an evil King resides, Dark Fae rule the land, and an unsuspecting witch is itching to say, ‘I Do’. Five years ago in the human realm, Camille walked away from the love of her life, or so she thought. They say hindsight is twenty-twenty, and if that’s true, then she’s about to get a rude awakening from a dream demon determined to make her life a living hell… literally. Prince of the Dark Fae, Kallan is next in line to be King. There’s only one problem, he’s missing a Queen. So imagine his surprise when she unexpectedly lands on his doorstep. Of course, that’s after he hijacks her dream in order to save her life. When the human and Faery Realms collide, all Hell breaks loose. An Evil Djinn escapes to wreak havoc on both worlds, a selfish King seeks retribution, and an evil ex-wife is out for revenge. Did I forget to mention said ex-wife belongs to the Prince of Darkness, who has wiped his hands clean of the situation? Either way, it’s time for our hero and heroine to step up their game or die trying.

Amazon       Apple Books

WITCH WAY UP: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE by Kate Richards

She’s a Jewel…but that has its challenges. The witches of the Jewel line often have problems with their magic, and Tarana is no different. Her magic only comes out when she’s highly emotional, and then it has a mind of its own. Her cousins have come into theirs when they found their special men, but either her ex wasn’t special enough, or she just won’t ever be a full witch. With a new trophy girlfriend in her ex’s bed and a new job managing an apartment building whose tenants are all supernaturals, thanks to Zelda the Shifter Whisperer, Tarana is ready to start again. No more men. It isn’t worth it even if it did trigger her marriage. Giff is a demon on a mission. His escort service brings a whole new meaning to “service,” since his employees are either sex demons or trained by them. He is living in the penthouse of a building he designed a century ago on his last visit to Earth, and it’s killing him to see the effects of  a hundred years of neglect. Getting stuck in an elevator with a witch is the last straw. Or maybe the first moment of a new beginning. Sparks fly and attraction charges the air, but Tarana’s not looking for a relationship anytime soon…or ever. Maybe it can just be physical? Or maybe she’s the mate he’s been told to wait patiently for.

Amazon      Apple Books

WITCH OUT OF WATER: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE (KRACKEN’S HOLE BOOK 1) by J Thompson

Maeve Hummingbird Moonchild is the worst witch in her coven and struggles with even the smallest spell. With no friends but a pigeon, her life in London goes from bad to rock bottom when she is kicked out of her coven and forced to get a job. When a Help Wanted ad leads her to a new life, she heads off with nothing but her sass and her winged friend. What else can she do? And Kracken’s Hole can’t be that bad—right?

Amazon      Apple Books

GATOR ME TWICE: MAGIC AND MAYHEM UNIVERSE by R L Merrill

Newly mated Layla and Garrett are diligently practicing their baby-making skills—until Baba Yaga pops in with a dire warning. A magical storm is brewing, and when it causes a supernatural communication breakdown, the water witch and her alpha mate will have to defeat ghosts from their past, their own insecurities, and a childhood nightmare come to life.

Amazon      Apple Books

TAZE: RISE OF THE PRIDE BOOK 11 by Theresa Hissong

Taze Malone has known for two years that Calla Marshall was his mate, but her brother is a problem. Malaki does everything in his power to keep them apart, but that won’t stop Taze from getting answers to why she vanished from her fight training. Her sorry attempt at an excuse doesn’t add up.
Calla Marshall dives into her studies and job at a human attorney’s office. She distances herself from the pride to keep her mind off of touching a male after she turned twenty. Her reasons for getting her law degree are valid, but the secret she and her brother keep weighs heavy on her mind when her panther finally realizes Taze is to be her destined mate.
While the war against the Gadaí continues, Taze is thrust into his role, protecting humans against the dangers of rogue packs of werewolves. Females are being turned, and it is his job to help the others capture them to be sent to a new home where they can be reformed. His need to be close to Calla stirs up a renewed friendship and understanding. She’s not ready for a mate. But when he finds out the secret she’s been hiding since being rescued by the Shaw pride, Taze will do everything in his power to help her heal. It’ll be a long ride of uncertainty and growth, but will Calla finally return to the female he fell in love with in the training facility all those years ago?

Amazon      Apple Books

DAYS TO HIDE (CURATOR SERIES BOOK 3) by  Stephanie Flynn

Thrust back in time to 1854, she’s on a mission to save a good man turned bandit. Falling for him wasn’t part of the plan and neither was joining the notorious outlaws. Veterinary assistant Becca Wagner drowns in romance novels on her lunch break, someday hoping to find what she had lost: a family. When her soon-to-be ex-husband arrives with a new woman on his arm and a cute puppy needing shots, Becca quits. While packing her house to restart her life, Becca’s co-worker offers her an escape—a dream study for her master’s degree with promises of healing from the pain. Becca doesn’t hesitate. Before drifting off to sleep, she is given a mission: Becca must convince a farmer to accept a crooked sheriff’s deal, otherwise the farmer will be killed. Amused by the chance to participate in a romantic adventure novel of her own, Becca eagerly accepts the terms.
In 1854, farmer Jonathan Arris turned bandit for his own reasons, no matter how much his little brother complains. The sheriff in town makes Jonathan an offer to go undercover for him in exchange for immunity from his crimes. Despite Jonathan’s better judgment—the bandits are a bigger threat than the sheriff—he accepts. But soon it’s clear the sheriff’s deal isn’t going to keep Jonathan alive, and the strange woman from the future quickly captures his heart. Becca must decide between two futures—the present, where she’s jobless but safe, or the past, where she has to risk her life to follow her heart.

Amazon

THE KINDER POISON by Natalie Mae

Zahru has long dreamed of leaving the kingdom of Orkena and having the kinds of adventures she’s only ever heard about in stories. But as a lowly Whisperer, her power to commune with animals means that her place is serving in the royal stables until the day her magic runs dry. All that changes when the ailing ruler invokes the Crossing. A death-defying race across the desert, in which the first of his heirs to finish–and take the life of a human sacrifice at the journey’s end–will ascend to the throne. With all of the kingdom abuzz, Zahru leaps at the chance to change her fate if just for a night by sneaking into the palace for a taste of the revelry. But the minor indiscretion turns into a deadly mistake when she gets caught up in a feud between the heirs and is forced to become the Crossing’s human sacrifice. Now Zahru’s only hope for survival hinges on the impossible: somehow figuring out how to overcome the most dangerous people in the world.

Amazon      Apple Books

VOICELESS (WILLOWDALE VILLAGE COLLECTION BOOK 1) by M Sinclair

’d spent my entire life voiceless. Ignored. Put to the side. All because I couldn’t communicate with the humans that I was surrounded by. All because I wasn’t surrounded by my own kind, my parents subjected me to the worst type of loneliness because of their own bias and history. That all changed when I turned eighteen though. The day that I decided to pick up and move to Willowdale Village. A place that signified the exact opposite of my upbringing. A place where I found my best friend. A place where I opened up my own business, a small ballet studio where I didn’t have to worry about whether I could talk to others or not. A place where people understood why I couldn’t talk. A place where everyone was different. A place where I met the Graves brothers, a family of wolf shifters, that planned on changing my life forever. A place I now called home.
But what happens when my parents come to visit with an unexpected guest? One that not only wants to bring me back to where I grew up but place a very unwanted ring on my finger? I have a feeling that no one is going to be happy about this, least of all me, and the reaction of the Graves brothers is nothing to be happy about either.

Amazon

ENCHANTED BONES: A SARAH BOOTH DELANEY SHORT MYSTERY BOOK 20 by Carolyn Haines

A lost little girl is just about the last thing Private Investigator Sarah Booth Delaney expects to see while horseback riding one evening in the woods, and her concern deepens when she reads the note pinned to the girl’s outfit: it says she is cursed, and has consequently been abandoned. Filled with concern for the child, Sarah Booth gets to work tracing her origins. The quest takes her and her partner, Tinkie, to a small nomadic community on the Mississippi River, where the answers to their questions lie. Sarah Booth must tread carefully, however, for danger awaits her there as well.

Amazon      Apple Books

UNMADE (UNBORN BOOK 4) by Amber Lynn Natusch

When the Hallowed Gates prove not to be the safe haven Khara was promised, she flees to Detroit only to learn that not all is well there, either. The Dark Ones have taken their revenge for her broken promise and one of Khara’s many enemies has orchestrated her mother’s disappearance. Khara must work quickly to find her, a difficult task with Phobos lurking in the shadows. And when a mysterious stranger offers a solution to both finding her mother and eliminating her greatest enemy, Khara isn’t certain she can—or should—pay his price. Because deals with the devil only end one way. Even for the princess of the Underworld.

Amazon

FOREST OF SOULS by Lori M Lee

Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing, but she’s intent on becoming something. After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy, her plans are derailed when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo. And then Sirscha, somehow, restores Saengo to life. Unveiled as the first soulguide in living memory, Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King. For centuries, he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms. Now, with the trees growing wild and untamed, only a soulguide can restrain them. As war looms, Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace, or worse, claim Saengo, the friend she would die for.

Amazon      Apple Books

VAMPIRE BOUND: BOOK TWO by R A Steffan

My son just vanished into thin air… from a commercial jet cruising at 30,000 feet. The forces that took him aren’t of this world. I’ve barely recovered from the revelations that my boss is a vampire and magic is real. Now my child has been kidnapped by Fae who want to rule humanity, and I’ve acquired powers I can’t control. Blowing doors off their hinges and starting fires with the power of my mind won’t help me find Jace. For that, I’ll have to trust a man—a vampire—with emotional walls as tall and thick as Fort Knox. The answers I need won’t be found on Earth—but to save my son, I’m ready to brave a realm that drives humans mad. I’ve been set adrift in a terrifying new world of monsters and magic. Adrift, but not alone. Somehow, I’ve gained a misfit family among the living and undead.
Just as well, because at this rate, it looks like I’m going to need them.

Amazon

THE HOUSE THAT WALKED BETWEEN WORLDS (UNCERTAIN SANCTUARY BOOK 1) by Jenny Schwartz

A tornado of chaos is tearing through Reality and in its path is the newest House, a bleak and forbidding fortress built of magic and grief by the most unlikely of sorcerers, a human. A reckless act of compassion costs Dr. Kira Aist her family and her future on Earth. To escape her enemies, she calls on her heritage as a descendant of Baba Yaga and walks between worlds. As Kira roams the paths of Reality, strangers are drawn to her House. Some seek refuge, some seek power, and one just wants kitty treats. With the fate of multiple worlds hanging in the balance, Kira must discover what it means to be a sorcerer and the keeper of a House.

Amazon

A QUEEN’S PRIDE (FELINE NATION BOOK 1) by N D Jones

For centuries, humans descended on shifters’ lands, killing and claiming. They devoured all in their path–gold, God, and glory their battle cries. From the flames of destruction on the Zafeo continent, two nations emerged–the human territory of Vumaris and the feline nation of Shona. No more wars. No more bloodshed. Eight decades of peace.
For eighteen-year-old Asha, traveling to Vumaris with her parents, lion alphas of the Kingdom of Shona, should’ve been a simple matter. Recommitting to an eighty-year-old peace treaty between their countries should’ve been easier still. Yet, greed and corruption know no boundaries of time and place. So when a group of mercenaries converges on Sanctum Hotel, hellbent on kidnapping Asha and assassinating her parents, her family trip turns into the bloodiest night of her life. Will Asha lose those closest to her heart–her parents and Ekon, a young bodyguard she loves. If so, will she forgive her enemies or seek divine retribution? Only time will tell, and it’s running out for Princess Asha of the Kingdom of Shona.

Amazon

SAVAGE KING: NEW WORLDS (SAVAGE KINGDOM BOOK 5) by Milly Taiden

Through magic gone totally wrong, Wren and her cousins wind up on Gecire, sister dimension to the Crystal Kingdom. Wren McClure, journalist by day, romance writer by night, has a hard time facing the world’s ever-increasing responsibilities. Her life is already pretty messy. She doesn’t have time to think of falling in love, but she has no say in matters of her heart. Not when a big, sexy shifter decides she’s his.
Xenos Woodsky, alpha of the Gnoleon fae, has endured over three hundred years of self-induced solitude for a mistake that killed many in his tribe. When his mate portals into his reclusive life, he’s forced into taking action. It’s time to return to his people. It’s time to claim the woman he wants. Old enemies come back and the tribe is forced to move. They need everyone’s help, especially Xenos. Xenos has to decide if he’s going to face up for past actions with his people and save the day, or lose his mate and his tribe.

Amazon

DEADLY VOWS (THE LIZZIE GRACE SERIES BOOK 6) by Keri Arthur

Evil comes in all forms … and sometimes it wears a human mask. When the body of a newlywed is discovered on the reservation, Lizzie Grace throws herself into the investigation, needing a distraction from what she fears is coming not only for her but also Belle—her best friend and witch familiar. But as the body count grows and a desperate race begins to track down a supernatural entity capable of powerful magic, it becomes evident another deadly game has begun—one they may not win. Because the past—and the man—they ran from thirteen years ago has finally caught up with them. And he’s out for revenge.

Amazon      Apple Books

OAK: A DOYLE WITCH COZY MYSTERY (THE WITCHES OF DOYLE BOOK 7) by Kirsten Weiss

Doyle Witch Lenore has one job…Destroy a magical book that threatens to devastate the world. But try to tell that to her small-town sheriff. When a decade’s old corpse turns up in the hollow of a haunted oak, Sheriff McCourt drafts Lenore into service. Since the coroner can’t identify the body, why not ask a shamanic witch who can see the dead?Little does the sheriff know how dangerous the spirits of Middle World can be. And once they have Lenore in their sights, she can only keep moving forward – into a cold case at a local winery that threatens her sanity, and her life.

Amazon      Apple Books

SHIFT AFTER DARK (SHOCK COLLAR BOOK 1) by Liz Paffel

VS Note: A re-release of which the author says “Previously published as Winter Shift. This is an expanded, updated, and extended version.”

He’s not just an alpha grizzly shifter. He’s got more bite than that. Bear shifter Gavin Perry sent his people to safety from the blood hunters, but danger threatens him at every curve. He dwells in the deep woods biding his time until he can find the man responsible for the disappearance of his King. But the corrupted hunters keep coming, delaying his mission and forcing Gavin to unleash his shifter-vampire hybrid bite. He trusts no one. He needs no one. So when the sister of his best friend shows up, begging for his help, Gavin has his suspicions. The bear and the vampire inside him awaken with her scent. The man inside him demands he send her away. But, he’ll test her intentions…push her boundaries while he tastes her sweet kiss. And, he might just keep her because she might just be his fated mate. Isla Lindsburg is a fugitive with a secret. She didn’t come to Gavin for friendship—or anything else. She came here to die. Yet, his wild touch unleashes something within her that she didn’t know existed. It could be the key to saving everything Gavin’s worked to protect. But will their fated bond be enough to save her?

Amazon

DAN’S HAUNTASTIC HAUNTS INVESTIGATES: HAWK LAKE by Alex Silver

When ghosts cry out, Dan and Chad heed their call. Daniel and Chad are on the road to Hawk Lake, Maine, to investigate rumors of a haunting. With his new role in Daniel’s life, Chad feels like he has something to prove. He is determined to make the Hawk Lake haunting videos the best Hauntastic Haunts has ever aired. Daniel gets sidetracked when he realizes that he might have gotten in over his head with his long distance apprenticeship to a genuine medium. Old insecurities rear their heads and threaten the budding relationship between Dan and Chad.
Neither member of the Hauntastic Haunts crew is ready for what they uncover when they discover the truth behind the ghost ship haunting Hawk Lake. Secrets and lies that threaten to tear apart a community that is still healing from their grief might be better left buried. Daniel and Chad have to decide which is more important, telling the stories of the living or preserving the memories of a handful of ghosts.

Amazon

DARKLIGHT 8: DARK WILDS by Bella Forrest

What secrets are hidden in ‘the Leftovers’? Lyra and Dorian managed to end the meld that threatened every plane of existence, but there was a cost. Parts of the world have been changed forever. America is riddled with Leftovers: portions of unsettling wilderness where unknown creatures have been thrust into the Mortal Plane, and whole human cities have vanished. Among the missing are Lyra’s own parents. To find them, Lyra, Dorian, and Bryce take on a dangerous mission: investigating the Leftovers, where trees move and nothing is as it seems. The man sitting in front of me is nothing compared to the vampire I lost.” In the wake of the disaster, Roxy’s finally been promoted to captain in the Occult Bureau’s new monster-hunting department. Between jealous subordinates, her two hellraising siblings being put under her command, and protecting civilians from rampaging monsters, she didn’t think her new job could get any more stressful. And then she starts hearing voices in her head. Specifically, one voice: Kane, the obnoxiously hot vampire she thought she’d never see again. When Lyra’s mission is derailed unexpectedly, the two teams are thrust together again. The Leftovers reveal more of their secrets. Kane’s voice might drive Roxy crazy and ruin their chances of survival—or their connection might be able to save them.

Amazon

DEMONS IN THE BEDROOM (PARANORMAL HOUSE FLIPPERS BOOK 1) by Lidaya Foxglove

Have you inherited a creepy old house that needs updated bathroom tiles, a new kitchen, and an exorcism? Call me: Helena Nicolescu, the best house flipper witch on the east coast. But I have to admit, I might be in over my head this time. I bought “Lockwood House” at an auction, and the magical community definitely knew something was up, because my rivals were all in on it, including Jake and Jasper, the infuriating wolf shifter twins who think they’re so much better at renovations than me. I overpaid and now I’m stuck with a mess. Floors caving in, 70s carpeting, and…the ghost of an incubus who won’t stop flirting with me while I’m trying to demo.
That’s not the only problem. The former owner’s son seems to be drawn to the place against his own will. My witch radar is going off big time, telling me he has demon blood coursing through his own veins. And the wolves must smell trouble in the air, because they keep sniffing around too. I’ll definitely never tell them that I keep uncovering disconcerting artifacts throughout the house. And more than anything, I won’t admit that they both look pretty good in a tool belt. Why does this house seem like it’s calling trouble to the doorstep? I have eight weeks to get this done and then I’m putting this mansion on the market and moving on.

Amazon

DAWN CARAVAN: ELEMENTAL LEGACY BOOK 4 (ELEMENTAL LEGACY NOVELS 4) by Elizabeth Hunter

For Ben Vecchio, everything has changed. His eyes. His diet. His new aversion to sunlight. But after a long sojourn in China, Ben realizes that the world he left behind hasn’t changed as much as he feared. He wants to leave his old life in the past, there’s one job remaining that just won’t leave him alone. Radu’s mystery is too interesting—and too profitable—to ignore. The problem? Taking on this commission puts Ben in the path of his old partner, the one woman he’s spent years avoiding. Tenzin has been following Ben at a distance, hoping his ire might wane, but when he heads to Romania, her patience runs out. Ben is a new power in their world, and more than one vampire will be eager to test him. Ben and Tenzin need to work together if they want to find the truth behind Radu, his mysterious clan, and the treasure at the heart of the Dawn Caravan. One last job, then it’s finished between them. Right?

Amazon      Apple Books

THE ANGEL OF THE CROWS by Katherine Addison

This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting. In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent. Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE MUSIC DEMON (KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK SWAN BOOK 16) by Victoria Danaan

The first time Lyric heard Shivaun’s name he knew he’d kidnapped the wrong O’Malley twin. The first time Shivaun saw Lyric, she wished he’d taken her instead of her sister. The epic saga of Black Swan and all the lives it touches, human and otherwise, continues with Lyric’s desperate courtship of newly minted demon, Shivaun O’Malley.Meanwhile, Black Swan is discovering that the creation of demons, accidental or otherwise, may interfere with the natural order of things in disastrous ways. Particularly when those demons are female! From Hunter’s Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotia in present times to the Monterey Music Festival of 1967, this tale weaves a time travel adventure that will have you wishing you could catch the eye of a music demon and be part of the Summer of Love.

Amazon

THIS TIME TOMORROW by Tessa Bailey

Roksana, heiress to the vampire slayer throne, has performance anxiety. She’s supposed to kill Elias, but so far she’s only succeeded in maxing out his credit card. Now her failure to stake the brooding vampire has sent her back to Moscow in disgrace to face her mother’s wrath. Expecting punishment by death, she’s given a rare reprieve. She now has three tasks to complete, the last of which is to finally kill Elias. She will not fail this time. If only the memories of one magical evening–back when Elias was human–would stop holding her back. He claims to have forgotten that night. Why can’t she?
Three years ago, Elias was a SWAT team member on a guys’ weekend in Vegas. Playing poker and minding his own business, his life changed forever when a captivating blonde strolled past his table in a light-up bra. He followed Roksana as if compelled, his very bones demanding he do so, his soul resonating with the belief she would be important to him. Always. That turned out to be a vast understatement–and nothing has changed. Roksana embarks on her mission, determined to win back her mother’s approval, but when an astonishing truth emerges in the eleventh hour, will her stake pierce the very heart that beats in her honor? Or will love triumph over duty?

Amazon      Apple Books

WINDS OF DESPAIR (ELEMENTAL DRABBLES BOOK 1) by Various

Follow the wind through four chapters sorted by genre as our authors take you away to other worlds, different aspects of our own, or even into the swirling winds of nightmares and horror! With only 100 words, where will the wind take you? Featuring 252 drabbles from 68 authors!

Amazon

RETURN TO DARKNESS (THE COVETED BOOK 3) by Riley Proserpina and Rebecca Royce

And they say you can never go home again…When the past tries to rewrite itself, Lacey has to return to the town where the darkness was born. Together with her guys, she’ll face the troubled present, and try to secure her future.
But she never could have foreseen that the cost to her and the men she loves would be so impossibly high.
To save them all, Lacey will have to embrace who she is, and trust her guys—no matter how they might change.
After a decade, it’s time to come home. And this time, Lacey, Oliver, Colton, Thorn, and Aaron will destroy anything that threatens it.

Amazon

RUBY RUN (TIN STAR WITCHES: THE WITCHES OF RUBY GULCH BOOK 3) by Sam Burns

VS Note: From May

Augustus Ambrose never planned to return to the United States after graduation. His mother’s final letter, with its dire threats about what would await if he did, had been more than enough to keep him away. But when his Aunt Grace dies unexpectedly and leaves him her ranch in the New Mexico Territory, he can’t ignore it. Grace gave him everything, and he can’t let her legacy suffer for his childish fear of his mother.
Griffith Taylor doesn’t want much. Quiet nights on the range, a big blue sky, and no rattlesnakes in his boots. He definitely doesn’t want to travel to Boston to take care of his late boss’s heir. When he lays eyes on his charge, everything changes. Not just because Augie is the best looking greenhorn he’s ever clapped eyes on, oh no.
Someone wants Griff’s new boss dead, and they’re not afraid to use forbidden magic to get the job done. Griff can handle himself in a fight, but this job might be more than he’s prepared for.

Amazon

BREAKING IN: A MAYHEM OF MAGIC WORLD STORY (MAGICAL PRISON BOOK 1) by Nicole Zoltack

There’s no trial, no evidence, nothing to tie me to the crime of the magical century. The death of the head master of Magical Hunters Academy. Did I do it? Yes. But the reason why is important, so important my life is in danger. I have to break into Magical Prison. Yes, break into. Because I’m not the one condemned to live the rest of my life there. My sister is. So, yes, I’m going to break in. It’s the only way to save her. The only way to save us both.

Amazon

KINGS OF THE MOUNTAIN by Morgan Bride

VS Note: From late May

Fast cars. Outlaw country boys. Snarky werewolves, vengeful ghosts, and menacing monsters. Dawson King’s family has been hunting things that go bump in the night in Transylvania County, North Carolina, since before the Revolutionary War. Dawson was never happier than when he was racing his souped-up Mustang along winding mountain roads and hunting monsters with his best friend, Grady. Then Grady fell in love with him, which should have been perfect since Dawson had already fallen hard for Grady. But Grady was only seventeen, and Dawson feared that sooner or later, Grady would realize his feelings were just a first crush, and then he’d be gone, leaving Dawson devastated. They both needed space to figure things out. So Dawson joined the army, while Grady stayed on the mountain.
Four years later, Dawson is coming home. He’s more sure than ever Grady is his forever love, and they’ve both agreed to begin this new aspect of their relationship as soon as Dawson gets back. Then Grady’s father is killed in a werewolf hunt gone wrong. Grady is devastated, and he’s throwing mixed signals about moving forward. Dawson knows he needs to hold off on this new thing between them until Grady has time to grieve. But monsters never sleep, and one hunt after another throws Dawson and Grady into constant danger, while tension and unresolved feelings ripple between them. Making it even harder, Dawson’s got a secret. He’s dreamed of death omens—which point to something stalking Grady. Can Dawson figure out who’s trying to kill Grady, save his life, and win back his heart?

Amazon

CARELESS WISHES (THE TWILIGHT COURT BOOK 10) by Amy Sumida

Happily ever after is just another beginning. Five years after the birth of her children, Queen Seren Firethorn is enjoying life as a wife to four amazing men and a mother to four beautiful children. But this fairy queen was never meant to sit idly on a throne. Her work may be done with the Goddess Danu, but Seren is part human and as such, she’s also bound Danu’s twin brother, Anu. The God of Earth is far from done with the Twilight Princess. Anu calls upon the ex-Ambassador to take up her sword again and fight for his people. A thief has stolen a Fey relic, one that grants wishes, but only a pure soul can use it properly. Every wrong wish will have terrible consequences. Seren must find this thief and retrieve the relic but can she do it before his careless wishes destroy the entire world?

Amazon

HIS FEVERISH EMBRACE (REAL MEN OF WILDRIDGE BOOK 4) by Celia Kyle and Marina Maddix

One night of passion. Two secrets revealed. Three lives changed forever. Dragons do it better. At least, that’s Thrett Lacerta’s motto—at work and at play. The Wildridge Security specialist has a stellar reputation as a trusted member of a small team that maintains peace within the Los Angeles shifter community, but in his personal life he’s earned a nickname that’s both accurate and disheartening: The King of One-Night Stands. Rylan Wilson is just a human. One that’s raising a half-dragon son, the product of a single night of incredible passion. Despite the challenges, she’s not only learned how to raise a shifter child, but to teach them as well. And as the principal of an elite shifter school, it’s her responsibility to keep the kids safe. So when a possible threat emerges, she calls in the best: Wildridge Security.
When the two meet for the first time in eight years, Thrett struggles to understand his bond with the sexy, curvy human, while Rylan tries to find a way to tell the ultimate bachelor that he’s a daddy. Can they find their way back to each other, or will outside forces destroy the very thing that links them?

Amazon

RECKLESS CRUEL HEIRS (THE LOST CLAN BOOK 5) by Olivia Wildenstein

When my father, the King of Neverra, forced my hand into the Cauldron to cement a political alliance with the Farrows, I thought my night couldn’t get any worse. But lo and behold, it did. On top of being engaged to Remo Farrow, the rudest fae in my kingdom, I now have to repay a bargain I struck to get out of trouble. A bargain that sends me hurtling into a world of trouble. A world I didn’t even know existed, unwelcoming and wicked, and forever changing; a world where my powers—all of them—fail me. The worst part is, I don’t land in supernatural jail alone. Who should follow me through the damned portal but the bane of my existence . . . my new fiancé. Here I was, worrying how I’d save my life, but suddenly, it’s my sanity I’m more concerned about.

