Thursday, December 31, 2020

The Salty Rose by Beth M. Caruso (Spotlight, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT


 

 

The Salty Rose

by

 Beth M. Caruso

 

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GENRE: Historical Fiction 

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BLURB:

 

Marie du Trieux, a tavern keeper with a salty tongue and a heart of gold, struggles as she navigates love and loss, Native wars, and possible banishment by authorities in the unruly trading port of New Amsterdam, an outpost of the Dutch West India Company.

 

In New England, John Tinker, merchant and assistant to a renowned alchemist and eventual leader of Connecticut Colony, must come to terms with a family tragedy of dark proportions, all the while supporting his mentor’s secret quest to find the Northwest Passage, a desired trading route purported to mystically unite the East with the West.

 

As the lives of Marie and John become intertwined through friendship and trade, a search for justice of a Dutch woman accused of witchcraft in Hartford puts them on a collision course affecting not only their own destinies but also the fate of colonial America.

 

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Exclusive Excerpt

 

Chapter 6

 

One day, a much older man came to visit Papa at his little farm. His name was Cornelis Volckertsen Viele. I had known him since he first came to New Amsterdam. He had been friends with Papa from the early days of Manhattan. Now a widower, he started hanging around our farm and seemed more interested in visiting me than Papa.

 

When he saw me again after many months, he commented about my condition.

 

“Marie, I see you have gotten into a little trouble since you became a woman. Ah, but the baby, she is a beautiful child,” he added and winked, touching my shoulder with a familiar pat.

 

I sulked and pulled back.

 

“Now, now, Marie. Don’t take me seriously. I heard what happened. The whole town knows of your escapade with that knave of a young man, Pieter. Count your blessings that it did not work out. Had I been your father though, I don’t think young Pieter would be as unscathed. It will be fine, my dear. You mustn’t worry. Your future can still be bright,“ he smiled.

 

And so, that was how Cornelis, a man thirty-three years my senior, inserted himself into my life. Many years a trader and the owner of the great ship Fortune, he helped me to form a thousand paintings in my mind of his adventures in faraway places.

 

From time to time, he would say. “Marie, I am a solitary widower. What I long for more than anything are the kindnesses and the companionship of a warm-hearted young woman,” he pleaded.

 

“Cornelis, I will sit with you as long as you tell me your stories, your splendid stories of places I can only imagine,” I’d reply. I was at ease with him but in no rush to be the bride of an old trader. His patience, his kind- heartedness, and the fact that he was half French made our relationship a comfortable one.

 

 

 Buy links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Award-winning author, Beth M. Caruso, is passionate to discover and convey important and interesting stories of women from earlier times. She recently won the literary prize in Genre Fiction (2020) from IPNE (Independent Publishers of New England) for her most recent novel The Salty Rose: Alchemists, Witches & A Tapper In New Amsterdam (2019). The Salty Rose is Beth’s second historical novel and explores alchemy in early colonial times, an insider’s view of the takeover of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, and the Hartford Witch Panic with information she gathered from previous and ongoing research. Beth’s first historical novel is One of Windsor: The Untold Story of America’s First Witch Hanging (2015), a novel that tells the tale of Alice ‘Alse’ Young and the beginnings of the colonial witch trials. She based the story on original research she did by exploring early primary sources such as early Windsor land records, vital statistics, and other documents. She lives in Connecticut with her family. Beth kayaks and gardens to unwind.

 

Website

 

Email

 

Twitter

 

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GIVEAWAY

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The tour dates can be found here

 

 

 

Monday, December 28, 2020

The Foes Between Us by J. M. Robison (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT




The Foes Between Us

by

J. M. Robison

 

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GENRE: Historical Fantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

In 1842 England, Brynn suspects Reuben's "natural death" had actually been murder because she starts finding cryptic clues and maps Reuben left behind indicating she needs to find Zadicayn, an imprisoned young man claiming to be a wizard from the Middle Ages.

