The Legendary Mo Seto by A.Y. Chan (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY)

 

The Legendary Mo Seto

A.Y. Chan

 

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GENRE:  Middle Grade, Martial Arts, Action/Adventure

 

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BLURB:

 

Mo Seto, martial arts movie star! Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? Too bad there's a height restriction to audition. But 12-year-old Modesty (Mo) Seto has never let her height get in the way before, not when she became a black belt, or when she fought the meanest boy in her class, and she’s not going to let it stop her this time! Now if only she can figure out a way to grow five inches and fool everyone at the auditions…and find time to search for her missing father (who just might be harboring a dangerous secret of his own). Join Mo on an adventure (and audition) of a lifetime and find out if powerful things really do come in small packages!

 

Publishers Weekly calls THE LEGENDARY MO SETO “Adrenaline pumping”, Kirkus Reviews says it “Packs a punch”, and Booklist calls it “Remarkably relatable.” Leap in and join the fun!

 

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EXCERPT

I may be small, but I am fierce. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Over and over again. Fierce.

“Charyeot,” the taekwondo tournament referee says in Korean. Attention.

I snap my arms to my sides.

“Kyeong-nae,” the ref says. Bow.

I turn to face my opponent, Dax Washington. His dark skin glistens with sweat. We dip our heads.

I look up to see Dax towering over me, his eyes stormy.

It suddenly occurs to me how much “fierce” sounds like “fears.” Not that I’m scared or anything. I’m not.

“Sijak!” The ref throws up his hand. Begin! Immediately Dax’s large fists hammer down like a hailstorm.

Well, maybe I’m a little worried.

Dax lunges. I block his front kick with my forearm. I flinch and reel back. The ref blows his whistle, but Dax doesn’t stop. I barely have time to move before—oof—another kick nails me in the elbow.

Okay, fine. I’m totally panicking.

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

A. Y. Chan grew up in Canada’s Greater Toronto Area reading all the middle grade and young adult books she could get her hands on. To this day, those remain her favorite genres. After achieving her black belt in Taekwondo, she explored other martial arts, such as Wing Chun, Hapkido, and Muay Thai. These days, she continues her martial arts training some mornings, writes in the afternoons, takes long walks to muddle out plot points, and falls asleep reading.

 

Social Links:

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About the book Links:

Website

Simon & Schuster Author Page

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GIVEAWAY 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here

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My review:

4.5 stars

 

“The Legendary Mo Seto” follows the adventure of young martial arts practitioner Modesty (Mo), whose dreams of being a tae kwon do champion are constantly stymied…by her nemesis Dax, her mom’s opposition, her small stature, and…the mysterious lack of support by her biggest fan…her father. A chance at redemption comes when her movie-star idol holds auditions, but one setback after another threatens to destroy Mo’s dreams unless she finds a way to overcome all of her obstacles.

 

This fun children’s book is both informative and entertaining, and I was instantly transported to Mo’s world and invested in her success. From her quirky sidekick who may want to deepen their relationship to the mysteries surrounding Mo’s ancestors, plus the mother who seems determined to force Mo into a more traditional role, there are plenty of characters who I made a connection with. The plucky determination and out-of-the-box solutions that typify Mo’s character and the increasingly scary events that take place made this a page-turner that was fun to read and a story I highly recommend. I enjoyed the glimpse into another culture, the evolution of multiple relationships, and the depiction of love and affection displayed by multiple characters, and I hope there will be many more adventures featuring Mo and her supporting cast.

 

 

A copy of this title was provided for review

Stilettos & Gunpowder by Gail Koger (VBB, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

STILETTOS & GUNPOWDER

Gail Koger

 

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GENRE:  Action/adventure Romantic Comedy

 

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BLURB:

 

My name is Gemma Stone. I’m a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy and not only must I deal with the sweat-soaked misery of the Arizona desert, I get to respond to a bunch of crazy 9-1-1 calls all day long. Like a parakeet up a tree, or a car accident where a tractor trailer full of fireworks is hit and the 4th of July comes a bit early.

 

But some days crime takes a deadly turn. Police cars are suddenly blowing up. Detective Sergeant Dante Delgado, the love of my life, was assigned to track down and stop the bomber. Am I worried? You betcha. There’s a madman on the loose and he is very, very good at making bombs.