Amazon

LEGACY: A GASLAMP PARANORMAL ROMANCE (LEAGUE OF ILLUSION BOOK 1) by Vivi Anna

VS Note: A re-release…

London, 1851 – former thief Jovan Davenport is the black sheep in a family of powerful sorcerers. But when his dying father—head of the League of Illusion—reaches out for help, Jovan has no choice but to accept. He must find his older brother Sebastian and stop the power-hungry Hawthorne family from taking control of the council. If only they had appointed someone other than Skylar Vanguard to help him in his quest. Skylar, a druid and accomplished tracker, has spent the last three years trying to forget her past, especially Jovan Davenport. Once in love, she left Jovan when she found out about his betrayal. She wants nothing to do with him or his family, but must obey the council’s will by accompanying Jovan and reporting back on his progress. Forced to work alongside each other, neither of them expects their passion to return so quickly. But as the conspiracy deepens in a steam-powered world of dirigibles and mechanical golems, will their secrets stand in the way of their mission…and their love?

Amazon

IN A DRAGON’S HEART (DRAGONS OF MOUNT TERES BOOK 2) by Riley Storm

One night stands should stay that way…They definitely should not come waltzing into Kristin’s shop several days later. Still, she can’t stop thinking about his fiery hot touch, or the way he felt on top of her. It’s hard for her to turn him away, especially when he wants to buy something. That doesn’t mean she’s about to believe him when he says it’s a coincidence he’s there. No way. He wants something…but what is it?
Blede is a dragon shifter. Unimaginable power rests at his fingertips. Yet the sheer thought of her makes him weak. He needs more, needs to see her, talk with her, be with her. He can’t control himself around her, and it’s only a matter of time before he caves in to his desires. Time that he might not have…Kristin is intent on selling her shop and leaving town. Blede knows he can’t let her do it. So he hatches a plan, one that he hopes will ensure she doesn’t make the biggest mistake of her life. Not that Kristin sees it that way, and his fumbling attempts only push her away from him and into the arms of the dragon underworld. They’ve been watching and waiting for a moment like this. But their plan doesn’t stop with Kristin. It’s much, much bigger.

Amazon

PIRATE’S TREASURE (CALLED BY A PIRATE BOOK 1) by Mariah Stone

Bahamas, 1718. Captain James “Prince” Barrow is tired of being a pirate and wants to settle down. As a noble, he never envisioned the life of an outlaw as his own and wants to appease his treasure-hungry crew before they mutiny him due to their lack of patience. Luckily, James has two clues that will lead him to treasure his fellow pirate captain buried on his behalf. In order to attain the third one, James must attend a fancy ball he is sure to be recognized at. He needs a companion – one who will help him blend in with high society. Bahamas, 2020. As a New York executive, vacation is not in Samantha Gilbert’s vocabulary. Not that her best friend cares. Samantha is dragged to Nassau, Bahamas after a nasty breakup and visits a pirate museum. The tour guide shares a tragic tale of a pirate who died before finding his long-lost treasure.  andHe insists on Samantha trying on a jade necklace from that very treasure. Once the cool metal touches her skin, Samantha is taken back through time – straight into the arms of the pirate himself. The two strike a bargain: if she helps him find the third clue, he’ll allow her to put on the jade necklace from the treasure and get her back to the twenty-first century. With the English hot on their trail and death a near certainty, both are forced to work together not only to uphold their bargain, but to survive. And with time running out, both could very well lose the thing they desire most: each other.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE BLACK ROSE CHRONICLES by Linda Lael Miller

“…a widow cursed with immortality vows to spend eternity alone rather than risk love with another mortal. The Black Rose Chronicles are fiction and fantasy with a modern twist, populated by mortals and fiends who are all too human. A new kind of romance complete with captivating historical characters and a time-traveling vampire…The Black Rose Chronicles includes: Forever and The Night, For All Eternity, Time Without End and Tonight and Always.

Amazon

THE DARK FIELD: AN EPIC FANTASY STEAMPUNK CTHULU SPACE OPERA (THE RED HORN SAGA BOOK 2) by J R Mabry and Mickey Asteriou

Only one woman knows how to save the universe from certain doom. And she isn’t talking…The Dark Lord Samael is a writhing mass of tentacles who can crack a planet with his beak and suck the magma from its lifeless husk. And his appetite for death is infinite…The Lizard King is grooming a traitor prince to become a new lord of death as he leads an army of orcs against his own people…An elf princess flees her palace to escape a marriage she does not want, and throws her lot in with a brash new rebellion…The summoner Osia must use all his powers to gather a representative from each of the bright races—elves, dwarfs, men, and werebears—to a grand council to decide the fate of their worlds…The Dark Field is the second book in the Red Horn Saga, an epic fantasy that skillfully blends high fantasy, steampunk, Cthulu, and space opera. The magic is unpredictable, the spaceships run on coal, and no power known to dwarf, elf, or man can stop the carnage. Only a hero small enough can save us now.

Amazon

THE GRIFFIN MARSHAL’S HEART (U S MARSHAL SHIFTERS BOOK 4) by Zoe Chant

He was imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. His fated mate? The gorgeous U.S. Marshal transporting him …Once, Cooper was a U.S. Marshal with a distinguished career. Now he’s a prisoner, accused of murder, with his inner griffin suppressed and maybe even dead. He’s being transported across the country in leg chains. This isn’t how he planned on meeting the woman of his dreams. Gretchen is used to not fitting in. She’s a quirk of nature: the one human in a family of lynx shifters. Now she’s a U.S. Marshal who shares an office with a dragon, a pegasus, and a wolf. This is just one more prisoner transport, right? … wrong.
By law, he’s her prisoner. By fate, he’s her partner … and so much more. Being moved to another prison gives Cooper the perfect chance to escape. But it could cost Gretchen her career, and leave her to deal alone with the supernatural killers on their heels and the winter blizzard roaring down on them. Gretchen is beautiful, funny, and tough as nails—she could even be enough to bring his griffin back to life. And he can’t protect her in chains. All the rules say nothing can happen between them. But Cooper’s done following the rules. Some things are more important. Like Gretchen’s life. And no one ever said true love was easy.

Amazon

ZEKE: THE BOUNDARYLANDS OMEGAVERSE by  Callie Rhodes

Her only hope for redemption lays in a land so wild and merciless only alphas dare call it home. No woman willingly travels to the Boundarylands. It’s where they are—the Alphas. They keep to themselves in the wilderness, and beta civilization knows to keep its distance. Especially beta women…for fear they may not be a beta after all. The only way to know your true nature is to feel the touch of an Alpha. Omegas may be rare, but every woman knows their fates are hellish—held captive, broken, mated, knotted, and bred. After killing in self-defense, Darcy is on the run for both her freedom and her life, hunted by corrupt cops, she hides in the only place every beta fears—the Boundarylands. But her gambit misfires when Darcy discovers the land she’s hiding on belongs to an Alpha whose feral nature calls to her in ways she doesn’t understand.

Amazon

DRAGON DECEPTION (SUPERNATURAL CONSULTANT BOOK 2) by Mell Eight

A life full of children and mysteries to solve doesn’t leave much time for relaxation or each other, something Lumie wants to help fix for Dane and Mercury by way of arranging a picnic. But good intentions and life rarely cooperate, and Dane knows it’s only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose. Hell turns out to be someone using Quicksilver’s name to destroy buildings, but there’s no way to tell whether the enemy is an impostor or a trap. Hopefully it won’t mean missing the picnic.

Amazon      Apple Books

PROFESSOR WOLF (OMEGA UNIVERSITY BOOK 1) by J L Wilder

He’s going to teach you how to be a good little omega. Alpha Professor – I’m a professor at Omega University. Rules in my class are stringent. If you’re found to be in violation of any of them, my punishment can be severe. This rebellious omega thinks she can challenge my authority. She’s trying to seduce me and get me fired. But I know how to make this little wolf heel. Omega Wolf – I was trying to hide my true self. I snuck into Shifter University, posing as a beta, But they found me out, and sent me across the road. Now I’m stuck in this omega prison. They’re trying to teach me to obey. They’re trying to teach me to accept I have no choices. But it’s not my job to please an alpha, And I’ll show them who has the true power.

Amazon

BILLIONAIRE DRAGON (DRAGON MANSION BOOK 1) by Jada Cox

My buddies and I just moved into a ridiculously expensive mansion. It’s what we do; we’re loaded. We’re all billionaires. We do what we want. We take what we want. And what I want is the neighbor girl. Unfortunately, she gets mad at me all the time. She’s hot when she’s mad. I like it. A lot. Her cheeks go all rosy, making me imagine other things that make her go rosy. But if I want a chance at trying for that, I need to behave. So behave I will. No matter how badly my Dragon wants her, I’ll be a gentleman. All I need is one window of opportunity. And when I get that, I won’t waste it. I’ll claim all of her. And I’ll make myself very clear. She is mine and mine alone. I wanted her from the minute I saw her. And I always get what I want.

Amazon

FIRES OF TREASON: THE WAR AND DECEIT SERIES BOOK 2 by Erin O’Kane

“I have been given many names. I’ve gone from a slave with only a number to identify me, to a Lady, a friend, and most recently… a saviour. They think I am soft, not a threat. However, they’ve awoken a part of me I didn’t know existed, and I’m keen to repay them for the years of cruelty they gave me. Soon, they will call me by a different name.” Clarissa and Vaeril managed to escape the massacre at the castle, but the fight is only just the beginning.
The tainted priests and the cruel King have plans for the Kingdom of Arhaven. Clarissa has a decision to make.
Stay and risk her life, or flee with her enemy. Either way, she is sure to stoke the fires of treason.

Amazon

THE ORDER OF THE PURE MOON REFLECTED IN WATER by Zen Cho

VS Note: Author of SORCEROR TO THE CROWN, which I greatly enjoyed.

Zen Cho returns with The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, a found family wuxia fantasy that combines the vibrancy of old school martial arts movies with characters drawn from the margins of history. A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.

Amazon      Apple Books

LUCKLESS by Cari Z

Evan Luck is a dragon rider with no dragon. Five years ago, his dragon gave her life defending the monster-ridden remnants of Marble, and ever since, his ability to connect empathically to another dragon had been as broken as his heart. Now he spends his days dodging his disappointed mayor, crafting arrows, fighting off the not-as-legendary-as-they-should-be beasts that’ve overrun America, and just trying to get by in the city of Forge.
But when he meets newcomer Lee Caldwell, Evan thinks his lonely luck might be changing. Lee is the only person in the city who doesn’t blame Evan for his dragon’s death, and he welcomes Evan into his own little family. There’s more to Lee than meets the eye, though, and between his refusal to talk about himself, pressure from the mayor to split them up, and a monster attacking the city’s foundations, Evan isn’t sure he’ll live long enough to learn the truth.
But not learning the truth will almost certainly be fatal, both to Evan and Lee’s budding relationship, and to the entire city.

Amazon

PIRATE’S PLEASURE (SENTINELS OF SAVANNAH BOOK 3) by Lisa Kessler

John Smyth has survived mutinous pirate crews, wars, and the passage of centuries by keeping his life as he did his ships, organized and well stocked. But when his crew is tasked with stealing Pandora’s Box for the government, it opens a door to destruction, and her name is Harmony Andrews. A risk-taking investment broker by day, and a thief by night, Harmony is a member of the underground Digi Robins crew. Stealing relics to sell on the dark web, they donate the money to people without insurance who need life-saving medical treatments. What she doesn’t realize is the box she just stole is the very one her boss is looking for––the boss who just happens to be an immortal pirate. And as their adventure heads into the danger zone, she doesn’t know what’s more dangerous: the risk to her life or the risk to her heart.

Amazon      Apple Books

MOONSHINE AND MISCHIEF: MOONSHINE HOLLOW #4 by Kathleen Brooks

Jane Farrington is a witch on the run. She’d been running for centuries until two witches, Zoey and Slade, defeated the evil Alexander allowing the witches to gather safely in Moonshine Hollow, Tennessee. So when the evil from Jane’s past finds her, she makes a run straight for Moonshine Hollow.

Galen Sinclair is the new doctor in the small mountain town of Moonshine Hollow. He doesn’t know witches surround him until he falls in love with one. Now it seems his meeting with Jane Farrington wasn’t just chance, but fate. And fate isn’t done with her surprises.

Zoey and Slade are getting married. It’s the first witch wedding in four hundred years. To say everyone is excited is an understatement. But while being inundated with wedding planning, Zoey feels a shift in the magic around Moonshine Hollow when Jane Farrington arrives. Zoey had thought evil had been defeated, but could this be just the beginning?

Amazon       Apple Books

HEALING OF THE WOLF (THE WILD HUNT LEGACY BOOK 5) by Cherise Sinclair

A decade in captivity tore away all hope. But Margery never lost her resolve to help the sick. The village she’d hoped to serve as banfasa, caring for the ill and injured, is long gone. Humans captured the young shifters and killed the adults. Finally rescued, she has a chance at her dreams—at least for meaningful work. With her leg crippled and her face scarred, she knows she has no hope of ever finding love.

Tynan is ready to find their mate. After years away from his littermate as a police officer among humans, Tynan is finally home, a beta in the wolf pack, and serving his people as a law officer. Assigned as Margery’s mentor in the pack, he patiently works to earn the skittish little wolf’s trust. Her captivity has left her with problems, including a fear of uniforms. But he’s a fixer at heart—and he’s starting to want more from the gentle female than just friendship.

Donal has no intention of making a family. Separated from his littermate for years, Donal has remained unmated, devoting his energies to healing. Believing ugly rumors about their new neighbor—a banfasa—he won’t have her in his clinic or his life—no matter what his newly returned brother wants. But a feral shifter’s attack on Tynan shows Margery in a whole different light. She’s levelheaded, compassionate, sweet—and far too appealing. What male could resist her? But even as the brothers work to win their mate, cruel forces move to crush their entire clan.

Amazon      Apple Books

XAVIER (MYSTIC MOUNTAIN BOOK 2) by Reina Torres

He thought he wanted his freedom and his solitude more than anything else in the world… until he met her.
Xavier Salazar lives the life that he wants. He has his friends and his home carved into Mystic Mountain. It’s his retreat, his refuge. When a gorgeous woman shows up in town to help make the resort’s bar a brilliant success, he’s torn. Xavier is determined to drive her away, but his panther wants to touch her all over, hide her away in their den, and add to the family that he was slowly creating around himself. Oh, he was going to fight… hard. And yet, even he knew he was probably fighting a losing battle.
True Sinclair is at the top of her profession. Being a world class mixologist means she knows how to blend all kinds of things together. She just can’t fathom why Xavier treats her like he’s oil and she’s water. There was no doubt that he was combustible around her. At first, he can’t seem to force himself to be civil or even make an effort to share the same town, but she finds herself drawn to the dichotomy warring inside of him. True knows what he is and she knows what she wants, but she won’t wait around forever if the man who makes her blind with love and drunk with passion won’t even meet her halfway.

Amazon

RAFE’S MATE (SOUTHEASTERN ALLIANCE OF SHIFTER’S BOOK 1) by Rianne Thaxton

Rafe Navarro, a panther shifter, rancher, and newly appointed Alpha Regent over the state of Florida has spent nearly a year consumed with seeking revenge on the people who murdered his brother and sister-in-law and left his seven-year-old nephew, Dex, an orphan and in his care. So the last thing on his mind is finding his Destined Mate when he seeks out an art therapist to help Dex deal with his trauma. But that’s exactly who he finds when she rushes through the classroom door.
Aubrey Simmons has a heart for children, and uses her artistic talents and psychology degree to help those who have been through traumatic events work through their feelings using art. But sometimes her big heart overrules her head when it comes to taking money for her work, so she’s moonlighting as a waitress at a local BDSM club, The Covenant, to make ends meet. But good thing for her she has a new client—one with an uncle who has her tingling in all the right places and invading her dreams of a panther and the man he turns into. Will Aubrey realize Rafe is truly the man from her dreams, or will the evil intents of an organization bent on destroying shifters and their human mates succeed in tearing them apart? Forever.
This book is part of Samantha A. Cole’s Suspenseful Seduction World.

Amazon

*********************************************************************************

VS Note: I’m busy writing my next Badari Warriors novel IVOKK (coming in July) and Darik appears in the books so I thought I’d feature his book today from my backlist. All the Badari novels can be read as standalones.

Nicolle James is far from her home in the human Sectors, kidnapped by alien scientists to be the subject of horrifying experiments. Her only hope might be a mysterious soldier she’d glimpsed outside the laboratory fence. She’d managed to sneak a few words of conversation with him when her captors weren’t watching but now the aliens were taking her inside the lab to begin the experiments.

Darik, a warrior of the genetically engineered Badari pack, is on a solo recon mission to check out a mysterious new lab high in the mountains. His orders are strict – do not engage. But when he has a chance meeting with the woman who might be his mate, he vows not to abandon her, orders or no orders.

Can he get inside an underground lab, find Nicolle and rescue her without getting captured himself? And when he learns the lab’s deadly secrets, can he get word to his pack about the new dangers? Because the ruthless alien scientist running the experiments wants to get her hands on him too and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

Amazon    iBooks    Nook      Google     Kobo

****************************************************************************************************

LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica:

June 17

June 10

June 3

May 27

May 20

“New” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.  And I may mention ‘special items’.

I do NOT cover every single new release in SFR/FantasyR/PNR. I never have. That would be an impossible task for any human! I assemble my list by hand every week based on various informal inputs, and I do curate the list to some extent…

I check and verify all the buy links at the time I create the post  but after that I’m not responsible.

What About the Wildlife Weekend Writing Warriors

Warriors logo revisedNow taking excerpts from my newly published scifi romance COLONY UNDER SIEGE: INTERSTELLAR PLAGUE.

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

May be edited a bit from published version.

The excerpt from close to the book’s beginning, where we met Dr. Saffia Mandell at a colony social event. I’m skipping ahead. She’s decided to walk home from the gathering:

A groundcar slid up beside her, powerful engine thrumming as it idled, and Saffia startled as the window slid aside. Adrenaline rising, she tried to think where she’d bolt to if the driver had less than neighborly motives for accosting her. She might be able to lose a pursuer in the underbrush and trees off to her right but she was afraid she’d get lost as well.

“Didn’t anyone warn you not to go hiking alone at night?”

The voice belonged to Micah, the ranger and the next moment she saw his concerned face in the light from the car’s instrument panel. He leaned across the seat to stare at her, eyebrows raised, “It’s not safe.”

“The colony has a low crime rate,” she said, hating to sound defensive over what she understood too late wasn’t a wise choice. She’d been regretting not asking any of her acquaintances for a ride home for the last fifteen minutes. “No one said anything to me otherwise.”

VS: The rest of the excerpt:

He laughed and the door swung open. “The wildlife wouldn’t consider it a crime to dine on a wandering human, trust me. Get in, doctor, and I’ll drop you off at your place, safe and sound.”

Saffia studied the undergrowth, terrified she’d see something looking back at her. The dark night suddenly seemed even more menacing and every sound full of deadly import. “Wildlife?” Hating the telltale squeak of fear in her voice, she slid into the passenger seat, grateful for the warmth of the vehicle’s cabin.

Micah extended his hand. “I’m Chief Ranger Navonn. I’ve seen you around but we haven’t been introduced.”

colony under siegeThe blurb: Newly graduated from a prestigious interstellar medical school, Dr. Saffia Mandell has been assigned to the Haven Two colony on the galaxy’s outer rim as the only doctor for some 2000 human residents. She’s counting the days until her five years there is up, trying to adjust to rural living after life in the crowded Inner Sectors and fighting her attraction to Chief Ranger Micah Navonn. She’s dreading the upcoming tourist season when the rich and pampered will descend on the planet for the scenic wonders and novel sports opportunities and no doubt inundate her little clinic but the colony depends on the seasonal income to survive.

As the senior official for his people, the Calinurra, the indigenous inhabitants of Haven Two, Micah enforces the treaty, regulates the tourist permits, patrols the forests and resists his fascination with Dr. Mandell. He never expected to be involved with a human woman and doesn’t want to believe in the concept of a fated mate. He wants to keep his life simple and isn’t ready for any long term commitment. Besides Saffia keeps proclaiming she’ll be leaving when her appointment is up in four and a half years so why should he risk his heart?

Then a ship arrives unexpectedly carrying a very ill little girl and soon the deadly virus is spreading through Haven Two. The colony authorities are desperate to cover up the problem to preserve the all-important tourist season and Saffia and Micah have to work together to battle the outbreak, the local administration and their undeniable feelings for each other.

Can the colony survive? And will Micah and Saffia be able to move past their fears about entanglements to act on the mutual attraction?

An 87K word novel of the far future…

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo      Nook      Google Play

canva ad 5 star reviews

New Releases in #SciFi #Fantasy and Paranormal Romance for Wednesday JUNE 17

As always, I recommend sampling before you buy! I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking a bunch as I prepare these posts LOL).

*************************************************

WARLORD’S MERCY (CHAMELE BARBARIAN WARLORDS BOOK 5) by Cynthia Sax

VS Note: I really enjoy this series and Cynthia is an autobuy for me…per the author this book is based on a short story.

Other Chameles view him as the enemy. She sees the warrior hero he never believed he could be. * * *
Tolui is a Warlord in search of a planet to rule. He has been leading his fellow clones in a stealth battle, fighting for both control of the Chamele sector and the right to exist. The brave warriors he commands warrant respect and they deserve the best. That best isn’t the barren, dangerous terrain on Chamele 4. When Tolui crashes on that planet’s surface, he’s determined to leave it as soon as possible. The tiny human female rescuing him might be as beautiful and as wild as the land she inhabits, but her flowing words, trusting gaze, and enthralling submission won’t stop him from rejoining the war. After many solar cycles of living alone, Lea is overjoyed when a tall, scarred, muscular warrior falls from the sky. Her savage stranger is strong and severe, and he makes her feel safe, an emotion she hasn’t experienced in a long, long time. He also insists they must part. Before they do, she’ll show him the splendor of her home, and she’ll enjoy his big form, collecting passionate moments she can revisit when she’s solitary once more.
Every additional moment Lea and Tolui spend together increases the chance they’ll both die. Lea is being chased by female-hating fiends. Tolui is being hunted by the best bounty hunters in the universe. War will soon arrive on their threshold, and the blood spilled might be their own.

Amazon      Apple Books

WHEN SHE PURRS (A RISDAVERSE TALE) by Ruby Dixon

Life on a farm planet at the edge of the universe can be dangerous for a human woman alone. That’s why I need a husband. ANY husband. Unfortunately, all the men I approach keep running off. So I hire a bounty hunter to kidnap me someone capable and strong, someone who will scare off the creeps that are trying to move in on my territory.
It’ll be a marriage of convenience only. I should have been a little more specific about who I wanted, though…because the intimidating and fierce praxiian male that the bounty hunter brings to me? The one with feline features, big arms and an even bigger…uh, farm? He’s the problem I was hoping a new husband would scare off. What am I supposed to do now? (Don’t ask him, because all of his suggestions are completely and utterly filthy and have nothing to do with a marriage of convenience.)

Amazon

STARPYRE by Jade Waltz

My plan for the summer was to win a cosplay contest… But I wound up being abducted by aliens instead. Who knew dressing up as a space fairy at a summer rave would end up with me in a prison?  Now I am trapped with three gorgeous males who seem to be wearing the same costume as I am—only I’m pretty sure they aren’t.  Things about them aren’t adding up… Their eyes appear to be glowing whenever they watch me… Their wings look too real to be fake… And the most crazy thing of all is that the language barrier doesn’t create any boundaries between us when it comes to touching…When the truth finally comes out that I am not dreaming, my life takes off out of this world… Now, I am depending on three alien males for a chance at survival… And the only thing that their survival depends on: Me!

Amazon

STOLEN (FATED MATES OF THE KALIXIAN WARRIORS BOOK 2) by Presley Hall

Kidnapped by aliens? Yeah, I don’t think so. These Kalixian warriors may have rescued me from depraved Orkun warlords who abducted me, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to obey their every command. I was a CEO back on Earth, and I don’t take orders from any man. Not even from Malav. Especially not from Malav. Never mind that he’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen—even with his horns and color-changing eyes. Never mind that his prowess in the gladiator ring makes my heart beat faster and my body ache. I refuse to let myself fall for an alien. And even though I can’t deny the chemistry that sparks between us, I can’t afford to get attached to anyone on this planet.
Because I’ve got a secret. I’m going to steal a ship. And I’m going to go home.

Amazon

TREV: BOOK 5 IN THE MASTERED BY THE ZINN ALIEN ABDUCTION ROMANCE SERIES by Alana Khan

General Arrenn Trevanian – She’s all I’ve ever wanted, and so easy to love. This Earth female is taboo. Untouchable. For one hundred days I’m responsible for her care while I secure her a suitable mate. How can I send her into the arms of another when she’s mine? Emily Jane Jackson – Not only did he save my life, he’s also the most honorable male I’ve ever known. Which is the problem. Will he put his principles and love of country ahead of his feelings for me?

Amazon

TO DESIRE A DRAGON (VENYS NEEDS MEN) by Amanda Milo

The last man in our tribe told me that dragons are small and fierce, and when they bond to someone, they’ll protect them with their life.This is what our tribe needs–a protector. Our males are being stolen by raiding clans, and with the man-shortage like it is, we can’t afford to lose any more. Armed with a fishhook and a glaring naiveté, I set off to catch my dragon. I catch him alright. And I find out a few things. One: dragons aren’t small. Two: dragons don’t like fishhooks. Three: this dragon will only bond to his *mate.* So I guess the question is… do I desire a dragon?

Amazon

CYBORG SALVAGE (DIASPORA WORLDS BOOK 7) by Melisse Aires

VS: Edited June 17 – Author advises the book will not be published at this time but possibly later in the summer. Sorry!

 

DUALITY by Chloe Spencer

A dead-end job, a slob for a boyfriend, and neglectful friends: this is Kat Wallace’s life. Ever since her best friend got married, Kat has been struggling to find happiness. All that changes when she meets Melody Adebayo, a field agent with the mysterious transdimensional company Clockwork & Associates. Melody’s job is to send the consciousness of others to a scarier dimension in order to make them kinder and more grateful for their lives, which, in theory, will influence them to do good. But when Kat is sent to B-215, she awakes in a world beyond her wildest dreams. She’s wealthy, well-liked, and has a successful career. Kat realizes she doesn’t need to find happiness in her own world … she can just steal it from her other self. Because of a certain (ahem) incident, Melody owes a lot of money to her evil ex-girlfriend, and Kat works out a deal with her in order to keep visiting B-215. With each visit, a sinister plot unfolds. Kat discovers her life is at risk, and she isn’t alone in this dimension. To eliminate the threat, she must team up with Melody, but can the two uncover the truth before Kat loses her life? More important, will they be able to move on from the mistakes they made in the past and find love with each other?

Amazon      Apple Books

CLAIM (BARBARIANS OF THE SAND PLANET BOOK 6) by Tana Stone

What Bexli knows about the silver fox alien: he’s moody, he rarely talks, and he seems to think she’s some fragile female who needs protecting. Tommel knows that he has no interest in a mate, he won’t talk about his past, and he can’t stop thinking about the beautiful Lycithian. After a night when adrenaline is running high and Bexli is determined to prove she’s anything but fragile, they end up sharing a tent. And a lot more. When Tommel walks out, she panics and runs as far away from him as she can…and right into danger on the deadly sand planet. Now she’s lost her ability to shape-shift, which means two things. She can’t help rescue her captured friends, and she’s pregnant by the alien who walked away from her. Not good.

