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THE RUSSIAN ORPHAN by Deede Blake Book Tour Giveaway

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Willful Parties
Liz Ellyn
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: January 1st 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

Seth is the vibrant bisexual marathoner who sparked the relationship with Kat and Dylan. He remains undeterred in pursuit of their perfect love, even when confronted with a devastating blow. Kat, their sharp-witted pixie, treasures good moments as gifts due to past experiences. She hesitates to wholeheartedly commit based on a deep-rooted fear of heartache and pressing her luck. Dylan exudes irresistible confidence and brilliance and is marked for an impressive political future. However, his internal struggle with identity and career decisions poses a significant hurdle in committing to their love affair.

They share a sizzling three-way passion but are destined to part ways after graduating from their Chicago law school. Legal battles, heart-wrenching losses, and mounting obligations challenge the prospect of reclaiming their love.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT

After the early evening rush, she headed back to her apartment. She opened her study materials and yawned. She read a few sentences, but her dry eyes begged for relief. Without any breaks since the early morning, she struggled to remain awake.

The red glowing numbers on her clock burned into her thoughts like a devilish distraction. Seth’s bar review class had ended. Did he stay to study in the library? Did he go home? Was he hooking up with someone he met in the class? Although he was born in Chicago and lived his entire life in the Midwest, he sported a California look. His vibe attracted lots of attention, both men and women. And, he was single.

Kat moaned.

Memories of her, Dylan, and Seth fooling around after study sessions danced in her thoughts. Their fun ritual balanced out the stress of studying. Her musings aroused her as well as stung. The absence of both guys made her heart ache.

Kat’s head dropped to the table with a thud. Why had she forced Seth away? Of course, he’s hooking up with some guy. Or girl.

A groan escaped her lips.

She had no one to blame but herself. She’d told Seth she wasn’t interested in continuing a relationship. Although she thought about reaching out, she didn’t want to interrupt him.

Picking at her cuticles. she reached out to Dylan instead of wallowing alone.

Kat—How’s the Cali sun treating you?—

Dylan—Hey Kitty-Kat (smiley face with sunglasses)—

Kat smirked at Dylan’s new endearment. She wondered if it had to do with her name or the fact she was the only woman he had had an intimate relationship.

Kat—Things going well?—

Dylan’s life appeared easy to most people, as his family had lots of money. But with the fortune came a great deal of responsibility and high expectations.

Dylan—Weather’s great. Not complaining—

Kat—Really?! Did you switch careers and become a meteorologist? What’s up?—

Kat refused to allow Dylan to slink away from their friendship because of the distance. Even if they weren’t together anymore, they shared a serious bond.

Dylan—My family isn’t easy—

Kat—How so?—

She might not be able to relate as she got along well with her dad, but Dylan needed a friend to confide.

Dylan—They’re frosty (snowman)—

Kat—How is that possible in the Cali heat? (melting smiley face)—

Dylan—That’s SoCal, not NorCal. I’m their circus monkey. I only get fed if I perform—

The way Dylan accepted his position made the hair on Kat’s neck stand on end.

Dylan’s sculpted body and chiseled face captured people’s attention. Only the fortunate cracked him open and got access to the affectionate core. Kat counted herself lucky to be among the select few.

Kat—You deserve better—

Dylan—(heart) How did your first day go?—

Kat—Not bad—

Dylan—???—

Kat smiled. Neither she nor Dylan allowed one another to put on a fictitious front.

Kat—Difficult studying all on my own—

Dylan—You CAN do this. You WILL pass!—

She wanted to believe Dylan. If only she shared his confidence in her ability to pass the bar. The desire to please her dad and make him proud motivated her each day.

Kat—(fingers crossed)—

Dylan—If you have questions, call me—

Kat—Thanks—

She had lots of resources for studying. Knowing Dylan offered her support as a friend strengthened her self-assuredness. She released some of the tension in her muscles.

Dylan—It’s late there—

Kat—Yeah, I should get some sleep—

Dylan—(kissing face)—

Kat paused and considered her response. Rather than fixating on the choice of emoji, she returned the same.

She missed Dylan’s kisses. And Seth’s kisses. And fooling around with them after they studied. It was easy. It was convenient. More than that, it was amazing. Could she manage the insanely stressful process of studying for the bar without them?

 

Author Bio:

INDULGE IN LIFE’S GUILTY PLEASURES!

Liz Ellyn nourishes people’s cravings for the irresistible. Like the decadent desserts she delivers, she creates alluring characters deserving of happy endings.

With degrees in both engineering and law, she argues that the positive energy gained by indulging in one’s guilty pleasure appropriately counterbalances the serious forces of daily life.

When she isn’t writing or devouring steamy romance books, she spoils her family, including her two dogs, Boomer and Tanner.

