First Meeting TWO AGAINST THE STARS Alien Empath #SciFi Romance

I’ve decided to change up these weekly snippets and go through my backlist, sharing the first meeting between the two main characters in each book. I’m going roughly in the order of first publication. It’s always fun for me to revisit the books and I hope it will be for you too! Or if you’ve never happened to read a certain book, maybe I can entice you into giving it a try.

TWO AGAINST THE STARS is the third in my alien empath series and I tried to really change things up from the earlier stories.  (All the books can be read as standalones.) Carialle manages to escape her interstellar mob ‘handler’ and hides in the slums of an alien planet. But then she’s presented with a hard choice about whether to use her empathic powers to help a Special Forces soldier in big trouble…

The excerpt: Carialle is a janitor in a shady medical clinic when a new patient is brought in, heavily sedated and restrained…she uses her powers to see if he’s truly in a persistent vegetative state as she’s been told, or if the medications are keeping him under.

Time to clean and get out. Carialle stepped away from the bed to get her supplies, and rubbed her aching lower back, trying to work out the kinks. It had been a long time since she first labored as a maid at the temple, and she wasn’t getting any younger. Smiling to herself, because she was far from being an old woman, she turned, tools in hand, and froze.

Marcus Valerian was awake and staring at her. His eyes were blue, the same blue as the flames burning inside his soul. He licked his chapped lips and strained one wrist against the padded restraints, as if reaching for her. “Where?” he whispered. “What…planet?”

“Felicia Seven.”

“Home.” He let his head fall onto the skinny pillow and closed his eyes again.

Nerves making her dizzy, she gave the room a cursory cleaning and escaped. She debated mentioning to Matikian how the soldier had awakened for a brief moment but held her tongue. Reluctance to betray the fact made silence the wiser course to follow, especially as no one ever seemed to care about the details of the patients’ health on this wing. No one expected her to report on a  patient’s physical condition.

VS: And a little more, from the first time they actually converse. This is a few nights later and she’s used her powers to awaken him briefly from the drug-induced coma:

She held a finger to her lips and scurried to check the door. Satisfied the orderly in charge was ignoring the world around him as usual, she hurried to the bedside and slid her fingers over Marcus’s hand. Leaning close, she whispered, “I’m going to help you but we have to be careful, understand?”

His pupils were huge, dilated from the drugs.  He tried to speak but no sound came out. Hastily she laid her hand across his chapped lips. “I’ll ensure you get less of the medicine but you have to convince them you’re still sedated. Can you put on an act?”

Marcus studied her face for a moment. “Yes.” Getting the single syllable out seemed to require almost more energy than he possessed.

“Good. And then we’ll see what we can do about getting you out of here.”

“Today,” he whispered against her hand. “Now.”

“Not yet—you aren’t ready. There’s time. Trust me.”

She removed her fingers and he spoke so faintly she had to shake her head and lean closer. His breath puffed against her ear as he repeated himself. “Angel.”

Laughing, she shook her head. “Far from it, but I can’t stand aside and let them do this to you. I’m going to send you under again but you’ll remember our agreement.” She released her hold on his consciousness and his eyelids drifted downward, despite his obvious struggle to stay awake.

To her astonishment, he shook his head, squared his shoulders and reopened his eyes. “Name?”

“Carialle.”

Although he clearly was desperate to say more, his head lolled to the side and he snored as the drug took him.

Depositphotos

Two Against the Stars

Empathic priestess Carialle has escaped the evil Amarotu Combine, but she’s hardly out of danger. Not when she risks everything to rescue a drugged man from a crooked veterans’ clinic. By lulling the clinic staff to sleep, she reveals her powers. And once again, criminals are after her and her rescuer.

Marcus Valerian, a wounded Special Forces veteran, never expected to have his life threatened by the clinic that’s supposed to help ex-soldiers like him. But when he wakes from a drugged state to find a lovely woman urging him to run–he does. In his family’s remote fishing cabin, he suffers the agony of withdrawal, soothed only by her powers.

In their idyllic hideaway, the two also discover a nova-hot attraction flaring. But can they stay alive long enough for it to become more? Not if the Combine has anything to say–they are not giving up until Marcus is dead and Carialle is their weapon

Amazon    Apple Books    Barnes & Noble  Kobo       Google

 

New Releases in #SciFi #Fantasy and Paranormal Romance for SEPT 27

I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking quite a few as I prepare these posts LOL). 

‘AB’ denotes audiobook and the Amazon buy link.

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ZIRKOV (ALIEN MARSHALS AND MATES BOOK SIX) by Julie K Cohen

What happens when the traitor you’ve been hunting is the woman you’re destined to mate? Maggie – Earth’s invaders are gone, but not the og’dal slavers. And they have their hooks in Maggie, pitting her against the alien marshals she admires. She has the marshals fooled, except the one in charge. Zirkov. He doesn’t trust her. He’s bullheaded, distant, and infuriating. And yet he may be the only one who can save her from the web of lies she’s spun. Zirkov – All the evidence points to Maggie, but that’s not the only thing pointing to the human marshal. His mating c*ck has risen for her. He can’t deny the facts, professional and personal. Now he must put everything he has and is on the line for the woman who despises him.     AmazonKU

RAFE: ALIEN ADOPTION AGENCY BOOK 14 by Tasha Black

After being tricked into indentured servitude on the pleasure ships, Jade Gatlin is determined to avoid male attention for the rest of her days. The opportunity to adopt a little one and start a new life on a frontier moon, where she can heal the wounds of her tortured soul, sounds almost too good to be true. But the baby shows up in the arms of a rakish dragon guard, who holds Jade’s eyes too long and gives her unwanted shivers at every accidental touch. Rafe has spent his career as a hotshot pilot for the Invicta dragon army. Handsome, fun-loving, and an ace with the ladies, Rafe is stunned when he realizes the serious Terran girl with the golden hair is his fated mate. And even more stunned when she tells him she’s not interested. But before Rafe can change her mind, a murder takes place on the cross-moon train they are riding. And the two are set up to take the blame. If Rafe wants to convince Jade to seal their mate bond and start their new life together with baby Gus, they’ll have to clear their names. And that means spending a lot of time together, and restraining his passion long enough to help her crack the mystery of Rothbart village.     AmazonKU

SECRET DAUGHTER FOR THE ALIEN DAD (KALEIDIAN WARRIOR DADS) by Athena Storm

I raised my daughter all on my own. And I don’t need saving now! The moment I laid eyes on Dakari, I knew he’d own my heart. Then one day, war took him away. I thought I had lost him forever. I moved and tried to rebuild my life. Until the day he came back.
It was the same day my daughter is stolen. I need to get her back. My love for Dakari is tinged with the terror at losing your child. He’s the only one that can help me find her. There’s only one problem. He doesn’t even know she exists.     AmazonKU

VS Note: as a reminder, here’s my latest Badari Warriors release, from last week:

FAINE: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE (SECTORS NEW ALLIES BOOK 17) by Veronica Scott

Left stranded on an enemy planet, can Faine find and rescue the woman he believes to be his fated mate? 

Choosing to remain behind when the others in his party escape the Khagrish homeworld, Faine is determined to locate and rescue Farah, the human woman he loves. Somehow he’ll get the two of them off the planet and safely home to the Badari Warriors’world far away. Alone, feared and hated by the aliens on this alien world, cut off from his pack, Faine must traverse a city and countryside full of danger on his quest to locate Farah.

Farah Saunders was a teacher in the Sectors until she was kidnapped by pirates and sold to become a subject of lab experiments. Taken to the Khagrish home world with a small group of humans and two Badari prisoners, she was selected by a Khagrish noble to become his personal special project. Her situation is hopeless yet she can’t stop thinking of the one man who might be able to save her – Faine. She barely knew him but feels an uncanny connection to the fearless, genetically engineered soldier. What is this link tying them together?

Reunited, the two of them go on the run, hunted ruthlessly by the Khagrish authorities and the infuriated noble. Can Faine accomplish the miracle he’s hoping for and find a way for them to escape? Will Farah ever agree to become his claimed mate?

Amazon     Apple Books     Nook     KOBO     GooglePlay

G’ARD: GALACTIC CYBORG HEAT SERIES by Jessie Rose Case

GAR’D born of the Cyborg Program under Earth Corp. One of the first generation. He was flawed. Old. Very old and fixed in his ways. In stasis for a very long time until it started to fail and awakened him. In a lost storage area in a dead ship floating in space for years. Until salvage came calling. And then a woman stepped on board. Declaring herself she told his ship that it and its contents now belonged to her under the law. It crossed his mind if she knew what she was getting in that bargain….. and smiled. He’d be happy to show her….Faith. [SNIP]…Besides being alone had its advantages. No one tried to rip you off or kill you. It was a start. The universe was a lawless place. And you forgot that at your peril. In her business, taking over from her father had been a natural step to take. His ship left to her living in space. Salvage was all she knew. Keeping what they wanted selling the rest for a healthy profit. Seeing this ship dead in space, no human life signs but some systems on, was a once in a lifetime find. Her father would be up there grinning. She hadn’t even been hunting for it. No log of it lost but there it was. Just sitting there outside known space. And once she stepped foot on it and no human in charge or on board, it was all hers. The law of salvage. You find it abandoned you get to keep it. If you can tow it in. Only she just wasn’t expecting the cargo to be quite so…….. stacked, packed and alive….(full blurb on ebook seller’s page)     AmazonKU

THE FRACTURED DARK (THE DEVOURED WORLDS BOOK TWO) by Megan O’Keefe

VS Note: Not listed as a romance but from the description seems as if there are romantic elements.

Dying planets, dangerous conspiracies, and secret romance abound in the second book of the Devoured Worlds trilogy, by rising space opera star Megan E. O’Keefe. Naira and Tarquin have escaped vicious counterrevolutionaries, misprinted monsters, and the pull of a dying planet. Now, bound together to find the truth behind the blight that has been killing habitable planets, they need to hunt out the Mercator family secrets. But, when the head of Mercator disappears, taking the universe’s remaining supply of starship fuel with him, chaos breaks loose between the ruling families. Naira’s revolution must be put aside for the sake of humanity’s immediate survival.   Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

PHATE’S MATE: THE THELLI LOGS (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by A M Griffin

The Peacekeeper. When his shy neighbor knocked on his apartment door, Phate’s mission to stay off the humans’ radar until the rescue team arrived changed in a blink of an eye. He not only wants to tell this delectable human about alien existence, but he also wants to take her back to Thelli with him. Getting to know her was proving difficult when his new mission involves joining a dating app in an effort to see if humans are compatible enough to join the Intergalactic Dating Agency. The Workaholic. Tasha worked hard building her small business on Main Street and didn’t have time for distractions. With a fire-cracker best friend and three new mysterious neighbors, Tasha was finding herself thinking of something other than her boutique for a change. But fate? Fate has a way of intervening, and she finds out the hard way that she can’t run or hide from her feelings, especially when distraction as fine as Phate lives right next door.     Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

THE SALVATION GAMBIT: A NOVEL by Emily Skrutskie

Murdock has always believed in Hark, the woman who shaped her from a petty thief and lowlife hacker into a promising con artist. Hark is everything Murdock aspires to be, from her slick fashion sense to her unfailing ability to plan under pressure. Together with Bea, a fearless driver who never walks away from a bet, and Fitz, Murdock’s infuriatingly mercurial rival who can sweet-talk the galaxy into spinning around her finger, they form a foursome with a reputation for daring heists, massive payoffs, and never, ever getting caught. Well, until now. Getting caught is one thing. Getting tithed to a sentient warship that’s styled itself into a punitive god is a problem this team has never faced before. Aboard the Justice is a world stitched together from the galaxy’s sinners—some fighting for survival, some struggling to build a civilized society, and some sacrificing everything to worship the AI at the heart of the ship. The Justice’s all-seeing eyes are fixed on its newest acquisitions, Murdock in particular. It has use for a hacker—if it can wrest her devotion away from Hark. And Murdock’s faith is already fractured. To escape the Justice’s madness, they need a plan, and Hark might not be up to the task. If Hark—brilliant, unflappable Hark—can’t plot a way out, Murdock will have to use every last trick she’s learned to outwit the Justice, resist its temptation, and get her crew out alive.

Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

THE NAGA OUTCAST’S UNWANTED MATE (SERPENTS OF SERANT BOOK ONE) by Robin O’Connor

I thought I was dead, but my pulse is racing when I see the beautiful, terrifying creature that woke me. Vera – My family maneuvered me like a worthless pawn, then cast me away. I was supposed to be executed but even that didn’t go right. When I wake up, my whole world is tilted on its axis when I lock eyes with a monster. He’s half snake, half man and somehow he’s the most alluring thing I’ve ever seen. When he touches me I can understand him and he says I’m his mate. But how’s that possible? I’ve never belonged anywhere. When more of his kind chase us, cast us out, and try to do everything they can to keep us apart. I must fight for what I want, fight to keep the one place where I’m wanted. In the arms of my mate. Zathar – Cast out by my own Clan, by my very mother the Queen. I am left adrift until a skyship falls from the heavens, carrying with it my mate. She is curvy and soft, everything I never knew I wanted. She’s perfect, and I will give up anything, climb any mountain, even crawl through the haunted ancestral caves if it means I can keep her. If only she’ll believe me when I swear she’s my heart.   AmazonKU

4 UNITED (ROMANCE TALES FROM THE QUADRANTS BOOK 1) by Jessica E Subject

Why would I ever return to Ma’an? My moema and I escaped from the planet star cycles ago, to avoid her being forced to remarry after my poepa’s passing. I grew up well far away from there, not worrying about being betrothed to some government official just to bear his children. And now I work for the Universal Space Racer Association, traveling all over the quadrants to decide whether new teams meet the qualifications to join. I never expected to be on a shuttle, heading back to Ma’an. The new chairman of Ma’an and the USRA assured me I’ll be allowed to leave at the end of my evaluation of the planet, but I have my doubts. I can’t even get out of the assignment. Trust me, I’ve tried. At least I’ll be able to see more of Deyal, my only family member still alive. Plus, my best friend is convinced the three childhood friends I left behind are my fated mates, two of which are on the team, and the other is my shagard. I’m not ready to commit to one person, let alone three. And polyamorous relationships were banned on the planet long before my birth. But the three of them have grown from the cute boys I remember into sexy strangers. It’s too bad I have a rule to never sleep with the racers I’m inspecting.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

FORBIDDEN LOVERS (RED PLANET DRAGONS OF TAJSS BOOK 28) by Miranda Martin

I’ve got a secret I can’t tell even my best friends…Why should it be a problem for anyone to know I’ve found my one true love? Well, it’s totally a problem when he’s the enemy. Secret midnight trysts. Sneaking around. Hiding my nocturnal activities while trying to maintain the façade that nothing is going on is hard, but it’s about to get a lot harder. War between his people and mine is brewing. No, not brewing, imminent. And if my secret, forbidden lover and I don’t figure out a way to stop our groups from clashing, they might kill us both.     AmazonKU

THE PILOT’S PROMISE (THE REGENT’S DEVICES BOOK FOUR) by Shelley Adina

When love is as forbidden as the skies…After sharing the Prince Regent’s victory at the Battle of Amiens, Diana Edwards must keep her pride in trim and remember she is still only a cadet in the fledgling Royal Aeronautic Corps. But with the new female flight director not yet arrived to take up her post, Diana and her cousin Emily are the only women at the flight school. They must not only battle contrary winds to prove they have promise, but also the contrary men who believe women have no place in the skies. Captain Gordon Hollys has never met a woman as maddening as Cadet Edwards. She is as tall as he is, never lets an opinion go unexpressed, and seems to believe that flight is her calling, if not her right. But when a series of accidents make it clear that someone wants her and her cousin out of the way for good, Hollys cannot say no when Diana asks for help. And soon he begins to wonder whether a woman as clever and brave as she might be just what his heart desires … if he has the courage to make her a promise of his own. The Pilot’s Promise is a short sequel novella immediately following events of the Regent’s Devices trilogy written by Shelley Adina and R.E. Scott and set in the Magnificent Devices steampunk world.       Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

WARRIOR REDEEMED (CADI WARRIORS BOOK NINE) by Stephanie West

Ava had long ago given up hope of being rescued from the scaly aliens. She’d have to be her own hero. So, when her captors start evacuating, she sees her chance at freedom. Living in the wilds of a foreign planet is better than the abuse she and her fellow humans suffer. Except, the escape doesn’t go exactly as planned. While fleeing, Ava runs right into the cause of her captors’ flight. The aliens infiltrating the base are strange. The exotic man towering over her is built like a tank. Literally, he is covered from head to toe in bony armor. Even more amazing, he is there to rescue her people. Too bad she can’t go with them. Scala didn’t plan on finding his mate when he infiltrated the enemy outpost. He never wanted a mate or to settle down. Then he discovered the brave female captive. When she runs, he chases, desperate to save the human female from herself. Giving in to the growing hunger is out of the question. There is a mission to accomplish, and only a savage beast would pounce on a vulnerable, newly liberated female. Apparently, he is a beast. Ava cuts to the quick, softening Scala’s hardened shell, making it impossible to resist her. She is his weakness and his redemption.     AmazonKU

MORTAL ESCAPE by Amanda Murr

Lily is a conscientious college student with a gift for songwriting and a passion for music. Life on Ember Island is pretty conventional until the morning Lily wakes up to a transformed world. As she begins to discover her roommates and entire campus have been impacted by some sort of fiendish disease, Lily finds herself all alone and heads for the city in an attempt to understand what is going on. In the scramble for survival, Lily meets the charming yet unpredictable Halen, and comes to understand they are now living in a dystopian society. Although the quick-tempered Halen has a distrust for almost everyone she encounters, she seems to make an exception for Lily. They have an instant attraction to each other, which Halen is more forward about and finds enjoyment in making Lily nervous by this sudden attention. With only each other to depend on, they face dangerous obstacles to escape the island. As they fight for their lives, Lily finds herself fighting her feelings for Halen just as much while Halen develops a strong urge to protect Lily. Will the two be able to trust their connection and find refuge on the mainland and within each other?

Amazon     Apple Books    Kobo

HORNS: COLONY NYX #4 (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by

Since the Intergalactic Dating Agency opened, Vertumnus has only had eyes for one woman – the one he can’t have. So when Flora comes to him for help, he makes her an indecent proposal, knowing she’ll never accept. Until she says yes…Flora has always preferred plants to people, but now she’s been left to pick up the pieces of her aunt’s farm…and the lives of the girls who work there. In desperation, she asks her aunt’s accountant for help, telling him she’ll do anything to make up for her part in the whole mess. Well, almost anything.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

MONSTROUS HUNT (DYNOSAURUS BOOK THREE) by Joely Sue Burkhart

The monster ate me. He swallowed me whole. I hope he chokes on me, because I’m not going down easy. Not after all that I’ve been through. I didn’t get lost in the jungle, jump out of a helicopter, mate an alien super-soldier dinosaur squad, and end up pregnant with a human-dynos baby…Only to end up in the belly of their enemy. Kroktl will find me. He swore he’d track me down anywhere. Back home to the States. Off this planet. Another galaxy. Even if he has to cut me out of a rival. I just have to stay alive until my predator hunts me down.     AmazonKU

CAPTIVE OF THE ROYAL TRIAD (THE OLD WAYS BOOK FOUR) by Corin Cain

I defied the brutal alien prince. By their harsh laws, my life is at the mercy of his royal triad. Bruton. Prince of the Aurelian Empire, eight-foot tall of brutal, muscled strength, flanked by the alien warriors of his triad. He is no royal. He is a savage, a colossal warlord who commands through pure violence. And my fate is in his hands. He believes I hold the keys to victory. His triad storms into my research station drenched in blood and sweat to judge my life’s work. And when my creations go haywire and nearly kill us all, the threat to the Prince must be answered. I’m hauled onto his warship, thrown into a cell, terrified and alone, when the cruel tyrant who put me behind bars comes to me with an offer. Serve as the alien prince’s maid. Obey his orders, attend to him perfectly in front of his soldiers, pour the arrogant tyrant’s wine and mop his floors. One mistake, and I’ll face a different kind of discipline. Bruton has no time to hunt down his Fated Mate. His one focus is war. But when his nostrils flare and he tastes my scent, his blood boils. His eyes roll back, every thread of his body inflamed with a singular need. To claim me, to make me his, to Bond me to him for eternity. Prince Bruton is already wedded to death. My scent rips him in two, forcing him to choose between his war…And the chance that I could be his Fated Mate, the one woman in the universe who can bear his triad’s royal heirs.      AmazonKU

DEADLOCK (REVENGE AND ZOMBIES 2) by Torri Heat

Rory and Tessa have managed to work together to survive the island, but now they have an even bigger task at hand. Together, they must find Bennett and the missing zombie before the virus can take over the mainland. Easier said than done. The mainland Tessa knew before is a different world from the one that exists now. A mysterious plague taking over the poorer population has people nervous, and Rory and Tessa will have their work cut out for them. Will they be able to stop Tessa’s virus before it’s too late?

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

WHEN SHE’S SHY: A RISDAVERSE SHORT STORY by Ruby Dixon

I am a bashful, dorky human woman — your average refugee on Risda III. Haina is tall, blue, and magnificent. She is effortlessly confident, and her laugh is contagious. I might hide behind the candle section at the store in Risda’s port just to get a weekly glimpse at her when she makes her vendor runs. I might be in love with her from afar. Someday I’ll get the courage to talk to her. Someday. But fate steps in, and ‘someday’ turns out to be a lot sooner than I expected. (This is a wlw short story that was previously published in the Pride Not Prejudice anthology.)     AmazonKU

AWAKENED BY THE HEIR (EUDOXIA BOOK ONE) by Vilyn DeVine

VS note: From AUG 31.

Okay, so I thought being jobless, alone, and pregnant was the worst of my problems, but now I’m trapped on an alien planet. I only planned for my stay on Hydor to be for six months. It was just enough time to make the money I needed to raise this baby…until the descent sickness nearly destroys me and I’m not allowed to leave Hydor. No! I had plans to raise my baby in my sweet little seaside cottage…on Earth! But before I can figure out a way off this planet, I find myself drawn to the King of Hydor: The ruler of the royal city Eudoxia. After all he did save me and he can’t stop looking at me. The Hydorians look like humans, except they’re taller, their skin looks like the sea, and their King, Zadoc, is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen…with a tail. He’s strong and protective of me. I’m drawn to him in a way I can’t understand—and everyone keeps calling me his bonded mate. But in my new situation, I realize I left a mess on Earth and now my family is in jeopardy. Can my newfound mate keep me safe and save my family on Earth? Even if his emotions are a mess now that he feels what I feel, sees what I see, and wants me like I want him?     AmazonKU

BLOODLUST VOYAGE: COSMIC LOVERS BOOK ONE by Leda Palmer

A woman with secrets. An alien on a mission. When their spaceships collide, explosive passions ignite. What genius thought disguising a spaceship like an asteroid was a smart idea? Of course, lucky me crash landed while trying to mine it. Now my crew needs to find a real asteroid fast, or my ship will be repossessed. And me? I’m stuck on the alien vessel until I repair my busted shuttle. It doesn’t help that my new shipmate rubs me the wrong way. Lux is annoyingly handsome, unflinchingly arrogant, and loves ordering me around. Plus, he’s convinced the crash was no mistake. How will I coexist with an infuriating alien who thinks I’m the enemy? Worse, what if I can’t keep my strange obsession hidden while I’m trapped all alone with him? But then Lux’s touch makes me see stars, and I’m left questioning everything.     AmazonKU

*************************BRIEF BREAK BEFORE THE FANTASY/PNR BOOKS!***************************************

VS Note: Since FAINE is book #17 in the Badari Warriors series, I figured I’d highlight the award winning first book in the series AYDARR. All the books can be read as standalones although there is a series arc going on. Each book typically focuses on a different couple.

AYDARR (A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL): Sectors New Allies Series Book 1 

Jill Garrison, a maintenance tech at the Sectors Amarcae 7 colony, goes to sleep one night as usual only to wake up in her nightgown stranded in the middle of a forest on an unknown world. There’s no time to think as she’s stalked by carnivorous predators and rescued by genetically engineered warriors calling themselves the Badari. Turns out they and she, along with her whole colony, are now prisoners of the Khagrish, a ruthless race of alien scientists. Working for enemies of the Sectors, the Khagrish have created the Badari to be super soldiers.

Aydarr, the Badari alpha, isn’t sure he can trust Jill but his attraction to her is undeniable. He impulsively claims her as his mate to prevent her death at the hands of the Khagrish.

Can he continue to protect her from the experiments already underway? Will his claiming her put his pack in jeopardy from their alien masters?

As Jill searches for a way to rescue her fellow humans and get them all to safety, she finds herself falling for Aydarr, despite the secrets he’s keeping. She has a few of her own.

The situation becomes dire when Aydarr and his pack are sent offplanet on a mission, leaving Jill unprotected, prey for the senior scientist. Can she escape the experiments he has in mind for her? Will she be able to thwart the Khagrish plans and liberate humans and Badari alike? How will she and Aydarr reunite?

Amazon    Apple Books      B&N  Google   Kobo

******************************OKAY, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT  IF YOU DECIDE TO CHECK OUT THE BOOK  (because my own books pay my bills) AND ONWARD WE GO!*********************

BAD LUCK VAMPIRE: AN ARGENEAU NOVEL by Lynsay Sands

Alasdair MacKenzie has never once considered himself unlucky in all the centuries he’s been an immortal rogue enforcer. Not until he meets Sophie. Finding the beautiful, smart, and funny woman who is his life mate is great luck, actually. But meeting her at a wedding full of Argeneaus, not to mention his own busybody uncles determined to “help him claim his woman,” is bad luck. And the fact that Sophie is someone else’s date? Well that’s just the next level of unlucky. From the way her gaze travels over his body like a caress to the electric zing whenever they innocently touch…he wants her for all eternity! He’ll keep his hands off Sophie until her date is over. After that all bets are off and he’ll pull out all the stops to win her. Great plan—until he gets hit by a car. And then he’s poisoned. Is his luck that bad, or is someone out to stop this immortal from claiming Sophie as his life mate?

Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

REALM OF NIGHTMARES (THE FAEVEN SAGA BOOK THREE) by Hillary Raymer

After a faerie bargain goes wrong, Maeve Ruhdneah finds herself stuck in the realm of the Ether, separated from everyone she loves. Knowing she’s running out of time before Parisa attacks, Maeve develops a plan—venture to Diarmavh and gain the favor of the Wild Hunt, then make a deal with the god of death to return to Faeven. Unfortunately, Aed isn’t too keen on releasing her and worse, Maeve’s magic is failing. The longer she stays, the more she continues to lose. But a familiar face threatens to upend all she’s working toward, and as secrets from her past are revealed, the thread tying Maeve to Tiernan slowly unravels. In Niahvess, all of Tiernan’s worst fears are being realized. Faeven is dying. Maeve has yet to return from the Ether. And again, he must make the treacherous journey to Maghmell to save all that he loves. Except this time, the goddess of life is nowhere to be found. As the Four Courts begin to crumble, Tiernan is to forced look beyond the borders of Faeven for help. But as Parisa’s forces grow, the lifeblood of magic continues to fade, threatening to plunge the realm into darkness forever.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR FILES: SOUL SURVIVOR by Eileen Troemel

VS Note: A short.

Doug Kronnig assisted Harper Stanley and Devon Jacobsen in stopping the Stalker entity who tortured and killed men for fifteen years. Now the FBI Paranormal Unit wants him to work for them. Harper warns him off as he hasn’t been trained but when ghosts start appearing in Milwaukee’s tourist spots, they must stop the ghosts. Doug uses his abilities as a soul siren to draw the ghosts to him. But they promised The Stalker – Sally Barnes – they would find her body so her mother could have closure. Will they get to the bottom of all the ghosts and find Sally’s body or will Doug’s inexperience cost him more than his life?     AmazonKU

A BEAR WOLF FOR JOEL (OMEGAS OF ANIMALS BOOK 10) by Lorelai M Hart

t all started with a purr…Omega cat shifter Joel is fine being alone. Really he is. That’s how cats are. Only he isn’t fine at all. He wants more in life…he wants what his bestie found with their true mate. If only it were that easy. It all started with a commision…Alpha wolf shifter Rick is one of the only members of his pack who doesn’t work for Hansen and Wolfe Enterprises. But, then again, he isn’t really a wolf, not in the way they are, not with his father a bear. And besides, he much prefers creating his art than working up the corporate ladder. When Rick is hired by Animals to design a new art installation, he immediately agrees. If anyplace can propel his career into the stratosphere, it’s Animals. Little does he know, the show will bring him so much more than that. It will bring him his mate.     AmazonKU

DUST TO DUST (THE PROPHECY BOOK ONE) by Heather Graham

VS Note: A re-release.

Not long ago, Scott Bryant would have described himself as an ordinary guy. But one act of heroism has changed his life forever—or at least until the apocalypse occurs. Because the end of the world is on its way. Suddenly and inexplicably possessed of superhuman strength, Scott finds himself allied with the enigmatic and alluring Melanie Regan in a quest to find the mysterious Oracle in hopes of averting the absolute destruction that threatens. Melanie herself has been falling into trances, sketching terrifying visions of future events—and she wants answers. She knows better than Scott where to look for help, but even she cannot fathom the powers that have thrust them together in an epic battle of good against evil. The earth itself will soon turn against its inhabitants, and now mortal and immortal must join forces if any are to survive.

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MAGIC DISCOVERED by Various

When magic is revealed, the world will never be the same again…Magic has always remained hidden, protecting those who possess it from those who covet it. But when magic is revealed to the world, all hell breaks loose. With witches, the fae, orcs, sylphs, and even dragons on the loose, no one is safe. Our heroes must navigate a world they don’t understand, with danger at every turn. The genie is out of the bottle and now all they can do is survive.      Amazon

CHARMING HER  MONSTERS (BEWITCHING MONSTERS BOOK TWO) by Yve Vale

The big, bad monsters under the bed have come out to play. When the hot guys from the bar reveal their hidden monsters, I’m stunned and intrigued. Now I know the supernatural world from my paranormal romance novels is real, I naturally make a list of things to experience… For research. Yet, it’s finding out I’m a witch that rattles my grasp on reality. My magic is the only link to the ghost of their dead pack mate, and the key to unlocking his murder. With tensions escalating between witches and supernatural beings, I’m a dangerous tool neither side wishes to give up. Finding out I’m a witch is a shock. Finding out these monsters vow to protect their sworn enemy? Holy monster mash. Do I dare to hope that these monsters want me for more than just intel and my unique magic?     AmazonKU

TETHERED SOULS: A GAY HAREM MONSTER ROMANCE by Sienna Sway and Zelda Knight

They lurk in the shadows of my cell, haunting me at the darkest hour. For many years, I have lived by the sword, filled with hatred for the creatures of the night that have overtaken my homeland… until I am captured and placed in a cell with four of them. Now my enemies are my sole companions, and working together may be the only way we survive. But these monsters are less interested in escape than they are in breaking me down in the most sinful of ways. And the longer we are together, the more I wonder if I can ever, truly leave them behind. It seems my life is now tethered to the very monsters I swore to destroy.      AmazonKU

WOULDN’T DREAM OF WITCHING (A BROOMSTICK AND BOOKS COZY MYSTERY BOOK EIGHT) by Sara Bourgeois

In the eighth book of the Shadow Woods series, spellcaster Daphne Alcott finds herself transported to an alternate dimension where long-lost loved ones still dwell. But a gruesome murder shakes this reality, and Daphne takes it upon herself to investigate. Aided by her witty familiar Dolly and secret portal magic, Daphne races to solve the mystery before dark forces descend. Danger lurks as she gets closer to the killer’s identity. Can Daphne unravel the clues and find her way back home? Or will menacing evils trap her forever in this twisted alternate world?    AmazonKU

WHAT BECAME OF MAGIC by Paige Crutcher

Aline Weir, a witch who can talk to ghosts, has kept her talents hidden ever since a disastrous middle school slumber party, choosing to be invisible and use her powers in secret to help lost souls reunite with the keys to send them home. All the while, she finds solace in a bookstore and the three mysterious women who run it… until Aline discovers the book of Mischief, and her powers are enhanced. Living a solitary life until the age of thirty, Aline’s life takes an unexpected turn when the wrong (or perhaps right) person witnesses her using her powers and she is invited to a town that doesn’t exist on any map. Arriving in Matchstick, Aline learns of a lost magic that desperately needs to be found and only her unique powers can do it. But what she’s not told is that Magic is a person. One that is dangerous and seductive and has been waiting for a witch with a power like hers for centuries.

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HELL ON WHEELS: ROYAL BASTARDS MC LAS VEGAS, NV by Nikki Landis

VS Note: Author says there’s a “paranormal twist”.

Flint “Maddog” Shepherd is used to moving through the shadows. As a Marine veteran who served two tours overseas, he’s become skilled at hiding in plain sight and eliminating the enemy. When a bomb took the lives of his entire unit, he returned home a scarred and broken man. The nightmares from his past still play havoc with his head.
He gains a service dog as loyal as his Marine brothers, and everything starts to fall into place. Maddog’s connections lead him to the Royal Bastards MC, where joining the brotherhood renews his purpose. But now he’s fighting a cesspool of crime, drugs, power, and trafficked girls. He didn’t expect to find a young woman undercover in the sleazy underbelly of Las Vegas. He’s the only chance Lark Simmons has to survive.
Maddog won’t rest until she’s safe and back in his arms where she belongs. A Shadow Rider and a scarred veteran just might be Hell on Wheels. But even Lucifer can’t control the monster he’s unleashed. The city of sin will never be the same. What happens in Vegas belongs to the spawn of Lucifer, the RBMC. This Halloween, you’re invited to a ride with the devil.     AmazonKU

FLOWERS FOR PANDORA (QUEENS OF OLYMPUS BOOK SEVEN) by Arizona Tape

Even a goddess needs flowers sometimes. As a nurse and the current Pandora, Petunia sits with the terminally ill who have nobody to hold their hand at the end of their life. A draining but fulfilling job that leaves her with not much time or joy for herself. Gardener Ellis has her own reasons for donating flowers to the hospice. When she first meets Petunia, she’s unaware of who she’s really talking to and a gentle friendship blossoms between the two women as they discover what makes life worth living.

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MONSTERS IN LOVE: LOST IN THE DEEPS by Various

Welcome to Monsters in Love…From oceans and lakes to rivers and streams, monsters lure in their mates with their siren songs. Get twined in tentacles and fantasize about fins as you, too, are lost in the deeps. Featuring wet and wild tales of romance…Amazon

TWO FOR TEA: WELCOME TO ASATHE by C M Nascosta

The Azathé Tea Room is a strange place, indeed. There are no servers, no menus — do mind our hostess, though, she can get a bit underfoot! Help yourself to a book while you wait, and be sure to shuffle your tarot deck well before placing your order. Harper Hollingsworth wasn’t looking for a friend. She wanted peace and quiet. Someplace to lose herself in a book and not think about being a misfit; not think about her coven or her disconnect from the craft as her mother taught it, not think about being the odd goth out everywhere she went. She didn’t want to think about her lack of magical ambition, as she was regularly told by her mother’s poison-tongued familiar, and more than that — she didn’t want to feel. Anything. Companionship wasn’t her aim the day she stepped into the odd little tea room, just off Cambric Creek’s bustling Main Street. She wanted to settle into the shadows and get lost there, and if she had to talk to anyone, it would be to herself. She didn’t expect the shadows to talk back. To the strange, seldom seen owner of one of Cambric Creek’s oddest businesses, tea is more than just a beverage. They take pride in both their blends and their unorthodox method of teasing out the order each guest needs to sate more than their thirst. Azathé brews more than a fine cup of tea — they steep the smell of memories, the anticipation of the future, pain and loss, hope and longing, an elixir of health and comfort and feeling in every cup. Residing unseen in the shadows gets a bit lonely at times, an undignified emotion for one as old as themselves, and so they have made it their business to get to know their unwitting neighbors one cup of tea at a time. Guests may not know what to expect when they step over the shop’s threshold, but the owner guarantees they will feel something before they leave. The shadowy proprietor of the Azathé Tea Room isn’t content to watch Harper sink into depression day after day within the walls of their establishment. Once they intervene, Harper is drawn into their world of oddity and emotions, where the darkest shadows can reside in the light, and even the most mildly macabre witch can find her place.      AmazonKU

MIDLIFE BEAR PROTECTOR (BEAR MATES OVER 40 BOOK SIX) by Aline Ash

When their bond defies clan rules and unravels hidden secrets, can Elowen and Clay build a love strong enough to protect their family? Clay – Clay, a seasoned fighter with a dark past, bears the scars of his time in the cage. As a devoted father to his half-human daughter, he’s struggled to find peace in both the human world and his shifter clan. Despite having zero desire for new love, fate intervenes at Greenacre restaurant when he defends a beautiful chef and her children from a dangerous stalker ex. The magnetic pull toward Elowen is undeniable, but pursuing this love means defying his clan. Besides that, he has no time for love now he’s a full-time keeper to a loathed shifter he’s sworn to protect. Elowen – Elowen’s life crumbled in LA, pushing her to seek a fresh start in Greenacre with her two young kids. The enigmatic community quickly engulfs her, bringing happiness, but her past resurfaces during her restaurant’s grand opening. Her stalker ex refuses to let go, leading to a harrowing encounter with a fierce stranger, whose haunting dark eyes draw her in. In Greenacre, she discovers that second chances can mend broken dreams and heal wounded hearts. Amidst the backdrop of a mysterious town riddled with hidden truths and age-old bonds, can Clay and Elowen’s budding romance safeguard their family’s future?     AmazonKU

STOKING THE FLAMES: A REVERSE HAREM GAY FANTASY ROMANCE (THE WRAITH LORDS BOOK TWO) by Amy Sumida

The planet of Varr has been at war for centuries. A mage known as the Corrupter magically enslaves humans and uses them as his soldiers against the immortal races. As a human, I should be mortal, magicless, and susceptible to the Corrupter’s Death Magic. I am none of those things. I was born with magic, making me immune to corruption, and I recently discovered that I’m also immortal. I was also born with a destiny. I’m supposed to unite and empower Wraith Lords—the magical warriors blessed by the Goddess to fight the Corrupter. You wouldn’t think these deadly warriors would need to be empowered, but fighting the Corrupter isn’t an easy task. I can magnify their magic, especially the Spirit Magic they use to free corrupted humans. All I have to do is fall in love. I’ve already proven the Goddess’s prophecy to be true. I have two boyfriends whom I love dearly, and I’ve united us with my soul and magic, turning the three of us into an elite fighting team. But we’re not enough. The Emperor, the Goddess, the Wraith Lords, and even my lovers want me to fall in love again. And again. And again. They’re willing to share me because it means ending the war. I want to end the war, I do. But falling in love isn’t something I can just decide to do, and the more I’m pressured to do it, the harder it becomes. As my heart flounders, the Corrupter grows stronger. For the moment, he thinks I’m dead. But that will change soon enough and then he’ll be coming for me. Him and his Death Magic.     AmazonKU

SPIDER AND FROST: AN ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN AND MYTHOS ACADEMY NOVELLA by Jenniferr Estep

WHEN AN ASSASSIN . . .My name is Gin Blanco, and I’m on vacation. Sort of. As the assassin the Spider, it’s hard for me to completely relax, but I’m determined to enjoy a scenic train ride and a nice, quiet lunch before heading back home to Ashland. My plans change when Gwen Frost boards the train. The girl says she’s heading back to Mythos Academy, the fancy private boarding school, but I can’t shake the feeling that Gwen is hiding something—and is in far more trouble than she realizes. . . . MEETS A CHAMPION – My name is Gwen Frost. I might have saved the world from Loki, the evil Norse god of chaos, but I’m still chasing down Reaper villains. It’s all part of being the Champion of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. I’ve been assigned to protect some mythological artifacts that are being transported via train to Mythos Academy, but some Reapers are hot on my trail, and they’ll do anything to recover the artifacts—and kill me. Also on the train is Gin Blanco, who claims to be the owner of the Pork Pit barbecue restaurant. My psychometry magic keeps whispering that there’s more to her than meets the eye, although I can’t tell if Gin is a friend, an enemy, or something else entirely.

