Ethereal Bodies Ali Lucia Sky (The Powers That Be, #3) Publication date: April 11th 2022 Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
What happens when a Maker falls in love and no amount of wishing will bring back his soulmate?
Lexa Penby has always been happy being the loyal friend. She knows her worth and forgiving the Maker, Tristan, for his many transgressions is a big ask. When it’s revealed that thanks to him and her best friend, Thea, her old life is over. She has to make the ultimate choice.
Meanwhile, the demon world has re-awakened and one mate is committing the most consummate betrayal.
Note: ETHEREAL BODIES is a New Adult book and for readers over the age of 18+ due to sexual content, substance abuse, references to sexual assault and profanity.
October 11, 2021 – The Dream Keepers February 8, 2022 – Wishcraft April 11, 2022 – Ethereal Bodies
Ali Lucia Sky is the author of The Powers That Be series. She lives in Southern California with her husband and a house full of kitty cats and a yard full of crows.
She loves laughing, drinking good coffee, the smell of pizza, and supporting animal rescues.
When she isn’t writing or dreaming of new stories, she can be found planning her next vacation because traveling is LIFE.
If you encounter her in the wild, don’t be offended if she should run away. She’s timid with strangers, but can be plied with shiny things and pictures of your cat or dog.
Happy Publication Day to The No-Show by Beth O’Leary !
From the Blurb:
Three women who seemingly have nothing in common find that they’re involved with the same man in this smart new rom-com by Beth O’Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare.
Siobhan is a quick-tempered life coach with way too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon used to being treated as just one of the guys on the job. Jane is a soft-spoken volunteer for the local charity shop with zero sense of self-worth.
These three women are strangers who have only one thing in common: They’ve all been stood up on the same day, the very worst day to be stood up—Valentine’s Day. And, unbeknownst to them, they’ve all been stood up by the same man.
Once they’ve each forgiven him for standing them up, they let him back into their lives and are in serious danger of falling in love with a man who seems to have not just one or two but three women on the go….
Is there more to him than meets the eye? And will they each untangle the truth before they all get their hearts broken?
Beth O’Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her debut, The Flatshare, sold over half a million copies and changed her life completely. Her second novel, The Switch, has been optioned for film by Amblin Partners, Steven Spielberg’s production company. Beth writes her books in the English countryside with a very badly behaved golden retriever for company. If she’s not at her desk, you’ll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).
It’s Monday! What are you Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, a place to share and discuss what we’ve read in the past week and what we’re in the middle of or are planning to read this week.
What I read / listened to last week:
This was such a well-written ending to a unique series! I honestly can’t decide which book in the trilogy was the best. A personal experience coloured my reading of this third book which dealt with some very heavy topics with honesty and courage, but, luckily I had my reading buddy Yesha who kept me focused. We did have a few rants over ageist attitudes to the marvellous protagonists (showed by some narrow-minded characters in the book)! Watch out for Yesha’s review of this one. In the meantime, here is a link to her post ‘10 reasons why I love Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff‘
The Perfect Blood by B. T. Annett- a middle-grade/young YA book about a fourteen year old who discovers his very busy engineer father is one of the most skilled vampire hunters in the world.
What I am reading/listening to now:
You Should Have Seen this Coming by Shani Michelle
That Cowboy of Mine by Donna Grant
What I’m reading /listening to next:
Six Graves (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Book 16) by Angela Marsons- my favourite series of police procedurals!
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
How did your last week go and what are you reading this week?
Even Better Than the Real Thing Melanie Summers Publication date: April 7th 2022 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
A swoon-worthy, buttery, uber-fun romance about a fake marriage between two people who couldn’t be more wrong for each other… You know what’s great about applying for an art history PhD program at one of the world’s most prestigious universities? I get to study what I love and land my dream job at the end of it. You know what’s not so great? Being told I’ll only get accepted to the program if I gain access to my aloof, uppity, super grumpy boss’s private art collection.
As it turns out, said boss—a one Lord Hayden Stuart—needs to get married to inherit his late father’s estate and earldom. And if there’s one thing Hayden Stuart is never going to want for real—it’s a wife.
So, we strike up a deal: I marry him and go live at his castle, where I’ll have unlimited access to his collection, he gets his earldom, and when the estate is settled, we part ways forever.
Win-win, right?
Wrong.
I may have fooled myself into believing I wasn’t risking my heart, but there’s one huge problem: I’m definitely falling for him. He’s not just another man. He’s THE man—an irresistibly good-looking, in-control, expensive-suit-wearing man who makes all the other men look like little boys. And the more time I spend with him pretending to be his wife, the more desperate I become to believe the lie.