 

When Brynn frees Zadicayn, her once peaceful life now becomes dangerous when Zadicayn enlists her help to find his magical amulet, but it's in the possession of Reuben's murderers, and they'll kill anyone, even Brynn, to keep it.

 

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EXCERPT

 



Taking several minutes to convince myself that the only way is forward, I stand again and insert the three rubies into the matching three holes in the floor. Is that my heart beating, or some noise coming off the walls?


Hard-knocking clicks begin deep below my feet, like giant metallic cogs revolving under the floor. A grating noise accompanies, the sound moving up to the very stone I’m standing on.


I scramble back, jumping on the altar as if I’ll be safe there if the floor falls away.


The sound stops.


My heart shakes my ribcage like a prisoner wanting out of his cell. Nothing has changed in the chamber, but I don’t move. I hear another sound. A thumping. It’s coming from beneath the floor so quietly, I only hear it because I’m holding my breath.

 

Fear prickles through my body, but I can’t convince myself to run. Transfixed, I stare, even though I’m aware that whatever is coming up might do me harm. I draw Reuben’s bone-handled knife, planting my feet, determined to know what I came here for, what purpose stealing the two pieces of the keys had, whether Reuben’s death was worth it, and whether I’ve just released the monster Cuthbert warned me about.

 

The thumping rises higher and higher.


I grit my teeth, clench my knife. Reflexes on fire, I’m tensed and ready to spring, ready to run, ready to fight.


The sound stops. The trapdoor flies open with a crash on the floor.


A human arm reaches out.

 


 

 

BUY LINKS

 

Kindle

Nook

iBooks

Kobo

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 


J.M. Robison is a fantasy author who chronicles the events which drive heroes to their knees, dethrone kings, and unhinge history to bring magic back to life. Someday she'll pack the wagon and roam the mountains in search of dragons. She dares to believe in magic. Do you?

 

 

 

 

SOCIALS

 

Facebook: @RobisonAuthor

Twitter: @JMRobison

Website

 

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GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The tour dates can be found here
 

 

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My review:

 

4 out of 5 stars

 

The Foes Between Us by J.M Robison is the first book in ‘The Last Wizard’ series and follows Zadicayn and Brynnella as they navigate the challenges of determining how magic will fit into a society that seeks to eradicate it.

 

 

This fantasy story is imaginative and intriguing, but one should be aware that it is definitely the first book in a series, therefore there are a lot of dangling threads and a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. The author does a great job of establishing a complex world seen through the eyes of two very different characters, and I formed a connection to each of them very quickly and winced at their respective experiences. The alternate version of historical British society is fascinating, especially with respect to the chastity-enforcing clothing (shudder), as is the explanation of the way magic works.

 

It would be nice to have a little more depth with respect to some of the secondary characters, but hopefully that will evolve as the series continues. I tend to be frustrated by cliffhangers, so I hope the next book in the series will be released relatively quickly, as I am anxious to see how matters unfold. This book should appeal to fans who like fantasy stories featuring quests, mysterious prisoners, magical creatures, and those who can manipulate magic.

 

 

A copy of this title was provided for review

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Happy Holidays to everyone!

 

 

Image courtesy of geralt on Pixabay




Happy Holidays to everyone!




Here's hoping that 2021 will be much better than this year has been and that it will be filled with fellowship, peace, health, and good times for everyone!


 

 

 


 

 

Courtesy of Larisa-K on Pixabay

 

 


Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Third Party by Danika Bloom (Spotlight, excerpt, and review) ADULT title

 


 Third Party 

Mixed Six-Pack Series, Book 3

ADULT title

by

Danika Bloom

 

 

BLURB

Turns out that old saying is true, that money can’t buy happiness. But it sure can ruin it.

Josh Rhodes was the love of my life. We were all set to do the ‘til death do us part’ thing. 
But when the video game he’d been working on for years sold for millions, I realized I wasn't prepared for the 'for richer or poorer' part. 

All I needed to do was prove that I could still support myself—if I had to. 
All Josh wanted to do was support me—because he finally could. 