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BIG MAGIC (THE WITCHES OF HOLLOW COVE BOOK 14) by Kim Richardson

I was sure that once I got married, my crazy life would calm down. It didn’t. And when a stranger shows up in our town, everything falls apart…Join Tessa and her aunts on a thrilling adventure filled with magic, mystery, and unexpected twists. With their unique bond and unbreakable spirit, they prove that even in the face of darkness, light will always prevail.     Amazon

OF DUST AND STARS (THE MIST KING BOOK FOUR) by Jenna Wolfhart

Tessa will never again see her mate. Even in her dreams she cannot find him. Trapped in a vow with the God of Death, she’s cursed to live the rest of her days in captivity. Until the gods offer her a deal. If Tessa undergoes a series of trials designed to strip her of her humanity, Andromeda will release her from the vow. And if she refuses, pestilence and famine will consume Dubnos until no one is left alive. Tessa is forced to play their wicked game. She’ll do whatever it takes to reunite with Kalen, even it means embracing the darkness inside her. The fate of the world hangs in the balance. And if the knife’s edge breaks, death will reign.     AmazonKU

BONDED (THE CANDLE DISTRICT) by Isabeau Moon

VS Note: This book is a previously released short story now expanded into a novel, per the Author.

Two fierce souls collide in a sapphic paranormal romance that will set their world ablaze.Naemi, an innocent wolf with an indomitable spirit, stands at a crossroads, determined to wrest control of her destiny from the clutches of her Alpha father. Little does she know that her decision will set in motion a chain of events that will forever alter her course. Arami, a formidable dragon with a legacy to uphold, has always embraced her role as the future Alpha of her clan. Her life is meticulously orchestrated, every moment planned alongside her partner. But when a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger shatters the foundations of her existence, Arami’s world is thrown into turmoil. As the call to mate rumbles through their very beings, Naemi and Arami find themselves thrust into an unexpected love affair that defies tradition and expectation. But their passionate connection is not without its challenges if they are to accept the profound destiny that fate has laid before them.     AmazonKU

FLAME: TRIALS OF BLOOD BOOK THREE by Rebecca Royce

This is the end of my story…but somehow it is also a beginning – I’m at the mercy of creatures with none. There is no escape and no way out of what has always been my destiny. The vampires controlled my life before I even knew that they existed. But I am not without my own power. I love my guys and I think they must love me in their own vampire way. So when I am given the chance to enact revenge on what was done to me and so many others, my enemies will find I am not the young girl who was once their servant, or the love sick paramour who wanted so desperately to be accepted. No, I am the flame who has come to burn any who get in my way. *The reader should know this is book 3 in the Trials of Blood series. This is the happy ending and it completes the trilogy*     AmazonKU

THE STOAT AND THE DEBUTANTE (THE SHIFTER SEASON BOOK SEVEN) by Laura Greenwood

A future viscount desperately in search of a wife, and a stoat shifter looking for an escape meet in a ballroom. Mr Frederick Stoaly is in need of a wife, preferably one with an inheritance big enough to save his family from ruin. And with a new Season about to start, the stoat shifter has every reason to think that this time, he’ll find the woman of his dreams.    Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

FOUL HEART HUNTSMAN (FOUL LADY FORTUNE) by Chloe Gong

Winter is drawing thick in 1932 Shanghai, as is the ever-nearing threat of a Japanese invasion. Rosalind Lang has suffered the worst possible fate for a national spy: she’s been exposed. With the media storm camped outside her apartment for the infamous Lady Fortune, she’s barely left her bedroom in weeks, plotting her next course of action after Orion was taken and his memories of Rosalind wiped. Though their marriage might have been a sham, his absence hurts her more than any physical wound. She won’t rest until she gets him back. But with her identity in the open, the task is near impossible. The only way to leave the city and rescue Orion is under the guise of a national tour. It’s easy to convince her superiors that the countryside needs unity more than ever, and who better than an immortal girl to stir pride and strength into the people? When the tour goes wrong, however, everything Rosalind once knew is thrown up in the air. Taking refuge outside Shanghai, old ghosts come into the open and adversaries turn to allies. To save Orion, they must find a cure to his mother’s traitorous invention and take this dangerous chemical weapon away from impending foreign invasion—but the clock is ticking, and if Rosalind fails, it’s not only Orion she loses, but her nation itself.

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THE UNDETECTABLES by Courtney Smyth

A magical serial killer is stalking the Occult town of Wrackton. Hypnotic whistling causes victims to chew their own tongues off, leading to the killer being dubbed the Whistler (original, right?). Enter the Undetectables, a detective agency run by three witches and a ghost in a cat costume (don’t ask). They are hired to investigate the murders, but with their only case so far left unsolved, will they be up to the task? Mallory, the forensic science expert, is struggling with pain and fatigue from her recently diagnosed fibromyalgia. Cornelia is suddenly stirring all sorts of feelings in Mallory. Diana is hitting up all her ex-girlfriends for information. And not forgetting ghostly Theodore: deceased, dramatic, and also the agency’s first – unsolved – murder case. With bodies stacking up and the case leading them to mysteries at the very heart of magical society, can the Undetectables find the Whistler before they become the killer’s next victims?      Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

THE POMEGRANATE GATE (THE MIRROR REALM CYCLE BOOK ONE) by Ariel Kaplan

Toba Peres can speak, but not shout; sleep, but not dream. She can write with both hands at once, in different languages, but she keeps her talents hidden at her grandparents’ behest. Naftaly Cresques sees things that aren’t real, and dreams things that are. Always the family disappointment, Naftaly would still risk his life to honor his father’s last wishes. After the Queen demands every Jew convert or face banishment, Toba and Naftaly are among thousands of Jews who flee their homes. Defying royal orders to abandon all possessions, Toba keeps an amulet she must never take off; Naftaly smuggles a centuries-old book he’s forbidden to read. But the Inquisition is hunting these particular treasures–and they’re not hunting alone. Toba stumbles through a pomegranate grove into the mirror realm of the Mazik: mythical, terrible immortals with an Inquisition of their own, equally cruel and even more powerful. With the Mazik kingdoms in political turmoil, this Inquisition readies its bid to control both realms. In each world, Toba and Naftaly must evade both Inquisitions long enough to unravel the connection between their family heirlooms and the realm of the Mazik. Their fates are tied to this strange place, and it’s up to them to save it.

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MARKED IN FLAMES (ASPEN PACK BOOK FIVE) by Carrie Ann Ryan

My mate rejected me, leaving me broken. I refuse to let that happen again—even if Steele is the one for me. I hold the power of flame and future in my hands, but I know the world is watching. Waiting for us to fall. The truth and lies that bind the Aspen Pack together are crumbling and I am to bear witness to its fate. I know the Enforcer of the Aspens is my mate. Yet neither of us want what fate decrees. So, we’ll fight side by side and ignore the burning attraction between us. Only when a traitor rocks the foundation of all we know, we might not have a choice to who we cling to in despair. The vampires were only the pawns in this war. The demons are on their way. And if we’re not careful, the Aspen Pack could lose someone that breaks them. And I could lose my mate. Again.   AmazonKU     AB

ANGELS OF SIN – DARK DESIRE by Lara A Steel

During a weekend getaway in the Canadian wilderness, Rose is attacked out of nowhere. She manages to escape to a solitary cabin. She hammers on the door in a panic and it’s opened by a very disconcerted man who only reluctantly lets her in. Rose has just begun to recover from the shock when she realizes the stranger, who introduces himself to her as Damian, is as dangerous as he is enigmatic. A snowstorm forces her to spend more time in the cabin with him than she’d hoped, and she soon learns that Damian is far from normal, and that his presence alone is a mortal danger to her.     AmazonKU

THE FLYING MERMAID by Eule Gray

Craw city has always been magical, at least to Luce. No boring war could ever make her love her seaside home any less. There’s the beach, where she and Adu can mess around and cause trouble, as well as the ancient songs they love to sing. Legends state that a vengeful mermaid named Sea Mother will protect the children from war. Why worry about politics and fighting? Nobody would risk the wrath of an angry sea serpent. Would they? So why are groups of people fleeing the city, and why do Luce’s parents disappear every day to partake in mystery war work? What exactly are they doing, and why doesn’t Luce’s artist mother invite her along? One day, Luce spies something that rocks her beliefs and changes everything. Her faith in the sea, and all she holds dear, will be sorely tested. But love is fierce, and so are sea goddesses.

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BOND: BECOMING THE VAMPIRE QUEEN BOOK TWO by BE Brouilliard

What is that old saying? “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?” I took it too far.     AmazonKU

THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V E Schwab

Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory—Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London. But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years—and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland’s absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own—but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown it instead. And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely. These two royals from very different empires now face very similar struggles: how to keep their crowns—and their own heads. Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds. Her name is Tes, and she’s the only one who can bring them together—or unravel it all.

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MERMAIDS NEVER DROWN: TALES TO DIVE FOR (UNTOLD LEGENDS BOOK 2) by Various

14 Young Adult short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors make a splash in Mermaids Never Drown – the second collection in the Untold Legends series edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker – exploring mermaids like we’ve never seen them before! A Vietnamese mermaid caught between two worlds. A siren who falls for Poseidon’s son. A boy secretly pining for the merboy who saved him years ago. A storm that brings humans and mermaids together. Generations of family secrets and pain. Find all these stories and more in this gripping new collection that will reel you in from the very first page! Welcome to an ocean of hurt, fear, confusion, rage, hope, humor, discovery, and love in its many forms.     Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

WEREWOLF DAYS OF SUMMER: WEREWOLF DAYS BOOK ONE by Zavian Glory

Cayden Winter has been trying to get his life back together since the day his abusive ex left him for someone else, but he doesn’t think he’s ready for a new relationship yet. That is, until he meets his hot new neighbor, Adrien, and gets hired by him to build a new website for the company Adrien works for. The fact that Adrien wants anything to do with him beyond business, though, just seems too good to be true. When Adrien Magnus is asked to get a new website for his brother-in-law’s company, he doesn’t expect that his cute neighbor will be the one to do it, nor does he expect Cayden to agree to go on a date with him when he asks. But dating a human brings a set of challenges he didn’t fully consider, the biggest of which is how to explain that he’s a werewolf. Until the night Adrien breaks one of the strictest werewolf rules and goes out alone on the night of the full moon, only to be hit by a car and left in pain in front of Cayden’s house, changing everything. But who would drive onto Cayden’s lawn and attempt to hit what appeared to be a dog, and why?

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THE SIREN, THE SONG AND THE SPY by Maggie Tokuda Hall

By sinking a fleet of Imperial Warships, the Pirate Supreme and their resistance fighters have struck a massive blow against the Emperor. Now allies from across the empire are readying themselves, hoping against hope to bring about the end of the conquerors’ rule and the rebirth of the Sea. But trust and truth are hard to come by in this complex world of mermaids, spies, warriors, and aristocrats. Who will Genevieve—lavishly dressed but washed up, half-dead, on the Wariuta island shore—turn out to be? Is warrior Koa’s kindness toward her admirable, or is his sister Kaia’s sharp suspicion wiser? And back in the capital, will pirate-spy Alfie really betray the Imperials who have shown him affection, especially when a duplicitous senator reveals xe would like nothing better? Meanwhile, the Sea is losing more and more of herself as her daughters continue to be brutally hunted, and the Empire continues to expand through profits made from their blood. The threads of time, a web of schemes, shifting loyalties, and blossoming identities converge in Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s remarkable companion to The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea, as unlikely young allies work to forge a new and better world.

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BLACK RIVER ORCHARD by Chuck Wendig

VS Note: Fantasy/Horror.

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something besides the season is changing there. Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black. Take a bite of one of these apples, and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker. This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples . . . and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful? Even if something else is buried in the orchard besides the seeds of these extraordinary trees: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town. But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. It’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

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VOWS AND RUINS (THE LEGENDS OF THEZMARR BOOK TWO) by Helen Scheurer

Against all odds, Althea Zoltaire emerged from her trials as a champion. Now, she must train even harder and prepare herself to become a true warrior of Thezmarr. But Thea’s world is turned upside down as she struggles to navigate her newfound magic and uncover the secrets of her past. Slowly, she begins to untangle the truth about her family, her powers and the evil that threatens to engulf the kingdom. When Wilder Hawthorne returns to be her official mentor, everything changes. Dark forces are gathering, and he will stop at nothing to prepare her for the challenges to come, even if it means breaking her. As war looms and their quest for answers leads master and apprentice deeper into danger, the undeniable connection between them intensifies – defying all odds, but also threatening to tear them apart. With secrets unravelling and evil closing in, Thea and Wilder fight to save the world, and each other. The fate of the realms rests in their hands – will they emerge victorious, or will the darkness consume them both?   AmazonKU

THE SOUL OF AN ANGEL (SUPERNATURAL AFFAIRS BOOK FIVE) by F N Manning

In a battle between Heaven and Hell, two lovers must fight to stay together and save the world. Frost the angel takes pride in protecting others as an agent with the Department of Supernatural Affairs. But his days on Earth are numbered when his family intends to drag him back to Heaven. After centuries of precious freedom, wishing for more time feels greedy. It’s just a shame that Nathan enters the picture right when his time as a free man is up. Being a high school music teacher isn’t exactly glamorous, but Nathan Clinton is happy with his life. He already did the impossible once by escaping toxic, controlling parents and starting over, so stopping the demons after his immortal soul should be a piece of cake… right? Good thing a beautiful angel has offered his assistance. When angels and demons start taking an interest in Earth and the world is threatened, Frost and Nathan find themselves in the middle of a brewing war between worlds. With the angel being pulled to Heaven and Nathan being dragged to Hell, is there any hope of them being together on this world—and also saving the Earth?   AmazonKU

THE CHANGING MAN by Tomi Oyedakinde

Face front. Watch your back. BE BRAVE. If it was left to her, Ife Adebola wouldn’t be starting at Nithercott School. Because despite her being in the Urban Achievers scholarship program, her parents can barely afford the tuition. No matter who is trying to be friends with her, like her classmate Bijal, or how much the prestigious boarding school tries to pull her in, Ife is determined not to get caught up in any of it. But when another student, Malika, begins acting strange, Ife can’t help but wonder if there’s more going on at Nithercott than she realizes. Could there be any truth to the school’s decades-old legend of the Changing Man? Is there any connection to the missing older brother of her classmate, Ben? As more questions arise, Ife has no choice but to team up with Ben and Bijal to investigate. But can the trio act quickly enough to uncover who is behind everything, before one—or all—of them is the Changing Man’s next victim?     Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

THE INVISIBLE WORLD by Nora Fussner

Eve is a frustrated young artist and the owner of what she believes is a haunted house. Sandra is an overworked producer at Searching for . . . the Invisible World, a paranormal investigations show perpetually on the brink of cancelation. When the show descends upon Eve’s home, they’re intent on creating just another staged spectacle. But, unexpectedly, the crew encounters some very real activity—shelves collapse, electronics go haywire, a cameraman disappears in the dead of night. Meanwhile, the show’s teenage ghost hunter Caitlin is caught up in the unexplained events, convinced she’s glimpsing the “other side” and desperate to make contact—even if it means putting the investigation, and herself, in jeopardy. As the terror mounts, it’s up to the show’s harried, skeptical producer, Sandra, to create order from the madness—or will the madness take her, too?      Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

THIS DARK DESCENT by Kalyn Josephson

Mikira Rusel’s family has long been famous for breeding enchanted horses, but their prestige is no match for their rising debts. To save her ranch, Mikira has only one option: she must win the Illinir, a treacherous horserace whose riders either finish maimed or murdered. Yet each year, competitors return, tempted by its alluring prize money and unparalleled prestige. Mikira’s mission soon unites her with Arielle Kadar, an impressive yet illicit enchanter just beginning to come into her true power, and Damien Adair, a dashing young lord in the midst of a fierce succession battle. Both have hidden reasons of their own to help Mikira — as well as their own blood feuds to avenge…Steeped in Jewish folklore, This Dark Descent is a pulse-pounding new fantasy full of forbidden magic, sizzling romance, and epic stakes. In a world as dangerous as this, will the need for vengeance butcher Mikira’s chances of winning the Illinir … or will another rider’s dagger?     Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

RED by Pelaam

VS Note: M/M paranormal romance.

Ceron, known as Red, comes from the village neighbouring a Wolven pack. Storm, son of the Wolven Alpha, befriends Ceron, who finds that friendship soon becomes something much deeper. For generations, Ceron’s people and the Wolven have lived in peace, but now, the Wolven are accused of attacking villagers. Ceron and Storm know they’ll face prejudice as their relationship deepens. But more dangerous and deadly is an unknown enemy.

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THE WITCHES OF BONE HILL: A NOVEL by Ava Morgyn

Cordelia Bone’s meticulously crafted life and career in Dallas are crashing down around her thanks to a philandering husband with criminal debts. When her older, carefree sister, Eustace—a cannabis grower in Boulder—calls to inform her that the great aunt they never met has died and they must travel to a small town in Connecticut to deal with the estate, she sees an opportunity to unload the house and save herself.But once there, the sisters learn they are getting much more than they bargained for. The Victorian mansion they stand to inherit is bound in a dynasty trust controlled by their late aunt’s aging attorney, who insists they retain and inhabit the house but keeps them in the dark about the peculiar rituals of their ancestors. Not to mention a sexy, tattooed groundskeeper with a shrouded past who refuses to leave the carriage house and a crypt full of dead relatives looming at the property line. As both women grapple with their current predicament, they come face to face with a haunting family secret, the truth of what happened to their mother, and the enemy that’s been stalking them from the shadows for generations. In a twisting torrent of terror and blood, the sisters must uncover the power within them to heal their fractured relationship, reverse their mysteriously declining health, and claim the lineage they wanted to escape but now must embrace if they are to survive at Bone Hill.      Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

BOUND FOR THEIR PLEASURE (COVERTED PREY BOOK 18) by L V Lane

War leaves my family destitute. My enviable life comes to an end. I shouldn’t covet the stern shifter who turns up offering to work for free. Even if he lights a fire under my curiosity when he casually mentions I’m in need of a firm, corrective hand. I definitely shouldn’t dream about the handsome barbarian who swore we would wed and then dropped me in the river. Although the stuffy lord I’m expected to marry does not stir my heart, I understand that he is the practical choice. But fate and a masked stranger have different plans for me.     AmazonKU

KINGDOM OF CLAWS (KINGDOM SHIFTER SERIES BOOK ONE) by Quinn Loftis

In a world hidden within our own, magical beings live among us, capable of transforming into majestic animals… if they find their mate. Kingdoms of these enigmatic beings, called beastwalkers, have existed for centuries, each species governed by their own regal king and queen. One thing the courts crave above all else are the animi—human females who can unlock a beastwalker’s ability to shift into their animal forms. Lola Katz is known for three things, talking too much, being obsessed with paranormal romance books, and her two-toned skin. Lola’s vitiligo makes her feel both invisible and a specimen under a microscope at the same time. The nineteen-year-old, New York City waitress has no plans further than attending community college and hanging out with her two besties, Katy and Maddie. But when she starts seeing men with exotic, animal-like features, Lola starts to believe she’s losing her grip on reality. Then Lola meets Callon Leo, the prince of the Kingdom of Claws. Callon is handsome, enigmatic, and thinks of nothing else but his duty to his kingdom…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)     Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

I WENT ON AN ADVENTURE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS BARBARIAN ORC: CRACK FANTASY ADVENTURE CHAPTER 2 by Jennifer Cody

VS note: LGBTQ Fantasy 

Berklak: Starting an adventure is always an exciting time. I’ve gone on a few by myself, but nothing compares to gathering a full party and seeing how everyone will mesh. We might have a clumsy bard and a chaotic paladin, but with everyone working together, we’ll figure out what’s happening in Fasgard. We may have to break a few laws to do it, but I don’t think there’s anything an orc would change about that. Well, I might change how quickly I’m getting attached to the necromancer, but there’s nothing to be done about that now; he’s mine. Lawton: I’m finally getting out of the palace, and I even manage to do it without breaking too many laws! Only, like, two, maybe three depending on your interpretation of “smuggler” and “spy.” My adventuring party is amazing. They like me, don’t flinch when I touch them, and are genuinely interested in my magic, and I don’t know if a necromancer could ask for anything more. Well, except for maybe a few more hours of alone time with his traveling companion; I could definitely get behind (or rather in front of) that idea.     AmazonKU

SINS OF THE FLESH: FORBIDDEN OMEGAVERSE BOOK FOUR by Evangeline Anderson

My name is Zoe and I have committed Sins of the Flesh. But it’s not my fault—none of it would have happened if they hadn’t kidnapped me that fateful day…They took me and my mother and forced us to become part of their Pack. I didn’t even know I had Were blood until they took us. But then my body started changing—developing in ways it never had before. I started having cravings…longings. But I wasn’t allowed to look at any of the Alphas. My cruel new stepfather had plans for me—I would marry another Pack Master—a ugly, evil man, old enough to be my grandfather. And until then, my stepbrothers, Christopher and Gabriel were supposed to watch over me. I felt a tingle when they held me between them, but my stepbrothers weren’t supposed to touch me—their whole job was to keep me innocent and pure. I was supposed to be a virgin on my wedding night. They were sent to deliver me to my new husband—but we were forced off the road and taken as prisoners. The cartel leader who took us holds a grudge against my stepfather. At first he wanted to execute us all…but when he saw the three of us together, he got other ideas. He wanted to us to put on a private show, just for him and to do things…things a girl should never do with her stepbrothers. Can the three of us escape the clutches of the cartel and the vengeance of the Pack to find true love together?     Amazon     Kobo

SHIFTERS OF BLACK FOREST RIDGE BOOK THREE: MACK by Sedona Venez

I’ve known she was my fated mate for years. Now, she’s back. I saved Aurora’s life when we were young, but I couldn’t protect her when she left. When she’s back in Black Forest Ridge for her grandmother’s birthday, our chemistry is stronger than ever. My need to protect and worship her pulls at me every time I see her. It was painful to watch her walk out of my life before, but having her so close and out of reach is torture. All I want is to be able to prove myself worthy of her. She is perfect to me. Her walls are high, and her guard is up. This is my last chance to claim her before my feral madness sets in.

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HOUSE OF ASH AND SHADOW (GILDED CITY BOOK ONE) by Leia Stone

Seventeen-year-old Fallon Bane was born with a curse: A single touch from another person will always cause her excruciating pain. Thus, she has accepted that she will die without ever being kissed, without even hugging her own father. But when her beloved father falls ill, she breaks into the magical Gilded City to find a healer fae who can save him. When handsome healer Ariyon Madden agrees to help, everything she knows about herself and her curse changes. Because during her father’s healing, Ariyon reaches out and touches her bare skin. She waits for the agony…but it never comes. For the first time in her life, she imagines a new future for herself. However, that fantasy is short-lived, because not only does Ariyon flee from her in disgust when he learns of her curse, he also reveals her existence to powerful fae who want to hurt her. Fallon is then swept away to a magical academy, where she learns the terrifying truth about her family history and her dark magic. Her life and the future of fae everywhere hang in the balance, and all the while Fallon is dreaming of being touched by Ariyon Madden one more time before she dies.    AmazonKU     AB

GHOST TRAIN (HAUNTED SOULS BOOK 16) by Pandora Pine

All aboard the ghost train! If you dare…Needing a well-deserved vacation, psychics Copeland Forbes and Tennyson Grimm accept an offer to take The Lincoln Ghost Train from Boston to Chicago. While on board, the psychics will provide private readings to the passengers and will speak with the spirits who inhabit each of the famously haunted locations the tour will visit. When Cope has an eerie premonition of danger, he chalks it up to being overtired and boards the sleeper car with his family in tow. Detective Jude Byrne is burned out from working cold cases with his partner Ronan O’Mara. Both men are leery of taking the haunted train, but finally acquiesce when they’re told the second half of the trip will include a week’s stay at a dude ranch out west. Worried his husband will encounter spirits more powerful than his gift can handle, Jude vows to protect his family at all costs. One day into the trip, Cope encounters Augusta Harbor, a Civil War widow who has spent the last century and half searching for her son, a Union soldier who died on a muddy battlefield mere months before the conflict ended. She appears to be a kind woman dealing with unimaginable heartbreak, but Cope is well aware that looks can be deceiving. What no one knows is that Augusta will go to any length to reunite with her son, even if that means making Jude and Cope permanent inhabitants of the ghost train.     AmazonKU

THE KRAKEN’S PRIZE: MATCHMAKER MONSTER ROMANCE SERIES, BOOK TWO by Luna Joya

A witch cursed me to roam the seas in my monstrous kraken form. For years, my crew and I have sailed in search of the key to break her spell. But this pirate has found the most valuable treasure of all…the witch’s daughter. With vengeance curses, a sea monster masquerading as the cutest otter, and a heroine with a serious sticker-obsessed planner addiction, The Kraken’s Prize is the second book in the Matchmaker Monster Romance series. The books promise a happily ever after for each of the four friends who walk into a haunted house, not knowing that monsters are real. Or that they’ve been matched to the monsters inside.     AmazonKU

SHATTERED KINGDOM BOOK ONE by Sara Snow

Deep in the heart of the forbidden forest, I seek a miracle. Hushed rumors tell tales of a legendary bloom—a rare elixir with the power to save my father. Yet, it thrives only in the shadow of a castle—the domain of the formidable Alpha King. A creature as dark and lethal as the night, his hatred for humans is legendary. Family. Love. Duty… HOPE. But fate is a mischievous player, and unwittingly, I walk straight into the Fae King’s trap. I’m caught in the act, discovered by the very beast I dared to defy. The Alpha King? His heart knows nothing of mercy. Imprisoned, I shiver in his dungeon’s chilling embrace. Destined for two things: These walls…And the undeniable magnetism of the Alpha King.     AmazonKU

DUELLING DEBAUCHERY (WITCHES OF ARCHER’S HOLLOW BOOK TWO) by Constance Barker and Savannah Mills

Is it a howl in the night, or a deeper darkness stirring within? The sleepy town of Archer’s Hollow is awake with whispers. A mangled body in the woods suggests a werewolf, but can things truly be this straightforward? Miles, Fiona’s fiery ginger familiar, has his doubts. And when Levi, the enigmatic journalist with a trove of magical insights, hints at a secret cult with mind-warping powers, the plot thickens. Dive into a realm where the line between man and beast blurs, and where attending an exclusive witch’s soiree could reveal more than Fiona ever bargained for.     AmazonKU

DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS (WITCHES OF ARCHER’S HOLLOW BOOK THREE) by Constance Barker and Savannah Mills

When a cursed dagger disappears and a sacred life is snuffed out, who—or what—is to blame? From Fiona Byrne’s cryptic inheritance comes a new calamity—Grandmother Agatha’s cursed dagger is missing, and it’s turned up as the weapon in a shocking murder. The victim? None other than a cornerstone of the church hierarchy. Fiona, alongside her cunning feline familiar, Miles, and the enigmatic magical journalist Levi, finds herself entangled in a dire quest. Is this malevolent act the work of paranormal forces, or is the evil far more human than anyone dares to imagine?    AmazonKU

THE VULNERABLE HUMAN: MM GARGOYLE X HUMAN PARANORMAL ROMANCE  (MYSTICS OF MISTVALE BOOK TWO) by Stella Rainbow

A protective gargoyle who works as a bodyguard. A human chef in need of protection. A stalker that brings them together. Vo – When my instincts reacted after overhearing a panicked phone call, all I could do was follow the human home and watch over him. Discovering he had a cute little daughter and someone was stalking him, I couldn’t stop myself from offering my bodyguard services to him. It didn’t take me long to realize Trick was my mate, and once I did, nothing could stop me from making sure he and his daughter stayed safe, not bullets, poison, or anything else his stalker could throw at me. Trick – When my sister got sick, I broke up with my boyfriend, left my job in New York and moved to Mistvale to take care of her and her newborn baby. Six months later, I lost my sister and became a father. Lena and I were finally settling into life in Mistvale when someone started leaving notes at my door. When my babysitter called me in a panic, I knew I needed to do something. I’d do anything to keep my daughter safe, even hire a bodyguard. It didn’t hurt that Vo was as hot as he was sweet.     AmazonKU

WOLF’S JAILBIRD (BRIDES FOR BEASTS: WOLVES BOOK TWO) by Candace Ayers

When I’m offered a get out of jail free card, I take it. All I have to do is pop out a pup for money. One minute I’m entering some weird mating ceremony. The next, a hot hunk with bulging biceps is claiming me. Men only ever want one thing from me. And, hey, I’ll give it. It’s in my contract. But this wolf daddy wants more. I don’t do love or affection. I don’t even know how. This is just a job. Why does he make me long for something I’ve never had? ** This is a SHORT, feel-good, instalove-inspired, fated mates wolf shifter romance.**      AmazonKU

BLOOD (PRODIGIUM ACADEMY BOOK FIVE) by Katie May

One of my mates is dead. The rest of them have been taken hostage. And me? I’m just a crazy demon-goddess on a warpath. Zeus has gone too far this time. There are some things I can forgive, but this isn’t one of them. My only option is to recruit an army of monsters to destroy the god who’s supposed to rule over us all. In order to do that, I have to make two trips. First, I must visit the monster council—who all hate vampires—and beg for their help in the battle to come. Second, I’ll need to travel to hell to free the Fomorians, an enslaved species of monsters who have been locked away for thousands of years by my biological father. I’ll save my mates, kill a god, and reclaim the crown that was always supposed to be mine. What could possibly go wrong? Zeus, I’m coming for you.     AmazonKU

MONSTER’S PLEASURE (PROTHEKAN MONSTER PETS) by Anne Hale and Celeste King

He’s a walking nightmare and our love is a twisted dream…She’s been a plaything for the dark elves for far too long. I’ll kill all of them to make her mine. Their screams of agony will be replaced…By our screams of pleasure. But I know that once I have her in my claws she’ll never want to leave. Yes, I terrify her. But that just makes the pleasure so much stronger. I’ve been a monster for so long. But now I’ve found the woman who will be my mate for the rest of her life. If she surrenders, we will reign forever – our lives lost in bliss. …And if she runs, her death will be quick.     AmazonKU

CASSIAN by Grae Bryan

Cass doesn’t know exactly why he can’t get over his massive, hopeless crush on his roommate. It might have something to do with how gorgeous and sweet and completely out of his league Blake is, but who can really say? Blake doesn’t know exactly why he’s so protective of his roommate. It could have something to do with how adorable and earnest and easy to be around Cass is, but who can say for sure? But when the first night of their Spring Break road trip leads Cass to an encounter with someone otherworldly, and he wakes up with two cravings—blood and Blake—the two will have to reconcile their feelings for each other once and for all. CASSIAN IS A HEATED, FATED-MATES, ROOMMATES-TO-LOVERS, SHORT NOVELLA WITH A HEA AND NO CLIFFHANGER. ~ 17,000 WORDS. IT CONTAINS A NERDY, INSECURE COLLEGE STUDENT AND THE GORGEOUS JOCK HE’S HEAD OVER HEELS FOR. IT ALSO CONTAINS STEAMY SCENES AND THE MENTIONS OF BLOOD ONE MIGHT EXPECT FROM A VAMPIRE ROMANCE. IT FIRST APPEARED IN THE MAGIC MISSIVE NEWSLETTER.     AmazonKU

HOT SPRINGS HOMICIDE (PURGATORY FALLS MYSTERIES BOOK FOUR) by Nikki Haverstock

Having recently decided to make Purgatory Falls her home, Brooke dives into helping with the annual Founders’ Week events. The mermaid (and occasional amateur sleuth) is tasked with helping tourists, students and history enthusiasts collect stamps for a special memento, but quickly gets swept into the search for a stolen bracelet–which leads to the discovery of a dead body. Meanwhile, a decades-old hunt for treasure foretold to be discovered during Founders’ Week has turned dangerous in a way that hits close to home for Brooke. Her best friend Twyla’s home–a large tree that is a part of the tree nymph herself–is attacked by treasure hunters. Rather than sit around and hope, Brooke decides to end the frenzy before anyone else is hurt by finding the treasure herself. But Brooke’s own history might be wrapped up in the history of the town and searching for the treasure puts her in more danger than she has ever been in before.

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WERELOCK by Dakota Cassidy

To keep her tired cooped-up sister from annihilating her niece and nephew and to appease their taunts that “Auntie Addison needs to get a life,” Addison Ross agrees to go on a pumpkin picking expedition with them. And, hoo boy does she ever pick a winner. Beneath the pumpkin she chooses, a talisman is buried. A talisman that brings the delish Caleb Marsden to her door and into her life. Caleb Marsden, the werelock. Half werewolf, half warlock, the scrumptious Caleb holds the key to keeping the talisman safe, but he also unlocks something in Addison. Something long tucked away, wanton and wicked. Something she doesn’t want to risk losing. He’s come to protect Addison until All Hallows Eve when a demon will try to wrest the talisman from her and take over the world. If the demon, Volac, gets his hands on the talisman, not only will the world know devastating destruction, but Caleb’s life may come to a devastating end.

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THE WITCHING HOUR (MOUNT BELL 2) by Marteeka Karland

Hazel really wants to fulfill her potential and be the witch her Grandma always said she could be. Unfortunately, though her spells always work, they never quite work the way they’re supposed to. Drake, the hunky werewolf next door, has been dutifully watching over Hazel for the local coven. He’s not convinced she’s a witch, until she accidentally turns him into a dog. Of all the indignities. Now she’s got his undivided attention, and my oh my how she’s grown up. Man, has Drake got an appetite for a certain witch… and it’s all for her own good. After all, who ever heard of a virgin witch?

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THE DEMON’S DEALBREAKER by  Delaney Rain

A witch, two fairies, a minor god, and four demons walk into a bar and suddenly Dwyer Eamonn’s life will never be the same. Turns out that Dwyer’s parents promised him—their firstborn—as payment when they made eight different deals with various supernatural beings. At the stroke of midnight on his twenty-first birthday, every single claimant comes calling, ready to make Dwyer their heir. Unable to deny them all, it’s up to Dwyer to choose which supernatural being he wants to become by spending time with each of them. What does a witch do all day? Do crossroads demons really hang out on street corners? He has eight hours to learn about them one at a time before he must make a decision. Right away, one of them draws Dwyer in like no one ever has. He doesn’t want to become a demon, but he does want to be with one. Is that even possible? And since choosing an heir means these people want to shuffle off their mortal coil, is love reason enough to make one of them stay? After all, they’ll have forever once Dwyer makes his choice. The Demon’s Dealbreaker is a M/M paranormal romance featuring a cranky cast of supernatural beings who thought they’d all made deals for a firstborn son, a human man who knew magic existed but not at this level, parents who deserve what they get, and the revelation of several incredible secrets as the dealbreaker becomes who he was always meant to be.     AmazonKU

BLOODWOLF by Sierra Dafoe

Evil lurks in the desert – Journalist Lauren Cole has everything she ever wanted — a life away from the madness of LA, and a hot hunk of a guy to share it with — Professor Randy Anders. An archeological expedition into the Arizona desert sounds like the perfect prelude to their marriage. There’s just one problem — Randy’s more interested in his fossils than he is in her. Suddenly everything seems to be falling apart. And Lauren’s beginning to suspect there’s more under the Arizona clay than just old bones…An unlikely savior – Marked by an ancient evil, the um al duwayce, Baudouin Delacor wanders the earth, solitary, friendless, and hopeless. Centuries ago it turned him into a beast for which there had never before been a name — not the loup garou, the werewolf, but the loup de sang. The BloodWolf. Driven by a bloodlust he can neither control nor deny, Delacor has only one hope left: that by destroying the succubus, he can free himself of its curse. Now, amid the vast, arid beauty of Arizona’s deserts, the evil is awakening again, and Delacor is all that stands between the um al duwayce and humanity. If only Lauren will trust him enough to accept his help.