But he’s never going to fall for some lowly PhD student. So what if at the wedding he looked at me as if I’m the only woman in the world, and kissed me like he’s shipping off to war in the morning? It doesn’t mean anything.
Or does it?
Because the more we’re together, the more I realize that, even though we’re from totally different worlds, we have a lot more in common than I ever could have imagined.
Now all I have to do is convince him he really does want a wife…
*** Even Better Than the Real Thing is a standalone romance with a little extra spice than a regular Melanie Summers book. ***
Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.
Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published three novellas, and eight novels (of which seven have been published). She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.
In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally – then she’ll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for ‘K’ Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn’t require makeup and/or nylons).
Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three young children, and their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog. When she’s not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken ‘from above’. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something–more like just staying until they turn the lights off.
She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It’s all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books (directly from their authors or Netgalley and Edelweiss, books you’re given as gifts, physical copies, ebooks and audiobooks.
NetGalley/Edelweiss/ Blog Tours:
Purchased:
Fingers crossed none of these will spend long time on my gigantic tbr and will quietly move to the read shelf very soon! Here is to wishful thinking 🙂
Happy Reading to all of us!
What did you add to your shelves this week? Do any of these books appeal to you?
Today I’m delighted to present a guest post written by Susan Buchanan as a part of the blog tour for her newest release Sign of the Times!
Guest Post by Susan Buchanan
How I come up with my characters
I love creating characters. I do have to give some credit to the late Maeve Binchy as reading her books made me realise what kind of characters I wanted to create – people you’d want to spend time with, and who were ordinary, everyday people, but with a story to tell.
There are so many facets to character creation. I had a real field day with Sign of the Times, my first book, which has 12 main characters, and a supporting cast of hundreds! That kept me on my toes, I can tell you. One of the most fun parts initially was choosing names. Naturally, the first name I chose was Holly, the first protagonist in Sign of the Times. Holly was my first choice for a girl’s name if I had kids, but by the time I wrote my first book, I didn’t have kids, so Holly it was. I then figured I couldn’t exactly call my daughter Holly when she came along a few years later.
For that first book, I chose a mix of names I liked and names that were likely at the time in the area. Although much of the book is set in Scotland, and I do use some Scottish names, I don’t actually like when books set in Scotland give all the characters overly Scottish names – I might have a Fergus, and I might steer clear of Giles, as nobody I have ever met here in Scotland is called Giles, but I’d also have some common or garden names like Tom, Jack, which are found equally elsewhere in the UK. My class at school wasn’t full of Calums, Camerons, Ferguses, Iains, Murdochs, Archies, and the like, but Stephens, Marks, Johns, Jameses, Darrens and Michaels. Whether it’s Scotland or Singapore, Italy or Ireland I’m writing about, I like to stray further than just Murdo McLeod and Patrick Murphy as character names!
I try to make my characters as different from each other as possible. With Sign of the Times it was pretty easy as each character had the traits, interests and jobs typical to people of their sign. So, firstly we had Holly, the fiercely loyal Sagittarian travel writer.
In The Dating Game, the protagonist, workaholic Gill, has a supporting cast of friends – probably Lisa, her man-eating friend was the most fun to write. She so did not suffer fools gladly. Her moral compass was totally different to Gill’s, but it was the differences that made the dynamic between the girls so special. Angela, Gill’s bestie, who is always there for Gill, and who is a vet and married with young children has a family life very different to Gill’s own.
The Christmas Spirit and Return of the Christmas Spirit each have a central character who engineers matters so that the lives of those she has chosen are improved over the festive period. In each book, there are five main characters, and I specifically chose a split of ages, genders, education levels and family dynamics so the reader could differentiate the characters as much as possible. That was so much fun.
I love being able to invent something out of nothing, or rather someone. In the past, I’d start with name, age, physical attributes, job etc, a little like a CV, but over time, I’ve come to work on each character portrait more as a mind map – connections to other people, how people view them, how they view themselves, their positive and negative traits, how they would react in a certain situation, their flaws, vulnerabilities, their goals, what makes them tick. This list only expands with every character and every book.
In my new series, Just One Day, the protagonist Louisa’s name just popped into my head. Sometimes I see people’s names on social media, or an old schoolfriend will announce the birth of a new baby or grandchild, and I love then name, and use it. Or I nick the names from my kids’ friend and their siblings! So, thanks Brodie, Brennan, Ayren, Max, Alba, Aria, and many more for letting me steal your names! I was at a writing conference over the weekend and our waitress was called Alyssa. Subconsciously there always seems to be a character whose name begins with A in my books, but I haven’t had an Alyssa, so now you can look out for one.
Making up characters is one of the privileges of being a writer, and I enjoy every minute of it.