Bon Appetite and Happy Reading!

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MY REVIEW

As a youngster, Kevin Bachar had biked to Roosevelt Island and had become so curious, he went to the library to learn about the place. A lot of what he learned is now part of this novel, The Apartment: Fear Stalks The Halls. The apartment building used to be a lunatic asylum, so it’s the perfect setting for a horror novel.

Kat is the star of the show, so I’ll tell you about her. She was different than other people. She had a gift, but to her it felt like a curse. When her and her boyfriend moved to Roosevelt Island, it caused a disturbance. Her boyfriend was changing, going from right handed to left handed. She also noticed that her limp, a genetic disability, was gone. She was seeing ‘people’ in the hallways.

Murders were happening on the island. We have numerous suspects, and, boy, did I get this wrong. I love it. I had to race through the pages, couldn’t stop. Kevin led me down a road and I followed blindly. The ending was so unexpected and I love an author able to leave me with my jaw hanging open. That’s why I’m always happy to review one of his books.

GOODREADS BLURB

An unholy being is unleashed in the terrifying novel From the EMMY-award-winning producer and screenwriter of the LIONSGATE horror film THE INHABITANT. What if the horrors of the past seeped into the present? THE APARTMENT is a place where every hallway, door, and staircase leads to madness. And where a serial killer by the name of THE HARVESTER has decided to stalk their victims.

Benjamin and his girlfriend Katherine move to New York City. Instead of stylish Manhattan, or hip Brooklyn, the couple end up on Roosevelt Island, a spit of land in the middle of the East River.

It’s secluded and steeped in sordid history. The place was once known as the ‘Island of the Damned’ when it was home to a prison, a small-pox hospital, and a mysterious building where strange experiments occurred.

Katherine starts to feel isolated and is tormented by terrifying dreams. She also notices changes in her boyfriend, subtle things and some not so subtle, like how he now eats with his left hand. Even his voice sounds different to Catherine, but is all this in her mind, or has Benjamin become host to a horrifying entity from the past?

• Genre: Fiction, Horror
• 264 pages, Kindle Edition
• Published December 20, 2024

ABOUT KEVIN BACHAR

Kevin Bachar is a national EMMY award-winning natural history documentary filmmaker and WGA writer. The elevated horror film he wrote – The Inhabitant – https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/the-inh… – was released through Lionsgate and is available on most streaming services.

If you’ve watched National Geographic, PBS, or The Discovery Channel over the years you’ve seen his work. He’s the idiot in the water filming sharks or crawling into caves to photograph vampire bats. You can see Kevin at work filming sharks here – https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2703407897/…

The natural world has always captured his imagination and the supernatural world inspires his stories. Through his journeys, he’s interviewed scientists who’ve enlightened him, heard folk tales that have frightened him, and seen quite a few things that have challenged his skeptical mind.

His collection of short stories that weaves together the natural world and the supernatural world entitled, DREAD, is available on Amazon. He’s currently working on his second collection entitled – CREEP.

Complimenting his writing, Kevin has lectured and given presentations at prestigious institutions such as Rutgers University, American University, and the Rubin Museum of Art.
To keep up to date with Kevin’s movies, documentaries, and books –
www.kevinbachar.com
https://twitter.com/KevinPangolin
https://www.instagram.com/kevinbachar/
https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinbachar?l…
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjEKM_m…
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1423190/

MY KEVIN BACHAR REVIEWS

• Dread
• The Visitor
• The Crone

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MY REVIEW

How do you review a book when there is only one character?

Get lost in his mind. Share his highs and lows. He won’t run out of food for a long time. He can create power through solar energy. He can have hot showers and cold drinks. But, there is no one to talk to. He will always be alone. His memories, especially his regrets, hound him, dragging him so low he can’t function. There is no one to help him. He must help himself.

Travel with him. See the sights while looking for survivors. Where are they most likely to be…if they are anywhere? Transportation is easy to find and gas is plentiful.

Could there be animals? Pets? My mind kept going to Terminator, when Sarah Connor is in the Jeep with her dog.

How do you end the book? I kept wondering how the book would end. I mean, he is the only human left on the planet. Would he drink and drug himself to death? Would he create a homestead and settle down? Would there be no dramatic or happy ending?

I love apocalyptic/dystopian novels and was surprised at how much I enjoyed My Only Friend, The End by Steven Owad. Steve managed to keep me turning pages, having to know what comes next. The emotional journey hit every high and low you can imagine. The ending…I was satisfied. What else could I ask for?

I want to thank Steven Owad and Paper Angel Press for the opportunity to read My Only Friend, The End.

GOODREADS BLURB

Surviving was easy. The hard part—living alone—starts now.

For Owen Bale, life in Great Falls, Montana, is good. He has a loving wife and son, a career as a writer, and plenty of reasons to get up in the morning.