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EVERY WISH WAY: A NOVEL by Shannon Bright

Raised by a mother whose ironclad motto is “men are trash,” Iza longs to prove her wrong, ideally with a kind, steady boyfriend who will free her from the exhausting treadmill that is dating.  Although she’s willing to try (almost) anything to find love, accidentally summoning a wish-granting stranger out of thin air was never part of the plan. Unfortunately, Beckett, her personal wish-granter, isn’t exactly the sage and generous being she would expect. Instead, he loves to party, has attitude to spare, and boasts an uncanny ability to point out Iza’s worst flaws. Iza decides to use one of her three wishes to create her dream man—a modern Mr. Darcy. If that esteemed gentleman can’t impress her overbearing mother, no one can. Using Pride and Prejudice as the handbook to Darcy’s heart, Iza plays the part of Elizabeth Bennet and sets out to create her epic love story. Making wishes and winning Darcy over becomes more complicated than Iza expects, especially with Beckett’s adorably dimpled grin and unexpected kindness in the equation. Soon enough, she’s glimpsing the truth of the man behind the flippant persona, and each moment in his company makes her question everything she thought she wanted from love.

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EDGE OF DARKNESS (DRAGONS OF SAN DELAIN BOOK ONE) by M A Church

VS Note: LGBTQ

Sometimes the dragon gods make mistakes. That’s the best rationale Hudson can come up with. How else can he account for the fact that the one he’s falling in love with is not his fated mate? Getting involved with someone he doesn’t share a soul bond with could be devastating, but Hudson is willing to take the risk. Connie is his and nothing will stand in his way of having him. Sometimes the dragon gods might be more clever than anyone gives them credit for. A sassy human stumbles into Hudson and Connie’s life, upsetting their very existence. How can Hudson and Connie have a soul bond to Kit… but not each other? Are the Fates drunk? Or testing them? Dragons are possessive creatures, and that’s before adding in one of them is a thousand-year-old royal in charge of the dragons of San DeLain. Sometimes it’s better not to question the dragon gods. But things aren’t always as they appear. Danger stalks the streets of San DeLain in the form of an old enemy once thought dead. What’s real? What isn’t? As Kit struggles with a nightmare from his past, Hudson and Connie try to figure out how to keep their very breakable human in one-piece and happy. Fate is a tricky, tricky thing, and sometimes? Well, sometimes Hudson has just gotta trust the dragon gods as the darkness edges closer.   AmazonKU

DRAGON SECRETS (DRAGONS OF ESTONIA BOOK TWO) by November Sweets

VS Note: Bisexual reverse harem.

The Dragon games are over, but now a new game has begun. Someone has taken something of mine and I want it back. They’re thinking that if they test me I’ll break or give into whatever they want, but they messed with the wrong woman. These Dragons think they know who I am but the skills I showed them in the arena are only a small portion of the arsenal of things Henry taught me. I’m willing to unleash them all to get back what they stole. With Spin by my side nothing will stop me. If only that were true. I’m on the hunt, but with nosey dragons getting in the way that don’t know how to survive in the wild, and a needy human lover that keeps pushing for more, I might never make it there. An unlikely friendship blooms along the way, opening my eyes and my heart to new possibilities. Secrets from the past are revealed, and my heart is pulled in all different directions. Will I make it in time? They all better hope so or I will burn this world to the ground for my revenge.     AmazonKU

GRAY DAYS (BLACK HAT BUREAU BOOK NINE) by Hailey Edwards

The Black Hat compound is rubble on the ocean floor, the director hasn’t been seen since the explosion that demolished his life’s work, and old enemies have decided it’s open season on the remaining agents. Oh. And Arden has decided now is a great time for a surprise visit to force a confrontation with Rue. Between holding the Bureau together, searching for her grandfather, and babysitting Arden, Rue has her work cut out for her. But her distraction allows her to be blindsided by a loss that fractures her very soul. Betrayal is a familiar sting for Rue, she barely feels it anymore, but this time? She might not survive it.     AmazonKU

FERAL KING (DRAGONBORNE KINGS BOOK THREE) by Sara Fields

The dragon king warned me to stay away from him. I didn’t listen. I’m a stranger in his world, but the moment the king of this realm set eyes on me he warned me not to come any closer. Even one step nearer and the curse upon him would set his blood on fire.
Part of me was terrified… but another part needed to know what would happen if he lost control.     AmazonKU

DROP DEAD DEMON: MM PARANORMAL ROMANCE by B Ripley

Roth – From the moment I first saw Brady, I knew he was my mate. He thought I was just his imaginary friend and I let him believe that because at his side, I felt more complete than I ever had before. I didn’t mean to ever leave him, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I may be a Prince of Hell, but my father’s rule is absolute and out of his fear that I will someday overpower him, he had me imprisoned when I was just a child. But, I was freed. Rescued from where I’ve been held for far too many years, the only thing on my mind is claiming Brady as mine. I have lingered in the darkness without him for so long that seeing him now is like a breath of fresh air, but he’s starting to change. My father may have worried about who I would become, but it’s my mate he truly should have feared. He is beautiful. He is terrifying. He is mine. Brady – As a lonely child, Roth was the only thing I could count on. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t real, my imaginary friend was there when I needed someone. Roth meant everything when nobody else would let themselves…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)     AmazonKU

HEX OF THE WITCH (THE OTHER WITCH SERIES BOOK ONE) by Heather G Harris

It’s not paranoia when they are really out to get you…I’m Amber, potion and rune mistress and all round witch extraordinaire. I’ve spent half my life building my career and I finally feel like greatness is within my grasp. I’ve been working on a special potion, a potion that could change everything for witches and wizards everywhere. Unfortunately some people are allergic to change and will stop at nothing to keep the status quo. A price has been put on my head – and my enemies are coming for me. Vampyrs, ogres and black witches are gunning for me, and they want me dead by any means necessary. In their infinite wisdom, the coven council assigns me my very own griffin bodyguard – and of course, the one they assign is none other than my most hated enemy, Bastion. Bastion comes with his own baggage. He has a black witch’s curse upon him and it is slowly killing him. To save myself, I’m going to have to lift the curse and work with him – because another black witch is circling and she has me in her sights…I need to save my enemy, finish my potion, and hunt down the black witch – if she doesn’t kill me first.      AmazonKU

TO WEAR A DEMON CROWN (KING AND COVEN BOOK THREE) by Madeleine Eliot

After suffering a great loss, Elara is finally ready to embrace her power and take on the Crone. With new magic emerging and secrets about her parents’ pasts finally coming to light, Elara is tasked with fulfilling a prophecy a thousand years in the making. But when shadows rise to threaten Carnon’s rule over the Darklands, Elara must embrace her place as Queen and enlist allies—new and old—to thwart the evil threatening her borders and unite the realms divided for a millennia.     AmazonKU

A MATE TO PROTECT by Lilly Wilder

I Had No Idea What Was About To Happen On Dragon Shifter Island – I never won anything in my life. So, when I realize that I won the shifter lottery, I can barely believe it. My prize is a weekend on Dragon Shifter Island! I go there, my heart racing, my mind blank. I meet two gorgeous dragon shifters, both of whom are looking for a mate. They come on to me strong, and I know I can’t fight their advances for long. Maybe, I don’t even want to. But, when a third dragon shifter from a rival clan appears, all Hell breaks loose. The clock is ticking, and danger is just around the corner. I feel we all want the same thing, but something is holding me back. I know they will give their lives to protect me, but can our worlds ever make peace?   

LOVE WITH A BITE (LAW AND SUPERNATURAL ORDER BOOK ONE) by Sylvia Onyx

VS Note: A re-edited re-release.

I’m the only undead detective in the city. Most people hate my kind, including Jason, the hot new crime lab tech. Despite his prejudice, I want to sink my fangs—and more—into him every time he crosses my path. When I refuse to drop a forbidden case, I take a gamble and trust Jason. The young deer shifter shows defiance, not fear, but ultimately, he bends to my will. The dangerous case pushes us together until the tension between us explodes. Soon I realize I like more about Jason than his beautiful body and warm, rich blood. Is there a chance, he’ll stay with me even though I’m a risk to his life, not just his heart?     AmazonKU

MOCHAS AND MURDER (WITCHES OF KEYHOLE LAKE MYSTERIES BOOK 17) by Tegan Maher

Brew4U is renowned for its wide variety of coffees and baked goodies, but mochas with a side of murder is a new twist on the menu! When a body is found behind Raeann’s coffeehouse during the Fourth of July festival, everybody is confused. The victim isn’t carrying any ID or anything else other than a mysterious note with her first name, signed by a woman nobody’s heard of. For the first time ever, Noelle and Hunter are stumped. The woman has no apparent ties to the town, and the only obvious suspect couldn’t have done it. Meanwhile, Addy and Belle are dealing with a recalcitrant ghost who’s coming close to putting Keyhole Lake on the map for all the wrong reasons. Throw in a mysterious bracelet with an inscription but no owner and you have a typical week in Keyhole Lake!     AmazonKU

WICKED: A SAVAGE ALPHAS SHIFTER ROMANCE by DD Prince

Wolf shifter Riley Savage thought his fated mate was lost in the river almost seven years ago. But when it’s revealed that not only is she alive, but also she’s a witch who’s been hiding from him, fury doesn’t begin to describe how Riley feels. He’s determined to get answers and hits nothing but dead ends. And then she shows up in Arcana Falls. Despite how angry he is, the desire to claim, bite, and knot her is stronger. Warring between anger and biological urges, Riley malfunctions. It’s not healthy for an alpha shifter to reject his fated mate, so the council alphas vote for a one-week lockdown for them in Tyson’s cabin. Forced proximity with an angry alpha wolf shifter who is torn between knotting you sixty-nine ways to sunday and ringing your neck? Are you ready for the sparks to fly?     AmazonKU

BAD BLOOD (GODDESS WITH A BLADE BOOK SEVEN) by Lauren Dane

After spending the last two years locked in one deadly struggle after the next, Rowan Summerwaite deserves delicious meals, excellent sex and uninterrupted sleep on high-quality linens. But when two separate investigations converge in unexpected ways and a new threat to the Treaty blows into town, there’s no rest for the wicked. And she’ll need help. Genevieve Aubert, a seven-hundred-year-old witch from a powerful familial line, has become more than a formidable ally. To Rowan, she’s become a friend. To Darius, a Dust Devil from the Trick, where she’s now a priestess, she’s the key to unlocking his magic. The pretty flower to his motorcycles and bruised knuckles. Soon, the dangerous reality becomes clear. It isn’t just wayward witches. It isn’t just egotistical Vampires. What’s brewing in the desert will take a witch, a Dust Devil and a human vessel to a goddess to save those they’ve sworn to protect.

Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

BOUND TO FALL (VILLAINS AND VIRTUES) by A K Caggiano

Celeste Delacroix’s sister is dead. This is unfortunate…sort of. But it’s also an opportunity to return to the realm of Eiren and begin anew, if noxscura will allow her. Cursed with dark magic, living virtuously has always eluded Celeste, but she’s determined to right the wrongs she wrought in the sleepy village of Briarwyke and maybe even find her ever after, happiness unrequired and, as she sees it, undeserved. But darkness accompanies Celeste as keenly as clumsiness and shame, and when she accidentally releases a new evil on Briarwyke, she must find a divine source of magic to destroy it. Sir Reeve, Holy Knight of Valcord, is one such divine source—not to mention incredibly handsome—and as luck would have it, already intent on vanquishing the evil that plagues Briarwyke. Unfortunately, he believes that evil to be a noxscura-wielding witch who has desecrated his faith’s temple: Celeste herself. Abyss-bent on fulfilling his destiny, Reeve’s virtue and beliefs have never wavered because the world is simple, after all—there are those who are good, and those who are evil, and evil must be destroyed. But what happens when a perceived evil requests assistance in defeating an even greater threat? Can Celeste and Reeve band together to save Briarwyke, or will their contempt for one another be their downfall?     AmazonKU

SQUIRREL TROUBLE (SHIFT WORK BOOK TWO) by Alex Silver

Thurston – Shifter medicine is my passion, and I’m excited to share my company’s big break at a conference. But when there’s only one bed, offering to share it with squirrel shifter Felix Ardila is the least I can do. My inner owl falls fast for him, and even though our animal sides are natural enemies, all I want to do is protect him. But when circumstances beyond my control keep us apart, how can I convince him I’ll do anything for my mate? Felix – I’m the one who other shifters come to for help. So when Thurston Hughes gives me a helping… hand during my heat, then ghosts me back home, it hurts more than it should. He can’t know that I’m struggling with symptoms of creep, the fertility illness we’re both trying to cure, and I’ve never felt more alone. This might be my last chance to build the family I’ve always wanted, but can I count on him to be there for me?     AmazonKU

THESE VICIOUS WOLVES: OMEGAVERSE SHIFTER ROMANCE (CHRYSALIS PACK BOOK ONE) by G Bailey and Scarlett Snow

Abandoned at birth, I’ve grown up believing I was worthless until my sixteenth birthday when I discovered I was an Omega. Since Omegas are rare and hunted by alphas to increase their power, I’m given to the future alpha of the Solarius pack—a vicious wolf who treats me worse than his father ever did. The night the fae attack, I’m seen by another, much stronger alpha—one who claims I’m his fated mate. But that’s impossible and not something I want. Elias takes me with him regardless, determined to win me over despite the walls I’ve spent years building around myself. When another alpha claims I’m fated to him, too, my Omega instincts rise to the surface for the first time, and with each day that passes, I want nothing more than to surrender myself to them. To let them claim me. My only refuge is in the shadows of a dungeon where the mysterious fae prisoner says I owe him a debt. I know all fae are evil and dangerous, but there’s something about Rueven I can’t resist. Wolves and fae have always been at war with each other, and the moon and star gods are forever watching. But maybe if I help Rueven escape, then the war between our species might finally end.     AmazonKU

THE SUMMER SIEGE (VIKING OMEGAVERSE #3) by Lyx Robinson

They’ve arrived. Ten thousand Norsemen, encircling the fort where Tamsin grew up. Up there, behind those high walls, hundreds of Vanirdøtur huddle together to keep safe from the enemy. So the Viking occupation begins. Norse voices rise into the air as Gofraid’s army settles in for the long haul, forming a siege camp full of thousands of cursed men. Tamsin and her Dubliners must scheme to break the siege apart. It seems impossible; she is just one Vanirdottir amidst this roiling mass of warriors. And her Dubliners are few. But there is nothing quite like the stuffy intimacy of a siege camp to grow close to the men around you. She learns much more about the men who are fated to her. She learns why Ivar wears runes upon his skin… and how his deep knowledge of Freya’s teachings could benefit them all, if he could only set aside the pain of his past and his own obstinate attitude. Because in the end, when faced with such staggering obstacles, the only thing they can truly rely on is each other.     AmazonKU

WICKED ENEMY (RUTHLESS ENEMY BOOK TWO) by Marion Blackwood

Disaster has left Levi’s once mighty Court of Metal in shambles, and he is now besieged from every side. Word has spread about his weakened state, which emboldens enemies from both without and within. In a mad scramble for survival, he must deal with both the other dark mages inside Malgrave as well as a lurking threat from the north. At the same time, Eve faces a struggle of her own. She should know what the right path is, but after everything that has happened, she is no longer so sure. Torn between her head and her heart, she tries desperately to walk the line between good and evil without fully choosing side. But some decisions cannot be unmade. And some consequences are irreversible. Levi and Eve are from two completely separate worlds that are impossible to unite. Is there any hope for their relationship? Or will the chasm between them remain forever unbridgeable?     AmazonKU

LION’S PRIZE (SHIFTERS AND FORBIDDEN MATES BOOK FIVE) by Lola Gabriel

A group of ruthless beasts kidnap me. Now I’m a hostage—a pawn in a game I didn’t know I was playing. The shifters, cruel and calculating, condemn me to an unthinkable fate—to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Amidst the chaos of the auction, a figure emerges from the shadows, exuding authority and power. Braxton, a powerful alpha, commands attention with a presence that’s as irresistible as it is daunting. When his gaze locks onto mine, an unexpected twist occurs—he claims me as his own, bidding an astonishing price to secure me. Stripped of my freedom, I’m trapped in a gilded cage. I’m torn between my intense resentment and the magnetic pull to the alpha that I can’t ignore. I must decide whether the bond forming between us will be my downfall or my ultimate salvation.     AmazonKU

EARTH MAGIC AND HOT WATER (CASUAL MAGIC BOOK TWO) by Lauren Connolly

Her first hate and first love are back in town. Things are about to get heated…Cat Byrne seems sweet, but she’s hiding a volcanic temper. Her anger-fueled fire magic can melt tires off cars. Then her ex-best friend moves back to town, and the guy keeps popping up in inconvenient places, making sure she’s running at a constant simmer. Rafael Aguado hopes to calm the waters between him and Cat, but that’s hard to do when she’d rather see him boil alive. Maybe the water elemental could cool her off with time, but he has romantic competition. Rafael lost Cat to a handsome earth elemental years ago, and he refuses to let his rival win again. Even if it means kissing the hell out of the magical man to throw him off balance. Aspen Baumann’s last relationship taught him an important lesson: never settle for less. Determined to have both the people he wants in his bed, the earth elemental attempts to regrow the bond between the estranged pair–with him rooted directly in the middle. Hopefully, enough indecently steamy encounters can wash away past mistakes.     AmazonKU

BURY ME (IMMORTAL VICES AND VIRTUES: HER MONSTROUS MATES BOOK SIX) by Annie Anderson

The world ended the night I was born. Coincidence? I think not. Stuck living in the catacombs underneath what used to be NYC, I’ve managed to stay hidden… and alive… and safe… ish. But when my guardian fails to return from a supply run, I’m forced to contemplate life on the surface. Worse? Three warriors have infiltrated my home, insisting that I am the last gold dragon they’ve been searching for. That everything I know–everything I’ve believed–is a lie. And more? They each think they’re mated… to me.     AmazonKU

THE VAMPIRE HUNTER AND THE HEIRESS (CHRONICLES OF GHOST BOOK ONE) by Shari L Tapscott and Jake Andrews

She asked for a monster hunter. She got him instead. Wildly wealthy Miss Elizabeth Delane has spent her last twenty-two years hiding from marriage offers in small, picturesque Oakenridge, a quaint village hidden from society in the heart of the wooded northern mountains. Her planned spinsterhood was working out just fine until vampires moved in a year ago. Now her father is missing, the monsters have taken over the village, and her only hope at survival rests on a hunter she’s never met. Little does Elizabeth know, the man has a secret: Benjamin Oliver is not a vampire hunter. He’s the executive director of GHOST, a renowned guild of monster hunters, and he’s determined to…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)     AmazonKU

LYCAN’S WITCH (SILVER WOLVES OF LOCKWOOD SERIES BOOK TWO) by Whitney Morsillo

One kiss completes the bond—the alpha’s mate hunted as a lycan witch. Everyone knows not to cross Gideon Disantollo, the dangerous alpha of the Silver Wolf Pack, and every witch knows not to enter his territory… But gambling in his bar lands me bitten and changed, and I quickly realize Gideon is the only one I can turn to. Because I never expected to be hunted by both sides—my coven and the lycan council. And I definitely didn’t expect my mother to lead the hunt. Now, I’m desperately trying to control the growing powers within me—the witch’s ancient fire and my wolf, who grows stronger with each day spent near our mate—as I hunt for the dark witch guarding the Lockwood Forest wishing well. And I have to do something about this mate bond between me and Gideon… before it’s too late for us both.     AmazonKU

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LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica:

September 20

September 13

September 6

August 30

August 23

“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’.

NOTE: I’m doing my best to avoid listing anything generated from use of AI but it’s sometimes tricky to detect from the resources I have available. As far as covers go, I list the Amazon cover. I won’t feature a cover in my weekly promo for this post if I believe or suspect it was done with AI.

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…

Some authors aren’t in KU but still don’t list books with Apple or other platforms. This report is very time consuming to prepare so I’ve always had to limit myself and cannot go and look up every book on all the platforms. If an author gives me their other buy links, I include them here but generally I develop the post on my own, not from author-supplied information. I curate and prepare this post individually every week to help connect readers/books/authors and I have to be very careful not to give it so much time as an activity that I don’t write my own novels! Thanks for the feedback and happy reading!

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

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First Meeting DANGER IN THE STARS Alien Empath Romantic Suspense #SciFi

I’ve decided to change up these weekly snippets and go through my backlist, sharing the first meeting between the two main characters in each book. I’m going roughly in the order of first publication. It’s always fun for me to revisit the books and I hope it will be for you too! Or if you’ve never happened to read a certain book, maybe I can entice you into giving it a try.

DANGER IN THE STARS is the second one in my alien empath series and features the sister of the female main character in STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY, although they can be read as standalone books.

I’m really proud of this book, which has a lot of romantic suspense elements, secrets and surprises. It’s one of my favorites! When the book opens the empath is a prisoner of the interstellar mob, forced to use her powers for their goals. The only man who might be able to help her is the mob enforcer but how can she trust him?

The excerpt – Miriell is sick from having been in cryosleep as she and her mob handler arrive on the planet where the next assignment is located. Conor is the local mob enforcer sent to meet the duo.

With painful effort, she straightened her spine and stepped away, brushing one hand down her plain gray tunic in a vain attempt to smooth out the wrinkles. “I can walk.”

“You don’t look like it.” As their new companion voiced his opinion, she realized he was no one she’d ever met before. Tall, with broad shoulders and well-defined muscles, he had black hair and gray eyes that were almost silver. She was mesmerized by his eyes. Miriell wished she dared to engage her gifts, get a sense of this person, maybe figure out why he made her feel safe, when clearly, she was anything but.

Jareck stopped to pick up his kit bag, never releasing his hold on her. “Conor’s right, we’ve got to be going. You’re ready to behave, right?”

Submissively, she nodded, bottling up her anger and hatred. Someday I’ll get my chance and you will die. The implacable secret vow was the only thing keeping her going. There would be revenge, not only for herself, but also for all the others. Hands at her sides, head bowed, she said, “As you wish, sir.”

“How do you ensure she won’t make a break for it when we walk outside, won’t scream for help?” Conor at least seemed skeptical of her meek compliance.

Jareck pulled a slim black AI case from his pocket and waved the device under her nose. Miriell fought not to flinch. He grabbed the necklace at her throat, a thick collar of gold set with a few random faux gems. “We taught them to behave right from the start. See this? It’s explosive.”

The other man moved so fast Miriell could only blink. He snatched the AI from Jareck’s hand and shoved the skinny man against the wall. “You’re planning to blow this woman up? And us with her?”

Pulling at Conor’s arm to no avail, Jareck choked. “No, it’s a directed charge, sophisticated, kills her and localizes the effects. A bit messy, but not like you’re thinking. I swear.”

Conor frowned at the device in his hand and then at Miriell, who struggled to remain calm, to push away the memories of when the Amarotu thugs who kept her and her people captive demonstrated the way the collar worked, selecting a man at random from their group and ruthlessly killing him as Jareck was describing.

Conor released Jareck, stepped away and tossed the AI back to him. “A bit overly dramatic and barbaric, don’t you think?”

“Nah, these people are savages. Didn’t even know they lived on a planet going around a sun when the Shemdylann slavers captured them. The Tulavarrans understand brute force, for all they’ve got a touch of psy power.” Coughing, Jareck came back to her. “And she knows damn well if she misbehaves, we’ll kill a few of her friends too. The deadly consequences in store keep them in line.”

Conor stared at her. She felt his gaze as if it was a physical force. “I’ll take your word for it. All I care about is you and your performer, as you call her, getting the job done for us the way the boss wants.” Brushing his hands as if to say he was done with them and their problems, he walked to the door.

Jareck rushed to grab her, towing her after the other man. “Oh, she’ll get the job done all right. These people are amazingly effective.”

Danger in the Stars

The blurb: 

Miriell, a powerful empathic priestess, has been kidnapped from her own primitive planet along with a number of her people, and sold to the evil Amarotu Combine, largest organized crime syndicate in the Sectors. When she and her handler are sent to use her power to commit an assassination, she must leave behind her own sister as hostage to ensure her compliance. Miriell cannot ask for aid without endangering herself and others.

Despite his best efforts, Combine enforcer Conor Stewart is entranced by Miriell, and helps her evade the worst of brutal treatment from the rest of the mob. But Conor must keep his distance, before the lovely empath learns that he has secrets of his own–secrets that could get them both killed.

The situation becomes dire when Conor and Miriell come to the attention of both the Combine overlords and the deadly Mawreg, aliens who threaten the Sectors. Can she save herself and the Mawreg’s next victims? And will Conor help her, or remain loyal to his evil bosses?

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Why I Wrote FAINE the New #SciFi Romance in the Badari Warriors Series

Actually the story of why I wrote FAINE begins with the previous book, NARIO. Ever since introducing both Badari Warriors in the book about their Alpha, Jamokan, I’d known I wanted to write a book for Nario and as I began working on that one, my Muse felt very strongly Faine would go on the trip to the Khagrish homeworld as well, and choose to be stranded there. So in a way I wrote NARIOFAINE as one long book, to tell the entire adventure, and broke it into two at the logical point where Faine decides to remain on the planet to attempt to rescue his hoped-for fated mate, while Nario takes the rest of the group home. I always say I’d never write a cliffhanger but I guess never say never, because Faine’s part of the story is unresolved at the end of NARIO! Of course Nario and his mate receive their HEA, however.

Faine’s not an enforcer although he is a senior soldier, so he sometimes makes unwise decisions but on the whole his adventures on the Khagrish planet show him another side to the enemy besides the cruel scientists and the sadistic guards and techs he knows from the labs and he does have to re-evaluate a few things he’s always held to be true. I strive to tell a different story in each book so Faine’s journey to rescuing Farah couldn’t be in any way like what he’d gone through when he was still with Nario and the others. I had fun imagining him navigating his way through the varying urban landscapes of a major metropolis (drawing upon various parts of the greater Los Angeles area, I freely admit) and encountering a variety of Khagrish citizens along the way.

I was recently in the local area I modeled the dining and shopping zone after and it was an odd feeling to stand there and ponder what if a Badari Warrior was hiding somewhere in the vicinity. Reality and scifi romance overlapped a bit there! (A vivid imagination is required to write the books I write.)

There were some loose ends from Nario’s book to tie up – no spoilers!

One aspect I shed more light on in this book goes all the way back to IVOKK and an incident readers had a lot of questions about at the time, so I made sure to work some answers into the story now.

When I start writing a book I typically know the beginning and the ending (always an HEA), the two main characters and probably a major scene or two. Then the rest of the story unfolds for me as I write. A few of the twists in Faine’s book surprised me but I think they make sense, given his journey and the circumstances.

In closing I’ll share with you that there’s a family joke how much I loathe Shakespeare and in this book I managed to work in a quasi-Shakespearean Khagrish reference or two, which was fun to do. Faine kind of expresses my opinion at one point…he and I would be in agreement!

Depositphotos

Here’s an excerpt from near the beginning of FAINE:

This was all much harder than he’d ever feared. Badari were pack members, with their brothers always ready to watch their backs, the mental bonds tight and reassuring. He’d never had the desire to be a ‘lone wolf’ as the humans termed it, going off on solo missions. He knew a few men who had done the duty, like Darik, and been fine, but even then the pack bond had held firm for him.

Faine rubbed his chest and swayed ever so slightly before pushing himself further back against the crumbling wall of his shelter. There was no danger lurking nearby. Slowly he allowed himself to slide to a seated position in the deep shadows where he’d hidden, away from even the light of the moons. He had no need of a light, much less a fire, thanks to the extraordinary night sight his kind had been given by their Khagrish creators. No one was going to sneak up on him.

His inner beast was restless, uneasy, prowling and trying to make sense of their current situation.

Fair enough. He wasn’t too sure of his condition either.

From the moment Farah had surrendered herself to the Khagrish noble to spare Faine from torture, he’d had known he wasn’t going to leave the planet without her. His heart was breaking in two as she walked away to save him and the others. Faine’s beast had nearly seized control, rousing him to a blood mad fury, desperate to escape the cage and rush after her. Only Nario’s intervention and dominance had allowed the man to regain control of the beast and return to his senses.

He completed the mission to help Nario and the others escape, as any honorable soldier would do, but then he regarded himself as free to find and rescue the woman who’d come to mean so much to him in such a brief time. How could he leave his potential fated mate in danger here on the Khagrish home world, in the hands of an untrustworthy noble with lascivious eyes?

He could not. The goddess wouldn’t expect him to, although briefly he had a few resentful thoughts about why she’d chosen to gift him a mate under these circumstances and then snatched her away again. Farah had been incredibly brave to leave the cage where they’d been held and go off with the noble. He had to answer her courage with his own.

I’ll find her and I’ll free her and we’ll get home somehow, he said in his mind to the faraway goddess. If you can and will help us, I’ll be forever grateful but I’ll do it on my own if there’s no other way.

Not surprisingly the goddess didn’t answer his defiant prayer.

Rubbing his chest again where the pack bond had always rested, from the moment he first came to consciousness in the cursed lab so many years ago, Faine closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. The emptiness was wrong. A Badari was never without the pack bond and the reassurance it carried. The Alpha was there as well, if not in person, an integral part of the mental link. He hadn’t realized how much Nario, who was an enforcer, had been anchoring him in the absence of the pack bond until his friend was shooting into the Khagrish sky on his way home in a hijacked cargo hauler. And the remnants of the bond dissipated. Maybe his violent mood swings were due in part to the lack of the anchoring influence. Another factor to be watchful of as he went about this mission.

Thinking about Nario reminded him of the enforcer’s last gift before leaving. Going deep into his mind, Faine approached the glowing packet of power his friend had sent through the diminished pack bond. It was a warm glow, pulsing slightly, waiting to be tapped into when the right need arose. Faine was grateful for the gift but hoped Nario hadn’t made himself dangerously weak. His friend had the six week cruise home to Ushandirr to recuperate and of course once he got home their Alpha would provide power, as would the Supreme Alpha, to assist Nario in recharging his own.

Faine closed the mental search with a regretful thought. If he had to use Nario’s energy, the situation would be dire indeed.

With a rueful chuckle, he dug a snack pack out of his pocket and munched. Not much sustenance for a Badari Warrior but his people had been engineered to function for a long time on little water and scant rations.

Vowing to do better for himself tomorrow, Faine sniffed the air and was relieved not to scent smoke. After leaving the spaceport he’d gone deeper into the slum area, avoiding the still burning complex from which they’d escaped. There were active patrols in the vicinity, mopping up after the government attack and he was sure the authorities were keeping an eye out for the Badari, in case they might have survived the assault. No one appeared to be fighting the fire, allowing it to burn itself out, although there were efforts to prevent the blaze from spreading to neighboring structures. The entire area was ostensibly deserted ruins anyway but even the uncaring Khagrish authorities had no desire to allow a big portion of the city to burn to the ground all at once.

Snack finished, he drank one of the remaining nutrition rations and then pulled Prue’s gift from his other pocket. She’d left him with the Khagrish handheld she’d been hacking and promised he didn’t need more than basic proficiency to access the files she’d marked for him, to help him in his quest to find Farah. While he was no IT whiz, he had a firm grasp of the principles involved and of course was fluent in Khagrish. Shielding the screen to prevent any stray light from escaping his hidey hole, he scanned the research she’d done for him. There was a long file about the Khagrish ruling family, including Shymzynnar, the man who’d taken Farah. Faine decided to read it later, although he studied the portion about the noble’s various homes with interest. The one Prue indicated was most likely to be Farah’s destination lay several hundred miles outside the city.

Examining the maps on the screen, Faine agreed with Prue’s choice of primary target. He didn’t need any external guide to pinpoint Farah’s location. Deep in his heart a tiny, thin golden thread flickered —the nascent mate bond between the human woman and him. The link, tenuous as it was, pulled at him and he knew he could start walking now with his eyes closed and end up standing in front of her.

Unless of course he fell off a cliff, got hit by a groundcar or shot by a Khagrish.

FAINE: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE (SECTORS NEW ALLIES BOOK 17) by Veronica Scott

Left stranded on an enemy planet, can Faine find and rescue the woman he believes to be his fated mate? 

Choosing to remain behind when the others in his party escape the Khagrish homeworld, Faine is determined to locate and rescue Farah, the human woman he loves. Somehow he’ll get the two of them off the planet and safely home to the Badari Warriors’world far away. Alone, feared and hated by the aliens on this alien world, cut off from his pack, Faine must traverse a city and countryside full of danger on his quest to locate Farah.

Farah Saunders was a teacher in the Sectors until she was kidnapped by pirates and sold to become a subject of lab experiments. Taken to the Khagrish home world with a small group of humans and two Badari prisoners, she was selected by a Khagrish noble to become his personal special project. Her situation is hopeless yet she can’t stop thinking of the one man who might be able to save her – Faine. She barely knew him but feels an uncanny connection to the fearless, genetically engineered soldier. What is this link tying them together?

Reunited, the two of them go on the run, hunted ruthlessly by the Khagrish authorities and the infuriated noble. Can Faine accomplish the miracle he’s hoping for and find a way for them to escape? Will Farah ever agree to become his claimed mate?

Amazon     Apple Books     Nook     KOBO     GooglePlay

New Releases in #SciFi #Fantasy and Paranormal Romance for SEPT 20

I have a new release this week – FAINE, the next Badari Warriors scifi romance!

I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking quite a few as I prepare these posts LOL). 

‘AB’ denotes audiobook and the Amazon buy link.

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FAINE: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE (SECTORS NEW ALLIES BOOK 17) by Veronica Scott

Left stranded on an enemy planet, can Faine find and rescue the woman he believes to be his fated mate? 

Choosing to remain behind when the others in his party escape the Khagrish homeworld, Faine is determined to locate and rescue Farah, the human woman he loves. Somehow he’ll get the two of them off the planet and safely home to the Badari Warriors’world far away. Alone, feared and hated by the aliens on this alien world, cut off from his pack, Faine must traverse a city and countryside full of danger on his quest to locate Farah.

Farah Saunders was a teacher in the Sectors until she was kidnapped by pirates and sold to become a subject of lab experiments. Taken to the Khagrish home world with a small group of humans and two Badari prisoners, she was selected by a Khagrish noble to become his personal special project. Her situation is hopeless yet she can’t stop thinking of the one man who might be able to save her – Faine. She barely knew him but feels an uncanny connection to the fearless, genetically engineered soldier. What is this link tying them together?

Reunited, the two of them go on the run, hunted ruthlessly by the Khagrish authorities and the infuriated noble. Can Faine accomplish the miracle he’s hoping for and find a way for them to escape? Will Farah ever agree to become his claimed mate?

Amazon     Apple Books     Nook     KOBO     GooglePlay

BRING ME THE DEAD by Becky Black

A million years ago, a galactic empire fell. The ruins of that ancient empire are a source of many things. Wonder, knowledge, academic careers, and treasure. Treasure is what Beau Johnson seeks, tracking down artifacts for high-paying clients. Once a top student at the specialist institute for the study of the ancient empire, Beau rejected respectable archaeology and academia in favor of adventure. Unlike his one-time rival Park Ki-tae, a brilliant student who became an enforcement agent tasked with keeping Imperial artifacts out of private collections. Beau thinks Ki-tae needs to loosen up, have more fun, and, especially, stop making it his life’s work to send Beau to jail. Ki-tae thinks Beau is a rogue and a criminal. And it was a big mistake to sleep with him that one time …When a client sends Beau after a legendary artifact that supposedly allows communication with the dead, Ki-tae pursues, sure this time he’ll nail Beau. But circumstances force them to work together and deal with the feelings for each other they’ve both long denied. They have very different plans for the artifact they’re seeking … if it’s not a myth. Will they ever agree on their plans, or on anything else at all?