Sign of the Times
Sagittarius – Travel writer Holly heads to Tuscany to research her next book, but when she meets Dario, she knows she’s in trouble. Can she resist temptation? And what do her mixed feelings mean for her future with her fiancé? Gemini – Player Lucy likes to keep things interesting and has no qualms about being unfaithful to her long-term boyfriend. A cardiology conference to Switzerland changes Lucy, perhaps forever. Has she met her match, and is this feeling love? Holly is the one who links the twelve signs. Are you ready to meet them all? A tale of love, family, friendship and the lengths we go to in pursuit of our dreams.
Author Bio – – Susan Buchanan lives in Scotland with her husband, their two young children and a crazy Labrador called Benji. She has been reading since the age of four and had to get an adult library pass early as she had read the entire children’s section by the age of ten.
Susan writes contemporary fiction, often set in Scotland, usually featuring travel, food or Christmas. When not working, writing, or caring for her two delightful cherubs, Susan loves reading (obviously), the theatre, quiz shows and eating out – not necessarily in that order!
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Thank you to Susan for her wonderful post- it was fascinating to get insight into creative process of asuccessful writer!
Thank you for stopping by and reading the post. If you would like to find out more about Susan’s book, here is the full blog tour schedule:
Today I’m delighted to participate in the blog tour for Isabella May’s newest release The Custard Tart Cafe by the Sea! Isn’t the cover just gorgeous?
About the book:
The Custard Tart Cafe by the Sea
Willow has opened a custard tart cafe at the end of a popular English seaside pier. Her unique and magical spin on the Portuguese pastel de nata has customers queuing outside the door to taste them.
Tiago’s grandparents are purveyors of The Real Deal: authentic custard tarts made in the Algarve region of Portugal, where his family have been lovingly baking them for centuries. When he moves to England for a new job and chances upon Willow’s wondrous wares, he is out for war. At least that’s his intention. But when serendipity brings Willow and Tiago back together at the departures desk in Bristol airport – destination Faro – outrage isn’t the only spark that flies…
Weston-super-Mare and Portugal are about to collide!
Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalusia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the mountains and the sea. She grew up in Somerset on Glastonbury’s ley lines and loves to feature her quirky English hometown in her stories.
After a degree in Modern Languages and European Studies at UWE, Bristol (and a year working abroad in Bordeaux and Stuttgart), Isabella bagged an extremely jammy and fascinating job in children’s publishing… selling foreign rights for novelty, board, pop-up and non-fiction books all over the world; in every language from Icelandic to Korean, Bahasa Indonesian to Papiamento!
All of which has fuelled her curiosity and love of international food and travel – both feature extensively in her romcoms.
Isabella is also a Pranic Healer and a stillbirth mum.
Curse & Craving Jill Ramsower (Of Myth & Man, #1) Publication date: April 4th 2022 Genres: Adult, Romance, Urban Fantasy
My new job landed me in another country, but it might as well have been an entirely different world. An underground world of magic and secrets ruthlessly guarded by an elite group of Fae warriors.
This place has brought out a power buried deep within me. A dark and monstrous power.
I have no choice but to turn to the Fae for help.
Lochlan is the leader of those warriors meant to guard the border between realms. He’s secretive and arrogant yet undeniably alluring. I have no reason to trust him, but he’s the only person who can teach me to protect myself.
He pushes me to my limits and threatens to unravel me with every husky command. More than anyone, he has the power to undo me. Because with every lesson, I lose more of myself to him and this new world I never asked to be a part of.
Author’s Note: This story was originally published as part of The Fae Games Series but has been substantially rewritten. This 140,000 word urban fantasy romance novel is for adult audiences.
We walked a mile or so to the city gates, where we were offered a mount by the city guards to ride to the palace in the center of the city. Not anticipating visitors, they only had one spare horse at the gate. We would have to ride together.
Of course, we would.
I took a deep breath and joined Lochlan near the majestic black beast. The horse began to whinny anxiously and prance in place, his brown eyes bulging wide. I was no horse expert, but it was plain that the horse was uncomfortable with my presence.
“Stop upsetting the horse,” Lochlan said as he walked up to the agitated creature and took the reins, stroking the behemoth’s neck while cooing softly at him.
“I’m not doing anything!” I replied indignantly.
Lochlan grunted, then swung me onto the saddle without warning. I squealed like a five-year-old girl.
“Stop your screaming. You’ll upset the horse more than he already is.”
“I couldn’t help it. You startled me. Next time, let me know before you throw me onto the back of an angry animal.” Boorish, impossible man.
Lochlan lifted himself onto the saddle behind me, one arm snaking around my middle. His lips lowered to my ear. “Keep up with the attitude and see where it gets you.”
His words sent an avalanche of shivers down my spine.
