Monthly Archives: April 2023

Giveaway – Witches and Walk Ins by Tammy Tyree @XpressoTours

Posted on by

Witches & Walk-In’s
Tammy Tyree
(A Castle Point Witch Series, #1)
Publication date: April 28th 2023
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

Betty Burke has just awakened from a long coma, but there’s a problem; she’s not Betty.

Whip-smart Hypnotherapist Alexandra Heale leads a double life. A natural-born witch, she lives under a death sentence, with a cauldron full of secrets.

When she tries to help Betty; a woman possessed by a traumatized spirit, Alex finds herself under attack – and in danger of being exposed.

Against her better judgment, she enlists the help of Deputy Sheriff Blake Sheraton, a man she’s sworn to hate, with dark secrets of his own – if only he could keep her secrets and ignore his pledge to uphold an evil law.

The paranormal world of demons & spirits is about to descend on peaceful Castle Point, and only one witch can stop the unthinkable.

Even if it costs her life.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Betty

The cool air tickled my arms. Tiny hairs rose with the gooseflesh. Small mounds of pimpled thermometers popped up over my arms, chest, and neck.

I heard a beeping sound, faint at first, then slowly it became louder and closer. The scent of cleanser assaulted me, harsh and chemical.

My eyes stayed firmly shut as if glued at the seam, or tiny weights held the lids down. My breath came in rhythmic, even bursts.

What was that in my mouth? My tongue wiggled and slammed against the hard plastic. I couldn’t taste anything other than stale, rotting breath, but I could tell something was firmly lodged in my mouth.

What the hell was it?

Why was it there?

I forced my eyes open a fraction. Moonlight filtered through the splintered cracks of my heavy lids and shattered against my eyes. Too bright! I closed them again, only long enough for my tongue to push up against the plastic in my mouth.

I could feel it now, not just in my mouth, but going down my throat. A swell of panic ran from my toes to my nose. I wanted to gag.

Spurred by the beeping beside me, louder now, my eyes flew open. I tried to sit up. I couldn’t move. I laid back against the softness of what must be a bed and peered around the room.

A hospital room.

I felt a heaviness as if underwater, the weight of my arms, legs, and chest making it difficult to see or breathe. The scent of cleanser pierced the back of my nose as I tried to breathe.

What was that thing in my mouth and down my throat? I forced my eyes to open wider, but they burned and felt gritty like someone had sprinkled fine sand under the lids. I blinked several times to clear the grit. My eyes took a while to adjust.

I looked down and saw a tube coming out of my mouth. My heart rate sped up. The beeping beside me kept pace as it beat faster and faster.

Why did I wake up in a hospital?

Was I in an accident?

The beeping sped up again, fast enough to send a wail of high-pitched signals through my room and into the adjoining hallway.

The large door burst open, startling me, which made the beeping speed up yet again. A nurse with short dark hair, dark-circled eyes, wearing pink scrubs with multicolored cartoon puppies on her shirt rushed in.

“Betty! Oh my god, she’s awake!” she practically screamed, to whom I couldn’t imagine. I assumed she was talking about me, however, as she leaped to the beeping machine and pressed a button to stop the noise.

Much better.

But… Betty?

Was that my name?


Author Bio:

Demons, witches and ghosts – oh my!

Tammy (she/her) writes about what she knows – ghosts, hauntings, entities, witches, demonology and the paranormal!

A Clinical Hypnotherapist, Tammy infuses; tales from her actual case files of demonic possession and entity attachment with her knowledge of ancient demonic lore and witchcraft into artfully woven fiction and memoir.

Her upcoming ‘Castle Point Witch Series’ is due to release in early 2023 and promises to be full of paranormal goodness.

Her memoir ‘Dead Men Still Snore’ is a page-turning, award-winning true story of love, loss and channelling her husband’s messages from the other side.

Visit https://tammytyree.com/ for more info about Tammy, her work and to receive updates for future books!

Happy reading!

Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

  • 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 – We Are All Villains Here by Quinn Blackbird @XpressoTours

Posted on by

We Are All Villains Here
Quinn Blackbird
Publication date: July 1st 2023
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance, Thriller

From the author of the DARK FAE comes this *dark slasher romance* in vein of our beloved 90s Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Sailors Bay has a bit of a problem… a serial killer problem.