Amazon     Apple Books

WED TO THE BULLMAN by Eden Ember

Minotaurs come to Alia Terra for the sole purpose of finding a mate, starting a family, and growing their presence. They are settling the Taurus Terra territory and filling it with the new half-human, half-minotaur race. Vozak isn’t so sure about the process, but he shows up anyway and puts in for a wife through the Marriage Temple. Since his brother has a human wife, she has him request her sister. Turns out Agnes is a DNA match to him. It’s a rocky start. Agnes comes along with expectations for romance from the old novels she’s read and Vozak only knows the minotaur way. In the process, an enemy comes along and destroys their newfound happiness. Will he be able to save her in time? The fight is on and it’s life or death for the new couple.     AmazonKU

UKURI (BLADES OF ARRIS BOOK FIVE) by Starla

LOST CONNECTION by Lucien Grey

Lori had no intention of falling in love, having never had the capacity to feel anything. But the more time he spends at the Restoration Facility, under the care of Dr. Rowen, he begins to change, unable to understand how or why. But he knows one thing for certain — he doesn’t want to be apart from the kind doctor. After escaping an abusive marriage which left him feeling weak and worthless, Dr. Rowen Pace convinced himself he was content to live alone, surrounded by machines and closed off from almost everyone in his life. However, when one particular droid in his care starts showing signs of humanity, Rowen is forced to face his past trauma in order to help this unique being navigate what it means to be human, surprised by how far he is willing to go to save this droid … and himself.      Amazon

VIN (DARVERIUS, HOUSE OF DAR BOOK 10) by Jennifer Julie Miller

Ember – I was separated from my parents and a world where the most important thing I had to worry about was my next outfit. Everything I have ever been or will be… torn away abruptly as I’m thrown into what feels like never-ending chaos and confusion. Thrust upon an Alien male who I can’t understand and dangers I don’t comprehend. How do I cope with the reality of being alone on an alien planet where I’m not wanted? ViN –
I live for the next mission, with absolutely no need for a female of any kind. Until a whiny, ungrateful, high-maintenance one falls literally into my arms. Why does the feel of her small body and the urge to make her smile again confuse me? Fighting the attraction and refusing to be like the others. I walk away from the temptation, so why do her tears haunt me so?     AmazonKU

BEFORE THE UNDERGROUND: THE UNDERGROUND PREQUEL by Lexi Ostrow

Eight years ago, the government approved a vaccine designed to prevent death from illnesses. Only, the participants lied and humanity became something … else. Darius loved Harmony more than anyone. It didn’t matter that she was a shifter now. She was his best friend and he wasn’t going to leave her side regardless of what her pack wanted.
Harmony wanted nothing more than for the world to find the acceptance they lost. Well, maybe her best friend. One wrong move and they’d all be dead. Especially after the humans declare war, the wolves move underground, and the vampires take all.      Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

DEFENDING OUR EVER AFTER: EVER AFTER THREE by M Merin

VS Note: Cliffhanger. Post apocalyptic.

Old friends, and new, join the Hughes and O’Reilly families to secure their neighboring homesteads and survive their first winter without modern conveniences. However, it’s an unimagined enemy, drawing closer each day, that will be their biggest challenge yet.   AmazonKU

DECEIVED BY THE ALIEN DEVIL (BRIDES OF THE VINDUTHI BOOK FIVE) by Ava York

In a world shrouded in darkness and betrayal, I’m caught in a dangerous deception. As a pawn in the cunning game of the Vinduthi Syndicate, I strike a perilous bargain to secure my freedom. Bound by an agreement to deliver messages to an imprisoned member, I step into the role of his advocate, a role that threatens to blur the lines between truth and deception. In this dangerous dance of manipulation and hidden motives, a connection sparks between us that defies logic. I know deep down that it’s all a charade, a means to an end. He seeks his escape, and I crave liberation from my contract. Yet, amidst the tangled threads of our alliance, doubts seep into my mind. Is he using me as a pawn, a mere tool in his grand scheme? Or am I deceiving myself, trapped in a web of my own illusions? As the lines between reality and fiction blur, I question my every move, my every motive. Trust becomes a precious commodity, and betrayal lurks around every corner. Can love blossom amidst the shadows of deception, or will it crumble under the weight of our tangled truths?   AmazonKU

A (NON)COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO SEA SERPENTS (tHE SORCEROR’S GRIMOIRE BOOK ONE) by AJ Sherwood

Magical AU, Adrien’s way of dealing with bad days is to curse things, repeatedly, fortunately lots of targets keep presenting themselves, Hugh has precisely zero chill where Adrien is concerned, as people will learn the hard way, here we have Extremely Competent MCs because that is my jam, set after WWI, but no worries, I can’t write angst to save my life, curses, magic, bit of mystery, apprentices are acquired, something of a slow burn, Hugh’s a sweetie, right up until you endanger his boys, then he’s your worst nightmare, man’s a knight in multiple ways.     Amazon

NANNY FOR THE ALIEN PRINCE (ALIEN RECRUITMENT AGENCY BOOK FOUR) by Tammy Walsh

I signed his contract. Now he owns me. After a court grants the Crown Prince of the Ulsen Empire custody over my nephew, I beg him to let me be a part of the child’s life. With his unflinching and merciless reputation, he’s the last person I would ever want to raise Elijax. So when he makes me an offer, I take it without hesitation. But I never suspected the cruel and sinister catch he has in mindI rebel against his tyrannical rules but he’s determined to possess me, no matter the cost. And when I discover he’s tormented by inner demons and consumed by the need to control, we embark on a passionate love affair. When he touches me, I yearn for more. When he kisses me, I surrender in gratitude. When he undresses me, I ache to scream his name. And when he makes me fly, I soar higher than ever before. When he warns me to keep my distance, it only makes me want him more. I discover my true desires, as well as the dark secrets he keeps hidden away from prying eyes.     AmazonKU

MAID FOR THE ALIEN PRINCE (ALIEN RCRUITMENT AGENCY BOOK FIVE) by Tammy Walsh

7 days and all my debts are wiped clean. But 7 days are a lifetime when you sacrifice your body to an Ulsen male…After I beg Prince Rayaw to let me pay my father’s debts, he makes me an offer I never imagined: satisfy his Steyatt during his species’ fabled mating week and all my debts are wiped clean. But when our mating becomes more than either of us bargained for, a new debt is owed… and this is one even he can’t repay…I rebel against his tyrannical rules but he’s determined to possess me, no matter the cost. And when I discover he’s tormented by inner demons and consumed by the need to control, we embark on a passionate love affair. When he touches me, I yearn for more. When he kisses me, I surrender in gratitude. When he undresses me, I ache to scream his name. And when he makes me fly, I soar higher than ever before. When he warns me to keep my distance, it only makes me want him more. I discover my true desires, as well as the dark secrets he keeps hidden away from prying eyes.     AmazonKU

GUIDING DESIRE (GUARDIAN AND CONDUIT BOOK ONE) by Alexa Piper

 In a world where Guardians are superpowered humans, Conduits must help them manage their powers to prevent them from self-destroying. Guardians and Conduits live apart from regular humans, royalty in a society run according to rank and AI reasoning.  Orrey grew up thinking he was a regular human, but when Guardian Senlas accidentally touches him, he imprints on Orrey, dashing all notions of a normal life Orrey wanted to dedicate to making the city he loves safer for everyone. Now, Orrey has to come to terms with the fact that he is a Conduit, and Senlas’s, on top of that. The Guardian is kind and caring, yet Orrey’s changed status shoves him into a reality he wasn’t prepared for. It will have him and Senlas and their found family of a team weather dangers from inside the city walls and from outside them, all while learning to rely on each other.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

GROUND TRAINING: AN IMMORTAL OPS WORLD NOVEL (IMMORTAL OUTCASTS SERIES BOOK FIVE) by Mandy M Roth

Former Immortal Operative Ace Hargraves is a genetically altered super soldier who has spent decades on the run from the government, all while helping others. But the time has come for this horse-shifter to do something to help himself if he wants to protect his mate and live to see another day.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

NEXUS TALKS TO ALIENS (NEXUS SPACE HISTORY MYSTERIES BOOK ONE) by Ginger Booth

VS Note: Not a romance but a scifi release of note. Interesting aspects.

When Nexus catches the attention of the alien croc ambassador, his first space travel goes weirdly astray. A backwoods Earth terraformer, young Nexus is awkward with people, good with creatures, at a time when the human worlds are bumping against the alien races who surround them. He sets off to explore human space. But to leave home, he must first repay a debt of honor, and smuggle a highly illegal sentient robot off-planet. Memory murky, the poor robot got stranded on Earth before Nexus was born. Nexus is delighted when the alien ambassador boards his space train to Luna. Most fear the enigmatic crocs, but he’s fascinated. Then an explosion derails the train car. But was the attack aimed at the aliens? Or his forgetful robot? Join an upbeat civilian team on a hopepunk science fiction odyssey, with mystery, space trains, flying life support suits, and enigmatic aliens! Come for world-building and adventure, and stay for the characters. This fresh new series takes place 200 years into the future of Booth’s long-running Thrive series.     AmazonKU

SAVAGED: MASTERS OF MALKARI (BOOK ONE) by Krista Karr and Dana Lord

I survived the invasion. And the aftermath. But I’m not sure how to survive himWhen the aliens came, they wanted one thing. Women. And they were willing to cut a swath of destruction across our planet until we gave them enough to repopulate their dying world. I was chosen to do just that. Lucky me. Gorkan Na’Zar, my alien mate, thinks there’s only one place for me. On my knees, at his feet. But when two of his men are murdered, I’m the only one he can rely on to catch the killer. See, I was a detective back home, and I’ll do anything to hang onto that piece of my old life. Even help the savage who stole everything from me. Now, all I have to do is solve the crime before I lose any more of my humanity. I pray I’m not too late. Because lately? I’m finding that I don’t hate Gorkan nearly as much as I should. And I definitely don’t hate some of things he does to me.    AmazonKU

FORGIVE THE BEAST by M Garnet

ergeant Mags is on her own among the enemy on a strange planet except for someone she is not comfortable with—a shape-shifter warrior. Sergeant Mags turned down a chance at a desk job to go out with into space and join others in discovering the answers on a different world. She was more interested in what was still out to be discovered than tracking and training others. But this time she may have discovered too much as she and a group of Marines and a shape-shifter warrior are trapped back behind enemy lines and cut off from rescue. Now, against her better judgment, she must trust the man who came from the distant planet Veld and can do the impossible: change his body. Sometimes action is better than words, especially under stress and enemy fire.

Amazon     Kobo

COURT OF MAGICKERS (THE STARS AND GREEN MAGICSD BOOK FOUR) by Novae Caelum

VS Note: LGBTQ SciFi/Fantasy. Previously published as Vella episodes 94-150.

Ari’s new powers have awakened, threatening to tear apart a kingdom already on the edge. Sent back to Valon to face her father’s—and the people’s—judgement, Ari must decide how far she’ll go to reclaim her former life, if that’s even possible anymore. In the heart of the turmoil, Iata, the reigning ruler, is losing control of his increasingly unstable magics. As his secrets threaten to spill out, his brother’s wife, Haneri, draws ever closer—and he’s not sure he wants her to stop. At the border to Kidaa Space, Rhys grapples with the ominous and impossible patterns in the Kidaa attacks, and comes face to face with the Kidaa themselves in a harrowing meeting that could change the future of the kingdom.And Dressa, who secretly married an enemy prince, must now face the consequences of that marriage. Because Lesander was activated by her family. And Lesander has a choice: obey her family, or betray her wife. With enemies without and enemies within, can the Truthspoken save their kingdom, or is this kingdom doomed to fall? Note: This book has main characters who use gender-neutral pronouns (they/them/their, fae/faer/faerself).

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

DEFINITELY NOT MINE (SPACE MARINE HOSPITAL BOOK SEVEN) by Harlyn Moxie

He’s back. And he wants to know who did this to me. He doesn’t remember it was himThey call me Cautionary Clem. And I’m locked in the psych ward, so we all agree — I was out of my mind when I bonded with a forbidden alien warrior. Fated mate? More like biggest mistake. I’d avoid him forever if I could. But apparently, you can’t run from something so attached to you. I should have been wiped from his system when they turned him cyborg, but he’s found his way back to me. He needs my help, and if I want my freedom, I’m going to need his. Ironically, we are our biggest problem and our only solution. He was the wrong guy.But given a second chance, he’ll do everything in his power to make things right.   AmazonKU

HOOKING THE ALIEN (REELING IN THE ALIEN BOOK THREE) by Alina Riley

Aquenta, the deadly handsome alien who pulls me out of the sea. When my surfing trip went wrong, I thought I’d die. I paddled and swam, but I wouldn’t be fast enough to dodge the big gray jaws. But when I open my eyes to this hulky blue alien standing before me, watching me with care, there is only one thing I know for sure — my vacation is over.I’ve never imagined that aliens exist, but there’s no denying that when I run my finger over his perfectly sculpted muscles and scales. My heart races for him and his touches send fire exploding in me. But when he wants me as his mate…Do I stay on a foreign planet that is filled to the brim with water that threatens to drown me, or do I head back to where I come from?     AmazonKU

ALIENS ABDUCTED MY HEART (AWAKENED WOMB BOOK ONE) by Hawke Oakley

After a piloting blunder strands Captain Levi and his crew on a bizarre floral planet, their peace mission becomes more of a ‘get home ASAP’ mission. But they’re not alone. They’re greeted by big, hunky aliens who are as strange and beautiful as the flowers. When the aliens welcome them with open arms—and tentacles—Levi is wary. No strangers are that nice. Especially not seven-foot-tall teal dudes with more “feelers” than you can shake a stick at. But Levi’s suspicion fades when the smoldering alien Zat’tor takes an unusual interest in him. He never got this much attention back on his own planet, and no human man ever made his heart flutter the way Zat’tor does…Amid their budding relationship, Levi discovers the shock of his life. Can he ever return to Earth? But more importantly, does he even want to? Aliens Abducted My Heart is a sweet, spicy romp in an alien world. It features an unexpected pregnancy between a cis man and an alien. Fluff, high-heat scenes, and HEA included!     AmazonKU

MY KRAKEN MATE: AN ALIEN ZOO MONSTER ROMANCE by Annie Beth Rider

Rayka, a caretaker of a lavish alien menagerie, is captivated by its latest addition—a mesmerizing Kraken man. He’s said to be a beast, but his eyes tell a different story—one of intelligence, pain, and silent pleas. Stolen from his world as a boy, Kael has been treated as nothing more than an animal, sold from master to master and kept in cages and aquariums. Kael vows to never trust a two-legged being again. But his new handler is different from the others. She is gentle, caring, and brings him the most delicious foods. Would it be foolish to trust her? The glass wall of the enclosure that separates them becomes both a barrier and a window to shared desires. Their worlds intertwine and a dance of emotions ensues—curiosity, desire, and a longing that neither can explain. As Rayka fights for his freedom, she grapples with a burgeoning love that defies every boundary she’s ever known. How far is she willing to go to free Kael and give him the life he deserves?     AmazonKU

CY-CON by Jessica Coulter Smith

Rescued by the Cyborg (Cy-Con 1) – Zelranian cyborg, Lathim, has only ever wanted one thing — a mate. When he boards a stolen ship and finds a frightened human female hiding in the cargo hold, his protective urges take over. One look at Maggie and all he can think is — mine. Offered to the Cyborg (Cy-Con 2) – When reptilian space pirates attack The Sphinx, Wrylack is forced into service as their medic. Any plans he has to escape die the moment he lays eyes on Shaylee. When the sexy purple cyborg with the strange eyes and gentle touch says she’s his, Shaylee is almost scared to hope that her life is changing. But the big male isn’t interested in owning her. He wants a mate! Saved by the Cyborg (Cy-Con 3) – Brave. Fearless. Pregnant? The cyborg Tark saved the alluring human female once. When she’s captured during a dangerous mission, he knows he’ll have to do it again, and this time, he’s not letting her out of his sight — especially when he finds out she’s pregnant with his child.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

SANDYMANCER by David Edison

VS Note: Described as a mix of Fantasy and Hard Science Fiction. Not a romance but I like the concepts.

All Caralee Vinnet has ever known is dust. Her whole world is made up of the stuff; water is the most precious thing in the cosmos. A privileged few control what elements remain. But the world was not always a dust bowl and the green is not all lost. Caralee has a secret—she has magic in her bones and can draw up power from the sand beneath her feet to do her bidding. But when she does she winds up summoning a monster: the former god-king who broke the world 800 years ago and has stolen the body of her best friend. Caralee will risk the whole world to take back what she’s lost. If her new companion doesn’t kill her first.       Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

STARTER VILLAIN by John Scalzi

VS Note: Not a romance but a scifi release of note. I interviewed him once for USA Today, years ago and wow, that was a master class – fun!

Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place. Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital. It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good. In a dog-eat-dog world…be a cat.

Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

THE ALIEN’S STEEL (CRAVING THE HEVEIANS BOOK FIVE) by Ella Blake

Claire – He is my patient, my subject. The gorgeous cyborg who has fought so hard to regain the memories taken from him recalls most of his life, except his childhood. We journey to the village of his youth to be reunited with his family. The journey brings us closer, blurring lines I swore I would never cross. But Craal’s resurfaced memories don’t match what we find at his village and I can’t escape a sick feeling that we were not supposed to come here. Craal – I was turned into a monster in order to destroy my own people. Slowly, I’m remembering who I am with the help of a human woman. Claire is beautiful, intelligent, and I’m powerfully drawn to her. When we arrive at my family’s village, my memories don’t line up with the behavior of the people there. A pulsing sound that can’t be traced gives Claire headaches and is likely the root of the mystery. As we dig deeper, we uncover an explosive secret and someone will stop at nothing to keep it hidden.     AmazonKU

*************************BRIEF BREAK BEFORE THE FANTASY/PNR BOOKS!***************************************

VS Note: Highlighting NARIO from the backlist today because his book is the story of how FAINE (main male character in my new release above) got to the hostile alien world in the first place. The books can be read as a standalones.

NARIO: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 16) by Veronica Scott

What starts out as a simple mission to rescue a group of lost humans turns into a nightmare for pack enforcer Nario, as he’s captured by the enemy scientists and plunged into an unprecedented journey to their home world for unknown experiments.
No Badari has ever been to the Khagrish planet but Nario vows to find a way to save himself and the others taken with him. The situation takes on additional urgency when he realizes one of the human women in the group is his fated mate. Aliana Ridley was a historian in the Sectors, traveling from world to world to record significant events when she was abducted by enemy aliens and destined to become a subject in unimaginable experiments. Now she has to rely on this fearsome, genetically engineered soldier to help her escape their captors and find a way home. She agrees to pretend to be his mate to fool the scientists but soon finds herself experiencing emotions she never expected to have with a man who’s handsome but not human. Will Nario find a way to escape the enemy’s grasp and get them all safely back to the Badari planet? Author’s Note: This is a complete story for the two main characters, ending with their HEA. There is a cliffhanger situation unresolved in the book for a pair of secondary characters, which I’ll resolve in the next book in the series.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo     Nook  GooglePlay 

 

******************************OKAY, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT  IF YOU DECIDE TO CHECK OUT THE BOOK  (because my own books pay my bills) AND ONWARD WE GO!**************************************************

CRY OF THE BANSHEE: A KREWE OF HUNTERS NOVELLA by Heather Graham

Strange things are happening at Castle Darien, the legendary home of Angela Hawkins Crow’s family just outside of Dublin, Ireland. People are dying in the most unusual ways: drowning where there’s no water, falling from heights that don’t exist…But before every death, the banshee lets out a cry, warning that loved ones are in danger. The Irish death ghost’s haunting shrieks and sobs echo within the ancient stone walls and travel up and down the hillsides. Terrified and broken after the death of a friend, Moira Hawkins, Angela’s second cousin, turns to her family for help, convinced that evil is at work and sure the Krewe of Hunters can determine what is happening and put an end to the strange and deadly haunting. Angela is mystified and stricken, but she and Jackson travel to the Emerald Isle to investigate, certain that someone very much alive is behind whatever is going on. But she and the Krewe just might need the dead to uncover the truth.

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SPOTTED AT THE CEMETERY (COUNTRY COTTAGE MYSTERIES BOOK 26) by Addison Moore and Bellamy Bloom)

My name is Bizzy Baker, and I can read minds—not every mind, not every time but most of the time and believe me when I say it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s time for Halloween in Cider—Spider—Cove and Jasper’s brother is getting hitched—while standing in a cemetery in the middle of the night. And as if a wedding in a graveyard wasn’t terrifying enough, a guest ends up joining the great disembodied majority. Tombstones and ghosts aside, there’s a killer on the loose and Spider Cove may never be the same again. To top things off the Country Cottage Inn is hosting its annual Trick-or-Treat Harvest Festival and things are not just getting spooky—they’re getting darn right deadly. Haunted houses, vampires, werewolves, and ghouls abound. Come to Spider Cove this Halloween night. Tricks and treats abound and so does murder. It’s October in Cider Cove and Halloween is just around the corner. The trick-or-treaters aren’t the only ones looking to scare the residents, so is a killer. Bizzy Baker runs the Country Cottage Inn, has the ability to pry into the darkest recesses of both the human and animal mind, and has just stumbled upon a body. With the help of her kitten, Fish, a mutt named Sherlock Bones and an ornery yet dangerously good looking homicide detective, Bizzy is determined to find the killer. The Country Cottage Inn is known for its hospitality. Leaving can be murder.      AmazonKU

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY by Pelaam

Radley Middleton is a down to earth kind of guy. His love life, though, is non-existent, and lately, the dreams he’s had for years no longer seem to be just dreams. The day he found the mirror was the day everything started to change. In its reflection he catches glimpses of other men from different eras. And his dreams grow stronger. Curious about what’s going on, Rad investigates and learns of a terrible tragedy in which he may play a part. But if Rad manages to change the course of history and prevent the century-old tragedy, will he destroy his own chance at happiness?

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LACE LAMENTS (WANDA’S WITCHERY) (HAVEN HOLLOW BOOK 32) by J R Rain and H P Mallory

Something is up with Lorcan. And I’m fairly sure I’m not just imagining things—he’s been distracted, working later than usual, appears exhausted, and was that vanilla perfume I smelled on him? Regardless of what’s going on with the undead nuisance, I’ve got my own problems to deal with. Namely, I’ve been pinpointed as the main suspect in a murder! I know—as if I have the time or the interest to kill someone. Ridiculous. Anyway, before this situation gets any worse, I need to prove my innocence, stat. Just how am I going to do that? Stick around and find out.     AmazonKU

SPELL CHECK (HEDGEWITCH FOR HIRE BOOK 10) by Christine Pope

Selena’s pregnancy is progressing without a hitch. Well, just one. Her aura-reading gift has disappeared. She’s not thrilled, but her in-laws assure her it’s simply a side effect of marrying into Calvin Standingbear’s shifter tribe. As soon as the baby is born, all will be well. Probably. Hopefully. Luckily, Selena doesn’t need her odd little gift when she hires the perfect shop assistant off Craigslist in preparation for her upcoming maternity leave. So she puts that worry out of her mind — only to have it quickly replaced by another. Her friend Archie has been receiving blackmail letters from someone who hints they know about his secret past as a cursed cat. Unfortunately, it’s pretty hard to brush it off as just a jealous dance competitor when Archie’s fiancée Victoria finds the blackmailer sprawled dead on her studio floor. This puts quite a damper on their upcoming wedding…especially when Victoria is arrested for murder. Without her aura-reading gift, Selena can only reach out to the spirit world with her Tarot and her pendulums. With a blind spot like that, there’s plenty of opportunity for the real murderer to go free. Or get too close.

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REJECTED BY THE IMMORTAL: LTD ED VAMPIRE REJECTED MATES COLLECTION by Various

In the dark streets of the city, immortal vampire kings stalk the shadows. Centuries of power have built their empires, but nothing can slake their thirst for blood—or passion.
In this world vampires are cursed to spend eternity alone and passion is strictly forbidden. A vampire’s fated mate brings them new powers, but before they revel in their new power they first face even greater weakness, which only a few survive and even less are willing to try. Rejecting their mates is a matter of business and survival. For those few mates who are brave enough to give into the dangerous allure of a vampire mate, they will break all laws of society to be with their true loves but most immortal bloodlines are centuries deep. Is their love enough to break the curse? Only time will tell.

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POET’S BANE (SELLSDWORDS AND SPELLWEAVERS SERIES BOOK SEVEN) by Rachel Ford

An ancient legend. A mysterious evil. And – the mead of poetry? Liss Forlatt and Idun Wintermoon are on vacation at a beautiful villa retreat, a place as famous for its legendary beginnings as its year-round sunshine. Technically, they’re the protection detail for the newly married jarl of Little Eerie and his wife. But in a place where rainclouds are the biggest threat on any given day, it might as well be a vacation.
Until a man winds up dead in connection with an ancient fable – the mead of poetry, the supposed font of divine inspiration that guides all poets and writers. The pair must unravel fact from fiction, myth from history – and avoid the blade of a particularly nasty killer in the process.     AmazonKU

FOUND: SILVER FALLS UNIVERSITY 5 by M Sinclair

VS Note: Author states the books must be read in order.

Five broken alphas. One lost wolf. A fate she never expected.     AmazonKU

A BALM OF HEALING (SUNLIGHT AND SHADOWS BOOK FIVE) by Sydney Winward

Emeric Dalena believes his life is over. For years, the forest fae has been bound to his wheelchair after being brutally injured by those in his village. But when he fakes his death and escapes the horrors tying him to his past, he finds he is lost once more, not knowing how to move forward when he is confined to his chair. Gweneth Caddell has lost everything. The High Healer sun fae sells nearly everything she owns to pay off her father’s debts, leaving her destitute. The only way to stay afloat is to become the nurse to a wheelchair-bound man who wants nothing to do with her. At least until he learns of her healing magic. For the first time in years, Emeric has hope for a brighter future. But can Gweneth heal his legs and give him back the life he’s always wanted? Can they fight the attraction they have for one another? Or will hearts break when fate threatens to tear them apart?     AmazonKU

MAGICAL MIDLIFE BATTLE (LEVELING UP BOOK EIGHT) by K F Breene

t has all come down to this. The battle to save Kingsley’s pack, and Austin’s place of birth, is upon them. They have their team, they have their supplies, and they have a very nerve-wracking secret weapon that Edgar devised. They aren’t even close to ready. If they lose this battle, every shifter in the world will be in jeopardy. But to fight means danger they might not all walk away from. If only the battle was their sole worry. Austin has come home for the first time in fifteen years. He left the pack in tatters and a great many people haven’t forgotten, his family included. He must finally face his past.   AmazonKU

A DEMON OF A DEAL (SOULS WANTED BOOK ONE) by Charity Parkerson

Chaos has spent his life living off the men he dates. He’s gotten good at moving seamlessly from home to home. Unfortunately, his luck has run out and Chaos is desperate for work. When he comes across a help wanted ad that sounds too good to be true, he decides he has nothing to lose. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Kyle hasn’t been a demon for long by comparison. He can’t grasp the old ways of bargaining for souls. Since he had been a hiring manager in his former life, he’s taken his human experience and applied it to his new gig. It seems like such a genius plan. Until he meets Chaos and realizes it only takes one wild wish to turn his entire eternity on its head.   AmazonKU

CLOUDS AND DAYDREAMS PART ONE (SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS OMEGAVERSE) by Elizabeth Knight

Sweet artist omega Bailey-Rose is dumped by the only man she thought would love her because of her congenital heart condition. Cut off from being able to participate in the national Scent Matching services Bailey-Rose has decided she will be single for life after this heartbreak. In a surprising turn of events who should show up in the middle of her pity party but her brothers best friend. Unbeknownst to her, Ulysses has moved back to town after years of traveling for work. Not only is Bailey-Rose stunned to find him in her room looking like a broken hearted trash panda—but discovers they are a scent-match. Now all that’s left to do is meet the rest of the pack and pray they won’t see her as the broken Omega the world keeps telling her she is. Will it be worth it to try love one more time? To risk putting her fragile heart in the hands of men she’s never met? So begins the story of learning what real unconditional love looks like.     AmazonKU

FASHIONABLY FIERCE (HOT, DAMNED BOOK EIGHTEEN) by Robyn Peterman

The twenty-first century is quite the horrifying eye-opener for a Vampyre warrior whose been in a magical coma for a thousand years. The Vampyre in question would be me. I’m so damned confused by the modern world, and getting electrocuted for being misogynistic — whatever that means — is getting old. It’s insanity. Apparently, there’s a species called Karens running in the wild. The Tube of You and the Book of the Faces are alarming. From what I understand, the Karens gather there. I much prefer homing pigeons to the small rectangular metal box the undead of today seem to favor. Although, I am enamored with the horseless metal chariots. The good old days of skin peeling and ripping out entrails are over. So be it. I’ll fit in. Getting set aflame sucks. Plus, there’s a beautiful blonde who’s in my every waking thought. She might not know it yet, but we’re destined to be. Although, every time I cop a feel, I get my nards kneed up into my esophagus. My wooing skills might be a little rusty… Armed with the magic word, please, and the challenge of using my words instead of my sword, I shall succeed. I’m fierce. I’m fabulous. And I’m in love.     AmazonKU

AN AUTUMN EMBRACE: A COLLECTION OF FORCED PROXIMITY ROMANCES by Various

Second chances, friends to lovers, and forbidden romance spark in this collection of steamy short stories. Brimming with magic and mystery, these five forced-proximity romances range from sensual to spicy, the perfect companion to keep your heart toasty in sweater weather. Hunker down by the hearth, pour a glass of cider, and fall into Autumn’s warm embrace by reading…(NOTE: story details on ebook seller’s page)

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HESITANT ALPHA (OMEGAS INN LOVE BOOK ONE) by Lorelai M Hart

No one leaves the Foxtail Bed and Breakfast without a mate. No one can make reservations, though. They have to be invited by Franklin, the owner, who whose kindness is overshadowed by sadness. Saint – I grew up in a strict community, that’s what they called it. Now that I was older and free from their leashes, I knew the right word was cult. Still, it’s hard to get the teachings out of my head and even worse, not to live by their purity standards and ridiculous gender roles. My fathers’ words echo in my head, even as I sleep. I tried to date a few times, mostly online. No one wanted anything to do with my cleanliness quirks or my neatness needs. I was too innocent for them. Too sweet. I had learned some things about life, but still was naive when it came to the world and how things worked, especially with relationships. All I wanted was an alpha to accept me for me and keep his word. Someone with patience. Was that too much to ask? I’m fed up with my job and needing a vacation when a letter arrives in my mailbox, complete with a wax seal. Somehow I’d won a week’s vacation, all expenses included, at the Foxtail Bed and Breakfast. I’d never heard of the place, but I didn’t care. I needed the time away. Memphis – I want an omega, but I’m not looking for one ever again. ..(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)     AmazonKU

A CASTLE OF SHADOWS: LTD ED COLLECTIONS OF FAIRY TALES by Various

What fairy tales lurk in the dark? Are they good or evil? Who gets their happily ever after, the heroes or the villains? Grab your pixie-dust, hoist up your sword, spin some gold, and take a climb into this riveting limited collection of fairy tales! This collection will leave you breathless with wonder, shower you with laughter, and might even bring on a spout of tears. But have no fear! These nine authors will be sure to give you a story you won’t soon forget. Because let’s face it . . . Not all fairy tales are meant to stay under the castle’s shadow.

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FATE’S FINAL SEASON (MAIDENS OF THE MYSTICAL STONES BOOK 5) by Leigh Ann Edwards

Will the fallout of this mystical year finally be their undoing? During the final season of the magical pact, a disheartened Rhianwyn Mulryan arrives in Welshland as Princess Lilliana, poisoned, cursed, and desperately afraid that Broccan is lost to her forever. A mysterious sorceress may be her only hope of survival, but can she be trusted? As Rhianwyn faces Lilliana’s enigmatic husband, Prince Tyven, and his brothers––all rumored to be cursed with dragon blood—the arrival of her own estranged husband further jeopardizes their marriage…and their lives. Sir Broccan Mulryan is determined that he and his wife will put their tumultuous past behind them, but before he’s fully forgiven her, he receives a baffling order to protect Princess Lilliana. Only Lilliana doesn’t quite seem herself…Back in Wessex, a ruthless bishop throws the kingdom into upheaval, endangering the lives of Selena, Elspeth, and the true Lilliana. To end the despised pact and reclaim their lives, all four women must return to the sunstones, together. But will they live long enough? And if they do, will discovering the source of the pact save them or tear everything apart?

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THING: A MONSTER ROMANCE by Stasia Black

Being the angel of death’s a lonely gig, and Thing’s been alone all his life, even when he wasn’t chained to a dungeon wall half-mad for two centuries. He’s not like his brothers.
He’s come to prefer his solitude. Or so he thinks. Because when a fierce woman with covered in blood comes crashing through the forest into his many arms, he begins to wonder if he might just want a consort of his very own.     AmazonKU

SMOKE AND MIRRORS: CARNIVAL OF MYSTERY by Elizabeth Silver

Two things I know for sure: Magic isn’t real and never date your coworkers. Xander knows for a fact magic belongs solely in the realm of fiction. But fate has other plans when he finds himself reluctantly going on a date to a mysterious traveling carnival. Little does he know that this seemingly harmless outing will thrust him into an entirely different dimension, where magic is very much a reality—though its practitioners label it as science. As Xander navigates this extraordinary new world, he finds himself accompanied by distractingly attractive government agent Justus Farhill, whose good looks and honest heart make it challenging to keep those pesky emotions in check. Their undeniable chemistry grows the more they work together, and even though he knows he should be fighting to find his way home, Xander instead finds himself with one heck of a reason to stay. But…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)   AmazonKU

TEAM BUILDING FOR FRIENDLY HELLHOUNDS (OBSCURE ACADEMY BOOK NINE) by Laura Greenwood

Two hellhounds walk into a team-building exercise…When Evie’s cheer squad goes on a team-building weekend, the last thing she expects is to make a connection with a fellow hellhound. Ceb didn’t know what to expect from the event, but it certainly wasn’t a gorgeous cheerleader challenging him to a bet that would change everything. Will the two of them give in to the romance building between them? And can they put their teamwork to good use for the upcoming Hell Scramble?

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40 WAYS TO LOSE A GUY (TALES OF A MIDLIFE WITCH BOOK 2) by Donna McDonald

My bad luck with men is a joke in my family. Can you believe my daughter at twenty thinks I’m the naive one about men? And my mother agrees with her! Conn warning me every three seconds about my stagnant libido doesn’t help either. What difference does it make to them if I’m dating or not? Turning forty didn’t make me extra picky, but people need to stop judging me for saying no. Colonel Benson is happily married, and I turned down the sexy elf Conn dangled in front of me on principle. I don’t have time to deal with ancient winged creatures, eccentric Fairie Folk, and back-stabbing demons playing matchmaker. The last thing I need is another man trying to ruin my life. Jack Derringer did a bang-up job of that already. Speaking of my ex, and I really wish I didn’t need to, but it seems Jack is involved in something extremely shady. Plus, he may have sent me to prison to line his wallet. Should I be flattered that my absence was worth so much to someone? No one’s paying me to help them these days, but I still need to sort this all out, find a way to permanently lose the guy I divorced, and maybe find the one that flew away from me before he gets captured again.     AmazonKU

A CROWN SO CURSED (THE NIGHTMARE-VERSE BOOK THREE) by L L McKinney

Alice and her crew are doing their best to recover from the last boss battle, but some of them keep having these. . . dreams: visions of a dark past—and an even darker future. Sadly, the evil in Wonderland may not be as defeated as they’d hoped. Attacked by Nightmares unlike any they’ve ever seen, Alice will have to step between the coming darkness and the mortal world once more. But this time is different. This time, the monsters aren’t waiting for her on the other side of the Veil. They’re in her own back yard.

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ORC AND THE MANNY (MONSTERS HOLLOW BOOK ONE) by Chloe Archer

Targan Wildethorne – A confirmed bachelor, and a historian by training, I haven’t the faintest clue how to care for twin orclings when I unexpectedly become their guardian. I’d love to retreat into the comforting sanctuary of my study, surrounded by my books and papers, but first I need to hire someone to help me with the children. Someone who can teach me the ropes of this new role. Thank the Light for the All-Species Specialized Employment Services! In my most dire hour of need, they find the perfect nanny—ahem, manny—to help me look after my young wards. Now I can finally get back to writing my history of orc folklore for a few hours a day. Or so I thought. Instead I find the captivating new man in my home far too distracting. Max is so much more than I had expected. I’ve never fallen for a human before, but I can’t get him out of my mind. Could he ever feel the same about an orc? Humans are usually too intimidated by our large size and outer appearance. Can Max look past my green skin and tusks to see a man with a heart that yearns for him? And if he does, when he learns the truth…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)     AmazonKU

THE BURNING WITCH: A HUMOROUS ROMANTIC FANTASY by Delemhach

Katarina Ashowan was not made for courtly life. Sure, her father is the famous house witch of Daxaria so she was raised among majestic castles, proper manners, and royal expectations. But Kat is also a mutated witch whose power aligns predominantly with fire. She’s more comfortable riding horses or learning to fight than she is making polite conversation and wearing fancy dresses. Which is why her upcoming assignment—serving her best friend, Alina, the soon-to-be crowned Troivackian queen—is anything but ideal. Even worse, Kat is forced to make the long journey from Daxaria to Troivack with Alina’s extremely irksome brother, Eric, the crown prince of Daxaria. Kat and the formerly missing prince are constantly at each other’s throats—until, that is, they begin to form an unexpected kinship . . . with perhaps something more flickering beneath the surface. Now Kat must contend with the strictures of Troivackian court, mysterious assassination attempts, and her unsettling new feelings for Eric, all as her fiery powers are becoming harder and harder to control.       AmazonKU     AB

CROWN OF TIDES AND FURY (CROWN OF THE FAE KING BOOK TWO) by L L Muir

Lennon and her band of fairy hunters have become a tight unit, and they refuse to sit by and allow some prophetess’ doom condemn both Man and Fae–not when the bringer of that doom can be stopped. If Orion can collect all of the Naming Powers, it’s game over. But that means they only need to hide one of the eight powers to thwart him! It won’t be easy, especially with a certain murderous Fae hunting Lennon, but they’ve got some advantages among their crew, including a witch who controls her visibility, some experienced monster killers, and their leader who can move through both Time and Place. Lennon likes their odds…as long as their leader, Wickham, is really who he claims to be.     Amazon

CASTING LIGHT (SHADOW’S LURE BOOK TWO) by Alice Winters

Bastian – When life dragged me down, I assumed I’d never get back up. I never guessed that Andras—the dark magic user I was always told to fear—would not only give me a helping hand but draw me into his arms and protect me from those who wished to harm me. I never imagined that Andras and his “danger noodle” would be there to make me laugh, to care about me, and show me what it means to be loved. But now, the two of us have to prove to the Casters that we won’t be knocked down. Not when we don’t know who we can trust… and when there’s something darker coming for all of us. Andras – As the hunt for the book that started all of this comes to a head, our enemies are getting closer, but so is the truth of what happened when my light magic was taken years ago. While they’ve fought to tear us apart, they’ve done nothing but draw us together as well as nearer to the truth. I’m determined to finish this so I can get my happy ever after with the man I love and show him all of the little things he missed out in life. Oh, and so he can make me more chili.    AmazonKU

PRINCE CHARMING (FANTASY ROMANCE BOOK FOUR) by Aisha Urooj

Ash Charming’s life was anything but charming. He often felt like his name: Ash. Destined to be nothing. Forsaken to be no one. But a small voice in his head told him otherwise. The voice belonged to his late father, the greatest artist his small town had ever known. His father’s art had the touch of fae magic, or so they said. When he died in an unfortunate accident, all magic died in Ash’s world. He was left at the mercy of his cruel uncle. Was Ash destined for a life of misery, insults, and destitution, or did fate have something else in store for him? When the princess is kidnapped and taken to the fae realm, only Ash knows the way, as he discovers it in the sketchbook of his late father. What will Ash find once he gets there? Destinies cannot be stolen, or in Ash’s case, cannot be avoided. Greatness awaits young Ash Charming, whether he is ready for it or not.

