Twelve Hours in Manhattan Maan Gabriel Publication date: April 18th 2023 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fairy Tales, Romance
Two worlds. One heart. Twelve hours.
Bianca Maria Curtis is at the brink of losing it all when she meets Eric at a bar in Manhattan. Eric, as it turns out, is the famous Korean drama celebrity Park Hyun Min, and he’s in town for one night to escape the pressures of fame. From walking along Fifth Avenue to eating ice cream at Serendipity to sharing tender moments on top of the Empire State building, sparks fly as Bianca and Eric spend twelve magical hours far away from their respective lives. In that time, they talk about the big stuff: love, life, and happiness, and the freedom they both seek to fully exist and not merely survive.
But real life is more than just a few exhilarating stolen moments in time.
As the clock strikes the twelfth hour, Bianca returns back to the life she detests to face a tragedy that will test her strength and resolve—and the only thing she has to keep going is the memory of a man she loves in secret from a world away.
Maan Gabriel is a mom, wife, dreamer, writer, and advocate for women’s stories in literature. She earned her BA in communications from St. Scholastica’s College in Manila and MPS in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University. She has lived in Manila, Brussels, Dakar, and Mexico City. During the day, she works in strategic communications. Gabriel, along with her husband and son, currently calls suburban Washington DC home. After Perfect is her first novel.
“I dream of a world full of hope, where believing is as important as life itself, and where love can move mountains. This is in the very core of my stories, and I wish in more ways than one that I can inspire you to see the world as I see it… a fairy tale.”
Book Title: Underneath the Fireflies by Marianne Scott Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 496 pages Genre: Murder Mystery / Thriller Publisher: Crowe Creations Release date: January 2023 Content Rating: PG-13 – Colloquial expressions in dialogue.
Book Description:
No matter where Grace Walker goes, her extra sensory power goes with her. She’s an empath and she sees things — terrible things. After a tragic accident at the place where she works, she decides to take a mental-health break on a remote West Coast island. But she no sooner gets to Galliano Island when a vision of the murder of an Indigenous woman draws her into a disturbing and threatening dilemma.
Book Title: Underneath the Fireflies by Marianne Scott Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 224 pages Genre: Mystery / Thriller Publisher: Crowe Creations Release date: October 2022 Content Rating: PG-13 – mild profanity as in street dialogue
Book Description:
He’s a Cold War spy hiding from one of his own. His real identity is tied to a treacherous past associated with American intelligence operations closed down after the end of the Cold War, and his enemy is relentless. All he has to do is change his name. Right? Wrong. Very wrong. Felix has eyes and ears everywhere.
Marianne Scott is the Canadian author of four mystery thrillers and is currently working on her fifth novel, a sci-fi/thriller. She has a BA and a Diploma in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. She studied creative writing through Conestoga College and Humber College. She enjoys writing workshops such as those offered by Brian Henry, publisher of blog, Quick Brown Fox and One Lit Place, a writers’ hub by creator/editor Jenna Kalinsky. She has an author’s website and blog. She is a full-time writer who lives in the historic small Canadian village of Hespeler Ontario (now amalgamated with the city of Cambridge).
Today, we are excited to share Catherine Hope’s debut novel from Headline Eternal, THE LAST MESSAGE. Find out what happens when a message meant for another is sent. Come read an excerpt, order your copy and enter the giveaway.
This year I am sending my last message to you. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive myself, and I will never forget you, but I have to find a way to let you go.
When Lizzie is woken in the night by a text message clearly not meant for her, she is intrigued and haunted by the words she sees. After losing her beloved twin brother, she knows something of grief and the struggle to rebuild a life.
Nick, a widower for three years, is haunted by the disappearance and presumed death of his wife.
When these two lonely hearts are drawn together, an unexpectedly deep and powerful emotional connection is formed. Perhaps finally this is the chance for both of them to live again – if they can overcome scars of the past which have a longer reach than either could have imagined.