But I’d seen what happens when a woman is financially dependent on a man. She gets stuck. Stays when she should leave. 

So I took a well-paid temp job overseas. Just for four months. 
When it became a year, Josh told me not to bother coming home. 

So I didn’t. Until I did. Still broke and still madly in love with Josh Rhodes.

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Third Party is a full-length, steamy, second chance, holiday romance. 

 

This is book 3 in the Mixed Six-Pack series. Each book features a different brother and can be read as a standalone. Never any cheating and HEA is guaranteed!

 

 

If you like stories with emotional depth, like books by Nicole Snow and Lauren Landish, you’ll love Third PartyIf you love stories that include rescue dogs, grandmother matchmakers, shower sex, and home for the holidays romance set in Vancouver, Canada, this book was written for you.






 
 
EXCERPT




My gaze was drawn back to the park. Ranger was sitting in front of Paige, blocking my view of her. Had she seen me? If she had, could she tell it was me from that distance, at dusk? Nope, I decided and started to walk away.
 

“Hey! You. Dog napper. Stop!”
 

I stopped and would have laughed if I hadn’t felt so nauseous. There was no escaping now. I plunged my hands deep into my coat pockets and watched as Paige marched toward me, Ranger now on a leash at her side. She was looking at the ground, shaking her head. I could imagine the words she was mumbling to herself.
 

About ten yards from me, she finally looked up and was already yelling, “What the hell?” before our eyes met. As soon as she saw it was me, her feet stopped moving but Ranger’s didn’t. He pulled her off balance and she hit the ground again. Hard.
 

I moved toward her without thinking. You see someone fall and you help them up, right? Instead of taking my hand she rolled away from me and pushed onto her knees.
 

I looked from Paige to Ranger, back to Paige.
 

“What… what are you doing here?” I asked. “When did you get back?”
 

It’s not that I believed she’d never come back—I always expected she would since Vancouver was her home—but for some reason I thought that I’d be the first to know. It made no sense but then neither did the depth of longing I felt to help her up and wrap her in a long, hard hug. Because I was over her. I’d pulled the Band-Aid off a year ago. The wound was healed. The scar tissue was strong. I made a fist and stared at my knuckles to prove it.
 

“Nana,” Paige said, “she kind of insisted I come over today.”
 

“How long have you been home?”
 

Paige got herself onto her feet and stood more than a yard away. It was hard to tell in the light of street lamps, but she seemed to look tired.
 

“Four days.”
 

“You didn’t call.” God, could I sound any more pathetic?
 

Her look said more than words ever could have—raised eyebrows, chin tilted down, pursed lips.
 

“Why did you just try to take Ranger?” She put her hands on her hips and scowled.
 

“He was standing alone. I didn’t know he was with you.”
 

She sighed. “Nana said she didn’t have plans this afternoon. That’s why I agreed to come over. I didn’t know you’d be coming, too. Sorry. You want to take him back?” She took a step toward me with her arm outstretched, leash-in-hand.
 

I shook my head. “She called me a couple of hours ago and said she needed help with her laundry. Right away. She’s never asked for help with that before. I thought, you know with her foot, and she’s getting old, so… here I am. And here you are.”
 

Paige’s scowl softened, “She set us up.”
 

“Look, I don’t have to go over. You finish your visit and we’ll let Nana fold her own sneaky granny pants.”
 

Paige smiled and dropped her arm. We stood close enough to touch, but didn’t. I could not figure out what I was feeling since my body was tingling with a need to hold but my brain was yelling, “Run away!”


Amazon link

 
 
 

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AUTHOR BIO & LINKS
 


I believe in love at first sight, happily ever after, and that the sweetest sex is of the make-up variety. My fifteen-year marriage gives me plenty of “I love you” inspiration for the funny, sometimes steamy, tear-jerky scenes I write to bring my heroes and heroines back together.


Although I was born, raised and live in Canada, I spell like an American, use British colloquialisms and swear in French.
 
