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#Book Blitz #Mermaid of Sicily by Jincey Lumpkin (Mermaid of Venice, #2) #Fantasy #Romance @Xpresso Book tours

Book & Author Details:

Mermaid of Sicily
by Jincey Lumpkin
(Mermaid of Venice, #2)
Publication date: September 20th 2021
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

The glamorous Gia Acquaviva struggles to maintain her freedom and hold onto her business empire. A Sicilian mob boss nips at her tail, hoping to lure her into his sick fantasies. Meanwhile, the global media hunts Gia, attempting to hold her accountable for a string of murders. Can the world’s most famous mermaid escape their net, or will she be caught?

Dive into the extremely glamorous life of Gia Acquaviva, an ultra-rich Venetian mogul with a portfolio of clubs and casinos around the globe. Gia harbors dark secrets––and an underwater graveyard filled with the bones of her former lovers.

Her family’s roots descend from the mythological sirens of ancient Greece, but she’s taken every precaution to protect her anonymity and the existence of other mermaids. Gia lures in men with a beguiling façade, but inside lurks a deeply troubled soul, severely damaged by a mysterious past.

Fans of Killing Eve and Big Little Lies will love Mermaid of Sicily, a sexy psychological thriller with lush fantasy elements. The chic mystery and European hot spots of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley with a juicy splash of the lavish lifestyle in E. L. James’s 50 Shades series. This is not the Little Mermaid you grew up with. Gia’s out for blood.

Mermaid of Sicily is the second installment in a series of 6 books about Gia Acquaviva.

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

—

EXCERPT:

Gia arrived at the base of the Eiffel Tower in disguise. An auburn wig, a pair of large sunglasses, and a wooly cap hid her identity. She approached the brown awning of the Jules Verne restaurant with supreme caution, hyper vigilant of her surroundings and potential threats. It was then that she was met at the front door by two of Q’s men.

“Are you here for Signor Mosca?” one asked.

“Unfortunately,” Gia chirped, sarcasm thick in her voice.

“This way.”

As they entered the restaurant, Gia discovered that Q had paid enough money to clear the place out completely.

How much had that set him back?

People waited months for a reservation—it couldn’t have been easy to compensate all those angry patrons overnight. The men escorted Gia into the glass elevator. As it rose, they passed through level after level of the brown iron that Mr. Eiffel had twisted himself.

The men took Gia all the way to a table that was situated in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Thank you gentlemen,” Q said, patting them on the back. “I have asked the chef to set up a table for the two of you in the kitchen. Please enjoy your meal. We will come to you when we are ready to go.”

He shuffled toward Gia and took her hand in his. Gia resisted the urge to pull away, her stomach lurched in revulsion to his touch.

“Signorina Acquaviva, I have been looking forward to spending time with you since we met in Athens…”

Author Bio:

JINCEY LUMPKIN is a writer and creative director in Luxury Beauty. She is the author of the Mermaid of Venice fantasy thriller series. Recognized as a thought leader on women and culture, Jincey has written more than 50 columns for the Huffington Post and Playboy. She headlined Sex Week at Harvard and gave an infamous TEDx talk, “Are Robots the Future of Sex?” She has been profiled by Dateline NBC, Vice, and GQ, among others. Out Magazine listed her in its “OUT 100”, naming her as one of the world’s most influential LGBTQ+ people, alongside celebrities like Laverne Cox and Ricky Martin.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Newsletter

GIVEAWAY

Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

$20 Amazon gift card + a deluxe swag bag (includes 4x notebooks, 3x paperbacks, 1x tote)

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#Stacking the Shelves 15 (March 20th, 2022)

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?

#Book Blitz #Moon Madness by Sabrina Silvers @Xpresso Book Tours

Moon Madness
Sabrina Silvers
(Dirigo Pack, #2)
Publication date: March 19th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

A wolf on the edge, deadly shifter political games, and an unexpected attraction.

Sloane Wyman is haunted by her past and she’ll let nothing get in the way of her future. She’s vowed to defend her pack as long as there is breath in her lungs.