 

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, the Feds think I’m in cahoots with an Iraqi warlord who deals in stolen antiquities, Ichabod, my murderous ex-dance partner, escapes from prison and I’m suddenly in everyone’s crosshairs.

 

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EXCERPT

“Damn!” Frank spat and slammed on the brakes. 

The seatbelt abruptly clamped around my chest. “Holy crap!” The skinny, white male with the feathered headdress and loincloth was doing his war dance in the middle of the road. I keyed my mic, “Charlie-23 show us out at 85th Avenue and Bell Road with a male dancing in the middle of the street.”

“Copy, Charlie-23,” the dispatcher responded.

A truck narrowly missed the demented dancer. Did he notice? Nope. With his loin cloth flapping in the wind, he shook his hips in what looked like a weird belly-dance. Then he switched to the Texas two-step.

“Ugh. I really don’t want to make another arrest today,” I grumbled.

Frank nodded. “Me, either.”

“Stay with our prisoner. I’ll handle the boogie man.” I got out of the car before Frank could protest and approached the moron. “Sir, if you feel the need to dance, could you do it on the sidewalk?”

He took one look at me, shrieked and bolted down the roadway, yelling, “It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.” Horns honking, cars swerved around him.

“Aw, c’mon! It’s too dang hot to be running.” Did he listen? Hell, no. I trotted after him. It wasn’t like he could run very fast in flip-flops. “Stop! Now! You’re gonna get hit!”

The overhead lights flashing on the patrol car, Frank followed behind us.

The fool lost his flip-flops and did a crazy hippity-hoppity dance over to a circle of grass on the highway median.

I picked up his flip-flops. The pavement was about 180 degrees, and he wasn’t going anywhere without his shoes. “Why are you running?”

“I don’t want to go to jail,” he wheezed.

“And I don’t want to arrest you.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope. What’s your name?”

“Tim White.”

“Okay, Tim, what’s up with the dancing?”

He shrugged. “I’m just trying to spread a little joy.”

“Un-huh. Does it look like it’s working?”

 

 Buy Link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Glendale Police Department and to keep from going totally bonkers – I mean people have no idea what a real emergency is. Take this for example: I answered, “9-1-1 emergency, what’s your emergency?” And this hysterical woman yelled, “My bird is in a tree.” Sometimes I really couldn’t help myself, so I said, “Birds have a tendency to do that, ma’am.” The woman screeched, “No! You don’t understand. My pet parakeet is in the tree. I’ve just got to get him down.” Like I said, not a clue. “I’m sorry ma’am but we don’t get birds out of trees.” The woman then cried, “But… What about my husband? He’s up there, too.” See what I had to deal with? To keep from hitting myself repeatedly in the head with my phone I took up writing.

 

 

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here 

Playing Army by Nancy Stroer (VNBtM, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY)

Playing Army

by

Nancy Stroer

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GENRE:  UpLit / domestic war

 

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BLURB:

 

It’s 1995 and the Army units of Fort Stewart, Georgia are gearing up to deploy to Bosnia, but Lieutenant Minerva Mills has no intention of going to war-torn eastern Europe. Her father disappeared in Vietnam and, desperate for some kind of connection to him, she’s determined to go on a long-promised tour to Asia. But the Colonel will only release her on two conditions—that she reform the rag-tag Headquarters Company so they’re ready for the peacekeeping mission, and that she get her weight within Army regs, whichever comes second. Min only has one summer to kick everyone’s butts into shape but the harder she plays Army, the more the soldiers—and her body—rebel. If she can’t even get the other women on her side, much less lose those eight lousy pounds, she’ll never have another chance to stand where her father once stood in Vietnam, feeling what he felt. The Colonel may sweep her along to Bosnia or throw her out of the Army altogether. Can you fake it until you make it? Min is about to find out.

 

 

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EXCERPT

 

I sucked in my gut and forced the top button of my BDU trousers through the hole. Pounds never melted off me like they did in the diet pill commercials. As I wrestled with my body’s ill-fitting container the latrine door opened and two pairs of boots tromped in. Specialist Pettit’s voice floated over the sound of running water. “Not to be mean or anything, but female commanders are the worst. And Lieutenant Mills is the absolute worst. I worked for her for two years in Personnel and she ragged on me the whole time.”