What should be a sleepy old fishing town—a place so silent and forgotten that it slips off the map—has murder in the air and secrets poisoning the heart of the town.
Here… no one is safe when a masked killer starts terrorising the town.

Blood Hood is coming after them: Billie—from the wrong side of the tracks—and her friends… The ones who have a deadly secret of their own, one they kept for seven years… a dark secret that Blood Hood seems to know all about.

One by one, Blood Hood hunts them down to avenge the murder that started it all.

And Billie finds herself running from Blood Hood as well as the love of her life and ex, Dalton.

With slashed-up bodies piling up all over, Billie flees more than a masked killer… Dalton hunts her to every corner of Sailors Bay, intent on stealing her back… whether she wants him to or not.

Love is meant to flourish. Poison corrupts.
Poison is all I know.

We are all villains here….

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Preston’s lashes lower over coal-black eyes. His pink upper lip curls as he rounds on her.

Billie just watches him.

Her eyes are dead… or they should be, because that’s how she feels inside… but then she feels the warmth of a tear run down her cheek.

She doesn’t so much as swat at the tear.

It’s too late to try and hide it. He’s seen it—his gaze shifts to her cheek for a mere millisecond before he comes to a stop in front of her.

Her back presses a tad harder against the refrigerator as his hand presses against it, right next to her head. “So,” he repeats, towering over her, “why don’t you start telling me the truth, Billie? You owe me that.”

Billie’s lips twitch with a smirk.

Liquid courage? Pushing him away? She doesn’t know anymore.

And yet—

She smirks. “I don’t owe you shit, you rich entitled—”

It happens too fast for her to see it coming. But in a blink, his hand pulls back from the fridge, clenches into a fist, then smashes right into that same spot, right next her head.

Billie flinches. “What the fu—”

“You owe me everything!” he shouts down at her.

In this moment, his want to break her, it was more than a passing craving, a fleeting urge. Rather it was surging up inside of him, blood boiling and crashing like furious waves, an all-consuming need.

She could read it in his blazing eyes.

He adds darkly, “And I owe you everything I fucking have, you selfish bitch, you good-for-nothing alky.”

Her eyes widen, turn wild with the same rage that snarls her lips. If he braces himself for rotten, rancid words aimed his way, then he braces himself wrong.

Billie jerks her head forward—not with a headbutt, with a spit.

She spits right at him, and the gloss of it catches his cheek.

Preston’s lashes lower, his eyes shut.

He’s still for a beat, a statue with a fist pushing into the refrigerator door, his other hand fisted at his side, and a wad of spit on his cheek.

He lifts his hand.

Slowly, he opens his eyes—and looks right into her fucking soul with the kinda promises, the kinda threats that only the devil can make.

This time, she can’t fight her tremble. It runs up her spine, but she lifts her chin and meets his stare dead-on.

Bring it.

Instead, he touches his fingers to the spit… He wipes it away in one swift move, then brings it to his mouth.

Their eyes stay locked.

Her jaw tenses—

And he licks his fingertips.

Billie and Preston have had fights before. Some real nasty shit. Wouldn’t be a lie to say she’s hit him with a vase or two before. Or tried to clip him with her truck.

Some real nasty shit, she’s never denied that.

But never… never before… has she been afraid of him.

Not like this.

She swallows, hard. A lump in her throat, swelling. Tears in her defiant eyes, flowing.

Billie flinches with a yelp—

Preston snatches her by the neck.

With one hand, he pins her against the refrigerator. His body shoves against hers, his other hand grabbing the meat of her thigh, hard. Her skin screams in protest, but before she can utter a word, he’s hiking her leg over his hip and crashing his mouth down on hers.

Her shout is muffled, almost silenced, by his mouth. A kiss that tastes of her tears and his rage—of their poison.

A poison she’s so fucking addicted to.

Teeth aching, and the back of her head pulsating against the hard, dented refrigerator, Billie hits out at him. One hard fist to the side of his head.