Benedict MacKinnon can’t trust the beast within. Not since it burst forth and nearly cost him everything. But, when his brother and mate are accused of murder, he’s willing to put everything on the line. Benedict must stand before the Supreme Council in their defense, even if it costs him his life and future.

Lying and scheming enemies eager to see him spiral out of control test his resolve at every turn. Sloane, as his back-up, is more of a hindrance than a help thanks to the unwanted primal attraction that leaves his inner wolf rumbling.

As they become targets in a game they don’t know the rules, and the clock ticks down on their deadline, can they outsmart their enemies? Will they allow themselves to unite via the mate bond? Or will their attempts to save those they love meet a bloody end?

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

Author Bio:

Sabrina Silvers began her writing career dreaming of elves, orcs, and hobbits in the fantasy section of her local library, looking in wardrobes for Narnia and Aslan, and hunting for gnomes in the forest. To her dismay, she never found any of them except between the pages of her books. So, she had to go out and create them for herself, leading to her lifelong love of reading and writing and dreaming about adventures, fantasy creatures and love in fantasy lands! She divides her time between writing sexy contemporary romances under a different pen name, reading, knitting and being owned by a very spoiled cocker spaniel who does not share her love of fantasy creatures.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Bookbub

#Book Blitz #Red by Cambria Hebert @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:

Title: RED
Author: Cambria Hebert
Series: House of Misfits #5
Cover by: Cover Me Darling
Genre: MM romance, Romantic suspense, contemporary romance, modern fairytale (Red Riding Hood)
Tropes: Hurt/Comfort, Obsessive/Possessive, Secrets/Twists, Korean Gangster, Dark Themes, Found Family, Gay Romance
Release Date: March 18

Synopsis:

Once upon a time…

An orphaned boy runs away, knowing he is better off in solitude
than in the company of those with whom he does not belong.
However, Little Red is not meant to be alone,
his crimson halo a calling card to those far and wide.
And so off he goes… into the woods to attract the eye of a wicked wolf.

Better to see you with.
Better to hear you with.
Better to taste you with.

Astoundingly, the woods are not a frightening place,
and Little Red flourishes among the weeds and thorns until he isn’t so little anymore.
And the wicked wolf he’s gone to catch?
Well, this forest has more than one, and perversely,
their snapping teeth and sharp claws make him feel at home.
Years after walking into the woods, Red is expected to walk back out,
carrying with him the head of the most dangerous predator.

But those who sent him into the forest failed to take into
account that not everyone fears the bite of the big bad wolf.
Some crave it…

RED is book 5 in the House of Misfits series by Cambria Hebert. RED is a Male/Male romance modern version of Red Riding Hood. RED contains dark themes, a Korean Gangster, Opposites attract, Secrets and Twists, Hurt/Comfort, Possessive/Obsessive and Found Family. Oh, and of course spicy times. Please also note there are mentions of off-page child abuse some readers may find uncomfortable.

RED is the final book in this series and would be a more enjoyable experience if the other books were read first. If you read it on its own previous plots and storylines do come into play in this book and therefore may be spoiled.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Cambria Hebert is an award winning, bestselling novelist of more than twenty books. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair.

Besides writing, Cambria loves a caramel latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching movies. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of chickens (yes, chickens). You can often find her running on the treadmill (she’d rather be eating a donut), painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails), or walking her chorkie (the real boss of the house).

Cambria has written within the young adult and new adult genres, penning many paranormal and contemporary titles. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense. A few of her most recognized titles are: The Hashtag Series, Text, Torch, and Tattoo.

Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest

GIVEAWAY

Blitz-wide giveaway (US only)

Signed copy of Red + $20 Amazon gift card

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#Book Blitz #Dear Isobel by Jinny Alexander @Xpresso Book Tours

Dear Isobel
Jinny Alexander
Publication date: March 15th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary

Two marriages, a bucket full of dreams and a pile of broken hearts.

She’s not sharing her name. She’s been judged enough.

Once, she had it all: a supportive husband, lovely children, and a prestigious career revitalising failing businesses in the wake of Ireland’s recession.

