Daily Archives: March 24, 2023

Giveaway – Thorns At Sunrise by Janeen Ippolito @XpressoTours

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Thorns at Sunrise
(Janeen Ippolito)
Publication date: March 23rd 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

A young queen. Her imaginary friend. A kingdom on the verge of death.

She believes she’s crazy.

Queen Usilea has a secret–and he lives in her mind. Ever since she was six years old, her imaginary friend has been her closest companion, and her arranged marriage has been a great dread. When she learns her betrothed and the royal family have suddenly died, she feels obligated to attend the funeral in the foreign land of Absteph–and perhaps learn more behind their mysterious passing.

He only wants the truth.

Petar endures great pain to protect those he does not remember. His only solace is a shadowy woman who he loves–even though she denies that he exists. When a terrible tragedy occurs in his kingdom, that mysterious woman is his only hope of bringing justice to light. For the cage that imprisons him grows harsher every day, and he is losing the fight.

But there are thorns at sunrise.

Brought together on the barest thread of reality, Usilea and Petar must discover what really happened to the royal family. But Petar’s time is running out. Soon not even a Mender like Usilea will be able to save him.

This YA romance features a gender-swapped Sleeping Beauty in an original fantasy world on the brink of doom.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

Her imaginary friend was playing a new trick on her. This time, she would discern his meaning.

Usilea set down the quill on the paper, frowning at the words mocking her from the page. She pressed her lips together in thought. Thorns at sunrise? What could it mean? What was her mind trying to tell her?

“What do you think of my riddle?”

As usual, the voice didn’t come from within her mind directly, but somewhere outside. Yet were she to glance around, all she would perceive is the vaguest sensation of shadow and soul in the periphery of her vision.

And so, she refrained from looking. Instead, she focused on the words she had written, words he had spoken into her mind at some point in the night.

I think … you’re afraid.

“And what am I afraid of, goldenbird?” Amusement teased the edges of his words. She had known her friend was a male since the first time they had met, whenever that had been. Sometime after her sixth year. “Tell me, you who know me so well.”

I know you as well as I might any figment of my imagination.

“Likewise. That is not the answer to the riddle.”

A sigh escaped her. Usilea leaned back in her cushioned chair and rubbed the tense area around her eyes. You are afraid of being lost. You are afraid of being found. You are afraid of darkness, and you are afraid of light.

No answer came from the voice in her mind. A faint smile curved her lips. He only withdrew like that when she was right and he was bewildered. She had learned that pattern over the years as they had conversed. He liked keeping his mysteries, while he equally delighted in unveiling the mysteries of others. A curious behavior for her imaginary friend.

A strange, stabbing sensation pierced through her musing.

What did it imply about her that her closest friend wasn’t real?


Author Bio:

Janeen Ippolito writes about misfits who defy expectations, whether in fairy tale, steampunk fantasy, urban fantasy, humorous paranormal romance, or poetry. She also spreads wordtastic joy in her work as a fearless book strategist, nonfiction author, and coach. In her spare time, she swordfights and posts cute animal memes.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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Giveaway – All Signs Lead To Lucy by Julieann Dove @caffeinatedpr

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Join me in celebrating the release of ALL SIGNS LEAD TO LUCY by Julieann Dove. This women’s fiction romance shares the story of Lucy Fister, who discovers that in the game of love, fate always wins. Check out an excerpt, download your copy and enter the fabulous giveaway.

All Signs Lead to Lucy



Amazon | Goodreads

After living a life of failed, predictable relationships, Lucy Fister took the advice of the psychic who charged sixty dollars for ten minutes: start seeking men who are the absolute opposite of who she dated. It made sense, but paying for the obvious meant it might work.

Tyler Tolliver met that criteria. He was an out of work actor who’d invented the love language ‘have a good time.’ They had a whirlwind relationship and after four months, he proposed, holding a bread tie for a ring, and giving the argument that the lease on his loft was expiring.

One year into her marriage with Tyler, and Lucy was tired of playing Xbox, clubbing, and watching movies before reading the book. She missed conversations deeper than picking where they’d eat, and being in bed before midnight. When her estranged best friend, Vanessa asked her and Tyler to go on a week-long trip to the Caribbean with her new fiancé, Martin VanLeer, Lucy accepted the invitation.