The charmed existence ends one sun-kissed day when everyone in town—maybe everyone everywhere—drops dead. Owen is left alone in a city on fire.

The options sit tight and wait for help or seek out survivors. One thing’s if Owen doesn’t move—and move fast—the stresses of the flash extinction will swallow him whole.

He sets out in search of people—and of the cause of the devastation. Cosmic cataclysms. Pandemics. Bio-warfare. Earth has been through five mass extinctions. How do they differ from what’s happened now? Maybe God was behind the carnage. Or little green men. Whatever the answer, why was Owen spared? And if he’s alive, it stands to reason others survived, too. If all people everywhere are in fact gone, will there be any point in going on?

Staying sane and strong in a hostile landscape filled with unexpected dangers would be easier if Owen’s own inner demons weren’t along for the journey. Finding the post-civilization promised land will take every ounce of courage and self-knowledge he can muster.

• Genre: Apocalyptic, Contemporary, Disaster Fiction, Dystopian, Fiction, Literary, Science Fiction
• 241 pages, Kindle Edition
• Published November 26, 2024 by Paper Angel Press

ABOUT STEVEN OWAD

Steven lives in Calgary, Canada, where he works as an editor. His novels have won praise in publications such as Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Mystery Scene, and his stage plays have been produced in theaters throughout North America.

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BE STILL by E.D. Perry Book Tour Giveaway

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Torn
Kenzie Macallan
Publication date: November 11th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

A hidden agenda lurks behind every friendly face, making trust a dangerous gamble.

She saves others to redeem herself from her past mistakes. He must rescue his father before it’s too late. Uncovering the truth could cost them their lives, but love is their only anchor.

Roger Bane, a daring black ops agent, thrives on the adrenaline of working in the shadows. When his ambassador father gets kidnapped during a public event, he’s forced to team up with his security detail, a woman who’s hiding a secret. But as he delves deeper, he realizes the players in this game aren’t who they seem. He’s torn between his attraction to her and uncovering the truth about her past.

Harlow Pierce, a fearless ASIO agent, confronts danger head-on with unyielding determination. When the diplomat she’s sworn to protect disappears, she embarks on a high-stakes mission to rescue him. She’s hoping he has answers about her father’s death. But her plans shatter when she’s forced to work with his son, Roger. Her carefully constructed lies crumble as she battles against their undeniable chemistry.

As Roger and Harlow piece together the intricate puzzle for his father’s release, their growing attraction becomes a dangerous distraction. Harlow struggles with her past and the brutal truth about her father, while Roger battles the deep connection he feels for her. Their fiery passion threatens to consume them even as it becomes their greatest source of strength.

As a deadly conspiracy simmers and a web of deceit threatens to engulf them, can they untangle the lies and trust each other enough to face the ultimate enemy?

TORN is an electrifying addition to the Deep 8 series. If you crave page-turning storylines, scorching romance, and characters who will capture your heart, then Kenzie Macallan’s novel promises an unforgettable journey of love and suspense in the face of danger.

*This novel can be read as a standalone.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT

“Good morning,” he sighs. “You are the best wife in the entire world.”

My hips begin to move up and down. He grabs them and flips us over. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that it’s never been like this with any of your other fake husbands. This is about you and me, surviving the past to live happily in the future.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to answer as his lips crash down on mine. My doubts don’t have time to creep in. My heart doesn’t close shut. He seizes the moment. I’m wide open and vulnerable in ways I might not recover from, forging our souls, hearts, and minds. He’s tender, wild, and generous. I’m along for the ride, taking and giving what I can in this symphony of passion.

We become still together, our hearts beating, searching for the other’s rhythm. My fingers grip his shoulders, afraid to let go. The change I’ve encountered in the last twenty-four hours was beyond my control but necessary. I can’t let go. Then I remember my true mission and cold water douses the embers I sought to stoke. My fingers release him, and I push against him.

“Are you okay? Was I too rough?” His eyes show worry. He didn’t hurt me. He destroyed me, reaching into a place he didn’t belong.

I’ve lived with my guilt for years. We’re close companions, leaving no room for anyone else. We focus on our goal of saving lives and moving on. I have to put Roger on ice, even as the flames threaten to melt it away, leaving him at my doorstep.

“I’m fine.” My voice laced with anger. The old me surfaces, the tip of the pickax wedged in the ice. My hands shake as I push him aside and run to the bathroom.

Author Bio:

Kenzie Macallan introduced her first series, MBK Global Security, with an exhilarating blend of action, suspense, and enigmatic secrets. These thrillers have cunning twists and unexpected turns, where scorching romance intertwines.