When her friend Isobel suggested she take on a new job in their tiny rural community, she didn’t expect to fall in love.

Now she has become the other woman, the marriage wrecker, the cheat, and the betrayer.

When the illicit relationship ends, she’s stuck between the ruined affair and a crumbling marriage. Jobless and bereft, she must try to salvage what remains.

Will talking to Isobel help pick up the pieces or shatter their lives forever?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT:

I wonder whether Isobel would be sympathetic to me if it were anyone else I had fallen in love with. Either way, I feel a need to say to her, however far she runs or wherever she runs to, it will always be the same. Even across the sea, even in her own safe homeland, someone somewhere is sleeping with their friend’s husband, or their wife’s friend. She can’t hide from this. It is strange how I am still so shocked to hear of every other story.

As the friend I used to be to her, before I wanted to take her husband for my own, I want to warn her:

Dear Isobel,

Even over there in your homeland, in America, Land of the Free, you are not safe from cheats and liars. They are in every corner of the world. Even there, even where you feel safe on your home ground, there will be men who ‘take up’ with their wife’s friend, and break hearts, and make promises and break them as quickly. For when one promise is kept, another is broken.

I want to warn her also that, if, as she seems to want to hear and Charles seems to want to say, it all meant nothing to him at all, then,

Dear Isobel, dear, dear Isobel, surely, if it meant nothing, he will do it again.

I believe it is better to risk everything for someone who means everything than to risk everything for nothing—for a mistake. I became my best friend’s biggest mistake, for which he has said he is sorry, but sorry, by that point, is just another empty promise.

Dear Isobel,

If he could hold me in his arms and tell me how much he loved you; if he could kiss me; and tell me how much he loved you; if he could take me in his arms after a weekend away with you, kiss me, hold me, touch me, and tell me his weekend with you has shown him how much he still loved you, then why, oh why was he holding me in his arms?

It is not impossible to want it all.

Author Bio:

Jinny was first published in Horse and Pony magazine at the age of ten. She’s striving to achieve equal accolade now she’s (allegedly) a grown up. She secured a publishing deal in December 2020 and her first two novels will be released by Creative James Media in 2022.

Jinny teaches English as a foreign language to people all over the world, which gives her an endless source of new inspiration for stories. Her home for now is in rural Ireland, which she shares with her husband and far too many animals. Her two children have grown up and flown the nest – mostly. She quite likes to shut the door on them all and write.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

#Happy Publication Day #Love Blooms at Mermaids Point by Sarah Bennet @Boldwood Books

Happy Publication Day to Love Blooms at Mermaids Point, the newest instalment in Sarah Bennet’s much-beloved series.

From the Blurb:

Bestselling author Alex Nelson is slowly coming apart at the seams after a failed marriage and an abrupt change in career leave him at a crossroads in life. When an unexpected opportunity arises to escape to the idyllic village of Mermaids Point, he’s hot on the heels of his brother, Tom, who has recently moved there. Buying a rundown bookshop might be just his latest harebrained scheme, but Alex has never been one to do things by halves.
After spending her early years caring for her mother, Ivy Fisher is finally ready to start living her own life. But when the impossibly charming, impossibly good-looking Alex Nelson swoops in and snatches her dream out from under her nose, it really is the last straw. Forced by circumstances to spend more time with him, Ivy finally gets a peak of the real man beneath the confident exterior, and she likes what she sees.
But just when things are starting to come together for them, Ivy is reminded why men can never be trusted. Is Alex who he says he is, or is he using Mermaids Point as nothing more than research fodder for his next bestseller?

Purchase Link

Publication Date: 16th of March 2022
Publisher: Boldwood Books

My thoughts:

A new gorgeous instalment in Sarah Bennett’s much beloved Merpaid Point series!

If you’re already a fan of the series you’ll be delighted with Ivy Fisher and Alex Nelson’s story. If you haven’t read the previous book and are wondering if this one can be read as a standalone, yes, absolutely. Sarah provides a very helpful list of characters and family connections to make you feel welcome to this charming seaside community. As usual, there is plenty of drama to keep you on the edge of your seat.