It doesn’t stop him. He only shoves her up the cold door, off the floor, and his mouth twists against hers.

“I fucking hate you,” he growls and—hand abandoning her thigh—reaches down for her pajama shorts. With a single tug, he rips them apart, between her legs, right at her core.

And jolts of electricity fire through her.

Billie gasps something breathy into his mouth.

Tell me again.

Tell me how much you hate me.

Tell me anything but love.

Author Bio:

Quinn Blackbird is a dog-mum, full-time cog in the machine and full-time book lover.

When not writing and daydreaming, Quinn is snuggling on the couch with her three doggos.

If her love of literature could be matched, it would be by film.

Ask her about her list of underrated films… you’ll be there all night.

She has always been fascinated by the anti-hero, and often found herself rooting for the villains (their speeches are making a lot of sense, don’t lie).

Creepy dreams (nightmares at times) are the cause of a lot of Blackbird’s books – thanks to overactive imaginations!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

—

  • 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!

Review – Just Mr Love by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff @MimiJeanRomance

Posted on by

Amazon / Goodreads /

MY REVIEW

“I have imagined us having sex more times than I can count,” Just check out my ceiling. “But we can’t see each other again after today and having sex’ll it harder to let go.”

I have enjoyed Mimi Jean Pamfiloff’s humorous writing style and am curious to see what happens to Huff in Just Mr Love. He was a wimp, a nerd, but after an accident, he developed super powers. Of course, something given, something taken. I’ll leave it to you to find out for yourself. But, just to entice you a bit more, here are my thoughts.

I didn’t get as involved in Just Mr Love as I did in Mr Ultra Mega Love. Can’t say exactly why, but I still enjoyed the story. Not only is Huff trying to just survive, he has to deal with betrayal, danger, and loneliness. He makes some risky moves with the help of a new friend. Could she end up being a love interest? She is willing to put her life on the line forhim, and for a new start for herself. It will be interesting to see what develops.

I hate cliffhangers, but I love Mimi Jean’s writing, so that’s okay. Sometimes things happen.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Just Mr Love by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOOREADS BLURB

( Reading book 1 isn’t required, but this is a series. Fun, new drama in every book!)

From New York Times bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a semi-raunchy Rom-Com with a dash of the impossible and a whole lotta dirty language, Just Mr. Love.

Is he a love machine or a weapon of mass destruction?

My name is Huff, and I used to be a wimpy nerd, but after an unfortunate event, I now have the strength of a hundred men along with other interesting abilities. Even my, eh-hem, man part is pretty special—a recent discovery. “I can’t believe it can do that!”

No one knows exactly how this happened, but now I have enemies. Some want to reverse engineer me, and others want me dead.

The only thing keeping me from losing my sh*t is River, the girl I’ve loved since the second grade. I’d do anything for her. Anything.

But every time we try to move out of the friend zone, something gets in the way. This time, that something is me.

I just might be deadly in bed.

  • 248 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published April 14, 2023
  • Published April 14, 2023 by Paper & Silver, Inc.
  • Language: English

ABOUT MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF

MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams.

Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.

She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook Page / Facebook Group / Instagram / Amazon / Bookbub / TikTok / Pinterestagram

MY MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF REVIEWS

MY M O MACK REVIEWS

  • 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 – Bookworm by Cookie O’Gorman @xpressotours @CookieOwrites

Posted on by

Bookworm
Cookie O’Gorman
Publication date: April 20th 2023
Genres: Romance, Young Adult

Bookworm (buk-werm): Someone who loves books, reading, and/or studying. For reference, see Charlotte Kent.

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Kent likes happy endings. Not that she’s looking for one herself. Awkward, never been kissed, and bookish to the core, Lottie would rather read about love than experience it.

But she enjoys helping others find their HEA in books.

Lottie loves working at the library…even if it means running into Bo Stryker.

Broody, athletic, and unfairly attractive when he frowns, Bo works at the flower shop across the street. Lottie is about to get rejected…when surprisingly, Bo steps in, pretends to be her boyfriend, and steals her first kiss.

One viral video later, everyone thinks they’re together.

Bo wants to keep pretending. Lottie wants to make amends—long story short: she was on a ladder; he startled her; the book slap was an accident.