Amazon

VEILS TWO: THE VEILS TRILOGY by Linda Mooney

VS Note: I enjoyed the first book…

Griffin and Natalia are still surviving one veil at a time, living life not knowing when another one might make an appearance, or where it may take them. Mountains, desert, summer or winter—there’s no way to prepare, they just take what’s thrown at them. Through it all their love continues to grow, and it’s more than just because of circumstance. They’ve grown to rely on each other. Depend on one another. But they shouldn’t get too comfortable…They soon learn that with the storms, they’re not only traveling to different locations, but different times as well. How far into the future or past will they go? When will it end? No one knows. All that matters is they have to survive, no matter what. Together. Do they find strength in numbers, gain new allies, or are they safer with just the two of them? New enemies, old friends, and new revelations of their situation… They’ve developed a theory, and if it’s correct, they could finally end back up where they started, but that could mean losing each other for good, which they vow never to do.

Amazon      Apple Books

LEGACY CONTRACT (STANDALONE TALES BOOK 6) by Viola Grace

He didn’t want her. He didn’t request her. But now that she is carrying his legacy he is not letting her go. Dekora travelled the stars to get medical treatment for a friend. Once she arrived on Gryphal, she had to get to work in order to pay for everything her friend needed. New organs aren’t cheap. Dekora takes a contract that puts her in harms way, and after a burning tree collapses on her she needs to find another means to make money. The research doctor arrives and makes her an offer. Gryphal needs a new hero born from the genetics of their current champion. She is the first viable match that they have found. If she agrees to donate an egg, she will get the funds for her friend’s care. She agrees and wakes up in a different wing of the med center with a cheerful nurse announcing her pregnancy. Khed Amur is notified that his legacy is assured, and he keeps an eye on the news feeds and hospital monitors. When the second attempt on his carrier’s life makes the news, he sweeps in to take her somewhere safe… with him. Life with a team of superheroes takes getting used to, but as Dekora’s pregnancy advances at an alarming pace she finds out that the life inside her isn’t the only change she’s going through. Things are about to get complicated.

Amazon      Apple Books

ALIEN’S PRIMAL PRIZE (PRECURSORS BOOK 1) by Athena Storm

Her race fell to his world from the sky. And nothing in the galaxy would ever be the same. Kor was a hunter of the Drokan people. His clan lived on the plains. They lived simply. They hunted. They fought. And it was always with honor. His life was his own. Until Cress crashed from the sky. A tiny human woman. Rescued by the horned alien hunter who towered over her. She looked at him and saw a monster. He looked at her, and saw something else. Hisjalshagar. A word his clan used to mean fated one. His mate for the rest of his life. Someone who would grow old with you. One who you’d protect as yours. Who would worship you, as you worshipped them. Someone to please during intimate moments. Who would give as well as receive. Kor would take Cress, and make her his. But in doing so, he would open the door. To conflict. War. Progress. Advancement. And hope. Nothing in the galaxy would ever be the same.

Amazon

WARRIORS: A DARK SCIFI MENAGE ROMANCE by Piper Stone

They’ve taken me as theirs, and they’re not going to be gentle with me. I knew this was a primitive planet when I landed, but nothing could have prepared me for the rough beasts who inhabit it.,,(more blurb on evook seller’s page…)

Amazon

FALLEN (UNTAMED WARRIORS OF VANTHAE BOOK 1) by Ivy Cross

We were abducted by alien slavers, which is bad enough, right? But then they decided to dump us on a primitive planet like yesterday’s garbage…We came down two to a pod, and I immediately got separated from my only lifeline back to humanity. My friend was taken by feral beasts, and I was rescued by an alien warrior who is no less beastly… but a lot nicer to look at. Only, he thinks I’m something I’m not, and I have to play along. What choice do I have? There’s no way I can go after my friends all alone on a hostile alien planet. I couldn’t get three steps away from my escape pod without almost becoming a snack for some of the natives. But the lying is starting to really get to me—Dekkar is willing to die for me because of what he thinks I am. I can see it every time I look into his eyes. So the choice is between telling him the truth and going it alone on this unfamiliar planet, or stringing him along and dealing with the consequences later. I literally don’t know if I can live with either of those choices. I think I might have liked it better on the alien slaver’s ship.

Amazon

THE TURQUOISE SPIDER (ELIZABETH HUNTER-PAYNE STEAMPUNK ADVENTURES BOOK 1) by Mikala Ash

VS Note: Saw this mentioned on author Echo Ishii’s FB page…

Elizabeth Hunter-Payne is an adventurous widow with time on her hands — a dangerous combination in Victorian London of 1859. Seeking excitement in a time of radical change, Elizabeth starts her own Investigation Bureau. Armed with an inquisitive eye for detail, the capacity and boldness to ask obvious, if blunt, questions, and most importantly of all, her ability to keep her mouth shut, Elizabeth is quickly immersed in a case of kidnapping, smuggling, murder, and general mayhem. With guns blazing, steam-cars steaming, and clockwork automatons of a salacious nature going clickety-clack, can she save the son of a violent industrialist? Can she recover the priceless Turquoise Spider from the vicious clutches of underworld thugs behind one of Victorian London’s infamous Houses of Introductions? The survival of the Empire may well depend on the fortitude, brazenness and deductive powers of the irrepressible Elizabeth Hunter-Payne.

Amazon      Apple Books

STOLEN FLYGHT (THE FLYGHT SERIES BOOK 6) by S J Pajonas

VS Note: Definitely on my TBR List…

Vivian will do whatever it takes to finally be victorious in the battle for her family farm. So when her benefactor insists she infiltrate a hostile military base on a treacherous ice planet, she has no choice but to agree. But when two of her crew are apprehended during the operation, her focus shifts to desperate survival. Outmanned and pinned behind enemy lines, Vivian’s options for escape dwindle. But everything she believes in turns on its head when she makes a shocking discovery in the base’s top-secret lab. Can Vivian and her team evade a deadly trap to win back her legacy?

Amazon      Apple Books

DEVOLUTION: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THE RANIER SASQUATCH MASSACRE by Max Brooks

VS Note: Not a romance. This is the author of World War Z, which I enjoyed. I like his writing style and of course you know me and apocalyptic tales…so I had it pre-ordered.

As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now. The journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing—and too earth-shattering in its implications—to be forgotten. In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it. Kate’s is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity’s defiance in the face of a terrible predator’s gaze, and, inevitably, of savagery and death.

Yet it is also far more than that. Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us—and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity. Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it—and like none you’ve ever read before.

Amazon      Apple Books

DRAGON’S ISOLATION (REDPLANET DRAGONS OF TAJSS BOOK 19) by Miranda Martin

I’ve lost my happily ever after…My story was supposed to be over. We were supposed to grow old together in each other’s arms and watch our tiny son become a man with a life of his own. The Zmaj, seven foot tall winged and scaled dragon warriors, are getting sick. It’s stealing their memories and making them regress into primal barbarians, losing themselves completely. There isn’t a cure, there isn’t any hope, and my Shidan is showing the first signs. But I’m used to fighting. I was the only female pilot back on the ship and I had to fight every day for that. I’m certainly not going to lose the love of my life without doing something about it. I’m going to beat this disease. Shidan saved me, now it’s my turn to save him.

Amazon

PROSPER AND THRIVE (THRIVE COLONY SPACE ADVENTURES BOOK 3) by Ginger Booth

Thrive Spaceways proved its new warp gate by saving Sass’s butt on Sanctuary. Now Ben and Copeland seek to turn their invention into a business. The Sanks hire them to visit the European theme world of Cantons. But first the reunited crews owe a whirlwind trip home for inventor Teke. After 15 years, how does Denali of the pterodactyls fare? Next stop is Sanctuary. Will the AI Loki let his people go? And then on to Cantons’ city-states of…pikemen and Renaissance wizards?

Amazon

GLORIOUS (BOWL OF HEAVEN BOOK 3) by Gregory Benford and Larry Niven

VS Note: Not a romance but an SF release of note…

Audacious astronauts encounter bizarre, sometimes deadly life forms, and strange, exotic, cosmic phenomena, including miniature black holes, dense fields of interstellar plasma, powerful gravity-emitters, and spectacularly massive space-based, alien-built labyrinths. Tasked with exploring this brave, new, highly dangerous world, they must also deal with their own personal triumphs and conflicts.

Amazon      Apple Books

CLAIMED BY HELIOS (ALIEN’S FROZEN BRIDE BOOK 1) by Aya Morningstar

I died, but then I woke up in his arms.I was hit by a truck in 2020 and declared legally dead, but my body was cryogenically frozen, and I’m brought back in the year 3,253. The first thing I see is him. Helios. He’s taken me, and he’s going to sell me—if he can resist my scent. I’m the last pure-blooded human in the galaxy, and no Cygnian can resist a human, not even one as stubborn as him. And can I resist him? He’s almost seven feet tall, with teal skin over rippling muscles and dizzyingly wide shoulders. Even though he’s an alien, his scent is so manly. I take one whiff and I’m soaking wet. But no, I can’t. Just before I died, I promised myself I was done with men. And that promise will now have to include alien men with cocky smirks and too-high cheekbones. He’s determined to sell me. A pure human—untouched by alien hands—is the most valuable thing in the galaxy. So then why is he touching me? Why is he kissing me? Is he just getting a taste, or is he going to give up everything just to claim me for himself?

Amazon

gravityGRAVITY (DARK ANOMALY BOOK 1) by Marina Simcoe

The unpredictable gravity of the mysterious space anomaly knocks me off course. But it’s the irresistible pull of its Captain I’m afraid I can’t escape. Sucked into the Dark Anomaly’s gravitational field, I crash into the solid mass in its center. It’s made of thousands upon thousands of vanished spaceships. Inside the wrecked bowels of the Anomaly, existence is dark, vile, and deadly. The man in charge holds my life and freedom in his hands. I hate this place and its crude inhabitants. I hate the Captain even more. However, as time passes, I realize that I’m beginning to love hating him.

Amazon

POOCH PLANET: G FORCE FEDERATION BOOK 4 by M M Wilde

VS Note: Author’s note says: “Pooch Planet is Book Four in the multi-author G-Force Federation mpreg, sci-fi series. Each book in the series can be read in any order. Join the G-Force Federation gargoyle warriors as they embark on their mission to protect and serve the Federation and possibly find their fated mates. If you like adorable shifters, hunky gargoyles and sci-fi action with lots of fluffy feels, then take a trip to Pooch Planet!”

On Pooch Planet, Chiweenie shifter Benji has been tasked with helping to guard Small Breed Village. A murderous beast has invaded the local forest, and for the first time in the dog shifter realm, they’re in fear for their lives from a mysterious killer. Benji is feisty and tough, but he’s also on the verge of his first heat. Talk about bad timing!
Gargoyle Antoine heads the military police division of the G-Force Federation. He’s been tracking a vicious alien from Hades Galaxy that’s been terrorizing several worlds under the protection of the Federation. If the fearsome predator eats its way through the inhabitants of Pooch Planet before Antoine can save them, he will have failed as both a guardian and gargoyle. When Antoine lands on the remote world, he meets an adorable little shifter who captivates him. Even though he’s been promised a gargoyle mate he’s never met back on Old Earth, something about Benji calls to Antoine’s stone heart. Antoine finds himself in quite the predicament—one he never could’ve anticipated when he accepted his mission. But the evil that has invaded Pooch Planet might make the decision for him if he can’t rescue his sweet Chiweenie.

Amazon

ALIEN GENERAL’S REBEL CONSORT: DARK SF ALIEN INVASION ROMANCE by Aurelia Skye, Juno Wells and Kit Tunstall

When Tarsans invaded Earth two years ago, Kendall’s cell was one of many around the world tasked with guerilla warfare and fomenting rebellion. When she has the chance to execute the general of Sector Seven, she takes it, thwarted at the last moment by an act of heroism by his protégé. To buy her people time to escape, she confesses to being the sniper. She expects to be killed for her crime, but Tarek imposes an unthinkable sentence instead.
He takes her as his consort, deeming she’ll give a life for the life she took by providing him with a son. She can escape, but she decides to stay, hoping to find a way to bring down the Tarsans with access to a part of the city-ship rebel spies have never obtained. She doesn’t expect to lose her heart along the way, and when the opportunity to help humans presents itself, she’s torn by the need to betray him and their deepening bond, though she has no choice.
Tarsans consider females weak, especially human females. At first, Tarek thinks Kendall is lying when she claims credit for trying to shoot him and coordinating the attacks on his people over the past two years. When she stabs him through the heart, he’s more convinced, and as the days progress, he sees depths of strength in her that he comes to respect. Love blossoms in spite of them, but can it survive Kendall’s ultimate plan, and what it will mean for the Tarsans?

Amazon

HALF LIFE by Lillian Clark

VS Note: Not a romance (although one review mentioned “some romance”) but a release of note…

There aren’t enough hours in the day for Lucille–perfectionist, overachiever–to do everything she has to do, and there certainly aren’t enough hours to hang out with friends, fall in love, get in trouble–all the teenage things she knows she should want to be doing instead of preparing for a flawless future. So when she sees an ad for Life2: Do more. Be more, she’s intrigued.
The company is looking for beta testers to enroll in an experimental clone program, and in the aftermath of a series of disappointments, Lucille is feeling reckless enough to jump in. At first, it’s perfect: her clone, Lucy, is exactly what she needed to make her life manageable and have time for a social life. But it doesn’t take long for Lucy to become more Lucy and less Lucille, and Lucille is forced to stop looking at Lucy as a reflection and start seeing her as a window–a glimpse at someone else living her own life, but better. Lucy does what she really wants to, not what she thinks she should want to, and Lucille is left wondering how much she was even a part of the perfect life she’d constructed for herself. Lucille wanted Lucy to help her relationships with everyone else, but how can she do that without first rectifying her relationship with herself?

Amazon      Apple Books

RED NOISE by John P Murphy

VS Note: Not a romance but I was intrigued enough by the Look inside sample to one click.

When an asteroid miner comes to Station 35 looking to sell her cargo and get back to the solitude she craves, she gets swept up in a three-way standoff with gangs and crooked cops. Faced with either taking sides or cleaning out the Augean Stables, she breaks out the flamethrower.

Amazon      Apple Books

TAKEN TO NOBU (XIVERI MATES BOOK 2) by Elizabeth Stephens

Kiki There’s no way I’m letting this alien who calls me his Xiveri mate claim me as his. He may say the right things and stir emotions in me I never expected to feel again for any male, but his kind has already taken too much from me as is. Trapped now on his harsh, snow-consumed planet waiting to be hunted, with no way of escape, I’ll do the only thing I can. The one thing I’ve been training for since the aliens first came to the human moon colony to hurt us. I’ll fight. Va’Raku – Nobu has never seen a queen before who is able to wield sword and staff, fist and tongue. A warrior queen, and mine to claim. But when her hate puts the entire village at risk, I finally come to understand the provenance of her pain. While she is the only one who can unravel it, I can teach her control, acceptance, release. But first I will need her trust. And only then can we fight together against our shared enemy and bring him to his knees.

Amazon

HEARTFELT SCOUNDREL (SPACEPORT MERCY BOOK 5) by Lexxie Couper

VS Note: A re-release. Listed in Erotica.

Look up smuggler in the Interplanetary Alliance Council’s database and you’ll find an image of Rikshor Dollavera. Research Rikshor Dollavera in the Nil-Raja Masterpleasurers’ Code Bible, and you’ll find a detailed description of his phenomenal sexual prowess. Walk into the bar Haze on Spaceport Mercy and you’ll find the man himself, well and truly flirting his way into someone’s bed. You’ll likely find the mysterious Leatian, Eyn, at Rik’s side. Eyn’s a rival smuggler, and just as sexy. So what happens when an AP cop comes looking for the best sex of her life and hunts Rikshor Dollavera down? A threesome beyond any of their wildest dreams. Yet everyone’s got a secret, some more dangerous than others. And some far more erotic.

Amazon      Apple Books

SUBZERO: AN ESTO UNIVERSE STORY by Angel Martinez

VS Note: Second edition, edits only but since I didn’t cover it whenever it came out the first time, here we are!

Major Aren Dalsgaard’s newest assignment is to investigate a series of murders on the frigid planet, Drass, where relations between the Treaty settlers and the indigenous inhabitants have taken a nasty turn. A linguist and trained xenologist, Major Dalsgaard should be the ideal Special Investigations Officer for this case, but Drass is where he died, over a hundred and twenty years ago.

Sent by his family to the chigyel city, Nyachung finds himself confronted with a murder charge, racial prejudice, and a man who claims to be a hero from his grandmother’s generation. The man could be crazy or he could be lying to manipulate Nyachung, but the sincerity in those spring-green eyes disturbs him more than anything else he’s encountered in the foreigners’ city.

 Evidence that makes no sense, mysterious boxes, and a suspicion that they can’t trust anyone in the city drives the major and Nyachung together and out into the wilderness. No one’s telling Major Dalsgaard everything, but every step leads him closer to a feeling of imminent catastrophe if he can’t wrap this case up in time.

Amazon      Apple Books

KING OF LIGHT (ROSETHORN VALLEY FAE BOOK 2) by Tasha Black

VS Note: Loving this new series of hers!

Tabitha spends her days restoring and caring for old things at the local museum. But none are as old, or as intriguing, as the immortal light king who appears on the edge of the Rosethorn Valley forest and turns her measured existence into a madcap adventure. From the village Historical Society to a hippie retreat in the Pocono mountains, Tabitha will go anywhere to track down the magical artifact that will stop evil fae from destroying her beloved town. But no matter where she goes, she can’t seem to escape her growing longing for the heartless King of Light.
Tristan has been frozen in time for hundreds of years when he awakens to find that the brother he betrayed has fallen in love with a mortal woman. Tristan is determined not to make the same mistake – even though Tabitha is brave and interesting, and her every smile convinces him she is meant to be his. The King of Light could never take a mortal queen. Especially not one so fiercely independent.
When an escaped monster straight out of a fairy tale forces the two to head off on a road trip to track down a source of magic together, the depth of their attraction becomes impossible to ignore. Will Tabitha willingly renounce her single lifestyle and make room for real magic in her life? Or is Tristan destined to be a conduit of happiness forever, and never its recipient?

Amazon      Apple Books

WITCHING MOON – AN ANTE FAE ADVENTURE (WILD HUNT BOOK 12) by Yasmine Galenorn

When you dance with Death, you have to be willing to roll the bones…Still shaken from her run-in with the serial killer, Raven turns to a new and unlikely friend. But the Ante-Fae Trinity has dark secrets in his background, and he threatens to destabilize Raven and Kipa’s relationship. When Trinity introduces Raven to a secret garden, it quickly becomes the place of nightmares. Will Raven’s recklessness endanger her friends as well as herself? Or will the Wolf Lord and Raven’s dearest friends not only put the nightmare to rest, but also drag Raven back from the edge of the chasm?

Amazon      Apple Books

FOREST OF SPIRITS (DARK SPIRITS BOOK 2) by S J Sanders

Never go into the forest alone. There are things that dwell within the woods. Things that came with the mist even as forests expanded or appeared where none before had been. Things that terrorize humanity and worse if rumor was to be accounted…people disappeared into the woods.
Humanity has done its best to limp along after the world went to hell. They hunted and tended the fields as they attempted to live the best lives with what they had. They wanted to pretend that everything was fine while avoiding the terror of the forest. Diana lived in a state of uneasy peace with the woods near her home until the same forest betrayed her and shifted her between worlds. There something hunts and devours men. And worse, it has intruded into the mortal world. Caught in a web of fate, Diana has no escape from the terror of her destiny awaiting her.
Silvas is the lucumo silvani and high king of the Eternal Forest. When he is alerted to the rise of a dangerous monster, one of the Tainted Ones half remembered in ancient myths, he is forced to take up the burden of harnessing death itself to protect both worlds of humanity and the denizens of the Eternal Forest. Betrayed once by the promise of love, he has no interest in forming a permanent bond with a human whose life-thread is woven into the upcoming events by the Fates. A role that is unclear even to the oracle. Yet as they face the darkness together, will he forge an alliance of flesh, blood and love with the one being who could destroy him?

Amazon

FINN – XAVIER’S HATCHLINGS BOOK 1 by Kathi S Barton

Finn Manning had so much on his plate, he wasn’t sure which end was up. He’d been there six months, and the pile of work on his desk hadn’t diminished by one sheet of paper. None of the construction projects the family had lent the money for had even been started. The foreman was a bully, and Finn had had enough.

Rachel Merkel had literally felt the earth move from beneath her feet. The plates she had been stacking at the restaurant crashed around her when she hit the floor. Her sister-in-law Sandra, instead of being concerned, threatened to fire her. Rachel was wondering how that worked, considering she owned the majority share in the restaurant, but instead of arguing with her, she clocked out and went home.

After a heated argument with her brother, Chad, about Sandra, Rachel quit to keep the peace. Then, Rachel felt the earth move again. This time she was sick with it. Finn had felt it too through an unseen connection and came to Rachel’s rescue. He didn’t know the woman, but he had an overwhelming need to help her. As soon as he caught her scent, he knew what she was to him. Rachel, not entirely human herself, could sense Finn was a dragon, and she felt the connection when he did. What she wasn’t sure about was what all came with it—the Mannings—all the parents, brothers, aunts, and uncles—it was overwhelming.

Amazon      Apple Books

SPY SPY AGAIN (VALDEMAR FAMILY SPIES BOOK 3) by Mercedes Lackey

VS Note: Not a romance but I know we have many Lackey fans!

Thirteen year old Prince Kyril and Mags and Amily’s fourteen-year-old son Tory “share” the Gift of Farsight–although neither of them are Chosen. They are self-trained, though currently, their shared Gift only allows them to see what is happening with their immediate family members. After much debate, the Herald’s Collegium has decided to test and train them anyway. That’s when the surprises start. They do not share a single Gift; they have two complementary Gifts working together in a way that the Heralds have never seen before. Tory is the Farseer–Kee’s Gift is to extend his range beyond a few dozen feet. Their Gifts become crucial when Mags gets a desperate message from his cousin Bey, the head of the enigmatic assassin-tribe, the Sleepgivers. Bey’s eldest daughter has been kidnapped, but he doesn’t know why or by whom. He’s calling in the debt Mags owes him to find his daughter before it’s too late.
Tory is certain that if anyone can find her, he can. But that will mean traveling out of Valdemar into an unknown, dangerous country. And it will mean taking a Royal Prince with him.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE DEATHLESS (THE DEATHLESS TRILOGY BOOK 1) by Peter Newman

THE DEMONS – Creatures lurk in the endless forests of the Wild, plucking victims from those who scratch a living by the sides of the great Godroads, paths of crystal which provide refuge from the infernal tide. THE DEATHLESS – Humanity’s protectors reign within crystal castles held aloft on magical currents – seven timeless royal families, born and reborn into flawless bodies. As immortal as the precious stones from which they take their names, they fight to hold the Wild at bay. For generations a fragile balance has held. AND THE DAMNED…House Sapphire, one of the ancient Deathless families, is riven by suspicion and grief. Their hunting expeditions against the Wild are failing and entire villages have begun to disappear. Then, when assassins strike, House Sapphire shatters. NOTHING LASTS FOREVER.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE SHADOW WAND (THE BLACK WITCH CHRONICLES BOOK 3) by Laurie Forest

Elloren Gardner hides the most powerful secret in all Erthia—she is the Black Witch of Prophecy, and destined to triumph…or be used as the ultimate weapon of destruction. Separated from everyone she loves, isolated and hunted, Elloren must turn to the last person she can trust—her fastmate, Commander Lukas Grey. With the Mage forces of Gardneria poised to conquer all of Erthia, Elloren has no choice but to ally with Lukas and combine their power to keep herself out of the hands of Gardnerian leader Marcus Vogel…the holder of the all-consuming Shadow Wand.
With just weeks to train to become a warrior, and no control over her magic, Elloren finds unexpected allies among those under orders to kill her. It’s time to step up. To fight back. And to forge onward through the most devastating loss yet.

Amazon      Apple Books

OURS: A DARK FANTASY ROMANCE ([POSSESSIVE GODS) by Loki Renard

Two gods. One girl. We are the old gods. The forgotten deities. We are fierce, proud, jealous, and possessive.
A lying little human tricked her way onto our world. Now she belongs to us. Forever.

Amazon

REAPER UNTAMED (DEADSIDE REAPERS BOOK 3) by Debbie Cassidy

Actions have consequences, and my actions are about to kick me in the teeth. I’m still reeling from the unthinkable. Lucas is gone. It’s all my fault and if the dominus can’t find evidence that my actions were under duress then the consequences will be lethal. Sanctuary lies with Grayson and his pack, but I’m a rare commodity—a female loup in a world where females are rare—and the other packs aren’t going to back off without a fight. Even if I escape the executioner’s noose, the loup world isn’t about to let me go so easily. This time there is no hiding. This time there is no get out of jail free card. The loup world is about to swallow me whole, and I’m not sure I’ll make it out alive.

Amazon

DAWN OF DAE (DAE PORTALS BOOK 1) by R J Blain w/a Trillium Anderson

This is a republishing of an older work, and it has undergone substantial editing and rewriting, including the addition of new scenes. The morning Alexa Daegberht’s macaroni and cheese develops sentience, the world changes. She thought escaping poverty and moving up in the world would be the challenge of her life, but the new arrivals, who call themselves the dae, waste no time proving her wrong. Some claim it’s the rapture of the Christian faith. Some claim the world has been reborn. With millions vanished into thin air, one thing is certain: humanity is in for a fight for survival. There’s only one thing Alexa is certain of. The dae are here to stay.

Amazon      Apple Books

VILLAINOUS: AN ANTHOLOGY by Various

Every fairytale needs a villain…Venture into a world of darkness, a world of broken hearts, jealousy and pain, as seven notorious individuals begin their journey on the road to villainy. Villainous offers you an insight into true evil, with six fairytale retellings from the prospective of the bad guys we love to hate. The Sea Queen by USA Today Bestselling Author S. K. Gregory – Cecelia runs the docks, like her father before her. She is used to getting everything she wants, even if she has to kill to get it. Breadcrumbs and Glass Coffins by Kat Gracey – Long before she built a gingerbread house, Wilhelmina was a prisoner. Tormented by a monster, she has a choice – give into her dark side or continue to suffer. Which will she choose? Stepsisters: Evils of the Flesh by Essel Pratt – Ella and Anna are content to wait for some Prince Charming to sweep them off their feet, but when their stepsister, Cindy threatens their future, they go to extreme lengths to make sure her dreams never come true. The Tower by Christine King – Gotty longs for life beyond the tower, but there are real evils in the world and they may be closer than she thinks. Legend of Tremaine by Bokerah Brumley – Melody cannot resist entering the crystal cave, despite the warnings. Her own mother perished there, but Melody is drawn to the cave, to the darkness within. Hollowed: A Tale of Malice by Ember Cassidy – The Hollows are guarded by the Fae, but that doesn’t stop Stephanie from venturing in. A chance meeting with a Fae boy offers her a chance at first love, but it could also be her downfall. You never cross a Fae.