Her subsequent steamy action-adventure series, Deep 8, invites readers on a thrilling globetrotting odyssey. The initial installment, WILD, unfolds in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. KING’s journey transpires in Zambia, while BURN delves into the heart of Cologne, Germany.

Throughout her academic journey, Kenzie pursued degrees in biology, psychology, fine arts, and education. Juggling a full-time profession alongside her writing endeavors presents its challenges, yet the rewards make it a worthy pursuit. Crafting captivating narratives that keep her readers turning the pages is her ultimate joy.

Having explored the diverse landscapes of Africa, Greece, Switzerland, Holland, France, England, and Scotland, her travels have ignited a relentless wellspring of storytelling. This fuels her artistic endeavors, from painting captivating portraits to capturing moments through her camera, all while nurturing her green thumb in the garden. While culinary mastery may elude her, she loves to bake, much to the gratitude of her husband.

Kenzie’s true passion lies in transporting readers to captivating realms, where flawed yet endearing heroes emerge, intelligent and resilient women take center stage, and unexpected endings leave them in awe. With each new adventure, Kenzie eagerly anticipates the opportunity to further enchant her readers and embark on a shared journey of discovery.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

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• Sunday Post is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer
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• Stacking The Shelves by Reading Reality
• **images are linked to Amazon (I am an affiliate)**

Hi Everyone. Not a lot going on. Doing some blogging and a lot of reading. I have a list of books I am determined to finish this year…BUT I keep adding more to the list. I just can’t help myself. LOL It’s a good problem to have. Hubby is doing great with his rehab, since his hip replacement. I’m surprised how well he is doing. Here’s a fun video he made of us walking. We are both rehabbing and it’s looking good for my final surgery in December.

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COMING UP ON fundinmental

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MY REVIEW

I will warn you to have some snacks handy. A Hush At Midnight made me hungry for chocolate. 🙂

Celebrity Chef Laura Harris has come back to Stenberg to visit her friend and mentor, Hattie Stenberg. She gets more than she bargained for as the threats mount and Hattie is murdered. Why? What could Laura have that anyone would possibly want?

Laura feels the police have tunnel vision, so she inserts herself into the investigation.

When she finds out she is to inherit Hattie’s fortune, she meets Hattie’s attorney, Brent Hill. Could there be romance in the air?

A Hush At Midnight is more than a cozy but less than a blood and guts thriller. There is plenty of mystery and danger to keep the pace of the novel rolling along. We also have plenty of suspects and I am constantly trying to rule out the innocent. I like trying to figure out what’s coming before the author has to tell me, but I like it even more when an author can keep me guessing.

Synopsis:

From the award-winning author of the ANNALISSE MYSTERY SERIES.

THE VISIT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Celebrity chef Laura Harris dwells on the horror of finding her mentor’s body in the groundskeeper’s disheveled bed—pillow and bedding half covering her open eyes—purple bruising around her mouth. A grisly snapshot in time revealing the Texas woman’s last moments during her attack. The elderly matriarch from the small town of Stenburg has left the physical world, and Laura is shattered.

She is catapulted headlong into the pursuit of a casual executioner, one bold enough to come and go from the crime scene with ease, dropping bizarre crumb trails designed to mock the deceased. But Laura herself doesn’t go unnoticed. As she digs deeper, she is followed and bombarded by warnings to leave the state.

When the victim’s attorney informs Laura that she’s to inherit the entire Stenburg fortune, the last act of kindness has made Laura the main person of interest in the investigation.

Message by message, Laura is methodically taunted by someone so deranged and driven they’ll do whatever it takes to dislodge Laura from Texas – permanently.

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth/Mystery/Cozy Mystery
Published by: Ewephoric Publishing
Publication Date: October 1, 2024
Number of Pages: 368
ISBN: 979-8-9863409-6-8
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

 

 

Author Bio:

Marlene M. Bell has never met a sheep she didn’t like. As a personal touch for her readers, they often find these wooly creatures visiting her international romantic mysteries and children’s books as characters or subject matter. Marlene is an accomplished artist and photographer who takes pride in entertaining fans on multiple levels of her creativity.

Marlene’s award-winning Annalisse series boasts Best Mystery honors for all installments including these: IP Best Regional Australia/New Zealand, Global Award Best Mystery, and Chanticleer’s International Mystery and Mayhem shortlist for Copper Waters, the fourth mystery in the series.

She offers her children’s picture book, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! written primarily for younger kids based on true events from the Bell’s East Texas sheep ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of belonging and unconditional love between a little girl and her lamb.

Catch Up With Marlene M. Bell:
www.MarleneMBell.com
Goodreads – @dorsetghal
BookBub – @dorsetgalwrites
Instagram – @marlenemysteries
Twitter/X – @ewephoric
Facebook
Facebook – @marlenembell
Amazon Author Page

 

 

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