‘This book completely wrecked me! It was so good and it captivated me. It was perfect! I was absolutely entranced with this . . . 5 star read!’ NetGalley review
‘Stunning, beautiful, heartwrenching, heartwarming, uplifting and joyful. This book is everything. Don’t miss reading this one. Put it on the top of all your lists’ NetGalley review ‘Gosh this was a story and a half . . . Loved it. A perfect curl-up-on-the-sofa book’ NetGalley review
‘Great, great, great – I am giving it a lot of love . . . read this one! An intense, emotional and utterly compelling narrative!’ NetGalley review
‘This was such a devastatingly beautiful story! I fell in love with the characters Lizzie and Nick . . . Truly deep and powerful. The story is thought-provoking and sweet!’ NetGalley review.
Read an Excerpt
A message meant for another. A love meant only for her. Read on for a sneak peek of Catherine Hope’s gripping and emotional debut novel, The Last Message…
I looked at the face of the phone and rubbed my eyes to clear my vision. There was a message. Who on earth would be texting at this time in the morning? Nobody I knew had this number.
I opened the text. I needed to read it a couple of times, as it didn’t make any sense to my sleepy brain.
“W-what . . . who . . .?”
Marissa, this year I am sending my last message to you. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive myself, and I will never forget you, but I have to find a way to let you go.
“Huh?” I blinked and ran my fingers through my hair. Marissa? I checked the time again. Only a few minutes past the last time I checked. I squinted to read the text again. There was no number showing who sent it.
Unknown caller.
Even if my first instinct was to reply, I wouldn’t be able to. There was no way I could let the sender know the message had gone astray. I gently put the phone down on the bed and sat there, thinking about it.
The message was raw. Emotional. Soulful. I kneaded my chest with my knuckles, surprised how affected I was by the despair the words conveyed. They were meant for someone else, and I couldn’t help feeling I’d intruded on someone else’s pain and heartache.
It took a moment for my heartbeat to settle down. After a quick trip to the bathroom, I shut the windows, turned off the light, and crawled back into bed. I yawned and snuggled into the pillows, desperately needing more sleep.
But I lay there, sleep now firmly out of reach. I couldn’t get the text message out of my head. I groaned and fished for the phone tangled in the sheets. I read the illuminated message again.
Either someone had made a mistake, or this number used to belong to somebody else.
Despite my curiosity, it was none of my business, but there was something so heart-wrenching about the message.
I put the phone down and fell back into the pillows. I finally nodded off again, but it was a rough sleep. I floated between waking and drifting off, constantly thinking or dreaming about the text. I couldn’t shake off the words or stop them running like a reel of ticker tape through my brain.
Finally, I gave up trying to sleep and got out of bed. I padded into the kitchen and made a cup of tea. Sticking my arms into the cable-knit sweater I’d made, with tea in hand, I grabbed a throw blanket from the sofa and went outside.
I slung the blanket around my shoulders and sat on a lounger, tucking my legs under me, hands cupping the hot mug.
The moon was full and its reflection glittered off the waves. Stars were out, but they paled in the moon’s light. I stayed, thinking and planning, until the sun rose, bathing the shore and water in gold. It was too beautiful for words. Exhaustion finally overtook me and I snuggled back into bed, knowing exactly what I was going to do about the text.
About the Author
Catherine Hope’s love of reading began at a young age. Her parents always had a book close by, although they read vastly different genres, which rubbed off on her as she devoured everything from romance to espionage. She fondly remembers her mom with a book propped against her cosy covered teapot at lunchtime.Catherine started telling stories as a child, and it naturally grew into a passion for writing. Her goal is to breathe life into her characters and worlds and transport her readers into the pages of heartache and triumph. Catherine is excited for her debut release coming in early 2023 – THE LAST MESSAGE, with Headline Eternal, UK Division of Hachette. When Catherine’s not writing or thinking up fresh stories, she spends time with her family, friends, and menagerie of pets. But she’s always ready to jet off to explore the world, where many of her experiences find their way into her books. Catherine lives in a small town in Ontario, Canada.
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