 

Whoa, shit. Enemy inside the wire. I stopped breathing altogether and leaned so close to the stall door my eyes crossed.

 

“Hey, now.” That was Lieutenant Logan, my replacement at my old job. Female soldiers carved their hierarchies along different lines, never straight down the military ranks, and new alliances were being tested. Would Logan stick up for me, officer to officer? “It’s a short-term thing. She won’t be here long.” Instead of reproach, Logan’s voice was edged with mirth. “The colonel needs a body in that chair until a real commander comes in, and now that I’m here, Lieutenant Mills is over strength. She’s the body.”

 

My face grew hot. Real commander? Body? I clamped my lips shut against the urge to burst out of the stall, roaring. I imagined inhaling the entire room then blowing them away with the release of my torso, all tightly packed plastic explosives and buckshot. These two, Logan especially, had no freaking clue.

 

 Amazon link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Nancy Stroer grew up in a very big family in a very small house in Athens, Georgia and served in the beer-soaked trenches of post-Cold War Germany. She holds degrees from Cornell and Boston University, and her work has appeared in the Stars and Stripes, Soldiers magazine, Hallaren Lit Mag, Wrath-Bearing Tree, and Things We Carry Still, an anthology of military writing from Middle West Press.

 

She’s a teacher and a trainer, and an adjunct faculty member of the Ellyn Satter Institute, a 503(c) not-for-profit that helps individuals and families develop a more joyful relationship to food and their bodies. Playing Army is her first novel.

 

Social media links:

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here 

 

Long and Short Reviews 17th Anniversary Bash

 

Like books? No matter the genre, we have a great place for you to find your next favorite read!

Long and Short Reviews is celebrating their 17th (wow!) anniversary, but you get the gifts. They're featuring more than 50 books in all genres from romance to science fiction, young adult to poetry... no matter your reading preferences, you can find something to enjoy!

What could possibly be better than that? 

How about a chance to win one of two $100 Amazon GCs, of course! Think of how many books you could buy... 

Once you've arrived at the Long and Short Reviews site, simply read through the book posts each day and answer a simple question (or follow authors on their social media accounts) and you're entered to win. New chances to enter every day! So, go visit and enter and don't forget to tell a friend or two. Good luck!

Contest runs from August 19-23, 2024.

Passion's Angel by Gabbi Black (Spotlight and excerpt) ADULT title

Passion's Angel

ADULT title

by

Gabbi Black

A couple under stress, a woman alone—can three hearts be better than two?

 

Dustin

My Domme, my boss, my lover… Nadine is all those things to me. Our professional relationship has slid into the personal, and I have no problem with that. Pleasing her is my top priority. When things go sideways at work, I’m not sure how to help…until the answer presents itself in the guise of an angel.

 

Nadine

As a successful marketing executive, I have high standards. Dustin, my submissive and executive assistant, is perfection. But even he can’t solve my latest work dilemma. Then we meet Angelique, and I’ve found the star of my next campaign. Now I just have to convince the young woman that posing for me is in her best interests and, even better, convince her to join Dustin and me in a triad relationship.

 

Angelique

When a gorgeous man asks me to pose for a photo shoot, I’m skeptical. I’m overweight and unattractive, so who would want my picture? Refusing him is easy…but he’s persistent, and I give in. He’ll soon see how wrong he is.

 

Surprisingly, a photo shoot can be fun. Dustin is sweet and kind, and his boss Nadine is incredible. They have the kind of relationship I’ve always wanted, and it's clearly not just professional. I'm sad when the photo shoot is done and I have to leave them and head out into the cold, alone. Then Dustin asks an unbelievable question.

 

This 25k story is an FFM BDSM novella and is part of the Dr. Donna Jennings Purple Passion Reflection for Women Cards series.

 

 

Excerpt:

 Nadine

 

As I eyed Dustin’s pinkened ass, some of my stress fell away.

Some…but not all.

“Want more?”

“Mistress, I always want more.” He wiggled his gorgeous ass. The ass of a twenty-six-year-old.

I had him tied to my spanking bench, and I tapped my crop against my palm. Since we were both morning people, we’d decided on a quick scene before showers and work.