A fake relationship may be the solution. But as they grow closer, Lottie can’t help falling for Bo—which is a disaster because grumpy sunshine only works in fiction…right?

This book features two opposites with undeniable chemistry, one lovable librarian, so many stolen kisses and answers the question:

What happens when a nerd falls for the grump-next-door?

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Rolling my eyes, I reached over, gently grasped his forearm and brought it closer.

“What are you doing?”

“Relax,” I said, trying not to laugh at the alarm I heard in his voice. “If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done it by now.”

“Says the girl who gave me a bookcussion” he grumbled.

Biting back a smile, I concentrated on his forearm, running my fingers over his skin to find the correct spot. This took a few moments. When I found it, I leaned closer, using my thumbs to press down, gently at first, then adding a little more pressure. Bo didn’t tense. He didn’t move a muscle. I might’ve thought he’d stopped breathing he was so still. But then I felt his breath against my neck.

The sensation sent shivers down my spine.

I counted the seconds under my breath and then released him.

“What was that, Kent?” he asked softly.

“I looked up how to treat a sprained wrist,” I said with a shrug. “It was nothing, just one of the techniques they recommended.”

“You looked that up?”

Meeting his eyes, I nodded. “Does it feel any better?”

Bo glanced down at his wrist before looking back up, locking me in his intense stare. “Yeah, it does. Thanks, Kent.”

For some reason, I blushed. “No problem.”

I didn’t know what made me say it.

But I added, “Maybe now, you won’t be so opposed to working with me.”

Bo shook his head. “It’s not that.”

“It’s not?”

“No,” he said. “I just don’t like the idea of you taking care of me out of some misplaced sense of guilt.”

Oh.

I hadn’t even considered that possibility.

“I thought you hated having me around,” I admitted.

“I don’t.”

“You even told me how much you hate people.”

“Not you,” he said.

My heart skipped a beat.

“I could never hate you, Kent.”


Author Bio:

Cookie O’Gorman Bio: Cookie O’Gorman writes YA & NA romance to give readers a taste of happily-ever-after. Small towns, quirky characters, and the awkward yet beautiful moments in life make up her books. Cookie also has a soft spot for nerds and ninjas. Her novels ADORKABLE, NINJA GIRL, The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad, The Kissing Challenge (YA novella), WALLFLOWER, CUPCAKE, and FAUXMANCE are out now! She is also the author of NA sports romances The Best Mistake, The Perfect Play, and The Sweetest Game. Her newest release BOOKWORM came out on April 20, 2023!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Newsletter


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

—

  • 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 – Brushed Up On Murder by Ruth J Hartman @dollycas @RuthjHartman

Posted on by


Brushed Up On Murder: A Mobile Cat Groomer Mystery by Ruth J Hartman

About Brushed Up On Murder


Brushed Up On Murder: A Mobile Cat Groomer Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Indiana
Level Best Books (April 18, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 275 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXB8BZMQ

The life of a cat groomer isn’t just pampering purring felines, it’s murder.

Mobile Cat Groomer Molly Stewart loves her job. Until she finds the dead body of one of her pet parents stabbed with a garden implement in his back yard. When Molly’s uncle Russ becomes the prime suspect in the murder and the sheriff won’t consider anyone else, Molly claws through obstacles as she prowls for clues.

With help from handsome veterinarian Hank Chenowith and Molly’s two cats, Percival and Jasper, will Molly succeed in proving her uncle’s innocence before the real murderer pounces on her?

About Ruth J. Hartman

Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s.

Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying.

Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them. See updates about her cozy mysteries at Ruthjhartman.com.

Author Links

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

  • 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!

Books From The Backlog – Four Tales For Midnight by Lee Enderlin #LeeEnderlin

Posted on by

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books

Amazon / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

Four tales of extreme suspense and mystery aimed at getting the heart pumping. Hard. A soldier on D-Day finds an enemy soldier acting very strangely indeed; a jilted husband creates a grisly scavenger hunt; a marriage reconciliation service ABSOLUTELY guarantees positive results—the question is, how? And more!