Amazon

CHANGE OF HEART (THE POTENTATE OF ATLANTA BOOK 3) by Hailey Edwards

When a lethal drug targeting paranormal citizens is unleashed on the streets of Atlanta, Hadley hits the clubs to pin down the dealer. The party is just getting started when a mysterious fae with his own agenda offers her a taste of power she can’t refuse if she wants to purge the evil from her city.  Hadley already owes Natisha seven beating hearts to satisfy their bargain, but the price the fae demands from Hadley might as well be her soul. He strips away her tiny spells, her necessary illusions, and leaves her bare to face judgement from the one person she never wanted to see her truth.  Now Hadley’s fate rests in Midas’s hands, and all she can do is hope the future she glimpsed for them doesn’t slip through his fingers.

Amazon

THE ENEMY’S TRIUMPH (AGE OF THE ANDINNA BOOK 5) by Kristen Banet

Everyone is someone’s enemy. The Elvasi and the Andinna are enemies. Alchan and Shadra stand against each other as rulers of opposing forces. Two races, locked in a deadly battle for control, each trying to out maneuver the other with their best strategies, their best warriors, and the all power at their disposal. And Mave? Mave faces her old nemesis. Prince Lothen of the Elvasi Empire. His cruelty is renowned. The memories she has of him mark her skin in the form of permanent scars, forever telling the tale of her time in Elliar, like her tatua tell the tale of her freedom.
Old rage bubbles and boils over. Fury buried deep in her heart, Mave confronts him with a single-minded purpose. Mave has never let her anger get the best of her. Until now. Someone’s enemy will always triumph on the battlefield. Mave can only hope it’s not her own.

Amazon

FEISTY HEROINES: ROMANCE COLLECTION OF SHORTS by Various

Over 30+ pulse-racing shorts to capture your heart with USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Award-winning authors in the mix. Paranormal, Contemporary, Fantasy, and Historical Romance that will whet your appetite with titillating, heart-pounding tales you’ll want to read again then beg for more. Fall in love with your next book crush!

Amazon       Apple Books

AMERICAN DEMON (HOLLOWS BOOK 1$) by Kim Harrison

What happens after you’ve saved the world? Well, if you’re Rachel Mariana Morgan, witch-born demon, you quickly discover that something might have gone just a little bit wrong. That the very same acts you and your friends took to forge new powers may have released something bound by the old. With a rash of zombies, some strange new murders, and an exceedingly mysterious new demon in town, it will take everything Rachel has to counter this new threat to the world–and it may demand the sacrifice of what she holds most dear.

Amazon      Apple Books

THIRTEEN COVENS ACADEMY: COVEN SOCIETY by  Audrey Brice

In my short time as a witch I’ve learned there are at least eight laws that magicians and witches must abide in order to live peacefully in coven society:
One: Don’t mix with rival covens. Two: Do what your coven says. Three: Follow the magickal courtesies. Four: Never, ever, show, teach, or involve women of The Watch in magick. Five: Don’t do necromancy. Ever. Six: Don’t piss off anyone in Ashtaroth Briarwood. Seven: Don’t let the town Seer read for you. Eight: Don’t fall in love with more than one guy at a time. I’ve never been very good at playing by the rules, which could make finishing my first year at The Academy a nightmare. Now, aside from worrying about my magickal education, making friends inside my own coven, juggling three relationships, and navigating initiations – I have nine curses to find.   Keeping it all from blowing up in my face… that’s another matter entirely.

Amazon

HAUNTED by Cathy Pegau

VS Note: I’ve always enjoyed her scifi romance and historical Alaska-based mysteries! On my TBR List. The author tells me this is a cozy mystery (not a romance) despite the content warnings (so, not a dark PNR for example)…

Environmental consultant Georgie Del Ducco sees dead people. Well, one dead person–her best friend, journalist Min Goldfelder. Min’s latest visit comes as Georgie flees her own wedding in her cheating ex-fiancé’s car. As much as Georgie appreciates Min’s company, she can’t help but wonder why her friend keeps showing up and hasn’t “crossed over.” While Georgie’s being held for car theft, Min sees a man she knows is somehow connected to her fatal accident. And her accident is connected to a bear poaching story she was working on when she died. Can Georgie and Min solve the mystery of Min’s death so she can continue her journey to the other side? Better question: Can Georgie face having her BFF gone forever?

Content Warnings: scenes of dealing with grief and loss of a close friend and an adult child; brief rough handling by a former romantic partner; recounting fatal automobile accident and images of injuries.

Amazon      Apple Books

LOVE BEWITCHED (GARGOYLE NIGHT GUARDIANS BOOK 3) by Rosalie Redd

Be careful of gargoyles who can’t commit…Wynne’s had enough of tall, dark, brooding males that aren’t interested in her kind of love—the “until death do us part” kind. Attracted to unattainable men, she’s in uncharted territory when not just one, but two males show an interest in her. One’s a gargoyle with muscles of steel and a deep, sensuous voice to match. The other, a dark, seductive fae with a smirk that can melt panties. The problem? The men are on opposites sides of a war. Caught between the two, who will she choose?

Amazon

SECRET COURTSHIP ( THE HANDS OF DESTIN BOOK 3) by Jaycee Jarvis

Devoted to the Goddess of the Future, an elegant beauty is blessed–or cursed–with near-perfect foresight. Han-Mystic Ophelia d’Marana lives a rich life as the strongest seer in the bustling tropical town of Trimble, but still she feels alone. She aches for a family with every beat of her heart. She would take comfort from a prophesy predicting the birth of her child, except the foreseen father is Han-Builder Ulric.
The rude, crude earthworker has no place in her pious life, and has never seen her as a woman worthy of a tumble, until a passionate night proves him susceptible to her beauty. Emboldened, Ophelia hopes to share her destiny with him. But Ulric can’t risk his heart, not again. Instead, they enter into a loveless arrangement to beget a child, each keeping painful secrets close. When Ophelia’s most ominous prophesy comes to pass, the uneasy lovers overcome their differences to work together against a mysterious plague threatening the city. As their passion burns hot, Ophelia finds she has more in common with Ulric than she ever dreamed. She’s in danger of losing her heart to a man in love with a ghost . . .If she doesn’t become a ghost herself first.

Amazon

THE WATCHERS BOOK 1: IN THE VALLEYS OF THE EARTH by RR Pearl

VS Note: From mid-May…

The only thing more dangerous than their chemistry…is their enemies! Mild-mannered Xenoarcheologist Dr. Alec Coimheed and his best friend, Dr. Clemy Armistead, are certain that they’ve just found the ancient location of an apocryphal battle between demons and angels. Whisked away on a rollicking adventure, Alec finds himself under the watchful eye of Rafe, a taciturn mountain of a man with a mysterious past. Working with the enigmatic Praesidium, which claims to have protected humanity for generations, Alec clashes with his ethereally handsome bodyguard. As the New Watchers pursue the rambunctious pair across the globe, Alec and Rafe will have to battle ancient terrors and mythical creatures come to life. Racing to the ancient tomb of a fallen angel, Alec and Rafe may lose it all – and each other – to save the world.

Amazon

WITCHER UPPER (A MAGICAL RENOVATION MYSTERY BOOK 1) by Amy Boyles

Southern gal Clementine Cooke is busy. The house renovation business she runs with her best friend in the small town of Peachwood, Alabama, is thriving. That is until Clementine discovers her partner dead, encased in poured concrete. It looks like murder. Clementine starts to investigate, quickly realizing that not only had her so-called best friend spent years lying to her, but plenty of folks wanted her dead–from the unionized wizard mafia to the old lady quilting club. But even with haters coming out of the woodwork, Clementine finds herself fighting off suspicion. She must locate the killer before the local police chief tosses her in jail and throws away the key. With no one to turn to, she enlists the help of a wizard suffering from amnesia. But there’s a hitch–he might not remember who he is, but Clementine does, and for her own reasons, she’s not talking. Can Clementine clear her name and save her business? Or will this be one magical renovation that winds up in demolition?

Amazon

THE UNCONQUERED CITY (CHRONICLES OF GHADID BOOK 3) by K A Doore

Seven years have passed since the Siege—a time when the hungry dead had risen—but the memories still haunt Illi Basbowen. Though she was trained to be an elite assassin, now the Basbowen clan act as Ghadid’s militia force protecting the resurrected city against a growing tide of monstrous guul that travel across the dunes. Illi’s worst fears are confirmed when General Barca arrives, bearing news that her fledgling nation, Hathage, also faces this mounting danger. In her search for the source of the guul, the general exposes a catastrophic secret hidden on the outskirts of Ghadid. To protect her city and the realm, Illi must travel to Hathage and confront her inner demons in order to defeat a greater one—but how much can she sacrifice to protect everything she knows from devastation?

Amazon       Apple Books

CONSIDER ME GONE (TIME SHADOWS BOOK 1) by Jane Thornley

Romy works too many jobs—part-time tour guide and occasional performance artist included. So when she begins hearing and seeing things not of this century, she puts it down to fatigue. But things just keep getting more baffling, more destructive. One moment, she’s Romy in the 21st century and the next she’s Claire, an Acadian orphan spying against the Spanish two hundred and fifty years earlier.  Suddenly it feels more like she’s a tourist in hell. No one believes her, not even Dr. Adrian Countway, her thesis advisor and the man she loves. Their attraction is undeniable and yet he resists. He’s certainly not about to believe that he’s the reicarnation of the first Spanish governor of Louisiana anymore than he believes that Romy’s an Acadian orphan inciting a revolution. ..(more blurb on ebook seller page…)

Amazon

WINTER’S WOLF (THE CURSED BOOK 1) by Lou Grimes

VS Note: From April

Louvette Blackwood never even knew her own father’s name until a lawyer shows up on her door step to execute her grandfather’s will. She soon finds out that her grandfather was murdered while searching for her father. At first, they are hesitant to sign the will, but quickly realize that a fresh start in Montana is what they need after she was kicked out of yet another school for fighting. A life changing year packed full of uncovering the truth, new friends, and new enemies is about to start!

Amazon

GORGON’S QUEST: REDEMPTION OF THE GORGONS BOOK 2 by Claire Davon

hanks to her sister Euryale’s bargain with the gods, gorgon Stheno is back in human form—but far from comfortable in her skin. As the fiercest warrior of her three sisters, she mourns her tough, beastly hide and snaky hair. The last thing anyone would call Stheno is girly—much less beautiful—but before she sets out to find her lost, mortal sister, Medusa, she googles a salon at random to cut off her annoyingly long hair. Her stylist is Marwen, a man with compelling, light-brown eyes that glow with an otherworldly light. The last of Stheno’s unruly locks barely hit the floor when the first attack comes, and in a heartbeat they’re on the run. As their passion ignites, they realize they didn’t meet by chance. They’re both entangled in a prophecy drawing them inexorably toward one fated conclusion: Medusa. But there’s a faction working just as hard to make sure it never happens. To save her sister, Stheno will have to face her fear—that once she unleashes her beast, Marwen won’t look upon her with love any more, but with horror.

Amazon

SPELL CAT (THE ALOYSIUS TALES BOOK 1) by Tara Lain

VS Note Update June 17: I’ve been advised this is a re-release

When Killian Barth, history professor, meets Blaine Genneau, quantum physicist, they ignite their own big bang. But Killian can’t pursue a physics professor—or a human. As the most powerful male witch in ten generations, Killian must bolster his dying race by reproducing—despite the fact that he’s gay.
Even a fling with Blaine is out of the question, because Killian has been told sex with humans drains his power. But if that’s true, why can young human Jimmy Janx dissolve spoons with the power of his mind? If Killian can sort through the lies he’s been fed, he’ll still face his biggest obstacle—convincing rational scientist Blaine to believe in magic.
With his ancient and powerful cat familiar, Aloysius, on his shoulder, Killian brings the lightning against deceit and greed to save Blaine from danger and prove love is the greatest power of them all.

Amazon

BEAR WITH ME (STRAWBERRY SHIFTERS BOOK 1) by Marilyn Barr

Blue eyes, dimples, and silky brown hair; Grant Luther has all of Alison’s weaknesses. When he asks for one last chance to save their marriage, she agrees to relocate their family to isolated Strawberry, Kentucky in pursuit of his career dreams. Grant views Alison’s sensory issues as limitations and protects her from outside threats. When he finds his new job includes changing him into a shifter in a war against the soul-sucking Sluagh he vows to keep the changes a secret. What he doesn’t know is Alison has been hiding a magical secret of her own. One that makes her a target of the Sluagh. Will Alison emerge from Grant’s shadow to protect her family? And can Grant learn that being different can be a strength not a weakness?

Amazon     Apple Books

DRAGON REBELLION (THE HIDDEN WARRIOR BOOK 2) by M Lynn

Sometimes not even love is stronger than hate. Sometimes sacrifices must be made. Hua Minglan is trapped, presumed dead, and back where it all started. Home.  A place that once brought peace to her mind, a place she’d abandoned in order to seek her revenge. But that was before. Before the dragon awoke inside her to destroy an entire village. Before she ceded control. And now, the dragon has a mission, one Hua must do anything to stop. Kill the emperor. There is one way to defeat the beast inside her. Hua Minglan must die. Only one man can prevent her sacrifice. As Jian Li races across Piao to save both Hua and his brother, the emperor, he knows he’ll have to choose. Even if he chooses the right one, it might mean the end of Piao. Because the Kou have returned, ready to finish their war.And the only creature that can save the empire also wants it destroyed.

Amazon

BORDERLAND by F E Feeley Jr and Jamie Fessenden

They were young. In the prime of life and recently married. And then the diagnosis came. Cancer. George and Jason make arrangements to travel back to George’s home state of Vermont so he may pass away in the town where he grew up, but a terrible storm diverts the couple into the gates of an out-of-the-way hotel called Borderland. Sure, the employees are well dressed and polite. Sure, the food and entertainment are old-time fare. But it’s all a schtick, right? Or is there something far more sinister at work here? Welcome to the Borderland Hotel, where you may check in, but you’ll never, ever leave.

Amazon      Apple Books

CHOSEN OF THE SHADOWS (THE FAIRY CODE BOOK 2) by Kaitlyn Weiss

I was the last hope for the faeries. Yes, I’d found my love, my true love, in Doran, King of the Court of Shadows and Leader of the Wild Hunt. But he wanted to deprive me of my freedom, my right to control my own destiny. Even the fact that we’d been coupled by the tree, that I was no longer his captive, meant nothing. I was still “his” in his eyes, even if he loved me.

Amazon

WOLF’S DRAGON: TEXAS RANCH WOLF PACK SERIES COMPANION NOVELLA (TEXAS RANCH WOLF PACK WORLD BOOK 4) by Lynn Nodima

Dragon shifter Ulia smuggles her tiny pet unicorn to Texas when she flees Dragomir to escape an unwanted dragon shifter mate.  Cross-cultural differences keep wolf shifter Reese off balance when his true mate, a dragon shifter from another realm, arrives in Texas. Then her spurned suitor follows her to Earth. If her brother doesn’t kill Reese for insulting his sister, the dragon she fled may. In a world where dragons, unicorns, and werewolves are mythical creatures, what could go wrong? 

Amazon

THE WARLORD SEASON (THE COVALENT SERIES BOOK 4) by Libby Doyle

The battle in the Destructive Realm is over and Zan O’Gara wants to love her mate in peace, but nothing is ever simple when it comes to the Covalent. With many warriors wounded or exhausted by the fight, a new villain sees an opportunity to take power. He imprisons the Council and the healers. He hunts any warrior who refuses to submit to his authority. He throws Pellus’ mate into the Wasteland Dungeons. An attempt on Barakiel’s life while he is in the healing sleep forces Zan and Pellus to flee to the Earthly Realm with the warrior long before he’s had time to recover from his wounds. Despite his injuries and loss of Balance, Barakiel pledges to reunite Pellus with his beloved. He vows the warlord will pay for this injustice in blood.

Amazon      Apple Books

SABOTAGED (THE SUNDANCE SERIES BOOK 3) by C P Rider

My name is Neely and I live among shapeshifters in the desert truckstop town of Sundance, California. As a telepath-spiker, I can read a person’s thoughts. I can also spike deadly power straight into their brain. I’ve got my hands full navigating an undefined relationship with Lucas Blacke, the sexy tiger alpha of the Sundance shifter group, and trying to run my bakery, La Buena Suerte Panaderia, while dodging random alpha leaders bent on turning me into a weapon. But when one of the would-be kidnappers finally gets lucky and grabs me, I find myself in a whole new world of trouble.  Trapped and on my own, I’ve only got myself to depend on. The rules I’ve always lived by have been swept aside and second-guessing myself is no longer an option. If I want to get out of this alive, I’ll have to spike my way out.

Amazon

DARK RIVER by AR Keo

VS Note: From May

Sitting in a dungeon, miles below the surface of the earth is not the ending she anticipated. Nor is coming face to face with some very lethal dark elves, but Vanadey Adara is particularly good at finding trouble. Van is not having a pleasant day, but things take a surprising turn when an unconscious dark elf is dragged in by his kin. Some rather unpleasant orks have two prisoners to play with now. Everyone knows dark elves are notorious killers, wicked and malevolent in their ways. That fact becomes irrelevant when you are sitting in a cage waiting to die, and the only option presented is to escape with one. …Sometimes the hardest battle is against yourself. The fates may have intervened like divine providence, but personalities mix like oil and water. For a human and a dark elf, freedom comes with a price. If they can trust each other long enough to navigate the perils of Deepearth, outrun evil orks, and evade dangerous dark elves, they might reach the surface in one piece.

Amazon

GARTERS AND GARGOYLES (VAMPIRE KNITTING CLUB BOOK 10) by Nancy Warren

The Gargoyle Club is a secret society in Oxford’s Cardinal College, where privileged young men from important families get drunk and rowdy and cause trouble. Rafe, as a member of the club, is not impressed with these newest Gargoyles. Meanwhile, a social climbing high school friend of Lucy’s is in town. Is she really after an art history degree or is her purpose more devious? When someone dies during a club dinner it looks like more than boys behaving badly. It’s up to Lucy and her undead knitters to solve the crime.

Amazon

INFINITE MOON (VAMPIRE FOR HIRE BOOK 20) by J R Rain and Matthew S Cox

Dealing with one’s greatest nemesis can be frustrating, but Samantha Moon is literally beside herself. From the moment Elizabeth escaped her mind prison, Sam and her family braced for the worst. With the plan now set in motion, only two things are known for sure: the plan is big, and it’s going to be horrible. After tracking the dark masters down to the remote jungles of Venezuela, Sam and her crew rush there to prevent the apocalypse they’re certain is brewing. Alas, problems abound. Not only are they facing a new type of vampire they’ve never seen before, Elizabeth gets the upper hand in a major way. Sam is thrust into a maze of alternate realities where she is forced to face an enemy far more dangerous than an ancient sorceress: herself. If she can’t escape fast enough, Elizabeth will enslave an entire dimension.

Amazon

NO MAN’S LAND by A J Fitzwater

VS Note: I found the sample intriguing so I one clicked.

No Man’s Land is a historical fantasy and a love story set in the golden plains of North Otago, in the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Dorothea ‘Tea’ Gray joins the Land Service and is sent to work on a remote farm, one of many young women who filled the empty shoes left by fathers and brothers serving in the Second World War. But Tea finds more than hard work and hot sun in the dusty North Otago nowhere—she finds a magic inside herself she never could have imagined, a way to save her brother in a distant land she never thought she could reach, and a love she never knew existed.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE HARBINGER (ARTEMIS BOOK 1) by Mary Eicher

In a picturesque California town, the deafening sound of bells brings dozens of people to their knees. Three days later a horrific accident claims their lives. Among the dead is the twin brother of Artemis Andronikos, a beautiful attorney, who abandons the ill-fated vacation and returns home to grieve.

Her mourning is interrupted by Lucy Breem a reporter who suspects a connection between the strange bell sound and subsequent deaths. Disturbed by the possibility that the phenomenon had presaged her brother’s death, Artemis agrees to join forces with Lucy to investigate the mysterious premonitions. Utilizing her considerable physical and deductive talents, Artemis battles nefarious forces and seeks information from friends in high places. Their research takes them to various global venues. But the solution to the mystery proves illusive and the couple discovers that neither science nor religion can provide an explanation for what has become known as the Harbinger.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE BEAR’S BEST FRIEND’S SISTER (WEREBEAR RANCH BOOK 5) by Layla Silver

He’s always been my one and only crush. But he’s never even noticed me. He’s my brother’s best friend, and to him, I’m invisible. He probably hasn’t thought of me once since he left our town. But now I have to live with him in his new house. At the very least, I hope I can control myself around him. If he finds out about my crush, he’ll just think it’s cute and dismiss it. If my protective brother finds out, it’ll be even worse. So here I am, in his kitchen while he’s shirtless and flipping bacon. I’m practically drooling at the sight of his perfect six-pack. At those jeans hanging low on his waist, slipping down just a little too far. At the lazy smile he flashes me as he makes me breakfast. I have no idea how I’m going to survive all of this alone time with him…(more blurb on ebook seller page…)
Amazon

CHOSEN GODS (THE SECRET GODS PRISON SWERIES BOOK 2) by G Bailey

My name is Karma, and I will do anything to save my family and my gods…even from myself. All the secrets are out, and the world as I know it is changed forever.
The higher gods take me as their prisoner, and it’s not just me they take to play games with.
My family, my best friend, and my gods are all on the line. I’ve already lost one friend; I won’t lose another.
 If I don’t win the games, everyone I love dies.
So I will not lose.
 My name is Karma Maria Kismet, and I am going to destroy the higher gods.
I am going to get justice…no matter what it takes.

Amazon

THE PASSION OF HADES (THE HADES TRIALS BOOK 2) by Eliza Raine and Rose Wilson

I’m trapped in actual hell. And just about everything here is trying to kill me. Even the god who claims he once loved me has come pretty close to ending my life. But things are about to change. I’m fed up of being Persephone – human underdog in the Hades Trials. I’ve managed to awaken a little bit of goddess inside me, and now I have power, I’m not afraid to use it. Although I don’t actually have a clue how to. Nor do I know what I did to get cast out of Olympus twenty-six years ago, or why strangers are seeking to punish me for it. All I know for sure is that I survived the first round of the Hades Trials, and now I need to survive another. One step at a time I will get back to New York.  Because I can’t stay here. Olympus is filled with monsters, and ruled by monsters, and I do not fit in.  The trouble is, the more I discover about the mysterious King of the Underworld, the less sure I am that he fits in either. My connection to him is undeniable, and it’s not escaped the other gods’ notice. They don’t want me to stay in Olympus, and now that I have my power back, they’re going to make the next three Trials even more lethal.  If I can survive, I’m a step closer to getting home. But if I spend much more time with Hades, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to leave.

Amazon

WITCHES BE CRAZY (NOT YOUR BASIC WITCH BOOK 3) by A J Macey and Jarica James

Nothing in Aris Calisto’s life has ever been basic, and after a cauldron full of unexpected events, she finds herself a fugitive. Going on the run should have been the biggest challenge of her life, but after being separated from her tethers, she’s faced with an impossible choice–submit or run. With time ticking down, Aris and her ragtag band of witches have to risk it all. Despite the odds, her coven manages to find their way back to each other, and Aris quickly realizes they have more allies than they thought. Revolution is coming to Akasha, but it won’t be an easy ‘potion to brew’ with- new powers to master, a collection of hexing hellions intent to use her for themselves, an anonymous admirer, and the unexpected burden of becoming a leader. With her capricious coven behind her, can Aris use her i’magic’nation to hit the council where it hurts? Or will she find out payback’s a real witch?

Amazon

PRINCE OF FOREVER (IMPERIA BOOK 2) by Gena Showalter

VS Note: A re-release. 

Return to Imperia in this scorching, significantly updated classic from New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter, originally published as The Pleasure Slave. Curiously drawn to a battered jewelry box, Santa Fe antique dealer Julia Anderson could never have anticipated what—or rather who—it held inside—a handsome warrior who swears his devotion to her. Tall and sinfully handsome, Tristan ar Malik is hard to resist and determined to fulfill her every desire. A rogue on the battlefield and the bedroom, Tristan resolved himself to a life of servitude after being cursed…. until he met Julia. The passion between them is unlike anything he’s ever experienced, and he only wants more. Yet even though revealing his true heart would break the centuries-old spell that entrapped him—freeing him from the box—it would separate them forever.

Amazon      Apple Books

BEAR AFFECTION (TOOTH AND CLAW BOOK 4) by Emilia Hartley

They ended their high-school relationship on a messy, angry note. The hate they spouted then is enough to keep them apart forever, even if the eventful intervening decade apart isn’t. Back in town after her New York dreams have crashed to pieces, Ashlyn wants to get her career back on track. Bumping into the ex she left behind is not on her agenda, especially when the ex in question has turned into some kind of Greek god lookalike. Ashlyn doesn’t need the distraction; she doesn’t need the guilt she feels over their bad breakup; and she certainly doesn’t need the reminder of how badly her life has gone wrong. She’s going to stay away from Mac. If only he would stay away from her.
Mac loved Ashlyn back in high-school, and now that he’s a shifter, that attraction has only gotten stronger. Ashlyn avoids him, though, and he’s also lost contact with his inner bear. He’s losing time to it, and he can’t even shift to help explain to Ashlyn how he has changed. He has no idea what this means, but he knows he can’t offer Ashlyn a mutilated piece of himself. He doesn’t want her in danger if the bear is out of control, either.
Maybe it would be best for everyone if his pack puts him down.

Amazon

DESERT DRAGON’S HUNT: ROYAL DRAGONS OF MOROCCO BOOK 7: A RED LETTER HOTEL PARANORMAL ROMANCE by Ava Ward

When her magic is imprisoned by her enemy’s treachery, can she free it? Layla’s Dragon-power has been chained inside her by her mortal enemy Hunter, a compelling Royal Dragon Bind whose terrible deeds know no limit.
Desiring to dominate all Dragons, Hunter lacks only one thing to accomplish his plan – a powerful mate like Layla.
Drawn away from her lovers to embark upon a dangerous quest to re-open her magic, Layla feels his tremendous call. When she finds him, will she be able to resist her enemy’s seduction and free her magic? Or will she succumb – becoming Bound to him forever?

Amazon

BAIT AND WITCH (BRIMSTONE INC BOOK 3) by Abigail Owen

VS Note: A re-release…

Rowan McAuliffe has been hiding most of her life. Secretly trained in her powers by an unusual source, she’d been taught not to trust anyone. Especially other witches. However, after she was forced to perform a hateful act against her will, she now hides from the Covens Syndicate and their judgement. Greyson Masters is the Syndicate’s best hunter. On top of the danger of his job, Greyson is trying to raise his triplet daughters alone, budding new witches who display an alarming combined power no one understands. Too bad he doesn’t have a clue how to deal with them. Until Rowan walks in and the chaos settles for the first time in…well, ever. Little does Greyson realize that his new nanny is the very witch he is hunting, and she’s been hiding right under his nose this whole time.
This book was previously self published but has undergone a complete re-edit. Scenes were added, things were changed, but the kissing still remains!

Amazon      Apple Books

BROKEN DAWN (IMMORTAL GUARDIANS BOOK 10) by Dianne Duvall

Nick Belanger can’t stop thinking about the single mother who lives next door. She’s smart. She’s funny. She’s so beautiful he can’t stare at her too long for fear his eyes will start to glow. But Kayla thinks he’s just an ordinary guy who works in security. Finding out he instead is a powerful immortal warrior who hunts and slays psychotic vampires for a living may not go over well, particularly since she has a daughter she doesn’t want to endanger.