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GONE FOR GOOD (MIDLIFE MYSTERIES BOOK FIVE) by H P Mallory

London, 1880 – PHILIPPA: When Spencer gets stuck inside the magical Midnight Garden, I will not rest until I can release him. Unfortunately, Inspector Grant Stirling isn’t thinking along the same lines. Truth be told, I believe he’d happily wipe his hands of the garden and Spencer. Good thing for Spencer that he isn’t relying on Scotland Yard! Realizing I am quite over my head in this paranormal matter, I seek the counsel of none other than Mrs. Thorndike, the only person who can handle such a crisis. And if Mrs. Thorndike can’t help me? Then I’m not certain who can. GRANT: It’s true that I have no love for Mr. Spencer. Perhaps that’s why I don’t find myself in much of a panic where he and the Midnight Garden are concerned. Truth be told, it would be of much benefit to Philippa if she were to wipe her hands clean of the reprobate. But unfortunately for me, as an inspector of Scotland Yard, my duty is towards all of London’s citizens and Mr. Spencer falls squarely in such category. So, much though I don’t like the blasted man, I am willing to help, even if that means voyaging into the world of spirits—something I scarce understand. And something I understand even less? These feelings for Philippa that plague me day and night. Very soon I will have to make a decision—remove myself from her for good, or act on my instincts and make her mine.   AmazonKU

AUCTIONED MATE (SILVERDAWN WOLVES BOOK SIX) by Layla Silver

A monster bought me at a live auction. Now he owns my curves and can do with me as he pleases. He’s much older than me, and I’m determined to hate him. Until I find out what he really is…and my belly grows with his seed. I was traded for my disobedience, only to land in his possessive arms. His commanding gaze follows me wherever I go. His rippling muscles protect me when someone wants to steal me. But I’m no damsel, and I refuse to be his possession. I never chose to be with him, but I’m trapped in this house with him. The air thickens with electricity until my core practically begs for release. He strokes my wide hips like he owns them. He kisses my thick lips like he wants to heal them. He purchased my body, and gave me a pregnant belly. How much longer until he claims my heart?    AmazonKU

THE GAUNTLET RUNNER (THE THARASSAS CYCLE BOOK TWO) by J Scott Coatsworth

A guard and a thief. What could go wrong? Aik has fallen hopelessly in love with his best friend. But Raven’s a thief, which makes things … complicated. Oh, and Raven has just been kidnapped by a dragon. Now Aik is off on a quest of his own, to hunt down the foul beast and make them give back his … friend? Lover? Soulmate? The whole not-knowing thing just makes everything harder. Meanwhile, the world of Tharassas is falling apart, besieged by earthquakes, floods, and strange creatures no one has ever seen before. Aik’s ex, Silya has gone back to Gullton to do try to save her people as the Hencha Queen, and Aik’s stuck in a caravan with her mother and a damnable magical gauntlet that won’t let him be. He has to find Raven, before it’s too late. Things were messy before … but now they’re much, much worse.

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CAPTURING THE ORC’S HEART (TROLLKIN LOVERS BOOK THREE) by Lyonne Riley

Dishonored and heartbroken, Lieutenant Agkar has just transferred to the inhospitable desert of the Hazrain—a neutral zone between human and trollkin—to work in the city guard. But he despises his new superior officer, Captain Zirelle Mastair, a human woman who gets to boss him around day in and day out. It’s humiliating. The tough-as-nails Captain Mastair doesn’t care much for the new orc lieutenant either, or his impertinent attitude, which gets in the way of her all-important work. Yet she senses a deep wound underneath his hard exterior that speaks to her own. While on a mission to track down a fugitive, the captain and the lieutenant are stranded in a cavern hideout. Will all of their pent-up frustration with one other finally burst?

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STOLEN MATE (MYSTIC RIVER SHIFTERS BOOK SIX) by Delta James

Stolen as an infant, raised as a human, her mother’s diaries reveal more questions than answers. Tess thought her life was ordinary until her mother’s deathbed confession shatters her world. Raised as a human, Tess discovers her biological mother was a shifter and had been shot in a big game hunt on Kodiak Island. Armed with her mother’s diaries, Tess embarks on a journey to Mystic River in search of the truth. Derek, the Mystic River sheriff, finds an unconscious shifter in town and immediately knows she is his fated mate. However, when Tess awakens and he hears her story, he realizes she may be in danger. The danger that follows her threatens to tear them apart. With powerful enemies determined to keep Tess’s story a secret, it’s up to Tess and Derek to discover the truth and find their happily-ever-after.      AmazonKU

ETERNAL REIGN (AGE OF VAMPIRES BOOK ONE) by CAroline Peckham and Suzanne Valenti

The vampire prince has never claimed a human. Until now. My whole life I’ve been nothing but a means to an end; livestock kept caged for the production of blood. I’ve stared through fences at the promise of freedom countless times, but the only way anyone escapes this hell is in the hands of a bloodsucker. The annual testing is about to begin, and those who pass are never seen again. So fu*k that. My twin and I decided to risk it all. To run before the royals could claim us. Turns out, that dream expired fast. Because when an original vampire decides to own you, there’s nowhere in this ruined world left to escape to. I’m at his mercy now, trapped in his castle, destined to become his creature, and forced into a dangerous game of rivalry between the seductive vampire princes. His beauty is a weapon I wasn’t prepared for, his cruelty a bane that strikes fear in the hearts of all, and his company a sin I’m going to spend my life repenting. I need to get back to my sister, but she’s caught in a trap of her own, tangled up with the last slayer to walk this earth and following his path towards vengeance. She’s at his mercy too, the man with violence tattooed across his skin, death trailing his footsteps as he stalks his prey – who just so happen to be the royal vampires who hold me captive.  The gods are toying with us all, placing my twin and I on opposite sides of an ancient war. And in the end, I fear there won’t be any victors left standing. So I’m going to play a game of my own, let my captor use me as his puppet until I find my moment to strike.  Let this hell-born ritual of lust, lies and blood begin.    AmazonKU

TEA LEAVES by Jacob Budenz

Tea Leaves presents 16 speculative short stories that place queer characters in larger-than-life situations to emphasize the surreal experience of marginalization. A queer romance spans multiple incarnations, but only in doomed cities. A gay medieval scholar must testify for his life to the otherworldly octopus who traps him in a cafe bathroom. Ignoring their better judgment, a witch brings their mortal partner on a hunt for a dangerous sorcerer and must cope with the dire consequences. Each of the stories within Tea Leaves explores the urgency of modern queer life in encounters between the otherworldly and the queer other. In juxtaposing queer narratives with new, larger-than-life myths, Tea Leaves both exalts and lampoons the queer experience while examining the sometimes surreal obstacles of marginalization.

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HAZE (THE ARDELEAN BLOODLINE BOOK TWO) by Sarah Jaeger

Sometimes, finding your mate is only half the battle. It’s a good thing I love a fight. Finn – To wolves, our mates are sacred. Despite the life I’ve led, I never gave up hope of finding her. After walking away from the “family business,” I’m forced to seek asylum with The Leviathan, the king of all wolves. I’m ready for the quiet life: looking for my mate and staying out of trouble. What I don’t expect? Is The Leviathan’s little sister, Kathleen Alden, to be the one. My mate. She’s younger, infuriating, passionate, and fits me perfectly in every way. I see our future clearly: mated, married, and a yard full of pups. However, her adamant refusal to accept our bond has me fighting through every one of her defenses. She has no idea what she’s up against or the lengths I’ll go to keep her. Lena – Griffin O’Leary may be strong, confident, and easy on the eyes, but I will never call him my mate. Ever. Not even his panty-melting Irish accent or alpha dominant vibes will … no. Nope. Not happening. It can’t. First, because I don’t want a mate. Fated or otherwise. And second, because there’s too much on the line to be tempted. My life’s work in shifter reproductive health is on the cusp of a breakthrough. Was on the cusp. Until an unfortunate… disruption derails my research. Now Finn and I are unceremoniously stuck together in a stalemate. I was pretty sure I would come out victorious in the war of mating marks and matrimony. Except my wolf sides with Finn. That little traitor. It’s me versus Finn and my wolf. Will it be wedding bells or battle cries? There’s only one way to find out.      AmazonKU

SHADOW COVEN (THE WITCHERY BOOK TWO) by S Isabelle

After defeating the Wolves, Jailah, Logan, Iris, and Thalia want nothing more than a summer of fun and relaxation. But there is no rest for the wicked, especially when Death comes for Iris. She is to become a Reaper, tasked with banishing souls who refuse to cross over. But Iris suspects there’s something more ominous going on when Mathew’s role as her tether grows sinister. Logan and Thalia are ready to prove themselves as witches. Except Logan still hears the howling Wolves and realizes that the Haunting Season may have awakened more than just her magic. And while Thalia wants to spend her days cleansing the Swamp for good, she finds herself heading to a place she swore she’d never go again: home. Witches have started going missing near Annex, and Thalia is convinced that her father is behind the disappearances. With the help of Logan and Trent, Thalia returns to stop him. Meanwhile, Jailah is focused on her internship with the Haelsford Witchery Council until she discovers a treacherous magic hidden beneath Mesmortes, and there are those who will go to great lengths to keep it buried. So, she turns to the only person who understands, even if it’s the one witch who hates her the most. Separated by distance, the coven is surrounded by magical and mundane threats that must be defeated before they lose their witchery–and each other–forever.

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PROXIMITY by Jordan Meadows

The only thing keeping Joan’s dangerous powers under control is her cousin Sabrina’s rare ability to counteract them. Luckily, they’ve got the support of their powerful Family, they’re best friends, and they’ve managed to build a life around each other’s constant presence. But now they’re seventeen, and things are changing. They don’t want to study the same things in college, not to mention neither of them has been on a single date.
When Joan meets the lovely and witty Ellie, she talks Sabrina into trying a group date. That only makes Joan desperate for more time with Ellie. With more proximity comes more risk and the fear that Ellie will eventually notice that Joan and Sabrina are weirdly codependent. Important secrets will be put at risk, which may incur the Family’s wrath. Someone could get hurt and not just emotionally. When things inevitably go wrong, Joan is sure Ellie won’t stick around, but learning to control her powers without Sabrina by her side is almost impossible.

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A PRAYER FOR VENGEANCE by Leanne Schwartz

Centuries after a miracle vanquished Tresttato’s monsters and turned the soldiers fighting them to stone, Milo lovingly tends to the statues of those who protected the city. Raised with devout templars and scholars, autistic temple ward Milo wants nothing more than to be accepted into their ranks. When his prayers admiring her heroic sacrifice accidentally free Gia from stone, she wakes with a fury to kill the man Milo owes his life to, Primo Sanct Ennio. Gia claims that the immortal holy leader Milo lives to serve is the same man who betrayed her and transformed her into a statue—and what Milo always believed was a miracle was actually a curse that Gia will stop at nothing to break. Even if she has to kill his followers to do it. Even if she must kill the boy who woke her.

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DREAMBOUND: A NOVEL by Dan Frey

VS Note: Sounded intriguing so I one-clicked after reading the sample.

When Byron Kidd’s twelve-year-old daughter vanishes, the only clue is a note claiming that she’s taken off to explore the Hidden World, a magical land from a series of popular novels. She is not the only child to seek out this imaginary realm in recent years, and Byron—a cynical and hard-nosed reporter—is determined to discover the whereabouts of dozens of missing kids. Byron secures a high-profile interview with Annabelle Tobin, the eccentric author of the books, and heads off to her palatial home in the Hollywood Hills. But the truth Byron discovers is more fantastic than he ever could have dreamed. As he unearths locations from the books that seem to be bleeding into the real world, he must shed his doubts and dive headfirst into the mystical secrets of Los Angeles if he hopes to reunite with his child. Soon Byron finds himself on his own epic journey—but if he’s not careful, he could be the next one to disappear. Told through journal entries, transcripts, emails, and excerpts from Tobin’s novels, Dreambound is a spellbinding homage to Los Angeles and an immersive and fast-paced story of how far a father will go—even delving into impossible worlds—to save his daughter.

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FIREWORKS FOR MY DRAGON BOSS (FAIRHAVEN FALLS) by Honey Phillips

After a series of corporate mergers, Charlotte’s job is hanging by a thread. When her boss orders her to drag an overdue manuscript out of their bestselling author, she’s determined to succeed – even if it means leaving the city for the small Southern town of Fairhaven Falls. She just didn’t expect the elusive author to be so big. And handsome. And winged. Nakor Earlsworth refuses to give in to the common stereotypes about dragons. He lives in a glass-walled house, not a cave. He doesn’t breathe fire – at least not most of the time. And he certainly isn’t sitting on a hoard of treasure. So why is it that when an annoying, buttoned-up, and irritatingly attractive, female shows up on his doorstep, he’s suddenly envisioning her wearing his gold – and nothing else? A very stubborn male and an equally determined female are about to find out what happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force. Sparks are going to fly. Literally.   AmazonKU

SURROUNDED BY SCALES: M/M SHIFTER MPREG ROMANCE (THE NEW HEMLOCK WOLF PACK SAGA BOOK EIGHT) by Maggie Hemlock

Omega wolf, Abel, has had all he can take of playing card games with his grandparents in Spain while a war rages in London. Instead of toughing it out at their hideaway, he decides it’s time to take up his best friend’s offer to move to Heartville. It’s not like he’s living his London dream life anyway. He thinks his biggest problem will be how the humidity messes with his fur and living in the middle of nowhere. Only Abel has no clue, just who he’s about to encounter at the airport. Alpha dragon, Dara, resigned from his post at the Moonscale Hospital as a contentious objector. He’s newlywed, married to the retired detective, Samuel Grint, and is on his way to be Heartville’s first official doctor. Leaving his London life behind will be difficult, but there’s a need to be filled at the clinic of the budding territory. He’s optimistic that he and the love of his life can build a happy home in Heartville. Besides, staying together and out of the war, are the most important things, right? Wrong! Dara’s about to learn what happens when a dragon discovers he has not one, but two loves of his life. His destiny crashes with Abel’s at the airport. Only then does he discover that his true-mate and new husband are exes! Will Abel’s broken heart tear down what could’ve been an incredible love story, or will the true-mates and Sam find a way to fall in love with each other all over again?    AmazonKU

DAUGHTER OF DIAMONDS: LUCK GODS SERIES BOOK THREE by J Gabriel Gates

Four tribes of warring demigods rule over luck in our world. To survive, Aggie must find out who is murdering them…As a newly minted Queen of Hearts and a high school senior, Aggie has her hands full. Being a demigoddess. Managing her OCD. Prepping for the SATs. And most of all searching for her mom, who has been brainwashed and remade into a bad luck goddess, the Queen of Spades. Aggie needs help from her suit of luck gods to get her mom back. But when a prominent Heart is murdered, the Valentines split into factions and question her leadership—because Aggie is one of the suspects. To prove her innocence and regain her suit’s loyalty, Aggie must solve the murder. Her partner on the case? Her roguish sort of ex-boyfriend, the Jack of Hearts. The investigation will pit them against goblins, sylphs, bad luck gods, a mysterious secret order, and even members of their own suit. And they’ll have to hurry. Because the Queen of Spades has plans, too. Plans that could cast a shadow of misery over the entire world.   AmazonKU

CHAMPION OF FATE (HEROMAKER BOOK ONE) by Kendare Blake

Aristene are an order of mythical female warriors. Though heroes might be immortalized in legends, it’s the Aristene who guide their paths to victory. They are the Heromakers. Raised by the order after being orphaned, Reed grew up surrounded by her future sisters-in-arms and the incredible stories of their quests. She’s been counting the days until her initiation, and now one final test stands in her way: shepherding her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and her place in the order is secured. Fail, and she’ll be cast out of the only home she’s ever known. But Reed didn’t count on Hestion, her assigned hero, being both infuriating and intriguing. When their strategic alliance turns into something more, it forces Reed to question the cost of becoming an Aristene. As battle looms and fate hangs in the balance, Reed must make an impossible choice: her hero or her order.     Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

COURT OF SHADOWS (VAMPYRIA SAGA BOOK ONE) by Victor Nixen, Translated by Francoise Bui

A fiery heroine seeks vengeance against a royal court of deadly vampires in this epic alternate history set in lavish Versailles. Louis XIV transformed from the Sun King into the King of Shadows when he embraced immortality and became the world’s first vampire. For the last three centuries, he has been ruling the kingdom from the decadent Court of Shadows in Versailles, demanding the blood of his subjects to sate his nobles’ thirst and maintain their loyalty. In the heart of rural France, commoner Jeanne Froidelac witnesses the king’s soldiers murder her family and learns of her parents’ role in a brewing rebellion involving the forbidden secrets of alchemy. To seek her revenge, Jeanne disguises herself as an aristocrat and enrolls in a prestigious school for aspiring courtiers. She soon finds herself at the doors of the palace of Versailles. But Jeanne, of course, is no aristocrat. She dreams not of court but of blood. The blood of a king.

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MAKE MINE A BUNNY (MATED BY CHANCE BOOK EIGHT) by Harper B Cole and Colbie Dunbar

Omega Griffin is a bunny shifter whose beast takes fright during a hike and takes his fur. Instead of enjoying a walk in the woods, suddenly he’s a defenseless creature, hunted by a predator. Human alpha Logan has just arrived in Riverford to take up a job at a children’s store. His boss, Harry, has a shock of blue hair and a meddlesome uncle, Mr. Lucas. They welcome Logan into their new home until he finds a place of his own. Griffin is terrified, alone in the forest, as a wild animal pads over the forest floor toward his bunny. But eventually, he’s rescued by Harry and Mr. Lucas. The omega is traumatized, and when Mr. Lucas instructs him on how to take his skin, he can’t until they ask Logan for help. But without knowing shifters exist and witnessing a bunny transform into a man, Logan can’t cope and runs away. Can the alpha get over his fear so the pair can be friends? Or become more than friends?     AmazonKU

GHOST TAMER by Meredith R Lyons

Aspiring-comedian Raely is the sole survivor of a disastrous train wreck. While faced with the intense grief of losing her best friend, she realizes that someone is following her—and has been following her all her life. Trouble is, no one else can see him. For a ghostly tag-along, Casper’s not so bad. He might even be the partner Raely needs to fight the evil spirit hell-bent on destroying her. Raely and her friend must learn why this demonic spirit is haunting Raely and how she can stop him before he destroys her life—and her soul. Which, much to her chagrin, means she needs the help of a psychic (although she’s sure they are all charlatans) and must rid herself of the pesky ghost hunter who’s interested in exploiting her new abilities.

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HEX EDUCATION by Maureen Kilmer

Nice witches finish last…A guilt-ridden former coven is forced to tap into the magic of their past . . . if they want to stop their lives from going up in flames again. On the outside, luxury real estate agent Sarah Nelson looks like every other mom in the suburb. But she has an edge that others don’t: She’s a witch. And no one knows . . . except her estranged ex-coven and college friends, Katrina and Alicia. One terrible night during their freshman year, the trio accidentally burned down their dorm, and soon after they scattered. Their secret had been safe, until Sarah learns they’ve been invited back to commemorate the anniversary of the fire. Suddenly, the magic doesn’t want to be controlled. Sarah’s orange tabby cat, Katy Purry, now argues with her. Her broom has become self-brooming, and her fridge somehow restocks thirty pounds of sliced turkey for school lunches. As it grows increasingly difficult to hide the magic and the past, Sarah, Katrina, and Alicia must harness their power together . . . before they find out if polite society still burns witches.

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THE LAND OF LOST THINGS: A NOVEL (THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS 2) by John Connolly

“Twice upon a time—for that is how some stories should continue…” Phoebe, an eight-year-old girl, lies comatose following a car accident—a body without a spirit. Ceres, her mother, can only sit by her bedside and read aloud the fairy stories Phoebe loves in the hope they might summon her back to this world. But an old house on the hospital grounds, a property connected to a book written by a vanished author, is calling to Ceres. Something wants her to enter, to journey to a land colored by the memories of childhood, and the folklore beloved of her father—a land of witches and dryads, giants and mandrakes; a land where old enemies are watching and waiting…The Land of Lost Things.

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MIKE’S ASSISTANT (SATCHEL PRIDE BOOK THREE) by C K Noel

Lion shifter and business executive Mike Doy thought he’d never find his fated mate… until he hires Jake Bradford. His biggest mistake – revealing his true nature to Jake. Or maybe their shared kiss. Whatever ignited between them quickly burns out as Jake’s life spirals out of control. Jake isn’t prepared to understand—much less face—the paranormal world or the concept of fated mates. After Jake’s parents were lost in a tragic wreck, he’d been tasked with caring for his young brothers. But a cruel aunt with the intent to take his brothers and an irate landlady threaten to separate the family. Mike offers help, but Jake might not be able to accept the intimidating shifter’s support. With the help of a friend, Vanessa, Jake begins to understand the shifters and discovers another side of Mike. A side that’s loving, caring, and an ally. But his ever-shifting world might keep him and the man he’s fallen for apart… unless both are willing to fight to protect their love and family.     AmazonKU

RED RABBIT by Alex Grecian

VS Note: Listed in Fantasy and Horror.

Sadie Grace is wanted for witchcraft, dead (or alive). And every hired gun in Kansas is out to collect the bounty on her head, including bona fide witch hunter Old Tom and his mysterious, mute ward, Rabbit. On the road to Burden County, they’re joined by two vagabond cowboys with a strong sense of adventure – but no sense of purpose – and a recently widowed schoolteacher with nothing left to lose. As their posse grows, so too does the danger. Racing along the drought-stricken plains in a stolen red stagecoach, they encounter monsters more wicked than witches lurking along the dusty trail. But the crew is determined to get that bounty, or die trying.

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THE SOCIETY FOR SOULLESS GIRLS by Laura Steven

A sapphic enemies-to-lovers retelling of Jekyll & Hyde, this dark academia thriller follows two roommates who must solve an infamous cold case of serial murders on their campus after an arcane ritual gone wrong prompts another death. Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the infamous unsolved North Tower murders at the elite Carvell Academy of the Arts, forcing the school to close its doors. Now Carvell is reopening, and fearless freshman Lottie Fitzwilliam is determined to find out what really happened. But when her beautiful but standoffish roommate, Alice Wolfe, stumbles upon a sinister soul-splitting ritual in a book hidden in Carvell’s library, the North Tower claims another victim. Is there a killer among them . . . or worse, within them?

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NAGA’S ESSENCE (NAGA LORDS OF PROTHEKA) by Celeste King

First he’ll break me. Next, he’ll claim me. And then… he’ll lay his eggs in me. For six long years, I’ve trained to destroy the naga monarchs who ruined everything I held dear. Now I’m ready to topple their kingdoms and end their reign. But then Slyth found me. No matter what magic or skills I use, I can’t escape his clutches. He won’t let his prize slip away. His plans for me are terrifying. I’ll be ruined for anything else but to carry his young. Yet even as I desperately cling to my goal, one dark thought emerges. He may think he’ll use me, but I’ll be using him too. Because I may not get my revenge. But I’ll get so many babies.     AmazonKU

CUT OF THE DARK ELF’S BLADE by Celeste King

His shadow stalks me…And I want to get caught. I keep my head down at the Ilnais estate. Clean, work, obey. I did nothing to deserve the specter that follows me.
Blades skate my flesh when we’re alone. Eyes burn my skin. No matter where I go, he’s there. I should run. But I want him…His forbidden touch ignites me…I’m told the man I’ve seen is imaginary. But the rough hands, the stolen kiss…they were real. I must unmask him. Step into the darkness. If it doesn’t consume me first. Who is he? This phantom who haunts me, tempts me? I have to know. For the monster that makes my heart race, I’ll give up everything. My sanity. My hope. Even my life if I need to.   AmazonKU

NOT THAT KIND OF DEMON (ASSASSIN’S ALLEY BOOK ONE) by Lisa Oliver

Hybrid shifter Cyrus was really happy in his life. He’d seen the dark side of life, and was content to fix cars and small motors in his rural workshop. His animal sides had plenty of space to run around during his down time, and there was a bakery next door to the workshop. A man didn’t need much else in life. Until a car stopped in for a quick fix, and Cyrus caught the scent of something he never dreamed he’d find… his fated mate. Shame it wasn’t the driver of the car, but then when was life ever easy? Assassin demon Python was seriously thinking about going back to the Underworld. His job was a good one, and he had clearance for it from the Underworld Office, but even Lord Hades had no idea how much Python missed being with his friends and family. Still, a job was a job, and he had made friends with his fellow assassins quickly enough. But while checking his car, after his PA was late picking him up, Python caught a sniff of the impossible on his leather seats. Maybe the Underworld could wait for a while. Cyrus and Python were both happy with Fates’ choice for them, but other people weren’t so pleased. Lord Hades can’t work out why Python isn’t doing his job, and there’s another man who’d do anything to see Cyrus out of Python’s life completely. Will they find peace in Assassin’s Alley, or does the Fates have a different future in mind for these two?

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FATE UNCHAINED (WEREWOLVES OF ULTERRA BOOK THREE) by Jocelyn Montana

What if the werewolf she has to trap, is her fated mate? Lilah’s stuck with a heap of debt. None of it hers. The debt collector who holds her note promises her he’ll tear it up – if she traps a werewolf for him. The werewolf is ferocious, fierce … and sexy. Distracted, when she springs the trap, she snares herself right alongside him. Bad. Very bad. Or is it? Because the heat blazing in his eyes doesn’t seem to be from anger. Kyril’s one of the most dangerous immortals walking the earth. So how did a human woman sneak into his cave and catch him by surprise? He should be upset, but the moment she touches him he hungers for more. Yet her showing up while he’s tracking an evil threat can’t be a coincidence, can it? And if being caged together isn’t enough, ancient rune magic binds them to each other for one month. As mates. One month to learn to trust each other. One month to choose to spend their lives together. It all comes down to one decision … what will it be?     AmazonKU

BIG BAD SINGLE WOLF DAD by Zora Black

A werewolf sank his claws into my heart – and I don’t want it back! My vampire ex ditched me and our half-vampire kids. But a hunky billionaire werewolf has stepped in his place – and has me howling with delight. Greg’s bulging muscles make me melt, but I’m still hesitant after my divorce. I know playing with fire again could burn me and my little ones…But no amount of cold showers can put out these flames of passion. His raw, animal energy makes me tremble with desire. I think I’m ready to risk it all. I just hope that Greg is ready for me. All I have is one last question. Is this single mom going to be claimed by the big, bad wolf?     AmazonKU

HEART OF TIME (IN THE QUEERNESS OF TIME BOOK THREE) by Alex Washoe

Liesel Oberman, a promising physicist (and a horrible waitress), finds her very deliberately ordered life turned upside down when she goes looking for a missing college professor and finds, instead, Francesca Diotima di Milano. A sixteenth century polymath, swordswoman, and unrepentant womanizer, Francesca’s experiments with the mysterious Time Stone pull her out of her own time and drop her in the twenty-first century — where she discovers more freedom than she ever dreamed possible … and roller skates. But weird things are happening in the Emerald City. Mayor Holly Milan taps Liesel and Francesca to find out why. Liesel doesn’t believe she’s qualified for the job, and Francesca balks at trusting anyone in authority, so they’re off to a rough start. Somewhere between wrangling sabre-tooth tigers and fighting Mongol warriors on the streets of Seattle, they just might have time to fall in love. Heart of Time is a Sapphic time-travel opposites attract romance.     AmazonKU

VALHALLA IS FULL OF HUNKS: A MONSTROUSLY MYTHIC TALE by C Rochelle

You’d think having the gift of second sight would make my life feel more secure. Instead, I’m left with sleepless nights, a body count higher than my bestie, Herculeia, and an unfinished five-year plan. Was a juicy benefits package with an entire stable of Skarsgards too much to ask for? Officially burned out, I decide to extend my business trip to Stockholm by two weeks—determined to forget my troubles by stuffing my face with Swedish meatballs. And I’m not just talking about the food. When I meet the sexiest meatball right out of the gate, I think the tides are finally turning in my favor. Too bad my prophetic visions failed me once again. Now I’m the one on hot-bod monster island, but instead of being chained to the bed for fun, it’s more a hostage situation. I can still work with that. The question is, can I convince my three mythological captors to abandon their doomsday plot for eternity with me? Or is our fate already set in stone?   AmazonKU

THE EVER KING (THE EVER SEAS BOOK ONE) by LJ Andrews

VS Note: Cliffhanger.

For years Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm. Until his enemy’s daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge. She’s innocent. He’s vicious. But he will take back what he lost, no matter the price. Unless she steals his heart first. Welcome to the passionate world of the Ever Kingdom where pirates, sirens, and fae collide with Vikings in a dark fantasy romance between a villain and the innocent princess who holds his heart.   AmazonKU

MICAH (DEMONS-IN-LAW BOOK TWO) by Louisa Masters

Wanted: Demon assistant for incubus genius. Personal services required…Nobody ever expected to find a secret cave protected by a giant puzzle door in the mountains near our village. Even more surprising was the knowledge that it’s been there for thousands of years and was created by a dragon. I’m not the only one who’s dying to find out what’s inside. It’s no hardship to assist the puzzle expert who’s coming to solve the door. That thing is an incredible feat of engineering, and the man who’ll solve it is bound to be intelligent and interesting. But from the moment I meet Camden Torrence, I’m forced to reassess… everything. He’s intelligent and interesting, sure. But he’s also scattered. Clumsy. And I want to bury my face in his mop of curls and stay there forever. A relationship wasn’t on my agenda, no matter what my matchmaking family wants. But as the weeks go by and we get closer to discovering what the secret treasure is, Cam becomes an integral, undeniable part of my life. How can I not fall for a man who, despite past hurts, is the living embodiment of sunshine in our snow-laden village? I never thought the love of my life would turn out to be an adorable, absent-minded incubus, but now I can’t imagine existing without him. The challenge? Convincing him to stay even after the puzzle is solved.     AmazonKU

TIME TO KILN (THE DAHLIA WILDES MAGICAL MYSTERIES BOOK ONE) by Nova Nelson

Dahlia Wildes often feels like a ghost, but seeing them is a new development. After being transported to a strange town with magical beings, she struggles to understand what’s going on and why everyone keeps telling her she’s a witch. But when the only person with answers is called away to a murder at a pottery studio, Dahlia finds herself along for the ride and in the epicenter of a dangerous investigation. On unfamiliar territory, Dahlia sorts through suspects and settles into her new powers, but not without some major complications. For one, there’s a giant ghost dog who seems to be following her, and for another, the whole town is eyeing the newcomer with suspicion. And if she doesn’t figure out who’s behind a deadly curse, she could go from seeing ghosts… to being one.     AmazonKU

BITTER BONES (BLOOD AND MAGIC SERIES BOOK SIX) by Lauretta Hignett

The finale is here…The Beast is bringing the battle to the mortal realm, and Prue’s finally ready to face him. Or is she? Maybe. Life is complicated, but that’s what makes it beautiful. The war is brewing, the rogues are desperate, and a human enemy lurks in the darkness, threatening to derail Prue’s hero era before it even begins. And Isobel…Well. Sometimes being a hero is a thankless job. There’s no need to be bitter about it.   AmazonKU

DARK AND DREADFUL BRUTES (FORBIDDEN MATES) by Lola Glass

After ten years trapped in a cellar, I was finally rescued… by a ruthless fae king who immediately made me his mate. He’s angry, grumpy, and altogether unpleasant to be around. My attraction to him only partially makes up for that. He needs the magic of our mate bond to keep him alive, so he drags me back to the fae lands with him. Of course, he conveniently forgets to mention that there’s a deadly dragon hunting him—and that his kingdom is in the midst of a civil war. We have to keep our mate bond a secret to stop the war from escalating, which sounds simple at first, but then the mental and physical bond between us gets stronger. And stronger. Until the itch to stay by his side grows into a need, and keeping my hands off of him becomes a battle I can no longer win. An ancient monster is trying to kill us, and his people will too if they find out the truth about our connection… yet the longer we spend together, the more I start to wonder if I’m really going to be able to let him go.     AmazonKU

MY DEMON HUSBAND: M/M PARANORMAL ROMANCE by Jax Stuart

He was supposed to summon a familiar, not a husband! After numerous failed attempts to summon a familiar necessary to guide his considerable magic, Toby was down to his very last try. They would never accept him as a full-fledged member of his birth coven without a familiar. He didn’t know which punishment was worse; exile or binding his powers forever. Everything was against him, including his abnormally powerful magic and an enemy hiding in plain sight. When the spell takes a dramatic turn, poor Toby is unprepared for the consequences. Zephyrin is desperate to no longer be the screw up of the family. His parents have had enough on their plate dealing with a family curse. Even knowing that he could be lost to them forever, Zephyrin answers the surprising call for his summoning. After meeting his summoner, Toby, he’s positive that he is destined to be by his side as his husband. Maybe having a witch in his corner could break the curse, that is, if Toby lets him visit home. Unfortunately, Toby has troubles of his own. Can they work together to find a solution to both their problems before the Witch Council tears them apart?   AmazonKU

STIFFS AND PETROGLYPHS (HARPER AND MOON INVESTIGATIONS BOOK THREE) by Trixie Silvertale

Mitzy Moon is stretching her private investigator wings. Her old life, as a broke barista in Sedona, seems a distant memory. So, she’s shocked when her former supervisor reaches out and begs for help finding his missing, hopefully not dead, girlfriend. Enticing her new husband to join her journey to the New-Age mecca of the Southwest will be the easiest part of this case. But she’ll need video assistance from Ghost-ma and her entitled feline because as soon as she sets foot on the red rocks, dark energies threaten to throttle more than her chakras. Can Mitzy and Erick unravel the mystical clues, or will this sweat lodge kill their kundalini?     AmazonKU

SHIFTING FOCUS (PRESERVE AND PROTECT 10) by Cassidy McKay

As a lion-shifter, EMT Sophia Lorello has spent her entire life suppressing her wild side. The animal inside her is not only deadly, she’s worse than a horny politician with an unlimited supply of Viagra. And once her lioness gets out, she doesn’t like to let Sophia — or her rules — back in. That’s not a risk Sophia’s willing to take again. Sophia’s control flies out the window when Special Agent Griff Monroe is assigned to investigate a series of local murders. The fact that he’s dead-sexy, “erases” people for a living, and shifts into a big, scary gryphon could be a problem. Her lioness wants a new toy, and the battle-hardened agent is even harder to resist than catnip. It’s a pity that darned serial killer keeps getting in the way…When the race to catch the killer rivals their race to the nearest bedroom, shifting focus could be their only hope of survival… if she doesn’t kill him first.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

EXERCISING A DEMON by H L Day

Jacob’s in love. Again. Only, his future husband likes muscular men, and Jacob, well… isn’t. A few sessions at the gym, and he’ll have the leather-clad motorcycle courier eating out of his hand, though. And no, he won’t switch his attentions to his hot new personal trainer. Honestly, he won’t. Valvach’s not your typical demon, preferring books over torture. Which goes down about as well as you’d expect in Hell. A move to the surface gives him the opportunity to start anew. To stay, he’s going to need to make a friend, someone to help him blend in. And sweet, curly-haired Jacob is the perfect candidate. If he can’t lick him, he can at least spend time with him. When friendship blossoms into a passion that knows no bounds, Jacob and Val believe they’ve found the perfect match in each other. However, Hell isn’t so accommodating, and they find themselves with a fight on their hands to prevent being torn apart and relegated to different planes of existence.   AmazonKU

STAR TREATMENT: BOOK 14 IN THE JERRY MCNEAL SERIES by Sherry A Burton

This 14th installment of the Jerry McNeal Series has Jerry and Gunter heading to Texas. Along the way, Jerry finds himself dealing with unexpected visitors who challenge his patience and further test his psychic abilities. Among the visitors is the ghostly spirit of Texas Ranger, Clive Tisdale, who is not a fan of dogs, refuses to tell Jerry why he is there, and if his presence has anything to do with Texas Ranger Raymond Hale. Raymond Hale oversaw mob informant Antonio Maioriello until both men went missing years earlier and were presumed dead until recent weeks when Maioriello’s image started showing up in tourist photos taken outside the Alamo. At first, this was presumed to be a camera malfunction, as no one recalled him being present at the time the photos were taken. Then Maioriello showed up in a photo with the niece of Bruno Deluca – the man Maioriello informed on before being placed in the witness relocation program, and Deluca used his influence to demand answers. Now, not only must Jerry locate the spirit who is causing the chaos, he must convince Bruno Deluca that Maioriello is truly dead.
Will Jerry and Gunter get to the Alamo in time to defend it from another invasion?   AmazonKU