Turn out the lights and enter a bizarre world, but remember—don’t go in the basement!

This edition:

  • Format: 57 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published: February 4, 2013
  • Language: English

Goodreads Ratings: 5.00 – 2 ratings – 2 reviews

I added Four Tales To Midnight by Lee Enderlin to my TBR on 3.9.13. Sometimes a quick scare fits the bill. How about you? Do you read anthologies and short stories?

  • 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 – Return To Hummingbird Way by Reese Ryan @XpressoTours @ReeseRyanWrites

Posted on by

Return to Hummingbird Way
Reese Ryan
Publication date: April 25th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

In this heartwarming small‑town romance, can three months, two planning projects, and a meddling grandmother finally make two high school hate crushes see just how right they are for each other?

Ambitious real estate agent Sinclair Buchanan is ecstatic to be her best friend’s maid-of-honor—until she discovers the best man is Garrett Davenport. Sin and Rett’s mutual hate crush ignited when they were teens and hasn’t let up since . . . except for that one extremely hot (and extremely regrettable) night they shared five years ago.

Nothing gets Rett fired up like going toe-to-toe with Sinclair. She’s as infuriatingly stubborn, and as absolutely gorgeous, as when he fell for her back in high school. Working together to plan their best friends’ last-minute wedding is one thing, but when his matchmaking grandmother gets involved Rett knows he’s in deep. Attraction has always simmered between them, but this time, they’re both in danger of losing their hearts.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

“Garrett Davenport, how very nice of you to finally show up.” Sinclair sashayed toward him, clutching a clear clipboard decorated with a colorful floral design.

Sinclair assessed him with disdain, flecks of green and gold dancing in those large hazel eyes he’d been mesmerized by from the first moment he’d laid eyes on them in high school. She pursed her glossy pink lips, her nostrils flaring, and planted a fist on one curvy hip.

The bossy little she-devil was infuriating, attitudish, and fucking gorgeous. And she damn well knew it.

Her floral, sleeveless dress showed off her toned arms and sculpted shoulders—a feature he’d never noticed on a woman before, let alone been attracted to. The hem of the flirty little skirt grazed her midthigh, accentuating her tawny brown skin, a shade that landed smack between her father’s dark brown skin and her mother’s olive skin tone.

Sinclair flipped her hair, a deep, rich brown highlighted with ribbons of honey blond, over one shoulder and ran her manicured nails through the waterfall of shoulder-length waves. Her gaze bore into him, and if looks could kill, he’d be lying on the floor stone cold.

“You do realize you’re an hour late to your own best friend’s engagement party.” She leaned into him, speaking in a harsh whisper that only he could hear. “You sure you gon’ be able to show up for the wedding on time?”

Her nasally voice reminded him of Whitley Gilbert’s from A Different World. And just a few minutes into the conversation, she’d already intimated that he was an unreliable slacker. Rett clenched his jaw. Yet, as annoyed as he was, he couldn’t help noticing how hot Sin looked tonight.

“Sorry I’m late,” Rett finally managed. He shoved his hands, balled into fists, into his pockets. “Something came up.”

Sinclair’s gaze dropped to the placket in front of his zipper momentarily. Her eyes widened and her cheeks and forehead flushed. She quickly returned her attention to the clipboard.

Maybe he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t forget their previous encounter.

“It’s always some excuse with you, Rett.” Sinclair wrapped her arms around the clipboard, clutching it to her chest. Her eyes didn’t quite meet his.

Was she clutching the clipboard because he made her nervous? Or was she shielding her body’s reaction after shamelessly ogling him two minutes into their conversation?

It didn’t matter. Because Sinclair Buchanan was as irritating now as she’d been when they’d been forced to hang out together while Dexter and Dakota had dated in high school. She seemed to hate him on sight back then. But he hadn’t helped matters when he’d tried to talk his cousin out of getting serious with Sin’s best friend.

When Dex had suddenly ended things with Dakota the Christmas after he’d left for college, Sinclair had confronted Rett outside his grandmother’s house. She’d been as mad as a hornet and had cussed him out six ways to Sunday—sure he’d been behind the breakup.