Kayla Dorman can keep neither her gaze nor her thoughts from straying to the man next door. Who can blame her really? He is the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome with smart, charming, and honorable thrown in. He’s also a few years younger than her and surely would not be interested in a single mom who hasn’t dated since her divorce. At least that’s what she thinks until an accident nearly takes her life and Nick risks all to save her.

The dynamics of their relationship swiftly change. The friendship they’ve developed over the years deepens into love as the two spend every minute they can together, laughing and teasing, never suspecting a threat may lurk in the shadows. But that threat soon strikes, making it clear that Nick is the target and his enemy doesn’t care if Kayla gets caught in the cross fire. Though Kayla bravely rises to the occasion and is determined to do whatever it takes to help Nick defeat his enemy, Nick is terrified of losing her. Can he identify and eliminate his new nemesis before the man takes everything from him?

Amazon      Apple Books

FIFTH A FURY (GODDESS ISLES BOOK 5) by Pepper Winters

“There was a beginning once. A beginning that started with being sold to a monster I fell for. There was an ending once. An ending that came cloaked in bloodshed and fury.” Eleanor Grace is a simple mortal who has the power to topple a god. She captured his heart, fed him a different future, and fought for a fantasy that wasn’t make-believe but destiny. Sully Sinclair is a man masquerading as a monster. He let down his shields and allowed a goddess to show him a simpler path. However, neither of them could predict the war that was coming, nor the toll it would take. A fated romance. A fight that will finish in tears. The age-old battle of good versus evil.

Amazon      Apple Books

FATED TO THE FIRE (FATED DRAGON MATES BOOK 2) by Scarlett Ray

COLE – She is the one I didn’t even know I was waiting for. The piece of my heart that I didn’t know was missing.
The one woman who could change everything and carry on my family secret. I can’t let her go. I will do whatever it takes to win her heart, claim her body and soul…And protect her from the past. Even if it means war.
No distance is too far, no challenge is too great to keep her safe and make her mine. 

STELLA – The last thing I want or have time for, is an accidental baby witha devastatingly HOT dragon shifter billionaire. Oh yeah, who just happens to be a firefighter! There is no space in my life or in my heart for this. I have one goal, save the career I’ve sacrificed everything for. And here he is saving my life…in more ways than one. Now I’m running…from New York, from the man who has captured my heart and from his heart beating in my body. Our baby.

Amazon

HAMMER TIME by Anne Denton and M J Marstens

VS Note: From the end of May…

Danger is my middle name. Just kidding—it’s Bergljot. Sigrdrifa Bergljot Jones. But don’t call me that—I go by Val. My dad is Thor and my dear mother was human … which makes me a demi, or half-goddess and half-human.
Of course, I got the shaft on the half-goddess part. I’ve got no powers and work in the human world—Home Depot, to be exact. But, I’m needed back in the godly realms—to break into a supernatural prison to save my best friend. I never thought I’d put ‘get arrested’ on my to-do list … but some dickhead gods need to be dealt with. And how do you deal with dickhead gods? By stealing Thor’s hammer and magical goats, making a special Visine drink, and getting the God of Shit on your side … as well as a demi, a concussed guard, and an amazing human. These dickhead gods won’t know what hit them. Everyone can just stop—it’s HAMMER TIME!

Amazon

KELOS: SPRING (SHIFTER SEASONS BOOK 4) by Harmony Raines

His mate is on the run. His dragon will do whatever it takes to protect her…Will their love survive? Dragon shifter, Kelos, has lived a solitary life. When he finally decides to settle down in Bear Creek the last thing he expects is to find his true mate. After all, he’s waited centuries for her. It’s love, and lust, at first sight. But Kelos needs to keep his emotions in check until the danger surrounding his mate is dealt with. Who is he trying to fool? There’s no way this dragon shifter can deny his feelings for his mate. Which means he has to deal with the people threatening his mate’s family now. Would breathing dragon-fire over their foe or biting their head off be overkill? Unfortunately, those days are way in the past and they have to play by the rules of the modern world. Pity. A phone call from her brother sends Amber on the run with her sister-in-law and two children. Sworn to keep them safe, she travels to the house of an old friend…never expecting to meet a dragon shifter who claims she is his mate. ..(more blurb on ebook seller page…)

Amazon

INFILTRATE (MISFIT OF THORNBRIAR ACADEMY BOOK 1) by Cali Mann

Spirit Shifters go mad, unless we mate four times. Bad enough that fate chose them, the Alpha wolf and the Bad Boy vampire, but I don’t have time for these irresistibly sexy shifters when my brother’s life hangs in the balance. My mother’s murderous boyfriend threatened him, and I will do anything to save him – even infiltrate and sabotage the only academy willing to give me – and my brother – a chance.

Amazon

WILD THING (BLUE BLOOD VAMPIRES BOOK 2) by Michelle Hercules

Savage. Reckless. Wild. These are only some of the words used to describe me. I’m all of those things, and I never wished to be anything else in almost 500 years of existence. Then she came along. Aurora Leal, the daughter of the High Witch and destined for that role. She’s practically royalty in the magical world, but most importantly, she’s forbidden fruit. I was taught never to mess with witches, and I had no intention of breaking that rule until the night she crashed into my life. I couldn’t resist the pull, and like an idiot, I succumbed to her charms. Now I’m screwed. What was supposed to be only a hookup left a permanent mark. I ended up mated to the sassy witch. An eternal commitment wasn’t something I ever wished for, but when your destined mate is promised to someone else, that’s a much bigger problem. I only have two choices. Either I find a way to break the mating bond or Aurora will become a widow before she says I do. That will definitely start a war between vampires and mages. But the more time I spend with her, the less inclined I am to give her up. Damn, I guess I’m killing some mages, then.

Amazon

******************************************************************************************

VS Note: In case you missed my new release last week! It’s gotten some lovely 5 star reviews and ratings – WOOT!

COLONY UNDER SIEGE: INTERSTELLAR PLAGUE ( A SECTORS SF ROMANCE NOVEL) by Veronica Scott

Newly graduated from a prestigious interstellar medical school, Dr. Saffia Mandell has been assigned to the Haven Two colony on the galaxy’s outer rim as the only doctor for some 2000 human residents. She’s counting the days until her five years there is up, trying to adjust to rural living after life in the crowded Inner Sectors and fighting her attraction to Chief Ranger Micah Navonn. She’s dreading the upcoming tourist season when the rich and pampered will descend on the planet for the scenic wonders and novel sports opportunities and no doubt inundate her little clinic but the colony depends on the seasonal income to survive.

As the senior official for his people, the Calinurra, the indigenous inhabitants of Haven Two, Micah enforces the treaty, regulates the tourist permits, patrols the forests and resists his fascination with Dr. Mandell. He never expected to be involved with a human woman and doesn’t want to believe in the concept of a fated mate. He wants to keep his life simple and isn’t ready for any long term commitment. Besides Saffia keeps proclaiming she’ll be leaving when her appointment is up in four and a half years so why should he risk his heart?

Then a ship arrives unexpectedly carrying a very ill little girl and soon the deadly virus is spreading through Haven Two. The colony authorities are desperate to cover up the problem to preserve the all-important tourist season and Saffia and Micah have to work together to battle the outbreak, the local administration and their undeniable feelings for each other. Can the colony survive? And will Micah and Saffia be able to move past their fears about entanglements to act on the mutual attraction? An 87K word standalone novel set in the far future…

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo      Nook      Google Play

*****************************************************************************************

LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica:

June 10

June 3

May 27

May 20

May 13

“New” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.  And I may mention ‘special items’.

I do NOT cover every single new release in SFR/FantasyR/PNR. I never have. That would be an impossible task for any human! I assemble my list by hand every week based on various informal inputs, and I do curate the list to some extent…

I check and verify all the buy links at the time I create the post  but after that I’m not responsible.

Will Anyone Notice Weekend Writing Warriors

Warriors logo revisedNow taking excerpts from my newly published scifi romance COLONY UNDER SIEGE: INTERSTELLAR PLAGUE.

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

May be edited a bit from published version.

The excerpt from close to the book’s beginning, where we meet Dr. Saffia Mandell at a colony social event:

It seemed as if the entire colony was here tonight, including the children, who ran around excitedly, playing games and generally being supervised loosely by everyone and no one. She knew all two thousand people couldn’t possibly squeeze into the confined area but most of the acquaintances she’d made in her first six months on the planet were indeed here.

She was trying to decide if she wanted to wade into the crowd to reach the food stand and order fried fish battered with crumbs and a side of crispy tubers with spicy dipping sauce. Her stomach growled, audible to her even over the tune and she rose to her feet. Might as well have her dinner here and then wander home. I put in my appearance as the Colony Administrator not so subtly suggested I do, paid my credits for admittance to support the local charity, showed I’m trying to be a good neighbor…and no one is going to notice if I leave, not in this crowd.

Large social gatherings weren’t her comfort zone. She preferred the quiet and control of the clinic, where she was undeniably in charge and didn’t have to make more than token chitchat. No need for her to open herself up to questions, well intentioned or not. She was going to do her five years here, pay off the med school loans thanks to the Sectors government and then be on her way without a glance in the rearview scanners.

And a little more after the ten sentences…

Inner Sectors underprivileged neighborhood medicine was her goal, had been all her life since she escaped one of the slums herself on a charity grant to higher education.

Not ministering to hardy colonists living on an outer rim world, making their living surrounded by the beauties of Haven Two, living in relatively well-to-do circumstances.

colony under siegeThe blurb:

Newly graduated from a prestigious interstellar medical school, Dr. Saffia Mandell has been assigned to the Haven Two colony on the galaxy’s outer rim as the only doctor for some 2000 human residents. She’s counting the days until her five years there is up, trying to adjust to rural living after life in the crowded Inner Sectors and fighting her attraction to Chief Ranger Micah Navonn. She’s dreading the upcoming tourist season when the rich and pampered will descend on the planet for the scenic wonders and novel sports opportunities and no doubt inundate her little clinic but the colony depends on the seasonal income to survive.

As the senior official for his people, the Calinurra, the indigenous inhabitants of Haven Two, Micah enforces the treaty, regulates the tourist permits, patrols the forests and resists his fascination with Dr. Mandell. He never expected to be involved with a human woman and doesn’t want to believe in the concept of a fated mate. He wants to keep his life simple and isn’t ready for any long term commitment. Besides Saffia keeps proclaiming she’ll be leaving when her appointment is up in four and a half years so why should he risk his heart?

Then a ship arrives unexpectedly carrying a very ill little girl and soon the deadly virus is spreading through Haven Two. The colony authorities are desperate to cover up the problem to preserve the all-important tourist season and Saffia and Micah have to work together to battle the outbreak, the local administration and their undeniable feelings for each other.

Can the colony survive? And will Micah and Saffia be able to move past their fears about entanglements to act on the mutual attraction?

An 87K word novel of the far future…

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo      Nook      Google Play

SciFi Romance Reads for the Ripped Bodice Bookstore Summer BINGO

The Ripped Bodice Bookstore in SoCal is conducting their fourth annual Summer Romance Bingo. I thought it would be fun to take their bingo card of categories, which you can view on their website and identify scifi romance titles that would satisfy the requirements for readers. I asked the members of The SciFi Romance Brigade on Facebook to recommend books and definitely allowed authors to recommend their own titles, although SFR Brigadiers are avid readers and also provided books from other authors. As always some categories were hard to fulfill and others were wayyy popular! I kept a closer limit on the number of books in each category this year.

I put my own personal favorite Happy Ever After titles for the category in the center “square”.

As the Ripped Bodice notes on their rules, “You can interpret the categories however you want” so we did take a bit of license on a few to fit scifi romance. If we altered the category to find SFR books to fit, the revision is in parenthesis behind the actual category.

To be clear, we’re NOT playing bingo here, merely providing a list of suggestions! Hop over to the Ripped Bodice site if you want to enter their contest, which runs all summer 2020.

And I certainly included a few of my own titles!

Many of the books were suggested for more than one category; however I only listed each title in one category to keep the list as unique as possible. Some books were nominated more than once as well.

It makes for a fun reading list. I’ve included the Amazon links (to book 1 if an entire series is listed) but many of the books are also available on other ebook platforms. I only have so much time in my life to chase down links LOL.

Happy Summer Reading to All!

Dumped at a wedding (or other big event we’ll say)

COSMIC MATE (STARGAZER ALIEN SPACE CRUISE BRIDES) by Tasha Black Amazon

Author’s comment: “Stood up at the altar…”

DARAK: DRAKONIAN MAIL ORDER BRIDES BOOK 1 (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Cara Bristol   Amazon

Author’s comment: “The heroine’s sister dumps her fiance at the altar…”

ICE PLANET HOLIDAY (ICE PLANET BARBARIANS BOOK 5) by Ruby Dixon   Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “…h pretty much dumps boyfriend at holiday event for her true mate H…”

THE PROTECTORIT by Kelly Tharp   Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “She learns that he was forcing her to be engaged w/him at the social event (which ended up being their betrothal party that she didn’t know about) — she dumps him publicly after an argument and leaves (dramatically – lol).”

STOLEN BY THE ALIEN RAIDER (SILENT EMPIRE ROMANCE BOOK 2) by Leslie Chase   Amazon

Author’s comment: “The climax of Stolen by the Alien Raider is a forced wedding between the FMC and the villain – who ends up very thoroughly dumped indeed! A sword is involved.”

CHOOSING RILEY (SARAFIN WARRIORS BOOK 1) by S E Smith   Amazon

Apple orchard (or other fruit)

SHIELD OF WINTER (PSY-CHANGELING BOOK 13) by Nalini Singh   Amazon

VS Comment: My favorite book in the entire series!

ESCAPING FATE (VEREDIAN CHRONICLES BOOK 1) by Regine Abel   Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “…a ryspak orchard that plays a major role in her series…. it’s a fruit w/medical properties.”

COLLISION (THE PROPHECY SERIES BOOK 3) by Lea Kirk   Amazon

SKYLAR’S GIFT: A PROPHECY SERIES NOVELLA by Lea Kirk   Amazon

DRAGO STARGAZER ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES BOOK (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Tasha Black   Amazon

Author’s comment: “Hero escapes to a peach orchard and three more books take place there…”

CAMRON: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 7)  by Veronica Scott   Amazon

Protagonist smells “uniquely like themselves”

AYDARR: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 1) by Veronica Scott    Amazon

PRINCESS OF DRAGA (THE DRAGA COURT SERIES BOOK 1) by Emma Dean   Amazon

Nominator’s comment: smells in this series society determine where they sit on the social leader. The stronger/ harsher the smell, the higher you are….The weaker/sweeter the smell, the lower you are.

DARK FIRE (REFUGE BOOK 4) by Cynthia Sax   Amazon

DOOM (XIAN WARRIORS BOOK 1) by Regine Abel   Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “Hero smells like cinnamon when he is aroused.”

BLOOD LUST (RISE OF THE ILLIRI BOOK 1) by Auryn Hadley   Amazon

Nominator’s comment:  “…mates find each other via smell, and only they smell that way to each other. When a “natural leader” is born, they smell a certain way to everyone in their race...”

There was only one bed…

CLAIMED BY AN ALIEN WARRIOR by Tiffany Roberts   Amazon

NIKHIL (KALISZIANS BOOK 1) by M K Eidem  Amazon

GRETA AND THE GARGOYLE (ALIEN ABDUCTION BOOK 7) by Honey Phillips  Amazon 

BANE (XIAN WARRIORS BOOK 4) by Regine Abel    Amazon

TRACKING TRISHA (DRAGON LORDS OF VALDIER BOOK 3) by S E Smith   Amazon

I’m on a boat…

CAPTIVE (THE SURVIVAL RACE BOOK 1) by KM Fawcett   Amazon

Author comment: “…(during part of their escape from alien captivity, they are on an umiak boat.)”

MATED TO THE ALIEN LORD: CELESTIAL MATES by Leslie Chase   Amazon

ECHO 8 by Sharon Fisher   Amazon

ICED (VALOS OF SONHADRA BOOK 10) by Regine Abel   Amazon

Set on an island

COSMOS PROMISE (COSMOS GATEWAY BOOK 4) by S E Smith   Amazon

FALLEN FROM THE STARS (THE KRAKEN BOOK 6) by Tiffany Roberts   Amazon

PICO’S CRUSH: CENTRAL GALACTIC CONCORDANCXE BOOK 3 by Carol Van Natta   Amazon

CHOOSING CHUCKLES (CYBORG SPACE EXPLORATION BOOK 1) by Cynthia Sax   Amazon

LAUREN’S BARBARIAN (ICEHOME BOOK 1) by Ruby Dixon   Amazon

THE ISLAND (MADION WAR TRILOGY BOOK 1) by S Usher Evans   Amazon

FANTASY ISLAND by Zena Wynn and Kioni Hall   Amazon

Suffragettes (or women fighting oppressive regimes or for equal rights)

RELEASING RAGE (CYBORG SIZZLE BOOK 1) by Cynthia Sax   Amazon

Author’s comment: “Joan was fighting for equality as a female Engineer in Releasing Rage .”

THE EDGE OF IT ALL (MOSAURAN BOOK 1) by Jessica Grayson   Amazon

Author’s comment: “…woman fighting to end intergalactic slavery…”

GRACIE’S TOUCH (ZION WARRIORS BOOK 1) by S E Smith   Amazon

ARIA’S AWAKENING (TAKEN SERIES BOOK 1) by Stacy Jones   Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “…woman fighting against evil overlords…”

FATE OF DRAGA (THE COURT OF DRAGA BOOK 6) by Emma Dean    Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “She spent the series gathering forces and making allies to fight the evil force/horde from invading the galaxy and taking over.”

ANTIDOTE (LOVE AND WAR BOOK 1) by R A Steffan   Amazon

Secret (or Mistaken) Identity

CAPTURED BY THE HAWK by Aurora Springer   Amazon

ASHES AND METAL (CYBORG SHIFTERS BOOK 5) by Naomi Lucas   Amazon

REMOVED (THE NOGIKU SERIES BOOK 1) by S J Pajonas   Amazon

GIRL GONE NOVA: PROJECT ENTERPRISE BOOK 2 by Pauline Baird Jones   Amazon

STOLEN FOR THE ALIEN PRINCE (SILENT EMPIRE ROMANCE BOOK 1) by Leslie Chase   Amazon

Author’s comment: “…the FMC looks *just like* the missing Space Princess who’s due to marry an alien prince…”

UNDER GLASS by Rebecca Cohen   Amazon

Author’s comment: “…one MC has been taken and hidden on a different planet as a boy by his mum, not knowing who he really is, the other MC comes to take him home, pretending to be part of a science party from elsewhere on the planet…”

HEROINE COMPLEX by Sarah Kuhn   Amazon

TROUBLE IN MIND: INTERSTELLAR RESCUE SERIES BOOK 2 by Donna S Frelick   Amazon

ENVY (THE DEADLY 7 BOOK ONE) by Lana Percherczyk   Amazon

BLAZE (ARCH CITY GUARDIANS BOOK 1) by Christa Tomlinson   Amazon

Title is a pun (or clever wordplay or an inside joke)

THE LADY IS BLUE (ATRAPAKO ON EDEN BOOK 1) by Aurora Springer   Amazon

ANTON’S GRACE (BRAXIANS BOOK 1) by Regine Abel   Amazon

UNCHAINED MEMORY: INTERSTELLAR RESCUE SERIES BOOK 1 by Donna S Frelick   Amazon

DUEL CITIZENSHIP (DEPARTMENT OF HOMEWORLD SECURITY BOOK 7) by Cassandra Chandler   Amazon

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CYBORG (CYBORGS ON MARS BOOK 1) by Honey Phillips   Amazon

THE UGLY DUKELING: COSMIC FAIRY TALES by Bex McLynn   Amazon

KICKING ASHE: PROJECT ENTERPRISE BOOK 5 by Pauline Baird Jones   Amazon

A TALE OF TWO COLONIES by Aurora Springer   Amazon

Author comment: “…my SFR A Tale of Two Colonies has human colonists and a giant ant colony…”

BREATHING VAPOR (CYBORG SIZZLE BOOK 2) by Cynthia Sax   Amazon

Healthcare professional

STAR CRUISE: OUTBREAK by Veronica Scott   Amazon

JEWEL OF THE SEA (THE KRAKEN BOOK 2) by Tiffany Roberts   Amazon

DOC’S ORDERS (CYBORG SPACE EXPLORATION BOOK 2) by Cynthia Sax    Amazon

DARK CURE (REFUGE BOOK 6) by Cynthia Sax    Amazon

DARK STAR: A TAKAMO UNIVERSE NOVEL AEON PROJECT BOOK 2) by AR DeClerck   Amazon

THE ALIEN’S ESCAPE (DRIXONIAN WARRIORS BOOK 2) by Ella Maven   Amazon

GARRANT (INTERGALACTIC SOUL MATES BOOK 3) by Annabelle Rex    Amazon

COALITION RECKONING (DEPARTMENT OF HOMEWORLD SECURITY BOOK 10) by Cassandra                                        Chandler    Amazon

CENTURION (GALACTIC GLADIATORS HOUSE OF RONE BOOK 3) by Anna Hackett    Amazon

BARBARIAN (GALACTIC GLADIATORS BOOK 6) by Anna Hackett    Amazon

DRAGON GUARDIAN’S MATCH (DRAGONS OF MARS BOOK 3) by Leslie Chase    Amazon

NOT FADE AWAY: INTERSTELLAR RESCUE SERIES BOOK 4 by Donna S Frelick    Amazon

TIMTUR: THE TEACHER’S ALIEN HEALER (IN THE STARS ROMANCE): A BADARI WARRIORS NOVEL                                               by Veronica Scott    Amazon

BIOLUMINESCENT (THE MIMICS BOOK 1) by Auryn Hadley    Amazon

Bootleggers (or smugglers or forgers or…)

FIRST FLYGHT BOOK 1 by S J Pajonas    Amazon

A STAR PILOT’S HEART (ALL THE STARS IN THE SKY BOOK 1) by Eva Delaney and Vivi Clarke     Amazon

BETH’S STABLE (STOLEN BY AN ALIEN BOOK 6) by Amanda Milo    Amazon

THE CORSAIR’S CAPTIVE (CORSAIRS BOOK 1) by Ruby Dixon   Amazon

SHIELDED HEART (THE INFINITE CITY BOOK 2) by Tiffany Roberts   Amazon

Author’s comment: “Arcanthus forges ID chips…”

KRAC’S FIREBRAND (ZION WARRIORS BOOK 2) by S E Smith    Amazon

Psychics/Telekinesis

EDGE OF NOWHERE by Felicia Davin    Amazon

LANDON: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 11)                                                by Veronica Scott    Amazon

UNLEASHED (VALOS OF SONDAHRA BOOK 12) by Tiffany Roberts    Amazon

GRAND MASTERS PAWN (GRAND MASTERS GALAXY BOOK 1) by Aurora Springer    Amazon

OVERLOAD FLUX: CENTRAL GALACTIC CONCORDANCE BOOK 1 by Carol Van Natta     Amazon   

PIRATE NEMESIS (TELEPATHIC SPACE PIRATES BOOK 1) by Carysa Locke    Amazon

Author comment: “…psychics/telekinesis is pretty much my whole jam…”

BOUND TO YOU by AR DeClerck    Amazon

DARK THOUGHTS (REFUGE BOOK 1) by Cynthia Sax     Amazon

Author’s comment: “Kralj is all knowing and all powerful. He sometimes foresees the future and can kill being and move things with his mind.”

Happy Ever After

CARESSED BY ICE (PSY-CHANGELINGS BOOK 3) by Nalini Singh   Amazon

STAR CRUISE: SONGBIRD by Veronica Scott    Amazon

CYBORG (GALACTIC GLADIATORS BOOK 10) by Anna Hackett    Amazon

DARK HORSE (CLASS 5 SERIES BOOK 1) by Michelle Diener    Amazon

REFUGEES by Kim Fielding    Amazon

UNDYING (VALOS OF SONHADRA BOOK 7) by Tiffany Roberts    Amazon

HEART CHANGE (CELTA SERIES BOOK 8) by Robin D Owens    Amazon

ONE FELL SWEEP (INN KEEPER CHRONICLES BOOK 3) by Ilona Andrews    Amazon

MACH ONE (CYBORG COWBOYS OF CARBON COUNTY INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Elsa                                               Jade    Amazon

BARBARIAN’S BELOVED (ICE PLANET BARBARIANS BOOK 18) by Ruby Dixon    Amazon

DANGER IN THE STARS by Veronica Scott    Amazon

The Final Frontier (colonies? Exploration?)

COLONY UNDER SIEGE: INTERSTELLAR PLAGUE by Veronica Scott    Amazon

AURIC (CRASHLAND COLONY ROMANCE BOOK 1) by Leslie Chase    Amazon

TREASURE OF THE KRAKEN BOOK ONE by Tiffany Roberts    Amazon

SKYSHIP THRIVE (THRIVE COLONY SPACE ADVENTURES BOOK 1) by Ginger Booth    Amazon

THE COLONY by Laurel Richards    Amazon

AROBI’S QUEEN (THE MATE INDEX BOOK 11) by S J Sanders    Amazon

SURRENDER TO THE CYBORGS (Interstellar Brides® Program: The Colony Book 1) by Grace                                            Goodwin    Amazon

Cover has large piece of jewelry on it (or any significant adornment)

TERRAN TEMPTATION by Echo Ishii    Amazon

TRIBES (THREECON) by Carmen Webster Buxton    Amazon

FATE OF SOVEREIGN (SKY SERPENT CLAN BOOK 1) by Samantha Rose    Amazon

HEART DANCE (CELTA SERIES BOOK 6) by Robin D Owens    Amazon

MISSION TO MAHJUNDAR by Veronica Scott    Amazon

MORALITY (TO BE SINCLAIR BOOK 9)  by Eva Caye    Amazon

PROPERTY OF THE WARLORD (WARLORDS OF CERES BOOK 1) by Bridget Breslin    Amazon

Ice cream is mentioned

THE THINGS WE CHOOSE (V’LORIN BOOK 2) by Jessica Grayson    Amazon

LOBO (STARGAZER ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES) by Tasha Black    Amazon

Author’s comment: “Hero becomes friends with the man who drives the ice cream truck…”

TESLA (STAGAZER ALIEN BARBARIAN BRIDES) by Tasha Black    Amazon

Author’s comment: “Heart-broken alien hero learns how to drown his sorrows in ice cream…”

PULLED BY THE TAIL: CELESTIAL MATES (TAIL AND CLAW BOOK 2) by Nancey Cummings    Amazon

BLAZE: A QURILIXEN WORLD NOVELLA: INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY (GALAXY ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES BOOK 3) by Michelle M Pillow    Amazon

Author’s comment: “Ice cream has an adverse effect on my aliens…”

FLAME: A QURILIXEN WORLD NOVELLA: INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY (GALAXY ALIEN MAIL                                               ORDER BRIDES BOOK 2) by Michelle M Pillow    Amazon

Their nose was broken once but it only makes them more handsome (nose broken mentioned)

HOMEWORLD FOR THE HOLIDAYS (DEPARTMENT OF HOMEWORLD SECURITY BOOK 12) by Cassandra                                    Chandler    Amazon

IN THE CORSAIR’S BED (CORSAIRS BOOK 2) by Ruby Dixon    Amazon

ALIEN ROGUE’S PRICE (ALIEN ALPHAS OF FREMM BOOK 4) by Nancey Cummings    Amazon

Author’s comment: “The heroine breaks the hero’s nose. (He had it coming.)”