LAYERING RESENTMENT (ARTEMIS UNIVERSITY BOOK 20)  by Erin R Flynn

My name is Tamsin Vale and I’m pissed. I’m confused. And I’m scared. I’d be an idiot if I wasn’t scared when demons suddenly made a move and someone I love almost died. I’m pissed they did it, confused why now… But I’m also pissed that no one seems to hear me that Cluym messed up and they’re upset with me instead. Classic. I knew life as the future ruler of a world would never be easy, but constantly living where I’m criticized for everything and people don’t always listen to me is difficult. And sometimes I only have myself to blame for not fully committing to the role. But what idiot would commit to that when it isn’t going well? It was going better but… Yeah, nothing is easy. Plus, given the state of things in my personal life and the fact I’m constantly juggling the feelings of five men, I think it’s a bloody miracle that I’m not normally found at a bar completely sauced. Or in jail getting into trouble. Eating my feelings when I’m a fairy is about the healthiest way for me to handle my life. Especially now that my powers are expanding again and I’m worried I’ll finally lose my mind this time.     AmazonKU

HEART OF NIGHT AND FIRE (THE NIGHTFIRE QUARTET BOOK ONE) by Nisha J Tuli

For years, Zarya has been trapped in a gilded prison. Her magic is forbidden, a dangerous secret—though nobody will explain why. Now she is ready to break free and find the truth. Escaping to the dazzling city of Dharati, Zarya discovers a new world of enchantment and intrigue. With the help of seductive, blood-drinking rakshasa and magic-weaving Aazheri sorcerers, she searches for answers. But the city is under siege. Every night, dark creatures attack. And since Zarya’s arrival they are growing stronger. To protect her new home, Zarya joins the fight. As she battles on the walls and hunts through libraries for clues about her gifts, Zarya’s dreams are haunted by a mysterious stranger. Powerful, arrogant and handsome, Rabin sees through her secrets and ignites a desire she cannot resist. But can he be trusted? When darkness threatens to overwhelm Dharati, Zarya is faced with a deadly choice. Will revealing her magic save the city? Or destroy everything she loves?     AmazonKU

THE ELYSEAN TRIALS: A DARK GREEK MYTHOLOGY ROMANCE (THE HOLY BLOODLINES BOOK ONE) by D N Hoxa

Welcome to the Elysean city of Idaea, where magic lingers in the air and those who wield it are considered gods. Grab a drink, sit back and relax: the world’s most important event in the last 4 years is about to begin…Sera Sinclair never believed that Elyseans, descendants of the Olympian gods, are worthy of worship. She knows exactly how un-godlike they can be, so she plans to stay far away from them for the rest of her life. But the deadly Elysean Trials are right around the corner, and when they unleash their strange birds with crystal eyes to choose “worthy mortals” as candidates, one of them chooses Sera. She tries to refuse, tries to run away, but she’s forced into the Trials anyway. For the next three weeks, she has to live with them in their fancy Palace, and compete in their impossible challenges just to survive. The other mortals are against her. The Elyseans despise her—especially Shade, who comes from Hades’s bloodline, and loves to remind her how perfectly powerless against them she is…at first. But Sera has her stories. Growing up among the worst of Elysean fanatics, she knows every god story better than most. And Shade, with storms for eyes and darkness at his fingertips, will break his own rules for Sera. The more they get to know each other, the faster they turn from enemies, to unlikely friends—and so much more. Nothing in the Palace is what it seems, and maybe even her past isn’t quite what she remembers, either. But one thing is certain: her life is not the only thing Sera stands to lose in these Trials. Her heart is in just as much danger.     AmazonKU

MATES AND MERCENARIES (CAPTIVE BY THEIR FATED MATES) by Laura Wylde

A defiant Mob daughter. Four ex-military wolf shifter bodyguards. Two families on the verge of war. Being a mafia princess is like living a life bound by invisible chains. The potential for danger is everywhere, and the constant security is suffocating. I just needed one night of freedom, but that night at the club I found more than I bargained for. Pleasure. Lust. Fate. I had no idea who he was. I only knew he was a mountain of muscles, dripping with desire and alpha energyJust my kind of distraction. So, imagine my surprise to find him in my home the next day, setting up security like it’s his job. Isn’t that just my luck? My distraction has now become my warden. He’s an ex-military wolf shifter, hired to protect me, and he brought three more just like him. Creed, Rex, Clay, and Sam – four sexy-as-sin temptations, drawn to me by fate and pulling on the last threads of my self control. The threat is real but I’m at risk of losing more than my life. I could lose my heart, too.     AmazonKU

RIDING THROUGH FIRE (THE DRAGON TRIBUTES BOOK ONE) by Charlene Hartnady

The dragons on Draig Island are not your run-of-the-mill kind. They’re something else entirely…I cannot believe my bad luck when an embossed envelope arrives at my door just one week before my twenty-fifth birthday. Which just happens to be the cut-off date for being called up for the testing of the blood. I thought I was in the clear, turns out that I was wrong. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the whole dragon tribute selection process, only that it has something to do with a person’s DNA. If the scientists find what they are looking for in my sample, I might be sent as a tribute to the dragons. Yes, actual dragons. Not that I’ve ever seen one of the creatures, mind you. Apparently, they do exist; they just don’t mingle with us on account of being extremely dangerous. I mean, they’re huge, breathe fire, and have sharp teeth and claws. Bottom line, dragons and humans do not mix very well. With that in mind, I’m not sure why they need human tributes. Every year for the last fifty-nine years, our government has sent them thirty people. Of those handed over, some return months later with no memory of their stay on the island. As for the rest, who knows? It’s baffling and terrifying in equal measure. Quite frankly, I hope I never find out what goes on at Draig Island. I keep telling myself that only thirty end up going. Not that many, considering that tens of thousands of blood samples are taken. My odds are good. I’m not going to get called up. I’m not! Then I receive another embossed letter telling me that I have been selected. I need to pack and get my affairs in order. I leave for Draig Island in one month with no guarantee I’ll ever return and no idea what is to become of me. I’m not panicking at all.    AmazonKU

TANGLING WITH TROLLS (HAVEN EVER AFTER BOOK TWO) by Hazel Mack

WREN – A month ago, I had no idea that monsters lived in hidden towns. Surprise! The tiny New-England town of Ever is a haven for them. Vampire brothers run the coffee shop. Werewolf bikers will fix your car. I can sort of wrap my mind around that. But then I meet Ohken Stonesmith, bridge troll and all-around badass. He’s way older than me, crazy confident, and he owns the town’s only flower shop. In short—he’s my ideal man. The second surprise? I’m a green witch! But when I struggle to use my newly-discovered magic, Ohken offers to teach me, although his methods aren’t exactly conventional. He’s a big fan of teasing me and making me crazy enough to get out of my own head. As our lessons grow more heated, I realize I’m falling for not only this wacky little town, but also the quiet male who’s my biggest cheerleader. Unfortunately, not all monsters want to live in peace. When evil sneaks past Ever’s protective wards, I want to help. The problem is I keep blowing things up instead of fixing them. I’ve got to get control of my power fast, or Ever—and my budding romance with Ohken—will be in deep trouble.     AmazonKU

THE WORLD SHE NEVER KNEW EXISTED (A ROGUE SHIFTERS AND HUNTERS BOOK TWO) by Brittany White

After escaping from a dangerous relationship, I ran straight into the arms of true love. 
After ending a rough marriage with a toxic man, I was ready to start a new life with my son, Zeke. I found a neat cafe in a beautiful tourist town called, Ivy Springs. Zeke and I settled into our new home. We loved the people in Ivy Springs, especially the owner of the general store next door – Dillon. I quickly learned that Ivy Springs had a dark legend attached to it, that pitted the billionaire humans who owned Forest Resort against the shifters in the area. This war opened my eyes to a world that I never knew existed, and I learned that the people I was closest to were not what they seemed. Dillon Adams grew up in the shifter world but was sent by the dragon king to Ivy Springs to help keep the peace between the two sides as much as possible. The war consumed his life until it was interrupted by me and my son. Although Dillon had his hands full protecting the shifters of Ivy Springs, he found time to steal my heart. I had no idea that this man, whom I had fallen in love with, was part of a world that I never knew existed. Ex-Husband – Determined to control me and decided that if he couldn’t have me, no one could. Shifters – Incredible humans who I never knew existed. Wolf Shifter – Stole my heart and the man who proved to me that love could be trusted.  Dillon’s world changed when he met Zeke and me. He saved my son’s life, he saved my life, and he saved my heart. Would our love be destroyed by a jealous ex and a doubting heart?     AmazonKU

THE UNFORTUNATE SIDE EFFECTS OF HEARTBREAK AND MAGIC: A NOVEL by Breanne Randall

Sadie Revelare has always believed that the curse of four heartbreaks that accompanies her magic would be worth the price. But when her grandmother is diagnosed with cancer with only weeks to live, and her first heartbreak, Jake McNealy, returns to town after a decade, her carefully structured life begins to unravel. With the news of their grandmother’s impending death, Sadie’s estranged twin brother Seth returns to town, bringing with him deeply buried family secrets that threaten to tear Sadie’s world apart. Their grandmother has been the backbone of the family for generations, and with her death, Sadie isn’t sure she’ll have the strength to keep the family, and her magic, together. As feelings for Jake begin to rekindle, and her grandmother growing sicker by the day, Sadie faces the last of her heartbreaks, and she has to decide: is love more important than magic?

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

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LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica:

September 13

September 6

August 30

August 23

August 16

“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’.

NOTE: I’m doing my best to avoid listing anything generated from use of AI but it’s sometimes tricky to detect from the resources I have available. As far as covers go, I list the Amazon cover. I won’t feature a cover in my weekly promo for this post if I believe or suspect it was done with AI.

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…

Some authors aren’t in KU but still don’t list books with Apple or other platforms. This report is very time consuming to prepare so I’ve always had to limit myself and cannot go and look up every book on all the platforms. If an author gives me their other buy links, I include them here but generally I develop the post on my own, not from author-supplied information. I curate and prepare this post individually every week to help connect readers/books/authors and I have to be very careful not to give it so much time as an activity that I don’t write my own novels! Thanks for the feedback and happy reading!

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

Required Statement: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifiying purchases.

Required Statement: As an Apple Books Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

First Meeting STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY Weekend Snippet #SciFi Romance

I’ve decided to change up these weekly snippets and go through my backlist, sharing the first meeting between the two main characters in each book. I’m going roughly in the order of first publication. It’s always fun for me to revisit the books and I hope it will be for you too! Or if you’ve never happened to read a certain book, maybe I can entice you into giving it a try.

STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY  is the first book in my alien empath series. as well as part of the STAR CRUISE series. (They can all be read as a standalones.) It’s actually a novella and is in a volume with several other short stories I wrote in my world of the Sectors.)

I’ve always been fascinated by empaths, ever since I saw an episode of the original Star Trek featuring an empath, and so I enjoyed writing my own stories about them.

The excerpt – the cargo master of the interstellar cruise liner Nebula Zephyr found a stowaway, chained up, with an explosive collar around her neck and stuffed into a cryosleep pod hidden in a cargo container. This is the next day, when he goes to check on her in the ship’s sickbay. She was unconscious during the rescue. Midorri is an alien pet, sort of a cross between a tribble and a red panda. There’s also a ship’s cat…

Holding the flowers clutched like a wrench at his side, he entered the sickbay, ignoring nurse Relba’s widening eyes as she focused on what he carried. “I’m here to see the lady, the one brought in last night,” he said, feeling like an idiot, not knowing her name.

“Sorry, sir, the patient’s not allowed to have visitors—”

“I’m the exception,” he said, interrupting ruthlessly. “Dr. Shane agreed. What room is she in?”

Relba pointed to the corridor on the right. “Room 2. If you can get past the guard.”

He proceeded in the direction she indicated and had no trouble persuading Clint Miltan to admit him to the stowaway’s room, confirming (the head of Security and the Ship’s Doctor) had kept their word and left orders he was allowed to see the patient.

He knocked and entered as the portal slid aside.

Dressed in a plain blue sickbay gown, she reclined against a stack of pillows, with Midorri curled in her lap, making the humming sound he regarded as an alien version of purring.

Suddenly overcome by the awkwardness of the moment, Owen stopped as the door shut behind him. He extended the flowers. “I’m Owen Embersson, the ship’s cargo master. I’m the one who found you last night. I just – I came to see how you’re doing.” With a flash of anger at whoever had imprisoned her originally, he noticed the explosive collar was still around her neck.

She held out her hand, inviting him closer. “The animals said you were one to be trusted. Thank you for saving my life.”

He took her hand, gripping the bouquet in the other.

“I’m Tyrelle,” she said. “Are those for me?”

He handed over the flowers and went to grab the visitor’s chair. As he carried it to the bedside, he watched her hold the flowers to her face, inhaling the fragrance.  The flowers were glowing, richly colored spots of light and as he watched, each bloom expanded, the tired petals plumping, taking on a satin sheen, all the brown spots disappearing. The perfume wafted to his nose, intoxicating him. “Wow, how did you do that?”

“The ability is one of my gifts. It’s been so long since I beheld flowers, or anything green,” she said. “You brought me a rare luxury.”

“And you improved upon my pitiful posies a thousand percent.” He grabbed the water pitcher, and she placed the bouquet carefully into the vessel. “I’ll set this here, where you can see it,” he said, placing the arrangement, glowing and gorgeous, on the narrow bedside tray.

“Please, sit, be comfortable,” Tyrelle said, indicating the chair. “I’m grateful for the company, although the animals have been good companions, taking turns amusing me today, telling me about the ship and the people.”

Psychic then, able to talk mind-to-mind with the animals? “I’m probably not allowed to ask you any questions about what’s going on, but I want you to know you can count on me. As a friend, anything you need while you’re with us.” Unable to stop himself, he added, “I’d like to kill whoever mistreated you.” He bit his lip.

“You’re an honorable warrior.” She petted Midorri, smoothing the green fur with her graceful hand.

Star Cruise A Novella: Stowaway with Star Cruise Rescue and Golden Token Short Stories. Please note only the Stowaway novella itself contains an empath story although the other two are set in my Sectors interstellar civilization.

The blurb: In this volume I’ve gathered three stories set in the Sectors which have previously only been available in anthologies (which are no longer on sale), plus a bonus Sectors short holiday story that I originally wrote for my blog.

Star Cruise: Stowaway: A novella of 22K words, previously in the first Pets in Space™ anthology.

Cargo Master Owen Embersson is shocked when the Nebula Zephyr’s ship’s cat and her alien sidekick, Midorri, alert him to the presence of a stowaway. He has no idea of the dangerous complications to come nor does he anticipate falling hard for the woman whose life he now holds in his hands. Life aboard the Nebula Zephyr has just become more interesting – and deadly.

Amazon     Apple Books     Nook     Kobo     Google

 

 

By veronicascott Posted in Snippet

New Releases in #SciFi #Fantasy and Paranormal Romance for SEPT 13

I have not read most of the new releases listed (although I always end up one-clicking quite a few as I prepare these posts LOL). 

‘AB’ denotes audiobook and the Amazon buy link.

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CRUSH: WIFE-MATE FOR THE ORCS BOOK ONE: INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY (BIG SKY ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES BOOK 19) by Elsa Jade

The Omega Reclamation Crew is in trouble. After the loss of their homeworld and generations spent in the cold darkness of space, fewer eggs hatch every year—and now only males. Losing hope, the ORC asteroid mining ship DeepWander has one chance to make a deal at the Luster, an astronomically infamous gathering of salvage and retrieval mercenaries. But the orcs need dates to the big bash…Welcome to the Intergalactic Dating Agency! Crusher Teq was hatched for one task: breaking space rocks. To save the DeepWander, he’ll crush with his four bare hands, if necessary. When the Big Sky IDA sends delicate Earther females, Teq knows he’s too big and rough to take a wife-mate. He vows to keep all his hands to himself—even after one soft, alien kiss threatens to ignite his i’lva: the mystical light of orc legend. With her young son at risk, Adeline Barlow had only one thought: get as far away from their painful past as possible. She just hadn’t realized quite how far that might be. As an alien mail order bride, she might finally find a happy home among the orcs—maybe with the mighty crusher with his big hands, gentle touch, and deep, dark gaze? But weird whispers in the night warn of betrayal, and it seems dating and mating are more explosively dangerous than they ever believed. Now a fortune—along with their future—is slipping through their fingers. The orcs and their wife-mates must hold on tight or they’ll lose the DeepWander and their last chance at a love brighter than the stars.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

THE YEARNING (GALAXY ARTIFICIALS BOOK ONE) by Alana Khan

Eve – It’s hard to imagine things could become more desperate than being abducted by aliens, but I’m even more terrified when I wake up to a huge, faceless metallic robot. I never dreamed 420 would crave my body, have the soul of a poet, or would soon own my heart. 420 – I’ve been alone on this barren asteroid for hundreds of years. When Eve crashes here, she’s a gift from the stars. Now I must battle both nature and our enemies to protect the female who is more important to me than life itself.     AmazonKU

RESCUED BY THE RAIDER (BANISHED ALIEN WARRIORS BOOK FOUR) by Riley Onyx

They call themselves the Honey, but there’s nothing sweet about these warriors.
Ruby – I will not sit around and wait to be rescued by the colony, nor do I want to become an alien’s mate. They’re big, brutish, and have no intention of letting us go. When I see a chance, I run, hoping to make it to the colony. I will not go back. I will not beg for help. I will not acknowledge the alien stalking me. Aldit – I knew from the moment I grabbed her she was going to be trouble. She’s fought and argued with every pace. I have never met anyone like her. She sparks something within me, along with annoyance, when she takes off. I give chase, and it soon becomes clear she is lost. Now we are far from my brothers, and no closer to her colony. This time, I don’t grab her and haul her back. I will wait for her to come to me. She will be my mate.   AmazonKU

WET (AFTERMATH BOOK TWO) by Linda Mooney

It has been raining for days on end all over the world. The inundation is causing blackouts, severe flooding, homes going underwater, as well as entire coastal towns disappearing. When will it stop? Wylie Barraga and his dad, Cesar, are hoping for the best but planning for the inevitable, packing up whatever supplies they can find and readying their bass boat to launch. When Wylie’s girlfriend, Gwen, and her sister, Harper, call for help, Wylie and Cesar come to the rescue. Before long, water starts filling the house, and the group knows it’s time to head for higher ground. Supplies are dwindling and becoming harder to find with everything submerged in the quickly rising water. Emergencies bring out the worst in people, and it doesn’t take long until it becomes survival of the fittest. But people have to work together to survive, and there are a few good ones left, ready to band together and look out for each other. Who can they trust? Is there a scientific explanation for the unending deluge, or is it divine intervention? Loyalties are tested. At times like this family means everything, or to some it means nothing at all. There’s nothing like the possible end of the world to bring out a person’s true feelings and personality. Wylie and Harper are banking on love and humanity to win out.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

CORRUPTED DESIRE (VILLAINS OF VANGUIARD BOOK ONE) by Ryder O’Malley

VS Note: Supervillains.

Prison hardens a man. Even worse, my ex testified against me in court. Ten years into my sentence and the inmates of Cold Iron fear me. It’s lonely, but it’s the price of survival. This isn’t the place to think about friends, let alone a relationship. When Vanguard needs a criminal with my fiery skills, my time in the slammer is cut short. To keep my freedom, I only have to put down a Southland’s newest king pin. It’d be easy if the local do-gooder stopped interfering. Gallant won’t be the reason I get locked up again. If he wasn’t smoking hot, I’d crush him. On second thought, maybe he needs a pounding. The heroes are playing with fire, but I’m not the one about to get burned. Corrupted Desire is a M/M, dark, snarky romance with an HEA and no cliffhangers. It features brooding heroes and sex, but not always in that order.   AmazonKU

THE PRESIDENT’S ALIEN PRINCESS (WARRIORS OF THE LATHAR BOOK ONE) by Mina Carter

Asleep in the ice for eons, she’s woken by the prince she despises…Betrayed and forced into stasis after a coup sent her starship crashing onto an unknown planet, Imperial Navy Captain Lynara Varaant only expects to sleep a few years until rescue comes. Instead, she wakes 250,000 years later to find her lost crew evolved into the planet’s inhabitants called humans, and the empire she knew changed beyond all recognition. When she meets Cameron Murphy, the handsome president of Earth, she despises him for his resemblance to the prince who betrayed her. But she can’t get the sexy human, or the way his kisses make her burn, out of her mind…He freed her from frozen sleep, but her right hook said she isn’t looking for a prince. The moment Murphy sees Lynara, he knows she’s his. She emerges ready to fight, but he sees past that to the woman within. A man with a dark past, he knows he doesn’t deserve her, but he can’t resist her…But his world fractures when Lynara is kidnapped by an unknown enemy, and he learns he’s been decieved—Lynara’s frozen ship held an apocalyptic superweapon, now stolen along with the woman from the past he’s in love with.    Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

MINISTRY OF ALIEN RELATIONS (DEVLIN TAYLOR, EARTH AMBASSADOR BOOK ONE) by Rebecca Cohen

Devlin Taylor is Head of Settlement and Relocation for the British Government’s Ministry of Alien Relations. He’s more used to helping recently arrived aliens find new homes and pay their utility bills than babysitting extraterrestrial socialites, but he’s been assigned to look after Zal Catenmir, son of the Chroalian ambassador, during their diplomatic visit to Earth. Devlin is the perfect host and tour guide, and Zal loves the fuzziness of human males, while Devlin can’t seem to get enough of Zal’s scales and tail. But with only two weeks together before Zal leaves, they need to make the most of their time. Zal was just out for a bit of fun, trying to relive his wilder youth after a break-up, but Devlin is wonderful and they both wish they could find a way to stay together. The Earth Ambassador Programme is under development, but it doesn’t look likely Devlin will get the job, and the lovers may need to say their goodbyes forever.

Amazon     Apple Books      Kobo

SASHA’S BOUNTIES: AN EARTH’S BOUNTY MENAGE by Deysi O’Donal

VS Note: A re-release.

As if being abducted and then auctioned off to aliens isn’t bad enough, I have the misfortune of having it happen twice. According to the giant lavender alien with horns, I’ve been rescued, not abducted. Pffft. Potato tomato. Apparently the ship full of raiders who he’s rescuing me from are the real villians. I just hope I haven’t gone from one frying pan into another. Still, Vruk makes me feel safe, but his mood swings are something else. Sweet and chatty one moment, silent and broody the next. He is patient as he helps me learn how to use the alien tech. But then the next time I see him, he’s staring me down and pinning me against the table until I think he might–Then one night, I’m approached by two Vruks. Or rather, Vruk and Brettin. They are escaped pleasure clones turned bounty hunters and they are identical in every way. Including their growing feelings for me. They both want me, and they are willing to share. Heaven help me, I might just be willing to let them. When the opportunity to return me to Earth arises, I’m thrilled. But what about my alien bounties? Can I really leave them behind or could we all be happy on Earth.     AmazonKU

DANCE OF ANGER (THE ANGER SERIES BOOK TWO) by Melanie Bokstad Horev

VS note: Not listed as a romance but a scifi release of note.

In the scorching aftermath of the Union-Federation merger, Eden’s survivors find themselves sheltered within the protective embrace of the Dome. Dancer, now a determined teenager, senses trouble brewing within the Dome. Small acts of sabotage rattle the fragile peace within the Dome, threatening to unravel the harmony they’ve worked so hard to achieve. As she stumbles upon a crack in the Dome’s facade and her closest friend, Ruben, vanishes without a trace, Dancer realizes the threat is real, pushing her world to the brink. Meanwhile, in a hidden corner of the Dome, supposedly incapacitated, Rita Hart, now with one hand, has been plotting. Her plan unfolds in the far-away Underlands, but its motives remain shrouded in mystery. As Rita Hart’s sinister plan threatens to plunge Eden into chaos, Dancer must confront Rita, her own beliefs and trust herself to unveil the truth behind the looming darkness. And what role do the Silvers play in all of this? Can Dancer and her allies decode Rita’s cryptic plot in time, or will they succumb to the raging storm of anger that looms over them?   AmazonKU

WARPED STATE (THE GIFT OF BRENNAX BOOK ONE) by Jo Miles

One wants to fix the broken corporate system. The other wants to tear it all down. Jasper Wilder has a secret gift: the ability to see the relationships between people like physical bonds. Though his gift has served him well as an activist, it’s an unwelcome vestige of the corporate occupation of his home planet. When he learns that Ravel Corporation has revived the same deadly research project that brought tragedy to his generation, Jasper vows to stop it, no matter the cost. Arriving on Ravel’s research planet, he’s immediately drawn to Sowing of Small Havoc, a brilliant local activist who should be an ally, except for his frustrating loyalty to his corporate employer. Havoc, determined to fix Ravel from the inside, knows Jasper’s expertise could be a game-changer—if only he could trust Jasper’s intentions. If Jasper sticks to his plan, Havoc will surely take the blame. But if he doesn’t, Havoc’s entire planet will suffer. And meanwhile, Ravel security is out to destroy them both. To stop the project, Jasper may have to sacrifice the person he’s coming to care about…unless they can find a way to team up.

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ALIEN PRINCE by Athena Storm

This alien prince will give me anything I want…As long as I serve his every desire. Even as a lowly human nanny, I drew the attention of a royal. When I locked eyes with the smoldering Kiphian prince, I forgot why he was the wrong guy for me. Prince Eklar is an entitled jerk from an enemy kingdom. But with his ripped physique and magnetic gaze, I feel a powerful attraction between us. Until he opens his mouth. Eklar insists I’m his fated mate. I want to laugh in his face. But even as my mind screams ‘no,’ my body insists that I am already his. The only thing left for me to do is surrender to this brutal beast…And let him rule me.     AmazonKU

SEDUCTION (WARRIORS OF THE SEVEN STARS BOOK 4) by Kallista Dane

When Doctor Selena Reston first lays eyes on Haldor, a warrior from the ice planet Gadolinium, he’s barely alive. Wounded in a battle to save the life of his foster father, King Sigrun, he’s been sent to Earth through a star portal all alone in a desperate attempt to save his life. Descended from Vikings who settled on the distant world thousands of years ago, Haldor looks more like the Norse god Thor than the pale thin Earther males Selena has been surrounded by all her life. And from the moment he opens his eyes, he ignites wicked sensations she’s never felt before. Haldor wakes on the planet Earth to a world as alien to him as any he’s ever heard about. There are no forests, no wild boar to hunt, no barrels of honey mead – and worst of all, the beautiful healer who saved his life tells him the occupants of her planet are no longer allowed to engage in sex with other humans. Instead, they achieve gratification using mechanical devices and holographic partners. Marooned on Earth until his body is strong enough to survive the rigorous journey back through the star portal, Haldor decides to introduce his alluring doctor to the pleasures to be had in the arms of a real man. Seducing Selena starts out as a challenge, but when she’s kidnapped by the alien enemy who invaded his home world, Haldor realizes the innocent virgin has captured his heart. Haldor sets off on a frantic quest across the galaxy to track her down before his enemy sells her as a slave. With a handful of Earthers vowing to fight by his side, can he rescue Selena before she disappears into the harem of an alien warlord?     AmazonKU

MINDBREAKER by Kate Dylan

Born into a religious cult on the fringe of society, Indra Dyer lives a simple, tech-free existence. But when an illicit trip to the city leaves her with a debilitating – and terminal – condition, Indra must make a choice: die faithful or betray her Order and accept the cure Glindell Technologies is offering. Forced to sign over full ownership of her life, Indra is horrified to learn the true nature of Glindell’s plans. Instead of saving her body, they upload her mind to a first-of-its-kind MindDrive, housed in a fully robotic shell. On the outside, Indra still looks the same; on the inside, she’s not so sure. She keeps finding herself in places she really shouldn’t be, with no memory of how she got there, and dangerous abilities she can’t explain. So when news breaks of an attack against Glindell’s biggest rival, Indra suspects the worst. With the help of Tian – a research assistant with questionable morals and a smile that won’t quit – Indra must uncover the truth behind the procedure that saved her life, before Glindell can use it to change the face of technology, and what it means to be human, forever.

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MAGE-QUEEN’S THIEF: A STARSHIP’S MAGE UNIVERSE NOVELLA by Glynn Stewart

VS Note: Not listed as a romance although the plot sure sounds like one…

She’s supposed to find a husband. He’s supposed to steal a shuttle. They’re each other’s only hope. Kiera Alexander is the Mage-Queen of Mars, ruler of a hundred worlds and the protector of humanity. She is also unmarried and in desperate need of an heir—a duty that has left her traveling the Core Worlds of the Martian Protectorate aboard the luxury liner Extravagant Voyage. Her mission? Meeting every eligible bachelor Mage that can be found. Barry Carpentier’s only interest in the Queen’s traveling show is the strange shuttle hidden aboard Extravagant Voyage. The unique spacecraft, the smallest jump-capable ship he’s ever heard of, is worth a small fortune to the right buyer.
Like the one sending him aboard Extravagant Voyage. A thief doesn’t want to meet the Mage-Queen of Mars—but when a thief accidentally inserts himself into galactic politics, neither of their lives will continue unchanged.     AmazonKU

THE MEADOWS by Stephanie Oakes

Everyone hopes for a letter—to attend the Estuary, the Glades, the Meadows. These are the special places where only the best and brightest go to burn even brighter. When Eleanor is accepted at the Meadows, it means escape from her hardscrabble life by the sea, in a country ravaged by climate disaster. But despite its luminous facilities, endless fields, and pretty things, the Meadows keeps dark secrets: its purpose is to reform students, to condition them against their attractions, to show them that one way of life is the only way to survive. And maybe Eleanor would believe them, except then she meets Rose. Five years later, Eleanor and her friends seem free of the Meadows, changed but not as they’d hoped. Eleanor is an adjudicator, her job to ensure her former classmates don’t stray from the lives they’ve been trained to live. But Eleanor can’t escape her past . . . or thoughts of the girl she once loved. As secrets unfurl, Eleanor must wage a dangerous battle for her own identity and the truth of what happened to the girl she lost, knowing, if she’s not careful, Rose’s fate could be her own.

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WITH REGRETS: A NOVEL by Lee Kelly

VS Note: I read this and enjoyed it, not too much scifi (not a romance) but an unusual End of the World As We Know It novel.

Seven courses, seven guests, twenty-four hours that will obliterate everything. When recent NYC-transplant Liz Brinkley and her husband are invited to an exclusive soiree by their neighbor, “lifestyle guru” Britta Harris-Che, Liz’s immediate thought is hell no. Britta is insufferable, and Liz is wary to leave her young children with a barely-teenage babysitter. And yet she RSVPs anyway, trying to extend an olive branch to her withdrawing husband, who seems desperate to get in with the cliquey elite. They’ve barely made it through their first round of champagne when a “red alert” comes through their phones, and every channel on the television tells the same story: strange atmospheric masses, reported to look like “glimmering clouds,” have been spreading through major U.S. cities and killing anyone they touch. Authorities have just one clear directive: Find shelter. Immediately.  A collective panic seizes the dinner party; all the guests have children at home. In the mad dash to their cars, they see it: a shimmering net floating over the town. The street is littered with wrecked cars and dead bodies. Leaving now is not an option. Instead, the group launches into survival mode, grabbing supplies to take shelter in the hosts’ wine cellar. But everyone has very different opinions about the best plan from there. Liz becomes increasingly willing to do anything it takes to get back to her children. As the glimmering clouds continue to kill anyone who steps outside, the tensions and suspicions among the party guests near a boiling point. But she begins to realize that there may be others in that cellar even more desperate than she is.

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EXTRA TERRESTIAL HEAT SURROGATE SERVICES: BOOK TWO THE XENQA by Millie Lowelle

“Here at Extra-Terrestrial Heat Surrogate Services, our therapists are thoroughly trained in the reproductive cycle relief of all our clients. No longer will you have to worry about being caught out during your heat, rut, nesting, or reproductive mating drives. You’ll never have to plan around your cycles again. Here at ETHSS, we think your lives should carry on, not be held hostage to your biology. Our therapists will elevate your symptoms as close as possible to the natural method for your species. The wellbeing of our clients is our first priority, so only carefully selected candidates ever graduate to active therapist status.” Cora is a passionate and professional heat therapist, who is just waiting for the right guy to come along. She has dreams and ambitions beyond ETHSS, but so far, Mr. Right has eluded her. She’s sassy, sexy, loves puns, dislikes authority, and is fiery tempered. Her new client Hyzsos, the first ever Xenqa, a feline humanoid species that knots during their heat, is just looking for a way around his biology. He simply wants to chase after his own career and not settle down. When these two collide? It’s electric.    AmazonKU

ICARUS (BOOK ONE – THE GENOME CHRONICLES): KARA AND PYKE’S STORY by Natasha Wells

Kara Giddings, an Air Force specialist burdened by a haunting past, embarks on a daring escape from her abusive family, seeking refuge among the stars. Little does she know that her destiny is intertwined with the threads of time itself. As her DNA is altered in a mysterious genetic research program, she awakens aboard the Icarus, a state-of-the-art spaceship commanded by the enigmatic Colonel Pyke Havard. Colonel Pyke Havard leads a team of intrepid researchers on a quest to uncover the secrets behind humanity’s cryogenic facilities, a mystery shrouded in history. When Kara becomes the first successfully thawed human from the past, the tension between her fragile trust and Pyke’s unwavering duty threatens to unravel the bonds that tie them together. In a future where science has granted humanity extended life and astounding technology, Kara must navigate a world she could never have fathomed. Yet, Kara’s journey of self-discovery and healing resonates with a universal truth: that even amidst the stars, it’s the connections we forge that truly define us. As Kara and Pyke’s relationship blossoms from wary allies to steadfast lovers, they’ll need to confront their own insecurities and fears. Together, they’ll learn that overcoming the shadows of the past is a testament to the strength of the heart. Can they unravel the enigma of Kara’s cryogenic slumber and unearth the answers that have eluded humanity for centuries?

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GREASE MONKEYS: THE HEART AND SOUL OF DIESELPUNK by Various

VS Note: Not romance.

Innovation Goes Rolling Along, But Who Keeps the Engines Running? In the midst of war and a changing world, you seldom hear tales of the dedicated souls that keep ingenuity and progress moving. The mechanics who not only hear the music of the machine but can tear them down and put them together again better than before. Those who love to get their hands dirty figuring out how things work, those without whom progress would grind to a halt. That changes now. We give you Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk.

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STARS IN HER EYES: LESBIAN SCIFI ROMANCE by Berri Fox

I thought I was after adventure, not peril. I sought out an artifact, not prepared for the target it put on me. Now I’m being hunted across the galaxy. Luckily, the first bounty hunter I meet turns into a friend. Yara’s loyalty and grit soon soften into something more. As we travel the stars together, evading those who crave the artifact’s power, I find myself drawn to her uncompromising strength and caring nature. I know I should keep my guard up. But late nights piloting the ship, it’s hard not to imagine what could be between us. With new planets around every corner, is there room in our lives for love?
Or will the past I’m running from tear us apart?     AmazonKU

THE FEY (ALIEN CONQUEST BOOK TWO) by Sage Alder

Broken and bleeding, I would do anything to escape my current hell and find my missing son. I bide my time, waiting for the moment to run. I never expected to be rescued by an alien. But if dealing with another man who won’t take no for an answer means being reunited with my son, I’ll take it. Alernon is as beautiful as they come. A fey from our legends, any woman would fall to her knees for him. But I’ve learned the brighter the beauty, the darker the beast. I won’t fall for a pretty face again. I can’t. My heart won’t survive another disappointment. Too bad it never listens to reason.   AmazonKU

SNATCHED BY THE ALIEN DRAGON (PLANET ATRAXIS WARRIORS) by Kate Sinner

I’m here to protect our colony, but who’s going to protect my heart from him? Our colony on Atraxis is under attack. I’ve got people to protect. I’ll do whatever it takes, including rushing headlong into battle. That is, until an enormous alien warrior scoops me up and hauls me away. He insists I’m his “fated mate.” Yeah, as if, buddy. I don’t buy into that kind of mumbo jumbo. I have zero interest in dating. So why does he have to be so hot and distracting? With his scales and dragon-like wings, this guy is smoking – literally. And if that wasn’t enough, he’s completely dedicated to my happiness, in every way imaginable. I refuse to fall in love. Because seriously? A relationship with him? I need to focus on finding my way back to the colony… if it’s even still standing.   AmazonKU

*************************BRIEF BREAK BEFORE THE FANTASY/PNR BOOKS!***************************************

VS Note: Highlighting the third book in my Alien Empath series.

TWO AGAINST THE STARS by Veronica Scott

Empathic priestess Carialle has escaped the evil Amarotu Combine, but she’s hardly out of danger. Not when she risks everything to rescue a drugged man from a crooked veterans’ clinic. By lulling the clinic staff to sleep, she reveals her powers. And once again, criminals are after her and her rescuer.

Marcus Valerian, a wounded Special Forces veteran, never expected to have his life threatened by the clinic that’s supposed to help ex-soldiers like him. But when he wakes from a drugged state to find a lovely woman urging him to run–he does. In his family’s remote fishing cabin, he suffers the agony of withdrawal, soothed only by her powers.

In their idyllic hideaway, the two also discover a nova-hot attraction flaring. But can they stay alive long enough for it to become more? Not if the Combine has anything to say–they are not giving up until Marcus is dead and Carialle is their weapon

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******************************OKAY, THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT  IF YOU DECIDE TO CHECK OUT THE BOOK  (because my own books pay my bills) AND ONWARD WE GO!**************************************************

FALL OF RUIN AND WRATH (AWAKENING) by Jennifer Armentrout

Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian—royalty who feed on mortal pleasure. Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information. When her intuition leads her to save a traveling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning—and promise. Today he’ll bring her joy. One day he’ll be her doom. When the Baron takes an interest in the traveling prince and the prince takes an interest in Calista, she becomes the prince’s temporary companion. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe. Calista must choose: follow her intuition to safety or follow her heart to her downfall.