He hadn’t been. But he hadn’t bothered telling her so. Besides, as distraught as she’d been, he’d doubted Sinclair would’ve believed a single word he’d said.

Since Dexter and Dakota’s reconciliation, Sinclair must surely have learned the truth: he had nothing to do with Dexter and Dakota’s breakup back then. In fact, he’d been as shocked by it as anyone. But evidently, it didn’t matter, because Sinclair clearly still wasn’t a fan. Though she certainly had been that night in his hotel room, given the enthusiasm with which she’d called his name and the marks she’d left on his back.

“It’s not an excuse, Sin. I planned to be here on time, but I was sidetracked by—”

“Didn’t think you were going to make it.” Dexter approached, holding Dakota’s hand. The two of them looked ridiculously happy, and Rett felt a slight twinge of envy.

“And miss your engagement party?” Rett slapped palms and clasped hands with Dex. “No way, cuz. Been waiting half my life to see you finally tie the knot with this beautiful lady.” He turned toward his cousin’s soon-to-be better half. “Congrats, Dakota.”

“Thank you, Rett.” Dakota’s grin lit her brown eyes. She gave him a big hug. “And for the record, I knew you’d be here tonight. It was these two who were sweating it.” She gestured toward Dex and Sinclair, then glanced around the room. “Mama Mae didn’t come with you?”

“She’s sick and didn’t much appreciate me fussing over her,” Rett said.

“But you did anyway.” Dakota smiled. “The relationship you two have is adorable.”

“’Cause Mama Mae is the only woman who can get him to behave,” Sinclair muttered as she scanned her clipboard. When they all turned to look at her, Sin looked up and shrugged. “What? You know it’s true.”

“Be nice, Sin.” Dakota pointed a finger at her best friend. “You promised you two would get along.”

“Fine.” She flashed Rett a dead-eyed smile and turned up the Whitley Gilbert singsong southern belle voice. “We are so very glad that you could join us this evening, Garrett. I was just about to ask the staff to take the food away. So please make yourself a plate.” She batted her long, thick eyelashes. “In fact, why don’t I escort you to the buffet?”

Dexter and Dakota snickered, and Rett couldn’t help chuckling to himself.

That was as warm a greeting as he could expect from the former beauty queen, who now employed that same charm in her job as one of the island’s top real estate agents. Evidently, she reserved that charm for people not named Rett Davenport.

Sinclair turned and walked toward the buffet, indicating that he should come with. He did, captivated by the subtle sway of her hips as he followed in the wake of her soft, delicate scent. All of it taking him back to that night they’d shared in Raleigh five years ago.

Yes, he’d been an immature jerk to Sinclair in high school. She clearly still held a grudge and had no intentions of letting him forget it. Despite the night they’d shared.

Fine. Because he wasn’t here for Sinclair. He was here for Dexter and Dakota. For them, he’d tolerate Ms. Thing. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun with her.

Author Bio:

Reese Ryan writes sexy, deeply emotional romances with family drama, surprising secrets, and unexpected twists.

Past president of her local Romance Writers of America chapter and a panelist at the 2017 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Reese is an advocate for the romance genre and diversity in fiction.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Youtube


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

—

  • 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!

Review – The Deadening by Kerry Peresta @kerryperesta @partnersincr1me

Posted on by
  • Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nLFtnm
  • Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56567166-the-deadening

MY REVIEW

WOW. The Deadening by Kerry Peresta is a suspense/thriller novel that keeps on giving, until the very last page is read and I do love the awesome cover. That’s right, even the ending was a total surprise. I am sooo happy that I have the next two books in the series, and I will be cracking open The Rising as soon as I finish writing this review.

I have read amnesia books before, so I thought I would like The Deadening by Kerry Peresta, but I had no idea how great a writer she was. It made me think of a Bones episode, when he literally tripped over her bloody body, except Olivia is alive. The pace and tension level kept me flipping pages, unpredictable moments coming one after another.

When Olivia first becomes aware of…well…anything, it totally creeps me out. Imagine, not being able to open your eyes, speak, move even a finger tip, yet able to hear what is going on around you. Hear people talking at you. Sarah, the nurse is an awesome character. The brain in an amazing organ, doing its best to fix itself when broken.