 
 
 
 
LINKS
 


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My review:


4 out of 5 stars

 

Third Party by Danika Bloom is part of ‘The Mixed Six-Pack’ series, and features Josh, the video game developer, who has fought for the past two years to get over his first and only love, Paige. Her temporary return for the holidays evokes feelings he’d thought long-dead, as well as rekindles the conflict that forced them apart in the first place.

 

This adult contemporary romance is a lovely second-chance tale, and it does a great job of connecting to the series while standing alone with no problem. I love to get glimpses of characters from previous stories, so it was wonderful that the previous two couples made cameo appearances. The secondary characters give depth to the story and Nana provides some lighthearted moments as she meddles to bring these two stubborn people to their senses. I love the idea of the video game and appreciated the multi-level conflicts that are addressed throughout the story. One of the things I like most about the books in this series is the realism that acknowledges that life can be messy and complicated and sometimes awkward. I look forward to reading about the other brothers in this series.




 

Other books in the series:

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Stealing Jia by Gail Koger (VBB, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT ADULT



Stealing Jia

by

Gail Koger



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jia grew up in an orphanage that turned children into master thieves and gave the school of hard knocks a run for its money. Jia’s psychic talents have kept her alive, but not out of trouble. While searching for her adopted brother, Jia finds herself on a galactic adventure with a horde of mischievous extra-terrestrial kids she’s determined to protect. Adding to the chaos is an Askole Battle Commander who claims she is his mate. How is that even possible? They’ve never met.

Trayon, the Battle Commander, is a deadly Askole. Huge. Battle hardened muscles. A regular warrior’s nightmare with black, armor-plated skin and tentacles. Who knew the scary guy was such an excellent kisser and had the heart of a romantic? All Jia ever wanted was a family of her own. Maybe an alien family wouldn’t be so bad.

To win Jia, Trayon must prove he loves her and she’s not some female the Coletti Overlord just sold him. But first, he has to keep the trouble magnet alive long enough to convince her.


 

Excerpt

I frowned as I stepped into the restaurant. The only light came from the numerous candles decorating the tables. The darkness and the access to the catacombs was a little too handy. Was Giovanni planning another kidnapping? If so, he had picked the wrong girl to mess with.

Like a wraith, Giovanni appeared out of the darkness. His white silk suit could double as a lab coat. “My darling, I am so glad you came.” With a bow, he handed me a single red rose.

“How could I resist someone who loves to Tango as much as I do.” I took the rose gingerly. A funny chemical smell emanated from the flower. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a simple gift from my garden. The unique fragrance stimulates the senses. Take a deep breath and you will see what I mean,” Giovanni said, watching me carefully.

The chemicals tickled my nose. Ker-choo! Ker-choo! Ker-choo! Ker-choo!

Giovanni recoiled in disgust as I sneezed repeatedly in his face.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry. I’m allergic to flowers.”

His wiped his face off and gritted, “It matters not.”

“Truly?” I snagged the red silk hankie from his lapel pocket and blew my nose vigorously. The expression on his face when I handed it back to him was priceless.

Giovanni dropped the offending hankie on a passing waiter’s tray.

I stuffed the stinky rose into his lapel pocket. “Much better.” 



 Buy link:

Amazon

 

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About the Author: 

 

 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 of what a real emergency is. Take this for an 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.

Goodreads
Twitter
Facebook
Amazon Author Page

Website

 

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GIVEAWAY

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The tour dates can be found here

 


 

Monday, December 14, 2020

From My Balcony to Yours by Nino Gugunishvili (VBT, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

 

It is my pleasure to share a guest post by author, Nino Gugunishvili, who shares the answer to my question...





ELF:  What is your writing process?

 

 



NG:   My writing process is hectic, chaotic, and fun, well, mostly! I would want to say it’s structured and disciplined, but that would be a big, fat lie. The problem is, I’m very easily distracted. If I could turn my phone off and shut the whole world out, I’d probably write more productively, but that, let’s face it, rarely happens. Usually, I start from scratch and just write everything down. That’s one thing I’ve learned along the way. It’s better to write something no matter how bad, rather than procrastinate. Sounds easy? No, not at all, not a tiny bit.