SAVAGE DESIRE (THE INFINITE CITY BOOK 4) by Tiffany Roberts    Amazon

Dad jokes

DARK ARSENAL (CYBORG SIZZLE BOOK 13) by Cynthia Sax    Amazon

Author’s comment: “Nora, the ship’s system, tells some of the worst Dad jokes in the universe. (grins) “What did the offspring call its machine father?”
“I don’t know.” Vicuska didn’t look away from her smiling cyborg. “What did the offspring call its machine father?”
“Da-ta.” Nora delivered the punch line.”

NIGHT OF THE DEMENTED SYMBIOTS: THE DRAGONLINGS HAUNTED HALLOWEEN BOOK 2                                           (DRAGONLINGS OF VALDIER)  by S E Smith    Amazon

HAVIK: WARLORD BRIDES (WARLORDS OF SANGRIN BOOK 9) by Nancey Cummings and Starr Huntress    Amazon

Author’s comment: “The hero swears he has a sense of humor, he’s just bad at it…”

BANE (THE LADYSHIPS BOOK 2) by Bex McLynn    Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “Heryon makes endless bad jokes/wisecracks in Bane…”

Debut novel

LOST IN THE DEEP END (V’LORAN BOOK 1) by Jessica Grayson    Amazon

INHERIT THE STARS by Laurie A Green   Amazon

WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM by Veronica Scott    Amazon

QUEEN OF TWILIGHT by Octavia Kore    Amazon

SAVING ASKARA (TORI AND ADERUS BOOK 1) by JM Link    Amazon

WANTED AND WIRED by Vivien Jackson    Amazon

Accidentally in the wilderness (on another planet)

ESCAPE FROM ZULAIRE BY Veronica Scott    Amazon

RISHALT (TAXYON SPACE BOOK 2) by Aurora Springer    Amazon

THE KEY: PROJECT ENTERPRISE BOOK 1 by Pauline Baird Jones    Amazon

STORM SURGE (CYBORG SHIFTERS BOOK 2) by Naomi Lucas    Amazon

A VIKING’S NEED (VIKINGS IN SPACE BOOK 3) by Zoe York    Amazon

HUNTED ON PREDATOR PLANET (PREDATOR PLANET SERIES BOOK 1) by Vicky L Holt    Amazon

ICE PLANET BARBARIANS by Ruby Dixon    Amazon

Meddling matchmakers

TOUCH OF FROST (MAGIC NEW MEXICO BOOK 1) by S E Smith    Amazon

EROS (OLYMPIA ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES BOOK 1) by K Cantrell    Amazon

KORD: DAKONIAN ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES BOOK 5 (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Cara Bristol    Amazon

Author’s comment: “There’s a workplace pool as to when the H/h will come to their senses and recognize their attraction.”

A GIRL NAMED BLUE: THE ADVENTURES OF BLUE FAUST BOOK 1 by Cecelia Randell    Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “…The first mate’s mother hooks them up (and gets them to come together as a unit later on).”

Villain’s love story

THE FRACTURED MATE (IRIDUAN TEST SUBJECTS BOOK 6) by Susan Trombley    Amazon

HEART OF THE AGRAAK by S J Sanders    Amazon

HEART OF OBSIDIAN: A PSY-CHANGELING NOVEL  by Nalini Singh    Amazon

DARK PLANET WARRIORS by Anna Carven    Amazon

DURATION OF STAY (THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMEWORLD SECURITY BOOK 6) by Cassandra Chandler   Amazon

Author’s comment: “…the shapeshifting assassin falls for an Earthling (and coffee…and video games)…”

Protagonist plays an instrument not guitar or piano

A WARRIOR’S HEART (MARASTIN DOW WARRIORS BOOK 1) by S E Smith    Amazon

Author’s comment: “…plays a harmonica…”

ALIEN GODDESS: SARAH (MAKAEN WARRIORS BOOK 1) by Zina Wes    Amazon

PROJECT ADAPT – FOUND by Jade Waltz    Amazon

Author’s comment: “…one of her mates plays an alien version of an organ and a flute throughout the book/series…”

Violet eyes

ECSTASY FROM THE DEEP: VENORA MATES BOOK 1 by Octavia Kore    Amazon

MALFUNCTION (DARK DESIRES BOOK 1) by Nina Croft    Amazon

THE ALIEN’S RANSOM (DRIXONIAN WARRIORS BOOK 1) by Ella Marvel    Amazon

WINTER’S KISS: AMETHYST CHRONICLES by KG Stutts    Amazon

A FISTFUL OF CYBORG (CYBORGS ON MARS BOOK 2) by Honey Phillips    Amazon

AXXEON COMMANDER’S PET (MATES FOR AXXEON 9 BOOK 2) by Liz Paffel    Amazon

ONE TWO PUNCH by Pauline Baird Jones    Amazon

Midsummer Ball (or other big social event of this type)

ELLA AND THE EMPEROR (ALIEN ABDUCTION BOOK 5) by Honey Phillips    Amazon

THE MELIER: HOMEWORLD (THE WOMEN OF DOR NYE BOOK 2) by Poppy Rhys    Amazon

JASMINE OF DRAGA (THE DRAGA COURT SERIES BOOK 3) by Emma Dean    Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “…Annual summer harvest week full of hunting, games, and a ball….”

HUNTRESS: A RAGORU BEGINNINGS ROMANCE by S J Sanders    Amazon

Nominator’s comment: “They have a fools ball masquerade party…”

RIVER’S RUN (LORDS OF KASSIS BOOK 1) by S E Smith    Amazon

MAON: MARSHAL OF TALLEV (SONS OF TALLEV BOOK 2) by Cailin Briste    Amazon

Author’s comment: “The annual Marshals’ Banquet was a combination of dinner, recognition ceremony, and boring speakers. If the participants stayed, there was dancing afterward…”

RAND: SON OF TALLEV (SONS OF TALLEV BOOK 3) by Cailin Briste    Amazon

New Releases in #SciFi #Fantasy and Paranormal Romance for Wednesday JUNE 10

I have a new release of my own to report this week!

As always, I recommend sampling before you buy! I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking a bunch as I prepare these posts LOL).

*************************************************

COLONY UNDER SIEGE: INTERSTELLAR PLAGUE ( A SECTORS SF ROMANCE NOVEL) by Veronica Scott

Newly graduated from a prestigious interstellar medical school, Dr. Saffia Mandell has been assigned to the Haven Two colony on the galaxy’s outer rim as the only doctor for some 2000 human residents. She’s counting the days until her five years there is up, trying to adjust to rural living after life in the crowded Inner Sectors and fighting her attraction to Chief Ranger Micah Navonn. She’s dreading the upcoming tourist season when the rich and pampered will descend on the planet for the scenic wonders and novel sports opportunities and no doubt inundate her little clinic but the colony depends on the seasonal income to survive.

As the senior official for his people, the Calinurra, the indigenous inhabitants of Haven Two, Micah enforces the treaty, regulates the tourist permits, patrols the forests and resists his fascination with Dr. Mandell. He never expected to be involved with a human woman and doesn’t want to believe in the concept of a fated mate. He wants to keep his life simple and isn’t ready for any long term commitment. Besides Saffia keeps proclaiming she’ll be leaving when her appointment is up in four and a half years so why should he risk his heart?

Then a ship arrives unexpectedly carrying a very ill little girl and soon the deadly virus is spreading through Haven Two. The colony authorities are desperate to cover up the problem to preserve the all-important tourist season and Saffia and Micah have to work together to battle the outbreak, the local administration and their undeniable feelings for each other. Can the colony survive? And will Micah and Saffia be able to move past their fears about entanglements to act on the mutual attraction? An 87K word standalone novel set in the far future…

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo      Nook      Google Play

ALPHA NIGHT (PSY-CHANGELING TRINITY BOOK 4) by Nalini Singh

VS Note: One of my favorite series and my top auto-buy author. I’ve had this pre-ordered for forever!

Alpha wolf Selenka Durev’s devotion to her pack is equaled only by her anger at anyone who would harm those under her care. That currently includes the empaths who’ve flowed into her city for a symposium that is a security nightmare, a powder keg just waiting for a match.
Ethan Night is an Arrow who isn’t an Arrow. Numb and disengaged from the world, he’s loyal only to himself. Assigned as part of the security force at a world-first symposium, he carries a dark agenda tied to the power-hungry and murderous Consortium. Then violence erupts and Ethan finds himself crashing into the heart and soul of an alpha wolf.
Mating at first sight is a myth, a fairytale. Yet Selenka’s wolf is resolute: Ethan Night, broken Arrow and a man capable of obsessive devotion, is the mate it has chosen. Even if the mating bond is full of static and not quite as it should be. Because Selenka’s new mate has a terrible secret, his mind surging with a power that is a creature of madness and death.

Amazon      Apple Books

GLACIER (ELEMENTAL MATES BOOK 1) by Miranda Bridges and Kyra Snow

He is ice cold. Both his personality and his skin. When his icy gaze lands on me it freezes me temporarily, but the first time he touches me…Sparks fly. Not the romantic kind. The tattoos on his pale skin illuminate and they are brighter than the Northern Lights. And then something in his eyes changes, making him less callous, less cold. And making me hot. He says he needs me for something important, something monumental, but I’m not easily swayed. Even if he’s gorgeous and I do need his help. I guess we’ll see if I can melt his heart before he chills me to the point of no return.

Amazon

BETRAYING BLOOD (STANDALONE TALES BOOK 5) by Viola Grace

Born against the odds, Elurra is hunted by her aunt and saved by seven miners who whisk her to safety until her prince can claim her. Elurra’s mother was infected by a vampire. Magic held the effects at bay, but when her daughter was born, her mother left the world. Raised by her doting father, Elurra was content with the arranged marriage to a young sandman. His species was known for their skilled and devastating armies, and hers was known for magic and agrarian skills. It was a match that had to wait until the timing was right.
Elurra’s father is poisoned, and her stepmother immediately begins a systematic regimen of starving Elurra of the blood that her vampire nature requires. Days stretch into years, until one day, seven dark strangers announced that the sandmen are on the move, and they are coming for Elurra.
Her aunt moves to kill her, the miners set out to save her, and her prince comes to her in her dreams. Elurra is tired of being tossed around, and she gets ready to make her own place in the worlds.
Survival is no longer enough. She wants to win.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE A.I. WHO LOVED ME by Alyssa Cole

VS Note: I reported this when it came out as an audiobook only but since it’s a release of note, letting you know the ebook is now available too.

The critically acclaimed Audible Original narrated by Regina Hall and with a cameo from Mindy Kaling is now available in ebook and print formats! Trinity Jordan leads a quiet, normal life: working from home for the Hive, a multifunctional government research center, and recovering from the incident that sent her into a tailspin. But the life she’s trying to rebuild is plagued by mishaps when Li Wei, her neighbor’s super sexy and super strange nephew, moves in and turns things upside down.
Li Wei’s behavior is downright odd—and the attraction building between them is even more so. When an emergency pulls his aunt away from the apartment complex, Trinity decides to keep an eye on him…and slowly discovers that nothing is what it seems. For one thing, Li Wei isn’t just the hot guy next door—he’s the hot A.I. next door. In fact, he’s so advanced that he blurs the line between man and machine. It’s up to Trinity to help him achieve his objective of learning to be human, but danger is mounting as they figure out whether he’s capable of the most illogical human behavior of all…falling in love.

Amazon      Apple Books

QUEEN OF DIAMONDS (LILITH’S SHADOW BOOK 4) by Benjamin Medrano

As she settles into life in Paragon City as a new heroine, Lilith is slowly adapting to how her life has changed. One of those changes is an invitation to speak at a renowned superhero convention in Las Vegas. Hopeful that this will be a chance to turn her reputation around, Lilith chooses to attend with Gina and Rachel. Unfortunately for Lilith, Destruction Corps hasn’t forgotten its humiliation, and she’s walking into a trap. One that could end the lives of thousands if she and the heroes don’t act quickly enough.

Amazon

UNEXPECTED CAPTAIN (UNEXPECTED SERIES BOOK 6) by Layla Stone

Rannn lives by a strict honor code. He’s the captain of the Garna star carrier and he’s responsible for every person on his ship. He has a responsibility to catch a mass murder. He doesn’t have time to give into his desires for a woman with a questionable past. There’s never been a more arrogant and stubborn Yunkin. Captain Rannn is the worst. Nue hates him. As soon as she helps the crew find the mass murderer she’s gone. For good.

Amazon

ENEMY STORM (CHRONICLES OF THE EMPIRE BOOK 3) by Marcella Burnard

t’s never a good day when a radioactive hunk of starship nearly drops on your head. The Claugh Empire attacked Edie’s planet fifteen years ago, murdered her parents, and left the teen for dead. So when a wrecked Claugh starship interrupts a salvage mission, she’s torn between revenge and rescuing survivors—especially the stirring captain with an uncanny ability to rekindle her dead emotions. Something about him inflames the urge to come to terms with her past. But the mercenary in Edie doubts trusting a former enemy will bring her redemption or put old prejudices to bed. When a new common enemy, hell-bent on wiping out humanoids, threatens to bury them all, the captain tries to convince her a mutual coalition might breach their political impasse—all for the greater good.

Amazon      Apple Books

UNDER GLASS by Rebecca Cohen

VS Note: A re-release…

Novice planet builder Kai Faewiva has chosen to dedicate his life to the planetarium, but despite the prestige, the honor cannot fill the hole where his Sun should be. For members of Kai’s species who are born with an organ called a caerellon, their true love, their Sun or Moon, is identified at birth. But Kai’s Sun is long dead, killed in an accident when he was a young boy. Or so everyone thought.
After recovering from another bout of the mystery illness he has battled on and off for years, Kai returns to work. But his life is thrown into chaos when scans of Goka Prime, one of the planets in the Sol-Alpha2 system, picks up a life-form that shouldn’t be there. Kai’s Sun, Olliehan Gyin, is somehow alive and well, but how he got to be on Goka Prime, no one knows. And now Kai must bring home his Sun.
Ollie had never truly felt he belonged in the city of Harrea, but he’d have never guessed the reason would be because he came from another planet. When a stranger called Kai arrives, he can’t tear his gaze away, inexplicably drawn to the young man. When the truth is revealed, Ollie has to wrestle with his loyalties and the alien concept that he was destined from birth to be with Kai. To leave Goka Prime, Ollie must give up everything and everyone he knows. But twenty years apart means Kai and Ollie face a fight to secure what should have always been their future.

Amazon

AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Kelly McWilliams

Agnes loves her home of Red Creek — its quiet, sunny mornings, its dusty roads, and its God. There, she cares tirelessly for her younger siblings and follows the town’s strict laws. What she doesn’t know is that Red Creek is a cult, controlled by a madman who calls himself a prophet.
Then Agnes meets Danny, an Outsider boy, and begins to question what is and isn’t a sin. Her younger brother, Ezekiel, will die without the insulin she barters for once a month, even though medicine is considered outlawed. Is she a sinner for saving him? Is her sister, Beth, a sinner for dreaming of the world beyond Red Creek?
As the Prophet grows more dangerous, Agnes realizes she must escape with Ezekiel and leave everyone else, including Beth, behind. But it isn’t safe Outside, either: A viral pandemic is burning through the population at a terrifying rate. As Agnes ventures forth, a mysterious connection grows between her and the Virus. But in a world where faith, miracles, and cruelty have long been indistinguishable, will Agnes be able to choose between saving her family and saving the world?
FAKE CHOCOLATE (THE CHOCOVERSE BOOK 3) by Amber Royer
VS Note: From April but seems like a fun series and I just heard about it. 
Bo’s Coming Home! In a galaxy where chocolate is tied to dark secrets and past wrongs, one celebrity chef has to put things right, in the delectable conclusion to the Chocoverse Trilogy that started with Free Chocolate…
When disease ravages Earth’s cacao plantations, Bo Benitez returns home to help with the media spin to hide that chocolate is in danger of being lost forever. HGB has come up with a new product – one which doesn’t appease the cocoa-addicted murderous, shark-toothed aliens threatening to invade the planet. Someone has to smooth things out. Just when Bo starts to make headway, someone tries to kidnap her. While trying to avoid more would-be-kidnappers, Bo finds out that HGB is developing a cure for withdrawal from the Invincible Heart. Will she let her need to be physically whole again tie her to HGB and its enigmatic CEO? When she gets a key piece of evidence that would unravel secrets from three different planets, she has tough choices to make about the future of her world and its place in the galaxy.
ARRESTING THE WARLORD (COLLETTI WARLORD SERIES BOOK 12) by Gail Koger
CeeCee Tsosie is a Navajo Nation police officer and shaman with the ability to control the weather. She’ll admit arresting Jake Jones, a Coletti Warlord, for speeding was not one of her better decisions. But hey, the law was the law and the drop-dead gorgeous warlord pushed every one of her buttons. She might have been a tad over-zealous with her rainstorm and stun gun, but the Jackass had it coming.
An alien serial killer is stalking the Navajo Nation. The Coletti Empire is hunting a galactic fugitive. Turns out they need each other’s help to stop the shapeshifting predator. Can she work with the Jackass? Can Jake convince CeeCee she’s the one? Only time, and the spirits will tell.
PROTECTED BY THE ALIEN SPACE PIRATE (RASIDIAN SPACE WARRIORS BOOK 1) by Charmaine Ross
Being a space pirate doesn’t make a being rich, which was why Rhilax was dealing with the biggest crime lord in the ten quadrants against his better judgment. He doesn’t know much about the job on offer, but he knows it’ll pay for food and supplies for himself and his brothers. Maybe enough to find a nice, quiet planet somewhere, forget about a life of smuggling and finally settle down.
He’s certainly not prepared when a female slave, none the likes he’d seen before, is led naked, chained and helpless to be his fated mate. He definitely wasn’t prepared when he obliterates his dream, along with the crime lord’s head, kidnaps the female and makes a target of himself and his brothers – The crime lord has a brother and the brother wants them all dead. When their ship is destroyed, Rhilax and his brothers are blown into the far reaches of the known universe. To make matters worse, the escape pod is wrecked and his fated mate has escaped. Rhilax must find her before the crime lord’s thugs, or the unknown creatures on this planet, and complete the bond before his mind is lost to the mating urge.
She can’t remember her name. Or her life before the cages. Maybe it’s better not knowing. Being trapped in a cage and grieving a beautiful life would be the worst kind of torture. She’s good at zoning out, but it gets harder and harder to disregard the massive blue-skinned alien who tells her he is her fated mate, whatever that is. All she knows is if she doesn’t get away from him, she might never be free again.
CLAN AND COMMIT (CLAN BEGINNINGS BOOK 7) by Tracy St John
Preparing for war. Fending off a vengeful stalker. It’s the perfect time for romance on Kalquor. In one day, Dramok Bacoj realizes his cherished dream only to have it snatched away. Then he meets the perfect man, Imdiko Vax. Unfortunately, Vax is a firm believer in career before love, so he’s unavailable for courtship. Or is he? Fending off a vengeful stalker, he turns to Bacoj for help, and discovers a romance he can’t easily set aside. Nobek Japohn is all the protector a clan could hope for. However, the young warrior’s personality isn’t geared toward working well with others. Yet when he sees the handsome pair of Bacoj and Vax in the sort of trouble only he can save them from, long-shattered hopes rise anew. Maybe he can be part of a clan, if they’ll only give him a chance……and if a lunatic bent on murder doesn’t kill them first.
THE PALE RIDER (END OF DAYS BOOK 1) by JB Trepagnier

I wake up surrounded by death and my memories are gone. A man in a beige hazmat suit reaches his hand through the carnage. “Come with me if you want to live.” I know I’m supposed to know that from somewhere, but I don’t. I know the world outside me is not right. People either die or they are Rage Heads. Somehow, a virus got out that has turned people into red eyed freaks who eat flesh. They are fast, their flesh is rotting off their bodies and they have one goal—kill. I don’t know my mystery man in the hazmat suit, but he says I can trust him. He was at that lab looking for something. He claims not to have found it. He only found me. I see the way he looks at me when I ask what he was doing in that lab. I might feel safe with him, but he’s lying to me. He knows everything about me, including the nickname people used to call me, but he tells me I ask too many questions. Maybe I’d be safer on my own.

Amazon

FLYING IN SPACESHIPS WITH ALIENS (KILBUS LORD BOOK 2) by Erin Raegan
I once had what I thought were small dreams. Dreams that I was never sure if I would have the chance to pursue. Even so, I had been content. Happy. Or so I thought. All that changed when Killian entered my life. But just as quickly as he lifted me up, he shoved me down so far I didn’t think I would ever have the strength to find myself again.
Now those dreams that I had thought so small and possible had been ripped from me. Everything had been ripped from me. Gone was the possibility and contentment. Nothing but pain and destruction lay in its wake. But fate wasn’t done playing with me just yet. It had one more cruel trick up its sleeve. He was looking for me now. Scouring the earth for me. Love and pain dueled together, dragging us kicking and screaming back to one another. I may be hidden now, but once he found me, I knew I wasn’t ever getting away from him again. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to even try. Because my small dreams were growing into something big. Bigger than anything I could have ever imagined. And every single one of them was fueled and held close by the very alien that had crushed them before.
KURG (BRIDE TO BEASTS BOOK 6) by Athena Storm
A glistening, golden, alien body. The hard muscles of an alien warrior. Two horns from his head. And the best part? That’s not all he has two of…I know you know what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about having two arms….
(more blurb on ebook seller page…)
SHATTERED (THE DANANS BOOK 6) by Nhys Glover
Marissa was a happy college student back on Earth before her abduction. Now she’s a broken, terrified woman who wants nothing more than to forget everything that has happened to her in space. To do that she must agree to a healing session with one of the dreaded Danans, the species who abused her.
Kius is a Spirit-Walker who specializes in trauma healing. When he agrees to help the traumatized victims of the renegade Danans he expects the experience to be as agonizing for him as it is for them. After all, Danan warriors were now struggling to come to terms with shattered beliefs about their own kind. They weren’t always the good guys. They could hurt women, and worse still, podmates, if left untrained.
When Kius meets Marissa he is stunned to feel the podmate bond activate. It should be impossible because his brothers died during a raid by the Vargeez twenty years before. Yet the connection is impossible to deny, and it sets off a galaxy-wide search for missing Danan warriors stolen in childhood.
As secrets are revealed and plots uncovered, Kius and Marissa work to reunite their pod. But a great Darkness looms over them all, hiding the truth and leaving devastation in its wake. One brave Danan will give his life to save them all, but will it be enough?
A TOUCH OF ICE (THE TOWERS OF EARTH BOOK FOUR) by Nita Round

To have a future, they must face their past. Magda, Ascara and Lucinda must draw upon the strength of their trinity to seek out the truths of the past that hold the key to their future.  They travel north, to Magda’s place of birth amongst the Oceanics. For Magda, this is an unwelcoming place, a reminder that she was banished and dealt a cruel fate. Named Stoner and landlocked, for an Oceanic this is a dishonour and a fate worse than death. To return to the float again would place her life, and those with her, at risk. In the freezing waters of the far north, Magda finds herself defending her honour and birth right.  She must succeed as their fate depends upon it. Failure is not an option, the costs are too high.

Amazon

DRAGON UNLEASHED (THE FALLEN EMPIRE BOOK 2) by Grace Draven

VS Note: I love this series, well all of Grace’s books! So I have this pre-ordered.

Magic is outlawed in the Krael Empire and punishable by death. Born with the gift of earth magic, the free trader Halani keeps her dangerous secret closely guarded. When her uncle buys a mysterious artifact, a piece of bone belonging to a long-dead draga, Halani knows it’s far more than what it seems.
Dragas haven’t been seen for more than a century, and most believe them extinct. They’re wrong. Dragas still walk among the denizens of the Empire, disguised as humans. Malachus is a draga living on borrowed time. The magic that has protected him will soon turn on him–unless he finds a key part of his heritage. He has tracked it to a group of free traders, among them a grave-robbing earth witch who fascinates him as much as she frustrates him with her many secrets.
Unbeknownst to both, the Empire’s twisted empress searches for a draga of her own, to capture and kill as a trophy. As Malachus the hunter becomes the hunted, Halani must risk herself and all she loves to save him from the Empire’s machinations and his own lethal birthright.

Amazon      Apple Books

RAGE AND RUIN (THE HARBINGER SERIES BOOK 2) by Jennifer L Armentrout

Half-angel Trinity and her bonded gargoyle protector, Zayne, have been working with demons to stop the apocalypse while avoiding falling in love. The Harbinger is coming…but who or what is it? All of humankind may fall if Trinity and Zayne can’t win the race against time as dark forces gather.
As tensions rise, they must stay close together and patrol the DC streets at night, seeking signs of the Harbinger, an entity that is killing Wardens and demons with no seeming rhyme or reason. Forbidden to be with each other, Zayne and Trinity fight their feelings and turn to unusual sources for help—the demon Roth and his cohorts. But as deaths pile up and they uncover a sinister plot involving the local high school and endangering someone dear to Zayne, Trin realizes she is being led…herded…played for some unknown end. As anger builds and feelings spiral out of control, it becomes clear that rage may be the ruin of them all.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT: A CHARLEY DAVIDSON NOVELLA by Darynda Jones

Guarding a precocious five-year-old who is half-human, half-god, and 100% destined to save the world is no easy feat. Garrett Swopes was the ultimate skeptic until he met a certain hellion and her husband. They vanished after stopping a catastrophic event and left him, a mere mortal, in charge of protecting their gift to mankind. But when she disappears as well, he needs the help of another breed of hellion. One who can see past the veil of space and time. One who betrayed him. She will get a truce in the deal, but she will never earn his forgiveness.
Marika Dubois’s son—a warrior in the coming war between heaven and hell—was foreseen long before his birth. But to create a child strong enough to endure the trials that lay ahead, she needed a descendant of powerful magics. She found that in Garrett Swopes and tricked him into fathering her son. A ploy he has never forgiven her for. But when he knocks on her door asking for her help, she sees the fierce attraction he tries to deny rise within him. And Marika has to decide if she dares risk her heart a second time to help the only man she’s ever loved.

Amazon

A GUARDIAN REDEEMED (GUARDIANS OF LIGHT BOOK 7) by Renee Wildes

He was bred for war. Her magic is only for peace. Together they must fight for love. Weapons stolen, comrades dead, ship burned and sunk, Valkyn is rotting in Lord Zurvan’s grim dungeon, wondering if he will ever again see his sons. Rescue comes from an unexpected source—the human witch Zurvan sent to patch him up between beatings.
Mari can’t bring herself to let Valkyn die, never mind that the fearsome northern riever is the scourge of her homeland. Yet in him she finds an ally who could help restore the rightful boy king to the throne. And a man who reminds her body there’s life after widowhood. Their first kiss unleashes pent-up passion she thought was long buried, clouding all the reasons they shouldn’t get involved. But the blood on Valkyn’s hands is anathema to Mari’s magic. If she dares open herself to him fully, he could destroy her. Valkyn knows his heart has already surrendered to hers. When this quest is over, the real quest will be convincing her that polar opposites not only attract, they belong together— forever.