The characters are well developed. Of course, Olivia develops throughout the story, as memories return and she finds herself. Monty is a total dick, a wonderful villain, one I loved to hate. Niles…sometimes people get caught up in something and can’t find their way out. I had empathy for the man. The girls are girls. Sophie her mother is a fabulous, realistic character. Hunter, the detective who answers her every call, helps her unravel the mystery.

I am having a hard time reining in everything I want to say. I will tell you this, if you are a suspense/thriller fan, Kerry Peresta is an author you want on your reading list.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Deadening by Kerry Peresta.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Olivia Callahan’s quiet, orderly life is shattered when she regains consciousness in a hospital and discovers she is paralyzed and cannot remember a thing. The fragmented voices she hears around her help her piece together that an apparent assault landed her in the hospital, but nobody knows who attacked her, or why. After a chilling struggle to survive, she awakens from a coma unable to remember what happened to her or anything at all, except she has been told she is an entirely different person. Or is she?

Now, in spite of a brain injury that has rewired her personality, Olivia is on a mission to reclaim her life. As clarity surfaces and she starts to understand who she was, she is shocked. Had she really been that person? And if so, does she want her old life back?

  • Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

310 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2021

Olivia Callahan Suspense (#1)

ABOUT KERRY PERESTA

Kerry Peresta’s publishing credits include a popular newspaper and e-zine humor column, “The Lighter Side,” and short stories in the published anthology, “That One Left Shoe,” and her first novel released in 2013 by Pen-L Publishing, “The Hunting,” contemporary women’s fiction. She spent twenty-five years in advertising as an account manager, creative director, and copywriter before deciding to devote more of her time to writing. She is currently working on her next novel, and the most current one, The Deadening, fiction, suspense; releases Feb. 23, 2021 and will be available for pre-order mid-January. Kerry has been published in several local magazines, including Local Life, Island Events, Bluffton Breeze, and Lady Lowcountry. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Island Writers Network of Hilton Head. She enjoys participating in writing conferences, and has served as chapter president of the Maryland Writers’ Association. Learn more about Kerry at www.kerryperesta.net, https://www.facebook.com/klperesta or https://www.instagram.com/kerryperesta (less)

  • 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 – Undertaking Love by Megan MOntgomery @XpressoTours @meganthraxm

Posted on by

Undertaking Love
Megan Montgomery
Publication date: April 1st 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Bethany West upgraded her lucrative career as a sex worker for her dream job as a death worker when she partnered at Smythe & Co. Mortuary. She expected her eco-friendly innovations and death positive attitude to blow the roof off the Victorian-era relic. But that was seven months ago, and during that time, she’s only managed to piss off her embittered business partner, George Smythe, a man dead set on maintaining the status quo and driving Bethany out of his namesake business.

When the pair reluctantly travel together to a mortuary conference in New Orleans—and compete in dueling embalming demonstrations—George finally recognizes the value of Bethany’s business model for the first time. He’s also starting to recognize a growing attraction to his blonde bombshell business partner. Meanwhile, Bethany learns the truth behind George’s cold contempt, and it’s much worse than she thought, stemming not from a single incident, but from the constant on-call status, the compassion fatigue, and the overwhelming stress of the job.

Bethany has 4 days to crack open his tough outer shell to reveal the compassionate man she knows is inside, and she has a plan, but unless George learns to open his heart and lean on her, at the risk of succumbing to their cremation-level attraction in a dangerous way, he’ll jeopardize both the business and their hearts by refusing the true partnership they both need.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Bethany

My body was broken.

I blinked hard to lubricate my eyes, struggling to stay awake behind the wheel. The vent blasted tepid air into my face, trying its damnedest to desiccate my skin and sabotage the efforts of my latest hyaluronic acid injections.

My stomach churned from too much coffee and too little sleep.

A sweat broke out under my arms and boobs.

Great. Now I could smell all that coffee excreting from my pores and ruining my favorite silk blouse.

I glanced at the man in the passenger seat.

George’s pores were looking perfectly dry, as usual. He wouldn’t think of sweating, even from the most strenuous effort.