The trick is, writing can be delightful, liberating, therapeutic, but never easy, at least for me. And I wholeheartedly envy the authors who’re absolutely sure how to do it, who have all the details of the story, the plot twists, and characters in their heads before they start to write. My head, it seems, functions in a different way. My mind, it turns out, hates outlines. So, what I do is I sit down, turn my laptop on, and just write down whatever comes first, and if I’m writing fiction, I start with a character. That’s when I’m getting scrupulous. That’s when I’m getting hooked up and absorbed in the story. I need to know everything about these characters, their flaws, habits, manners, hobbies, physical looks, and voice. It’s like watching a movie or playing a TV show in your head and putting its episodes down to paper.

With From My Balcony to Yours, however, it felt different. For me, this book is much more personal than anything I’ve written before. It’s part memoir, part diary, a row account of what was happening around me, near me, or within me. Do we change? How do we cope? What do we feel when we’re unable to control things around us? That’s what I attempted to write about. This time I didn’t have to invent a character, a plot, or a setting; it was happening right in front of me; I was living it, and I just tried to tell, to document the real story.


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From My Balcony to Yours

by 

Nino Gugunishvili

 

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GENRE:   Memoir Short Stories

 

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BLURB:

 

Canceled Plans? –Check!
Panic and Fear? – Check!
Self- Isolation? – Check!
Missing  Friends? – Check!
Gaining Weight? – Check!
Binge-Watching TV? – Check!
Lengthy Self- diggings? – Check!
Hope? – Check, check, check!
Who would have thought that  Global Pandemic, Self-Isolation,  Cluster, and a Lockdown were to become the trendiest words in 2020? Who would have imagined the world would freeze and people would stay home shattered with fear, panic, uncertainty towards their future?
How do we adjust to this changing reality, when none of our questions have answers when plans turn upside down, things get totally out of control?


In her new book:From My Balcony to Yours, author Nino Gugunishvili shares her personal account during the first several months of the COVID -19 global pandemic in the form of short stories and observations.


Nino Gugunishvili’s writing biography includes a collection of short stories You Will Have a Black Labrador and a women’s fiction novel Friday Evening, Eight O’Clock.


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EXCERPT

  

Manicure, Hair and Oh, La, La …

 

I think it was my aunt that gave me an electric manicure kit on my birthday many years ago. So many years ago, in fact, that I had no idea how to use it, stored it into a cupboard, and, after not much of thinking, gifted it away. Oh, what an idiot I was! But how was I supposed to know that in less than twenty-five years from there, we would find ourselves living in reality, where a  simple manicure and pedicure routine would become hard to obtain luxury? That whether to invite or not to invite manicure specialists to our home would almost equal an act of heroism?

 

The same goes for hair. Goodbye highlights, “Chatouche,” asymmetric bobs, and extensions! And have you stocked up your depilatory creams and waxing essentials? Lucky you, if yes, is the answer.

 

My very recent fear is that in two more weeks of self-isolation, I’ll resemble a Lumberjack. My body will be toned due to excessive exercising, the cellulite will be gone, my legs will get muscular and maybe even longer, but! I’ll have a beard! Well, as the saying goes, nobody’s perfect!

 

Clearly, instead of worrying about my lack of cooking skills, I should have watched the youtube brow trimming tutorials more.  Instead of regretting not learning riding a bicycle, I should have honed applying manicure to my right hand with my left hand.

  

Amazon link

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 


 

 

Nino Gugunishvili is the author of the two collections of short stories, “From My Balcony to Yours” and “You Will Have a Black Labrador.”  Her women’s fiction novel “ Friday Evening, Eight O’Clock” was published in 2015.  Nino lives in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her educational and professional background includes film, television, and journalism. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Links:

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Goodreadsi


 

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GIVEAWAY



a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The tour dates can be found here