Amazon      Apple Books

BREWING TROUBLE: A PARANORMAL WOMEN’S FICTION NOVEL (CROW’S FEET COVEN BOOK 2) by Christine Gael

After barely escaping the business end of the hangman’s noose, Cricket Hawthorne wants nothing more than to forget it all…Maude the magical typewriter, Zoe’s stolen cauldron, Patrick the betrayer, and definitely the witch-hating, robe-wearing cult who tried to end her. Unfortunately, pressing the reboot button isn’t an option. Bringing The Crow’s Feet Coven back to their former glory is her destiny, whether she likes it or not. Too bad the powers that be will do whatever it takes to stop them. It’s fight or flight, and she’s never been a quitter. Now, it’s up to her and her ragtag team to bring down the organization hell-bent on ridding the world of witches. But at what price?

Amazon

THE TALES OF TWO SEERS (BEING(S) IN LOVE) by R Cooper

Very little is known about seers—those individuals, both human and being, with the power to know both what could have been and what is yet to come. Seers prefer it that way. Some of them run from their visions. Others call themselves artists or authors instead of oracles. But even in the most seemingly innocent of their creations, the truth will out, and lessons will be learned.

Two storytellers of different eras and vastly different temperaments weave fantastic tales of magic and romance for their enthralled audiences: A young prince avoids his betrothed and the curse that binds them. A witch uses his magic to help the man he loves court someone else. A warrior betrayed by his lord finds himself in the company of a mysterious stranger. A half-fae is doomed to be sent to the Faery Court unless he can find someone to love him. A lonely outcast finds himself drawn to a forbidden forest. A bookseller at a masked ball wonders if he should pursue a handsome prince. A dragon attempts to woo a beast. A shy servant is given one night to reach for what he wants. Fairy tales that reveal more about the tellers, and their audiences, than they might want.

Being(s) in Love: Magical creatures known as beings emerged from hiding amid the destruction of the First World War. Since then they’ve lived on the margins of the human world as misunderstood objects of fear and desire. Some are beautiful, others fearsome and powerful. Yet for all their magic and strength, they are as vulnerable as anyone when it comes to matters of the heart.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE OBSDIDIAN TOWER (ROCKS AND RUIN BOOK 1) by Melissa Caruso

“Guard the tower, ward the stone. Find your answers writ in bone. Keep your trust through wits or war–nothing must unseal the door.” Deep within Gloamingard Castle lies a black tower. Sealed by magic, it guards a dangerous secret that has been contained for thousands of years. As Warden, Ryxander knows the warning passed down through generations: nothing must unreal the Door. But one impetuous decision will leave her with blood on her hands–and unleash a threat that could doom the world to fall to darkness.

Amazon      Apple Books

QUEEN OF THE ISLAND (FINS AND SCALES BOOK 1) by Bokerah Brumley

Gaire is a mermaid with a serious problem… her fated mate, Calder Brumen, doesn’t know she’s real. But when Gaire learns an evil sea nypmh is determined to kill Calder, she vows to protect him. To save Calder, Gaire defies the Queen Mother, breaks Mer law, and brings an unconsious Calder back to the underwater Mer city… only to sink herself in an ocean of trouble. After the Keeper of the Scrolls is murdered—the first murder in a thousand years, Gaire is drawn into an intricate web of lies and deceptions, centuries old.  Gaire must restore the rightful royal succession…  It’s the only way to safeguard Calder Brumen and preserve the love growing between them.  Local painter Calder Brumen has three goals in life. Be the best artist in San Francisco…Make good on his promise to his best friend…Marry the mermaid with the glittery leg tattoos…When the vanishing woman leaves sandy footprints behind, Calder decides she’s more than a figment of his imagination, and his infatuation becomes an obsession. But a mysterious temptress worms her way into his best friend’s world, and Calder has to figure out how to save his childhood pal from the evil clutches of a witch… without losing his chance at landing his happily ever after.

Amazon

KILLING TIME (A DODIE O’DELL MYSTERY BOOK 6) by Suzanne Trauth

With Halloween just around the corner, Dodie O’Dell is making preparations to transform the Windjammer Restaurant on the Jersey Shore into a haunted house, while the Etonville Little Theatre is staging Dracula. But casting the titular Transylvanian is proving challenging. The amateur actors in the company are not shy about chewing the scenery, but who among them can convincingly sink their fangs into a victim’s neck? When a mysterious newcomer with a transfixing Eastern European accent lands the part, rumors that he might be an actual vampire start to take flight—not unlike the bat who’s recently been spotted in the town park.
But everyone’s blood really runs cold when a stranger is found in the cemetery with a real stake in his heart. Dodie decides to put her Halloween theme menu on the back burner and stick her neck out to bring the killer into the light of day. She’d better keep her wits about her, though—or Dodie may be the next one to go down for the Count.

Amazon      Apple Books

INTO THE MYSTIC by Various

Six tales of fantasy and romance to enchant, move and delight:

What do you do after the Final Battle cost you everything?

  • K.D. West’s Changelings follows three lost souls who have won a war and been stripped of everything else — except each other.
  • Whispers traded for bruises, a hope born from sacrifice, and faith in an unknown love. Shannon Meyers’s Better than Fine tells the journey of soulmates connected by a witch’s thread.
  • Real by TheWordsInMyHead asks what’s the difference between truth and imagination? The established authorities deem Elizabeth crazy, but the Watcher assigned to her hospital knows she is the only one among them that can see the truth.
  • LegendDairy’s Sasha Shutland is the story of a woman with a past, like most women have. Hers just happens to involve adventure, magic and mischief.
  • In Arden Wiles’s A Tree of Life, a young girl encounters a Wiccan, and together they learn more about their own pasts, presents, and futures.
  • In deadwoodpecker’s The Witch of the Margins, a charming young mermaid visits a witch in order to lift a curse. But all magic comes with a price, and neither witch nor mermaid expects it to be quite so high.

Amazon      Apple Books

A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN by Roseanne A Brown

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.

But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition. When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a heart-pounding course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?

Amazon      Apple Books

SLAY ME (DRAGONS LOVE CURVES BOOK 9) by Aidy Award

He lost his love a long time ago, but now she’s back, and wants to find him a new mate~Match is the most powerful Warrior of his day, and he’s one cranky son of a…dragon. His true love has been in Hell and doesn’t remember him.
Now she’s back and wants to find him a new mate so they can save the world? He’ll have to find a way to get her to fall in love with him once again which would be a whole lot easier if the dark forces of evil weren’t trying to steal both of their souls.

Amazon

THE DARK TIDE by Alicia Jasinkska

Every year on St. Walpurga’s Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking. Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen’s attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice. Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city. When Lina offers herself to the queen in exchange for Thomas’s freedom, the two girls await the full moon together. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, they find themselves falling for each other. As water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice, they must choose who to save: themselves, each other, or the island city relying on them both.

Amazon      Apple Books

SURRENDERED IN SALEM (CASTERS AND CLAWS BOOK 4) by Milly Taiden

Selene Bishop runs the Healsome Magic Center with her sister. She loves her job, but she did wish that her life had time for something more. She doesn’t know what she’s looking for, but she would settle from a bit of free time. When she is taken to a secluded house on a wolf’s pack lands for her own safety, Selene realizes that she might have gotten exactly what she was hoping for.
Jett is a grumpy wolf who doesn’t expect much out of life. After a lifetime of regrets, he’s just fine being on his own. None of his plans include finding his mate. In fact, he is adamant that he doesn’t want a mate. He just knows that domestic life isn’t for him. He wants to work in the bar and go through the motions. But when he is sent to save a witch, he comes face to face with what he never wanted.
Selene might be a witch, but she understands the pull of the mate sense. She also has a lot of compassion for what Jett has been through. While he is protecting her from the Order of Salem, Selene is doing some saving of her own. Will she be able to mend her mate’s broken heart or will they lose out on the love of a lifetime?

Amazon

A SONG BELOW WATER: A NOVEL by Bethany C Morrow

n a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers. Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school’s junior year. But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment. Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it’s only Tavia and Effie’s unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.

Amazon      Apple Books

GHOSTS AND LIARS (THE IMPOSSIBLE JULIAN STRANDE BOOK 2) by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

All Alice wanted was a job. As the caretaker of the Strande Mansion, she got far more than she bargained for. Between trying to crack the code of the sinister Julian Strande and her new love affair with Charles, the current owner of the museum, she has a lot to balance. Alice didn’t believe in ghosts. That was until she met Julian Strande. Unfortunately, it seems the legends of the ghost of the estate are all very real, and he seems to have become obsessed with her. Charles has promised her that Julian is harmless and just playing pranks. That he enjoys the company after all those years alone. It’s too bad that Charles may not be all he seems.

Amazon

LIVE LIKE LEGENDS by Kate Cornell

Princess Kalista has known her role from birth. She’s spent her entire life preparing to be the socialite wife of a prince from a peaceful kingdom. But on her big day, she is shocked when she is instead forced to marry the warrior prince of a cursed land, who is as cold as the wintry kingdom he’ll one day rule. Carson has a throne no princess wants to share with him. An immortal beast ravages their land, and he’ll do anything to stop it, even marry a complete stranger on the day she was supposed to wed her betrothed. Let her hate him for it, but Kalista is his only hope for peace. Kalista knows she’s just a pawn on the chessboard of politics, but now she’s expected to kill an unstoppable creature because of some legend about her bloodline that Carson believes as truth. He trains her how to fight, and when lessons in swordplay lead to lessons in love, her destiny puts more than just her life at risk. How far is she willing to go to save the prince she never wanted…but can’t imagine living without?

Amazon      Apple Books

THE LONGING OF LONE WOLVES (FAE GUARDIANS BOOK 1) by Lana Percherczyk

Rush is a Fae Guardian, a wolf-shifter whose enhanced abilities have made him a ruthless protector of Elphyne. His job is to protect the realm from the human enemy, and to ensure the sins of the past never come to pass again lest magic die forever. But one night of weakness resulted in a curse worse than death – exile. Now he spends his lonely time longing to be part of the living, once again protecting them from monsters… until one mysteriously washes up on the shores of his lake. Clarke is human. She’s beautiful, feisty, and fierce. She’s also the only person who can see him, speak to him, and touch him. If he hands her over to the Order, she’s his ticket to having his curse removed. Unable to resist the opportunity, he tricks her into a bargain of obedience, never once suspecting his world is about to be turned upside down. The more he learns about this human enemy, the more he realizes she’s not the monster he’s been trained to believe. In fact, she’s capable of inciting passion he’d never dreamed possible again. But Clarke has a message from the past… sins are already repeating. This time, if they don’t stop the coming evil, it won’t just be magic that dies. It will be everything.

Amazon

WHERE THERE BE HUMANS by Rebecca L Purdy

Sixteen-year-old Ivy Archer is arguably the best warrior-in-training Gob Hollow has ever seen. Yet everyone—except her best friend she suddenly has other feelings for—looks down on her because she’s only half goblin, with no idea what the other half is. She’s always suspected it might be human. But humans, she’s been told, aren’t real. They’re only creatures of myth. When the prince of their kingdom is taken for ransom, it’s Ivy’s big chance to prove her worth. And when she learns his captors are human, the rescue mission becomes personal. The stories were clearly wrong, and now she has a chance to find the truth about her lineage, as well. If she survives… With a small band of warriors at her command, including her best friend turned crush that’s getting harder to hide, Ivy sets out to find the prince and her human family. But the answers lie within secrets and conspiracies that run far deeper than she ever imagined.

Amazon      Apple Books

COWBOY BEAR BOSS (BILLIONAIRE BEAR RANCHER BROTHERS BOOK 3) by Maia Starr

WANTED: A head cowgirl who can help an alpha bear run his billion-dollar Ursa ranch. Must be feisty, able, and gorgeous.  Gorgeous because I’m also looking for a mate. But she doesn’t need to know that… yet. Arianne checks off all the boxes. The obsession burns within me like fire. She’s perfect for me and I’m dying to claim her. But Arianne plays by the rules. I’m only her boss. For me, she’s more than just an employee. She’s the woman I refuse to let go of.
Even if she’s keeping a huge secret from me. Yes, Arianne may be perfect on paper, but she’s got baggage.
A dark past. A cruel ex-husband that she told me nothing about. Why? Because I hate him as much as she does.
Him and I have been enemies for a long time. And it’s time to make things even. It’s time for war that’ll make Arianne mine once and for all.

Amazon

SURVIVING HALLOW HILL (DR. HYDE’S PRISON FOR THE RARE BOOK 2) by A K Koonce

I thought the Academy was a prison. I was wrong. The Hallow is a prison without walls. Being kept here against my will, I’m forced to fight the men I love in these cruel games. With dark and unforgiving magic, we have to prove ourselves worthy to the mysterious Dr. Hyde. And I have to survive. After all, I’ve always trusted my Lady of Death to keep my life. I’ve offered up thousands of bloody souls to her. And these deadly fucking games are no different.

Amazon

HARLEY MERLIN 19: PERSIE MERLIN AND THE DOOR TO NOWHERE by Bella Forrest

Persie has done it – she’s officially a student at the prestigious Basani Institute. With her best friend Genie by her side, she’s ready to learn the skill of monster hunting… no matter the cost. Otherwise, she may never be able to control Leviathan’s “gift.” But when Persie Purges something rare and extraordinary, her future at the Institute becomes unclear. And when students start disappearing soon afterward, much more than just a degree is suddenly at risk.

Amazon

SAIRA AND THE KING OF DREAMS by Natalie Grey

The Imperator is defeated, but not gone. Saira knows one thing above all: while the Imperator still lives, the world is at risk. But when she seeks to follow him and finish the fight……in a moment, everything changes. Those who should be dead, yet live. Those who were thought to be myth, are reality. And Saira is about to find the one thing she never anticipated: her family.

Amazon

CONNED: A BUREAU STORY (THE BUREAU BOOK 6) by Kim Fielding

VS Note: I enjoy her books and I like the Bureau series…one clicked.

World War I veteran Thomas Donne is new to San Francisco. Always a stoic man, shell shock and a lost love have nearly turned his heart to stone. No matter—a private eye has no room for softness. Almost broke, he takes on what appears to be a simple case: finding a missing young man.
As a magician and medium, Abraham Ferencz cons his audiences into believing he can cheat death and commune with their dearly departed. Although his séances are staged, the spirits are very real, and they’ve brought him almost more pain than he can bear. When Donne’s case becomes complicated and the bodies start to pile up, he and Ferencz must fight their way through a web of trickery and lies. The truth is obscured by the San Francisco fog, and in their uncanny world, anyone can catch a bullet.

Amazon      Apple Books

FEVER FAE (DARK FAE KINGS BOOK 1 ) by Meg Xuemei X

Yes, to the hottest, baddest Fae Kings. No, to being their bitch. When my parents mysteriously disappear, leaving me to raise my six crazy, younger siblings, my dreams for college are dashed. It gets worse when someone sends a slew of monster assassins after me. Their untimely arrival is followed by three devastatingly hot Fae who stalk me. Baron, the pompous and dominating Summer King, thinks I’m a dark Fae and wants my head. Then he changes his mind and declares me his fated mate. Hells-a-no. Especially now that he wants me to prove my worth. Really? Then there’s Rowan, the possessive and cruel Winter King, who offers to protect me from the assassins, but only if I accept his obnoxious courtship requests. And finally, there’s Night King Rydstrom, a dangerous and mysterious Fae with an ass that doesn’t quit, who thinks he has every right to play me like a fiddle. Too bad for them, I’m not the docile type they’re used to commanding. I might want them, but I have no intention of joining the trail of broken hearts and bodies in their wake. For I hold a deep, dark secret. Their arrival has woken in me the very forbidden magic they’ve been hunting, and I, Evelina, am going to have a wicked good time teaching these Fae kings a lesson.

Amazon

THE GLAMOURIST (THE VINE WITCH BOOK 2) by Luanne G Smith

Abandoned as a child in turn-of-the-century Paris, Yvette Lenoir has longed to uncover the secrets of her magical heritage and tap her suppressed powers. But what brave and resourceful Yvette has done to survive the streets has made her a fugitive. With a price on her head, she clings to a memento from her past—what she believes to be a grimoire inherited from the mother she never knew. To unlock the secrets of her past, Yvette trusts in one woman to help solve the arcane riddles among its charmed pages.  Elena Boureanu is the vine witch of Château Renard, noted for its renowned wines. Even as she struggles with her own bloodline—and its poisonous threat to her future—Elena can’t ignore a friend on the run. Joined by a cunning thief, the proprietor of an enchanted-curio shop, and a bewitching black cat, Elena and Yvette are determined to decode Yvette’s mysterious keepsake. But what restless magic will be unleashed? And what are Yvette and Elena willing to risk to become the witches they were destined to be?

Amazon

RESCUING MARKAS: THE SANCTUARY BOOK 1 by Megan Slayer

VS Note: It looks like she’s re-edited the entire 15 book series and is reissuing them all on June 11th, so here’s the blurb and link for Book 1.

The love of his life will bring out his roar. John Dallas has lots of money, but no real direction in his life. He cares for lions at a local petting zoo where people can pay to pet the cubs. He’s heard stories and read about shifters—creatures who can shift from an animal form into a human form. Seeing the lions makes him wonder if those lions can shift. When he witnesses an act of cruelty to the lions, he finds his purpose in life—to save the lions. Markas knows he can shift, but hasn’t yet. He’s fascinated by John and wants to shift in order to get to know the human better. But lions don’t last at the petting zoo past their third birthday. Once he’s at the age of being moved, he’ll lose his chance with John. Will John accept him in his human form? He’s determined to shift and snag the man of his dreams. What will happen when the shifter and the human are thrown together by fate? White hot sparks.

Amazon      Apple Books

PAWSITIVELY SWINDLED (A WITCH OF EDGEHILL MYSTERY BOOK 4) by  Melissa Erin Jackson

Appearances can be deceiving. Amber Blackwood, Edgehill’s secret resident witch, recently found her parents’ grimoires and the powerful time spells within. The malevolent Penhallow clan has been ruthlessly seeking the grimoires so they can travel back in time to undo their clan’s cursed magic. Because the Penhallows will stop at nothing, Amber must find an impregnable hiding place for the grimoires, though she has no clue where to start looking. When her cousin Edgar suggests the game of Magic Cache, a magic-infused version of geocaching played by witches all over the world, Amber agrees to learn how to play. After all, a weird plan is better than no plan.

When the magical search leads her to the neighboring town of Marbleglen—“the safest town in Oregon”—Amber assumes her only problem will be dealing with its snooty residents. Instead, she gets caught up in a murder investigation where one man is dead and a second one framed for the crime. To complicate matters, the framed man’s condescending daughter, Bianca, wants Amber’s help—and Bianca just happens to chair Marbleglen’s Floral Frenzy Flower Festival Committee, the rival to Edgehill’s own Here and Meow Festival Committee. The two women are thrown into an uneasy alliance. Joined by her new frenemy, her growing inner circle, and Edgehill’s Chief Brown, Amber works to unravel the mystery to ensure the right culprit ends up behind bars and Marbleglen’s safety is restored. But Amber knows that even if Marbleglen’s mystery is resolved, a bigger danger lurks in the shadows. If the Penhallows claim the grimoires of Amber’s late parents, they’ll use the books’ time-reversal spells to try to stop the curse from ever having poisoned their clan—and, in the process, possibly rewriting history.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE WOLF AND THE ROSE: HOWLS ROMANCE by Marianne Morea

The Iron Wolf – Stefan Petrovia is used to winning. Especially when he sets his sites on something he wants. Or someone. When a rival is defeated, Stefan is ready to claim his prize. Only her grandfather has a different plan in mind. A spell to whisk his heir, and the light of his life, to a place the wolf has no claim. The Prize –Ordinary. It’s a word Delia DeRosa knows well. Until something unexplainable happens. Now she’s questioning everything she thought she knew about herself. A chance meeting brings her face-to-face with a story only found in fairytales—not to mention a fantasy hottie on horseback ready to sweep her off her feet. Literally. What’s a twenty-first century girl to do when she finds out she’s not who she thought, and the life she knew is actually the story, and the fairytale is what’s real?

Amazon

MAGIC AND MONSTERS (STARRY HOLLOW WITCHES BOOK 12) by Annabel Chase

Starry Hollow is abuzz when the famously reclusive Creature Hunter, Winston York, emerges from retirement after a rare sighting of an endangered magical creature and Ember Rose is assigned to cover the story. Florian and Aster are thrilled with this development because a new documentary by York would mean an influx of tourists to the magical seaside town. Excitement quickly turns to horror, however, when York dies during filming. What seems like an unfortunate accident starts to look more like murder to intrepid reporter Ember. Can Ember solve the crime before the killer renders her extinct?

Amazon

ELEVATOR PITCH by Ofelia Grand

Bjorn Ritter only wants one thing — to live his life away from nosey, demanding bears. That’s easier said than done when you’re the son of the female running the Bayside Bear Community. Cecil Baxter might be a bat, but he grew up away from shifter communities and he’s doing his best to continue to keep his distance. Shifters aren’t an accepting bunch and Cecil has never fit the norm. Already facing a dreaded meeting with his mother, the last thing Bjorn needs is a stranger using his elevator to escape a pack of werewolves. And Cecil, whose day just seems to be getting worse and worse, could really do without the added stress of finding himself trapped in an elevator with a huge bear shifter. Still, what could go wrong in three minutes?

Amazon      Apple Books

GHOSTS OF SHERWOOD by Carrie Vaughn

VS Note: Sounds really good. Put it on my TBR List…

Everything about Father is stories. Robin of Locksley and his one true love, Marian, are married. It has been close on two decades since they beat the Sheriff of Nottingham with the help of a diverse band of talented friends. King John is now on the throne, and Robin has sworn fealty in order to further protect not just his family, but those of the lords and barons who look up to him – and, by extension, the villagers they protect. There is a truce. An uneasy one, to be sure, but a truce, nonetheless. But when the Locksley children are stolen away by persons unknown, Robin and Marian are going to need the help of everyone they’ve ever known, perhaps even the ghosts that are said to reside deep within Sherwood. And the Locksley children, despite appearances to the contrary, are not without tricks of their own.

Amazon      Apple Books

THE WITCH WHO SETTLED THE ACCOUNT (PIXIE POINT BAY BOOK 1) by Emma Belmont

An amateur sleuth who’s also a witch, a lighthouse that’s alive, and a cat who hears the spirits. Murder has met its match. As the new owner of the Pixie Point Bay Lighthouse and B&B, Maris Seaver is finally ready to organize her finances. But while she’s at the town’s credit union, the manager mysteriously dies. Although suspects abound, the murderer has been clever. No one even knows how the man was killed.

Amazon

THE PRACTICAL MAGE’S GUIDE TO MAGIC AND MAUHEM by Dan Ackerman

Hiram Reinhart abandoned a life of privilege when he could no longer stomach the ugliness of plantation life. Now he resides in Canada, selling small enchantments to keep his rag-tag family fed and housed, if only barely.
Matthew Blackwell, another mage, seeks out Hiram’s assistance in order to find a demon. Hiram seeks out the demon on his own, concerned for the creature’s well-being. The demon, Phaedrus, turns down Hiram’s offer of aid at first. Soon enough, Hiram and Phaedrus regret not helping each other and not much later, it’s all they can do to stay alive. Hiram and Phaedrus grow closer as they try to stay one step ahead of Blackwell and his unsavory plans. Along the way, they help each other cope with a world that doesn’t have much room for a man who doesn’t like women and a demon who doesn’t belong on either side of the gender binary.

Amazon      Apple Books

TO TOUCH A DRAGON (VENYS NEEDS MEN) by Naomi Lucas

The tribes have wilted. The last of the menfolk have grown old. The human race has been dying since the red comet first soared through the skies above.
My name is Issa, and as the youngest huntress and the only one left within childbearing age, I’m doomed to be the last matriarch of my people. Which would be a great honor, if there were a male to be mine from another tribe. But none have been born, none but my younger brother. It’s been my life duty to protect him.
When the time comes to escort my brother to a neighboring tribe, my friend tells me a rumor of a huntress finding a dragon in the northern plains. And when that huntress touched the dragon’s hide, the beast transformed into a virile, possessively bonded male. With a thundering heart and nothing left to lose, I venture into the forbidden jungle to find such a dragon. To touch him, to bear his burden. But the dragon I find is nothing at all like I imagined.

Amazon

SHADOWBORN (THE BORN PROPHECY NOVELS BOOK 3) by Katie McAllister

Liberated from exile, the brutal god Nezu is leveling his vengeful wrath against the blessed lands of Alba, and only three heroes stand a chance of stopping him. Fireborn Allegria, with her ability to harness the power of light; her Starborn lover, Hallow, who leads the society of mages; and Deo, a warrior born of both worlds . . .But the circle of friendship is broken when Allegria is imprisoned in the spirit world of the Thane. Surrounded by long dead warriors bent on revenge, Allegria is losing her grasp on the mortal realm. Now she must fight to hold on to the memories she has left—and the hope that help is coming from a world away. The ultimate battle between good and evil is breaking, and Hallow and Deo need Allegria to win it. But even then, how can they achieve the impossible? For it’s not just one destructive god they must face, but also his creator. Only an arcane prophecy and the untried power of their joined magics can save the Fourth Age.

Amazon      Apple Books

DOWN BUT NOT DEAD (WITCHES BE CRAZY COZY MYSTERY SERIES BOOK TWO) by Constance Barker

The Big Easy Gentleman’s Club has a flock of beauties who dance to the wee hours, but several have ended up dead. Not only that, they were drained of blood. Helga knows that New Orleans is rumored to have these blood suckers of the night, but is it true? She’s a witch, so why not? Or could the culprit be someone who likes to use the blood of young beautiful women to keep herself youthful? And what is up with Helga’s old school chum? In school he was considered a weasel, but now that he’s coming to the club, he’s changed into something more sinister. Has he been turned or is there something more mundane going on? Gwen and Penelope are ready to help or hinder as usual. And of course Helga’s familiar, Andromeda, is his usual chill self. Nothing rattles that cool cat.

Amazon

WILD CHILD: XROADS WHAT SHOULD SHE CHOOSE? by LaVerne Thompson

VS Note: Author states the ending is a cliffhanger.

The road you take cannot be undone. Kasha never quite fit in. So she left home long ago to pursue her career in art. Hell, she ran as fast as she could away from her minister father and his judgmental ways. Yet, she loved her parents, so when the dreams surrounding a church filled with fire and blood kept repeating itself, it was all she could paint. She had to warn them. Only to arrive too late to save them. Now she found herself running once again, only this time away from a nightmare. In her mad flight, she took a turn off the highway. Soon realizing she might have run toward something even worse. This time she couldn’t run, she couldn’t lie to herself anymore. She was more than an artist. She had to learn to fully embrace and unleash her powers within. She had to know who and what she truly was and learn to stand her ground.

Amazon      Apple Books

FATED MATE (FATED MOUNTAIN WOLF PACK BOOK 1) by Jessica Aspen

VS Note: A redo on my part because last week I got the author’s first name wrong! Apologies!

I’ve been abandoned. Left on the side of a mountain road with a Rocky Mountain storm on the way and the only person I can turn to is a stranger—but Aaron has his own secrets…When Gwynn’s dad sells her off to pay his gambling debts the only person she can turn to is a stranger. But how is she to know her knight in shining armor is actually working for the bad guys? Aaron’s been forced to work for a criminal for too long, he’s just counting the days to freedom. When the opportunity rises he’s ready to jump. The only problem is—in order to get what he wants he has to betray a stranger. Too bad she’s his fated mate… Now, Aaron has to save Gwynn, keep the pack lands the boss has promised him, and convince the only woman he’ll ever truly love that fairy tales are real—and so are wolf shifters.