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HEART OF GLASS (SKYE DRUIDS BOOK THREE) by Donna Grant

Ferne Crawford is a Seer with unique abilities that set her apart from other Druids. She once ignored her magic with tragic results. So, when she’s bombarded with visions of a great evil that call her to a place she’s been warned never to go, she’s powerless to resist. Her life takes a drastic turn the moment she arrives on Skye and encounters a handsome, valiant stranger. Theo makes her ache for his touch. Their meeting stirs an explosive passion, awakening a yearning that only he can satisfy. However, there’s more than the malice which brought her to the isle that intends her harm. Detective Inspector Theo Frasier carries the weight of the isle and his people on his shoulders. With more Druid murders and no leads on who’s controlling the killing mist, he’s beginning to feel the strain. The last thing he needs is anything—or anyone—distracting him. But once he meets Ferne, he can’t get her out of his head. Or his heart. She fills his every thought, day and night. His need for her consumes him, pushing everything else aside. But will his love be enough to save them from the growing threat?

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ORC-US POCUS (LOVE AT FIRST ORC BOOK ONE) by Ava Ross

An orc science teacher is determined to give me a lesson in chemical reactions. I’ve crushed on my fellow high school teacher, Thraal, since we first met up in the staff lounge. He’s a big, brawny orc, and when he scowls at me through his thick glasses, I pretty much ignite. Sadly, he doesn’t realize I exist. When we’re trapped inside the janitor’s closet during a Halloween dance, I take the opportunity to show him I’m special. A few spontaneous kisses suggest he might like me too. Until we’re rescued, and he goes back to ignoring me. Well, other than when we get stuck beneath the bleachers or when we’re locked inside the field hockey supply shed overnight. Can I find true love with a geeky orc science teacher?    AmazonKU

JEWEL AND HER KINGS: PACKBONDS OMEGAVERSE by Rosemary A Johns

My name is Jewel, and I’m an orphan Omega. My first heat is coming, and the only pack who I want to spend it with are forbidden. Growing up in foster care in the billionaire King pack, I was chosen as a companion for the gorgeous, abandoned Alpha. He’s everything that an Omega would ever want. My other foster brothers are my best friends: an alluring, blind male Omega, who smells like heaven, and a hockey player Beta who takes care of us all. Together, we’re each other’s first loves, home, everything. But then, the Alpha is given the ultimatum to bond with a wealthy Omega…or else. My best friends and I find ourselves fighting for our lives, futures, and love. But will they still choose me, when they discover my secret?     AmazonKU

AN OMEGA FOR JONAH (COUNCIL OF THE SNOW LEOPARDS BOOK TWO) by Lorelai M Hart and Colbie Dunbar

Jonah is a rule follower… until the rules mean breaking the heart of the man he loves. Omega chinchilla shifter Kyle hates his job, and after a year of job hunting he’s still stuck in his cubicle. When his sister complains about her boss not being able to find a manager for his new restaurant, Kyle wonders if maybe a move to Oakheart and a career change is in order. Alpha snow leopard Jonah never felt like he belonged. Sure, he’s on the snow leopard council, but that’s more business than pack. Maybe it’s time to find a snow leopard and settle down to start a family of his own. What he doesn’t consider is that his fated mate might not be a snow leopard. When the two meet, sparks fly, but are feelings enough to break from the ways of old?     AmazonKU

STAR SHUNNED (STARSEED BOOK TWO) by Gaja J Kos

Play with fire, you get burned. But what if the fire is your soulmate? Fate is a mean ass bitch. Making something that feels so right for me hurt someone else? That’s such a shitty, shitty hand to deal. Ezra’s warm, freeing energy calls to my soul as if it were at home there. Except I already have a home. In Roland. And it’s one I won’t ever break. The Universe can have its fucking vision, but it forgets that people have feelings. I refuse to trample all over Roland’s heart just because I’m in love with Ezra too. No, the bonds have to go. I have to cut off Ezra while I still have the chance. Because I fear that the next time we meet, it will already be too late. STAR SHUNNED is the second book in the high-heat, paranormal romance Starseed series by USA Today Bestselling Author Gaja J. Kos. It features unique astrology magic, mixed-species harem, and a married, witchy heroine who gets her life turned upside down when she learns she has three hotter-than-sin soulmates.     AmazonKU

HEMLOCK ISLAND: A NOVEL by Kelley Armstrong

VS Note: Horror.

Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy gives her panic attacks, but it’s the only way she can keep her beloved Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic-fueled divorce. But broken belongings and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones, hex circles, and now, terrified renters who’ve fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone tried to claw their way out…and failed. When Laney shows up to investigate with her teenaged niece in tow, she discovers that her ex, Kit, has also been informed and is there with Jayla, his sister and her former best friend. Then Sadie, another old high school friend, charters over with her brother, who’s now a cop. There are tensions and secrets, whispers in the woods, and before long, the discovery of a hand poking up from the earth. Then the body that goes with it… But by that time, someone has taken off with their one and only means off the island, and they’re trapped with someone—or something—that doesn’t want them leaving the island alive.

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PACK (WOLVES OF WINTER CREEK BOOK TWO) by Sarah Spade

Since my arrival in Winter Creek, I’ve learned that witches exist, that monsters lurk in the woods, that a small town can be cursed, and that wolf shifters aren’t just real—I’ve been taken in by a pack of them. Worse, thanks to the aforementioned curse, I’m stuck here. With a grandmother who tried to sacrifice me to break the curse on Winter Creek, and the realization that I might be one of the only non-supes here. And that’s not all…As if finding out that my hero-turned-crush… fling… something is actually the same beast that has been treating me like its prey all along isn’t bad enough, I feel a bit like a chew toy between Alpha Lucas and the pack Beta, Tristan. Both guys seem to think that I’m meant for their wolf, and while I’m coming to grips with the idea of fated mates and their wolfish instincts, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to get involved in either of them. Especially since Lucas still has secrets…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)   AmazonKU

HER LUMBERJACK BEAR MATE  (CRESCENT LAKE BEARS BOOK ONE) by Arizona Tape

Bear shifter and lumberjack Darcy often gets underestimated because of her small size but there hasn’t been a tree in Bearton she can’t fell. City girl Ella’s job at a high end furniture shop means she’s dealing with demanding clients on a daily basis. When one of them insist on her personally picking out the wood for a next project, Ella has no choice but to visit the forest near Bearton and employ Darcy’s services. Their differences quickly cause frustrations but is that the only reason for the growing tension between them?

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WITH THE WAND IN THE LIBRARY (GODMOTHER TRAINING ACADEMY BOOK ONE) by Lia Davis, L A Boruff and Lacey Carter 

“You have qualified for the Fairy Godmother Training Program. Please settle your affairs and press your thumb to the bottom right corner of this letter to be transported to our Training Academy.” Cindolyn Ault didn’t expect her life to be uprooted on her forty-second birthday. She’d expected a nice normal day, surrounded by her cats. If she was lucky, her daughter might drop in for a visit. But that was it. Instead of a feline-filled day in the sun, Cindolyn receives a letter that she believes to be a prank at first. Laughing her head off, Cindolyn touches the bottom right corner of the letter, and her world will never be the same. Just when she thought it was time for baking cookies and hoping for grandchildren, Cindolyn finds herself enrolled in a training program for fairy godmothers in an academy for supernatural creatures. There are shifters and witches and vampires, oh my! It’s a lot to take in, but Cindolyn can roll with the punches… Until a body is found in the library and Cindolyn is the main suspect. Now she’s got to use her new magical abilities to investigate a murder and clear her name before the Witch Hunters (who knew there was such a thing!) come to claim her.

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BLIND SPOT: ARCANE TRANSPORTER 5 by Jami Gray

With the addition of her Arcane Council contracts, Rory Costas’s Transporter career has kicked into high gear, but their latest request might be the one that sends her careening off course. The Arcane Council is determined to hunt down the notorious Heretic Key and are willing to use all available resources in their need for retribution, resources like Rory and her partner, the lethal Hunter, Zev Aslanov. With Zev already on the Heretic’s trail and closing in, Rory’s assignment seems simple enough, team up with a Council agent to validate an obscure relic and then utilized a little bait and switch to lure the Heretic into the open so Zev can take him down. But as seems to be the case lately, nothing stays on track. Blindsided by the unexpected, Rory is faced with an impossible choice that pits her integrity against her heart, and even she’s not sure which will cross the finish line. When the dust finally settles, will Rory crash into a dead end or reclaim enough traction to survive unfamiliar roads?

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THE WEDDING ALBUM (MYSTIC BEACH FANTASY ROCKSTAR ROMANCES INTERSTITIAL BOOK 5.5) by Aislinn Archer

Hunter & Brighid – It took rockstar Hunter Graves decades to find his happily-ever-after with his bestie, Brighid — the curvy priestess whose visions of the past told her they were destined to be together. Now that he’s put his tragic history behind him, it’s time to put a ring on it (again). But the media aren’t the only ones putting their focus on the happy couple as their wedding day nears — several figures from their past are returning, just in time to add even more emotion to the big day. Declan & Callie – Lead singer Declan and his wife, Callie, are headed off on their honeymoon — a tour of the world’s top culinary destinations for the professional kitchen witch and her amateur chef hubby, followed by some one-on-one time on a tropical island. It’s an idyllic destination with a guarantee of the privacy they’re longing for. Until it ends up being considerably more private than they’d planned. Rhys & Lyric – Rhys is known for his passion for percussion, but with the magical inspiration provided by his witchy musician-poet girlfriend, Lyric, and her kids, he’s now showing the world what he can do when he’s not behind his drum kit. It’s into the studio with his newfound family, and a mysterious diva who’s got the band’s security staff working overtime.     AmazonKU

STARS AND STAGE: A QUEER SECOND CHANCE VAMPIRE ROMANCE NOVEELLA by D N Bryn

Diego refuses to see themselves as their society’s monster. Since fleeing their hometown—and the high school sweetheart who spurned their fangs—a decade ago, they’ve found a new home with the staff of a sensual role play club that creates fantasies for vampire-human couples. Working as the temporary stand in for humans with no vampire of their own, impassioned romance now seems like a thing of the past. That is, until Diego’s traitorous high school flame reappears in a storm of drama, claiming he’s finally ready to earn their forgiveness—in whatever way Diego demands of him. The man now trying to woo them back isn’t quite the one they remember; he’s aggressively forthright, persistently self-sacrificing, and strong in ways Diego could never have fathomed. But his sudden re-emergence comes just as the club is under threat, and any good thing might just be too good to be true.     AmazonKU

HAUNTED HEARTS: A MONSTER BRIDES ROMANCE by S C Principale

Take one grumpy millionaire determined to shut himself away from the rest of the world.Add one lonely ghost who’s thrilled to have company. What do you get? The worst stand-off the supernatural-friendly town of Pine Ridge has ever seen—and a grumpy- sunshine romance that no one expected. Wesley Creighton had it all—and it all backfired. Now, the Wall Street Wonder Kid has nothing but millions, a bad attitude, and a permanently damaged heart. Shutting himself away in a country mansion where he can be miserable and alone seems like the perfect ironic ending to a life that was too good to last. Wesley buys White Pines, an estate in secluded Pine Ridge, intending to lock the doors and throw away the key. But the real estate agent failed to mention that the property came with a sitting tenant… well, a floating tenant. Gloria White, once a notorious heiress and now a beautiful ghost, haunts the halls of White Pines. Even a century after her tragic death, she remains the afterlife of the party. Gloria won’t leave without a fight. Wesley won’t go now that he’s invested. When these two begin to battle for control of White Pines, they discover they have much more in common than just stubbornness. Could Wesley and Gloria be meant for one another—even though they’re separated by death and time?     AmazonKU

LOVE THAT SASS (DIRE WOLF MATES BOOK FIVE) by C D Gorri

Weylin Scott is the original DWMC playboy. The stud muffin Wolf has always been the love ’em and leave ’em type. All his conquests know the drill. No harm, no foul, right? But what happens when a human with a heart of gold catches the attention of the ramblin’ redhead? His Alpha says she’s off limits, but his Wolf can’t stay away. Will he endanger the Pack by revealing what he is too fast, too soon? Gwendolyn Hoffer needs to come up with some quick cash to pay for her grandfather’s care at a local assisted living facility. It’s slim pickings on the job market, but applying at the new roadhouse seems the perfect solution. Raised by the former deacon to be a good girl, she vowed to save herself for marriage. But how is Gwen supposed to stick to her virtuous guns when she’s surrounded by such naughty temptations? Weylin must convince the beautiful Gwendolyn she’s the only woman for him. Can she handle the reformed playboy and deal with his furry side, too?

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WED TO THE LICH by Layla Fae.

Liches are almost gone, only a handful of us left. I must marry to keep my race from extinction, yet how? No living female will ever stoop so low as to marry a lich. People fear us. They say we are the harbingers of death, bad luck, rot and decomposition. In one last bid to carry out my duty, I request a wife through the Temple. She turns out to be a neglected, sickly thing with trembling hands and downcast eyes, seeking an arranged marriage out of despair. And she’s perfect. Her blushes burn hot, her voice rings with feeling, and her kisses taste like summer. She is life personified, all warmth, light, and sweetness, and I crave her like darkness craves the sun. But will she sacrifice her warm, beating heart to a creature of death like me?     AmazonKU

LAST COURTESAN OF OLYMPUS by Andrea Meuwissen

VS note: Listed in Erotica. M/M

Aikos is the best at what he does, the most skilled and coveted acolyte of Aphrodite, and he knows it, but when his beauty and allure attracts the attention of the gods themselves, his ascension to courtesan takes a turn he never expected. Straight to Olympus. Given by Zeus as a gift to eight of the male Greek gods, Aikos must please each of them and decide between them who he will serve, without earning himself a tragic end. Can he choose when the one tenet of Aphrodite’s temple he knows the least—love, in all its forms—is the one he most needs to understand now?     AmazoKU

THUNDERSTRUCK (VONAESIR BOOK ONE) by Marie Long

Take a hot-tempered guitarist, a mischievous drummer, and a kickass bassist, and you get VanAesir, one of the hottest underground Viking death metal bands in Seattle. But the road to the top is an endless struggle, especially for Tor Hagen, lead guitarist of VanAesir and walking disaster for all electronics. Getting through a set without a hitch is a challenge for Tor, whose uncontrollable lightning abilities are amplified through his uniquely crafted guitar, Myollnir. A few days before one of the largest metal events in the country, Tor wakes up to find his beloved Myollnir has been stolen. With a little help from his friends Frida Winters and Luca Ingram, Tor must do whatever it takes to get it back—even if gaffs and corsets are involved. A hilarious and snarky contemporary retelling of the Norse mythology story The Lay of Thrym from Poetic Edda.

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MATCH MY FALL by Lisa Carlisle

Fall into a wickedly charming romance when Salem witch Cassandra takes a wild ride with a wolf shifter! After I drop my daughter with my parents, I head to the White Mountains for some much-needed me time at a ski resort. My friends convinced me to try a chairlift dating event, but when date after date turns out to be a dud, I take an escape route. Only my skis send me flying off my feet, and I end up tumbling downhill like a snowball. Ski patrol comes to my aid in the form of handsome wolf shifter Valen, and we have more chemistry than a combustible potion. Chairlift dating was a disaster, but a night with a rugged mountain man in his cozy slopeside cabin is tempting. Until Valen thinks I’m his fated mate.     AmazonKU

NUGGET, COINS AND MURDER (SILVER CIRCLE CAT RESCUE MYSTERIES BOOK THREE) by Leann Leeds

A cat with a gold chip on his shoulder. A coin collector dead in the night. Can they uncover the killer before the truth—and the collector—is buried forever? 
With Silver Circle Rescue moved into Wardwell Manor, Ellie Rockwell and daughter Evie (and the dozens of cats) couldn’t be happier in their new home. The pair are getting familiar with all their cats using the magical crystal plate that allows the cats to speak to them and are able to match cats with perfect forever homes. Their idyllic life screeches to a halt when a mysterious woman abandons the recently deceased Harold Goldfinch’s cat Nugget on the shelter’s doorstep. The sullen cat insists the police have got it all wrong—Harold didn’t die naturally. He was murdered. As Ellie and Evie look into Harold’s death, they come to realize that while suspects are plentiful, the clues are few and hidden well. Someone doesn’t want them to uncover the killer’s identity and will stop at nothing to keep Harold’s secrets from being brought to the surface. Can Ellie and Evie unravel the mystery before it’s too late?      AmazonKU

THIS SPELLS DISASTER by Tori Anne Martin

Fake dating gets a magical twist in this enchanting queer romantic comedy where a witch worries that the real feelings brewing between her and her crush were sparked by an accidental love potion, and the only way out of the disastrous spell is a healthy dose of the truth—drink up, witches. Potion maker and self-proclaimed “messy witch” Morgan Greenwood is sure she was hexed at birth. Not only did she drunkenly offer to fake date the woman of her dreams during the biennial New England Witches’ festival, but Rory Sandler, spellcasting champion and brilliant elemental witch—for reasons known only to the Goddess—accepted. It’s like every good luck spell Morgan ever cast came through at once, and it doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict this charade will end with a broken heart. Or is the magic between them real? As Morgan and Rory prepare to fool everyone at the festival, their relationship starts to feel a whole lot less fake—right until Morgan realizes she might have screwed up the common relaxation potion she made for Rory and given her a love potion instead, breaking one of the most sacred Witch Council Laws. To fulfill her promise to Rory, Morgan must somehow keep playing pretend while under the watchful eyes of Rory’s family and legion of fans. But to break the love potion, she’ll also have to prove how incompatible she and Rory really are. For a screwup like her, ruining their relationship should be easy—except every day, Morgan is becoming more bewitched by Rory herself.

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HAVING THE DRAGON’S BABY (SHIFTER SURROGATE PROGRAM BOOK THREE) by Milly Taiden

Tired of her humdrum life in a quaint town’s diner, Rachel Brookes is ready to make big changes in her life. Ideally with motherhood and a loving partner. Since that’s not happening, she settles for being part of the Shifter Surrogate Program. This puts her on the path of the strongest, hottest and baddest dragon shifter ever. Marcus, alpha of the Artemis dragon thunder, can’t find the source of young shifters vanishing, leaving a chilling trail of kidnappings across various clans and packs. Along with that, his family and den are pressuring him to secure an heir. When he meets his new surrogate, he discovers they have a deeper bond than he could have imagined. An elusive adversary threatens to destroy their newfound happiness. As the shifter world trembles, Marcus must protect his fated mate and the life they’ve created. Can he find the unknown enemy and safeguard their love? And will Rachel embrace the unforeseen risks of love in a world of supernatural danger?     AmazonKU

FEATHER OF BALANCE (FORGOTTEN GODS BOOK 11) by Laura Greenwood

After Ma’at’s sacred feather is stolen, she has no choice but to team up with Maahes in order to get it back before anyone discovers the theft. The only problem is that after ending things, the two of them aren’t on the best of terms. Can they figure out a way to work together and get the feather back before it’s too late?

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COOKING CLASSES FOR VEGETARIAN SHOULS (OBSCURE ACADEMY BOOK EIGHT) by Laura Greenwood

A vegetarian ghoul, a necromancer determined to impress her, and a meal mix-up. 
Despite being a ghoul, Zoya has always loved vegetarian food, and now she’s at Obscure Academy, she finally has a chance to explore what that means. The last thing Cyprus expected was to fall head-over-heels for a ghoul, but now he has, he can’t get her out of his head, and he’s determined to prove that his feelings are real. When a mix-up at the end of term dinner happens, Cyprus finally finds the chance to impress Zoya. Now it’s up to her to give him a chance.

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A MARKET OF DREAMS AND DESTINY  by Trip Galey

Below Covent Garden lies the Untermarkt, where anything and everything has a price: a lover’s first blush, a month of honesty, a wisp of fortune. As a child, Deri was sold to one of the Market’s most powerful merchants. Now, after years of watchful servitude, Deri finally spots a chance to buy not only his freedom but also his place amongst the Market’s elite when he stumbles into the path of a runaway princess desperate to sell her royal destiny. But news of the missing princess and her wayward destiny spreads. Royal enforcers and Master Merchants alike are after it. Outmanoeuvring them all would all be hard enough had Deri not just also met the love of his life, a young man called Owain, whose employers are using the Market for their own nefarious schemes. Deri soon finds that the price of selling the royal destiny, making a name for himself, and saving the man he loves is dear. The cost of it all might just change the destiny of London forever.

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WOLF’S CAPTIVE (BRIDES FOR BEASTS BOOK ONE) by Candace Ayers

My fated mate is one fiery, feisty human. Marla bares her small, blunt teeth and tries to scratch me with her tiny “claws” every time I get close. But I can tell she secretly digs the whole possessive wolf vibe I have going on. I’ll just flex my muscles and show her what an attentive and loyal mate I’ll be in the bedroom. Okay, I admit, winning over this sassy city girl might take some effort. And possibly some rope to tie her to my bed. But I love the thrill of the chase. My mate won’t know what bit her once her big bad wolf gets through taming her.     AmazonKU

SCAPEGOAT (SCAPEGOAT AND MISFITS BOOK ONE) by Sam Hall

“Take your sister with you.” That’s what my mother tells me every time I leave the house, but especially when I hang out with them. The Campbell boys. Tall, golden, perfect, they’re likely to become the next alphas of the pack. And my mother is determined that my sister will become their mate. But these boys? They’ve been my best friends, confidantes and play mates since we were kids and now? We’re eighteen, hovering on the brink of adulthood, and I’m beginning to think they want to make that step with me.
But nothing and no one gets in the way my mother’s dreams. Not even her own daughter.   AmazonKU

THE LORD OF MIST AND MEAD by Susan Golden

As the daughter of a simple country gentleman, Abigail Sumner has modest hopes for her life – a sound roof over her head, food on the table, a warm bed, and someone to love. But her father is deterimed that her charm and beauty are the keys to elevating him into higher society. When her hasty decision to flee this fate lands her in deadly peril, rescue comes from an unexpected source and opens her up to the possibility of a life filled with magic and passion. Killian Greydawn, Lord of the Court of Night and Defender of the Fae Realm, is trapped by painful obligation – caught in a bargain with a vengeful female who holds his people and all their magic in endless jeopardy. For forty-six years he has sought a way out, but with nothing to offer in exchange except himself, Killian’s fading hope for a solution seems rooted in a cryptic prediction for an instrument of change uttered so long ago it has nearly faded from his memory. But when their two worlds connect, immediate attraction flairs and the pair begins a passionate romance that sets them on a collision course with destiny. One that may force Killian to make unthinkable choice: save his realm’s magic or the human woman who holds his heart.   AmazonKU

THIS TOO SHALL BURN by Cat Rector

Arden has lived in the woods near the deeply religious town of Arrothburg all her life, practising magic and keeping balance with nature. She heals the sick, as her mother did before her. No matter how deeply the people of the village hate witches, they still arrive at Arden’s cabin in the dead of night, looking for help that their pastor, mayor, and doctor would never provide. Verity is trapped in a life she doesn’t want. Her mother was burned as a witch six years ago, forcing Verity into the role of caretaker for her father and her younger siblings. The Good Book asks her to serve, and so she does. But it also asks her to endure the ungodly, debilitating agony of her monthly bleeding. No medicine, no comfort, no protests. If God is kind, why is she so cursed? When a chance encounter between them leaves both their skin charred at a single touch, Arden and Verity are left with questions that may get them killed. Does something wicked live inside Verity? If Arden is the only true witch for miles, who is burning on the pyres? Will they be next?

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MIDNIGHT CONVICTION: BLOODLINES BOOK FOUR by Erin O’Kane

Laelia’s life is in danger once more, and this time she’s fighting for more than the life of her loved ones. She’s fighting to save everyone. The impossible has happened. Syn, one of Laelia’s mates, has managed to track her down, breaking through the witches impenetrable magic. Driven mad by the separation, Laelia has her hands full trying to coax back the male she loves from the feral beast he’s so close to becoming. Meanwhile, a new prophecy comes to light, putting her in the spotlight once more. Devine intervention looks to be involved as Laelia’s mates seem to be gathering despite the odds. There appears to be more than chance at play here. The Queen of the witches isn’t happy by these revelations, and Laelia is forced to fight for her life once more in a set of challenges. Will she survive and become the one the prophecy spoke of? Or will she fail and bring doom upon them all?     AmazonKU

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS MAGIC (SUPERNATURAL MIDLIFE MYSTIQUE) (SHROUDED NATION BOOK 10) by Brenda Trim and Tia Didmon

Saving a witch takes a magical town. Defeating a god takes a Shrouded Nation. When Rerek is released from his confinement and enters our world, all of humanity is at risk. Amidst the chaos, Hunter wants to mate me, Canton wants me back and the council wants me to unite the creatures of Ravenholde, in a supernatural war. No pressure, right? When Rerek uses the crystal artifact to cause cataclysmic events and the world is at its breaking point we discover his original temple and must unite our powers to navigate the ancient wards protecting it. In the ultimate showdown with a disgruntled god, will love and loyalty prevail, or will the only thing that glitters be magic?   AmazonKU

ANGEL UNLEASHED: BLOOD KNIGHT CHRONICLES BOOK FIVE by Linda Sundstrom-Thomas

A fine line between vengeance and desire…A damaged angel and an immortal Blood Knight. The heavens would shudder if they weren’t already, and if anyone up there was watching this play out. Immortal Blood Knight Rhys de Troyes is watching over London’s streets. But the ethereal beauty who just arrived in London captures his interest. Avery Arcadia Quinn has secrets Rhys will have to unravel if he is to protect his territory… and hide his desire for the unusual newcomer. A grounded angel, Avery seeks to recover the wings stolen from her centuries ago when the Knights were created. She swore vengeance, but her burning connection with Rhys threatens to conquer her anger, her mission… and even her vow to destroy him.     Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

MAMMOTHS AT THE GATES (THE SINGING HILLS CYCLE BOOK FOUR) by Nghi Vo

The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest. Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass–and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather’s body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor’s chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve. But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien’s own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate.      Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

WEREWOLF’S PRINCESS (BIG CITY LYCANS BOOK FIVE) by Eve Langlais

He’s not the only one who likes to bite. Vampires and werewolves don’t date, but Brock doesn’t care. He’s done everything he can to ignore Arianna. She’s arrogant. Gorgeous. Bossy. Intelligent. Add in a deadly side and he’s smitten. Even a warning from Lord Augustus, the ruler of Vampires–and her father–can’t quell his hunger for her.
 When a deadly threat forces Brock and Arianna into hiding, they give in to the simmering passion that’s been brewing since they met. Alas, danger catches up to them, and a kidnapping leads to a daring rescue that exposes their affair.
 Can their love survive the prohibition between their kind?     Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

CHASM (GLACIAN TRILOGY BOOK TWO) by Stacey McEwan

Dawsyn’s miraculous escape from the Ledge was just the beginning. In the queens’ dungeon, Dawsyn awaits her execution while reliving the death of her lover, Ryon. There is no chance of mercy. But hope finds her in the form of rescue by her village friends. Now on the run and struggling to tame her newly-gained and greatly unstable powers, Dawsyn’s journey continues. Facing betrayal anew, she must learn patience and trust as she builds strength on all fronts, while she and her comrades recover and ready themselves for what’s to come. As they ascend the perilous mountain slopes to the Glacian kingdom once again in a desperate attempt to save those remaining on the Ledge, Dawsyn must battle wills as well as weapons, before discovering an entirely new evil awaiting her.

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CURSEBREAKERS by Madeleine Nakamura

Adrien Desfourneaux, professor of magic and disgraced ex-physician, has discovered a conspiracy. Someone is inflicting magical comas on the inhabitants of the massive city of Astrum, and no one knows how or why. Caught between a faction of scheming magical academics and an explosive schism in the ranks of the Astrum’s power-hungry military, Adrien is swallowed by the growing chaos. Alongside Gennady, an unruly, damaged young soldier, and Malise, a brilliant healer and Adrien’s best friend, Adrien searches for a way to stop the spreading curse before the city implodes. He must survive his own bipolar disorder, his self-destructive tendencies, and his entanglement with the man who doesn’t love him back.

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GODKILLER by Hannah Kaner

Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren. Formed by human desires and fed by their worship, there are countless gods in the world—but after a great war, the new king outlawed them and now pays “godkillers” to destroy any who try to rise from the shadows. As a child, Kissen saw her family murdered by a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing them and enjoys it. But all this changes when Kissen is tasked with helping a young noble girl with a god problem. The child’s soul is bonded to a tiny god of white lies, and Kissen can’t kill it without ending the girl’s life too. Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, the unlikely group must travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favor. Pursued by assassins and demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning. Something is rotting at the heart of their world, and they are the only ones who can stop it.     Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

NO CHILD OF MINE by Nichelle Giraldes

VS Note: Horror.

There’s something in the dark. And it’s starting to whisper…Essie Singh has defined herself by her ambitions, a fiercely independent woman whose only soft spot is her husband, Sanjay. She never imagined herself as a mother. It was never a part of the plan. But then she finds out she’s pregnant. As her difficult pregnancy transforms her body and life into something she barely recognizes, her husband spends the nights pacing in the attic, slowly becoming a stranger, and the house begins to whisper. As Essie’s pregnancy progresses, both her and Sanjay’s lives are warped by a curse that has haunted her family for generations, leaving a string of fatherless daughters in its wake. When she’s put on bedrest, Essie trades the last aspects of her carefully planned life for isolation in what should be a welcoming home, but she isn’t alone. There’s something here that means to take everything from her.

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A HUNDRED VICIOUS TURNS (THE BROKEN TOWER BOOK ONE) by Lee Page Brien

Rat Evans, nonbinary heir to one of the oldest magical bloodlines in New York, doesn’t cast spells anymore. For as long as Rat can remember, they’ve been surrounded by doorways no one else sees and corridors that aren’t on any map. Then one day, they opened a passage and found a broken tower in a field of weeds—and something followed them back. When Rat is accepted into Bellamy Arts, all they want is a place to hide and to make sure they never open another passageway again. But when the only other person who knows what really happened last year—Harker Blakely, the dangerously gifted trans boy who used to be Rat’s closest friend—turns up on campus, Rat begins to realize that Bellamy Arts might not be as safe as they’d thought. And the tower might not be through with them yet. Soon, Rat finds themself caught in a web of secrets and long-buried magic, with their friend-turned-enemy at their throat. But the closer they come to uncovering the truth about the tower, the further they’re drawn toward the unsettling powers that threaten to swallow them whole.

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THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS by Lisa M Matlin

A therapist and self-help writer with all the answers, Sarah Slade has just bought a gorgeous Victorian in the community of her dreams. Turns out, you can get a killer deal on a house where someone was murdered. Plus, renovating Black Wood House makes for great blog content and a decent distraction from her failing marriage. Good thing nobody knows that her past is just as filthy as the bloodstain on her bedroom floor.
But the renovations are fast becoming a nightmare. Sarah imagined custom avocado wallpaper, massive profits, and an appreciative husband who wants to share her bed again. Instead, the neighbors hate her guts and her husband still sleeps on the couch. And though the builders attempt to cover up Black Wood’s horrifying past, a series of bizarre accidents, threatening notes, and unexplained footsteps in the attic only confirms for Sarah what the rest of the town already knew: Something is very wrong in that house. With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. But as she peels back the curling wallpaper and discovers the house’s secrets, she realizes that the deadly legacy of Black Wood House has only just begun.     Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

DARK ENCOUNTERS OF THE UNEXPECTED KIND (THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS PARANORMAL ROMANCE BOOK 75) by I T Lucas

Who is Uriel? Is he a lost descendant of the gods or just a gorgeous and charming human who has rocked Gabi’s world?     AmazonKU

A SWORD OF BRONZE AND ASHES by Anna Smith Spark

Kanda has a good life until shadows from her past return threatening everything she loves. And Kanda, like any parent, has things in her past she does not want her children to know. Red war is coming: pursued by an ancient evil, Kanda must call upon all her strength to protect her family. But how can she keep her children safe, if they want to stand as warriors beside her when the light fades and darkness rises?

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HAUNTING OF OAK SPRINGS (A SUPERNATURAL DETECTIVE NOVEL) by Crin Claxton

Ghosts are rising at Oak Springs farm, and supernatural detective Tony Carson is facing her deepest mystery yet. Tony and her Trinidadian best friend, Jade, unravel clues searching for a woman who doesn’t want to be found. Red and Chris are the last lesbians living on the women’s land farm, oblivious to the secrets buried around them. If developers start digging before Tony finds the missing woman, Red and Chris are in trouble. When an old enemy returns to the village, will the rural community of Wooly Mill side with Oak Springs, or will homophobic history repeat itself? And while Tony and Jade are rallying the women’s group, a devious plan is spinning around them. The supernatural detective needs to watch her step. The past has long fingernails, and they’re clawing at the ground beneath Tony’s feet.

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WHAT KIND OF MOTHER by Clay Chapman

VS Note: Horror.

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.
It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.     Amazon     AB     Apple Books     Kobo

WITCH OF WILD THINGS by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Legend goes that long ago a Flores woman offended the old gods, and their family was cursed as a result. Now, every woman born to the family has a touch of magic. 
Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands. What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart. With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.

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MONSTROUS by Jessica Lewis

Don’t go outside past dark. Come straight home after church. And above all—never, ever, go into Red Wood. These are the rules Latavia’s aunt gives her when Latavia arrives in Sanctum, Alabama for the summer. Though, weird as they are, living in Sanctum does have its pros. Mainly, the cute girl who works at the local ice cream shop. But Sanctum is turning out to be as strange as the rules—and the longer Latavia’s in town, the more suspicious she is that the people there are hiding something. And the more clear it is that she’s an outsider. Everyone’s nice enough, but they seem determined to prove everything is normal. But it’s not. Because there’s something in Red Wood that the towns’ people are hiding. And if Latavia doesn’t follow her aunt’s rules, she might not be able to leave Sanctum. Ever.

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THE QUEST FOR EXCALIBUR (GUINEVERE BOOK FIVE) by Fil Reid

Twelve years ago, 21st-century librarian Gwen decided to remain in the Dark Ages with the man she loves above all else – a man around whom endless well-known tales of legend and magic have been spun. King Arthur. Over the years, she’s carved a life for herself by her husband’s side, gently steering him in the direction she wants him to go, but always with an awareness that he’s a Dark Age king with a Dark Age view of the world. Equipped with her prior knowledge of Arthurian legend, Gwen’s sole aim has long been to save her husband from the legendary fate she dreads hangs over him. But always, at the back of her mind, is the nagging doubt that whatever she does is already set in stone, and nothing she can do will change his future which is already her past…(more blurb on ebook seller’s page)     AmazonKU

ROYAL’S BLOOD (DAUGHTERS OF THE ALPHA BOOK FOUR) by Addison Carmichael

A werewolf princess whose royal position is stolen. A werewolf rogue who suspects why. Who is the rightful heir to the Bryant wolf pack crown? Cinderella in reverse! Just before werewolf princess Mariah Bryant is crowned Direct Heir of her High Alpha father, it’s discovered she has no blood connection to the Bryant royals at all! But why was she switched at birth in their community hospital 24 years ago? And who daughter is she?  More importantly, where is the true Bryant heir now? With no High Alpha heir, the Bryant werewolf pack in the Pacific Northwest is on the verge of self-destruction. That’s the only reason Ben Gallagher comes out of hiding in order to locate the missing royal.  That means risking deadly exposure to his enemies by inserting himself into Mariah Bryant’s political world in order to learn the secret of what really happened the night of her birth. What Ben didn’t count on is falling hard for this intriguing wolf beauty. Or the possibility of this natural born detective discovering his own true identity. As well as his dangerous gift.     AmazonKU

ALPHA BAIT: THREE WEREWOLVES FOR DYLAN by  Heart

Dylan Landry feels like he’s walked straight into an alternate universe. Werewolves – big, muscular, alpha werewolves – are throwing themselves at him left and right, and he has no idea why. There’s nothing special about him. He’s just your average grad student working on his thesis and trying to get by in the big city. There’s no reason for werewolf alphas to be striking up conversations, pressing close when they talk to him, and asking him out on dates while they look him up and down like they want to eat him – but they are. It’s ridiculously confusing. For August, Ryker and Steve, the alpha werewolves in question, there’s nothing ridiculous or confusing at all about wanting Dylan. The human smells like the word mate incarnate, and he’s so achingly perfect that the idea of not having him is too terrible to even consider. Sweet, eager to please, and unexpectedly funny, he’s everything they could ever want in a mate. But with three of them and only one of Dylan, August, Ryker and Steve are going to have to figure out how to make this work. Someone has to be left out in the cold, and no one wants it to be them. After all, it’s not like they can share. One human couldn’t possibly handle three alpha werewolves… could he?     AmazonKU

A COTTAGE BY THE SEA (THE TIME SLIP SERIES BOOK ONE) by Ciji Ware

VS Note: A re-release. All three books in the series are now available so here’s the information for book one.