Dustin claimed he liked to feel my mark on him the entire day. Even beyond if I managed to bruise him.

Today, though, I needed him focused. That meant going easy.

After a series of hard strikes, he moaned. 

Links:

Universal link:  https://books2read.com/PassionsAngel

Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D9TY4ML3

 

Bio

 

Even though Gabbi Black is a firm believer in happy endings, she makes her characters work for it in every romance she writes, no matter what the genre. From contemporary to BDSM, they are penned early in the morning in her home in beautiful British Columbia while her trusty ChinPoo dog keeps her company. She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey.

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Love on the Clock (Contemporary romance anthology) Spotlight, ADULT titles

 Love on the Clock

Romance Cafe Collection, Book 35

ADULT titles by:

Clarice Jayne

Sharon Michalove

Keighley Bradford

Kristine Charles

Élodie Garroway

Lisabelle Chretien

Katherine Moore

Harper Michaels

Sonja Flowers

Abigail Sharpe

Toni Bolton

Francis Black

Gabbi Grey

The anthology will only be available for a limited time.

Synopsis

 

Never mix business with pleasure

This collection of CEOs, assistants, partners and consultants have forgotten Office Rule No.1.

Whether it's passion over the printer, scandal in the stationery cupboard or loosened ties in the boardroom, these co-workers are getting hot under the collar.

Join us around the Romance Café water cooler to discover the latest office scuttlebutt.

Add it to Goodreads

 

 

Bio

The Office Hotshot by Gabbi Grey

 

Orlando

 

I'm a go-getter. Right out of interior design school, I’ve landed a plum job in a well-regarded architecture firm, and I'm ready to help the lead architect meet his deadline. Except the man's a jerk, strung so tight it's a miracle he hasn't exploded. Offering a little stress relief is practically a service to humanity. But in the dark in the copy room, Knight's a lot more human than I thought. Now stress relief isn't the only thing I want to give him, and I'm dreading the day I'll have to leave.

 

Knight

 

I’m working under a tight deadline, and all I want is peace, quiet, and an assistant who doesn’t give me lip. Right now, I have none of those things. The new hire is perky, pushy, and unfairly attractive. One hot encounter in the copy room isn't breaking my oath to never get involved with a subordinate, right? Unfortunately, that one interlude leaves me craving more. What's so special about Orlando, that he's making me think about breaking all my rules and asking him to stay?

 

This is a 15k word gay romance novella with a successful architect, a quirky younger interior designer, and a cantankerous photocopier.

 

 

 

Exclusive Excerpt

 

Orlando

 

"Knight! What do you think? I've finished the Duncraig job design. I think it's wonderful. And Fiona, over at the depot, said that if we want to place an order for these tiles in the next three weeks, we can get them on discount..." I stopped suddenly after walking into my boss’s office.

Okay, he often referred to it as bursting.

And he might or might not have been right about that. But when I had good news, why stand on ceremony? If he had clients, then of course I knocked. When just the two of us were in the office, I didn’t see the point. In fact, I didn’t understand why he kept his door closed at all. He should be able to see into the lobby.

Well, and me, of course. This morning, I wore a fabulous sage-green suit with a pale-pink shirt and a white tie with rainbow unicorns on it. Very subdued and appropriate for the stifling hot weather outside. After having lived just below the arctic circle for most of my life, this humid heat took some getting used to. We’d have hot days up north, of course, but nothing like this.

Knight stood with his arm against the window and his forehead resting on that.

As I gazed past him at the spectacular view, I noted dark clouds moving in from the west, off the Pacific. “A storm?”

He nodded.

“Are you getting a migraine?” I laid my tablet on his desk and hustled around to his drawer. He probably thought I didn’t know about his stash of headache pills, but I knew everything. “These go under your tongue, right?” I located the box and started to take a pill out.

“I’m fine, Orlando.”

He looked anything but fine. His normally rosy skin had a wan tone, and his bright, dark-brown eyes didn’t sparkle. “You just—”

“I said I’m fine.” He met my gaze.

Slowly, I put the unwrapped pill back in the box, closed it up, put it back in the drawer, and closed that as well. I put my hand on my hip. “Okay, well, clearly something’s up. I come in here with the best news—that Fiona can get us a great deal—and you’re all dark and moody.” With his blond hair, he struggled to pull off broody. The dark eyes helped—especially when they went all stormy and sexy. I pictured him as a blond Mr. Rochester. All dramatic. The light hair really detracted from the gothic Jane Eyre fantasy.