First of all, I absolutely adored the cover- it is so sweet and optimistic, bit of a warm hug we all need from time to time!
The beginning of the book was very emotional- Ivy has just lost her mother and the community rallies behind her to help her through the funeral day. Among the people who are there for her is Alex, although grief-struck Ivy may not always know what to think or feel at his trying time. Both Alex and Ivy have set their sights on bying the town bookshop. Don’t worry, things work out perfectly well and we see the beginning of a great partnership, which leads to so much more after the necessary twists and turns!

It is difficult not to root for these two characters. Ivy hasn’t had the easiest life and her estranged father is going to throw a couple more spanners in the works. Can you blame her for having some trust issues? Alex’s bestseller is based on his heartfelt semi-fictional account of his own bitter divorce story. We get to know both Ivy and Alex’s personalities and motivations in depth. There are other well-written secondary characters as you would expect in an established series set in a small town- both new and recurring ones.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful slow-burn romance and would love nothing better than to return to Mermaids Point in Sarah’s next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Author Bio –

Sarah Bennett is the bestselling author of several romantic fiction trilogies including those set in Butterfly Cove and Lavender Bay. Born and raised in a military family she is happily married to her own Officer and when not reading or writing enjoys sailing the high seas. The first book in her new Mermaids Point trilogy for Boldwood was published in Spring 2021.

Social Media Links –
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SarahBennettAuthor/
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/Sarahlou_writes
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarahlbennettauthor/

Newsletter Sign Up:https://bit.ly/SarahBennettnews

#Happy Publication Day, March 15th, 2022 #The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St.James #Thriller @Berkley

Happy Publication Day to The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St.James! I am a big fan of this author and just couldn’t resist this newest release.

From the Blurb:

A true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for while interviewing the woman acquitted of two cold case slayings in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.

In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect—a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion.

Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases—a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea’s surprise, Beth says yes.

They meet regularly at Beth’s mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she’s not looking, and she could swear she’s seen a girl outside the window. The allure of learning the truth about the case from the smart, charming Beth is too much to resist, but even as they grow closer, Shea senses something isn’t right. Is she making friends with a manipulative murderer, or are there other dangers lurking in the darkness of the Greer house?

Story Locale:small town Oregon (Fictional)

************************************************************

Publisher: Berkley

ISBN 9780440000211

Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Supernatural

************************************************************

Simone St. James is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, The Broken Girls and The Haunting of Maddy Clare, which won two RITA awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. She wrote her first ghost story, about a haunted library, when she was in high school, and spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives outside Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled cat.

Author Website:simonestjames.com

Author Social Media:

Facebook.com/simonestjames;

Twitter @simone_stjames;

Pinterest @simonestjames;

Instagram @simonestjames

Are you excited about this new release?
Have you read The Paris Apartment?
If yes, did you like it? How did it compare to Lucy Foley’s previous books?

It’s Monday! What are you reading? March 14th, 2022

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:

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross. Loved this Scottish themed fantasy thriller and can’t wait to read the sequel when it is out.

The Patient’s Secret by Loreth Anne White. This Canadian author never disappoints…

Falling for Competition by Jen Smith -blog tour

What I am reading/listening to now:

Third Spell’s the Charm (House of Magic#3) by Susanna Shore- I’m quite fond of this series of paranormal cozy mysteries set in London…

What I’m reading /listening to next:

I Will Find You by Amanda and Sally Rigby

Love Blooms at Mermaids Point by Sarah Bennett

Remember Me by Estelle Laure

How did your last week go and what are you reading this week?

#Book Blitz #Omniscience by Janine Frances #Dystopian #Thriller @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:

Omniscience
by Janine Frances
Publication date: February 13th 2022
Genres: Adult, Dystopian, Thriller

Synopsis:

A family seek refuge in the Australian outback as tyranny takes hold, but who can they trust?

The world is at war and an authoritarian government has taken control in Australia. A terrorist group known as Day One is attempting to destroy civilisation so humanity can start again.

Shareen Miller becomes caught in a bureaucratic nightmare when she’s detained by an Auto-Enforcer for not having the right travel permit on the way to a job interview. Shareen’s detention sets off a chain of events that leads to her five-year-old twins being taken by the government.