Fate scatters people and plans like a ceiling fan scatters loose papers. On the eve of the trip, Tyler and Vanessa respectively were called to fulfill work related tasks. The new plan was for them to meet up with Lucy and Vanessa’s fiancé in a couple of days.

One week is all it took for Martin and Lucy to fall in love. And for Lucy to realize that psychic was wrong—she didn’t need to find someone opposite of all the guys she dated, she needed to be warned of the millionaire engaged to her best friend. Because if they acted on this attraction, it meant destroying a marriage, a wedding, and a lifelong friendship.



Amazon 

Read an Excerpt

“The captain has been tracking a tropical storm off the coast in the path we are heading.”

My empty stomach dropped. “That doesn’t sound good.” I wanted to want this boat trip, but truth be told, it was Tyler who talked it up more than me. And of course there was us salvaging our torn relationship goal. But I’ve seen Six Days, Seven Nights. And Titanic. And Cast Away. I’m not new here. And now a storm?

Vanessa must’ve felt my heat radiating from where she sat. “Come on, Lucy. It’s fine.” She looked at Martin. “Right, honey? I mean, storms move, right?”

“Right. And that’s what we’re banking on. But we’re going to wait a day to leave. We’ll pull out at lunch tomorrow. That will ensure us that it’s moved out of the way.”

The waitress placed our drinks on the table and took off again.

What, no bread? I punctured my straw through the paper and dipped it in the ice. Ah, refreshing. Vanessa squeezed the lime wedge in her martini and sipped from the edge. Was she impervious to alcohol? Did she have an iron liver?

“How bad is it? I mean, tropical isn’t code for cyclone, right? I mean, hurricanes are still a thing, aren’t they? Don’t they typically name them after women? Maybe this one had a nice, un-destructive name like Eleanor. Or Melanie.” I needed assurance this was raindrops and a breeze, not a rip-off-the-side-of-the-boat and you’re on 60 Minutes thing, being watched by helicopter above while the sharks circled.

His mouth frowned. “I think he said winds of seventy miles per hour.”

My chest heaved. “This is a bad sign. Don’t racecars travel at 100 miles per hour? And they’re hard to watch. That’s only thirty more miles. Per hour.”

“Actually, I believe they travel much faster,” he replied.

Did it matter? Seventy certainly sounded more frightening than a graceful twenty-five. I took another drink. “First my luggage, then it appears Tyler has dropped off the edge of the earth, and now a tropical storm?” I clicked my nail on the tabletop. “No, this is definitely a sign.”

Copyright © 2023 by Julieann Dove

About the Author


Julieann Dove takes great pleasure in writing about love and all the mess that goes along with it. How else does happily ever after become realized, if not for some type of hardship and journey? When she’s not writing, she loves playing with fabric at her sewing machine, baking new recipes, and playing in the dirt, trying to get things to grow. Julieann loves old movies, and never tires of listening to music—it’s where she finds most of her inspiration for her books.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter | BookBub

Enter Giveaway

Enter to win a twenty-five dollar Amazon gift card! Open to anyone who can accept US eCard. Ends March 31, 2023.

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  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway – Queen’s Catacombs by Jordan H Bartlett @ireadbooktours

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Book Details:

Book Title:  Queen’s Catacombs (The Frean Chronicles #2) by Jordan H. Bartlett
Category:  YA Fiction (Ages 13-17),  416 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy 
Publisher:  CamCat Books 
Release date:  Mar 2023
Content Rating: PG. Very clean, but there is some brief violence.


Book Description:

Winning the crown was only the beginning.

Jacs, now the rightful Queen of Frea, seems to be Queen in title alone. She scrambles to learn the customs and traditions of a Realm she had only read about in books. The Council of Four have her firmly under their thumb, and their ideas for the Queendom are oppressive and outdated. Their knowledge of her mother and Master Leschi’s whereabouts is the only leverage they need to make the new Queen dance to their tune.

Jacs is determined to find those who were taken from her and do what’s right for her Queendom. But in her search for answers, Jacs uncovers a much darker truth from the Queendom’s past that will forever change its future.