I’d seen him pull a rotund, decomposing man out of that impossible space between the toilet and the bathtub and plop him on a mortuary cot in an un-air-conditioned, third-floor apartment in the middle of August without breaking a sweat.

The man never had a hair out of place, was never not freshly shaven, and he never forgot to button his suit jacket when he stood, or unbutton it when he sat.

And he was a consummate professional—as long as you didn’t work with him.

And as long as your name wasn’t Bethany West.

I breathed in a lungful of stale air. Even now, in the mortuary van, George managed to smell fresh, yet intensely masculine. The faintest notes of sandalwood and citrus wafted toward me as he fiddled with his ear, pushing his earbud deeper in.

I suspected he wasn’t listening to anything producing actual sound; the earbuds were just a tactic to try to keep me from making “unnecessary” conversation.

I was almost too tired to care.

I stifled a yawn, hoping he wouldn’t catch it.

He did, of course.

I saw the tick of his jaw from the corner of my eye. Glaring at the screen of the laptop balanced on his crossed legs, his flexed fingers hovering over the keyboard, a ballpoint pen clutched in his teeth.

I’d never seen the man smile except for a wince-like approximation of the real thing, and he saved that stingy expression for our clients.

After an entire life spent in the trenches of the funeral business, his handsome face was permanently etched into a show of bland sympathy—except when he scowled in contempt.

That expression was reserved exclusively for me.


Author Bio:

Megan Montgomery writes romance. Sometimes they’re funny. Sometimes they’re morbid, but all her characters have cool jobs. She and her husband, Johnathon Olavarria co-host Forced Proximity podcast, a weekly romance book and movie club.

Her debut novel, Well . . . THAT Was Awkward was inspired by her homesickness for southern Maryland. She now lives halfway across the US on the prairie with her husband, son, and mom.

When she’s not writing, reading, lifting weights, or cooking dinners her son won’t eat, you’ll find her toiling in the garden or brewing potions from her medicinal herbs.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

—

  • 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 – The Metal Horn by Sybrina Durant @Sybrina_spt @ireadbooktours

Posted on by


 
Book Details:

Book Title:  Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented Alphabetically By The Metal Horn Unicorns by Sybrina Durant
Category:  Middle-Grade Non-Fiction (Ages 8-12),  42 pages
Genre:  This is actually both fiction and non-fiction – Non-Fiction Children’s Earth Sciences Books (Books) Fiction – in Children’s Dragon, Unicorn & Mythical Stories
Publisher:  Sybrina Publishing
Release date:   Feb, 2023
Content Rating:  G for everyone.



Book Description:

Are your kids ready for the magic of science? The Metal Horn Unicorn Tribe and their techno-magical unicorn friends from Unimaise are the perfect group to familiarize them with metals and other elements in the Periodic Table. Their theme is No Metal, No Magic…and No Technology.

Alumna starts out this elemental alphabet book by introducing the very necessary metal, Aluminum, on her element page. Dr. Zinko rounds out the alphabet by presenting facts and other fun information about the metal, Zinc, on his. Other members of the Metal Horn Tribe, plus some of their magical elemental friends, will give some great insight into the properties of 23 additional pure metals from the periodic table.

There is one special unicorn in the book whose horn and hooves are an alloy created by combining Copper and Zinc. Cornum, the Brass-Horned unicorn will reveal some interesting things about that metal.

Readers will love learning some magical and sciencey facts with the Metal Horn Unicorn Tribe. A unicorn-themed periodic table, trading cards representing each of the 26 unicorns and their elements plus fun lesson cards and more are also available as printable downloads. Kids will have fun singing along with the No Metal, No Magic song, too. Learn more about all the elements in this book at https://www.sybrina.com/muapt



Meet the Author:

Sybrina Durant is a unicorn author/entrepreneur. In addition to books, she offers unicorn-themed activities, t-shirts, and more. Plus, she has pulled together a collection of nearly all the unicorn books available today from hundreds of authors. They are categorized on her website by Little Kid, Middle Kid, and Teen Unicorn Books.

connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ pinterest ~ instagram ~ instagram ~ goodreads



Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Spotlight Book Tour Giveaway




  • 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!