A remote cottage on the wild coast of Cornwall sounded to Blythe Barton Stoe like the perfect escape from the pain and humiliation of recent events in her Hollywood life. But soon she seems to be reliving a centuries-old tragedy, and the handsome owner of the shabby manor house on the hill appears vitally entwined in her destiny. As they unearth one shocking family secret after another, Blythe is forced to conclude that her intriguing neighbor is more than just an impecunious British gentleman bent on saving his ancestral home. And the impeccably honorable Lucas Teague begins to see Blythe as a lifeline in an notherwise bleak existence. But is the unbridled attraction they’re experiencing a dangerous distraction, or could it be strong enough to transcend the insurmountable complexities of time and place?     Amazon

DON’T WORRY BY WITCHY (THE WITCHES OF HOLIDAY HILLS COZY MYSTERY SERIES BOOK 13) by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Welcome to Holiday Hills, the quirkiest small town you’ll ever visit, where magical beings and mystery collide! It’s fall, my favorite season — then again, it’s probably every witch’s favorite season, and I was excited for the fantastic fall festival, but boy, did things take a supernatural turn. Picture this: the Enchanted Bookstore and Café, the heart of our town, filled with cozy corners and magical tales. Just when I thought the only excitement would be sipping my pumpkin spice latte, in waltzes Patrick Murphy, the local psychic. Well, hold on to your broomsticks, because chaos erupted faster than you can say abracadabra. But here’s the real kicker: my trusty cat familiar, Cooper, had a psychic vision. Apparently, Patrick was destined for a one-way trip to the great beyond, and it was up to us to solve the case. Oh, the joys of being a magical sleuth with a talking feline sidekick! Suddenly… (more blurb on ebook seller’s page…)   AmazonKU

RAVEN SAVED by Fel Fern

Elliot Fry has one mission. To save his brother, Elliot must breach enemy territory and kill the leader of the Moon Burrow Ravens. It’s a tall order, but failure is not an option. Elliot can’t allow himself to be distracted by a certain dark-haired, overly protective but unexpectedly kind alpha. Simon hits all of his buttons, but Elliot knows getting close to Simon might only result in tragedy. Simon Sims is sick of always coming in second. He’s heartbroken after losing his crush to another. When Simon finds a half-dead omega on the roadside, he knows fate has made him wait for a reason. The mysterious Elliot is evasive about answering any personal questions. Simon wishes he has all the time in the world to get to know Elliot, but there’s a traitor in the flock. Someone wants his lead alpha dead, and it’s up to Simon to weed out the killer. When the assassin turns out to be the one he loves, Simon’s loyalty is tested. Who will he choose, Elliot or his adopted family?     AmazonKU

DRINKS AND SINKHOLES (THE WEARY DRAGON INN BOOK ONE) by S Usher Evans

Bev may not know who she was before she showed up in the quaint village of Pigsend five years ago, but that doesn’t bother her much. She’s made a tidy little life for herself as the proprietor of the Weary Dragon Inn, where the most notable event is when she makes her famous rosemary bread. But when earthquakes and sinkholes start appearing all over town, including near Bev’s front door, she’s got to put on her sleuthing hat to figure out what—or who—might be causing them before the entire town disappears.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

THE WILD HUNT: PARANORMAL WOMEN’S FICTION by Stephanie Burke

VS Note: Re-releases

Chaos envelopes the not-so-innocent lovers who dwell within the decadent BDSM club The Wild Hunt. The Stag (Wild Hunt 1) The Stag, Kern, is on the prowl. He wants more than a one night stand with his perfect Faunus. If he can only convince his little mate to take a chance on him, and still protect his lover from those who would do him ill…The Wolf (Wild Hunt 2) As a member of The Wild Hunt, Caille wants nothing more than to rip apart the men who dared steal one brother’s mate and kidnap her other Hunt brother. Nothing and no one will stand in her way… even the curiously attractive new partner The Master of the Hunt has given her. The Bear (Wild Hunt 3) Arcas, the Bear, refuses to follow his fellow Huntsmen’s example. He immediately claims his mate, Marshal, a descendant of the cat goddess Bastet. Their pairing will be powerful and his mate is courageous, wise, and sexy as hell. Too bad they have to bring down the remnants of a murderous cult and stop a demonic disaster from being let loose on the world. The Hunt is on the move and nothing will stop them from achieving their goals: rescue Kern’s mate and save the world.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

CUDDLY DEMON by Aster Rae

I didn’t expect the summoning spell I found on Tik Tok to work. I’m Saint. I’m your average, run-of-the-mill, overstressed college sophomore. My boyfriend prospects are nil, and that’s assuming I even have time for a partner. Ha. An English major with free time. That’s a good one. When I use a spell I found in a viral Tik Tok video to help me with an assignment, the last thing I expect is for a super ripped blue-skinned demon to show up in the campus library. My demon’s name is Onyx, and his last master locked him in an Etruscan tomb three thousand years ago. Onyx tells me that he’s here to do my bidding and I think that sounds great, to be honest. He quickly finishes my classwork and even makes a new game I’ve wanted appear out of nowhere. Onyx’s assistance comes with a price. As it turns out, he was shut up in the cave because his last master refused to pay up. I ask Onyx what his price is, and he tells me he demands… cuddles. And kisses. And lots and lots of… other things. Looks like I conjured up more than I bargained for.   AmazonKU

A MIDLIFE GLOOM (AGED TO PERFECTION BOOK THREE) by Sara Bourgeois

I’m Tilly Parsons, and I recently moved into the old Winslow farmhouse in the quaint town of Andale. I’ve just discovered my own magical abilities when a dead body turns up at the church’s Halloween event, plunging me into a chilling murder mystery. With help from my BFF Emmy and police chief Shane, I dive into the investigation on this spooky All Hallow’s Eve. My amateur sleuthing uncovers shady church politics, a demonic pastor’s past, a jilted business partner, and a congregation praying too hard against evil forces. As the full moon casts its eerie glow, I push my untested powers to the brink to catch the killer before I become the next victim. But on this bewitching night when the veil between worlds thins, the murderer will do anything to keep their unholy secret buried. Can I crack the case in time? Or will my first Halloween in Andale also be my last?     AmazonKU

LORD OF FIRE (NIGHT LORDS BOOK ONE) by Alice Gaines

When Krista Harris’s sixth sense sends her to a hidden cave, she discovers a portal to Underworld that will open only for her. Alexus, Underworld’s Lord of Fire, awaits her there, eager to show her a land full of sensual delights. He sends Krista’s heart up in flames. The sex is great, but Krista isn’t sure she’s ready to commit to being his mate, no matter how beautiful he and his world might be.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

LADY VENOM TAKES A MISTRESS: A GOTHIC LESBIAN ROMANCE by Kat Blackthorne

To be bid on was to be bought as a wife. To the winning bidder his prize, a maid, a servant, a child-bearer. That would be Poesy Laroche’s life, she realized, as she walked down the aisle to her future husband. He’d promised to break her into submission, and she knew his words were true. In an act of desperation, she takes the reins of her fate and dives into the woods rife with terrors. The screams that come at night become only whispers of stories about the mysterious Lady Venom. Her manor is filled with snakes and horrors. And when Poesy gets lost within her maze, Lady Venom claims her as her own mistress, with no hope to escape. Poesy is locked into a haunted estate where the flowers watch, the ghosts whisper while the snakes slither, and everyone knows the deadliest of them all is their Lady that rules them. But there are secrets to uncover both within the eerie walls and in the riddles atop Lady’s Venom’s forked tongue as she incites more danger and pleasure than Poesy ever thought possible. But will it be enough to keep Poesy from her fate? Or will the hidden truths prove more fateful than a serpent’s bite?     AmazonKU

THE INK THAT BLEEDS (MYSTIC BOOKSTORE BOOK ONE) by Piper J Drake

The Mystic Bookstore is keeping a secret. In fact, the whole town is. Amihan Chanthara is ready for a new beginning when she arrives in the little harbor town of Wolfsound, Washington, nestled in the San Juan Islands. Settling in as the new owner of the town bookstore is easy. Figuring out who killed the bookstore’s previous owner is not. The town sheriff has asked the sexy, ill-tempered werewolf, Lucien Allard, to help investigate and Ami is torn between heady attraction and irritation as the bookstore continues to be the center of the murder investigation. Is the killer human or supernatural? Why was the previous bookstore owner murdered? Is Ami next? Every new friend could be the murderer and even the one theoretical witness can’t tell anyone what happened. Will Ami survive long enough to learn what it means to be chosen by the mystic bookstore as its new Scribe?

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo

KNIGHT RESOLUTION (BLACK VEIL UNIVERSITY BOOK SIX) by B M Clemton

And they all lived happily ever after… or did they? It’s been ten years since my family finally broke free of the man who had us under his thumb… ten years since we defeated Dante. My life is all I could ever hope for. In addition to my six husbands who I love and adore, I also have the family we fought tirelessly to create. Everything looks perfect, and for me and my guys, it really is. But just because we destroyed the monster who hurt us all, doesn’t mean it healed the wounds he created. My family and I have to work hard and band together to help the ones we love, or they’ll forever be broken.   AmazonKU

HER ROYAL SECRET (VOLTAIRE PACK RISING BOOK ONE) by Lindsey Devin

It’s forbidden for me to fight, but some rules are meant to be broken…No one expects an orphaned servant girl like me to amount to anything, least of all me. But on my first shift, I’m fiercer than even the toughest wolves in the pack. I capture the attention of the royal brothers, who invite me to join training camp with them—except it’s strictly no girls allowed. So I pretend to be one of them and tell them I’m a lost ‘prince’, because females are meant to be submissive and fighter wolves like me are unheard of. Not this she-wolf. Even the eldest brother, Prince Lex, who constantly taunts me when I’m a servant girl, welcomes me into their royal band of brothers. But when my secret comes out, Lex looks at me in an entirely new way—and I think I like it. Only there’s not going to be a happily ever after for me. I’m to be wed to the cruellest alpha of the most vicious pack in the land as a peace offering from our side. And when I discover the reason behind why I’ve been chosen, it will change everything.     AmazonKU

THE CENTAUR’S SECRET (WAITING HEARTS BOOK ONE) by Jena Wade and Lorelai M Hart

Maddox is looking for truths buried deep in the past…Terran has been living in hiding for several hundred years. He and his brothers have no choice, it is either their lonely existence or risking the lives of shifter kind. They have a duty to protect them from the weapon his creators made and it’s a sacrifice he’s more than willing to make. And then one day, something changes. Time is passing differently and that can’t be a good sign… or can it? Finding his father’s journals opens up a whole new world to lion shifter Maddox, one no one will believe exists. His head says he needs to find the enforcer pack and let them handle his discovery or at the very least confide in his best friend. His heart shouts something else: find the forest, the one where they live. He follows his heart, discovering the beasts of legend…. and coming face to face with his centaur mate.   AmazonKU

HEAT OF THE EVERFLAME: KINDRED’S CURSE SAGA, BOOK THREE by Penn Cole

The war has begun. Both sides demand Diem’s allegiance—or her death. After her disastrous coronation, Diem finds herself at the center of the conflict between the Descended and the Guardians. With her newfound friends and the man she’s falling for on one side, and the mortals she has vowed to protect on the other, Diem must walk a careful line to save the people she loves… even from each other. The mystery of her unusual heritage begins to unravel, sending Diem and Luther on an unexpected journey across the realms. The answers may hold the key to winning the war, but finding them will require her to face painful truths about her mother, her bloodline, and her fate.  Meanwhile, the Crowns have set Diem in their sights. Some could be her greatest allies—while others want her dead. To end their oppressive reign, Diem must sort friend from foe and risk it all to build an army of her own. But a powerful figure in the north has plans that could change everything.     AmazonKU

NANNY FOR THE POLAR BEAR DADDY (SHIFTER NEEDS A NANNY BOOK 7) by Milly Raiden

Pediatric nurse Nora Williams can’t do her job anymore. She needs a clean slate. A new job. When she agrees to work as a medical nanny for an orphaned child, she doesn’t expect her guardian to be so hunky. She’s not supposed to notice his good looks or strong body, but she’s having a hard time keeping her blood pressure and hormones under control. Hudson Connors, a polar bear shifter, lost his best friend in a plane crash where the only survivor was the young daughter, who was critically injured. Hudson knows he needs help. Nora is perfect for the job. She has experience, is great with children and knows how to handle trauma cases. She’s also the most beautiful, intelligent and caring woman he’s ever met. Oh, and she’s his mate. Fate decides that both are lucky to find each other to solve all their problems. But the challenges are just beginning. His perfect mate is human and they’re not allowed into the clan. Then he learns that the plane crash may not have been accidental and those responsible aren’t done. Hudson and Nora need to work together to save the child, even if their romance is doomed before it even blossoms.     AmazonKU

A CITY OF EMERALDS AND ENVY: AN OZ RETELLING (WICKED DARLINGS BOOK THREE) by Rebecca F Kenney

Following her departure from Faerie, Alice tries to adjust to the rhythm of her old life. But confusing emotions draw her into a new venture with Dorothy, a girl from a neighboring farm. When the pair are transported to a whole new part of Faerie, Alice encounters former acquaintances who, like her, haven’t moved past what transpired in the Unseelie kingdom. With a new, powerful enemy fixating on Dorothy, and with trauma evolving into trust, Alice must decide if she can afford to risk her heart… again.   AmazonKU

A SLICE FOR MY DEMON by K L Hiers and Mozzarus Scott

Kevin Hamill has never felt like he belonged. Despite a successful pizza restaurant and a lucrative side gig at a local bar, happiness is fleeting and his relationships fizzle out fast. He’s convinced there’s something wrong with him. He’s empty inside, cursed with a void that nothing has ever been able to fill, and he feels trapped in his humdrum small town routine, left yearning for more. His ordinary life quickly turns extraordinary when he meets Percival Pearl, a man who claims to be a demon and desperately wants to take Kevin to bed. Even though Kevin thinks Percy is nuts, he’s happy for a change of pace and accepts his advances. Percy is charming, handsome, and makes Kevin feel whole for the first time in his life. Percy is definitely strange, but there’s no way the man could actually be a demon…Right? The truth is more bizarre than Kevin could ever imagine and results in a cross-country road trip on an epic quest of self-discovery and intimate exploration with the hope he can make it back home alive when unexpected dangers threaten his life and his blossoming romance with his new demon boyfriend.   AmazonKU

TAMING THE LION’S DESIRE (ALPHA SHIFTER’S GROWLING DESIRES BOOK ONE) by Amelia Wilson

I went to the Ozarks to study the wildlife. I never thought I would end up being unbelievably wild myself but how can I resist him?!! CANDACE – “…He sits there at the booth with a drink in his hand and I can’t take my eyes off him. I don’t do this kind of casual thing. I don’t do crazy one-night stands. I have no frame of reference for any of this but one thing is clear. The one night I decide to go wild I end up in a dive bar looking at the sexiest man on Earth. He’s tall and muscular and everything about him seems powerful, alluring, and plenty dangerous…” I can’t believe how perfect Dominic is. This is my first one night stand. This is my special treat before I get on with my studies. But I can’t keep this to a single night! Everything about this is breathtaking. Everything about this is perfect. How can I possibly think of ending things after one night? Of course, I have my studies to complete and that means the wilderness instead of going wild. Or does it?     AmazonKU

ALPHA’S FATED FLAME: OMEGAVERSE REVERSE HAREM ROMANCE (OMEGA FOR THE ALPHAS: FATED FLAMES BOOK ONE) by Mina Summers

An isolated omega unable to shift…maybe I’m just broken? Adrianna – Desperate measures call for desperate times when I purposely put myself in harm’s way.The only reason I did that was to trigger my wolf to finally appear. But it was all destroyed when the big bad alpha with golden glowing eyes came charging in to save me…Kayden – I needed to find a mate, any mate at this point. My pack needs to secure their future with heirs and I’m not getting any younger. Then I see her that one fateful night attacked… an omega hidden in plain sight? I can’t help but protect her. I have no idea why she has a death wish, but I’m determined to find out.     AmazonKU

BRANCHES  by Tatiana Carey

Lavender Amos came to Branches for answers. For better or for worse, she found them. A mysterious boy, her tribe, and a crazed murderer would all lead her to the truth. A tale of vampires, werewolves, and family.     Amazon

HEAVEN’S OFFICIAL BLESSING VOL 7 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

The Kiln is open, and White No-Face is back to his full power. The past eight hundred years have not blunted his hatred nor his obsession with Xie Lian–he aims to break Xie Lian down to nothing, even if all of humanity and the heavens themselves are collateral damage. This time, however, Xie Lian will not face him alone. Together with Hua Cheng–powerful ghost king, stalwart protector, and devoted love–can Xie Lian finally reveal the face behind the mask and put an end to the nightmare forever?

Amazon     Apple Books     NOTE: The other 6 volumes are on KOBO

THE SEER-IOUS BUSINESS OF MURDER (FAYE CONSANTINE COZY MYSTERIES BOOK ONE) by

Faye Constantine is seeking a plot twist. With her neuroscience doctorate in limbo and writer’s block as tenacious as a bulldog, Faye’s yearning for a fresh chapter. Then she receives an inheritance out of the blue and becomes the accidental owner of an esoteric bookstore. Hoping for a cure for her academic rut, she dives into this new and enchanting world and moves to Paradise Cove – a small, wealthy seaside town off the coast of Northern California. Faye has no idea she is about to be at the center of the town’s biggest mystery to date, let alone becoming a murder suspect herself. And the Mystic Eye bookstore has a narrative of its own, teeming with quirky characters, from nouveau hippies and ambitious magicians to tech tycoons seeking enlightenment. Among them, a psychic cat, Oz the parrot, and a handsome, dreamy-eyed meditation leader, Luke Delacroix, whose one rogue eye seems to hold a story of its own.  Will Faye crack the case and find love along the way, or will she become the next one shelved permanently?     AmazonKU

CHAINED (A CHOICE OF LIGHT AND DARK BOOK ONE) by Lacey Lehotzky

Princess Izidora of the Night Realm was kidnapped at birth, chained in darkness, abused by her captors, and wholly unaware an entire world was looking for her. That is until the eve of her 21st birthday, when the Nighthounds, led by the striking High Lord Kazimir, rescue her from a cave in the highest peak in the land. Now, the Lost Princess must reclaim her power before they reach the vicious capital of the Night Realm, where the story everyone was told about her disappearance might have been just that – a story. Will Izidora overcome her trauma or succumb to the whims of the madman who sits on the Night Throne?    AmazonKU

THE WOLF PRINCE II: FATED TO THE ENEMY (THE ROYALS OF PRESLEY ACRES) by Roxie Ray

Our fated bond is doomed from the start…Our packs are sworn enemies, and those closest to me claim that Liza cannot be my mate. Even with the odds stacked against us, my wolf is certain that she’s the one I’ve been waiting for. But first I must stop the rogue wolf from Liza’s past who is obsessed with her. If I don’t hunt him down fast, he has the power to destroy our pack and my bond with Liza completely. And with my father becoming weaker by the day, the pressure is intensifying for me to claim my mate and become alpha. Only Liza’s wolf is growing more unpredictable, and she’s starting to question if I’m acting with my heart or out of duty. I’ll risk everything to be with her because I know exactly how special Liza is. But if the wrong people find out who she really is, it could be a fate worse than death.     AmazonKU

CLAIM THE LIGHT: SUPERNATURAL LEGACY 4 (DRAGON SHIFTERS AND ANGELS) by Everly Frost

Shadows spread across the city. Whispers of a new darkness. All my life, I’ve been at war. Fighting for my survival. Never knowing my worth. Never believing that love could be mine—until my enemy stood by my side and fought for me. The alpha of the ruthless Grudge Clan asks for my heart. He offers me the heat of his body, the warmth of his home, and the liberty to explore my new strength. Peace is at my fingertips. And yet…
Across the city, shadows grow. With the darkness comes whispers of a rising power—a dragon who could destroy the light that forged our freedom. He is a nightmare from my past. With scales as black as coal, he steals the air from my chest and the hope from my soul. He is a destroyer who threatens to crush my heart and the future of all dragon shifters. But I will not wait for him to tear me down. I will not stand by and watch my found family perish. I will not be hunted again. No. I will hunt him. The light may flicker and fade, but shadows won’t claim my heart.     AmazonKU

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LINKS TO RECENT NEW RELEASES POSTS from Veronica:

September 6

August 30

August 23

August 16

August 9

“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’.

NOTE: I’m doing my best to avoid listing anything generated from use of AI but it’s sometimes tricky to detect from the resources I have available. As far as covers go, I list the Amazon cover. I won’t feature a cover in my weekly promo for this post if I believe or suspect it was done with AI.

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…

Some authors aren’t in KU but still don’t list books with Apple or other platforms. This report is very time consuming to prepare so I’ve always had to limit myself and cannot go and look up every book on all the platforms. If an author gives me their other buy links, I include them here but generally I develop the post on my own, not from author-supplied information. I curate and prepare this post individually every week to help connect readers/books/authors and I have to be very careful not to give it so much time as an activity that I don’t write my own novels! Thanks for the feedback and happy reading!

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

Required Statement: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifiying purchases.

Required Statement: As an Apple Books Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

First Meeting: Hostage to the Stars Weekend Snippet #SciFi Romance

I’ve decided to change up these weekly snippets and go through my backlist, sharing the first meeting between the two main characters in each book. I’m going roughly in the order of first publication. It’s always fun for me to revisit the books and I hope it will be for you too! Or if you’ve never happened to read a certain book, maybe I can entice you into giving it a try.

HOSTAGE TO THE STARS is the standalone sequel to MISSION TO MAHJUNDAR, which I highlighted last week. My readers really loved the character of Johnny Danver in the first book (so did I!) and wanted him to have his own book. It took me a few years to come up with just the right plot.

I was intrigued by the fact that Special Forces teams don’t routinely get sent in to rescue hostages held in other countries and in fact the unfortunate people may wait years to be saved. I visualized Johnny going on one such mission and what might happen…

The excerpt: 

The interior of the dimly lit building was mostly taken up with a large holding cell, currently caging only one occupant. Staring at him wide eyed, a gaunt woman in ragged clothing was rising from the floor, bracing herself on the wall. Chains at her ankles clinked as she moved.

He held one finger to his lips and moved to the door of the cell, blasting it open with a single low intensity pulse from his blaster.

“Sara Bridges?”

Hands to her mouth, eyes wide, she gave him a jerky nod.

“I’m here to get you out, Ms. Bridges, Sectors Special Forces. “

He thought she might collapse but instead she straightened her spine with an effort. A small moan escaped her lips but as he came closer she watched him without making another sound.

He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll have to get these shackles off.”

She slid down the wall and sat. The chains were cheap metal, easy for him to burn the hinges with a flicker from the blaster, enough to break without burning her.

Moistening her cracked lips with her tongue, she stared at him, tears in her eyes, but said nothing until he removed the chains with care, angry all over again when he saw the raw marks the shackles left on her ankles. He set the chains aside. Taking him by surprise, she hugged him, shivering violently.

He held her close, hoping to offer a bit of comfort. Lips again near her ear, he whispered, “We’re going out the back, into the hills. Can you walk?”

Swallowing hard, closing her eyes, Sara whispered, “Yes.”

He had to unhook her fingers from his shirt, which he did carefully, helping her to her feet and leading her from the squalid cell. “The pirates are all inside the other building, getting drunk or high,” he said as he paused at the door, Sara crowding close.

He slid the portal open an inch and reconnoitered. “Damn.”

“What’s wrong?” Her voice was a husky whisper.

“Two guys, over by the trucks. Hopefully they’ll go inside before too long.”

Sara crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her slender biceps as if she was cold, although the heat was growing intense in the jail as the sun rose higher. “Promise you’ll kill me if we get caught.” Her tone was intense.

“It ain’t going to come to that. We’re getting out of here today.”

“I want to believe you but I can’t take any more,” she said, tears slipping down her cheeks. “You have no idea.”

He reached over to pat her shoulder. “I’ll get you to safety, my word on it. I’m thinking it might be time for a distraction for our hosts though.”

“What do you mean?”

He doffed his thin backpack and knelt, pulling out two sweet miniature thermal explosive devices he’d picked up while selecting gear at the space station. “Thinking I’ll put a couple of these on one of their parked shuttles, blow it to the seven hells and while the locals are running around like suskadi with their heads chopped off, we’ll be heading for the hills.”

“Won’t they chase us?”

“Probably, but not right away. I’ll blow this building too. Umarri’s men will be confused and not only from the drugged tea.” He grinned.

The two men, arguing half-heartedly, as if they’d had the conversation before, were headed inside.

As soon as the coast was clear, Johnny said, “I’ll come back for you. Sit tight right here until I do, promise?”

She gave him a thumbs up. Apparently reading doubt in his face about her probable compliance with his order, she said, “They only feed me once a day so I know for sure no one will come. I’ll wait. You’re the best thing I’ve seen in months, soldier. I’m not going anywhere without you. And your weapons.”

HOSTAGE TO THE STARS

He rescued her from space pirates … but can he keep them both safe from the far greater evil stalking a deserted planet?

Space travel without Kidnap & Ransom insurance? Not a good idea. University instructor and researcher Sara Bridges can’t afford it, so when pirates board her cruise liner, she’s taken captive along with the mistress of a wealthy man, and brought to a deserted planet. When a military extraction team sent to rescue the mistress refuses to take Sara too, she’s left to the mercies of a retired Special Forces soldier, along as consultant.

Reluctantly reactivated and coerced into signing up for the rescue operation to the planet Farduccir where he once was deployed,  Sgt. Johnny Danver just wants to get the job done. But when the team leader leaves one captured woman behind, he breaks away to rescue her himself.

As Johnny and Sara traverse the barren landscape, heading for an abandoned base where they hope to call Sectors Command for help, they find villages destroyed by battle and stripped of all inhabitants. A lone survivor tells a horrific tale of the Sectors’ alien enemy, the Mawreg, returning after being pushed out …

Searching for evidence to give the military, Johnny is captured. He regains consciousness in a Mawreg cage–with Sara next to him. Death is preferable to what the aliens will do to them… And even if they do escape their captors, can they alert the military in time to prevent another invasion of the Sectors?

Standalone sequel to Mission To Mahjundar (mild spoilers for Mahjundar in this story.)

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Why I Wrote Breaking the Alien Love Curse

The idea of writing a science fiction romance around a Halloween theme intrigued me so I was delighted to sign on to the SUPRA VELUM anthology. There were two requirements all the authors had to meet besides a spooky theme – one of the main characters had to be “alien” and there had to be a scene with mist or fog.

I knew I wanted to set the story in my usual world of the Sectors, the interstellar civilization where many of my books take place, but it didn’t really fit into any of my ongoing series. We also had a word limitation (my story went over by about 3K). I’m usually a person with way too much plot going on for such a short book so I thought well, what if I limited myself to one twenty four hour period?

I’ve written humanoids with scales before (TRATUS in the Badari Warrior series and TALINN in the Badari Gladiators series) so I decided to make my Male Main Character an alien humanoid with scales and a tail. This is my first ever MMC with a tail and it was a good stretch for me to be sure I included the tail  properly in the action (and the bedroom love scene). I like a challenge.

The idea of breaking some kind of curse came to me pretty quickly and I had fun creating the circumstances which lead up to my two main characters falling under this curse from another planet and having to break it to survive. Figuring out the mechanics of the curse and how it could be broken called for some magic ingredients and a quest in the dead of night because of course the curse will kill them at dawn.

The characters are co-workers in an interstellar office and have been eyeing each other with a lot of interest for a while but no one has really made a move. Then this curse comes along and forces them to work together to survive.

My FMC doesn’t really believe in the curse at first, despite the effect its already having on the hero but the aunt to whom she turns for help quickly disabuses her of the idea it’s all some kind of joke. I did quite a bit of research along the way (which we authors love to do and can get lost in, believe me) on curses and the potions needed to break them.

Here’s a quick excerpt from the story, from the scene where Hagan the MMC has to explain the curse to Amellia, his human co-worker.

The excerpt:

“I apologize for disturbing your peaceful evening,” he said with a formal air. “May I come in? I’ll explain everything but I’m afraid I have bad news to impart.”

He did look a bit peaked she noticed as she retreated and he moved into the light in the living room. His usually bright green skin with the iridescent scales was faded and a few scales were missing. One popped up on his forearm and fell to the floor as she watched. “Are you all right?” she asked. “Do you need a glass of water or anything?”

“How do you feel is the more important question.” His emerald-green eyes glowed a little as he scanned her up and down.

Blushing because she was wearing her pajamas with the anime characters and the big slippers, she held her robe closely around her and mentally said goodbye to any hopes she’d ever had of dating this man, much less going to bed together. “I know I must look a mess. I have a migraine and an upset stomach.”

“Oh no.” For a moment Hagan doubled over as if he’d taken a blow to the gut and then stepped forward to grab her arm so suddenly she was flooded with adrenalin and uttered a squeak. “When?” he asked urgently. “When did this start?”

She twisted awkwardly in the direction of the chrono. “I don’t know, maybe three hours ago? What does it matter? What is going on with you tonight?”

He slid his hand down her arm and clasped her fingers. “Don’t be alarmed—I’d never hurt you. But I do have bad news to impart. May we sit?”

“Of course.” She drew him to the couch and the cat departed with a hiss, making room for them to sit.

“I had so much I wanted to say to you at the proper time,” he said, holding her hand a bit desperately. “You’re special, Amellia. I’d never met any woman like you before and I was—am—so powerfully attracted to you. I think we’re fated mates—”

“Like—like instalove?” She let out a gasp, wondering how to handle this revelation. “I mean, I find you attractive and I won’t deny I’d love to go out with you but we barely know each other outside the office.”

He nodded, his face set in serious lines. “My people believe on occasion a fated mate will be granted to a fortunate individual by the gods. I never heard of it happening with a human but I knew the instant we were introduced you were a woman I could so easily fall in love with. And while we were working together, I did. But now in my attempt to do the honorable thing, I’ve brought utter disaster upon both of us.”

“Does this discussion have to do with the box you’re holding?” She pointed at the container gripped tightly in the coils of his tail.

He set the box on her coffee table as she watched in fascination. “Did you know my people are born of eggs?”

She blushed. “I might have done a bit of research when you were assigned to the office.” Nervously she ran her hand through her hair and focused on the box, licking her lips. “To make sure I could provide you the best support.”

“Of course. Your thoroughness is an attribute I admire greatly,” he said but his involuntary assessment of her other, more physical attributes was highly appreciative. With a self-conscious cough, he averted his eyes and straightened. “When clutches are laid at high born Houses, there’s a ceremony known as egg matching, whereby certain individuals are entered into alliances by their parents—”

Amellia hadn’t seen any references to this ritual. Actually she’d stopped doing research after discovering the Zackmarune were egg layers. She’d done a little checking on whether human women could mate with a male from the alien planet, got discouraged by all the scientific mumbo jumbo and checked it out on an interstellar chat board, where she’d learned they could, and could even have children with a bit of medical intervention. None of the information helped tonight with this bizarre conversation. “Before they hatch? How do the parents know who to put with whom?”

“There are subtle markers on the eggs, which skilled priests can interpret through the use of sacred lanterns. The thing is, I was egg matched with one who became Sharshanna, a beautiful but spoiled daughter of another House.” He flicked a glance at her and smiled ruefully. “I fled my planet at adulthood and joined the Sectors military to escape our match truthfully. We’re long lived and there was plenty of time to be tail fasted. Honestly, she was such a schemer and climber, I hoped she’d manage an alliance with royalty and jilt me.”

Watching his face, Amellia was struck by the tension in his clenched jaw and the pulse beating hard at his temple. “But she didn’t?”

“Oh, she schemed and maneuvered with the best of them no doubt but hadn’t quite achieved her goals. I must explain in these modern times it’s common and quite accepted to sever the egg match once adulthood arrives. My taking the course of action carries no shame or dishonor for either of us. I think many people were probably surprised I’d waited so long to take the step. She’d certainly provided enough provocation.”

Reassurance seemed necessary so Amellia patted his hand. “I believe you.”

Hagan responded earnestly. “I wanted to be free to court you with honor.”

There was silence. Hoping to advance the conversation and get to the meat of whatever Hagan believed he needed to tell her, Amellia pointed at the box. “Is this what was delivered to the office while you were out in the field?”

“Yes.” He stirred the leaves with the tip of his tail, pulled out a coil of red vine and dropped it distastefully. “She took my actions badly.”

“How badly?”

“She’s cast a curse on us.”

Jaw dropping, Amellia couldn’t help herself and burst into laughter. “I’m sorry,” she gasped, trying to smother her amusement as Hagan blinked. “A curse? Really? And that’s what has you so worried? In this day and age I hardly think we need to give it a second thought, even if she did send you a funky old box full of rodent skulls or dead flowers or whatever. Unless she hired D’nvannae assassins too, we’re probably going to be fine.”

Hagan remained serious. “I could handle the assassins—let them try to get past me to harm you. But this curse—there’s nothing to be done. At dawn we’ll both die.”

SUPRA VELUM: A SPOOKY SCIFI ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY by Various

Misty, spooky love and trouble; Tails, horns, and frightful cuddles. We spin our threads, we authors many, Of horror, sweets, ghosts, and frenzy, So you may sup on alien peen, To quench your thirst this Halloween. Wander beyond the veil into a spooky season of scifi romance tales written by some of the genre’s most influential authors and rising stars. From cute and sweet to horrific and death-defying, these tales span the breadth of autumn and Halloween vibes with everything from autumn foliage and chilly breezes to zombies and haunted trails.

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8 Yeti SciFi Romances to Warm You

NOTE: This post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record…

Continuing my exploration of unusual heroes in scifi romance, this month I present to you the Yeti. Yes, the Abominable Snowman himself has now become a staple of the romance world.

We’ll start with Izzie and the Ice Beast by the always wonderful Honey Phillips. This ‘yeti’ isn’t from Earth, but he’s an alien version, on a self-imposed exile from his own planet, Hothrest. He’s found a career as a gladiator but underneath all the fur and muscles a gentle heart beats and he’s not happy. Enter Izzie, a kidnapped human woman who needs rescuing in the worst way and suddenly Baralt has purpose in his life again – save Izzie and take her away to somewhere safe. They end up back on his home planet and of course there’s a Happy Ever After ending.

Slippery When Yeti by Tana Stone brings us back to Earth, where the female main character is a wedding planner from Miami who hates hot weather. The MMC is an ice sculptor turned into a yeti by an accidental ingestion of a party potion gone wrong. She’s just taken a wedding planning job in Screaming Woods (nothing alarming about that town’s name, right?), gets lost in a snowstorm and is rescued by the yeti. Together they must ride out the storm in his isolated cabin and as any romance reader can tell you, the outcome is an HEA ending for the couple. This book is part of the multi-author Monster Between the Sheets series, which you can check out for a wide variety of inventive monster-as-love-interest reads.

Taking off from the Siberian legend of a people known as the Chuchunya (yeti by another name apparently) author Marilyn Barr gives us Spooning My Chuchunya (Snuggling Under SnowDrifts Book Two). Dr. Sydney Decker is roaming the Canadian tundra looking for a friend she wants to rescue from a dangerous cult. Sergei is a Chuchunya who can’t find a mate among his own clan because of his intimidating nature.  He has to make difficult choices between following the rigid customs of his clan or saving Sydney, who is a strong assertive woman able to handle his powerful personality. The book is a slow burn, with plenty of time to get to know the characters and enjoy the world building before the HEA arrives.

Taken by the Yeti by Adrian Blue starts with a Help Wanted ad for a cold tolerant intern with hiking experience. Only after it’s too late and she’s deep in an isolated, snowbound area does the FMC find out she’s been hired to act as bait for hunters intent on capturing a yeti. She’s trapped in a cabin to serve as the lure and the hunters set up camp close by. Yeti to the rescue (the hunters meet a bad end) and romance blooms. This is a really short story but fun and heart warming.

In Ready for Her Yeti (Alaska Yeti Series Book One) author Neva Post’s FMC takes a short term job as the winter caretaker at an isolated lodge, only to find out there’s already a yeti in residence for the winter, making himself at home. He’s got a month to make her fall in love with him and it’s a fun read. As one reviewer said, “The only problem was it ended.” But never fear, book two is in the works, Fake Dating Her Yeti, featuring a different couple.

The Bridal Hunt: Whychoose Fantasy Romance (Brides of the Hunt Book One) by Jeanette Lynn has a curvy heroine going solo on what was supposed to be a romantic trip with a boyfriend, complications ensue and then as the blurb says “something large, white, hairy and completely Abominable drops in uninvited”. She’s kidnapped to another planet/plane of existence by this snowman and becomes the eventually willing bride to a reverse harem of hunky, furry alienish yetis. The FMC is equal to the task of handling all her MMC’s and the HEA follows.

An Abominable Affair by Maddie Syn pairs a prehistoric huntress desperate to feed her family with a yeti who is willing to help, for a price. As the book blurb asks, “Can a tiny human thaw this yeti’s frozen heart?” Turns out he only wants to meet and talk under the full moon but romance blossoms and problems follow, resolving into the HEA.

Snowed in with the Yeti: An Erotic Monster Romance (Yetis in Love Book One) by Brigid Finn begins in a time after the San Andreas Fault has opened up and released monsters of various types into the world, which of course results in large numbers of human deaths and the disruption of civilization. The FMC is trudging through the Arctic, going from one survivor settlement to the next hoping to find a home, when she’s pursued by another monster and rescued by the yeti. He’s sweet, doesn’t speak much English and a perfect match for the strong willed FMC. Reviewers praised the world building and again wanted even more of the book.

As a side note, there’s quite a bit of yeti erotica out there, in which the emphasis is on the spicy bedroom scenes and not on the plot or the characters, versus romance novels like those above, which may feature those smoking scenes but as an integral part of the developing relationship between the characters. You could have the story without the intimacy, whereas in erotica the kink and the spice are the story. Finn’s book, above, straddles the line.

I’m waiting for Regine Abel, the amazing author of the “I Married A…” scifi romance series to give us her take on a yeti. She hasn’t said she’s writing such a novel but one can hope, right? She’d definitely do the topic justice.

Happy reading!