 

Links 

Universal link

Amazon

Gabbi Grey

 

USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.

 

Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology (Spotlight and excerpt) ADULT titles

 

Secret Identities

A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology

ADULT titles

Edited by Delilah Devlin

Inside Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, you’ll find stories by some of the hottest romance writers out there for readers who crave mysterious, enigmatic men and women who may not be who they claim to be. Perhaps they’re the new next-door neighbor with a secret mission, an alien from a far-away galaxy looking for his fated mate, or a spy trying to catch a foreign agent. Whatever their secrets, intrigue and passion follow…

Thought You Were the One by Gabbi Grey – He’s in for a surprise twist when he seeks a second chance to win the attention of his handsome, unrequited, high school crush

Secret Garden by A.J. Harris – Hired by werewolf matriarchs to track down a bad-boy photographer, a private investigator discovers a deep connection with her past—and a secret garden of unspoken, sensual pleasures

What That Alien D Do by Ava Cuvay – A cosplayer at a popular Sc-Fi convention stalks her favorite MyFans content creator only to discover his alien “prosthetic enhancements” are real

Masquerade by Brent Archer – After accepting an invitation to a masquerade, a coffeeshop owner finds himself on the run from a mafia hitman with a handsome harlequin

Claimed by her Naga Bodyguard by Cameron Allie – Escaping her dorm for a night of fun with friends takes a turn for a witch-in-training when demons attack, and a mysterious creature comes to her rescue

Mayday by Cindy Tanner – A miscommunication isn’t the end of the world—unless it is the end of the world—and your “ride or die” might just be undead

Matsuri by D.S. Dehel – An American woman searching in Japan for the man haunting her dreams is chased by a wily kitsune into a magical place where she meets a samurai warrior

Most Wanted by Darah Lace – A bounty on the line, a hunter who bedded then betrayed her, and a strip club—she’ll bare it all to get her man

Heartthrob by Delilah Devlin – Determined to recast his image from heartthrob to action hero, an actor hires on incognito with an Oklahoma ranch whose owner is trying to stay out of foreclosure

Sex, Spies, and Subterfuge by Elle James – Scottish UK SAS Agent on an undercover weekend assignment tangles with a beautiful Russian seductress and potential assassin.

Baby, Take My Hand by M. Jayne – After surviving a bullet to the brain, a detective hunting a serial killer is drawn to a mysterious man

Her Heavenly Phantom by Michal Scott – Forced into a marriage of convenience neither wants, a mild-mannered banker with an intriguing secret discovers his reluctant bride has a secret, too

Perfect Stranger by N. J. Walters – An undercover DEA agent must keep his identity secret from the woman he’s falling for, a woman he’s also investigating

In the Dark by Reina Torres – During a blackout, an undercover NSA agent in Hawaii falls hard and fast for the military guy living across the hall with secrets of his own

Add it to Goodreads

Links

 

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Thought You Were the One 

by 

Gabbi Grey

 

He’s in for a surprise twist when he seeks a second chance to win the attention of his handsome, unrequited, high school crush.

Exclusive Excerpt

 

Mercer

The day Gawain Piazzi waltzed back into my life, things definitely looked up.

My high school crush stepped into Fifties Diner just as I was leaving. I halted, nearly knocking Sarabeth off her feet.

Gawain smiled as he caught my stare. “Going somewhere?”

“I was about to go home.”

Sarabeth scooted around me and headed into the main dining area. “Careful, Mercer.”

Whether she was warning me about standing in the middle of the diner, gaping like a landed fish, or she was warning me to protect my vulnerable heart, I couldn’t be certain.

Gawain sized me up—his gaze raking up and down my body.

I did my best not to harden under the scrutiny. I wasn’t a fifteen-year-old boy anymore. I was twenty-eight. A man. The man in my house.

Which left an ache in my chest. I would’ve done anything to have my parents back, but life hadn’t worked out like that. They were gone. I ran the business and supported my three younger siblings.

Life moved on.

 

 

Bio

 

Gabbi Grey

USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.