Before I could recover, he gave the reins a tug. The horse surged forward, forcing me to cling to Lochlan’s arm at my waist.
Author Bio:
Award-winning author of contemporary and fantasy romance. With Jill’s books, you can count on confident heroines, plenty of steamy tension, and deliciously assertive leading men. There are no guarantees in life, but with her books, you know everything will work out in the end. However, a perfect ending would not be nearly as satisfying without a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Jill loves to add plenty of adversity in her stories, creating unforgettably dynamic characters and sneaky plot twists you will never see coming.
Hollywood Games Evie Alexander (Kinloch Series, #2) Publication date: April 4th 2022 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
Brace yourself Scotland, Hollywood’s coming…
Rory’s found the love of his life but can he be sure Zoe feels the same? What can he offer her when his job’s on the line, and his mother’s out to destroy her? When Hollywood superstar, Brad Bauer, shows up wanting to film Braveheart 2 at Kinloch castle, it seems like the answer to all his prayers. However, there’s a catch.
Zoe’s had a crush on Brad since she was a teen. Now he’s here, hotter than ever, and convinced he was married to her in a past life. As Hollywood descends on the tiny village of Kinloch, it’s not just the castle that’s under siege.
A mystical holy man, a sexy starlet, an intense megastar and a couple pushed to the edge. Can Rory navigate the glitter storm and keep his eye on the prize, or by saving the estate, is he about to lose the best thing that’s ever happened to him?
Hollywood Games is a steamy, love conquers all, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, with no cheating, no cliff-hanger, and a guaranteed happy ever after (HEA). It can be read as a standalone but is most enjoyed after reading Highland Games.
When Hollywood meets the Highlands, things will never be the same again…
Evie Alexander is the author of sexy romantic comedies with a very British sense of humour. She takes a method approach to her work, believing her capacity to repeatedly fail at life and love is what has given her such a rich supply of material for her writing.
Her interests include reading, eating, saving the world, and fantasising about people who only exist between the pages of her books. She lives in the West country with her family.
Thank you to Rachel for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Keeping Up with Kershaws by Helen Buckley and thank you to Helen for kindly agreeing to answer my questions.
About the book:
Keeping up with the Kershaws
What do you do when your life becomes more dramatic than reality TV? As the devoted carer for famous antique expert Harold Kershaw, Karrie Morgan was always happy to keep a professional distance from his four spoilt grown-up children, who rarely made time for their father. But then a surprise involving Harold’s Will means Karrie is flung headlong into a press scandal, and into the chaotic world of the surviving Kershaws. With the support of her trusted childhood friend Andrew, mild-mannered Karrie must face down ruthless ice queen Portia, master manipulator Gabriel, Botox fanatic Arabella, and ladies’ man Rafe, star of reality TV show Raised in Richmond … although perhaps not as fake and flashy as he initially seems? Asvicious rumours circulate and Karrie’s past comes back to haunt her, she struggles to know who to trust. Can she keep up with the Kershaws’ schemes?
1 What inspired you to write Keeping Up with the Kershaws?
I used to work for the charity Age UK writing advice guides on various topics to do with later life. I was writing about wills and inheritance and thought about a story relating to a disputed will. Years later I returned to that idea and incorporated it into my Spotlight Series to turn it into Keeping up with the Kershaws!
2 What do you find most enjoyable about writing? Do you have a writing routine?
I absolutely love the escapism. I fall in love with my characters and really get to know them, letting them direct the plot. If I’m lucky I get to write maybe 30 minutes a day, depending on my two little boys’ routine.
3 Do you have a favourite secondary character in the book?
I really enjoy the dramatic sniping of the Kershaw siblings – their characters were really fun to write.
4 How do you come up with names for the characters in your books?
I usually start with random placeholder names, then I’ll develop and change them as the story unfolds. I google names, look for various meanings, and I’ll often ask my social media followers for ideas too.
5 Are you working on any novels at the moment? What’s in the pipeline?
The next book in the Spotlight Series is out in October, it’s a Bake Off Christmas themed book! I’m currently writing the sequel to Keeping up with the Kershaws as one character doesn’t get a Happy Ever After and I really want them to!
6 What is the last book that you’ve really enjoyed reading?
I read Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens – a great read, very funny, and very moving.
7 What are your hobbies and do they find their way into your books?
I recently learned to play flute as an adult, but I don’t think any of my characters play it! I usually try to include a Latino/a character and often some Spanish in my books, as I lived in Honduras for a number of years.
Author Bio – Ever since I was little I wanted to be a writer, to turn daydreams into books. I’m fascinated by fame, in love with Happy Ever Afters, and enthralled by slow-burn romances. I squeeze in time to write around looking after my two sons. Find out more about me on my website http://www.buckleybooks.org
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