Amazon      Apple Books      Nook      Kobo      Author’s Books2Read link

TANNER: HIDDEN REALMS OF SILVER LAKE (FOUR SISTERS OF FATE BOOK 6) by Vella Day

Snow leopard, Ella Snowden, has a problem. Her parents are requiring her to mate with a man she detests. Love is not even an issue for them. For the sake of her clan, Ella is supposed to mate with the up-and-coming Alpha to the panther clan in order to repopulate the dwindling leopard clan. Her solution? Do what any strong-willed woman would do. She leaves her posh and fairly pampered life and sets off on her own.
Too bad Fate interrupts her escape and sends an avalanche her way. Great! Just what she doesn’t need. Buried beneath ten feet of snow, she considers her options–options that are very limited. Does she have any regrets she ran away? No. She’d rather die than mate with that panther.
Tanner McCarson is up to his eyeballs in work building an eco-tourism park in Plux. When he heads to Thedia Province to check on some supplies, he watches as an avalanche buries a car. Being the protective man that he is, he rushes to the rescue, only to discover the woman inside is his mate. While Ella is thrilled to be rescued by a super-hot dragon shifter, she can’t tell him the real reason she is on the run. Needless to say, when that panther finds her, trouble ensues. What will Ella have to do to convince Tanner her lies were for his own good?

Amazon

DARK WINE AT DEATH (A HILL VAMPIRE NOVEL BOOK 4) by Jenna Barwin

A seductive spy. An alpha vampire. A traitor in their midst…At last, the leader of the rogue vampires is in jail, and Dr. Cerissa Patel is in the arms of the man she loves and safe to dream about a future together——until an assassin strikes again. Tigisi Anderson, the vampire community’s chief of police, suspects a traitor is feeding confidential information to the conspirators and suggests they use Cerissa’s lover—vampire Henry Bautista—as bait to flush out the assassin. Cerissa hates the idea. She will stop at nothing to protect the man she loves, but her duty to put an end to the conspirators’ goal to enslave mortals—and Henry’s bravery—pushes her to take the risk. Not like she could stop him once he’s made up his mind. Henry is determined to do what he must to unmask the traitor. But the heartbreaking demons from Henry’s past—demons he must confront before he can tie his life to Cerissa’s forever—threaten to distract him from their mission and, in the process, could cost the life of a loved one.

Amazon

CONQUEST (DRAGON BONES BOOK 1) by Celeste Harte

VS Note: From February…

Jashi Anyua has been arranged to be married to the leader of her nation, the Great Faresh. To help her escape the unwanted engagement, her future husband’s enemies offer her an out – if she agrees to spy on her intended, they’ll give her a new identity and a life somewhere the Faresh will never find her. Yet as Jashi gets to know the Faresh, she wonders if she put her loyalties in the right place; especially when she realizes that he shares the abilities she’s had to keep secret her whole life. What’s more, he might be the only one who can train her to use them.

Amazon

THE MONSTROUS SEVEN (A HANNAH HICKOK WITCHY MYSTERY BOOK 4) by Lily Harper Hart

Life is going well for Hannah Hickok. Her business – a cosplay western town in Kentucky – is thriving and she’s even interviewing bartenders so she can finally take on different duties in her new world. All that comes to a screeching halt when a guest grabs what’s supposed to be a prop gun and fires it at another guest during an altercation.
Suddenly, death is calling in Casper Creek … and it’s wearing many masks.
Hannah is thrown by the brutality of the action. She’s also confused why her boyfriend Cooper Wyatt was acting out of sorts right before it happened. The questions about exactly what happened are only compounded when the coroner comes back with a shocking report: There was no bullet found in the body and the manner of death is undetermined.
In short order, an FBI agent is put in charge of the case, Casper Creek is shut down, and Hannah and Cooper are plunged into a sundry world of magical creatures with death and destruction on the brain. Thanks to a tip from local witch Astra, Hannah soon realizes she’s grappling with something bigger than she’s ever dealt with before … and it will be seven times as deadly. War is coming. Hannah’s magic is still a work in progress but she’s going to be put through the paces on this one. She has a new family. It will be up to her to save them when magical forces collide
Is she up to the challenge?

Amazon

IT ENDS WITH HER (BECOMING THE WOLF BOOK 5) by T S Joyce

Levi Wright has spent the last two years on a mission. His old pack thinks he’s been away at school so he could come back and apprentice to the Black Wolf himself, Greyson Crawford. He hasn’t though. He was out learning to protect a girl. And not just any girl. THE girl. Omega in the making, stunning beauty who doesn’t even know it, tough in some ways, fragile in others, but someday, someway, Marissa will need his protection. She’s hunted by vampires, and has been for the last five years. They circle, and he can feel them getting closer. Something happening to her, and he will be damned if he lets any harm come to her. This war is complicated though. He wants to win her heart, sure, but he isn’t the only one competing. A vampire has his eyes on her, and Marissa has no choice but to pay attention. War is coming, but he’s ready. All he has to do is make sure Marissa survives to fulfill her fate.

Marissa Henry has had a crush on a boy for years. Her crippling shyness and fear of dominant werewolves has kept her quiet, but she mourned when the boy she liked moved away. Now he’s back, and Levi isn’t the quiet, submissive boy who left two years ago. He’s done something to his wolf to make him a war-monster, but she can’t figure out what. And when he admits to traitorous plans that will affect the people she loves, she has to consider help from the vampire, Larius, who bit her, and has been keeping her safe all these years. She knows who she wants, but now she has to figure out what she needs.

Amazon

CLAIM THE DRAGON (THE LEGION) by A C Arthur

To save her, he’ll sacrifice everything. Born a dream reaper, Steele Ezo, a powerful half dragon, half human, is struggling to find his place in the Drakon hierarchy. He is ready to accept his fate until he realizes the next victim on the Reaper’s hit list is the sexy thief who’s caught his eye. She’s supposed to die. He’s forbidden to stop it. But their inexplicable connection makes it impossible to step aside.
Abandoned by her family and abused by local enforcers, Ravyn Walsh lives life on her own terms. She’s created an underground sanctuary for the oppressed citizens of Burgess, and she needs funds to keep it running. When a lucrative job—stealing an ancient dagger—lands in her lap, she doesn’t hesitate, not even when a smoldering tattooed stranger attempts to stop her. A dagger that can raise the dead is a powerful tool—one that could change the course of history. As they fight to keep the dagger out of the wrong hands, Ravyn will be forced to embrace the truth of her heritage, while Steele will find himself torn between saving a life that isn’t meant to be saved and denouncing the power he was born to wield.

Amazon      Apple Books

A FRESH BREW: A DRAGON COZY MYSTERY (HILL COUNTRY MYSTERIES BOOK 1) by Verena DeLuca

Welcome to Aconite Café, where dragons, coffee, and snark, are today’s special. Hailey Morton has just become the sole owner of Aconite Café. Upon her aunt’s death, Hailey also inherited her cat. Only Azure is no cat. He is actually a dragon, and Hailey has just inherited the position of Dragon Protector alongside the deed to the café. If her world turning upside down wasn’t enough, Azure is convinced Hailey’s aunt was actually murdered. The sheriff and his deputy are oblivious, which means it’s up to her to solve the mystery. All while running the café.  Will Hailey bring her aunt’s murderer to justice? Can she learn to run Aconite Café? Does she have what it takes to be a Dragon Protector?

Amazon

ONLY LOVE IS DEATHLESS by Sita Bethel

Sreka’s younger brother, Dobrina, is in love. The only problem is that the law forbids him from courting until Sreka is married. Sreka hires the local adventurer, Košmar, to marry him so Dobrina can wed his love.Even if he has to sleep on the couch, instead of with the crown prince on their farce wedding bed, Košmar will get to live like a king for a year. And once Dobrina is married, Sreka will quietly divorce him and send him on his way with gold for his services. Nothing says destined romance like a battle with a dragon, so Sreka and Košmar stage their first public encounter to fool the royal court. However, as fate would have it, the dragon that was supposed to be as fake as their love is real.

Amazon

CALLUNA (SPELL LIBRARY BOOK 4) by Jewels Arthur

Calluna is sassy, snarky, and doesn’t give a crap about, well, anything. Calluna doesn’t believe in all this love garbage that she keeps seeing all over the town. Nope, she is just fine keeping to herself and her pet store, Beastie Besties, spank you very much. When a goofy romance book draws her in and she is given a meerkat shifter, a fennec fox shifter, a fallen angel, and a griffin shifter — well, Calluna’s views on love might be in for a whirlwind of change. Will this whirlwind romance get in the way of the mystery she has yet to solve? There is someone in town cursing animals with dark magic, causing her shop to become a land of misfit pets. Calluna is determined to break the curses and find the culprit but she’ll have to travel down a dark road herself.

Amazon

ALPHA TRIPLETS (TRIPLET HAREMS BOOK 4) by J L Wilder

ALPHA TRIPLETS – We are outcasts, triplet alphas who have been banished from our pack. We are barely surviving, almost feral. But after years of running, we are done. We are ready to reclaim what is rightfully ours. We will find the one thing that can give us our power back—an omega. 
THE OMEGA – I’ve been promised to the merciless sons of my alpha. And I’ve lost everything trying to defy them. I will not imprint on them, no matter what. Alone and wounded, the banished alphas have taken me in. They are almost feral. How could I ever trust these traitorous beasts?

Amazon

ALPHA GEEK: BENNETT by Milly Taiden

Tiger shifter Dakota Alcott’s entire life is one series of adventures. She calls them adventures to feel better about all of her failures. The truth is, she is looking for her place. Her people. Herself. When she interviews for Nick Milan’s protection company, she has hope that this might be it.
Awkward genius Bennett Huxx has more degrees and Ph.Ds than he has had girlfriends — and sexual experiences, but he isn’t going to think about that just now. He needs to focus on the shifter serum his friend Gray needs help with. He won’t be distracted by the beautiful bodyguard Gray hired to keep an eye on him. Or so he thinks. But Dakota is way too enticing to be resisted. When a mysterious band of men attacks Bennett and Dakota to get to the serum, a decision has to be made to save his life. Gawky Bennett is replaced by one sexy shifter. He wants to protect Dakota, but as it turns out? The feisty tigress just might save him.

Amazon

IMMORAL (DARK ANGEL ACADEMY BOOK 3) by G Bailey

My name is Kaitlyn Lightson, and my home is with the vampires.

 After the destruction of The Angel Academy, I’m found a traitor to my own race, and I wish it were just me who is found guilty. 
Vesnia and many others are trapped with me, and I’m not sure how I can save them.
With the vampires on the run, or dead, I know I need to get out of the city as quickly as I can to find Ren before he starts a war he cannot end.
 With old friends, and new, to help me, I will survive the Angel City and get to my mates.
 There isn’t another choice.

Amazon

RISE OF THE PHOENIX (GUARDIANS OF THE PHOENIX BOOK 1) by J L Madore

VS Note: From late May…

Monsters, Magic, and Mates I never knew existed. Kia versus power pole isn’t the end I expect—it’s the beginning of… gawd, where do I begin?  Four wildly sexy males. Powers I don’t understand. And the eyes of the fae world on me as the person to unite the severed realms. No pressure.

Amazon

COME ON, GET LUCKY by Jacqueline Rohrbach

Grant is looking for love, but there’s one big problem—himself. Due to Grant’s massive size, not to mention the fact he’s also a werewolf, all the eligible bachelors steer clear of him, preferring men who are a little less ginormous and a lot less monstrous. Only Lee, Grant’s best friend and vampire extraordinaire, sees him as a gentle giant who longs to give awesome backrubs, cupcakes, and endless affection to his lifelong mate.
Lee is tired of the same old song and dance of dating and then breaking up. The only steady presence in his life has been Grant, a tried-and-true friend who always knows what to say and the right spot to scratch. So, when Grant finally breaks up with his flighty boyfriend, Lee sees an opportunity to let his carefully guarded heart out of its box and try for something real and lasting. There’s a problem, though: Lee has always forbidden romance between friends, an order he’s drilled into Grant’s head over and over again. That means Lee might need to throw their friendship to the fire. To find passion, they’ll have to become enemies. To find love, they’ll have to get lucky.

Amazon

KING OF THE MOUNTAINS (SEASON OF THE FAE BOOK 1) by Elizabeth Frost

Kill the King. Save the world. Don’t die. Morgan has no problem killing the king, especially since the alternative is being locked away for all her other murders… But he doesn’t make it easy. First off, he’s a bearded, sexy wild man who chops firewood shirtless in his backyard. Second? He’s created an entire dimension hidden from the human realm, where he controls everything. Literally everything. The longer she’s in his realm, the more she realizes he’s wiggled his way under her skin with his sexy smirk and stupid beard. What’s worse? She might let him end the world if she gets to keep him.

Amazon

GRAVE MISTAKES (HELL GATE GUARDIAN BOOK 1) by Ivy Asher

It’s never a good combo to be broke and desperate. You do stupid things. Like accidentally sign your soul over to Hell. When I interviewed for a new security job, I didn’t bat an eye that it was for a literal graveyard shift…headstones and all. I mean, at the hourly rate they were offering, who cares? I got this. Turns out, I’m not guarding a graveyard like I thought. It seems I’ve just walked my broke ass into protecting a Gate to Hell. Yeah…I don’t got this. Now I’m stuck in a terrifying new reality: a group of hot demons who act like I can solve all their problems, and a battle between good, evil, and balance. This will seriously teach me to read the fine print on Help Wanted ads. Good thing this job comes with a scythe. Maybe I can use it to stop them from dragging my ass into Hell.

Amazon

HER ALPHA by Fiona Davenport

When Larissa Nash went looking for her best friend, she never expected to find her in a town full of shifters. She didn’t even know they existed until Kace Lowell clued her in on the secret by shifting into his wolf. Mating a human was complicated for the alpha of the pack, but Kace was more than ready to take on anyone who dared to challenge Larissa’s place in his life.

Amazon

FORTUNE FAE ACADEMY: BOOK 1 by J R Thorn

I never asked to be an Omega. I’m a Fortune Fae—I see the future. But I didn’t see this coming. My Alpha will stop at nothing to possess me until he drags me all the way to Fortune Fae Academy to join the other wide-eyed Omegas-in-training. He believes I’m strong enough to survive—and I hope he’s right. He also believes I’ll kneel at his feet.
He couldn’t be more wrong about that.I don’t need three broody Betas and an asshat Alpha telling me what to do. I’m going to keep running until he realizes he’s chasing the wrong girl. Except there’s one slight problem. My Alpha has seen the future too… and he knows something I don’t. Whatever he thinks is going to happen, his cruel smirk says I’m not going anywhere.

Amazon

THE SECOND AND HIS BONDED (KINCAID PACK BOOK 2) by Kiki Clark

After barely escaping his abusive family, wolf shifter Kieran McAllister struggles to find his place in the Kincaid Pack. Especially with the pushy but gorgeous second-in-command showing up every time Kieran turns around… and making him want things he shouldn’t. The traumatized wolf who continuously refuses Bennett Young’s help has begun to haunt his dreams. But if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that tiger shifters don’t have mates. So why can’t Bennett get Kieran’s sad eyes out of his head? Despite their differences, Kieran and Bennet find something they never expected in each other. Just as their bond begins to grow though, Kieran’s past threatens to destroy the very pack they both have been fighting to protect.

Amazon

SIN AND SURRENDER (DEMIGODS OF SAN FRANCISCO BOOK 6) by K F Breene

It’s the moment Kieran and Lexi have been preparing for. The Magical Summit. Ready or not, they will take their assembled team into the belly of the beast. The stakes couldn’t be higher. If the powers that be don’t approve of Kieran, he will not earn the official title of the Demigod of San Francisco. The real danger concerns Lexi, however. With Kieran away in meetings, she must brave the treacherous halls of the Summit with just her crew and her wards, fighting for social placement and status, open to attack from all angles. She could’ve never expected what comes at her. No one could’ve.

Amazon

SEALORD: A DARK DRAGON SHIFTER ROMANCE by Delta James

VS Note: From late May…

Only one thing could have awakened Kellan from long centuries of sleep. The scent of his mate. Míorúilt has the blood of dragons in her veins and taming her will be no easy task, but Kellan wouldn’t want it to be. While he slumbered he dreamed of how sternly and shamefully he will punish her defiance and how thoroughly he will claim and ravage her beautiful virgin body. Now it is time.

Amazon

**********************************************************************************

VS Note: My other scifi novel with a medical theme, although the two plots and the two doctors are very different: STAR CRUISE: OUTBREAK

She saved countless soldiers in the wars … but does she have the weapons to fight an outbreak?

Dr. Emily Shane, veteran of the Sector Wars, is known as “The Angel of Fantalar” for her bravery under fire as a medic. However, the doctor has her own war wounds–severe PTSD and guilt over those she failed to save.

Persuaded to fill a seemingly frivolous berth as ship’s doctor on the huge and luxurious interstellar cruise liner Nebula Zephyr, she finds the job brings unexpected perks–a luxe beach deck with water imported from Tahumaroa II, and Security Officer Jake Dilon, a fellow veteran who heats her up like a tropical sun.

However, Emily soon learns she and Jake didn’t leave all peril behind in the war. A mysterious ailment aboard the Zephyr begins to claim victim after victim … and they must race against time and space to find the cause and a cure! Trapped on a ship no spaceport will allow to dock, their efforts are complicated by a temperamental princess and a terrorist–one who won’t hesitate to take down any being in the way of his target.  If anyone’s left when the disease is through with them…

     Buy Links:  Apple iBooks   Amazon     Kobo      Barnes & Noble   

************************************************************************************************

*****************************************************************************************

LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica:

June 3

May 27

May 20

May 13

May 6

“New” is generally plus or minus a week or two. I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months.  And I may mention ‘special items’.

I do NOT cover every single new release in SFR/FantasyR/PNR. I never have. That would be an impossible task for any human! I assemble my list by hand every week based on various informal inputs, and I do curate the list to some extent…

I check and verify all the buy links at the time I create the post  but after that I’m not responsible.

Which Way Next Weekend Writing Warriors

The last excerpt from LANDON: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL because my new book came out last week. The cover and blurb for it are below.

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

May be edited a bit from published version.

If you haven’t read any of my Badari Warriors series: Genetically engineered soldiers of the far future, the Badari were created by alien enemies to fight humans. But then the scientists kidnapped an entire human colony from the Sectors to use as subjects in twisted experiments…the Badari and the humans made common cause, rebelled and escaped the labs. Now they live side by side in a sanctuary valley protected by a powerful Artificial Intelligence, and wage unceasing war on the aliens. 

The excerpt, continuing on from where I stopped last week. Mandy is deep in the lab complex, gone to rescue a person she’s seen on the security console vidscreen, trapped in a medlab.  The man (who she is calling Jack for lack of knowing his real name yet, but it is Landon) is now lying on an antigrav litter and it’s time to get out of there. I’m skipping over some of their trip out of the building since this is the last snippet. I figured I owed it to you, my loyal snippet readers, to at least get you out of the terrible place! (And you can always buy the book to find out what happens next LOL.)

At the limits of her mental endurance for spending time in the complex, she moved faster, grateful the litter was able to keep pace with her, even allowing for Jack’s weight. She paused briefly where she’d left the neurocontroller device and removed the bracelet from his wrist, relieved to have the task accomplished.

Ridden by dread, she hurried through the lobby and out the gaping doors, running now, consumed with terror the Khagrish would suddenly arrive and take her prisoner again. With freedom so close, she was suddenly wracked with anxiety over not missing her opportunity to escape. Antigrav litter at her side, she sprinted a few more feet and had to stop. Her energy reserves were badly depleted by the days without food and water, not to mention the torture the late scientists had subjected her to and she had to rest. Breathing deeply, she put on one of the jackets and turned in a slow circle, trying to decide which direction was their best bet.

VS: And night will be falling soon….

The blurb: When unexpected circumstances give her a chance to escape from an alien scientist’s lab after she’s been tortured, Mandy Rennegar knew she should run for the hills with the other prisoners. There’s one more special captive who hasn’t been freed, however, and she decides to risk everything to help him. Mandy’s not leaving anyone behind.

Captured by the enemy on a scouting trip, Landon of the Badari has been pushed beyond his limits of sanity and strength by the Khagrish experiments and waits to die…until the human woman sets him free and takes him into the wilderness with her on a desperate trek to freedom. If he could only regain his memory, he’s sure there’s a sanctuary on the planet where his people could help them both.

As Mandy and Landon flee the pursuing Khagrish new challenges arise, including secrets from the past which could destroy the growing attraction between them. Difficult choices have to be made, putting Mandy’s life at risk and Landon discovers the Khagrish have left a lasting mark on his mind.

Will they reach the Badari sanctuary in time? Can their love survive Mandy’s revelations? Will the Alpha of the Badari give them a chance to be together or will he allow her to die when Landon risks everything to save his fated mate?

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo     Nook       GooglePlay

My new release!

The blurb:

Newly graduated from a prestigious interstellar medical school, Dr. Saffia Mandell has been assigned to the Haven Two colony on the galaxy’s outer rim as the only doctor for some 2000 human residents. She’s counting the days until her five years there is up, trying to adjust to rural living after life in the crowded Inner Sectors and fighting her attraction to Chief Ranger Micah Navonn. She’s dreading the upcoming tourist season when the rich and pampered will descend on the planet for the scenic wonders and novel sports opportunities and no doubt inundate her little clinic but the colony depends on the seasonal income to survive.

As the senior official for his people, the Calinurra, the indigenous inhabitants of Haven Two, Micah enforces the treaty, regulates the tourist permits, patrols the forests and resists his fascination with Dr. Mandell. He never expected to be involved with a human woman and doesn’t want to believe in the concept of a fated mate. He wants to keep his life simple and isn’t ready for any long term commitment. Besides Saffia keeps proclaiming she’ll be leaving when her appointment is up in four and a half years so why should he risk his heart?

Then a ship arrives unexpectedly carrying a very ill little girl and soon the deadly virus is spreading through Haven Two. The colony authorities are desperate to cover up the problem to preserve the all-important tourist season and Saffia and Micah have to work together to battle the outbreak, the local administration and their undeniable feelings for each other.

Can the colony survive? And will Micah and Saffia be able to move past their fears about entanglements to act on the mutual attraction?

An 87K word novel of the far future…

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo      Nook      Google Play

Veronica Scott Reviews ‘VAST OF NIGHT’

This post first appeared on the AMAZING STORIES MAGAZINE blog…

vast of night posterI approached the “The Vast of Night” directed by Andrew Patterson, written by James Montague and Craig W. Sanger, as a viewer who is a longtime lover of B, C and even D science fiction movies, ready for some thrills and a little fun with my popcorn. In the rural area where I grew up, movies such as “Them”, “Attack of the Killer Shrews” and “It Came From Outer Space” were the late night and Saturday matinee fare on our local TV stations. I also loved “The Twilight Zone” and its small slice of eerie life,asking was it or wasn’t it real and never letting you know what happened next after the show ended.

(And yes, I’m a huge fan of A level science fiction movies too but “The Vast of Night” wasn’t trying to be in that category as far as I can tell.)

So I settled in to watch the movie, available now for streaming on Amazon Prime. Bottom line (and no spoilers here), I enjoyed it, recommend it if you like this genre as I do and give it a B+. Here are my detailed thoughts:

I loved the small town setting and feel, which mirrored the old movies so well. The events in the classics of the genre almost always seemed to happen in an isolated place, where the characters were on their own to cope and survive or not. When Everett (Jake Horowitz) the cocky radio DJ and Fay (Sierra McCormick) the young but plucky switchboard operator went walking or running through town as they do repeatedly, I’d cringe for them, because it was a small town and so deserted. Everyone else is at the big basketball game, you see, which is where the movie opens – brightly lit, full of people, a slice of normal life in a place about to get very weird but only for certain people.

I didn’t mind the nod to “The Twilight Zone,” with references and clips from a mythical program entitled “Paradox Theater”, but I didn’t care for the moments when Everett and Fay themselves were shown as characters in a “Paradox Theater” episode. The device pulled me out of the flow of the movie and seemed gratuitous.

The extended early scene where Everett and Fay walk endlessly through their small town of Cayuga and talk and talk and TALK ran long to me. I got that Fay was a science buff bigtime (nice switch – in the old movies it was usually the crewcut guy who read all the magazines and knew all the science in the world) while Everett was clearly more a man of the world (how old was he supposed to be?) with a nice veneer of sophistication. He had a killer radio voice too and knew all about tape recorders. But I thought the sequence went on too long and got too wink-wink cutesy with the two of them discussing far out futuristic ideas like self-driving cars and tiny phones with TV screens. Ok, yeah, so we know which ones actually happened and which ones haven’t as yet but again, did we need so many examples?

How could it take so long to walk through a tiny town?

I thought this was a problem the movie suffered from in several places and could have used tightening up. (I don’t write or make movies but I do write novels so I know a thing or two about pacing.) When the caller who knows mysterious details about a government coverup conspiracy and the “is she crazy or telling the truth?” old lady shared their stories…wayyy too long for this viewer. Yes, real people do want to share too many extraneous details in interviews and go off on tangents to the actual story but in a movie or a novel, that kind of indulgence can get deadly. In fact, I was nearly ready to bail on the movie at one point because of this overly expositive exposition but I hung in there because I liked the characters and I was intrigued overall.

I found myself most fascinated by the switchboard. I could have used even more scenes there. The idea of Fay being connected to the entire world and getting little snippets of what was happening, as well as getting cut off in the middle of scary moments really worked for me. Heightened the mood and the goose bumps factor.

I got annoyed with her for running every place. Hello, old fashioned manually driven cars do exist in town and Everett is right there with one at his disposal for much of the movie. It became a point of disbelief to me after about the third time she sprints off when he could have driven her to her destination much more quickly and safely.

I did believe the two of them became so caught up in what was happening that it never occurred to either of them to go back to the well-lit gymnasium and try to recruit help. I understood their stubborn ownership of the events, especially in light of Everett’s constant reminders it might be a news story. I could see him leveraging it in his mind as a way out of the tiny town of Cayuga.

So the movie took its time building and just at the point where I thought the plot was going to kind of peter out and never really give any answers – WHOA. Head turning, all-in EVENTS. I’m not giving spoilers but I was riveted for the last half hour or so and rewatched the ending a few times. I’m still thinking about it today. I was happy I stayed with the narrative.

There are a few unanswered questions for me inagoodway. What happened to the strange, too perfect out of town couple who keep popping up at odd moments? Were they part of the overarching events or victims? Given the radio broadcast and things the conspiracy theorist mentioned, why didn’t any government agents show up? (If they did, I missed them.)

At some points in the movie I felt as if this was a “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” adjacent story, almost as if that movie was off in the distance, happening in parallel maybe or somewhat in the same timeline but decades hence. The old lady’s long recitation of local history and her own brush with the inexplicable really gave me that feeling.

I would have loved a tiny epilogue with the townspeople but I do feel the movie ended in the right place.

Sign me up for more of these “Paradox Theater”, movie length episodes!

Veronica Scott, gal reporter, signing off. Watch the skies, folks.

**************************************************

Read Veronica’s reviews of some favorite old scifi movies:

G is For Gila Monster Movies

I Have Seen “Return of the Killer Shrews”

Interview with Director Steve Latshaw, “Return of the Killer Shrews”

Killer Shrews and Other Classics of the Late Night Movies