With her husband Daniel, grandmother Alma, and sister Layla, Shareen seizes her children and escapes from Sydney. On the road, she reveals a secret about her missing mother Veronica that she’s been hiding from her family for five years.

What follows is an intense journey into the harsh Australian outback where nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted.

As they fight for survival, Veronica’s family finally learn the truth about why she left them. The stakes couldn’t be higher as the future of humanity hangs in the balance.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Janine Frances lives in Australia with her partner David and dog Banjo.

The journey to publishing her novel Omniscience has been a long one. After doing the nine-to-five grind in Sydney for many years, with a couple of stints as a high school teacher and bank teller in the outback, she is currently relishing the freedom that comes with living in a picturesque small town and working from home.

Janine has an MA in Creative Writing. She chose to write a speculative thriller because it’s an exciting genre that asks important questions about the future.

Website / Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

(ends March 17th)

Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

$50 Amazon gift card

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#Blog Tour #Book Review of Falling For The Competition @rararesources

Thank to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to partiipate in the blog tour for Falling for the Competition by Jen Smith!

Falling for the Competition

It’s going to be the best summer ever for ambitious, overachieving Quinn. A huge history buff, not only has she landed her dream job interning in the archives department of the local castle, but her best friend will be working there too.

However, Quinn isn’t the only one to be working in Archives this summer; Quinn’s academic rival, Patrick, is sharing her office in Muniments. They’re competing for the Letter of Recommendation (singular) from the research historian that Quinn needs to get her dream future placement.

Their emotionally-loaded and competitive rivalry turns into a reluctant friendship, as they spend every day working together in silence (and sharing the occasional Twix). Until the Re-Enactors arrive. Between Patrick and Harry – the Golden Knight of the jousting team – Quinn’s carefully planned summer is thrown into complete disarray. Meanwhile, her best friend’s relationship may look perfect on the outside, but Quinn is starting to realise that there’s more going on than there seems.

Although Quinn is determined and single minded about planning every detail of her sparkling future, she comes to discover that the best things in life are the spontaneous ones – and that some people are more important than any Letter of Recommendation (singular) could ever be.

Purchase Links

UK / US

My thoughts:

Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favourite tropes! You can’t beat the tension of the ongoing daily ‘battle’ between two nerdy teenagers who think getting or not getting a Letter of Recommendation for the British Society of Medieval History is the end of the world… Well, you know sooner or later they will recognise how sweet and considerate their competition is and how important they have become for each other.

Quinn Taylor has all her life planned out and getting a Letter of Recommendation from the museum where she is working this summer is a huge deal for her. She loves every thing about the work she is doing in the Archives and the author does a great job showing how passionate Quinn is about British history. The only thing she didn’t count on is having to do the same project as Patrick, annoyingly perfect Patrick, who her teachers have always been using as an example for her. Quinn has her own original ideas, although she might be a tiny bit overambitious in what she is trying to achieve. You guessed it, it’s a slow-burn romance, as both Quinn and Patrick get to know each other in the forced proximity of their shared office.

The book is full of topics relevant to YA- working out what you want to do in the future and adjusting your ideas, relationships with divorced parents, BFFs and exes who still take an important place in your life and your heart, learning how to deal with all kinds of people who may not always be what they appear to be on the surface. This is a character-led story told from the point of view of Quinn and you can see how much this single-minded girl learns over the course of one summer.

Add the fascination of a medieval castle setting and you get a lovely, entertaining YA romance. I would definitely like to read more from this author!

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Author Bio – Jen lives in the Midlands with her husband and two children. With a Masters Degree in Medieval History, Jen loves castles and King John a little too much. Strangely un-British, she does not like tea, oranges or marzipan, but adores French cheese, guava juice and Chinese food (not together).

When not writing, Jen can often be found pointing out historical inaccuracies in period dramas, being a Lady that Lunches with close friends and playing board games with her family. Note: her handbags are always heavy due to multiple books (just in case she needs them).

Social Media Links –

@jensmith950 Twitter